Author: Official Release

RICK WARE RACING
YellaWood 500
Date: Oct. 6, 2024
Event: YellaWood 500 (Round 31 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format: 188 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/68 laps)
Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 188-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)

RWR Race Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 24th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 195 of 195 laps)
● Corey LaJoie (Started 28th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 195 of 195 laps)

RWR Points:

● Corey LaJoie (29th with 456 points)
● Cody Ware (36th with 130 points)

RWR Notes:

● Ware’s 12th-place result is his best finish in nine NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega.
● Ware’s finish is his second-best of the season. His best was a fourth-place result in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Aug. 24.
● Ware led one time for one lap.
● LaJoie earned his 13th top-20 of the season and seventh top-20 in 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega. His best finish remains fourth, earned in October 2023.
● LaJoie led one time for five laps.
● This is the first time in 2024 that both RWR cars led laps during a race.

Race Notes:

● Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the YellaWood 500 to score his fourth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Talladega. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was .006 of a second.

● There were four caution periods for a total of 24 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

Sound Bites:

“I feel pretty good about how our day went. We led some laps, had both cars up front, and came out with a decent finish. The No. 15 team has done well on the speedways this year and I’m really glad we were able to keep that going and have a good showing for Arby’s in our first race with them.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 15 Arby’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, Oct. 13 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2:00 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

After successfully navigating his way through an afternoon of three-and four-wide racing at Talladega Superspeedway, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang were involved in a multi-car crash with five laps remaining and left the track with a 34th-place finish.

Burton started the race ninth after a season-best qualifying effort and raced in the lead draft all afternoon. He finished the first Stage in 25th place and was 19th in the second.

As the laps wound down, Burton and his fellow Ford drivers, including the three-driver contingent from Team Penske, which has an alliance with the No. 21 team, made their final green flag stop together with 25 laps scheduled to run.

Their pit strategy propelled the group forward and Burton was running fifth by Lap 175. At that point the race boiled down to a two-lane battle with Ford drivers on the inside groove and mostly Chevys outside.

But some pushing went wrong with five laps remaining, and at least 28 drivers, including Burton in seventh place, were collected in the melee.

Burton’s DEX Imaging Mustang was towed back to pit road, but the car was too damaged to be quickly repaired and he was left with a 34th-place finish.

Burton and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team now head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for next week’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 on the track’s infield road course.

About DEX Imaging
DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES:
Reducing Operating Costs
Reducing Paper Consumption
Increasing Productivity

DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 16 WeatherTech Camaro ZL1

• Shane van Gisbergen qualified 17th for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
• On lap 12 of the race, the first caution came out, and the No. 16 opted to come to pit road for fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage in 31st. After drafting with the pack for multiple laps, the No. 16 team opted to drop to the back of the field to open up their playbook for the rest of the stage. With 22 laps remaining, Van Gisbergen chose the top lane, entering the top 25, as he drafted with a four-wide pack. Van Gisbergen chose to drop to the back of the pack with six laps remaining in the stage, taking the stage flag in 28th.
• The No. 16 came to pit road during the stage break for adjustments, fuel and fresh tires. Van Gisbergen started the second stage from 21st and entered the top 20 seven laps later. Halfway through the stage, the No. 16 WeatherTech Chevrolet raced to the front of the pack and led the field for 10 laps. While in the lead, the No. 16 Team opted to come to pit road for fuel, re-entering the field in fourth with 20 laps remaining in the stage. Van Gisbergen battled in the top five for the duration and completed the second stage in the fourth position.
• The No. 16 team came to pit road at the stage break for fuel and four fresh tires. Van Gisbergen started the final stage in seventh place. He raced in the top five for 10 laps, before bailing to mid-pack. Van Gisbergen battled with the pack for multiple laps, before coming to pit road for fuel with 22 laps remaining in the race. The No. 16 Chevy re-entered the field in 35th and battled with his Kaulig Racing teammates to gain momentum in the top lane. A massive accident involving over the half of the field occurred with four laps remaining in the race, bringing out the red flag. The No. 16 sustained minimal damage and came to pit road for fresh tires. Van Gisbergen restarted the final stage in 12th. At the first attempt at overtime, Van Gisbergen took the checkered flag in 15th.

“That was a wild race! Had a lot of fun battling up front and leading some laps. Our WeatherTech Chevy Camaro showed a lot of speed and it was awesome to race in the pack and continue to learn every lap. Glad we missed the big wreck there at the end and were able to have a solid finish. Proud of my No. 16 Kaulig Racing team and looking forward to racing the Cup car at the Charlotte Roval.” – Shane van Gisbergen  

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 13 Strive Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified 25th for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
• When the first caution came out on lap 12, Allmendinger was scored in 28th, reporting his No. 13 Strive Chevy was a little rough in the rear. Under caution, the team came to pit road for fuel only. Allmendinger came back to pit road prior to going green to top off with fuel. On lap 17, Allmendinger restarted in 36th and took 34th on the restart. Running the top lane, Allmendinger drove up to 25th by lap 25. Preparing for a wreck, the No. 13 dropped back and finished the opening stage in 26th.
• Under the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to help with rear security. Allmendinger restarted in 36th on lap 67 after pitting a second time to top off with fuel. By lap 75, Allmendinger was scored in 19th, the highest he had been so far in the race, while running the top lane. When the Fords came to pit road, Allmendinger received damage on the nose of the car and lost the draft. The team came to pit road on lap 110 for fuel only and went a lap down. The No. 13 team was the free pass on lap 121 when the caution came out, ending the stage. Allmendinger was scored in 36th.
• After pitting for four tires, fuel and an adjustment, Allmendinger restarted the final stage in 23rd. Running third back on the top lane, Allmendinger drove up to 13th by lap 132. He continued to climb, taking the lead on lap 135. Allmendinger maintained position in the top five, leading a total of 10 laps before pitting under green on lap 166 for right-side tires and fuel. On lap 184, the No. 13 was involved in a large wreck, bringing out the caution. He nursed the No. 13 to a 28th-place finish.

“We played it safe there to start off and got in a bad spot when cars started pit. After we caught a break, it was fun having the No. 13 Strive Chevy up front there for a while. Definitely disappointing end to our day getting caught up in that wreck, but I’m really proud of the effort out of this team and the showing we had today.” – AJ Allmendinger  

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 10th for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, his best qualifying effort of the 2024 season.
• Hemric fell out of the top 10 during the opening laps, unable to get help on the top lane. The first caution flag of the day came out on lap 12, and Hemric made a quick trip down pit road for fuel. The field went back to green on lap 16, and Hemric worked his way back into the top 10. As the pack ran four wide, Hemric led one lap on the top lane, before bailing out of the pack with eight to go in the stage. He went on to finish the opening stage in 32nd.
• During the stage break, Hemric ran out of fuel and received a push to pit road for tires and fuel. He came back down pit road to top off, before starting the second stage from 27th place. As the manufacturers pitted together, Hemric made a fuel-only stop on lap 99. As multiple cars wrecked coming to the stage flag, Hemric crossed the line in 11th place.
• During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel, before starting the final stage from eighth place. As the stage remained green on lap 160, spotter, Frank Deiny, began helping Hemric get to the bottom lane to prepare for a green-flag pit stop. He made his final fuel-only stop on lap 166, alongside teammates (AJ) Allmendinger and (Shane) van Gisbergen. With five laps remaining, the “big one” ensued, collecting Hemric in the process. He was relegated to a 38th place finish.

“Unfortunate end to a really solid day. I’m proud of everyone on this No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. We had a really fast qualifying effort to put us in the top 10 to start. Unfortunate that it turned out the way it did. I thought I had a hole and just ripped around the top, but the two slid back up. I hate that for the team, but I’m super proud of these guys. We have five more opportunities to do something special as a team.” – Daniel Hemric  
 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team Earn Strong Top-10 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

Finish: 8th
Start: 7th
Points: 28th

“Good job by everyone on our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet team today at Talladega Superspeedway. We showed speed early and ran in the top 10 for most of Stage 1. It was fun to lead a few laps and the balance of our Chevrolet was good all day. We played the strategy game all race long and our pit crew was solid under the green flag pit stops. We missed the big wreck on the backstretch, putting us in a solid position for the overtime restart. We didn’t get the big push we needed on the final lap and ended up finishing eighth. Our Richard Childress Racing team brought a fast car and ECR engines were up front most of the day. Proud of the effort.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch Leads Laps, Scores Stage Points En Route to 19th-Place Finish in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway

Finish: 19th
Start: 4th
Points: 20th

“I’m really proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for their hard work leading into Talladega Superspeedway. Our Lucas Oil Chevrolet was strong all weekend. We qualified fourth and were strong all day despite being conservative with our fuel mileage strategy. Our guys were solid on pit road today. We were able to dodge a couple of the big accidents and crew chief Randall Burnett made adjustments to improve our car’s balance. Late in the race we were in position to score a top-five finish. On the last lap I made a move that, unfortunately, didn’t work and we got shuffled back in the pack. It’s frustrating because we ran better than where we finished. We’ll bounce back next week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.” -Kyle Busch

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
ROUND OF 12: RACE TWO
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
OCT. 6, 2024

 Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet Prevails in Overtime Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
1st – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2nd – William Byron
3rd – Kyle Larson
7th – Justin Haley
8th – Austin Dillon

WITH 32 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE:
Wins: 14
Poles: 9
Top-five Finishes: 60
Top-10 Finishes: 124
Stage Wins: 21

 UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course next weekend, with the Bank of America ROVAL 400 marking the elimination race for the Round of 12. Coverage of the 109-lap event can be found on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

· In yet another overtime finish, it was Chevrolet that prevailed with JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The victory – his fourth in NASCAR’s top division – marked Chevrolet’s 14th NASCAR Cup Series win this season, with Stenhouse Jr. becoming the eighth different driver to contribute to the manufacturer’s series-leading win count.

· Stenhouse Jr. capped off Chevrolet’s fourth tripleheader sweep of the 2024 season, with JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith earning a spot in the Xfinity Series’ Round of 8 with his win in Saturday’s United Rentals 250, and CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger becoming the first driver to advance to the Craftsman Truck Series’ Championship 4 with his win in Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225. Chevrolet continues to be the only manufacturer to drive to a tripleheader sweep this season – also accomplishing the feat at Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

· Among the four playoff contenders that earned points in both stages included Team Chevy’s William Byron and Kyle Larson. Escaping the big, late-race accident unscaved, the pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates went on to collect top-five results. Byron’s podium finish was enough to clinch a spot into the Round of 8. Larson earned his career-best Talladega Superspeedway finish of fourth-place finish, with the 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native now sitting third in the playoff standings and 52 points above the elimination line.

· An unapproved adjustment forced Team Chevy playoff driver, Daniel Suarez, to drop to the rear and serve a pass-through penalty on the opening lap. After already having an early uphill battle, the No. 99 Tootsie Orchid Lounge Chevrolet team sustained damage in an accident after attempting to blend back into the pack. Unable to get back onto the lead lap, the race continued to unravel when the 32-year-old Monterrey, Mexico, driver was caught up in the massive wreck with just four laps remaining. Ultimately collecting a 26th-place result, the Trackhouse Racing title contender will head into the Round of 12 elimination race 10th the playoff standings with a 20-point deficit to the elimination line.

 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER HEALTH / PALMOLIVE CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 1st

“It felt really good. We had our Chevy teammates behind us, and I was hoping Kyle (Larson) wasn’t going to push the 6 that hard. I knew the 24 was probably going to try and get to the line there.

But, man, this team has put a lot of hard work in. Obviously we haven’t won since the 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season. It was a lot of hard work this season just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew that this track is one of ours to come get. So for all of our Southern Mississippi people, appreciate you all coming. This means a lot, winning here.

Got to say we’re thinking about everybody in Western North Carolina. Brad Dougherty, his family right where he grew up there in Black Mountain, a lot of people are struggling.

I wish my wife and son, Stetson, were here. They didn’t come this weekend. I’ll see you all at home, and man, what I day.

Just proud of this group. The whole Kroger, Palmolive, NOS Energy Drink. There are so many people. SunnyD. There are so many people that helped this. You know, Campers Inn. Man, there’s just so many great product partners in this Kroger program. Glad to give them another win.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 BUSCH LIGHT CAMO CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two.

Finished: 40th

WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE CONTACT THAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF STAGE TWO?

“I’m not sure what happened there with those guys down there in the middle line. Coming into the tri-oval, I followed the No. 8 Chevy (Kyle Busch) and pushed him in the third lane; fanned out to push a Chevy. And yeah, somebody got shucked up. Seeing Ryan (Blaney) in there, I’m guessing he was the yellow blur that I saw.

For our No. 1 Busch Light Camo Chevy team, to kickoff hunting season with the camo can, I wish we were more invisible like we will be in the woods with that can than we were there coming to the end. Big hit, but these Next Gen cars are super safe. It kept me safe and they got the fire put out. We’ll go on to next week and get ready for Charlotte.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 4th

Did you feel like you had anything for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. there at the end? Talk about your decision with your lane choice on that last restart?

“I have to choose the closest to the front, so I was going to go wherever the No. 24 (William Byron) didn’t go. I was happy to be on the bottom. If I could have chose outside or inside, even if I was in third-place to chose, I would have chosen the bottom. It was working. I got the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski) clear of the No. 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), which is what I wanted to do. I was anticipating the No. 47 having a run back, and I was hoping that Brad would take that and I could kind of be leading the bottom lane. But yeah, he stayed down low. I’m happy to finish in the top-five. We’ll take it.”

This track hasn’t been kind to you. To get your second top-five finish here in your career, what does that say about your day?

“It’s my second top-five on a superspeedway in my career, in general, so I’ll take that. It’s really cool. Obviously there’s a lot of luck that plays into just finishing these races. I’m not going to blame my whole superspeedway career on bad luck because I know that’s not the case when we finish as bad as we do, as often as we do, on these. I feel like we do a great job and today just showed that. We came from the back of the first stage and had a shot to win the stage. The second stage, we executed as good as we could and got some points. And then there at the end, got lucky on the backstretch finally and got a good finish. I’m proud of the effort from all of Chevrolet, all the key partners and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. We had a great Chevy and great power. It’s cool to finally go into the Charlotte ROVAL with a 52-point gap. That race is so stretch. It’s way more stressful to me than Talladega Superspeedway, so glad to not have to worry about it as much.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 29th

“I thought Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and I had a really good system going there. I was really pleased with my spot. I thought I had a lot of what was going to transpire, was in my hands, which is what I want at the end of these things. Unfortunately what was in my hands ended up biting us. I don’t really know what you do about that. We were in a good position. The No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevy team executed a good second-half of the race. We were right there when it counted.

I’m not sure how I got clipped. I thought I had it missed. Somebody just barely clipped me and it sent me spinning.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 3rd

Byron on the overtime finish that resulted in a third-place finish for the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet team:

“I didn’t have a chance to get the lead myself on the last lap, so that was the thought process. I just couldn’t quite get him clear into (turn) three, or he didn’t take it into three. And then, I just kind of had to be diligent to push him the rest of the way. I felt like it all worked out. I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and everyone at Chevrolet. They deserve it. Ricky is a really good drafter.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 CIRKUL CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in the accident with four laps to go.

Finished: 38th

What was your view of this massive wreck on the backstretch?

“Unfortunate end to a really solid day. I’m proud of everyone on this No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. We had a really fast qualifying effort to put us in the top 10 to start. Unfortunate that it turned out the way it did. I thought I had a hole and just ripped around the top, but the two slid back up. I hate that for the team, but I’m super proud of these guys. We have five more opportunities to do something special as a team.

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 16th

“We had kind of gotten pretty far back in track position obviously; got stuck in the fourth lane and that just killed us. Just overall kind of disappointed in myself. I made the wrong move a lot, and I crashed the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney with just a crappy push. Obviously just trying to push him to try and help our lane for the Stage and just hit him in the wrong spot. I hate that I did that. I hate that I made the wrong decisions that I did, and I didn’t do a very good job today. Frustrated because we had a really good Ally Camaro today. The team did a really good job, and we obviously had moments where we were really good. But just execution-wise, I made too many mistakes and put us in too many bad spots. Obviously hate that I ruined some other guys’ days too.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1

Finished : 26th

“It was a very difficult day for the No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevy team. We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole with the pass-through penalty. We had a plan and I was expecting everyone to be saving fuel, and I was going to be able to block the lanes and stay in the pack. I just made a mistake. I tried to block when they were coming, but they were just coming too fast. That was on me. We put ourselves in a hole, and unfortunately we weren’t able to recover. And then in the last wreck, obviously that finished killing our chances.”

What’s your strategy for next weekend?

“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to talk about it.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

FOUR CAMRY XSES FINISH INSIDE THE TOP-10 AT TALLADEGA
Bell, Hamlin and Reddick find themselves above cutline heading to Round of 12 cutoff

TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 6, 2024) – In another chaotic Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, four Toyota Camry XSEs notched top-10 finishes on Sunday with Erik Jones (fifth), Christopher Bell (sixth), Bubba Wallace (ninth) and Denny Hamlin (10th). Additionally, just outside the top-10, were Martin Truex Jr. in 11th and Ty Gibbs in 13th. Tyler Reddick, the third Toyota Playoff driver with Bell and Hamlin, finished 20th.

The pace was frantic from the beginning around the 2.66-mile superspeedway, as cars were three, and sometimes, four-wide lap-after-lap. Driving his way through the field after starting at the rear for a pre-race penalty, Bell was able to make his way to the top-five by the end of Stage 1 to gather valuable stage points. Reddick joined him inside the top-10 by placing sixth.

Chaos truly began in Stage 2 with a multi-car incident at the stage’s end, to which Hamlin collected minor damage to the hood of his No. 11 Camry XSE. The team kept him out to avoid losing valuable track position while sacrificing some performance of the machine. Mayhem struck again with five laps to go as “The Big One” happened, collecting more than 20 cars, that included damage to Jones and Reddick, while Bell and Hamlin were of the few that made it through unscathed. This set up another overtime finish at Talladega, where the above listed Team Toyota drivers were able to complete their solid finishes.

The top-five finish today for Jones is his first of the 2024 season, as well as marking his seventh top-10 in the last 10 Talladega races. For Bell, the sixth-place result is his third consecutive top-10 on a drafting track after finishing fourth at Atlanta in September and third at Daytona in August.

Heading to next weekend’s Round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the three Camry XSE Playoff drivers sit above the points cutline – Bell +57, Hamlin +30 and Reddick +14. Coverage of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 can be seen next Sunday, October 13, on NBC at 2 p.m. EST, as well as be heard on PRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 31 of 36 – 188 Laps, 500.08 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*
2nd, Brad Keselowski*
3rd, William Byron*
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, ERIK JONES
6th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
9th, BUBBA WALLACE
10th, DENNY HAMLIN
11th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
13th, TY GIBBS
20th, TYLER REDDICK
31st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 5th

How were you able to finish where you did amid that chaos today?

“Yeah, we had an okay car. We lacked in speed, but it drove good. Kind of lucked out in that last wreck there. Felt like the damage wasn’t bad enough that we needed to come in (to the pits). Happy to get the Dollar Tree Camry a good run. We’ve just had a rough year and struggled last two weeks, so it’s nice to finish up front.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

Take us through that wild race today from your vantage point.

“Yeah, I’m excited about the points standings. We came out of here as good as we ever have, so that’s awesome. Hopefully, we can have a (good) day next week at the ROVAL. I think we’re going to have pace, and we can open up the strategy a little to hopefully race for the win.”

This is your third consecutive top-10 on a drafting track. What’s been the secret to the recent success?

“We’re just getting fortunate, and you know, we’re making it through the wrecks when they happen and that’s leading to good finishes.”

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Take us through your day today.

“Just an average day here at Talladega. Obviously, wish we could’ve been in victory lane, but just didn’t have the speed in our U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry, so we just kind of tried to dodge all the wrecks – didn’t manage to do that some. Got caught up in the big one which hurt our chances at the end, but a good rebound by the team to get a top-10. Onto the ROVAL.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

Was your strategy similar to what you did in Atlanta a few weeks ago or did your car just not have the speed today?

“I just got big damage here (on the hood). It happened on that (Ryan) Blaney wreck. We just figured the best option was to race and not fix it. Just, you know, I didn’t have the speed after that wreck I needed to contend.”

Michael Jordan came up to you after the race and talked about how he was glad to see you finish.

“Yeah, me too. If you would’ve asked me about a top-10 before (the race), I would’ve taken it just because of how this round is. But, either way, we need to go to the ROVAL and have a solid effort.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Nasty Beast Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

How was your race today and what are you looking forward to heading to next weekend’s cutoff race?

“Yeah, you know, it was a really solid points day, considering all of the carnage. Yeah, to gain points on the cut (line), considering the damage and the 20th-place finish, I’ll take that every single time. It was a hard race, I thought we had a lot of potential for points. Things just didn’t work out on the final lap, a few times.”

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
YellaWood 500 | Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, October 6, 2024

Unofficial Ford Performance Results:

2nd – Brad Keselowski
12th – Cody Ware
17th – Chris Buescher
18th – Corey LaJoie
23rd – Todd Gilliland
25th – Noah Gragson
30th – Chase Briscoe
32nd – Austin Cindric
33rd – Joey Logano
34th – Harrison Burton
35th – Ryan Preece
36th – Josh Berry
37th – Michael McDowell
39th – Ryan Blaney

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – IT LOOKED LIKE THE GUYS BEHIND YOU HAD A BIG RUN. ANYTHING AS THE LEAD CAR YOU CAN DO BESIDES JUST BRACE AND HOLD ON? “In that position the best thing you can do is be as predictable as possible, keep your car as straight as possible. The front of the pack got shuffled up from the 38 basically splitting the whole field, which definitely caused some congestion with guys getting out of lanes and obviously an off-center push from the 6 and that’s it for our race. We had an exceptionally fast race car. It was A-plus execution by everyone on the 2 car, so I’m proud of the effort but definitely a bummer to be that close to punching our ticket.”

WHAT HAPPENED? “I just got turned at the front of the field. Unfortunately, that’s how Daytona ended for us and I think what that says is we’ve got really fast race cars and great execution. As the leader, I was trying to be as predictable as possible as far as taking pushes and it’s just a real shame. I don’t really feel like doing a whole lot of complaining about what happened or whose fault it is, it doesn’t really matter. It puts us in a must-win situation for the Charlotte Road Course. We’ve brought some exceptionally fast race cars every single race of the playoffs and I cannot understate how proud I am of my race team and we’ll have to bring another one next week.”

ANY INDICATION IT WOULD GET THAT HECTIC AT THE END? “It usually does.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED DOWN THE STRETCH? “He (Larson) gave me a good push down the frontstrech, but the 24 was able to really stick with the 47 there and just needed a tiny bit. It’s a good finish for us. We’ve been knocking on the door of these plate tracks. I hate that we didn’t bust through with a win, but I’m happy to be right there in contention.”

DID YOU THINK ABOUT GOING TO THE TOP WHEN YOU CLEARED THE 47 OFF TURN FOUR? “No, I knew they were gonna have a really big run and that the 24 was really tight to him and I was just gonna get split, so I felt like I made the right move, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re outnumbered.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BACKSTRETCH ACCIDENT? “It was just an interesting sequence of events. The 38 car came. He was a slow car for whatever reason, I don’t know, and he stayed on the bottom and we had the Ford train pulling the bottom and when he did that it broke us all up and when we rubberbanded back together it just snapped. It’s a tough deal. I was getting pushed from behind and I ran into the 2 car and he spun out. It just wasn’t a good sequence of events for all of us.”

WHAT ABOUT THE FINAL RESTART? “I just needed a half a foot, I guess. I got a really good push from the 5 down the frontstretch, but just wasn’t quite enough.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It’s not the day we wanted, just with the way everything went. I don’t know what the points are, but I’m sure it’s not good. This is one of those races where if you didn’t run top five or whatever, you’re probably gonna be in a must-win either way, so that probably makes it a little more clear now and puts it where it’s not on that bubble of, ‘well, should we go for points or should we just try to win the race.’ At least now I feel it’s pretty obvious, so a frustrating day. It felt like there at the end we were in position and then I don’t know what happened. We had all the Fords in line and thought we were gonna be really good and then the wreck happened.”

YOU WERE FIFTH IN THAT FORD TRAIN. WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THE WRECK? “I don’t know. I was just shoving the 21 and I knew we were in the middle of the back straightaway and then it felt like everybody stopped. Surprisingly, we didn’t hit each other super hard and it felt like everybody was gonna be fine and we were gonna keep going straight and then all of a sudden they all started wrecking from each way. I haven’t seen it, but we’ll just go on to the next one.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU WERE GETTING PUSHED. HOW TOUGH IS IT TO GAUGE THE STRENGTH AND INTENSITY OF A RUN LIKE THAT AT THE END OF THESE RACES? “Everyone was just shoving each other. It’s what you expect coming down to the end of the race. It kind of felt like we were in such a good spot though with the 6, the 2, myself, the 21. I was not in the position to win the race where I was, but I felt like I was in a good enough spot to where I could get a top-five and if they started crossing each other up coming to the checkered I was on the bottom and things were gonna work fairly well for us. I actually thought the bottom was the safest place to be, but the 2 got sideways and there I was.”

WHAT WAS THE DAMAGE ON YOUR CAR? “There was plenty of damage there. I hit the inside wall pretty hard.”

WAS THAT JUST A PUSH GONE WRONG? “Yeah. I mean, I guess. Everyone just gets more aggressive at the end of the races. The 2 got out there a little bit more than what he had been and the 21 gave me a shove and transferred that to the 6. You can’t see what’s in front of you from there and he got to the 2 with a fair amount of steam there. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s not Brad’s fault. It’s not anybody’s fault. It’s just the product of the racing that we’ve got. Everyone is getting more and more aggressive as the laps wind down and it happens. It happens a lot.”

IT’S FUN UNTIL IT’S NOT? “I didn’t even have fun today. You can’t even do anything here. You just get stuck. You’re running four-wide and it looks cool, but you’re running half-throttle and then when you want to go and it’s time to go, everyone is just stuck two-wide, so there’s just not many moves you can make. You just keep trying to re-learn how to run on these superspeedways as it evolves, but the car’s got so much drag on it that you can’t make moves and make runs happen and cross people up. You’re committed to where you are in that line.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WAS IT JUST A SIMPLE MATTER OF A BAD PUSH AT THE WRONG TIME? “Yeah. I don’t know if he ever lifted and just drilled me from like three car lengths back. The worst possible spot you could do it, so it’s pretty dumb on his part and it figures that he gets away scot free per usual. That’s the end of the day.”

HOW DO YOU VIEW THE ROVAL NOW? “We’ll just see where we are at the end of the race on points and go from there.”

WHAT HAPPENED? “I thought Austin and I worked well together. I had a feeling that the 8 would pull out and help Chevy. He wasn’t gonna help me, obviously, so we got in the middle. I didn’t think it was terrible. We were probably still gonna run fifth or sixth, and then the 48 just drove straight through me in the tri-oval. He just wrecked the #$*W out of me. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

YOU HAD A 28-POINT CUSHION. DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BE ENOUGH TO HAVE SOME LEEWAY AT THE ROVAL? “I have no idea. I don’t have good hope right now, to be honest with you. We didn’t get very good stage points and obviously we’re last, so we’ll just see where it is at the end of it.”

COULD YOU SEE THE 48 BEHIND YOU? WERE YOU THINKING HE WAS GOING TO HAVE SLOW DOWN BEFORE HE GOT TO YOU? “Yeah. I thought he would have more sense than that, but obviously he didn’t. Yeah, I see him coming and I see him hauling ass towards me and you kind of have to lift a little bit. You can’t just run wide-open through somebody in the tri-oval, but he did.”

DID YOU FEEL ANYTHING DIFFERENT IN THE CAR WITH THIS PACKAGE? “I don’t know. It still hurt when I wrecked.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHERE WERE YOU IN ALL OF THAT? “I was just driving into it blind a little bit. I think we were sitting probably 12th or 13th, something like that, when it went down, so by the time I got there the road was already blocked. There wasn’t a lot of lanes available. It’s just unfortunate. We had a really fast Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang. We led a lot of laps and definitely had the speed in the car, it’s just that last pit cycle didn’t work out for us. You need to come out in that top five to protect yourself from this. I’m not sure where the wreck started, but you want to be somewhere near the top five to avoid it and we just weren’t. We were running right in the middle of the hornet’s nest when it happened.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 Wonder Bread Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I think we knew something was gonna happen when we were catching the 38 and him staying on the bottom that it was gonna shuffle things up and it certainly did. It’s frustrating because I think all of us that were in the top 10 or so were in great position for the end of that race and giving Wonder Bread and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing a great finish and ultimately it wasn’t our day, but certainly still frustrating.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 SunnyD Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WERE YOU TRYING TO LINK UP WITH THE FORD TRAIN? “Yeah, I thought we all worked together really well today. We pitted early there in that stage and it just didn’t work out. All of our teammates, I think we worked really well together today. Unfortunately, none of us made it through that wreck.”