Category: NASCAR Cup PR

CHASE BRISCOE
Watkins Glen Advance
No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Go Bowling at The Glen (Round 28 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 15
● Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International
● Layout: 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 90 laps / 220.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 20 laps / Stage 2: 20 laps / Final Stage: 50 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The Go Bowling at The Glen Sunday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International is the fourth of five road-course races on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, finished 13th in the series’ first road-course race of the year March 24 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He then placed 34th in the series’ second road-course stop June 9 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway after a broken transmission sent him to the garage. In his most recent road-course start on the streets of downtown Chicago for the July 7 Grant Park 165, Briscoe finished 32nd. After Watkins Glen, the final road-course race of the year takes place Oct. 12 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.

● DYK?: Tony Stewart, the “Stewart” in Stewart-Haas Racing, leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Watkins Glen with five (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009). The NASCAR Hall of Famer fell one win shy of tying the series record for most road-course wins at a single track, a mark held by fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison who scored six wins at Riverside (Calif.) Raceway (1971, 1973, 1975, 1979, January 1981 and November 1981).

● Watkins Glen marks the second race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs, and just two races remain before the 16 playoff drivers are whittled down to 12. Briscoe earned his way into the playoffs by winning the regular-season finale Sept. 1 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. After entering that race 144 points adrift of the top-16 cutoff, Briscoe’s win slotted him 13th in the playoff standings. But then Briscoe was collected in an accident in the opening playoff round last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The resulting last-place finish has put Briscoe 21 points behind the top-12 cutline, last among the 16 playoff drivers. While not necessarily in a must-win situation like he was two weeks ago at Darlington, Briscoe will need all 90 laps of the Go Bowling at The Glen to maximize stage points and outrun his playoff brethren.

● Briscoe has 22 career road-course starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, with five top-10 finishes spread across COTA (sixth in 2021), Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (sixth in 2021), Watkins Glen (ninth in 2021), the Charlotte Roval (ninth in 2022) and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (sixth in 2023).

● The Go Bowling at The Glen will mark Briscoe’s third career NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in Upstate New York. His best result came in his Cup Series debut at the track in 2021 when he finished ninth. Since then, Briscoe has endured finishes of 25th (2022) and 35th (2023).

● Briscoe’s prior NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen was his most unusual at the track. When he came in to make his first pit stop, the lug securing the left-rear tire refused to budge. Despite numerous attempts to loosen the lug amid repeated trips to pit road, it would not move. Briscoe was forced to run the entire race on the same left-rear tire, a testament to Goodyear’s durability.

● Briscoe has made 11 road-course starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – the stepping-stone division to the elite NASCAR Cup Series. In fact, it was road-course racing in the Xfinity Series that helped put Briscoe on the map when it came to his burgeoning NASCAR career, as he scored two road-course wins among eight top-10 finishes. At the inaugural race on the Charlotte Roval on Sept. 29, 2018 in what was Briscoe’s 14th career Xfinity Series start, the Mitchell, Indiana, native scored his first Xfinity Series win. Briscoe said afterward that he tapped into his dirt-track experience in wheeling his Ford Mustang to a strong 1.478-second margin of victory over runner-up Justin Marks. “It drove like a dirt track instead of a road course, and it felt like I was in a sprint car. I just tried to make sure the rear tires never spun. I had to give up a little time coming off the corner, but I’d make it back up on the straightaway, and that’s why I was always better at the end of the run.”

● Briscoe’s second Xfinity Series win on a road course came in another inaugural race – the 2020 Brickyard 150 on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On July 4, 2020, Briscoe started 12th and methodically worked his way to the front, taking the lead on lap 24. He wound up leading five times for a race-high 30 laps to take the victory by 1.717 seconds ahead of second-place Justin Haley. Despite the win happening during COVID restrictions, Briscoe was elated to win at his home track in a car owned by Indiana icon Tony Stewart. “Everybody knows that my hero in racing was Tony Stewart. To get to drive for him and watch him win at the Brickyard, climbing the fence was always his signature thing and I just wanted to do it. Obviously, it’s not the same prestige as winning on the oval, but we still won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It doesn’t matter if you’re racing on the oval, the road course, the dirt track or even the parking lot, it’s special when you win here. Growing up, coming here all the time, it’s unbelievable to think that I just won here.”

● In three road-course starts in the ARCA Menards Series, Briscoe has two top-fives, with his first coming in 2016 when he finished fourth at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville after starting the 67-lap race in 10th. His other top-five was his 2021 win at Sonoma, where Briscoe absolutely dominated by leading all 51 laps and taking the checkered flag by a whopping 3.110 seconds over runner-up Dylan Upton.

● In Briscoe’s lone road-course start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he started 18th and finished seventh in the 2017 race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.

● Joining Briscoe at Watkins Glen is HighPoint.com, a leading provider of technology infrastructure solutions that is headquartered in Sparta, New Jersey. HighPoint has been a partner of Briscoe and Stewart-Haas Racing since 2020 when the company supported Briscoe’s NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, a collaboration that netted a season-best nine victories and earned Briscoe a promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series. HighPoint has climbed the NASCAR ladder with Briscoe and has helped Stewart-Haas maximize its IT investments. Said Briscoe about the partnership: “Even though we race stock cars, there’s nothing stock about what we do. The science of our cars is impressive, but the technology that goes into building our Ford Mustangs and then making them perform is even more advanced. Our IT needs are pretty complex, and we demand a lot from our technology every day, whether it’s at the shop or at the track. HighPoint provides efficiency and security. They’re more than just a sponsor – HighPoint is a partner that helps us perform.” As an IT Solutions Integrator focused on all things that connect, HighPoint helps its customers with the selection and supply of network infrastructure, mobility, collaboration, data center, security solutions and the risk-mitigated implementation and management of their technology. The company, founded in 1996, is a minority-owned business that serves markets in its nearby Tri-State Region (New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware) and the southeastern United States via its presence in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as globally with offices in Amsterdam and London. To learn more about HighPoint’s solutions, please visit HighPoint.com.

● The story of how HighPoint.com came together with Briscoe and Stewart-Haas is one that could’ve been scripted in Hollywood. In November 2019, while walking to dinner after attending the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Kevin Briscoe was stopped by a stranger who noticed his No. 98 Stewart-Haas hat. The man was Mike Mendiburu, founder and CEO of HighPoint.com, and he said he was a big fan of Chase Briscoe, then a young NASCAR Xfinity Series driver from Mitchell, Indiana, who was driving the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas. Kevin informed Mendiburu that Chase was his son and the two carried on a conversation like they were old friends. The two walked away with Kevin accepting Mendiburu’s business card, just in case the Briscoes ever needed anything. Months passed and Chase Briscoe was told that he may not have a ride in the No. 98 for the 2020 season if funding couldn’t be found. So, Stewart-Haas was given Mendiburu’s information and an agreement was reached for HighPoint.com to sponsor Briscoe. That chance encounter in Las Vegas led to a nine-win season in 2020. In October of that year, midway through the playoffs, Briscoe arrived at Tony Stewart’s house in Indiana for what he thought was a discussion with his team owner about whether HighPoint.com would be returning as his sponsor for the next season. The group sat down for dinner and Briscoe, joined by his parents, was informed a decision had already been made – he would be leaving the No. 98 Xfinity Series program to become the next driver of the team’s No. 14 Cup Series entry, the car Stewart himself wheeled during his driving tenure at Stewart-Haas. “I wouldn’t have a career if it wasn’t for Mike and everyone at HighPoint.com,” Briscoe said. “Going into 2020, I was going to be done. They literally came in the fourth quarter with 30 seconds left on the clock and kept things going. Without them, I think my career would’ve been over.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang

Watkins Glen has been a stalwart of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, but this is the first time the venue has been a part of the NASCAR Playoffs. What are your expectations?

“Watkins Glen is one of those races that is completely wide open. How we’re going to run that track is going to be a little bit different with how they’ve changed some of the curbing. It sounds like we’re not going to be able to run as far off the racetrack as we typically do. And the tire is different, too. Last year, my left-rear got stuck, so I ran the entire race with the same left-rear tire and really didn’t have any issues until about 10 to go. But this year, it sounds like in 10 laps you’re going to lose four seconds just with the way the tire wears. There are a ton of variables that are totally new, so that’s why I think it’s going to be wide open.”

You were in a must-win situation to make the playoffs, and you did just that by winning the regular-season finale at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. With being 21 points below the top-12 cutline with two races remaining before the Round of 12, do you feel you’re back in a must-win situation?

“Not necessarily, but we do need to maximize our day and score as many stage points as possible. And I do think with the tire falloff we’re expecting at Watkins Glen that we’re going to be in good shape. When it’s slick because the tires are worn out, where we’re slipping and sliding around, is typically when we’re our strongest, so I feel like we can win. I’m excited for the challenge.”

How would you rate yourself as a road-course driver?

“I feel like I’m above average. I’ve definitely had way more success in the lower series compared to Cup, where I’ve been kind of hit-or-miss. We’d run really, really good, or we were just off. Truthfully, I feel like the NextGen car has definitely hurt me quite a bit on the road-course side. I feel like the old car with just how badly it drove, you were always slipping and sliding around, it didn’t want to stop. I feel like this NextGen car certainly has closed up the gap. The guys who were typically off on road courses are definitely closer because the NextGen car is just easier to drive on the road courses – it stops better, it turns better, it just does everything better. I feel like I’ve been good on road courses from a speed standpoint, just need to find that little bit more to finally seal the deal on a road course.”

Some guys like road courses, others don’t. Where do you stand when it comes to competing on road courses?

“Having a positive attitude at any racetrack is important. For me, I enjoy road-course races but, truthfully, I used to be terrible at it. So, it kind of got frustrating at times. Then finally something just clicked with me and I was able to win a couple of road-course races and, now, every time we go to a road course, I’m super excited. I look forward to it from the driver’s side of things. Not that you don’t make a difference at the ovals, but I feel like at the road courses, as a driver, you make a little bit more of a difference, so I enjoy that part of it. Just driving a car on a road course is a lot of fun. You’re manhandling it and trying to run as hard as you can and it’s just a lot of fun to do it, so I always enjoy going there.”

You’ve mentioned how your dirt-racing experience makes you a better road-course racer. How so?

“I think there are just a lot of things that carry over. The NextGen car takes some of that out of the equation, but you still have more power a lot of the time on exit than you really need, so you’re spinning the tires and you’ve got to really finesse the throttle, which is a lot like dirt racing. Just how you have to really slide the car around and hustle the car is very similar to dirt racing. I just feel like you drive more on the edge on a road course than you do on an oval. And then just the constant switching directions and the counter-steering, there’s a lot that reminds me of dirt racing. When you look at road racing in the past, a lot of dirt guys were really good in NASCAR. Obviously Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson now, even Christopher Bell, there are a lot of guys who grew up dirt racing who have a lot of success on the road courses in NASCAR, and I feel that’s because there’s a lot of correlation, as crazy as it seems.”

What do you work on to become a better road-course racer? Obviously, there’s sim, but does your relationship with Ford Performance Racing School also allow you to hone your road-racing techniques?

“There’s a lot that goes into road-course racing, and laps and repetition are probably the biggest keys to that. No matter what road course you’re getting on or what car you’re driving, the techniques and the styles that you run on road courses are super important. It’s been great to have that relationship with Ford Performance Racing School, to get over there and be able to run laps. There’s a lot that goes into road-course racing, especially to be really good at it. Braking is probably the most important thing, trying to be as efficient as you can under braking, and being able to go over to the racing school and just playing around with different types of braking, and being able to be aggressive and trying different things that at the racetrack we don’t get the opportunity to do because we don’t want to mess anything up. Plus, we don’t get a lot of time to practice, so it’s nice to be able to go over there and spend the day and really just try different things.”

The current Cup cars seem exceptionally suited to road-course racing where the cars are forgiving and drivers aren’t penalized for mistakes. Because of that, it seems like there’s more rooting and gouging out on the racetrack than ever before. What’s your take?

“I don’t know if there’s more rooting and gouging, but I feel like it’s just way harder to pass now. Track position is more important than ever. In the past on road courses, even if I had to do a pit stop or whenever I had to do a restart from midpack, I felt confident that if I’d been up front, I could get back up there. Now, it seems that’s not the case. You could be leading the race and then have to restart 20th and you’re kind of just stuck back there because everybody’s almost the same speed. In the past, we’d go to a road course and you’d see five-, six-second spreads throughout the field, where now it’s almost like all of us are within a second and a half. It just makes it harder to get to each other to root and gouge just because the brake zones are so short, everybody’s so efficient now. It’s definitely changed the game going to road-course races with this NextGen car.”

With track position at such a premium on road courses, can you afford to be nice, or do you need to have a selfish and unforgiving attitude?

“I think you have to be extremely selfish now and just aggressive from lap number one, not only at road courses but, truthfully, everywhere. That’s kind of one of the biggest things I’ve focused on, just not giving anybody anything. That’s why I think I’ve probably been more aggressive on the racetrack this year as far as throwing blocks and different things just because you have to now. It’s so hard to get that position back, and if you give one away, it can take you 30 laps just to get that one position back, so you have to be extremely aggressive. I think when you look at the guys who win these races now, they’re all the same way. The aggressive guys are the ones running up front and winning races. So it’s the same on the road courses, but it’s the same on the ovals, now.”

How important is qualifying at road courses? Has it become a bit like Formula One where track position is so precious that in order to finish up front, you really need to start up front?

“The road courses have definitely changed a lot. I definitely miss the days of the old car where it didn’t stop, it didn’t drive well, it had no grip, it was out of control, and it just made it a lot of fun and it definitely seemed like you could pass guys. The new car is just so good on road courses. You can get in the brakes so easily and get in the corners so deep that it’s made passing extremely, extremely hard. It definitely comes down to qualifying. It’s just one of those deals where if you don’t make the final round, you instantly know your Sunday is going to be a challenge. You throw in the aspect of the stages and things like that, and there are just a lot of variables that go into these races, but certainly qualifying is a huge start to your weekend.”

No. 14 HighPoint.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe

Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: Richard Boswell

Hometown: Friendship, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey

Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal

Hometown: Holland, Michigan

Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams

Hometown: Plymouth, Wisconsin

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads

Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips

Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable

Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Dale Lackey

Hometown: Taylorsville, North Carolina

HAMPTON, GA – September 9, 2024 – Joey Logano won Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, advancing to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 12. The victory marks Ford’s third straight victory and Logano’s second of the season, not including his All-Star race win.

“Congratulations to Roger, Tim, Paul, Joey and everyone at Team Penske on the race win at Atlanta,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “All three of Team Penske’s cars were fast and raced well together throughout the race to secure valuable playoff points and Logano’s win.”

“We didn’t (advance out of the first round) last year and it hurt a lot, but they just give me really fast cars on superspeedways and we always find ourselves towards the front of them, we just end up wrecking more times than not. So, to be able to finally capitalize on a fast race car and win here in Atlanta again, I lived right over there in condo 805 for a long time, waking up dreaming of just racing on this racetrack, so pulling into Victory Lane here is always a special one. We had such a really good team here today,” commented Logano.

Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell started Sunday’s race from the pole position, completing an Atlanta sweep after winning the pole earlier in the season. Ford has now won the last four NASCAR Cup Series poles at Atlanta (Logano, Almirola, and McDowell twice), and had at least seven drivers qualify in the top-10 in each of the last four Atlanta races. Along with McDowell, six other Ford Performance drivers started in the top-10: Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P2, Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland in P3, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry in P4, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P5, Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P7, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in P10.

The first caution of the race came at the end of stage 1, and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney won under caution. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric led most of the second stage to take the stage win with teammate Ryan Blaney in P2. The end of the race came down to a battle between playoff drivers. As the drivers were approaching the start/finish line to take the white flag, a caution came out extending the race into overtime. During the overtime restart, Joey Logano picked the inside and Daniel Suarez decided on the outside, while both of their teammates restarted behind them. As the drivers came to the start/finish line to take the checkered flag after the two-lap shootout, several cars wrecked behind them, causing a multi-car accident. Joey Logano had the lead by over a car-length when NASCAR called the caution, winning the race and advancing to the playoffs Round of 12.

All three Team Penske cars finished in the top-10: Joey Logano in P1, Ryan Blaney in P3, and Austin Cindric in P10.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. AM Racing’s Lawless Alan finished P13 in his second Xfinity Series start.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.
39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 469 WINS – 435 POLES

About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class AS9100 Rev D/ISO 13485 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

Quaker State 400: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Ga. – September 8, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/QUAKER STATE FORD MUSTANG

START: 5TH STAGE ONE: 2ND STAGE TWO: 1ST FINISH: 10TH POINTS: 7TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric led a race and career-high 92 laps in Sunday’s Quaker State 400, but ultimately placed 10th in the Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang after diligently working to recover from an issue on pit road. The speed of Cindric’s Blue Oval was on full display all weekend, as the 26-year-old driver qualified inside the top 10 for the fourth consecutive time at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Cindric had a constant presence among the frontrunners in the opening stint, finishing second in Stage 1 to secure nine valuable points. He pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and restarted second with teammate Ryan Blaney behind him. Cindric quickly jolted to the lead, where he remained until a caution for debris slowed the field on Lap 115. The yellow flag allowed the Team Penske car to pit for fuel only ahead of the restart, in which Cindric lined up as the leader. He cruised on to his fifth career Stage win by taking the checkered flag first at the end of the second segment, securing more valuable points. Happy with the balance of the car, he returned to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel; however, an unfortunate issue with the left front led to a loss of position and Cindric was scored 19th for the restart. He meticulously maneuvered his Ford Mustang up through the pack over the dramatic final segment to record a 10th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “I’m just glad a Team Penske car won it. We’ve come to so many of these speedways with cars that are capable of winning races and I’m proud of Joey [Logano] and the guys to get it done. Obviously, Ryan [Blaney] and I worked really well together to get a ton of points to start. We just got off cycle there with a bad pit stop and just really took a long time to get back up to the front of the field. I feel like I could have made some better decisions on the last couple of restarts, but a solid effort all around with all of the challenges of pack racing.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 DENT WIZARD FORD MUSTANG

START: 2ND STAGE ONE: 1ST STAGE TWO: 2ND FINISH: 3RD POINTS: 1ST

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney wheeled the No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang to a third-place finish in the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Sunday at Atlanta, moving the 12-team to the top of the drivers points standings. After starting from the outside of row one, Blaney made the move to take over the lead on lap 30 and paced the field for the remainder of the first 60-lap stage for his fourth stage win of the season. He restarted Stage 2 from the inside of row two behind teammate Austin Cindric as the two pushed their way to the front of the field at the start of the run. The caution flag flew on lap 114 as the leaders pitted for fuel only, setting up a restart with 41 laps left in the second segment. Blaney continued to work with Cindric up front, culminating in a second-place finish in Stage 2 for the Dent Wizard Ford. With fuel mileage playing a major role in the final stage, teams began to vary their strategies as Blaney continued to run inside the top-10. On lap 205, the No. 17 got loose underneath Blaney off the exit of turn two and made contact with the left rear of the No. 12, sending him sliding across the track and into the door of the No. 19 to bring out the caution. The 12-team made a pair of stops on pit road under yellow for repairs to the right rear and left side door without losing a lap as Blaney got back on track to take the green from the tail end of the field. Without any concerns about making it to the end on fuel, Blaney began his charge through the field to make it back inside the top-10 with 16 laps to go. After a caution for debris set up a restart with five to go, Blaney worked his way through three-wide battles to get to the bumper of teammate Joey Logano before pushing him to the lead. The final caution of the afternoon flew with two to go to set up a green-white-checkered finish as Blaney lined up to restart behind Logano on the inside of row two. With another pair of teammates lined up in the outside lane, the Team Penske duo prevailed as Blaney pushed Logano clear of the No. 99 and to the eventual race win as the 2023 Cup Series Champion took the checkered flag third, marking his second-consecutive top-five and fifth-straight top-10 finish at Atlanta.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, honestly I can’t believe we got back up where we did. The 12 boys did a really good job fixing it. I’m surprised it didn’t have more damage than what it did. From my seat, I got drilled in the left rear, the door I guess is where it hit me. The right rear got off the fence. I didn’t know how damaged we were. I was kind of able to carve up through traffic, could kind of get through the middle pretty good. So yeah, really proud of the effort. [I] had a thought of going three-wide on the frontstretch. I’m like, man, it’s going to be tight, we already have a good day going, great points, all that stuff. Yeah, third, a really good day. Appreciate Dent Wizard doing what they do. Menards, Advance Auto Parts, DEX Imaging, Discount Tire. Move on to Watkins Glen. Proud of the effort by everybody and congrats to the 22 team. Joey [Logano] did a great job all day.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 AUTOTRADER FORD MUSTANG

START: 7TH STAGE ONE: 4TH STAGE TWO: 12TH FINISH: 1ST POINTS: 5TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano locked himself into the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a dramatic win in the opening race the postseason Sunday at Atlanta, parking the No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang in victory lane for his 34th-career victory. Sunday’s win is Logano’s 32nd with Ford, placing him fourth on the manufacturers all-time wins list, while also marking his eighth season with multiple Cup Series victories. Logano opened the 400-mile event with a fourth-place finish in Stage 1 before handling issues in traffic throughout Stage 2 resulted in a 12th-place result in the second segment. After restarting the final stage from 15th, Logano was scored 18th at the time of the caution on lap 175, prompting teams to hit pit road with the fuel window looming. Crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for fuel only as the field lined up with 79 laps remaining, but another caution on lap 205 altered the strategy yet again as Logano was told to hold off on going hard until 10 laps to go. Logano found success running the top lane as he charged into the top-five with 27 to go before he was told he no longer needed to save fuel with 14 laps left, allowing him to jump to fourth on the leaderboard prior to a caution for debris with 11 to go. Logano lined up from the outside of row two for the ensuing restart and worked his way to the front with teammate Ryan Blaney on his back bumper as the two navigated three-wide battles prior to the caution with two laps remaining, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Logano and Blaney lined up as the first two cars on the inside row coming to the green with teammates in the Nos. 99 and 1 lined up on the front of the outside row, but the Team Penske duo prevailed as the Autotrader Ford cleared the No. 99 heading into turn one on the white flag lap and kept it out front the rest of the way, culminating in Logano’s second points-paying win of the 2024 season and second-career victory at Atlanta (2022 Spring). Logano’s 34th-career Cup Series victory moves him into a tie for 25th on the series’ all-time wins list with Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “They just give me really fast cars on superspeedways and we always find ourselves towards the front of them, we just end up wrecking more times than not. So, to be able to finally capitalize on a fast race car and win here in Atlanta again, I lived right over there in condo 805 for a long time, waking up dreaming of just racing on this racetrack, so pulling into Victory Lane here is always a special one. We had such a really good team here today. It’s awesome to get Autotrader into Victory Lane and the JL Kids Crew are here today, so it’s really cool to finally win with them here.”

“We all talked about how wild card this round could be. We knew that the Penske cars would be strong on the superspeedway style type racetracks. We’ve been all year long. Unfortunately we’ve been caught up in every possible wreck on these type of tracks. It’s nice to finally capitalize on the laps led, being towards the front, having a teammate lined up behind me there. He scored a ton of points today, too, being up there. A good day for Team Penske all the way through. A really special day for Penske to be able to score some good points and set themselves up pretty good for the Round of 12.”

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues the Round of 16 at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, September 15. Coverage of the Go Bowling at The Glen begins at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Buescher DNF Following Crash in Final Stage

HAMPTON, Ga. (Sept. 8, 2024) – Brad Keselowski finished 19th Sunday afternoon in a rather uneventful opening race of the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs. Chris Buescher ran inside the top-10 late but retired early following a crash with 60 laps remaining.

6 Recap
Keselowski began the day from the 19th spot coming off Saturday’s single-car qualifying session. The opening stage of 60 laps looked to run caution free until the closing laps, when the No. 5 took a hard hit, displaying the first yellow of the afternoon at lap 56. That caution would also serve as the stage end with Keselowski in 23rd.

The King’s Hawaiian Ford rolled 33rd for stage two following the first pit stop opportunity of the afternoon. The race went caution-free for the next 46 laps as Keselowski was scored 15th at lap 113, when crew chief Matt McCall called him to pit road for a fuel-only stop. That strategy put him eighth on the ensuing restart, resetting the track position for the final 41 laps of the segment. Keselowski went on to finish the stage 14th.

From there, he was unable to gain much track position, restarting the stage 20th. He worked as high as 17th by lap 181, but despite a pair of late yellows, could not manuever through the field well enough.

He restarted 25th for NASCAR Overtime, and sliced through a last-lap incident to finish 19th.

“It just wasn’t a super strong day,” Keselowski said following the finish. “We kind of survived and we’ll live to fight another day.”

17 Recap
Much like Keselowski, Buescher spent a large majority of the afternoon finding his pace in the Fastenal Ford. After starting 17th, Buescher went on to finish 26th to end stage one. After a stage two result of 27th, he took right side tires only in the stage break, flipping the track position to 13th to begin stage two.

Another caution flew just a handful of laps later as Buescher took fuel only that time, restarting 14th at lap 181. Then, just as be entered the top-10 around 200, Buescher lost his handling on the bottom lane on lap 206, collecting a handful of other machines.

His day would end early as the right-side damage was too severe to continue.

“Ultimately, that’s not how we wanted to go out,” Buescher said following the crash. “I’m definitely disappointed and screwed up there. I got a really good run, got to the bottom and we’d been able to keep really good pace on the bottom, and then just caught a bump and stepped out and ended up making a crash.

“I’m disappointed in myself for that one. It certainly wasn’t our typical Atlanta day, either. We’d been so good here, but I had to fight for the handling today. The team made good adjustments and good calls to get us close to the front, but I just messed it up when it counted.”

Up Next
Watkins Glen International hosts race two of the playoffs next weekend. Race coverage is set for 3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

RICK WARE RACING
Quaker State 400
Date: Sept. 8, 2024
Event: Quaker State 400 (Round 27 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 260 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Note: Race extended six laps past its scheduled 260-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)

RWR Race Finish:

● Justin Haley (Started 29th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 266 of 266 laps)
● Cody Ware (Started 31st, Finished 30th / Running, completed 266 of 266 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (31st with 391 points)
● Cody Ware (36th with 105 points)

RWR Notes:

● This was Haley’s eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta. His best finish remains seventh, earned in July 2022.
● This was Ware’s eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta. His best finish remains 23rd, earned in July 2022.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Quaker State 400 to score his 34th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Atlanta. His margin of victory over second-place Daniel Suárez was .212 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 736th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory, its seventh of the season and its third straight. Ford driver Harrison Burton won Aug. 24 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Briscoe won last Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
● This was Ford’s 37th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Atlanta. The manufacturer won its first race at Atlanta with NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen on July 9, 1961.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 44 laps.
● Thirty of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

Sound Bites:

“Atlanta is tough. We did a good job working on the balance early on, but it gets tough in dirty air. I’m glad we made it to the end and had some laps in the top-10. Another top-15 finish we can build on.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Grady Health System Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It’s tough to stay out of trouble all day, only to find it on the last lap. We learned a lot and we’ve still got another shot at getting a good finish with Mighty Fire Breaker in a couple of weeks at Talladega. ” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 15 Mighty Fire BreakerFord Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race begins at 3:00 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 14th for the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Hemric raced his way into the top 10 by lap 39, before radioing that the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy was beginning to tighten up. The first caution of the day came out with four laps remaining in the stage, and Hemric sat 21st, as the stage ended under caution.
• Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel during the stage break, and started the second stage from 19th place. The first caution of the second stage came out on lap 115, as Hemric sat 23rd. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for tires, fuel and adjustments to the front of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. Hemric restarted in 27th on lap 119 and made his way back into the top 20 by lap 135, before fading back to 26th, where he finished the second stage.
• Hemric radioed that the previous changes made to the No. 31 Chevy helped him for the first 15 laps of the run, but he lost front grip as the run went on. He pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the second stage break, before starting the final stage from 24th place. The first caution of the final stage came out on lap 175, and Owens called Hemric to pit road for four tires and fuel. Hemric restarted 29th on lap 181 and made it to 21st, before the next caution came out on lap 205. Hemric radioed that the previous changes helped the handling of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy and allowed him to be more aggressive in traffic. He pitted under caution for four tires, fuel, and a right-rear air pressure adjustment, before restarting 27th on lap 211. The next caution came out with nine laps remaining, and Hemric elected to stay out, restarting 17th with five laps to go. An overtime-inducing caution brought out the yellow with just two laps remaining, as Hemric sat 16th. After one overtime attempt, Hemric finished 11th.

“We had a really solid weekend, and we executed where we needed to. We unloaded with really good speed, and when we do that, I have more capability to do the things I need to do inside the car. I’m proud of Trent [Owens] and all the guys on the No. 31 team. I’m excited to go road-course racing next week.” – Daniel Hemric  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Camaro

• Shane van Gisbergen qualified 28th for the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Van Gisbergen maintained position and posted his fastest lap time of the race on lap 32. As the stage was nearing conclusion, an on-track incident on lap 57 brought out the yellow flag and ended the stage under caution. The No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Chevy Camaro completed the first stage 29th place.
• The No. 16 team opted to come to pit road at the first stage break for fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen started the second stage in 32nd, after acquiring a pit-road penalty for speeding. The caution flag flew midway through the stage, and Van Gisbergen restarted 23rd with 42 laps remaining. He fell back a few positions and finished the second stage in 29th.
• Van Gisbergen pitted at the stage break for a slight adjustment, fresh tires and fuel. Upon exiting pit road, Van Gisbergen was issued a second speeding penalty and started the final stage in 30th place. A quick caution came out at the beginning of the stage, and Van Gisbergen restarted the stage 21st, after topping off with fuel. He entered the top 20 for the first time in the event on lap 185. On lap 205 the caution flag flew for an incident at the front of the field, and Van Gisbergen reported possible damage to the right-rear toe link. Crew chief Travis Mack called the No. 16 Camaro to pit road for repairs, and Van Gisbergen rejoined the field in 34th. With nine laps remaining in the race, a caution occurred, and No. 16 team opted to pit for four tires, fuel and adjustments, before restarting the stage 33rd with five laps remaining. As another caution came out with two laps remaining, Van Gisbergen received the free pass. He restarted in the 32nd position for the first and only overtime attempt, where he ultimately took the checkered flag.

“That was tough to see our race end like that. Was hoping for a better result with my No. 16 Acceptance Insurance team, but there in the final stage, had a damaged right rear toe link that put us a couple laps down. We had a really good Chevy today, just unfortunate ending. Hoping to find some positive momentum heading into Watkins Glen next weekend.” – Shane van Gisbergen  
 
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.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Atlanta 400
Date: Sept. 8, 2024
Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 27 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 260 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/100 laps/100 laps)

Note: Race extended six laps past its scheduled 260-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)

SHR Finish:

● Ryan Preece (Started 21st, Finished 18th / Running, completed 266 of 266 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 4th, Finished 28th / Running, completed 266 of 266 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 13th, Finished 34th / Accident, completed 258 of 266 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 10th, Finished 38th / Accident, completed 55 of 266 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 2,006 points, 21 points below top-12 cutoff)
● Josh Berry (24th with 469 points)
● Noah Gragson (26th with 434 points)
● Ryan Preece (27th with 412 points)

Playoff Standings (with two races to go before Round of 12):

1. Joey Logano (2,054 points) 1 win
2. Ryan Blaney (2,071 points) +45 points
3. Christopher Bell (2,066 points) +40 points
4. Tyler Reddick (2,059 points) +33 points
5. William Byron (2,059 points) +33 points
6. Alex Bowman (2,053 points) +27 points
7. Austin Cindric (2,053 points) +27 points
8. Chase Elliott (2,050 points) +24 points
9. Daniel Suárez (2,048 points) +22 points
10. Kyle Larson (2,041 points) +15 points
11. Denny Hamlin (2,028 points) +2 points
12. Ty Gibbs (2,027 points) +1 point
13. Brad Keselowski (2,026 points) -1 point
14. Harrison Burton (2,011 points) -16 points
15. Martin Truex Jr. (2,008 points) -19 points
16. Chase Briscoe (2,006 points) -21 points

SHR Notes:

● Preece earned his 12th top-20 of the season and his second top-20 in eight career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta.
● Preece led once for two laps, increasing his laps-led total at Atlanta to three.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Atlanta 400 to score his 34th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Atlanta. His margin of victory over second-place Daniel Suárez was .212 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 736th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory, its seventh of the season and its third straight. Ford driver Harrison Burton won Aug. 24 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Briscoe won last Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

● This was Ford’s 37th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Atlanta. The manufacturer won its first race at Atlanta with NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen on July 9, 1961.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 44 laps.

● Thirty of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

Sound Bites:

“That’s NASCAR. You can be on top one week and you can be at the very bottom of the mountain the next week. It’s unfortunate. I thought our car was an adjustment away from being pretty good. We weren’t very good at all, balance-wise, and I still felt like I was able to kind of run right there around the seventh- to 12th-place guys. You’re hanging on, for sure. This place is hard. You’re just on the ragged edge. I know, for me, I was almost spinning out a lot and that’s why I kept telling my guys that I needed to make it to the first pit stop to get our car better and, unfortunately, we didn’t get that opportunity. These guys are on pins and needles, I can assure you. I was watching my outside getting into (turn) one because somebody kept trying to get to my outside and was probably a little late just trying to see the 5 car (Kyle Larson) wrecking. I didn’t expect anybody to wreck because they weren’t really two-wide, and then I saw the smoke and tried slowing down. I knew he was coming down the racetrack and just kept trying to feed the thing left and slow it down and I couldn’t get left quick enough, and then he kind of started sliding back down the track at the very last minute, so I tried to turn back right to avoid him and just KO’d him. It was a big hit. One of the biggest hits I’ve had in a long time. I’m glad I’m alright and we just have to go win. That’s what we had to do at Darlington and I know we’re capable of doing it again, so we’ll just have to go to Watkins Glen and Bristol and try to do the same.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We struggled with grip all day and just couldn’t find what I needed to get the speed needed to drive up front. It’s a bummer, for sure, to qualify so well and not make the most of it, but this group will take a bad day on the chin and reset for the next week. I can’t thank Decisely enough for coming on board this week and supporting the No. 4 program. It’s really special to have friends of the team want to get involved and I’m just appreciative of them. We will go at it again next week at Watkins Glen.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Decisely Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The second race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Quaker State 400 | Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sunday, September 8, 2024

JOEY LOGANO PUNCHES TICKET TO ROUND OF 12 WITH ATLANTA VICTORY

• Joey Logano won his second race of the season with today’s victory, not including his win in the All-Star Race.
• The win is Ford’s third straight and advances Logano into the Round of 12.
• The win is Logano’s 34th of his Cup Series career and 32nd with Ford.
• Those 32 wins put him 4th on the all-time Ford win list.
• Today’s win is Ford’s 736th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
• It also marks Team Penske’s 98th series win with Ford.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOU AND THIS TEAM THAT CAN STEP UP AND MAKE IT TO THE NEXT ROUND? “We didn’t last year and it hurt a lot, but they just give me really fast cars on superspeedways and we always find ourselves towards the front of them, we just end up wrecking more times than not. So, to be able to finally capitalize on a fast race car and win here in Atlanta again, I lived right over there in condo 805 for a long time, waking up dreaming of just racing on this racetrack, so pulling into Victory Lane here is always a special one. We had such a really good team here today. It’s awesome to get Autotrader into Victory Lane and the JL Kids Crew are here today, so it’s really cool to finally win with them here.”

HOW HARD WAS IT TO WORK THROUGH THAT PACK? “We kind of just got stuck back there and couldn’t figure out how to get myself back up there, and then I finally picked the right lanes at the right time to move myself forward. That part was good.”

HOW SPECIAL IS THIS WINNING HERE AT ATLANTA WITH ALL THE HOURS YOU PUT IN AT CONDO 805? “It was a lot of time. My dad, my family. We had so much fun. You park right over there and unload. We’d be here every Wednesday and Thursday night racing Legends cars and Bandoleros. I remember we came down here for the first time when we were moving down from Connecticut and we pulled into this place and we said, ‘Oh my God, look how awesome this place is.’ You never dream, that was almost 30 years ago, that dream and meeting Ken Ragan, David Ragan’s dad, and getting a Bandolero and racing out there for the first time with duct tape Number 10 on it to where we are today is just really, really cool.”

Ford Performance Results:
1st – Joey Logano
3rd – Ryan Blaney
10th – Austin Cindric
12th – Justin Haley
18th – Ryan Preece
19th – Brad Keselowski
22nd – Michael McDowell
27th – Todd Gilliland
28th – Josh Berry
30th – Cody Ware
31st – Harrison Burton
34th – Noah Gragson
36th – Chris Buescher
38th – Chase Briscoe

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Honestly, I can’t believe we got back up to where we did. The 12 boys did a really good job of fixing it. I’m surprised it didn’t have more damage than what it did. From my seat, I got drilled in the left-rear, or the door I guess where it hit me, and then the right-rear got off the fence. I didn’t know how damaged we were, but I was able to carve up through traffic and kind of get through the middle pretty good. I’m really proud of the effort. I had a thought of going three-wide on the frontstretch and I’m like, ‘Man, this is gonna be tight and we’ve already had a really good day going, great points and all that stuff,’ so third is a really good day. I appreciate Dent Wizard doing what they do, Menards, Advance Auto Parts, DEX Imaging, the Wurth group, Discount Tire. We’ll move on to Watkins Glen. I’m really happy. Like I said, this thing looks ugly, but a really good finish so I’m proud of the effort by everybody.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards Quaker State Mustang Dark Horse – “I’m just glad a Team Penske car won it. We’ve come to so many of these speedways with cars that are capable of winning races and I’m proud of Joey and the guys to get it done. Obviously, Ryan and I worked really well together to get a ton of points to start. We just got off cycle there with a bad pit stop and just really took a long time to get back up to the front of the field. I feel like I could have made some better decisions on the last couple of restarts, but a solid effort all around with all of the challenges of pack racing.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GET THROUGH THIS WITH A GOOD DAY? “Yeah, just base hits all around. I’m so proud of the team. We have just a little bit left on execution, but, otherwise, happy with the result.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It just wasn’t a super strong day. We kind of survived and we’ll live to fight another day.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Decisely Insurance Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We struggled with grip all day and just couldn’t find what I needed to get the speed needed to drive up front. It’s a bummer for sure to qualify so well and not make the most of it, but this group will take a bad day on the chin and reset for next week. I can’t thank Decisely enough for coming on board this week and supporting the No. 4 program. It’s really special to have friends of the team want to get involved and I am just appreciative of them. We will go at it again next week in Watkins Glen.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Ultimately, that’s not how we wanted to go out. I’m definitely disappointed and screwed up there. I got a really good run. I got to the bottom and we’d been able to keep really good pace on the bottom, and then just caught a bump and stepped out and ended up making a crash. I’m disappointed in myself for that one. It certainly wasn’t our typical Atlanta day, either. We’d been so good here, but I had to fight for the handling today. The team made good adjustments and good calls to get us close to the front, but I just messed it up when it counted.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED? “That’s NASCAR. You can be on top one week and you can be at the very bottom of the mountain the next week. It’s unfortunate. I thought our car was an adjustment away from being pretty good. We weren’t very good at all balance-wise and I still felt like I was able to kind of run right there around the seventh to 12th place guys. I was watching my outside getting into one because somebody kept trying to get to my outside and was probably a little late just trying to see the 5 car wrecking. I didn’t expect anybody to wreck because they weren’t really two-wide, and then I saw the smoke and tried slowing down. I knew he was coming down the racetrack and just kept trying to feed the thing left and slow it down and I couldn’t get left quick enough and then he kind of started sliding back down the track at the very last minute, so I tried to turn back right to avoid him and just KO’d him. It was a big hit. One of the biggest hits I’ve had in a long time. I’m glad I’m alright and we just have to go win. That’s what we had to do at Darlington and I know we’re capable of doing it again, so we’ll just have to go to Watkins Glen and Bristol and try to do the same.”

HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW? “I’m good. My private area hurt pretty bad at first, just when I hit it was a big hit, but, other than that, I’m totally good. My head, everything feels fine. I’m glad my ankles didn’t get messed up. The brake pedal and everything went through the floorboard, so I’m thankful that I’m alright, for sure.”

A MUST-WIN AT WATKINS GLEN OR BRISTOL? “I mean, either one. I think we’re gonna be really good. Bristol, we’ve started in the top three of four there the last three times we went. We’ve obviously had really good speed. We tested there about a month-and-a-half ago, and then the road courses we’ve always been really good. With the fall off that they’re talking about at Watkins Glen, I think we’re gonna be in good shape. The slick, wore out, where we’re slipping and sliding around is typically when we’re our strongest, so I feel like we can win any of the two.”

HOW DO FEEL ABOUT THAT CHALLENGE? “I’m excited for the challenge, truthfully. I think we all knew when the Playoffs started that this was gonna be the one race where you could really dig yourself a big hole. It’s unfortunate that we dug ourselves in a big hole, but if there was two racetracks out of the 10, those are two of the ones that I would definitely pick to go run in a must-win situation, so hopefully we can do it.”

WHAT WAS THE CAR LIKE FOR YOU? “You’re hanging on, for sure. This place is hard. You’re just on the ragged edge. I know for me I was almost spinning out a lot and that’s why I kept telling my guys that I needed to make it to the first pit stop to get our car better and, unfortunately, we didn’t get that opportunity. These guys are on pins and needles, I can assure you.”