Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Team: No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: 140 laps, Stage Lengths: 55-35-35-15
NASCAR All-Star Race – Wednesday, July 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

All-Star Race On Deck Wednesday in Bristol

· NASCAR will make history Wednesday when it heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the All-Star Race for the first time. Outside of the 1986 event in Atlanta, the race has been held in Charlotte. However, due to ongoing implications from COVID-19, officials moved the event to ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile’ for the 2020 event.

· The main event will have four stages consisting of a 55-lap opening run, back-to-back 35 laps sequences, and a final 15 lap stage. Only green-flag laps will count in the final stage, and the final stage will end with a checkered flag.

· New to the event in 2020, car numbers will appear farther back on the side panels of the cars. The change will put each car’s primary partner now in the center – below the door – with the number shifted to just in front of the rear tires.

· Also new to the All-Star Race is the choose rule, a method used commonly throughout the grassroots levels of racing for restarts. When drivers approach a designated spot on the track, they must commit to the inside or outside lane for the restart. Failure to make a clear choice or changing lanes after the designated spot will result in a tail-of-the-field penalty. This is different from the current double-file restart system, where only the race leader chooses his lane. Having the rule for the All-Star Race gives every driver the ability to make his own decision, and strategy will come into play in every instance.

Newman Historically in the All-Star Race

· Newman will make his 19th start in the All-Star Race on Wednesday. He is eligible for the event by way of his 2002 victory in The Winston, after winning the qualifying event just prior.

· Outside of his win in 2002, Newman also has two additional top five finishes in the star-studded event, second in 2004 and fifth in 2006. Most recently, he finished 13th a year ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

· The 2003 Driver of the Year started on the pole once back in 2004, and had two second-place starting positions in 2004 and 2012.

· The field for Wednesday’s All-Star Race will be determined by a random draw.

· Overall at Bristol, Newman has an average finish of 15.4 with 19 top-10s and two top fives.

Scott Graves in the All-Star Race

· Graves will be atop the box for just his second All-Star Race, after finishing 13th a season ago with Newman.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing in the All-Star Race:
“The All-Star Race is always fun and unique in that you can take some chances you may not otherwise take, both in car setup and on the track execution. Moving to Bristol will no doubt intensify the drama and I’m excited to try out the format at a short track. Way back in my career I was able to win the qualifying race to get in, and wound up winning that, so I know what that feeling is like and hope to have it again come Wednesday in our Oscar Mayer Ford.”

Last Time Out
Newman picked off multiple positions in the closing laps of Sunday’s 400-mile race from Kentucky to finish 17th in the Acronis Ford.

Where They Rank
Newman is 26th in driver points after 14 races in his 2020 campaign. In owners’ points, the No. 6 is 23rd.

On the Car
Oscar Mayer returns to the No. 6 Ford Wednesday at Bristol, highlighting bacon. Oscar Mayer and Roush Fenway announced their continued partnership at the end of the 2019 season, as the company continues to highlight its quality meat offerings via its paint schemes throughout the season.

· Oscar Mayer and Newman have also teamed to support a great cause to help provide food to those in need by offering a race weekend experience as part of the Fanatics ALL IN Challenge.

· With help from the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile – the 27-foot-long vehicle hauling buns around the country promoting the Oscar Mayer brand – Ryan Newman and Oscar Mayer will host two lucky fans for a full race weekend experience in 2021. The highest bidder and a guest will receive an exclusive meet and greet with Newman, get a chance to ride in the hot-dog-on-wheels, and have access to other behind-the-scenes features. The experience will also include two roundtrip domestic flights, hotel and travel expenses.

· To bid on the experience, click here or visit www.AllInChallenge.com. All proceeds benefit non-profit organizations like Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, America’s Food Fund, No Kid Hungry and World Central Kitchen. Bidding is live (as of July 9) and will close Sunday, July 19. The highest bidder will be notified after the auction concludes.

About the Kraft Heinz Company
For 150 years, we have produced some of the world’s most beloved products at The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC). Our Vision is To Be the Best Food Company, Growing a Better World. We are one of the largest global food and beverage companies, with 2019 net sales of approximately $25 billion. Our portfolio is a diverse mix of iconic and emerging brands. As the guardians of these brands and the creators of innovative new products, we are dedicated to the sustainable health of our people and our planet. To learn more, visit https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: ALL-STAR RACE NOTES

Cole Custer’s win on Sunday added one more Ford driver to the All-Star Race lineup on Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The annual event will be at a track other than Charlotte Motor Speedway for only the second time in NASCAR history with the Open scheduled to start at 7 p.m., followed by the main event at 8:30.

FORD’S ALL-STAR LINEUP

There are six Ford drivers guaranteed a place in the All-Star field with four additional spots available through the preliminary Open and Fan Vote. Currently, all three drivers from Team Penske, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, are in the race while Stewart-Haas will be represented by Kevin Harvick and Cole Custer, and Roush Fenway Racing by Ryan Newman, who won the All-Star Race in 2002 with Ford.

THE ONLY OTHER NON-CHARLOTTE ALL-STAR RACE

The first time Ford won the All-Star Race was in 1986 when Bill Elliott drove his Thunderbird to Victory Lane, but that race is remembered for another trivial fact as well. That marked the only time, prior to this year, that the event has been run at a track other than Charlotte Motor Speedway. Elliott’s home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway served as host on Mother’s Day that year, a date NASCAR traditionally does not race. With only 10 cars making up the field, Elliott darted to the lead from his outside front row starting position and never gave it up as he led all 83 laps en route to a popular victory with the fans.

WALTRIP-WOOD FIRST-TIME WINNERS

Michael Waltrip’s win in 1996 marked his first victory in NASCAR’s top division and was the first in the event for Wood Brothers Racing. Waltrip almost didn’t get into the big show because he had to battle it out in the preliminary Winston Open, where he grabbed the final transfer spot by holding off Johnny Benson to finish fifth. That meant he started last in the 20-car main event, which was called the Winston Select. After the first two 30-lap segments had been completed, Waltrip found himself fourth for the final 10-lap shootout. He passed Rusty Wallace for third after an aborted restart, and then was riding behind Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte, who were battling side-by-side. As the two entered turn one with eight laps to go, they made contact which slowed them down enough to allow Waltrip to dart to the inside and pass both of them for the lead. He held on the rest of the way to post his first win of any kind in NASCAR’s top division.

ONE HOT NIGHT

Davey Allison had won the 1991 version of the All-Star Race, but when he and the other competitors came back the following year it was a totally different experience. Why? The 1992 Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the first NASCAR superspeedway race run under the lights. Billed as “One Hot Night” it lived up to that billing as the final 10-lap shootout featured a battle between Dale Earnhardt and Kyle Petty, who were racing for the win on the final lap. Earnhardt was in the lead coming down the backstretch, but as they entered turn three Petty appeared to tap the familiar No. 3, which sent Earnhardt sliding toward the outside wall. That enabled Allison to get to Petty’s rear bumper coming off turn four and then go to the inside as they entered the tri-oval. As the two hit the finish line, Petty and Allison made contact sending the No. 28 Texaco Havoline Ford into the outside wall. Allison ended up winning by half-a-car-length, but didn’t get to experience Victory Lane as he had to be cut out of the car and removed through the roof before being placed on a stretch and airlifted to an area hospital with a concussion and bruised lung.

EDWARDS WINS IN 2011

Carl Edwards took home the $1 million prize for winning the main event in 2011, capturing three of the four segments, while Roush Fenway teammate David Ragan won the preliminary Sprint Showdown. The race came down to a mandatory four-tire pit stop to begin the fourth and final 10-lap dash to the checkered flag. The 99 crew got Edwards out first and he was never threatened over the last 15 miles as he beat Kyle Busch to the finish line. It marked the third time in history Ford swept the Showdown and All-Star Race. The other two occasions came in 1996 with Jimmy Spencer (Showdown) and Michael Waltrip (All-Star), and 1998 with Jeremy Mayfield (Showdown) and Mark Martin (All-Star). The win was the fourth for car owner Jack Roush, who also won with Matt Kenseth (2004) and Mark Martin (1998 and 2005).

LOGANO AND KESELOWSKI FINISH 1-2

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski made All-Star history as they became the first teammates to sweep the top two spots in the All-Star Race when they did it in 2016. Logano came out on top of a side-by-side battle with Kyle Larson in the final two laps, getting clear with just over one lap to go after Larson hit the outside wall coming off turn two. That enabled Keselowski to get the runner-up spot and successfully commemorate the 50th Anniversary of car owner Roger Penske’s career in motorsports. It marked Ford’s 11th All-Star Race win and first in five years since Edwards won in 2011.

HARVICK DOMINATES

Kevin Harvick used a push from Ford teammate Joey Logano down the stretch to win the 2018 All-Star Race, a race that featured a new aerodynamic package that utilized restrictor plates for the first time on a 1.5-mile track. In addition, a larger spoiler designed to keep the cars packed together and create passing through the night was used and resulted in 38 lead changes. Harvick was the dominant driver as he won Stage 1 and Stage 3 before leading all 10 laps of the final segment. Daniel Suarez finished second with Logano third.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES ALL-STAR RACE WINNERS
1986 – Bill Elliott
1991 – Davey Allison
1992 – Davey Allison
1994 – Geoffrey Bodine
1996 – Michael Waltrip
1998 – Mark Martin
2002 – Ryan Newman
2004 – Matt Kenseth
2005 – Mark Martin
2011 – Carl Edwards
2016 – Joey Logano
2018 – Kevin Harvick

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Kentucky Speedway
Race: Quaker State 400
Date: July 12, 2020
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No. 2 Snap-on Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 6th
Stage 1: 14th
Stage 2: 1st
Finish: 9th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 34
Point Standings (behind first): 2nd (-88)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski grabbed his fourth stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season on the way to a ninth-place finish in the Quaker State 400 Sunday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway. The driver of the Snap-on Ford Mustang grabbed his 12th top-10 in 17 races this season and collected his seventh top-10 in 10 starts at Kentucky Speedway. Keselowski moved up to second in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 88 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Stage 1 was challenging for Keselowski and the Snap-on team. Keselowski started sixth but the balance on his No. 2 Mustang was a handful, landing tight in the corners and then loose. He finished 14th when the stage ended on lap 80 and made a scheduled pit stop on lap 83 during the stage caution for four tires. Unfortunately, he was forced to pit again on lap 85 to replace two missing lug nuts and restarted 25th when the race went green on lap 87.

Keselowski used an improved handling Ford Mustang to steadily work his way through the field during Stage 2. He grabbed the lead during a cycle of stops on lap 151 and caught a huge break when a caution flag waved on lap 154 when he was making a scheduled pit stop. Keselowski then held off teammate Ryan Blaney in a one-lap dash to win the stage.

He led until lap 180 and then ran second until he pitted for four tires and a chassis adjustment on lap 224. A caution on lap 229 gave Keselowski third-place for the restart on lap 237 – 30 laps from the finish. Three cautions and the restarts that followed kept Keselowski in contention for a top-five finish but ultimately proved costly. Keselowski was fifth when he and Jimmie Johnson made contact moments after the green flag waved on lap 248 but avoided any damage. He restarted fourth when the eighth caution set up the final restart on lap 265, just two laps from the finish. Keselowski was split three-wide at the drop of the green flag, falling back to ninth-place and unable to make up the lost distance over the final lap.

Quotes: “We worked on it and got the Snap-on Ford Mustang really good in the middle of the race. We were about a fourth or fifth-place car there towards the end. On that restart it’s just mayhem. The cars have so little horsepower that you just have to push and take and take and take. I got used up on one or two of them and had one where I got into Jimmie (Johnson). It’s interesting because the restarts were the great passing opportunities, but they mix up the races so much that the finish is nowhere near indicative of who ran where, but that’s part of the deal.”

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No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 11th
Stage 1: 5th
Stage 2: 2nd
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 18
Point Standings (Behind First): 3rd (-95)

Ryan Blaney started 11th and finished sixth in Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway. The driver of the Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang ran inside the top-five most of the day and had a shot to win late in the race.

Blaney fell back to 16th-positon after being stuck on the bottom lane on the initial start of the race. He would drive his way to 10th prior to the competition caution on lap 25. Blaney would continue charge working his to fourth by lap 40.

Shortly after, the Advance Auto Parts Ford would pop out of gear. Quick instincts by the High Point, N.C., native would only cost him two spots under green. As a result, Blaney drove with one hand in Turns 1 and 2 to ensure the car would stay in high gear. He recovered for a fifth-place finish in Stage 1.

Blaney restarted fifth for Stage 2. After a slight air pressure adjustment by the Todd Gordon-lead crew, Blaney would work his way to the lead on lap 138 passing Aric Almirola. He pitted under green on lap 149 for four tires and no changes. An untimely caution would come out as the pit cycle concluded and Blaney would restart second next to teammate Brad Keselowski when he would eventually finish Stage 2.

Restarting second to begin the final stage, Blaney would battle with Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. A caution on lap 250 would give Blaney the lead ahead of Truex. Unfortunately, on the restart Blaney was unable to the hold on the top spot and fell back to third. Try as he might, Blaney was unable to the find his way back to the lead and had to settle for a sixth-place finish

Blaney now sits third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 95 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “I thought we had a good Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang all day. We drove up through there a lot. From the get-go it was hard to pass. We got a break there on that one restart, where we got a quick caution and we were a nose ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and I was like, ‘Okay, we’re finally back in control of this race,’ and then he got put three-wide in the top of three and couldn’t maintain the lead. And then I hit an X Games jump on the frontstretch that bounced me into (Kevin) Harvick. I was happy with our speed. We just didn’t quite catch the breaks we needed to win the race.”

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No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 3rd
Stage 2: 4th
Finish: 15th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 5th (-111)

Notes:

Joey Logano started second and finished 15th in Sunday afternoon’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Logano ran inside the top-five, finishing third and fourth in the opening two stages, respectively. The Shell-Pennzoil team fell victim to an ill-timed caution during a green flag pit cycle, forcing the team to take the wave around late in the race.

After starting second, Logano remained in the top-three for the majority of the opening stage, reporting the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was a little free on entry to Turn 3 while being a little tight and on the splitter in Turn 1. The team made an air pressure change at the competition caution at lap 25. Logano finished the stage in the third position.

Through the second stage, Logano continued to lack a little entry security, particularly in Turn 3, but managed to remain in the top-three while reporting he was also on the splitter in Turn 1. Logano reached the second position, trailing teammate Ryan Blaney with 15 laps remaining in the second stage, knowing he’d have to make a pit stop prior to the stage end. Logano finished the stage in the fourth position after restarting third on a one-lap dash to the end of the stage.

Unfortunately, Logano lined up in the treacherous third starting position to begin the final stage, dropping him to the 10th position before he was able to get back into line. He worked his way back up to the eighth position by lap 175 but found himself battling a looser Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang.

Logano returned to the top-10 late in the race but got shuffled back on a restart in the closing laps, ultimately brining the car home in the 15th position, a disappointing result after running inside the top-five for the opening two stages.

Quote: “We had a good first and second stage today, scored decent stage points. Overall, the balance wasn’t bad on our Shell-Pennzoil Ford. Unfortunately, we got trapped a lap down, had to wave around, then just getting back through traffic was pretty tough.”

Austin Dillon Earns Stage Points And Powers His Way To 13th-Place Finish in the No. 3 RigUp Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway

Finish: 13th
Start: 19th
Points: 16th

“We had a lot of fun today in the RigUp Chevrolet. Justin Alexander and the entire No. 3 team did a heck of a job all day, and I think if we wouldn’t have had damage to our car we would have been right up there in the mix at the end of the race. We were able to earn some Stage points again this weekend, so that was good. Green-flag pit stops were cycling through at the end of Stage 2, and we were just about to enter pit road when the caution flag was displayed. I quickly got back onto the track to avoid pit road and ended up spinning in front of the field. I was waiting for the big one on the right-side door but thankfully everyone avoided me. After that, though, we had a really tight-handling Chevrolet. I was just so tight, which made it difficult on the last couple of restarts. Still, 13th isn’t bad considering the damage we had.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the Caterpillar Team Forge Forward into a Top-10 Finish at Kentucky Speedway

Finish: 10th
Start: 24th
Points: 17th

“Races like today are ones we need to get ourselves into a Playoff spot in the next few weeks. We really had to fight for our top-10 finish today at Kentucky Speedway. Our No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was tight for most of the day but freed up almost too much in the final few laps. My team kept after it all day, and we were able to get up into the top 12 during Stage 2 after some pretty big swings on the adjustments. We got shuffled back in the field during the stage break between Stages 2 and 3 when we hit pit road thinking more cars behind us would follow. Unfortunately, they didn’t so we had to fight up through the field one more time, while also being smart and not getting in any situations that would end our day early. We were able to do that today and grab a top-10 finish with a car we struggled with, so that’s a positive. I know spots in the Playoffs are starting to dwindle down, so we’re going to have to keep picking it up. Top-10 finishes are going to help us, but we’re in a very volatile spot in the standings where things like today could happen and drivers behind us in points could win and lock in a spot. We’ll stay aggressive and not let points get away from us as we get down to the final races of the regular season.” -Tyler Reddick

Matt DiBenedetto used what he described as some monstrous restarts to drive his No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang from 20th place with 13 laps remaining to 3rd at the finish of Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

His finish, combined with the nine stage points earned earlier in the race, keeps him 12th in the Cup Series standings and continues a recent string of strong performances by the driver, crew chief and pit crew.

DiBenedetto spent much of Sunday’s race at Kentucky running among the leaders after starting 10th. He ran as high as 3rd in the first stage before ending that 80-lap run in fourth place, earning seven stage points.

He continued to run in the top 10 for much of the second stage before a caution period during a round of pit stops with six laps remaining in the stage allowed some drivers who took only two tires or none to pass him. But he rallied to finish ninth and earn two more stage points.

In the final segment of the race he again ran among the leaders until another untimely caution flag flew, occurring just after he’d brought the Menards/Quaker State Mustang to pit road and left him a lap down.

He took the wave-around to rejoin the lead lap but found himself mired in traffic just inside the top 20.

The late-race heroics from DiBenedetto and his spotter Doug Campbell allowed him to drive the Menards/Quaker State Mustang into the top 10 with just 10 laps left to run. He continued to advance until the race’s final caution flag put him in eighth place for a two-lap sprint to the finish.

When the green flag flew, DiBenedetto gave sixth-starting Cole Custer a mighty shove, which put Custer in position to challenge for the win while DiBenedetto followed through to take third place, his second top-three finish of the season, the first being a second-place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the second race of the season.

“We had a really good car,” DiBenedetto said. “I mean, we could have contended for the win.”

“It was really fast, but lost track position when things shuffled around and we had to do the wave around. Me and my spotter – I’ve got to give him a lot of credit, Doug Campbell. I told him we should win some sort of restart award – had two monstrous restarts and then pushed Cole to the win there, which kind of felt cool.”

“Good for him. Congrats, but this is a big race for us having the Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang in the Quaker State 400, so I wish we could have won it, but circumstances didn’t work out. We’ll take a strong finish and a really fast car.”

Next up for DiBenedetto and the Menards team is the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday night, where DiBenedetto will have to race his way into the main event through the preliminary Open.

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Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader. It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember. For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

Track: Kentucky Speedway, 1.5 Mile Tri-Oval
Race: 17 of 38
Event: Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (400 miles, 267 laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang

Started: 30th
Finished: 24th

Stage One: 26th
Stage Two: 24th
Stage Three: 24th

The No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang took the green flag in Sunday’s 267-lap race from the 30th position. During the Competition Caution, McDowell noted that his Ford Mustang was “a little free” and would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a packer adjustment. The remainder of Stage 1 would be caution-less and the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would finish the stage in the 26th position. Under the Stage 1 caution, McDowell noted that his race car started off loose, however tightened up as the run went on. He would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.

Stage 2 would run green for most of the stage. With less than 10 laps remaining, McDowell came to pit road under green for fuel only as he came over the radio to say, “I’m coming to you guys this time. I’m out.” Shortly after getting back on track, the caution flag would fly and the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would stay out on track. McDowell went on to battle his way into the Lucky Dog position, finishing Stage 2 in the 24th position. Under the Stage 2 caution, McDowell brought his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang to pit road for 4 tires, an air pressure adjustment and fuel.

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang restarted the Final Stage of Sunday’s 400-mile race at Kentucky Speedway on the lead lap. Over half of the Final Stage would be run under green, as McDowell raced his way into the Top-15 and then to 3rd as green flag pit stops began. Just as McDowell was getting ready to bring his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang to pit road for a fuel-only pit stop, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer came over the radio, telling the No. 34 to “STAY OUT” as the caution flag flew. Under the caution, McDowell brought his race car to pit road for fuel, 4 tires, a tire pressure adjustment and trackbar adjustment. As the race went back to green, McDowell noted that his race car was “so much better” and he would battle inside of the Top-10 before another caution flag would fly. On the next restart, McDowell would receive damage from another car and go on to finish Sunday’s race at Kentucky Speedway from the 24th position.

McDowell on Kentucky:

“Well that one definitely stings. We had a really good car on the long run, we just couldn’t fire off on the short run. Drew and the guys did a great job all day. We ran long and caught a caution and had good track position at the end, sitting in the Top-10. Unfortunately, I had to restart on the bottom and got sucked around and that was about it. You get loose one time and can lose about ten spots. It’s really unfortunate. I hate it. I hate giving up spots at the end of a race, but that happens with this package and especially when some of these restarts get crazy. If you’re not in the right line, it just happens. I feel like I let my guys down. We had another solid performance speed-wise; we just didn’t get the result today. Thanks to everybody at Love’s Travel Stops for coming on board with us. I’m sorry that we couldn’t get you guys that Top-10, but we’ll keep fighting hard.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2020
QUAKER STATE 400 – KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

Ford Finishing Results:
1st — Cole Custer
3rd — Matt DiBenedetto
4th — Kevin Harvick
6th — Ryan Blaney
8th — Aric Almirola
9th — Brad Keselowski
14th — Clint Bowyer
15th — Joey Logano
17th — Ryan Newman
20th — Chris Buescher
24th — Michael McDowell
28th — Corey LaJoie
30th — JJ Yeley
34th — Joey Gase
36th — John Hunter Nemechek

COLE CUSTER WINS FIRST CUP RACE; MUSTANG RECORDS 10TH WIN OF 2020

Cole Custer registered the first win of his NASCAR Cup Series career with today’s victory.

Ford has now won 4 of the last 5 Cup races.

Ford’s hot streak has now seen it win 8 of the last 9 NCS and NXS races combined.

This marks the 24th win for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining Ford.

The win is Mustang’s 10th of the season, matching its win total from last season.

Today’s win is Ford’s 696th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

Custer is the 84th different driver to win a Cup race with Ford, and the first new winner since Clint Bowyer won at Martinsville (2018).

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang — VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW — “We were so good all day. Our car was so good. I mean, obviously, it wasn’t the easiest track to pass on, so we were kind of stuck back there, but that was the best car I’ve ever driven in my life. Everybody at SHR brought an unbelievable car. Mike and Davin on the box, that was unbelievable. Gene, I can’t stress enough how thankful I am for him taking a shot on me. It definitely was not the start to the year that we wanted. We were definitely way off at some places, but this was by far an unbeilevable car. We put it all together and I just can’t thank everybody enough.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE AS A ROOKIE WITH NO PRACTICE? “It’s not easy. You’ve got to kind of adapt as much as you can. I think we’ve gotten better and better at that. It’s just unbelievable. I didn’t think we were coming here and win. Now we’re gonna be in the All-Star Race. I don’t even have to run the Open. Hopefully, I make it to Bristol.”

HOW DOES IT FEEL? “It’s unbelievable. We had a great car all day, one of the best cars I’ve ever driven in my life. It was really hard to pass. It was hard to get to the front. Once we got there we took advantage of it and I just can’t thank everybody at the shop. That’s probably the best car I’ve ever driven in my life — no lie or anything. I can’t thank Gene Haas enough and everybody at HaasTooling.com for taking a chance on me. I think the start of the year was not what we wanted, we were definitely far off at some places, but I think we’re starting to put it all together and I’m looking forward to it.”

WHAT WAS THE FINAL RESTART LIKE FOR YOU? “I knew I just had to get to the top. The top rolled pretty good and once I got past and I was like in third I was like, ‘I’ve just got to take a shot and do whatever I can here.’ And it ended up the 4 and the 19 got together a little bit and I was able to take advantage of it. It was just an unbelievable car and I was able to take advantage of it. I just can’t thank all my guys and everybody at SHR enough, and everybody at Roush Yates Engines — just an absolutely amazing car.”

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE RACE ON WEDNESDAY NOW. “Yeah, it’s unbelievable. I get the neon lights under the car now and everything. Hopefully, I even make it to Bristol because I’m gonna party pretty good. This is unbelievable — first win. I didn’t think we were gonna come here and win. I was looking for a solid run — pretty unbelievable.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang — HOW WILD WAS IT AT THE FINISH? “Man, it was crazy. We had a really good car. I mean, we could have contended for the win. It was really fast, but lost track position when things shuffled around and we had to do the wave around. Me and my spotter, I’ve got to give him a lot of credit, Doug Campbell, I told him we should win some sort of restart award. We were 18th because of track position how it cycled out with like seven to go. We had two monstrous restarts and then pushed Cole to the win there, which kind of felt cool. Good for him. Congrats, but this is a big race for us having the Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang in the Quaker State 400, so I wish we could have won it, but circumstances didn’t work out. We’ll take a strong finish and a really fast car.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang — A CRAZY RESTART. TAKE US THROUGH IT. “I just want to thank everybody from Stewart-Haas Racing and everybody from Hunt Brothers Racing. Our Ford Mustang was not very good today, but we got a good break with the caution. I had a couple good restarts there and got the car better, but still just not where we needed to be — but the restarts worked out in our favor and we were able to get the lead and Martin just misjudged there on the backstretch and got me sideways. I got out of the gas and that just brought everybody into the picture and then we were four-wide on the front straightaway here and the 12 hit the drain and came up and hit the side of the car and then i couldn’t see, so, yeah, it got wild and that’s what you’re supposed to do. I’m just really happy for Cole Custer and everybody on the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. That’s pretty cool to get your first win. As much as I would have loved to win, I’m glad that we kept it in the company.”

YOU WEREN’T UP FRONT ALL DAY, BUT AT THE END YOU HAD A CHANCE. “We got lucky with that caution and got track position. We had a couple good restarts there and then we were in a position to win. We made it through turns one and two and then Martin (Truex) kind of misjudged on the backstretch and kind of got into us. I had to check up. Next thing I knew I was four-wide on the front straightaway and the 12 (Blaney) hit the drain and went back up the racetrack. I just have to thank everyone from Hunt Brothers Pizza, Busch Light, Jimmy John’s, Mobil 1 and Haas Automation. Everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for continuing to bring great cars. And congratulations to Cole Custer. Obviously, last week he was a big part of our win and to get to victory lane in your rookie year is a big deal. Really happy for Gene (Haas) and everyone at Haas Automation and especially for Cole, he works really hard.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang — YOU HAD TO HOLD THE CAR IN GEAR. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT AND THE FINAL FEW RESTARTS? “I thought we had a good car all day. We drove up through there a lot. From the get-go it was hard to pass, but I thought it was better than the XFINITY or Truck races as far as the passing goes. We might have wore out that stuff a little bit more than them and the bottom seemed to come in a little bit more, especially through one and two, so that was at least better than what it’s been the last couple nights of racing. I finally got the lead from the 10 and I look at the point where we lost control of the race and it was when that caution came out close to the end of stage two and it gave the 2 the lead when they stayed out late and they just crossed the start-finish line on pit road and cycled into the lead. That lost us control of the race, I thought. We couldn’t choose where to restart and it was so hard to get the lead on the bottom, so we were just fighting to try to get back to the lead. I thought we were close to the 19. It was just kind of, I think, between he and I it was just who was in front of who as far as who was gonna have a good shot to win the race. We got a break there on that one restart, where we got a quick caution and we were a nose ahead of him and I was like, ‘Okay, we’re finally back in control of this race,’ and then he got put three-wide in the top of three and couldn’t maintain the lead. And then I hit a damn X Games bump, jump on the frontstretch there and bounced me into Harvick, so that sucked, but, overall, I was happy with our speed, just didn’t quite catch the breaks we needed to try to win the race.”

WAS IT PAINFUL TO HOLD ONTO THE SHIFTER? “It wasn’t painful, it was just that my hand was going numb. It was just vibrating so much that your hand would just go numb after a little bit, so you’d just shake it out and stretch it out. It wasn’t painful, but it stayed pretty rough the whole race through one and two. We had a big load, fast car, so I just didn’t want it to jump out of gear again, and I couldn’t get that bungie cord to work. I didn’t have it hooked to put it anywhere, so my hand was just going numb.”

WHEN YOU HIT THAT JUMP. WAS IT A DRAIN? IS IT ON THE APRON FOR WATER OR JUST A BUMP IN THE TRACK? “I’m not honestly sure if there’s an actual drain there or not. I don’t think there is. If there is a drain right there, it’s really dumb to put a drain right there because it’s just on the apron. I think it’s just a big bump. I don’t understand how you can repave a place a handful of years ago and there’s a jump bigger than any track we go to, but, yeah, I didn’t even know it was there. We don’t run on it. You never run down there, and I didn’t really know it was gonna be that bad. I was lucky it didn’t wipe out all of us. I hate it. I went into Kevin real hard, but I just didn’t know it was gonna be that bad.”

WAS THAT A SPOT IN THE RACE WHERE YOU HAD TO TRY TO GO DOWN THERE? YOU HAD NO CHOICE? “I mean, we were battling for the lead coming to the white. I was just trying to get way from those three guys. I was just trying to get some room between us and not get side drafted or slowed down. I couldn’t necessarily see them, but I was told I was bottom four and that was for the lead, so obviously I’m just gonna get away from him as much as possible because I felt like they were all gonna slow each other down and maybe I’d have an edge into one. People do that all the time, cut to the apron on every type of racetrack that’s available, just none of the other ones have ramps on them.”

YOU HAD NO IDEA IT WAS THERE. “No clue. You see a little bit. I had a small idea it was there, I didn’t know it was gonna be that big. I thought it was just a little rough spot, you know you see it kind of marked up a little bit, but I didn’t realize — it had all four wheels off the ground. I hit the chip. It bounced the rear wheels off the ground. I didn’t realize it was gonna be that big. I thought a little something was gonna be there, I just didn’t realize it was gonna be that big.”

SO IT WAS LIKE THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, JUST HANGING ON? “Yeah, someone rang the horn when I was mid jump and I was just hanging on. I kicked right and I thought I was gonna go right in front of the field, but, luckily, we were able to halfway straighten it out.”

WHAT IS COLE CUSTER GOING TO BE EXPERIENCING NOW AFTER HIS FIRST WIN AT THIS LEVEL? “It’s great. I remember my first win at Pocono in ‘17. We did it in exciting fashion and he definitely did it in exciting fashion today. I know that they’ve been struggling a little bit this year, that 41 group, and it was cool to see him get a win. I know some guys on that team and they’re really good people, and Cole is a great race car driver. He’s obviously showed it in Trucks and XFINITY, and someone like that you’re just waiting for them to break through and get their first one, and it’s cool that he got it so soon in his Cup career. That’s really cool. He did a great job. I’m not really sure how he got to where he did. I don’t know where he lined up on the last restart, but he must have done something great. It’s great. It’s just a weight off your shoulders, especially when you’ve been struggling a little bit and then to just break through it’s definitely a great feeling, so I’m happy for him. It’s cool to see a rookie like that, someone I’ve raced with for a while, get their first Cup win.”

ON THE RESTART OFF TWO IT LOOKED LIKE YOU COULD HAVE MOVED UP IN FRONT OF HARVICK, BUT THEN COLE GOT THE PUSH FROM THE 21. WERE YOU CLOSE TO COMING UP AND TAKING THAT SPOT? “Yeah, I have to go back and look at it. Those decisions, you have to make them really quick and it’s really hard to just hook a right right in the middle of the corner and try to get up there and things like that. So, yeah, I look back on that and will probably be kicking myself probably a little bit on that if there was time to get up. I probably wasn’t really aggressive enough on that, but I have to look. But it is really hard. Sometimes your spotter will say, ‘clear,’ but it’s really hard to just let go of the wheel and just turn right because you’re gonna lose speed going up the hill and if you’re six inches clear, you might close up quick, so it’s easy to look back on and I’ll probably be kicking myself on it, but you learn from things like that and see what you do for next time.”

WHEN YOU WENT INTO TURN THREE IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE FORCED DOWN LOW UNDER THE PJ1. DID THAT IMPACT YOU AT THAT POINT? “That deal we were on the bottom and I guess the 4 and the 19, I guess the 4 kind of got hooked by the 19, so he was on the bottom into three. I figured the 4 was gonna send it off into three pretty deep and try to clear himself from the 19, so I was like, ‘Those guys might slide up,’ so I kind of backed off early into three, knowing there was still someone on my outside. It’s not like I could slide up in there, and I kind of slid getting in there. It’s just slick on the bottom out of the PJ1 and definitely slowed up more than I wanted to just trying to make sure that you’re just creeping through in that bottom lane, but they slid up and I didn’t have great momentum, but they just had worse momentum because they were all into each other and, like I say, just down the front you’re just trying to get away from those guys because you’re on the very bottom. So, that’s just part of it. It was a wild last lap, a wild last couple of laps to be honest with you.”

THE ALL-STAR RACE IS WEDNESDAY AT BRISTOL. HAVE YOU THOUGHT HOW WILD THAT MIGHT BE? “I think it’s great. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s cool they moved it. Bristol is obviously, there or Martinsville is a great place to hold an All-Star Race for a million bucks. There’s gonna be more crazy than today. You’re gonna have people really pissed off at each other after that one and you’ll have one guy that’s happy, and that’s usually how all races go, but there’s gonna be a lot more of that, I feel like, on Wednesday. I think it’s great and then having a lot of fans there. I think like 30,000 fans are gonna be able to come to that race, so that’s really good. I’m looking forward to it. It’s gonna be a good short track race, really short and not a lot of laps. There’s gonna be beating and banging for sure, so you better be ready to be the bully, I’m gonna be honest with you, because everybody is gonna be that way.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Snap-On Ford Mustang — YOU WON A STAGE AND THEN HAD TO DEAL WITH THOSE WILD RESTARTS? “Yeah, an interesting race with the PJ1 being what it is, trying to manage that. We started off not to my liking. We worked on it and go the car really good in the middle of the race, and that allowed us — the fact that we were so fast allowed us to run really fast while everybody was pitting, so we stayed out and as soon as we pitted the yellow came out, which cycled us to the lead, which was great, and then we just kind of fell off again. That was kind of a bummer and we were about a fourth or fifth-place car there towards the end and on that restart it’s just mayhem. The cars have so little horsepower that you just have to push and take and take and take. Each restart was a takefest, which is part of the deal. I got used up on one or two of them probably, and had one where I got into Jimmie and probably took more than — took like the other guys had on me the others — but it’s just part of the chaos and it’s interesting because the restarts were the great passing opportunities, but they mix up the races so much that the finish is nowhere near indicative of who ran where, but that’s part of the deal.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE WITH THE JIMMIE INCIDENT? “All race long, not just that restart, the third and fourth-place guys while they’re pushing if you don’t push, your lane doesn’t go, but then the car behind you gets a huge run on you, and that makes it tough. That’s what happened to me on the last restart. I was fourth and I was pushing Kevin and Cole used his run to get to the outside and ultimately win the race. I didn’t block it because it was just too much of a run, pretty similar to what happened with Jimmie is I had a huge from fifth. They took off. They launched together, the inside lane Blaney and Jimmie, and they stretched and then they started to slow down and as they slowed down I just had a huge run and I made a move to the inside. I was turning down towards the grass. I might have had a foot or two, but I couldn’t go much lower, and I don’t know if he was trying to turn down to block me or if he was trying to turn down to get underneath Blaney, but he turned down and I was too far forward. There was kind of unavoidable contact at that time. I don’t know. I hate that it ruined his day. I don’t really necessarily know what to do different. If I stayed in line and just pushed him, I was gonna get gobbled like I did on the last restart, so just part of the mayhem with these restarts. I hate that we had control of the race and just didn’t have enough speed to keep it because I feel like we could have brought this race home. We had a really good car on restarts, but we just didn’t have the speed to keep the lead and fell back to third there and got ate up on the restart. That part is kind of a bummer, but it was just restart mayhem. Double-file restarts. Everybody knows that the only real chance you have to pass is on a restart and it’s a give-and-take fest.”

ARE THE RESTARTS RAMPED UP EVEN MORE THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR? IS IT JUST PURE TAKE MODE? “I don’t know if I would go as far as saying that they’re worse than they were last year. I think certain situations come up from time to time that can make them worse. This track with the way the PJ1 is applied probably amplified it a little bit because you get more desperate to make something happen on the restart. But, other than that, I think each weekend is kind of its own story.”

DID YOU FEEL THE RACE WAS YOUR ON THE FINAL RESTART BY BEING FOURTH ON THE OUTSIDE LANE? HOW GOOD DID YOU FEEL AT THAT POINT? “I felt pretty good about it, but the restarts are such a dance and you have to have a good partner when you’re dancing — maybe not a good partner, but a partner that you’re in sync with would probably be a better term. I was just out of sync with Kevin on the final restart. I probably should have communicated a little better with him and that’s my fault, and that put us in a spot vulnerable to the lane behind us and they ultimately won the race accordingly.”

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT OUT OF SYNC CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS? “I just didn’t get the push right. I got a good push to start with and then I couldn’t stay on him, so it’s just part of the deal.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ALL-STAR RACE AT BRISTOL ON WEDNESDAY? “I don’t think it’ll look much different than the spring race did and that was pretty exciting. There’s so many variables to that as well. They put that stuff down. I have no idea how that stuff is gonna work, if it’s gonna be burnished in or not, maybe it’ll be over-burnished, just so many variables with all this stuff that keeps getting put on the racetrack that I don’t think any of the drivers can really tell you what to expect with 100 percent certainty.”

IF SOMEONE DOES YOU WRONG IN AN ALL-STAR RACE, DOES THAT CARRY OVER TO A POINTS RACE? “I think every scenario is different. I hate saying anything is law, but certainly you can get frustrated with All-Star Race finishes just like any other finish. A race is a race, but I think you have to have a little sense about the scenarios, too.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Vote for Bacon Ford Mustang — “It’s hard to be mad about another top-10, but we had such a great car and led the most laps. We had a really, really fast car and got caught with a caution that came out right in the middle of a green flag pit stop sequence, so we lost a lot of track position because of that. We had to battle our way back most of the day. I;m proud of all the guys on our team. We’re bringing incredible race cars. Congrats to Cole getting his first win and congrats to everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing. You guys are doing an amazing job bringing some really fast Ford Mustangs to the racetrack right now. Thanks to Smithfield, Ford, Go Bowling, Mobil 1, Shady Rays, everybody that continues to support this deal. That’s six top-10s in a row. I wish it was another top five. I wish it was a win, but it wasn’t. We scored a lot of points and led a lot of laps and they certainly knew we were here today. We’ll go on to Bristol and try to race our way in and go win a million bucks on Wednesday night.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
QUAKER STATE 400
PRESENTED BY WALMART
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 12, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
10th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE
11th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
13th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 RIGUP CAMARO ZL1 1LE
16th TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Cole Custer (Ford)
2nd Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
3rd Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)
4th Kevin Harvick (Ford)
5th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Bristol Motor Speedway with the NASCAR All-Star Race on Wednesday, July 15th at 8:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th
“We ran strong, we raced tough. We weren’t quite able to rekindle last year’s success, but a top-five is solid. Thanks to Monster, Chevrolet and the everyone on this No. 1 team. Looking forward to seeing everyone Wednesday night in Bristol go the All- Star Race!”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th
“Races like today are ones we need to get ourselves into a Playoff spot in the next few weeks. We really had to fight for our top-10 finish today at Kentucky Speedway. Our No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was really tight for most of the day, but freed up almost too much in the final few laps. My team kept after it all day, and we were able to get up into the top 12 during Stage 2 after some pretty big swings on a couple adjustments. We got shuffled back in the field during the stage break between Stages 2 and 3 when we hit pit road thinking more cars behind us would follow. Unfortunately, they didn’t so we had to fight up through the field one more time, while also being smart and not getting in any situations that would end our day early. We were able to do that today and grab a top-10 finish with a car we struggled with, so that’s a positive. I know spots in the Playoffs are starting to dwindle down, so we’re going to have keep picking it up. Top-10 finishes are going to help us, but we’re in a very volatile spot in the standings where things like today could happen and drivers behind us in points could win and lock in a spot. We’ll stay aggressive and not let points get away from us as we get down to the final races of the regular season.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 RIGUP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th
“Well, I feel really stupid after spinning out trying to avoid the orange box. I did make it – it gave us some big, important track position, but it killed the splitter in the process. It kind of separated hitting the wrong way, so we were just super tight there at the end. We were able to make some of probably the best restarts of my career. Eleventh to fifth on that one and just holding on hoping it would go green to the end running ninth. Had that last restart – had another good one, but it kind of got choked up on the bottom that time. Everybody kind of bogged down and couldn’t continue the momentum. And then us being tight, we were just kind of sitting ducks.”

“P-13. Proud of the guys. We had a really fast race car today, just wish I wouldn’t have overreacted there. The apron just kind of shot me towards the wall. Luckily, we didn’t get t-boned. But solid day for all of that. Man, I think we could have in a position to possibly win if we would have maintained that track position that we got on that second-to-last restart. But all-in-all, I have to thank RigUp, everybody that helps this No. 3 RCR team. Solid day – we’ve got some good stuff ahead of us. I’m looking forward to Texas. We’ve got the Open this week. We’ll do what we can do to get in there. We’ll work hard!”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th
“Solid 16th-place finish today at Kentucky. That’s two top-16s in a row, which is awesome. I’m so proud of our GEICO Racing team and we are going to keep digging and building on these consistent finishes. We are learning a lot and definitely getting better. Our team is going to go after it this second half of the season.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th
“That is just one of those things. We had a great car today. A big thank you to everyone on this Cincinnati team and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for putting this car together. We battled some tight conditions there at the end, but overall, we had a decent day. I hate it that we didn’t get Cincinnati the finish they deserve, but we will come back strong this week with two races.”

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 25th
“A tough day again for us after a couple of good weeks. The Clover Chevy was pretty fast, and we were able to work our way up into the teens after starting in the back. The conditions today were really tough; probably the toughest I’ve raced under, and passing was pretty difficult with the track conditions and rules package. But, we were making our way towards the top-10 when a miscue in the pits resulted in a broken valve stem that caused the left rear to go down and put us a lap down. We finally got the lap back towards the end of the race and I took a ride through the infield off of turn 4 trying to get all I could get. So, a disappointing day, but I’m really encouraged by the speed we had in our Camaro, which was probably the best mile and half car I’ve raced. Just need to have mistake free days to be able to take advantage of fast cars.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
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Track: Kentucky Speedway, 1.5 Mile Tri-Oval
Race: 17 of 38
Event: Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (400.5 miles, 267 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 YANMAR America Ford Mustang

Started: 22nd
Finished: 36th (out)

Stage One: 29th
Stage Two: 29th
Stage Three: 36th (out)

Following a random draw for starting position, John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kentucky Speedway in 22nd place. He noted on Lap 6 that his No. 38 YANMAR America Ford Mustang was “free to start” and was experiencing a lot of splitter bounce. At the Competition Caution, Nemechek pitted for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. As Stage 1 came to a close, Nemechek was still loose and still bouncing off the splitter. He would take the green- and-white checkered flag a lap down in 29th position and pitted under caution for 4 tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.

Nemechek continued to struggle with the handling of his No. 38 YANMAR America Ford Mustang in Stage 2. He radioed to the team on Lap 116 that the splitter bounce was worse and when he was “behind someone in traffic, I just get loose.” He noted a few laps later that he was “wrecking loose center off” and eventually made a green flag pit stop for 4 tires, fuel, wedge and packer adjustments. When the caution came out on Lap 153, Crew Chief Seth Barbour made the call for Nemechek to pit for another packer adjustment and in the few short green flag laps remaining in Stage 2, Nemechek said that his handling had definitely improved. He would finish Stage 2 in the 29th position.

Two laps down and without a wavearound opportunity, Nemechek pitted for 4 tires and fuel at the final Stage Break Caution. As Stage 3 got underway, Nemechek noted that his No. 38 YANMAR America Ford Mustang was finally in a place where he felt comfortable and his handling had improved. After making contact with the wall on Lap 243, Nemechek sustained heavy damage to the right side of the car, and the crew was unable to make enough repairs on pit road. He would retire to the garage and finished in 36th place.

Nemechek on Kentucky:

“Wasn’t the day we were hoping for in our No. 38 YANMAR America machine. We were loose to fire off and we were hitting the splitter, and it got worse before it got better. Seth and the crew tried a few different adjustments, but by the time we were able to get the handling to a better place, we were already multiple laps down and then we made heavy contact with the wall, which ended our day. Hate that for the team and our partners at YANMAR America. Everyone has worked so hard to get our Front Row Motorsports cars ready each week. We’ll regroup and focus on having a good run in the All-Star Open and getting our YANMAR America Ford Mustang into the All-Star Race on Wednesday.”