Petty GMS Event Preview: Talladega Superspeedway

Ty Dillon, No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Dillon at Talladega Superspeedway:

– Dillon has competed in eight NASCAR Cup Series events at Talladega Superspeedway, recording his career-best NCS finish of third in October 2020. The North Carolina native has also participated in six NASCAR Xfinity Series races (one top-10), two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events (one top-five), and one ARCA Menards Series race (pole, win).

– Black Rifle Back Again: Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) will serve as primary partner on Dillon’s Chevrolet Camaro for Sunday’s race at Talladega, marking the fourth time this season that the green and black livery has adorned Dillon’s machine. BRCC also rode with Dillon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Daytona International Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway.

– Race Rewind: Dillon posted his first top-10 with Petty GMS at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt one week ago. After capturing his heat win and earning a second-place finish in Stage 1, the 30-year-old fought through the rain delays to finish in the 10th position.

– About Black Rifle Coffee Company: Black Rifle Coffee Company is a Veteran-founded coffee company serving premium coffee to people who love America. Founded in 2014 by Green Beret Evan Hafer, Black Rifle develops their explosive roast profiles with the same mission focus they learned while serving in the military. BRCC is committed to supporting Veterans, active-duty military, first responders and the American way of life. With every purchase made, they give back.

To learn more about BRCC, visit www.blackriflecoffee.com, follow BRCC on social media, or subscribe to Coffee or Die Magazine’s daily newsletter at https://coffeeordie.com/presscheck-signup.

– From the Drivers Seat: At Talladega, with the challenge of getting cars ready, is it the same mentality as Daytona? Is it 50/50 whether you’re going to finish or end up wrecked?

“These weeks are always weird for me because I’m thinking the same things you guys are. What’s it going to be like – Is it going to be aggressive? Is it going to be calm? Speedweek (at Daytona) seemed calm up until the Daytona 500. And then we started the race and people were bump drafting on lap one. I’m a big proponent of feeling the energy of the race. I just got off a meeting with my guys and I said this is the hardest race for me to prepare for. I just go off of what I feel. It may change within a lap, but I feel like if we can get up there and put ourselves in a good spot to get stage points and run up front, that’s obviously where you’d like to be. Or do I feel bad energy in the pack and people are doing things they shouldn’t at a certain time. For me, I won’t know until I’m in the situation. I don’t think anyone showed much patience in the Daytona 500. But also, in my opinion, nobody showed any patience in the last three years of superspeedway races. If you look back, there’s maybe 15 cars that were on the lead lap due to crashes and issues every race.

My strategy sometimes seems conservative, but I also have one of the best average finishes of the last four or five years at some of these speedways. So, until they prove me otherwise, I’m going to play a smart game – feel the energy of the pack; get stage points if it feels right and we have the speed to do it and in the right situation. But if not, I have to make sure our Black Rifle Coffee Company Camaro crosses the line on the lead lap and I can pretty much always guarantee us a top-15 or top-10 in that way.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Jones at Talladega Superspeedway:

– Jones has competed in 10 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, posting two top-five and four top-10 finishes. The 25-year-old also has three starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (best finish of fifth in 2017) and two events in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (two top-six results) at the Alabama track.

– Aim High: U.S. Air Force will serve as primary partner on Jones’s Chevrolet Camaro for Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. The brand-new dark green paint scheme, designed by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Brockman, was inspired by the famous B-29 Superfortress with glass up front and riveted panel design. In addition to their season-long associate placement, Talladega will be the first of three primary races for the U.S. Air Force in the 2022 season.

Tech. Sgt. Brockman will attend Sunday’s race to see his design run on the high banks of Talladega.

– About Air Force Recruiting Service: The mission of Air Force Recruiting Service is to inspire, engage and recruit the next generation of Airmen and Space professionals. We are looking for America’s best and brightest to fill approximately 30,000 opportunities in more than 200 Air Force specialties, as well as more than 300 space professionals in approximately 27 specific career fields in fiscal 2021. Additionally, our total force partners, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard are collectively hiring more than 19,000 part-time Airmen. Our military recruits to retain, providing tough, highly technical training that gives our future servicemembers the right skills to sustain the combat capability of America’s Air Force and protect our nation’s interests in space. For more information about Air Force and U.S. Space Force benefits and opportunities, go to www.airforce.com.

– From the Drivers Seat: You have a special paint scheme for Talladega. Tell us about it.

“Our paint scheme this weekend is actually designed by an airman, Tech. Sgt. Andrew Brockman, who based our scheme off a B-29. It looks great. I was able to see it at the shop in person earlier this week and it looks very similar to a B-29. It was a really cool initiative by the Air Force, letting an airman design the car and hosting a fan vote to determine the winner. Getting to work with the Air Force over the last year has been fun, just to get to know them and work with them. They have an extreme passion for the sport, and the biggest thing I’ve enjoyed doing is getting to meet a bunch of men and women who serve our country.”

We are certaintly seeing better performance this season from you and now your teammate, Ty Dillon. What has GMS being brought in the fold been like? How does it make your team even better?

“GMS brought in a lot of resources. You look at what they have done over the last few years in the Truck Series, and obviously built into a top organization at that level. Making the jump this offseason with the Next Gen car was a good opportunity for anyone really who wanted to get into the Cup level at that point with a new racecar and being able to build something up. It is a fairly new program, a young program, that is going to have to continue to be built and get better and better. Overall, they have brought in a wealth of resources that we didn’t have before, just being at RPM. I’ve enjoyed it. They had good people and I’ve gotten to know everyone who is running the show on the competition side. It’s been pretty good for us.”