Search this site

(Photo Credit: Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Press Release | TOYOTA RACING PLANO, Texas (February 8, 2023) – SiriusXM will be featured as the primary sponsor on both of Toyota’s NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) teams – Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (23XI) – for multiple races during the 2023 season. “We are excited to be back with Toyota Racing for the 2023 season. We look forward to seeing the SiriusXM colors back on Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota Camry following his stellar 2022 season showcase and we’re excited to welcome Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 Toyota Camry to the team,” said John Zavisa, SiriusXM’s Senior Vice President of Automotive Partnerships. “We are so proud of our long-standing relationship with Toyota and the opportunity to deliver SiriusXM as a standard feature on every vehicle they manufacture for sale in the Continental U.S.” Bell, who advanced to his first Championship 4 last season, will run the SiriusXM scheme in back-to-back races to start the season at Southern California’s Auto Club Speedway in February and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. “It’s great to represent a company like SiriusXM during the NASCAR Cup Series season,” said Bell. “SiriusXM NASCAR Radio is such an integral part of getting our sport out to the public and we all enjoy so many different stations in our personal lives, it’s great to carry their colors.” New Team Toyota driver Reddick will run the SiriusXM scheme three times for 23XI in the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD, including the Toyota Owners race weekend in Richmond, Darlington Raceway’s May event and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. “There are so many new opportunities for me this season and getting the opportunity to run SiriusXM on my Camry TRD is just another one of those,” said Reddick. “I’ve always been a fan of SiriusXM, but to learn about their relationship with Toyota with production vehicles along with the relationship all of us have with them already makes for a pretty awesome collaboration that comes together on my No. 45 Camry TRD.” These sponsorships highlight the long-running Toyota relationship with SiriusXM in NASCAR which began in 2007. In 2019, SiriusXM announced a landmark agreement with Toyota where all Toyota models sold in the Continental U.S. with next generation head units would be outfitted with SiriusXM. All Toyota customers receive a three-month subscription to the SiriusXM Platinum Plan, which delivers SiriusXM’s full lineup of exclusive and curated content, plus access to SiriusXM outside the vehicles on the SXM App and on connected devices and speakers, with the purchase of their vehicle.

Press Release | KYLE BUSCH MOTORSPORTS MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 7, 2023) – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today that Zariz Transport, a fast growing intermodal drayage company specializing in transporting containers from the ports, has signed a multi-year deal to be the primary sponsor on owner-driver Kyle Busch’s No. 51 Chevrolet Silverado for all five of his races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series beginning in 2023. In addition to Busch’s five-race schedule, the Florida-based company will serve as an associate sponsor for the 18 remaining races for the No. 51 team and has reached a multi-year renewal to be the presenting sponsor of The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund annual gala. Busch will make his 2023 Craftsman Truck Series debut March 3 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway and his five-race schedule will also include, Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex. on March 25, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on April 14, Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on May 6 and Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. on July 22. ‘Rowdy’ is the winningest driver in Craftsman Truck series history with 62 career wins. He heads into 2023 with an active streak of winning at least one race in each of the last 10 Truck Series seasons (2013-2022), which is the longest streak in series history. The Las Vegas native has won 37.6% (62/165) of the Truck Series races he has entered in his career and has finished first or second in 56.7% (93/165). In addition to his Truck Series leading 62 wins, he also ranks first all-time among Truck Series drivers in driver rating (123.7), average finish (6.5) and is second in laps led (7,636). “Through working with Kyle and Samantha as the title sponsors of their Bundle of Joy gala, we recognized that there was a business synergy between Zariz and KBM and that the opportunity to align ourselves with one of the most successful drivers in the history of NASCAR is going to be very beneficial to us as we continue to grow our company,” said Yaakov Guzelgul, Founder and CEO of Zariz. “We look forward to seeing our logo on the No. 51 in the coming years and hosting our employees and customers at the track to cheer on Kyle as he looks to add more wins to an already impressive resume.” “I’m really excited to have Zariz as the primary sponsor on my No. 51 Silverado for my five races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the coming years,” Busch said. “Samantha and I were introduced to Zariz through our foundation and immediately developed a great connection with them and we are honored that not only have they committed to the Truck Series sponsorship for multiple years, but they’ll also continue being the presenting sponsor of our Bundle of Joy Fund gala. We feel that introducing them to NASCAR consumers and people within the industry on the national stage through the Craftsman Truck Series makes perfect sense given the nature of their business and I can’t wait to make them a part of KBM’s winning tradition.” Busch is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (2015 & 2019) and is tied for ninth on the all-time Cup Series wins list with 60. In addition to being the winningest driver in Truck Series history, Busch also holds the all-time wins record in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (102) and was that series’ champion in 2009. He is the all-time wins leader combined across NASCAR’s top three series with 224 and is the only driver in history to sweep all-three NASCAR touring series in the same weekend, doing it at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in 2010 and repeating the feat in 2017.

(Cover Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images) By Adam Carabine In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2023 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the 36 charters of 2022. 6th Place – William Byron – 2,376 pts HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – CHEVROLET 2 Wins in 2022 – It’s almost easy to forget that William Byron had two wins, because they both came so early in the season. Byron won races 5 and 8 on the schedule, with both tracks being quite different from each other. Byron’s first win of 2023 was at Atlanta – recently repaved/reconfigured to run a bit like a smaller Daytona or Talladega. The second win came at Martinsville, a short track with little banking in the corners. As far as ovals go, there aren’t many other two tracks that are as dissimilar. Whatever the tracks may have been, Byron doubled his career win count, as he came into the ’22 season with just two wins to his name. 5 Top 5s in 2022 – It is strange, really, how quiet of a season William Byron had in 2022. He finishes ahead of Kyle Larson in the standings, but overall has a worse year than the year before. In 2021, he scored 12 Top 5s. Big difference. Obviously with the new car and the increased parity, the playing field was slightly evened out, and there weren’t as many Top 5s to go around, but that’s a pretty significant decline from his previous season. 746 Laps Led in 2022 – As soon as you point out his Top 5 situation, you take a look at his laps led, which was 3rd highest out of the Cup Series charters, and it paints a different picture. William Byron appears to have spent a LOT of time at the front of the pack. However, upon a deeper dive, that’s not necessarily the case. In select races, he was dominant, leading to a high number of laps led. His two wins combined for 323 laps led. He also led 122 at Richmond in the spring. However, there were 18 races where Byron didn’t lead a single lap. 218 Stage Points Earned in 2022 – A sneaky way to pad your points (maybe sneaky isn’t the right word – everyone knows about this) is to pile up on stage points. Regardless, collecting anywhere between 1-10 points per stage doesn’t seem like it would make a big difference, but if you’re consistent, it can make a dent. William Byron’s 218 stage points rank him 7th of all Cup Series charters in that category. 38th Place Finish @ the Daytona 500 – Being that it’s the most prestigious race of the year, not to mention the first points race of the season, teams and drivers always try to bring their best to the Daytona 500. Unfortunately for William Byron, he was only able to run 62 laps of the race. An incident that took him, as well as Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin and Harrison Burton out of the race gave him his worst finish of the year – 38th. Luckily for Byron, the showing at Daytona was not indicative of the rest of the season, and he finished strong. In June 2022, William Byron signed a 3-year contract extension to stay at Hendrick Motorsports. Look for Byron to return to the No. 24 Chevrolet in 2023! Coming up next in the Countdown to Daytona series – Denny Hamlin! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @RacingRefresh Or you can email directly: acarabine@racingrefresh.com Follow us on Facebook: Racing Refresh Facebook Page Get all of your Racing Refresh Merch from our online store! Is there an error? Something missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

(Cover Photo Credit: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images) By Adam Carabine In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2023 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the 36 charters of 2022. 7th Place – Kyle Larson – 2,355 pts HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – CHEVROLET 539 Fast Laps in 2022 – Hendrick Motorsports might not have won the championship, but they were consistently the best team throughout the entire 2022 season. No other Cup Series driver had more fast laps than Kyle Larson did – and the second fastest didn’t even get over 500. Larson averaged just under 15 fast laps per race, which is crazy when you consider the parity that runs through the Cup Series. With the new Next-Gen car tightening the field up a bit, it’s pretty impressive. 2,081 Quality Passes in 2022 – Another stat where Kyle Larson excelled in 2022 is Quality Passes. A Quality Pass is one made under green flag conditions while in the Top 15. The logic here is that a Quality Pass is harder to make than just a regular pass, because the competition gets harder as you move closer to the front of the field. Larson ranks 4th of all Cup Series charters in this category, showing just how dominant he was near the front of the pack in 2022. 327 Less Points in 2022 than in 2021 – It would have been extremely difficult for Kyle Larson to match his amazing 2021 season. He scored 10 wins and won the Championship. However, his fall-off was a lot bigger than many expected. His negative 327-point differential from year to year ranked him 4th among all returning drivers (3rd if you don’t count Brad Keselowski’s 100 pt penalty). At the same time, Larson did score 3 wins and make it to the Round of 12, so it wasn’t a complete failure! 7 DNFs in 2022 – One of the contributors to a slower season for Kyle Larson would have to be his 7 DNFs. When it comes to failures of the car, it’s not quite fair to point the blame at learning the Next-Gen car, because every other team was in the exact same boat. For comparison, Larson only had 2 DNFs in an outstanding 2021 campaign. He’ll want to clean that up in 2023 for sure. 89 Career Top 5s – Over the course of his relatively short Cup Series career, Kyle Larson has amassed 89 Top 5s. That actually puts him on the all-time leaderboard at 50th. His next competition as far as current drivers go is Martin Truex Jr., who has 133 in 33rd place all-time. It won’t take long to have Larson move up that leaderboard, though everyone has an extremely long way to go to catching Richard Petty’s 555. Kyle Larson fans should be safe to get a No. 5 tattoo, as he is under contract to remain with Hendrick Motorsports until 2026. Larson isn’t likely going anywhere anytime soon. Coming up next in the Countdown to Daytona series – William Byron! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @RacingRefresh Or you can email directly: acarabine@racingrefresh.com Follow us on Facebook: Racing Refresh Facebook Page Get all of your Racing Refresh Merch from our online store! Is there an error? Something missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

(Photo Credit: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) Press Release | MARTIN TRUEX JR. LOS ANGELES (February 5, 2023) – Martin Truex Jr. won the Clash at the LA Coliseum after leading the final 25 (of 150) laps. It is Truex Jr.’s first Clash victory and the seventh Clash win for Toyota. Tyler Reddick finished sixth in his Toyota debut, while Denny Hamlin (ninth) and Bubba Wallace (23rd) both spent time out front in the annual non-points event. Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Clash – 150 laps TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 2nd, Austin Dillon * 3rd, Kyle Busch* 4th, Alex Bowman* 5th, Kyle Larson* 6th, TYLER REDDICK 9th, DENNY HAMLIN 13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 22nd, BUBBA WALLACE 26th, TY GIBBS *non-Toyota driver TOYOTA QUOTES MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 1st You’ve accomplished a lot in your career, but winning the Clash was not one of the accomplishments until now. What was the difference tonight? “Really good race car. The guys did a great job with this Bass Pro Shops Club Toyota Camry – TRACKER Boats, Reser’s Fine Foods, Auto Owners, True Timber, Cessna, just all of our partners that let us do this. Last year was a pretty rough season for us with no wins, so to come out here and kick it off this way – I’m just really proud of all of these guys. Tonight was about perseverance, not giving up – just battle through and we found ourselves at the right spot at the end. Sometimes they work out your way, sometimes they don’t. Tonight it went our way and we made some good adjustments too.” How satisfying was it for you that with all of those late cautions you were still able to get the job done after last year and all those crazy situations that unfolded? “Yeah, it was definitely satisfying. Anytime you win it's obviously satisfying. I had some good guys around me. Austin and Kyle raced clean, and for the most part I've never had really any big issues with those guys. You come to a track like this, it's pretty easy to just blow the corner and knock the guy out of the way in front of you. It's just easy to do. Thankfully they didn't do that. They gave me a lap to get going, and obviously we were fast enough to drive away from them.” Over the years you and Kyle (Busch) might have gotten along the best or raced each other the best of all the JGR teammates; like you guys seemed to get it with each other. On that restart I was kind of like, are things going to change now? Did that go through your head at all? Were you worried he would race you any differently now that you're not on the same team? “No. I never thought about it once. We had a really good race in our heat race today, and we talked about it after, and it was like, hey, that was pretty fun. We put on a little bit of a show for a heat race, running side by side for the lead and swapping back and forth two or three times. We've raced together for a long time. We understand the sport. I've got a ton of respect for Kyle, obviously, and I feel like he's one of the guys that gives it back to me. It goes all the way back to '04 when we ran for a championship against each other, and we probably didn't get along very well then or we didn't cut each other many breaks then. But I think we've all grown up around the sport and raced together a lot and understand that we're going to be racing together a lot, and it's a lot easier to do things the right way and have that respect.” Your crew chief, James Small, said that you were different this off-season. I'm wondering if you are different, and if so, how? “Mad. Just determined. Just have a lot of fire in my belly to go out and change what we did last year. If you look at all the statistics, we had a decent year. We were consistent. We scored a lot of points. We struggled on short tracks and road courses, which ultimately is what kept us out of the playoffs. Just so many times that we felt like we were doing the right things and probably should have won a couple races, and they got away from us. That was very, very frustrating. Knowing that we were doing everything we needed to do to win, it sucked. Just wanting to go out and show them what we can do. We've been very fired up this off-season, working very hard, all of us. It's just nice when it all works out and you can come to the track and things go the way you hope they will. Hopefully we can do a lot more of that. We've got a lot going on good in our camp, at Toyota. I've got a great team, and I knew they were great last year, and we'll just see how far we can go, but I feel really good about things. Fired up and excited, and it's just a good feeling to be able to win a race, and even though it's not points or anything, it's just good momentum.” You kind of touched on it there, but is this a statement in some way? “No, I just think for us it reminds us that we're doing the right stuff and we can still go out and win any given weekend. We felt that way last year, but it never happened. You always get those questions, right, like are we fooling ourselves or whatever, but it's just always nice when you finish the deal. And racing is funny. We didn't really change anything, the way we do stuff. We just tried to focus and buckle down and say, okay, these are things we've got to look at and work on, and that's what we did, and we had a little fortune tonight. The 41 (Ryan Preece) was really strong. He had some issues. We've certainly been in that position a lot, as well. Not sure how that would have worked out if he didn't have issues. He was really strong. Then like the restarts just worked our way. I was having tons of brake issues all night and throughout the second half of the race, so just lucky to be able to put it all together and hang on to those restarts and put it all together with the brake issues I was having.” What can a win like this, despite it being an exhibition race, do as far as momentum to carry in to Daytona and to start the season on the right foot? “It's huge. It's a huge confidence booster. Just reminds you that you're doing the right stuff. Honestly, we were probably the worst car here last year, literally, besides maybe the guys that didn't have charters. We were just God awful. We barely made the race. Rode around the back and I spun out by myself on the last lap it was so bad, you know, trying to pass one car. To come back this year and be first in practice, I was really honestly nervous last night. I went to bed thinking today was going to suck. It was going to be a long day because it's going to be hard to pass and we were starting sixth in our heat on the outside. They only take five. It's like, well, if you finish fifth you're still going to suck in the race because you're going to start 20th. To be able to drive up through the field in the heat and win that was just huge. It was a huge confidence builder. I knew after that if we could just be smart tonight and stay up front all night we'd have a shot at it. But it's a big deal. Any of these races are hard to win. All of them are hard to win. Doesn't matter if there's points or not. We're proud of this one. It's a big deal.” Can you take us through what you were going through mentally and emotionally when you dropped the hammer? And also, now that you won this tight quarter mile track, do you feel more comfortable driving through LA traffic? “LA traffic is no problem. It's just like Jersey traffic. But I hate traffic. Hate all of it. If I see it, I'm like, oh, this sucks. Just want to hide, pull off the road, drive through them. But on the restarts at the end, it's frustrating when you've got a big lead, and like the 34 was trying to -- he rode around at like 10 miles an hour for three or four laps; he should've just got off the damn track, you know what I mean? Obviously he wasn't going to finish the race, so why was he just riding around? So that was frustrating. Then the other stuff, it's just guys getting into each other on a tiny little track and getting spun out and things. The restarts you're just trying to get a good jump and then not screw it up. Like I said earlier, I was having lots of brake issues. I'm not sure what was going on. Our rear brakes got too hot or we did something and lost all the rear braking and start locking up front tires getting into the corner, and I just kept putting more rear brake in and I was about to be out of adjustment. I've never, ever in my whole entire career put that many rounds of rear brake in a car, so I was a little nervous about that. I was kind of locking up all four tires getting into the corner I and just trying to make the corner. It was a little sketchy at the end, but everybody was out of tires and we had so many restarts and so much air in our tires that everybody just kind of was slipping and sliding. Luckily I was just able to get a good enough jump and get cleared, and then just tried not to give it away and totally miss a corner.” This is a very exciting event even though it's preseason. What does it mean to you that you're participating in this event? “It's fun to come here, but it's a lot more fun to win it. Last year wasn't all that fun. This weekend was a blast.” Earlier you also said you're more determined. Is there any event that you have sort of a checklist so far this season? “You know, we'd like to win them all. We're one for one right now, so that's a good way to start. Daytona 500 is a huge race. It's the biggest race of the year for us, and going there with momentum is great. Been really close there before; it would be an awesome one to check off the list.” Apart from all the hard driving and hard work you've put in today, just over the couple days of preparation, even Friday and Saturday and Sunday, culminating your today, your perspective on the fans that turned out for the event tonight? “Yeah, it's definitely exciting. It's a different venue for us and it's kind of got a different vibe with all the things going on and the history around this place, like giving the medals and doing the podium, and it's a unique event. It's a one-off deal and it's fun. We've done the Clash for a long time and it's never really been hyped up like it is now being its own standalone event, and I think that's really neat, especially doing it somewhere totally different like here with a lot of history. It's definitely a lot of fun, and hopefully the fans keep supporting it and coming out. There's no telling what we can make this thing into.” With you being competitive this time around, did it in any way remind you of the Busch North days back then with the beating and banging on a short track like this? “Yeah, it was funny. After Victory Lane, I was like, I've raced a lot of races that are 150 laps, because most of our races back then were 150s, and I don't ever remember one taking that long. That felt like a 400-mile race. It was forever and ever, caution, caution, caution. Yeah, we raced on a lot of tracks that there was a lot of beating and banging like that, especially for me up front on those restarts, you know, how many times we'd kind of go back and forth. It definitely reminded me a lot of those short tracks back in those days. Not really taking each other out, just running hard, rubbing a lot, and kind of getting out of shape. It was a ton of fun.” You've said a couple times you had fun tonight. In the moment, the way that race was, as choppy as it was, the beating and the banging, is that fun? “When you're not getting spun around, turned around backwards, yes. When you're up front and you're just kind of banging and beating and guys are sliding into the corner making mistakes and all that, that's fun. It's no fun when you just get run over and turned around, which I feel like is a lot of what was going on with all the cautions. Luckily we weren't involved in that. We had a few instances where it got close, but we were able to hang on. Yeah. It's always fun it be up front and have a shot at the win.” Had you not won, would you still think it's fun? “Yeah. I feel like if I would have finished up front, which I -- there's a lot of points in the race where I felt like I didn't really have the car where I needed it to be to win, and I was still enjoying it. To answer your question, yeah, as long as nothing really stupid happened, I think I would have had fun most of the time.” You mentioned Ryan Preece, the 41 car, kind of being the only one that gave you a run for your money pretty much. How shocking was that to see a driver you didn't race against last year, a car that's not typically up there, be the one that you're struggling to track down? “I'm not shocked at all really. He's a great short track driver. Won tons of short track races, modifieds, et cetera. He's run a lot of races in tracks like this or a similar to this. I wasn't surprised at all, and I've raced with him before, and he's in really probably better equipment now than he's ever been, and I'm sure he's got a really good team. I wasn't surprised, and at that point in the race I felt like my car was off when he got the lead from us there and -- or, let's see, he didn't get the lead from me. I think I was second at the time and he got by me on a restart then got the lead. He was just really strong at that point in the race, and I didn't feel like my car was that good. For whatever reason the second half of the race it really took a long, long time for my car to get going, which it's kind of been that way the whole weekend, but it felt like the second half of the race was even more so. I think just because it was cooling off outside and the track temp was dropping and it was taking longer to come in. We were starting to get real equal to him, maybe a little faster, when he started having his issues. No telling what would have happened, but it was fun to race with him. He's a great kid and he's a great talent.” Could this race be a points race here? “No. How are you going to put all the cars out there? How are you going to do pit stops?” There aren’t pit stops at the Bristol dirt race and it pays points. “It's dirt. Different. I mean, I don't know. I don't think we can get 36 cars -- you're going to put 36 cars out there? 38? Hell yeah. I think you do. Maybe somebody doesn't think you do. I don't make those decisions, but in my opinion, I don't think it should be, but it's such a great event. Why would you want to screw it up and make it a points race? It's like a one-off deal, the Clash. The Clash used to -- since I've been doing it, it just kind of got boring, from back in the day when it was just pole winners from last year, then it was champions, and then it was everybody that made the playoffs. It just got all weird, and now this is really cool. It's got its own identity, fun race, all the way out here in a cool venue that's got a lot of history. I don't know, I think it's kind of got a good vibe to it now. Let's not maybe screw that up. And we have enough points races. How many are we going to have? Where are you going to take it from?” You mentioned track temps when talking about Preece. How much of a difference do you think it taking longer for tires to come in in the second half, how much of a contribution do you think that was to all the chaos in those first 10 laps? “Yeah, I would say that it was probably a big factor. The restarts, I mean, I felt like I was John Force out there all night just smoking the rear tires during the cautions, two or three times every straight away, just trying to keep them warm, and everybody was doing that because the tires are so hard, the track is brand new pavement. These tires don't like to cool off. Yeah, I would say that's a lot of it. You're just sliding so bad on restarts that guys would get in the corner and they're locking the brakes, they can't turn, can't get the rear to hook up. So they're just sliding into each other, and that was, I'm sure, a big factor. Daytime racing probably would have been a little bit less as far as cautions go, I think.”

Press Release | FORMULA E LONDON, UK. Tues. 7 Feb. 2023 – Formula E is pioneering a new broadcast production facility in London that delivers state-of-the-art coverage of its live motor racing action from around the world while reducing the environmental impact typical of major live international sports events on TV. Now in its ninth season, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will race in Hyderabad this Saturday, the first time the series has visited India. The race will air live in the UK on Channel 4 and Eurosport from 9am GMT. Beginning this season, the live international race feed distributed to more than 40 broadcasters and airing in more than 150 countries will be produced remotely from The Production Centre in London, a new state-of-the-art production facility developed by Gravity Media and located at the same address as the former BBC Television Centre in White City. The innovative production setup allows for the seamless remote integration of replay, audio and graphics into the live programme output, as well as a resilient disaster recovery system to ensure the broadcast feed remains uninterrupted in the event of technical difficulties. A new multi-year partnership with Gravity Media, the leading media and broadcast company, alongside Formula E’s existing editorial partner, Aurora Media Worldwide, means the live broadcast feed of Formula E’s international races will be produced at Gravity Media’s Production Centre in London instead of a temporary broadcast facility installed at each race location. Formula E is unique in world motorsport for racing on street circuits created on public roads in the heart of world cities to encourage the adoption of EV vehicles. Hyderabad will be the 27th world city to host a Formula E race, the 104th in the history of the series. This year, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will race in 11 world cities, more than any other season. Cape Town, São Paulo, Berlin, Monaco, Jakarta, Portland, Rome and London will follow Hyderabad while Mexico City and Diriyah in Saudi Arabia hosted the opening races of the season last month. Live broadcast coverage of an international sports event is typically an environmentally-intensive process with staff and equipment travelling by air. Centralising the majority of live editing and production at the 50,000 sq.ft facility in London significantly reduces the impact of staff travel and shipping of heavy production equipment. Formula E has developed an on-board camera system installed on each race car with a live team radio feed that is considered the best-in-class in the motorsport industry. More than 200 cameras cover each race from every angle giving viewers an immersive, informative, action-driven experience. Aarti Dabas, Chief Media Officer, Formula E, said: “At Formula E, as the world’s first net zero carbon sport since inception, we are constantly challenging ourselves to show how delivering world-class sports entertainment and maintaining industry-leading sustainable practices can co-exist without compromise. Our technology and broadcast teams have worked closely with Gravity Media and Aurora Media Worldwide to help us achieve this. The London-based facility and new approach to presenting Formula E coverage helps us stay true to our vision of accelerating human progress and encouraging the adoption of EV transportation while entertaining millions of viewers around the world.” Ed Tischler, EMEA Managing Director, Gravity Media, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Formula E as the first partner to use our brand new, next-generation Gravity Media Production Centre in White City. By taking the bold, innovative step of relocating TV production from a temporary facility in a remote world city to London, we are changing the game for how major global sports events are covered on television. Our new Production Centre located in the heart of White City in The Westworks building will house a growing team of creative and innovative media specialists and we hope to encourage more major sports to adopt a similar approach for TV coverage of their live events.” Eleven teams and 22 drivers compete in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Two iconic names in world motorsport - McLaren and Maserati – line up on the Formula E grid for the first time this season. As well as the innovative approach to broadcast production for TV viewers around the world, this season also saw Formula E and the FIA introduce the fastest, lightest, most powerful, and efficient electric race car ever built – the GEN3. Capable of a 200mph (322kph) top speed, the GEN3 is 53kg lighter than the previous Gen2 model with a smaller chassis optimised for street racing. An additional front powertrain adds 250kW to the 350kW at the rear, more than doubling the regenerative capacity of the previous car to 600kW, with more than 40% of the energy used in-race regenerated from braking. The carbon footprint of the GEN3 has been measured from the design phase to inform all reduction measures taken to reduce environmental impact, while all unavoidable emissions are offset as part of Formula E’s net zero carbon commitment. The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the first and only sport in the world to be certified net zero carbon since inception. Linen and recycled carbon fibre are being used in GEN3 bodywork construction for the first time in a formula car, featuring recycled carbon fibre from retired Gen2 cars and reducing the overall amount of virgin carbon fibre used. This reduces the carbon footprint of the production of the GEN3 bodywork more than 10%. All waste carbon fibre will be reused for new applications through adoption of an innovative process from the aviation industry.

Press Release | TRANS AM, TA2 CHARLOTTE (February 7, 2023) — The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli is pleased to announce that Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers will sponsor the TA2 class in 2023. The growing class, which saw record fields of 50+ cars in 2022, will be known as the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series for this season’s 12 events. Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers, “The Official Ready to Drink Cocktail of Trans Am and SVRA,” joins Big Machine Vodka’s continued brand partnership as “The Official Vodka of Trans Am and SVRA.” With three locations in the Nashville area, Big Machine Distillery is owned by TA2 owner/driver Scott Borchetta and boasts a proprietary Platinum Filtration system, distilling its vodka 25 times for “The Smoothest Tasting Vodka, Period!” Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers are made with a blend of ingredients including Big Machine Vodka, real fruit juices and natural flavors, creating the perfect cocktail in a pouch. Borchetta, the reigning TA2 Masters Champion and owner of Scott Borchetta Racing, drives the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Ford Mustang and finished seventh in the overall TA2 standings last year. “The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers brand and products are growing at an accelerated rate, much like the Trans Am Series and TA2,” said Borchetta. “It’s the perfect match for our continued growth in the ready-to-drink category, and we're equally excited (and bullish) about the future of both Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers and the TA2 Series.” “We are so happy to welcome Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers as the entitlement sponsor of TA2,” said Trans Am President John Clagett. “We’ve had a long relationship with Scott Borchetta and the distillery, which sponsored our TA2 CBS broadcasts in 2022, in addition to Scott’s No. 48 Ford Mustang. Scott is dedicated to our series as an owner, driver and a partner, which is evidenced by his passion and performance behind the wheel and his investment in Trans Am and the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series.” The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series takes the green flag for the first time in 2023 on Saturday, February 25 at Sebring International Raceway, where NASCAR legend Richard Petty will serve as grand marshal. Big Machine Vodka also sponsors Trans Am’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Challenge, which runs on August 5, 2023, on the Nashville street course as part of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

(Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Press Release | NIECE MOTORSPORTS MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 7, 2023) – Action sports legend Travis Pastrana will make his return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the first time in three years, piloting the Niece Motorsports No. 41 WWEX Racing Chevrolet in the 2023 season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on February 17. Pastrana’s No. 41 Chevrolet will also race with support from Black Rifle Coffee Company, Dixxon and Wienerschnitzel. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Al [Niece], Cody [Efaw] and the Niece Motorsports crew quite a bit since the team was formed,” said Pastrana. “I was looking to be part of as much racing as possible during Daytona Speedweeks this year and couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to drive their 41 truck with support from WWEX Racing in my first Daytona start in the Truck Series. Cody was my car chief when I raced Daytona for my first time in the Xfinity Series. We qualified third and finished 10th, despite being backward across the grass when I crossed the line! We have an amazing team with amazing sponsors like Worldwide Express/WWEX Racing, Black Rifle, Dixxon and Wienerschnitzel. As always, we are approaching the race with optimism that we have the package to put in a great result, while having the most fun of anyone at the track!” His last start with Niece Motorsports came in 2020 when he drove the No. 40 truck at both Kansas and Las Vegas, marking his first two-start Truck season. “In our second year with Niece Motorsports and competing in the Truck Series, we’re proud to have Travis kick off the season sporting WWEX Racing and Worldwide Express colors,” said Mike Grayson, executive vice president of the WWEX group of brands. “Travis is an amazing ambassador of the brands he represents, and we’re honored to be alongside his other sponsors. Travis is a fierce, multi-disciplinary competitor and we share his passion for excellence and always pursuing new goals.” Through its WWEX Racing program, the Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz and Unishippers brands will provide full-season support to the No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado as Niece Motorsports eyes the Truck Series Owners Championship. Following Pastrana’s Daytona start, a rotation of drivers throughout the season will include Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain as well as Niece drivers Chad Chastain, Bayley Currey and others to be announced. “This is shaping up to be a great season for Niece Motorsports,” said General Manager Cody Efaw. “We’re really optimistic heading into this year. We are excited to have Travis in the truck in Daytona. He always brings a lot of energy and excitement, and it’s really an honor to work with him. On top of that, to be able to run the 41 truck full time this season, anchored by Ross – that’s huge for our organization. We can’t thank the WWEX brands enough for their support and are looking forward to big things with them this season.” Chastain advanced to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last season with Trackhouse Racing, finishing second in the Playoff Standings. Chastain also gave WWEX Racing its first NASCAR win last season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200 with Niece Motorsports. “We built last year’s program on a commitment to collaboration and supporting drivers and teams at all stages of their career,” Grayson said. “We’re excited to watch the continued mentorship that occurs this year between Niece, the Trackhouse team and now with the benefit of Travis’ perspective.” Niece Motorsports has retained veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. to lead the No. 41 team. Hillman has more than 450 starts as a crew chief across NASCAR’s top three series, with 23 wins in the Craftsman Truck Series and 2,903 laps led. “I love getting behind the wheel of a race car any chance I get,” said Chastain. “It’s an added bonus working with everyone at Niece Motorsports and the WWEX brands. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to contend for wins in the No. 41 WWEX Racing Chevrolet. Thanks to Niece Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing for giving me the chance to do what I love.” Logistics leaders Worldwide Express, Unishippers and GlobalTranz provide access to industry-leading small package, truckload and less-than-truckload shipping solutions and managed transportation services. Together, the three brands are the Official Logistics Partner of Niece Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing and NASCAR. Black Rifle Coffee Company was founded in 2014 by former U.S. Army Green Beret Evan Hafer and built upon the mission to serve coffee and culture to people who love America. Established in 2013, Dixxon began with the goal of creating the world’s best flannel and used that approach – classics redefined – for their full array of products, which now includes apparel for men, women and youth, as well as hats and accessories. Founded in 1961 by John Galardi with a single location in Southern California, Wienerschnitzel has grown to be the world’s largest hot dog chain serving more than 120 million hot dogs a year. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will kick off at Daytona International Speedway with the NextEra Energy 250 on Friday, February 17, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET, airing live on FS1, The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Press Release | TMT RACING CHARLOTTE, NC - TMT Racing, which is co-owned by boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather, is excited to announce that driver Conor Daly will attempt to qualify for the 2023 Daytona 500. Conor Daly is no stranger to the world of NASCAR having previously competed at the NASCAR CUP SERIES event in Charlotte last fall (aka The ROVAL) as well in several races in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series in previous years. Daly is a versatile driver who competes full-time in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and plans to enter multiple NASCAR events this year with TMT as his schedule allows. The Daytona 500, also known as "The Great American Race," is the most prestigious race in NASCAR and is held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. Without a guaranteed spot, Daly will vie for one of four non-guaranteed ("open") spots available in the 40-car field. So far, five other talented drivers and teams will be entering as open cars, including 7-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmy Johnson, Zane Smith. Austin Hill, Chandler Smith and his thrill-seeking friend, Travis Pastrana. "We are thrilled to announce that Conor will be attempting to run in the 2023 Daytona 500," said TMT Racing co-owner, Willy Auchmoody. "Conor is a talented driver who performed well in his first Cup race for us last fall and we believe he has what it takes to compete at the highest level in NASCAR's premier event.” TMT Racing co-owner and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather added, “The Money Team Racing shocked the world by making the Daytona 500 last year and I believe in this team and know we will prepare a great car for this year's race. Like a fighter who’s always ready to face the best, Conor has the courage to buckle into this beast without any practice and put that car into the field. Conor is like a hungry fighter and my kind of guy. I sure wouldn’t bet against him.” Sponsoring Daly’s quest for the Daytona 500 is BITNILE.COM, an immersive digital marketplace launching March 1st. “We are going “All-In” with the launch of BITNILE.COM on March 1st stated BITNILE.COM’s Executive Chairman Milton “Todd” Ault III. “Our immersive marketplace launches just 10 days after the Daytona 500 and is going to offer incredible real and virtual experiences and products. Our marketing strategy is going to be a lot of fun and we asked Conor to run a number of NASCAR events this year in addition to his full-time job for us in INDYCAR. We are looking forward to Conor’s “Texas Two-Step” where he will compete in the Cup race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Sunday March 19th and then the following Sunday in Fort Worth at Texas Motor Speedway in the BITNILE.COM #20 INDYCAR. Then in August, Conor will do the “Daly Double” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he will be the first driver to race in both the NASCAR and INDYCAR events over “Brickyard” weekend.” BITNILE.COM President Douglas Gintz added, “As part of our launch, the first 5,000 people that register at BITNILE.COM will get their name listed on Conor’s #50 BITNILE.COM NASCAR CUP car at Circuit of the Americas. Plus, we are going to be giving away free tickets, merchandise and at track experiences to thousands of race fans this year. Wherever you see a BITNILE.COM sponsored car on the track, there will be fans enjoying monumental real and virtual experiences right there with us!” Conor is excited for the opportunity to run in the Daytona 500 and is looking forward to the challenge. "I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to attempt to run in the Daytona 500," said Conor Daly. "It is the most prestigious race in NASCAR and to have the chance to compete in it is truly an honor. I am also excited to be running the entire IndyCar Series season and select NASCAR Cup events. I am looking forward to the challenge and can't wait to get behind the wheel of whatever BITNILE.COM race car, boat, scooter or dune buggy they ask me to drive." The entire TMT Racing team is excited to support Conor in this endeavor and can't wait to see him take on the challenge of the Daytona 500.

(Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Press Release | FORD PERFORMANCE, POST PRACTICE QUOTES KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang – WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF THIS EVENT BECOMING A POINTS RACE? “I don’t think there’s a good way to answer that. I think that, to me, as I look at this, there are a lot of possibilities of things that you could do with other venues. I like it as something that could move around and go to different spots and I think when you look at the stadium aspect of things, it opens up possibilities to take this event to different countries and different parts of the world to expose our sport, or you could have a Stadium Series. I don’t know. I think there are a lot of options. I think this has opened a lot of doors that probably in the past weren’t really expected to be opened because when I came here last year I really thought this was gonna be a joke, personally. And it was probably one of the races that I had the most fun at last year. You look at the atmosphere and everything that happened, it was a great event and I think coming back this year everybody is looking forward to it.” BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Kings Hawaiian Ford Mustang – “I think it’s a great venue. They did a heck of a job. Similar to Kevin, I had some pretty big concerns coming into it last year and I was blown out of the water by what I saw here. I thought they did an amazing job. The potential is here to do so many different things – points races or carry the idea to other venues that I think it’s certainly in one year’s time earned a lot of respect within the industry that opens up numerous doors and opportunities. How that plays forward, I know I’m pretty open-minded to it as both a driver and an owner and look forward to see it do just that – play out.” KEVIN HARVICK CONTINUED – HOW HAS YOUR MINDSET CHANGED WITH THIS BEING YOUR FINAL YEAR? “I think when you look at events now I think it allows you to look back at the things that you’ve been a part of and be in the moment at these particular events and really every event as you go to in different parts of the country. You have your spots that you like to eat or things you like about the track or people that you know in that area, so I’m fortunate to have done this for a long time. I feel like the timing of everything is really good. I go into events and I feel like we’re prepared and we go to the event and we do what we’re supposed to do and we go home, so I’m definitely going to try to enjoy the moments that you have at the racetrack, but in the end I feel really good about the timing of stepping out of the car at the end of the year. I am looking forward to going to all these places for the last time, but I think as you go through the moments and different things you’ll start to remember and celebrate things as we go along the way.” YOU WERE THE FIRST TO DECLARE THIS A SUCCESS. IN YEAR TWO DOES IT CHANGE? “I think all of our races need to be great events and I think when you go and you watch a Super Bowl the event is great no matter what happens in the game because it’s the Super Bowl and everything it leads up to and builds up to, so I think that’s one thing that as we go along to all the races need to be. We need more events. When we go to Chicago this year it’s gonna be a great event before we even get there and who knows how the race will go. I think as you look at the atmosphere and everything that has come with this particular event, it will probably be better than it was last year just because of the fact that everybody knows how it works and all the lead up and hype and anticipation is still there for everything as we’ve come in here this year. So, I don’t think it’ll be worse.” BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – WHAT ARE YOUR TAKES ON KEVIN’S CAREER AND WHAT HE HAS MEANT TO THE SPORT? “I look at Kevin and think of the opportunity that he had 23 years ago and I can’t imagine having to go through that set of circumstances and the weight that would come with that and trying to take that forward and to be able to do that and to overcome that weight and to win races at all three levels and championships as owner/driver at all three levels, I can’t think of anyone else that’s done that – at least not in this era to the regard that he’s done, so I think that’s a tremendous accomplishment. It’s easy to lose sight of. We get so focused on what have you done last week that I think sometimes we lose sight on what people have done over their career and certainly sometimes even over just a few years. So to take over that and then have a new Cup team and an opportunity eight or nine years ago with Stewart-Haas and to build that into a winner, in itself those are incredible accomplishments, and then you think of all the different partners he’s brought into the sport. You’ve got the business side and the competitive side and it’s kind of wins across both boards, which is really hard to do. I think there are a lot of people in this sport who are successful in one piece of the environment, but to be successful in multiple pieces of the environment is that much more challenging, so to be able to have that legacy is one that I’m sure Kevin is proud of and as the industry reflects back over the course of the year, I hope it takes the time to remember as well.” FROM AN OWNER’S VIEW, WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THIS EVENT? “It’s an interesting event. When you look at the revenues of the race teams, the majority of the revenues are coming from the sponsors, so it does OK for that. But when you look at it for the value to the industry, it’s probably, in my opinion, the second-most valuable event that we have all year to the Daytona 500. To be in Los Angeles, which is certainly a huge market, I read some graphic the other day from NASCAR that we have more fans in L.A. than any other area, which is hard to think of, but of all the regions we go to, there are more NASCAR fans than anywhere else, so I think we lose sight of that sometimes. But to be able to be in their backyard and to engage them for a key event, I think that’s really important. Of course, for our TV partners this is a tremendous event as well. They’re the lifeblood of our sport in so many different ways as probably the primary revenue generator, so from the team perspective it’s probably more neutral, but from an industry perspective this is a significant event for us.” KEVIN HARVICK CONTINUED – WITH THIS CAR HOW ARE YOU SEEING THE IMPACT THE DRIVER CAN HAVE? “When you step into a car that the team has scienced out it’s particularly easy because of the fact that the driver can get in and they can tell them what to do. Where it becomes difficult, and Brad can speak to this as well with what he stepped into, it’s incredibly important to be a part of the conversation and a part of the progression of the race team because the things that you say and the things that you do and how you communicate those things and how you follow through on those things. The things you push for. The things you give for are extremely important to the direction of the race team and the decisions that are made in the development of setups and really whatever else you’re trying to develop, whether it’s simulator, whether it’s setups, whether it’s at the track, you’re a piece of that puzzle and a piece of that puzzle that has the biggest feel of the car and the things that they’re changing and the things that are happening and whether they work or don’t work and whether that relates to simulation or the simulator and how all of those programs proceed forward whether it’s positive or negative can be detrimental to have to take 8, 10 steps backwards to try to unwind things as you make a wrong move in the development. An experienced driver and learning how to test and develop is not a quality that a lot of our younger guys have because they’ve never had to run a test or be responsible for the decisions that are being made from the engineering staff and a lot of them are very agreeable to what people say and deep down they know that’s probably not what they felt, but they just don’t want to rock the boat. So, you have to have that franchise leader to be able to make those decisions and the staff and everybody believe, ‘OK, what I said as a driver is what they’re going to do and we’re a blend of the engineering staff and the crew chiefs and the people making the decisions on what we’re gonna do with the car.’ There’s always something to develop. They can keep simplifying everything and it’s just gonna make it harder to kick the crumbs out that are better to make the car go faster, so it’s a never ending progression and the driver is a key part of that to keep the organization on par from a competition standpoint to keep the cars progressing forward.” BRAD KESELOWSKI CONTINUED – WHAT DO YOU FEEL MOST OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS SEASON? “To piggyback off of some of Kevin’s comments. Your responsibility as a driver, in a lot of ways, is to kind of find the last 5-10 percent of a car and optimize the performance around that. What’s really tough is when you start at 60 percent, even if you get 5 or 10 percent, you’re still at 70 percent. We started the year last year so far behind that I didn’t feel like I could even really help, so getting halfway through the year it started to get to where I think my feedback and input was valuable and we started to make the right moves and then you kind of naturally run into this trap that the things you need to fix you either don’t have the time to fix or you’re contractually limited with people or tools and contracts and so forth, and you literally just have to endure the pain until you get to an offseason. This was a really important offseason for us at RFK to really apply a lot of the super painful lessons of last year and I think we’ve done a lot of that. We’ve said, ‘All right, we know what we don’t know and now we’ve got to fix it.’ And then we got through the offseason and we want to work and really dug down deep on a number of projects – some internal, some external, some people related and some resource related. I can’t say that we’ve got all of them checked off, but we made a lot of progress this offseason, so I’m super optimistic to see that play out on the racetrack.” YOU MISSED THE MAIN EVENT LAST YEAR, BUT DO YOU LIKE A FORMAT THAT SENDS PEOPLE HOME? IS THAT A GOOD STORYLINE FOR NASCAR? “I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. I mean, there’s only one winner at the end of the day, so whether you go home early or late, it’s kind of all the same in some regard. There’s always the pressures of partners and getting them on the racetrack and the business model and the economics of that, but, in the end, we have to do what’s best for the fans and from that perspective I think to put on an event like this it’s difficult to put 36 cars on the track and make something that is the best product possible for the fans, so I would look at it always through the lens of what is best for the fans and in this event I think a few cars have to go home to make it the best it can be.” JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – YOU POSTED ABOUT YOUR HAIR IN THE OFFSEASON. WHAT DID YOU DO AND WHY? “I’ve been battling with Alopecia for quite some time, where it just kind of comes and goes, along with pattern balding at the same time and Hairclub reached out and said, ‘We’ve got a great fix for you,’ and I said, ‘Great, let me hear about it.’ And they’ve got a lot of different avenues you can go, a lot of different things for people that are going through stuff. It was a lot of really cool pieces along with it, ways that we can tie into the foundation as well moving forward, so they had a fix for me and probably have a fix for about everybody, so I went with that and now I look 10 years younger. It’s like the old days. I’m back. It’s good.” WHAT HAS THE REACTION BEEN? ARE YOU FEELING MORE CONFIDENT? “Yeah. I look better than I feel, which is good, but, like I said, it was a good opportunity. For one, I do a lot of things on TV and things I noticed and this isn’t really uncommon for people to do. It’s probably uncommon for people to talk about it, for whatever reason. People don’t really talk about this stuff or try to keep it secretive, but I’m pretty much an open book at this point and don’t mind talking about things like that.” THE REACTION ON SOCIAL HAS BEEN MIXED. HAVE YOU READ MUCH ABOUT IT AND WHAT IS YOUR REACTION? “I’ve read through some of it. Honestly, it only matters what I think about it and, honestly, the only person it really matters to is my wife. You guys will probably understand that, but she likes it, so we’re good to go.” ANY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS HIT YOU UP FOR YOUR CONTACT? “Yes. I got many text messages from a lot of people I know wondering what to do and who to call, so I’ve hooked up quite a few people already.” ARE YOU READY TO GET BACK IN THE CAR AND THE OFFSEASON TO BE OVER WITH? “Absolutely. I know I’m not anywhere near the end of my career because I can’t wait to get back in a race car. That’s kind of, to me, the telltale sign of where you’re at and I was very excited about just getting back out here and racing again. Coming back to the L.A. Coliseum and seeing the track again. The excitement is the same as it was last year. Maybe you feel a little bit more comfortable this year because we know a little bit more about what we’re about to get into, but it’s definitely very exciting.” RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Great Lakes Ford Mustang – YOU’LL BE BACK IN THE BOOTH AT DAYTONA. WHAT KEEPS BRINGING YOU BACK? “I’m doing a handful of races for them (FOX) this year. It’s something I have been doing more and more, whether it’s the booth or the Hubs and I really just enjoy the booth. I mean, it gives you a neat perspective on the race. It’s different watching up there than watching from the bus or anywhere else, and I feel like the more current driver insight you can give to the fan watching at home is great. The people they have working up in the booth are really talented, who work up there week to week, but I think if you can get some drivers in there like they have been doing, whether it’s FOX or NBC, it’s just really good. You can kind of say, ‘Hey, I felt this today in practice today and maybe look for this and this in the race.’ Or can explain a situation maybe a little bit more just because you’re more experienced on that side. It’s something I really enjoy doing. A handful is enough for me. I don’t want to be up there every single week, but I think some of the knowledge a current driver can give is helpful for the person watching at home.” ANYTHING WEIRDER THAN DEALING WITH THE SNOW DELAY IN VEGAS? “I was on a streak there for a while where it was raining or snowing in weird places. It snowed in Vegas. It rained in Phoenix and it was whenever I was in the booth, so I didn’t know what was going on, but the delays do stink. You make the best of it, but hopefully we’re over that hump.” HOW IS YOUR MINDSET COMING INTO THIS SEASON? “Yeah, definitely after the year we had last year of kind of missed opportunities and not having the best of years and things like that, not winning, it feels like it makes you more motivated than ever. Really, how our season ended I would say motivates me the most, even without the wins in the regular season or things like that, I messed up two of the races in the Round of 8 and it kept us from getting to Phoenix and we had a car that could contend at Phoenix, for sure. That kind of stinks and you look back at that and you’re disappointed in yourself when you’re the one who kind of inflicts both of those mistakes. I think everyone is motivated and I feel like, as a driver, as you get older you’re mindset is trying not to dwell on those things too hard and just learn from them and move on and realize you’re gonna have good years and bad years and try to figure out a way to come off the bad years and turn them into good years and take the positives out of it and apply it. I think that’s kind of what fuels our team. I’ve got a great group. They’re very deserving to race at Phoenix and win races and I think what we’ve learned last year and hopefully be applied to this one.” JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED – HOW IMPORTANT IS IT WE’RE HERE FOR A SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR TO BUILD ON THE MOMENTUM FROM LAST YEAR? “Last year, this was one of the biggest risks, if not the biggest risk, our sport has ever taken. When you think of the track we’re racing at, brand new. Brand new cars that had never been raced before in front of a lot of new fans that have never seen a race before, this could have been really bad. I was very nervous. This could be really bad for the sport and it was great. You think about it. The race was really good. The heat races. The last chance qualifiers. Each race kind of had its own feel and personality and the feature was good. There was good racing. There was a concert in between. It was a spectacular week, I thought, out here to pull this one off. It seems crazy. When they told us the first time it was like, ‘What? Where? How? With brand new cars? OK.’ But it worked out great and obviously that’s why we’re back again and not really many things have changed and the things that have make it even better for the fan experience. This is great. I think it’s added something to the Clash in general. It was special when it was in Daytona, to win at Daytona is special, but I think last year after going through the whole weekend and being able to win the race the excitement and the amount of eyeballs that were watching were far more than what it would have been at the Clash, to where I would almost look at winning the Clash last year as one of my biggest victories, and I don’t think there’s many non-points paying races that you’d ever say that about, but just the fact that it was an inaugural event at a place like this was just really cool.” YOU TOOK HUDSON TO MILLBRIDGE. HOW SPECIAL WAS THAT TO GET HIM ON THE TRACK? “We had fun. His crew chief, which is men, is lost as last year’s Easter egg. I can tell you that much. I have no idea what the heck we’re doing. No idea what gear to put in the car. How much air to put in the tires. I need someone to help me unload the cart from the truck. I just had a pickup truck and I was like, ‘What do I need for a go kart?’ But we had a lot of fun. He’s decent on the speed. We’re a little bit off on the race-ability stuff like restarts and passing cars, but we just want to have some fun together. That’s kind of what it’s all about right now, so other times I take my Legend’s car and he takes his little outlaw kart and we go play around together. It’s fun.” ARE YOU ASSUMING THIS IS THE SAME TRACK AS LAST YEAR? WHAT COULD THERE BE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE? “We walked the track earlier. It looks the same to me. That being said, once you get out there and driver a race car on it you start to notice little differences and things like that. There’s no two corners created the same at any racetrack you go to. I doubt they can make it identical, but it doesn’t look much different. It looks pretty similar. In preparing for the race we went off of what we had last year, just because that’s kind of all you know. Things we fought last year, most likely, are gonna be the same issues we fight this year. The track being brand new. Going through practices. I assume the track is going to keep getting faster and picking up. It’s gonna be hard to tune on your car for that reason and how the racing is and those things you go back on what happened last year because that’s all you’ve got.” RYAN BLANEY CONTINUED – WILL TEMPERATURES PLAY A PART IN QUALIFYING AND THE RACE LIKE LAST YEAR? “Last year in qualifying it was definitely pretty cold. I don’t know if it will be as cold as what it was last year, but that was pretty big trying to get heat in your stuff. I think as we get closer to qualifying here and similar to the start of the race time, I feel there are some things you can learn. It seems like it’ll be a little bit colder tomorrow from what I see, but when you have such a short track like this, heat is imperative of getting going. You have nowhere to build it, so it’s like Martinsville doubled. I mean, we always talk about trying to get heat in your stuff at Martinsville and this is even harder to do that. Qualifying, the start of the race, restarts, that’s huge to try and get heat in your stuff and you’re gonna see guys doing all they can – burnouts, locking tires up – just trying to get everything they can because it’s really important and it’s really hard to do.” JOEY LOGANO CONTINUED – FROM A SPONSOR STANDPOINT IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE THEM PITCH THE OPPORTUNITY, RIGHT? “For everyone there’s an avenue for everything. There’s nothing wrong with trying to make yourself look good, right? Why do you go to the gym? Well, you want to be healthy and you want to look good. It’s the same thing here. I had the opportunity to do this and felt like it was the right move and it all kind of worked out great.”

(Photo Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images) Press Release | TOYOTA RACING, POST PRACTICE QUOTES LOS ANGELES (February 4, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin along with 23XI Racing drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace were made available to media prior to practice for to the LA Clash event today: CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What has it been like to process the news that you may not be able to do a lot of outside racing moving forward, specifically dirt races? “I feel like I need to clear the air a little bit. My comments definitely didn’t reflect my situation, my relationship with Joe Gibbs and you know, my standing with the team. Joe, himself, the entire Gibbs family has been nothing but helpful for me and inspiring for me. Joe has not mentioned any dislike for dirt track racing. The only thing was his wanting to keep me healthy whether that was racing or being out on the lake or anything. He just had my best interest in mind. I did a bad job of portraying that. I don’t know what the future holds for me dirt track racing, but my comments were not well put.” How have your expectations for this season changed after your success of 2022? “Last year was just such a learning curve and I keep harping on the fact that last year we didn’t have practice and qualifying in 2021 and then in 2022 it really allowed myself and Adam (Stevens, crew chief) to hone in on what I needed in the car to be successful. I hope that continues to get better and better. I think everyone will say that this weekend at the Clash, their car will be incredibly different than what they had here a year ago. I expect us to continue to gel and hopefully. Have more pace and more results. At the end of the year, our performance on track was matching our results a little bit better and hopefully we can continue that.” TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How does it feel taking on this unique event and have you leaned on your teammates for advice? “For sure, it’s really cool to be a part of that. I feel like most of my family grew up in Southern California so it’s cool to be out here. My cousins went to school right down the street. Pretty cool to be here and experience that. Definitely been leaning on these guys for advice and feel this will be a good weekend for our Toyotas.” How did you feel you improved from your first start at Pocono through the rest of the season? “Definitely a big jump there for sure and just getting more time in this car that’s so different. And the more times I was in it, I feel like I was learning and getting more used to how it handles and how it is. I think all the time was progression and just keep moving forward.” DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 SportClips Haircuts Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What are your expectations for 23XI for this season and what gains have you seen from the first season to today? “As far as expectations, both making the Playoffs is a reasonable goal. Bubba (Wallace) will have to take a little bit of a jump to do that, but certainly the performance he had at the end of last year kind of showed what his potential is so I think both making the Playoffs. Then if they can make it into the Round of 12 and keep going then that’s going to be a pretty successful year for us. The difference in year one to now is just more employees, and certainly in the growing and building stage. Just a lot more team chemistry. We did have a very small group in year one and year two. We’ve continued to build on that each year, but really it’s just continuing to get better. I know it’s a cliché thing, but want to continue to see us move up in the standings and our drivers win more races. We won one in year one, two in year two so want to keep seeing that growth.” As a team owner, what is the benefit to an event like this? “The value is the location is the biggest thing. A lot of team sponsors are probably headquartered somewhere near here so there’s a value in activation that comes with that and it’s also valuable to introduce new fans to the sport. I think that with roughly 40 percent of the audience members that show up this weekend will be new to our sport. Just helps grow the sport in general. Pretty positive thing from that standpoint.” How did you see Ty Gibbs grow in the NASCAR Cup Series last season while he was filling in driving the No. 45 Camry TRD? “It really was a great advantage for him (Ty Gibbs) to get some seat time before his rookie season. Some of these tracks, he’s going to get to see for the second time and Chris Gayle (crew chief) has the notebook from our team that he’s going to be able to lean on and that feedback to make his cars better right from the get-go. So for me, from my standpoint in what I saw from him it was just steady progression of getting better and it doesn’t necessarily have to come with finishes, but with competitiveness. These guys are going to be fast. Something that’s important to me is having teammates that are very good and competitive because that’s more information that my team can use and with the giant jump that Christopher (Bell) took last year, that’s really helped all of our teams be better. Ty (Gibbs) will take time and it will take some patience there, but these guys have some speed and that’s certainly something I’m going to lean on to try to find out how I can be better myself.” How do you feel about the changes made to the rear clip of the race car for this season and do you feel the teams had to give something up to have that change implemented? “You’re always going to sacrifice something. Nothing comes for free. When you soften something, something else takes more load. The load is what it is so if something takes away from that, then something else gets it. I don’t think we really know exactly yet. I know through the test at COTA (Circuit of the Americas), there were some things shook loose in the back of the car that we didn’t necessarily plan for, but at the same time, this car is still really early in its stages that we’re just going to have to learn as we go. I don’t really have the answer of what it is that’s going to cause and effect because there will be some effect.” Have you spoken with Kurt Busch about his health and if there are events he plans to participate in moving forward? “Honestly, I haven’t asked him (Kurt Busch). He’s been traveling all over the place. He’s here this weekend helping our drivers out, but obviously we’re doing a third car in Daytona simply because we want to be prepared and want to be competitive if the day comes where he says he wants to race again.” Could this race go from being an exhibition race to a points race? “Sure. I think NASCAR whatever deems is important to them. I’m sure having a race in this area is very important with the talk of the two-mile oval in Fontana, you would have no more and they may be taking a year off while it rebuilds. Certainly I think they’re going to be open to options and maybe this does fall in that slot or we go somewhere else.” BUBBA WALLACE , No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry, 23XI Racing Where is your confidence after your performance at the end of 2022 and being in the battle for the owner’s championship? “I would say this is the most excited I’ve been for a season to start just because of the momentum we have and all the changes we’ve made in the offseason. It’s shaping up to be hopefully our best year yet. We’ve been able to win the last two seasons, but at the wrong time. We didn’t win for the Playoffs and getting into the Playoffs, which our team is totally capable of doing now with people in the right place and mentalities now. The work efforts are there and I just need to go out and do my job and start this year off right. As much as this race is about bragging rights, the season starts today with practice and qualifying which shapes up everything. We can only hope now with the way that everything is structured with no practice or get practice, but it’s not like before where you could wholesale the car if you needed to. You hope to unload the car off the truck and it’s somewhat close so you can tinker with. It’s been fun working with Bootie and continue to grow with them and just push that leadership throughout our team.” How big is it to have this race in Los Angeles and perform in front of a more diverse audience? “I think it’s big and I think I said it at this time last year, but getting into a market where it’s so diverse and exposing our sport to eyeballs is important. We have to continue this trend whether it’s here in LA or we move it somewhere else, whatever it may be. I think this is a start of changing the face of NASCAR and it’s fun to be a part of. For me to just go out and compete and represent our sponsors and our team and we have MJ (Michael Jordan) watching and everybody knows who MJ is so have to do it right.” Are you ready to get back to racing after the off-season? “My wife and I had a great off-season, but there was no off-season because we were too busy getting married and then we went on our honeymoon. Then after we got back from our honeymoon, it was two weeks before this weekend. I felt like there was no time off and that Phoenix was just yesterday. I was busy for all the right reasons and we had a great time and now I’m a married man.” TYLER REDDICK , No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry, 23XI Racing What has this transition to 23XI Racing been like for you? “It’s been a huge one, but for everyone on the team side, everyone at Toyota has been really welcoming and inviting and really has made it feel like home very early on. Certainly as it all is shaping out, this is earlier than we thought it was going to happen, but really glad the switch happened when it did. The team’s got a lot of exciting things and we’re growing at a great pace. The vision that the ownership group has, that Denny (Hamlin) has, from the driver’s point of view and everyone they have put into place around the team. I’m really excited about this year and what this year is going to mean for me and for Bubba (Wallace) and really everybody that’s a part of the organization.” Are you ready to get back to racing after the off-season? “Yeah, it’s been a really good off-season. I stayed really busy and Bubba (Wallace) had a lot going on too on the personal side of things that he had to take care of. A lot of preparation so time really flew by from my perspective and we got a lot of things done. The team really got to spend time the right way working on things. Certainly, all of us as we were coming in here were beyond ready and chomping at the bit to get back on the race track. Really excited about it and where the gains were made. Felt like what we had in the simulator was really, really close so we’ll see.”

(Cover Photo Credit: Logan Riely/Getty Images) By Adam Carabine In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2023 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the 36 charters of 2022. 8th Place – Ryan Blaney – 2,351 pts TEAM PENSKE – FORD 0 Wins in 2022 – While Ryan Blaney himself is probably not pleased with this stat, fans of the No. 12 Ford team can still hold their heads high after 2022. Blaney may have gone winless in a season for the first time since 2016, but he also nearly made it to the Championship Four. He was the lone playoff driver without a win, and made a respectable championship run, despite no wins. 636 Laps Led in 2022 – Ryan Blaney spent a lot of time up front in 2022, even without a win to his name. He ranked 5th in laps led out of all Cup Series charters, which is no small feat. His 636 in ’22 eclipsed his 2021 numbers by over 200 laps – and he won 3 races in ’21. Again, it’s really only about leading the final lap, but you can certainly set yourself up for success by being up there earlier! 289 Stages Points in 2022 – Ranking 2nd of all Cup Series charters, and only missing out on first by 2 points, Ryan Blaney was the cream of the crop when it came to winning stage points in 2022. While Chase Elliott scored 291, Blaney was not far behind. It’s likely one of the biggest factors that led him to a playoff spot despite no wins on the season. 3 DNFs in 2022 – Another key factor in Ryan Blaney’s successful playoff run was his ability to keep the car clean. Whether that’s a product of his cleaner driving style, or just the fact that he did really spend so much time running near the front of the pack (with less obstacles in the result of a caution/crash), his car routinely made it to the end of races. His 3 DNFs tied him for 4th of the Cup Series charters, and he finished on the lead lap 27 times (tied for 5th). 7 Career Cup Series Wins – It seems weird to think that Ryan Blaney has still yet to really ‘break through.’ He’s been on one of the powerhouse teams for 4 years in Team Penske, and yet he still averages less than one win per season. While he did start one race in 2014, his Cup Series career really started the following year, with 16 races in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21, and then his first win didn’t come until 2017. While he’s a consistently decent performer, it’s hard to imagine that Team Penske is perfectly happy with where Blaney is at the moment. Both parties will likely want to see some improvements in the coming years. Luckily for Ryan Blaney, he’ll have a few more years to explore that goal. Team Penske announced in August of 2022 that they had re-signed Blaney to a long-term contract extension. Blaney will return to the No. 12 Ford in ’23 (and beyond), hoping to continue to expand on what was a solid season! Coming up next in the Countdown to Daytona series – Kyle Larson! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @RacingRefresh Or you can email directly: acarabine@racingrefresh.com Follow us on Facebook: Racing Refresh Facebook Page Get all of your Racing Refresh Merch from our online store! Is there an error? Something missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

Press Release | BRET HOLMES RACING Mooresville, N.C. (February 3, 2023) - Bret Holmes Racing (BHR) announced today they will field a full-time entry in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with driver Bret Holmes for the 2023 season. The team will compete for Rookie of the Year honors and the 2023 Driver Points Championship. Holmes competed in eight Truck Series events last season, capturing one top-five and two top-10 finishes. The Munford, Ala., native was the 2020 ARCA Menards Series champion and looks to capitalize on his growth as a driver this season. “It’s a blessing and a dream to be competing for a championship in one of NASCAR’s top three series,” said Holmes. “This is a huge chance and opportunity that I’m ready to capitalize on. It’s been what feels like forever since we’ve been full-time racing which was back in 2020 in the ARCA Menards Series. Since then, we’ve been building up our inventory, experience, and notebook. All of that has ultimately led to this season, and I can’t wait to show what we’ve got. We’ve done really well on superspeedways, and I think we can start the year off strong there.” Over the off-season, the Mooresville, N.C.- based team named Jerry Baxter as crew chief for the upcoming season. The veteran crew chief has called the shots across all the top three NASCAR divisions. Specifically, in the Truck Series, Baxter has earned 16 victories in his 11 seasons as a crew chief. “I’m thrilled to be joining BHR and working with Bret,” said Baxter. “Bret is eager to perform well behind the wheel, and I’m looking forward to working with the team. We have a small team, but our aspirations are big.” BHR also moved long-time employee, AJ Heister into the General Manager position. Heister has been in racing for the last 18 years and most recently, served as the shop foreman at BHR. “It’s been a short off-season with some big changes at BHR,” said Heister. “We’ve been preparing since we unloaded from the last race in 2022, and I believe our hard work will show when we get to the track. All of our staff and I are very excited to get to Daytona and get the season started.” Pate Holdings of Tuscaloosa with owner Stan Pate will serve as the primary sponsor for the No. 32 Chevrolet team for the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. Pate Holdings of Tuscaloosa will adorn the Chevrolet at additional races this season which will be announced at a later date. The new Holmes-Baxter duo will take to the track in the NextEra Energy 250 on February 17th at Daytona International Speedway. Live coverage will be televised on FOX Sports 1, beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. “I think bringing in a veteran like Jerry Baxter to the team and moving AJ Heister into a General Manager role are two big things we’ve done this off season,” said Holmes. “I fully believe these changes will result in a great season. I can’t wait to be in Daytona in a couple of weeks.”

(Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images) Press Release | JOE GIBBS RACING, MONSTER ENERGY HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (February 3, 2023) – Monster Energy, which has partnered with Ty Gibbs since 2019, will be the sponsor for the majority of races during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season on the No. 54 Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing. Monster was behind Gibbs when he won the 2022 NASCAR Xfinitiy Series championship, the 2021 ARCA Menard’s Series title and the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Rookie of the Year. “Monster Energy has been a great partner for me and Joe Gibbs Racing, and we’re stoked to have them on board for the majority of the races in 2023,” Gibbs said. “I can’t thank the Monster Energy team enough, especially Rodney Sacks, (Chairman and Co-CEO), Hilton Schlosberg (Vice Chairman and Co-CEO) Mitch Covington (Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing), Dave Gowland (Vice President of Motorsport Marketing), Tom Norwood (Director of NASCAR Marketing) and Eldena Nawrocki (Marketing) for all their support. They are behind me 100 percent and I love representing them.” Gibbs is in his first full Cup season but did compete in 15 events last year for 23XI Racing, with a best finish of 10th at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. In just 51 career Xfinity Series starts, he won 11 races (21 percent), scored 33 top-10 finishes (64 percent) and led 1,234 laps. “Monster is honored and excited to announce our partnership with JGR and Ty Gibbs,” Covington said. “We have enjoyed a great relationship over the years and this season with Ty will be fun. Ty has a tremendous work ethic and has proven his talent over the past few years, and we have all the confidence in the world he will continue his growth and success.” The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season begins on Feb. 5, 2023, with the non-points paying “Clash at the LA Coliseum.” The 65th Daytona 500, the first points-paying race, is on Feb. 19.

(Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) Press Release | KAULIG RACING, CELSIUS LEXINGTON, N.C.(February 2, 2023) – The official energy drink of Kaulig Racing, CELSIUS®, has signed on for a multi-race agreement for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) with the team’s two, full-time entries. A partner of Kaulig Racing since its inception in 2016, the team first expanded its relationship with the globally recognized lifestyle energy drink during the 2022 NCS season, appearing on the Nos. 16 and 31 Chevrolets for four events. “We are thrilled to be back with Kaulig Racing for the 2023 season,” said Kyle Watson, CELSIUS® VP of Marketing. “CELSIUS® continues to drive performance for the new generation of athletes, including AJ (Allmendinger) and Justin (Haley). We are excited to help fuel Kaulig drivers with Essential Energy and continue growing our partnership with Kaulig Racing for the 2023 season and beyond.” CELSIUS® is functional, Essential Energy, a better-for-you, premium alternative to traditional energy drinks. Made with a clinically proven formula of energy-boosting ingredients, 7 Essential Vitamins and zero sugar, CELSIUS® was created to help people LIVE FIT, exceed their goals, and elevate their everyday lives. “Health and fitness are extremely important to everyone at Kaulig Racing,” said Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing. “Each one of our drivers, are true athletes and are very disciplined with their routines. CELSIUS® has become an integral part of our drivers’ daily lives, as they prepare to race hundreds of miles each weekend. We can’t wait to continue growing this partnership.” In addition its primary partnership with the team, CELSIUS® will continue as an associate partner for the team’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) entries throughout the 2023 season. The partnership will kick off at the Bush Light Clash at the Coliseum, with Justin Haley driving the No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1.