Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Team Penske Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Report

Track: Kentucky Speedway
Race: Quaker State 400
Date: July 12, 2019

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No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Practice 1
Position: 7th
Time / Speed: 29.657 seconds / 182.082 mph

Final Practice
Position: 1st
Time / Speed: 29.621 seconds / 182.303 mph

Qualifying
Position: 3rd
Time / Speed: 29.437 seconds / 183.443 mph

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No. 12 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Practice 1
Position: 11th
Time / Speed: 29.718 seconds / 181.708 mph

Final Practice
Position: 4th
Time / Speed: 29.719 seconds / 181.702 mph

Qualifying
Position: 15th
Time / Speed: 29.671 seconds / 181.996 mph

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No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Practice 1
Position: 12th
Time / Speed: 29.728 seconds / 181.647 mph

Final Practice
Position: 19th
Time / Speed: 29.980 seconds / 180.120 mph

Qualifying
Position: 11th
Time / Speed: 29.620 seconds / 182.309 mph

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Fastest Time:
Practice 1: 29.389 seconds (No. 1 – Kurt Busch)
Final Practice: 29.621 seconds (No. 2 – Keselowski)
Qualifying: 29.254 seconds (No. 41 – Daniel Suarez)

Notes: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang team led the Team Penske charge in qualifying for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway by claiming the third place starting position for the race. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Kentucky, Keselowski was the fastest man in final practice before holding down the top spot in qualifying until late in the session when two fellow Ford Performance competitors topped him as the track temperatures cooled. Points leader Joey Logano will roll off from the 11th position in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang, followed by Ryan Blaney in 15th in the No. 12 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang.

All qualifying times remain unofficial until tomorrow’s technical inspection occurs.

Coverage: The Quaker State 400 will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 13, with live coverage on NBCSN, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR.

Toyota Racing Post-Qualifying Report
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Kentucky Speedway – July 12, 2019

TOYOTA STARTING POSITIONS
1st, Daniel Suarez*
2nd, Aric Almirola*
3rd, Brad Keselowski*
4th, Kurt Busch*
5th, Kevin Harvick*
8th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
10th, KYLE BUSCH
18th, DENNY HAMLIN
21st, ERIK JONES
24th, MATT DIBENEDETTO
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Qualifying Position: 8th

What changes did you make that helped you from practice to qualifying?

“Yeah, just made some really good changes I think after practice. We started off earlier today and we were pretty far off, off the trailer. That’s really typical for us, but at the mile-and-a-halfs this year it’s kind of been that way. It’s either been hit or miss. We changed a lot of things throughout practice and got better and better and better and then right there in qualifying it was the best it’s been all day. I’m optimistic that it’s going to be pretty good tomorrow night. Hopefully it is. We’ll see.”

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

Qualifying Position: 10th

What about the race track here helped you when you were winning here?

“Obviously just coming here years ago, we had a real bumpy asphalt race track. Now that the asphalt has been redone, everything is really smooth so a lot of people – it’s kind of brought everybody closer together, the competition closer together, and the basis of the setup doesn’t mean as much anymore because it’s so smooth. Overall though, we’ve always kind of been first to third when it was rough and bumpy and now we’ve kind of moved ourselves to about third to fifth. We always come here with a shot, but we’re not quite as dominant as we once used to be. Trying to figure those things out and getting a little bit better is certainly the name of the game.”

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

Qualifying Position: 18th

How do you think tomorrow will go based on your past success here?

“We hope it’s pretty good. I felt like it was pretty decent today in race trim. The key is qualifying well. It seems like any past success means nothing though. We have completely different rules and a different engine. All that stuff is all different. No past success means anything.”

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

Quaker State 400 Media Availability — Matt Tifft

MATT TIFFT, No. 36 Southwestern Trucking Ford Mustang — WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PJ1 USAGE HERE? “I think all year if somebody is stuck on the bottom and you have a top lane moving, the top is going to prevail just because of the drag that goes on the bottom lane cars. I think there is a shot for some interesting stuff there. It is wider than years past. At least they have done something with that. With this package it is so hard to ride behind people because you get so tight, so at least that is an option. Last night in the truck race it seemed to widen out more and more and I think we will see that even tonight in the Xfinity race. It typically does that in the weekend when they put it down. The more people run on it it keeps moving and making the track better for everybody.”

CAN YOU REVIEW YOUR SEASON SO FAR? “It has been up and down. I think we have had some good runs in there and a couple of top-20 finishes. We had a stretch in May where we had four out of five finishes in the top-25 and that was really good for us. Chicago and SOnoma were not very good weeks for us but we rebounded with a top-10 at Daytona. The first quarter of the season was me kind of learning the Cup series and the second part of it was the team learning what I need to make cars faster. As a whole we kind of struggled in Chicago and Sonoma and kind of scratched our heads at what was happening there. It has been an adjustment for these cars and the other part of it is learning and growing as a company. All of Front Row has been kind of doing that and figuring out how we evolve with this package. I think our weak point is our short track program and we need to get that better for the second half.”

HAVE GOALS CHANGED FOR YOU FROM THE START OF THE SEASON? “Yeah, first it was finish races, then top-25’s, then top-20’s. Now we have gotten the top-20’s and a top-10 so the goal in the second half is to establish ourselves in the teen’s throughout the race and be able to get a couple of legit top 15’s in there. But really become more of a prevalent force in the top-20. We are not quite there yet. We’ve probably got six or seven spots to improve to be there. We feel like for the amount of resources we put in our cars that we should be there. We need to start doing that and showing up there more as the year rounds itself out.”

ARE THERE ANY TRACKS YOU HAVE CIRCLED IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR? “I think Phoenix for sure. That was our first really strong run of the year back in the spring. I feel like that is one I am excited about going back to. Texas as well. We ran decent there and McDowell ran top-15 there. I am excited to go back to the Roval because I enjoy it. There are definitely races in there that I feel like we can capitalize on. Kansas is another one where we had a good run there in the spring. It is just all about how we take our notes from the spring and make ourselves better and not only that but keep up with the other teams that are evolving too.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TRACTION COMPOUNDS? “I think you are in an interesting position because this aero package makes it hard to run behind each other so to provide the best racing you need the most amount of lanes possible. A lot of these race tracks have been repaved in the last five or 10 years and haven’t completely widened out yet. For those tracks it gives the option to add another lane. I think it is a tool to make racing better but my question comes at places like Kentucky where you have a second groove, why not just pave up to the top. I don’t know if it would work or not but it would be cool to see if it would. Whatever they feel is necessary for a better show and provides better chances for passing. If that provides opportunity to pass I am all for it. It is frustrating sometimes with this package because sometimes you get in the mode where it is too hard to pass, so if it allows passing I am all for it.”

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

Quaker State 400 Media Availability — Corey LaJoie

COREY LAJOIE, No. 32 CorvetteParts.net Ford Mustang — “It got pretty hot there. The track temp was up for the second practice so the speeds weren’t quite as fast. I recommended spraying even higher in 3 and 4 because I think the PJ1 will wear out in the race and it might get down to a one groove race track if we don’t go higher like in 1 and 2. Hopefully they do that. Hopefully they take a look at that. We didn’t unload particularly good but we changed everything but the kitchen sink and my drivers seat and we got it pretty good. I think track position will be the ultimate key tomorrow night. I was able to ride in front of Kurt Busch and he was like seventh on the board for six to seven laps and I am a half second slower than he is. Track position will be at a premium tomorrow night.”

DID ANY OTHER DRIVERS AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT THE TRACK? “I just fired a text over to the brass in the big trailer. I think the more of that stuff they can put down because we don’t have enough grip built in these tires. These things feel like bricks. That is why we have to put all this fake stuff on the track track to give the cars grip whereas if we just put some grip in the tires we wouldn’t have to do all this extra work. But that is another whole discussion in itself.”

HOW BIG WAS THE SIXTH PLACE FINISH FOR YOU LAST WEEKEND? “Huge. It is my best finish and the best finish for GoFas Racing. If you had told me before the race I could go home and take a sixth place finish I would have taken it and gone to the bank. If we could have gotten that thing going again we may have been better. We may have been worse. Anytime we can run sixth with a five year old car and a B- or C+ engine package, I will take it.”

DO YOU SUSPECT IT WILL BE LIKE THAT TOMORROW NIGHT WHEN WE RACE? “I expect 3 and 4 will go higher and higher if the PJ1 is applied up there. I think it will work its way lower and lower once the PJ1 wears off if there isn’t more up top. There is a significant difference between the PJ1 and the normal asphalt. I think they should put more down in 3 and 4 but that is way above my pay grade. Dirty air is tough. It is what it is.”

NEWMAN SAID HE THINKS THIS WILL BE THE HARDEST 1.5 MILE TRACK TO PASS ON. DO YOU AGREE? “Yeah, because you are just on the verge of having to lift. The ones that aren’t on the verge of lifting you can kind of move around but here you are on the edge of grip no matter where you are at because of the lack of banking and lack of grip and lack of grip in the tire. The tire is not particularly sticky. When you can run your fastest lap of practice of any run on lap 24, what does that tell you about tire fall off? There is none. I think that is something we need to look at and that has been a topic in those driver council meetings but I don’t know if that has been addressed yet.”

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

Quaker State 400 Media Availability — Aric Almirola

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Valley Tech Learning Ford Mustang — HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR SEASON HAS GONE AT THIS HALFWAY POINT? “There have been a few weekend where if we would have done a better job of executing, me on restarts and just as a team holistically on pit road and all of the things, we probably could have run top-five more often. So I don’t want to let the stats do too much of the talking. I think there have been more opportunities to run top-five. I think Harvick is a good example of that. There have been a lot of top-five, just haven’t broken through with a win but I think they feel they have had a few weekends they could have won races. I think we are close. I think we are really close. This new package has really tightened up the playing field. I feel like Gibbs has come out of the box strong. That is very apparent. That is Captain Obvious stuff there. I think we are close. We just have to find that little bit extra. Coming off of last year, we had that little bit extra. We showed up every weekend and Stewart-Haas Racing cars were the ones you had to race to win the race. That has not always been the case this year. We have to find some more speed and some more grip in our cars to be able to go up there and lead races and dominate and be the cars to beat like we were last year.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE IS NEXT WEEK, YOU EXCITED TO GET BACK THERE? “I am excited to go back to New Hampshire. I have really enjoyed that place throughout my career. It has been a great race track for me. The results might not always say so but there have been a lot of races there that I feel like I have overachieved. I feel like we should have won there last year but we made a mistake on pit road and then I made a mistake on a restart that cost us a shot to win. Going back there, I am eager to redeem myself and go back there. Hopefully we will have a good car. I feel like we will. I feel like we can go there and challenge to win a lobster. I promised Alex, my son, that is we win that lobster he can help me hold it up in victory lane.”

YOU ARE CURRENTLY 72 POINTS ABOVE THE CUTOFF: “I didn’t know that. You never feel comfortable unless you are locked in. I have learned in this sport that crazy things can happen. You can quickly get behind. YOu go through a couple weeks of bad finishes or wrecks and anything can happen. Mechanical failure, anything. Next thing you know you are way closer to the cut-off line or outside of it. I have learned to never be too comfortable. You have to keep pressing and keep your guard up. That is kind of the position we are in right now. We want to keep pressing, keep trying to run up front. Score as many stage points and playoff points as we can and the points will shake out how they shake out.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE THREE SHR CARS TOWARDS THE BUBBLE? “I think when you look at the 14 and 41 the last few weeks, things just haven’t gone their way. So that is part of it. Yeah, I think going into 2019 I think based on the results and everything from 2018 we would have all assumed that we would have gone into this year and been challenging to win races and winning races and not really be worried so much about the points. That is not the case. Sometimes that is what makes champions out of you. You have to learn to fight and scratch and claw and scrounge for every point. That is what it takes when you get to the playoffs anyway. I would love to sit here and be talking to you with a win or a couple wins and more bonus points but that is not the case and we just have to keep fighting.”

WHAT SHOULD THE FANS WATCH FOR IN THE RACE HERE SATURDAY NIGHT? “I think the restarts. Once it gets strung out it will be challenging for everybody and track position will be really important but the restarts are going to be really wild. The guys on the outside are definitely going to have the advantage but then how high will the groove get and how high can you go in that PJ1. Can we run three-wide? Can we run four-wide? I don’t’ know. We don’t know. We have never done it at Kentucky before. It has typically been a one lane race track so I think it will be interesting to see.”

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

Quaker State 400 Media Availability — David Ragan

DAVID RAGAN, No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Mustang — WHAT SHOULD THE FANS EXPECT FOR THIS RACE TOMORROW NIGHT? “Hopefully a dry race track and hot temperatures and no rain, that will be the first thing. I think it will be a good mile and a half race. I think those races this year have been better than in recent years. I think you will see crazy restarts and I think the VHT has helped the middle lane and added extra grip to give the drivers a different area to race around but then once we get 10 or 15 laps in, the faster cars are going to be able to find their way to the front and the middle of the pack cars will run there and the slow guys will be slow and in the back. Hopefully we can be towards the front. I think it iwll be your typical race for this package. Crazy restarts and the field will be tighter together and hard to pass but I think we will see some side-by-side racing and track position will be very important, restarts will be very important.”

WILL THIS BE THE HARDEST MILE AND A HALF TRACK TO PASS AT THIS YEAR? THAT IS WHAT RYAN NEWMAN SEEMS TO THINK: “Newman is hard to pass everywhere. It doesn’t matter where. Every week is hard to pass Newman. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I think it will be similar. All of them have been kind of in the same ballpark. I think it would be if it wasn’t for the VHT because we would be so lane limited but if we have some options I think we will be able to move around.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 12, 2019

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

YOU ARE NOW HALFWAY THROUGH YOUR ROOKIE SEASON. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT SO FAR?
“I’ve gotten that question more and more over the last couple of weeks. I think that throughout the very end of the first 10 or so races, we started turning the corner as a group. We’ve been putting one foot in front of the other. We are doing the right thing as a group in trying to maximize weekends. We’ve got some room to grow and things we need to do better as a whole, and just cleaning things up. We’ve had some really clean weekends that we can have decent results. I’m looking forward to going back to some of these tracks and seeing what we can do.”

ARE YOU STARTING TO HAVE BETTER LUCK?
“I guess you can say that (laughs). Obviously, people at the beginning of the year were kidding around about eating Lucky Charms and whatnot. I’ve always felt like the harder you work, the luckier you are. I wasn’t feeling like I was getting that out of it, but in the grand scheme of things, you’ve got to go execute on your end and do everything you can. I didn’t do that during the first part of the year, so I’m trying to minimize mistakes and run a more complete race from start to finish. It might mean to give up a little bit here and there to make sure your car stays in one piece to get to the end. These races are long, so you have to be able to manage all of those things.”

DO FANS STILL SEND IN LUCKY CHARMS? IF SO, DO YOU STICK THEM IN THE CAR?
“The last two weeks, we were still getting stuff. I’ve been going short track racing and I haven’t even had a chance to go to the shop. On the flip side of that, I’ve yet to put anything inside of the race car. The majority of it stays inside of hauler in the team lockers for our guys. That’s about the extent of it.”

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR ROOKIE YEAR?
“I think just managing the day in and day out. Not just the expectations, but having a short memory. I think that’s probably been the biggest thing I’ve had to manage because I would get so down on myself for making mistakes, let it carryover and the next thing you know you’re making more mistakes. You might be magnifying a mistake from weeks prior that people had forgot about. I think just moving through these weekends and having a short memory when they are good or bad, and be able to turn the page the next week.”

HOW DOES THE TRACTION COMPOUND FEEL FOR YOU OUT THERE?
“I think it has given options. It’s interesting how the options that it has given has kind of taken away from other parts of the race track, where the bottom has been so dominate. For our race car and our team, I feel like we have to be in that stuff to make sure we have a good handle. Some of those guys have better movability in their cars. I can do that in 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 I have to be in the traction compound to make the balance that I need. We’ve spent more time in the second and third lane at Kentucky than we have the last three or four years. I think the nighttime might open up that window even more. I think some of the balance issues that some cars have right now will be masked some. I think you’ll still be able to go down there and have some grip. When it’s hot, slick and sunny, there is such a big variance. Having your car change balance quickly has been the biggest thing to get use to, but it’s definitely giving options.”

WHAT KIND OF RACE TO YOU EXPECT TOMORROW? DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE PASSING?
“I think there will be a select few that can pass; a select few that have very versatile racecars that can move and changes directions. If your car is right on that brink of being able to or not, you may be really affected by the dirty air. There is definitely a dominate lane in practice where the most speed can be made. If there were other cars around you are in that lane trying to make speed, you just couldn’t do it. I’ll kind of dive more into that as we go, but I think there will be some cars that can come through the field, cars that can maneuver, and there are going to be a lot of guys that will become trapped and equal to the cars around them. It’s just a matter of how much grip the lanes that aren’t treated will gain once the lights come on. I think you will see more of that versatility throughout the field when the lights do come and hopefully it opens up options for everybody.”

HOW HARD HAS THIS SEASON BEEN FOR YOU?
“I’m not sure that being a rookie in the Cup Series has been much harder than anything that I anticipated. I will tell you that by the time you get the opportunity to get in a Cup car for the first, you want to think you’re really high up there and you are driving at your full capability. You get to this level and you realize you have to grow more inside this garage area than you ever have before. It’s been fun over the last couple of weeks getting ourselves better and better. I’ve said this time and time again that I feel like I’ve always gotten into a program that is good, but never really a dominate program. It’s always been about not only maximizing the things I’m doing on the race track, but helping the program move forward and progress in a positive manner. That’s what I’ve had to do for myself and this race team. It’s been fun and awesome to see the gains that we’ve been able to make as a company over the last handful of races. It’s been a challenge in itself, but nothing in my life has been easy or handed to me.”

THIS ROOKIE BATTLE HASN’T BEEN FLASHY, BUT CLOSE BETWEEN THE THREE OF YOU. HOW HAS IT BEEN FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
“I agree with that. I think I said earlier in the year that Ryan Preece has done a good job of putting weekends together. I knew we were capable of it; it was just a matter of when we would be capable of putting together those weekends. As we did that, it has kind of shifted and put ourselves in a good position. It’s just been fun battling for Rookie of the Year with a guy that I respect so much (Ryan Preece), as well as Matt Tift. That team has been growing and doing a lot of the right things too. It’s just cool to know that a couple of 28-year-olds are battling for Rookie of the Year. I think Matt Kenseth was the last 28-year-old rookie, if I’m stating that right, and that’s a pretty cool stat. Hopefully this means a lot of good years to come.”

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

Quaker State 400 Media Availability — Ryan Newman

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Acorns Ford Mustang — HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER THE PRACTICE SESSIONS? “I feel like there are still a bunch of things we wanted to try in our race car, we just didn’t have the time to do it. Not a perfect day by any means for our Acorns Ford but the guys are just kind of going through everything and hopefully making the right adjustments for us to be better than where we are come race time.”

SEEMS LIKE THE GUYS WERE RUNNING THE BOTTOM IN 1 AND 2 AND LOOKING FOR MORE GRIP IN 3 AND 4. IS THAT A PRODUCT OF THE TRACK SURFACE? “It is a product of the track surface but more a product of being able to run wide open and taking the shortest distance between 1 and 2 and not being able to run wide open and looking for grip. Then obviously a distance that goes along with that in 3 and 4. That all changes when you get behind a car that has taken the ideal line and you have to move around to try to get by him.”

SOME OF THE DRIVERS HAVE MENTIONED THAT THE PJ1 DIDN’T GET REAL STICKY LIKE THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD: “They don’t know. There is now way of knowing until you have not run on that surface. That is just a matter of educational opinions.”

DO YOU THINK THE PJ1 IS GOING TO CHANGE AS YOU GO ALONG THROUGH THE WEEKEND? “I don’t know. It depends if they reapply. I still say there is no reason to fabricate the race track. You just need to design it right the first time. This race track is so unique because of the speed we carry in 1 and 2 and what we have to do with the entry in turn 3. It is kind of a mirrored race track of Texas now and it makes it a challenge for all of us. It is really tough on the engineers and crew chiefs to find a package that is good on both ends of the race track. We never really had to deal with a whole lot of that. We used to deal with symmetrical race tracks but even a place like Darlington that isn’t symmetrical is much less of a challenge, in my opinion, than here or Texas and even Phoenix for that matter now. It is what it is and I am not mad about the challenge, I just don’t like fabricating race tracks.”

WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU DO THOUGH? “In my opinion this track was better the way it was than the way it is now. I was one of the first cars to ever test here at this race track back in 2000. I have more experience than a lot. Again, the cars are different. Packages are different. Tires are different. Hose power is different. I hope we put on a good show for the fans. It is going to be a challenge to be able to get off line and find grip. I do commend them on giving us the ability to get out of the groove and not crash our race cars. That was always the threat here before that if you did touch the gray you would spin our or hit the wall or maybe both. This PJ1 gives us the ability to move around without having to be terrified of getting out of the groove.”

ARE YOU POINTS RACING FIRST AND TRYING TO WIN SECOND OVER THESE LAST FEW REGULAR SEASON RACES? “Both. We want to be in the playoffs and have a shot at the championship. There are two ways of doing that. We want to lock ourselves in with a win but we haven’t had the performance this year to be in the top-five consistently in order to do that. I feel like we have made progress and I look forward to getting back to these race tracks a second time and show the experience we have gained as a rookie team. It has been a new experience and we have hopefully shown some progress when we get back to these places. The goal is always to win but if you can’t win or don’t think you can win you hopefully get yourself pointed and show enough progression to win in the playoffs and keep moving up. The guy that has a lot of playoff points going into the first round is the guy that is probably the odds on favorite to win the championship. We are trying to do it by winning, but if we can’t do it by winning we will try to do it by pointing our way in.”

DO YOU RACE THE GUYS THAT ARE CLOSE TO YOU IN POINTS? “I race them all, I think you know that. That is what they pay me to do.”

DO YOU WONDER WHERE GUYS LIKE SUAREZ AND ERIK JONES ARE DURING A RACE? DO YOU RACE THEM AT ALL? “I race myself and if I can do 100% job and my pit crew can do a 100% job and crew chief and everybody else we are 15th and not good enough. We have to stay focused on what we have to do to make our car, our team, our performance the best it can be. If that is not good enough, then we need to make it better.”

YOU SAID IT IS ALL ABOUT WINNING. DO YOU TAKE ANY SMALL COMFORT IN THE FACT THAT SINCE YOU HAVE JOINED THIS TEAM IT HAS BEEN BETTER THAN WHERE THEY WERE LAST YEAR? “I mean, that is comfort for the team more so than me> I am not where I want to be. I am a race car driver. I am born to be selfish and want to go out there and win ever race and every lap. That is my goal. If I am not dominating, I am not satisfied.”

WE’VE GONE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES WHERE YOU WENT INTO THE RACE NOT KNOWING HOW THE PACKAGE WAS GOING TO RACE. DO YOU GET ANY POSITIVE FEELING FROM THE PRACTICE SESSION THAT GIVES YOU ANY INDICATION WHAT KIND OF RACE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE? “I think it is going to be a challenge. I think the cars are so fast and the track is gripped up so much that it will be a challenge. We are going to move around but if you move around, for instance in 1 and 2, you can’t outrun the guy that is wide open in front of you taking the shortest distance, it just isn’t going to happen. You have to be way faster and that is not the case. The cars or so similar now that you can’t just drive around somebody when they are driving a straight line almost. I think passing will be probably the biggest challenge that we have had all year, here this weekend.”

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 12, 2019

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1, AND RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1, met with media to discuss the confidence level going into the second half of the season, how they are handling the intense aggression level, what to expect for tomorrow’s track conditions, and more. Full Transcript:

WHAT IS THE PREFERRED GROVE AROUND THE TRACK?
Chris Buescher: “It was adapting fairly quickly just through those practices I would say. The bottom is the shortest distance around 1 and 2 with the banking that there is over there, but there were quite a few drivers that were starting to make that middle groove work and started building momentum off of it. 3 and 4 are kind of the same way. The bottom is shortest, but it is so flat that when the grip is activated in a way, it has started to come in pretty good up there. I think it came in during the first practice where drivers started making speed up there. I don’t know what is preferred right now and what is preferred right now probably won’t stay that way. One of the things about this is that it is something that wears much more quickly than asphalt. It is something that will change quite a bit throughout the race and I think you will see it start to migrate probably farther up the hill over in 1 and 2 as we go through the next day and a half.”

Ryan Preece: “Yeah, the same thing as what he says (laughs).”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT LAST WEEK’S WIN BY JUSTIN HALEY? DOES THAT KIND OF VICTORY GIVE YOU HOPE?
Chris Buescher: “I don’t think that is something that gives us hope. That’s an opportunity that every team has every time we go to Daytona and Talladega, and anytime we have a weather situation. I’ve been on the good side of it before so I get it. It’s not something that lifts anyone else’s spirits. Congrats to Justin (Haley) and that team for pulling it off. When you get down to those style of races and the weather coming in, it’s a gut call. We have plenty of computers up on the pit box that people way smarter than me look at and make that decision. They made the right one for that situation.”

Ryan Preece: “Yeah, same thing. I think you have a lot of people the next day wishing they would have stayed out. That’s what it came down to. I was out of the race at that point, but when you are setting yourself up for the end of the race, that’s why a lot of the teams pitted. They heard one to go, so they are going to come down and top off. No one was going to predict that we were going to get pulled down pit road the next time by. Ultimately, like Chris (Buescher) said, it’s not something that we are going to show up and think ‘we are going to get beaten’ or whatever it may be. Ultimately, it was a different situation and they made the right call.”

HOW DO YOU GUYS TACKLE EVERY WEEK WHEN YOU HAVE THIS SEASON THAT IS DOMINATED BY MULTIPLE TEAMS WITH MORE CARS AND MORE REVENUE BEHIND THEM?
Ryan Preece: “To be honest with you, I think if you are going to have the attitude of saying we don’t have this or we don’t have that, then you are never going to get to where you want to be. I feel strongly that we have what we need to do to run like Chris (Buescher) has been running for sure. You have to be right; your balance has to be right; you have to have everything at one hundred percent. Until we are wide open one hundred percent around this track or at very minimal off-throttle time, our car isn’t to where the capability is. Until you maximize every bit of grip that your car is capable of having, then you aren’t to where you can be.”

Chris Buescher: “I think that is the attitude that you have to have. We are a medium-sized team at this point. We have multiple teams that we are able to bounce a lot of resources back and forth off of. We have great partners with Kroger being a major player for us, Bush’s, Clorox, Scott Products; everybody that puts everything into our program so that we have what we need to go race. Since I have been over at JTG for my third year now, it has been incredible to watch how much stuff has been built up, how much equipment that has been purchased, and how many talented people that have been brought in to elevate our program to get it where we want to be. Do we go to the race track every week and say ‘we should be competing for a win right now’? No. Do we hope we can get to that point? Absolutely. We try and set expectations at the beginning of the season. I think for this season, when you look at the powerhouse teams, there are 16 to 18 cars that are in those powerhouse teams. For us to be able to go out there and run top fifteen weekly, that is a good start for us and we can keep building on that. When you look at just a couple of years ago, for us it was hard to run 24th. We’ve made some gains and we are definitely headed in the right direction. We have more stuff than we have ever had at the shop. We’ve gotten our racecars in a really good spot and we expect to go out there and perform. Is it going to be hard to go out and win every week? Absolutely, but it’s hard for everybody other than one or two teams. I’m really proud of the effort that I’ve seen out of this team. I’m glad to be a part of it and watch it grow so quickly and be able to build off of this. It’s headed in the right direction. It just takes time to get everything to mesh, to build up relationships. Ryan (Preece) coming on board knows it that it takes time to be able to learn how everyone reacts to personalities, to how you need things to happen on the race track, and pit calls. There’s a lot that goes into it, but we have what we need to go race right now.”

RYAN, WITH THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON ON DECK, DO YOU HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE GOING INTO SOME OF THESE TRACKS WE ARE GOING BACK TO?
“I feel optimistic every single week. I feel like that’s the attitude you have to have. We have to find the balance we need. We need to get it to where we need it to be to have the speed week in and week out, and then be able to translate that over to the race. I feel optimistic about the second half because there are places that we’ve been to. As far as sneaking a win in at New Hampshire, you have Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano that are all really fast there too. I feel optimistic that we can outperform what we are expected to. I expect to go there and run really well, just because of the number of laps I have there. I think it just comes down to getting the balance to what you need it to do so you can do what you want to do.”

RYAN, DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKING YOU FOR PASSES FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN TOWN?
Chris Buescher: “I can answer this. I don’t have anyone coming to New Hampshire, but my passes are gone (laughs).”

Ryan Preece: “I just looked over at him the other day and said ‘Hey, do you have some passes I can use?’ That’s definitely a race that, between the modified and the cup car, there are a lot of supporters that have helped me get to where I am or have been there along the way. I always want to take care of them and then obviously you have family and friends. I’m definitely looking forward to going there, that’s for sure.”

WE’VE SEEN AGGRESSION AT AN INTENSE LEVEL, NOT BEING ABLE TO GIVE AN INCH. ARE YOU GUYS ABLE TO TAKE A MOMENT AND LET SOMEBODY GET BY YOU AND TRY TO FIGHT THAT BACK OR DO YOU HAVE TO BE GOING 110% EVERYTIME?
Ryan Preece: “Right now, it’s all about picking your battles. For us, we are in the position where we need to finish these races, not put ourselves in harms way and maximize the days that we are having. The way we have to approach the race is a little bit different than those that already have a win. That’s kind of how I feel about it.”

Chris Buescher: “Yeah and I would echo a lot of that. You hate to talk about points racing and you want to go out there and race each race like it’s the only one that matters. But like Ryan (Preece) said, with our position, we do have to keep an eye on points and we can’t afford to be giving races away because if we got into it with somebody 50 laps into a race and took home two points from a weekend, that’s not OK for us. We have to be a little bit smarter about it. When you get a win and you are automatically in the playoffs, you can go for as many points as you want. If something happens, it doesn’t matter in a way. I know other drivers might hear us talk about it like that and say that’s not the case, but at the end of the day, they are already where they need to be so they can take much larger chances. The aggression has been there this year. With the restarts as wild as they have been, you have to be aggressive. We’re not going to get runover and let it happen. That’s a battle you pick right there. You aren’t going to go out there and have your day compromised because somebody else thinks they can take advantage of you. That’s not the case. We go out there and pick and choose what we need to do, make sure other drivers understand that isn’t going to be an easy push. But we also have to be good at saving equipment. Through our careers coming up, I think that’s been something that is important to the both of us. We are good at saving our equipment because we know how much work goes into it. We know how expensive it is, so that’s something you put in your mind at the same time.”

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

Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Kentucky Speedway – July 12, 2019

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media in Kentucky:

Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Talk about your mindset coming into this weekend having led over 300 laps in the last two races here.

“Definitely a lot on our mind coming here just because of this year and what it’s been all about. It’s so different. I think back to the last couple of years and we’ve really been able to kind of come in here with the same strategy, mindset, setup and look for the same things throughout the weekend. Now with the new cars this year and PJ1 on the track, all those things, different tires, it’s quite a bit different. We didn’t have a great day of practice. Hopefully we’ll make some good changes for the race. It’s tough these days when you come with a new package you don’t get a lot of practice, so we were off quite a bit to start and playing a little bit of catch up right now.”

What’s the biggest thing you’re working on leading into the Playoffs?

“I think just being a little bit more consistent. It seems like we have a good race or we win and then we have a bad one, then we win and then we have a bad one. Approaching the Playoffs you want to be consistently running up front and be able to be fast and perform well at each different kind of race track. The mile-and-a-halfs have been a little bit of a kind of a puzzle for us I guess. Again, being so different than last year, we’ve hit it a few times, we’ve missed it a few times. Hopefully just find a little bit more consistency in what we’re doing and show up to the race track a little bit better.”

What are your thoughts on an IndyCar and NASCAR doubleheader ?

“I don’t know. There’s a lot of people in charge of making things like that happen. I think it’d be fun. I certainly love to watch racing in general. I watch every IndyCar race I get a chance to, so it’d be cool to be somewhere on the same weekend to kind of get a little bit closer look at how they do things. I’ve never actually been to one of their races. It’d be neat to hang around and check it out. As far as making that happen, I have absolutely nothing to do with that so we’ll see what happens there.”

How do you feel about blocking with the way you grew up racing and your style?

“I don’t like it very much but it’s part of what we do now. You’ve got to kind of just figure it out. You kind of just try to do all you can to keep the air off the guy behind you. I don’t know. It just depends. I think at certain tracks it’s different than other places and there’s been times where I know a guy behind me is way faster and I don’t even do that. I just let him go because it’s kind of the way I’ve always raced. It’s been interesting to try to figure it all out this year. By no means I would say I have it figured out. It’s been a challenge.”

Is blocking on the rise with the new package and what are your thoughts on it?

“Absolutely. It’s definitely on the rise. It’s a big part of this year and this package. If the guy behind you is faster than you, and you know it, you just – and some guys are better at it than others or more aggressive with it than others – but you’re just trying to steal that air from the car behind you. The guy behind you, his hands are tied when you block, especially in the corners. On corner entry, if you make a move to take the air off the guy behind you, there’s not really a whole lot he can do about it. A lot of it is about anticipation and trying to find clean air. Obviously on tracks with multiple grooves, it makes it a little bit easier, but it’s a huge challenge and there’s no question blocking has become more popular.”

How much trust do you have at New Hampshire to give the guy behind you the bottom line in Turn 1 to get on the high side in Turn 2?

“I guess it depends on who it is and at what point in the race you’re at. If you’re coming down to the final end of the race, it makes you a little bit nervous giving somebody the bottom because you figure they’re just going to run in there and drive in the side of you. It’s become a completely different race the last two years since we started using the PJ1. We’ll have to see when we get there next week just how wide that stuff is and how much they’re going to put down to see what the racing is going to be like.”

What can you take from Kentucky that can help you down the line at intermediate tracks?

“I think they’re all so different, but I would say that if we could learn something here, we could certainly apply it at Texas. I would say that Kentucky and Texas now with having one flat end of the race track and one high-banked end, they could be pretty similar. We weren’t that good at Texas so we could certainly use a little bit of help in that department going there and it’ll be a Playoff race towards the end of the season, so it’ll be an important one. Hopefully we can figure something out here that will help us.”

Do you welcome the challenge coming back to a track that you’ve had success at?

“I always welcome new challenges. I think that’s one of the most unique parts about our sport and what we do as drivers and teams. This stuff is always changing. You could win four or five races in a row or whatever and you go to a different race track and you’ve got a new challenge. They change the tires all the time. The rules of the cars are changing all the time. I would say that all the top drivers are consistently working on how they drive the cars and how do they do better. How can you be better because everybody is doing that. It’s a huge challenge to try to stay near the top of this sport and that’s part of what makes it fun.”

We saw Alex Bowman get his first Cup Series win a few weeks ago. What’s the first win do to a driver in proving who they are and establishing themselves in the sport?

“I think it’s huge to get that first one out of the way. You kind of feel like you belong. You kind of feel like a lot of pressure comes off. Before that first win you always have questions, right? When is going to happen? Is it ever going to happen? What do I have to do? What is it going to feel like? And so when you get that first one, all those questions are answered and a lot of the pressure comes off and you can just go about your job a little bit easier.”

The last five of eight races have been won from the front row. Is qualifying that important?

“Well I hope not because I don’t think we’re going to qualify too good tonight. I really don’t know. As we figure this package out and as we’ve run it at all these tracks this year, I feel like things have changed so much. Early in the year I feel like all the guys that ran good, qualified bad. Now, guys are figuring out ways to have enough speed in qualifying to start up front and to be able to have good enough handling throughout the race to stay up there. That’s been a big challenge for us is how do we get both. We’ve had good handling cars at a lot of race tracks, but not a lot of speed. We’ve been able to take advantage of good handling. I don’t know. I think that in a perfect world you’d want to start up front because you get a good pit stall and you don’t have to worry about traffic and getting stuck trying to fight track position throughout that first stage. I think guys are figuring it out for sure. That’s something that we are consistently working on and constantly working on that we haven’t, as the 19 car, we haven’t been able to figure it out quite yet.”

When you come back to a track that you’ve won two years in a row, do you have good vibes coming back?

“Oh yeah. Of course. You always do. It’s always nice to go to a track that you have confidence at and you feel good about, but then you show up and it’s always like – like today we showed up and it was like ah, man, this isn’t too good. You’re always reminded of how difficult this is, what we do, and certainly today was one of those days.”

How do you feel about the PJ1 compound?

“I think it’s too early to tell. I really don’t know. Based on watching the truck race, it looked like in (Turns) 3 and 4 there were some options. (Turns) 1 and 2, I think it’s just you’ve got so much banking and so much more speed that running higher is just the longer way around and we’re already using so much throttle through the corners that you just lose time. It kind of felt that way again today for us. It kind of felt similar to what we’ve seen with the trucks last night. It’ll be interesting to see how much it changes at nighttime. Is it going to grip up a lot or what’s going to happen there? Is the bottom going to be better than it was today? Still a lot of questions. I would say in general, I didn’t think the PJ1 felt as sticky as I expected it to be. I expected it would be really no chance at all in running the bottom and everybody would be in the sticky stuff, but it seemed like there was a mixed bag so that’s always a good thing I think.”

Do you think Kentucky Speedway lacks character since it’s been repaved and is there a connection to the repave and you winning the last two Cup races here?

“Again, I think we just found a package and a feel that I liked and ran with it. The cars were similar for all those years, since they repaved it really. The low downforce and the things you had to do to get around here fast didn’t really change. Yeah, we were able to just kind of run with that momentum and that kind of mindset or that strategy of setting our cars up and things. I think the track has plenty of character. The fact that both ends are so different – it’s getting bumpy again, all those things make it a challenge. Everybody talks about Turn 3 here and just how difficult it is. I feel like you come off of 2 and you feel like you’re going 180 and you get to 3 and it looks like a parking like you’re driving into. It’s dead flat and the track is wide. You just feel like you’re going straight for the fence through the middle on the exit. It’s got plenty of character and it’s a really tricky place.”

Justin Haley tore up his car coming in off the track to the garage. Have you ever had an experience like that where you come barreling into the garage and it’s not what you expect?

“I’ve never had a big incident like that where something got tore up, but I’ve seen cars crash in the garage area before. I actually was involved in a crash in a garage area years ago in Chicago. You just never know. You’ve got to always be paying attention to everything. Some places the infield has, as you mentioned, drain holes and all kinds of weird stuff can happen. Yeah, it’s kind of crazy.”

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
SPARTA, KY
JULY 13, 2019

BOWTIE BULLETS:
RESURGENCE OF THE CAMARO ZL1:
For the second consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, Chevrolet drivers finished 1-2. Alex Bowman won at Chicagoland Speedway for his initial victory and Justin Haley followed a week later at Daytona International Speedway with his first win. William Byron was runner-up to Haley in the rain-shortened race and Kyle Larson followed Bowman across the finish line. In both races, Team Chevy placed five drivers in the top 10. Chevrolet has won the pole the past two races it has been contested and leads all manufacturers with 10 pole starts.

YOUNG VISITORS TO WINNER’S CIRCLE:
Daytona victor Haley (20 years, 2 months, 9 days) is the third-youngest winner in MENCS history. The top 10 also includes current Team Chevy driver Chase Elliott (22 years, 8 months, 8 days at Watkins Glen in 2018), career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon, who was 22 years, 9 months, 25 days when he won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1994, former Chevrolet driver Kyle Busch (20 years, 4 months, 2 days at California Speedway in 2005), Fireball Roberts in GM brand Oldsmobile (21 years, 6 months, 24 days at Hillsboro Speedway in 1950), and Bobby Hillin in GM brand Buick (22 years, 1 months, 22 days at Talladega Superspeedway in 1986).

TUNE-IN:
NBCSN will telecast the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart live at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 13. NBCSports Gold will stream the race and live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

BY THE NUMBERS:
* Numbers of note by current Team Chevy drivers at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, and Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1, have five top-10 finishes in the eight races.
* Johnson in 2012 is among the five pole winners at the track. Career Chevrolet driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the pole in 2013.
* Kentucky Speedway is the only racetrack on the MENCS schedule where a Chevrolet driver or team has not won.
* Team Chevy drivers have recorded 13 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes at Kentucky Speedway.
* William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1, has completed 99.75 percent of the laps through 18 races. Johnson and Busch have completed 99.69 percent.
* Chevrolet drivers combined to lead 60 laps in the 1-4 finish at Daytona International Speedway, surpassing 233,450 laps led since 1949.
* Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships.
* Team Chevy drivers have scored 782 wins and 709 poles in MENCS competition.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CAMARO ZL1 – 9th IN STANDINGS
“It is going to be exciting going back to a mile and a half track this weekend. Last year in Kentucky it didn’t end well. We are hoping that with our recent success at a track this size, we will have a good weekend. This Nationwide team has been working hard on our programs and it is definitely paying off.”

“Having the Nationwide Children’s Hospital on our Chevrolet this weekend is definitely special. Seeing these amazing patient champions at track is always great and carrying their names on the decklid this weekend will be an honor. I have been to the hospital multiple times and it is such an amazing facility. The work that they are able to do there helps so many kids and it is an honor to carry these butterflies on the car this weekend.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 12th IN STANDINGS
“You know, Kentucky has lost a lot of grip quickly. They repaved it less than five years ago and it has really gotten greyer and greyer each year. I’m sure it’s going to be even more slick this year when we go back. It’s one of those tracks that takes a while to get rubber, so you just have to almost wait for that process to happen and make sure you tune your car to the rubber and not the clean track. That’s really all I’m worried about is once the rubber lays down you know it’s going to be a different race track.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 – 21st IN STANDINGS
“This weekend at Kentucky Speedway is a special race for us. Kroger’s headquarters is a short drive away in Cincinnati, and we have a lot of guests and support coming to the track. That just brings up our level of excitement because we want to put on a good show for everyone there that supports us throughout the entire season. As far as the racing goes, the new package and racing at night on 1.5-mile tracks has been on my side this season. We were able to get a top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway and at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier in the year, so that gives us a lot of good momentum heading into Kentucky. After a rough start to the season, we’ve been on an upswing since that Kansas race, and I’m looking forward to building on that this weekend. Getting into the Playoffs is still going to be really tough, but we’re as close as we’ve been in my three years at JTG Daugherty Racing and that is something we are all proud of and keeps us hungry for more.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AAA CAMARO ZL1 – 22nd IN STANDINGS
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO KENTUCKY?
“Kentucky is one of those places I’ve always been pretty decent at, going back to the NASCAR Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series days. We were able to win there, and any time that you head into a track that you’ve been successful at in the past you go in with some confidence. The repave is a few years old now so it should be fun to see how that’s shaping up. We will look forward to Kentucky as one of those places that we feel like we can run well at. At this point, we need a win in order to make it into the Playoffs and that is our goal.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO MILITARY CAMARO ZL1 – 23rd IN STANDINGS
“Every time we go somewhere new with this package it’s a different game. So, we don’t really know what to expect this weekend. This first year has been all about learning the ins and outs of this package and growing with it. Hopefully, as we continue to dial in this package, it will get stronger and stronger and feel pretty good at tracks like Kentucky. I’m looking forward to getting my GEICO Military Camaro ZL1 on track because Kentucky is a stronger track for me. I’ve had pretty solid runs in the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, and I’ve won a Truck Series race there. It’s definitely a track that I have a lot of confidence at.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 – 26th IN STANDINGS
“I’m looking forward to heading to Kroger’s home track this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. Chris (Buescher) and I are fortunate enough to be heading up there early and spending time with all of our great partners in Cincinnati, and it only adds to how special the weekend is for them. This will be my first Cup start at Kentucky, but I’ve had a top-five run there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and I know our 1.5-mile program at JTG Daugherty Racing is only getting stronger each week. We haven’t had some of the finishes we’ve been hoping for, but all we can do is continue to build our notebook and strive to get better every week.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 – 28th IN STANDINGS
“When we think about the Kentucky Speedway, we think about the entry into Turn 3 and how flat it is there. And, I know the old repave was our worst nightmare on the schedule – just because it is so hard to keep traction in the rear of the car when you entered in that corner, especially on long runs. With the new repave though, it’s added a little bit of grip back but the ‘getting light and kind of going over the hill’ feeling is still here. So, it’s still a challenge within itself. Kentucky Speedway is such a smooth race track now. It’s fast. With the package we had last year, we were almost wide-open in Turn 1 and Turn 2. Now this year, we will definitely be wide-open. Turn 3 will be exciting to see how this new package will go hand-in-hand with that, and see what kind of challenges it will provide there. I’ve always enjoyed going to Kentucky and we’ve always had a lot of success there and hope to continue that with our No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on Saturday night.”

Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships
Total (1949 – 2018): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-2015)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships
Total (1949 – 2018): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005 – ’11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

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

2019 STATISTICS:
Wins: 3
Poles: 10
Laps Led: 1204
Top-five finishes: 24
Top-10 finishes: 58
CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 782 (1949 – to date)
Poles Won to Date: 709
Laps Led to Date: 233,459
Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,993
Top-10 Finishes to Date: 8,230

Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date

GM: 1,115
Chevrolet: 782
Pontiac: 155
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 782
Ford: 682
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Chrysler: 466
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 190
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 132
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.

Event: Quaker State 400 (Race 19 of 36)
Venue: Kentucky Speedway (Sparta, KY)
Format: Three Stages – Stages End: Lap 80, 160, 267 = 400.5 Miles
Date/Broadcast: Saturday, July 13 at 7:30 PM ET on NBCSN and PRN

Exuberant. That’s how Corey LaJoie and the Go Fas Racing team are feeling after a remarkable weekend at Daytona. Both parties have a lot to be proud of headed into the weekend in Kentucky for a different kind of derby.

Charlotte, NC native Corey LaJoie may only have one Cup Series start in the Bluegrass State, but he has a good deal of knowledge about the 1.5-mile track with experience also competing in the Xfinity Series, Gander Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.

He doesn’t just have starts at the Sparta, KY track, though. Three of those four races ended with top-17 finishes – including a 2013 victory in ARCA driving the No. 17 Ford.

It was September 21, 2013 when LaJoie led the final 33 laps to score what would be his third win in five starts that year, finishing 2.564 seconds ahead of second-place. He started 13th and battled the likes of Chase Elliott and Erik Jones before coming out on top.

Only eight Cup Series events have been held at the Sparta, KY venue since the elite series first visited the track in 2011.

After last appearing as a primary sponsor at Dover in May, longtime Go Fas Racing partner Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net holds the weekend with their crisp orange and gray colors taking over the No. 32 Ford Mustang.

Corvettes are all they do, so whether you’re looking for a complete interior for your vintage ’58 Corvette or a performance accessory for your ’09, they have the Corvette part you need and the expertise you want.

Fans of LaJoie and the No. 32 Go Fas Racing team are invited to meet LaJoie, the GFR team, and the Keen family at the Keen Parts headquarters in Cleves, Ohio on Saturday, July 13 from 11:00AM-12:30PM. Fans can snag an autograph, photo and chat with the crew!

Catch the Quaker State 400 on Saturday, July 13 at 7:30PM ET on NBCSN.

LaJoie on the upcoming weekend at Kentucky Speedway:
“It’s really nice to have the CorvetteParts.net car back on track! It’s been a few weeks since we’ve raced this great looking scheme. We have a few new updates to our cars this week so I’m really hoping that will help us pick up our 1.5-mile program, which was already pretty strong. The PJ1 spread across the top of the track should make for an interesting dynamic as well over the next few weeks and I hope that helps us move around a little bit. Obviously, we want to capitalize on the momentum coming from last week to give Tom and TJ Keen a solid finish!

LaJoie MENCS career highlights at Kentucky Speedway:
Starts: 1
Start: 31st
Finish: 31st

In the Rearview Mirror: Coke Zero Sugar 400

Daytona proved to be a night for the books as LaJoie scored a career-best finish of sixth. The result is also GFR’s best-ever finish competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Going into the weekend, the team had a goal of avoiding the ‘Big One’ and bringing the No. 32 Shine Armor Ford home in one piece in the top-15. The organization did just that and more, nearly securing a top-5. The lineup was set per the NASCAR Rule Book after weather would force the cancelation of qualifying on Friday evening – placing the No. 32 in the 30th position for the start of the 400-mile race. For much of Stage One, the team opted to stay back and be ready to steer through any collison, should the ‘Big One’ happen in the opening Stage. Before the closing of Stage One, crew chief Randy Cox called LaJoie to the No. 32 stall for fuel only. Continuing to play it safe for the final laps of Stage One, the Shine Armor team would finish 26th. Under the Stage break, the GFR Ford returned for a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles and additional fuel. Sticking to the original plan to lay back and be ready once a multi-car crash came out – expected at tracks like Daytona and Talladega – the No. 32 was 32nd in the opening laps of Stage Two. Before concluding the Stage 26th, the Shine Armor Mustang would navigate around a crash, still without any damage. The GFR crew made a four-tire change and a fuel-up before going green for the final Stage. As weather began to become a concern and the action intensified, LaJoie was running in the 25th position with 50 laps to go in the postponed event. Soon after, the ‘Big One’ would strike. Following the strategy, LaJoie drove right around it, advancing all the way up to the eighth position. The No. 32 came for another visit to top off on fuel and new tires, just before the race would be halted for weather. After an attempt to get back racing, another lightning strike would hit within a close proximity forcing the drivers to exit the cars again. The race would be called official with 33 laps to go, while LaJoie was in the sixth position.
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About Our Team

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

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

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