Category: NASCAR Cup PR

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

Event Overview

● Event: Cook Out Southern 500 (Round 26 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 1
● Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
● Layout: 1.366-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 367 laps/501.32 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 115 laps / Stage 2: 115 laps / Final Stage: 137 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The Cook Out Southern 500 will mark Chase Briscoe’s eighth career NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. In his last visit to the 1.366-mile oval in May for the Goodyear 400, the Mitchell, Indiana, native scored his first top-10 at the track via a strong fifth-place finish. Briscoe had seemingly been building up to that result, with five top-20 finishes in his six prior Darlington starts to earn an average result of 18.2. His best Cup Series result at Darlington prior to this year was 11th, earned in the 2021 Goodyear 400. Briscoe finished 15th in last year’s Southern 500.

● Darlington is known as “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” but Briscoe has tamed the venerable, egg-shaped oval in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He scored a dramatic victory at Darlington on May 21, 2020, beating Kyle Busch in a fender-scraping, tire-rubbing duel where the margin of victory was just .086 of a second. Both Briscoe and Busch led 45 laps that day, but Briscoe led the lap that mattered most as he took the lead from Busch on the final lap. It was the fourth victory in Briscoe’s tally of 11 career Xfinity Series wins. In Briscoe’s two other Xfinity Series starts at Darlington, he finished sixth (August 2019) and 11th (September 2020).

● The 2024 season marks Darlington’s 74th anniversary, with the track having hosted 126 NASCAR Cup Series races. The first came on Sept. 4, 1950 and it was the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt. Johnny Mantz drove his Plymouth to the win with an average speed of 75.250 mph and the race took 6 hours, 38 minutes and 40 seconds to complete. Juxtapose that with Kyle Larson’s win in last year’s Southern 500, where he had an average speed of 120.906 mph and the race finished in 4 hours, 8 minutes and 47 seconds.

● In addition to Darlington being known as “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” the venerable facility has another nickname, “Lady in Black.” This moniker was bestowed upon Darlington by the late sportswriter and 2016 Squier-Hall Award recipient Benny Phillips. In homage to the “Lady in Black,” Briscoe is driving a black-and-white HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the Southern 500 in place of HighPoint.com’s traditional blue-and-white colors.

● HighPoint.com is 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

How do you feel about Darlington serving as the regular-season finale and the last chance for drivers to earn a playoff berth?

“I like it. I love going to Darlington. It’s easily in the top-three of my favorite racetracks. I’m all for it. It’s a cool race to have for the opener of the playoffs because the Southern 500 can have so many things happen and it’s just a real challenge for the drivers, the cars, everything. I liked it as the playoff opener and as the regular-season closer. We finished fifth there earlier this year and I feel like it’s a really good opportunity for us to go there and be in the mix and maybe get a win. The Southern 500 is one of the crown jewels and it’s going to be a cool race, no matter if it’s in the playoffs or not.”

Do you feel like a race at Darlington is more in your hands, as opposed last week at Daytona where you had to rely on others to push you in the draft?

“As a racecar driver, you definitely have more control over your own destiny at Darlington than you do at a place like Daytona. You know at Daytona you can do everything right and just get caught up in someone else’s mistake. Not that that can’t happen at Darlington, but the odds and the chances of it aren’t as great. There still are a lot of variables there, too. At Darlington, your car has to be driving good. At Daytona, your car doesn’t have to be driving as good to be up in the mix. There’s give and take at both of them, but certainly at Darlington, I feel like when we go there I kind of hold the keys a little bit more as far as what happens and how we run. I’m looking forward to going there, but like I said, the car has to be good, too. That’s kind of the fine balance. At Daytona, you can take whatever car and, if you put yourself in the right position and make the right moves, you can be there at the end, where at Darlington, a driver probably makes a little bit more of a difference, but you also have to have a really good car to be up front.”

You finished a strong fifth in your first visit to Darlington earlier this year. How did that race unfold for you and are there any takeaways from it that you can apply to your return trip to Darlington this Labor Day weekend?

“Darlington was a track where we just ran solid all day. We were never the fastest car on the racetrack, and we probably finished about where we should’ve. We were about a fifth-place car and I thought we did a really good job of maximizing our day and doing everything right to put ourselves into that position. If we could’ve qualified better, it would’ve made our job a little bit easier. Coming off a fifth-place finish the last time we were there is obviously encouraging because we knew we had a pretty good car. I think Josh (Berry) ran third there, too. He was up in the mix. We had two really good cars that day and we knew we had a good balance and speed, but we also need to get our cars a little bit better. We have a good foundation, we have a good baseline, and that allows us to kind of fine-tune that and just make our car a little better and not have to reinvent the wheel, which is always nice.”

The Southern 500 is 100 miles longer (74 additional laps) than your first race at Darlington was back in May. Is a race at Darlington akin to the Coca-Cola 600, where it’s a test of stamina as much of a test of skill?

“I would say the Southern 500 is harder than the Coke 600 because at the Coke 600, you run the top, but you don’t run a quarter of an inch off the fence like you do at Darlington. At Darlington, you just can’t take a single break. We’re downshifting, riding the wall, and the car’s slipping and sliding all over the place. It’s just a different style than what you have at Charlotte. I definitely think it’s very similar to the Coke 600 from a stamina standpoint and just how you have to get your car to the end. That’s the thing I would say is a little bit more challenging at a place like Darlington than it is at the Coke 600. At the Coke 600, you don’t put your car in as bad of a spot running the wall, where at Darlington, to make speed, you’re going to have to run the fence, so you’re going to get into it at some point. It’s a challenge, for sure, but honestly it’s one of my favorite races of the year. I love going there and know I’m going to be running 500 miles on the fence and slipping and sliding around. It’s just a ton of fun from the driver side of things.”

How much can you rip the wall at Darlington before you rip your car into pieces?

“You can do it all day if you’re good. It’s definitely easy to get caught up there and get into the wall because it just invites you. The closer and closer you get to the wall, the more and more speed you make. And you hear about it, right? It’s the Lady in Black, she invites you to keep running in there harder, and then you drive harder and flirt with her and dance with her a little bit more, and then she slaps you. It’s always a challenge there because it is 100-percent faster the closer you run to the wall, and then you try to get that little bit extra and then you’re into the wall. It’s different than any other racetrack. At every other racetrack, you kind of lift at the same spot, you use the same amount of brake, whereas at Darlington the tires are falling off so much, literally every single lap you run, nothing is the same, so you’re constantly changing, and that’s what makes it so challenging.”

When you finish a race at Darlington, regardless of where you finish, is there a sense of accomplishment?

“I felt like early in my career when I ran the whole day and I finished and I didn’t crash, that was good, but I feel like now you don’t necessarily have that same level of accomplishment. It’s almost one of those things where if you come in and the right side’s not torn up, you’re like, ‘Man, I probably wasn’t driving hard enough.’ You kind of want the whole right side destroyed by the end of it because if you come in at the end of the day with a clean car, you’re probably not driving hard enough.”

What makes Darlington challenging for you?

“Darlington’s been a place where I’ve had success in the past, and it’s always been a place where I feel like I understand what I need. And I’ve always been good there. I’ve never been necessarily great at Darlington, but I’ve always been kind of OK from a speed standpoint. That first time I went there in the Cup Series was still in the old car and it drove a lot like what I grew up racing there as far as the Xfinity stuff goes. The NextGen car has been a little bit more of a struggle, just because how I drove Darlington didn’t necessarily fit the current generation of car. I’ve had to change my style there over the last year. I feel like every time we’ve gone there we’ve gotten better and better.”

When you won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington in May 2020, you had to beat Kyle Busch. How big of a deal was that victory, and do you consider it one of your greatest victories?

“I would say that win certainly put me on the map as far as having conversations about going Cup racing. Before that, I don’t think anybody thought I was necessarily Cup-caliber, and I felt like after winning there, beating Kyle Busch and doing it the way we did it, being literally just heads-up and being able to outrun him there changed a lot of people’s perspectives. I know for me it was huge just from a confidence standpoint. I mean, I beat Kyle Busch in an Xfinity car and I did it at, of all places, Darlington. So just from a confidence level, that was big for me, and every time I’ve gone back there, I feel like that’s kind of just carried over, just knowing that you beat one of the best to ever run around this place. I know that I’m capable of doing it, it’s just a matter of putting all of those pieces back together. But certainly I would say that was one of the biggest wins of my career. Still, literally every single weekend, somebody brings that race up to me, like a fan does, and they don’t do that about other races. So, certainly it was one of the biggest wins of my career.”

Do you feel like you go back in time when you go to Darlington?

“Every time you go to Darlington, it’s like you’re stepping into a time machine. Just the racetrack, it doesn’t matter what era of racecar you put on it, whether it’s a NextGen, a Gen 4, 5, 6, it’s like none of them are going to drive that good, they’re all going to be slipping and sliding around, the tires are going to get worn out, you’re going to have more power than you need, and that’s unlike a lot of racetracks we go to. And then even the facility, it’s not the fanciest facility we go to, it doesn’t have the nicest things for fans, realistically. But when you go there, you know you’re not going for that, you’re going for that authentic, early NASCAR experience, and that’s what it feels like when you drive through the tunnel at Darlington. Whether you’re in the garage area or you’re on the racetrack, it doesn’t matter where you’re at on those grounds, it just feels very sacred and just feels like you’re in a time machine.”

You’re in a NextGen car. You wear a full-face, state-of-the-art helmet, combined with a state-of-the-art firesuit and shoes, and a six-way seatbelt system keeps you secure in a custom-molded seat. Do you ever wonder how a guy like Richard Petty ran 500 miles at Darlington in overalls and whatever helmet he could find, in a car not far removed from what was on the dealership floor?

“It is crazy just to think about the roots of NASCAR, and just the roots of racing, in general, like how far we’ve come in not a long period of time. You think about how they were literally taking cars pretty much from the showroom, guys were out there racing in their street clothes and pretty much anything they could get on their head that would work – it could be a bucket and they would run with it. It’s pretty crazy just how far we’ve come. Even talking with my dad about his early days in sprint cars, it literally had four Dzus buttons that you would take out with a flathead screwdriver, it was a quarter turn, that’s all that would lock their seat in, and that was it. You just wouldn’t even think about doing that these days. It’s definitely wild to think about how far we’ve come as just a culture with motorsports, and certainly glad that we’ve come that far, but yeah, those guys were certainly stallions in a world of ponies.”

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

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coke Zero Sugar 400 | Daytona International Speedway
Sunday, August 25, 2024

BY THE NUMBERS: Wood Brothers Racing WINS 100TH NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE IN DRAMATIC FASHION

• Wood Brothers Racing won its 100th NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday night when Harrison Burton captured the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• This marks the seventh straight decade Wood Brothers Racing has won a Cup Series race.
• The team has competed in nothing but Ford products since 1950.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL. (August 25, 2024) – Another chapter was written in the storied history of Wood Brothers Racing when Harrison Burton delivered a thrilling overtime victory in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night to give the team its 100th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

“This is beyond words,” remarked Eddie Wood, CEO and co-owner. “This has been such a long time coming, the hundredth win. We’ve been with Motorcraft Quick Lane and Ford Performance for over twenty years and you just can’t put that into words. Edsel Ford, all his family, Jim Farley – there’s just so many people in our world to make this happen. It’s just unbelievable.”

Ever since Glen Wood made racing the family business in 1950, the family organization and Ford Motor Co. have been synonymous. For the last 74 years, the team has only competed with Ford products, winning 64 times with the Mercury brand and 36 with the Ford Blue Oval.

“Ford and Motorcraft Quick Lane have stuck behind us for over twenty years now,” said Len Wood, COO and co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing. “To get our 100th win is so special, and we couldn’t do it without those people. It’s great to get a win here at Daytona. This is the place you want to be, right here.”

The Wood Brothers delivered their first win on April 18, 1960 when Glen Wood won Grand National Race No. 13 at Winston-Salem’s (NC) Bowman Gray Stadium. That was the first of his four career victories and set the tone that has now seen the organization win at least one NASCAR Cup Series race in seven straight decades.

“The Wood Brothers are family to us at Ford and to see them get their 100th win means so much to all of us who have followed them through the years,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “When you think of Ford and its NASCAR program, you think of the Wood Brothers. Their loyalty to us for the last 74 years is unmatched and we couldn’t be prouder.”

It’s hard to quantify just how much the organization has achieved through the years, but consider they have had 19 different drivers win a Cup Series points race, including 12 NASCAR Hall of Famers. David Pearson leads the way with 43 wins for the team while Cale Yarborugh is next with 13.

In addition, they have served as a springboard to many drivers who won their first series race, a list that includes Tiny Lund, who won Ford’s first Daytona 500 with the team in 1963, and Ford champions Dale Jarrett (1999) and Ryan Blaney (2023).

Burton’s victory means the team has qualified for the playoffs, which get underway in two weeks at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

BY THE NUMBERS

Wood Brothers Racing captured its 100th NASCAR Cup Series race Saturday night, continuing a record of excellence that began in 1950 when founder Glen Wood began his career. The numbers below help tell the story of what the team has accomplished with Ford Motor Company and NASCAR’s top touring series.

1 – Championships won (Owner’s title in 1963)

4 – Number of original Wood Brothers who founded the team (Glen, Leonard, Delano and Ray Lee)

5 — Daytona 500 Wins (Tiny Lund, 1963; Cale Yarborough, 1968; A.J. Foyt, 1972; David Pearson, 1976; Trevor Bayne, 2011)

7 – Car number that Kyle Petty won his first series race with at Richmond in 1986

8 – Number of drivers who got their first Cup win (Glen Wood, 1960; Tiny Lund, 1963; Kyle Petty, 1986; Dale Jarrett, 1991; Elliott Sadler, 2001; Trevor Bayne, 2011; Ryan Blaney, 2017; Harrison Burton, 2024)

12 – NASCAR Hall of Famers who drove at least one Cup race (Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Glen Wood, Curtis Turner, Dale Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Ricky Rudd, Joe Weatherly, Fred Lorenzen, Bill Elliott)

16 – Car number that won 3 times (team’s first three wins by Glen Wood)

19 – Number of drivers who have won a points race

21 – Famed car number that has won 90 Cup races

36 – Number of wins in a Ford

41 – Car number that won twice (A.J. Foyt at Daytona and Curtis Turner at Rockingham in 1965)

43 – Cup races David Pearson won (most by any driver)

64 – Number of wins in a Mercury

74 – Current number of years driving Ford products in NASCAR

121 – Car number that Dan Gurney won with 4 times at Riverside (1964, ’65, ’66, ’68)

DRIVERS WHO HAVE WON NCS POINTS RACES WITH THE WOOD BROTHERS

Full List of Wood Brothers Winning Drivers: David Pearson (43); Cale Yarborough (13); Neil Bonnett (9); Marvin Panch (8); A.J. Foyt (5); Glen Wood (4); Dan Gurney (4); Speedy Thompson (2); Kyle Petty (2); Tiny Lund (1); Curtis Turner (1); Donnie Allison (1); Buddy Baker (1); Dale Jarrett (1); Morgan Shepherd (1); Elliott Sadler (1); Trevor Bayne (1); Ryan Blaney (1); Harrison Burton (1).

Coke Zero Sugar 400: Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Fla. – August 24, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/TARKETT FORD MUSTANG
START: 8TH STAGE ONE: 4TH STAGE TWO: 16TH FINISH: 18TH POINTS: 19TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished 18th in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 after a late-race incident put a damper on his stout performance throughout the night. Cindric started eighth after advancing to the final round of qualifying Friday evening and was a mainstay in the top 10 over the course of the opening Stage. Cindric led the charge of the third lane that formed early on before eventually taking the lead on Lap 26. As the momentum of the draft fluctuated, the 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner finished Stage 1 fourth. Cindric restarted third in line behind teammate Joey Logano as a contingent of Fords flexed out front. Under caution on Lap 60, Cindric pitted for fuel only and restarted sixth, until getting bounced from the second position with 17 laps to go in the Stage. After dropping back to 19th, Cindric gained a few positions to finish Stage 2 16th. Following a quick pit stop, the Team Penske driver restarted sixth for the final Stage. Cindric continued to impress at the front of the field, in contention for the win as the laps winded down until getting collected in a late-race incident that relegated him to an 18th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Obviously, we had a really fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The Menards/Tarkett Ford was good enough to win tonight. We were in position there to win and I just got turned and that’s how it goes sometimes here. I’m really happy for Harrison and everybody at the Wood Brothers. They’ve been waiting a long time for win No. 100. I love those guys. I love Harrison. He’s a great dude and deserves this spot in the limelight. It’s awesome.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG
START: 14TH STAGE ONE: 5TH STAGE TWO: 2ND FINISH: 29TH POINTS: 4TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney came away with a pair of top-five stage finishes Saturday night at Daytona but a multi-car incident in turns one and two with nine laps to go resulted in a 29th-place finish for the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang. After starting 14th, Blaney found success running the inside lane during the opening stage to work his way to the front of the field despite battling a tight-handling condition. Blaney and teammate Joey Logano worked together in the draft to pull their line to the front of the field in the closing laps of the segment as Blaney secured a fifth-place finish in Stage 1. The first caution flag of the night flew on lap 60 as the field came apart on the backstretch right in front of Blaney, but he was able to evade the carnage before coming to pit road for fuel prior to the restart with 29 laps remaining in Stage 2. All three Team Penske Fords were able to get lined up on the ensuing restart and carried their momentum to the front as Blaney pushed Logano to the lead coming to the final lap of the stage. Blaney made the move to the inside of the No. 22 as the leaders made their way through the tri-oval, setting up a three-wide finish to the green-and-white checkered flag with the Advance Auto Parts Ford scored second at the line in Stage 2. Following a round of pit stops during the stage break, teams began to vary their fuel strategies with one more stop needed to make it to the end of the 400-mile event but a caution with 21 to go eliminated a potential green flag pit cycle. The No. 12 crew gained five spots on pit road during the fuel-only stop as the field lined up to take the green flag with 16 laps to go. As the intensity began to pick up at the front of the field, Logano and Blaney were leading the inside lane yet again when the No. 34 spun down the banking in turn one in front of Logano, collecting Blaney and several others in the process. Blaney sustained significant front-end damage that knocked out the radiator, bringing the 12-team’s night to an end.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I saw the logo on [Joey Logano’s] rear bumper get really big really fast and it knocked the radiator out of it. I don’t know what happened in front of [Logano] and who got turned or what and what made us check up. I was really hoping to make it to the end of this. I haven’t finished a Daytona race in like two years, so I was looking forward to it. I thought Joey and I were in a decent spot to go forward, but it’s just chaotic like normal.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 3RD STAGE ONE: 2ND STAGE TWO: 1ST FINISH: 31ST POINTS: 15TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano led a race-high 34 laps and picked up his second stage win of the season Saturday night at Daytona, but a late-race incident at the front of the field brought the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford’s run to an abrupt end in a 31st-place finish. Logano started the 400-mile event from the inside of row two and battled for the lead throughout the opening run of the night. The Shell-Pennzoil Mustang led the field into turn one on the final lap Stage 1, but ultimately settled for a second-place finish in the 35-lap segment after the outside lane prevailed. The first caution flag of the night flew on lap 60 for a 14-car incident on the backstretch as crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for fuel only under yellow in order to make it to the end of Stage 2. All three Team Penske Fords were able to get lined up and work their way to the front shortly after the restart before teammate Ryan Blaney pushed Logano to the lead on the final lap. Logano fended off a three-wide battle to the line as the green-and-white checkered flag waved to pick up his second stage win of the season. With teams varying their strategies on pit road during the stage caution, Wolfe made the call for four tires and fuel as one more stop was needed to make it to the end on fuel. With under 30 laps remaining and window open for green flag pit stops, the caution came out with 21 to go while Logano was scored eighth in the running order as the leaders hit pit road to top off on fuel one final time under yellow. With Blaney lined up behind him in the inside lane, Logano took the green flag with 16 to go as the two teammates again worked their way to the front as the laps ticked off. After the field crossed the line with nine laps remaining, contact between the No. 34 and No. 2 in the outside lane shot the No. 34 down the banking and head-on into Logano, setting off a multi-car wreck in turn one that ultimately marked the end of the night for the 22-team.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It’s speedway racing. It’s a lot of fun until it’s not. We did a good job keeping our car in position all night, up in the top-five the whole race. We got a stage win, which is great. [Michael] McDowell just got turned and came down in front me with nowhere to go. I think he’s OK as well. Some pretty big hits there, and then horrible to see Josh Berry there a second ago upside-down into the wall. We’ve got to figure out how to keep the cars on the ground. We’re not doing enough to fix that.”

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the regular season finale on Sunday, September 1. Coverage of the Cook Out Southern 500 begins at 6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

RICK WARE RACING
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: Aug. 24, 2024
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 25 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (35 laps/60 laps/65 laps)

Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Harrison Burton of Wood Brothers Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Josh Berry of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

RWR Race Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 33rd, Finished 4th/Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 36th, Finished 32nd/Accident, completed 151 of 164 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (30th with 356 points)
● Cody Ware (36th with 98 points)

Ware Notes:

● Ware’s fourth-place finish was his career-first Cup Series top-five. It was his second top-10 finish in seven starts at Daytona.
● Ware’re previous best finish was a sixth-place effort at Daytona, earned in Aug. 2022.
● Ware’s fourth-place finish matched the RWR’s best Cup Series result, first earned by David Ragan at Daytona in Feb. 2020.

Haley Notes:

● This was Haley’s ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona. Haley’s first Cup Series win came in the 2019 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
● Haley finished sixth in Stage 2 to earn five bonus points.
● Haley led one time for 21 laps.

Race Notes:

● Harrison Burton won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was .047 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 734th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its sixth of the season.
● This was Ford’s 42nd NASCAR Cup Series victory at Daytona. Ford won its first race at Daytona on Feb. 24, 1963 with Tiny Lund.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 34 laps.
● Only 20 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Tyler Reddick remains the championship leader after Daytona with a 17-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Sound Bites:

“I’m on cloud nine right now. Late in the race, things are getting pretty hectic. I knew I was in good hands when I had Keselowski behind me. I knew I had a good pusher and we’ve been working with RFK Racing through our alliance, so I really felt like we were lined up perfect. I really appreciate him working with us to get to the front. Our Ford Mustang Dark Horse wasn’t quite fast enough to make a move on the guys in front of us, but putting Rick Ware Racing at the front of the pack today was a phenomenal experience. It’s just really, really cool to see how far we’ve come, and I can’t wait to see what we can put together in these last 11 races of the season. – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 15 Jacob Construction / Parts Plus Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“You know it’s going to happen, but you just have to keep going. That’s just part of it. It’s unfortunate. It was a good run for us. We’ll keep digging and go the next one. I appreciate everyone at RWR for their hard work. We had a good car and led some laps, and we go to one of our better tracks next week. We got lucky to flip one of the stages there and were able to get up front, so we had a good run.” – Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Beef-a-Roo Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 1 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: Aug. 24, 2024
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 25 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (35 laps/60 laps/65 laps)

Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Harrison Burton of Wood Brothers Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Josh Berry of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

SHR Finish:

● Chase Briscoe (Started 6th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 5th, Finished 26th / Accident, 158 of 164 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 15th, Finished 37th / Accident, completed 59 of 164 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 4th, Finished 39th / Accident, completed 59 of 164 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (18th with 514 points, 309 out of first)
● Josh Berry (23rd with 448 points, 375 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (24th with 426 points, 397 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (27th with 368 points, 455 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Briscoe earned his 11th top-15 of the season and his third top-15 in eight career NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona.
● Briscoe led once for two laps to increase his laps-led total at Daytona to 74.
● Berry won Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point.
● Berry led five times for nine laps to increase his laps-led total at Daytona to 10.

Race Notes:

● Harrison Burton won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was .047 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 734th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its sixth of the season.
● This was Ford’s 42nd NASCAR Cup Series victory at Daytona. Ford won its first race at Daytona on Feb. 24, 1963 with Tiny Lund.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 34 laps.
● Only 20 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Tyler Reddick remains the championship leader after Daytona with a 17-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Sound Bites:

“I’m good. It probably wasn’t as bad as it looked. But, man, I was bummed because we had a hell of a night going. Just such a great job by Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and this whole 4 team. This car was so strong, and we were in position. Man, I’m really proud of the job I did tonight, the job the whole team did because we were in contention and that could’ve been our day. But it didn’t work out. I just want to thank everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford and NASCAR for building safe racecars, eero for coming on board tonight. It’s disappointing, but whether we would’ve won or flipped, we’re going to go to work Monday and try to win next week.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 eero Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I’m good. We kind of struggled at the beginning of the race with the front balance and then we made adjustments out of the first pit stop and felt like we had it decent. We had the bottom lane rolling and were up to maybe the top-10 or the top-15 on the bottom line. I got up to the middle and I was behind the 1. He looked real darty, real squirrely, so I was trying to bail out of there and get out. I haven’t seen what happened yet, but I was trying to get out of that line. I don’t know if I got run over or what the case was. If it was my fault, I want to apologize to the other guys, but I don’t really know yet. It’s just a bummer. I was trying to get away from the 1 in the middle line. I was pushing him and I pushed him a couple times and he just couldn’t take a push. He was super squirrely and I didn’t feel comfortable pushing him just because he was out of shape by himself. I was trying to get out of that middle line. I don’t know if the 7 got into me or what. I’m just disappointed.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I don’t know what happened. We were all kind of riding. We were all saving fuel, so I’m kind of shocked it happened, but I checked up. I got hit from behind and, I don’t know, the car didn’t even look that damaged. It was just we couldn’t change the toe link. We ran out of time and that was it, so kind of a tough deal. There was a wreck right there, but honestly, we were all getting really aggressive. I thought it was going to happen in the first five or six laps, so I was planning on racing really hard and being aggressive, but then it crossed my mind that this stage is not worth not potentially trying to win and change your whole season. They didn’t wreck, and then when you wouldn’t have thought they would wreck with fuel saving, we all did. I don’t know. It’s a tough deal.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 TRUEWERK Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 1 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Keselowski Eighth, Buescher 10th

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 24, 2024) – RFK Racing left Daytona International Speedway Saturday night with a pair of top-10 efforts as both Ford Mustangs steadily ran up front, with Brad Keselowski leading the charge with an eighth-place finish, while Chris Buescher defended his win with a 10th-place result.

Keselowski earned the most points of any driver in the field with 41 total – including stage finishes of seventh and third – while Buescher also posted a strong points effort with 37 total, fourth most of all cars, also with top-10 stage finishes of third and ninth.

“Yeah, our Mustang was so good,” Buescher said following the race. “We were able to push unbelievably well, make a ton of speed. It was a lot of fun for a long while there, caught up in another accident. Just trying to get it to the end. Ultimately it was not the day we needed.”

6 Recap
Keselowski’s King’s Hawaiian Ford was arguably the class of the field, leading three different times and rarely falling outside the top five and top-10.

After a qualifying effort of 12th on Friday, Keselowski put the No. 6 in the top-10 early, taking his first lead of the race just eight laps in. He ended the opening stage of 35 laps in seventh and restarted stage two ninth after the first stop of the day.

The race’s first big incident came at lap 61 when 18 cars tangled on the backstretch as Keselowski pitted for fuel only under the caution. He restarted P2 on the ensuing restart behind Buescher, as the two worked together in the remainder of the stage before finishing third to end it.

Stage three played out as a fuel mileage scenario up until a string of late caution flags began at lap 141. Keselowski pitted under that yellow for fuel only, setting him up for the final run to the checkered flag. He restarted front row, but was hit with a restart violation penalty, forcing him to pit road for a pass through penalty.

He used the final two cautions to regain track position, ultimately finishing eighth.

17 Recap
Buescher and the 17 team again showed resiliency, overcoming an incident to finish top-10 for the second week in a row. Buescher put the Fifth Third Bank Ford third to end stage one, earning valuable stage points in the final run to the NASCAR Playoffs.

He restarted third for stage two and immediately went to the point a few laps later, leading two different times in the next 30 laps. After finishing the stage in ninth, Buescher began stage three from 23rd after pitting in the stage break. He was then scored 14th at the time of the next caution at lap 141 before pitting for fuel only. Then, 10 laps later, an incident involving 14 cars occurred in turn one, collecting Buescher and causing damage to the front end.

After repairs on pit road, Buescher rejoined the field, and was back in 12th by the time the next caution flew at lap 159. He battled in the closing NASCAR Overtime finish to 10th, his 11th top-10 of the season.

Up Next
Darlington Raceway hosts the final race of the regular season next weekend, with race coverage Sunday night set for 6 p.m. ET 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.

Promising Race for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet Team at Daytona Before Late-Race Crash Takes Them Out of Contention

Finish: 22nd
Start: 16th
Points: 29th

“I’m proud of this Richard Childress Racing team and ECR. We were able to run up front in our BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet, and avoid the early crashes to put us in a good position towards the end of the race. We were solid with fuel mileage. We ended up with suspension damage in a crash with three laps to go, which took us out of contention for the win. I just had no where to go. It’s part of speedway racing, but we’ll regroup and give it our all for Darlington.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Team Lead Laps and Narrowly Miss Victory at Daytona International Speedway Enroute to Strong Second-Place Finish

Finish: 2nd
Start: 11th
Points: 16th

“I’m really proud of everybody on the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet team. Crew chief Randall Burnett and all the guys at RCR and ECR did a great job and brought a fast car. I was hoping we could get those free No. 8 specials from Cheddar’s on Monday for everybody – it would be great to get some chicken tenders rolling — but wasn’t meant to be. It’s frustrating. We’ve led races here at Daytona going into the last restart and haven’t been able to pull off a victory. I’m not sure what it is that I am doing wrong or what it is that I’m missing. It seems like the energy broke up off Turn 2 and the No. 20 car got crooked and wasn’t on my rear bumper the way we needed to be. The outside lane just went by. I wanted to get up in front of the No. 21 because I knew the momentum was coming there, but I knew the No. 20 was a better friend. It just didn’t work out. We’ll take this second-place finish. We’ve got a good little stretch going these last three weeks, and I hope we can do what we need to do next week at Darlington.” -Kyle Busch

Austin Hill and the No. 33 Team Put the United Rentals Chevrolet in Position for a Top-10 Finish at Daytona International Speedway

Finish: 25th
Start: 23rd
Points: N/A

“I’m very proud of the No. 33 United Rentals team for the effort this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. In the closing laps, everyone was pushing extremely hard and no one was going to lift. The closing rate is very quick in the Cup Series car. Right as I saw the leaders get turned to my inside, I checked up to not run over the No. 3, but I got hit from behind. We got turned to the right into the outside wall, then I slapped the right rear and it broke something in the backend of our Camaro. Everyone is pushing so hard, so no one is at fault at that point of the race. It’s just an unfortunate end to our day. We ran inside the top-10 multiple times throughout the race and had ourselves in a position to finish there. The goal was to push the No. 3 or the No. 8 to the checkered. I can’t thank Richard Childress Racing and United Rentals for the opportunity to make Cup starts this year though. I’m having a lot of fun running in the Cup Series so hopefully I get more chances in the future.” -Austin Hill

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 28th for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• Hemric made it up to 18th within the first seven laps of the race and maintained a top-20 position for the majority of the opening stage. As the intensity ramped up towards the front of the field, Hemric dropped back with five laps to go, playing it safe and finishing the first stage in 33rd.
• During the first stage break, Hemric radioed that the front end of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy felt a little light. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call for Hemric to pit the second time by, in order to save fuel. He started the second stage from 32nd place. Hemric made it as high as third, where he ran for a handful of laps. By lap 59, a massive crash brought out the first caution, and Hemric was unable to avoid it completely. Fortunately, the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy received minimal damage and was able to carry on. After pitting to change tires and check for damage, he restarted 28th on lap 66. The next caution came out on lap 81, and Hemric pitted for tires and fuel, with the plan of pitting for fuel only at the stage break. Playing it safe, Hemric dropped out of the lead pack for the final seven laps of the second stage, finishing 25th.
• During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for fuel only. After acquiring a pit-road penalty, he started the final stage in 20th place. On lap 109, Hemric radioed from ninth place that his No. 31 Cirkul Chevy was tight on the bottom. The next caution came out on lap 140, as Hemric avoided a spin in front. He pitted for right-side tires and fuel, before restarting 19th with 16 laps remaining. With nine to go, a wreck brought out the caution. Hemric avoided the mayhem and restarted 15th with three to go. As an overtime-inducing caution brought out the yellow, Hemric avoided getting any major damage. He restarted ninth for the first overtime attempt and finished the race in ninth.

“Speedway racing. It was chaotic. I thought we lined up pretty well there for the green-white-checkered and tried to formulate something going into [turns] three and four. I made a move to separate, and I got shoved. Luckily, I got a big shot coming to the line to even get back forward and get spots back into the top 10. All-in-all, it was a decent day for the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. Appreciate Cirkul and all they do for us and all the people we have here supporting us. Looking forward to going to one of the coolest race tracks in the country next weekend.” – Daniel Hemric  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 16 Safety Culture Camaro ZL1

• Shane van Gisbergen qualified 32nd for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• Van Gisbergen maintained position throughout the opening stage, while battling a loose-handling No. 16 SafetyCulture Chevrolet. The first stage concluded without caution, and Van Gisbergen crossed the line in 36th.
• The No. 16 SafetyCulture Chevy started the second stage 39th, after being issued a speeding penalty on pit road. Halfway through the second stage, Van Gisbergen worked his way through the field into the top 10, running eighth for multiple laps, before a caution came out. The No. 16 team opted to pit for fuel and fresh tires during the yellow flag, restarting the stage 13th. Van Gisbergen quickly broke back into the top 10, three laps into the restart. After running at the front of the field, the No. 16 SafetyCulture team opted to drop towards the back of the pack. On lap 80 of the race, the No. 16 exited the race due to a mechanical problem and finished 35th.

“Unfortunate circumstances today. Our No. 16 SafetyCulture Chevy was a solid car and had a lot of speed. I hate it for our Kaulig Racing team, but something we can’t control. Ran up front there for a bit and showed our potential, but not the finish we hoped for. Get another shot at it next weekend in Darlington!” – 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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
AUGUST 24, 2024
 
Busch Leads Chevrolet With Runner-Up Finish at Daytona International Speedway

•  Battling to keep their championship title hopes alive, Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Camaro ZL1 team came just .047 seconds from the victory – ultimately taking the checkered-flag in the runner-up position after a chaotic overtime restart for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• After losing the regular season points lead at Michigan International Speedway last weekend, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team earned crucial points in both stages. Running fourth with less nine laps to go, Larson was caught up in a multi-car wreck that took his chances away from his first career victory at the “World Center of Racing”. Making repairs to ultimately cross the finish line in the 21st position, Larson will head into the series’ regular season finale at Darlington Raceway sitting in the second position in the standings and 17 points behind current points leader Tyler Reddick.
• Amidst the battle for his second career regular season title, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team were collected in a multi-car incident while running mid-pack during Stage Two. Suffering too much suspension damage to continue, the former series champion was forced to retire early from the race – moving the Team Chevy driver to the third position and 18 points from the points lead.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Kyle Busch
7th Parker Retzlaff
9th Daniel Hemric

WITH 25 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE:
Wins: 11
Poles: 7
Top-Five Finishes: 42
Top-10 Finishes: 91
Stage Wins: 13

UP NEXT: The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season concludes at Darlington Raceway with the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, September 1, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1

Finished: 12th

You’re 27 points below the cutline. How do you feel going into Darlington?

“I look at it like we have another chance to go win the Southern 500. That’s what I’m focused on this week. The points, they give them out at the stages and end of the race. If you run good, they give you a lot of them. I just get excited for a chance to go win the Southern 500.”

When you get in an incident early like that, drive around and hope for the breaks you need to get back to the front, are you thinking about the points situation?

“I was just hoping it would stay running, keep the water in it and be able to keep up with the pack. Looking at the car, it was amazing it did. The whole splitter is off of it; dragging the ground. Yeah, it’s pretty incredible that we were even able to finish. I thought the radiator was going to be gone. We’re fortunate to finish, but yeah, as I’m riding around – mainly in Stage Two when I dropped back from the pack and was going to be the free pass, I thought through all of it then. And then the whole final stage, it was all about trying to execute and maximize what we could.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Camaro ZL1

Finished: 2nd

“It’s just frustrating. We’ve led races here at Daytona going into the last restart and haven’t been able to pull off a victory. Not sure what it is; what I’m doing wrong or what it is that I’m missing. It seems like the energy broke up off of turn two and the No. 20 (Christopher Bell) got crooked and wasn’t on my rear bumper the way we needed to be. The outside lane just went by. I wanted to get up in front of the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) because I knew the momentum was coming there. But I knew the No. 20 was a better friend. It just didn’t work out.”

You did everything right tonight. How do you square this one?

“Just finished second. It’s all good. We were really, really, really lucky tonight to miss a few of those crashes.

All good. Just real proud of everybody; Randall (Burnett, crew chief), all the guys at RCR and ECR. They did a great job and brought a fast car. Was hoping we could get those free No. 8 specials on Monday for everybody; get some chicken tenders rolling, but wasn’t meant to be. We’ll take this. We’ve got a good little stretch here going with these last three weeks, and hope we can do what we need to do next week.”

Can you go on and win the Southern 500 next week?

“Yeah, I mean, we want to. We ran good there the first time I ran with these guys early last year. But early this year, we struggled mightily. We’ll just have to go with hopefully a really good package that works and get our job done.”

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 9th

“Speedway racing. It was chaotic. I thought we lined up pretty well there for the green-white-checkered and tried to formulate something going into (turns) three and four. I made a move to separate and I got shoved. Luckily, I got a big shot coming to the line to even get back forward and get spots back into the top-10. All-in-all, it was a decent day for the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. Appreciate Cirkul and all they do for us; all the people we have here supporting us. Looking forward to going to one of the coolest race tracks in the country next weekend.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/BIGGIE Muffins/ Capri Sun Camaro ZL1

Finished: 33rd

“I was just running the middle there. Kind of saved our car all day. Actually made our way to the front a little quicker than I thought we were going to be able to. That caution kind of killed us. We’d been saving a ton of fuel. In the spot we were in, I felt like we were going to gain some track position on that green flag pit stop. Obviously, we didn’t get that, and were mired back there in 20th, and so we got the third row in the middle there, and it looked like the No. 2 just turned the No. 34 and then we piled in there. Just part of it.”

“I felt like we got towards the front. We were really setting ourself up for that green flag pit stop. We were saving a ton of fuel. When the caution came out, it kind of screwed our strategy up. Being 20th and coming in and not really gaining anything on your pit stop, so it kind of put us in a bad spot. Kind of had to make our way up through there and put ourselves in the middle. I didn’t really like being in the middle but I had to make some moves. I think we got somewhere close to the top 10, and looked like the No. 2 turned the No. 34 and we just piled in. We were hoping for a green flag pit stop, because that’s what we were really setting up ourselves for. Hopefully jump a lot of cars and jump into the top-10 that way. But, didn’t happen.”

Parker Retzlaff, No. 62 Funkaway Camaro ZL1

Finished: 7th

What does this finish mean to you?

“Yeah, it was definitely a good run for the No. 62 Funkaway Chevy team. I’m happy with a top-10 finish. I came in here today saying I wanted a top-15. Coming out of turn four there, knowing I was third or maybe fourth to the No. 20 (Christopher Bell), I knew I had a shot. I’m happy we gave this team a shot. We had an amazing car. Thank you to Darren (Shaw, crew chief) and everyone at Beard Motorsports; the Beard family for everything they’ve done and the support of Funkaway. I’m happy about it, but I still want more.”

Talk about the emotion of this sport.

“It’s just been my dream to be here in the Cup Series at Daytona. It was my first one and I feel like I gave myself a shot. Coming so close and not getting it just hurts a little bit.”

What was it like there at the end?

“It was just really aggressive. Everyone was pushing as hard as they can. It just very aggressive, but that’s how this racing gets and that’s why you see wrecks like you do. You have to be lucky and miss the wrecks, but also have a fast enough car to be there at the end.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in a multi-car incident during Stage Two.

Finished: 36th

What happened from your perspective?

“Yeah, I honestly have no idea. I just think that everybody was kind of playing games. Nobody wanted to lead, and it just kind of puts everyone in a tough spot. We were all just kind of stacked up there. Somebody was switching lanes, it looked like, and got out of shape. It’s a bummer. It was so early in the race. I would just like an opportunity to get a little deeper into it and just see where things shook out. We’ve been pretty lucky these last couple of trips down here to Daytona. It’s just unfortunate, but we’ll try to have a good weekend at Darlington.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Camaro ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an incident on pit road.

Finished: 40th

“I was doing my pit stop just like every single weekend. The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was right behind me and the No. 21 (Harrison Burton) was right in front of me, so unfortunately I got boxed in. We know that every single time we do a pit stop, we drop a little bit of fuel and that’s completely normal. Unfortunately, the No. 11 was leaving his pit stall right behind me, and because he was waiting for me to leave, his exhaust fired up the little fuel I dropped. Because I was still parked there, that went up the back of my car where the fuel cell is and it just grabbed it. It was a very unfortunate situation. I don’t know what we could have done differently. Just sad that we’re out of the race this way, but I’m glad I’m fine and the entire team was fine.

The other crazy thing is that I was able to feel the heat, but because I don’t run a rearview mirror and only run the rearview camera, I couldn’t see it. The rearview camera is connected to the rear bumper, so I could see the smoke, but I couldn’t see the fire. I could feel the heat, but I couldn’t see how big it was.”

About Chevrolet

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