NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE MEDIA DAY TRANSCRIPT:

INAUDIBLE:
JIMMIE JOHNSON: I’m just open. I have so many friends in that garage area, great friends that live in Austin, as well, to have the day off and go out there Monday afternoon, have dinner with some friends, went to the track, saw more friends. It was just kind of exploring and looking around. I don’t have anything planned. There’s really no plans formalized. Just kind of hanging out, looking around, seeing what it’s like, seeing what kind of develops as the year goes on. Of course, my focus and priority is here. There’s going to be a fine balance of making sure I can do everything I can on the Cup side while looking at some opportunities that should develop through the course of 2020. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Jimmie Johnson →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

Q. Jimmie Johnson’s career, obviously he’s won seven championships. You don’t see him talked about.
CHASE ELLIOTT: It’s a shame (laughs). Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Chase Elliott →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE Session Highlights:

ON THE 2020 CAMARO ZL1 1LE:
“it has shown well in the wind tunnel. That’s the real data we have to go off of. The balance last year at Daytona and Talladega isn’t all that different with the new Camaro. It’ll show up more so at the 1.5-miles and short tracks later on.”

TALK ABOUT THE UNIQUENESS OF SPEEDWEEKS. CAN YOU SEE IT CONDENSED BEGINNING NEXT SEASON TO EITHER ONE WEEK?
“It’s always great to have a week that leads into the Daytona 500. I think that’s the reasoning for the Clash and Qualifying to be on a separate weekend. I don’t mind it being spread out for a week. We have to kind of get the rust knocked off things. We’ve got to have a couple practice sessions and the Qualifier. It all makes sense the way it’s set up. But, could we do things with the Clash and do things different there? Sure. But, I really like the way Qualifying is a week out and leads us into the Great American race.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Kurt Busch →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN YOUR PAST DAYTONA 500 STARTS?
“Just growing in confidence in my approach to this and trusting my instincts. And what I’ve learned over the years, and this will be my sixth Daytona 500, is just trust my instincts with my energy of the pack that I see in front of me and not worrying about the amount of laps in the race or how far into the race we are. But to be on the mindset of a little defensive driving, skill if our car is not the best car. If we have a really fast car that can lead lines, I change my approach sometimes. But if I have car that needs to be a pushing car or doesn’t have the steam to pull out of the pack, I just have to have a mindset of feeling the energy and back out when I need to back out and see what’s going on with the race. We just haven’t had that many races that finish with less than 10 cars. My goal is to be at the end of the race and have a restart in the top two or three rows, and we’ve done that the last couple races. So, I think doing that we give ourselves the best opportunity to win a race.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Ty Dillon →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

Q. How much fun has this week been for you so far?
RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: It’s been really neat so far. As soon as I won the pole, we were like, hey, we’re going to fly out at 6:00 p.m. to go to New York and they were gracious enough to let me push that time back so I could go to the dirt track and watch my sprint car team run, and then we headed to New York. But getting there, getting up in the morning and going to FOX and doing all the shows and then all the interviews in between is just pretty cool, to see everybody talking about our race team and what we were able to accomplish on Sunday. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Ricky Stenhouse Jr. →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA ‘COLOR OF THE YEAR’ CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

Q. IRacing, how is it going so far?
WILLIAM BYRON: It’s going well. I think first in the owner points right now, so that is good. Obviously, a small sample set with one race. I’m excited. I think they’re doing a great job, Nick and John, John winning the Clash last week, finishing sixth in the 500, then Nick finishing second barely last night. I think it’s great. Kind of gives me something to look forward to during the week. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–William Byron →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

WITH JIMMIE (JOHNSON) LEAVING, DO YOU GUYS GET A SENSE OF SOMEONE WHO CAN FILL THAT LEADERSHIP ROLE AT HENDRICK?
“That really hasn’t got brought up a whole lot. Obviously, from the driver role, I feel like all four of us bring something different to the table, are able to look at things differently and help each other. At the same time, I feel like Jeff Gordon does a really good job of being really involved and having a driving background helps from our side of things. But we haven’t really talked about it, so it will be interesting to see.”

BEING THAT LEADER, DOES THAT JUST HAPPEN ORGANICALLY?
“Yeah, I think so, for sure. You can’t just walk in and say, ‘hey, I’m going to be the leader of this deal’. It definitely has to happen organically over time. We’ll have to wait and see how that happens, who it is and all that.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Alex Bowman →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

REGARDING THE 2021 SCHEUDLE, HAS NASCAR COME TO YOU GUYS, THE DRIVERS, FOR YOUR OPINION?
“Yeah, they have come to the drivers for sure and said some things and have given us updates. But I feel like it’s still their choice, it’s their sport, you know? If you go to too many drivers, you get too many opinions. Everybody wants something different that benefits them added to the schedule. I just said I wanted another short track, Iowa Speedway, that is a place I run good at so that is why I want to go there. It’s also a good market. I think they are doing a good job with just moving on and putting different markets in there. And with just changing it up. I think what Pocono is doing is good and they do a good job of selling that track out. They have taken their two dates and added it to one race weekend, and I think other tracks should do that and allow us to go to some other places. I think the two-day show is interesting for our sport.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Austin Dillon →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

TYLER REDDICK NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

Q. Rookie Cup season for you. You went through this process last year…
TYLER REDDICK: It helps a little bit. The cars are totally different on the racetrack. Even going around the racetrack in qualifying trim, you can kind of feel that. You got more horsepower. It’s easier to mess up leaving pit road. I did a really bad job of that in qualifying. As we saw, when it’s time to go, there’s no restraint on the Cup drivers’ behalf. Everyone just wrecks. You have to watch out for that, try to figure out when that’s going to happen, try to avoid it if at all possible. Like we saw, there were five cars left for the most part at the end of the Clash. 18 drivers, but 18 of the best, and still only five left. I mean, you got to try to survive it. I don’t know what the answer is going to be. Seems like you can be running last, the guy behind you is going to run into the back of you, wreck everybody, too. There’s no secret answer to it. Me and Cole are right in the back, minding our own business, avoid the carnage. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Tyler Reddick →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

ON KOBE BRYANT:
“It’s kind of bizarre because I wasn’t really a huge fan of Kobe Bryant. Obviously I’m a fan of the game, but looking back and seeing all the videos, I’m still watching videos to this day, of what he’s done in-game and post-game after he retired and seeing how big of an icon he was and how big of an impact he had on everybody, I’m sure he touched everybody in this room when he passed. To see somebody have that big of an impact, you can only hope to leave that sort of impact when it’s your time to go. Man, seeing how he was as a father and a player, it’s like all right, I want to line yourself up to follow that path and it was a huge loss for the sports world and just for the world in general. To have that impact globally speaks volumes to how he was as a person. I think I’ve got to change up a few things to have that sort of impact in my career. So, we’ll start right now.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Bubba Wallace →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

YOU ARE NOT A SURPRISE ANYMORE, ESPECIALLY AT THIS RACE. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO SUNDAY?
“Obviously, our team has a lot more speed than we’ve had from when I was here last year. There has been a lot of gains that have been made through the off season thanks to the new Chevrolet body that has been put into place this year. I’m really excited about it. But also because of JTG Daugherty’s hard work and guidance from everyone there. I’m really excited about going into the Daytona 500 knowing what we have and the speed that we have. It’s really exciting stuff.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Ryan Preece →

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500
TEAM CHEVY MEDIA DAY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Daytona 500 Media Day Highlights:

YOU WON 10 RACES DURING THE OFF SEASON, IS THAT CORRECT?
“Yeah, I think it was 10 out of 20. So, that was a good little average there. I didn’t expect to win that much, so it was cool to get into the double-digits in just a couple of months. It’s always fun when you can get to the double-digits.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Daytona Media Day–Kyle Larson →

NOSTALGIA NATIONALS TO LAUNCH ‘HISTORIC DRAG RACING’ SEASON

NSRA Nostalgia Nationals
Santa Pod Raceway
Fri.8 – Sun.10 May 2020

With a new season under way, our thoughts turn to the year’s first major nostalgia event.

Hosted in association with the National Street Rod Association, the Nostalgia Nationals promises to be three full days of RWYB track action, the focus, as always, being on pre-1973 Hot Rods and Street Machines, with a generous helping of period race cars adding to the mix. Continue reading NOSTALGIA NATIONALS TO LAUNCH ‘HISTORIC DRAG RACING’ SEASON →

TopCoat Dodge and Alan Prusiensky Get 60th Winternationals Started in Pomona

POMONA, CA (February 9, 2020) — The 60th annual Winternationals kicked off the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and the TopCoat™ Dodge driven by Alan Prusiensky made a strong debut to get the 50th anniversary of the Pro Stock category started. Over two days of qualifying Prusiensky and the blue and black Dodge Dart branded with the TopCoat™ and F11 logos battled a tough field to make the top sixteen. Heading into the final qualifying session on Saturday Prusiensky was racing to bust into qualified field but the New Jersy based driver narrowly missed the field. Continue reading TopCoat Dodge and Alan Prusiensky Get 60th Winternationals Started in Pomona →

Terry McMillen and AMALIE Motor Oil Make Strides
at NHRA Winternationals

POMONA, CA (February 9, 2020) — The 60th annual NHRA Winternationals proved to be a solid first race for Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil team . Beyond the race day results the team worked together acclimating new teammates and racing in challenging conditions giving McMillen a lot of confidence heading to Phoenix.

On race day McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster were confident about what lay ahead in kick-off event of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. The team did not participate in any pre-season testing so the first race was a good opportunity to make immediate improvement. Continue reading Terry McMillen and AMALIE Motor Oil Make Strides →

Jeg Coughlin Jr. conquers Pomona (again) with truly impressive Pro Stock performance
POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 9) — Jeg Coughlin Jr. began the 2020 NHRA season with a dominating run at the 60th annual Lucas Oil Winternationals, posting low elapsed time of every round in both qualifying and eliminations to secure his 64th Pro Stock trophy. Continue reading Jeg Coughlin Jr. conquers Pomona (again) with truly impressive Pro Stock performance →

JOHN FORCE AND AUSTIN PROCK FINISH RUNNER-UP AT
THE NHRA WINTERNATIONALS

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 09, 2020) – John Force and the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team and Austin Prock with his Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster each had runner-up finishes Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Teammates Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team exited in the semifinal while Robert Hight had a second-round exit with his Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SS crew. Continue reading JOHN FORCE AND AUSTIN PROCK FINISH RUNNER-UP AT THE NHRA WINTERNATIONALS →

Fast Start for “Fast Jack” and Mopar Dodge//SRT with Funny Car National Event Win at NHRA Winternationals to Kick-off 2020 Season

· Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car driver Jack Beckman drives his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a win at the 60th annual NHRA Winternationals to start the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season
· No.1 qualifier Matt Hagan takes the DSR Mopar Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat Funny Car to a semifinal appearance at historic Auto Club Raceway
· DSR teammates Tommy Johnson Jr. and Ron Capps see their runs for the Funny Car national title cut short in the quarterfinals
· Top Fuel DSR driver Leah Pruett takes her Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster to a semifinal appearance Continue reading Fast Start for “Fast Jack” and Mopar Dodge//SRT with Funny Car National Event Win at NHRA Winternationals to Kick-off 2020 Season →

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORNIA
RACE RECAP AND DRIVER QUOTES
FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Chevrolet starts 2020 season on the fast track

Jeg Coughlin Jr. earns 64th win to kick of Pro Stock’s 50th anniversary
Sixteen-time champion John Force drives to runner-up finish in Funny Car
Second-year driver Austin Prock places second in Top Fuel Continue reading Chevy Racing–NHRA–Pomona →

Austin Dillon and the Symbicort / RigUp Team Survive Wild Busch Clash at Daytona with Second-Place Finish

“I thought we were going to end up victorious in our Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) / RigUp Chevrolet today. At the end, there were just no cars left. I thought that we were in the best position with the cleanest car. When it came down to it, we drove from the back up to second by the white flag and I was racing Ryan Newman. My spotter did a pretty good job of telling me to get up, but I felt pretty confident that we had the pace we needed to keep the lead. When Newman blocked me low it just killed our run and those guys flew by. We probably should have been working with the No. 42 Chevrolet during the red flag to put a better plan together to try and win. Justin Alexander and I have a pretty good record of winning our first races together. We’ve done it in the Xfinity Series for our first race together, and in the NASCAR Cup Series for our first race together, and we almost extended that record today. Still, second is a pretty good start to Speedweeks.”

-Austin Dillon