Category: NASCAR Cup News

NASCAR Cup Series News

Erik Jones wins the Southern 500 at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Erik Jones had the best car when it mattered most leading the final 42 laps to claim his first win this year in the 70th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also clinched his spot in the upcoming Playoffs with only one race remaining in the regular season. It was his second career Cup Series victory and his ninth top-five finish of the season.

He not only grabbed the trophy but held off his teammate Kyle Busch, the current points leader.

“It was a lot of pressure,” Jones said. “Kyle (Busch) is a great race car driver. I’ve raced him a lot, and obviously you want to beat him to win, right? I was just locked in, man. I stayed focused. I really thought it was our night when we got out front.

“It’s amazing for me to be able to hold off Kyle. It’s really cool, just for the history we have with Kyle giving me my first opportunity in the Truck Series (at Kyle Busch Motorsports). To race him for the win in such a big race, that’s pretty cool and something I’m never going to forget.”

Jones is also hoping the win will put an end to any questions about his place in the JGR organization.

“There’s been a lot of doubt and speculation, he continued. “I’ve put my heart and soul into this race team. This is my living and how I want to make a career and what I want to do. It doesn’t get any better than this. On my list, this race is really high and it’s going to look damn good to see my face on that trophy.”

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson finished second after leading 44 laps to score his sixth top-five this year and secured his spot in the Playoffs on points.

“Erik (Jones) did a good job on that last restart to get by me and I was better than him all throughout that run,” Larson said. “It’s just I couldn’t ever do anything with him, just because the dirty air was really bad. Wore out surface and the groove is already narrow, and it was just extra difficult. I felt like both the 18 (Kyle Busch) and I were a little bit better than he was at the end, but couldn’t do nothing with him.”

Kyle Busch led a race-high 118 laps to finish third and clinched the regular-season championship. Kevin Harvick finished fourth as Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. All three drivers have secured a place in the Playoffs with wins this season.

Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Aric Almirola accumulated enough points to make it into the Playoffs which leaves two open spots.

Clint Bowyer placed sixth and earned six stage points which should help secure his playoff hopes. He is currently in 15th place and has +8 points over Daniel Suarez (16th) and Ryan Newman (17th) while Johnson is -18 points.

Suarez and Newman are tied in points but Suarez wins the tiebreaker leaving Newman on the outside looking in. Newman recorded a 23rd place finish after an eventful night that included tight handling conditions, mechanical issues and contact from other cars, including an incident with Suarez. With Newman and Suarez tied in points, things could get interesting next weekend at Indianapolis.

Johnson’s No. 48 was strong, finishing second in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2, earning valuable points. But Johnson was caught up in a multi-car accident on Lap 275 and lost much of the advantage he had gained earlier in the race. He will probably need to win next week to advance to the Playoffs.

Tune in to the Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday, Sept. 8 as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season concludes with two open spots undecided.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

September 2, 2019

Byron captures the Bojangles’ Southern 500 pole at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. – William Byron captured the pole for the 70th Annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway with a lap of 28.51 seconds (172.487 mph). This was Byron’s first career pole at the 1.366-mile track known as the “Lady in Black’ and the ‘Track to Tough to Tame.’

Byron is also the youngest drive to win the pole at the historic track. It was the fourth of his Cup Series career and will be his 12th top 10 start this season. Byron hit another milestone by becoming only the third driver to win poles at NASCAR’s three crown jewel races that include the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500, in one season. Bill Elliott and Glen ‘Fireball’ Roberts are the only other drivers to accomplish this feat.

“Our race setup (at Darlington) was good in qualifying trim,” Byron said. “It just happened to work out that way that we focused on qualifying, and I’m sure Chad (Knaus) puts his extra little bit into it too and I kind of put my extra couple cents into it to make sure I hit everything right.

“I felt good driving down here this morning. Only having to make one lap today is pretty easy, so I said, ‘Go on out there and try to not screw up and make a good lap.’”

Brad Keselowski qualified second, Kyle Larson third, Kurt Busch was fourth and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-5 qualifiers.

“I felt good about my lap,” Larson said after qualifying third. “The balance was fine. I could have maybe come to the green a little bit better but I don’t think I would have had a shot at the pole. We had a lot of speed in happy hour so I’m pretty confident going into the race tomorrow. You never know until the race starts, but I felt really good about it.”

Larson’s teammate, Kurt Busch, was happy with his fourth place effort.

“For us, I thought it was a good lap. Everything seemed to match up. We ran a fast lap in practice yesterday, we just didn’t pick up as much as everyone else did. That half of a tenth adds up quick in qualifying. We have a really good race car with the downforce that’s on it and we weren’t too trimmed out, so to speak, for a run at the pole. We were really digging hard to get another pole at the Southern 500. Fourth is a good spot to be and we’ll go from there.”

Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

Darlington Raceway
Starting Lineup for the Bojangles’ Southern 500
Provided by NASCAR Statistics
Bojangles’ Southern 500

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time	Speed
1	24	William Byron	HendrickAtgrd/CtyChvrltThrwbck Chev	28.51	172.487
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Ford	28.576	172.088
3	42	Kyle Larson	Clover Chevrolet	28.617	171.842
4	1	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet	28.63	171.764
5	41	Daniel Suarez	Haas Automation Ford	28.704	171.321
6	48	Jimmie Johnson	Ally Throwback Chevrolet	28.724	171.202
7	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	28.756	171.011
8	9	Chase Elliott	NAPA Throwback Chevrolet	28.766	170.952
9	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Darlington Throwback Toyota	28.787	170.827
10	12	Ryan Blaney	Menards/Pennzoil Ford	28.801	170.744
11	4	Kevin Harvick	Busch Beer/Big Buck Hunter Ford	28.812	170.679
12	37	Chris Buescher	Kroger Fast Lane to Flavor Chevrolet	28.829	170.578
13	14	Clint Bowyer	Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Ford	28.831	170.566
14	3	Austin Dillon	American Ethanol Chevrolet	28.841	170.507
15	20	Erik Jones	Sport Clips Throwback Toyota	28.848	170.466
16	88	Alex Bowman	Axalta Throwback Chevrolet	28.855	170.425
17	21	Paul Menard	Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford	28.872	170.324
18	8	Daniel Hemric #	Caterpillar Chevrolet	28.892	170.206
19	95	Matt DiBenedetto	No. 95 IMSA GTO Throwback Toyota	28.905	170.13
20	47	Ryan Preece #	Kroger Chevrolet	28.91	170.1
21	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Dog’s Most Wanted Ford	28.931	169.977
22	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops Toyota	28.956	169.83
23	34	Michael McDowell	Dockside Logistics Ford	29.017	169.473
24	6	Ryan Newman	Oscar Mayer/Velveeta Ford	29.019	169.461
25	0	Landon Cassill(i)	StarCom Fiber Chevrolet	29.087	169.065
26	38	David Ragan	Shriners Hospital for Children Ford	29.097	169.007
27	32	Corey LaJoie	CorvetteParts.net Ford	29.103	168.972
28	43	Bubba Wallace	Victory Junction 15th Anniversary Chevrolet	29.163	168.625
29	13	Ty Dillon	GEICO Chevrolet	29.173	168.567
30	10	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford	29.229	168.244
31	15	Ross Chastain(i)	Chevrolet	29.239	168.186
32	36	Matt Tifft #	Hilliker Glass/Surface Ford	29.272	167.997
33	18	Kyle Busch	Snickers Throwback Toyota	29.385	167.351
34	77	Reed Sorenson	Motor Racing Network Chevrolet	29.764	165.22
35	52	JJ Yeley(i)	JACOB Companies Chevrolet	29.796	165.042
36	51	BJ McLeod(i)	JACOB Companies Chevrolet	30.07	163.538
37	27	* Joe Nemechek(i)	Chevrolet	30.26	162.512
38	54	* Garrett Smithley(i)	AQRE App Chevrolet	30.568	160.874
39	66	* Joey Gase(i)	MBM Motorsports Toyota	30.888	159.207

August 31, 2019

Germain Racing: Crew chief Matt Borland suspended for violating Substance Abuse Policy

Staff Report | NASCAR.com

Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 13 entry driven by Ty Dillon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has been indefinitely suspended for a violation of the sanctioning body’s Substance Abuse Policy, according to Germain Racing.

The organization made the announcement Monday, and NASCAR officials confirmed the suspension later in the morning. Borland said in a statement released by the team that he was notified last weekend of a positive test for the banned substance DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine). He and team owner Bob Germain Jr. said a derivative of the substance was an ingredient in a diet coffee that he had been using regularly for the last six months.

“I gave the doctor all of the details of the coffee and ingredients, and after he researched it, he said he thought that this was the cause,” Borland said in a statement provided by the organization. “Even after doing my due diligence, I felt comfortable in drinking the coffee. I plan to work with NASCAR to figure out what exactly has happened and resolve this issue as quickly as we can. I will cooperate with them and do whatever is requested of me to make this situation right.

“I have worked in the NASCAR garage for 20 years now and have never been a part of anything like this in my life. I take full responsibility for this incident and want to get it taken care of completely.”

Borland will need to complete the NASCAR Road to Recovery program to be reinstated. Justin Alexander, who was crew chief for Austin Dillon’s Daytona 500 win last season, will step in as interim crew chief for Ty Dillon.

Borland is in his second season with the Germain team. He has 13 victories at the Monster Energy Series level — all paired with driver Ryan Newman.

Germain said he supported his crew chief in his efforts to return to the sport.

“Based upon the ingredients label we do not believe that Matt had reason to know that the coffee contained a banned substance,” Germain said. “However, we also understand and respect NASCAR’s decisions to strictly uphold their policies for each and every owner, driver and crew member in the garage. As an organization, we stand behind Matt. He has been and remains an integral part of our race team and we look forward to his return to the garage and pit box.”

August 26, 2019

Denny Hamlin wins the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night race pole at Bristol

Denny Hamlin won the Pole Award for Saturday night’s 59th Annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race with a lap of 14.848 seconds, 129.230 mph.

“I didn’t know I beat (Kyle) Larson. I thought it was Martin (Truex Jr.). Perfect. Even better. I was wondering why he was giving me the finger when I pulled in. No, that’s awesome. We’re about to go up and watch this Xfinity race in the stands, so nice. I didn’t know what he ran. I knew we had a shot. The second practice especially, our car was really good and had good speed at the front of the run and end of the run. I was confident as long as the crew chief did his job and I did my job, we’d definitely have a chance.” Hamlin said.

This was Hamlin’s first pole of the season, fourth at Bristol and the 31st of his career.

“Fortunately for us, qualifying doesn’t pay any money and it doesn’t pay any points. It really hasn’t weighed on us. I mean obviously with the aero package that we have, you can make your car on most tracks as fast or slow as you want to, but you have concerns about racing after that. We’ve really focused on making our cars race well and that’s where all the accolades come from. Sure, you want to win a pole. That’s obviously a big deal.” Hamlin said.

The No. 42 of Kyle Larson had the pole for a second or two until he eventually had to settle to start outside pole. Larson had a time of 14.87 to start second.

“Overall, I’m happy with how we qualified and the grip I had in my car. In practice, I was really loose. So hopefully we’ll have a good race tomorrow and try and get my first Bristol Cup win.” Larson said.

Martin Truex Jr, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Chase Elliott, Matt DiBenedetto, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones and Alex Bowman rounded out the top-10 finishers.

“Bristol can either be really good or really bad. It seems like it can be that way no matter how many times you’ve been here. You just hope you hit on it right and can survive. It’s a long race and sometimes it’s hard to just make it to the end. I haven’t had a whole lot of success here anyways, so hopefully tomorrow is better.” Elliott said.

A few other notables that are starting outside the top-10. Joey Logano in 11th, Ryan Blaney in 12th, Brad Keselowski in 13th, Clint Bowyer in 20th, William Byron in 21st, Jimmie Johnson in 30th and Kyle Busch in 31st.

“We were decent, but I was hoping for a little bit more. I had a great first lap and just got a little bit out on the second one.” Keselowski said.

Winning at Bristol has came from various starting spots. Kyle Busch won from 17th in the spring, Kurt Busch won from ninth last August, Kyle Busch won from the pole in spring of 2018 and 18th in 2017, and Jimmie Johnson from 11th in spring of 2017.

The NRA Bass Pro Shops 500 is slated to get underway shortly after 7:30 p.m./ET live on NBCSN and PRN Radio.

Starting Line Up by Row
Bristol Motor Speedway
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Friday, 8/16/2019 @ 06:46 PM Eastern

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time	Speed
1	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Freight Toyota	14.848	129.23
2	42	Kyle Larson	Credit One Bank Chevrolet	14.874	129.004
3	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Toyota	14.875	128.995
4	1	Kurt Busch	Monster Energy Chevrolet	14.896	128.813
5	10	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford	14.901	128.77
6	9	Chase Elliott	Hooters Spirits Chevrolet	14.923	128.58
7	95	Matt DiBenedetto	Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota	14.937	128.46
8	4	Kevin Harvick	Busch Beer Ford	14.94	128.434
9	20	Erik Jones	STANLEY Toyota	14.945	128.391
10	88	Alex Bowman	Nationwide Chevrolet	14.963	128.236
11	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	14.976	128.125
12	12	Ryan Blaney	Dent Wizard Ford	14.981	128.082
13	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Ford	14.997	127.946
14	6	Ryan Newman	Acronis Ford	15.002	127.903
15	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Fastenal Ford	15.028	127.682
16	38	David Ragan	MDS Ford	15.053	127.47
17	8	Daniel Hemric #	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	15.084	127.208
18	41	Daniel Suarez	Haas Automation Ford	15.088	127.174
19	3	Austin Dillon	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet	15.116	126.938
20	14	Clint Bowyer	Peak Lighting Ford	15.129	126.829
21	24	William Byron	Liberty University Chevrolet	15.166	126.52
22	43	Bubba Wallace	United States Air Force Chevrolet	15.188	126.337
23	47	Ryan Preece #	Kroger Chevrolet	15.192	126.303
24	13	Ty Dillon	GEICO Military Chevrolet	15.225	126.03
25	21	Paul Menard	Menards/Knauf Ford	15.243	125.881
26	32	Corey LaJoie	Incredible Bank Ford	15.273	125.633
27	36	Matt Tifft #	Surface Sunscreen Ford	15.275	125.617
28	34	Michael McDowell	Love’s Travel Stops Ford	15.311	125.322
29	37	Chris Buescher	Bush’s Beans Chevrolet	15.314	125.297
30	48	Jimmie Johnson	Ally Chevrolet	15.331	125.158
31	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Toyota	15.34	125.085
32	0	Landon Cassill(i)	Permatex Chevrolet	15.366	124.873
33	51	BJ McLeod(i)	Pinnacle Sports and Entertainment Chevrolet	15.468	124.05
34	27	Quin Houff	Chevrolet	15.579	123.166
35	53	Josh Bilicki(i)	AQRE Chevrolet	15.631	122.756
36	54	JJ Yeley	PODS Ford	15.732	121.968
37	77	Reed Sorenson	Go-Parts.com Chevrolet	15.733	121.96
38	52	Kyle Weatherman(i)	Belmont Classic Cars Chevrolet	15.786	121.551
39	15	Ross Chastain(i)	Chantz Auto Group Chevrolet	15.84	121.136

August 16, 2019

Updated Statement from Kelley Earnhardt Miller

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 16, 2019) – Below is an updated statement from Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports, regarding Thursday’s plane crash involving Dale Earnhardt Jr., his wife Amy, daughter Isla and two JRM pilots.

“We want to reiterate our appreciation to the NASCAR community, first responders, medical staff, and race fans everywhere for the overwhelming support in the last 24 hours. Dale, Amy, Isla and our two pilots are doing well. We are assisting the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board in the investigation and will have no further comment at this time.”

August 16, 2019
Dale Earnhardt Jr., wife Amy ‘safe’ after plane crash in Tennessee

By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

Dale Earnhardt Jr., wife Amy and daughter Isla were safe and taken to a hospital for evaluation following a plane crash on Thursday afternoon in Elizabethton, Tennessee, Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, confirmed via Twitter.

Earnhardt Jr.’s plane, a Cessna Citation, rolled off the end of Runway 24 and caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee at 3:40 p.m. ET, according to a report from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft registration is N8JR, which is the plane registered to Earnhardt Jr., according to FAA.gov.

Earnhardt Jr. is an analyst for NBC Sports and was traveling to Bristol Motor Speedway for this weekend’s races.

“I got here within five minutes, and the airplane was fully engulfed (in flames), Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunsford said during an evening news conference. “All of the people were out of it … Five occupants, no one’s injured. Under the circumstances, we’re extremely blessed and fortunate.”

Elizabethton Fire Department Chief Barry Carrier confirmed that Earnhardt was talking to EMS staff and the family was transported to a local hospital in a non-emergency capacity.

“They were very lucky,” Carrier said. “The plane is pretty much destroyed.”

The FAA said in a statement that it will investigate the accident.

NBC Sports PR later released on social media that Dale Jr. would not be in the booth this weekend at Bristol but would return in two weeks at Darlington.

NBC Sports statement on Dale Earnhardt Jr.:

By evening, flights had resumed at the small airport tucked into the Tennessee hills, even as the events from just hours earlier had cast a national spotlight onto the normally quiet town.

“Nothing like this,” Lunceford said. “We have robberies, burglaries, pursuits, things of that sort. Armed people. We just have the standard, usual calls in a population somewhere between 58 and 60 thousand. … We stay busy, but no, nothing like this.”

Contributing: Zack Albert in Elizabethton, Tenn.

August 15, 2019
David Ragan Announces Change in NASCAR Career

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 14, 2019) – David Ragan and Front Row Motorsports announced today that Ragan will step away from full-time NASCAR competition after this season. Ragan will continue to race on a part-time basis in NASCAR and other series at his desire.

Ragan, 33, began competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2007 with Roush Fenway Racing after finding success in the now NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. He has 457 starts in the premier Cup Series heading into this weekend’s race with a total of two wins, 40 Top-10 and 15 Top-five finishes. Ragan’s last Cup win was the first for Front Row Motorsports. He also has two poles in the Cup series.

These stats accompany two wins in the Xfinity Series and one win the ARCA Menards Series. In addition, Ragan was the 2007 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year.

A statement from Ragan:

“I’ve prayed and heavily considered this decision, but for myself and my family, I believe this is the right thing to do. I am a husband and a father to two young girls first, and I am a driver second. To compete in what I consider the greatest series in the world, you need full dedication of your time and focus. My children are growing up quickly, and I want to concentrate my time in being the best father and husband I can be. I feel this is where God is leading my life, and therefore I’m making this decision.

“There aren’t enough words to thank everyone who has helped me in my career and to all the fans who have supported me in this journey. It’s not over, but I’m ready to spend more time at home.”

A statement from Bob Jenkins, owner, Front Row Motorsports:

“We admire David for making what I’m sure was a very difficult decision. We also commend him for his reason. David has always put family first, and as a father, I understand what it’s like to not be at that game or big event for your child. Throughout his time at Front Row Motorsports, David has always gone beyond what was asked of him- or even volunteering his own time to help grow our team. Now it’s time for him to give some of that back to his family and we totally support that. Our doors are always open for David and we’ll miss seeing him every week.”

The team will announce the driver plans of the No. 38 Ford Mustang team when ready.

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields three full-time entries – the No. 34 of Michael McDowell, the No. 36 of Matt Tifft and the No. 38 of David Ragan – from its Mooresville, N.C., headquarters just outside of Charlotte. The team’s partnership base includes CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Ford Performance, Love’s Travel Stops, Select Blinds, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Tunity, Surface and Speedco. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

August 14, 2019
Harvick takes second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup win of 2019 at Michigan

Kevin Harvick was able to overcome a flat-right front tire early in the race and would later stretch the fuel in his No. 4 Mobil 1 Mustang on Sunday on the way to his second win of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season in the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

Harvick led 22 laps en route to victory, taking the checkered by 1.054 seconds over runner-up Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson finished third, while Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-five finishers.

“It was a day of a little bit of adversity that we were able to overcome,” Harvick said. “We had a really fast car all weekend. Our car handled really well today, and with the multiple lanes (due to the PJ1 traction compound), we were able to run all three lanes pretty well and make our way through traffic.

“They (the team) put a really fast race car on the track, and we were able to capitalize on it, so that’s always fun.”

Although the Playoffs are steadily looming closer, Harvick’s Crew Chief Rodney Childers still feels like there’s plenty of time for their Stewart-Haas crew to hit their stride, especially with two wins in the last four races.

“I still feel like it’s a long time before the Playoffs,” said Childers in the Media Center. “We have a lot that we need to get better. You know, we’ve just – we started the year off, and our cars weren’t where we needed to be, and we’ve continually got better and better. I think to be able to get a win on a 550 track and get a win on a 750 track, that says a lot about the race team right now, to sit on the pole at Pocono and have speed there.

“We’ve definitely made gains on it. We’re not perfect by any means, and we’ve still got to get a lot better. But we’re definitely in a lot better shape than we were at the beginning of the year.”

Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top-10. Playoff bubble drivers Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson both faced issues in the race, as both drivers made hard contact with the wall during the race. Bowyer would be faced with a 37th-place DNF while Johnson would finish 34th, eight laps down.

Six cautions slowed the race for 24 laps, while eight drivers swapped the lead 19 times. The next race on the schedule will be at the Bristol Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s annual event at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

August 11, 2019
Kevin Harvick wins the Consumers Energy 400

BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 11, 2019) – Kevin Harvick overcame early race trouble to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 for the second consecutive season.

In the first stage of the race, Harvick suffered a flat tire that forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop. The stop put him a lap down early, but he continued to make adjustments on his car and by the third stage he was back on the lead lap.

“We just had a really fast car all weekend,” Harvick said. “Our car handled really well today, and with the multiple lanes, we were able to run all three lanes pretty well and make our way through traffic. So just really proud of everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford, everybody from Busch and Hunt Brothers and Jimmy John’s and everybody back at the shop from Haas Automation and Stewart‑Haas Racing, just put a really fast car on the racetrack and we were able to capitalize on it, and that’s always fun.”

Harvick’s crew made the right call on his last pit stop and the most important thing was they put enough fuel in the car. As other cars had to stop for fuel in the final 10 laps, Harvick managed his fuel and had just enough to win the race.

The driver of #4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas has now won three times at MIS during his career.

The win capped an impressive season for Ford Performance at Michigan International Speedway. The manufacturer swept both races after Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 in June. Ford has posted four consecutive wins at its home track, with Harvick taking two of them.

Ford Performance will take the Michigan Heritage for the fourth straight MENCS race at MIS. The manufacturer will proudly display the trophy at its corporate headquarters just down the road from the track, and celebrate with its employees.

“We want to win every race but we definitely want to win here at Michigan,” Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance said. “To have the Heritage Trophy, we display it proudly and it will go back and be in Dearborn first thing in the morning for our executives to see there and we will put it on display for our employees to see. It is kind of neat the way the trophy works. You bring it out here and give it back at the beginning of the race and it is kind of neat to take it right back at the end of the race. It is great to do it four races in a row. We want to keep that streak going.”

Michigan driver Brad Keselowski started on the pole and looked like he was the car to beat early in race. The first stage of the race saw two drivers make unscheduled pit stops as Jimmie Johnson and Harvick both had tires go flat.

But Martin Truex Jr. was the talk of the first round. He started at the back of the field after he failed prerace inspection. He quickly moved through the field and was in second place on the last lap behind Denny Hamlin. Truex got a run to get around Hamlin to the take the green and white checkered flag.

Keselowski spun with four laps remaining in stage two to bring out the caution flag and set up a one-lap dash to the finish. Kyle Busch took advantage to hold off Truex. The action was behind the leaders as Aric Almirola, Daniel Hemric and Austin Dillon were in a three-car accident coming to the green and white checkered flag.

Erik Jones, from Byron, Mich. brought his car home 18th and Keselowski finished 19th.

Nestled in the lush Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan, Michigan International Speedway is NASCAR’s fastest racetrack. It has been the love of NASCAR racing and the thrill of a great time for race fans and drivers alike for more than 50 years.

August 11, 2019
Cliff Daniels named crew chief for Jimmie Johnson and No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team

CONCORD, N.C. (July 29, 2019) – Hendrick Motorsports has named Cliff Daniels as the new crew chief for seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team. Daniels will assume the role immediately and be atop the pit box for Sunday’s road course race at Watkins Glen International.

Daniels, 31, won the 2016 Cup Series championship as Johnson’s race engineer. The Smithfield, Virginia, native joined the No. 48 team in December 2014, moved into Hendrick Motorsports’ competition systems group following the 2018 season and rejoined the No. 48 team as race engineer last month at Sonoma Raceway.

“We have great confidence in Cliff’s ability to win races with Jimmie and the team,” said Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick. “He’s a natural leader and tremendously talented from both a technical and communication standpoint. Cliff’s familiarity with Jimmie and the No. 48 team culture will benefit us a ton. He will bring the spark that’s been our missing ingredient.”

Daniels will replace Kevin Meendering, who will remain with Hendrick Motorsports in a senior competition role. Meendering joined the No. 48 team following the 2018 season.

“Kevin is a talent,” Hendrick said. “We have areas where he can make a major impact and help all four of our teams be successful. Everyone thinks the world of him, and we plan to keep him as a key member of our organization for as long as he wants to be here.”

Through 21 races in 2019, Johnson, 43, has one pole position and eight top-10 finishes including three top-fives. He is currently 17th in the driver standings, 12 points below the playoff cut line.

“Cliff has really shined since he came back to the ‘48,’” Johnson said. “When he returned, there was an immediate change in the team dynamic that all of us felt. We’ve worked together for a long time, have a ton of mutual respect and a shared vision. I have no doubt the strong connection and working relationship is going to pay dividends right away.

“I’m so grateful to Kevin. He’s a truly awesome person who I think very, very highly of. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him in his new role. He’s a brilliant guy and will make all of us better.”

Daniels is a former stock car driver who raced late models in and around Virginia at tracks like Langley, Southside and South Boston. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he was hired by RAB Racing in 2011. He was a race engineer for driver Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing for two seasons (2013 and 2014) before joining Hendrick Motorsports.

“We have an opportunity to win an eighth championship and a lot more races with Jimmie,” Daniels said. “I’m proud to be in this position and have total faith in the team and our ability to perform at the level everyone expects. We have the best driver, the best organization and the best leadership, so everything we need to be successful is in place. It’s always been my goal to become a crew chief, and I’m thankful to Mr. Hendrick for his confidence.”

ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:
Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 254 points-paying race victories and a record 12 car owner championships in the premier NASCAR Cup Series. The organization fields four full-time Chevrolet teams on the Cup circuit with drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman. Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports employs more than 600 people. For more information, please visit HendrickMotorsports.com or interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

July 29, 2019