Author: Official Release

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Go Bowling at The Glen NASCAR Media Availability| Watkins Glen International
Friday, September 13, 2024

Joey Logano, driver of the number 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, met with media members Friday afternoon at Watkins Glen International. Logano spoke about his win last week at Atlanta and what that means for his mindset heading into this weekend’s race, among other things.

DID YOU SLEEP EASY THIS WEEK?

“Yes, I slept better than I was going to, for sure. I probably was a little bit more comfortable than most. You know, it gave us the advantage to start looking towards Kansas already, which is nice to do. But we still were looking at some Watkins stuff. I mean, there’s still playoff points to grab in the next two weeks. So we’ll hit the next two as hard as we can and try to get stage wins and race wins. It’s still pretty valuable, right? I mean, just like any regular season race, it’s just as valuable as it was then.”

THE EXTENDED PRACTICE TOMORROW, WILL THAT BE BENEFICIAL FOR YOU AND THE TEAM THIS WEEKEND?

“It is. It’s just as beneficial for the rest of the teams out there, though. So you don’t gain an advantage but I think these days, any time you can make more laps it’s just kind of nice. As a racecar driver these days you don’t get to make many laps anymore so it will be a little bit of fun and this isn’t the most technical road course that we have, just because there’s not a whole bunch of corners really compared to some of the others. I think you’re still making some laps and having the opportunity to work on your car a little bit. You still don’t get to change much to your car like the old days, but you still have the opportunity to at least think about things in between those 20-minute practices.”

DO YOU HOPE THE XFINITY RACE GIVES YOU A BETTER IDEA OF THE CHANGES TO THE TRACK AND OR ARE YOU WORRIED THAT THE CARS ARE SO DIFFERENT THAT WHAT YOU CAN DO IN THE XFINITY CAR YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IN THE CUP CAR?

“My thoughts were to try to get more seat time because the track changed. The questions that everyone has is what are the rumble strips like off of one in the carousel and is that still going to be in play or not. So at least I’ll know a little bit before everybody else. I don’t think we can change anything to the cars or really combat that, but we can at least have a little bit more experience of that piece during the race. The cars are very different from each other, more than ever, but I’d say if an Xfinity car can go over the rumble strips the Next-gen Cup car definitely will with the wider tire so we’ll kind of wait and see how that that looks. One step at a time, and then obviously, the bus stop with the different curbs, but the cars are way different through there so it was kind of harder to say.”

LAST WEEK SHOOK UP THE POINTS AND THEN YOU COME TO A ROAD COURSE WHERE THAT’S TYPICALLY HOW THINGS ARE TOO. WHAT DO YOU PROJECT TO YOURSELF THIS RACE IS GONNA BE LIKE FOR PEOPLE?

“It’s interesting these days, the road courses don’t shuffle up the running order a whole bunch compared to what you see every other track. It seems like it’s the same teams that run good almost everywhere these days, with the exception of a couple, right? There might be two or three that are a little bit different than others, but for the most part, it seems like if you run 10th to 15th, you run 10th to 15th here too. It’s kind of weird how, at least at Watkins Glen, it seems like that. But I think the speed and downforce still matters. If your bodies aren’t great, then they’re not going to be great here either. And you’re going so fast. Any time the points are so close, you go into the first race of any round, things are going to shuffle up because the points are so close. You have a couple guys with issues like they did last week in Atlanta, it’s going to change stuff up quickly. We’ll be saying the same thing when we leave Watkins Glen, like, wow, man, there’s going to be a crazy storyline. And the points battle going into Bristol will definitely be tight. No matter what, it’s going to be tight. There’s just not enough races to create distance.

THE THREE RACES ARE ALL SO DIFFERENT AND SO POTENTIALLY DRAMATIC, ATLANTA FOR WHAT IT IS, AND THEN A ROAD COURSE, AND THEN CERTAINLY BRISTOL. THIS IS A HECK OF A ROUND. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO HAVE THAT WIN, CONSIDERING HOW, YOU KNOW, THIS ROUND SETS UP?

“Anything can happen, and we see with next generation now, these days too, you can’t just bank on speed in your car anymore because you’re not that much faster than everybody anymore. When you think about the old car, if your car has top five speed, you can finish 10th pretty easy. Something can go wrong and you can recover. Now if you have 5th to 10th speed, 20th is only like a tenth behind you. It’s really close. So if you have a mistake, if something goes wrong, you never make it up. You finish 20th. So to try to stack in as many wins or top fives as you used to get all the time is a lot more challenging now because the field is just closer. You’re not racing against 10 cars that can win every week. You’re racing against 20-something cars that can win every week. So to stack up those big numbers like we used to, seven, eight wins and half the races being top fives or whatever, it’s not happening anymore. So it keeps the points tighter too. You don’t get that big separation because everyone was up there. So it just keeps everything tighter than ever. So yeah, it’s nice to get the win last week because you just don’t know how it’s going to play out.”

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THE SEASON, IN THE FIRST 12 RACES, EVERYBODY WAS ASKING WHERE THE HELL IS FORD, RIGHT? AND IN THE LAST 15, EIGHT WINS FROM SIX DIFFERENT DRIVERS FROM FOUR DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. CLEARLY THE BLUE OVAL HAS SPREAD THE WEALTH, BUT THE FACT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE JUST KIND OF DOMINATED THE SECOND HALF OF THE REGULAR SEASON AND INTO THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?

“Yeah, I feel like we’ve executed good races. Some of the tracks may have fallen into some of our hands where some of our strengths may be. Do I think we’re strong at every track or the best at every track? I can’t say that. I think there’s still a lot of work to be done, but that’s probably just who I am in general. I always look at the things we can be better at but I’ll say the teams have done a good job at maximizing what they got and and learning a lot from the beginning of the year. Ford’s done a good job at trying to make up the deficit that we were at and trying to catch these guys. There are a lot of different factors that go into all of that. A lot. A lot in the sport as well. And it’s how things change around, the cycle, the flow, the momentum, and all those types of things. But I’m glad to see that we seem to be on the right track right now. But there’s still a long ways to go in this season, for sure.”

WAS THERE PANIC AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR?

“Yeah, the panic set in, I think, within the first eight weeks. The panic set in. You know, over the off season, you know, new car and all the numbers look great, but then you get on the racetrack and the numbers don’t translate, there’s a lot of different variables on the reasons why that is and learning that, we got a lot of work to do like this isn’t everything it was cracked up to be. There’s a lot to do here. I think everyone had done a good job at accepting that and going to work to fix it. Everyone has done a good job at moving the needle and getting us closer.”

WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING WITH A NEW TIRE THIS WEEKEND? GOODYEAR SAID THREE SECONDS OF FALL-OFF OVER A RUN, SO ARE YOU EXPECTING IT TO BE THAT, AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL AFFECT SHORT PITTING BEFORE THE STAGE BREAKS?

“Yeah, possibly. It’s hard to say what the tire fall-off is going to be. If you look at the tire test here, it was more than three seconds. You look at the wheel force test, it’s about three seconds. When you come here with all the cars and the teams that have adjusted to it, what’s it gonna look like? Is it two seconds? Is it one second? Is it six seconds? Like, it’s kind of hard to say. I would think it’s going to be less than what it was, just going off of experience of what I kind of predict. But yeah, it’s just going to be — which is still a lot more than what we used to have. So I think that’s exciting, and it will adjust the strategy kind of depending on what we see for fall-off tomorrow in practice. It’s too hard to call the race right now and saying that this is gonna be the fastest way to run the race but you know we’ll see. That three seconds of fall-off is kind of back to old Sonoma numbers with three or four seconds of fall-off. That’s great. I think that’s fun. It’ll be exciting to see who’s got the fall off and who doesn’t and comers and goers and the strategy of it. It won’t just be about fuel mileage like it was last year or would have been this year if we didn’t have any falloff so it definitely adds another layer to the race.”

YOUR LAST COUPLE OF FINISHES HERE HAVE BEEN PRETTY SOLID, WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE TO CARRY YOUR MOMENTUM INTO A TRACK LIKE WATKINS GLEN NOW WGI IS IN THE PLAYOFFS?

“We’ve been okay here, like you say, I’ve been decent with top tens, but we haven’t won here since I think 2015. So it’s been a while since we’ve been to Victory Lane here. We’d like to to change that. This would be a great weekend to try that. I can be aggressive We talked about it earlier about getting a win last weekend, and how there’s only something to gain there’s nothing to lose so you can be more aggressive behind the wheel with how you just drive the car and not worrying about locking up tires as much or cutting curbs too tight or going for it and making more aggressive passes and more aggressive strategy more aggressive setup. We can do all those things and be a little bit more all or nothing to try to make up that gap for where we’ve been here lately in the seventh the tenth position and try to get us in the first to fifth positions.”

WE’VE ALWAYS HEARD THAT WINNING THE FIRST RACE OF THE THIRD ROUND WAS ALWAYS SUCH AN ADVANTAGE AND YOU’VE EXPERIENCED THAT FOR PHOENIX. HOW DOES WINNING THE FIRST RACE IN A FIRST OR THE SECOND ROUND CORRELATE TO THAT, OR IS PHOENIX MORE VALUABLE JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT ANY POINTS, WHEREAS YOU KIND OF REFERENCE YOU’VE STILL GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SCORE SOME PLAYOFF POINTS THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS?

“Yeah you kind of answered it there. The second part. It’s an advantage for some of the reasons I said. You can be more aggressive for the race and you have nothing to lose. There is still something to gain, so you still have to prep. When you win the first race in the round of eight, and you’re locked in the Championship Four, the next two races don’t matter at all. You can’t gain an advantage. You can’t do any more. So you don’t even look at anything else. It’s just like you go through the motions. You’re at the racetrack, you run the race, you’re there, you try still, but 80% of your effort is already towards Phoenix. It’s just like, oh, what do we want to do for this race real quick, just to get by. It’s funny how your focus can just be all the way a couple of weeks ahead, which that’s the advantage you earn by winning that. So you have to take advantage of that opportunity. Whereas right now, winning the first race in the first round, like I said last week, it was a long ways to go. It helps some, but it’s not like game-changing by any means, I don’t believe.”

IS THERE LESS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP A TEAMMATE IN THIS ERA BECAUSE, AS YOU MENTIONED, ONE MISTAKE CAN DROP YOU BACK TO 20TH? ONE THING CAN DROP YOU BACK AND AGAIN THERE’S STILL POINTS TO BE RACING FOR.

“I don’t know if it’s changed a whole bunch and it probably depends on each team and how they do things and those type of things and the track. It’s one thing being in Atlanta or Talladega versus being at Watkins Glen. What are you gonna do to help here? What can you do? You still gotta race you still got to try to go out there and win like we talked about. Getting five playoff points would be huge for us. So there’s no reason for us to lay up here. The biggest thing you can do a lot of times is maybe set up stuff and just be an open book and talking about, you know, even drivers, just lines and the things that you do. Blaney and I sit next to each other on the airplane and we were talking about a lot of things today on the way here, just going over how can we be better, both of us, as drivers. I think just having a teammate that you work together with and have those good relationships with, it goes back and forth and ends up being a good ally to have. What you don’t want is a teammate where it’s just one-sided. Where you just give all the time and you don’t ever get anything in return. Well, what happens is eventually you just stop giving because you’re not getting anything back. But I feel like a Team Penske it’s not like that at all. I feel like we do a really good job of working together. We showed that last week how well we all work together?

QUESTION INAUDIBLE

“I don’t know if push is the right word. I think we work together. What we do to push each other is, honestly, lap time on the racetrack. Who’s faster? I mean, there is still competition there. We still want to be the fastest one. But we realized from years ago and honestly I gotta give a lot of credit to Brad (Keselowski) because I think he did a good job at helping start this theory that you would rather finish second to your teammates than beat him and finish 19th. Having that in your head is pretty key. I think that has just kind of continued over the years and when you have a teammate long enough, it goes both ways back and forth enough to where you understand, okay, he’s gonna help me back, too I can trust him and you know, he goes back and forth.”

SO WITH THE WIN LAST WEEK, YOU NOW HAVE SIX MORE VICTORIES IN EVEN YEARS THAN ODD YEARS SINCE 2018. YOU’VE ALSO MADE THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR EACH EVEN YEAR SINCE 2014. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU’VE NOTICED THE EVEN YEAR SUCCESS AND IS THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN POINT TO SAY OH THAT’S WHY I DO BETTER IN EVEN YEARS THAN ODD?

“I’ve been told that a lot here recently. To be honest with you I don’t know what it is. I don’t know. Even is good though. I don’t know why it ends up being like that. I’d really like to just win a lot every year. It’s really the goal. I promise you I don’t get comfortable and just lay up the next year and then I get mad and go hard again and win and get comfortable and lay up and go hard again. It just happens. I don’t know. If I can fix the odd year thing, I would. I just don’t know what it is. It doesn’t make you look forward to next year too much. We’ll break the trend next year.”

DO YOU START FEELING PRETTY CONFIDENT IN YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP CHANCES WHEN YOU COME OUT AND WIN THE FIRST PLAYOFF RACE? I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU WOULD CHARACTERIZE YOUR SEASON UP TO THAT POINT, BUT HOW DOES THIS CHANGE YOUR VIGOR IN TERMS OF GOING FORWARD WHEN YOU COME RIGHT OUT AND WIN THAT?

“We’ve been here before where we’ve not had the best regular season, and then the playoffs start, and you’re like, where did all that come from? It happens a lot. So I’d say we’ve always felt pretty confident that we can go win the championship on any year no matter how you get into playoffs. You hear a lot of drivers say you just got to stay in it, survive and advance. That’s important to keep in mind because if you can survive long enough — and we talked about how close the field is these days — you have a couple good races and boom you’re in the next round. You have another good race where you win one and next thing you know you’re in a Championship Four and you’ve got a shot to win this whole thing. So it doesn’t take much to be to go from mediocre through the regular season to being a threat to win the championship. It’s the smallest little detail. So to ever think you’re out of it is kind of crazy to think. Even with not having the most playoff points or having the most wins on the season, whatever it may be, you’re never really out of this thing. Until you’re out. Then you’re out. You can quote that. (laughter)”

I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THE STUFF ABOUT HOW MUCH THESE RACES MATTER TO YOU. SOMETIMES SOME DRIVERS SAY, WELL, IF YOU EVENTUALLY GET ELIMINATED, YOU CAN FINISH ANYWHERE FROM FIFTH TO 16TH IN THE POINTS, SO THE POINTS IN THE RACE MATTER BY A SPOT OR TWO POTENTIALLY IN THE STANDINGS. I’M CURIOUS, DOES THAT MATTER? DOES IT MATTER TO YOU WHETHER YOU FINISH NINTH, 10TH, 11TH, OR 12TH IN POINTS?

“That’s the mindset when you get knocked out. Like, the immediate moment when you get knocked out, it’s, okay, how do we finish fifth in points? How do we get to that? But when you’re still in the playoffs, it’s just, how do we win the championship? That’s all that matters. It’s about winning. You don’t remember the years where you finished seventh or eighth in points or 10th or 12th. It just goes away. Now, there’s a financial impact that does matter, but at this point of the season, in the playoffs, it’s really about how do we look at it at the end of the day, saying, positioning the 22 in Victory Lane in Phoenix. That’s really what matters right now.”

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen International… Richard Childress Racing has two NASCAR Cup Series victories at Watkins Glen International. Robby Gordon won the 2003 event, leading the final 30 laps and scoring his third victory with RCR over the span of three seasons. Kevin Harvick captured the 2006 race at the New York road course, edging Tony Stewart for the victory, and claiming his first win at Watkins Glen. The victory was Harvick’s first on a road course and came in his 200th career Cup start. Dale Earnhardt won three poles (1990, 1992, 1996) for the Welcome, N.C.-based organization. RCR drivers have racked up eight top-five and 23 top-10 finishes in 81 starts at the New York road course.

RCR in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen International… RCR has captured one victory in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at Watkins Glen: Kevin Harvick (2007). Harvick dominated the race, leading 49 of 82 laps and led a one-two finish with Jeff Burton scoring a second-place finish. RCR owns 10 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes at the 2.45-mile road course including a runner up result by Sheldon Creed in 2023.

Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International will be televised live Saturday, September 14, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International will be televised live on Sunday, September 15 beginning at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Austin Dillon has made nine career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen International, posting a career-best 15th-place finish in August 2021. The North Carolina native has made four appearances at Watkins Glen in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, securing his best finish of 12th in 2013. Dillon also finished 12th in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Division race at the New York facility in 2008.

Road Course Experience… Dillon has racked up 37 Cup Series starts on road courses with a pair of top 10 finishes at Circuit of the Americas and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2022.

Going the Distance… Dating back to 2014, Dillon has completed 806 of a possible 810 laps in Cup Series competition at Watkins Glen International. This marks a 99.5 overall completion percentage at the 11-turn road course.

Number 400… Dillon will make his 400th career Cup Series start this weekend at Watkins Glen International. The veteran racer made his Cup Series debut at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, October 9th, 2011, finishing 26th. Dillon’s five wins in premier series competition include some of the sport’s most prestigious events, including the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2018 Daytona 500. Dillon has 23 top-fives, 78 top-10s, and six pole awards overall.

Delivering Performance on the Track and For the Planet… Dillon will race the Get Bioethanol Chevy at Watkins Glen International showcasing the performance benefits of racing with earth kind and engine-smart bioethanol blended fuel, Sunoco Green E15. Whether it’s delivering cleaner and cooler high-octane on the racetrack or a more affordable option for summer road trips, plant-based bioethanol makes a positive impact on our planet. NASCAR drivers have now officially raced 23 million NASCAR miles driven on Sunoco Green E15, a notable milestone for the environment as NASCAR’s partnership with Get Bioethanol has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent across its three national touring series while also increasing horsepower on the track. Learn more about bioethanol at getbioethanol.com.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

What are your thoughts heading into Watkins Glen International?

“Watkins Glen International is a fast road course. Each lap requires you to be at your best and to give your all. We have had good races at Watkins Glen in the past, and I am confident that our No. 3 team will continue to do so. We’ve been working hard on our road course program for the last few years. You can gain a lot by getting after it in the braking zones and it’s just a high-speed place with all of the grip on the pavement. This is going to be one of those races where if you stay on track, you’re going to have a pretty good run.”

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone™ Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Kyle Busch will make his 19th NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International this weekend, which will tie him for most Cup Series starts among active drivers at the 2.45-mile road course. The driver of the zone Chevrolet has two wins at Watkins Glen, scoring victories in 2008 and 2013. His first victory at The Glen came in dominating fashion, where Busch led the most laps (52 of 90) and finished with an average running position of 2.84, best of all drivers. The Las Vegas native added another victory in 2013, leading the final 29 laps. Among active drivers, Busch is tied for most wins (2), most top-fives (7) and most poles (2) at Watkins Glen. He leads all drivers in top-10 finishes (13) and laps led (249). Busch has been running at the finish in all 18 previous Cup starts, best among active drivers, completing 98.6 percent of the possible laps (1,602 of 1,624).

Late-Season Surge… In the five races since the Olympic break (Richmond through Atlanta), Busch has scored more NASCAR Cup Series points than any other driver (177).

Zoning in on zone™… The latest innovation from ITG Brands, zone is the next generation of nicotine pouches that delivers a superior tobacco-free experience and outperforms competitive products where it matters most. Available in 6mg and 9mg strengths and 7 flavors, zone pouches are made with top shelf ingredients and high-quality materials to provide extra soft comfort, longer-lasting flavor, and immediate nicotine intensity. zone’s pouches are carefully crafted and designed to meet the needs of adult nicotine consumers, providing the best experience from the first pouch to the last. For more information, visit zonepouches.com.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:

What are your goals for the remainder of the season?

“Our goal is to get to Victory Lane – pure and simple – and try to build off what we’ve done over the last few weeks. We want to keep that going through the rest of this year and into next season. It seems like we’ve found a little bit of a path towards what works. I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the result from Darlington, with what we were able to do there.”

Do you enjoy going competing at Watkins Glen International?

“I enjoy going to Watkins Glen. I think it’s a really fun road course. I’ve had good success there with a lot of top-10s. It’s just a neat racetrack. I always enjoyed going to Sonoma and to Watkins Glen when we only had two road races on the schedule. It was always felt like off weeks where you did something different. You turn right, you turn left, you didn’t really have to take it too seriously and be pretty good at it. Now there are seven road courses on the schedule, so everybody is getting better at it.”

What makes Watkins Glen International unique from other road courses?

“I think what makes Watkins Glen unique from other road courses is that it feels like a superspeedway because you’re going so fast. Through the esses is pretty fast and it’s 190 miles per hour down the backstretch. Your minimum speed drops a little bit into Turn 1, Turn 11 and through the Bus Stop. It’s just a really cool place with good braking zones to make some passes. It’s a fun course.”

Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Jesse Love will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen International on Saturday. The 19-year-old has completed two ARCA Menards Series races at the New York road course, earning a win and third place result, respectively. In 2023, Love started from the fourth position, led only one lap, and captured the victory.

Pole Position, Again… Continuing his impressive Sunoco Rookie of the Year campaign, Love secured his fourth Xfinity Series pole position last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Three of Love’s four poles have come on drafting tracks – one at Daytona International Speedway and two at Atlanta Motor Speedway – and one has come on an intermediate circuit – at Texas Motor Speedway.

About Whelen Engineering… Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.

Meet Love… On Saturday, September 14 at 12:15 p.m. ET, Love and his RCR teammate Austin Hill are scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler located in the Fan Zone at Watkins Glen International. Stop by to get your Whelen gear and meet Love before the green flag waves.

JESSE LOVE QUOTE:

Overall, the No. 2 team has found success on road courses this season. What is the outlook heading into Watkins Glen International?

“I’m very excited to be heading back to Watkins Glen International. I won the ARCA Menards Series race there last season, by only leading the last lap but it was the one that mattered most. The track itself is a fast road course compared to others, and we have been successful so far this year on road courses. The only one that we didn’t hit the balance and speed was Portland International Raceway. If you take that one race out, our runs have been top five efforts. I expect our Whelen crew to continue that path again this weekend.”

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Global Industrial Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Austin Hill has made two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Watkins Glen International, posting a best finish of 14th in 2023 after the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet received contact in the closing laps while battling for the win. In addition, Hill has competed in one NASCAR Truck Series race and one ARCA Menards Series event (started third, finished second) at the New York road course. Both in 2021, the Winston, Georgia native started from the pole, led 35 laps, and captured the checkered flag in his lone Truck Series start at the 2.45-mile circuit.

Three and Counting… Last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hill and the No. 21 team secured their third victory of the 2024 Xfinity Series season. Hill, driving a special 50th Anniversary scheme for Bennett Transportation & Logistics, battled a loose handling Chevrolet but was able to strategically maneuver his way to the front. The 30-year-old now holds seven Xfinity Series wins at drafting tracks – three at Daytona International Speedway and four at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This accomplishment ties Dale Earnhardt Jr. and places Hill one win behind current record holders, Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart.

About Global Industrial Company… Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC), is a value-added distributor. For 75 years, Global Industrial has gone the extra mile for its customers, currently offering hundreds of thousands of industrial and MRO products needed to run businesses and facilities. Global Industrial is committed to its customer-centric strategy, and utilizes a team of subject matter experts, Global Industrial Exclusive Brands™ products and national vendor relationships to help customers succeed. Global Industrial. “We Can Supply That®”.

Meet Hill… On Saturday, September 14 at 12:15 p.m. ET, Hill and his RCR teammate Jesse Love are scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler located in the Fan Zone at Watkins Glen International. Stop by to get your No. 21 gear and have Hill sign the items purchased.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

You have said in the past that Watkins Glen International is your favorite road course. Is this true and if so, why?

“Watkins Glen International is by far my favorite road course that we go to, because of the high speed that we carry around the track. I’ve won there in the Truck Series in 2021, which always gives you more confidence heading into the weekend. The track is such a high-speed circuit that makes it a lot of fun. It doesn’t really have any technical corners like other road courses. When you go into Turn 1, you go down to second gear and get on the brakes hard. But when you throttle up coming out of the hill and through the esses, if your car is good, you are really close to wide open. You carry a lot of speed down the backstretch and through the bus stop. If you hit it right, there is so much time you can make there. If you can get through the bus stop and carousel really well, you can put the rest of the racetrack together. The guys who typically win at Watkins Glen can get through that section the best.”

After coming just a half a straightaway shy of leaving Atlanta Motor Speedway with a much-needed good points day, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Freightliner team are headed to Watkins Glen International hoping to battle their way back into a position to advance to Round Two of the Cup Series Playoffs.

This weekend’s Go Bowling at the Glen on the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y., is the second of three races in the Round of 16, and Burton and the Wood Brothers are 14th in the standings, 16 points behind 12th place. After the race at Bristol the following week, the bottom four drivers in the Playoff standings will be eliminated from championship contention.

“We had ourselves in a good spot to have a decent points day right up until the last corner,” crew chief Jeremy Bullins said of this past Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Burton was swept up in a last-lap crash and finished 31st after running most of the rest of the race in the top 15 or better. “That’s how it goes with the speedway-style racing.

“There’s only so much you can control in those situations.”

But Atlanta is in the rear-view mirror, and the team’s focus is on the upcoming race on the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in upstate New York.

“We will try to rebound this week with our Freightliner Mustang at Watkins Glen,” Bullins said.

“We will do our best to score some much-needed Stage points and get back above the cutline before the cutoff race at Bristol.”

Practice for the Go Bowling at the Glen is set for Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time to be followed by qualifying at 1 p.m.

Sunday’s 90-lap, 220.5-mile race is expected to get the green flag just after 3 p.m. Stage breaks are planned for Laps 20 and 40.

USA Network will carry the TV coverage all weekend.

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.