Category: NASCAR Cup PR

RYAN PREECE
Atlanta Advance
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 27 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 8
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Sunday’s Atlanta 400 will mark Ryan Preece’s eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The best of his previous outings on the 1.54-mile oval was the most recent, a 16th-place result from the 20th starting position in March that also was best that day of the four Stewart-Haas Racing entries. Preece’s first four Atlanta starts came prior to the track’s old configuration, on which his best finish was 25th, earned twice – March 2021 and July 2021. Preece logged finishes of 28th and 24th in the March and July 2023 races, respectively, his first two outings on Atlanta’s current configuration.

● Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Preece has three other Atlanta starts. He ran two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track, each on the old layout, with his best result being seventh in February 2019. In March 2023, Preece competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta, where he also finished seventh.

● Atlanta Motor Speedway has been in existence since 1960, but the Atlanta track Preece and his NASCAR Cup Series brethren will compete on this Sunday is less than years old. The 1.54-mile oval was reconfigured after the final race of the 2021 season. The banking was increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees and the track was narrowed from 55 feet wide to 40 feet wide, and it was all covered in fresh asphalt. The goal of the reconstruction was to recreate the kind of pack-style racing seen at the behemoth, 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the even bigger 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Drivers competed on the new layout for the first time in March 2022 and the Atlanta 400 will be the sixth Cup Series race on the revamped track.

● Joining Preece and the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Atlanta is HaasTooling.com, the cutting tool division of Haas Automation. HaasTooling.com allows CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. Haas Automation, founded in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, rotaries and indexers, and automation solutions.

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Your first race at Atlanta was back in February. So, seven months have passed and the weather is now a lot hotter and a lot more humid. How much does Atlanta change from late February to early September?

“With it being in the South and as hot as it is this time of year, I think it’s going to change a lot. It would help if it was a night race, which would make things a lot cooler and would give us a little more grip. But it is what it is, and it’s the same for everybody. We’ve been racing in these conditions pretty much every week since the beginning of summer, so it’s just another week of keeping focused and mindful of our hydration all week and through the race weekend.”

When you get to Atlanta, it’s just 10 more races until the season is over. What do you want to accomplish in these last 10 races at Stewart-Haas?

“Being competitive and staying competitive is the main thing. We want to run top-15, top-10, top-five, maybe even sneak in a win before all is said and done. But bottom line, no matter how it happens, it would be great to send it out on a good note.”

Now that you’ve run three Cup Series race on the current track configuration at Atlanta, how much does the racing at Atlanta emulate the racing you experience at Daytona and Talladega?

“I would say Atlanta versus Daytona and Talladega, they’re the same but they’re different. They’re different because Atlanta is still a mile-and-a-half, so we’re restricted on horsepower, we’re wide open like a superspeedway, but the runs happen twice as fast. Handling is, by far, way more important than it would be at Daytona and Talladega. Not only that, it’s a lot tighter of a corner at Atlanta, so when you’re going into turn three and you’re three-wide and four-wide, it gets tight really quick.”

Once again, single-car qualifying is all the track time you’ll have at Atlanta prior to Sunday’s race. How do you prepare for the race when you know so little about how your car will perform?

“You go into it completely blind. There’s nothing like showing up at a racetrack and going green and not really having an understanding of where you’re going to be. I guess that really just emphasizes how close the tools you’re using are as far as making sure your car drives well. But, yeah, we’re going to be completely blind.”

Is competing at Atlanta mentally taxing?

“Well, it’s different than it used to be, for sure. It’s not like the old Atlanta where you had balance shifts and you were trying to take care of your tires. Now, it’s about positioning yourself in the right lane, and potentially you can see handling becoming an issue and people trying to hang onto the draft. It’s going to be very mentally taxing, so hopefully our cars are really fast. That fixes everything.”

What do you need in your racecar to be fast at Atlanta?

“You need downforce, you need horsepower, really you need everything. Ultimately, if someone asks me that question, I’d say you need the total package. If you don’t have a lot of horsepower, or a really good-handling racecar because it has plenty of horsepower but a lot of drag, you could potentially struggle.”

Daytona and Talladega races are known to be a crapshoot, where there are so many things out of your control. Is that also the case at Atlanta, or are you still able to make a little bit of your own luck at Atlanta?

“I feel like at Atlanta you can control your destiny a little more. Yeah, you’re going to have to have track position, but if you have a really good-handling racecar at Atlanta, you’re going to have a good day. At Daytona and Talladega, sometimes it’s just luck of the draw.”

No. 41 HaasTooling.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Ryan Preece

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

Hometown: Cayuga, Indiana

Car Chief: Jeremy West

Hometown: Gardena, California

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen

Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Tony Raines

Hometown: LaPorte, Indiana

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Devin Lester

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Rear Tire Changer: Austin Chrismon

Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons

Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Sherman Timbs

Hometown: Indianola, Mississippi

Fuel Man: Dwayne Moore

Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Front End Mechanic: Joe Zanolini

Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Interior Mechanic: Robert Dalby

Hometown: Anaheim, California

Tire Specialist: Matt Ridgeway

Hometown: Carrollton, Georgia

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife

Hometown: Orange County, California

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues

Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer

Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

Martin Truex Jr.
Atlanta Advance
No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Quaker State 400 (Round 26 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 8
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: USA Network / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Playoff Reset: Despite a disappointing result in the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season last weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where he saw his day end after an accident on lap two, Truex was able to lock himself into the 2024 edition of the 10-race, 16-driver playoffs. Truex will start the playoffs this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway sitting 16th on the playoff grid with 2,004 points, 36 points behind No. 1 seed Kyle Larson.

● The Final Countdown: Truex announced earlier this summer that this will be his last year of fulltime racing in the NASCAR’s top series. In his final year, Truex made the playoffs for the 11th and final time when he clinched a spot in the regular-season finale last weekend at Darlington. He’ll hope to go on a magical run and add one more piece of championship hardware to his trophy case, where he already has a Cup Series championship from 2017, when he ran for Furniture Row Racing. Truex made his first playoff appearance in 2007 while driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He then returned to the playoffs in 2012 driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. After moving to Furniture Row Racing in 2014, Truex returned to the playoffs in 2015, when he made his first Championship 4 appearance in just the second year of the elimination format. In all, Truex has made five Championship 4 appearances, which ties him with two-time champions Joey Logano and Kyle Busch and 2014 champion Kevin Harvick.

● Atlanta Motor Speedway is a much different track today than what Truex had grown accustomed to racing on earlier in his career. The 1.54-mile oval was reconfigured after the final race of the 2021 season, and this weekend’s race will be just the sixth on the latest configuration. The banking was increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees and the track was narrowed from 55 feet wide to 40 feet wide, and it was covered with fresh asphalt. The goal of the reconstruction was to recreate the kind of pack-style racing seen at the behemoth, 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the even bigger 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The New Jersey native’s best finish on the current configuration is a eighth-place run in the first race on it in the spring of 2022. Truex has two other top-12 finishes on the current configuration – an 11th-place finish in the second race there in 2022 and a 12th-place finish there earlier this year.

● Truex has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta, all of which came prior to the reconfiguration. Truex finished no worse than 11th in those three starts, and his most recent outing there in the spring of 2021 netted him a second-place finish.

● Looking for 35: Truex’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon in July 2023 was his most recent Cup Series win, the 34th of his career, tying him with 2004 champion Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time Cup Series win list.

● Ahead at this Stage: Truex has accumulated 63 stage wins since the beginning of the stage era in 2017. He is the only driver with 10 or more stage sweeps, with his latest sweep coming at Michigan last August. Truex scored his third stage win of the season in July at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, leading the field across the line at the end of Stage 1.

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE

What are your expectations as you kick off the playoffs this weekend at Atlanta?

“In general, we’ve been consistently fast, which is good. If we can just put everything else together, we’re going to be in much better shape. It’s been frustrating the last couple of months and it’s not just been one thing. I made mistakes at both Michigan and Darlington that cost us a lot, we’ve had some issues on pit road at times, and there have been times where we just flat out had some bad luck, like cautions coming out at Richmond in the spring and then Kansas, where we looked like we had a shot at the win and those cautions hurt us. We know that this team is capable of getting the job done and we hope that we can get our Auto-Owners Insurance Camry up front this weekend and give us a chance and we can start the playoffs out on the right foot.”

What is the potential for your team as you head into the playoffs?

“I think we have the potential to finish off the year on a high note. We’ve got tons of speed, which we show a lot of weeks. We’re right there, we’ve been knocking on the door and it would be nice to win a couple before it’s all over.”

How difficult is it to win in the Cup Series with how competitive things are, especially when you are trying to get one in your final year?

“I try to always enjoy them all like they were the last because you never know. I think when we won our last race of the year last year, we probably thought we were going to win a couple more, at least, before I decided on retirement, it’s just been tough. We certainly have performed at the level we need to get it done, but just haven’t been able to finish the deal. It’s a tough sport and it’s tough to win these things because it takes a lot more than just a fast car, so we’ll just keep giving it all we’ve got.”

What has been the challenge at Atlanta since the repave and the superspeedway-style racing it now produces?

“Certainly, the challenge is being in the right position at the end and not getting caught up in a wreck, which takes some good fortune sometimes. We’ve had some fast cars there the last couple of years but seem to find our way into a wreck almost every time. Sort of what happens at those types of places – you can be in the best spot possible, but you have to count on other guys to help you and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. All I can do is hope we are in the same position this weekend with our Auto-Owners Insurance Camry XSE and maybe things will work out a little bit better in our favor and we can bring home the win.”

Has superspeedway racing changed in recent years?

“I think superspeedways probably haven’t changed much as opposed to some of the other types of tracks. Just the way you can bump draft with this car is totally different than the previous-generation cars. I think right now there are a lot more options as far as what lanes work. It used to be that you never wanted anyone on the outside, and now you can pass guys on the bottom a bit easier and that sets up some other opportunities. I feel like the racing has been fun on superspeedways, but you have to be really aggressive, as well.”

No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Martin Truex Jr.

Hometown: Mayetta, New Jersey

Crew Chief: James Small

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Car Chief: Chris Jones

Hometown: Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia

Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy

Hometown: Blockville, New York

Spotter: Drew Herring

Hometown: Benson, North Carolina

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Ryan Martin

Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Virgina

Mechanic: Todd Carmichael

Hometown: Redding, California

Interior/Tire Specialist: Tommy DiBlasi

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engine Tuner: Beau Morton

Hometown: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Transporter Driver: Kyle Bazzell

Hometown: Fairbury, Illinois

Transporter Driver: Eddie DeGroot

Hometown: Baldwinsville, New York

Over-The-Wall Crew Members

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Jackman: Caleb Dirks

Hometown: Riverside, California

Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey

Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Front Tire Changer: Thomas Hatcher

Hometown: Middleburg, Florida

Rear Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham

Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois

Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway Competition Notes

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 3, 2024) – The NASCAR Cup Series makes their return to the Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway for the first race of the 2024 playoffs.

For Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 team, Atlanta shows much promise to capture their first win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Gilliland led a race-high 58 laps at the 1.5-mile, Hampton, Georgia venue in February’s race. Gilliland has proven that he has what it takes to be a trusted drafting partner at tracks like Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega.

CITGARD will partner with Gilliland for the event and will bring along a valued partner of theirs, Shipton’s Big R. Locally owned and operated farm and ranch retail stores since 1949, Shipton’s Big R brings exceptional customer service, proven and reputable products, and everyday low prices to Montana, Wyoming, and many other states.

Track activity for the NASCAR Cup Series will start with qualifying at 12:30 pm ET on Saturday, September 7th. The 260-lap event is scheduled for Sunday, September 8th at 3:00 pm ET. Fans can watch the action live on the USA Network or listen in from the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM channel 90.

No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang Dark Horse:

DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:

“The result doesn’t tell the whole story from our night in Darlington. We had a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse, and the crew executed. I am proud of the effort we have put in all year, and we still have 10 races left where we can get ourselves a win. I think we can do it at Atlanta if we execute and stay out of trouble.

“It’s cool to see CITGARD return, and with Shipton’s Big R too. Their paint scheme brings a sort of nostalgic look to it. I really like it. They bring so much energy to the track and are really involved with our race program. Hopefully I can make them proud.”

CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:

“Missing the playoffs is disappointing, but I am not going to let that write our season’s story. We started the season with almost a completely new team, and I am proud of the progress we have made since February. We still have 10 races left to continue to improve and compete for wins. I’m feeling confident heading to Atlanta. Todd (Gilliland) controlled the first race there, and that is the standard for this weekend.”

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

DARLINGTON, SC – September 3, 2024 – Chase Briscoe won Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, clinching the final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Ford will enter the playoffs with six drivers and four different organizations in the 16-driver playoffs, the most of any manufacturer.

“Congratulations to Tony, Gene, Richard, Chase, and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing on the race win at Darlington,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Richard and Chase were fast in qualifying and maintained that speed throughout the race. Chase and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing earned this one, what an incredible final restart for the #14 car.”

“Man, everybody knows I’m a diehard Tony Stewart fan and to get this 14 car back in Victory Lane and for all 320-something employees, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, it’s unbelievable. God is just so good. It’s like deja vu again with Kyle with the Xfinity race here in 2020. Obviously, I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to do it, but I just can’t thank HighPoint.com enough, Mahindra Tractors, Rush Truck Centers, Renai, everybody that makes this deal go around. We’ll go to Atlanta and try to steal another one,” commented Briscoe.

Three Ford Performance drivers started Sunday night’s race from the top-10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in P3, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P7, and Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing’s Chris Buescher in P10. After an accident on lap 2, the race remained caution-free until the end of Stage 1. Chase Briscoe held onto his third-place position to finish the first stage and finished Stage 2 in 2nd. The end of the race came down to a battle between Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson. A multi-car wreck on lap 344 brought out the final caution of the race. On the restart, Chase Briscoe was first on the outside, Kyle Larson was second inside, and Kyle Busch was the first car with new tires inside on the fourth row. After a strong restart, Chase Briscoe pulled away from the field with Kyle Busch behind him. Briscoe held off Kyle Busch on the final lap, finishing .361-seconds in front of second place.

Two Ford Performance drivers finished in the top 10 along with Briscoe: RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in P6 and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P8.

Chase Briscoe advances to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with this weekend’s win along with five other Ford drivers: RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (Darlington 1), Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (WWTR), Team Penske’s Joey Logano (Nashville), Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (Iowa and Pocono), and Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton (Daytona 2).

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Darlington on Saturday. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer finished in P2.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, GA. This weekend marks three races remaining in the regular Xfinity Series season and the start of the Cup Series playoffs.
39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 468 WINS – 434 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.

JOSH BERRY
Atlanta Advance
No. 4 Decisely Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview
● Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 27 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 8
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway this Sunday to kick off the 2024 playoffs. But for Josh Berry, this 1.54-mile superspeedway-like oval is grounds for redemption. In his second points-paying race in his rookie campaign earlier this spring, the 33-year-old driver qualified 14th for the Ambetter Health 400. Berry, who at the time had limited seat time in the NextGen car, maneuvered to eighth place by lap 250, eyeing a top-10 finish to kick off the season when he was collected in an on-track incident that ended his day early. He finished 29th. Berry also has cut laps in the Next Gen car at Atlanta in March 2023 when he filled in for an injured Chase Elliott. In that race – his second time ever in the NextGen car – he started 21st and managed to gain three spots before the checkered flag waved. While most would not consider this a significant gain, it does show that Berry has experience drafting and racing the new car on the new layout.

● While Berry is not in the running for the 2024 playoff race, he is still eligible to win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title and the race for the crown is as close as ever. Berry is currently 11 points behind rookie points leader Carson Hocevar. Berry’s ninth-place finish in the first stage and seventh-place result in the second stage last Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway helped him narrow the gap to Hocevar.

● Berry made six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta with JR Motorsports prior to earning a promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing. In that stepping-stone division to the elite Cup Series, Berry tallied one top-five finish (runner up in July 2022 after starting second in that race) and two top-10s. Additionally, Berry earned an average starting position of 11.2.

● Rodney Childers will dive deep into his notebook for Atlanta, preparing for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race. Childers has tallied two wins, five top-five finishes, nine top-10s, and 1,123 laps led. In fact, in Childers’ first race with former No. 4 driver Kevin Harvick, the duo won the pole position. That pairing found victory lane in 2018 after leading 181 circuits at the old layout. Just two year later, Childers and Harvick found their winning combination again and led 151 laps in that event.

● This weekend, the No. 4 team brings aboard a new partner – Decisely – with a unique twist on what it means to be a teammate. Kevin Dunn, CEO of Decisely and Robert “Cheddar” Smith, car chief of the No. 4 team, met after a bass fishing event with Decisely Chairman Wally Smith, and quickly bonded. Decisely sponsors Bassmaster Elite rookie Bryant Smith, and their friendship eventually led to a partnership with Berry. Dunn appreciated the parallels between racing and bass fishing, where, with the crucial support of a team, it falls on an individual’s shoulders to claim victory. This resonated deeply with Dunn, as it mirrors the independent spirit of the business owners served at Decisely – driven individuals who, much like racers and anglers, are committed to achieving success through their own determination and grit.

● Decisely is a technology-based employee benefits and HR services platform focused on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs succeed. By providing comprehensive benefits solutions, HR management tools, and expert advisory services, Decisely enables businesses to attract and retain top talent while driving growth and success. Decisely proudly serves franchise and association businesses from NAPA, FedEx, The Society of Collision Repair Specialists, Tire Pros, Amazon and more. For more information about Decisely and its services, visit www.decisely.com.

Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 Decisely Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Atlanta is a track where you have had speed in the NextGen car, but the results don’t reflect that. What have you been able to learn in a short amount of time to get you comfortable there?

“I think it has a lot to do with Rodney (Childers) and this No. 4 team helping me with good Ford Mustang Dark Horse racecars, the experience they have as a team, and just getting seat time. Obviously, heading to Atlanta for the first time, I didn’t have a ton of experience, but coming off of the Daytona 500 and racing in a similar style with the draft, it wasn’t as hard of a transition as it might have been if we had a road course or short track the week prior. I can’t say it enough, this team is just really strong from top to bottom and I am super proud of all of them and how hard they work each and every week to get me ready to compete on Sundays”

Decisely is on the car this weekend, a local company with a close tie to the No. 4 team and Robert “Cheddar” Smith. What does that mean to you?

“It’s a really cool opportunity to see one of Cheddar’s friends get involved and want to support myself and the whole team. It’s not very often that you get to have a relationship that is so close to the team like this one is, so to be able to get to meet the great folks at Decisely, see their colors and branding on the No. 4 car, and try to get them to victory lane is really neat. I am excited to vie for a win this weekend and I would love to celebrate with friends of the No. 4 team.”

What are your expectations heading to Atlanta this weekend?

“Honestly, I just want to put together a complete race. It feels like recently, we have been clean on pit road, had good strategy, and worked well as a team and then something has taken us out of contention. So, for me, I want to just continue to maximize our effort, stay true to our process, and put together a clean and complete race. If we do that, I think we can be competitive for a lot of the last 10 races this season.”

No. 4 Decisely Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Josh Berry

Hometown: Hendersonville, Tennessee

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith

Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer

Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Billy Kuebler

Hometown: Saline, Michigan

Spotter: Eddie D’Hondt

Hometown: Levittown, New York

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey

Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Mason Flynt

Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Jack Man: Brandon Banks

Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Tyler Trosper

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Mechanic: Chris Capaldi

Hometown: Armada, Michigan

Tire Specialist: Zac Lupien

Hometown: Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Jake Zierhoffer

Hometown: Billerica, Massachusetts

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell

Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

Atlanta II Event Info:
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Hampton, Georgia
Format: 260 Laps, 400.4 Miles, Stages: 60-100-100
TV: USA
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 12:30 p.m. ET, Qualifying (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3 p.m. ET, Race (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• The NASCAR Playoffs get underway this weekend as Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts race No. 1 in the 10-race schedule.
• RFK has led a combined 113 laps in the last three Atlanta races as Keselowski average a 4.0 finish in last season’s events in Georgia.
• Jack Roush has six Cup wins all-time at Atlanta, and 13 overall.

6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: King’s Hawaiian Pretzel Bites

17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Fastenal

Keselowski at Atlanta
Starts: 19
Wins: 2 (2017, 2019)
Top-10s: 11
Poles: —

• Keselowski makes his 20th Cup start at Atlanta this weekend where he is a two-time winner with an average finish of 14.9.
• Keselowski won at the now Superspeedway first in 2017 after starting fifth and again in 2019.
• Most recently, he finished 33rd in the spring after crashing at lap 218. Last season, he led a combined 66 laps in the two races and finished second (spring) and sixth (fall).
• Overall he’s led laps in 11 different Atlanta races and finished top-10 11 times.
• He carries an average starting position of 15.4 into the weekend with a career-best effort of P2 in 2014. Overall he has six top-10 starts, including a P4 starting spot last spring.
• He also made eight Xfinity Series starts with six top-10s including two P2 finishes. He also made four Truck starts.

Buescher at Atlanta
Starts: 12
Wins: —
Top-10s: 4
Poles: —

• Buescher makes his 13th Cup start in Atlanta where he has four top-10s and a best finish of seventh (twice – 2021, 2022). He finished ninth in 2019, and ninth in the most recent race there this spring.
• Buescher has an average qualifying position of 17.9 with a career-best effort of seventh, which he matched this spring.
• He also finish fourth in the Xfinity Series in 2015.

RFK Historically at Atlanta
Cup Wins: 6 (Mark Martin, 1991, 1994; Kurt Busch, 2002; Carl Edwards, 2005, 2005, 2008)

• RFK at Atlanta: RFK has 279 starts at AMS in NASCAR’s three major touring series totaling 13 wins, 60 top fives, 115 top-10s and nine poles while leading 3,267 laps and turning over 109,000 miles.
• AMS/RFK History: RFK competed in its first NASCAR event at AMS on March 20, 1988, finishing 31st after getting involved in an early crash. Just three years later the organization claimed its first win there in the fall of ‘91 with the No. 6 Ford. RFK won its first of seven NXS races at the track in the spring of ’97. The team’s top outing at AMS came in the fall of 2005, when the organization placed four cars inside the top seven, with three cars finishing in the top five including race winner Carl Edwards. Altogether, in the two races at AMS in 2005, RFK posted six top-five finishes and two wins.
• Spring Forward: All but one of RFK’s Cup wins at AMS came in the fall, with the only spring win coming in 2005. Three of RFK’s seven NXS wins came in the fall.

RFK Atlanta Wins

1991-2 Martin Cup

1994-2 Martin Cup

1997-1 Martin NXS

1998-2 Martin NXS

2000-1 Martin NXS

2002-2 Busch Cup

2005-1 Edwards Cup

2005-1 Edwards NXS

2005-2 Edwards Cup

2008-1 Kenseth NXS

2008-2 Edwards Cup

2011 Edwards NXS

2012 Stenhouse NXS

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Darlington: Chris Buescher did everything needed to put himself into the playoffs, but another new winner negated that as Buescher finished sixth and ultimately did not qualify for the playoffs. Keselowski finished 14th.

Points Standings (6: 8th, 17: 17th): Keselowski is re-seeded to eighth entering the playoffs.

NOAH GRAGSON
Atlanta Advance
No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 27 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 8
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Atlanta Motor Speedway has been around since 1960, but the Atlanta track Gragson and his NASCAR Cup Series brethren will compete on this Sunday is less than three years old. The 1.54-mile oval was reconfigured after the final race of the 2021 season. The banking was increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees and the track was narrowed from 55-feet wide to 40-feet wide, and it was all covered in fresh asphalt. The goal of the reconstruction was to recreate the kind of pack-style racing seen at the behemoth, 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the even bigger 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Drivers competed on the new layout for the first time in March 2022 and the Atlanta 400 will be the sixth Cup Series race on the revamped track.

● The Atlanta 400 will mark Gragson’s sixth NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta, and all five of his prior starts have come on the updated configuration. The driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing earned his best Atlanta finish in his third Atlanta start – 12th in March 2023. Gragson’s most recent Atlanta start came earlier this year in the Feb. 25 Ambetter Health 400. It was incredibly short-lived, however, as Gragson was collected in a 16-car accident on just the third tour of the 260-lap race. While his crew repaired the No. 10 Ford enough for it to return to the racetrack, Gragson was only able to make 63 more laps before his battered racecar became undriveable, forcing him to the garage.

● Gragson has six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Atlanta, the last two of which came in 2022, the first year of the reconfiguration. He finished among the top-10 in all but one of his Xfinity Series starts at the track, and his best finish was a second-place drive in June 2020.

● Gragson also has two Atlanta starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He finished 14th in his first Truck Series start at the track in 2017 and then earned a second-place finish when he returned to Atlanta in 2018, leading the first 43 laps.

● Overstock.com adorns Gragson’s No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Atlanta. The partnership amplifies the recent relaunch of Overstock.com, home of crazy good deals that offer quality and style for less. Overstock.com is for the savvy shopper who loves the thrill of the hunt and it includes product categories customers know and love, like patio furniture, home furniture and area rugs, while reintroducing jewelry, watches and health-and-beauty products.

Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

How much does racing at Atlanta emulate what you experienced two weeks ago at Daytona?

“It’s hard to tell what we’re going to have at Atlanta. Handling definitely comes into play more so than at Daytona. Still, at Daytona, you have handling issues if you get held on the bottom. It just seems like everything happens a little bit faster at Atlanta. The straightaways are shorter, so you don’t have the time to mount your runs. It’s different than the superspeedways. There’s a lot more pushing on the straightaways at Daytona and Talladega. At Atlanta, you can’t really get locked up for the whole straightaway and get away. Everybody’s super tight together. It’s a mix between an intermediate track and Daytona and Talladega. It’s a little bit of a different form of racing.”

Daytona and Talladega races are known to be crapshoots, where there are so many things out of your control. Is that also the case at Atlanta, or are you still able to make a little bit of your own luck at Atlanta?

“It’s probably the same as far as making your own luck and getting to the front. You can work your way up to the front, you just really don’t want to get stuck in the back. With green-flag pit stops, the commitment line starts early and they start taking pit-road speed into turn three and you run the apron all the way through (turns) three and four during green-flag pit stops. That makes it a little bit different and it bites some guys, but for me, I take the same mindset going into Atlanta as I do Daytona and Talladega.”

Your first race at Atlanta was back in February. Seven months have passed and the weather is now a lot hotter and a lot more humid. How much does Atlanta change from late February to early September, and how do you prepare for that change?

“It’ll probably be slicker, but you don’t really know until you get into the race. You qualify one lap on Saturday and then you race on Sunday. You don’t know how your car’s going to draft or anything because we don’t have any practice. So you’ve got to figure all that out on the fly. I feel like you’re just trying to learn all day and figure out what your car’s tendencies are and where it’s good. But for the most part, there’s not much time to really know. There are a lot of unknowns and uncertainty until you get five laps into the race and you know, ‘Hey, my car’s a little loose, my car’s a little tight, this is what I need.’”

What do you need in your racecar to be fast at Atlanta?

“You’ve got to be fast and you can’t be too draggy. It’s bitten me in the past where we started the race tight and I couldn’t make any passes, and then we kept on freeing the car up, loosening it up, and probably got past the neutral point in the balance and got too loose and I ended up wrecking. But the freer we got it, the faster I went. So it’s a fine line of what’s enough, and that’s what I’m trying to figure out, what’s too much, what’s enough, but you definitely have to be handling good to be able to tug on the wheel and keep the thing wide open.”

Are you wide open every lap at Atlanta?

“You’re wide open in qualifying. In the race, you’re working the throttle more. At Daytona and Talladega, you’re more pacing the throttle to save fuel, where at Atlanta, you’re lifting out of the gas because you’ll get tight or loose behind guys and you have to really play with the timing on your throttle for when you get runs up to guys. You’re playing with the throttle because of handling.”

Is competing at Atlanta mentally taxing?

“Atlanta is mentally taxing. You’re still having the same thought processes that you do with superspeedway racing, but it’s just faster. You’re mentally drained after Atlanta.”

When you get to Atlanta, it’s just 10 more races until the season is over. What do you want to accomplish in these last 10 races at Stewart-Haas?

“We want to have strong runs, complete all the laps, have strong finishes inside the top-10, top-five, and just be able to learn for the future, keep building the notebook for the races next year, learn as a driver, and just try and take it all in. Obviously, it’s going to get more emotional each and every weekend, getting closer to that last weekend in Phoenix. With that being said, we’ve got a great group and we’re really focused in and we want to have strong runs. The goal is to get to victory lane, but if we can’t do that, I think having top-10 finishes, top-fives, that would be a win to us right now.”

Even though you’re changing teams next year, you’ll remain with Ford in 2025. How helpful is it to be able to carry what you’re learning this year into next year with the same manufacturer?

“I definitely think being with the same manufacturer is good. You know the people, you know how the simulator operates, and you’re definitely taking a lot of notes to carry on into 2025.”

No. 10 Overstock.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Noah Gragson

Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

Hometown: Decatur, Illinois

Car Chief: Jerry Cook

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Engineer: James Kimbrough

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

Spotter: Andy Houston

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder

Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa

Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

Hometown: King, North Carolina

Jack Man: Sean Cotten

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener

Hometown: Fortuna, California

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Beau Whitley

Hometown: Carmel, Indiana

Tire Specialist: Jacob Cooksey

Hometown: Westbrookville, New York

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Steve Casper

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

CHASE BRISCOE
Atlanta Advance
No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 27 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 8
● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
● Layout: 1.54-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The NASCAR Playoffs begin Sunday with the Atlanta 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, and for the second time in his four-year NASCAR Cup Series career, Chase Briscoe is a part of it. Briscoe qualified for this year’s playoffs by scoring the equivalent of walk-off home run last Sunday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway when he won the Cook Out Southern 500. Briscoe came into the race 144 points outside of the top-16 cutoff to make the playoffs. His only shot to make the 16-driver playoff field was with a victory, and in Briscoe’s eighth career Darlington start, the 29-year-old from Mitchell, Indiana, delivered. After starting third, his best at Darlington, Briscoe was a top-five mainstay, leading four times for 29 laps, including the final 26 tours around the 1.366-mile oval after a daring three-wide pass for the lead on lap 342. And when a late-race caution bunched the field for a 16-lap dash to the finish, Briscoe fended off a hard-charging Kyle Busch, who was also in a must-win situation to make the playoffs, to take the victory by .361 of a second over Busch. It was Briscoe’s second career Cup Series win and it ended a 93-race winless streak, as Briscoe scored his first Cup Series win in just his 40th career start on March 13, 2022 at Phoenix Raceway. Now, for the final 10-race title run, Briscoe is 13th amongst the 16 playoff drivers.

● Briscoe’s Darlington win was a milestone for Stewart-Haas Racing as it was the organization’s 70th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victory. It was the 104th overall win for the organization co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. Stewart-Haas’ total win tally also includes six non-points-paying Cup Series wins, 27 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, and one ARCA Menards Series West win.

● Atlanta Motor Speedway has been around since 1960, but the Atlanta track Briscoe and his NASCAR Cup Series brethren will compete on this Sunday is less than three years old. The 1.54-mile oval was reconfigured after the final race of the 2021 season. The banking was increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees and the track was narrowed from 55-feet wide to 40-feet wide, and it was all covered in fresh asphalt. The goal of the reconstruction was to recreate the kind of pack-style racing seen at the behemoth, 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the even bigger 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Drivers competed on the new layout for the first time in March 2022 and the Atlanta 400 will be the sixth Cup Series race on the revamped track.

● The Atlanta 400 will mark Briscoe’s eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta. His first two starts came on the old configuration, where his best finish was 15th, earned in July 2021. Despite the new layout in 2022, Briscoe equaled that finish in the debut of “new Atlanta” in March, where the driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing started from the pole and led five laps. Fifteenth remains his best career Cup Series result at Atlanta.

● Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Briscoe has four other Atlanta starts. He ran three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track, each on the old layout, and never finished outside of the top-15. His best result was ninth in June 2020. He made a lone NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Atlanta in March 2017 and finished 25th.

● Mahindra Ag North America is a proud sponsor of Briscoe and Stewart-Haas, and 2024 highlights an impressive milestone for Mahindra – 30 years of selling tractors in the United States. Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America is part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, the No. 1-selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra offers a range of tractor models from 20-75 horsepower, implements, and the ROXOR heavy-duty UTV. Mahindra farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Steel-framed Mahindra Tractors and side-by-sides are ideal for customers who demand performance, reliability and comfort. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.

● Mahindra Ag North America is using the Atlanta 400 to promote its newest line of sub-compact and compact tractors, which are designed with features to enhance operation for first-time buyers. Boasting comfort amenities like telematics, leather seats and USB charging ports, the Mahindra 1100 and 2100 models are designed around ease of use for acreage owners, farmers and ranchers, with features like a push-button PTO and side-by-side HST pedals. Other features include a hand throttle on the console, tilt and telescopic steering, implement quick raise and lower, and auto lift at three points while turning and backing. Every model in the 1100 and 2100 series is available in open station or cab configurations, with an HVAC system exclusive to the 2126. This line of compacts have compatible Mahindra attachments, including loaders, backhoes, mowers, snowblowers, post hole diggers and grapples. The loader on the 1100 series has a max lift of 770 pounds, while the 2100 has a max lift of 1,760 pounds.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

How much does racing at Atlanta emulate what you experienced two weeks ago at Daytona?

“It’s similar in a sense, but very different in the sense of just how fast things happen. The mental side of Atlanta is, by far, the hardest thing we do all year long. It’s a mile shorter, so while it’s very, very easy to run wide open the whole time when you go to Daytona or Talladega, at Atlanta your car is struggling just to even get close to that. There’s a lot more to the team side of things at Atlanta as far as getting the balance of the car right, and it’s just a challenge for us mentally with how fast things happen and how quickly you have to process things.”

Is competing at Atlanta mentally taxing?

“I think it’s the most mentally draining racetrack we have on the schedule. Daytona and Talladega have always been mentally draining, but you go to Atlanta and things happen four times the speed because you lose a mile with that racetrack. It’s an interesting track because it races like a superspeedway, but it’s still an intermediate. The corners didn’t change. The radius of the corners, all of that is still the same as we’ve always had, so it’s not like a Daytona or a Talladega where your car goes around there wide-open super easily. You’re manhandling the car at all times, so Atlanta is a very challenging racetrack and, by far, the most mentally draining with just how much your brain is trying to process and listen to your spotter. Actually applying what your spotter is saying is hard because things happen so fast there. It’s a tough one, for sure.”

Talk about your race earlier this year at Atlanta. Fast in qualifying. Fast in the race. Running top-five with 21 laps to go. A crash left you 31st, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story.

“Atlanta’s one of those races I wish I could have back. Our car was so good. We qualified well, we raced really, really well, and I was able to be extremely aggressive. I feel like my car handled better than anybody in the field. So, yeah, that’s a race I wish I could have back because the end-of-the-day result certainly didn’t reflect how good we were that day. It was just one of those situations where we got four-wide going into the corner and there was really only room for three cars, and I ended up being on the wrong end of it. But I’m excited to go back there. It’s a place where I felt like we kind of gave one away in a sense – maybe not gave one away, but we were going to be in the mix at the end, for sure, if we were still rolling. Hopefully, our car will be able to handle as good as it did there the first time, and if we can do that and be as aggressive as we were, I feel like it can be a good day for us.”

You first raced at Atlanta back in February. Seven months have passed and the weather is now a lot hotter and a lot more humid. How much does Atlanta change from late February to early September?

“I think your car is going to handle worse in the hotter temperatures. So from that side of things, how good our car handled earlier this year is encouraging. If it can continue to just be better than the field, that should make it easier for us to drive through the field. It’s hard to say, I think it will just get harder to run the car there wide open. Every time we’ve gone there, it’s gotten harder and harder to do that. That track’s been aging pretty quickly and the hotter temps are just going to make it that much more slick out there. I don’t know necessarily what to expect, but if I had to guess, that’s what going to happen.”

With your run at Atlanta earlier this year and a slicker track that plays into your dirt-track upbringing, what are your expectations for your return to Atlanta?

“Atlanta’s kind of unique because it is a superspeedway, so it’s not as comfortable to be loose as I would be at a Charlotte- or Darlington-type racetrack where it’s just easier to kind of slip and slide around. At Atlanta, you kind of want your car to be as stuck and comfortable as it can be because you have to be able to be aggressive and make moves and do the superspeedway-style blocks and maneuvers. That place is probably a little bit tougher. The encouraging thing for us is how well our car handled in the first race. Hopefully, that difference from the guys who didn’t have the handling will be a little bit bigger and our car will be able to adjust to the hotter weather, and if that happens, I definitely feel like we’ll be in the mix.”

When you get to Atlanta, it’s just 10 more races until the season is over. What do you want to accomplish in these last 10 races at Stewart-Haas?

“Everything we can do to try and win more races and compete for a championship. For sure, we want to go out with our heads held high. I’ve been in this same position with Brad Keselowski Racing (in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) where we were going to shut down at the end of the year and we were able to go and literally win the last race of the season and I think that really put a stamp on things. It’s cool to be able to say, with all the circumstances you were in with all the chaos and everything, people trying to find another place to go, that they were still willing to put the work in and the effort to bring race-winning cars. Winning again would be pretty special, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors 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