Category: NASCAR Cup PR

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020
POCONO 350 – POCONO RACEWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
2nd — Kevin Harvick
5th — Aric Almirola
6th — Matt DiBenedetto
8th — Clint Bowyer
11th — Brad Keselowski
17th — Cole Custer
18th — Ryan Newman
19th — John Hunter Nemechek
21st — Corey LaJoie
22nd — Ryan Blaney
24th — Joey Logano
28th — J.J. Yeley
33rd — Joey Gase
36th — Chris Buescher
40th — Michael McDowell

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Head for the Mountans Ford Mustang — “I think for us our Head for the Mountains Busch Beer Ford was actually better than yesterday.  We had a really good car.  He just did the opposite of what we did.  We didn’t want to get caught with a caution and then wind up losing a little bit too much time in lap traffic with all the cars that hadn’t pitted and he was out there running clean laps and waited until right to the very end and wound up in front of us.  I’m proud of everybody on our team.  Yesterday that won us the race and today finished second.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Vote For Bacon Ford Mustang — “Another top five.  I’m so proud of Buga and al the guys on this 10 team.  That’s four top fives in a row.  What a weekend we had here in Pocono, got a lot of stage points and finished third yesterday and fifth today.  We’re riding a wave of momentum and I’m just so happy and thankful for all of our partners — Smithfield, Ford, Mobil 1, Go Bowling, everybody that helps this whole program out and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.  I know you guys have been working so many hours trying to keep up with the pace of all these races, so just really proud.  We’ll go to Indy, a place that’s very similar to the tunnel turn at Pocono and felt like we were really good there this weekend.  I’m excited about Indy and another top five.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang — HOW WAS YOUR DAY?  “It wouldn’t be a NASCAR race without some rain here lately.  It was a long weekend.  Two races back-to-back was pretty cool.  Knocked them both out in one weekend, but we got stage points in all four stages between the two races, so that’s good and I felt like we finished solid yesterday and today we had a good day.  We got stage points in both and the second stage we were actually anticipating possibly giving up the stage points for our strategy to have a good finishing position, but it worked out to where we still had some solid restarts and got up there to get at least a couple points, so everything helps.  That was big and today was just pretty much real smooth from start to finish, just was up there in that top 10 for most part start to finish for the day, so Greg and the team did a real solid job keeping us up there and having a real good strategy.”

ARE STAGE POINTS MORE OF A FOCUS BEING PAST THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE REGULAR SEASON?  “That’s definitely a big deal and a way to rack up some points because we’ve had some unfortunate luck and some bad races recently, so we fell back in points further back than we feel like we are as a team, for sure.  So it’s time to start climbing back up there and this weekend was an example.  Stage points can just make such a huge difference, especially this point in the year when the point stuff is really starting to settle out a little bit.  People are settling in place, so you’ve got to take everything you can get because that makes a big difference as far as securing a solid spot in the playoffs and, for us, really climbing back up in the points to where we think we are running weekly.  Our cars have real good speed, so the stage points are a big deal.”

ARE THERE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN POCONO AND INDY?  “If you asked me that a couple years ago when we ran the low downforce stuff, I would say the two tracks were completely different, but now that we have the high downforce and less horsepower, they’re actually pretty similar in the fact that it’s real strategy-oriented, extremely track position-oriented.  You can catch someone.  Today, I caught the 10 at the end for fifth by about four to five tenths of a second a lap, so real fast and you just get stuck in their dirty air now.  I’m no stranger.  I’m surprised Steve O’Donnell hasn’t hit me yet because I give him a hard time because the high downforce just makes it so tough to pass, so I hope we can reverse that direction in the future.  A, it just makes it really tough on the teams and the pit crews and the strategy because you just have to have track position or else you can’t make your way up there.”

IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU RAN THE NXS CAR ON THE ROAD COURSE AT INDY.  WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED TO SEE NEXT WEEK?  “I’m super-jealous of those guys, extremely jealous.  They’re gonna have a blast.  That course is awesome.  It’s so much fun, has really good passing zones, so I’m gonna be watching really closely.  I’ve had a lot of guys come to me for advice, too, since I was the only one that got to run that track in an XFINITY car, which was really neat.  I have no doubt it’s gonna put on a tremendous race.  I’m really jealous.  I wish the Cup cars were running that, but I’m gonna be looking at that for the future because I know it’s such a special, really good track, so I’m gonna be watching and knowing it’s gonna put on a good show, and then I’m sure I’ll be bugging everyone at NASCAR and saying, and everyone at Indy saying, ‘Let’s run the road course next year’ because it’s gonna be a cool layout.”

WHAT HAS THE TEAM DONE WELL IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND WHAT DOES THE TEAM STILL NEED TO WORK ON?  “I think today addressed some of our, we’ve had some races where we’ve kind of been up and down and this run we’re fast and this run we get a little off, so we do very well with communication – me, my crew chief Greg Erwin and our team – we talk a lot, our engineers, multiple, multiple times a week on team calls, so we do an excellent job of communicating to iron those things out and I think this weekend was an example of what we’ve been working on and knowing that we’re capable of doing is addressing that and just having solid days like we did today being in the top 10 from the start to the finish of the day, getting stage points and finishing up there, so we’ve done a good job at working on that and I think we can do a lot more of this moving forward.”

DO YOU FEEL YOU’RE GETTING CLOSER TO BEING A CONSISTENT TOP-10, TOP-15 FINISHER WITH THE OTHER TEAM PENSKE GUYS?  “Yeah, 100 percent.  I think when you’re with a new team working with new guys it always takes a little time to typically figure each other out.  We’re really trying to get this 21 car where it’s up front every week and I think we’re stepping in that direction.  To be honest, every single racetrack we’ve been to, aside from Darlington, we’ve had top 10 speed at every track, so that’s like unbelievable.  I’ve never had equipment or an opportunity like that much in the past, so that’s the encouraging part and so I knew once we got on track together, I think we can do this very consistently.”

HOW WAS THE VISIBILITY LATE IN THE RACE?  “It was actually better when it started getting darker when the sun went down.  The sun getting in the tunnel turn, I mean the tunnel turn makes you white-knuckle it already and it’s one of the most hairy corners in all of NASCAR when you can see, so when you have sun in your eyes it was pretty much one of the most petrifying experiences I’ve had to deal with.  But it was good.  I’m just glad we were able to get the race in and glad to see the sun at at NASCAR race, but when it got dark it actually started getting dark it was actually better and easier to see.”

HOW DOES IT FEEL HAVING A DOUBLEHEADER WITH INDY CAR NEXT WEEK?  WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MEANING FOR THE SPORT?  “Even just being on that track on the road course and being the first guy was special, like I said.  The race weekend is gonna be one to remember.  These are things that go down in history and even just racing at the Brickyard, every time you go in there is a check mark, a bucket list item in itself, so that’s gonna be a special weekend that I’ll always remember.  I’ll be like a race fan, just watching these races as excited as any fan that you’ll see because it’s gonna be so cool on such a history weekend, the July Fourth Weekend, you name it.  All of that is so cool and then obviously excited for us to be on track there and be watching some good racing.”

THOUGHTS ON NO FANS BEING AT INDY?  “That will be awkward.  It’s definiltey awkward, especially going to the Brickyard 400 that weekend, which is one of the coolest and one of the coolest places we go, period.  It’s definitely awkward.  People have asked if I’ve gotten used to it and I don’t think we’ll ever get used to it.  We miss that element, but hopefully we’ll get back to normal in the future and just glad everyone can tune in and at least watch and see a good show on TV.”

Track: Pocono Raceway, 2.5 Mile Tri-Oval
Race: 15 of 38
Event: Pocono 350 (350 miles, 140 laps)
John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang

Started: 24th
Finished: 19th

Stage One: 20th
Stage Two: 23rd
Stage Three: 19th

John Hunter Nemechek started the second of this weekend’s doubleheader races at Pocono Raceway in 24th place. Shortly after taking the green flag, the race was paused for 50 minutes due to rain. Once the engines refired and the race restarted, Nemechek pitted for 4 tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment after noting that his No. 38 Death With Coffee Ford Mustang was tight in traffic, but otherwise fired off free. He said the handling improved as the run went on, and finished Stage 1 in the 20th position.

Nemechek continued to battle a tight car in traffic through Stage 2. By the end of the stage, he said his No. 38 Death Wish Coffee machine had been a little free to fire off, but then it started getting tighter. Nemechek would take the green- and-white checkered flag to end Stage 2 in 23rd place. He would stay out under the Stage Break Caution.

As the sun set over Pocono Raceway during the Final Stage, strategy played a factor as uncertainty over the amount of daylight remaining continued to build. Nemechek was still noting that he was tight in traffic by Lap 104. With less than 20 laps remaining, Crew Chief Seth Barbour made the call for Nemechek to pit for 2 tires (only) and fuel. He would work his way into the top 20 and finished in the 19th position.

Nemechek on Pocono:

“Wasn’t quite the day we were hoping for at Pocono Raceway, but we finished better than we did in yesterday’s race, and that’s an accomplishment for us. Our No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang was decent in clean air, but we just couldn’t make it work in traffic. I was too tight whenever I got behind another car and we couldn’t quite get the handling right in order to really make the kind of gains we wanted to on track. I’m proud of my team and thankful for their effort. Really appreciate Death Wish Coffee and Rich Mar Florist coming aboard with us again today. We’ll regroup this week and head to Indy.”

Track: Pocono Raceway, 2.5 Mile Tri-Oval
Race: 15 of 38
Event: Pocono 350 (350 miles, 140 laps)
Michael McDowell
No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford Mustang

Started: 13th
Finished: 40th

Stage One: 40th (out)
Stage Two: 40th (out)
Stage Three: 40th (out)

In the second race of the Pocono doubleheader weekend, Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford Mustang took the green flag from the 13th position. It wasn’t long before the caution flag was displayed and the 350-mile race went under a 50-minute rain delay. Unfortunately, once racing recommenced, it was only a handful of laps before McDowell would get turned into the backstretch wall. However, he was able to recover the car and remain on track for another lap before the caution flag would fly as he had a right rear tire go down, sending his No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford Mustang into the wall and ending his day early.

McDowell on Pocono:

“Today was a real shame. The first few laps of today’s race felt really good and I thought that we were going to have the opportunity for another strong run. I’m still proud of the race that we had yesterday and the speed that we’ve been showing all year. Unfortunately, it’s all part of the ups and downs of racing. I’m really proud of the effort by everyone at Front Row Motorsports for bringing us a competitive car and I’m ready to head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend and hopefully rebound after today’s unfortunate events.”

LONG POND, Pa. (June 28, 2020) – For the second-straight day, varying pit strategy was the ultimate deciding factor in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. Ryan Newman had his Wyndham Rewards Ford in third position at the end of stage two, before moving on to an 18th-place finish as different pit strategies played out in a caution-free final stage at the Tricky Triangle.

Weather once again also played a factor in Sunday’s 350-mile event, as all three national series ran at the track before the NCS eventually got started after multiple delays. With the race slated to roll off just after 4 p.m. ET, lightning caused an initial delay before rain set in afterwards.

With an invert from Saturday’s finishing order – where Newman finished 15th – he rolled off fifth Sunday, with the opening stage set to run 30 laps. Once both weather delays were cleared, Newman restarted 11th at lap 11, before going on to finish 15th in the opening stage.

After service under the stage break, the 2003 Pocono winner rolled off 23rd for stage two. His second stop of the day came at lap 47 under yellow, when he took fuel only on the Wyndham Rewards machine. After restarting 24th at lap 50 with 35 laps left in the stage, Newman made his way to 16th by the time the next yellow waved at lap 75.

He again stayed out, this time advancing up to fourth for the ensuing restart at lap 79. Crew chief Scott Graves kept the strategy play going, as he again stayed out to fire off fourth for a two-lap shootout, where he picked up one position to earn a third-place stage finish, his highest of the season.

The strategy didn’t stop there, as Newman again stayed on track under the stage break, restarting inside of the front row for the stage three green flag. He was ultimately forced to pit road one final time at lap 97, before going on to finish 18th in the second of back-to-back Pocono races in consecutive days.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next, with a 400-mile race on tap for next Sunday. Coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and can also be heard on SiriusXM Channel 90.

HAMLIN DRIVES TO FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON
Two Toyota Top-Fives at Talladega

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 28, 2020) – Denny Hamlin led the final 15 laps and drove to his fourth win of the season at Pocono Raceway on Sunday evening. It is Hamlin’s sixth win at Pocono Raceway and the fifth win of season for Toyota in 2020. Erik Jones was scored in a season-best third.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Pocono Raceway
Race 15 of 36 – 350 miles, 140 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, Kevin Harvick*
3rd, ERIK JONES
4th, Chase Elliott*
5th, Aric Almirola*
10th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
26th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
29th, TIMMY HILL
38th, KYLE BUSCH
39th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

What can you say about Chris Gabehart’s strategy for today’s race and victory?

“He’s (Chris Gabehart, crew chief) just unbelievable. He’s done a great job with this race team. This is work that happens in the shop, this is way beyond what happens on race day. Can’t say enough for FedEx, Toyota, Coca-Cola, the Jordan Brand. I mean six (career wins at Pocono), I can’t even put it into words, how much it means to me.”

What is the moment like when you were getting nervous about the strategy and Kevin Harvick’s position on the track?

“I was just hoping for no cautions, I knew we had the car. I was just maintaining my gap right there and didn’t want to make any mistakes like I did at Bristol and threw that win away. I just tried to work through the traffic as best I could and obviously Chris (Gabehart) is paying attention to strategy there and made the right call.”

How did this race unfold for you today?

“A lot of adversity early. We got some nose damage and had to fix that. Then we just worked on the car and got it better and better. It finished the race there a lot better than we finished yesterday and I thought we had a race-winning car yesterday. We knew after yesterday’s race and showing the speed that we had, just don’t mess it up and we’ve got a good shot today and that’s what we did.”

How patient are you with strategy races?

“You have to work it, but ultimately the two fastest cars finished one-two both days. I think that there’s no secret there and this team has been strong every week. We’re in contention to win every single week and that’s all you can ask for as a race car driver and we’re just on a roll right now.”

How do you feel about your race team at this stage of the season?

“Working to keep getting better and keep getting faster race car and giving me a bigger box to work in. If we don’t have the exact right setup or the handling isn’t perfect, we’re still going out there and winning races because we have decent car speed. We’re just continuing to make ourselves a little bit better and it’s making that room for error just a little bit bigger.”

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How was your race today?

“Yeah, today was a lot better than yesterday for sure. It’s great to rebound like that. Unfortunately, I think we could have – definitely could have had two top-fives, and really, I think our primary car was quite a bit better than this car. I thought we could have probably contended both days a little more towards the win if we had our primary, but the Craftsman Camry was good. We made good changes overnight. We actually changed a lot of stuff and tried to kind of rebalance with what we had with this backup car. It’s nice to get a solid finish. I mean, we came off a good run at Talladega and went right back to a DNF and to come back here with a third. We just need to be consistent from here and keep it rolling.”

How much did the track conditions change as darkness set in during the closing laps?

“They changed quite a bit as far as it did rubber in a little bit after the shower we got. It kind of changed – it got tighter and then after the sun went down, I thought it freed up the last probably 25 laps. We were pretty loose at the end. It was kind of holding us back from really doing much more than running third, but it did change a lot. It was pretty dark the last 10 laps, but I was glad we could get the race in.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 38th

What happened with you and Ryan Blaney?

“I don’t know. The guys did an amazing job from yesterday to today. I guess it proves that if you get a little practice time in and we are going to be a force to be reckoned with so hopefully life gets back to normal eventually but we are in 2020, so it doesn’t surprise me getting crashed out of the lead. The M&M’s Camry was pretty fast today. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys did a great job. It’s just very frusterating and unfortunate. I know what happened but it doesn’t make any sense to talk about it. It will just come across in a bad way.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry, Leavine Family Racing

Finishing Position: 39th

Your day is done early. What exactly happened Christopher?

“Yeah, I don’t exactly know. I was kind of rolling out there by myself, and I had a good gap between the guy in front of me and behind me, and it just stepped out getting into turn two there. It’s disappointing, but I’m really happy with the speed that we’ve had these last couple weeks. Obviously, yesterday here we were really fast, and we had another great car today, so these guys keep bringing really fast Rheem Camrys to the racetrack and we will have good shows.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

LONG POND, Pa. (June 28, 2020) — After earning four stage points with a seventh-place finish in the first stage Sunday afternoon’s Cup race at Pocono Raceway, Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fastenal team were unable to overcome a spin in stage two, resulting in a 36th place finish.

Buescher rolled off the grid 11th and quickly made his way up to fourth in the opening laps of the race. When the red flag was displayed for rain just five laps in, the team was holding steady inside the top-five. The race finally got back to green at Lap 11 and the driver held his fourth-place position up to the next caution at lap 15. Aside from reports of a free handling Ford Mustang, Buescher was content with his ride. The team elected to stay out under caution and restarted fourth. Just before the end of stage one, Buescher got stuck in a bit of traffic that shuffled him back to seventh, which is where he took the green-white checkered flag. With his seventh-place stage finish, the driver racked up his seventh top-10 stage finish of the season, his fifth in the last eight races.  

The Prosper, Texas native elected to pit under the stage break at lap 32 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. After restarting 24th, the driver worked his way up to 18th before the caution waved at lap 39. Buescher reported that his No. 17 machine was free handling and worse in traffic, but the team elected to stay out. The driver restarted 12th but drew the fifth caution of the race after hitting the wall and spinning. Heavy damage was reported to the tv panel and bumper cover of the No. 17 Ford. The team got to work with multiple pit stops to assess and fix damage but got caught two laps down when the race went back to green. Buescher finished stage two 35th and three laps down after pitting during the last few cautions of the stage.

The goal for the final stage of racing in Pennsylvania was to try to get some laps back while continuing to work on the damage from stage two. The No. 17 team pitted at the stage break to for more tires, fuel and damage assessment. The team restarted 35th, still three laps down. Hoping for some good luck, the team carried on as usual and held track position. With 35 to go, Buescher reported that he had a tire down. The team pitted for four tires and fuel but lost another lap. As the body repair began to fall apart, the driver experienced tire rub and ultimately finished 36th, five laps down.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to action Sunday, July 5 for the iconic Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Race coverage begins at 4 p.m. EST on NBC, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and SiriusXM Channel 90.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
POCONO RACEWAY
POCONO DOUBLEHEADER
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 27, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
11th MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE
14th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
17th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE
18th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
19th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2nd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
3rd Aric Almirola (Ford)
4th Christopher Bell (Toyota)
5th Kyle Busch (Toyota)

The NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader race weekend at Pocono Raceway continues with the Pocono 350 tomorrow, June 28, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th
“We struggled today. We had a hard time making speed and tried to salvage what we could there at the end. We started gaining more speed as the car tightened up by the end of the race. We’ll make some changes for tomorrow and see what we can do then.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“I’m not really sure what went wrong with the handling on our Monster Energy Camaro? The track changed dramatically for us. We were pretty good the first half of the race, before the car started handling really tight on the exit of the corners. The second half was not so good for us with the handling and track position. We’ll turn it around and work for a better result tomorrow”.

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th
“We finished 19th today. Not what we wanted. Lost our track position in the middle of Stage 2 when the caution fell. It stunk. We were running eighth, and hoping it would go green and cycle out, but it didn’t. Nineteenth is what we had. I want to recognize all the farmers with American Ethanol. They’re the true backbone of America. I’m proud to race for them and all the ethanol producers across the country, so thank you guys for all your support. Tomorrow we start second and hopefully we can turn that into a solid run for all the RCR fans out there.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 22nd
“Well, that was a whole bunch of nothing. We didn’t really hit on much all day. On the tight side; just could never get the front end to work. The guys did good trying to figure out something on our No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, it just wasn’t enough. We tried to pull some strategy there at the end, and just didn’t have enough raw speed to dial ourselves out. So, all-in-all, I’m proud of the efforts. We just kind of swung for the fences but didn’t really hit anything good. We know what not to do for tomorrow. We’ll come back way better with a totally different package. I had a good debrief with the guys, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings for us starting in the 22nd-place. We missed that invert spot by two; stayed on the lead lap almost by a lap. But all-in-all it’s good to come out of there with a clean car. A lot of people had a bad day, so we capitalized. On to tomorrow.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 26th
“Our GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast and handled well through the corners, but something was wrong under the hood. Our car just didn’t have the speed on the straightaway and it hurt our momentum. We started the race really tight, but Matt (Borland) made a big adjustment on the first stop which helped the balance. My Germain Racing guys will try to figure out what was wrong tonight, so it doesn’t hinder us tomorrow.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 27th
“That is not the way we wanted to end the race. We had a good run going and were going to end up top 10. The No. 2 got into us there at the end and we cut a tire. Definitely don’t have the finish to show how our day was going, but we will be back tomorrow with a new car.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 30th
“The Caterpillar Chevrolet was really fast today at Pocono Raceway, and I think we showed that. We had good speed at the start of the race but we were involved in a wreck at the end of Stage Two that put us two laps down and changed the course of our race. From then on out, it was all about finishing and earning maximum points. I have to thank my guys for their hard work and making repairs so I could finish the last stage. We kept after it as a team and finished all the laps, trying to maximize on as many points as we could. We will regroup and be ready for round two tomorrow. Thank you to Caterpillar and the Cleveland Brothers for their support. We will definitely be ready to go tomorrow.”

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.

FOUR TOYOTAS IN THE TOP SIX AT FIRST CUP SERIES RACE AT POCONO
Hamlin runner-up, Bell finishes a career-best fourth

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 27, 2020) – Denny Hamlin (second), Christopher Bell (fourth), Kyle Busch (fifth) and Martin Truex Jr. (sixth) led Toyota with top six finishes in the Pocono Organics 325 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Pocono Raceway
Race 14 of 36 – 325 miles, 130 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Aric Almirola*
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
5th, KYLE BUSCH
6th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
28th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
35th, TIMMY HILL
38th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What more did you need in the closing laps to catch Kevin Harvick?

“Obviously a fast FedEx Camry. I don’t know if more time would have helped, but I had a bad vibration there the last 15 (laps) and that kind of hampered our efforts coming to the front there. Not sure what it was, but it was really, really bad and we just did all we could to run him (Kevin Harvick) down and that’s all we had.”

What do you need tomorrow that might have been missing today?

“We don’t need anything. We have a race-winning car, just finished second today.”

How severe was the vibration?

“It was bad, it was like someone loosened all the nuts on the car. It was unfortunate. We got there and we came there from a long way back and had a strong FedEx Camry. With about 15 or 20 (laps) to go, the vibration just got really, really bad and still would have been tough to pass him (Harvick), even though we got there, it was going to be tough to get around him. Our car was extremely, extremely fast. Optimistic for tomorrow’s race for sure.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 95 Rheem Toyota Camry, Leavine Family Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

What does it mean to score a top-five finish this afternoon?

“We seemed to be really fast in turn one, that’s kind of where I could make all my moves at. Just have to work on turn three a little bit and see how tomorrow goes.”

Were you paying attention to the strategy or did you just have to trust in your crew chief?

“Whenever I started working with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) two years ago in the Xfinity Series, well even before that, I started following him and I knew he was really aggressive on strategy to get his driver up front. Seems like the majority of the race tracks that we’ve been to the last couple weeks have just been, put four tires on and go, but Pocono is definitely a place where you can mix up strategy, pit early, pit before the stages and so forth. Obviously, Jason did a great job and got us up front and we had the car speed to stay up there.”

From 36th to a career-best fourth, talk about the run today at Pocono Raceway.

“Yeah, it was a great day. I was really happy with our Rheem Camry. It took me a little bit to get up to speed with obviously not having practice in my first race in a Cup car here, but by the end I was really happy with the car. Everyone did a great job here on this 95 group; we executed and ended up upfront.”

With as good as car as you had today, how excited are you to get back on track tomorrow?

“I’m looking forward to see if we can build on it. I think all of our cars are really good. We are close to winning, so hopefully we can continue to get better and see if we can move up a little further tomorrow.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Mini’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Describe your race and what more you needed to get to the front today.

“Our M&M’s Mini Toyota Camry was pretty decent. We had some speed and there were laps that I could run with the 11 (Denny Hamlin), but the 11 could just do it lap after lap after lap where I was pushing everything I had to keep up with him there. I just couldn’t do it. I would make the tires mad and would start to fall back. We were just a little tight all day. We really fought tight early on, but we made some really good adjustments and got it a lot closer and got it a lot better. Our strategy there worked out to get us in the top-five, that was about all we could ask for out of today. We got some really good ideas for tomorrow hopefully that will help us out and hopefully get us some speed so we can keep up with those front guys.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

You had a strong car early in the race, but looked like a vibration hampered you in the closing laps?

“We started in a decent spot and lost some spots early. I thought we had a pretty decent SiriusXM Toyota early on and kind of had to do a little different strategy there. Stage one didn’t look too good, but I felt like we were pretty close with the car. We made some adjustments and got some track position through stage two, so we were able to get some decent stage points there. We were in a decent spot again towards the end and got a really bad vibration, so I was a little concerned that we were going to have a tire issue or something. Luckily, it held on and it wasn’t a great finish by any means, but a solid finish for sure and something we can work on for tomorrow.”

Do you feel the car is in a good place for tomorrow’s race?

“I think we’re close. I think if we can make a few of the right changes, we can be really strong. At one point in the race, I felt like we were really close and I got a little damage on the right side on a restart when I got squeezed a little bit off of turn one and scraped the fence. That definitely hampered us the second half of the race. I think if we can fix that and make a few of the right adjustments, hopefully we can gain on it. I think tomorrow is going to be a whole different ballgame with us being the third race of the day and the sun is probably going to be out or at least they’re calling for that. We expect warmer temperatures and different track conditions. That plays into things.”

Does it feel odd doing two Cup races in two days?

“Yeah, it does for sure. This whole deal has felt weird – just showing up to the track with no practice and just sort of winging it has felt strange. At this point, we’ll pretty much do whatever everybody wants to do and we’ll make it work. I feel good and it was a nice, cool day here at Pocono. This is generally not a highly physical race track, it’s more mental. I think everybody is in pretty dang good shape after today and ready to roll tomorrow.”

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2020
POCONO ORGANICS 325 – POCONO RACEWAY

KEVIN HARVICK GRABS FIRST EVER POCONO WIN, EIGHTH WIN FOR FORD OF 2020 SEASON

• Kevin Harvick won his third race of the season and 52nd of his Cup career today.
• The win is Mustang’s eighth of the season, most among manufacturers.
• Harvick is now 12th on the all-time win list, two behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty for 11th.
• This marks the 22nd win for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining Ford (Harvick has won 17).
• Today’s win is Ford’s 694th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
1st – Kevin Harvick
3rd – Aric Almirola
7th – Clint Bowyer
8th – Michael McDowell
9th – Brad Keselowski
10th – Chris Buescher
12th – Ryan Blaney
13th – Matt DiBenedetto
15th – Ryan Newman
16th – Cole Custer
23rd – Corey LaJoie
24th – John Hunter Nemechek
31st – JJ Yeley
36th – Joey Logano
37th – Joey Gase

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Head for the Mountains Ford Mustang — Finished 1st

“I just gotta thank everyone on this Busch Beer Ford Mustang. We weren’t where we needed to be to start the race and lost a bunch of track position but we came back and made some great strategy calls to get in clean air and get out front and make some good laps. It is great to finally check Pocono off the list. Everybody at Stewart-Haas racing has done such a great job with all our cars over the last several years. I guess it takes special paint schemes to get to victory lane. I want to say hi to my family. I know Keelan raced all day and Delana and Piper and everybody at home. I am really proud of everybody and I am just glad it didn’t rain all day.”

YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO GO BACK TO BACK FOR THE SEVENTH TIME IN YOUR CAREER. SIZE UP TOMORROW STARTING 20TH: “Well, we were back to 20th today> I think in the end it will come down to strategy. I gotta thank everybody from Mobil 1, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Jimmy Johns, Fields, everybody from Haas that puts this car on the racetrack. I wish I could explain to everybody how hard the guys and gals are working in the shop right now with this schedule and everybody broke up. We appreciate all you guys. Thank you to all the fans. I wish you were here. This isn’t near as exciting. I feel like I am my seven year old. I have all this pent up energy and am going to just share with nobody.”

IT HAS TO BE GREAT TO FINALLY CHECK THIS RACETRACK OFF: “Yeah, it really is. I have to thank everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for all the great cars they have given me through the years. We finished second a bunch of times here. I know that they wanted to win here as bad as everyone else so we could stop answering the questions. The PR guy isn’t going to know what to do now. He will have to come up with a new title for the Pocono lead ins. I want to thank everyone from our Head to the Mountains Busch Beer Ford Mustang and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing. Everybody has put a lot of time and effort into week after week and working their guts out at the shop just to get these cars tot he track and we appreciate that.”

LAP 95 YOU CAME DOWN PIT ROAD WITH A QUICK TWO-TIRE PIT STOP. WHEN DO YOU KNOW, AS A DRIVER, WHEN THIS WORKED OUT? “I knew when we came out of the pits and they told me how big of a lead we had. I saw the 11 come out of the pits and he was in second. I knew that the tire gap was going to be a little less. He caught us a little in traffic but I knew I could be pretty patient with the gap we had. As I started to see everything cycle out and see with the track position we had with the fresher tires you could kind of start to put it together in your mind as we started to run through the last stage and cars started to have to pit. Just a great call by Rodney Childers and aldl the guys up on the pit box for having the right strategy and getting us to victory lane.”

WAS IT STILL MANAGING THAT DISTANCE OR LAP TRAFFIC OR WHAT THAT CLOSED THE GAP? “I just caught a couple of lap cars in the wrong spots going in the corner and messed up my entry and lost some of my momentum down the straightaway and you lose a second there and then you do that two laps in a row and there goes the lead. It definitely got closer than it needed to.”

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR TOMORROW? YOU HAVE A RACE WINNING CAR. HOW DO YOU APPROACH THIS? “I think we can make oru car quite a bit better. We kind of crutched it today to get the problems that we had. I think there are a lot of problems we can fix on it and make it better. Hopefully we can do that. Sometimes it goes the opposite way and you think you can make it better and it slows down. We will find out when they drop the green flag tomorrow.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Vote For Bacon Ford Mustang — Finished 3rd

“Bugga and I talked about it coming here. This was a great opportunity to score a lot of points with a double header. If you unload and you have a good car in the first race, you have an opportunity to score a lot of point in two days. Our Smithfield Ford Mustang was really, really fast. We opted to score a lot of points and that probably hurt us on strategy a little bit> I am proud of Bugga and these guys. They have been bringing some awesome race cars. I felt like we were tit for tat with the 4 when we were on older tires there and in clean air. I am proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and Roush Yates engines and Ford Performance and everybody that helps this program out. We are just trying to keep the momentum going. Three top five’s in a row. I am really proud of my race team.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Western Star/Alliance Auto Parts Ford Mustang — Finished 9th

FROM WHERE YOU STARTED TO WHERE YOU FINISHED, WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT WILL HELP TOMORROW? “We didn’t start where we wanted to but we adjusted really well and I thought by the end we were one of the best cars. It was incredibly difficult to pass. I caught cars that I was a second faster than and then I just couldn’t pass. It was a big track position day. I think you saw that with the guys that started up front all finished up front. We tried to make some moves to make some passes and probably caught ourselves some spots. If we rode around all day we would have maybe got two or three more spots out of it. I appreciate the fact that my team has a lot of effort and was shooting for the stars.”

HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO BUBBA AT ALL THIS WEEK AND WHAT DID YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TAKEN ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS? “Yeah, I talked to him a little before the race Sunday, or gosh, I don’t know what day it is anymore with all this rain. Whatever day it was that we raced Talladega, Monday. Yeah, I talked to him Monday before the race. I pulled into the race track and he was just finishing a workout and I told him that if he needed anything I was there for him. Other than that I didn’t have a lot to say. I feel like he has enough people in his ear he probably doesn’t need me to be bothering him. It has certainly been an interesting few weeks. It kinda feels a little like a soap opera. I am not sure if it is real or fiction. We are all just trying to get through it and keep our own lives going at the same time, which is a challenge.”

HOW WOULD YOU SAY THE LAST MONTH OR SO BEING QUITE EVENTFUL OFF THE TRACK FOR THE SPORT COMPARES TO ANY OTHER TIME YOU CAN REMEMBER IN YOUR CAREER WHEN THINGS WERE HECTIC THAT DIDN’T HAVE TO DO WITH THE RACE TRACK? “I don’t know that there has been any time period like this that I can ever remember but my memory ain’t so great either, to be honest with you. It feels like a soap opera with the turn of events left and right and it is almost not even believable. But it is real and happening and we are all trying to do the right thing by each other and the sport and the fans. I think we are doing that. I feel good about the things we are doing but it is a flurry of emotions and obligations mixed in with rain days and delays not being able to be with your team. Everything you are operating with is partial facts all the time in everything you do and it is very hard to make heads or tails of what is going on to be quite honest.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND? “I really like the schedule stuff that I have seen from NASCAR so far. I think that we are making the most of what is a really tough situation and they — I should say making the most — that is not to me at the level of praise I think they deserve. They have done it better than I ever thought they could do with this schedule. Given the COVID and the Governors and all the precautions we have to do, I challenge you to find any sport doing a better job with making this whole deal work than NASCAR right now. Has it been flawless and perfect? No. But I think that would be an unrealistic expectation. I think it has been really impressive and done really well to date. I am proud of that. They deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing with the schedule and making things happen. On top of rescheduling around tracks that are open and race shops that are closed, I feel like we have had rain for at least three-quarters of these races that has pushed our schedule around. They find a way to make it work and I have to give NASCAR a lot of credit for that.”

DO YOU FEEL SAFE COMING TO THE TRACK AND THEN GOING HOME TO YOUR FAMILY EVERY WEEK LIKE THIS? “Yeah. Everyone has their own definition of safe, right? Which is probably why you are asking my opinion. We accept risk the second we walk out of our house, everyday. It is just what level of safety – what is your threshold, that is what safety is. The second you walk out of your door you are taking a chance of getting hit by a bus or meteor or whatever. It is a pretty low chance. I think getting sick is probably a higher chance than getting struck by lightning but I also am more nervous getting on an airplane and that thing running into a mountain that I am of getting COVID. Maybe that is some perspective for you. I am not saying I won’t or can’t get sick, shoot, but from a safety factor I am okay.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang — Finished 7th

“That was a struggle early today for our Mobil 1 Ford. We were really loose and in traffic we were terrible. But I think we found our direction in the last part of the race. We had a vibration late or I think we could have gotten more spots. What a swing! Johnny Klausmeier and my guys did a good job calling the race. Glad Kevin could get the win. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang — Finished 16th

“Solid day for us today. We ended up 16th and at the end, I felt we were fast enough to run up front. It’s just trying to get track position and I think I can get my restarts better for tomorrow. It was a solid day, which is what we needed. We can improve on it tomorrow. I think we have a good car and I cannot thank my guys enough. Looking forward to improving on it all tomorrow.”

LONG POND, Pa. (June 27, 2020) – A late strategy call put Ryan Newman to the point in his Progressive Ford Mustang, leading 13 laps overall at Pocono Raceway before going on to finish 15th Saturday afternoon in the first of two races in back-to-back days at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’

Fuel mileage came into play as teams had varying strategy to the end, including Newman, who turned in a long green-flag run late. The 15th-place run marks Newman’s fourth in the last six races, and second-straight at the 2.5-mile track.

Rain once again had an impact on NASCAR’s plans, this time causing a delay to start the afternoon. After an original start time of 3:30 p.m. ET, the 325-mile race got underway just before 5 p.m. ET, with Newman rolling off 13th in the Progressive Ford after the random draw.

With a competition caution falling at lap 12, Newman ran 20th while battling tight conditions before going on to finish the stage in 14th. After a fuel-only stop under the break, Newman fired off 18th. With green-flag stops underway around lap 45, crew chief Scott Graves kept Newman on track to long pit, and the strategy worked as the yellow was displayed at lap 64 for debris with Newman in eighth.

The 2003 Pocono winner restarted 15th for an 8-lap shootout to the stage two end, and finished the segment in 12th. After staying out – setting up just one remaining pit stop to the finish – Newman restarted 10th for stage three. As drivers began to hit pit road around lap 90, Newman again stayed on track, this time inheriting the lead. It would last for 13 laps, before Newman was forced to pit road under green at lap 111 for service.

From there, Newman battled in the remaining 20 laps – all of which were green – for the 15th-place run.

With 325 miles in the books, the focus shifts to a 350-mile event on Sunday, which features Newman in the Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang. Saturday’s finishing order will be inverted to determine Sunday’s lineup, meaning Newman will roll off sixth Sunday afternoon.

Coverage for Sunday’s race begins at 4 p.m. on FS1. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.