Category: NASCAR Cup PR

After scoring two front row starts and a second-place finish in 2023, Sedgwick looks for his second Porsche Carrera Cup North America victory this weekend.

MILLVILLE, NJ (July 29, 2024) – PT Autosport with JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick earned his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America series victory last month at Watkins Glen. Now he heads back to Road America, where he had his most successful race weekend of the season last year in the No. 98 PT Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car.

For the 25-year-old Warwickshire, UK native, currently second in the series point standings, this weekend has been circled on his calendar since the schedule was announced. Last year’s Road America weekend saw PT Autosport score one of its best results to date, with Sedgwick earning two front row starts and a second-place finish in race one – with the weekend marred only by a hip check from the pole sitter coming to the race two green flag that put Sedgwick into the Turn 14 grass and out of contention. Sedgwick would very much like to erase that memory and add to his victory tally – and secure more valuable championship points.

“The Road America weekend was the moment everything started to click last year, when we started consistently running up front,” said Sedgwick. “It really was the turning point of our season. I’m hoping that this time round will be similar, where we can continue to make inroads in the championship points battle.”

Sedgwick considers himself race ready as he heads to Road America, having finished fifth and 14th in two GR Cup races at VIRginia International Raceway last weekend. He and his JDX Racing team also tested at Road America two weeks ago, where they encountered an interesting new development, likely related to last year’s track repaving and the series switch to Yokohama tires this season.

“It was the opposite of what we would have expected – turns out everything we’ve learned this year so far was thrown out the window,” said Sedgwick. “We had to revert back to what we had last year. We think it has to do with the track surface. It has to be driven in a much more specific way, which is the opposite way that we’d found speed at the other races. I’ve spoken to other drivers who have tested there, and they say the same thing, so it’s down to how the surface has worn in. It took us a bit longer to get up to speed as we focused on how to drive the track as much as we worked on setup. We got there in the end, so I’m intrigued to go back and see how much more pace we can unlock. We’re not ready to show our hand quite yet!”

Like most racers, PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers especially looks forward to the Road America weekend.

“I am so energized to be here again,” said Myers. “I love this track, but also, it’s where Alex had his most dominant showing last season. It will be interesting to see how the cars do around here on the new tires, as this track is especially demanding on the rubber. Alex loves these old school, high-speed, high-risk tracks. In fact he thrives at them – evidenced by his amazing performance and win last weekend at Watkins Glen. We’re laser focused on finishing this championship at the top, but the notes and offers for next year in GT3 machinery have already started to roll in. I feel as though we’ve helped Alex really secure a foothold here in North America and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

PT Autosport would like to thank partners STEAM Sports Foundation, Classic Car Club Manhattan and New Jersey Motorsports Park, as well as JDX Racing partners Byers/Porsche Columbus, and Renier Construction.

The Porsche Carrera Cup North America series will contest two races at Road America as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race weekend. Race one takes the green flag Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET, with race two Sunday at 12:35 p.m. ET. The races will be broadcast live in the U.S., on IMSA.tv, the NBC Peacock streaming app and PorscheCarreraCup.us.

About PT Autosport — Discover Unique Talent. Develop Champions.

PT Autosport, based at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ, campaigns rising star Alex Sedgwick (UK) in the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America series with JDX Racing, 2022 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Henry Drury (UK) in the Toyota GR Cup North America series with Precision Racing LA, and 2023 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Brenna Schubert (USA) in select SPEC-MX5 races for the 2024 season.

PT Autosport is dedicated to providing merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coach-ability, achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. The first step of this process is applying for the annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a team racing partnership with the team.

A rigorous evaluation process of applicants determines the final competitors for the driver shootout. The winner earns financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to pursue their racing career. The review process also provides the team the chance to identify unique talent for other roles in motorsport, including race engineers, mechanics, and professionals.

PT Autosport is building a community that fosters the development of young talent to find a place where they can make an impact in the motorsport community as a career.

PT Autosport social media

Instagram: @pt_autosport
TikTok: @ptautosport
Twitter: @PtAutosport
Facebook: PT Autosport
YouTube: PT Autosport

RYAN PREECE
Richmond Advance
No. 41 Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 23 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 11
● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway
● Layout: .75-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 160 laps / Final Stage: 170 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● While he and his NASCAR Cup Series counterparts take a couple of weekends off with broadcast partner NBC embroiled in its coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Ryan Preece certainly relishes the opportunity to enjoy the rarity of extended midseason time off with family and friends. But he also admits to a certain inability to keep from thinking about his next race, which will take the driver of the No. 41 Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing to Richmond (Va.) Raceway for the Aug. 11 Cook Out 400. It’s understandable why Preece would eye the season’s second stop at the .75-mile oval, as it’s the track where he earned a fifth-place finish on July 30, 2023, for what turned out to be his best result of his inaugural season at Stewart-Haas.

● The Cook Out 400 will be Preece’s ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond with his top-five finish in July 2023 best of all. He started 16th and finished 28th in his most recent Richmond outing March 31.

● Preece has tasted victory at Richmond, which came by way of a dominating run in the September 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event there. He qualified third and led a race-high 98 of 156 laps en route to his 25th of 26 career victories in the series where he’s honed his short-track skills since 2007, earned the 2013 title, and was championship runner-up in 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Preece’s 26th career Tour victory came last October just down the road at the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

● Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Richmond, Preece has four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with a best finish of 16th in his most recent start there in April 2022 for car owner B.J. McLeod. The 33-year-old native of Berlin, Connecticut, also has a September 2015 start at Richmond in the series now known as ARCA Menards Series East, which resulted in a 14th-place finish for car owner Doug Fuller.

● Drivers and their crew chiefs will have options when it comes to choosing what kind of tire they want to bolt onto their racecar at Richmond. Goodyear is bringing a “prime” tire, which is a slick racing tire, and an “option” tire that is also a slick but with a softer, faster-wearing compound. The lettering on the prime tires will be yellow and the lettering on the option tires will be red. In theory, the prime tire will last longer but provide less grip, therefore compromising speed. The option tire will provide maximum grip at the beginning of a run, allowing drivers to make significantly more speed, but their high-degradation rate means that speed will be short-lived. These tire combinations were originally trialed during the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend May 18-19 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Richmond marks the debut of the option tire in a regular-season, points-paying race. Here’s how it will work:

●  Teams will get two sets of each tire for practice.

●  A set of prime tires must be used during qualifying on Saturday. That set will then be transferred to Sunday’s race allotment.

●  Teams get eight sets of sticker tires for the race – six prime sets and two option sets.

●  For the race, NASCAR will not mandate when teams use their respective sets. However, all four tires must match at all times.

●  There will be a single, 45-minute practice session on Saturday for all cars leading into NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.

● Joining Preece and the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Richmond is Mohawk Northeast. This weekend marks Mohawk’s second race of 2024 as the primary partner on the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, the first coming June 23 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where Preece drove to an 11th-place finish. A longtime supporter of Preece, Mohawk is one of the premier heavy-civil contractors in the Northeast. The corporation has been providing the highest-quality construction services to a wide variety of clients. Specializing in heavy highway, railroad, movable and fixed bridges and marine construction, Mohawk has completed countless projects within industry safely, on time and within budget. Mohawk can self-perform all phases of construction, including electrical, mechanical, structural steel repair and erection, deep foundations, pier and bulkheads, fabrication and coating (AISC & SSPC Certified) and a wide range of marine services. With an extensive fleet of cranes, barges, offshore tugboats and many other pieces of heavy equipment, Mohawk is a well-established leader in heavy civil construction. Clients include the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, USACE, General Dynamics – Electric Boat, Connecticut DOT, Massachusetts DOT, New York DOT, Metro North Railroad, Amtrak, and various private sector clients.

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Prior to Richmond, you’ll have back-to-back off-weekends thanks to NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. How big of a deal is that break, not just for you, but also for your crewmembers?

“I think it’s a good opportunity to reset. I feel like, at least at Pocono during the second half of the race before we got wrecked, we were heading in a good direction and probably on a path for a pretty good day, or a decent day. So I feel like there are some things there where we can potentially put some of the pieces of the puzzle together and put an entire weekend together where we unload fast, qualify well and have a good day.”

Formula One has a mandatory two-week summer shutdown, where no work can be done in the race shop, as it’s monitored by the FIA. Would you like to see something similar in NASCAR?

“I think it would be good for everybody, as long as everybody was doing it. I think it needs to be monitored because, selfishly, if other teams are working, you’re getting behind. This is a competitive series and our results are really how everybody’s bills get paid.”

You have this two-week break where you’re not at the track, but how hard is it to turn your mind off from racing?

“For me, it’s not possible. If you’re going to try to stop people from working, I’m not somebody you stop from working. I feel like these two weeks are certainly an opportunity to spend time with your family and try to shut it off. But when you’re trying to compete and do all those things, it’s hard to shut it all off.”

You last raced at Richmond on March 31, which was more than four months ago. How has the competition changed since then?

“People just keep on tweaking on things throughout the year and keep getting better and better, and if you’re that team that, if you just happen to stumble upon something and you don’t continually critique it and make it better, you end up falling behind. I think that’s obviously very evident that this is around the time when teams start turning up the heat or finding things and showing more speed, and we’ll also see more of the speed come playoff time.”

How did that March race at Richmond go for you, and is there anything you can take away from it and apply to your return trip there in August?

“The earlier race this season didn’t go very well for us. We weren’t very good, where I felt like we were really good last year in August and probably going to finish third. So I think there are some things we’ve been working on this year that we can apply and be that much better this August.”

Is there a difference in how Richmond races between the first race in the still comfortable air of spring compared to its second race in the heat of the summer?

“With Richmond starting as late as it does and going into the night, there’s a lot more you can take from the spring than what you could last year. Last year was a day race, and with heat and everything, you were just dealing with track temp and lack of grip. Certainly I think with it being a night race, there are things you can work on from the spring.”

You’ll have the prime tire and the option tire at Richmond, just like what you trialed in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. What was it like at the All-Star Race with the option tire? What kind of strategy went into it, and how do you think it will apply at Richmond?

“I think it opens up the strategy because that tire is faster, and with having a limited amount of sets, if your car is fast and you have track position, you can choose to use that tire later. Or if you’re the guy who qualified 30th and need track position and trying not to go a lap down early, it’s an opportunity to use it to drive forward and get track position and possibly get stage points and try and guarantee you something there. It opens up strategy and, ultimately, you just have to have a car that’s good on both.”

Mohawk has been a longtime supporter of yours. How important has its support been for your career?

“Mohawk is certainly one of the reasons why I’m racing in the Cup Series. They were on the car when I was given a shot to race for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series back in 2017. We finished second at New Hampshire and won Iowa with Mohawk on the car in my first two races with Gibbs, and those races are what ultimately changed my life. They’ve been a great partner and I’m looking forward to having them back on the car at Richmond.”

No. 41 Mohawk Northeast 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

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

Event Overview

● Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 23 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 11
● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway
● Layout: .75-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 160 laps / Final Stage: 170 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The NASCAR Cup Series gets a two-week respite as broadcast partner NBC covers the Summer Olympics in Paris before returning to action Aug. 11 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, will have to carry the momentum from his savvy ninth-place drive in the Brickyard 400 July 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway through the break and on into Richmond. Gragson has finished 14th or better in three of the last four races, a run that includes two top-10s. Gragson’s Indy effort was his seventh top-10 of the season, with a third-place performance April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway being his best of the year. With 14 races still remaining, Gragson is already having a career year, with more top-10s, laps led and laps completed than he’s ever had 22 races into a season.

● The Aug. 11 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond will mark Gragson’s fifth career Cup Series start at the track, with his best result coming earlier this year. In his most recent visit to the .75-mile oval on March 31, the 26-year-old Las Vegas native finished 12th, bettering his previous best result of 24th, earned on Aug. 14, 2022 in his first Cup Series start at Richmond.

● Gragson’s Richmond record in the NASCAR Xfinity Series is more comprehensive, with seven career starts between 2018 and 2022. It’s more robust, too, with three top-five finishes and five top-10s highlighted by a victory in September 2021. Gragson’s average start at Richmond in the Xfinity Series is seventh and his average finish is ninth.

● Gragson first turned laps at Richmond in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. It was Sept. 10, 2015, when he made his lone K&N Pro Series East start at the track. It began inauspiciously, with Gragson qualifying 32nd. But in the 70-lap race, he put on a show, picking up 22 positions to finish a solid 10th.

● Richmond is a short track, and short-track racing is where Gragson’s racing career began. He owns victories in two of the United States’ most prestigious Late Model races – the 2017 Winchester 400 at the half-mile Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and the 2018 Snowball Derby at the half-mile Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

● Drivers and their crew chiefs will have options when it comes to choosing what kind of tire they want to bolt onto their racecar at Richmond. Goodyear is bringing a “prime” tire, which is a slick racing tire, and an “option” tire that is also a slick but with a softer, faster-wearing compound. The lettering on the prime tires will be yellow and the lettering on the option tires will be red. In theory, the prime tire will last longer but provide less grip, therefore compromising speed. The option tire will provide maximum grip at the beginning of a run, allowing drivers to make significantly more speed, but their high-degradation rate means that speed will be short-lived. These tire combinations were originally trialed during the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend May 18-19 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Richmond marks the debut of the option tire in a regular-season, points-paying race. Here’s how it will work:

●  Teams will get two sets of each tire for practice.

●  A set of prime tires must be used during qualifying on Saturday. That set will then be transferred to Sunday’s race allotment.

●  Teams get eight sets of sticker tires for the race – six prime sets and two option sets.

●  For the race, NASCAR will not mandate when teams use their respective sets. However, all four tires must match at all times.

●  There will be a single, 45-minute practice session on Saturday for all cars leading into NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.

● Overstock.com adorns Gragson’s No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Richmond. 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

Prior to Richmond, you’ll have back-to-back off-weekends thanks to NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. How big of a deal is that break, not just for you, but also for your crewmembers?

“I think it’s good. This is a seven-days-a-week grind. You land on Sunday night after a race and you focus forward on what’s going to happen the following Sunday, and you spend your whole week focused on that. So it’s important to get a little rest and recovery and fire off strong for the rest of the year.”

Formula One has a mandatory two-week summer shutdown, where no work can be done in the race shop, as it’s monitored by the FIA. Would you like to see something similar in NASCAR?

“Yeah, I think so. Honestly, if you just gave people some Saturday-night races, too, that’d be pretty nice. Just something where you have maybe one or two days to be able to not think about racing and regroup, mentally.”

You have this two-week break where you’re not at the track, but how hard is it to turn your mind off from racing?

“I’ll take full advantage of not thinking about racing. Once the racing season starts, there’s no time to screw around or go out with your buddies. It’s a lot, but when you run well, that’s what keeps you motivated. So you just try to stay on top of things throughout the week and keep yourself sharp and disciplined and focused on the next task at hand because you want to run well. It’s strictly business once the season’s in effect, so with the break – luckily it’s two weeks – you can go on vacation. Some guys will relax. I like to go golf and have fun and go surf. That’s how I relax.”

You last raced at Richmond on March 31, which was more than four months ago. How has the competition changed since then?

“I just try to focus on myself and what I can control and my goal is to go out there and drive the car as fast as possible. I’m not racing anyone else, I’m just racing myself, just doing the best job that I can.”

How did that March race at Richmond go for you, and is there anything you can take away from it and apply to your return trip there in August?

“We pretty much ran 10th to 14th all night and really couldn’t break through and run any better than that. We never really ran worse than that, just had a smooth, solid day and finished 12th. Hopefully, we can build on that when we go back.”

Have some of the more recent short tracks, or even flat tracks, like New Hampshire and Iowa, provided some insight as to how you’ll unload at Richmond?

“It’s different every week, it seems like. Sometimes you go to the track and think you’re going to be pretty good, and you’re not as good as you thought because the car doesn’t have as much speed in it. Other times, you’re like, ‘I don’t know about this place,’ and you haul the mail and it’s fast. So it’s definitely just trying to be as prepared as possible, that’s the main goal.”

Is there a difference in how Richmond races between the first race in the still comfortable air of spring compared to its second race in the heat of the summer?

“The place is worn out from a grip standpoint, so it’s always kind of slick and greasy, but definitely in the hotter temperatures you’re sliding around a lot more. I like it if our car’s fast. If it’s fast, they’re going to be slipping and sliding more than you.”

You only have four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond, but you have seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts there with a good bit of success – a win in 2021 along with three top-fives and five top-10s. What allowed you to achieve that success at Richmond?

“Richmond’s a worn-out racetrack and you have to be really disciplined to drive it low and straight off the corner. Ever since I went there in the K&N days, we had good pace there. It’s a real rhythm track and being able to be disciplined is important. If you miss the yellow line by an inch, it’s a 30-percent grip loss, so it’s really important to get to the line there, which I like, having to be disciplined, kind of like an old Atlanta.”

How different is a lap around Richmond in a Cup Series car compared to an Xfinity Series car?

“It’s way different just because you’re shifting. A lot of the things that worked in Trucks and Xfinity and the old Cup cars and K&N, it’s a little bit different because you’re shifting and the tires are a lot wider, so you’re going naturally faster through the corner in the new Cup cars. But the same keys of getting down to the bottom are a big focus.”

You’ll have the prime tire and the option tire at Richmond, just like what you trialed in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. What was it like at the All-Star Race with the option tire? What kind of strategy went into it, and how do you think it will apply at Richmond?

“The only thing from North Wilkesboro that we can really utilize is how much faster the tire was. Granted, it was a repaved track, so that softer option tire really didn’t fall off and you were better off just keeping that on there the whole time instead of losing your track position. With it being worn out at Richmond, I’m sure it’s going to be faster, but I don’t know how much different the fall-off is going to be. Is it going to fall off a lot quicker than the hard tire, or over the span of a 40- or 50-lap run, which one is going to be more dominant? Will it be the hard tire and not losing as much time through a run, or will it be the soft tire?”

So is learning about the prime and option tire more trial and error than anything else?

“It’s trial and error. The All-Star Race was a test, but I don’t think North Wilkesboro was the right test for it. It just showed that Goodyear could make a softer tire with a little more grip, but with an old, worn-out track, will it wear out a lot faster where you could pass at the beginning of the run? Will you have to save it? It would be kind of fun to do a whole race on a super-soft tire, something where if you don’t push it at the beginning, you’re going to be able to run through at the end of the run, and vice versa. We’ll see. I think you’re just going to use them the last two runs of the race, pretty much.”

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
Richmond Advance
No. 14 Rinnai Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 23 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 11
● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway
● Layout: .75-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 160 laps / Final Stage: 170 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The longest season in all of professional sports is off for summer break. The NASCAR Cup Series, which began its 38-race season back on Feb. 3 with the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum in Los Angeles and ends Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway, gets a two-week reprieve as broadcast partner NBC covers the Summer Olympics in Paris. Off-weekends are rare in NASCAR and back-to-back off-weekends are even rarer. Drivers and crew members are used to taking vacations during the winter when the sport is silent, but this break allows those in the industry to enjoy a warm-weather vacation without the need for a passport and a flight toward the equator. With 23 straight races in the books, the break is needed, both for recuperation and to prepare for another 14-race stretch before the Cup Series’ 76th season comes to a close.

● When teams get back from summer break, only four regular-season races remain before the 16-driver NASCAR Playoffs begin Sept. 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Those who have won a race in the regular season earn a playoff berth, with the remaining spots filled based on a driver’s point standing. There have been 12 different race winners thus far in 2024, leaving just four playoff spots open for a driver to get in on points. Of the winless drivers, Martin Truex Jr. is in the best shape with a 108-point margin over the top-16 cutoff. Next best is Ty Gibbs with a 42-point buffer. Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain currently hold down the last two playoff spots, albeit tenuously, with Buescher just 17 points ahead of the top-16 cutoff while Chastain is just seven points to the good. The closest driver outside of the top-16 is Bubba Wallace, who could easily usurp Chastain in a single race. Chase Briscoe is the next-closest challenger to crack the top-16, but at 83 points back, he needs all four races to secure as many points as possible. A victory, however, would punch Briscoe’s playoff ticket and squeeze a non-winning driver outside the playoff bubble.

● The Aug. 11 Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway will mark Briscoe’s eighth career NASCAR Cup Series start at the track. He has three finishes of 12th or better, including a pair of 11th-place drives, the latest of which came last July. Briscoe finished 18th in the Cup Series’ most recent visit to Richmond on March 31.

● In five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond between 2018 and 2020, Briscoe finished outside the top-16 only once, with three results of 11th or better. His best run came in September 2019 when he started fifth and finished fifth in his No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas.

● Drivers and their crew chiefs will have options when it comes to choosing what kind of tire they want to bolt onto their racecar at Richmond. Goodyear is bringing a “prime” tire, which is a slick racing tire, and an “option” tire that is also a slick but with a softer, faster-wearing compound. The lettering on the prime tires will be yellow and the lettering on the option tires will be red. In theory, the prime tire will last longer but provide less grip, therefore compromising speed. The option tire will provide maximum grip at the beginning of a run, allowing drivers to make significantly more speed, but their high-degradation rate means that speed will be short-lived. These tire combinations were originally trialed during the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend May 18-19 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Richmond marks the debut of the option tire in a regular-season, points-paying race. Here’s how it will work:

●  Teams will get two sets of each tire for practice.

●  A set of prime tires must be used during qualifying on Saturday. That set will then be transferred to Sunday’s race allotment.

●  Teams get eight sets of sticker tires for the race – six prime sets and two option sets.

●  For the race, NASCAR will not mandate when teams use their respective sets. However, all four tires must match at all times.

●  There will be a single, 45-minute practice session on Saturday for all cars leading into NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.

● Adorning Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Richmond is Rinnai, a manufacturer of the No. 1 selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in North America. Rinnai is the official tankless water heater of Stewart-Haas Racing, a designation that highlights Rinnai’s brand promise of “Creating a healthier way of living®,” a mantra that is at the forefront of all the company’s efforts. By continuing to offer quality products and services to homeowners and organizations, Rinnai is aiding in providing businesses and homes with energy-efficient hot water options for cleaner and healthier living.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Rinnai Ford Mustang

Prior to Richmond, you’ll have back-to-back off-weekends thanks to NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. How big of a deal is that break, not just for you, but also for your crewmembers?

“It’s nice to get a break. It’s weird to get two off weekends in a row. I’ll have time to get caught up on all the honey-do list stuff that I normally don’t have time to do, and it’ll be nice to be at home without responsibilities for a week or two and to be able to just hang out. I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’m home three days straight throughout the season, but those off weeks I’ll be home for five, six, seven, eight days in a row. So it’ll be nice to just be home and get to be a dad and a husband for a couple of days and kind of live a normal life, to a certain extent, and just wake up and not have to leave. It’s always a nice break and a way to recharge your batteries in the middle of the season.”

Formula One has a mandatory two-week summer shutdown, where no work can be done in the race shop, as it’s monitored by the FIA. Would you like to see something similar in NASCAR?

“I’m all about taking a little bit of a break and I think it’d be a cool thing, too, if it was actually a full, total shutdown where you couldn’t do anything. People in other sports don’t realize how long our season is. It’s really from the first weekend of February to the first weekend in November and a lot of times you only get one weekend off. And even in the offseason, you’re kind of working more than you are in the season. It would definitely be nice to have a summer break.”

You have this two-week break where you’re not at the track, but how hard is it to turn your mind off from racing?

“I think it’s hard the first couple of days. Like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, it’s a little challenging. But especially this year with it being two weeks off, it’ll be a lot easier that second week to kind of forget everything and then get back into the groove that following week. I don’t think it’s hard, especially if you’re busy and doing stuff at home and what not. The first couple of days, I feel like it’s hard to totally forget about it, but once you get to Thursday and you know you don’t have to worry about going to a race that weekend or packing a bag to go away that weekend, it’s easy to forget about it altogether.”

You last raced at Richmond on March 31, which was more than four months ago. How has the competition changed since then?

“I definitely think it’s gotten more cut-throat as the year goes on. Everybody’s stuff gets better, everybody’s tighter at the beginning of the year, then everybody’s a little more spread out and what not. As we get to the tail end of the season, it’s just going to get harder and harder to win just because more and more people are really good. Our stuff definitely has changed a lot since we first raced at Richmond this year, but so has everybody else’s. We’ll just have to try to improve on what we had there the last time.”

Have some of the more recent short tracks, or even flat tracks, like New Hampshire and Iowa, provided some insight as to how you’ll unload at Richmond?

“I think a little bit. Richmond’s a little bit unique just because the tire wear is so significant compared to all those other racetracks that are similar to it in size and banking. It’s hard to say if you really can take a whole lot from any other racetracks just because Richmond is kind of its own unique beast because of its abrasive surface and the tire wear that it has.”

Is there a difference in how Richmond races between the first race in the still comfortable air of spring compared to its second race in the heat of the summer?

“At that place, the grip level definitely changes a lot just based on the temperature. It’s probably one of the more temperature-sensitive racetracks. It’s slick even when it’s 50 degrees outside, and it’s really slick when it’s 85-plus outside. For me, I enjoy when it’s hotter and slicker there because I feel like you have more options and your car’s driving worse and I just enjoy that more. Hopefully when we go there it’s hot and slick and we can move all over the racetrack and have a lot of fun with it. I definitely feel like the tracks I run better at are typically the slicker and worn-out ones. Richmond’s one of those tracks where, when it’s cold outside, you’re married to the bottom of the racetrack, whereas when it’s hot, you can kind of move around and run up by the wall and do a lot more stuff with your racecar. I definitely enjoy it more when it’s hot and slick there.”

You’ll have the prime tire and the option tire at Richmond, just like what you trialed in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. What was it like at the All-Star Race with the option tire? What kind of strategy went into it, and how do you think it will apply at Richmond?

“There’s never been a points race where we’ve had multiple option tires. It’s going to be a new component of strategy that we’ve never seen before, just trying to understand when to put on the option tire or stick with the prime tire. North Wilkesboro is a little unique in the sense of, with it being newly repaved, it didn’t really chew up tires a whole lot, where Richmond will certainly chew up tires. I think there’s going to be a lot of strategy involved. The new tires, or the option tires, will probably be extremely fast for probably 10 or 15 laps and then get really, really slow. It’ll be interesting, and the crew chiefs will certainly earn their money on that day, for sure.”

Do guys with a dirt background have an advantage at Richmond as they’re used to running different tire compounds?

“I don’t know if the dirt guys have an advantage. If it’s slick, then maybe a little bit, but honestly I think it plays into the pavement late model guys’ hands a lot more just because they’re really good at saving tires and they know how to do that, where sprint car guys typically struggle with that. I think guys like Josh Berry, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, guys who are just really good at understanding where the tire is and the life of it. I feel like sprint car guys kind of struggle with that a lot of the time just because we don’t have a lot of experience doing it.”

Will having an option tire at Richmond make for a better race?

“I think it’s a step. We’ve kind of been trying everything else and nothing’s really seemed to move the needle. I do think this is another thing to throw at it to see if it makes a difference. I also think you’ll see more comers and goers just from having different tires. At North Wilkesboro, there wasn’t a major difference, but also tires didn’t really wear out there, either. I do think it’ll make a difference and I’m curious to see what it’s like. Practice is going to be interesting to see how it plays out, and I think after practice you’ll have a lot better idea of what to expect for the race.”

No. 14 Rinnai 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

Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis, IN – July 21, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

START: 38TH STAGE ONE: 37TH STAGE TWO: 27TH FINISH: 7TH POINTS: 19TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric drove to a solid seventh-place finish at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon as the NASCAR Cup Series made its much-anticipated return to the 2.5-mile oval layout. The No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang took the green flag from the rear of the field after sustaining damage during Saturday’s qualifying session that needed to be addressed with repairs. Once the 400-mile race fired off, Cindric provided a balance update 10 laps in, reporting that the car was a little on the tight side. He made his first trip down pit road on Lap 36 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, but was docked for speeding, forcing him to serve a pass-through penalty. After finishing 37th, one lap down, at the end of Stage 1 and unable to take the wave around, the former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion returned to pit road for service and adjustments to help him get down into the corners better. In the second segment, through multiple cautions, Cindric was able to rejoin the lead lap as he continued to be challenged by a tight race car. He ultimately finished 27th in Stage 2, and the No. 2 team opted to stay out at the break, gaining 14 positions ahead of the restart. As fuel strategy discussions came into play and various incidents took place late in the Brickyard 400, Cindric steadily inched forward to close out the weekend with a strong seventh-place result.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “I did my race team zero favors today with qualifying as poorly as I did putting it in the wall and then speeding on the first pit stop. Good rally by everybody. I felt like our Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse was quick today, we just had to get it in the right place on the race track. We saved fuel and [crew chief] Brian [Wilson] did the right things with strategy and we earned a good result because of it. I wish it would have gone green there at the end because I think I would have gotten a few more spots with the fuel situation. Overall, a nice reward going into a little break here.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/ATLAS FORD MUSTANG

START: 7TH STAGE ONE: 3RD STAGE TWO: 4TH FINISH: 3RD POINTS: 5TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Atlas team nearly played their strategy to perfection Sunday in the Cup Series’ return to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ultimately settling for a third-place finish. The result marks the 12-team’s sixth top-10 in the last seven races while Blaney notched his first-career top-five at Indianapolis in his seventh Cup Series start on the 2.5-mile oval. Blaney worked his way into the top-five in the first 20 laps before crew chief Jonathan Hassler made the call to split the opening stage in half by calling the Menards/Atlas Ford to pit road on lap 27 for right side tires and fuel. Once the green flag pit cycle was complete with just under 10 to go in the segment, Blaney made his way back to through the field to cross the line third at the conclusion of Stage 1. With varying strategies taking place throughout the field, Blaney restarted the second stage from 17th, but another two-tire call from Hassler following the caution on lap 68 vaulted Blaney to eighth in the running order. Blaney continued his charge forward in the closing laps of Stage 2, making his way back inside the top-five on lap 87 en route to a fourth-place finish in the second 50-lap segment. After a four-tire stop at the final stage break, Blaney lined up 22nd to take the green flag when he was forced to the top of a three-wide battle into turn one, resulting in contact to the left rear that unraveled a multi-car incident but left Blaney largely unscathed. With cosmetic damage the only detriment to Blaney in the incident, he hit pit road for fuel only as the 12-team packed it full in order to make it to the end without another stop. A caution on lap 125 in the middle of the green flag cycle saw Blaney jump to fourth on the leaderboard before the green flag came back out with 30 laps to go. Despite saving fuel over the course of the final run, Blaney found himself running second to the No. 6 who had pitted for fuel earlier in the cycle. Hassler made the call to Blaney that he was cleared to run hard with 12 laps to go as the No. 5 began to make his charge to the leaders. Blaney continued to close the gap to the No. 6 as the trio battled for the lead coming to two to go when the caution flag flew, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. After choosing the outside of row one for the first overtime attempt, the No. 6 – on the inside of row one – decided to peel off onto pit road behind the pace car as he ran out of fuel coming to green, allowing the No. 5 to move up to the front row alongside Blaney. A multi-car incident behind the leaders in turn one of the restart prompted a lengthy red flag as Blaney prepared to race for the win from the outside of row one once again. After taking the green, Blaney battled side-by-side with the No. 5 but ultimately was shuffled to third in the running order by the time they made their way out of turn two before the caution came out on the final lap, culminating in a third-place finish.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “It was hard fought. I thought we had a really good shot to win today. I appreciate Menards and Atlas and Ford and the 12 group for putting us in position. Our car was fast and I thought we had really good strategy. We were the front guy of having to save a little bit of gas but I thought we put ourselves in a great spot. I knew [Brad Keselowski] was probably going to run out if it went green. We came to the restart and I couldn’t believe they stayed out. There was no way they were going to make it. So I obviously chose the top because he might run out in the restart zone. And he winds up coming to the green so he gets to go to pit road and [Kyle Larson] gets promoted. Luck of the day right there I guess. I don’t even know what to get mad about. I am mad about losing this race because I thought we were in the perfect position. Once I lost control of the race, obviously I would have been on the bottom, but I thought [Keselowski] would run out in the restart zone or on the back straightaway. It stinks to lose it that way. I appreciate the effort. I hate we don’t get to celebrate with Mr. Penske and with everyone from Penske here. That stings a lot. We just have to keep going, that is all we can do.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 12TH STAGE ONE: 14TH STAGE TWO: 32ND FINISH: 34TH POINTS: 15TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano was collected in a multi-car incident in the opening laps of the final stage Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to bring his day to an abrupt end, culminating in a 34th-place finish. The 22 team was the top car among those on the same strategy Sunday afternoon, as crew chief Paul Wolfe opted to run long during the opening stage while others split the stage in half. Once Logano worked his way up to fourth in the running order during the green flag pit cycle, Wolfe called the Shell-Pennzoil Ford to pit road on lap 38 for a four tire stop and a round of adjustments. Logano made his way back to 14th in the running order by the end of Stage 1, but the choice to run long allowed him to stay out during the stage break and restart from the outside of row two. Following a pair of cautions and a call for right side tires only under yellow, Logano charged his way back into the top-five by lap 85 before Wolfe called him to pit road with four to go in the stage in order to need only one more stop for fuel to make it to the checkered flag and flip their track position before the start of the final stage. Logano managed to come off pit road in front of the leader and avoided going a lap down prior to the end of Stage 2, resulting in a 32nd-place finish in the segment. About half the field hit pit road during the stage break as teams continued to vary their strategies to set themselves up for the final run of the afternoon as Logano lined up 16th to take the green flag. Following a caution on lap 105, Logano lined up 13th and a multi-car incident unraveled in the row behind him on the entry of turn one, sending the No. 84 into Logano’s left rear quarter panel and sending him head-on into the outside wall, bringing an end to the No. 22 team’s day before they had a chance to see their strategy play out.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It seems like they were three wide a couple of rows behind me and the wreck caught me, unfortunately. It looks like [Carson] Hocevar sent it down the center and just kind of stuffed it in there late. Unfortunately it caught up to me. He right reared Jimmie [Johnson] into my left rear and nosed our Shell-Pennzoil Mustang into the wall. It is a bummer. You come here to Indy once a year and all you dream of is kissing the bricks. My team gave me a great race car and we were the leader of our strategy and that is kind of all you can hope for, to get to the lead of your strategy. And we were going to have a shorter pit stop and we were going to try to gain some spots the restart as a lot of guys were staying out. We could have a shorter stop than them and that is when we were going to cycle back up to the front, hopefully, but we never got to see it through.”

The NASCAR Cup Series takes a two-week break before returning to action on Sunday, August 11 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Buescher Earns P22 Finish After Two-Straight Tire Issues in Early Stages

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (July 21, 2024) – Brad Keselowski led the Brickyard 400 with less than five laps remaining Sunday afternoon, but a caution with two to go sent the race into NASCAR Overtime, where the No. 6 ran out of fuel, ultimately spoiling his chances of a win. He went on to finish 21st, while Chris Buescher overcame two-straight flat tires early to get back on the lead lap and finish 22nd.

Keselowski led 35 laps in total – second-most of any driver – as fuel mileage was the difference in a race that went into two NASCAR Overtimes, ultimately ending under yellow, despite a car unable to continue with still two laps remaining.

6 Recap
With a qualifying effort of 26th, the No. 6 team needed a strategy move at some point in the race to flip the track position. They opted for an early strategy play, keeping Keselowski on track in the middle of the first pit cycle as he pitted from the lead at lap 41. However, he was penalized for violating the pit exit rule, and was forced to complete a pass through pit road.

After finishing the stage in 36th, Keselowski began the second stage from that spot, needing a yellow to get back on the lead lap. That came when the caution flew at lap 68 as the No. 6 went on to finish the stage in 21st.

Then, as pit cycles continued to play out in the early part of stage three, the Fastenal team made its bets early, keeping Keselowski on track throughout. He restarted eighth at lap 115 and was up to third by lap 124. He stayed out under that caution, ultimately leading the field back to green at lap 130.

From there, it was fuel save mode for the Body Guard Ford as Keselowski maintained the top spot. Needing to pit with less than five to go, the caution flew at lap 158 – two shy of the checkered – which extended the race to the first NASCAR Overtime attempt, at the time. Keselowski remained on track, but ran out of fuel coming to the restart zone, forcing him to pit road.

The race went into another NASCAR Overtime restart, but was ruled official under caution after 167 laps.

17 Recap
Buescher had the misfortune of two separate flat tire issues early in Sunday’s 400-mile race. After qualifying 23rd, the No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford experienced the first flat tire just after lap 35. After the team put four fresh tires on, Buescher again had a flat left rear just a handful of laps later, setting him off the pace to the leaders.

From there, Buescher had to climb an uphill battle to get back on the lead lap, but scenarios continued to not fall his way throughout much of the afternoon. The late cautions ultimately put him back on the lead lap where he went on to finish 22nd.

Up Next
The sport takes two weeks off for the Olympics, with racing action set to return Sunday, Aug. 11 at Richmond Raceway.

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

RICK WARE RACING
The Brickyard 400
Date: July 21, 2024
Event: Brickyard 400 (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages 50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)

Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)

RWR Race Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 34th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 167 of 167 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (29th with 319 points)

● Cody Ware (36th with 47 points)

Ware Notes:

● This was Ware’s first career Brickyard 400.

● This was Ware’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was 24th, earned in April at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

● Ware’s 18th-place finish was the best result for RWR at Indianapolis. The previous best was a 21st-place result, earned by J.J. Yeley in 2020.

Haley Notes:

● Haley, a native of Winamac, Indiana, earned his ninth top-20 of the season in his first career Brickyard 400.

● Haley’s 20th-place finish also bettered RWR’s previous best finish at Indianapolis.

Race Notes:

● Kyle Larson won the Brickyard 400 to score his 27th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Indianapolis. The race ended under caution with Tyler Reddick finishing second.

● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 34 laps.

● Only 24 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kyle Larson leaves Indianapolis as the new championship leader with a 10-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“I’m super happy with how the day ended. To come back from a left-rear flat and going two laps down, to fight our way back to 18th through the late race chaos was a good fight by everyone on the team. We stayed focused and executed all day. I’m happy with the result, especially getting to race at Indy in a crown jewel race like the Brickyard 400 and put our bad luck from Pocono behind us.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 15 AFT Peoria TT Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I’m happy with the progress we made over the weekend. I felt like we had a good shot at a top-15. We started off really struggling with passing, it would just get so tight, but we finally got it to a good place. Then a slow stop put us behind and all the cautions at the end made it tough to make up that track position. The two weeks off should be a good chance to reset and get back to consistent top-15 and top-20 finishes.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series gets a two-week respite before returning to action Aug. 11 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Brickyard 400
Date: July 21, 2024
Event: Brickyard 400 (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)

Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Noah Gragson (Started 21st, Finished 9th / Running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 20th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 31st, Finished 26th / Accident, completed 165 of 167 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 37th, Finished 35th / Accident, completed 104 of 167 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 469 points, 280 out of first)

● Josh Berry (22nd with 388 points, 361 out of first)

● Noah Gragson (23rd with 383 points, 366 out of first)

● Ryan Preece (26th with 329 points, 420 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Gragson earned his seventh top-10 of the season and it came in his first career Brickyard 400.

● Gragson finished 10th in Stage 1 to earn one bonus point.

● Gragson led once for three laps.

● Briscoe finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.

● This was a home race for Briscoe as he grew up in nearby Mitchell, Indiana.

Race Notes:

● Kyle Larson won the Brickyard 400 to score his 27th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Indianapolis. The race ended under caution with Tyler Reddick finishing second.

● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 34 laps.

● Only 24 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Larson remains the championship leader after Indianapolis with a 10-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“We struggled at the beginning part of the weekend, but definitely grateful to come back to Indy. I don’t know officially where we’d be with those guys running out of gas off of turn four, but we had plenty of fuel. Drew Blickensderfer (crew chief) called a great race and it’s always fun to have Bass Pro Shops on the hood. We struggled on Friday in practice and got a little better in qualifying. We qualified 21st and we just made progress all day. We got a stage point in Stage 1. Strategy, you never know when the caution is going to come out, but Drew made some great calls. I had more gas than the rest of them there and for a second I thought it was going to be Nashville 2.0 with a bunch of restarts, but we were able to hang on and come out of here unscathed.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was kind of a rough weekend for us from a speed standpoint. We were never really that good or that great. Made our car quite a bit better, but we still were never good enough to win, but we got it up in the mix. I was able to get it up there in the top-five for a little bit. Strategy just didn’t go our way. We pitted to prevent what happened at Nashville, and then obviously got to where we got in a wreck. It was disappointing. We were kind of up and down all day and thought we were going to be in good position if the cautions kept coming out to be in the mix there in the top-five, but obviously we got caught up in that big wreck. It’s kind of part of the deal at the end of these races. Anytime you have a caution with less than 10 to go, it all turns into chaos and we all start doing stupid stuff. That’s certainly what happened there. Everybody was in a really weird fuel situation there and we kind of hedged our bets hoping there would be more cautions, and then the wreck got us. Frustrating, for sure. Our car was definitely better than where we finished, but we’ll be back. Wish our results could’ve been a bit better, but everything that kind of could go wrong went wrong for us at the end. It’s cool to be back on the oval, the history of it. Hopefully, we can do it again next year. Every time I come here, I feel the love from the Hoosier State. It’s always nice to be back home and appreciated. I wish we could’ve had a better result for them, but I definitely feel the love and that’s my favorite part about coming home.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We just got caught in a tough spot there at the end of the race. We decided to stay out and risk it on fuel and it just didn’t work in our favor today.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It looked like when I was riding back there, I guess the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) got spun out or something, we were all just stacking and I think I just got clipped from behind and turned into the wall. It’s an unfortunate end. It’s been a tough weekend. Honestly, today our car was really competitive. I was actually really happy with the car. We obviously started in the back and never could get the track position. I had a tough day on pit road, too. Every time we’d get top-20, we’d get knocked back. Honestly, I had a good experience today, really. We passed cars and had a good balance throughout the race. I really was pretty happy with it. We just needed something to just go our way, strategy-wise, to get up front. All in all, the guys did a great job. I put us in a hole in qualifying, but the car was pretty solid today. We’ve got some things to clean up, but we’ll go get ’em next time.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Panini/Caitlin Clark Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series gets a two-week respite before returning to action Aug. 11 for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 32nd for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Hemric dropped multiple spots at the start of the opening 50-lap stage, radioing that the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet was free handling. On lap 33, crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for two tires, in order to gain back some track position. Hemric went on to finish 23rd in the first stage.
• During the first stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel, before starting the second stage from 29th place. The first non-stage caution came out on lap 70, and Hemric pitted once again for right-side tires. After restarting 28th, Hemric narrowly avoided a crash and pitted under caution for left-side tires. He restarted 29th with 22 laps remaining in the stage and finished in the same position.
• Hemric pitted during the second stage break for four tires with the intention of only taking two under green during the final stage. The next two cautions came out on the restarts, and Hemric stayed out during both. Hemric restarted 10th with 46 laps remaining. When the next caution came out on lap 126, Hemric had made it to fifth and stayed out under caution, before restarting on the outside of the front row with 31 laps remaining. Falling to fourth, Hemric raced back to the third position, holding the No. 5 car off, until he was forced to pit for fuel with eight laps remaining. An overtime-inducing caution happened with three laps remaining, as Hemric sat 20th for the first attempt. On the restart, Hemric was collected in a wreck, ending his day early. He was scored 30th.
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• “It was a chaotic restart, as some guys were running out of fuel. The No. 42 checked up, and unfortunately I had nowhere to go but into the back of him. We had a tough day but got to run up front and show some speed, so I’m proud of the gains we made as a team.” – Daniel Hemric

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified 15th for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• The No. 16 fired off loose and lacked the stability that Allmendinger had in practice. On lap 16, Allmendinger made an unscheduled pit stop under green for four tires, fuel, wedge, and air pressure adjustments to help with the handling of the car. The No. 16 came off pit road in 38th place and went a lap down. By the end of stage one, Allmendinger was scored in 20th place on the lead lap.
• During the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for a left-rear adjustment. The Campers Inn RV Chevy restarted in 26th on lap 56 and had taken over 22nd on the first lap under green. When the caution came out on lap 70, Allmendinger reported the No. 16 was more comfortable to drive than it was the first run, but he couldn’t be any tighter. Allmendinger came to pit road for right-side tires and fuel, before restarting in 19th with 29 laps remaining in the stage. The No. 16 was involved in a wreck on the back stretch on lap 75 that ultimately ended the day for Allmendinger and the No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy. Allmendinger was scored in 37th.
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• “I saw everyone start checking up. I actually saw the No. 21 [Harrison Burton] on the bottom, so I went to go to the middle. Right as I went to the middle, the No. 24 [William Byron] was coming across. It’s just kind of the story of the year: wrong place, wrong time. We missed it at the beginning of the race in our No. 16 Campers RV Chevy. We were really loose, so we lost some track position. We started getting it back and I felt like we kind of got into that 15th to 20th place range that we thought we would be. It’s just disappointing, but it’s part of it. The way the wreck happened, it was kind of out of my control.” – AJ Allmendinger  
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• 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.