Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Austin Dillon and No. 3 American Ethanol Team Battle Through Tough Southern 500 to Top-10 Finish

Finish: 10th
Start: 14th
Points: 23rd

“This is just the night we needed at Darlington Raceway. My crew chief Danny Stockman and the team did a great job all night working on the handling of our No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and it paid off. The track loosened up a lot more than we expected tonight, so we had to adjust for that and figure out which groove on the track worked for us with that handling. Towards the end of the final stage, we really hit on it and I was able to run the bottom really well. I never could get the top groove to come in for me without being too loose up, but since I was able to make passes on the bottom, I wasn’t too worried about it. We kept ourselves out of trouble when others started to have issues at the end of the race and were able to capitalize with a top-10 finish. This team is more than capable to do this every week, and this is a good way to build momentum heading into Indy. I also want to thank American Ethanol for letting us run my grandfather’s paint scheme tonight. It was really special to carry his colors on the track.” -Austin Dillon

Late-Race Contact Leads to Cut Tire for Daniel Hemric and No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 37th
Start: 18th
Points: 25th

“I’m really proud of this team, but I’m kind of at a loss of words. Our No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet got better and better throughout the last half of the race and we were moving through the field. I felt like we had a top-10 car in the final stage until the contact with the No. 6 car, which cut the right rear tire. I hate so many other cars were involved. That incident damaged something under the hood and ended our night. Everyone at RCR is working as hard as possible to get better and it will pay off. Tonight was just not our night. I know we’ll show up to Indianapolis next week stronger than before. Thank you to Caterpillar for the awesome scheme for Throwback weekend, and to all of the fans that waited through the weather today at Darlington.” -Daniel Hemric

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Sunday, September 1, 2019
EVENT: Bojangles’ Southern 500, Darlington, SC.

Ford Finishing Results
4th – Kevin Harvick
5th – Brad Keselowski
6th – Clint Bowyer
9th – Paul Menard
11th – Daniel Suarez
13th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Joey Logano
17th – Aric Almirola
23rd – Ryan Newman
26th – David Ragan
27th – Matt Tifft
33rd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
36th – Corey LaJoie
38th – Michael McDowell

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Ford Mustang – “It was kind of a blue-collar top five. We just hung around fifth to tenth all day and was able to clear off a few cars there at the end and ended up fifth. We had really good short run speed with the Miller Ford, but we didn’t really have the long run speed and the long runs, you’ve got to have that.”

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE LATE START? “I actually thought it was great. I had as much fun as I’ve ever had here at Darlington. I thought it was good.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Oscar Mayer/Velveeta Ford Mustang – “We got spun and we came back, and we did not have a top 10 finish, so it’s unfortunate. We lost some points today, but we’ve got a lot of fight in us and we’ll go into the last one here in the regular season and fight.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU OWE THE 41? “I have to watch the replay. They said he hit me, but I don’t know. He had me jacked up sideways going into the corner, so do I owe him? Probably a little something.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – “That’s what happens. It’s really, really hard to unload a backup car and not get any laps on it. I put our race team behind on Friday and wrecked our primary car and then we just battled all night. At the beginning of the race we had a 30th-place car and we worked on it all night and fought really hard and got out of here with a 17th-place finish, so I’m actually real proud of that. I know it’s crazy to be proud of a 17th-place finish, but that’s the kind of fight and perseverance and determination that I feel like will pay off in the Playoffs.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO RACE THIS LATE? “It’s really hard. I’ve got two little kids so a normal bedtime for me is 9:30-10:00, and we were rolling off to start the race at bedtime, but that’s why we do what we do. I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it was a long night. Five hundred miles at Darlington is rough.”

BUT YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED A BETTER RUN WITH ONLY ONE RACE TO GO BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS START. “Absolutely. You want to build that momentum, but the worst thing we could do is have another 35th-place finish in a wreck and a DNF. We did that at Michigan and Bristol, so we kind of need to right the ship and finish a race and get back on track and get the wheels turning the right direction.”

PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang – “It was an up-and-down night. We had big swings with balance. The whole race was in darkness, it wasn’t like we went through a transition, but we fired off really tight and did a fairly normal adjustment and got really loose. We got back to tight with no adjustments, so I don’t know if we had some inconsistencies in tires or what, but basically just freed it up all night long and got something to show for it. Greg made a great call and got us some track position and held on.”

YOUR FIRST CAREER TOP 10 FINISH AT DARLINGTON. “Yeah, it feels good. I’ve always loved this place even though she hasn’t always liked me, but it was a fun night. Anytime you drive any car at Darlington it’s a lot of fun. These 550-horsepower tracks sometimes get a little timid, but Darlington is one of those tracks you just have to be on all the time and it’s a lot of fun.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Beer/Big Buck Hunter Ford Mustang – “I don’t think it was really anything that was one spot, it was just all weekend we just struggled with the front of the car. Really, they did a great job to do the things that we did tonight to finish fourth and made the car better all night and just had a solid night and finished fourth.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WITH THE TIMING OF THIS RACE? “For us, I ran it without air-conditioning or fans or anything. The battery went dead, so we had to turn it all off, and luckily it was cool. They did a good job. It was nice and cool inside the car tonight.”

WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE RACE STARTING SO LATE? “Once you get in the car it’s pretty easy to get going. I did have an extra cup of coffee about 8 o’clock to make sure I was ready to go, so it was just a different race as far as when it started in the dark. I think that was actually good for us to start in the dark and we made a lot of changes to the car before the race and made a lot of changes to the car during the race, and that’s just what we had to do to have a decent night because this is a strange race track with this particular rules package as far as what you want in the car, how you want the car, so I think we would do it different if we had to come back tomorrow or next week to race again, but you’ve got to find out. You’ve got to come run the race and we were just not where we wanted to be all weekend.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang – “It’s gonna be a lot of fun going to Indianapolis and have everybody all in pretty much with Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson. I feel like we’re gonna race extremely hard all the way to the end.”

WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE BEING IN THAT GROUP. IT HASN’T LET UP. “I think we’re putting on a good show for you guys and all the fans, and now being tied heading to Indianapolis that makes things even more interesting, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN WHAT YOU BRING TO INDY? “Yeah, for sure. My team has been strong. I feel like today we missed it a little bit. We had a faster car than 11th, but we just missed it for whatever reason heading into the race. We have to study what happened and come back stronger.”

WHAT HAPPENED WITH NEWMAN? “That’s a racing thing. I didn’t touch him. As a driver it’s very, very easy to know that the guy behind you is very, very close and to feel that air, but he’s experienced to know. Once he sees the race he’s going to realize that we didn’t touch. It was everything aero and just hard racing, that’s it.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Ford Mustang – THERE WAS A MOMENT WHERE THE 48 WAS UNDER YOU COMING OUT OF THE TURN AND JUST ABOUT CLEANED YOU BOTH OUT. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? “You’re just holding on. I pushed it too hard in the front side of that run. You get out there in that clean air and the girl wants to run and I pushed it too hard on the front side of that run. That was our deficit all weekend long was front turn. That’s kind of been the M.O. for us in our organization. We’ve been fighting that, but that was a lesson learned there. I pushed it too hard on the front side of that trying to get those stage points and it cost me three or four spots at least, and then obviously the situation there at the end with Jimmie just trying to hold on and fend for spots. He’s doing everything he can do to make the Playoffs and we are too. You don’t want to race those guys like that. He’s one of my ol’ heroes, a good friend, but that’s all out the window when you’re on the race track.”

YOU’RE 15TH RIGHT NOW GOING TO INDY. IS THAT A RELIEF TO GAIN POINTS? “Yes, it is. That was the task at hand. We put ourselves back in position, but, kid you not, yes, I want to make the Playoffs, but I want to make the Playoffs to get past the first round and to hit that thing in stride and race to our capabilities. Tonight was our capability. Single-digit finishes we’re capable of rattling off and this was a good shot in the arm, a momentum boost for our race team going into that last race in Indy, and if we can do that again is what I’m looking for because, again, you always have to be looking down the road. Yes, the task at hand is right here in front of us, at the forefront of making the Playoffs, but, man, to be honest with you, my eye is on making those Playoffs and getting through that first round. It’s kind of like racing on this race track, you’re racing that guy in front of you, but you’ve always got your eye on the guy in front of him as well.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford Mustang – “I saw the 8 start to get loose like he blew a tire and chased it up the track. I was already on the bottom and I saw the 11 and a few other cars on the top and they were just trying to get down and we all kind of jumped on the brakes. You’re so fast at that point when you jump on the brakes the cars get pretty loose and out of control. I think I got clipped by the 11 in the right-rear and just kind of turned me hard right into the wall and in front of the field, but it’s really unfortunate. We had a decent Dockside Logistics throwback car. We were logging laps trying to get to the end and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Erik Jones Captures Victory at Darlington in 100th Career NASCAR Cup Series Start

Kyle Busch clinches regular-season championship with third-place finish

FLORENCE, S.C. (September 2, 2019) – Erik Jones made his 100th career NASCAR Cup Series start a memorable one as he captured the win at Darlington Raceway in one of the sport’s crown jewel events.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Darlington Raceway
Race 25 of 36 – 501 miles, 367 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, ERIK JONES
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
4th, Kevin Harvick*
5th, Brad Keselowski*
8th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
15th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
29th, DENNY HAMLIN
34th, JOEY GASE
*non-Toyota driver

Camry driver Erik Jones won his second career NASCAR Cup Series event in his 100th career-series start at Darlington Raceway on Sunday morning.

With the win, Jones has punched a spot into the NASCAR Playoffs where he joins Toyota teammates Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr.
Busch clinched the regular-season championship title with a third-place finish with only one race remaining before the Playoffs.

TOYOTA QUOTES

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Throwback Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

Take us through those last 10 laps and what you had to do to hold off Kyle Busch.

“Well, it was just a lot of pressure. Kyle (Busch) is a great race car driver. I’ve raced him a lot and you obviousy want to beat him to win, right? I know our first win at Daytona was great, but man, this one feels good. Just getting back to victory lane, showing we can do this continuously. Man, it was a lot of work. I’m mentally drained, I’m physically drained. I knew he was running the wall and I knew I was going to have to go up there and try to hold him off. It took everything I had to do it. I was pedaling hard. Fortunately, he got into the wall a couple of times. He gave me a little breathing room for the last two laps. That felt good, but awesome to come home with this win.”

What does it mean to you to be able to withstand the pressure and prove what you can do?

“It felt great. I don’t know that there’s much more to be said. I was just locked in man. Tonight I was really locked in and really focused and really felt like it was our night once we got out front. I wasn’t in any shape to relent that lead, so it’s amazing for me to be able to hold off Kyle (Busch). It’s really cool just with the history we have with Kyle giving me my first opportunity in the Truck Seirs and getting to race him for a win in such a big race. That’s pretty cool and something I’m never going to forget.”

As a kid did you ever dream of winning the Southern 500?

“At seven years old, when I started, it seemed so far away. It’s incredible. I mean it’s incredible. I’ve got my family here, some great friends and it’s just so cool to have him there and celebrating this with me. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Man, I never would have dreamed to be honest with you. It was too far out to fathom really for me to even be in a situation like this and just thankful for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), Circle K, Sport Clips and DeWalt and everybody who’s been a part of this and really stuck by me this year and helped us get back here.”

Is that the hardest you’ve ever had to drive, and how much pressure was Kyle putting on you?

“ Yeah, I mean, I’m wore out just mentally and physically – more mentally than anything, but Kyle was really running hard, and he’s one of the best guys out there. Our Sport Clips Camry was good, but man, I was pedaling as hard as I could and just glad to hold him off and to finally get to victory lane. I feel like it’s been coming for us for a long time, so it just feels really good.”

You had all the speculation this year about what’s going to happen next year. What kind of answer is this for you to win a crown jewel event like this?

“Is there anything more to say? I mean, it’s been a lot of doubt and a lot of speculation, and I put my heart and soul into this and this race team, and this is my living and how I want to make a career and what I want to do. It doesn’t get any better. On my list, this race is really high, and it’s going to look damned good to see my face on that trophy.”

When you look at this paint scheme, the throwback to your rookie season in the late model, to now be sitting here with a crown jewel under your belt, what does that mean to you?

“Well, it’s pretty special, my 100th start. I guess sometimes funny things happen, right, and 100th start we’re in victory lane with my first‑ever scheme on a big car, so it’s pretty special. Thanks to Sport Clips for letting me run that. That meant a lot to me and my family. My mom is here for this one and that’s great. But all my partners, man, I’m so happy for them, DeWalt, Craftsman, Reser, Stanley, Circle K, Interstate, Toyota, just sticking with me through this – it’s been a big year of speculation and maybe moving around and I don’t think there’s much more to say than this right here, so it’s pretty good.”

How about these Darlington fans who stayed through the rain delay? It’s almost 2:00 a.m. and they’re still here.

“ Thank you guys for coming. You’re welcome to stay up all night with me because I guarantee I’m not going to bed.”

You mentioned the trophy and the iconic names, the biggest in the sport that adorn it. What’s it going to be like to have your face next to them?

“It’s going to feel pretty special. There’s a lot of great names on there, and this is one ‑ this race for me has always held a special place. When you think of NASCAR, for myself, I think of Darlington and this tough place. I’m drained, I’m mentally drained, I’m physically drained. I just ‑ man, I’m so happy right now to be here and can’t wait to celebrate with these guys, get back home and celebrate with my friends. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Snickers Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Describe the final few laps and trying to catch Erik Jones.

“You just can’t get there with this package. It’s just such a one‑lane racetrack. There’s not enough options, there’s not enough grooves that you can get enough air on your car to close that gap and make that pass. We kind of lost control of the race there on pit road when we came down the leader and then came out third and I thought if we could just keep in touch with those guys and keep close to them, then we might be able to out‑pit road them at the end of the race, and we did one of them but not the other one. Overall a good day and the Snickers Camry was fast and was the best we’ve run here in a long, long time, so that was fun. It was nice to lead some laps, be up front like that, but I hate it that we got behind on pit road and then we couldn’t make it up on the track. That kind of sucks.”

Before you caught Erik Jones at the end, were you doing a little conserving trying to save a little bit to try to get him?

“Yeah, when he started to inch out a little bit, I was trying to save my right front because I knew my right front wasn’t going to make it the whole rest of the way without me knocking the wall down, and I was right. I hit the wall with about four to go and then I hit it again with three to go, and that was ‑ it killed it that time. Luckily, we were able to salvage a third, just dragging the fence for the last two laps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen NASCAR not throw a caution in that scenario ‑ oh, yes I have, that’s right. I blew a left-front tire at California in an Xfinity race and we had to finish the whole last lap, so doesn’t surprise me.”

# # #

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
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Kyle Larson, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1
7th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro ZL1
10th Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro Zl1
12th Chris Buescher, No. 37 Kroger Fast Lane to Flavor Camaro ZL1
16th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Throwback Camaro Zl1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Eric Jones (Toyota)
2nd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
4th Kevin Harvick (Ford)
5th Brad Keselowski (Ford)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, September 8 at 2:00 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd
WHAT ELSE DID YOU NEED TO WIN THE RACE?
“Six inches less in the spoiler probably, for everybody. It was just really hard to pass. I think this package has been good for a lot of places but here. It’s a high grip track, already narrow. It was just tough to pass. I felt better than the 18 there at the end. Anytime I got within a few car links from him, I would lose a lot of grip. It came down to restarts and pit stops. We just didn’t have the greatest restarts there to allow Eric (Jones) to get by me and then that last green flag stop was not as fast as the 18 or the 20. I’m disappointed about that, but we had some good stops and some bad ones. But, all in all, it was a good day. Good to get another good finish here. It was nice to have a shot to win. We thought we would have a dominating car after practice, but we were still a top-3 car. I thought it would be a little easier.”

YOU LED 44 LAPS TONIGHT AND YOU HAD CONTROL OF THE RACE AT TIMES, BUT WHAT WAS THE THING YOU NEEDED AT THE END TO BE ABLE TO GET ERIC JONES (WINNER)?
“Eric (Jones) did a good job on that last restart to get by me and I was better than him throughout that run, but I could never do anything with him just because the dirty air was really bad. It’s a worn-out surface and the groove was already narrow and it was extra difficult. I feel like both the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) and I were a little bit better than he was at the end, but I couldn’t do nothing with him. So, that part of it was frustrating. But still, it was good to have a good run. It was a good day for our Clover Chip Ganassi Racing team. So, we led some laps and was able to challenge a little bit there at the end. I wish we could have got it done, but to come away with a Top 3 at the Southern 500 is not too bad.”

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU’RE LOCKED-INTO THE PLAYOFFS. DOES THAT MAKE YOU BREATHE A LITTLE EASIER HEADING INTO INDIANAPOLIS NEXT WEEKEND?
“Yes. I don’t know. I feel like we were going to have a good shot to make it after the last few weeks we’ve had. It would have been nice to get a win today, but yeah, it’s good to be locked-in and to look ahead to the Playoffs. We’ve been running really strong here lately. So, we’ve just got to keep going.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 7th
“I thought our Camaro was going to be bulletproof and we just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and got some damage. It hurt the left-front toe. I just couldn’t dodge the cars, there was like five or six of them in front of me. We just ended up getting collected. I’m proud of the crew for getting the toe straightened back out. We got the fenders to clear and I didn’t think we would run that good after we got all that damage. But we raced our way back up to seventh. Overall, we had a race winning car and we led a lot of laps early. We just have to seal the deal. We have to have solid pit stops all night, we have to keep our track position, and I have to dodge cars better when they are wrecking.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 10th
“It has been hard mentally for everybody on this team across the board and I’m glad my grandfather (Richard Childress) stuck with us and believed in us. It was really nice to give him a good run in his car tonight, that was special too. I love Darlington, it’s so much fun to race here. I wish we raced here two times. It’s just a fun track to race.”
“I hope we have a little bit more speed next week to kind of dictate what we want to do there at the end. I have to thank American Ethanol for letting us put this paint scheme on every year. It’s such a good deal when we come here for the Throwback Weekend and you can tell how much fun it has brought to the track.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 16th
“I had at least 15 years with a lot of luck on my side, 7 years of championships and having 2 or 3 bad ones is just part of it. I keep saying that we’re getting and tonight we showed it, from the way we qualified to how we ran on those stages. I was running fourth when that accident took place in turn three and I just had nowhere to go.”

HOW DO YOU VIEW INDIANAPOLIS? YOU ARE GOING TO GO IN 18 POINTS DOWN, IN A MUST-WIN SCENARIO IN ALL LIKELIHOOD. DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE POINTS CAN GET YOU INTO THE PLAYOFFS?
“Yeah, I mean we are running out of days and if we miss it, it’s just going to be by a few I believe. If I look back over the first half of the season, I see a lot of races where we gave away a few points. So, it’s kind of unfair to put all the pressure on one race in Indy. But it is what it is and we are going to go there to win a race. I felt like we could have been a top 3 or 4 car and really help ourselves, but it is what it is. At least my car looked cool. I’m very happy to have that throwback, with Ally, Chevrolet and all the support from my family and friends. We’ll go to Indy and see what happens.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/CITY CHEVROLET THROWBAC CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 21st
“I think we were sixth, maybe seventh, there and everything was going pretty well. I guess the guys started wrecking in front of us. We passed the beginning of it and somebody got hooked back up the track or something and we hit them square. From there, we were just kind of off the pace and had to ride it out until the end.”

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.

MENCS Post-Qualifying Report – Darlington Raceway
Denny Hamlin Posts Top-10 Qualifying Effort at ‘The Lady in Black’

FLORENCE, S.C. (August 31, 2019) – Denny Hamlin was the top Toyota driver in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon.

Toyota Racing Post-Qualifying Report
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Darlington Raceway – August 31, 2019

TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, William Byron*
2nd, Brad Keselowski*
3rd, Kyle Larson*
4th, Kurt Busch*
5th, Daniel Suarez*
9th, DENNY HAMLIN
15th, ERIK JONES
19th, MATT DiBENEDETTO
22nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
33rd, KYLE BUSCH
39th, JOEY GASE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Throwback Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Qualifying Position: 15th

We were just discussing the perfect lap. You were maybe close to it in Turns 1 and 2?

“The big thing is getting up to speed and getting through (Turns) 1 and 2 is how you get up to speed and I felt like that was okay but you know as far as 3 and 4, I felt like we left a little bit out there. I probably over-slowed entry and didn’t get back to the throttle like we needed. I don’t think qualifying was what was going to be our strong suit. I wasn’t overly excited about it. I know our race car is really good for tomorrow, but I was not sure where we were going to end up. We’ll kind of take it and move on. Qualifying has not been the place where we’ve necessarily succeeded this year, but the racing has always been really good for us, so we’ll find our way to the front. Good thing we’ve got 500 miles to get up where we want to be.”

How patient do you have to be on restarts to wait around and be able to push your car when you need to push?

“I don’t know that you ever want to be pushing too much at Darlington, but really patient, especially knowing our car is a long-run car. We don’t want to try and push on the front side and burn up our tires and get in a bad situation, so I feel like the last two years we’ve done a really good job of that – being really good on the long run and where it really mattered and paid off. We need a long run at the end of the race for that to pay off, but you know that’s been our strong suit for sure. I don’t think it’s going to be any different tomorrow. It’s going to be a long race, but I think it’s going to kind of play right into our hand.”

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

Qualifying Position: 22nd

How many laps can you go wide open in Turns 1 and 2?

“Yeah, it’s probably four or five laps then you’re starting to breathe it a little bit more and more as the run goes on.”

# # #

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
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 31, 2019

WILLIAM BYRON PUTS CAMARO ZL1 ON POLE AT DARLINGTON
Team Chevy Takes Three of Top Five Starting Positions

DARLINGTON, SC (August 31, 2019) – William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Autoguard/City Chevrolet Throwback Camaro ZL1 captured the top position in qualifying for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Darlington Raceway, with a fast lap of 28.51 seconds, 172.487 mph. It is Byron’s fourth pole and 12th Top 10 start in 2019, and his first career pole at the 1.366-mile track known as the “Lady in Black’ and the ‘Track to Tough to Tame’.

Byron joins Bill Elliott and Glenn ‘Fireball’ Roberts as only the third driver in history to win poles at three crown jewel races in one season: the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500.

The feat also marks the 12th pole of the year for the Camaro ZL1, the 22nd pole for Chevrolet at Darlington, and 711th pole for Team Chevy in NASCAR’s premier series.

Kyle Larson qualified third in his No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 and Kurt Busch was fourth quick in his No. 1 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro ZL1 to give Chevrolet three of the Top 5 starting spots for Sunday’s race.

Brad Keselowski (Ford) was second, and Daniel Suarez (Ford) was fifth to round out the Top 5 qualifiers.

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/CITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

DESCRIBE YOUR RUN AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW FUN THIS WEEKEND IS, ESPECIALLY IN THE GARAGE WITH ALL THE PAINT SCHEMES REMEMBERING DIFFERENT THINGS THROUGHOUT OUR SPORT.
“Yeah, its been really cool for us. How the Days of Thunder started for us was obviously with City Chevrolet and Mr. Hendrick, that makes perfect sense. But Chad (Knaus) actually had a movie night for all the team guys back in April and we watched Days of Thunder. It was really cool. It’s a pretty new team and to just kind of have that experience together, being able to remember the movie pretty clearly this weekend, and kind of go through it at the track has been pretty neat. Everything has gone smooth for us so far this weekend and hopefully that continues into the race. The race is ultimately what matters, but qualifying is a good start, especially having the number one pit stall.”

ARE YOU CONCENTRATING A LOT ON THESE MARQUEE RACES? AS YOU KNOW, YOU’RE THE THIRD DRIVER EVER TO WIN POLES FOR THE DAYTONA 500, COKE 600 AND SOUTHERN 500 IN THE SAME SEASON.
“Yeah, it’s awesome. I was listening to the broadcast and heard that. I don’t think so, other than just the fact that we put a lot of effort into the qualifying efforts at those tracks. This weekend, not so much because it’s an impound race. Our race setup was good in qualifying trim. I think it just happened to work out that way that we focused on qualifying. I’m sure Chad (Knaus) puts his extra little bit into it too and I put my extra into it to make sure that I hit everything right. I felt good driving down here this morning. Only having to make one lap today is pretty easy, so I just went out there and tried to not screw up and make a good lap.”

YOU KNOW IN THE DAYS OF THUNDER MOVIE, COLE TRICKLE WON HIS FIRST CUP RACE AT DARLINGTON. DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THAT ON YOUR SIDE?
“Yeah, he won at Darlington so hopefully we can continue that. I think it would be really fitting. I have definitely thought of that. It’s just a really tough race track to get your first win at, but guys have done it in the past. We just have to focus in and try to do that myself. I think we have a good car. Practice went smooth for us, I think we were a top-10 car in averages so that’s good.”

I KNOW YOU WERE BORN A LITTLE AFTER THE MOVIE WAS FIRST RELEASED, BUT AS A YOUNGER DRIVER, IS THE WHOLE DAYS OF THUNDER THEME AND HOW INTO YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAS GOTTEN THIS WEEK FUN FOR YOU GUYS AND TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF THE PRESSURE OFF?
“Yeah, it’s really fun. We are at a good point of the season where we’ve done a good job up to this point to get some points and help our Playoff position. I feel like that has allowed us to have more fun with this weekend and not be so uptight. We still need to have a really good weekend to put ourselves into position to go into Indianapolis and be clinched into the Playoffs. But, right now, we are just trying to have some fun with the throwback paint scheme and enjoy the weekend. We’ve circled this race on our calendars for awhile because I feel like it takes every part of you as a driver, as a team and a car. It will be a good race.”

YOU MENTIONED YOUR POINTS POSITION AND DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF POINTS RACING. ARE YOU STILL POINTS RACING OR CAN YOU NOW STRATGIZE MORE ON TRYING TO WIN A RACE?
“Yeah, definitely trying to just win this weekend. That has been the goal the last three weeks, just try to win a race and give ourselves some Playoff points. I don’t think there is a whole lot you can do different. Here, you need tires every time you are on the race track so it’s an easy four tires every time pretty much. That makes the strategy easy to be aggressive I guess for the win. I think this is one of those races where it’s pretty old school. It’s going to be about the best driver, best car, best team. There’s really no way around that.”

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
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 31, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICK AUTOGUARD/CITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
2nd KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1
4th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1
6th JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1
8th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st William Byron (Chevrolet)
2nd Brad Keselowski (Ford)
3rd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
4th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
5th Daniel Suarez (Ford)

NBCSN will telecast the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway live at 6:00 p.m. ET Sunday, September 1. The NBC Sports Gold app will stream the race and live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 3rd
“I felt good about my lap, the balance was fine. I could have maybe come to the green a little bit better, but I don’t think I would have had a shot at the pole. We had a lot of speed in happy hour, so I’m pretty confident going into the race tomorrow. You never know until the race starts, but I felt really good about it.”

“I feel good about it. Our car was handling good in qualifying there and then yesterday in practice, we had probably one of the best cars. So, hopefully it translates over to tomorrow, but you never know. Last year, it was the win we didn’t get that I wanted to get the most. I don’t really think I did anything wrong, I felt like I ran a perfect race. There wasn’t anything I could do differently to have a different outcome. I just hope things go differently this year. I think our car is as good or better than it was last year. Hopefully cautions fall at the right times, we can do a good job on pit road and execute a little bit better than we did last year.”

WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE THROWBACK WEEKEND?
“It’s a weekend that I think we all look forward to because all the crews and teams get very involved in the history of the sport, which is what it’s all about. I always look forward to getting here this weekend and seeing what crews’ kind of dress up, shave their facial hair a certain way, have a mullet, or whatever it might be. It’s just a fun weekend for all of the teams.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 4th
“For us, I thought it was a good lap. Everything seemed to match up. We ran a fast lap in practice yesterday, we just didn’t pick up as much as everyone else did. That half of a tenth adds up quick in qualifying. We have a really good race car with the downforce that’s on it and we weren’t too trimmed out, so to speak, for a run at the pole. We were really digging hard to get another pole at the Southern 500. Fourth is a good spot to be and we’ll go from there.”

“This is the most important part of the season. These 12 races, with the Southern 500, the Brickyard 400 and the 10 Playoff races, means its go time now. This is what we prepare for all year long, with a build up to this.”

“I think the Throwback Weekend is a great attention-drawer and also a show to create more elements for the fans. Most importantly, its to pay respect to the pioneers and all the old school drivers, teams, and people that have helped build up this sport to what it is today.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 6th
HOW DID YOU FEEL OUT THERE?
“Yeah, all is good. We made a decent lap there. We’ve picked up from what we had in practice and we are ready to go.”

IS EVERYTHING OK WITH THE CAR AFTER THE INCIDENT IN THE GARAGE?
“Yeah, for sure. I was so fearful that when it fell, someone was underneath of it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. There was plenty of damage to the car, but NASCAR gave us an extra hour to get things fixed and you really can’t tell from looking at it.”

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THAT EFFECTING ANYTHING?
“No. Fortunately, NASCAR gave us ample time to kind of work on getting it right. It did some significant damage, but the guys in really a short period of time had the area cut out and the patch was spot on there pretty quick.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 8th
HOW IS IT TO SEE MULTIPLE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CARS IN THE TOP 10?
“Yeah, it’s cool to see. I’m happy for William (Byron), he did a really good job and got the pole. It’s nice to have a few Hendrick cars up towards the front and there’s some Chevrolet’s up there too. I think our run was OK. It’s just such a tough race. Really, I feel like until you get to the half way mark tomorrow and really kind of understand where you stack up, it’s hard to tell. Once that sun starts to set, I think you’ll definitely see the players.”

WHY DO YOU REFERENCE THE HALFWAY MARK? IS IT BECAUSE OF THE SUN SETTING?
“A little bit of that and just the track conditions changing. We spent all day yesterday practicing in the sun for a race that is going to end at night. That will certainly come with a characteristic change somewhere along the line and whoever is best suited for that I’m sure will be fast the second half.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 KROGER FAST LANE TO FLAVOR CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 12th
THOUGHTS ON HIS RUN
“It wasn’t a bad qualifying effort for us. For the cars that had gone before me, it was a good run. I feel like I gave up a little bit over in three and four. There was definitely more grip there than there was yesterday. With all the long runs at the end of practice when we did the mock run, there was a lot of rubber that went down and it was just greasy and slick. That wasn’t the case there. So, I was a little bummed that I left a little bit on the table over in three and four, but the guys did a good job. They have us in a good spot and got our balance better yesterday. That will put us in a good place to start this race. I love this race track. The Throwback Weekend is just really cool and I’m ready to just get into race day.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 16th
HOW DID YOUR CAR FEEL OUT THERE?
“I think we will be OK. I’m not really sure why I went so slow in qualifying, I’m definitely bummed about that. It is what it is and we’ll move on the race and be pretty good.”

WITH THE PACKAGE, YOU HAVE TO ENTER TURN ONE A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. HOW ELSE HAS THIS PACKAGE ALTERED THIS PLACE?
“There’s just no passing. We’re going to be a train rolling around this place. Hopefully with more cars on the race track and tire wear, that will change. It’s really frustrating not being able to pass. I’m really frustrated with how we qualified. We’re going to have to figure out how to pass starting that far back, but we’ll be OK. All I’m focused on is running well and unfortunately we didn’t do that there in qualifying.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION 15TH ANNIVERSARY CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 28th
HOW DID YOUR CAR FEEL OUT THERE?
“It feels good. We were a little slow in qualifying, it is what it is. We will probably be around our normal 25th or so. At the end of the day, it’s not about where you start but where you finish. We set ourselves, hopefully, for the long haul. Last year, we could run around 15 laps and then it would start to fall off hard. So, I think we’ve gotten a little bit better. Our Victory Junction Chevrolet wasn’t bad in practice. With this package, it was a little bit different with being able to attack turn one harder and being wide open in qualifying trim easily. It was a little different than last year, but all in all, it should be a good race. The cars look awesome. Our car is the best looking one in the garage; that’s just from fans telling me that. It’s cool to be able to represent Victory Junction, Adam Petty, Kyle Petty, the whole Petty family, and the vision he was able to start 15 years ago. Seeing what it is now is truly special.”

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

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Saturday, August 31, 2019
EVENT: Bojangles’ Southern 500, Darlington, SC. (Qualifying)

Ford Qualifying Results:
2nd – Brad Keselowski
5th – Daniel Suarez
7th – Joey Logano
10th – Ryan Blaney
11th – Kevin Harvick
13th – Clint Bowyer
17th – Paul Menard
21st – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23rd – Michael McDowell
24th – Ryan Newman
26th – David Ragan
27th – Corey LaJoie
30th – Aric Almirola
32nd – Matt Tifft
36th – BJ McLeod
38th – Garrett Smithley

PAUL MENARD, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang – “The time that we qualified I’m not sure being early or late is a big difference. The sun is gonna get a little bit lower in the sky, but the air temp is actually supposed to go up a little bit, so I don’t think that’s an issue. I felt there was more grip than I anticipated. Yesterday the track was hot and slippery with all the cars running and now you’re out here by yourself and the track doesn’t have as much heat in it, and it’s got a lot of grip.”

HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR THROWBACK SCHEME? “It’s been good. Obviously, this is all about honoring Mr. Glenn Wood – driving a scheme that he drove in a convertible in 1957, so we’re throwing it way back. Every week kind of feels like a throwback with these guys. They’re a lot of fun to be with. Eddie and Len always have a story to tell and when Mr. Leonard comes to the race track it’s always a good time.”

DID YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE THE DOCUMENTARY LAST NIGHT? “Yeah, I watched it and I feel like I knew a fair bit about the history, just by hanging out with the Wood family the last two years, but I learned more last night. I thought it was pretty neat to kind of put it in Glenn’s own words, what he was going through, and it’s an hour long episode where they have to try and pack in 70 years worth of history. They didn’t cover it all, but they covered a lot of interesting stories.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Beer/Big Buck Hunter Ford Mustang – “It was a good lap. This is by far the most interesting place that we’ve gone to as far as what you want as far as downforce, drag and what you need in the car. It’s so much different than everything we’ve ever done here before as far as being wide open through one and two, so there are a number of things that we haven’t really wrapped our arms around completely in practice and kind of took a stab at it there for qualifying. We probably knocked some speed out of the car, but in the end I felt like we needed to handle better in race conditions, so hopefully it pays off tomorrow.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Mustang – “HOW MANY LAPS CAN YOU GO FLAT OUT? “On sticker tires maybe two or three, but you’ve got to really hustle to do that.” THE BRICKYARD IS NEXT WEEK. WHAT DID THAT WIN MEAN TO YOU? “All three of the wins meant something special to me. It started here at Darlington with the heritage of the sport and then moving to Indy and what it meant for Roger Penske and me personally being from the Midwest, and then to win in Vegas to start the Playoffs and Penske’s 500th win. That’s a heck of a stretech and I’m just really proud of it.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Oscar Mayer/Velveeta Ford Mustang – “I’m not happy with it because we’re not P1, but I felt like I got everything I could as far as driving out of it. It’s kind of a crapshoot. We’re wide-open from turn four to turn three and however you get through three and four coming to your green and then your time lap is where it’s all at. It’s my favorite race track. I’m looking forward to the race. I feel like we’ve got a car that drives fairly good, I just don’t know that we have the speed that it takes to be as good as we need to be.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHO CAME UP WITH THE UNVEIL THROWBACK VIDEO? “It was pretty funny. It was Shell’s idea to run the scheme, obviously, and I said, ‘You realize that’s the car that crashed me in Pocono.’ (Laughing) And then the conversation started immediately after about the firesuit, so I asked Brittany and asked if she would do that and she said, ‘Hell, yeah.’ We thought that was funny. We called Kevin first to make sure that it was OK with him because I didn’t want to stir the pot. As much as Kevin and I get along really well now, so he thought it was gonna be really funny, so we did the video to unveil and I will say the first time Brittany aimed those diapers straight at my face. I said, ‘Hey, why don’t you aim for the shoulder, honey – not the face.’ But we both thought it was funny to do, so she’ll have the firesuit out tomorrow and probably be sweating in it just like everybody else.”

IS THIS RACE ONE OF THE MORE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY EXHAUSTING RACES? “Both physically and mentally, probably. It’s probably a little less physical this year with the added downforce, but still mentally you’ve got to be hustling. The smartest way you know how and when to hustle all night. It’s a mentally tasking race for sure.”

HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP? “Not fast enough. We’re seventh and I’d rather be further ahead. We’ll fight from there. I don’t see any reason why we can’t drive to the front from there. I think we’ll be OK. We’ve had some pretty good runs here in the past recently, so we just have to get through it and be there at the end. We’ll be fine.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – “After Bristol I haven’t really thought about going out and really getting a win, knowing that I don’t feel like we’ve put ourselves in a position at any of the other race tracks to get the job done, but the mile-and-a-half race tracks this year have been better for us than they have in year’s past. I’ve led laps and got some top fives out of it, but I still don’t feel like we have the raw speed to go out and do something to win a race like here in Darlington, but you never know. Our car felt pretty good during practice yesterday. It’ll be interesting. We were having some tire issues yesterday and hopefully we got that corrected. We kept blowing left-front tires after about 12 laps. We blew three yesterday, so that’s not good. Hopefully, we got that figured out, but this is a race track that I definitely enjoy and I’ve also got myself in trouble at in my Cup career. We finished 12th last year after struggling for three-quarters of the race, so it is a race track where I feel like if you’re struggling early you can get it figured out before the end of the race. It’s a long race and it should be fun.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 30, 2019

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights:

TIRES HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT CONSERVATIVE THIS YEAR. TIRES ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT HERE, BUT DO YOU THINK THEY ARE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEY HAVE BEEN THIS SEASON?
“I wish I could give you a true reading on that, but I don’t think I ran more than three or four laps at a time so far. We’ve been really trying to work on the balance. For some of the guys that have ran longer runs, they seemed to have a moment to fall off like it always does here, so tires are going to be just as crucial as they always are. It’s going to be interesting. I think we won’t really know how the tires are going to behave until we get to watch the Xfinity race, see how the rubber lays. Luckily, we have a car with Tyler Reddick in it. Those guys can communicate with us and see what they find is good for managing tire wear. Hopefully we can kind of lean on them some. But this is the same tire we raced at Chicago so we have some trends with that particular tire.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR PAST IN LEGEND CARS SHINES A LIGHT ON THAT METHOD OF GETTING YOUR FEET INTO RACING? DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT IS THE BEST AVENUE PEOPLE CAN TAKE?
“Yeah, I think that anytime you can get someone that can go from a local short track level no matter what it is cool to see. It gives people the interest in following the path backwards, so to say, to see where people come from. From doing that, it does shine light on different local series and that’s all you can ask for in this day of age; everyone being more and more involved in short tracks and supporting local short tracks. Whether is legend cars, super late models, tour modifieds, whatever it is it’s cool to see everybody taking advantage of reaching out and grabbing ahold of that stuff and the history. That’s what builds a fan; you may have someone that really connects to something. Maybe their racing career didn’t work out, but they can say they raced legend cars like they did one day. Because of that, it gives me a little bit more in common to pull for somebody and it ultimately builds our fan base.”

YOU TOUCHED A LITTLE BIT ON HISTORY AND OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A HISTORIC WEEKEND. YOU ARE TEAMED UP WITH CATERPILLAR WHO NOT ONLY IS A HISTORIC COMPANY IN NASCAR, BUT IN AMERICA. EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT WHAT IT’S LIKE DEALING WITH A COMPANY LIKE THAT.
“It’s unbelievable to see what the Caterpillar brand has done for the industry worldwide. They are literally changing the world we live in every single day with their equipment. When you are a part of a special weekend like we have here at Darlington, it’s awesome to even see sponsors like that be willing to go out on a limb and do something special with their scheme. For us, my No. 8 Camaro ZL1 is dated back to the mid-1920’s where they built the first tractor and what has really determined what the Caterpillar brand is today. It’s cool to see the sponsors and a lot of people through the garage attach themselves to this weekend. Having the Caterpillar brand behind me means the world to me. It’s a sponsor I grew up watching on race cars, watching Ward Burton and everyone before me wear this logo on their chest. It’s extremely humbling to be one of those guys and it makes me want to be just that much better for them because they are that much better for the world we live in.”

AFTER BRISTOL, YOUR COMMENTS SORT HAVE GOTTEN TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT IN REGARDS TO 2020.
“Every year, every week, every day in this sport is all passion. We are all passionate and I was very passionate when I had the opportunity to clear the air on the Sirius XM interview I did. I think deep down in my heart, I know that Richard Childress, all of the folks at RCR, all of our partners and myself included are doing all that we can to collectively honor agreements that we have with each other to compete at a high level in 2020. There are a lot of variables involved, but I know this logo I’m wearing of RCR has my back and I have their back.”

HAS THE SEASON BEEN TOUGHER THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE? IF SO, WHERE IS IT THE TOUGHEST?
“You never want to go into a season and think we are going to only have two or three top-10’s this year; that’s not a way you approach any season. We’ve definitely had some moments that have kept our spirits down, but I feel like over the last month, it has been what we expect it to be. We’ve been at the race track, we’ve been competing in the top-10 or top-12 on a weekly basis for the last couple of months. The results don’t necessarily show that because little things that have happened, but we have legitimately been, at worse, at 12th or 13th place car over the last month. But we don’t have a lot to show for it. It has just been about a lot of us leaning on each other through the toughest times. Having a leadership group has helped the tough year that it has been. I look forward to waking up every day knowing that I have another shot at it and that’s what I have this weekend.”

ANY INDICATION ON THE DIRECTION FOR 2020?
“Yeah, I feel like we are all working towards the same thing of getting our deal done. It’s an expensive sport we live in and it’s a lot on everybody. You just try to make sure that when you put the deal in place, you have the I’s dotted and T’s crossed. That’s what it’s about right now; trying to make everything align how you want to, be the best we can for our partners and for the people that support us. We don’t want to put a deal together rushed and have one of us on either side feel like we aren’t happy with it down the road. So, we are just trying to be methodical in how we are going through the process and be confident whenever it is done.”

RICHARD CHILDRESS IS DRIVING THE PACE CAR AT INDY. WHAT IS THAT GOING TO MEAN TO HIM TO LEAD THE FIELD?
“Hopefully we can be on the front row with one of our RCR Chevy’s to bump draft his Camaro ZL1, that would be pretty special. For him being part of one of the first NASCAR races ran there to now myself driving the 8 car and obviously his grandson (Austin Dillon), that would be pretty special if we sat on the front row to mess with him (laughs). It’s cool to see NASCAR put it in Richard’s hands like that let him go have some fun and enjoy his 50 years in the sport. You can tell he’s pretty pumped about it and I look forward to it.”

HAS IT BEEN HARDER THAN YOU THOUGHT?
“It’s always harder than you think it is. In the grand scheme of things, I can promise you that I didn’t get to sitting here doing this interview with you today by quitting or giving up because things got tougher or harder than I thought they would be. That’s my goal no matter what the days ahead hold and I feel good about what the future holds. You find that as you climb the ladder of the ranks, there are more and more things out of your control. Because of that, you have to be willing to accept things, you have to be willing to have a short memory of the things you’ve heard drivers talk about in the past. When you have that, you find that the things that would probably really bug you or lose sleep at during the night, don’t become as big of a deal and you learn to forget that stuff pretty quick. As you do that, the weekends become better and the whole flow of our season becomes more efficient that way. No matter what, I’ll say the same thing I said back in Daytona that I’m humbled and thankful to be in this seat that I’m in today and every week I try to make the most of it.”

WHAT WOULD A WIN AT INDIANAPOLIS NEXT WEEK MEAN AND BEING ABLE TO KISS THE BRICKS?
“That’s what’s racing is all about; dreams and stories like that that propel your name up into the record books and history. That place has so much history. I’ve been fortunate enough to win at IRP. I remember winning those races growing up in late models and going over to sit in the grandstand side of things to watch the Brickyard. All of those things just build the butterfly feelings in your stomach just thinking about it. I know we are going to have speed there. We’ve been really good at those style of race tracks. Hopefully we can go execute and give us a chance.”

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
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 30, 2019

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights:

THE 2021 NASCAR CUP SCHEDULE IS EXPECTED TO SHAKE-UP A BIT IN 2021. SHOULD INDIANAPOLIS A TRACK BEST SUITED FOR NASCAR AND SHOULD IT STAY ON THE SCHEDULE?
“Just from my own point of view it would be a bummer not to go to the Brickyard with the history of that race track. I guess you could argue the fact that they have a road course, and road course racing is pretty entertaining for Cup cars. Maybe that’s an option. I just feel like in my heart of hearts, we need to go to the Brickyard and race.”

IS THERE ANY ANOTHER TRACK ON THE SCHEDULE THAT YOU GO INTO THAT HAS THAT SAME HISTORIC FEEL TO IT WHEN YOU GO TO INDY?
“For me Indy was probably more meaningful to go to my first time than Daytona just because of my household on the West Coast and watching a lot of Indy Car racing. AJ Foyt and Parnelli Jones. There’s a lot of West Coast drivers that raced there and competed there. My grandfather was a huge Indy Car fan. I can remember sitting on the couch watching the Indy 500 with him and my dad, clearly. So, for me, there was a bigger moment going to Indy and walking out through Gasoline Alley the first time than really any other track out there.”

HOW DID ALL THIS COME ABOUT TO RUN THE OFF-ROAD TRUCK PAINT SCHEME THIS WEEKEND?
“Really, it was just Ally being open to us doing something. They are a relatively new bank and if you go back to the ‘90’s, they don’t have anything (laughs). So, they were very gracious to let me have this opportunity. And, I’ve always wanted to throwback to the off-road industry. Within that, there were probably two or three paint schemes that we had to choose from. For me, and the amount of times I’ve told that Baja 1000 story and the fact that we had the truck and were restoring it, it just felt like the right way to go with it. Obviously there’s some purple in it and that’s fits well with the Ally scheme. So, as we served it up, they were all on board.

“And then as the announcement took place, to have all the text messages and phone calls and social media and all my old friends and people that remember that truck, it’s been a very cool experience down Memory Lane so far and we’re only a couple of days into it.”

SO THIS IS THE TRUCK YOU WERE STUCK IN THE DESERT IN FOR 12 HOURS?
“That is. In fact, I wrecked it twice that year really bad. Once in Barstow and then the big wreck in the Baja 1000. Another family bought it and had it and restored it and were kind of using it again in some lower level desert racing, and then I found out where it was and they gave me a fair price to buy it back because of the sentimental value to it and I was able to get it and restore it. There are still two off-road trucks that I don’t have in my possession that I want. But, unfortunately the people that own them really want to make a pretty penny off me.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE ANGEL ON YOUR UNIFORM?
“I can. So, my grandmother would give us, myself and my brothers, these little guardian angel pins to wear. And as you can see where they’re located when you have a seatbelt on and bouncing around in an off-road buggy or a truck, those pins would be kind of painful and dig into you and cut you open. So, after my grandmother noticed that I didn’t have the pin on in a race, and asked why, I told her it was digging into me and cutting me open. So, she hand stitched an angel on a little patch and gave it to me and said well now, you’ll always have that guardian angel with you. So, for the longest time, especially when I was really in charge of my own suits, it was on all of my suits. Kudos to everybody involved in putting together this throwback, somebody noticed it and then decided to bring that story back to life. Unfortunately my grandmother has passed on, but I know my mom’s side of the family and my aunts and uncles are really excited to hear the story.”

IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN PUT ON YOUR OTHER UNIFORMS OR ARE THOSE ALREADY SET THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR?
“Yeah, it’s certainly an option.”

YOU WERE VERY FAST IN THE FIRST PRACTICE SESSION. DOES THAT GIVE YOU SOME CONFIDENCE THAT YOU CAN MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN HERE AT DARLINGTON AND WORK YOUR WAY INTO THE PLAYOFFS?
“Yeah, I really do. And honestly, the last three or four weeks we’ve been really fast. It’s just getting through a race. We need to have a lot of things go right to win. I think we’re closing the gap to the frontrunners. We’re definitely doing it. I feel like we’ve had many Top 5’s slip away here in the last six to eight weeks which is unfortunate. So, we’ve just got to clean that up and a lot of it falls on me just making mistakes and trying too hard on the track. So, I need a good clean lap to remind myself every lap here to race the track and not race the competitors and we’ll see how it goes.”

KYLE LARSON SAID HE WANTED YOU TO WIN JUST SO PEOPLE WOULD SHUT-UP ABOUT YOU NOT WINNING. HOW HAVE YOU MADE PEACE WITH THE WAY THINGS HAVE GONE FOR YOU IN THIS LAST STRETCH?
“I appreciate him saying that and I definitely agree. I can’t wait to shut-up the keyboard warriors that are out there. The people that are close to me and the people on my race team know the truth. They know the story. They’ve been working hard on it and when you work hard, wins will come. So, that’s where I find my peace. I know all the effort I’ve put into this program and for what my guys have put into the program.”

WITH YOUR MUSTACHE AND BEARD SHAVED OFF, YOU STILL LOOK LIKE THE GUY WHO WAS RACING XFINITY WHEN WE FIRST MET YOU. YOU REALLY DO KIND OF FLASH BACK TO THE ERA
“I do step into a time machine when I shave somehow. Ten or 15 years, for sure, comes off. I might stick with this for a while since everybody such a positive response to it.”

DO TEAMS PEAK?
“Teams do peak. I don’t think you have the control to say when you peak, but without a doubt, teams hit their stride and peak and things end up going in the right direction for teams. In our heyday and all the stuff that happened for us to win seven (championships), we tried as hard as we could from the first race to the end and for whatever reason toward the second half of the year, we always performed better. And, with the playoff system that served us very well and we were able to win all those championships. But we had no control.”

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD TRY TO DO TO CONTROL IT?
“We tried to. We recognized our statistics and where we were strong. Summer slumps were always something we talked about and we’d get really hot in the Fall. We knew where our weaknesses were and we tried to work on them. But unfortunately you don’t have that kind of control.”

YOU OFTEN PROVE PEOPLE WRONG. WHEN YOU THINK BACK TO 2009, WHAT COMES TO MIND TO GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING THAT NOBODY HAS DONE BEFORE?
“One thing that we did, and I’ve got to put a lot of credit in Chad’s (Knaus, former crew chief) on this is we didn’t need much momentum to get us rolling. The smallest spark would start a huge fire or whatever analogy you want to use. We didn’t need much. And we could really get going. The last two years for me have been quite the opposite like we need a lot to get the momentum shifting the right way. And I don’t know if I used up my luck in 18 years, I’ve had 15 really good ones, and three that I’m not proud of, but the effort has been the same for all those years. Just racing luck, the environment within a team, when fuels the team, the way all the individuals meld together and what they are capable of. Chad could just create an environment that didn’t take much of a spark to start a big fire.”

WOULD YOU PICK 2009 AS YOUR BEST YEAR? THERE WERE OTHER YEARS WHEN YOU WON MORE RACES, BUT CAN YOU COMPARE? OR, WAS 10 YEARS AGO THE YEAR YOU LOOK BACK ON MOST?
“There was one year, and it might have been ’08 or ’09. We tested 22 times. We did not have a good first-half of the season. And testing was way different. Twenty-two two-day sessions on top of everything else. We just lived at that Nashville track. We were at Kentucky quite a bit. That year stands out to me where we just had to figure things out and we kept on the track year after year and were able to eventually get it done.”

AS AN ATHLETE AND SOMEBODY WHO HAS ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH, WHEN YOU GO THROUGH A PERIOD LIKE THIS, HOW DO YOU GET THROUGH THAT?
“I can speak to my situation and I have team support and sponsors support. Nobody is standing there to push me out of my seat. I’ve got an environment where I’ve got a choice. And, so it’s up to me to decide and I don’t have that pressure. That’s a luxury that I guess I’ve earned in a sense. And then it really boils down to what my peers inside my team think I’m capable of. I value their opinion quite a bit. And then I also have my own confidence and my own opinion about what I’m doing in the car. I know the results don’t speak for it but there’s a lot of really good things going on. I think something that I took for granted for the longest time and I told Chad (Knaus) this recently and he smiled ear to ear and was so happy that I recognized it was the impact he had on our team and the leadership required at this level to really hit it week-in and week-out. Chad’s the best ever to do that in my opinion. And that’s what we’re trying to get back to right now. And, I think Cliff (Daniels) has that DNA. Cliff has the ability to get to that level where Chad was.”

WHAT WAS THE OFF-WEEKEND LIKE FOR YOU AND EVERYBODY? WERE THERE ANY TEAM MEETINGS OR ANYTHING DIFFERENT?
“I really think we wanted to go racing as a group. We are literally counting the weeks that Cliff has been at the helm. He’s got another week under his belt. He’s able to better understand our cars and our equipment and all that stuff at a deeper level. I think this weekend it’s shown off the truck that our cars has more details put into them on the No. 48 car. And our guys had enough time to get the Indy stuff really dialed-in. I walked in the transporter today and they were getting back some report and the status of our new car and what it’s downforce potential is and capability and the guys are just buzzing over that. Weeks off are helpful. But, I’m torn. I am mixed on it because the last race didn’t go as we wanted. There’s no better way to fix a poor performance than following-up with a good one and getting on-track.”

ARE YOU EAGER FOR THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO GO BY, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS?
“It’s a story. I get it. Believe me, I want to keep my Playoff streak alive and I want to be a factor in the Playoffs. I want to know what the outcome is, but it’s not that I want to hurry up and get through it and have it go away. I want to race. I want to get out there and earn another victory and earn my way into these Playoffs. That’s what we’re all here for. So, my optimism again, comes from that I just know where this team is right now and I know where it’s going. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more time left, but we’re going to finish up the year strong and that brings me a lot of excitement regardless of how the Playoffs unfold.”
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.