Category: NASCAR Cup PR

NASCAR CUP SERIES
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
QUAKER STATE 400
PRESENTED BY WALMART
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 10, 2020

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss being cleared to return to the track after previously testing positive for COVID-19, his emotional and mental outlook on the journey, his outlook going into this weekend’s race at Kentucky Speedway, and more. Transcript:

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S GOING TO BE BACK IN THE NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE CAR ON SUNDAY AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY. AS EVERYONE KNOWS THIS WEEK, HE HAD TWO CONSECUTIVE NEGATIVE TESTS FOR COVID-19 AND WAS CLEARED BY HIS DOCTOR AND NASCAR TO RETURN. JIMMMIE, IT’S GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK. JUST TO GET STARTED, CAN YOU GIVE EVERYONE JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THE LAST WEEK HAS BEEN LIKE AND HOW YOU’RE FEELING GOING INTO THE RACE THIS WEEKEND?
“Obviously, an interesting week or so. To have the positive test and then the two negative tests, just the emotional journey you go through in worrying about your safety, your family’s safety, watching a race with someone else in your race car and the emotions that go with that. To come to grips with all those with the reality of all that has been challenging, but I’ve really subscribed to growing through these tough moments and I feel like I’m a smarter, stronger person today from experiencing all this. I’m extremely happy to be reinstated and I’m ready to be back with my race team and in that race car.”

DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAD A FALSE POSITIVE OR DO THEY THINK YOU WERE AT THE END OF THE RUN OF THE VIRUS? HAVE YOU HAD ANY SORT OF FATIGUE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT?
“I’ve had no symptoms through this journey. There are a lot of scenarios that can play out – probably three or four scenarios that could play out – and to go through them and try to form an opinion would just be speculating. And at this point, I just don’t think that’s very intelligent or smart to do. I followed the protocol that NASCAR has in place. It’s the same protocol, from what I’ve seen watching ESPN, it seems like all the other major sports have as well. I’ve been watching the numerous cases of positive tests take place. I’ve also seen many examples of a double negative in more than a 24-hour period of time take place and those athletes have been reinstated. It’s a science-based reinstatement process. I don’t know a lot, but I do know that I’ve had two negative tests and I’ve followed protocol. I’ve also had a release from my physician to put me back in the car. I feel great, I’m excited and I’m ready to go.”

ON MONDAY, YOU TWEETED THE STYLIZED LOGO OF THE NO. 43 TEAM, ALONG WITH THE #ISTANDWITHBUBBA. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO THAT?
“With the current events, just letting it known that I stood with Bubba (Wallace) in the beginning of this journey and I continue to stand with Bubba.”

WAS IT IN RESPONSE TO ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR?
“Yeah – the tweet that the President put out.”

YOU MISSED A RACE AND YOU’RE SITTING THERE WATCHING THE RACE. HOW DID THAT FEEL? AND THEN YOUR CAR OBVIOUSLY GOT CAUGHT UP IN THAT ACCIDENT. MAYBE YOU LEARNED THE WORLD CONTINUES TO TURN, MAYBE IT KILLED YOU INSIDE – I DON’T KNOW.
“It was just such a weird set of events. I would say that Saturday night trying to go to sleep was probably the most difficult time for me, knowing that I wasn’t going to be in the car. Sunday morning was still pretty tough, but I felt like Saturday night was probably the peak of the emotions that go with missing a race and the consecutive start streak coming to an end. Not being in the car, my final year – all the things that you would naturally think of, Saturday night was the peak. Sunday morning wasn’t great, but I joined the team call that we do an hour or hour and a half before the race and I was able to just hear the voices of my crew guys, pump them up and just be involved in that team moment. It’s crazy how it just relaxed me because I was convinced that I wasn’t going to watch the race. I was like I can’t do it. But having that moment to talk to Cliff (Daniels, crew chief), all the guys, Justin (Allgaier) was clearly on the call and to hear the words he had to say to the team – it let a lot of that go and I actually watched the race. Sadly, it didn’t last long for the 48 team with the issue on pit road. Thankful that the crew member that was struck, that his injuries aren’t any worse. It was crazy to run through that peak and to be able to sit down and actually watch the race.”

YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU WERE ASYMPTOMATIC, YOU HAVEN’T HAD A SYMTPOM. THERE ARE FOLKS OUT THERE, OUTSIDE OF THE CASUAL OBSERVERS, THAT SEE OTHER ATHLETES TEST POSITIVE AND THEY ARE QUARANTINED FOR 10 DAYS OR 14 DAYS. YOURS WAS UNDER A WEEK THAT YOU TESTED POSITIVE AND WAS REINSTATED. DO YOU THINK THIS IS TOO QUICK FOR YOU TO COME BACK? AND AS A FOLLOW UP, HOW IS CHANDRA (WIFE) DOING?
“Chandra is great. She’s been asymptomatic as well. In the very beginning, she had some allergies. But it’s allergy season here in Colorado, so everybody has allergies. So, I’m not sure if that’s truly a symptom and I believe that she’s really asymptomatic as well. First and foremost, we’re very thankful that we’re not dealing with the illness like many others are and having the complications that come with this virus. To follow up to your question, sports – many if not all the major sports leagues out there – have the exact same reinstatement program. I’ve seen a player in the PGA be reinstated in a short period of time with two negative tests in more than a 24-hour period of time. And there were others that I watched on Sports Center the last couple of nights falling asleep. I’ve followed the protocol. It brings a lot of questions as to where I was in the journey of being positive and all of that. There’s a lot of speculation there. I don’t know those answers and believe me, I’m the most frustrated person out there, especially living in a world of facts that we do. To not have the facts drives me bananas, but I have followed protocol and I’ve been reinstated. That’s about all I can speak to at this point.”

HOW HAS THIS BEEN FOR YOUR CHILDREN? I KNOW YOUR FIRST COMMENT YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW TOUGH THIS WAS FOR YOU, YOUR WIFE AND YOUR KIDS. HOW HAS THAT EMOTIONAL ROLLARCOASTER BEEN FOR YOU GUYS THIS WEEK WITH YOUR CHILDREN?
“The first kind of six or eight hours were very emotional, them trying to process it and figure it out. But I think as we got into the second day, because we found out in the afternoon and made it through dinner that night – the next morning when they realized mom and dad were OK, and thankfully again we’ve been asymptomatic, the emotions and the fear really started to subside. The kids are in a good place with it all, I think as good as they can be for their ages. But it is tough – they quickly forget how diligent they need to be. I guess ultimately, I know this is a point in time that their little minds will never forget what their parents went through.”

YOU TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE POLICIES THE OTHER SPORTS LEAGUES HAVE. THEY ARE TESTING THEIR ATHLETES ON A REGULAR BASIS. NASCAR IS NOT TESTING ITS DRIVERS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN?
“I really feel like that’s a question for NASCAR to answer. I have to be so careful in this world to not speculate at this point in time and the situation I’m in. I do know I’ve had my two negative tests and I’m happy to be reinstated.”

HAVE YOU HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH GANASSI ABOUT THE INDYCAR TEST AND HOW DOES THAT WORK MOVING FORWARD WITH THEM?
“Yeah, there’s been a couple of conversations and I think Ganassi and IndyCar are eager to have that experience to get me in a car and get me tested. But everybody is giving everything a little time to breath right now and maybe identify the next possible date that works for IndyCar and works for Ganassi. And I’m clearly hopeful to get a test with McLaren as I was trying to work on back in April that went away because of the lockdown. So, I think that’s all to come. It’s hard to say anything’s really taking place just yet, but I know I’m eager and I know everybody involved is eager for that to take place.”

HOW FRUSTRATING HAS THIS FINAL RETIREMENT SEASON BEEN FOR YOU WITH THE PANDEMIC AND THEN YOU ACTUALLY MISSING A RACE LAST WEEK? ALSO, WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND COMPARED TO LAST SATURDAY NIGHT KNOWING YOU WEREN’T GOING TO RACE NOW THAT YOU’RE RACING?
“Yeah, it’s been an interesting year and at times wonder why it’s happened in my final full-time season in Cup. When you turn on the news and look around and see how many people are really ill from this, the seriousness and the severity of the pandemic, it quickly fades out of my mind. This is a big problem – it’s a pandemic. So, I’ve really kept my emotions in check. I’m just trying to figure out how to keep my family safe and how I can ultimately learn from everything that’s going on. We’ve dealt with a lot in the last four months as a nation and a world, so trying to learn and grow. Trying to teach and educate my children. Try to lead by example. I’ve been able to learn that my challenges are watched closely by my kids and how I deal with that adversity is ultimately teaching them. And with having a tough couple of years professionally and then now it’s ramped up to this level. Again, I just try to find the right spin on it. It’s easy to get into a dark headspace on all this. My wife and I are trying so hard to not let that happen and try to teach our children the best that we can.”

AND HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR SUNDAY’S RACE?
“Yeah, I’m super excited and in my head of optimism, I’m like what a comeback story. The COVID comeback if you will (laughs). It could really be a special moment. I’ve always been highly motivated, but it would be really cool to have great success on Sunday.”

I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR SENSE OF RELIEF IF THAT WAS THE EMOTION WAS WHEN YOU GOT THAT FIRST NEGATIVE TEST AND THEN TO GET ANOTHER ONE AFTER THAT, KNOWING THAT YOU’RE STILL GOING TO COME BACK INSIDE THE PLAYOFF CONTENTION AND ONLY MISS ONE RACE.
“Yeah, I would say my first response though was just anger. I mean I started cussing and used every cuss word that I knew of and then I think I invented a few new ones. It was just so weird, the anger, because I’ve been asymptomatic. So, the anger hits, the speculation in my mind. And then it’s like wait a second, there’s nothing good to come of this. No one knows, I don’t know, so it’s just time to move on. And then I got very excited, started looking at the facts that I’ve only missed one race, I still have a good gap above the cutline and then the optimism about I hope I get that second negative and then I did. So, I feel like I’m more on the optimistic side of things and really out of the dark headspace that I was in, and just moving in the right direction and looking forward in all this.”

ANGER BECAUSE YOU FELT LIKE YOU GOT SORT OF SCREWED BY THIS WHOLE SITUATION? THAT YOU WENT THROUGH THIS AND YOU NEVER HAD SYMPTOMS? OR WHAT WAS THE ANGER COMING FROM?
“Yes to all and then more. Again, being in a fact-based world and then being so early in a pandemic where we don’t have many answers as a country and for the globe, there’s just anger everywhere. Anger related to the pandemic, from being positive, for me missing a race, for me not being with my team, the fear in my children’s eyes – I just had anger everywhere.”

DID YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL WORDS FOR JUSTIN ALLGAIER BEFORE HE TOOK OVER THE NO. 48 ON SUNDAY? HOW DO YOU THINK HE HANDLED ALL THE PRESSURE TO TAKING OVER SUCH A CAR?
“I’ve known Justin (Allgaier) a long time, have been able to race against him and watch him do so many great things behind the wheel. Thankfully, with the relationship with JRM, my team had time with him and have been around him. So, I felt like he was in a fortunate situation to move past a lot of that relational stuff on the front side and really just get in the car and go. So, my advice for him was just to drive the wheels off of it. It’s just a race car – don’t let the pressure of it being my car, the 48 and all that other stuff that I think would be very easy for somebody stepping in to let bother them. I just tried to keep it simple for him and just remind him it’s a race car, stand on the gas and go. I truly believe he was in that headspace. He wanted to be smart, understand that package and was methodical about working his way up through traffic. And then the unfortunate situation that happened on pit road took him out. I sent him a text maybe a day or two ago that I really felt bad that he didn’t have a chance to shine as I hoped he could have in the 48 car.”

HAVE YOU HAD TO CHANGE YOUR APPROACH AT ALL GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND, GIVEN WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH, OR IS IT JUST A REGULAR WEEKEND? SECONDLY, LOOKING TO NEXT YEAR, IF YOU DO GO THE INDYCAR ROUTE, IS THERE ANY TRACK THAT YOU PARTICULARLY WANT TO RACE ON?
“I feel like where I sit above the cutline, I can still apply the mentality of worrying about stage points, points and also wanting to win. If we were below the cutline, I think it would probably change and the focus would be much more on trying to win a race. Luckily, we’ve had a good start to the season. There are a few races that I wish I could have back to even have myself higher in the points right now and more of a cushion on the cutline, but that’s just not the case. I think my focus stays the same.”
“And then tracks for IndyCar, there are a lot of cool circuits that I haven’t had a chance to drive and that’s part of my desire in doing something different and looking towards 2021 and beyond. But IndyCar specific, growing up in San Diego and going to the Long Beach Grand Prix, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hung on the fence to watch the IndyCar’s go by. And I also went there to have meetings with the Chevrolet folks and a lot of stuff took place in motorhomes there that really guided and cemented my career in NASCAR. Long Beach is really high on my hit list from that standpoint. The Monterey track, I’m trying to think of the exact and current name of it – just as a kid watching all those and seeing passes at the corkscrew, that’s probably in equal footing with Long Beach.”

YOU’VE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND CONSIDERING ALL THE EMOTIONS YOU’VE TALK ABOUT, I’M WONDERING, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR BROAD SCOPE TAKEAWAY FROM THIS EXPERIENCE THAT DEVELOPS ALL THAT EMOTION? ALSO, THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF ATHLETES THAT END UP IN YOUR POSITION AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO THEM?
“Just watching how fast the virus is spreading, things staying open and us pushing forward as a country and as a world, I just fear we’re all going to have this at some point. I just don’t see how we avoid that. So, I’m worried about that. I know that I’ve been very fortunate to be asymptomatic and have been able to have the range of emotions from anger to concern. And some people only have concerns, so I feel like I’ve been fortunate to be in my position, be asymptomatic and I know many aren’t in that position. As athletes deal with this and even individuals, this thing shows no mercy and it moves so quickly as we all know, that once it’s in your bubble or your community, I don’t know how you slow it down. So, take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones, be smart. My hands are so dry and cracking from washing my hands consistently. We know the ways to help it not spread and I think we just need to get more serious about that and really protect ourselves and our loved ones.”

YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU’VE BEEN WATCHING THESE OTHER SPORTS RETURN AND I’M CURIOUS, AFTER THIS POINT AND GETTING THROUGH SO MANY RACES, WHAT DO YOU THINK NASCAR IS DOING WELL IN TERMS OF TESING AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO SEE DIFFERENT?
“I don’t know enough to really give advice or have perspective. I just know the course that I’ve been on. I know that I’ve been asymptomatic. I know that I’ve tested negative twice. My physician has reinstated me. So, in my situation, I’ve dealt with a lot of emotions that I’ve spoken about already and I’m happy to be reinstated. I feel great. I’ve been at altitude this entire time. Yesterday or the day before, I rode up to 10,500 feet on a bicycle and felt perfectly fine. I don’t know how to add clarity or advice in what changes need to take place. I unfortunately feel that there’s a lot to still be learned in the professional and medical field on this and I, like everyone else, are eagerly awaiting on that instruction and that knowledge, a vaccine, better testing, better screening. There’s just more questions than answers for a lot of us. I certainly don’t have the answers for everybody.”

YOU’RE HEADING TO KENTUCKY FOR THE LAST TIME IN YOUR CAREER, A PLACE YOU HAVEN’T WON YET. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO THE WEEKEND?
“Kentucky has been probably one of my top two or three most difficult tracks to compete at. I have mixed feelings for the place because when I first started at Hendrick Motorsports, I feel like I lived at the race track doing testing for the team and just getting my laps as a rookie coming into the sport. So, I have positive vibes from that, but my racing experiences there from the Busch Series days and even in the Cup car has just been demanding and tough. I hope to conquer the track from that personal standpoint. And then clearly what I’ve been through, what my friends and family have been through, what my fan base has been through in the last week – it would be nice to leave there with a trophy.”

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
QUAKER STATE 400
PRESENTED BY WALMART
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
SPARTA, KENTUCKY
JULY 12, 2020

KENTUCKY FOR RACE #17
Originally slated for a Saturday night race under the lights on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) schedule, the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart is now set to run at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday afternoon, July 12, at 2:30 p.m. ET. The 267-lap, 400-mile race at the 1.5-mile tri-oval will mark the 17th race on the revised NCS schedule.

BOWTIE BULLETS
· In the nine NASCAR Cup Series races that have been held Kentucky Speedway, Chevrolet has scored one win, 2 poles, 15 top-fives, 34 top-10’s, and has led 412 laps.

· Victories by current Chevrolet drivers include the event’s most recent winner Kurt Busch, No.1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE with one (’19) and Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 1LE, with one (’13).

· Kurt Busch’s 2019 victory holds the record for the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kentucky since the start of the electronic scoring system in 1993, holding off younger brother, Kyle Busch, by 0.076-seconds.

· Of the six NASCAR Cup Series drivers to have won Busch poles at Kentucky Speedway, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, captured the pole in 2012 and career Chevrolet driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the pole in 2013.

· Of the 1.5-mile tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Chevrolet team Hendrick Motorsports leads the way in laps lead with 421 total thus far this season, the most of any team.

DEFENDING WINNER
With the NASCAR Cup Series single visit to Kentucky Speedway for the 2020 season, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, is looking to become a back-to-back winner. As the most recent NCS winner at the track, the July 2019 victory gave Chevrolet its first win in history in at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. With the trip to victory lane, a Chevrolet driver or team has secured a win at every racetrack on the NCS schedule.

STAGES SCORECARD
With 16 races in the books and just 10 races left of the regular season, Chase Elliott leads the field in stage wins with 5, which includes 166 stage points, 16 top-5’s and 27 top-10’s in stages. Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, currently sits second on the list with four stage wins, including 13 top-five and 21 top-10 stage finishes for 142 points. William Byron (2), Jimmie Johnson (1), Kurt Busch (1), Tyler Reddick (1), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1) have also contributed to stage wins, giving Team Chevy 15 stage wins thus far this season.

With Chase Elliott’s victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Alex Bowman’s win at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season, two Team Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE drivers have secured their spots in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Elliott and Bowman, are currently ranked second and eighth, respectively, in the point standings.

STARTING LINEUP
In compliance with the COVID-19 protocols, the event will be a one-day show without fans in attendance. With no practice and no qualifying, owner points and a random draw will again set the starting lineup. By virtue of the random draw, here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:

5th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Cincinnati Camaro ZL1 1LE
7th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 1LE
14th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE
17th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Victory Junction Camaro ZL1 1LE
19th Austin Dillon, No. 3 RigUp Camaro ZL1 1LE
20th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE

TUNE IN
FS1 will telecast the 267-lap, 400-mile Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 12th. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGS
ELLIOTT ON KENTUCKY
“We are really looking forward to Kentucky and really just looking forward to getting back to the track. The best way to fix a tough finish is to go try again. Hopefully it goes well, I think we’ve been running well we just haven’t had some of the finishes we had hoped for. I think our performance has been there and we just have to clean up a few areas and I think we can put ourselves in a good spot. We are moving on from Indy and ready to go race the Kelley Blue Book Chevy at Kentucky.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGS
BOWMAN ON GETTING BACK TO A 1.5-MILE TRACK:
“I am ready to get back to a mile and a half track this weekend, especially after the last few weeks. These are the tracks where we are typically pretty good. We haven’t had the finishes to show recently at mile and a half venues, but we have brought extremely strong Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE’s each week. The last time Cincinnati was on the car, we put it in victory lane. I know we will bring a fast car this weekend and can hopefully go two in a row with Cincinnati.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 88 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LE
IVES ON RUNNING AT KENTUCKY:
“We are going back to a mile and a half track and somewhere where we have really good speed. Kentucky hasn’t been favorable to me and my history at the track. The last few times we have run here, we have strategized well and run well but we haven’t ended up with the finish we deserve there. If we can just finish where we run, that is a lot better than wrecking or losing a tire there and not finishing where we need to be. We have a good package for a mile and a half tracks, so hopefully we can take that and the stuff we have learned from other tracks here lately and get a solid finish at the end of the day.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON KENTUCKY’S SURFACE:
“Kentucky’s surface has just continued to age. I think it has gotten really grey there, really fast. I know that the type of asphalt that they used is different than what they used until the later part of 2010 when repaving tracks. The asphalt has a lot of grip like Michigan does but Michigan hasn’t seemed to age as fast as Kentucky has. It’s also a slick track but in a weird way. It’s not coarse like Atlanta, it’s smooth but slick at the same time. It’s a tough track to get a hold of and that’s a challenge we face every time we go there. It makes for interesting racing”

BYRON ON HAVING COMPETITION CAUTIONS INSTEAD OF PRACTICE:
“I think the competition cautions in these races have helped some guys for sure. For us on the No. 24 team though, we haven’t necessarily needed them at most tracks. We’ve shown up extremely prepared from a team aspect and a driver aspect. I can only really think of one race that I wanted that competition caution, and that was Atlanta. Otherwise, I’ve been happy with how our speed has been at the beginning of the race. Kentucky may be a different story since the surface is so hard to pinpoint ahead of time, but I’m confident in the car my team will have prepared.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGS
“When we have the traction compound thrown into the mix, it’s totally open-ended on what the race is going to be like at Kentucky Speedway. It depends a lot on the other series’ races that happen earlier in the weekend and how that tire wear lays down on the traction compound. Honestly though, the biggest thing we’ve been fighting each weekend is weather and how that is going to affect the track surface and our race strategy. So, if we can avoid having any weather this weekend, we should be able to watch the earlier races and see how they go. I do know that when the track surface does come in during the race, it is on and the competition goes up a notch. If you’re trying to make up time, if you’re trying to make passes or protect your position, you’re going to have to get take advantage of that traction compound. It’s going to be a huge factor this weekend.”

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS
“Kentucky is a very unique race track. It used to be really rough with several different racing groves. Since they paved it, it’s certainly changed a little bit, but it’s still an interesting race track. It has a very unique Turn 3. I would say that’s the trickiest part of the track. It’s a very flat transition and really easy to overdrive that corner. That will cause you to mess up Turn 4 and not have momentum down the front stretch. So, you really have to get your car to handle good and get down into the race track in Turn 3. I think the guys that run the best there are able to get that corner down better than everybody else and setup a strong exit out of Turn 4.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 2
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 1,190
Top-five finishes: 21
Top-10 finishes: 55

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 788 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 235,496
Top-five finishes to date: 4,035
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,337

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

General Motors: 1,122
Chevrolet: 788
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 795
Ford: 695
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 148

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

2021 Race Weekend Experience Up for Grabs in Online Fundraiser

CONCORD, N.C. (July 9, 2020) – Oscar Mayer and Roush Fenway driver Ryan Newman are teaming up with the help of the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile 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.

For more information, please visit www.AllInChallenge.com.

Oscar Mayer is in its third season with Roush Fenway Racing, and second as the primary partner for Newman. The iconic brand will return to Newman’s No. 6 Ford Mustang for the NASCAR All-Star Race on July 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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.

About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history, fielding multiple teams in NASCAR Cup Series. In its 33rd season, Roush Fenway is a leader in driver development, having launched the careers for many of the top drivers in the sport. Off-track, Roush Fenway is a leader in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning Social Media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Roush Fenway is co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Jack Roush and Fenway Sports Group, parent company of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C. Visit RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook and Instagram, and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway.

KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: SPARTA, KENTUCKY
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 17 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 2:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JULY 12 (FS1/PRN RADIO/SIRIUSXM)

Chase Elliott
No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 24 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia

2020 Season
2nd in standings
16 starts
1 win
1 pole position
7 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
451 laps led

Career
165 starts
7 wins
9 pole positions
51 top-five finishes
83 top-10 finishes
2,295 laps led

Track Career
4 starts
0 win
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led

POWER PERFORMANCE: Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, continues to lead all NASCAR Cup Series drivers in average running position (7.74), stage wins (five) and stage points (166) this season. He has led the fourth-most laps (451) in the series and his 12 races led are second-most behind only Joey Logano (13).

SWEET 16: Through 16 races in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Elliott is second in the driver standings, 85 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. Elliott has seven top-five finishes – the most he has collected through 16 races in a season, and his 451 laps led are also a career high at this point in the regular season.

1.5-MILE TRACK STATS: Elliott will make his 51st start on a 1.5-mile track on Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. In his previous 50 races, he has collected two wins, most recently at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28. Elliott has led 617 laps and garnered 18 top-five finishes – five of which are runner-up results – and 28 top-10s on this track length.

IN 2020: In the five 1.5-mile races in the 2020 season, Elliott has led the third-most laps (189) in the Cup Series. During his most recent visit to a 1.5-miler at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 14, he raced inside the top five all night and led 27 laps before collecting a runner-up finish – his second of the year on 1.5-mile track. Elliott’s three top-five finishes, four top-10s and two stage wins on 1.5-milers are all second-most in the series this season.

KBB IS BACK: The navy and gold colors of Kelley Blue Book will return to the hood of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the final time this season at Kentucky. KBB is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week, the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website, www.KBB.com.

WINNING WAYS: The Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE made its season debut during the Thursday night event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28. Elliott notched his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series win – and KBB’s first Cup victory – by leading the final 28 laps on the oval and securing his fifth playoff berth in his fifth full-time season.

BLUEGRASS STATS: Elliott is set to make his fifth Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday. In 2017, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native earned a personal-best finish of third at the track. He also has four Kentucky starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, averaging a starting position of 9.2 and finish of 8.2. The driver also has led 20 laps and collected a pair of top-five finishes there in the Xfinity Series.

BOX TO CHECK: So far this season, Elliott has led his first laps on three tracks where he had never led before in the NASCAR Cup Series: Atlanta, Homestead and Indianapolis. Kentucky Speedway is now the only track where Elliott has competed but not led a lap in Cup Series competition.

STRONG STOPS: Among the teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, the No. 9 pit crew ranks second in fastest average time for four-tire stops at 13.96 seconds through 16 races in 2020.

GAME TIME: The wait is over for NASCAR Heat 5. In May, it was announced that Elliott would grace the cover of the video game. This week, it will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via stream.

BEHIND THE 9: Crew chief Alan Gustafson is trying his hand as a host in a new Hendrick Motorsports video series called “Behind the 9” in which he interviews each member of the No. 9 crew. Fans are able to learn about where they came from and the role they serve on the team, with each bringing a unique personality and skillset. Episodes are released every Tuesday on the Hendrick Motorsports Facebook page and YouTube channel. The most recent episode features engineer Dustin Shoulders.

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William Byron
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 22 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2020 Season
14th in standings
16 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
5 top-10 finishes
41 laps led

Career
88 starts
0 wins
5 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
22 top-10 finishes
335 laps led

Track Career
2 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led

THE LAST FIVE: Despite misfortune Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team are optimistic their recent surge of momentum will continue. In his last five starts, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has racked up two top-10 results, including a season-best finish of seventh at Pocono Raceway. With an average finish of 12.67 in the last five races, Byron ranks sixth overall in the Cup Series.

EYES ON THE PLAYOFFS: Looking to lock himself into the playoffs for the second time in his three-year NASCAR Cup Series career, Byron is 14th in the standings with two playoff points to his name. While a win in one of the upcoming points-paying races would automatically secure his position in the fight for the championship, Byron is currently 48 points above the playoff cutline heading into the Kentucky Speedway weekend.

BLUEGRASS STATE BOUND: Sunday’s race will mark Byron’s third Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway. With a best finish of 18th, Byron’s results don’t accurately depict the speed he has displayed at the 1.5-mile track. Last year, the driver was running within the top five for the first half of the race. However, during a restart in the final stage, Byron was called for a penalty, forcing him down pit road and off the lead lap before crossing the finish line in 18th.

KENTUCKY CONQUER: In his lone NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series start at Kentucky Speedway in 2016, Byron qualified in the third position, led 70 laps and collected the victory. He became the first winner on the newly repaved and reconfigured track.

KNAUS NEEDS KENTUCKY: Kentucky Speedway is one of only four active NASCAR Cup Series racetracks where crew chief Chad Knaus has yet to claim a victory. Despite calling nine races at the 1.5-mile venue, third place (2011) is the closest Knaus has come to taking home a checkered flag. With eight of those nine starts coming with driver Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team, the veteran crew chief has one pole (2012), one top-five finish and five top-10s. His most recent showing at Kentucky came with Byron and the No. 24 team last season when Knaus put the then-sophomore driver in contention for the win. However, a late-race restart penalty left the duo with an 18th-place finish.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, KNAUS: For the second time in 2020, Knaus will transition from crew chief of the No. 24 Camaro ZL1 1LE to television analyst when he joins Adam Alexander and Clint Bowyer in the FOX Sports booth Thursday for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway. The broadcast is scheduled for July 9 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

AXALTA ON BOARD: Byron will look to bring the heat to the track Sunday afternoon in both speed and appearance. When the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team unloads at Kentucky Speedway, the Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will have the iconic flames back on board. Axalta is the 22-race majority partner of the No. 24 team for the 2020 season. The company’s relationship with Hendrick Motorsports was extended in February of this year, taking one of the most enduring partnerships in sports through 2027.

INDY IN THE REARVIEW: Starting 18th in the Brickyard 400, Byron worked through traffic to ultimately win Stage 1 of Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – his second stage win of 2020. While pit strategy cycled him outside the top-10 running order for the start of Stage 2, Byron regained the lead halfway through the stage. However, after lining up for a restart just before the halfway point, he experienced a flat left-front tire almost immediately upon taking the green, forcing him to pit road for damage repair. The Liberty University team was able to repair the damage, but Byron was multiple laps down, resulting in a 27th-place finish.

ALL-STAR RACE VOTING: For the first time in Cup Series history, the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race will be held on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway, and Byron is looking to lock himself in. Last year, the driver of the No. 24 battled his way into the main event by winning the first stage of the Open qualifying race in a stellar last-corner pass. However, if Byron isn’t able to lock himself in to the All-Star Race before July 15 by winning a points-paying Cup Series event, he will have three chances during the Open qualifier by winning one of the stages or by receiving the fan vote. Currently Byron is ranked fourth in the voting with only a few days left. Fans can place their vote once per day, with votes shared on social media counting double, at NASCAR.com/fanvote until 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 14. The winner of the fan vote will be announced immediately following the conclusion of the Open qualifying race on Wednesday, July 15.

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Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 44 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2020 Season
15th in standings
15 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
99 laps led

Career
666 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
229 top-five finishes
370 top-10 finishes
18,933 laps led

Track Career
9 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
5 top-10 finishes
206 laps led

Jimmie Johnson will be available to members of the media via video conference on Friday, July 10 at 9:30 a.m. ET. Details will be available at NASCARMedia.com.

IRON MAN: Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has quietly been one of the most durable competitors in NASCAR history. Before missing Sunday’s race at Indianapolis due to a positive COVID-19 test, the 44-year-old driver had 663 consecutive Cup Series starts – the fifth-longest streak ever. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon holds the all-time record with 797 straight starts, followed by iron men Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace. Johnson has been cleared to race this weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

STATS, STATS, STATS: In nine starts at Kentucky, Johnson has one pole position (2012), one top-five finish and five top-10s. The El Cajon, California, native has led 206 laps at the 1.5-mile track, including 182 in 2013 when he started third and finished ninth.

COMING FOR KENTUCKY: Of the 83 wins Johnson has accumulated over his career, none have come at Kentucky Speedway. Along with Chicagoland Speedway and Watkins Glen International, it is one of just three NASCAR Cup Series tracks where the driver has yet to visit victory lane. Johnson’s best Kentucky finish of third came in 2011.

PIT ROAD SPEED: The No. 48 crew has been electric on pit road this season. It ranks seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series with an average four-tire stop time of 14.19 seconds. The team is coached by Jon Carvin and consists of veteran gasman Brandon Harder, tire carrier Allan Stallings, jackman Kyle Tudor and tire changers Calvin Teague and Donnie Tasser.

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Alex Bowman
No. 88 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE ​
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 27 Resides Concord, North Carolina

2020 Season
8th in standings
16 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
5 top-10 finishes
381 laps led

Career
169 starts
2 wins
2 pole positions
12 top-five finishes
31 top-10 finishes
855 laps led

Track Career
4 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
3 laps led

WELCOME BACK, CINCINNATI: In September 2019, Hendrick Motorsports announced a 10-year agreement with leading machine tool manufacturer Cincinnati Inc. As the Official Metal Fabrication and Additive Equipment Provider of Hendrick Motorsports, the Ohio-based company serves as primary sponsor of Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in two events this season, including Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. Click here to see the No. 88 paint scheme for this weekend’s race.

LAST GO AROUND: The last time the Cincinnati colors adorned the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was March 1 when Bowman claimed the victory at Auto Club Speedway. The 27-year-old driver won Stage 1 and led 110 laps in a dominant performance that clinched a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoff spot.

BOWMAN AT KENTUCKY: Bowman is set to make his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at Kentucky Speedway this weekend. Last season, the Tucson, Arizona, native finished inside the top 20 after crossing the line 17th. He also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the venue, completing 98.9% of the total laps run with an average start of 13.0 and average finishing position of 13.3. In those three starts, the driver has one top-five finish and two top-10s.

2020 VISION: Over the last 16 NASCAR Cup Series races, Bowman has the sixth-best average running position at 11.77. The 27-year-old driver has led 381 laps this season, which is the fifth-highest total in the series. Bowman and the No. 88 team have also been better than their finishes in 2020 with an average running position of 11.77 and average finish of 16.75 — a difference of five spots on the racetrack. In addition, the No. 88 pit crew has an average four-tire pit stop of 14.24 seconds, which is ninth-best among teams this season.

STAGE ENDS: Bowman has four stage wins in 2020, which is tied for second overall in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has also captured 142 stage points in 2020, which ranks fifth on the list of drivers with stage points this season.

THROUGH 16: After 16 events in 2020, Bowman currently sits eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and is seventh in the playoff standings. The sixth-year driver has one win (Auto Club Speedway), two top-five finishes and five top-10s.

IVES’ STATS: Crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots for the sixth time at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s resumé includes two top-15 finishes and four laps led at the track. During the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Ives was a crew chief at JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His drivers led 20 laps at the 1.5-mile track and had an average start of 10.8 and an average finish of 14.5. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer on the No. 48 team with Jimmie Johnson. During that time, the team had one pole win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

GOOD DISCOUNTS: During the month of July, No. 88 team sponsor ChevyGoods.com is providing discounts on all accessories, including Adam’s Polishes, NOCO and Truck Hero. Customers can receive 10% off MSRP with purchases of $100-$249 (offer code “GET10”), 15% off with purchases of $250-$499 (code “GET15”), and 20% off with purchases of more than $500 (code “GET20”).

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Hendrick Motorsports

THE GIFT OF WINNING: There’s one birthday present Rick Hendrick has never received: a NASCAR Cup Series victory. Sunday’s race at Kentucky Speedway falls on the car owner’s 71st birthday and will mark just the third time the circuit has ever competed on July 12. Jimmie Johnson scored a runner-up finish at Chicagoland Speedway in 2008, representing Hendrick Motorsports’ best-ever result on the date. Born July 12, 1949, in Warrenton, North Carolina, Hendrick was raised on a tobacco farm in Palmer Springs, Virginia. Today, he is the owner of 12-time Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports and the chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held operator of car dealerships in the United States. Hendrick holds nearly every major statistical record for a NASCAR team owner and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017.

BRING KENTUCKY HOME: Kentucky Speedway is the only active NASCAR Cup Series track where Hendrick Motorsports has not won. Since the 1.5-mile venue began hosting Cup races in 2011, the team has finished in every position from second through 15th at least once.

LEADING THE WAY: In 2020, no one has led more laps on 1.5-mile tracks than Hendrick Motorsports. The team has led 421 laps on 1.5-milers this season, which is 57 more than second-place Stewart-Haas Racing.

ALL-TIME NUMBERS: Since its inception in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has 12 championships, 258 race victories, 226 pole positions, 1,082 top-five finishes and 1,864 top-10s in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led 69,861 laps, which is the all-time record. Including 2020, the organization has won at least one race in 35 consecutive seasons, the longest-ever streak. Hendrick Motorsports is 10 wins away from tying Petty Enterprises’ all-time Cup record of 268.

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QUOTABLE /
Driver Chase Elliott on Kentucky:
“We are really looking forward to Kentucky, as always, and really just looking forward to getting back to the track. The best way to fix a tough finish is to go try again. Hopefully it goes well. I think we’ve been running well — we just haven’t had some of the finishes we had hoped for. Our performance has been there, and we just have to clean up a few areas. I think we can put ourselves in a good spot. We are moving on from Indy and ready to go race the Kelley Blue Book Chevy at Kentucky.”

Driver William Byron on Kentucky’s surface:
“Kentucky’s surface has just continued to age. I think it has gotten really gray there really fast. I know that the type of asphalt that they used is different than what they used until the later part of 2010 when repaving tracks. The asphalt has a lot of grip like Michigan does, but Michigan hasn’t seemed to age as fast as Kentucky has. It’s also a slick track but in a weird way. It’s not coarse like Atlanta. It’s smooth but slick at the same time. It’s a tough track to get a hold of, and that’s a challenge we face every time we go there. It makes for interesting racing.”

Byron on having competition cautions instead of practice:
“I think the competition cautions in these races have helped some guys for sure. For us on the No. 24 team, though, we haven’t necessarily needed them at most tracks. We’ve shown up extremely prepared from a team aspect and a driver aspect. I can only really think of one race that I wanted that competition caution, and that was Atlanta. Otherwise, I’ve been happy with how our speed has been at the beginning of the race. Kentucky may be a different story since the surface is so hard to pinpoint ahead of time, but I’m confident in the car my team will have prepared.”

Driver Jimmie Johnson on Kentucky:
“Even with all the laps I have made at Kentucky Speedway and the success I’ve had on 1.5-mile tracks, Kentucky has always seemed to be a challenge for me. It’s rough and bumpy. Going into Turn 1 you are climbing up a hill and then you descend all the way to Turn 3. Of course, I am beyond excited to be back in the car this weekend and with my team so I’m embracing the opportunity and am more determined than ever to check this one off the list.”

Driver Alex Bowman on getting back to a 1.5-mile track:
“I am ready to get back to a mile-and-a-half track this weekend, especially after the last few weeks. These are the tracks where we are typically pretty good. We haven’t had the finishes to show recently at mile-and-a-half venues, but we have brought extremely strong Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LEs each week. The last time Cincinnati was on the car, we put it in victory lane. I know we will bring a fast car this weekend and can hopefully go two in a row with Cincinnati.”

Crew chief Greg Ives on running at Kentucky:
“We are going back to a mile-and-a-half track and somewhere where we have really good speed. Kentucky hasn’t been favorable to me and my history at the track. The last few times we have run here, we have strategized well and run well but we haven’t ended up with the finish we deserve there. If we can just finish where we run, that is a lot better than wrecking or losing a tire there and not finishing where we need to be. We have a good package for a mile and a half tracks, so hopefully we can take that and the stuff we have learned from other tracks here lately and get a solid finish at the end of the day.”

NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Sunday, July 12
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)
2019 Race Winner: Kurt Busch

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Shady Rays 200
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Thursday, July 9
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Alsco 300
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Friday, July 10
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Next Race: Buckle Up In Your Truck 225
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: Saturday, July 11
The Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 6 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 225 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
2019 Race Winner: Tyler Ankrum

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Up: Kentucky Speedway

Up next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart this Sunday, July 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This weekend’s event will mark the 10th time the NASCAR Cup Series has competed at Kentucky Speedway, dating back to the inaugural race on July 9, 2011 – the race was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch.

The nine previous series races at Kentucky have produced six different pole winners – Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez – and five different race winners led by Brad Keselowski with three wins (2012, 2014, 2016); followed by Kyle Busch with two (2011, 2015), Martin Truex Jr. with two (2017, 2018), Matt Kenseth (2013) and Kurt Busch (2019) each have one.

Daniel Suarez became the youngest series pole winner at Kentucky Speedway last season (07/13/2019) at the age of- 27 years, 6 months, 6 days. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is oldest series pole winner at Kentucky (06/30/2013 – 38 years, 8 months, 20 days).

With Kyle Busch’s win in the inaugural series event at Kentucky (07/09/2011), he became the youngest series driver to win at Kentucky at the age of 26 years, 2 months, 7 days. Matt Kenseth holds the record for the oldest driver to win at Kentucky with his 2013 victory at the age of 41 years, 3 months, 20 days.

In total four different organizations have visited Victory Lane at Kentucky Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing, who are tied for the series-most wins at Kentucky Speedway with three each. Furniture Row Racing also has two wins and Chip Ganassi Racing got their first win last season at Kentucky with driver Kurt Busch.

Happy Harvick is running away from the competition

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick is off to strong start in 2020. Not only does the veteran lead the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings by 85 points over second place Chase Elliott, but he also is now tied with Denny Hamlin for the series-most wins this year with four victories each. Harvick has held the top spot in the points since Phoenix back in March.

Harvick’s four wins this season are just the tip of his dominance this year, he also has collected 22 Playoff points, put up two stage wins and the series-most top fives (nine) and top 10s (13). Plus, he has led the series-most laps this season (640 laps led, 14.81% of his laps completed).

Kentucky Speedway and the Charlotte ROVAL are the only two tracks on the active schedule Harvick has yet to win at. In nine starts at Kentucky he has posted one top five, six top 10s and an average finish of 10.8. He finished 22nd in this event last season.

Hamlin on the rebound after Indy

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is looking to rebound this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, after leading late in the race last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway only to lose the lead with late-race tire trouble that sent his No. 11 Toyota into the Turn 1 wall.

Hamlin is now fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 109 point behind Harvick in the standings lead despite being tied with him for the series-most wins this season with four each.

This season, Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart have been clicking on all cylinders, in 16 starts they have produced four wins, four stage wins, nine top fives and 10 top 10s. His average finish this season is 10.2 and leads the series in Playoff points with 23.

Kentucky has been pretty good to Hamlin in the past. He has made nine series starts at the 1.5-mile facility, posting four top fives and an average finish of 14.9.

Kyle Busch looks to snap 2020 winless streak

Surprisingly, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, is still winless through the first 16 races of the 2020 season. Busch has won at least one race per season since competing fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series back in 2005.

This season the Las Vegas native, Busch, is 10th in the series driver standings, having posted seven top fives and nine top 10s; including three runner-up finishes.

But Busch has been so good at Kentucky Speedway, this weekend could be when he gets his first checkered flag of the year. In nine series starts at Kentucky, he has posted two wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s. He finished runner-up to his brother Kurt in this event last season.

And to boot, he leads the series in average finish at Kentucky with a 4.7.

Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing have found success at Kentucky

Of the nine NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kentucky Speedway, the majority of them (six) have been won by two organizations – Team Penske (three wins) and Joe Gibbs Racing (three wins). This weekend both organizations will look to get their fourth victory at the 1.5-mile track and take the series lead in owner wins at the facility.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s three wins began with the inaugural series event in 2011; when Kyle Busch started from the first position due to qualifying being cancelled and then won. Then in 2013, veteran Matt Kenseth brought JGR their second victory from Kentucky and Busch again visited Victory Lane in 2015.

All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have run well at Kentucky in the past. In nine starts, Busch has amassed two wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s. Martin Truex Jr. has also made nine starts, posting two wins (in 2017 and 2018 with Furniture Row Racing), two top fives and five top 10s. Denny Hamlin has made nine starts at Kentucky, putting up four top fives and an average finish of 14.8. And Erik Jones has made three series starts at Kentucky posting one top five and three top 10s. He also the series second best average finish (5.3) at Kentucky; behind only his teammate Kyle Busch.

In last season’s race, Busch finished runner-up, Jones was third, Hamlin was fifth and Truex finished 19th.

Team Penske’s three wins at Kentucky have all come from Brad Keselowski; who leads the series in victories at the track (2011, 2014, 2016). In total, Keselowski has made nine starts at Kentucky posting one pole, three wins, four top fives and six top 10s. His average finish 12.3.

Though Keselowski’s teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have yet to win at Kentucky in the NASCAR Cup Series they have found success at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Logano winning three times and Blaney taking home the checkered flag twice. In the Cup Series Logano has made nine starts at Kentucky posting two top fives and six top 10s. Blaney has made four series starts at Kentucky posting one top five and two top 10s. In last season’s race Team Penske drivers finished seventh (Logano), 13th (Blaney) and 20th (Keselowski).

Jimmie Johnson returns to racing

Hendrick Motorsports driver and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will return to competition this weekend at Kentucky Speedway after being sidelined last weekend due to testing positive for COVID-19.

Per NASCAR rules, a competitor that tests positive for COVID-19 must be able to provide two negative tests 24 hours apart from each other to be granted access to return to racing. It was announced on Wednesday morning that Johnson medically cleared to return to NASCAR competition. He has also been granted a Playoff eligible waiver.

Johnson is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 30 points up on 16th place Austin Dillon, and 36 points up on Erik Jones in 17th – the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff.

Kentucky Speedway is one of just four tracks (Charlotte ROVAL, Chicago and Watkins Glen) on the schedule Johnson has yet to win at yet. He has made nine starts at Kentucky, posting one pole, one top five and five top 10s. He finished 30th in this event last season.

Kurt Busch returns to defend last season’s Kentucky win

Heading into Kentucky Speedway last season, Kurt Busch was still working out the kinks with his new team at Chip Ganassi Racing and was riding a 30-race winless streak that dated back to Bristol in 2018, but all that changed when he grabbed the lead in overtime and took the win. Now the Las Vegas native returns looking to defend his Kentucky win from last season and snap an even longer winless streak that has reached 33 races.

Busch is currently 11th in points, four points behind his brother Kyle in 10th. In 16 starts this season Kurt Busch has collected three top fives, nine top 10s and a pole.

Busch’s win last season was not only first victory for Chip Ganassi Racing at Kentucky Speedway but also the first for Chevrolet. In nine starts at Kentucky, Busch has put up one win (2019), two top fives and six top 10s.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Doubling up at Kentucky Speedway

The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicks off a five-race weekend at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday evening, July 9, for the Shady Rays 200 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as the first race of the doubleheader for the series. The second race for the series at Kentucky will be on Friday, July 10, at 8 p.m. for the Alsco 300 (FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

This weekend will mark the second doubleheader weekend for the series since the return to racing in mid-May after the break in sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first was at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The doubleheader comes after a weekend of road course racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the inaugural race on the road course for the series. Chase Briscoe was victorious for the fourth time this season and the third time in the last four events.

The Indiana native led 30 laps and won Stage 2. Briscoe also won the second race of the doubleheader at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Austin Cindric was the only driver who finished in the top five who doesn’t have a win so far this season.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Top Five Results:

Chase Briscoe*
Justin Haley*
Noah Gragson*
AJ Allmendinger*
Austin Cindric

Thursday’s Xfinity Series race will be 201 miles and 134 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 30 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 60. Friday evening’s Xfinity Series race will be 300 miles and 200 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 45 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 90.

This will be the 26th NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kentucky, with the inaugural race on June 16, 2001, won by Kevin Harvick in a Chevrolet.

Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch hold the record for the most wins at Kentucky (three), Austin Dillon and Logano have the record for the most poles (three), Busch has the most top fives (nine) and Keselowski, Busch, Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier have the most top 10s (nine). Chevrolet has the most wins by a manufacturer with 10.

Last season’s race has the fewest finished on the lead lap with five.

Eight of the 25 races run at Kentucky have been won from the pole. Joe Gibbs is the winningest car owner with six wins.

Busch holds the qualifying record at the track from July 8, 2016 at 187.318 mph. Tyler Reddick holds the race record from September 23, 2017 at 151.728 mph.

The track 1.5-miles in length with 17 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2 and 14 degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4. The frontstretch has eight degrees of banking and the backstretch has four degrees of banking. The frontstretch is 1,662 feet and the backstretch is 1,600 feet.

Driver to Beat: Chase Briscoe dominating Xfinity Series

It is very clear that Chase Briscoe seems to be the driver to beat week in and week out. With five wins in 13 starts, Briscoe has the most wins of any other driver in the series.

As the series heads to Kentucky Speedway, taking a look at Briscoe’s stats at the track show that this could be another strong showing for the driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Last season was his first start at the track for the Xfinity Series and he started ninth and finished fifth. He also led 14 laps.

With momentum on his side after having won the last two races (Pocono, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course), making Kentucky Speedway the third win in a row doesn’t seem too far off.

Briscoe mentioned having a goal of winning eight races this season to prove himself and with five wins to his name already, he’s within reach of obtaining his goal.

“It’s weird to say but I feel like I’ve always thrived under pressure. I set a goal for myself and the team has stuck behind me, but it’s kind of like Babe Ruth calling his shot. I knew if I did that, I had to back it up. I’ve always fed on the pressure. You go back to the Roval and I won it. A lot of people don’t realize I didn’t have a ride if I didn’t win that race. Sleeping on couches, volunteering in race shops, and only having one race to prove myself, I had to do the best I could. So, I put a number out there. I want to win more races and prove my worth. I felt like that was an attainable goal and that if I put the pressure on myself it would give me something to shoot for,” Briscoe said.

Chase Briscoe’s back-to-back wins at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course have kept him at the top of the Playoff standings with his fifth win of the season. He is now sitting 21 points ahead of second-place Noah Gragson in the standings and has 13 more Playoff points (28) than his nearest competitor.

Ross Chastain is still holding onto the third spot in the standings and is the highest-ranked driver in the standings without a win this season. Austin Cindric’s performance at Indianapolis pushed him back up to fourth in the standings, 61 points back from the leader.

Brandon Jones dropped to eighth in the series standings but is already locked into the Playoffs with a win this season. He’s the lowest-ranked driver with a win this season.

Harrison Burton dropped significantly in the standings after Indianapolis and is now in seventh, but he is still the highest-ranked rookie. Riley Herbst, another Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, is sitting in 11th and Brandon Brown jumped up one spot and is currently holding onto the last Playoff slot. Myatt Snider has dropped to 13th but is only six points below Brown in 12th.

JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson currently has the best driver rating in the Xfinity Series at 112.0. Briscoe is right behind him in second at 109.6 and Cindric has the third-best at 105.9. Burton has the best driver rating of the rookies in sixth at 97.4.

Chevrolet is currently dominating the Xfinity Series points with six drivers in the top 10. Ford only has two drivers in the series and both of them are in the top 10, too. Toyota has two in the top 10 and Harrison Burton is the only rookie in the top 10.

All in on Allgaier

Justin Allgaier hasn’t seemed to be able to catch a break so far this season. The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has been pushing to get out of a streak of bad luck but unfortunately, it didn’t happen last weekend at Indianapolis.

Allgaier, who has been running up front in a majority of the 13 races so far this season, has been involved in multiple crashes, pit road penalties and a few cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has, however, been able to rally for decent track position before the final lap of a race and still has two top fives, six top 10s and an average start of 9.5. He’s led 319 laps so far this season, too.

Allgaier heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend as one of the veterans. He has 13 starts at the 1.5-mile track with four top fives, nine top 10s and 62 laps led. Allgaier hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 at Kentucky in the last five races. He has a best finished of fourth from 2018.

His average start at the track is 7.2 and average finish is 10.5. With two chances to get it done this weekend, this could be the weekend Allgaier turns his season around. Although he’s sitting fourth in the points standings, the only way he knows he’s in the Playoffs for sure is with a win.

Allgaier had a big weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he also filled in for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson on Sunday for the Brickyard 400. Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to race and Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports announced that Allgaier had been on standby and would be filling in for the No. 48. Unfortunately, Sunday didn’t go so well for Allgaier as he was involved in a wreck on pit road that put him out of the race early. He is definitely on the hunt for redemption this weekend.

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

Buckle up for Gander Trucks at Kentucky

The Gander Trucks return to the track this weekend for a Saturday night showdown under the lights race at Kentucky Speedway.

The Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will take place on Saturday, July 11 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The race will be 150 laps and 225 miles.

Tyler Ankrum is the defending race winner and this weekend will mark the series 23rd race at the track.

The 1.5-mile, Sparta, Kentucky track has 17 degrees of banking in corners in Turns 1 and 2 and 14 degrees of banking in corners of Turns 3 and 4.

There’s eight degrees of banking on the frontstretch and four degrees of banking on the backstretch. The frontstretch is 1,662 feet and the backstretch is 1,600 feet.

The inaugural Gander Trucks race at Kentucky was won by Greg Biffle on June 17, 2000.

Noah Gragson holds the qualifying record at the track from July 2018 at 183.955 mph. Ben Rhodes holds the race record, also from July 2018, at 146.739 mph.

Ron Hornaday Jr. has the most wins at Kentucky (three), Austin Dillon has the most poles (two), and Matt Crafton has the most top fives (six) and top 10s (15). The most lead changes at the track was in 2011 with 18 and the fewest was in 2013 with five.

Only three of 22 races have been won from the pole and Kyle Busch has the most wins as a truck team owner with four.

The closest margin of victory in the Gander Trucks at Kentucky was in 2009 at 0.135-second and the greatest margin of victory was in 2002 at 18.197 seconds.

This weekend will be the seventh race of the season for the Gander Trucks. Grant Enfinger is the only fulltime driver in the series to have won so far this season (Daytona, Atlanta). The other five races were won by drivers that are fulltime in other series. Most recently, Xfinity Series regular Brandon Jones got his first Gander Trucks career win at Pocono Raceway.

Toyota has three of the wins, Ford has two and Chevrolet has one.

Saturday’s Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 will be 150 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 35 and Stage 2 ending on 70.

Home cooking for Ben Rhodes

Ben Rhodes just made his 100th career Gander Trucks start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This weekend, he’ll make his 103rd career start at his home track of Kentucky Speedway.

Rhodes, who is from Louisville, not only has the connection to Kentucky for growing up just outside of the track’s location but it’s also the place where he got his second career win.

In 2018, Rhodes started third at Kentucky and won the race. Rhodes’ first career win was in 2017 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Rhodes has quietly moved his way up to second in the points standings this season, 51 points behind points leader Austin Hill. Although he doesn’t have a win so far this season, he has two top fives, four top 10s and is also ranked third in the Playoff standings.

He is even sitting in front of his ThorSport Racing teammate Grant Enfinger in the points standings without a win.

Rhodes has four starts at Kentucky with one win, one top five and one top 10. He led 43 laps and has an average start of 6.2 and an average finish of 15.0.

Eyeing the Playoff Outlook Following Pocono Raceway

With six NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races in the books, the Playoff picture is coming into focus. Grant Enfinger’s two wins have him atop the Playoff standings as he is the only driver locked in on wins. That leaves nine spots still up for grabs on points.

Among the nine vying for a Playoff spot on points, series driver standings leader and Hattori Racing Enterprises driver, Austin Hill, has the most comfortable points cushion heading into the weekend break with 94 points up on the postseason cutoff.

Right behind Hill is Ben Rhodes with ThorSport Racing, who is 43 points ahead of the Playoff cutoff following Pocono. Rhodes’ Pocono performance put him up a spot in the standings. Sheldon Creed made the biggest jump, going from ninth in the outlook to fourth with his two stage wins and third-place finish at Pocono. Christian Eckes is the highest-ranked rookie in the Playoff outlook right now in sixth but fellow rookie Zane Smith is sitting two points behind him in seventh.

Then down in the Playoff bubble hotseat sits veteran and former series champion Johnny Sauter, 10th in the driver standings just nine points ahead of 11th place Derek Kraus.

Reigning NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion Matt Crafton is sitting all the way down in 14th in the standings, 31 points back from Sauter in 10th.

Sunoco rookie standings update

Christian Eckes still leads the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with 179 points following Pocono Raceway.

Zane Smith currently holds second in the rookie standings with 177 points; followed by Derek Kraus with 159 points, Tanner Gray with 142 points, Raphael Lessard with 119, Ty Majeski with 114, Spencer Davis with 86 and Tate Fogleman with 70.

Every rookie except for Davis will be making their Kentucky Speedway debut in the Gander Trucks next week. Davis ran at Kentucky last season and finished in eighth.

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Etc.

First one for Smith: After turning 18 last month, Chandler Smith will make his first Gander Trucks start on a mile-and-a-half oval. In limited Gander Trucks starts last season, Smith’s impressive results included a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. In three ARCA Menards Series starts this season, Smith has two wins at Phoenix Raceway in March and Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis last weekend.

Long Motorsports new sponsor: American Mask & Sanitizer is partnering with Long Motorsports and Dawson Cram beginning this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. American Mask & Sanitizer specializes in medical supplies. They will also be on board the No. 55 truck at Texas and Kansas Speedway.

The Wounded Blue partner with Angela Ruch: America’s only national organization dedicated to assisting officers injured in the line of duty announced that they will partner with Angela Ruch at Kentucky Speedway. Donations to The Wounded Blue help fund the organization’s Code 4 Wellness program, including medical appointments, COVID-19 testing, PTSD and more.

Richard Childress Racing at Kentucky Speedway … Relatively new to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Kentucky Speedway is one of very few active race tracks where Richard Childress Racing has yet to find victory lane in 26 starts. The Welcome, North Carolina-based organization has a pair of third place finishes both coming from driver Ryan Newman in 2014 and 2016. RCR’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program has a bit more history at the 1.5 mile racetrack with 69 starts. Among those starts include four wins with drivers Kevin Harvick (2001), Austin Dillon (June 2012 & September 2012), and Brendan Gaughan (2014).

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Catch the Action … The NASCAR Xfinity Series Kentucky 200 at Kentucky Speedway will be televised live Thursday, July 9, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway will be televised live Friday, July 10, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The NASCAR Cup Series Kentucky 400 at Kentucky Speedway will be televised live Sunday, July 12, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s RigUp Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Kentucky Speedway… Dillon has seven previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kentucky Speedway, earning his best finish of 16th in 2016 and 2014 and best starting position of ninth in 2019.

Dillon in the Bluegrass State … Kentucky Speedway is the site of Dillon’s career-first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 2013 Xfinity Series Champion earned back-to-back Xfinity Series wins at the 1.5-mile track in 2012, sweeping both races and earning the pole award for both the June and September events.

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AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What are your thoughts going into Kentucky?
“Kentucky is one of those places I’ve always been pretty decent at, going back to the NASCAR Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series days. We were able to win there, and any time that you head into a track that you’ve been successful at in the past you go in with some confidence. We have momentum on our side following a couple of very decent runs recently, and our team has traditionally shined during the grind of the summer months. Our goals are to maximize Stage points and try to win to lock ourselves into the Playoffs. I’m looking forward to it.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Kentucky Speedway …
This weekend marks Tyler Reddick’s NASCAR Cup Series debut at Kentucky Speedway. Reddick has four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile track, including one win from 2017 and two additional top-10 finishes. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate has two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Kentucky, never starting or finishing outside of the top 10.

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TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:
How does the traction compound come into play on race strategy at Kentucky Speedway?
“When we have the traction compound thrown into the mix, it’s totally open-ended on what the race is going to be like at Kentucky Speedway. It depends a lot on the other series’ races that happen earlier in the weekend and how that tire wear lays down on the traction compound. Honestly though, the biggest thing we’ve been fighting each weekend is weather and how that is going to affect the track surface and our race strategy. So if we can avoid having any weather this weekend, we should be able to watch the earlier races and see how they go. I do know that when the track surface does come in during the race, it is on and the competition goes up a notch. If you’re trying to make up time, if you’re trying to make passes or protect your position, you’re going to have to get take advantage of that traction compound. It’s going to be a huge factor this weekend.”

This Week’s No. 21 Alsco Chevrolet Camaro at Kentucky Speedway …Anthony Alfredo will make his Kentucky Speedway debut this weekend in the No. 21 Alsco Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Thursday evening will kick off the second doubleheader of the season for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In three career Xfinity Series starts on 1.5-mile racetracks, Alfredo averages an eighth-place finish. He recorded a best finish of fourth at the first Homestead-Miami race in June.

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Fast Start for Fast Pasta … In his first seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, Alfredo has secured four top-10 finishes and has an average finish of 10th. He also won an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Saturday Night Thunder Race at Dover International Speedway during NASCAR’s hiatus from on-track competition.

ANTHONY ALFREDO QUOTE:
Kentucky Speedway will be the second doubleheader for you and the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season. Is there anything specific you learned from the Homestead-Miami Speedway doubleheader that you can apply to this weekend?
“Although Kentucky is our second doubleheader this year, I don’t believe I can translate much between the two tracks physically. I did learn a lot about how to manage my hydration habits and nutrition throughout the weekend to perform at my peak in both events. I also learned that with no practice, racing back to back days allows me to learn a lot more as a whole, along with being able to apply the experience gained from the first race into the second race. I’m very excited and am focused on bringing two first-place trophies back to RCR for our team, partners and fans.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Wednesday, July 8, 2020

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – WHAT IS YOUR KENTUCKY OUTLOOK? “Kentucky has, I don’t want to say historically, but historically has been a night time race from what I can remember, so a midday race is gonna be hot and slick and should make for some good racing. I’m looking forward to it. It was a good race for us last year in regards to speed. We had a lot of speed and I made a mistake on pit road and took us out of a good shot of having a solid finish, so we’re looking to redeem ourselves this year at Kentucky and we’ve been looking forward to this weekend just because of the fact we had so much speed there last year and was probably one of the best racetracks that we had last year.”

A LOT OF SPECULATION THAT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE WILL REPLACE WATKINS GLEN ON THE SCHEDULE. HOW WOULD THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE RACE WITH A CUP CAR? YOU’VE DRIVEN ON IT BEFORE. “Yeah, so it’ll be a good race. It’s a good racetrack with good passing zones. It’s a true Roval in the sense that when you’re in the banking you’re at high speed, so we’ll be 180-185 miles an hour on the banking coming down into turn one and hard braking, all those things, so I think it’ll create a lot of passing opportunities. With guys not having a lot of experience it is a challenging track, so I feel like you could see a lot of mistakes and a lot of offs, but it’s different than, say, Charlotte Roval, where when you make a mistake at Charlotte Roval there is no forgiveness. You’re into a concrete barrier, where at the infield at Daytona you have quite a bit of run off and quite a bit of gap in-between the sections, so I feel like you could make a mistake and not end your day. There is good run off in the deep braking zones, so there are opportunities to push it hard without jeopardizing your entire day.”

I THINK THEY’RE GOING TO GO WITH THE ROAD COURSE PACKAGE, 750 HP. WOULD THE SPEEDS BE OKAY ON THE OVAL PART EVEN WITH THAT MUCH HORSEPOWER? “Yes, I think it will be. You’re coming out of the bus stop and you’re coming out of turn six still fairly slow in our cars. When you watch the 24 Hour, you watch a prototype go through there, a prototype exits at 100 miles an hour. We’ll be exiting out of that corner at 60, so I don’t think you’re gonna see 200 miles an hour by the time you get to the start-finish line just because of the fact that even with our current package if we ran the entire banking, the entire oval, yeah, we’d be 220 miles an hour and that would be too fast, but I think coming out of the corners at 40 or 50 miles an hour you’re not gonna have to worry about seeing speeds over 200.”

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON POTENTIALLY NOT RACING AT THE GLEN THIS YEAR? “I love the Glen. It’s one of my favorite tracks and so I’d hate for it to not be on the schedule, but this year is crazy and there’s so much going on, and obviously we can only go where we can go and where it’s safe to go. You can’t worry too much about that. As much as I’m upset that we can’t go to Watkins or potentially not go to Watkins Glen, it’s probably somewhat an advantage for me to go to Daytona just because the laps that I have there and the seat time that I have there compared to some of the other drivers, but it’s still hard because Watkins Glen is definitely one of my favorite tracks.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON PIT ROAD AT INDIANAPOLIS? HOW DID YOU LOOK AT THAT? “Indy is always really challenging with pit road. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this happen at Indy just because of the fact that it’s so narrow on the entry, it kind of funnels down. Instead of having two lanes plus pit lane, which is typically what we have, you really have a lane-and-a-half plus the pit stall, so that’s where it makes it challenging. There’s really only one lane there and we’ve seen it not just on the entry, but the exit too at Indy, that it kind of funnels down. Guys are trying to merge into the fast lane and can’t because there’s somebody there. Yes, it would be nice if it was wider, but, I’m gonna say this and I’ll probably catch a little flack, but you also have to use your head. It’s a competition caution. It’s the first pit stop at Indy. We’re at Indy. We all know that pit road is challenging at Indy, so you’ve got to pay attention and that’s the bottom line. We should be able to do it with no problem, but these things happen.”

IS DAYTONA ROAD COURSE IN AND WATKINS GLEN OUT THE BIGGEST THING YOU NOTICE ON THE SCHEDULE? “I think there are a couple different factors to it. I think one is that the really talented guys in our sport will figure it out. I mean, they just do. I could go through the list, but there are a lot of them that will just figure it out quickly because they’re that good. There are other guys that have learned to do well at the road courses because they’ve been going there for 10 years to those same two road courses and they know it just like they know Bristol or Martinsville or anywhere else. They know exactly what they need to do, so I think that there will be an advantage for guys that have been there and have seat time, in particular if there’s no practice. I don’t know what that looks like. They haven’t really talked about that, but if we just stay on the trend that we’re on now, which is no practice, I think guys like myself and Jimmie and Kurt and Kyle and I don’t know who else currently has done it, but there are a couple others that would have a significant advantage for sure. But, at the same time, the good guys will still be good by the end of the race, but I do think it is an opportunity. I do hope that we get to run Watkins Glen. I would love to do that. I don’t know if it’s officially that we’re not, but it’s one of my favorite tracks, but Daytona is great and it’ll be a fun race, it’ll be a good race – a lot of passing, exciting for the fans and we’ll just make it all work.”

HOW HAS IT BEEN WITH NO PRACTICE AND NO QUALIFYING FOR YOU? “Our cars have had more speed this year than we’ve ever had at Front Row, so that’s helped us, obviously, with performance and getting the results that we need to get. But they’ve done an exceptional job unloading really close without any practice and having our cars very competitive, which is hard to do. But the downside, like Drew mentioned, is we had a mechanical failure early on in the year and that hurt us in the points and then, for the most part we’ve been starting 26th, 27th, 30th, 32nd every weekend, so that’s tough. We’re only a handful of points out of the top 24 in owner points, so it would be nice to get there. The unfortunate part is that my teammate is the next one in front of us, so we’d like to have both cars in the top 24 in owner points so that we can both start up front and I think we’re maybe 10 or 12 points back from that, so it’s not impossible but we’ve got some work to do. If we keep running how we’ve been running the last three or four weeks we should be able to get ourselves in there and not have to start so far back.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH JOHN HUNTER AND HOW HAS HE ELEVATED THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR TEAM AND ALL OF FRONT ROW? “That’s a tricky question because I don’t want to downplay how well John Hunter has done because he’s done an exceptional job. I mean, he’s going great. He’s ahead of me in points and has been running very well, but a lot of this sport is timing and we’ve been slowly building this program over a long time, but for me the last three years and we started to see that at the end of last year and we started to make some decent improvements and then this year everything has just come full circle and we’ve really improved all the cars and people and processes, so I think he’s getting the benefit of three, four, five, six, seven years of a lot of people’s hard work, but he’s doing a good job making the most out of it and executing. Like I said, that’s not to take anything away from him, but John Hunter didn’t bring this speed to Front Row. Front Row was building that over years and he’s very fortunate that he’s got the opportunity this year while the cars are so good, just like I am. I’m so excited to be contending for top 10s and top 15s, but it wasn’t always like that. I feel for David Ragan and Matt Tifft and those guys, and David Gilliland, that were grinding it out when it wasn’t that much fun and we weren’t that competitive. It’s a team effort, no doubt about it. Seth Barbour, his crew chief, has been with the organization for a long time and has done a great job of elevating it, alongside with Drew and Derrick Finley and a lot of people, so I think that this sport, like I said, it’s a lot about timing and his timing is really good right now to be in our cars and have them running as well as they are.”

JOHN HUNTER SAID YOU’VE STEPPED UP YOUR GAME THIS YEAR. HAS THERE BEEN ANY CHANGE ON YOUR PREPARATION THIS YEAR FROM YEAR’S PAST? “It’s kind of always evolving, so, yes and no. I mean, my level of intensity, I feel like, has been the same even throughout all the years, but you learn where you’ve got to be stronger and where you’ve got to be better and that’s changing as rule package changes, as cars change and all those things, but I definitely feel like I’ve improved this year in a few areas. You’re always working hard to continue to be better and better. I think everybody does that. John Hunter definitely has helped with that just from the standpoint of when somebody gets in and goes fast in your race cars, you know that they’re capable, so then you just have to figure out what you need and what you have to do to extract more. So we’ve been able to push each other in that and that definitely helps, so having a teammate that’s fast and can push you is super-important, and he’s definitely done that, so it’s been good.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON POTENTIALLY TWO DOUBLEHEADERS AT MICHIGAN AND DOVER? “Doubleheaders are fun. Obviously, Pocono on Saturday went great for me, Sunday did not go so well, but, at the same time, what’s neat is that for the most part you go to a racetrack and you learn so much in the race and you just can’t wait to get back and make improvements. That might be Pocono, I think was the quickest turnaround in the schedule over the years – maybe like two months – but for a lot of the tracks you go there in April and you don’t go back there again until September or something like that. So it’s fun to be able to get done with the race, talk about what you need to do, make adjustments, and then go do it again the next day when you already have that rhythm and you already have all those things that it takes a little bit to get, so I enjoy it. I think it’s fun. Obviously, the first one didn’t go so great for us with having a good run on Saturday and not such a good run on Sunday, but I think it’s definitely, for me, I think it’s neat to be able to go back the next day and work on it.”

JOHN HUNTER SAID HE’S A DATA JUNKIE. ARE YOU IN THAT SAME KIND OF CAMP AND HAS JOHN’S LOVE OF THE NUMBERS OPENED A DOOR FOR YOU? “Two things, just to kind of put it into context a little bit. What you’ve got to remember is that John Hunter and I aren’t really working together right now all that much because of COVID and the protocols, so we’re not sitting in those meetings at the shop together. We’re kind of doing these Zoom calls just like this and so you don’t have that personal interaction that you would have under normal years and normal circumstances, where you practiced, you come into the hauler, you look through the data, you talk about what you had, you talk about the changes that were good, the changes that were bad and all those things. That’s all gone now, so my interaction with John Hunter is very limited to a 10 or 15-minute call like this, where we kind of just briefly go over what we had for the weekend and what it looked like. I just wanted to kind of put that in context. If we were both sitting in the hauler, I think we would really enjoy that because, to answer your question, I’ve always enjoyed the technical aspect and the data side of things. Coming from Indy car and sports car, where you had live telemetry and data and that was something that you used every practice, every session. It’s only been in NASCAR a handful of years, so, for me, I’ve always been into the data and able to run and operate all that and enjoy doing that, so I spend a lot of time studying video and SMT and data and looking at trends and things like that, and it sounds like he does as well. I know that sounds like there’s a big gap there, but that gap is because we’re not in the haulers together, we’re not in the shop together, we’re not interacting like you would under normal circumstances and normal teammates because of the protocols in place and trying to keep the drivers quarantined to their little bubble and the crews quarantined to their bubbles, so this year is very different, but, yes, I would imagine we’re doing a lot of the same things.”

Matt DiBenedetto and the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford Mustang will carry the colors of Quaker State in this weekend’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, and DiBenedetto said that’s the one of the best parts of the upcoming race weekend.

“It’s a big race for Quaker State, and I’ll be driving their car,” he said.

Another positive heading into race week is that DiBenedetto and the Menards/Quaker State team are back in the top 12 in car owner points and therefore will be drawing for one of the top 12 starting positions.

He moved up two spots in the standings to 12th despite a late-race incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he was vying for sixth place but wound up 19th after earning 11 Stage points earlier in the race.

“Even though it was a really bad ending [at Indy], I’m really excited to be back in the top 12 in points,” he said. “Starting spots are a big deal. Hopefully we can keep on climbing.”

The current lower horsepower/higher downforce handling package used at tracks like Kentucky, plays to one of his strong suits.

With track position a key factor in races, a driver’s best chance to move forward is to gain as many positions as possible on in the initial start and subsequent restarts.

That requires some aggressive driving, and DiBenedetto has proven to be up to the challenge.

“My team believes in me, and my aggression has paid off more times than it has not,” he said, adding that he hasn’t always been one to race so hard just after a restart. “It’s something I developed over the years. I try to make smart but aggressive moves, and restarts are a lot more critical now with the current package.”

He said that it helps to have a spotter, Doug Campbell, who is of the same frame of mind when it comes to restarts.

“That’s why I pushed so hard for him to come to the Wood Brothers with me,” DiBenedetto said. “We had a good relationship going, and he always gives me excellent advice.

“He’s aggressive, quick and decisive. He tells me exactly what I need to know.”

There will be no practice or qualifying for Sunday’s Quaker State 400, which is set to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on FOX Sport One.

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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.

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Kentucky

NASCAR heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend, where the Cup Series will battle for 400 miles Sunday afternoon, a race typically run on Saturday night in years prior. Roush Fenway has three wins all-time at the 1.5-mile Speedway – two in the Truck Series and one in Xfinity. Both Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher are coming off top-10s at Kentucky a season ago.

Kentucky Speedway
Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart
Sunday, July 12 | 2:30 p.m. ET
FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Acronis Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang

NASCAR Headed to Kentucky Speedway

· NASCAR heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend for the 17th race of the season, where the Cup Series will tackle the 1.5-mile speedway for 400 miles.

· Kentucky held its original weekend on the schedule, but the Cup Series event switched from a Saturday night race to a Sunday event once schedule changes were announced due to COVID-19.

· The lineup for Sunday’s race will again be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points. Both Newman and Buescher will draw for a starting spot in the 13-24 group.

· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.

Indy Recap, Kentucky Preview

· Newman cut a tire early in stage one of the Brickyard 400 last weekend at Indy, ultimately causing damage to severe to continue before finishing 34th.

· Buescher was unfortunately caught up in a multi-car incident on pit road early in stage one, that also caused severe damage on his Ford Mustang. The team was able to make repairs sending him back out for a majority of the race, before he finished 31st.

· Acronis is back on Newman’s Ford this weekend in Kentucky, their first primary race of 2020.

· Fifth Third Bank will ride with Buescher at Kentucky, which is just a short drive to the bank’s headquarters, located in Cincinnati.

My Old Kentucky Home
This weekend marks a homecoming for team owner and 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Jack Roush, who hails from Covington, Kentucky, which is just over 30 minutes from Kentucky Speedway.

And They’re Off
In 97 starts across the three national series, Roush Fenway Racing has totaled three wins, 13 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes, along with two poles. The Xfinity series teams have raced at the 1.5-mile track more than the NCS and NGROTS combined, having earned 22 top-10s and one win.

Cup in Kentucky

In 25 NCS starts at Kentucky, RFR has one top five and six top-10 finishes, highlighted by Carl Edwards’ fifth-place result at the inaugural race back in 2011, the best Cup finish to date for RFR. Ryan Newman has the most recent top-10, a ninth-place run last season.

Quick Out of the Gate

Former driver Greg Biffle earned the organization’s first victory in the inaugural NASCAR event at Kentucky in the Truck Series in 2000. Biffle started from the second position and paced the field for 53 laps en route to the victory.

To Xfinity and Beyond

Jack Roush’s Xfinity cars have been very consistent over the years in Kentucky, having earned top-10s in nearly half the starts (22-of-51). Carl Edwards went to victory lane back in 2005, and he and Biffle combined for four additional runner-up finishes at the 1.5-mile track.

Roush Fenway Kentucky Wins
2000 Biffle Truck
2003 Edwards Truck
2005 Edwards NXS