Category: NASCAR Cup PR

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JUNE 9, 2024

 Larson Scores Home Track Victory at Sonoma Raceway

•  Elk Grove, California, native Kyle Larson closed out a visit to his home track of Sonoma Raceway with a trip to lane in his No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 – the Team Chevy driver’s second career NASCAR Cup Series victory at the 1.99-mile Northern California circuit.
• Larson delivered Chevrolet its eighth NASCAR Cup Series victory this season; the manufacturer’s 14th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Sonoma Raceway; and it’s 859th all-time victory in NASCAR’s premier series – all of which are series-leading feats.
• The victory, Larson’s 26th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series, marks his fifth trip to victory lane on a road course – the third most among the series’ active drivers.
• The win came after a fifth-place qualifying effort for the No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 team. Earning top-five points in Stage One, pit strategy quickly came into play in the early portion of the 110-lap race. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit for the team’s final stop during a green-flag run in the final stage, and after rejoining the field in the seventh position, Larson’s fresh set of tires gave the Team Chevy driver to click-off laps towards the lead – ultimately taking the top position on lap 102 en route to the victory.
• Larson led Chevrolet to four top-six finishing results, with the former series’ champion leading Chase Elliott in fourth, Ross Chastain in fifth and AJ Allmendinger in sixth.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Iowa Speedway with the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday, June 16, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

• In 35 NCS races at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet leads the series with 14 all-time victories. • Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

Kyle Larson – two wins (2021, 2024)
Kyle Busch – two wins (2015, 2008)
Daniel Suarez – one win (2022)

Chevrolet on Road Courses in the NASCAR Cup Series:

• Chevrolet has earned 19 victories in the past 24 NASCAR Cup Series road course events.
• In 13 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet continues to lead the series with nine victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
• Chevrolet has recorded 66 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker at Watkins Glen International in 1957.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1

Finished: 1st

Kyle Larson, getting congratulations from his team. Down here on the frontstretch, from nearby Elk Grove, California, you get your second win at your home racetrack. The final segment of the race you come out in eighth place with about 29 laps to go. How did you find a way to catchall those guys and pass them and still have something left in the tank?

“Yeah, I didn’t know what we were doing as far as strategy. I was just out there banging laps away. I don’t know.. we study all the strategy, but it’s like doing homework. I don’t really know what I’m looking at.

Yeah, I was like – well, man, these guys are going to have to pit another time maybe. Then we said we had to go race and pass these guys, I got a bit nervous. I knew I’d be quick from the get go, but I thought once the tires would come up to temp, it would even off too much.

Thankful that we had enough grip. Thankful, too, that those guys got racing and Martin (Truex Jr.) never got clear really to where I could get stuck in third and that really saved the race. I thought, too, once he got the lead, I’m like – man, I hope he doesn’t have somebody to judge off of here into (turn) 4 and he misses apex. And sure enough, he did, and I had a big run.

Just an awesome, awesome race car. Valvoline, every time we have Valvoline on the car, I feel like we’re really fast. Thanks to Valvoline, HENDRICKCARS.COM, Chevrolet, Jinya Ramen Bar, Prime.

Just cool to win at home – drink some wine here in a little bit and go celebrate.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

Elliott on his run on the repaved Sonoma Raceway:

“It was a normal road course race. I felt like we were on the right strategy, I just lost too much time there early in the race. I fell back a few rows and felt like our group that we were racing against were who we were probably going to be racing for the win. Fell behind there early; lost a couple of rows and just never could get it back. I’m not sure I had the pace Kyle (Larson, race winner) had, but thought we were a solid top-three to five car and that’s where we finished. We’ll try again next week.”

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

Finished: 5th

Describe the racing, overall, here at Sonoma Raceway.

“Confusing. I’m not sure how the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) won, or how I got back to fifth.. I don’t really know. I don’t now how the lap times worked out. I didn’t feel very good in the second or third set of tires for awhile, but it worked out somehow to get back up here.

I’m super proud of the effort by this No. 1 Kubota Chevy team. It’s so good to be in a fast race car. I’m in them most weeks, but to be able to put it together and finish fifth is really, really rewarding.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 6th

“We had a really fast Cirkul Chevy. Travis [Mack] did a great job with strategy with everything that happened adversity wise. I thought overall we maximized our day. If everything fell right, we could have and a top-five finish, but we’re happy with the result.”

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 28th

“We had a good day going for us, until my tires went away there at the end and I spun with about 10 to go. It’s unfortunate to finish the day like this after such a solid run, but I’m proud of the No. 31 team for finding a good bit of speed from where we started the weekend in practice.”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and 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.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Save Mart 350k

Date: June 9, 2024
Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format: 110 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/30 laps/55 laps)
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (Ford)

SHR Finish:

● Ryan Preece (Started 30th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 19th, Finished 26th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 32nd, Finished 32nd / Suspension, completed 95 of 110 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 23rd, Finished 34th / Transmission, completed 73 of 110 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (17th with 361 points, 200 out of first)
● Josh Berry (23rd with 269 points, 292 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (24th with 266 points, 295 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (26th with 239 points, 322 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Preece earned his seventh top-20 of the season and his second top-20 in four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
● Preece finished second in Stage 2 to earn nine bonus points.
● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma for both Gragson and Berry.

Race Notes:

● Kyle Larson won the Save Mart 350k to score his 26th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Sonoma. His margin of victory over second-place Michael McDowell was 4.258 seconds.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 22 laps.
● Twenty-seven of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Larson leaves Sonoma as the new championship leader with a 14-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“If we didn’t spin out there, we probably would’ve ended up with a top-10. The car was pretty good, but just lost track position at that point. One costly mistake.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Caymus Vineyards Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We got wrecked.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Our race was going OK, but after the incident there in (turn) 11, the car just kind of drove funny and, ultimately, we couldn’t make it to the end.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Dark Horse

“It was definitely kind of wild from the get-go, just guys kind of driving through each other and everything else. It was a wild day. For us, it was anything that could go wrong kind of went wrong, between getting spun out and just not having our balance really that great, and then we had a water pressure issue and then there at the end, the rear end just blew up, so it was not a great day for us, especially when we kind of need a good one. It’s unfortunate, and now we’ll go on to Iowa, which is probably my favorite racetrack, so we’ll try to regain some of these lost points.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Iowa Corn 350 powered by Ethanol on Sunday, June 16 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. The race begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

REDDICK SCORES STAGE WIN, LEADS TOYOTA IN SONOMA
Truex’s battle for the win comes up short in final laps

SONOMA, Calif. (June 9, 2024) – Tyler Reddick (eighth) and Christopher Bell (ninth) led Toyota with top-10 finishes in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday.

Reddick was dominant early, as he led 35 of the 110 laps, but fell back after on-track contact. He bounced back to finish eighth, with Bell in ninth as he recovered from a mid-race spin.

Martin Truex Jr. battled for the win late, but ran out of gas in the final corners. He was scored 27th in the final finishing order.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sonoma Raceway
Race 16 of 36 – 218.9 miles, 110 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kyle Larson*
2nd, Michael McDowell*
3rd, Chris Buescher*
4th, Chase Elliott*
5th, Ross Chastain*
8th, TYLER REDDICK
9th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
19th, ERIK JONES
20th, BUBBA WALLACE
27th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
29th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
37th, TY GIBBS
38th, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

How much did the early damage affect your finish today?

“I don’t know. Visually on the body, it doesn’t look like it much. The wheel was off a little bit – just stupid. I was on cold tires, and it was going to be really hard to hold him off anyway. I kind of just fell for it. I don’t know. I guess we will know once we go back to the shop – just weren’t as good. I didn’t have a great restart – that also played a big factor. Even when we kind of got some clean air after, we got the second set of tires on it – it didn’t seem as good. We will go back and look at it, and try to understand what got away from us, but at least we got a Playoff point out of it with the Monster Energy Toyota Camry. The 5 (Kyle Larson) was on a similar strategy to us – and he won the race, and we finished eighth. We were doing the right things; we just didn’t have the restart we needed.”

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

Finishing Position: 27th

Can you talk about your eventful race today?

“It was a tough day. Got spun out early and had to work hard to get some track position back. James (Small, crew chief) did a good job on our strategy. Our car was pretty good out front. Thought we were going to have a shot to win there and just couldn’t quite get by the 17 (Chris Buescher) quick enough. I finally cleared him; I made a mistake and the 5 (Kyle Larson) was right there to pounce and then obviously ran out of gas so it didn’t matter. I’m not sure why we didn’t try to save a little at the end. I was clearly not going to catch the 5 or pass him. It’s a shame that we went around the last corner and went from second to wherever we finished. It sucks, but it was a tough day, and we had a good car. We battled and did a good job. We were going to have a good day, but just one corner short.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 37th

What happened?

“Yeah, I hit the (turn 11) inside wall with our He Gets Us Camry. I was finding grip down there and was making up time, and then got too close and clipped the wall and hurt the right front.”

Was your car good before that?

“I don’t really know. We needed to make some adjustments to be a little bit tighter, I think, in the sweeping sections – but I just made a mistake and took us out of this day.”

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

Finishing Position: 38th

Was there any indication that you had an issue?

“No. Nothing. It’s just the gearing is a little weird for the track. It’s a lot of high-end RPM stuff, but the same as everyone else and I’m just not really sure. They’ll look at it and figure it out, but certainly not ideal.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Sunday, June 9, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
2nd – Michael McDowell
3rd – Chris Buescher
7th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Todd Gilliland
13th – Brad Keselowski
18th – Ryan Preece
21st – Joey Logano
22nd – Austin Cindric
23rd – Kaz Grala
25th – Harrison Burton
26th – Noah Gragson
32nd – Josh Berry
33rd – Justin Haley
34th – Chase Briscoe
35th – Cam Waters

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “The first stage went well for us, just kind of executing our plan and our strategy, but, unfortunately, when we got towards the back on that restart and they piled up in the esses we just got drove into and into the barriers. That really hurt our track position because then we had to come back down pit road and fix the damage and that kind of killed our chances of restarting up front when it did cycle out, but, fortunately, we had a really fast Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang. We were able to get about half of them back before the end of Stage 2, and then the last stage we just had to fight really hard to get track position. I feel like we had the speed today, which it hurts. It hurts to finish second. We desperately need a win to make the playoffs, but I’m proud of the effort and proud of the speed we had, but just a little bit short.”

ANYTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO CATCH LARSON? “I was pushing pretty hard. I don’t know how much more I could have got. I needed him to battle with the 19 a little bit more and the 17 because when he came out on new tires, he was just quicker than us. I couldn’t hold him off, but I knew in the long run we could probably balance out and have a little bit of speed. Our long run was our strength, so I don’t know. I have to go back and watch it, but it’s just a shame.”

A GOOD MOMENTUM BOOST? “Yeah, definitely. It’s great to be disappointed with second, but that’s just the way this playoff format is. A win is so important and we came up a little bit short.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was really good strategy on the day and an awesome finish. I wasn’t quite able to hold the lead there and that bums me out. I was trying. I’ve got to be better and ultimately figure out how to make that last a little bit longer, but our team did a really nice job. To start where we did and finish right here at the front with our BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang. I’m really proud of that. Just another close one at the end of the day.”

SO MANY DIFFERENT STRATEGIES. DID YOU FEEL YOU HAD THE RIGHT ONE? “Ultimately, we started deep in the field and it was gonna be hard to make it work, but Scott and our group did a fantastic job. They played it well and got us up front. We got a stage win, a playoff point, but ultimately there at the end I wasn’t able to hold on. If that was just a little bit of tire difference late in the run or how hard I ran at the beginning I’m not sure. It’s just a really solid day considering where we started. That’s a ton of positions gained on the day and really, really good.”

CAM WATERS, No. 60 AUKUS/BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I had so much fun. This weekend and the whole experience coming to a road course in a Cup car was sensational. I had so much fun and I can’t thank everyone enough for making that happen. The start of the race, I took it easy the first couple of laps and then I pressed on and tried to pass some cars. The car was super fast. It could absolutely make some ground passing cars, which was really good. The cautions fell our way a bit and I guess effectively we were right up there somewhere. It was all looking really good.”

AND THEN THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED WITH JOSH BERRY IN TURN 11 THAT BOTTLED YOU UP. WHAT HAPPENED? “I think there were three or four cars going into one corner it just was never going to work, unfortunately. That’s part of racing and not a lot I could have done about it, I guess. It is what it is. We were looking really good and it’s a shame what happened, but I’m not going to let that put a damper on my weekend.”

WHAT ISSUE EVENTUALLY PUT YOU OUT OF THE RACE? “I had massive steering damage, which we tried to fix, and then someone else got into me in 11 and bent the right-front. It was too much to keep going.”

CAN YOU SUM UP THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE? YOUR FAMILY IS HERE. “It’s a bucket list thing for me to come over and do one of these races. Part of it was doing the Truck stuff on the ovals and that was absolutely awesome, and then to do a road course in a Cup car, which is a car that is similar to what we race at home, was so cool. And to have all of my family and some friends here was super special. I can’t thank enough all the people that made this happen – Ford, RFK, BuildSubmarines.com, Aukus and all of our other partners.”

DO YOU WANT TO DO IT AGAIN? “I definitely want to do it again, so hopefully I can get the call up and hopefully something doesn’t clash on the track and I can come over and have another crack.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was definitely kind of wild from the get-go, just guys kind of driving through each other and everything else. It was a wild day. For us, it was anything that could go wrong kind of went wrong between getting spun out and just not having our balance really that great, and then we had a water pressure issue and then there at the end the rear end just blew up, so it was not a great day for us, especially when we kind of need a good one. It’s unfortunate and now we’ll go on to Iowa, which is probably my favorite racetrack, so we’ll try to regain some of these lost points.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA AVAILABILITY QUOTES
JUNE 8, 2024

 Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of his NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Kyle, you had a great announcement this week with the Kyle Larson Foundation. You guys are auctioning off some race-worn visors from this weekend. Talk a little bit about that.

“Yeah, it’s a cool program. There are 26 Team Chevy drivers involved in it. They’re going to hand over their race-worn visors after the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races this weekend. In partnership with Chevrolet and Pristine Auction, we’re going to auction those off to benefit the Urban Youth Racing School through my foundation. Pretty neat deal. The bidding starts today and goes through June 12th. Hopefully we can raise a lot of money and get to support Anthony and Michelle (Martin) even more.”

How does it feel to have the whole waiver thing behind you? What was it like leading up to that announcement?

“Yeah, I mean obviously there’s definitely relief on my end, even though I really wasn’t paying a ton of attention to it.. to the waiver. At least now knowing that I do, personally, get to race for a championship feels good. Yeah, I mean I know there was a lot that went into it on NASCAR’s end; a lot of discussion and just wanting it to be right. I think we all, probably even them, figured we would get the waiver. I think they were just trying to make sure they had all their ducks in a row first. Yeah, I’m appreciative of it, for sure. Look forward to getting through this weekend and hopefully, after this press conference, not have to talk about waivers again. It feels good and just thankful that nobody has to deal with the drama going forward.”

Did you have any conversations with people at NASCAR about the waiver over the last two weeks, or was that all done by Hendrick Motorsports executives?

“I, personally, didn’t have any communication with NASCAR, but I know Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews and Rick Hendrick were in constant communication with them. I was appreciative of the support through my race team and just kind of let them handle it. I didn’t really know if there was anything I could say. I’m pretty bad with words sometimes, so maybe I could have just dug myself a hole a little bit if I was to communicate.

But no, again, I’m just thankful that we don’t have to deal with it again. I’m happy to get to race for a championship. Thanks to everybody there.”

Speaking of digging yourself into a hole with words.. you did say at one point, that you didn’t care if you got the waiver last week. So, I’m curious, I assume you cared, but maybe you were just kind of over it, or you race and whatever you’re racing for, you’re going to race for?

“Yeah, I cared. But the thing that I cared most about was the owner’s championship, at least in that moment, because that’s what pays the bills. So that’s kind of where I was coming from there. I was a little less stressed out about it than I think what everybody would imagine you to be. But yeah, I’m just happy that if I do win the championship now, I can have my name on the record books.”

How does it feel to be back racing at your home track? It’s resurfaced and faster.. How is that going to work for you this weekend?

“Yeah, I always love coming here to Sonoma Raceway. Home track or not, it’s just a great area. Really just kind of spend this week as a vacation and then there happens to be a race on the weekend. Yeah, we came out here Wednesday morning. It’s really been the first – like Wednesday and Thursday were the first two days off I’ve had off in I don’t even know how long. So, I was happy to lay by the pool all day on Wednesday and do some day drinking.. haven’t gotten to do that in awhile (laughs). Brought William Byron out here too and got to go do some wine tasting; took him on his first wine tour on Thursday. Got to have dinner with David and Matteo Abreu. So, it was just a fun couple of days. And then got to get on track yesterday; see what the new surface felt like. It’s weird.. you’re going out there seconds faster, but to me, it doesn’t feel any different. Like the way you drive it, even the lap times being faster, it doesn’t feel way faster to me. It still feels kind of like a slower road course. Yeah, that was interesting, but it should hopefully race good.”

Now that the whole Indy experience is done – I guess on a scale of the plan goes perfect is a 10, it turned out to be a 1.5 or a 2. But how do you feel about the whole thing now that the waiver is in place and you still get to run for the championship?

“Yeah, well I’ve said it all along, I really enjoyed the experience. I wish it would have panned out differently with the weather and really could have showcased Kyle Larson and doing the double, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. But also, I think reflecting on it, I’m very fortunate to get to be one of just a handful of drivers to have done it and attempted it. Getting to race on two big platforms like that is awesome. Getting to race the Indianapolis 500 and then getting to race a Cup car for a living, I’m pretty fortunate to be one of those guys. Yeah, America is in a great spot for motorsports. Fortunate, but wish it would have just gone according to plan. Hopefully there will be another year.. I would love to do it because I really don’t feel like I got to do it. But yeah, we’ll see… hopefully I can.”

By not being able to race at Charlott Motor Speedway, you gave up the regular season point lead. You haven’t fallen that far behind, but how do you feel now about, instead of having the lead, now you’re going to have to scramble your way back to get those 15 bonus points?

“Yeah, I mean I think really, just keeping doing what we’ve been doing. I think not overreacting on that is important because if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing, in my mind, we can get the point lead back. We’re not that far out of it. We might even still be leading it in the owner’s points. Yeah, I would ultimately love to win that regular season championship, just because of the 15 bonus points.

But yeah, like I said, just don’t overreact. Keep executing, which I feel like we’ve done a really, really good job of executing every race this season, besides maybe one race. That’s not an area where I feel like I’m very good at throughout a season, so I’ve been proud of that. Just have to keep it up and then I think we can get the lead back.”

Since last year with Shane van Gisbergen coming over and now there’s more Supercars talent, as well as all of the things that the Next Gen car does on road courses – how much more difficult is it for you to go out and win, or a Chase Elliott to go out and win, like they used to in the previous car and now with the new talent that is showing up?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I think as competitors, we all want to compete with the best. I really look forward to the opportunity when those guys have been able to come over. Especially with Shane (van Gisbergen) and how he smoked us at Chicago last year – I get excited now when you have other guys come in and get to race with us. We can kind of not only see how we compare against them, but it’s an opportunity for us to all get better and look at different areas on how we can improve our skill sets. I was just talking to Will Brown before I came in here. Just listening to him and how he talks about what a race weekend looks like over there and kind of how they strategize a weekend is pretty interesting compared to what we do here. Just communicating with him, I learned a lot. Those guys have more experience doing this. Even though this is their first race in a Cup car, they’re still more experienced than us. You can learn from that experience and become better, so I think it’s good.”

Curious about the new surface and whether you think tire management is going to play as big of a role now?

“Well, I think, yes – I think there’s still always tire management. Maybe before it was more managing the heat and wear. Now, we’re probably just more – we’re doing it the same way. You’re not wearing the tire; you’re just managing the heat. To me, I don’t foresee a stint to look much different in how you approach your driving technique. I think you’re still going to try and slip the tire as little as possible. Yeah, it was tough to pass before.. the last couple of years of the Next Gen car. I think it will be just as tough now. I really don’t feel like the racing is going to look any different than it did before. Yeah, I don’t know.. I think repaves – like we’re less sad, or at least I’m less sad, about a repave at a road course than I would be at an oval, just because road courses are already pretty tough to pass.”

With the new wall in turn 11, did approaching that corner feel any different?

“It’s just a little harder to kind of see around the corner, but I thought it might be worse than what it was once I got out there. I’ve been pretty cautious with it because it’s kind of like in a blind spot a little bit – with the way the body, the roof and all that is, and where you look out the windshield when you’re turning sharp like that. But yeah, it’s fine. It’s no different. Before, you were trying not to hit tires, and now, you’re trying to not hit a wall. The tires will probably swallow you up maybe more than grazing the wall would.”

Unlike last year, we’ll have the stage cautions back. How is that going to change the strategy?

“Yeah, I’m not sure on the strategy piece yet. I haven’t talked to Cliff (Daniels) or the engineers about that. But I’m imagining, if it’s like a typical road course, you flip the stages. If you qualify well and are running upfront, you can flip the stages and still get pretty good stage points. Maybe not the stage win, but you can still get good points throughout the day. It puts a lot of emphasis on qualifying, as always, so hopefully we’ll have a good day today.”

As much dirt racing that you race and the variety of the way those races are, as far as qualifying and inverting, do you think that will ever make it to NASCAR?

“I don’t know.. I mean we try stuff. The All-Star Race, I think that’s a good race to try some things. But I don’t know.. I think simple is still the best. Qualify on the pole, start on the pole.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and 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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
JUNE 8, 2024

 Six Camaro ZL1’s Post Top-10 Qualifying Efforts at Sonoma Raceway
 
· Six Team Chevy drivers drove their Camaro ZL1’s to the final round of the NASCAR Cup Series’ qualifying session to earn a top-10 starting position for tomorrow’s Toyota / Save Mart 350.

· The representation came from two different Chevrolet organizations, including all four Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Chase Elliott (fourth), Kyle Larson, (fifth), William Byron (sixth) and Alex Bowman (eighth), and the Trackhouse Racing pair, Daniel Suarez (seventh) and Ross Chastain (ninth).

· Will Brown, driver of the No. 33 Mobile X / Shaw and Partners Camaro ZL1, will take the green-flag for his first career NASCAR Cup Series start from the 24th starting position. The qualifying effort comes after a stellar performance in yesterday’s practice session where he led Chevrolet in the third position on the overall speed chart.

 
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

• In 34 NCS races at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet leads the series with 13 all-time victories. • Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

Kyle Busch – two wins (2015, 2008)
Daniel Suarez – one win (2022)
Kyle Larson – one win (2021)

Chevrolet on Road Courses in the NASCAR Cup Series:

• Chevrolet has earned 18 victories in the past 23 NASCAR Cup Series road course events (Chase Elliott: Watkins Glen International in August 2019 – William Byron: Circuit of The Americas in March 2024.
• In 12 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with eight victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
• Chevrolet has recorded 65 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker at Watkins Glen International in 1957.

Will Brown, No. 33 Mobile X / Shaw and Partners Camaro ZL1, post-qualifying quotes:

Brown on the qualifying effort for his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway:

“It was a bit of a tough one, that one. It wouldn’t start at the beginning of the round. I couldn’t get it to fire, and then it wouldn’t run down pit lane. I think there was a fault in the ECU, and then on our laps, it was reading 75 percent power. Unfortunately, we can’t look at the data with how NASCAR works and all that sort of stuff compared to Supercars. But from the data we had, we had 75 percent power out there. We’ll have a look after and see if that’s the case.”

Did that issue get resolved by the end, or is it still something that’s an issue?

“We’re not sure right now. They thought with the data that it got resolved, but after looking at it there, they’re still trying to work it out.”

What’s been your experience so far? When you were in here yesterday, you hadn’t been in the car yet..

“Yeah, yesterday we ran really well. I think then, I put together a good lap, and I was surprised to see where we finished. But yeah, it’s one of those things where we’re a bit unsure after that run. There was a fault there, so we don’t know yet what sort of happened.”

Were you surprised by how much quicker the track was today in qualifying than yesterday in practice?

“No, not really. To be honest, I felt like the track was pretty similar to yesterday. I was a little bit hotter, but I think I had similar times, so it didn’t surprise me at all.”

Do you feel comfortable in the car after just 50 minutes?

“Yeah, I feel comfortable in the car. There’s no drama.. I’m just ready to race. Just a little bit disappointed with qualifying and what happened in it.”

Were there some turns that you felt like you were doing really well, and other places where you’d like to improve?

“Yeah, there’s always places that you can improve on a qualifying lap. You always look back on it. Very rarely do you do just a perfect lap. You think – I wish I would have done just a little bit better here. But yeah, it was just a bit of a messy session, to be honest, for us.”

Kyle Larson had mentioned that you two had been talking. What has it been like kind of picking the brains of drivers over here and learning what the Cup Series is all about?

“Yeah, I just wanted to meet Kyle (Larson), to be honest.. he’s a bit of a legend. But yeah, I got to chat with him and it’s been great speaking with those guys and meeting everyone. We watch a lot of NASCAR now since Shane (van Gisbergen) came over here, so to put faces to names and all that sort of stuff has been awesome. Yeah, I just chatted with Kyle about how we generally run a session in Australia. We run sessions, generally, different. We wouldn’t roll out at the start after a touring car race before us. We would expect there to be oil and whatnot on the track, so we would roll a bit later, which was what our plan was until we sort of had that little bit of hiccup on pit lane.”

Is there any further brain picking going on with the potential to get to the front? Are wheels starting to turn, as far as strategy to get to the front?

“Yeah, I’m not sure just yet, to be honest. That was going to be our plan this afternoon and tomorrow morning; to run through strategy. You sort of have to know where you finished up in qualifying to start working your strategy. But I think we’ll run through that tomorrow and see what strategy we have.”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and 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
NASCAR Cup Series
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Qualifying | Saturday, June 8, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
1st – Joey Logano
3rd – Ryan Blaney
12th – Michael McDowell
14th – Todd Gilliland
19th – Noah Gragson
22nd – Harrison Burton
23rd – Chase Briscoe
26th – Chris Buescher
27th – Justin Haley
28th – Austin Cindric
30th – Ryan Preece
31st – Cam Waters
32nd – Josh Berry
35th – Brad Keselowski
36th – Kaz Grala

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU REPLAY HOW GOOD THAT LAP FELT? “You always look at what went wrong first, or at least that’s my mentality. Unfortunately, I look at the bad parts. Most of it was pretty good. I got a little loose up in turn two and probably left a little bit out there, but it’s hard to hit a perfect lap every corner. If you can average it all out to be pretty good, it works out. It was great to see the Autotrader Mustang having some speed here in Sonoma. It didn’t seem too bad in race trim, either, so hopefully we can turn this into a victory tomorrow.”

WHAT CAN YOU FORECAST FOR RACE CONDITIONS TOMORROW? “The race is gonna be a lot different than what it was in the past here. You think about what it used to be here with a lot of tire wear. Now, the tires seem to last fairly long, so that can adjust the strategy quite a bit from what it used to be here. There are a lot of different options for the crew chiefs to try to make up their mind on how to play out the race and time will tell.”

JOEY LOGANO POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE

TALK ABOUT YOUR POLE LAP. “It felt good. It’s nice to have a practice yesterday and to be able to work on your car, but even more importantly to have the time last night to review a lot and talk about it and think about it to try to make some good decisions for today and for tomorrow. That’s fun. You kind of miss that part. We used to do that every week, so it’s fun to kind of not be so rushed and actually look at some of the details. We were able to make some good decisions, obviously, with our Autotrader Mustang and show up with some speed today in qualifying trim. I don’t think we’re that bad in race trim either. I think we were pretty good, so I’m looking forward to the race. I think the last time we got the pole here, I think it was 15 years ago or so. It was a long, long time ago with a lot of races in between, so it feels good to at least be starting back up front here.”

DOES IT FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM HAS TURNED A CORNER? “I do feel like we’re making gains, for sure. This short track package, which is the road course package as well, seems to suit us a little bit better for whatever reasons those are. You can guess as good as me, but it seems like any time we can get off the gas pedal our Penske cars are running a little bit better. We definitely have work to do on the mile-and-a-halves. I don’t think we’ve made many gains there yet, but we’ve got to capitalize on the next few weeks when you look at tomorrow, for sure, but also Iowa, New Hampshire – some good racetracks coming up.”

THE SONOMA POLE WAS IN 2011, BUT WHAT PART OF THE LAP WAS BEST FOR YOU? “My first lap, I screwed up 11 and overcooked it. It was cooked just right the next time, so that was good. My turn two wasn’t that good, actually. I got loose transferring the weight from left to right a little bit too aggressively and busted the back out a little bit. My 3A was really good. My four was mediocre. My seven was pretty decent, I thought. My esses were really good, so all of that together seemed to work out pretty good for us.”

DID YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE IN TIRE FALL OFF IN JUST A COUPLE OF LAPS? “No, not yet. We kept going faster. I mean, all but the last run was faster. We ran two runs the first round. We got faster in the second round, and then we went out for the third time and went faster again. It wasn’t until the last run that we slowed up a little bit. I don’t think anyone knows exactly what the tire wear is gonna look like yet in the race. I guess we’re all pretty curious to see what that is and we’ll all figure it out together.”

THE FIELD IS SO CLOSE. IS THIS A PRODUCT OF THE NEW PAVEMENT? WILL IT BE AS RACY TOMORROW? “I think the fall off, don’t expect it. It’s a repave. Never, ever have we had a repave and the tires fall off. If you want the old Sonoma, it’s buried underneath here somewhere. That’s gone. It may come back years down the road as the asphalt wears in, but the racing will be different. Will it be better or worse? I don’t know. In ways you can argue it could be better because all the drivers are gonna be making qualifying laps every single lap, whereas before you had to pace yourself a little bit more. When everyone is running 10-10s all day long, more mistakes are likely to happen. There might be some interesting moments in the race because of that. The strategy will be different than what it’s been in the past because there’s not tire fall off to speak of, so fuel mileage is probably the name of the game. With all that said, I think the most anyone ran yesterday was like 10 laps, so I don’t think any of us really, really know for sure. A lot of things can change as the track races.”

HOW WERE YOUR NERVES ABOUT THE LAP AS FAR AS ESTABLISHING A TIME? “It’s the same feeling you have qualifying every week. It’s a very intense moment. Nervous, I wouldn’t say nervous – you just get ultra-focused. You try to put yourself in a mode to where you have nothing distracting you from hitting your whole lap. There’s a lot of corners here to hit and you’ve just got to try to average them out to be really good. You may have one corner that’s a little bit off, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. For me, that was turn two on our lap, but the rest of them were really good so it worked out. It’s intense. Your heart rate is maxed out for one lap. For the human body to do that every lap, I think it’s impossible but just the focus it takes – at least for me to go fast. I think every driver is probably a little bit different. Some guys are a little bit more relaxed in the car, but I’ve never been that guy.”

DOES THE REPAVE CHANGE YOUR MARKS? “The braking points are quite a bit deeper, especially into 11 from where we used to brake to now is like, ‘Whoa.’ And the amount of throttle that you carry is a lot more, the aggression back to gas is way more. You used to really have to feather it back to wide-open because it would be really easy to spin the tires, but now you can hammer it pretty hard. You can definitely go to the gas before you feel like you should, but that’s where the lap time is at it seems like.”

CAM WATERS, No. 60 AUKUS/BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THAT QUALIFYING SESSION? “It was a lot of fun and super fast-paced. On the first run I was just trying to work out what kind of grip I had and probably left a little bit on the table because we made some changes overnight and the car was different. We couldn’t get anymore out of it on the last run, but I had so much fun. The car was a lot nicer today. We’ll just see how we do in the race now.”

YOU’RE STARTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK, SO WHAT CAN YOU PREPARE FOR ON THIS COURSE? “I’ll be starting right in the middle of the chaos, so I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m sure it’s gonna be pretty full-on, but it’s gonna be a lot of fun. Hopefully, there is some passing and hopefully there’s a bit of tire deg and we can go forward.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS COURSE OVERALL? “The course is awesome. There’s a lot of undulation. I feel like there are a few passing opportunities and it’s got a little bit of everything. I love it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-PRACTICE REPORT
JUNE 7, 2024

 Brown Leads Chevrolet in NASCAR Cup Series Practice Session at Sonoma Raceway

• In his first-ever laps behind the wheel of a Next Gen Camaro ZL1, Will Brown led Chevrolet on the speed chart at the conclusion of the 50-minute NASCAR Cup Series practice at Sonoma Raceway – placing his No. 33 Mobile X / Shaw and Partners Camaro ZL1 third-fastest overall.
• Five drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations posted top-10 lap times in their Camaro ZL1’s, with Brown leading Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively; Spire Motorsports’ Zane Smith in the eighth position; and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain in the ninth position.

Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

• In 34 NCS races at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet leads the series with 13 all-time victories. • Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

Kyle Busch – two wins (2015, 2008)
Daniel Suarez – one win (2022)
Kyle Larson – one win (2021)

Chevrolet on Road Courses in the NASCAR Cup Series:

• Chevrolet has earned 18 victories in the past 23 NASCAR Cup Series road course events (Chase Elliott: Watkins Glen International in August 2019 – William Byron: Circuit of The Americas in March 2024.
• In 12 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with eight victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
• Chevrolet has recorded 65 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker at Watkins Glen International in 1957.

Drivers in the top-10 positions of the NASCAR Cup Series points standings met with the media following the series’ 50-minute practice session on the newly repaved Sonoma Raceway.

Team Chevy Driver Quotes:

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Pride Camaro ZL1 – 4th fastest overall in practice

What are your thoughts on the repave? Is it good.. did you see anything coming up?

“I didn’t see anything coming up and I didn’t feel anything. It would be a little difficult to probably see from the racecar. But I think the repave seemed to be fine for us. I feel like our No. 48 Ally Pride Chevy is OK. I think passing is going to be incredibly difficult, so we just really have to focus on qualifying. We made a qualifying run there at the end. I’m sure a lot of people did with the practice that we had. I felt pretty good about it, so we’ll see how we stack up tomorrow and go from there.”

How will turn 11 be different with the wall? Will you have to drive it differently or pass differently there?

“Yeah, I don’t think we really have to drive it differently. I think it’s just odd with the way that it was pieced together. It’s very jagged. It’s kind of inviting you to get under the rumble strip on entry because the wall starts further in and then gets higher as you go around the corner. So I can see if you get under somebody, it’s going to be really easy for someone to kind of force you down into that wall. You could probably break a toe link pretty easily, but hopefully we’re not in that situation. It’s the same for everybody, right? We all just have to race it the best we can. It’ll be a little bit different, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Are you having to manage tires a little bit less with the repave?

“No, I think they’re just sensitive in different ways, probably. This place is still really slick. The pavement is so smooth that there’s not a lot to get ahold of. You still have sections – like in between (turns) four and seven, it looks like the inside was paved and the outside wasn’t paved. So, you’re still chewing up the left-rear tire across there. Or if it was paved, it’s just really coarse in one section of the track. There are some differences, but you’re still going to have to manage your tires. Even with as much fall-off as there were in years past, you’d see guys stay out and stay up front. It’s so hard to pass here with this car that track position is going to be key, for sure.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Camaro ZL1 – 5th fastest overall in practice

How much do you think about Sonoma Raceway, being the one road course that you haven’t won yet?

“Yeah, I would love to check the box, for sure. I feel like we’ve been close to getting a road course win with this car a couple of times, so it’d be cool to get over that hump and get one.”

Tire fall-off is a little different and it’s not wear related, but it’s heat related. Is tire management going to play as big of a role in this race on Sunday?

“It honestly got to where it didn’t play as much of a role as you would think. Everyone was so similar in the past few races. Even when the tire wear was there, it’s like you could save a little. But when it came time for you to push to go and try and catch the guy you thought might have jumped out there too far, you end up burning it up before you ever get to him.”

William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 – 23rd fastest overall in practice

Byron on his thoughts following the NASCAR Cup Series practice session on the repaved Sonoma Raceway:

“The track has the same characteristics as what it was in the past, really. Just trying to work on our car to get it to do the things we need it to do. There was a little bit of a surprise on the traits of the car and what we need to work on, but we’ve got some good teammates to lean on.”

You were third-fastest in five-lap average..

“I just didn’t feel good on new or old tires. I felt OK for the mid-portion, but the mid-portion here is like eight laps. So, I feel like we have a lot of work to do. We’ll just have to lean on some of the notes we have there.”

What did you think of the asphalt?

“I thought it was fine. I think the wall in turn 11 is a little weird. It’s just a little bit blind going in there. There used to be a little bit of a visual to the inside to kind of look through the tires and look at the track, so it’s going to be interesting, like side-by-side, how that is. Other than that, I think it’s really fast and it feels like Sonoma (Raceway).”

SVG said there’s a lot more patches than when he was here a month ago. Do you see that, as well?

“Yeah, it looks like turn three kind of has a big patch. That’s the only spot.. well, off of four, into seven, there’s a patch there, as well. Yeah, it looks like they had some work to do there.”

Do you have confidence that it will hold all weekend?

“I mean, I’m not super worried about the track. I’m more worried about our car and our performance, but I think it should be fine. It looks really smooth and it looks like they did what they needed to do, so hopefully it holds together.”

Does the wall in turn 11 change how you will race it?

“I don’t know if it’ll change it, but it will definitely make it hard to see around that corner. If someone is spun out in that corner, you’re going to have to really rely on your spotter because I feel like you won’t be able to see ahead of you as much as before.”

With the speeds being up, is it a little bit more treacherous out there in order to keep it on the track?

“Yeah, I mean if you break traction, it’s definitely less grip.. less grip relatively to what you’re going to have when you’re kind of in the groove and rolling. So yeah, I think there’s a little bit of that, which is expected with the repave. On a road course, you’re going to have guys missing lines and going off track, so the track is going to be dirty, even in the groove.”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and 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/Save Mart 350 Practice: Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma, Calif. – June 7, 2024

NASCAR TRACKS – SONOMA RACEWAY – NASCAR 101

The NASCAR Cup Series takes on its second road course race of the 2024 season at the newly-repaved Sonoma Raceway. Drivers took to the 1.99-mile track for a 50-minute practice session Friday afternoon prior to group qualifying Saturday to set the lineup for Sunday’s 110-lap event.

Ryan Blaney paced the field in practice as his best lap was over four seconds faster than the pole time a season ago while 23 cars posted times that were faster than the previous track record. Blaney was scored fifth in five-lap average and seventh in 10-lap average.

Ryan Blaney, driver, No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang
1st

Austin Cindric, driver, No. 2 America’s Tire Ford Mustang
13th

Joey Logano, driver, No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang
25th

HEAR FROM BLANEY: “Overall, a really good day. I thought all the Team Penske Fords had good speed. It was nice to start close to where we wanted to be and get a little better throughout the day. Hopefully it bodes well for the rest of the weekend.”

RETURNING TO SONOMA: Ryan Blaney (Charlotte Roval, 2018) and Joey Logano (Watkins Glen, 2015) are among 14 active Cup Series drivers with a road course win entering the weekend in Sonoma. Logano has two top-five finishes in his last three starts at the California road course – including a career-best third-place run a season ago. Blaney has posted four top-10s in his seven career Cup Series starts at Sonoma while Austin Cindric’s fifth-place finish during his rookie season in 2022 marks the best of his two career starts at the 1.99-mile road course.

Team Penske has a pair of Cup Series wins at Sonoma to its credit, coming from Rusty Wallace in 1996 and Kurt Busch in 2011.

MIC’D UP: Joey Logano returns to the broadcast booth for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma alongside Adam Alexander and Daniel Suarez. Coverage begins at 8 ET on FS1.

WEEKEND AT SONOMA: Saturday’s on-track action at Sonoma consists of group qualifying beginning at 6 p.m. ET on FS2. Coverage of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 begins at 3:30 p.m. ET. on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Racing – Sonoma Post-Practice Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

SONOMA, Calif. (June 7, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin, along with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick were made available to the media after practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway on Friday.

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you have to drive turn 11 differently?

“No, I didn’t really notice much difference. I guess it is probably going to make it a little more congested if there is a crash and you aren’t going to have anywhere to go, but other than that, normal racing conditions. I didn’t notice a difference.”

Did you notice any changes with the sight lines?

“It definitely makes it harder to see but running your normal line – you are just trying to keep it tight there. It was a little bit harder to see, but other than that it wasn’t really any change.”

Does it still feel like Sonoma?

“No. It does not. The grip level is just really different than what we’ve had in the past, and the name of the game here was managing your tires and knowing how to create grip when the tires started falling off. There is not any of that now.”

Does the change to the track, change where you are at this weekend?

“No, it doesn’t. Really practice went – at least my team – went exactly how we expected it too. It was a struggle for our team, but the grip level stayed consistent throughout the entire run. We never saw any tire wear or tires losing grip, and I didn’t run very long, because I was struggling out there. Maybe that is why I didn’t see what other guys saw.”

Is the speed what you thought it was going to be?

“Honestly, it is a little faster than we thought it would be. We expected to run in the .74’s, and I think guys were in the low .73’s.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What do you think of the repave?

“I feel like it is not as different that I thought it would be. It’s okay. It’s pretty smooth so far, so they did a good job. It is definitely a lot faster, but it doesn’t feel like it changed a lot, so that is good.”

What is the mindset for a track like this?

“The mindset is about the same for me every weekend. Just going and working as hard as I can, preparing as hard as I can to be the best I can, so I can come out here and go race for a win every week. I feel like that is the fun part of my racing career. It’s fun to get better and it’s fun to be in racing.”

Can you talk about some of the differences in the turns out there?

“I haven’t had too much of an issue. It is definitely easy to over drive the corner with the way the repave is. I only ran twice here last year – in my whole career – I didn’t get used to it as much. This track is relatively new to me, and we go at it with a bang.”

Do you like coming here?

“I enjoy coming here. I just like the environment. I really like the road course too – it is a fun place to come. Hopefully I can get my first win here, too.”

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

What are your impressions of the race track?

“It feels like Sonoma. Not much difference. Just you’re hitting the gas a little bit sooner, a little bit harder. It definitely feels just like the old track, just you’ve got a lot more speed.”

Does it feel like you’re four seconds faster out there?

“Yeah, it’s just, on a track this big you can make up four seconds like – you can lose half a second in one corner and you don’t even realize it’s that much time. We have that much more grip, global grip in the track. It’s not one section that you notice you’re way faster. It’ just generally the whole track.”

Does turn 11 feel different with the big wall there?

“Yeah, a little bit. It’s a little bit blind but you’re kind of getting used to it and understanding the radius of how far I’ve got to turn the wheel to make the corner without hitting it. I think there will definitely be a few that cut it too tight and risk knocking a toe link out but hopefully it’s not us.”

Is there any tire wear at all?

“Not that we’ve seen. It’s typical kind of heat in the tires that’s kind of making it drop off a little bit in time but once it cools off it will go right back where it was.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Were there any issues during practice today?

“No issues.”

Will the patches on the track hold all weekend?

“You never know, but we’re good.”

Is turn 11 different with the wall there?

“Yeah, it was kind of hard to see the tire packs before the wall. It’s kind of hard to see too, but it’s kind of in the blind spot you have on the right side of the windshield. I know what they had in mind by doing it. Just to keep cars from crashing across turn 11. Guys like me with a flat come across it and back to pit road.”

Does the track feel faster than in the past?

“Yeah, it really does. It’s pretty wild. The feel out there. You feel like you’re doing something – it feels like you’re doing something wrong, it feels like you’re going to crash going into turn 1 because you’re going in there way faster than you should but it’s workable.”

Is it more fun out there?

“It feels sketchy at times, but when it sticks it’s fun, yeah. When you lose grip it’s not good. We have a little bit of room in turn 1 and a couple corners – turn 3. But when you get stepped out of shape through the esses coming back down in turn 10 – turn 10 is going to be a place I feel like gets a few people over the course of the weekend.”

Do you think this will fit your style of racing?

“To a degree, yeah. We still gotta work on our car and try to find some things. I definitely think it helps. In the past year, it’s just added another element that some of the vets were a little better at than I was at road courses. Now, for the most part I think that’s going to be gone to some degree. I still feel like if you get out of shape, slide a tire, it gets hot, it’s going to have to cool back off, so you still have to keep it straight in some manner. Tires don’t wear away as fast – it’s going to be more about fuel strategy.”

Is the simulator still as beneficial with a newly paved track?

“Yeah, it can be. Always think making use of our TRD simulator is always a big help on these weekends. Sim time always helps.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.