NASCAR CUP SERIES COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 28, 2020

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway, what it’s like racing with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, for a spot in the Playoffs, and more. Transcript:  CHAD (KNAUS) TALKED THE OTHER DAY THAT YOU TEXTED HIM MONDAY MORNING AND THAT YOU GUYS ALSO LATER TALKED ON THE PHONE THIS WEEK ABOUT RACING EACH OTHER AND THE WEIRDNESS OF IT. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT AND ALSO WHY IS IT WEIRD BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN RACING AGAINST EACH OTHER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. IN YOUR MIND, WHY DID YOU SEND THAT TEXT ABOUT HOW WEIRD IT WAS AND THE FEELINGS IN GOING UP AGAINST CHAD FOR A PLAYOFF SPOT?“Chad (Knaus) and I are great friends and have stayed really close through all that’s happened. Sure, it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fun at some different points here recently, but I wish him the best. We talk often. I want the best for Chad and his family, and for Chad and his race team. To go into Dover, we could all sense and see the picture and the way it was unfolding. I knew they had a tough Saturday and the toll that it took on William and Chad both, and then they rebounded on Sunday. I’ve been there – I’ve had him coaching me along and I just know where his head is, and I know how difficult and weird it is to look at the 48 car as the guy you have to beat. And the way you go about motivating yourself to beat your competition. I’m sitting on my side going through the same thing and it’s William and Chad, and specifically Chad. Through our friendship and our relationship, I just reached out to him and we had a good laugh about it. We certainly both look at the year and know there are moments that could have kept us both from being in this position, but it is what it is and we’re going to Daytona, which makes it even more awkward. We’ll see how things play out.”
EARLIER THIS YEAR, YOU KIND OF LED THE DRIVER EFFORT IN RESPONSE TO SOCIAL JUSTICE. I’M CURIOUS IF THERE HAS BEEN ANY DISCUSSIONS THIS WEEK ABOUT ANYTHING DRIVERS WILL DO ON SATURDAY IN RESPONSE TO KENOSHA? “Yeah, there’s been some early talks. I’m not sure where it will end up just yet, but I know the drivers have had some conversations and I know that NASCAR, as well, is in that conversation. These things seem to develop a little later, based on past experience, but I know that many, including myself, are extremely disturbed in what we saw at Kenosha. We’ll see how things develop for tomorrow’s event.”
YOUR CAREER IS OBVIOUSLY DEFINED ALREADY – SEVEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, HALL OF FAMER, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. BUT WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO GET THE GAME-WINNING BASE HIT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH TO GET YOURSELF INTO THE PLAYOFFS THIS TIME AROUND, CONSIDERING ALL THE ADVERSITY – THE LOSE OF POINTS AT CHARLOTTE, MISSING THE INDIANAPOLIS RACE. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY TO GET OVER THE HUMP AND GET IN? WOULD IT BE EVEN SWEETER TO GET IN WITH YOUR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAMMATE?“Yeah, of course we want all four cars in the Playoffs and to go through the rounds in the Playoffs. So, that would be the sweet thing. For me, I feel like I’m racing more for my team. On top of that and an extension of that would be for the fans. I know where I am in my heart and I know that I’m still very, very competitive, can get the job done, win races and be a threat for the championship. There’s just more variables to the reality of that than I think even I realized. I’ve had it so good with all those variables in place and was able to win five championships in a row, win all those races and seven championships in total. But I’m a better driver today than I was then and I firmly believe that. Watching my team develop, grow and end up where we are today led by Cliff Daniels, it’s been a tough three years – there’s no way around it. But we are coming and this team is on track. I do feel like we can get that base hit and I do feel that we can go rounds. And I do feel like we can get hot and be a championship threat. Yes, that will mean a lot to me, but for my team – they’re my motivation right now. Watching these guys give everything that they have week in and week out and they really are my motivation right now to go in addition to my competitive nature and what I want to accomplish. We’ll see how it all plays out. It could be a storybook ending for us, which would be amazing and I know the fans would really appreciate that and enjoy it. But all I can do is give 100 percent – that’s something that I’ve learned over these last three years that our performance on Sunday is more than just my will, my desire and how good I want to do. It’s really more of a team sport than I’ve ever imagined.”
WITH WHAT’S ON THE LINE TOMORROW, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THIS WEEK TO KIND OF KEEP YOUR MIND AWAY FROM RACING?“I’ve been training pretty hard – that’s always been a great escape for me. With restrictor plate racing, there’s only so much you can do to prepare and get ready for it. The rules are locked in, we don’t have practice, we don’t have qualifying. To burn off nervous energy for me has always be training, so I’ve been on the mountain bike quite a bit this week.”
IT’S DAYTONA AND THIS COULD BE YOUR LAST RACE AT DAYTONA. WHAT’S YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT THINKING ABOUT YOUR LAST RACE AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND ON A SUPERSPEEDWAY?“Honestly, just lay it all out on the line. We have a lot at stake and, again, it could be a great storybook ending for my last full-time race or race on an oval at Daytona. We all understand the storylines. I’m excited, I’m ready to go. I’m not one to spend too much time getting overly sentimental. I’m more excited about the opportunity to go racing and drive that 48 car. So, I’m just excited to get there and get to work.”
AFTER DOVER, YOU SORT OF MENTIONED JUST LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT RACE AND NOT REALLY BEING TOO REFLECTIVE. I’M WONDERING, OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEK, HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY MORE MOMENTS TO REFLECT OR HAVE YOU SORT OF CHANGED HOW YOU’RE THINKING GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND?“My mindset has really just been competition focused – trying to win races, trying to gather points. That’s so stressful that I believe it’s helped me not focus too much on the sentimental stuff and the emotions that come with that. I think I’m just wired that way and I believe a lot of competitors are – that you don’t want to stop and really reflect. I know at some point that I won’t have a choice and that will be in the forefront of my mind, but the longer I can defer that, I think the more that it allows me to focus on my job and to do my job. We’ll see how things go after the Playoffs. Hopefully we make the Playoffs and I can stay focused in the right areas on competition, and require to and have to. If we don’t make the Playoffs, maybe that shifts things a little bit. But again, I want to win a race so bad that that’s way more important to me than any type of reflection. I have years to reflect back – I don’t plan on being away from our sport. I might not be there week in and week out, but this is a sport that has given me so much that I plan to be around and I feel like there will be plenty of moments in the future to reflect, and this year is much more about performance.”
YOU’RE GOING UP AGAINST A HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAMMATE IN WILLIAM BYRON AND A GUY THAT’S COME UP THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION – SOMEONE WHO’S RISE YOU’VE WATCHED OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT A DRIVER LIKE WILLIAM BYRON AND WHERE HAS HE IMPROVED SINCE ENTERING INTO THE CUP SERIES A COUPLE YEARS BACK?“He’s a true student of the sport and his life is dedicated to racing. With his interest in sim racing, he can literally day in and day out learn tracks, drive cars, think about racing, think about setups, interact with his team on that level. During my generation, we could go test quite a bit and we did a lot of that. But still, I think he can get more reps in today’s world than the world that I grew up in and it’s been really interesting to watch him grow in his path. I think he probably has the fastest path to a NASCAR Cup car in the history of our sport. Hats off to him – he’s doing a great job and I know he’s going to be a tough competitor at Daytona.”
I KNOW YOU SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE YOUR FINAL SEASON, BUT I’M SURE YOU DIDN’T ANTICIPATE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THEN CONTRACTING THE DISEASE YOURSELF, AND NOT HAVING ANY FANS IN THE STANDS, WHICH PREVENTS YOU FROM GETTING THE PROPER SENDOFF SAY THAT TONY STEWART AND JEFF GORDON GOT. AT ANYTIME DID YOU START HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT HIS BEING YOUR FINAL FULL-TIME SEASON? AT THIS MOMENT, ARE YOU STILL CONTENT WITH YOUR DECISION?“Yeah, I made that decision and it takes a lot to make that decision. So, for me, since I’ve made it, it’s in motion – it’s happened, it’s where my heart is. This is my final year in the car full-time in NASCAR. It doesn’t mean that I won’t come back and run some NASCAR races. I’m certainly working hard to stay racing next year. So, the fans will still have their opportunity I believe to see me in race cars at a high level and we can have some great experiences there. The farewell tour that I hoped to have, the interaction with fans and that sentimental experience – the pandemic got it. It’s an unfortunate truth, but it is what it is.”
YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT IT WAS AWKWARD WITH THE RACE BEING AT DAYTONA AGAINST CHAD (KNAUS). WHY AWKWARD?“The awkward piece of racing my teammate and then to be at a track where there’s so many variables and so many ways to lose points. It’s just an awkward weekend. Normally, my history of racing, especially trying to make the playoffs, you’re used to a certain series of races that lead up to it, and then a cutoff race and what happens there. This is just all new and it’s different. I think from a fan’s perspective, it’s going to be very entertaining and the fans are going to tune in. For us guys in the pressure cooker, it’s more intense than any situation that I’ve been in the past.”
HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY DISCUSSIONS AT ALL OF WHO MIGHT REPLACE YOU NEXT YEAR AS THE DRIVER OF THE 48 CAR? HAVE THEY BOUNCED DIFFERENT DRIVERS OFF OF YOU?“Yeah, I’ve been involved a little bit. It’s a big decision for the company and for our sponsor Ally. So, the weight really lies in their hands and the direction they want to take. (inaudible). I believe in Hendrick Motorsports – the decision they make and who they decide to put in the car. And, of course, Ally goes along with that as well.”
MATT DIBENEDETTO TALKED ABOUT HIS WIFE PRETTY MUCH CRYING AMID ALL THE PRESSURE AND I SEE WILLIAM BYRON WITH SCENTED CANDLES ON HIS INSTAGRAM. I’M CURIOUS, WHAT’S LIFE LIKE FOR JIMMIE JOHNSON THIS WEEK?“Life is kind of interesting for me and certainly different than those two. We have chosen to do homeschooling for our kids until the season is over. Obviously, with the pandemic, missing a race already and for our children’s safety, we’ve decided to do distance learning. I was up at 5:45 this morning so my daughter, Lydia, could do a Zoom conference with one of her teachers at 6:30 MT because we’re in Colorado. It would be great if we were still in Charlotte right now on the east coast – the time would be much better (laughs). But our focus is on our homeschooling and all week long connecting our kids to their classes have meant very early mornings. Very different lifestyles for all three of us. And just where we are in age and what we have going on. The stress of the job – I’ve been through this in some many different ways. I feel like it’s one of the advantages experience brings. I’m sure I’ll feel it, but I think it will really just show up on race day in the car in the moment and the days leading into it are a little more relaxed for me.”
CERTAINLY, THIS YEAR WE’VE SEEN THE ROLE OF ATHLETES SPEAKING AGAINST SOCIAL INJUSTICES IN WAYS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN BEFORE AND CERTAINLY SEEN IN THIS SPORT. I’M CURIOUS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT AND HOW IT’S CHANGED EVEN FROM AN ATHLETES POINT-OF-VIEW WITH THE PLATFORM YOU’VE HAD ALL THESE YEARS. WHETHER IT’S THE COMFORT FACTOR OR BEING ABLE TO SPEAK UP AT THIS POINT AS OPPOSED TO YEARS PAST AND CERTAINLY SEE IT MORE IN OTHER SPORTS AND ATHLETES AS WELL IN THE CHANGING TIMES. AND WHAT THIS NEXT GENERATION OF ATHLETES AND DRIVERS IN THE SPORT – HOW THIS MIGHT CHANGE HOW THEY LOOK AT THINGS MOVING FORWARD.“Yeah, these are changing times and I know many don’t want to see the opinions of the athletes, and they want the sport to be the sport and the athletes just to be quiet. But I think there’s been so much going on over a long, long period of time and various topics, as well, that we have an opinion – athletes have an opinion and we have a right to share our opinion. I think with age, I’ve become more comfortable to share my opinion. And then as I learn more about various issues, my own emotions come into play and I’m led to having different conversations or use my platforms in a different way – to focus our foundation and some of the work it does in a different direction. We all have our own journey with it all and I think we all definitely have that right and should not be judged to have that right. It’s just changing times – a big election year, a lot of different opinions, and in my opinion, a country more divided than I’ve ever seen or experienced in my lifetime. So, it’s an important time in everyone’s life right now and I feel like the younger generation is watching and learning. And I’m very encouraged by watching my kids and the way our school is teaching them to learn, to have an opinion, to really educate themselves on various topics. At times, I’m discouraged by where we sit as a nation, as a world and just how divided we all are. But then when I see my kids, their questions and their genuine concern about the future of our country, of our environment, of racial inequality issues, gender-related issues – I do become encouraged. To hear a 10-year old and a 6-year old weigh in on some conversations really has blown my mind. So, I do have some optimism for the future. Clearly, it’s a critical point in time right now for us all. It’s a big topic and a journey that’s not going to resolve anytime soon for generations to come.”

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE NTT INDYCAR SERIES BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 DOUBLE HEADER PRESENTED BY AXALTA & VALVOLINE WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY MADISON, ILLINOIS AUGUST 28-30, 2020 RACE #8 & 9 OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES: With the Indianapolis 500 is the rear-view mirror, Team Chevy in the NTT INDYCAR Series turns its focus on the championship battle as the modified schedule for the Series’ starts to wind down.
With three drivers in the top-five in the standings – Josef Newgarden – second; Pato O’Ward – third and Simon Pagenaud – fifth, every lap, every point counts as the Series faces a string of doubleheader events starting with this weekend. This weekend Bowtie teams and drivers are facing preparation for a doubleheader for the third time this year. World Wide Technology Raceway, just east of St. Louis in Madison, Illinois will host the Series.  A pair of 200 lap/250 mile races, one on each Saturday and Sunday will give fans double the opportunity to watch their favorite Chevy INDYCAR driver navigate the fast 1.25-mile oval across the Mississippi River from the famed Gateway Arch. Two-time and defending Series’ champion Josef Newgarden, No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, has a win (2017) and a pole (2019) at the track joining his teammate Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet with a pole (2017) and a victory in 2018. There will be a practice on Friday late afternoon followed by qualifying on Saturday morning utilizing the same format that debuted at Iowa. Two laps for each driver will be the only qualifying and set the field for both races. Lap one sets the field for Race One on Saturday afternoon. Lap two sets the field for Race Two on Sunday afternoon. NBCSN television broadcasts: Race 1, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 29 (live); Race 2, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 30 (live); 
NBC Sports Gold livestreaming: Friday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice session (4:30 pm ET) and Saturday’s qualifying (Noon) will stream live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.
 All NTT INDYCAR SERIES races are broadcast live on Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying is available on XM 205, IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. ON-TRACK SCHEDULE:Friday, Aug. 284:30-6 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice #1, NBC Sports Gold (live)Saturday, Aug. 29Noon – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Single car, Two laps (Lap 1/Race 1; Lap 2/Race 2), NBC Sports Gold (Live)3 p.m. – NBCSN on air3:40 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”3:45 p.m. – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta & Valvoline · Race 1 (200 laps/250 miles), NBCSN (Live)Sunday, Aug. 303 p.m. – NBCSN on air3:40 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”3:45 p.m. – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta & Valvoline · Race 2 (200 laps/250 miles), NBCSN (Live) BOWTIE BULLETS: ·       Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway 2017 to current:o  2 wins: Josef Newgarden-2017; Will Power-2018o   2 poles: Will Power-2017; Josef Newgarden-2019·       Josef Newgarden is second in points, Pato O’Ward is third in points and Simon Pagenaud is fifth in points·       Power is the second all-time INDYCAR pole winner with 58 (behind only Mario Andretti with 67).·       Since returning to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed 84 wins and 98 poles in 142 races along with six Manufacturer Championships and six driver championships QUOTABLE QUOTES: ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES:  “With Indy behind us, our focus turns to Gateway, and another doubleheader. Gateway is a great sized oval at 1.25-mile for the Chevrolet-powered cars in the INDYCAR Series. Since the series returned to the track in 2017, Chevy has enjoyed success with two wins and two poles. With three cars in the top-five point standings, there is a lot on the line for Team Chevy to deliver smooth, consistent results Saturday and Sunday. In the past, we battled high temperatures and high humidity, but this year, the forecast is for slightly cooler temperatures in the low to mid 80s which for afternoon races, will provide different circumstances for our teams and drivers…but all with the eye on the win, but also gathering as many points as possible as the wind our way toward the end of the season.”
FROM THE COCKPIT: JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:  “I’m really excited for Gateway. While Indy was a really tough race, we had a decent finish, but it just wasn’t our year. We had a really strong car and learned a few things we’re going to try on the Hitachi Chevy this weekend at Gateway. It’s a much smaller oval than Indianapolis, so it can be a tricky race, and this weekend is a doubleheader, so we’ll have two chances to win there. We really need a solid weekend to keep racking up points for the championship, so that will be a huge focus for us.” CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: “After learning a lot in a very different-looking Indy 500, I am excited to get back on track at WWT Raceway for two races. The AJ Foyt Racing team had a great podium last year on the outskirts of St Louis, and we have high hopes for the No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet for this weekend.”
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: “The last time I was at Gateway (World Wide Technology Raceway) was in 2018 with Indy Lights, and I had a solid run, finishing in third. The whole Arrow McLaren SP team is going to be pushing hard to get the best out of our cars and get to the top step of the podium this weekend. The hard work of the entire team paid off at Indy, and hopefully it will again.”
OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: “I’m looking forward to putting the Indy 500 behind us but continuing our strong form on ovals. Gateway (World Wide Technology Raceway) in St. Louis is a place that I love visiting and a track that I’ve had a lot of success at in the past. I also can’t wait to see the fans in the stands, which is something I really miss. The working relationship between Arrow McLaren SP and Chevrolet is getting stronger every weekend and every chance we have on track, so we are looking forward to continuing to learn as much as possible together.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “My team has been working hard ever since Sunday to turn my Verizon Chevy around for this weekend’s race at Gateway. Going from such a large oval to a small one, we will have to adjust our strategy quite a bit, but I think we learned some things about the car this past weekend we can apply at Gateway. Running two races at Iowa will help us prepare, as well, since it’s also a small oval. Having a good idea on how the Aeroscreen impacts that track will be important, for sure. We also normally run races at Gateway at night. With this being in the afternoon, we’ll have to adjust our plan from what we’ve done there in the past, but we all feel great going into this weekend.” TONY KANAAN, NO 14 BIG MACHINE VODKA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: “I’m excited to return to St. Louis this weekend after our podium there last year. The promoters at World Wide Technology Raceway have done a terrific job working with the local authorities to provide a race where fans could go and have an opportunity for entertainment in a safe and socially distanced environment, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them at the track. When I announced the TK Last Lap in January of this year, no one had an idea of what 2020 had in store for us, so being able to have fans at these last two races of my season is really special for me. I want to put on a good show for them and for the fans at home, as well.” ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “After a tough Indy 500, I am happy to be able to climb back aboard the No. 20 Chevrolet this weekend and return to WWT Raceway. We plan to pick up where we left off last year and once again finish my season on the podium.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “WWT Raceway coming up next! The Indy 500 was really tough for the whole team but only a few days until we are on track again turning left. I’m really looking forward to Gateway. Last year, ECR showed they have good cars and are capable of good finishes there. I’ve won a race there, too, so it’s a good combination. I cannot wait to get out there for two races.” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“The Indianapolis 500 was really tough. We had some really bad luck, but we’re excited for a chance to turn that around this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway in the Menards Chevy. With two races this weekend, we have two chances to run hard and try and get more championship points. We lost some momentum after the last race, but we still have a shot at it, so we’re going to race hard. Gateway is a really fun little oval that is really fun to race at. I know my guys are working hard turning around the car from Indy for this weekend, and I know they’re putting something great together.” CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “I’ve honestly been looking forward to getting back to World Wide Technology Raceway since the checkered flag waved there last year. It’s definitely one of my favorite tracks on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, and after how well we did last year at WWTR, I’m confident that the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet will be great again this year. It’s been a lot of fun being back with Carlin this year for the ovals, and we’ve had really a strong run as a team together so far. So, with this being our last oval of the season, I want to make sure we finish it on a high note.” Chevrolet INDYCAR Series Statistics Chevrolet has recorded six NTT IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championships since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.Chevrolet earned six consecutive CART Manufacturers’ Cup championships from 1988-93.Chevrolet has recorded 12 driver championships, including four in the past five years and six total since returning to INDYCAR competition in 2012 with the2.2 liter V6 twin turbocharged direct injected engineChevrolet has recorded 195 wins in Indy-style racing, including USAC, CART, Indy Racing League and IndyCar Series since 1965.Chevrolet’s initial win, under USAC sanction, was by Al Unser in the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb on July 4, 1965.Chevrolet has 84 wins and 98 poles in 142 in IndyCar Series races since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE COKE ZERO SUGAR 400DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA BEACH, FL AUGUST 29, 2020

DAYTONA: RACE #26It’s the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway of Daytona International Speedway where the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) kicked off the 2020 season and the series return will mark the end of the regular season with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The 400-mile, 160-lap event under the lights at the “World Center of Racing” will set the stage for the Playoffs to determine the final 16-driver field that will vie for the title of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. It’s the first time in history that the famed Florida high-banked oval will host the regular season championship for NASCAR’s premier series. 
NASCAR is continuing to make steps towards introducing fans to events due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Daytona International Speedway will play a role in that process. In accordance with public health officials and local, state and federal authorities, a limited number of fans will be on hand for the event to witness the conclusion of the series’ regular season. Seating will include socially-distanced front stretch seating and those in attendance will need to adhere to all health and safety protocols in place. 
RACE FOR THE PLAYOFFSIt’s race #26 on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule and there’s one last chance for drivers to secure their spot in the 10-race Playoff battle to be crowned the title of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Heading into the Daytona International Speedway race weekend, four Team Chevy drivers have locked themselves into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, three by virtue of victory and one has raced his way in by points:  LOCKED IN BY WINSChase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE – 5th in Standings                       Victories: 2 (Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona Road Course)                       Stage Wins: 6; Stage Top-Five’s: 18; Stage Top-10’s: 35  Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE – 8th in Standings                       Victories: 1 (Auto Club Speedway)                       Stage Wins: 4; Stage Top-Five’s: 13; Stage Top-10’s: 28  Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow VORASURF Camaro ZL1 1LE – 9th in Standings                       Victories: 1 (Texas Motor Speedway)                        Stage Top-Five’s: 3; Stage Top-10’s: 13 LOCKED IN BY POINTSKurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE – 13th in Standings                       Stage Wins: 1; Stage Top-Five’s: 4; Stage Top-10’s 20 With 13 drivers already locked in by wins or points, there are just three spots up for grabs for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Here is a look where the Playoff cutline battle stands:             14th    Clint Bowyer (Ford): + 57 points           15th    Matt DiBenedetto (Ford): + 9 points           16th    William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE: + 4 points           17th    Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE: – 4 points BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Current Chevrolet drivers that have recorded wins at Daytona International Speedway include:Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, has three wins (February 2006, February and July 2013)Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW VORASURF Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (February 2018)Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (February 2017)Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (July 2017)
·       Of the 146 appearances made by NASCAR’s premier series at “The World Center of Racing”, Chevrolet has recorded 215 top-fives, 432 top-10’s and has led 7,977 laps. 
·       A Chevrolet has sat on the pole at Daytona International Speedway 50 times, with 22 of them being during the summer race – the most of any manufacturer. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all active series drivers in poles at Daytona with three (February 2016, February 2017 and July 2018). His 2016 Daytona 500 pole made him the youngest Daytona pole winner to-date (February 21, 2016 – 20 years, 2 months, 24 days). In addition, in his 10 career starts at Daytona, Chase Elliott lead all active drivers in average starting position with 9.222. 
·       Of all organizations, Hendrick Motorsports leads the way in poles at the summer Daytona race with seven: Darrell Waltrip (7/2/88), Greg sacks (7/7/90), Jeff Gordon (7/6/96 and 7/3/04), Mark Martin (7/2/11), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7/1/17), Chase Elliott (7/7/2018).
·       Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all active NCS drivers in wins at Daytona with three (February 2016 and 2013 sweep). He also ties the leaderboard in number of runner-up finishes in the summer race at Daytona with three. 
·       In his 38 career starts at Daytona International Speedway, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all active drivers in top-five finishes with 13 (seven in the summer race) and top-10 finishes with 18 (10 in the summer race). 
·       Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow VORASURF Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all active NCS drivers in average finishing position at Daytona with 14.857 in his 15 career-starts. 
·       In four-career starts in the summer race at Daytona, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads the series in average finishing position with 8.667.  DAYTONA HISTORY BOOKChevrolet is no stranger to victory lane at the famed 2.5-mile high-banked oval of Daytona International Speedway. On February 20, 1959, the track held its first NCS event (100-mile qualifying race to start on the pole for the inaugural Daytona 500), in which Bob Welborn took Chevrolet to victory lane. Later in Daytona’s debut year and the track’s first summer race, Fireball Roberts put his name in the record books by taking the checkers in a Pontiac. Chevrolet or GM brands Oldsmobile and Pontiac would go on to win the first 17 races at the speedway. To-date, of the 146 NASCAR Cup Series events at Daytona, Chevrolet drivers have scored 47 victories, with Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Buick adding an additional 23 wins. The 2019 Coke Zero Sugar winner was Justin Haley, who’s first-career NCS win in his Chevrolet after a rain-shortened race made him the youngest Daytona summer race winner (7/7/2019 – 20 years, 2 months, 9 days). 

PORT ROYAL, PA (August 27, 2020) – Tim McCreadie led wire-to-wire on Thursday Night at Port Royal Speedway to score his fifth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2020. He did so in dominating fashion on the first of three nights of racing at “The Palace of Speed.” Kyle Strickler equaled his best career LOLMDS finish by placing second ahead of current point leader, Jimmy Owens and Chris Ferguson. Open-wheel standout Kyle Larson came home fifth in his dirt late model debut. While McCreadie went unchallenged, the race for second on back was hotly contested as Strickler moved into second on lap 18 but was too far behind McCreadie to make a late-race challenge. Larson held the third spot until the final corner when Owens got underneath of him. Larson got into the frontstretch wall and that enabled Owens and Ferguson to get by him at the finish. McCreadie has now made his way to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the third time in his last five starts.  “This is a new car. I think we have three wins, a second and a third with it. This is as close to home as I get. You could tell these fans are excited. I am happy. I hope I didn’t make it too bad to watch, but it was fun. It’s hard to lead here. I just figured I would live on  the cushion and if I got beat, that was the way it was going to be.” Strickler finished second to equal his runner-up finish in the Show-Me 100 last month. “We were on a little tire strategy tonight. We have struggled the last couple of weeks. This was a bare frame on Monday at Longhorn and we worked our tails off to get here and it paid off.  We were definitely a lot better tonight than we have been recently.” Owens was thankful for another podium finish. “We had a second place car tonight. We didn’t have anything for McCreadie. I chose the inside on the last restart and I thought I could get a run on him [McCreadie] and maybe pull a slider or something on him gong into one. The high-side was the place to be and then we made that last lap run to get third.” The winner’s Donald and Gena Bradsher Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Bilstein Shocks, VP Fuels, Sweeteners Plus, and D&E Marine. Completing the top ten were Hudson O’Neal, Mason Zeigler, Brandon Sheppard, Shane Clanton, and Josh Richards.

NASCAR CUP SERIES COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT August 27, 2020
CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the upcoming race at Daytona, his approach to his job, the leadership role he plays with the No. 24 team, and more. Full Transcript:
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO MAYBE BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING JIMMIE JOHNSON OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS IN HIS FINAL SEASON?“Weird question. Why do you guys always try to pit us against one another? 
YOU GUYS ARE GOING AGAINST EACH OTHER FOR THE FINAL PLAYOFFS SPOT“it’s cool. It’s all part of it. It’s unfortunate that we’re in these positions. Obviously, sans a problem with Charlotte for the No. 48 and then Jimmie needing to sit out for COVID, he would be locked-in for sure. And, unfortunate for us. We’ve had some bad things happen on the race track with tires, etc., you could just name a thousand things out there. But, it’s unfortunate we’re in this position, the both of us. And, it’s racing.”
INAUDIBLE“Oddly enough, as I got home from Dover, I was doing the post-race notes. And I was just pondering a little bit. It was like midnight, or something like that, as I was doing my notes. And I was like man, it’s so weird that I’m going to be battling the No. 48 car going into Daytona. And then the next morning, at like 8:00 a.m., he sent me a text. He’s like man, isn’t it weird that we’re competing with one another for this? So, we a text right there and then we had a phone conversation a little bit later in the week. And hey, it is what it is. We’re both professionals here. We understand what’s going on. And it’s racing. And it’s competition. And, we’ll go down there and hopefully, we both get in, you know? I think we’ve got that possibility. We both run really well at super speedways. Hendrick Engines and the guys at the shop build some amazing race cars. So, hopefully we can get out there and get some stage points and race well and get both the No. 24 and the No. 48 into the Playoffs.”
HOW SIGNIFICANT IS IT TO YOU THAT YOU’VE MADE THE POST-SEASON EVERY YEAR IN IT’S FORM IN NASCAR? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT’S SIGNIFICANT OR IS IT QUITE FRANKLY, THE WAY YOU VIEW IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS EXPECTED ANDNOT REALLY WORTHY OF MUCH DISCUSSION BECAUSE THAT’S PART OF YOUR JOB?“You know, quite honestly, up until this year, I always thought it was pretty easy to make the Playoffs, honestly. So, I hadn’t put a whole lot into it. Obviously, the desire is extremely high to get into the Playoffs. That’s what I want to do for sure, one hundred percent. But I hadn’t really thought about that a whole lot. It’s just what you’re supposed to do. It’s just part of the job, right? The expectation is to be in the Playoffs. I never looked at it as anything other than just what you’re supposed to do. Does that make sense?”
I SEE YOU IN THE COACH ROLE SINCE YOU SAID IT WAS SOMETHING YOU HADN’T THOUGHT OF AS MUCH IN YEARS PAST. SINCE YOU’VE HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE GRIND HERERECENTLY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, HOW HAS THAT CHANGE HOW YOU COACH OR DIRECT YOUR TEAM BECAUSE IT’S A DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN WHAT YOU’RE USED TO?“It is a little bit different, for sure. We actually just had a team meeting not too long ago. And I was chatting with the guys and here’s the way I take this, right? In all my years of being in this sport and being in different levels of success, somebody is always trying to give me advice on how to handle things and how to approach the weekend, how to approach a race, how to approach a championship. And I told them, I said, you guys need to tell whoever it is that’s trying to tell you how to handle your emotions in this type of situation to just go away and let you deal with it your way because you’re a professional and you guys are doing things the way that you can to the best of your ability. The only thing that’s going to happen if people start giving you advice is that you’re going to cloud you and misdirect you. So, you’ve got to believe in your heart. And, that’s just the truth.
“And, from my standpoint, I fall back on what my experiences are. I fall back on my teammates. We’re going to try to lift each other to the highest level we possibly can this weekend to go out there and compete and hopefully come out of there with not only a Playoff berth, but a race win because that’s what we’re ultimately trying to do, right?
“So, we’re working hard on that, from that respect. I think we’re capable of getting down there and racing really competitively. The thing I think I’m most excited about, quite honestly, is the race tracks that are coming up afterwards. With the lack of practice this year, it’s no mystery that the Chevrolet Camaro has been a little bit difficult for us to try to get on top of; but if you go back and you look, I think our performances at second races, or a second time at a given race track have been pretty good. So, I’m really looking forward to getting back to some of these race tracks for a second time (like) Darlington and Martinsville. You look at Kansas and Vegas. Some of these tracks, I really thing we’re going to perform exceptionally well and get Hendrick Motorsports back where it needs to be.”
YOU’VE OBVIOUSLY DONE THIS WITH A LOT OF SUCCESS IN YOUR CAREER. BUT THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF DAYTONA BEING THE CUTOFF RACE WITH EVERYTHING THAT’S ON THE LINE, DOES YOUR CHAIR EVER GET COMFORTABLE WHEN YOU’RE DOWN THERE? IT’S SUCH A WILDCARD.“Yeah, I won’t be comfortable until I get my butt on the airplane and fly out of that place, I can tell you that. It’s a treacherous race track. Obviously, it’s in the time slot it is for a reason, right? We like that unpredictability and excitement when it comes to cutoff races for the Playoffs or to make the Playoffs. It’s all there by design, right? I love Daytona. It’s a great race track. It’s been really good to me over the years. We’ve had a lot of success from the teams that I’ve been a part of; whether it be the old No. 24 to the No. 92 car to the No. 48, to the new No. 24 team. So, uncomfortable is not really what’s going to be going on or those 400 miles down there in Daytona.”
RELYING ON EXPERIENCE AND FALLING BACK AND WHAT YOU’VE DONE AND LEARNED MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. BUT YOU’RE WITH A YOUNG DRIVER NOW. WHEN YOU FALL BACK ON THE EXPERIENCE AND WHAT YOU’VE DONE, ISN’T IT A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PICTURE, OR NOT?“When you’re a young driver, you’re saying? This is kind of what I was trying to get at. He (William Byron) and a lot of the members of this team are young, for sure. Not just young in experience, but young in age. The thing is, they’re all in this position for a reason. And, that’s kind of what I was really trying to reinforce is that you just do what it is that you’re good at and rely on what has gotten you here. William has had a lot of success at super speedways over the years in Trucks and the Xfinity Series. And we won the 150 earlier this year. We’ve run really well at a lot of the races. Unfortunately, like a lot of the folks out there, our finish rate is pretty low, which is always frightening. But our performance has always been high. So, as long as he does what it is that he needs to do, which I think he will, he’s going to do just fantastic. William is a very calculated guy.”
INAUDIBLE“That’s why I do it. I enjoy the competitiveness of it. I enjoy the puzzle. Everything is a riddle. And, you’ve got to try to solve the riddle and that’s to be first at the end of 400 miles at this race and to have the championship at the end of the season. And, it’s a daunting task as you look at the races and the things you try to navigate throughout the course of the year. Yeah, the stress is high. But, it’s why we do it, right? I love my job. I’ve got one of the coolest jobs in the world. And I’m very, very fortunate to be able to do what it is that I do.”
YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE STRESS AND PEOPLE GIVING ADVICE ON HOW TO HANDLE THE EMOTIONS. WHAT HAS YOUR EMOTION BEEN THIS WEEK? IS THERE EXCITEMENT? IS THERE STILL FRUSTRATION ABOUT WHETHER JIMMIE MAKES IT OR NOT FOR YOU?“I learned quite a while ago to be able to put things to bed pretty quickly from a previous weekend and I definitely don’t reflect back too much on what happened throughout the course of the year to put us in this situation because that’s a waste of energy. I’ve got a lot more important things to do. So, I don’t really worry about that a whole lot, honestly. The thing about Jimmie, man, who knows what’s going to happen? Like I said is my intention is for Hendrick Motorsports to put both of these cars in the Playoffs. We’ve got a shot at it, right? And that’s what we need to try to do. I’m hoping Jimmie makes it. I hope to hell the man goes out there and wins the championship, honestly. And, that would just be spectacular to see him be able to do that and knowing that I was a part of that would be really awesome, right? But we’ll just have to see how the cards fall. It’s a tough spot. It’s a tough race. It is what it is.”
HAVE YOUR PRIORITIES CHANGED SINCE BECOMING A FATHER?“Well, of course. I mean you’ve got a couple more little responsibilities you’ve got to stick in there. Anybody who says that they don’t would be lying. It’s changed my life a little bit, but I don’t think it’s taken away from what we do at Hendrick Motorsports much at all. I’ve got a great wife that understands my job and understands what it is that I do. She’s able to give me the freedom that I need to have to work and work long hours and be gone on weekends and things of that nature. So yeah, it’s definitely changed. But it’s not like I’m doing things a whole lot different, to be honest.”
SO, DO YOU ENJOY IT AS MUCH? YOU ARE GETTING QUESTIONS ABOUT EMOTIONS. DO YOU ENJOY GETTING UP AND COMING TO THE SHOP AS MUCH NOW AS YOU EVER HAVE?“Absolutely. One hundred percent. I don’t know how to explain it. So, my alarm goes off in the morning. And, I hit ‘snooze’ once. And then my feet hit the floor. And then I’m in a mad rush to get teeth brushed, shower, shave, dressed, in the car, drive down Highway 85, usually about 85 mph, so I get here as fast as I can and get in here and get to work. And I’ve been doing that now for I don’t know how many years. But, a long time. And I don’t foresee that changing any time soon. I love coming here. I love coming into this complex. It’s the coolest place in the world. For folks that haven’t been here, or who haven’t been here for a while, it’s just amazing what we are able to be a part of here at this facility. And my number one goal is to get the No. 24 car into Victory Lane and running the way that it’s supposed to be, and all of the cars here at Hendrick Motorsports.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 27, 2020

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway, the pressure of racing on the Playoff bubble, and more. Transcript:  ARE YOU SLEEPING GOOD AT NIGHT? DO YOU DREAM ABOUT RACING AND POINTS? DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR TEAMMATE?“Honestly, I’ve thought a lot about the race, but I think I’m the least stressed about it just because I feel like at Daytona, you always have an opportunity. You always have a chance to do well or even for things to go wrong. The track doesn’t really owe you anything. I’ve had some great results – I’ve won at Daytona in the Xfinity Series, I won the Duel this year to start the season. I’ve also had some unfortunate ones, like the Daytona 500 this year where we finished dead last. So, I think it’s honestly it’s just one of those places that never owes you anything and I don’t stress about it as much as maybe a place like Bristol or Dover, where you can run poorly just based on performance. I think it’s a great opportunity for us, that’s really how I look at it and I’m just excited to get down there. It’s going to be very difficult to points-race. Honestly, I’m going to try to approach it the same way that I did the Playoff race last year at Talladega when we were trying to make it into the Round of Eight, which was try to go out there, win stages and see where that puts us.”
WE KNOW YOU AND CHAD (KNAUS) ON THE RADIO – WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM YOUR CREW CHIEF DURING THE DAYTONA RACE? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM HIM AND WHAT DO YOU NOT WANT?“I think we do a pretty good job on the speedways of just communicating well. I don’t think there’s going to really be any stress in terms of where we’re running. I think we’ve got a good approach. Hopefully the strategy goes our way and we kind of get that track position to end the stages and be able to go race it out for points there. I think it’s honestly kind of out of his hands at a place like this – it’s really myself and Tab Boyd, my spotter, it’s just us communicating about the runs and the momentum. And he just kind of stays quite until it’s time to pit.”
WITH THE POINTS SITUATION YOU’RE IN, OBVIOUSLY THE CHEVY TEAMS WILL LIKELY RUN TOGETHER OR TRY TO BE GROUPED TOGETHER AS WE’VE SEEN IN THESE TYPES OF RACES BEFORE, HOW DO YOU RACE JIMMIE (JOHNSON)? I KNOW IT WAS DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES LAST YEAR, BUT OBVIOUSLY YOU TWO WERE VERY CLOSE TOGETHER THAT LED TO CONTRIBUTING TO HIS INCIDENT AT INDIANAPOLIS IN WHAT WAS THE REGULAR SEASON FINALE. HOW DO YOU RACE A TEAMMATE WITH THAT AS PART OF THE HISTORY AND KNOWING YOU’RE LIKELY GOING TO BE AROUND HIM, POTENTIALLY A GOOD PART OF THE DAY?“I think we’re going to be around each other, there’s no question, at some point of the race. But there’s also so many cars that come into play at a place like Daytona. Dover, we were around each other at the finish. Things went well and we were able to race clean and all of that. I’ve never had issues with Jimmie (Johnson) – maybe my rookie year a couple of times, but that was just learning situations and understanding the Cup Series. I think we’ll be fine. Last year, we were locked in on points. I think were three-wide, Indy is a narrow track, so I don’t really think that applies at all this year. We’re going to race and try to push each other towards the front and try to get both of us into the Playoffs. I think we have a chance and an opportunity to get both Hendrick cars in and be able to bump the No. 21 out. So, that’s kind of our goal and hopefully it works out that way. Speedways are really unpredictable. It’s all situational, so hopefully we’re together at the end, we can push each other to the lead and hopefully finish 1-2.”
THERE COULD CERTAINLY BE A SITUATION WHERE SOMEBODY ELSE NEEDS TO MAKE A CHOICE OF WHETHER TO PUSH JIMMIE (JOHNSON) OR TO PUSH YOU. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO DURING THE RACE TO TRY TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO PUSH YOU?“Just block really well (laughs). You just have to block like crazy at these places. The only way you’re going to make them push you is if you block well enough to where they can’t get around you. I intend on using the mirrors very heavily. My spotter does a good job of keeping me up-to-date on what runs are coming and just going to have to block extremely well so they push you.”
ARE YOU BRINGING CANDLES TO YOUR MOTORHOME FOR A PRE-RACE RELAXATION OR WHATEVER YOU’RE SHOWING US ON SOCIAL MEDIA?“I’m a big candle guy lately. I was actually at Cracker Barrel at Daytona for the road course race and I was going to get some food. I had to wait a little bit, so I got some candles. I just like all various candles. I live in a pretty small apartment, so every time I walk in, I can smell whatever recent the candle was that I was burning. Maybe I’ll start hoarding a bunch of different candle brands.”
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GO FROM BEING THE KID THAT ONCE TRICK-OR-TREATED AT JIMMIE JOHNSON’S HOUSE TO NOW POTENTIALLY BEING THE GUY WHO KNOCKS HIM OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS IN HIS FINAL SEASON?“I think it’s a great storyline. Jimmie is the guy that I looked up to as a kid. I was really a 48 fan through and through. I’ve got a lot of 48 stuff at my parent’s house and a lot of different diecast cars. But I really don’t look at it as me versus him. I know that’s what the bubble is right now, but it really is an opportunity for both of us to get in. Trying to look at it as that. That’s ultimately the goal – to get both of us in. Jimmie is an awesome competitor and somebody I really look up to.”
AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF YOU GET IN AND JIMMIE DOESN’T, MIXED FEELINGS THERE ON YOUR PART?“Unfortunately, the way this sport is, your race team is the No. 24 team. So, the guys that I answer to are Chad (Knaus), my engineers, my Car Chief Tyler (Jones), my sponsors. Really trying to just do the best I can for them.”
HOW MUCH INFORMATION DO YOU WANT DURING THE RACE? AS FAR AS THE POINTS, YOU’RE REALLY JUST RACING TWO GUYS. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE OR IS THERE SO MUCH GOING ON THAT YOU JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT OF YOUR MIND UNTIL THE VERY END?“I think you have to get the points in the bank during the stages. So, you’re going to kind of be aware of where those guys finish in the stages. And if not, I might get a reminder of just how many points each of us have racked up in the stages to just get an idea. Honestly, the way I approach it is I kind of have a temperature check in my mind. Like at Dover on Sunday, I knew we had gotten quite a few stage points – we finished third in the first stage and sixth in the second. So, I knew we were in pretty good shape. So if we just got a solid finish, which we did finishing in the top-five, we got a lot of points out of that day. So, you kind of honestly know at this point. We’re all smart enough race car drivers to understand how many points are awarded and you have that instinct in your head of what it looks like. And I know what the other race cars look like that I’m racing against – I know what the 21 looks like and obviously what Jimmie’s car looks like. So, I have an idea so I just do it that way. Typically, it works out – plus or minus a couple of points. Which might be the difference this week, so I might be needing to get a reminder. But when it comes down to the end of the race, you’re going to be running as hard as you can to try to get as many points as you can. It might be one of those situations where you cross the line and you’re in by a point or whatever. So, we’ll see what happens.”
WE ALL HOPE THAT YOU MAKE IT, BUT HAVING BEEN IN THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DISAPPOINTING WOULD IT BE IF ONE OF THESE SCENARIOS POP UP AND YOU MISS IT BY A POINT OR TWO?“We have all year – we’ve had 25 races so far to get in. We’ve had some really unfortunate circumstances that have taken us out of some really good runs – I think of Indianapolis blowing a tire leading the race, I think of the first race back at Darlington having another tire issue there running second or third in the race. We’ve had some really unfortunate things happen for us, which really just falls on us. I think it will be unfortunate, but it’s not just about one race – it’s about 26. We’ll go hard into the next 10 and try to win races there.”
WITH THIS INTERESTING SITUATION WE HAVE GOING AT DAYTONA, MY QUESTION TO YOU IS WHAT HAS THE COMMUNICATION BEEN LIKE IN THE HENDRICK HEADQUARTERS THIS WEEK? IT’S AN INTERESTING SITUATION WHERE CHASE (ELLIOTT) AND ALEX (BOWMAN) COULD BE FIGHTING FOR PLAYOFF SEEDING IN TERMS OF ANOTHER WIN, AND YOU AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON) ARE FIGHTING FOR A PLAYOFF SPOT. WHAT HAS THE COMMUNICATION BEEN LIKE, ESPECIALLY IN THIS ERA OF SOCIAL DISTANCING IN THE HENDRICK STALL?“It’s been good. We have our normal Monday meetings that consist of going over the previous races. It’s been fine. I think we always work well together on the speedway races. Chase has a few wins on him and I’ve got either a few stage wins or the Duel win to look back on. Alex has done really well – I think he’s finished top-five in a lot of these races. So, I think honestly we just work together well. We have fast cars and hopefully they’re even faster this weekend. I don’t worry about it too much. I think we all have pretty good relationships.”
THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE FINAL RACE OF THE REGULAR SEASON AT DAYTONA, ANYONE IN THE FIELD OF 40 HAS A CHANCE OF WINNING THAT RACE. THERE ARE SOME DRIVERS THAT ARE BELOW 16^TH IN THE STANDINGS THAT COULD BE IN THAT SCENARIO WHERE THEY COULD TRY TO PULL OFF THE MUST-WIN SITUATION AND IT COULD LEAD TO POSSIBLY YOU BEING THE FIRST DRIVER OUT BASED ON POINTS. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THAT, WITH SOME UNDERDOGS TRYING TO PULL OFF THAT BUZZER-BEATER TYPE OF SCENARIO?“It would be unfortunate for us. I think it would definitely be disappointing, but I don’t really know what you do at that point about it – it is what it is. Honestly, at that point, I would just accept it after a few hours and move on. Hopefully we can be that guy that wins and all these problems won’t be issues. That’s our goal.”
WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL THOUGHT OF NASCAR MOVING THE SECOND DAYTONA RACE TO THE FINAL RACE OF THE REGULAR SEASON? WITH ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS HAVE YOU’VE MENTIONED, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE KEY IS TO NAVIGATING A TRACK LIKE DAYTONA WITH ALL YOUR EXPERIENCE?“I hoped that we would be in a little better position to not be on the bubble going into this final race, but unfortunately that’s what we’re in. So, I think we’ve accepted that. I’m excited about it – I think Daytona is an awesome, historic place. We had a chance to race there on the road course, which I thought was a great event and very challenging. I’m just excited for this weekend. It’s going to be great from a fan’s perspective. It’s going to be stressful in the car, but sometimes those are the most fun times and the most rewarding times in the race car – those times where you’re under pressure. It should be fun.”

Batavia, OH (August 26, 2020) – Recently, the announcement was made by Knoxville Raceway that the remainder of their 2020 season (including the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals) had been canceled due to COVID-19. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will now be back in action at I-80 Speedway for three full events, with the Al Belt Custom Homes I-80 Nationals on September 17th – 19th.

Thursday, September 17th and Friday, September 18th will feature two complete shows with 30 lap A-Main events paying $7,000-to-win. On Saturday, September 19th, there will be B-Mains to complete the lineup for the 80 lap Al Belt Custom Homes I-80 Nationals A-Main paying $30,000-to-win. There will also be a $2,000-to-win Non-Qualifier race. 

Tickets are now available online at www.i-80speedway.com (all seating will be General Admission). Three day tickets are on special until Wednesday, September 9th. Reserved camping is also available for the weekend, with a limited number of backstretch camping spots available. Racing action will begin at 7:15 PM CDT each day, support classes to be announced. To make purchases over the phone, please call the speedway office 8:30 AM-5:30 PM CDT 402-3423453.
The Kokomo Late Model Shootout at Kokomo Speedway has been canceled. Brownstown Speedway has stepped up and added a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win event on Friday, September 25th prior to the 100-lap, $15,000-to-win Jackson 100 on Saturday, September 26th.
I-80 Speedway Information:Phone Number: 402-342-3453Location: 13909 238th St Greenwood, NE 68366
Directions: Located off Interstate 80 at exit 420, Greenwood, NEWebsite: www.i-80speedway.com

Batavia, OH (August 26, 2020) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finally returns to Port Royal Speedway for the first time since 2018, after a weather cancellation in 2019 and postponement due to COVID-19, earlier this year. This will be the largest three-day purse in the history of the Port Royal Speedway for the late model division, with a total of $150,000 on the line.

Thursday, August 27th is $10,000-to-win for 30 laps; Friday, August 28th is $12,000-to-win for 40 laps; and 50 laps on Saturday, August 29th that will pay $15,000-to-win. The Lucas Dirt series will be joined by Limited Late Models on Thursday, who will be taking part in a pair twin-20’s – make-up features from earlier in the year, paying $1000 to win each. The Modifieds will be the support division on both Friday and Saturday, competing for $1000 to win in a 20-lap feature event Friday, with a 25-lap feature for a $1500 winner’s pay day on Saturday.

There will be no reserved seating offered and all tickets can be purchased day of at the speedway ticket offices. Regular season reserved seating will be honored for all three days of racing. Camping is available on a first come-first serve basis.

Port Royal SpeedwayPhone Number: 717-527-2303Location: 308 W. 8th St., Port Royal, PA 17082Directions: Two miles south of US Rt. 322 just off of PA Rt. 75 in Port Royal. Pit entrance on Fourth St., General Admission on Sixth and Eighth St.Website: www.portroyalspeedway.com Port Royal Tire Rule: Rumble by the River August 27th-29thLeft Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1300, Rib (28.5) 1425Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1300 NRM, (29.0) 1300 NRMW, (29.0) 1425 NRM, (29.0) 1425 NRMW*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Main.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 3 new tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. 

August 25, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy head to Daytona International Speedway with a Playoff berth on the line in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.

DiBenedetto is 15^th in the Playoff standings with just a nine-point cushion on the cutoff line for being one of the 16 drivers who will start the 10-race, season-ending run for the 2020 Cup Series championship.

Races at Daytona and its sister track, Talladega Superspeedway, often are affected by “Big One” multi-car crashes, and surprise winners aren’t really that surprising given the uncertainties that come with racing in large packs at high speeds.

DiBenedetto said that given the Playoff implications, this Saturday night’s 400-miler likely will be even more of a crap shoot than usual.

“If I was a guessing man I would say probably quite a bit more chaotic and a whole lot of desperation because this is the last attempt or opportunity for a whole lot of people to make the Playoffs,” he said. “A lot of people can win at Daytona, so I would assume it might be quite chaotic.”

In his only start on the superspeedway at Daytona in the No. 21 Mustang, DiBenedetto showed that he and the team are capable of doing what he needs to do to earn a Playoff berth.

For 185 of the scheduled 200 laps of this year’s Daytona 500, he ran in the top five at times, then backed off when the bumping and blocking got especially aggressive.
 
But before he could make it to the checkered flag, he was swept up in a 19-car crash on the backstretch. He was able to return to the race and salvage a 19^th-place finish, but that’s the kind of outcome he’s hoping to avoid this time around.

“We will have to go to Daytona and do the best job we can,” he said, adding that he will be relying on his fellow Mustang drivers to work with him in the draft. “We have really good teammates, and the Fords are fast.”
 
Avoiding the expected chaos will be the challenge, and sometimes that is more a matter of matter of luck than skill at tracks like Daytona and Talladega.
 
“Sometimes it doesn’t really matter how smart you race and what you do and all the things you do right, even if you are running first or second,” DiBenedetto said. “A lot that is out of your hands at those places.”
 
There will be no practice or qualifying prior to the start of Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, which is set to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m., with TV coverage on NBC.
 

Inside Line Promotions – WEST FARGO, N.D. (Aug. 24, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi posted his season-best World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series result last Saturday during the Red River Rumble.

Scelzi capped a two-race weekend with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’ in North Dakota by placing ninth at Red River Valley Speedway. It was his 23 ^rd overall top 10 of the season and second with the World of Outlaws.

“We were really, really good,” he said. “The guys in front of me were equally as good. It was about track position.”

Scelzi qualified ninth quickest and he finished fourth in a heat race to give him the 12^th starting spot for the main event.

“We went out really late and qualified ninth, which was really good,” he said. “Then in the heat race we had a run at Kyle (Larson) and I should have followed him instead of raced him. We lost a spot there. My whole game plan was if I could slide him and slow him down I knew (David) Gravel was behind me. If he and Gravel could get to racing maybe I could hold onto a dash spot. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but you have to take the shot.

“In the feature I ran the bottom a little bit, but mostly focused around the top. It was so far around up there. Guys that could sneak around the bottom could make up more time. But if they missed it a little we were right there to capitalize. Sixth to 10^th place were all right there bumper to bumper. It was really good racing and we ended up ninth.”

The weekend began on Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks during the Second Leg of the Northern Tour. Scelzi timed in 17^th quickest and he gained a position in a heat race to place fifth. He continued to move forward in the A Main, advancing from 14^th to 11^th.

“I think it was pretty good,” he said. “We didn’t time in well and that was frustrating. We were okay in the heat and we were decent in the main event. I felt like we could have run anywhere between eighth and 12^th. I think we were a little on the free side. In the heat we were too snug and we tried to not go overboard and stay on the free side. It might have hurt us a little, but I don’t think we were bad.”

Two more World of Outlaws shows are on the horizon this weekend. Scelzi will make his debut at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo., on Saturday before he returns to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., on Sunday for the first time since his debut in 2015. He placed eighth and third, respectively, during a doubleheader at the high-banked oval.

Honda takes top five at VIRginia International Raceway
Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra score fourth place finish at VIR
Two top-ten finishes for Honda Civic Type R TCRs in the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix

ALTON, VA (August 23, 2020) –The LA Honda World Racing team scored their best finish thus far in the 2020 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge with #73 Honda Civic Type R TCR drivers Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra scoring fourth at the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix.

Starting eighth in the hands of LaMarra, he and Pombo persevered through yellow flags and immense GS-class traffic. The pair spent much of the race swapping positions with their LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR teammates Shelby Blackstock and Chris Miller before eventually crossed the line in the fourth position.

Delivering the best qualifying performance of the LA Honda World squad for the weekend, Miller rolled off the grid sixth in the #37 and spent much of the race battling his #73 teammate LaMarra before handing over to Blackstock with one hour and eight minutes left.

A great pit stop put the #37 in the hands of Blackstock back on track in third position. The Nashville native slipped back to fourth position following a restart before suffering contact with the #29 Hyundai, spinning him off the track.

The spin dropped him to eighth place, but Blackstock managed to move his way back to sixth in the final 10 minutes of the race.

Driver of the #77 Honda Civic Type R TCR, Ryan Eversley achieved a massive milestone this weekend, competing in his 100th IMSA Challenge Series race. Unfortunately, Eversley did not get to take his turn behind the wheel during the race. Eversley’s co-driver Taylor Hagler was caught up in an unfortunate first-lap incident that ended the pair’s day early.

HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring

Honda Racing social media content and videos from VIRginia International Raceway are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Next
The MICHELIN Pilot Challenge now travels to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta September 4-6 for Michelin Endurance Challenge weekend. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

Sato Wins as Honda Dominates the Indianapolis 500
Takuma Sato prevails over Scott Dixon to score second “500” victory
Graham Rahal, Santino Ferrucci round out Honda 1-2-3-4 sweep
Honda scores 13th victory in an historic running of the Indianapolis 500

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (Aug. 23, 2020) – Takuma Sato passed a previously dominant Scott Dixon with just 15 laps remaining in today’s Indianapolis 500, and went on to score his second win at the famed “Brickyard” in a race dominated by Honda teams and drivers.

Although he led only twice for a total of 27 laps, Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda was fast when it counted, in the run from the last round of pit stops to the checkered flag. Exiting the pits in second to Dixon, Sato swept into the lead on lap 185, then held off several attempts by Dixon to repass as the pair worked their way through lapped traffic. The race was decided on Lap 196 of the scheduled 200, when Spencer Pigot crashed hard exiting Turn 4, leading the race to end under the caution flag. The win is the second at Indy for Sato, following his initial “500” triumph in 2017.

Prior to the final pit stops, Dixon had dominated the day in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, leading a race-high 111 laps as the championship leader sought his own second Indy victory. Starting in the middle of the front row in the 33-car field, Dixon took the lead at the Green Flag and went on to control much of the 200-lap contest, especially after Alexander Rossi, in a strong running Andretti Autosport Honda, crashed out of the race on Lap 143. Prior to his contact with the wall, Rossi led four times for a total of 17 laps as he and Dixon edged away from the field in the middle portion of the race.

But both Rahal Letterman Lanigan Hondas came on strong in the closing laps, with Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal closing the gap to the lead pair in the final laps to finish third. After a disappointing qualifying effort, Santino Ferrucci conducted an exciting late-race effort of his own, finishing fourth to complete a Honda 1-2-3-4 sweep at the finish.

Honda drivers claimed eight of the top-10 finishing positions, with James Hinchcliffe recovering from a clutch problem encountered in his second pit stop to finish seventh, with his Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta eighth. Jack Harvey had his best Indy finish to date with a ninth-place result for Meyer Shank Racing; while Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top 10 in his Andretti Autosport Honda.

Next
The string of five consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval races continues next weekend as drivers and teams head 150 miles southwest to WorldWide Technolgy Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri for a pair of 200-lap races Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from this weekend’s pair of races 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) Started 3rd, finished 1st; second Indy 500 win; 13th victory for Honda at Indianapolis: “I think we had the best car. Only we were a lap short from Dixie [Scott Dixon] in terms of the fuel strategy, and [making fuel mileage to the finish] was a little tight. I couldn’t use max power to switch back and forth. And Dixon kept coming through Turn 4 [on the final green flag lap] and I was just able to hold him off. This is unbelievable. Everyone did a hell of a job. HPD and Honda gave us a lot of power and a lot of fuel mileage.”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 2nd, finished 2nd; led race-high 111 laps; increased his mid-season championship points lead to 84 over Josef Newgarden [335-251]: “This is a hard one to swallow. On fuel mileage, I really can’t see how [Takuma] Sato was going to make it [prior to the caution that ended the race]. We pitted a lap later, and the [fuel mileage] numbers they had to get, it was going to be very difficult. I thought they were going to throw a red flag [following a late-race crash by Spencer Pigot], which would have been interesting for the last four or five laps. Huge congrats to Takuma. He drove his pants off today. Rahal Letterman Lanigan, they were super fast, obviously finishing first and third. It was good day for Honda. I want to give a massive thank you to them. We’re very proud to be powered by HPD and Honda, and it’s nice to get some [championship] points. But it’s hard when the win slips away like that.”

Santino Ferrucci (Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda) Started 19th, finished 4th: “It was just an incredible race. The SealMaster Honda was insane today. The guys worked really hard on pit lane, on the timing stand and the strategy was perfect.  I’m just really happy, after two incredibly long weeks of focusing on the car, we ended really good. During the first pit stop I got caught in neutral, and it was like a blessing in disguise. It set us way back, but the momentum we had just carried us. On the next restart [after a caution flag] we went from 25th right back into the top-10. It was where we needed to be and we just fought our way from there into the top-four.”       

Ted Klaus (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Indianapolis 500: “This was a very satisfying win. On behalf of every HPD team member and everyone back at HPD in Santa Clarita – who have all been pushing hard since last year’s race – thank you! Congratulations to Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal and the entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan team for their one-three finish today; to Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing for his dominant run to lead 111 laps and second-place result; and to all of our partner teams and their great drivers. Together we led all but 22 laps of today’s race, and scored an incredible 13th ‘500’ win for Honda.”

August 23, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Richmond team finished 17^th in Sunday’s second half of a Cup Series twin bill at Dover International Speedway, and that leaves them with a slim nine-point cushion over the Playoff cutline with one regular season race left to run.

DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team enter Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway 15^th in the Playoff standings, just ahead of Jimmie Johnson and William Byron. Only one of the three of them is assured of a Playoff spot because any driver behind them in the standings but in the top 30 in points could win at Daytona and claim one of the two Playoff spots that remain up in play.
 
“I am going to sit and hope and pray all week that we can just come out of there clean and make the Playoffs,” DiBenedetto said.  We shouldn’t be this close to the bubble. It is frustrating.”

At Dover, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Richmond Mustang started Sunday’s Drydene 311 from the pole, as the line-up was set by inverting the top 20 finishing positions from Saturday’s race. He led the first 11 laps, but due to a loose handling condition was unable to maintain his spot at the head of the field. Still, he was able to finish the first Stage in seventh place and earn four bonus points.
 
From that point on, DiBenedetto and the team struggled to find grip, and he ended the second Stage in 16^th place.
 
In the final segment of the race, he essentially maintained his position in the running order. 

Although he fell a lap off the pace as the laps wound down, he took the wave-around during the race’s final caution period and regained the lost lap. Despite riding on older tires, he was able to maintain his spot until the checkered flag.
 
DiBenedetto said he’ll do what he can at Daytona to get the No. 21 team in the Playoffs.
 
“I have done a lot of superspeedway races, and I feel like I race really smart at them but it won’t help the fact that there are just so many variables at those places that you can’t control,” he said. “It is not the same kind of racing as anywhere else we go. 
 
“I would say the thing that pays off the most at Daytona is luck.”
 
Eddie Wood said that while he and his team didn’t come out of Dover with the results they’d hoped for, he did have reason to celebrate after Sunday’s race because Kevin Harvick delivered Ford Motor Company its 700^th Cup Series victory. 
 
“We’re happy for Kevin and the folks at Stewart-Haas Racing to win that milestone race for Ford,” Wood said. “We’re proud to have played a part in getting to 700, and we plan to do our part to run that number even higher.”

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA POST RACE RECAP AUGUST 23, 2020 Josef Newgarden leads 17 Team Chevy drivers in the 104th running of Indianapolis 500 (INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 23, 2020) – Josef Newgarden finished in fifth place to pace Team Chevy at the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. The two-time and defending NTT IndyCar Series champion started 13th and ran in the top-10 for most of the afternoon. Pato O’Ward started 15th and quickly moved toward the front before finishing sixth. Helio Castroneves finished 11th in his quest to become just the fourth driver to win The Greatest Spectacle in Racing four times. Rookie Rinus VeeKay, who was Chevrolet’s top qualifier, ended up 20th, one lap off the pace after a pitlane penalty took him out of the top-five running where he had been running.  Tony Kanaan finished 19^th as the 2013 winner winds down his successful career, Seventeen drivers powered by Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 engine qualified for the 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.  Although the race had to be postponed from the traditional month of May and there were no fans on premise as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the race had the same drama, same high level of competition and same surprises one has come to expect from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.Takuma Sato clained his second Indy 500 victory followed by Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal filled out the podium. GM president Mark Reuss led the field to the green flag in a 2020 Corvette Stingray. It marked the 17th time a Corvette has served as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, starting in 1978, and the 31st time a Chevrolet has led the field, dating to 1948. No other brand or vehicle has served as the “500” pace car more than Chevrolet and the Corvette. Newgarden is second in the point standings, O’Ward sits third and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud is fifth in the standings as the Series prepares for next week’s doubleheader weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill.  DRIVER QUOTES NO. 1 JOSEF NEWGARDEN, SHELL V-POWER TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5^TH: “It’s disappointing for sure. Our Shell V-Power Nitro Chevrolet was fast. It was really, really good. We were just taking our time. My boys in thepits were on it today. They made us up spots on every single pit stop. We put ourselves in position there at the end of the race, which is all you can ask for. We actually came in with Sato on that last stop and maybe we should have went one lap longer. But in the end, we were a little behind the eight ball on the final stint. We were working to unhandcuff ourselves. I’m proud of everyone though – they fought hard. I can’t thank Shell and Team Chevy enough for all the support they give us. We just didn’t have what we needed. We were in position, but couldn’t capitalize to take advantage of it. Congrats to Takuma on the win. Just wish we were up there battling him for it.” NO. 5 PATO O’WARD, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6^TH:”The No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP team did everything we could to get to the front today. My crew did an amazing job in the pit stops. We were fighting up there with Dixon, Rossi and Takuma – great job to him. Towards the end we just didn’t have enough to get those in front of us. I think we juiced out the car and got everything out of it. We were right behind Josef in 5th for Chevrolet, so I think it was a good job for my first ever Indy 500. Obviously here the only thing that matters is winning. I’m excited to come back next year and try and get that win as this place is pretty special. For now, just collecting and move onto Gateway.” NO. 3 HELIO CASTRONEVES, PENNZOIL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11^TH: “I miss this thing so much. I know I didn’t finish in the top 10. One spot behind but let me tell you, what a great group of guys. They did a phenomenal job today. The No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet was not the strongest car out there, but we fought from 28^th all the way up to 11^th and we did everything we could. Obviously, we tried to take our chances with some of the yellows and it didn’t work out. It was very difficult to pass however and we hung on and a top 11 was the best we could do. Again, I miss everyone. This was awesome, but now on to the next page and on to Road Atlanta. NO. 12 WILL POWER, VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14^TH: “Obviously we made our way all the way up to eighth with really good restarts. And then I feel like I got too good of a restart, so I was almost touching Colton [Herta] in turn 4 and had to pull out to the outside. There is no draft there and about three guys blew by me and then I got pushed wide in turn one. And yeah and the bad stop didn’t help us there – my bad. But I wanted to thank Verizon and Chevrolet for everything. Chevrolet gave us a great engine. My guys worked really hard all month and I just really have to thank them for everything. We’re going to refocus for Gateway and work on that.” NO. 67 JR HILDEBRAND,          SALESFORCE DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16^TH:“The car was a huge handful at the beginning of the race. I almost spun out on the first lap. It was a bummer because I found some passing lanes in the middle of the fuel stint. But I couldn’t get to those lanes when I wanted to. Unfortunately, the car was twitchy early in the race. And we went for a different fuel strategy and the boys got the car working better throughout the day. I felt I got the feel of the car better as the race went on today. We knew the track temps were going up and we needed to make adjustments with every pit stop. I was working the trim switches and various items to help the car roll into the corners better. We were good to go to the end on fuel and we might have picked up some additional spots if others had to pit. But with yellow to the checkered, that didn’t happen. I hope Spencer (Pigot) is okay. That was a huge hit at the end. I just missed a few of the crashes today. I was dodging a number of incidents. We made the right calls today with our strategy. But we just missed a few things that would have improved our finish. Overall, the DRR guys worked really hard this month and we gained more information when we return. At least we made up half the field going from 32^nd to 16^th today.”  NO. 59 MAX CHILTON,GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17^TH: “It was a long race, but it always is around here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I tried my best out there and the whole team did a great job today. We really worked on making the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet better throughout the race. Every pit stop we were changing something whether it was the front or rear wings and I was working with the weight jacker and the bars pretty much every lap. We had great pit stops all race and we tried to change up the strategy a little bit and at the end of the day we were a big climber. I think we were the fourth-highest climber of the day coming from 30^th up to 17^th, which isn’t bad at all and we brought the car home in one piece, which on a 500-mile race is extremely important when you want to be in it to win it at the end. We’ve struggled for speed all month, but today was a massive improvement and I’m excited to come back and try again for an even better result next year.” NO. 4 CHARLIE KIMBALL,TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVRLET, FINISHED 18^TH:“I was able to pass guys in the early part of the race, and I had a very good restart which gave us more spots. So we were moving up. The first five or ten laps of the stints were fast, but then the tires fell off and I couldn’t pass people. Ultimately, I made a mistake on pit lane with our third stop. I don’t know if the tires were worn or the brakes locked, but I slid by our pit box. Then I had to get in reverse and we lost two laps. I got our one lap back and almost the other lap too. And the #10 car stayed out and it prevented us from getting a rave around on the next yellow flag. At the end of the race, the WIX Filters Chevy was better, but I didn’t want to ruin other guys races and I moved out of their way. We ran out of time trying to get the lap back, because the car could run with guys on the lead lap. The DRR crew did a great job in the pits as always and we just had the one mistake today when I missed the pit. I feel badly for that one. We did learn a lot this month as a ‘one-off’ team at Indy.” NO. 14 TONY KANAAN, ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19^TH:I don’t know what to say… We had a solid car, made a lot of positions on track and also in the pits. We went from 23^rd all the way to 8^th, I believe, but at the end I had to match a fuel number to make it to the checkered without a splash and in order to do that I had to let a lot of cars go. I truly believe that we had a Top-10 car. We ran up there most of the race and it’s just disappointing that we had to settle for 19^th.” NO. 21 RINUS VEEKAY, SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20^TH: “Of course everything was new to me and I didn’t want to take too much risk at the start. We were running third! The team was doing an amazing job. The second pit stop, I came into the box and just hit the brakes a little too hard. I locked up my inside front and my biggest nightmare happened. I hit the crew guys, they work day and night for me so I feel terrible. I will make sure to apologize to everyone. I made one mistake, but it was a big one. Pit stops are something I’m not as familiar with yet, but that’s not an excuse. We had a great car. It got better and better and I was able to pass cars on the inside and the outside. I learned a lot, but not fully in a good way. I just want to thank the team for giving me such an amazing car, but I threw the race away. Also, I feel bad for my teammates Ed and Conor having a tough rce. There were a lot of bad crashes and I hope Spencer (Pigot) is fine.:  NO. 66 FERNANDO ALONSO,RUOFF ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 21^ST:“It was a very eventful race for us, we didn’t have one lap of kindness let’s say. We were struggling from the very beginning with the balance of the car with a lot oversteer. We kept changing that balance in the pit stops, reducing the front flap, doing tire adjustments and then we started to be happy with the car. We were up to P15 around Lap 110, which is where we wanted to be. We spent half the race going from P26 to P15 and then we had a clutch problem on the car that we didn’t know how to solve. We finished the race without the clutch, so from that point on every pit stop we had to push the car, engage the gear and go. That cost us a lap and unfortunately, we kept that lap down until the end and we could not achieve anything more. “I’m happy to finish the race, cross the line and have one 500 miles in the pocket, that’s the positive thing. The negative is that we were out of contention very quickly with the clutch problem. Anyway, I think the Arrow McLaren SP team was fantastic during the race, the strategy and pit stops meant we were always gaining positions. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done over the last couple of weeks. We tried to race but luck was not with us today, but I’m proud of the effort from everyone in the team.” NO. 22 SIMON PAGENAUD, MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22^ND:  “It was a real shame to start as far back as I did. I really do think that Chevy brought an incredible race engine. It had so much power. It was so good. So I think if we started further up, we would not have lost as much time in traffic. I feel like we had one of the best cars. I didn’t see [Takuma] Sato, but congratulations to him. He’s an incredible driver around this place. It’s fantastic. I think he’s the most successful Japanese driver ever so congratulations to him and the Rahal team. We were just on the outside of Ryan Hunter-Reay and he just hit us in the front wing like we weren’t there. So we had to pit for a new front wing, and it went downhill from there. At the end of the race, we were running I think is the fastest laps of the race. The car was really, really good and it would have been good for the last shootout, but it wasn’t our year. We’ll come back next year and we’ll be strong. We have a good baseline to attack for next year and we’ll come back to try and get No. 2.” NO. 81 BEN HANLEY,DRAGON SPEED USA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23^RD:”It’s a fantastic feeling to finish the Indy 500! All the odds seemed against us two weeks ago, but a huge effort by everyone from the DragonSpeed crew to INDYCAR, Chevrolet, and Firestone made it possible. We tried a switch in strategy late in the race that didn’t quite didn’t work out, but we are really happy with 23rdand what we’ve achieved as a team at Indy this year. As we hoped, we gained a lot of knowledge today and can’t wait to come back next year to apply it!” NO. 20 ED CARPENTER, U.S. SPACE FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET. FINISHED 26^TH:“Not the day we were hoping for. Our day ended after one corner. I don’t know that I could have done anything different, it didn’t feel like that aggressive of a move on my part. Evidently, the other driver’s spotter cleared him, which is crazy to me. Is it 2021 yet? 2020 is being a tough year right now. I am praying everyone is okay, I know Spencer (Pigot) took a big lick. A couple of our crew guys got whacked in the pit too, so I am also thinking about them. I am terribly disappointed that we weren’t able to show better for the U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Air Force. I feel extremely disappointed that we couldn’t do more, but that’s racing sometimes.” NO. 24 SAGE KARAM, WIX FILTERS DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24^TH:“I was able to pass guys in the early part of the race, and I had a very good restart which gave us more spots. So we were moving up. The first five or ten laps of the stints were fast, but then the tires fell off and I couldn’t pass people. Ultimately, I made a mistake on pit lane with our third stop. I don’t know if the tires were worn or the brakes locked, but I slid by our pit box. Then I had to get in reverse and we lost two laps. I got our one lap back and almost the other lap too. And the #10 car stayed out and it prevented us from getting a rave around on the next yellow flag. At the end of the race, the WIX Filters Chevy was better, but I didn’t want to ruin other guys races and I moved out of their way. We ran out of time trying to get the lap back, because the car could run with guys on the lead lap. The DRR crew did a great job in the pits as always and we just had the one mistake today when I missed the pit. I feel badly for that one. We did learn a lot this month as a ‘one-off’ team at Indy.” NO. 47 CONOR DALY, U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEEVROLET, FINISHED 29^TH: “I’m not entirely sure what happened. We were having a good run and it suddenly felt like my left front tire felt into a hole. It was very strange. I thought I had it saved and it was a shame to see Oliver (Askew) hit the wall as well. My mistake and I am just looking forward to Gateway now. I am so thankful for the U.S. Air Force. They are the most incredible partner I’ve ever had and I hate this for them.”NO. 7 OLIVER ASKEW, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 30TH:,”First of all I need to thank the AMR Safety Team, Dallara, and INDYCAR for keeping us as safe as possible in these cars going these speeds. I’m sorry for the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP team, they’ve worked so hard all week, all month, all year building up to this event. So, to have a result like this is really sad for all of us but we will move on to Gateway next weekend. I was really happy with the pace we had and the aggressive strategies we were running. We were trying to make something happen with passing being at a premium at this race. Thanks again to the team for all their hard work.” NO.41 DALTON KELLETT, K-LINE USA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: FINISHED 31^ST:“It’s obviously a different 500 experience without the fans and having the national anthem and flyover without the energy of our great race fans and it was bit sad to see that. But the start felt pretty good. I thought I was going to get the jump on Tony and Will but they showed my rookie status and got the jump on me, so now I know where to go next time. The car felt really good the first stint, we were just chipping away at it, working with the tools and dealing with a bit of understeer with the tailwind in Turn 2. The car felt really good in 3 and 4, making moves in traffic and was able to pass guys. On the second stint, the wind shifted a bit so I was getting a run out of 2 into 3 but got stuck behind Hanley who was running a bit off the pace. I kept trying to draft and get by him going into 3. I went pretty late and I didn’t know if his spotter didn’t let him know I was pretty low or he didn’t think I was going for it. I kind of popped and he came down almost immediately so I didn’t have time to back out of it and he skimmed my front wing and took all the air off it. After that I was just trying to save it and couldn’t quite get it turned enough to miss the wall. Pretty disappointed that was how it ended. We were having a really good month up to that point.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DRYDENE 311 TEAM CHEVY PRESS POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES AUGUST 23, 2020 
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER3rd     JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE4th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE5th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 ACRONIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE9th      AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW / BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE13th    KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1st      Kevin Harvick (Ford)2nd     Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd     Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)4th      William Byron (Chevrolet)5th      Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Daytona International Speedway with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES (INCLUDING JIMMIE JOHNSON’S THIRD-PLACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT): JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 3rdYOU GUYS DROVE FROM THE BACK THROUGH THE FIELD, TOOK TWO TIRES, GOT TO THE LEAD, BUT WASN’T ABLE TO HOLD ON. DID YOU AGREE WITH THAT CALL?“Yeah, I totally did. And I actually had a little bit of hope thinking that it would work thinking clean air would be so important and we were so fast the run before. There were a lot of laps on those left-side tires and it just didn’t pan out. But I really appreciate Cliff’s (Daniels, crew chief) courage to bet on me and give me a shot. We certainly improved our finish from where we were running at the time. So, all-in-all, a great call. Very proud of this Ally Chevrolet, everybody on this Ally team and all the hard work they’re putting in.” THE PLAYOFFS, IT GOT REALLY TIGHT AFTER THIS. YOU’RE HEADING TO DAYTONA – A SUPERSPEEDWAY. WHAT’S THE STRATEGY – HOW DO YOU GET INTO THE PLAYOFFS AT A SUPERSPEEDWAY?“I’m going to do my best to forget about it. There really isn’t any worrying that I can do this week to help me on a plate track. Studying, worrying – any of that isn’t going to make a difference. So, go down there, say a few prayers, maybe say a prayer per lap and see how that plays out I guess. We’ll race hard and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” WITH ALL THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD HERE, ARE YOU PROUD OF THIS LAST RACE AT DOVER?“I’m good with it. I want more – I absolutely want more. I know I’m capable of more and I know this team is. That’s our mission. I’m not gone forever – I’m just trying to slow down a little bit. I’ll be holding a steering wheel for years to come and it’s all about trying to win races.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th“It was like a completely different race car and completely different race for us today compared to yesterday. We had the Axalta Chevy doing the things we wanted it to do on most runs. It just felt good out there. I knew at the beginning of the race that we were keeping pace with the No. 19 the No. 11. As soon as we got the track position, we were able to stay up there. I think we were a little bit behind though since we really didn’t have a notebook from yesterday. I think if we had another race at it, we would run a bit better. Overall, this is good for our Axalta team. Now we’re going to Daytona where it’s going to be insane. I don’t think you can really points race. It’s going to be a race to be as aggressive as you can and hope things fall your way.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 ACRONIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th“Man, I am so proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Three cars in the top-five today. For us to pull out a back-up car, the No. 88 team did a great job getting everything together and regrouping after yesterday’s issues. Very appreciative to end up in the top-five and get Acronis a good run. We needed to get things turned around and this is a good step in the right direction. I felt like we were a second-place car on the short run and probably shouldn’t have picked the bottom on that last restart. So appreciative to have a great run and a huge shout out to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. This was great.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW / BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE- Finished 9th“We had a good day at Dover International Speedway in the Dow Coatings Chevrolet, and that shows just how hard we all work at RCR. It feels good to come out of the Monster Mile with two solid runs. We started the race too free. A pit stop for right-side tires definitely tightened me up, but it went back at the end of the run, and I was just sliding around out there to end Stage 1. Our Chevy definitely had speed today, it was just too loose to do anything with it during portions of the race. Justin Alexander and all of the guys on the team did a good job at making adjustments. Towards the middle of the race we were knocking off some of the fastest lap times of the field. We went four-wide to make a pass and I got a little damage to my right-front, which made our No. 3 Dow Coatings Chevrolet really tight. It was still fast, though. I’m proud of a top-10 finish. We probably could have gotten a few more spots on that last restart, but the No. 2 car did a good job and had a good run. It was fun out there this weekend, and I want to thank everyone at Dow and Behr for their support.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th“We have been consistent in our hunt for the playoffs all season. With today‘s finish, not what we hoped for, but we locked-in! I’m proud of everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. Teamwork is what it’s all about. Thanks to GEARWRENCH, Monster Energy, Team Chevy and everyone that makes this team compete.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17th“We started off with our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet a lot better than yesterday. I was able to roll through the turns a lot smoother and just needed a bit more rear security. I thought maybe that issue would be cleared up as the track began to rubber up, but it just never tightened up quite as much as I needed it to. The adjustments that my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and the team made through Stage 1 and 2 helped fight that looseness, but I still needed even more stability to really carry speed into the corner like I needed to. At the end of Stage 2, we took a big swing on our adjustments, which did help solve the rear security issue, but took it almost to the other extreme and made it tight to turn. The day didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I’m proud of our team. No one gave up, and we worked hard all race long. This isn’t over for us yet. We still have one more chance to make the Playoffs at Daytona International Speedway, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 COLUMBIA PFG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st“Today was a little bit better day for our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Columbia PFG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It was kind of the same balance as yesterday. Our Chevrolet handled the same, but we had a little bit more speed. Still not where we want to be – just could never get the rear-end underneath us. When we did, it was just way too much. We need to get some more adjustability in our car, but overall a good day for our Columbia PFG team. It was cool to see them on the race track and I’m excited for what’s next with them. We will keep everything going and continue the momentum into Daytona (International Speedway) next week.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:  THE MODERATOR: We’re now joined by our third‑place finisher, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.            Q. Jimmie, how do you approach this week racing your teammate for the last playoff spot? Not only are you guys teammates and you guys share information, but you’re going to a superspeedway where traditionally teammates work together.JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, it’s going to be a really interesting race in Daytona from that respect. But at the same time, it’s still Daytona, and in my opinion, “the big one” or all the wrecks that can happen is really going to determine who makes it into the playoffs.           We did the best that we could here over these two days, had two respectable results, closed the gap, but now it’s kind of in luck’s hands or in fate’s hands down in Daytona at the plate rate.            Q. In terms of information sharing, open book between you guys this week?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Oh, yeah, always has been. It was that way racing my teammates for championships; it’s certainly that way going into a playoff race.            Q. Jimmie, the last few laps of this race given what’s on the line, how much pressure were you feeling? How much on the wheel were you in those laps on two tires?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Not much pressure. I was so excited and so happy to have the view I did sitting there up front and have control of the restart. I knew when we hit the gas and the 4 car was able to stay with me, I was going to be in trouble. I needed to clear him into 1 and quickly I realized that my left sides were pretty exhausted and just didn’t have the grip we needed in them. We had a really good car and I really credit Cliff for making that brave call for two tires. I think we were one of the fastest cars if not the fastest car over the last two runs, just unfortunately clawing our way back in from losing track position, and we didn’t have the best stop two from the end, so we really just had to gamble.           I really appreciate his courage to do that. It netted a better finish. Certainly wish there was more there, but a great couple days here in Dover.            Q. Matt DiBenedetto is only +9, so there is a path now for the both of you to make it in, so maybe working together, the both of you can climb in. How do you feel about that?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s so hard to know how things will play out down in Daytona. If you get single file and it’s the old track with high tire wear, which it won’t be, you can work with a teammate and really try to create some opportunity, but if we’re all running in a big group, luck is going to play a bigger role in things for the majority of it. I mean, if you have a dominant car and you can lead the race and control the lanes up front, there’s an opportunity there, obviously, but I feel like luck and fate is going to kind of control the outcome of this.            Q. You talked about luck and fate. Does that mean your experience means nothing next Saturday?JIMMIE JOHNSON: It’s hard to say it would separate me. I look at this weekend and think my experience played into my hand and helped me gain points on the two cars that I needed to. To go to Daytona where you don’t really work on your cars, you’re in a draft, in a pack, there is some skill needed in the draft to make that work and to create opportunity, but I think it’s a smaller window of opportunity than what we have on a traditional race.            Q. What will your stomach be like this week?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I’ve been doing this too long to worry too much. Championship pressure, thankfully I’ve been through that a bunch of different times. Maybe that’s ‑‑ I guess actually maybe that’s where experience will play through for me this weekend and I’ll be able to keep my head on straight, think, keep my emotions in check and really race with a clear and open mind.            Q. With a run like you had this weekend and obviously today especially, I’m curious how much you needed this mentally because obviously we know what’s at stake for the playoffs at this point, but to have a solid run back‑to‑back days and to improve on this second day of the double‑header, how much do you feel like you and this team needed this as you approach the next 11 weeks?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, we definitely need it. Momentum really works for you in either direction, and to run good at Daytona, to run decent at Michigan, to take these two races this weekend, top 10 and a top 5, that’s all going the right way, and it helps me. It helps every one of us on the team.           Who I think it helps the most is really Cliff and my guys on this team that have been giving me everything they can week in and week out. I sense that they’re probably more concerned about me finishing strong than I am. I mean, they really ‑‑ we have a great relationship and a great bond, and they want to give me every chance to win going out.           I truly appreciate their point of view and what they’re doing for me, and I’ll keep willing it as hard as we can, and hopefully we can get it done.            Q. With as meaningful as this racetrack has been to you in your career, how does it feel to end your time at Dover, at least your full‑time career, with the runs that you had this weekend?JIMMIE JOHNSON: It feels good. This place is a blast to drive. I’ve always enjoyed coming here and making laps, and if the phone ever rings and I can pick the Cup race to come back and run, I would choose this track. We’ll see what happens out there in years to come.            Q. With next week potentially being your last NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona, with the stakes that they are, is this one of the biggest Daytona races that you’ve had to deal with in your career?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Honestly, I haven’t thought about it in that respect. I’ve kind of felt like that race is going to be the pivotal race for us to make the playoffs or not, especially since I missed the Brickyard 400. Maybe someday down the road I’ll look back and think of these last trips to tracks and moments, but I’m just wired a certain way, and I think all competitors are. You keep looking forward and you don’t spend much time putting a lot of emotional value into things.           You know, I’ve been doing that all year long, and I’m running out of races so I guess at some point it’ll probably hit me, but right now it’s kind of business as usual and just focusing on the job ahead of me.            Q. Jimmie, you said you were excited on that final restart, but after the speeding penalty, you restarted 30th and then you slowly marched your way up to ninth. What was your mindset going into that second stage after such a costly penalty?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I felt like we were going to recover and have a decent finish, and I saw we put the 21 a lap down, so I was encouraged for the points situation there. And then I slowly caught the 24 and I could see that orange bumper on his car and felt like we minimized the bleeding to them, and just hoped for cautions. I knew the only way we’d have a shot to win was a couple cautions to bunch the field up, and hopefully a few good restarts to go with that and pit stops to get me the track position. So just praying for those late‑race cautions and we got them.            Q. How encouraged by the team’s fortune turning around, and would you say you attribute that to the 48’s new paint scheme?JIMMIE JOHNSON: We’re not superstitious, but just in case, we changed the color of the car, just in case there was something in that.           I really feel like it’s been here for us, and we’ve just been kind of affecting ourselves or hurting ourselves throughout the last couple of months and losing opportunities to perform and shine.           I still think we’re missing some pace and we don’t have dominant pace, but runs like today, to run in the top 5, to run in the top 10, we should have been doing this all year long and not having to worry about points going into Daytona. I’m pretty bummed about that, but when I look back at the DQ at Charlotte, got a goose egg in points there and then I missed the Brickyard 400. If we just score some points in those races, we’re in a much different position right now than we’re in.            Q. You mentioned how experience has served you well with handling the pressures of the playoff battle, but what are some of the ways that you’ve key pressed, kept calm and avoided the distractions that would otherwise serve as a distraction for you?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I feel as you get older and more experienced in anything you do, you learn what to worry about. When you’re young you worry about everything because you don’t want to overlook something that’s important. But I feel experience really buys you that knowledge, and you know where to focus your energy and not just wear yourself out worrying about everything all the time.            Q. I know even though you’ve had a year before with Chad on another team’s pit box, now that you guys are battling weekly for playoff spot, have you guys exchanged any pleasantries or talked any trash down the stretch?JIMMIE JOHNSON: No trash talking, but we did see each other a few times on pit road. Neither of us want to be in this position. I think we both know that here we are with one race left, and it feels like everything is on the line. But we’ve had 25 races ‑‑ I’ve had 24 versus their 25, to not put ourselves in this position.           You know, I think we both reflect back on the year and the moments that got away, and we’ll just go see how a restrictor plate race can settle this thing.            Q. On Friday you said it felt odd to be in this position fighting with your teammate for the final playoff spot. Now that you’ve finished these races, now that it’s come down to just you and William Byron and Chad Knaus who you had so much success with, how do you reflect on this going into Daytona knowing that in order to get to the playoffs you may have to knock out your former crew chief who you won your seven championships with?JIMMIE JOHNSON: We’ve kind of seen it coming, right, the last couple weeks. The thing that is very encouraging is we now have the 21 car there in the mix, so we both can get through, and we’ll just have to race smart and see how stages play out and then obviously the finish at the end of the race next weekend.           You know, at the end of the day for the 24 car, I wish them the best. They’re my teammates. That car and that number, Chad Knaus, William Byron, they’re friends, they’re teammates, and now that I know there’s a path in for both of us, maybe I’ll stop thinking so many bad thoughts about those guys and maybe we can both get in.            Q. The No. 48 team has had to go through a lot this season. We had the pause back in the spring, had to go through the driver change back at Indianapolis and of course now there’s this playoff push but you guys haven’t finished worst than 12th over the past four or five races. My question is how proud are you of the resiliency of this 48 squad?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, the resiliency that you see is what I feel and know and live with day‑to‑day with these guys. They are a great group of guys. They’re giving me everything that they have and I’m doing the same, and the bond and connection and energy and vibe on our team is real.           It’s nice to have it rolling the right direction for us. We’ve had some positive momentum a few times this year, and then something would derail us for a few weeks and we’d get it back going. It’s nice to have it going right now. These guys deserve it, and we certainly hope to close out the season strong.            Q. This past weekend has been basically the story of 2020: Denny Hamlin wins one day, Kevin Harvick wins the next. I know you’ve had seasons in the past where you’ve been the one that’s been dominant, but when it’s the same two guys each and every week, is it almost demoralizing for the rest of the field?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don’t know. I’ve been there. I’ve been that guy, and I know how hard it is to get there. I know how hard it is to stay there. And I know how awesome it feels to be there.           My emotions are just jealous it’s not me or envious that it’s not me. I want to be that team. Those were the greatest moments, to walk into a track at the Cup level and know that there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to be the guy taking the trophy out. There is nothing that feels like that.           Those guys deserve it. They’ve worked really hard to be in this position, and my advice to them would be enjoy it. You just never know how long it’s going to last. They’re both doing a great job. The 4 has been able to link together a lot of years like this, and I again know how tough that is. So, I have more respect and appreciation for what they’re doing because I’ve been through that and know the challenges that come with it.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Jimmie. We appreciate you taking the time, and good luck next weekend in Daytona.