JR Motorsports has provided an update on Connor Zilisch’s playoff eligibility after confirming that the 18-year-old driver will miss the Texas NASCAR Xfinity Series race due to a back injury.

The Dale Earnhardt Jr.-led team confirmed in a statement that, “Connor Zilisch has been granted a playoff waiver by NASCAR and remains qualified for the 2025 NXS Playoffs.”

To be eligible for the playoffs, drivers have to be competing full-time. As Zilisch is only out of the race weekend due to an injury/medical reason, this decision from NASCAR was expected.

Zilisch was leading the final lap of the NASCAR Xfinity race at Talladega last weekend when he was hit from behind by Jesse Love. The tap from the Richard Childress Racing driver sent Zilisch into a spin before he crashed into the barriers head-on. Continuing to cascade across the track, he eventually came to a stop. After visiting the infield medical center, he explained that he was “grateful to be walking.”

What drivers have said about the Zilisch x Love wreck

Connor Zilisch

Speaking after the race, Zilisch explained:

“Yeah, I’m okay.

“That’s one of the wrecks where you move your legs and make sure everything feels okay afterwards. So, very grateful to drive safe JR Motorsports race cars.

“Our WeatherTech Chevrolet was as fast as Xfinity Mobile. We were in the right spot, just, yeah, I haven’t really watched it close enough to know what happened. But yeah, grateful to be up and walking.”

He added a day later:

“Sore today but more than anything just upset that I couldn’t close that one out for my team. If we keep putting ourselves in position to win races, it will come. Thank you to everyone who reached out to make sure I was okay.”

Jesse Love

Love, who is close friends with Zilisch, commented directly after the race:

“I just got really good pushes there at the end.

“I was able to lift enough off of [Turn] 2 to get big pushes. I kind of thought we made our bed and were not in a good spot to win, and then I was able to get Austin [Hill] connected to me and he was able to give me some good pushes down the backstretch for a few laps. It was definitely tough how that ended. I hope my friend is okay.

“I’m not going to comment on what I thought happened there yet. I just want to go check on him and make sure he’s alright. Looked like a really hard hit, and he really hasn’t taken many hard hits yet.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt Jr. also shared a message of encouragement for his team’s driver, writing:

“It sucks to see Connor have to sit out but I’m thankful he is being smart and patient with this injury.

“He’ll be back in the seat and back at the front of the field soon enough.”

When Ryan Preece flipped violently at Daytona International Speedway in the summer of 2023, NASCAR was not shy in their reaction, quickly moving to remove the grass from the entire backstretch at the superspeedway. 

Thankfully, no one went up and over at Talladega, but Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher crashed fairly hard at the exit of Turn 2 on a mid-race restart. Bell slammed the inside wall head-on, completely destroying the front of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Buescher’s impact looked less severe, but he still radioed about how much it hurt afterwards. They crashed into an unusual section of the wall as it actually juts out at an angle towards the race track to make room for an opening behind where emergency vehicles come and go.

Despite not even reaching full speed, the impacts were severe, and Bell’s crash is not the first of its kind in that spot on the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Both Bell and Buescher were checked and released from the infield care center.

On the weekly NASCAR podcast, Hauler Talk, the sport’s senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis revealed that the wall be altered before NASCAR returns to Talladega later this year during the playoffs.

“That wall will be adjusted or essentially corrected before we return in the fall,” she revealed. “They are going to take that lip out and actually straighten it out, and kind of straighten the wall that leads into that as well. Fix that area, and there is an additional area of the track too that will also be fixed before we return to Talladega.”

Mike Forde, the managing director of racing communications for NASCAR, elaborated on that, adding: “That wall is a wreck magnet. For some reason, that area has been hit often. There is a wall there because there is an access road right behind it where we have emergency vehicles stationed, so if there is a wreck on the backstretch, they can easily get there. So, that’s why that wall is there in the first place.

“But right now, it’s at a five degree angle — it might even be a little bit more than that. So, planning that out and making it more of a straight edge should help as far as the significance of these wrecks. That’s one of those things that we’re going to fix over the summer and for October, you’ll see a new wall there.”

Sounds weird, but it’s true.

NASCAR is rolling away from its biggest track, Talladega, to go faster at a track over 40% smaller.

Texas Motor Speedway is host this weekend to NASCAR’s Big Three — Cup, Xfinity and Trucks — Friday through Sunday.

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Talladega, like Daytona and, of late, Atlanta, is so big and fast it forces NASCAR to govern the speeds. No such hamstringing at Texas, a 1.5-mile oval Deep in the Heart: Fort Worth.

DALE EARNHARDT: Happy 74th birthday to the Intimidator. Or Happy 73rd, as he’d prefer. Here’s the story

Sunday, you might as well call it Fort Würth. The German company was once known for selling fasteners, screws and whatnot, but has since expanded into a wide range of equipment. The company has been a partner of Roger Penske’s race team since 2012, and recently got into the race-entitlement business.

For what it’s worth, the Truck Series race sponsor, SpeedyCash, is pretty self-explanatory. And this weekend’s Xfinity Series race benefactor, Andy’s Frozen Custard, is a chain of franchises in 15 states.

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Among Andy’s limited-time specialties these days is something called Lemon Bar Concrete, a big cup of custard described as a “perfect blend of tangy and sweet.”

You know the type.

NASCAR will return to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend with its three national series racing on consecutive days at the 1.5-mile track north of Fort Worth.

The Craftsman Truck Series will practice, qualify and race Friday at Texas, and the Xfinity Series will practice and qualify for Saturday’s event.

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The Cup Series will practice and qualify Saturday for Sunday’s 400-mile race.

Good news, bad news for NASCAR teams ahead of Texas Cup weekend

Chase Elliott looks to score his first Cup points win since last year’s Texas race, while Ryan Blaney seeks to end recent struggles.

Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch is the defending winner of the truck race but isn’t entered Friday (which happens to be his 40th birthday). Sam Mayer won last year’s Xfinity race at Texas.

Chase Elliott is the defending Cup winner at Texas and is in a 37-race winless streak since earning his 19th career victory on April 14, 2024 (he won The Clash preseason exhibition at Bowman-Gray Stadium in February).

Connor Zilisch to sit out Texas Xfinity race after Talladega crash; Kyle Larson to drive No. 88 car

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Connor Zilisch sustained lower back injuries in the last-lap Talladega crash.

Texas Motor Speedway schedule

(All Times Eastern)

Friday, May 2

Garage open

• 9:30 a.m. – midnight — Truck Series

• 12 – 7:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series

• 2 – 7 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

• 2:35 – 3:30 p.m. — Truck practice (No TV)

• 3:40 – 4:30 p.m. — Truck qualifying (No TV)

• 5 – 5:55 p.m. — Xfinity practice (CW App)

• 6:05 – 7 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (CW App)

• 8 p.m. — Truck race (167 laps, 250.5 miles, Stage 1 at Lap 40, Stage 2 at Lap 80; FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Saturday, May 3

Garage open

• 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. — Cup Series

• 11 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series

Track activity

• 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. — Cup practice (Prime, Performance Racing Network)

• 12:10 p.m. – 1 p.m. — Cup qualifying (Prime, MRN)

• 2 p.m. — Xfinity race (200 laps, 300 miles, Stage 1 at Lap 45, Stage 2 at Lap 90; CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, May 4

Garage open

• 12:30 – 10 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

• 3:30 p.m. — Cup race (267 laps, 400.5 miles, Stage 1 at Lap 80, Stage 2 at Lap 165; FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend weather

Friday: Scattered thunderstorms in the a.m. and cloudy skies later in the day with a high of 72 degrees. Winds from the north-northeast at 10 to 15 mph and a 50% chance of rain. It’s expected to be 70 degrees with a 24% chance of rain at the start of the truck race.

Saturday: Clouds in the morning and mainly sunny skies in the afternoon with a high of 77 degrees and winds from the north-northeast at 10 to 15 mph. It’s expected to be 72 degrees with a 7% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.

Sunday: Mostly sunny with a high of 78 degrees and winds from the east-southeast at 5 to 10 mph. It’s expected to be 75 degrees with a 6% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.

A pair of mile-and-a-half ovals are on deck for the 2025 NASCAR tour, with all three national series making their annual appearance at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the sport’s seventh tripleheader of the season.

As the only manufacturer to be able to accomplish a tripleheader sweep thus far this season, the Bowtie brigade will look to keep that stat alive – returning to track as the defending winners across all three series.

Defending in the Lone Star State

With a sweep of the annual tripleheader weekend last season, Chevrolet heads back to Texas Motor Speedway with 51 victories across all three national series including 18 NASCAR Cup Series wins (series-best), 13 Xfinity Series wins and 20 Truck Series wins.

Fighting for a Five-Peat

One year ago, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott snapped a 42-race winless streak by making his long awaited return to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. The Georgia native delivered Chevrolet its fourth-straight Cup Series triumph to keep the Bowtie brand undefeated in the Next Gen era at the 1.5-mile oval, while also setting the record for the longest active win streak by a manufacturer at the track in the division. Dating back to the July 2020 event, Chevrolet has hoisted the trophy in five of the six races – each earned by a different driver. Among those victors included a pair of Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet’s with Austin Dillon (July 2020) and Tyler Reddick (Sept. 2022), as well as Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson (Oct. 2021), William Byron (Sept. 2023) and Elliott (April 2024). Among the series’ seven active past Texas winners, four come from the Chevrolet camp, also including Kyle Busch with a series-best four career Texas triumphs.
 

Home of a Milestone

Texas Motor Speedway is the site of one of Chevrolet’s many unprecedented milestone feats in NASCAR. On Nov. 4, 2012, NASCAR Hall of Famer, Jimmie Johnson, and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team took the checkered flag in the AAA Texas 500 to deliver Chevrolet its 700th all-time Cup Series victory. The triumph is part of five-straight milestone Cup Series victories that Hendrick Motorsports has tallied for the Bowtie brand, with the organization also earning Chevrolet its 400th win (Terry Labonte at Richmond Raceway; Sept. 1994), 500th win (Jeff Gordon at Watkins Glen International; Aug. 2001); 600th win (Kyle Busch at Bristol Motor Speedway; March 2007) and 800th win (Chase Elliott at Circuit of The Americas; May 2021).
 

Top-10 Tally’s

Despite the platter of unknowns that Talladega Superspeedway serves, Chevrolet wrapped up the doubleheader weekend with an exceptional representation in the top-10 of each event. In the Xfinity Series, Austin Hill kept Richard Childress Racing undefeated on drafting tracks this season by taking the checkered flag in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300. Hill’s first Talladega triumph led a brigade of eight Team Chevy drivers in the top-10, including a sweep of the top-seven positions – marking the first time since Sept. 2004 that a manufacturer has taken the top-seven finishing positions in a Xfinity Series race. The feat came from a collective effort of drivers from five different Chevrolet organizations, including the Richard Childress Racing teammates of Hill (1st) and Jesse Love (3rd); Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton (2nd) and Blaine Perkins (7th); JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier (4th); Viking Motorsports’ Matt DiBenedetto (5th) and Young’s Motorsports’ Anthony Alfredo (6th).

The Chevrolet camp in NASCAR’s top division nearly matched those results in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500, with drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations leading the manufacturer to seven top-10 finishes. Among those contributors included all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers with top-fives by Kyle Larson (2nd), William Byron (3rd) and Chase Elliott (5th), as well as a seventh-place finish by Alex Bowman. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar brought home a sixth-place finish, with Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon rounding out the top-10 in the ninth and 10th positions, respectively. The feat matches the manufacturer’s season-best top-10 results, with the Bowtie brigade also earning seven top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With now 10 points-paying races in the books, the Bowtie brand has earned at least half of the top-10 finishing positions in six events.
 

Hill Makes History

Richard Childress Racing’s superspeedway dominance continued with yet another commanding performance by teammates Austin Hill and Jesse Love at Talladega Superspeedway. The duo swept the front-row starting positions, going on to take both stage wins and collectively leading 69 of the 113 laps in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300. In a three-wide photo finish, it was Hill and the No. 21 Chevrolet team that prevailed to record their series-leading third victory of the 2025 season. It was the 30-year-old Georgia native’s first trip to victory lane at Talladega Superspeedway and his ninth all-time superspeedway victory – ultimately passing Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s records to make him the series’ winningest driver on drafting-style tracks.
 

Sanchez Slated for Truck Series Return

While early in his campaign for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series ‘Rookie of the Year’ title, Nick Sanchez has a double-duty weekend on deck with his return to the Truck Series in Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 250. The 23-year-old Miami, Florida, native will get behind the wheel of the No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, making him the seventh different Chevrolet driver to make a start in the entry this season. Sanchez moved up into the NASCAR national ranks in 2023, competing two full seasons in the Truck Series with Rev Racing. Within that timeframe, Sanchez earned the ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors and two trips to victory lane. This will mark Sanchez’s first appearance back in his old stomping grounds since making the jump into the Xfinity Series with Big Machine Racing at the beginning of the season.

In just two Truck Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Sanchez won the pole in both events and a best-result of third one year ago. The 1.5-mile oval is a place of redemption for the young Chevrolet driver. In his first career start at the track, Sanchez led 168 of 172 laps and earned an average running position of 1.1 before an incident in an overtime restart ending in a heartbreaking 16th-place finish.
 

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 10 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 3

Poles: 5

Laps Led: 1,232

Top-Fives: 20

Top-10s: 48

Stage Wins: 8

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series races complete:

Wins: 9

Poles: 8

Laps Led: 1,573

Top-Fives: 38

Top-10s: 72

Stage Wins: 17

Chevrolet’s season statistics with six NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races complete:

Wins: 4

Poles: 2

Laps Led: 456

Top-Fives: 17

Top-10s: 32

Stage Wins: 4

BOWTIE BULLETS:

· Chevrolet will serve as the official pace vehicle for the tripleheader weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, with the Corvette Stingray pacing the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series and the Silverado RST pacing the Craftsman Truck Series.

· Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to accomplish a tripleheader sweep across all three NASCAR national divisions this season – earned at Homestead-Miami Speedway courtesy of victories by Kyle Larson (Cup and Truck Series) and Justin Allgaier (Xfinity Series).

· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Texas Motor Speedway:

Kyle Busch – four wins (2020, 2018, 2016, 2013)

Chase Elliott – one win (2024)

William Byron – one win (2023)

Kyle Larson – one win (2021)

Austin Dillon – one win (2020)

· In 44 NASCAR Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 18 victories. The Bowtie brand has earned victories in five of the past six Cup Series races at the 1.5-mile oval, including an active streak of four-straight to keep the manufacturer undefeated in the Next Gen era at the track.

· In the series’ 10th points-paying race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet matched its season-high top-10 finishes of seven – earned collectively by four different Chevrolet organizations. The Bowtie brand has now earned at least half of the top-10 finishing results in six of the 10 races thus far this season.

· In 118 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 55 victories – a winning percentage of 46.6%.

· With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 869 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.
 

FOR THE FANS:

· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Texas Motor Speedway.

· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Silverado EV RST, Silverado 1500 ZR2, Silverado 1500 RST, Traverse Z71, Blazer EV SS, Equinox EV RS, Tahoe RST, Corvette and No. 9 Chase Elliott show car.

Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:

Friday, May 2:

Corey Day: 3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Tyler Ankrum & Jack Wood: 4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Connor Mosack: 4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Dawson Sutton: 4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Grant Enfinger: 4:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 3:

Sammy Smith: 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Justin Allgaier & Carson Kvapil: 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Connor Zilisch: 10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Matt DiBenedetto: 11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Christian Eckes: 11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Sunday, May 4:

Alex Bowman: 10:40 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.

Daniel Suarez: 10:55 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

Chase Elliott: 11:10 a.m. – 11:25 a.m.

Austin Dillon: 11:25 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.

Justin Haley: 11:40 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.

William Byron: 11:55 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.

AJ Allmendinger: 12:10 p.m. – 12:25 p.m.

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:

Friday, May 2: 1 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 3: 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 4: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
 

TUNE-IN:

NASCAR Cup Series

Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY

Sunday, May 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET

(FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Andy’s Frozen Custard 300

Saturday, May 3, at 2 p.m. ET

(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

SpeedyCash.com 250

Friday, May 2, 8 p.m. ET

(FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
 

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Are you looking forward to Texas?

“I’m looking forward to Texas because it’s fun track to race on. We’ve been pretty good there the last couple of years. The Dallas and Fort Worth areas are so much fun because there’s so much to do at the Stockyards and in the surrounding areas.”

Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Katz Coffee is hopping aboard this weekend. What are your thoughts about them joining you at Texas?

“I’m excited for Katz Coffee to ride along with me at Texas Motor Speedway. I’ve had a lot of great runs at Texas, so hopefully we can mix it up at the front of the field and compete for the win. Katz does a great job of fueling the men and women at Spire Motorsports with rich, great tasting coffee both at the shop and at the track every weekend. I’m not going out on a limb when I say Spire Motorsports and Katz Coffee have the best coffee game in the sport.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Let’s talk about what it is about Texas that you like?

“Texas, it’s a challenging racetrack. Turns one and two being as flat as they are and as wide as they are. there’s a lot of room for where you can go. But there’s probably about six inches of that racetrack that feels really good. And that’s the groove that you want to be in, and stay in, in order to get that grip. We’ve been pretty decent there. Last year, we were fast. We had some good speed. Unfortunately, I wrecked in qualifying, which then forced us to go to a backup car. But we were able to come back up through the field and I think get a top-15 finish. So, I think having the primary, we would have been in the top 10. We would have had a shot. But, you never know how some of those races play at the end. I remember Denny (Hamlin), I think, was really pushing hard, running hard, trying the outside. And he finally busted his butt there towards the end as well, too, and Chase (Elliott) was able to get the win. So, it’s really, really finicky. It’s very hard to push harder, to find speed, to make speed to catch the guy in front of you or pass the guy in front of you and not overstep that edge.”

Is it a track that’s really sensitive when it comes to the temperature?

“Obviously, it’s in Texas. It gets hot there. It’s probably a track that may have a little bit of different characteristics when you go back each time.

As the sun and the heat builds up throughout the day, does that track change a lot?

“It does, yeah. That track really changes a lot. I think it changes a lot in the beginning of our races with the Xfinity rubber down from the day before. Then it progressively changes as the day gets hotter in our races or if it goes later and cools off a little bit. It gets faster, it gets more grip. So, you’re always kind of limited on that feel and the grip and how fast you can you feel like you can go. I talk about how treacherous or tricky turns one and two can be as far as being as flat as they are, but the same can be said for three and four with knowing how hard to push. Can you run wide open down there? Do you lift out of the throttle, get back to the throttle early? Do you just part throttle it longer through the corner? There’s a few different ways to run it.”

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

“Having success at a track always helps, even though Texas has been repaved and the banking is a little different from when I won in the Truck Series. To be able to wear the cowboy hat and celebrate in victory lane is always a cool thing in Texas. For us, I think this is where the relationship really blossomed with myself and Kaulig Racing. We left Texas with a 16th place finish in the race last year. It was one of five starts I made with the team, and I felt like we all left Texas on a really positive energy and that led us to where we are today. Going back to Texas this weekend, it will be the first time that I am going to a track for the second time with Kaulig Racing. It’s a new crew chief and whole new situation, but with the team it feels good to go back to a place for a second time. I’m looking forward to this weekend. I always love being in Texas – great food, catching up with friends and just enjoying being in Texas.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

“Headed to Texas, I feel like our mile-and-a-half program has been one of our strong suits this year. I would say I’m cautiously optimistic and confident that we can continue to have speed and execute this weekend. Texas is one of the trickiest mile-and-a-half tracks that we go to with how different each end of the track is and how slick it can be. It’s a track I enjoy racing at and I’m looking forward to seeing what our No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection team can do this weekend.”

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

What are the challenges of Texas as the track continues to age?

“The bump in Turn Four on the high side is a big challenge, especially during restarts. The track is very daunting still to this day, even as it ages, because the speeds are so high and these cars are right on the edge. Now, you have some of that character with those bumps, and our cars are so low that when you bottom out, they take off. I wasn’t the only car to back it into the fence there while trying to get clear. We saw a few other guys do that last year as well. It just shows that typically Cup guys don’t make a ton of mistakes, and we saw a lot of mistakes there, which proves how challenging the race track is. It’s still one of those places that it can take your breath away.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

The No. 77 team has raced within the top 10 in the last two races and now you head to Texas where you’ve run well in both the Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. What are your expectations for this weekend’s race in Fort Worth?

“I’ve been excited to get to Texas and now even more excited to be able to return to the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. I’ve always done really well at Texas and feel like that’s a place where we can get a win in both series. We’ve been really strong on the intermediate tracks and it feels like we’re finally getting back to a place where we can consistently run up front. We’ve had a lot of fun with Chili’s the last few weeks and I’m ready to keep it going this week at their home track.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

What are your thoughts entering this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway?

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never raced at Texas in a Cup car, so I’ll be learning a lot during practice on Saturday. The Xfinity race last year was early on in the season. We finished on the lead lap which was respectable since I didn’t have that many starts on ovals at that time. This weekend will be another challenge for me but looking forward to 400 miles in my SafetyCulture Chevrolet.”

Do you bounce ideas off your Trackhouse teammates in terms of learning? Do you feel like the communication has gotten stronger this season?

“I think that the dynamic in Trackhouse has changed a little bit, which for me is good. Everyone works a lot closer together. At the simulator, all our driving notes are open. I lean on those guys as much as I can. Daniel and Ross are very different in the way they think and describe things. It’s paying back at the moment because I help them on the road course stuff. It’s pretty cool dynamic at the moment and I’m enjoying that.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

What are your thoughts on Texas?

“I love Texas Motor Speedway. I have always enjoyed the track. It’s fast and a big challenge, but very rewarding plus Texas feels like home to me. We have a lot of fans who show up in Texas every year. We didn’t have a perfect race in Talladega, but when it mattered most at the end of the race, we executed well and finished ninth. It would be nice to build upon that this weekend, especially driving the Kubota Chevrolet. Kubota’s corporate office is in Grapevine, Texas. We are visiting there Friday and I know they are bringing a lot of employees and customers to the track for the race on Sunday.”

GM PR

His nickname, “The King,” is synonymous with his real name.