NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Regarding Greg Biffle and memories with him, and the special number font on your car “Yeah, first and foremost it’s sad that we have to run it.  Greg was somebody that I had many battles with on the racetrack and there were some competition meetings that we had some battles with as well. All fun memories, but the impact that he had in the community after he retired and obviously the floods and the everything that he did for that stand out.  Then you start hearing the trickle-down effect of everything he was doing. He was just a great person, and I enjoyed him and when he would come back to the racetrack and pick up conversations that we probably hadn’t had in a couple of years like they were five minutes ago. So I am sure there was a process of checking with Roush and making sure it was okay, but to us, it was a no brainer to do it if they allowed it. And hopefully this race is special for so many reasons, but if we were able to pull into victory lane on Sunday night it would be just a little bit more knowing that the font on the side of the car and what it means.”  Any memories that you can share about Greg Biffle, that stand out?“Yeah, I have got one in the competition meeting where we had a little bit of an argument after and what I laugh about is the argument was quite heated, and it was very heated. I think we were both raging at each other and then I went into my spiel about my racecar and then literally like two minutes later he was like, ‘man, your car was doing the same thing?’ and I was like, ‘yeah I had the same issue’ and it was like 20 minutes that just happened didn’t happen. I remember I walked out of the meeting, and I just started laughing about it. Because that was the type of person he was and how we both are. Its like one minute we were about to get in each other’s face and then we were like ‘yeah, yeah, our cars are doing the same thing’, and it never happened.  So, the battles on the racetrack were a lot of fun, but that one, the competition meeting will always stand out to me.”  What do you remember about your first Daytona 500?“The first one I made, or the first two I attended and didn’t make? Because the first two years were gut-wrenching and just absolute sadness. Because I got wrecked in lap seven of my first attempt at it in the Duels, when they had 68 cars here and I was at another race team that I will not mention. Then the next year, I was like a half of a car length from making it and didn’t make it.  So, the first two years here were gut-wrenching and the third year here, I had to race my way in and honestly had a shot to win it. It was rain-shortened that year and finished third and that, in a way, is what kept me going in the sport. So, without finishing third there, I don’t know if I would have had a continued career in NASCAR.”  Regarding having the same teammate heading into this year“The situation that I just talked about, in trying to keep at least some things together. You know, I think there is a little bit of change on the crew side of it but for the most part with Ty (Dillon) and myself, and the crew chiefs, and some of the engineers….I think we have brought in some good people, building our own bodies and we have to bring in some people and its strengthened the race team on that. But on the Ty side of it, I have known Ty for a long time but I have never generally worked with him till last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I feel like we kind of have the same personalities of the way we work together. So, to have him back is huge for our race team to just keep that together. Really that helps too in just going off a notebook and not having any data, knowing the stuff that we felt last year so that we can kind of work on that this year maybe when we are off a little bit on a race weekend and just go back to using the notes that we had last year, because that is all we got.”  How are you approaching the Daytona 500 this year?“I approach it like I always do.  First you want to finish, but you just go through the process of the week. And I feel like we will have fast race cars – we typically do at the superspeedways. But, a lot of guys will have fast race cars, so I kind of more judge it after the Duel.  Qualifying, unless you are on the front row, doesn’t mean anything. I judge it after the Duel and see what kind of car you got as far as handling-wise, drafting-wise, and then you go from there. You just try to make the right moves on Sunday. I feel like it’s always the same thing, you don’t want to be in the big one and you definitely don’t want to be the cause of it. That is the first goal. Hopefully you make the right moves, and you have a shot at the end of the race.” What is the scariest moment you have had at this racetrack, where you have been like you will never forget it?“All of them. We are all psycho out there.  Generally, I think we are all pretty calm and then we strap the helmet on and it cuts off the oxygen to our heads, and we become morons out there. So they are all hairy.  There are many wrecks that I should have been in, the ones that I have been in hurt, and you are out there and you are four-wide on lap 12 and you are like, ‘this is stupid, what are we doing?’. Then you are, ‘I am just going to lay back’, and then no, I am like ‘I am just going to run and why not stick it up in there?’.  So, yeah, it’s all crazy.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Regarding Greg Biffle and memories with him, and the special number font on your car “Yeah, first and foremost it’s sad that we have to run it.  Greg was somebody that I had many battles with on the racetrack and there were some competition meetings that we had some battles with as well. All fun memories, but the impact that he had in the community after he retired and obviously the floods and the everything that he did for that stand out.  Then you start hearing the trickle-down effect of everything he was doing. He was just a great person, and I enjoyed him and when he would come back to the racetrack and pick up conversations that we probably hadn’t had in a couple of years like they were five minutes ago. So I am sure there was a process of checking with Roush and making sure it was okay, but to us, it was a no brainer to do it if they allowed it. And hopefully this race is special for so many reasons, but if we were able to pull into victory lane on Sunday night it would be just a little bit more knowing that the font on the side of the car and what it means.”  Any memories that you can share about Greg Biffle, that stand out?“Yeah, I have got one in the competition meeting where we had a little bit of an argument after and what I laugh about is the argument was quite heated, and it was very heated. I think we were both raging at each other and then I went into my spiel about my racecar and then literally like two minutes later he was like, ‘man, your car was doing the same thing?’ and I was like, ‘yeah I had the same issue’ and it was like 20 minutes that just happened didn’t happen. I remember I walked out of the meeting, and I just started laughing about it. Because that was the type of person he was and how we both are. Its like one minute we were about to get in each other’s face and then we were like ‘yeah, yeah, our cars are doing the same thing’, and it never happened.  So, the battles on the racetrack were a lot of fun, but that one, the competition meeting will always stand out to me.”  What do you remember about your first Daytona 500?“The first one I made, or the first two I attended and didn’t make? Because the first two years were gut-wrenching and just absolute sadness. Because I got wrecked in lap seven of my first attempt at it in the Duels, when they had 68 cars here and I was at another race team that I will not mention. Then the next year, I was like a half of a car length from making it and didn’t make it.  So, the first two years here were gut-wrenching and the third year here, I had to race my way in and honestly had a shot to win it. It was rain-shortened that year and finished third and that, in a way, is what kept me going in the sport. So, without finishing third there, I don’t know if I would have had a continued career in NASCAR.”  Regarding having the same teammate heading into this year“The situation that I just talked about, in trying to keep at least some things together. You know, I think there is a little bit of change on the crew side of it but for the most part with Ty (Dillon) and myself, and the crew chiefs, and some of the engineers….I think we have brought in some good people, building our own bodies and we have to bring in some people and its strengthened the race team on that. But on the Ty side of it, I have known Ty for a long time but I have never generally worked with him till last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I feel like we kind of have the same personalities of the way we work together. So, to have him back is huge for our race team to just keep that together. Really that helps too in just going off a notebook and not having any data, knowing the stuff that we felt last year so that we can kind of work on that this year maybe when we are off a little bit on a race weekend and just go back to using the notes that we had last year, because that is all we got.”  How are you approaching the Daytona 500 this year?“I approach it like I always do.  First you want to finish, but you just go through the process of the week. And I feel like we will have fast race cars – we typically do at the superspeedways. But, a lot of guys will have fast race cars, so I kind of more judge it after the Duel.  Qualifying, unless you are on the front row, doesn’t mean anything. I judge it after the Duel and see what kind of car you got as far as handling-wise, drafting-wise, and then you go from there. You just try to make the right moves on Sunday. I feel like it’s always the same thing, you don’t want to be in the big one and you definitely don’t want to be the cause of it. That is the first goal. Hopefully you make the right moves, and you have a shot at the end of the race.” What is the scariest moment you have had at this racetrack, where you have been like you will never forget it?“All of them. We are all psycho out there.  Generally, I think we are all pretty calm and then we strap the helmet on and it cuts off the oxygen to our heads, and we become morons out there. So they are all hairy.  There are many wrecks that I should have been in, the ones that I have been in hurt, and you are out there and you are four-wide on lap 12 and you are like, ‘this is stupid, what are we doing?’. Then you are, ‘I am just going to lay back’, and then no, I am like ‘I am just going to run and why not stick it up in there?’.  So, yeah, it’s all crazy.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Thoughts on Daytona this year? “Yeah I feel there was a lot that I learned in those two races last year. Especially being so close to winning last year at Daytona. The first one was tough because I hadn’t been in a Next Gen car in two years so figuring out when to make the moves and how aggressive you can be, I think I learned a lot from that. The second Daytona I think you just try to keep knocking at the door as much as you can to try to win one of these things and eventually it’s going to be your day.”  How many friends do you have out there? “I hope a lot (laughs). At the end of the day, I think everyone is out for themselves everyone wants to win that trophy over there. For us as a single car team, we’re going to be looking at ourselves.”   Do you have drivers that you work with or is there planning? “Everyone kind of talks a big game before the race that they are going to work together and then lap one happens and no one works together (laughs). But I feel like at the end of the day it’s different every year and for us, switching to Chevrolet this year, we’re trying to understand that dynamic. How everyone at Chevrolet works together and how they want to attack this race.”  William Byron has won this race they last two years, does it help having an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports?“It’s huge, they are the champions from last year and having an alliance with Hendrick and they also are the champions from last year. So, if there are some little things we can learn throughout the year and build that relationship to get better and better as a team and also help each other, that is the goal.   Thoughts on the new playoff format: “I’m excited about it. I’ve always kind of liked points racing honestly because I’m kind of consistent and this is what it is going to take. Not having the DNFs and the wrecks that get you no points. If you can keep yourself in the game week after week, that’s going to mean a lot in this format.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

No Mic… “JR Motorsports is jumping in both feet first trying to understand what this looks like. It wasn’t easy. I look back all the way until Thursday night. I can remember the emotions of Thursday night probably, they haunt my sleep, right? It was up and down and up and down.  Going back 365 days later, it’s not any different. There’s still that stress, there’s still that want. But it’s more so now, how do we do better? How do we qualify tonight and not have to worry about tomorrow? How do we finish better in the Daytona 500?  All these things last year, we just wanted to make it in, we just wanted to finish. We didn’t necessarily have a set goal. I feel like this year we’ve just elevated our game and want to be better. So far so good.”  No Mic… “I’m going to smile a lot because I actually went around and I saw Jim (Pohlman) today in the Cup Garage. I gave him a big hug, told him proud of him I was.  He’s been in the sport for a long time. He’s been so understated. I’m so glad that we had the opportunity to work together, just really show that I’ve known about Jim for the last 25 years of my life, right, known who he was.  He exceeded all expectations, right? I thought I knew how good he could be, and he exceeded that expectation. I just feel like for him, having the opportunity to go with Kyle, who is an amazing race car driver, try to elevate to a point of where they would like to get back to, I have no doubt that they can go be successful, have a lot of fun with it.  I’m pumped for him. It’s going to be tough, there’s no question. Andrew Overstreet has done an amazing job this off-season. We’ve jumped in and hit the ground running. I have no doubt that with the notes that we had, with his knowledge and success, we have all the tools that we need to go back, take another stab at it.  We’ve been close to winning a championship a lot. We got one. I’d love to have multiple. 2026 looks like a great opportunity to go do that again.” What steps have been taken in the buildup to this to make sure you were in a position?“Yeah, I mean, I think when you look back last year, we had a lot more calmness going into qualifying than what we should have. I think we all thought we were in a little bit better position, thought we were a little bit smarter, little bit more prepared, a little bit all the things, right?  When qualifying didn’t go the way we wanted it to, I think it caught all of us a little bit off guard, right? I think we had higher expectations.  Now that being said, I go into 2026. I go, the stakes are just as high. We are held to that same standard of we have to go execute. Qualifying is going to be tough. I feel like every year I look at the entry list and there’s more and more and more good cars.  I think we’ve done all the right work. We’ve put all the pieces of the puzzle together the best we can, with the knowledge we had last year. We just have to go execute.  If we do that, we’ll have a great opportunity at not only qualifying well but having a great Daytona 500. See what happens.” Does that challenge get more difficult because it’s a different body than you had a year ago? “Well, I think one of the hardest parts about the Cup Series is while things may not change a lot, when they do change, it’s a big change, right?  All of your notes, everything we do, I’m not going to say you’re kind of guessing, because the engineering side is so incredible and how detailed they’re able to get anymore. You still don’t know what that could look like.  So while I don’t think the change on the Chevrolet side, on the body, is significant as far as it is a significant change, especially there’s some pretty big visual changes within the body, a lot of the stuff that we see is very similar to what we had last year.  Those are easier. Probably the biggest change is just not going in this garage for a year, right? All the processes and how the cars of bolted together, getting through inspection, all the little details that if you’re not doing it week in, week out, you just don’t know, right?  I think for us, we understood what we needed to do last year. We just have to tweak on that and fine-tune it, make sure we’re in a better position for this year’s qualifying.”  You’ve been asked a lot about the meaning of the Daytona 500. For you personally, what is the value and importance of having a Cup Series win? “I mean, it would be amazing. I don’t know that you could put any better Cup Series win on your résumé than the Daytona 500. That would be pretty special.  But when I look at the field, this year there will be 40 other cars, that they equally want that win just as bad as I do. Everybody wants to take their car out to the Daytona Experience. Everybody wants that trophy that’s right behind me somewhere on the wall. There’s something about this event that everybody wants to be a part of it and win it.  Just having the opportunity. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, everybody that’s at JR Motorsports, they could have picked a lot of candidates to be the driver behind the wheel of this car. Last year when they told me, I was blown away they gave me the opportunity. To come back a year later and do it all again, it’s unbelievable.  Chris Stapleton, the Traveller Whiskey brand, they were all 100% invested. As soon as we left Daytona last year, they were 100% invested coming back this year. That’s special. That means a lot to a driver.  We’ll do everything we can. Last year we came out of here with a top 10. I’d love to do that better. You could just as easily be sitting on a flatbed on lap one. This race is so unique in how it plays out that you won’t know until the checkered flag falls.”  Were you expecting such a moment of catharsis once y’all qualified last year? It was really emotional. Were you expecting that?“I think for us, what was interesting was the highest of highs need a low to judge them off of, right? And Wednesday night when qualifying ended, that valley was deeper than anything I can ever remember. Not only did we not qualify for the event, we were very underwhelming and missed our target by a lot.   I think what you saw on Thursday after the Duel was knowing the position we were in, knowing how close it was. Shoot, it was the last lap. I think coming to the white was when we finally made the pass for that spot. Super, super last second.  I think that lowest of low on Wednesday really transcended that highest of high on Thursday. What was cool about it was it made Sunday fantastic because everybody was riding that high of emotion. Really, I don’t know that there was even a discussion of, like, what position we could finish or should finish. It was, Hey, we’ve done all the heavy lifting, let’s go have fun. I really believe that 2026 is the same.  I would love to make Wednesday exciting and Thursday boring, I really would. No offense to anybody. At the same time, I know I have the team behind me that can do it. You know what, if it’s the last lap to get in tomorrow night as well, I’m going to go make the most of it and do what we can.” Back to the engineering aspect. From when you started in NASCAR to Sunday, how has it evolved? “I don’t even know there’s enough paper in the world to describe the difference between what it was like whenever I started and what it is today.  It’s so interesting, right? I sit here and say that, and then I see pictures of cars that raced on the beach in the ’50s and the ’40s, just what those looked like.  I listen to the stories of Richard Petty. They put a two-by-eight, they bolted it to the seat so you would stop sliding across the bench seat. I never had to deal with those things. I came in, and technology had already well surpassed that.  I look at the engineering side, the safety, just what we’re able to do now. It’s so wild to see where the racing is at today.  Teams were able to make speed. I think about speed runs back in the day, qualifying runs back in the day, of being well over 200 miles an hour. We’re not there today, but really we are. If we were able to do whatever we wanted to do, we could probably get there.  The difference was we saw races that were won by two or three laps. Today you can throw a blanket over the top 30 at the finish of these races.  I think just the tolerances and how quickly everything has kind of evolved and the cars have become so close and the parity is so great, it’s just wild to watch.  But when you see these engineers, you see these crew chiefs, how smart they have to be, not just in one area, we’re asking them to be all-encompassing, to be great at all aspects of the sport. It’s unbelievable and really fun to watch.  It’s given me a better appreciation for all forms of motorsport, right? I watch F1, I watch INDYCAR, I watch IMSA, I watch Trucks. I watch all the dirt stuff. I grew up racing dirt, short tracks.  When you sit down and look at it, it’s crazy what it’s evolved to. It’s pretty special to be part of the sport all the way through that transition. I know it’s going to keep going long after I’m gone.” A lot of these engineers are coming up so young, learning in schools, is there something you’ve learned from them over the years? “Oh, my knowledge of engineering in this sport has grown so tremendously just from listening. When I listen to a lot of these young guys and gals that come in, we have so many great, smart engineers in our shop that are so far advanced than anything I could ever imagine. Then you hear some of how their schooling went, some of the job experiences they’ve had, kind of what has driven them to be who they are, it’s wild. It truly is wild.  I’m learning with them. They’re learning at a rate that is way faster than I could have ever learned at. I also think the tools we have today have helped them increase to learn, right? You’re seeing that with fuel strategy, car setups, simulation, right? We’re able to do things in the simulator that I never would have dreamed of 10 years ago or 15 years ago, that you’re able to simulate real live conditions that we never could have before. It’s just wild to see what they’ve been able to accomplish.  At the end of the day, technology of allowing multiple people put their heads together… Used to be you had one smart person or two smart people, you were pulling from a pool of a few smart individuals. Now we’re pulling from hundreds and thousands of smart individuals from this sport that really have elevated the game, have taken it to a place I never could have imagined.”  Dale was very active last year being around the car, being there for the experience. Is that translating this year, as well? “He may not have shown up at 6:00 this morning, but he’s definitely hugely active in it. His appreciation for this event and for what we’re accomplishing is huge. I said it last year, I’ll say it again. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has accomplished everything in this sport that you could ever want. He could have walked away a long time ago and nobody would have ever batted an eye. He’s not done that. He stayed involved, he stayed invested, right, whether that be on the O’Reilly side, whether that be in the CARS Tour, whether that be on the Cup Series side.  If I’m being honest, I’m sad that JR Motorsports doesn’t have a charter. I know we could do great things for the sport. That’s a big ask from a time management standpoint, from a money management standpoint. Those are all big things to kind of accomplish.  I just love what he’s done for the sport. I love what him and his sister both have done for the sport. I believe they truly are a big part of why this sport is in the position it’s in. It’s cool to have this opportunity to be able to come here with him.” What do you remember from your first Daytona 500? “Whew, I remember a lot. I think different scenario for me, very different scenario, very different opportunity. Wish I would have put more pressure on myself back then, right? I know that sounds crazy, but I was a lot younger than I am now, probably just didn’t understand the gravity of this race like I do now.  Probably would have done things a little bit differently. But at the end of the day, I think that’s what makes it all who we are, right? You don’t have all the knowledge when you start. That’s kind of why we become the people that we become.  This is, what, 12 years since my first 500. It feels like yesterday. I can remember it very well. Cool to be back. Cool to be a part of it. BRANDT was on the car back then, and they’re still on my car in a capacity this year. That’s a big moment.” If you flash forward to last year, being part of JR Motorsports’ first Cup race, this was Dale Jr.’s first Cup race as a team owner, what did you pick up from him in that time, knowing you had to race your way in? “When Dale Jr. is nervous at a NASCAR race, you’re nervous, right? I feel like if anybody understands the gravity of it, it’s him.  When we didn’t have the qualifying we wanted, when we didn’t have the days go the way we wanted, it was hard. Because I’m watching him, I’m somewhat living vicariously through him. He’s doing somewhat the same with me.  But to see his eagerness to be a part of it, want to be there, be in the garage opening, I think it drove home the gravity of the event for me. I think that, look, JR Motorsports had an opportunity to put a lot of drivers behind the wheel of this 40 car. I’m so proud of the fact that they chose me, but also just trying to make sure that I make the most of every moment because they deserve that, right? I know that they’ve given me every detail and everything that I could ask for to have this opportunity.  We just got to make the most of the opportunity in front of us.”  No Mic… “If I put myself in Dale’s shoes, it’s a hard position to be in because I don’t know what the emotions are, right? He’s been very vocal about it. They had the documentary. He’s never been shy to not talk about it.  At the same time, I want it to be a big moment for him. I look at when he won here, the emotions that he had. I mean, I remember everything he had in that moment when Mike Helton flashed on the screen and had that conversation. It was one of the darkest days of our sport, right? Followed by some extremely bright moments in a young Dale Jr. that took the reins and really turned the sport into something that his dad would have loved to have seen where the sport’s at today.  So it would be special and it would be cool, but I don’t want that to tarnish or provoke the wrong emotion for Dale or for any Dale Earnhardt Sr. fans. At the end of the day, we want to make sure this is a good experience and everybody’s proud of what we’re accomplishing. I think Dale Sr. would be proud if he knew his son had a car in the 500 and was able to do this.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Your thoughts on the contract extension: “I don’t know who was more excited, me or Jeff (Dickerson) or all my guys. I didn’t feel like fielding any calls and I felt like declining all of them and I think Jeff and I just looked at each other and said ‘I don’t really feel like leaving anytime soon.’ And he said, “Well, I don’t want you leaving anytime soon either.’ So we just started adding years and more years and I think we were finding out legally you could put if I have a pulse I can still race for him and we just change it as we go. So its joyful for that. It’s good on their marketing side as well because I think we have a car full for the next how many years which is great. It just helps on all things, if we’re all locked in and bought in, let’s just be official about it.”  What does it say about Jeff (Dickerson) that he feels like you are someone that can bring a championship to Spire? “Yeah I think we can do it. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that. I think we realistically over the next 10 years we can build this into a championship threat. I think we can get our cars there and I think I can get there. I think we have all the pieces with Jeff and everyone on the management side they have championships and a ton of wins throughout all of them combined. So I’m excited and the talented people just keep coming in through the door and not leaving, so they are just going to get us faster.” Have you met Tony Stewart yet and how excited are you to race against him on Friday? “I haven’t met him yet, but he seems excited, which is cool. I don’t know that any of us had on the bingo card that Tony Stweart would be excited to run a truck race and a truck race at a superspeedway. I know the heat wave guys, I have a sunglass deal with them and he’s part of that so between myself, (Travis) Pastrana and Cleetus (McFarland) are on their deal, they are all pumped were all in the same race.” We’ve heard Brad Keselowski say that winning at Michigan is important because it is his home track. You being from Michigan, is there another race that is important to you?“The Brickyard is really high, and I really want to run the Indy 500 one day. Jeff (Dickerson) is an Indy native and never won that race as an agent or spotter and he’s had Kyle (Busch) and Jeff (Gordon) as his spotter or clients, he’s had them all but he’s never won there. Dan Towriss is from Indy and Gainbridge and all the money and resources they put in that facility, it’s really high for me, but it’s also important to the two guys that are really heavily involved in wanting our program to succeed. I almost halfway argue that it’s probably bigger for them if it happens.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

After being with different organizations over the years, how nice is it to come back to Daytona with the same organization that you worked with the previous year? “It’s huge. It’s probably the first time in six years that I am working with the same team two years in a row, and I am not showing up to Daytona trying to learn names, functions, systems, and things that are going on with the team and how everything operates. It usually takes a couple of months to even feel comfortable with a new team. Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience doing that, but don’t have as much experience coming back with a team for the second year. It’s a lot easier doing this than it is learning a new team for sure. It just helps the confidence in knowing that I pretty much have the same guys that I raced this race with last year and we can build off of things from there and we can build on past experiences for the first time in a long time.” What have you learned about balance from earlier in your career to now being married with three children?“I think most people go from being very selfish and everything is about you to you have a child or you get married. First, you get married and it’s less about you and it’s about your spouse. Then you have a child and you realize nothing is about you anymore and sometimes that can be a shock. And then you realize the things you do from the point you have children matter so much beyond your life. You are leaving an example for your child behind.  So now I look at things as ‘okay how would I want my child if they are going through a career or whatever they are chasing in their dreams, how would I want them to approach it’.  I would want them to get an example from their dad and how would he treat people, treat his career, treat his wife.  I want them to see that in the best light possible so that they leave a good legacy behind. You just start changing your view and I believe that is the beauty of life and having a family and having kids.”  What is the best part of this week for you?“I think the best part of it for me is driver intros and the madness of the fans around the cars and the energy around the gentlemen start your engines, the pace laps and the start of the green flag. You won’t get that anywhere else in your life.  That feeling, that high, that chaos when everybody is buzzing. I think finding perspective that there are only a few times you are going to get to do this in your life. It’s not going to happen every year of your whole life, so you have to take it in.  I look forward to that moment every year and I let it get ahold of me, I get emotional, I get anxious, I get nervous because how many people get that opportunity to be in the middle of the spotlight of one of the biggest events in the world.”  What has this offseason been like this year in looking ahead at all the things you have to do?“I think as many things that are important that we lost, we gained just as many unique abilities.  We won’t find out total gain and loss of what has happened until throughout the season. I think it’s a measure that we as a team are all like, what is it going to be like. Everyone has a new body with Chevy, so we don’t really understand where we are going to be at but qualifying at Daytona will teach us a little bit. We are going to have to go to all the tracks at this point to see what is different.  I think the car is so similar underneath the body that you should be able to set up similar to what you found success with (before). There are going to be some differences, different programs, usages of different technology from different things. So we are going to have to navigate that and to be very clear in our communications, but also there is a point when you get away from over thinking things you can find some clarity within a team. I think that might help us too. I think there is going to be a loss in not having the technical alliance from Chevy, but we can grow from that.”  Inaudible“Its massive. You know, I have been attempting this race….this will be my 10th or 11th time in the Daytona 500 and I have had some close opportunities, never been in the top-two coming to the white flag, but real close. Top-three or top-four, and you feel it. It would mean a lot to me because my family has had so much success here.  And it’s one of those races that changes your life forever, no matter what is going on.  It would be awesome to be a part of the history here with the Harley J. Earl trophy and to have your name etched on it and be able to lift that big trophy up.”  Regarding the Daytona 500, is there any kind of brotherly rivalry with Austin?“It would be nice to have a trophy too. It would be nice to have a Harley J. Earl with both our names on it.  Two Dillons on that trophy would be special, and I don’t know if brothers have done it, so it would be cool to do it first if nobody has done it. I have been putting in my time for this race with ten or eleven attempts, and this obviously means a whole lot to our family and our race team as a family’s legacy. So, I would love to win this race.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

After being with different organizations over the years, how nice is it to come back to Daytona with the same organization that you worked with the previous year? “It’s huge. It’s probably the first time in six years that I am working with the same team two years in a row, and I am not showing up to Daytona trying to learn names, functions, systems, and things that are going on with the team and how everything operates. It usually takes a couple of months to even feel comfortable with a new team. Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience doing that, but don’t have as much experience coming back with a team for the second year. It’s a lot easier doing this than it is learning a new team for sure. It just helps the confidence in knowing that I pretty much have the same guys that I raced this race with last year and we can build off of things from there and we can build on past experiences for the first time in a long time.” What have you learned about balance from earlier in your career to now being married with three children?“I think most people go from being very selfish and everything is about you to you have a child or you get married. First, you get married and it’s less about you and it’s about your spouse. Then you have a child and you realize nothing is about you anymore and sometimes that can be a shock. And then you realize the things you do from the point you have children matter so much beyond your life. You are leaving an example for your child behind.  So now I look at things as ‘okay how would I want my child if they are going through a career or whatever they are chasing in their dreams, how would I want them to approach it’.  I would want them to get an example from their dad and how would he treat people, treat his career, treat his wife.  I want them to see that in the best light possible so that they leave a good legacy behind. You just start changing your view and I believe that is the beauty of life and having a family and having kids.”  What is the best part of this week for you?“I think the best part of it for me is driver intros and the madness of the fans around the cars and the energy around the gentlemen start your engines, the pace laps and the start of the green flag. You won’t get that anywhere else in your life.  That feeling, that high, that chaos when everybody is buzzing. I think finding perspective that there are only a few times you are going to get to do this in your life. It’s not going to happen every year of your whole life, so you have to take it in.  I look forward to that moment every year and I let it get ahold of me, I get emotional, I get anxious, I get nervous because how many people get that opportunity to be in the middle of the spotlight of one of the biggest events in the world.”  What has this offseason been like this year in looking ahead at all the things you have to do?“I think as many things that are important that we lost, we gained just as many unique abilities.  We won’t find out total gain and loss of what has happened until throughout the season. I think it’s a measure that we as a team are all like, what is it going to be like. Everyone has a new body with Chevy, so we don’t really understand where we are going to be at but qualifying at Daytona will teach us a little bit. We are going to have to go to all the tracks at this point to see what is different.  I think the car is so similar underneath the body that you should be able to set up similar to what you found success with (before). There are going to be some differences, different programs, usages of different technology from different things. So we are going to have to navigate that and to be very clear in our communications, but also there is a point when you get away from over thinking things you can find some clarity within a team. I think that might help us too. I think there is going to be a loss in not having the technical alliance from Chevy, but we can grow from that.”  Inaudible“Its massive. You know, I have been attempting this race….this will be my 10th or 11th time in the Daytona 500 and I have had some close opportunities, never been in the top-two coming to the white flag, but real close. Top-three or top-four, and you feel it. It would mean a lot to me because my family has had so much success here.  And it’s one of those races that changes your life forever, no matter what is going on.  It would be awesome to be a part of the history here with the Harley J. Earl trophy and to have your name etched on it and be able to lift that big trophy up.”  Regarding the Daytona 500, is there any kind of brotherly rivalry with Austin?“It would be nice to have a trophy too. It would be nice to have a Harley J. Earl with both our names on it.  Two Dillons on that trophy would be special, and I don’t know if brothers have done it, so it would be cool to do it first if nobody has done it. I have been putting in my time for this race with ten or eleven attempts, and this obviously means a whole lot to our family and our race team as a family’s legacy. So, I would love to win this race.”

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 11, 2026) — Terry Easum has committed himself to the grind and the learning curve of racing with the American Sprint Car Series for the third time in his career in 2026.

The 33-year-old native of Broken Arrow, OK, will hit the road with fiancée and crew chief Kacee Frazier and the pit area’s favorite four-legged friend Stagger this season, following the national 360 Sprint Car schedule in pursuit of more laps and improving his skills in the seat.

Easum’s second season behind the wheel of the Premier Self-Storage, Don Ott Racing Engines-powered Maxim Chassis No. 88 on the national circuit last year added one podium, three top-fives and five top-10 finishes to his stat book. Though those were new personal bests with the Series, he’s still searching for more consistent results at the end of the night.

“[I’m looking] to just getting in the top 10 and top five more,” Easum said. “I think we’re capable of it. I don’t know what happens from time-to-time, we just don’t get there by the end of the night. We need to improve on that, for sure, and I need to improve myself as a driver.

“It’s definitely been a lot. But we’ll keep going at it until we get it figured out.”

Read Also — POWER COUPLE: Terry Easum, Kacee Frazier Talk Self-Run ASCS Team

Easum ventured out to Florida to race Volusia Speedway Park for the first time two weeks ago, snagging a spot in the main event on Monday night. Though his result in the end wasn’t as high as he was aiming for, he knows that just qualifying for a Feature against the stacked field that comes to race Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals every year is an accomplishment for he and his small, self-funded operation.

“It was a whole new ballgame down there; definitely one of the fastest places we go to,” Easum said. “We thought early in the night we were a little better. We timed in well Thursday night, and then I just screwed up on the start of the Heat Race. It seemed like later in the night it was pretty tough for us to do a lot.

“It definitely was a fun place. I look forward to going back to it. There’re not many half miles that are racey and fun.”

Easum resumes competition in the next American Sprint Car Series events — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — at Central Arizona Raceway in the inaugural Sonoran Clash. Tickets for both weekends of the event will be sold at the track on race day.

Terry Easum Aiming for New Heights in Third American Sprint Car Series Season

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 11, 2026) — Terry Easum has committed himself to the grind and the learning curve of racing with the American Sprint Car Series for the third time in his career in 2026.

The 33-year-old native of Broken Arrow, OK, will hit the road with fiancée and crew chief Kacee Frazier and the pit area’s favorite four-legged friend Stagger this season, following the national 360 Sprint Car schedule in pursuit of more laps and improving his skills in the seat.

Easum’s second season behind the wheel of the Premier Self-Storage, Don Ott Racing Engines-powered Maxim Chassis No. 88 on the national circuit last year added one podium, three top-fives and five top-10 finishes to his stat book. Though those were new personal bests with the Series, he’s still searching for more consistent results at the end of the night.

“[I’m looking] to just getting in the top 10 and top five more,” Easum said. “I think we’re capable of it. I don’t know what happens from time-to-time, we just don’t get there by the end of the night. We need to improve on that, for sure, and I need to improve myself as a driver.

“It’s definitely been a lot. But we’ll keep going at it until we get it figured out.”

Read Also — POWER COUPLE: Terry Easum, Kacee Frazier Talk Self-Run ASCS Team

Easum ventured out to Florida to race Volusia Speedway Park for the first time two weeks ago, snagging a spot in the main event on Monday night. Though his result in the end wasn’t as high as he was aiming for, he knows that just qualifying for a Feature against the stacked field that comes to race Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals every year is an accomplishment for he and his small, self-funded operation.

“It was a whole new ballgame down there; definitely one of the fastest places we go to,” Easum said. “We thought early in the night we were a little better. We timed in well Thursday night, and then I just screwed up on the start of the Heat Race. It seemed like later in the night it was pretty tough for us to do a lot.

“It definitely was a fun place. I look forward to going back to it. There’re not many half miles that are racey and fun.”

Easum resumes competition in the next American Sprint Car Series events — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — at Central Arizona Raceway in the inaugural Sonoran Clash. Tickets for both weekends of the event will be sold at the track on race day.

Where can you watch every American Sprint Car Series event? Live on DIRTVision.

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

What has it been like working with (Jim) Pohlman (new crew chief)?“Working with Jim has been good. He’s a very determined guy. He wants to make a difference and be the difference maker here at RCR and the 8 car and having us have a better chance of being able to reach Victory Lane each and every week. It’s all about being able to extract the most out of the people, whether it’s everybody at the shop or whether it’s your team at the racetrack, the pit crew, all those guys. I feel like he’s got everybody really looking up to him and believing in him and his way. That’s been good.” Some drivers what to run up front, some want to be further back. What is the strategy? Where do you want to run during the race? Where do you want to be at the end of the Daytona 500?“I don’t know. Two years ago, when we were here, Austin Dillon and myself got the lead. We were in the control of the race. We were running first and second when we came off of Turn 4. I saw the white flag in the flag man’s hand, and unfortunately, a caution came out as we got to the front side of pit rod entry. And after that, we weren’t able to hold the lead on the restarts, but I led mile marker 500. That’s just the way it goes… you just never know how it’s exactly gonna end. So, to be out front, you feel like that’s the safest spot to be, but sometimes you see guys spun out of the lead and they’re not the ones to win. There are guys that win coming out of Turn 2 and they’re in 7th place or they’re in 11th place, It just depends, you never know.” How long into the season will it take before you can assess and gauge the new Chevy body?“I think we’re going to see some speedway prowess of how good it is. When we get to Atlanta, same thing. And then we get to some short track stuff, and we’ll see how the downforce on it is.  Obviously, you look at over the years, the brands that have come out with new bodies have been pretty competitive. Although, you look and you see Kyle Larson won the championship last year with the oldest body out there. Now, we’ve got a fresh one, and a new one, and maybe the advantages on Team Chevy.”  How do you feel about this year with the challenges you’ve had? Challenges can make you stronger and probably the best thing for you… “Challenges can be tough, it’s just the nature of how well you handle those challenges. You can obviously beat yourself down and get low. It’s all about trying to build yourself up and keeping yourself at the top level that you can be to go out there and achieve success. It hasn’t been the greatest the last few years. We’ve had some close calls and sometimes where maybe we could have won a race. We certainly haven’t been dominant forces of being up front leading laps and having those chances be at the regular each and every week. If you only have two opportunities to win races through the year versus having 20 opportunities to win races through the year, you’ve got a bigger opportunity, a bigger window, to get those wins having the 20 chances.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

What’s the best part of this week as a driver?“I mean, obviously the best part is the race on Sunday, but you have to get there. So there is a lot of things that you have to do to be able to get there. I’m just trying to enjoy every single day, to be honest. I’m just trying to be present and enjoy it. And right no,  I’m sitting here with you guys. I’m just trying to be in a good mood, in a happy phase. I’m trying to enjoy it. So it’s all good. I’m happy and I know that I’m going to have a great shot to win probably one of the biggest races of my life.”  No Mic… “Yeah, so every team has a different culture, a different structure. Every team owner is different. Every team president is a little different. So, you know, getting to know everyone is important and also understand what are the strengths and weaknesses of each place and how can you make them better, right? Because that’s what is the goal at the end of the day as a driver, right? It’s not just about going fast, but how can you be the best possible leader out there? So yeah, that’s something that is already very important. I believe that Spire Motorsports has a great structure; great leaders, very, very good people in place. It’s been a lot of fun to work with this group for the last couple of months.”  On the importance of having a good run at the Clash: “It definitely helps. You know, it was like a good warm up. You know, the highlight of my night, it wasn’t the result. It was to see the smiles on every single member of my team. That’s priceless to me; to be able to see them happy and excited and looking forward to battle. That’s what it’s all about. You know, you want them to be fired up. You want them to want this. This is not easy, man. Every single person and team right now is super excited for the first of the year. But as you start getting throughout the season, people start getting tired and things like that. So it’s very important to see that excitement in your group, and for me, that was the highlight. I want to continue to work very hard with this group and to continue to bring those kind of memories.”   On building together as a new team: “I mean, it only takes time. I believe that we’re in a very good spot for being a new team, but it takes time to clean up a few things here and there. To be quite honest, we are starting way more ahead than what I thought we were going to start, so that’s promising. We worked very hard in November and in January to be able to try to be in a good spot. But you know how it is… you aim for this and sometimes you end up here, or you aim here and sometimes you end up here. It’s very rare that you aim here with a new everything and then you actually hit close to that, and we actually did. So I was very, very pleased with that. The team did a great job. We have a lot of new guys. I have a very young group. You know, my car chief is younger than me, but he’s very experienced. So it’s a very, very young, talented group and I’m super excited for that. I feel very blessed to have this kind of group with me.”  Where do you like to be at the end of a superspeedway race? “Well, every circumstance is a little bit different. I would love to be in the front; controlling the gap, controlling the race in the middle. I would say the middle is normally the best place, at least that’s what I think. And controlling the race. I feel like it’s much easier to be up front, controlling that gap, because the further back you are, the more intensity and the more Hail Mary’s people are going to be throwing. So if you are up front, there are higher chances of a crash or something happening that most likely you can avoid if you are up front.  But you never know what is going to happen. William Barron won the Daytona 500 last year being probably in the most dangerous spot on the outside third row and somehow he made it through that crash, so you never know.”   Do you feel like there’s pressure coming into this season? “I mean, honestly, no different than any other year. I mean, there is always pressure, but this is what we do. Even Kyle Larson (reigning champion) has pressure. Everyone has pressure. Everyone wants to win. Everyone has to perform. So yeah, it’s no different than any other year. I mean, you just have to look forward to the next thing and do it the best possible way. And whatever that is, trying to do it better the next race and better and better and trying to continue to improve.”  On being teammates with Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell: “I like them both a lot. They’re completely different. They’re completely different guys. Michael is a super experienced guy; very organized, very structured kind of guy. A lot like myself, probably even more than me. And Carson is the opposite. You know, he’s a very, very young guy. He does a lot of things on the fly. Very, very talented. I think I actually feel like I’m helping the team a lot because I’m that middle man guy. I’m very experienced. I’ve been doing this already for a while, but I’m still young and I feel like I can connect with both extremely well. So it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

What’s the best part of this week as a driver?“I mean, obviously the best part is the race on Sunday, but you have to get there. So there is a lot of things that you have to do to be able to get there. I’m just trying to enjoy every single day, to be honest. I’m just trying to be present and enjoy it. And right no,  I’m sitting here with you guys. I’m just trying to be in a good mood, in a happy phase. I’m trying to enjoy it. So it’s all good. I’m happy and I know that I’m going to have a great shot to win probably one of the biggest races of my life.”  No Mic… “Yeah, so every team has a different culture, a different structure. Every team owner is different. Every team president is a little different. So, you know, getting to know everyone is important and also understand what are the strengths and weaknesses of each place and how can you make them better, right? Because that’s what is the goal at the end of the day as a driver, right? It’s not just about going fast, but how can you be the best possible leader out there? So yeah, that’s something that is already very important. I believe that Spire Motorsports has a great structure; great leaders, very, very good people in place. It’s been a lot of fun to work with this group for the last couple of months.”  On the importance of having a good run at the Clash: “It definitely helps. You know, it was like a good warm up. You know, the highlight of my night, it wasn’t the result. It was to see the smiles on every single member of my team. That’s priceless to me; to be able to see them happy and excited and looking forward to battle. That’s what it’s all about. You know, you want them to be fired up. You want them to want this. This is not easy, man. Every single person and team right now is super excited for the first of the year. But as you start getting throughout the season, people start getting tired and things like that. So it’s very important to see that excitement in your group, and for me, that was the highlight. I want to continue to work very hard with this group and to continue to bring those kind of memories.”   On building together as a new team: “I mean, it only takes time. I believe that we’re in a very good spot for being a new team, but it takes time to clean up a few things here and there. To be quite honest, we are starting way more ahead than what I thought we were going to start, so that’s promising. We worked very hard in November and in January to be able to try to be in a good spot. But you know how it is… you aim for this and sometimes you end up here, or you aim here and sometimes you end up here. It’s very rare that you aim here with a new everything and then you actually hit close to that, and we actually did. So I was very, very pleased with that. The team did a great job. We have a lot of new guys. I have a very young group. You know, my car chief is younger than me, but he’s very experienced. So it’s a very, very young, talented group and I’m super excited for that. I feel very blessed to have this kind of group with me.”  Where do you like to be at the end of a superspeedway race? “Well, every circumstance is a little bit different. I would love to be in the front; controlling the gap, controlling the race in the middle. I would say the middle is normally the best place, at least that’s what I think. And controlling the race. I feel like it’s much easier to be up front, controlling that gap, because the further back you are, the more intensity and the more Hail Mary’s people are going to be throwing. So if you are up front, there are higher chances of a crash or something happening that most likely you can avoid if you are up front.  But you never know what is going to happen. William Barron won the Daytona 500 last year being probably in the most dangerous spot on the outside third row and somehow he made it through that crash, so you never know.”   Do you feel like there’s pressure coming into this season? “I mean, honestly, no different than any other year. I mean, there is always pressure, but this is what we do. Even Kyle Larson (reigning champion) has pressure. Everyone has pressure. Everyone wants to win. Everyone has to perform. So yeah, it’s no different than any other year. I mean, you just have to look forward to the next thing and do it the best possible way. And whatever that is, trying to do it better the next race and better and better and trying to continue to improve.”  On being teammates with Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell: “I like them both a lot. They’re completely different. They’re completely different guys. Michael is a super experienced guy; very organized, very structured kind of guy. A lot like myself, probably even more than me. And Carson is the opposite. You know, he’s a very, very young guy. He does a lot of things on the fly. Very, very talented. I think I actually feel like I’m helping the team a lot because I’m that middle man guy. I’m very experienced. I’ve been doing this already for a while, but I’m still young and I feel like I can connect with both extremely well. So it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

What is your outlook for 2026? “I think everybody’s outlook is positive. We all worked hard in the off-season. Everybody did a good job of refining the processes and procedures, hopefully making our race cars faster, right? Now we get to see. Now we get to the racetrack and we get to see that hard work pay off and let the results prove where we’re at and where we’re not at.  But as you know, coming to Daytona, it’s a fresh start, a clean slate. There’s endless opportunities in front of us. There’s the unknown of what could happen and what the potential is. It’s fun and exciting. Now it’s time to go to work.” Maybe not the exact season you wanted in your first year. You showed signs of greatness. What did you learn most of all in 2025 that you can apply? “That the speed’s there. We’re close on the speed. We need to work on execution and getting everything just right. Probably the biggest area that we have to work on on the 71 group is from Saturdays to Sundays. Qualifying well, having good speed, then maybe missing it a little bit on Sunday on balance. We’d eventually find it and have an okay day, but we’ve had those dips in the race that would really set us back.  Just working through some of the details on how to be better overnight and how to build on the racetracks we had success last year, how to revisit the ones that were a struggle, come up with a new approach.  But yeah, I feel good about it. I mean, I feel like we had good speed, and we had not consistently race-winning speed, but at times we had race-winning speed. If we can bring that to the racetrack more consistently, then we’ll get it, we’ll eventually get it.” How important are the poles to you, to have that speed the day before? “Yeah, superspeedway poles are different, for sure. I think having the speed helps for the race. It’s not a tradeoff. At some places it might be a little bit of a tradeoff.  I don’t feel like you’re giving anything up to have that speed tonight for Sunday. So it’s important for the team. It’s important for all of us to bring the fastest cars we can to give ourselves the best shot at winning.  I think the 71 group has prided themselves in details, being that contender, knowing what it takes to do that. It took us a little while last year before we got our first superspeedway pole. But that gives us confidence coming into tonight that we have a shot at it.  Who knows. We got a brand-new Chevy body, new season. Everybody makes gains, everybody finds more. It’s whether or not you found more than the others. So we’ll find out tonight.” You’re one of a handful of drivers that’s doing more than the race this weekend. When you do that, is there any tradeoff as far as tension or preparation being taken away from the Cup race? “I only did a handful last year. In the beginning of my career, I did a lot of Xfinity and Cup, O’Reilly, then it was Nationwide. I don’t know what it was before that. But then it was different because the cars were very similar from Saturday to Sunday. There was a benefit to it.  For the most part, you’re running the same tire on Saturday to Sunday. The cars were fairly similar. Now it’s not. Now it’s such a big jump that they’re very different. You still get into a rhythm visually, pit road references, just overall you get into your own driver rhythm. I feel like there’s for sure a tradeoff. I don’t feel like it’s a one-to-one where the time and the commitment and what you’re doing doesn’t take away. It’s whether or not you get enough added to it to balance it out, right? I think a lot of times, especially with road courses, it balances out because you find the rhythm and visual references. Even though your brake markers might be different and your shift points might be different, it helps you as a driver to get into rhythm.  For me, doing the Truck race is always about trying to win a Truck race and win in all three series. The Truck Series is the box that hasn’t been checked. I don’t have a ton of opportunities to do it, so I have to make the ones count. I take that Truck race Friday night very seriously. I’ve been preparing for it. I put the same amount of preparation into that as I would the Cup race. I have the capacity right now, too, because you’re not going week to week. I’ve had four weeks to prepare for one race. I feel like this is the time to do it. I have the time to do it right now.” On having Daniel Suarez as a teammate: “I think he brings experience. He brings a level of intensity. Also, too, he brings knowledge. He brings knowledge coming from good, successful teams, having good teammates over the years from Gibbs, SHR to Trackhouse. He’s been around good organizations and good groups. He’s done it a long time at a high level.  Anyone that has that experience I feel will bring a lot to the table.”   What have you learned about yourself in especially the last couple years? “Yeah, I feel like for me, it’s about knowing your value, knowing your purpose, and not allowing too many influences of that, right? I always say it like this: you can’t allow your value to be determined by other people’s perception of who you are or what you’re doing.  Like being a NASCAR driver is awesome, but it’s what you do, it’s what I do, it’s not who I am, right? So being able to not separate that but live in both. I can do my job to the best of my ability. I give it everything that I have. Sometimes the results on Sundays are good, sometimes they’re not. I don’t allow that to determine my value as who I am as a father, as a husband, as a friend, as a teammate. I take what I do seriously, but I try not to take myself too seriously. You know what I mean? I always remind myself and I remind others that you’re not that big of a deal. I mean that in a humble way. When you win, you’re not that big of a deal. When you lose, you’re not that big of a deal. As soon as you start thinking that you’re a big deal is when life gets heavy and you start feeling that weight and that pressure and you put more on yourself than we’re really designed to handle. I try to, like I said, do my job well. I try to treat people well in the process. I don’t let the results determine who I am and what my values are.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

How much have you thought about what Sunday could be if you were to win again?  “Yeah, I mean, I’ve been asked about that quite a bit today. I mean, not much, to be honest. I think some here and there.   Obviously that’s the goal. I think, yeah, I get reminders of the previous races, whether I see just the videos or whatnot. Yeah, it’s great career-defining moments that we’ve had. It’s awesome. It’s special. But I don’t really think ahead too much. I just think about kind of what it’s going to take in these next couple days leading up to it.”   Why do you feel like you’re so good at this type of racetrack? “Yeah, I don’t know. My goal is to be good at all the styles of racing. I don’t put an emphasis more on this than others. If anything, kind of less in some ways because I feel like, you know, some of it is out of your control. But I do feel like I have a good instinct for making good decisions on the track. I have a great spotter in Branden that guides me well and a really good team with a well-prepared car that handles well and does all the things I want it to do. I think it’s just a combination of all those things and kind of just having a good overall feel for it.”   Is it more excitement? What do you feel third year in a row? “I feel really excited. I’m ready to get racing again. I feel like I had a great off-season, but I found myself in the off-season… just feeling like I actually wanted to get back in the car. I wanted to experience those emotions again. I kind of missed that.   There’s a lot of aspects I didn’t miss, but the aspect of racing and being in the car with my guys and everything, that I really missed as the off-season went on.   Yeah, I think that’s just kind of what I’m looking forward to. I guess I’m looking forward to Thursday night; just getting in the Duel and dicing it up. I had a lot of fun at the Clash. Yeah, I’m just excited about that.” Every race win is different. How did last year’s victory compare to the year prior? “Well, I mean, it was very unpredictable. I didn’t really feel like I had a shot to win or even be in the mix until we took the white flag. Then off of turn two, I felt like, man, there’s a possibility that something develops where I can maybe push Cole to the win, push him out, then have a run at the line or something like that. I knew we were in the right lane down the backstretch.   When it all unfolded with the wreck, I was just hoping that I would have a lane to get past that. Just worked out that I felt like I was in the right lane coming off of two and middle of the backstretch. Then, it was just about obviously missing the big crash there and having enough momentum to make a move if I needed to.”  What’s the best part of this week for you? “That’s a good question. The best part to me is probably the Duel tomorrow night. When you get in that race, you get the juices flowing again; you feel those feelings again. That is almost more intense than the 500 in some ways.   I feel like those first couple laps of the Duel, you’re getting your bearings and there’s a lot happening quickly.   Yeah, I look forward to that more than anything. I look forward to Saturday afternoon, kind of getting a chance to take a breath and think about Sunday. So I’d say those two moments.  But yeah, for me, the Duel is really fun, and I enjoy that.”   The final green flag stop in stage three where you know from there, it’s no more sitting back and waiting, how do you set yourself up mentally for that? “I think the moment can’t be too big. Obviously, the most important part of the race is kind of that sequence. But you can’t feel too rushed or can’t feel too intense, personally. I think, yeah, I mean, you just hope that all your details are right there. You hope that your execution of the pit stop, execution of the fuel saving, whatever that may be, all of that is good. You hope that you’ve done enough work with your team to have that confidence and that calmness in those moments.”   Do you have a certain place you like to be in the race? “ Yeah, I think the middle groove could be a good place to be. Just have to see how the draft kind of works this week and understand it better.   But yeah, I think being in that top-four is probably where I would like to be. I would like to be a pusher or being pushed. I think having control of the race is great, if it’s a restart. I think sometimes having control too soon can be kind of a death wish, as well, because guys are just going to have opportunities to make passes on you.   I don’t know if that answers it, but kind of in that mix, I guess.”  If you’re a pusher, you’re also controlling, aren’t you? “Yeah, you are. I think in some ways with this package, you have more control as the guy pushing. You feel calmer so you can make a little better decision, maybe. Sometimes that move never materializes, where you have a chance to make a decision. It definitely varies.”  Does it surprise you that nobody has won three Daytona 500’s?“It does surprise me in that I feel like there’s been some drafting packages that were honestly easier to win three in a row than this one currently. I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t a run by somebody like a Dale Jr. or something. He and his team had a pretty good hold on what it took to be competitive and he made great decisions. It just shows how hard this race is and how much pressure there is.   It’s not like going to Martinsville and just having it figured out; having a rhythm, leading a bunch of laps and winning. It’s definitely a very circumstantial… split-second race. I think that’s probably what makes it entertaining, too.”   Do you anticipate racing this week will be different, more people going with you when you go because you’re a 500 winner, or maybe the opposite happening where he’s won enough? “I think it will be the opposite, for sure. I won’t have a lot of friends. I could see it being that way.  Yeah, I think it does depend on how you draft. If you know what you’re doing and you make good decisions, then guys typically work with you.   I do think coming down to the end, it could be tough for me to have those allies and those friends to make a move. Just got to be smart about it and probably not overthink it too much. Just react to what I feel and what I see.”   Why do you think you’ve been so good here? What makes a great racer at this racetrack?  “I mean, I don’t know. It just feels like I’ve been, at this track in particular, able to have some things go my way and also make good decisions in those moments that I had opportunities. It’s a mix of that… like being in the right place, and then having those chances to make good decisions.   I feel like for a while, it was a joke. I couldn’t finish a race here. My first six years, I couldn’t finish the race, but I was always in the mix. I don’t know. I think it’s kind of finally tipped the other way.   Yeah, I wish I could have, honestly, some of that success at Talladega. I think that’s been a place that I haven’t really had as much success. It just feels like this place, it requires a little bit different formula than it does there.”   When it comes to drafting, how does the new Chevy body factor into that? “Yeah, selfishly, I think if I could be in the second Duel, it would be great to get a visual for what that looks like; how they’re doing it in the first Duel, then execute that or try it myself in the second.   Yeah, I think it’s an unknown, for sure. It looks a lot better on paper. It looks like it’s going to be an advantage, possibly, or something we haven’t had in the past. Hopefully that’s the case.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

First feel in the car, did anything stand out or was it just making sure everything is connected and ready to go? “Yeah, I think we were a little more aggressively in qualifying trim than I was probably prepared for. But, yeah, excited to see where we stack up tonight.”  Some people had conversations last year that this race didn’t have the prestige that it once did. Curious where you stand on that. Does it still feel prestigious to you and if not, what needs to happen to get it back to how this race was once viewed? “Yeah, I think for me the prestige is still there.  It’s still the Daytona 500 and the pageantry is still there.  Driving the race car part when you are rolling around all day and saving fuel, that is the bummer to me, and I wish we could fix that. I am not smart enough to fix it and I wish, and I think we all wish, the speedway racing was a little different than it is. But, you are still at the Daytona 500 and that is not going to change just because the style of racing is different. To me at least.  So, yeah, doesn’t mean it any less to me for sure.  I am still trying to win one and hopefully we can get it done.”  NASCAR says you are no longer allowed to put your hand outside the window net. Does that matter or do you think that it ever mattered when you did do it?“Yeah, I mean, its kind of been different year to year. Sometimes you have a car that drives very easily, and you can do it easily and other times you have got your hands full and you can’t do it. You always have an engineer telling you that you need to do it, exactly what position to put your hand in and all that. But I am glad that I can just keep two hands on the steering wheel for this one.”  It seems like it would be more nerve-wracking doing it at Atlanta than at maybe Daytona and Talladega?“Yeah, for sure.  Atlanta typically is a little sketchier to qualify at. The difference is that Daytona 500 qualifying is like you are much more in qualifying trim than you are at Atlanta or Talladega or even the second Daytona race. For the guys going for the pole, this is sometimes the more sketchier one. Here or Atlanta.”  This year how much nicer is it going to be to have a points system that rewards consistency and your team’s consistency as opposed to the last time you were here and trying to hang onto a playoff spot? “Yeah, I think this system suits us better than the previous system. So, I am thankful for that, but for me it’s really just trying to go out and win races. The end of last season was a bummer, so we are just trying to turn things around and get pointed in the right direction and get the season started off on a high note. But I definitely think we can excel in this system.”  Does the new system change your approach and preparation in racing here and then going to Atlanta or are you just like superspeedways are superspeedways?“I really don’t think it changes much in these two races, but I would say it will change for the second Daytona, right? With it not being a cut-off race.  That will be different, but the rest of it is just business as usual. So, just going to work and trying to score the most points possible, execute at a high level and try and win the race.”  Looking down the road at Chicago, I am pretty sure you are the only one to be able to win at both the oval and the street course. Are you excited to get back to the oval this year?“Yeah, it’s a super-tricky racetrack and maybe wasn’t quite as tricky with the old car, but with the characteristics of the Next Gen car, its going to be a tough place to get a hold of. Looking forward to the challenge and obviously great memories of the last time we were there. It seems like it was forever ago.  So, just will be special to go back there and excited for it.”  What do you visualize after that final green flag stop for fuel in stage three.  I mean how do you get your mindset for what is probably the most chaotic laps of the season?“Yeah, just really dependent on the situation. If you are in front of the group you are with, you are just trying to make the right moves and guide that group the right way and back up to speed and kind of go from there.  If you are in the middle, you are just kind of following along, and if you are in the back, you are just trying to control the runs from behind the best you can. So, it’s just very situational.  I feel like we have kind of been in all of those situations in the past.  But yeah, track position is just so difficult to gain here at Daytona and Talladega now. It’s interesting in how the race plays out and just trying to save fuel and make that last pit stop as short as possible. You really put a lot of emphasis on your green in and out and go from there.”  How does going into a contract year weigh on a driver?“I mean it’s the same stuff. If you look at the internet, every year has been a contract year for me. So, it doesn’t really feel any different to me. Yeah, just excited to get to work.”  You gave your teammate Chase Elliott a huge shove into the final corner at Atlanta that ended up getting him the win.  Is a move like that even feasible at Daytona? “Yeah, its pretty different. I don’t feel like we build those big runs at a track like this like we do at Atlanta. Atlanta, you have that little more slow down in the corners, so that changes it up a little bit. But I feel like Atlanta races like the speedways did with the old car. Like a little more 2019, 2020 speedway racing than what we have seen with the Next Gen. Whereas at these tracks you are just stuck in line and the runs are pretty small. So, yeah, glad that one worked out and hopefully I get it back.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

First feel in the car, did anything stand out or was it just making sure everything is connected and ready to go? “Yeah, I think we were a little more aggressively in qualifying trim than I was probably prepared for. But, yeah, excited to see where we stack up tonight.”  Some people had conversations last year that this race didn’t have the prestige that it once did. Curious where you stand on that. Does it still feel prestigious to you and if not, what needs to happen to get it back to how this race was once viewed? “Yeah, I think for me the prestige is still there.  It’s still the Daytona 500 and the pageantry is still there.  Driving the race car part when you are rolling around all day and saving fuel, that is the bummer to me, and I wish we could fix that. I am not smart enough to fix it and I wish, and I think we all wish, the speedway racing was a little different than it is. But, you are still at the Daytona 500 and that is not going to change just because the style of racing is different. To me at least.  So, yeah, doesn’t mean it any less to me for sure.  I am still trying to win one and hopefully we can get it done.”  NASCAR says you are no longer allowed to put your hand outside the window net. Does that matter or do you think that it ever mattered when you did do it?“Yeah, I mean, its kind of been different year to year. Sometimes you have a car that drives very easily, and you can do it easily and other times you have got your hands full and you can’t do it. You always have an engineer telling you that you need to do it, exactly what position to put your hand in and all that. But I am glad that I can just keep two hands on the steering wheel for this one.”  It seems like it would be more nerve-wracking doing it at Atlanta than at maybe Daytona and Talladega?“Yeah, for sure.  Atlanta typically is a little sketchier to qualify at. The difference is that Daytona 500 qualifying is like you are much more in qualifying trim than you are at Atlanta or Talladega or even the second Daytona race. For the guys going for the pole, this is sometimes the more sketchier one. Here or Atlanta.”  This year how much nicer is it going to be to have a points system that rewards consistency and your team’s consistency as opposed to the last time you were here and trying to hang onto a playoff spot? “Yeah, I think this system suits us better than the previous system. So, I am thankful for that, but for me it’s really just trying to go out and win races. The end of last season was a bummer, so we are just trying to turn things around and get pointed in the right direction and get the season started off on a high note. But I definitely think we can excel in this system.”  Does the new system change your approach and preparation in racing here and then going to Atlanta or are you just like superspeedways are superspeedways?“I really don’t think it changes much in these two races, but I would say it will change for the second Daytona, right? With it not being a cut-off race.  That will be different, but the rest of it is just business as usual. So, just going to work and trying to score the most points possible, execute at a high level and try and win the race.”  Looking down the road at Chicago, I am pretty sure you are the only one to be able to win at both the oval and the street course. Are you excited to get back to the oval this year?“Yeah, it’s a super-tricky racetrack and maybe wasn’t quite as tricky with the old car, but with the characteristics of the Next Gen car, its going to be a tough place to get a hold of. Looking forward to the challenge and obviously great memories of the last time we were there. It seems like it was forever ago.  So, just will be special to go back there and excited for it.”  What do you visualize after that final green flag stop for fuel in stage three.  I mean how do you get your mindset for what is probably the most chaotic laps of the season?“Yeah, just really dependent on the situation. If you are in front of the group you are with, you are just trying to make the right moves and guide that group the right way and back up to speed and kind of go from there.  If you are in the middle, you are just kind of following along, and if you are in the back, you are just trying to control the runs from behind the best you can. So, it’s just very situational.  I feel like we have kind of been in all of those situations in the past.  But yeah, track position is just so difficult to gain here at Daytona and Talladega now. It’s interesting in how the race plays out and just trying to save fuel and make that last pit stop as short as possible. You really put a lot of emphasis on your green in and out and go from there.”  How does going into a contract year weigh on a driver?“I mean it’s the same stuff. If you look at the internet, every year has been a contract year for me. So, it doesn’t really feel any different to me. Yeah, just excited to get to work.”  You gave your teammate Chase Elliott a huge shove into the final corner at Atlanta that ended up getting him the win.  Is a move like that even feasible at Daytona? “Yeah, its pretty different. I don’t feel like we build those big runs at a track like this like we do at Atlanta. Atlanta, you have that little more slow down in the corners, so that changes it up a little bit. But I feel like Atlanta races like the speedways did with the old car. Like a little more 2019, 2020 speedway racing than what we have seen with the Next Gen. Whereas at these tracks you are just stuck in line and the runs are pretty small. So, yeah, glad that one worked out and hopefully I get it back.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

This is your 13th Daytona 500 start this year, and I am wondering if there has come a point, or will there come a point of urgency to get this one done before you start to become the guy on the graphic with X starts and looking for his first?“No, I don’t really care about all that. Yeah, it’s a tough race to win and a lot of circumstances go into it and honestly in the past, up until the last few years, I just didn’t think that I was good enough to win. But now I feel like I could see it happening and not be complete luck.  So that gets me excited, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. So, obviously we all would love to win this race in our careers, but if it doesn’t happen it’s not going to make my career feel any less to me.”  How does the intensity pick up after that last green flag stop?“Yeah, it always picks up after any green flag stop, in either of the stages, or in the race. But yeah, at the end of the race it probably picks up more, but it just depends. Sometimes we don’t get to a green flag stop, and we get a pit stop and then it’s a long, little run when we are all good on fuel and its crazy. So, you just have to be ready for anything, and you just hope you have positioned yourself well.”  Regarding the new format, people think you need to work more on consistency. Do you think that is a fair point or is that a bit of a misconception about you?“I wouldn’t say it’s a misconception, but you can look at the number of DNFs I have had in my career. But I feel like that is something that I have tried to work on and I feel like it’s something that we got a lot better at last year.  We didn’t win in the final 20-something races of the year, had the most points in the playoffs, and won the championship without winning a race. So, I think we are definitely consistent. It’s not boom or bust every week like you said, but I feel like everybody is pretty inconsistent in the Next Gen era.”  Kyle, do you have a favorite memory of Greg Biffle?“For me it’s just that I don’t really remember getting to compete a whole lot with him, but he was always extremely nice to me outside the car and just so down to earth and just very normal. He would just stop and come and talk me, or just going to Millbridge as fans, or anywhere that I would see him out and about. On the lake, at the grocery store, or wherever.  We lived near each other, so I felt like we ran into each other a lot.  Our youngest went to the same pre-school together, so I would bump into him there as well. Like I said, he was always really nice and complimentary of me which was cool because I have always respected him as a competitor and obviously as a person. Sad to see his passing, and his family and wife, the pilots and everybody on board. So that was definitely a sad day and a sad day for the sport.”  Can you talk about the NASCAR promo featuring you and your wife?“Yeah, it was just fun to get to do something with a family member of mine. And then I even got to do a Roto Rooter commercial the next week with my kids and both of those were really cool. Katelyn really surprised me because she really enjoyed it and she was really into it. She did a great job with her performance, so it was fun and cool the way it turned out. You don’t really know how it’s going to turn out when you are doing it, but they pieced it together really good and I think it was a great way to promote the sport and promote the event.”  I know this time of year everyone asks you about superspeedways and drafting, but last year you scored the second most points (at superspeedways).  How rewarding is it to see that come to fruition?“Yeah, last year was rewarding because I feel like the last four years our team is one of the best performing teams, but we just haven’t got the finishes to go along with it. I think most of the competitors would agree that we are usually up in the front eight positions.  So last year was rewarding because we performed very similar to how we have, we just missed most of the wrecks. So that was good and now all the media members think I have finally figured out superspeedways. But it could quickly change and we could get wrapped up in a wreck again and its back to I suck. But as always, we are just going to try and do what we can to be up in the front and be in the safest position to go and chase the win.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

I know you’re a rookie, but you’re not a rookie to racing. There’s no road course in the chase now. What are your feelings on that? Were you looking forward to something like that, or are you like, eh, it is what it is?“Yeah, I don’t really stress too much about… it is what it is. You know, the writing was on the wall that it was going to happen. It would be nice to have a road course, but I think there’s definitely better options to go to than the (Charlotte) Roval. I think there’s a lot of really great tracks in the United States and around the world that would be really cool to go to.  I think a lot of the drivers want at least one in the Chase. I think I’m not alone saying that, but I think there’s better options than the Roval, just racing-wise. It’s a decent track, but the oval is definitely a better race.”  What’s some of the best advice you’ve been given coming into the season overall?“Yeah, I mean, run all the laps is the biggest thing. I think if you make it to the end of this one, you can have a solid day. But, you know, there’s no crazy advice I’ve been given for this race in particular. It’s certainly different now with fuel saving and just being a unique race, but I’m excited for it. I think my biggest piece of advice that people have given me is just enjoy the experience.”  No Mic… “Yeah, I’m so excited. I think the biggest thing for me coming into this weekend is just try and make the most of the weekend, obviously, and do everything I can on the track. But more importantly, just enjoy the experience and have fun no matter what happens. There’s a lot of things that can happen out of your control here. And I think for me, I’m just most excited to enjoy it all, whether it’s media day today. Usually I dread these things, but I came in with a positive mindset today that I’m going to have fun and I’m going to enjoy it, and I think that goes for the entire weekend.”   What about the full circle moment of getting back here four years later?“Yeah, it’s really full circle for me. I think looking back at it, I first came to this race as a fan in 2022. I sat in the grandstands. I didn’t even know enough people to get a pit pass. I think it just shows how quickly life can change. You know, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s just crazy how things in life can happen. You just have to give it your all every day; don’t give up. I think it shows that anything’s possible.”   Do you come in here happy that people have such high expectations for you, or do you almost feel like I want to calm it down? How do you kind of approach it because you are somebody that people do have these high expectations?“Yeah, I appreciate the excitement. You know, I think it’s really cool that there’s a lot of people excited to watch how I’m going to do this season, whether it’s fans or media. I do think it sometimes gets a little outlandish… a lot of people maybe expecting a lot of me in my first year. I don’t think people realize how big of a jump it is from Saturday to Sunday. But I try not to pay too much attention to it. I know what my personal goals are throughout the year. I know what I want to accomplish and my long-term goals. I find it cool most mostly.”   How do you explain your ability to succeed in every step, so far?“I think it’s just adaptability. Growing up, I raced so many different kinds of cars and got to do so many different races.  I just experienced a lot at a young age, and I was forced to challenge myself. I learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and I think that’s kind of why I never feel like I’m going into a new thing. I never get stressed. I always say, man, I’ve been in these shoes before and I’m going to go out and figure it out.”  What kind of race do you expect to see on Sunday? What are you looking forward to the most? “I think just driver introductions and walking across the stage. And then obviously the race. I mean, the race is going to be really cool. Just the whole experience. I think there’s nothing I can really pinpoint and say, man, that’s going to be my favorite part. I think I’m just going to try and enjoy the entire day. But it’s going to be really cool to walk across the stage and hear my name introduced and get to race in the Daytona 500.”  You’ve never raced in front of that many people before, have you, though? “I don’t think so. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever raced in a crowd this big, no.”  When you got here in 2022, did you watch the race as a fan, or were you in that driver analytical mindset?“That was before I even had raced in oval, so that was very much so just coming as a fan and enjoying the spectacle of it. And, you know, I’d never been to the race. I was actually coaching a kid in Orlando in a go-kart and working, and his family said, hey, you want to go to the Daytona 500? And I thought, man, what a cool opportunity that would be. I traded my pay for a ticket to the race and a place to stay that night, and I got to go to the race for the first time and enjoy that experience. I definitely wasn’t in the driver mindset or I didn’t have the skill at that time to be able to critique what was going on on the track (laughs).”  After Phoenix, how long did you hang on to those thoughts of what you should have, could have, would have to win that championship?“Yeah, I got past it pretty quick. It was probably a week or so, less than a week. I quickly realized I have a lot more to be excited about than I do to sit there and get upset about the fact that I didn’t win a championship. So, yeah, it’s just the fact. If I didn’t have anything going for me and that was my make-or-break moment, it would have been different. But I have a lot to look forward to and a lot to work on moving forward, and that needs to be my focus.”   You have one shot this year at becoming the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history. I’m wondering, have you looked to Trevor Bayne’s win, either in studying it or even maybe talking to him to see how he executed that at such a younger age?“I mean, I don’t think age is the thing that I would need to talk to Trevor Bayne about. I feel like it’s really cool he won at 20 years old and won it at a young age. But no, I haven’t talked to him about his experience in the Daytona 500 or watched it back recently. You know, I do most of my studying on my own and there wouldn’t be a lot to look at from the cars back then to compare to today’s cars.”   What would make you smile at the end of the race Sunday night? “I think if I could just make it to the end — I think a top-10, I’d be happy about. You know, I’m not saying if I finished 11th, I’d be mad. But I think I have low expectations for myself. I don’t expect to go out and win my first race. It’d be really cool to do that. Obviously, we show up to the track every week with the goal to win, but I don’t expect myself to. So I think, you know, making it to the end — as long as I can say I did everything I could and I made the right moves, I think that’s what I’d be satisfied with.”  No Mic…  “Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of it just comes from respecting the guys and treating them the way you want to be treated. If they see you as a bratty kid, I think that’s when they won’t respect you and what you say. I try and treat everyone with respect, and I try not to act like a 19-year-old. I think that’s the biggest thing. I might be a young kid, but I just try to be more professional and mature, and I think that’s a lot of why people trust and believe in me and respect what I say. But, you know, I don’t think – there’s a lot of kids that, you know, have that respect. There’s a lot of people coming up through the sport that are really good and young. I think that’s just kind of the way the sport’s trending is kids are getting into cars when they’re 12 years old, and I think that’s going to become the new normal.”   When you’re getting compared to guys like Jeff Gordon, what’s your reaction to that? “(Laughs) Yeah, it’s hard to comprehend, I would say. I think it’s – I don’t know why yet, right? I’ve run, obviously, a lot of races in the lower levels. But, you know, to be compared to Jeff Gordon, I feel like you’ve got to do something at this level and I’ve yet to do that. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that. That starts this year, and I’m hoping to make a name for myself. It’s certainly going to take time to get to the level of a guy like him.”   What constitutes a successful rookie season for you?“I think the biggest thing for me is that if I can look back and say I got better each week and ended the year multiple steps ahead of where I start today, I think that’s what success looks like to me.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

What does 2026 look like for you guys?“To be determined. It’s definitely an upgrade package. It’s very intentional about that with Chevy. But pushing at the super speedways, we’ll learn tomorrow night. The rest of the tracks are more about the balance of the car, if the downforce changes front to back and how it goes over the car, how the air goes over. They’ve done all their testing, but until the drivers get on track and give some feedback… I’m sure there’ll be things we’ll have to offset to try to help the balance.” How close have you gotten with your new crew chief? And it’s kind of cool that it’s two Floridians, you know, working together. That doesn’t happen very often in the sport. How do you bond?“I’ve known Brandon McSwain for more than a decade. We met in 2014 at Shigeaki Hattori’s team. It was his first job out of college. He’s worked for Bruce Cook as an engineer, and we hit it off. We’ve stayed friends. We’ve lived about a mile from each other for the last five years probably, and I was at his wedding when he married his better half, Jackie and they’ve raised two awesome kids now. So definitely something that we didn’t have to go to dinner to learn each other’s names. I know his family. His wife’s uncle is actually a watermelon seed salesman. So it’s pretty crazy that we’ve been connected more than in more than one way. Now we’re finally getting to work together again after meeting in a race shop a long time ago.” Do you think that helps having that familiarity when you’re going to be making calls with 20 laps to go in the Daytona 500?“That’s why he was my guy. I tossed his name in the hat at Trackhouse. They were interviewing several great candidates. All would have been great crew chiefs. Some are currently, and some will be one day. My vote was Brandon. I had the relationship with him and feel like I understand his voice. I’m a people person, and I feel like I understand what he’s saying long before I have to kind of think about it.” How do you feel about your chances at the front row tonight? I don’t know. It’s more of maybe a question for McSwain. I don’t think that Trackhouse has shown in the past that we’re front-row capable. Chevy has, but not us. The lap in practice wasn’t indicative of single-car speed. Everybody had dirty laps. I was out there by myself, then the 2 car drafted up behind me and then my old amigo Daniel (Suarez) blended in front of me, and we got a big tow. So that wasn’t by ourselves. Nobody was really by themselves.” At what point in the line do you start to feel maybe a sense of urgency to win this race, get that done before you start becoming one of the guys where you’re this statistic of how many attempts?“I don’t have that feeling. I don’t know if it’ll ever show up in my mind. I’m happy to be here, happy to be competing. I know that I could be backward in the grass at 200 miles an hour and if I can get tires on it, I’ll still have a shot. So I’m ready for whatever comes my way.” What’s unique about Connor (Zilisch)?“I don’t know how his family raised him, but they did a really good job. It’s probably something that we need to study because he turned out to be a great kid… mature beyond his years. It’s not fair how mature he is. There’s definitely still signs that he’s his age but the speed on track together with the composure off track is cool to see. And we’ve already had some good times together this year.” Are you bummed that we’re not going to have road courses in Chase?“I don’t care. Whatever the schedule is. If we had 17 road courses in the season or one, I don’t really know that I have an opinion. I just want to know the schedule. Selfishly I’m excited about Charlotte and having another crack at it. I remember the days when you had the All-Star 600 and the fall race there. I’m ready to race wherever they tell us to go. I’ll go anywhere NASCAR says.” Shane said that he spent some time in a Chevy simulator on the course at San Diego. Have you had that similar experience, and what do you think that race is going to produce?“No, I definitely let Shane do the grunt work on that. That track is in its infancy of understanding what it’ll actually be on race weekend. So Shane’s helping I think everybody understand what it needs to be and where to place curbs and walls and things. I’ll wait till further down the road.” You can’t run the feeder series for that weekend. How important is it going to be to watch those other races?“Oh yeah, we’ll be watching. We’ll see once we get there if there is a good spot to watch outside, or if we need to be inside with a TV and a bunch of cameras to watch. But yeah, those practice sessions will be important. There is no extra time with the other series.” How much did the last 10 weeks of the season change now that there are no more playoff rounds and it’s just one straight postseason.“I didn’t plan on it last year, but I don’t plan on backing across any finish lines. From there it’s just a whole body of work over 10 races versus three rounds of three. We know the rules right now just like we knew them last year, and we all go try to win it.” You’re comfortable with your new crew chief and you said he was your pick. You’ve got to be confident about that but is there any uncertainty or nervousness going into it just with the success you’ve had with Phil (Surgen)?“I thought I was going to end my Cup career with Phil Surgen. And it just came time for him and his family to be home more, and I understand that. This is a grind. He came to us with plenty of time and explained what he wanted to do. He created his own job, really, at the top of Trackhouse up with Darian Grubb in the leadership group over the competition side. He can help Brandon, he can help Randall (Burnett) now and Stephen (Doran) on our three cars. So he was my vote. It wasn’t like I slammed my fist on the table and said I got to have him. I just said I think this is the guy, and I made my case.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026

Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

How exactly do you prepare for a season? What kind of training stuff do you do? “Not much, just as much preparation as I can. So going through all our notes from last year and then setup stuff and just trying to keep evolving really. I think we did evolve a lot in the second half of the year. So yeah, just trying to be as prepared as we can each week.” Do you come in much more optimistic about your oval prospects this year than you did a year ago?“I don’t know. I don’t really think like that. I feel like it’s just a work in progress. I feel like I’m just getting better and better. So hopefully it keeps getting better. I still feel like I learn a lot every weekend. When that stops, that’s when it gets harder, I guess.” Can you make gains on ovals on the sim, or does that all have to come at the racetrack?“It’s all on the racetrack. You can do some sim stuff, but I don’t feel it really helps me.” I think your best oval finish was Kansas. Any particular reason you did better there than other places?“I guess it was later in the year. We were just getting better and better. I think we had some races where we had better speed than that, but I didn’t get it right or we got crashed out or something. I felt like we were getting toward the top-10 more often than not at the end, which was really cool.” NASCAR has sort of taken away the good stuff for you with the ‘win-and-you’re-in’ and took one (road course) race away at Charlotte. Do you feel like you got to work harder?“Yeah, but I didn’t join this series to do road courses, but obviously it’s a bonus. I’d love more road courses and not less, but that is what it is. Thankfully, we’re getting better at the ovals so that’s good.” Do you enjoy racing at the big tracks like Daytona and Talladega? “Yes and no. When it’s fuel saving, it’s pretty boring. But when it’s flat-out racing and you’re jockeying for position and pushing a lot, it’s pretty full-on. When it’s actual racing it’s really cool.” How do you feel about the points format overall? “I think it’s good. I think if you’re a front-running guy consistently, I think it’s really good and more of a pure racing championship. Then I think it still keeps the balance of excitement or closing everyone up for those last 10 races. So yeah, I think it’s pretty cool. I feel like you lose the desperation a bit of people winning races to try and turn their season around. But if I was a top guy every week, I’d be all for this.” What’s Conor Zillich shown you so far just in terms of his approach?“I got to know him the last couple of years. He’s a brilliant young guy. He’s been pretty focused and done a lot of racing over the offseason as well. It’s gonna be interesting to see how he goes and how he fits in after a few rounds. Looking forward to working together. Hopefully we like similar setups and we can make the cars better all together.” You talked about the setup and all that different stuff heading into the season. How different is it when you have that year in the Cup Series under your belt?“You just learn what you want and need from a car. My driving style was very different to most, I guess. The way I make the car work or want it to work is very different to others. We noticed a lot of trends which took a while to get everyone to adjust to. I adjusted a bit but now we’re sort of coming my way a bit, which has kind of helped me. It’s interesting. The cars are set up so different to what I’m used to, and I’m still trying to understand what I need or want from the car.” What’s your biggest focus this weekend? Your concentration on it? What are you trying not to do or to do?“Just score as many points as possible. That’s the way we’re going to get into The Chase. So it’s my mindset straight away … just accumulate as many points as we can every week. That’s the focus now.” When you think about racing a road course versus Daytona, how is your focus different? Do you focus differently here? And how much harder is it than say on a road course, even though you are really good at road courses?“It’s just different here like with the qualifying and stuff. You don’t really have an influence on it. You just drive as fast as you can, close to the line as you can. But the preparation is very different. On road courses I’m more involved in setup with what I want. On the ovals I’m just kind of learning and trying to build a notebook. In these races it’s about trying to understand the flow of the race, how to work with people. It’s a completely different style of racing. That’s for sure.” Is the drafting hard for you now? Or do you feel like you kind of got that down?“No, I’m still learning and trying to make friends, I guess. People leave you for no reason, or you do something wrong and lose the trust of people. It takes a while to understand how to put your car in the right place.”  Now that we’re in The Chase format, do you start to view races like this one as opportunities to gain stage points and have a good points day, maybe more than last year?“Yeah, like I said earlier, that’s our goal – to just accumulate points now. You have to try and achieve as many points as you can every weekend. It probably changes the way you take risks if you’re probably going to be like us, a guy trying to point our way in. I probably will approach it a bit different, I think.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026

Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes:

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

How exactly do you prepare for a season? What kind of training stuff do you do? “Not much, just as much preparation as I can. So going through all our notes from last year and then setup stuff and just trying to keep evolving really. I think we did evolve a lot in the second half of the year. So yeah, just trying to be as prepared as we can each week.” Do you come in much more optimistic about your oval prospects this year than you did a year ago?“I don’t know. I don’t really think like that. I feel like it’s just a work in progress. I feel like I’m just getting better and better. So hopefully it keeps getting better. I still feel like I learn a lot every weekend. When that stops, that’s when it gets harder, I guess.” Can you make gains on ovals on the sim, or does that all have to come at the racetrack?“It’s all on the racetrack. You can do some sim stuff, but I don’t feel it really helps me.” I think your best oval finish was Kansas. Any particular reason you did better there than other places?“I guess it was later in the year. We were just getting better and better. I think we had some races where we had better speed than that, but I didn’t get it right or we got crashed out or something. I felt like we were getting toward the top-10 more often than not at the end, which was really cool.” NASCAR has sort of taken away the good stuff for you with the ‘win-and-you’re-in’ and took one (road course) race away at Charlotte. Do you feel like you got to work harder?“Yeah, but I didn’t join this series to do road courses, but obviously it’s a bonus. I’d love more road courses and not less, but that is what it is. Thankfully, we’re getting better at the ovals so that’s good.” Do you enjoy racing at the big tracks like Daytona and Talladega? “Yes and no. When it’s fuel saving, it’s pretty boring. But when it’s flat-out racing and you’re jockeying for position and pushing a lot, it’s pretty full-on. When it’s actual racing it’s really cool.” How do you feel about the points format overall? “I think it’s good. I think if you’re a front-running guy consistently, I think it’s really good and more of a pure racing championship. Then I think it still keeps the balance of excitement or closing everyone up for those last 10 races. So yeah, I think it’s pretty cool. I feel like you lose the desperation a bit of people winning races to try and turn their season around. But if I was a top guy every week, I’d be all for this.” What’s Conor Zillich shown you so far just in terms of his approach?“I got to know him the last couple of years. He’s a brilliant young guy. He’s been pretty focused and done a lot of racing over the offseason as well. It’s gonna be interesting to see how he goes and how he fits in after a few rounds. Looking forward to working together. Hopefully we like similar setups and we can make the cars better all together.” You talked about the setup and all that different stuff heading into the season. How different is it when you have that year in the Cup Series under your belt?“You just learn what you want and need from a car. My driving style was very different to most, I guess. The way I make the car work or want it to work is very different to others. We noticed a lot of trends which took a while to get everyone to adjust to. I adjusted a bit but now we’re sort of coming my way a bit, which has kind of helped me. It’s interesting. The cars are set up so different to what I’m used to, and I’m still trying to understand what I need or want from the car.” What’s your biggest focus this weekend? Your concentration on it? What are you trying not to do or to do?“Just score as many points as possible. That’s the way we’re going to get into The Chase. So it’s my mindset straight away … just accumulate as many points as we can every week. That’s the focus now.” When you think about racing a road course versus Daytona, how is your focus different? Do you focus differently here? And how much harder is it than say on a road course, even though you are really good at road courses?“It’s just different here like with the qualifying and stuff. You don’t really have an influence on it. You just drive as fast as you can, close to the line as you can. But the preparation is very different. On road courses I’m more involved in setup with what I want. On the ovals I’m just kind of learning and trying to build a notebook. In these races it’s about trying to understand the flow of the race, how to work with people. It’s a completely different style of racing. That’s for sure.” Is the drafting hard for you now? Or do you feel like you kind of got that down?“No, I’m still learning and trying to make friends, I guess. People leave you for no reason, or you do something wrong and lose the trust of people. It takes a while to understand how to put your car in the right place.”  Now that we’re in The Chase format, do you start to view races like this one as opportunities to gain stage points and have a good points day, maybe more than last year?“Yeah, like I said earlier, that’s our goal – to just accumulate points now. You have to try and achieve as many points as you can every weekend. It probably changes the way you take risks if you’re probably going to be like us, a guy trying to point our way in. I probably will approach it a bit different, I think.”

BARBERVILLE, FL – It doesn’t matter what car he’s driving – when Hudson O’Neal rolls onto the track at Volusia Speedway Park, he’s going to be in contention.

Three weeks after wheeling the K&L Rumley Enterprises No. 6 to Victory Lane in the Friday portion of DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, O’Neal returned to Volusia in February in his primary ride, the SSI Motorsports No. 71. Following a sixth-place run on Monday, the “New Deal” led all 25 laps of Tuesday’s DIRTcar Late Model Feature to become the second winner of the week at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

“It’s so awesome to be able to get back in the 71 car, to come down to a fresh start to Speedweeks and be able to get us a win on the second night is pretty awesome,” O’Neal said. “We knew that it was going to be a little bit of a tire game. We were lucky to be able to get out to the lead there early. It started to lane up down in [Turns] 1 and 2 especially, and we were just lucky to have good track position.”

The Martinsville, IN driver became the first repeat winner of 2026 at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” in the fifth Super Late Model race hosted at the track this year. Not only is O’Neal now a five-time Volusia winner dating back to his first triumph in 2023, he has now won at the track with three different teams in Rocket1 Racing, Rumley and SSI.

When combined with his pair of victories in January at the Wild West Shootout, O’Neal’s four wins in 2026 have him tied with Monday winner Brandon Overton as the winningest Late Model driver in the nation in the young 2026 season.

O’Neal sits second in the Big Gator standings with two nights in the books, 15 points shy of Cody Overton, who finished runner-up for the second night in a row. Ryan Gustin filled the last spot on the podium in third, while Brandon Sheppard and Tim McCreadie rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Late Model portion of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals concludes on Wednesday, Feb. 11, with three split-field, $5,000-to-win Features. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch live? Stream every night of DIRTcar Nationals on DIRTVision.

O’Neal Leads Wire-to-Wire for Tuesday Victory at Volusia

BARBERVILLE, FL – It doesn’t matter what car he’s driving – when Hudson O’Neal rolls onto the track at Volusia Speedway Park, he’s going to be in contention.

Three weeks after wheeling the K&L Rumley Enterprises No. 6 to Victory Lane in the Friday portion of DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, O’Neal returned to Volusia in February in his primary ride, the SSI Motorsports No. 71. Following a sixth-place run on Monday, the “New Deal” led all 25 laps of Tuesday’s DIRTcar Late Model Feature to become the second winner of the week at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

“It’s so awesome to be able to get back in the 71 car, to come down to a fresh start to Speedweeks and be able to get us a win on the second night is pretty awesome,” O’Neal said. “We knew that it was going to be a little bit of a tire game. We were lucky to be able to get out to the lead there early. It started to lane up down in [Turns] 1 and 2 especially, and we were just lucky to have good track position.”

The Martinsville, IN driver became the first repeat winner of 2026 at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” in the fifth Super Late Model race hosted at the track this year. Not only is O’Neal now a five-time Volusia winner dating back to his first triumph in 2023, he has now won at the track with three different teams in Rocket1 Racing, Rumley and SSI.

When combined with his pair of victories in January at the Wild West Shootout, O’Neal’s four wins in 2026 have him tied with Monday winner Brandon Overton as the winningest Late Model driver in the nation in the young 2026 season.

O’Neal sits second in the Big Gator standings with two nights in the books, 15 points shy of Cody Overton, who finished runner-up for the second night in a row. Ryan Gustin filled the last spot on the podium in third, while Brandon Sheppard and Tim McCreadie rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Late Model portion of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals concludes on Wednesday, Feb. 11, with three split-field, $5,000-to-win Features. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Want to watch live? Stream every night of DIRTcar Nationals on DIRTVision.

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 97-Cody Overton[5]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 4. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[7]; 5. 9M-Tim McCreadie[9]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 7. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 8. 99-Devin Moran[12]; 9. 44-Chris Madden[11]; 10. 32-Bobby Pierce[17]; 11. 58V-Daulton Wilson[8]; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson[10]; 13. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 14. 22*-Drake Troutman[19]; 15. 93-Carson Ferguson[14]; 16. 1-Tyler Erb[21]; 17. 76-Brandon Overton[18]; 18. 16-Tyler Bruening[22]; 19. 111-Max Blair[24]; 20. 24-Tyler Wyant[13]; 21. 1Z-Logan Zarin[23]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[15]; 23. 13-Dallon Murty[20]; 24. 74X-Ethan Dotson[16]

Swanson puts on a clinic for second Volusia checkered flag while Seavey hauls in another Big Gator

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 10, 2025) – Jake Swanson had no plans of waiting long for his first USAC National Sprint Car win of 2026.

Last year, the Anaheim, CA native brought his own team out on the road for the first time as the Daming Swanson Motorsports No. 5T competed full-time with USAC. With a few previous campaigns under his belt, Swanson was no stranger to the tour before last year’s venture, but he battled through some bumps as he shaped his organization.

It wasn’t until the 47th of 49 races that Swanson made a visit to Victory Lane in 2025 when he topped a trip to Amarillo, TX’s Route 66 Motor Speedway. This year, it took Swanson only two nights to come out on top.

The 32-year-old absolutely dominated Tuesday’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Feature at Volusia Speedway Park. He took the lead on the sixth circuit and never looked back. Swanson’s lead ballooned as large as over seven seconds as he sliced through traffic. He simply checked out on his way to a validating victory as he continues to grow his team into a true contender.

“I’ve put my life into this race team, this program, building this stuff,” an emotional Swanson said. “There’s a lot of good people I’m doing it with. I’m confident. I know I can do it. I know I can build a race car that can do it. I’m just glad that it’s paying off. It’s finally here. I’m doing what I set out to do, and I couldn’t be happier to do it with the group I’m doing it with.”

Swanson’s efforts earned him a stout $12,000 payday. It marked his second win at the “World Fastest Half Mile” to go along with a 2023 triumph.

Behind Swanson, the runner-up spot belonged to Logan Seavey. That coupled with Monday’s win was enough to earn Seavey the DIRTcar Nationals title with USAC. The Sutter, CA driver also captured the 2024 Big Gator, making him the first driver to earn two of the trophies with USAC. Seavey has finished first or second in five of his six Volusia starts since teaming with Abacus Racing.

“Overall, it was a great few days here at Volusia,” Seavey said. “I love coming here. It’s a place that’s treated me well.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. completed the podium while Justin Grant and Briggs Danner rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT: The Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals continue Wednesday, Feb. 11 when the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds come to town to race alongside the DIRTcar Late Models. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the complete 2026 Volusia Speedway Park schedule, CLICK HERE.

Where can you watch every Volusia Speedway Park race? Live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

Jake Swanson Dominates Tuesday’s USAC Feature, Logan Seavey Snags Second Big Gator

Swanson puts on a clinic for second Volusia checkered flag while Seavey hauls in another Big Gator

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 10, 2025) – Jake Swanson had no plans of waiting long for his first USAC National Sprint Car win of 2026.

Last year, the Anaheim, CA native brought his own team out on the road for the first time as the Daming Swanson Motorsports No. 5T competed full-time with USAC. With a few previous campaigns under his belt, Swanson was no stranger to the tour before last year’s venture, but he battled through some bumps as he shaped his organization.

It wasn’t until the 47th of 49 races that Swanson made a visit to Victory Lane in 2025 when he topped a trip to Amarillo, TX’s Route 66 Motor Speedway. This year, it took Swanson only two nights to come out on top.

The 32-year-old absolutely dominated Tuesday’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Feature at Volusia Speedway Park. He took the lead on the sixth circuit and never looked back. Swanson’s lead ballooned as large as over seven seconds as he sliced through traffic. He simply checked out on his way to a validating victory as he continues to grow his team into a true contender.

“I’ve put my life into this race team, this program, building this stuff,” an emotional Swanson said. “There’s a lot of good people I’m doing it with. I’m confident. I know I can do it. I know I can build a race car that can do it. I’m just glad that it’s paying off. It’s finally here. I’m doing what I set out to do, and I couldn’t be happier to do it with the group I’m doing it with.”

Swanson’s efforts earned him a stout $12,000 payday. It marked his second win at the “World Fastest Half Mile” to go along with a 2023 triumph.

Behind Swanson, the runner-up spot belonged to Logan Seavey. That coupled with Monday’s win was enough to earn Seavey the DIRTcar Nationals title with USAC. The Sutter, CA driver also captured the 2024 Big Gator, making him the first driver to earn two of the trophies with USAC. Seavey has finished first or second in five of his six Volusia starts since teaming with Abacus Racing.

“Overall, it was a great few days here at Volusia,” Seavey said. “I love coming here. It’s a place that’s treated me well.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. completed the podium while Justin Grant and Briggs Danner rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT: The Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals continue Wednesday, Feb. 11 when the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds come to town to race alongside the DIRTcar Late Models. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the complete 2026 Volusia Speedway Park schedule, CLICK HERE.

Where can you watch every Volusia Speedway Park race? Live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Race Feature (30 Laps): 1. 5T-Jake Swanson[3]; 2. 57-Logan Seavey[4]; 3. 3R-Kevin Thomas Jr[6]; 4. 4-Justin Grant[7]; 5. 39-Briggs Danner[2]; 6. 20-Brady Bacon[18]; 7. 30-CJ Leary[1]; 8. 92-Chase Stockon[10]; 9. 12-Robert Ballou[14]; 10. 3P-Kyle Cummins[13]; 11. 19AZ-Mitchel Moles[9]; 12. 6T-Trey Osborne[5]; 13. 19-Hayden Reinbold[15]; 14. 14-Jadon Rogers[11]; 15. 13-Chase Howard[22]; 16. 84-Tom Harris[23]; 17. 16-Harley Burns[12]; 18. 63-Cale Coons[20]; 19. 5G-Gunnar Setser[21]; 20. 41-Ricky Lewis[8]; 21. 6-Logan Calderwood[19]; 22. 21K-Kobe Simpson[24]; 23. 2B-Chelby Hinton[16]; 24. 98-Saban Bibent[17]

Teenage Oklahoma native is boosted with confidence following top-10 run at Volusia

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 10, 2026) — On the heels of a best-career performance in the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park, Ryder Laplante has made his commitment to a second season following the American Sprint Car Series schedule.

The 19-year-old from Calera, OK, opened the 2026 season by qualifying for all three main events during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. A mechanical issue forced a DNS on Thursday before posting a 17th-place finish on Friday and a 16th-to-eighth charge in the finale on Monday.

The performance marked a vast improvement from his Volusia debut the year before, where Laplante qualified for only one of the three Features run over the weekend.

“We thought it was awesome,” Laplante said. “Compared to last year where we only made one A-Main. This year, we made all three. Especially the performance we put in on Monday, going up against those big teams like that. At one point, I was up to fifth before a caution.

“For our little team to go out there and race side-by-side with the best in the world was pretty awesome.”

In 2025, Laplante built a solid base of 360 Sprint Car laps on which he’s looking to build in 2026. He said his rookie season taught him a lot and filled a few pages of his notebook at several new tracks, but this year will be all about staying competitive regularly as he aims to improve his position at season’s end.

“Just get some consistency,” Laplante said. “Last year, we were really up-and-down. Hopefully have better luck too; that was our main issue. I’d really love to get a top three in points. I know that’s gonna be really hard, but it’s doable. That’s my main goal.”

Looking forward, Laplante turns his attention to the rest of the national 360 Sprint Car schedule, which will take him to 21 other tracks across 11 states through the month of October. The grind continues in less than two weeks’ time at Central Arizona Raceway in back-to-back weekends of racing — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — in the inaugural Sonoran Clash.

Ryder Laplante Commits to Second American Sprint Car Series Campaign

Teenage Oklahoma native is boosted with confidence following top-10 run at Volusia

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 10, 2026) — On the heels of a best-career performance in the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park, Ryder Laplante has made his commitment to a second season following the American Sprint Car Series schedule.

The 19-year-old from Calera, OK, opened the 2026 season by qualifying for all three main events during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. A mechanical issue forced a DNS on Thursday before posting a 17th-place finish on Friday and a 16th-to-eighth charge in the finale on Monday.

The performance marked a vast improvement from his Volusia debut the year before, where Laplante qualified for only one of the three Features run over the weekend.

“We thought it was awesome,” Laplante said. “Compared to last year where we only made one A-Main. This year, we made all three. Especially the performance we put in on Monday, going up against those big teams like that. At one point, I was up to fifth before a caution.

“For our little team to go out there and race side-by-side with the best in the world was pretty awesome.”

In 2025, Laplante built a solid base of 360 Sprint Car laps on which he’s looking to build in 2026. He said his rookie season taught him a lot and filled a few pages of his notebook at several new tracks, but this year will be all about staying competitive regularly as he aims to improve his position at season’s end.

“Just get some consistency,” Laplante said. “Last year, we were really up-and-down. Hopefully have better luck too; that was our main issue. I’d really love to get a top three in points. I know that’s gonna be really hard, but it’s doable. That’s my main goal.”

Looking forward, Laplante turns his attention to the rest of the national 360 Sprint Car schedule, which will take him to 21 other tracks across 11 states through the month of October. The grind continues in less than two weeks’ time at Central Arizona Raceway in back-to-back weekends of racing — Feb. 21–22, Feb. 28–March 1 — in the inaugural Sonoran Clash.

Tickets for the inaugural Sonoran Clash at Central Arizona Raceway will be sold at the track on race day. Can’t be at the track? Stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 10, 2026) – Being in the top three on the white flag lap at every World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision and Super DIRTcar Series will come with a benefit this year.

Behrent’s Performance Warehouse is bringing the One-to-Go Championship to both series in 2026, awarding points to drivers who are in the top three on the white flag lap of every Heat Race, Last Chance Showdown, and Feature – three points to the leader, two points for second, and one point for third.

At the end of the season, the top three in points of the One-to-Go Championship will be rewarded with a Behrent’s gift card – $1,000 to the champion, $500 to the runner-up, and $250 to the third-place finisher.

“We’re excited to continue and expand our partnership with World Racing Group, the World of Outlaws, and Super DIRTcar Series,” said Jeff Behrent, vice president of Behrent’s Performance Warehouse. “The One-to-Go Championship is a unique program that gives drivers and fans another fun battle to follow throughout the year and provides an extra incentive to be leading when it counts… one lap to go.”

The One-to-Go Championship kicks off for the Super DIRTcar Series during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb. 11-14, and continues for the World of Outlaws Late Models at Volusia this week, Feb. 12-14 – with points already collected during DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals.

To learn more about Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, visit behrents.com.

Click the links to see the full World of Outlaws Late Models Series schedule and Super DIRTcar Series schedule.

Behrent’s Performance Bringing One-to-Go Championship to World of Outlaws Late Models

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 10, 2026) – Being in the top three on the white flag lap at every World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision and Super DIRTcar Series will come with a benefit this year.

Behrent’s Performance Warehouse is bringing the One-to-Go Championship to both series in 2026, awarding points to drivers who are in the top three on the white flag lap of every Heat Race, Last Chance Showdown, and Feature – three points to the leader, two points for second, and one point for third.

At the end of the season, the top three in points of the One-to-Go Championship will be rewarded with a Behrent’s gift card – $1,000 to the champion, $500 to the runner-up, and $250 to the third-place finisher.

“We’re excited to continue and expand our partnership with World Racing Group, the World of Outlaws, and Super DIRTcar Series,” said Jeff Behrent, vice president of Behrent’s Performance Warehouse. “The One-to-Go Championship is a unique program that gives drivers and fans another fun battle to follow throughout the year and provides an extra incentive to be leading when it counts… one lap to go.”

The One-to-Go Championship kicks off for the Super DIRTcar Series during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb. 11-14, and continues for the World of Outlaws Late Models at Volusia this week, Feb. 12-14 – with points already collected during DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals.

To learn more about Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, visit behrents.com.

Click the links to see the full World of Outlaws Late Models Series schedule and Super DIRTcar Series schedule.

Where can you watch the World of Outlaws Late Models and Super DIRTcar Series all year? Live on DIRTVision.

Event: DAYTONA 500Date/Time: Sunday, February 15, 2026, 2:30 p.m. ETLocation: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FloridaLayout: 2.5-Mile OvalTV/Radio: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioNASCAR racing has produced its share of dramatic moments, but few can compare to the finish of the 1976 DAYTONA 500.That race delivered a late-race showdown between the sport’s two most accomplished drivers, each competing for one of NASCAR’s dominant teams. When the dust settled, David Pearson emerged victorious in the Wood Brothers Mercury over Richard Petty in his Petty Enterprises Dodge, even as both drivers wrecked coming to the finish line in a moment that has become etched into NASCAR history.This year, Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will pay tribute to that iconic victory with a paint scheme honoring Pearson’s win with the Wood Brothers. Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 will be contested 50 years to the day from the 1976 race, a milestone tied to what many still consider one of the greatest finishes the sport has ever seen.Pearson’s win came down to instinct and experience. As the two leaders tangled in the closing moments, Pearson had the presence of mind to clutch the engine, allowing his battered car to continue rolling forward. He limped across the finish line to secure one of the Wood Brothers’ five DAYTONA 500 trophies. Of the NASCAR-record 63 races in which Pearson and Petty finished first and second to each other, the 1976 DAYTONA 500 remains the most remembered. Pearson won 33 of those head-to-head battles.Pearson’s son Ricky was 20 years old at the time and watched the race from the Wood Brothers pit area. His view of the track was obstructed, and unlike today, there were no televisions in the pits to follow the action. Still, the final lap left an impression that has lasted a lifetime.“We saw some smoke, and from the way the crowd was reacting we knew something was happening,” Pearson said. “We saw Richard come into sight, then when Daddy got moving the hollering got even louder.”After taking the checkered flag, David Pearson completed his lap and drove down pit road, stopping near Petty’s pit stall.“Richard stuck his head in the window, but I never knew what he said,” Ricky Pearson said. “We all climbed on the car and went to victory lane. Then when it was all over we got in the plane and flew home.”Pearson said his father never really discussed what the win meant, but from Ricky’s perspective, few moments carried more weight.“I was there as the child of the greatest driver who ever lived,” he said. “It was very emotional, right at the top as far as emotions.“Hearing the reaction of the fans and all that went on make it a day I’ll never forget.”That history is not lost on Berry and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team. Still, once the green flag drops Feb. 15, their focus will turn to the present as they pursue a sixth Harley J. Earl Trophy for the Wood Brothers.“Obviously, they’ve had a great history there, and it’s a race that we all as drivers put pressure on ourselves to go out and perform well and hopefully compete for the win,” Berry said. “It’s the biggest race of the year, and obviously being a part of the Wood Brothers and Team Penske, their cars have always been really strong at those races and being able to capitalize on that is something that’s obviously really important to us.“So hopefully we can go do that and avoid all the trouble to be there at the end and give ourselves a shot at it.”Berry and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, led by crew chief Miles Stanley, begin their second season together with much of the group intact from 2025, a continuity Berry believes will help build momentum.“I think it helps put us in a better spot,” Berry said. “Obviously, the last couple of years in the Cup Series have been with two different organizations, and now going back to this and having the same group, the same crew chief, the same engineers, really the same everybody, so it just kind of builds more fluidity.“It doesn’t feel like you’re starting over and learning each other as much. It’s made the offseason maybe go a little bit longer, maybe a little bit more refreshing because you’re not doing as much random things that you have to check off in the offseason.“I’m excited for it. I feel like Miles and I have had a really good relationship, and now Miles is going into his second year as a crew chief as well, so I know he’s only going to keep getting better.“I feel like we’re poised to have a really strong year.”Thursday, February 12Eddie and Len Wood will participate in a Q&A session at the Ford Display in the Daytona International Speedway Fan Zone at 3:30 p.m. Eddie and Len Wood will participate in the SiriusXM Live Show in the Daytona International Speedway Infield Fan Zone at 5:30 p.m.Friday, February 13Josh Berry will make an appearance at the Ford Display in the Daytona International Speedway Fan Zone at 3:15 p.m. for a Q&A session. Josh Berry will sign autographs at the Team Penske/Wood Brothers Racing merchandise unit beginning at 3:30 p.m. 100 wristbands will be distributed on a first come, first-served basis. Josh BerryAge: 35 (Oct. 22, 1990)Hometown: Hendersonville, TennesseeCrew Chief: Miles StanleyIG: @joshberry88X: @joshberry