Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed to Pocono Raceway this weekend for a rare Cup Series double-header. They will run the Pocono Organics 325 on Saturday afternoon then return Sunday for the Pocono 350. Both races will be full points-paying events.

DiBenedetto has 10 career starts at Pocono but will be making his first appearance there in the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang.

“Pocono used to be one of my favorite tracks,” he said. “It’s so unique, and we used to shift gears every lap.”

These days, he said, things are different with the new handling package and its lower horsepower requirement.

“Now you get everything you can get on the restarts,” he said. “You go banzai for the first few turns, then everything single-files out.”

He said that when you’re running anywhere other than in the lead, it’s a struggle, aerodynamically speaking.

“You battle dirty air more at Pocono than at any other track except Indianapolis,” he said.

“You have to really attack the restarts. Track position means everything.

“That puts a lot of pressure on me and on the crew to execute on the pit stops and restarts.”

Pocono, with its relatively low banking and long distance (2.5 miles), offers opportunities for fuel-mileage strategies, and the Wood Brothers team historically has been adept at taking advantage of those situations.

DiBenedetto, although a newcomer to the team, is well aware of the possibilities Pocono presents.

“The track is so big and so long that you can make a green-flag pit stop and not lose a lap,” he said. “Even if the caution comes out, you can stay out and gain track position.

“And the crew can crunch the numbers and treat the races there like a road course.”

He doesn’t expect the shorter length of the races this weekend will change how teams plan their pit stops.

“I think the strategies will be the same,” he said.

And DiBenedetto said running two Pocono races in two days won’t be too physically taxing.

“That part will be fun,” he said. “The races aren’t super long. I should be able to recover physically and get rehydrated.”

The real test, he said, will be for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, which has to take the Mustang they race on Saturday and in a short time prepare in for Sunday’s race.

“That part will be a good test for our team,” he said.

There will be no practice or qualifying for either race.

The Pocono Organics 325 is set to start just after 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, with TV coverage on FOX. Sunday’s Pocono 350 is scheduled to get the green flag at 4 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.

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About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visitwww.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

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 | Pocono

The NASCAR Cup Series makes history when it heads to Pocono this weekend for two events in back-to-back days. Overall Roush Fenway has four wins and 72 top-10s at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’ Both RFR drivers have a Cup win to their credit in Pocono, with Newman’s coming back in 2003, while Chris Buescher’s lone Cup win came in the 2016 event.

Pocono Raceway (2.5-Mile)
Pocono Organics 325
Saturday, June 27 | 3:30 p.m. ET
FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Progressive Insurance Ford
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford

Pocono Raceway (2.5-Mile)
Pocono 350
Sunday, June 28 | 4 p.m. ET
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford

NASCAR Returns to Action

· NASCAR’s return to racing heads to the Pocono Mountains this weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series tackles its first doubleheader in the modern era (1972-present). The stars of the NCS will first run 325 miles on Saturday afternoon, and follow that with a 350-mile event Sunday. Overall, the 2.5-mile, three-turn track will host 1,250 miles worth of racing across four series.

· To add to the drama of the series’ first-ever doubleheader, teams will use the same car for both days unless forced to a backup car from an incident in Saturday’s event.

· The starting lineup for the first race will be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points, meaning Newman will draw for a spot in the 13-24 group. The starting order for Sunday’s race will be determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of race one.

· This weekend also picks up from the original 2020 season schedule, with the previous nine weeks shuffled around to allow for a safe return to the track.

· 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.

Talladega Recap, Pocono Preview

· Newman used his usual Superspeedway strategy Monday at Talladega, riding contently around the tail end of the pack until the last 15-20 laps. After getting inside the top-10 as the laps wound down, Newman unfortunately ran out of fuel coming to the final restart, relegating him to a 23rd-place finish.

· Buescher was in the runner-up position, pushing the No. 4 car to the finish with one to go at Talladega on Monday, before going on to finish sixth. Buescher earned two more stage points at the 2.66-mile track, and survived the chaos late for his third top-10 of 2020.

· Newman will carry the colors of Progressive Insurance in Saturday’s race. Progressive joined the RFR fold as the primary partner in Atlanta three weeks ago. Wyndham Rewards will ride with Newman for Sunday’s race, in their first as a partner with Newman – and second overall – in 2020.

· Fastenal returns to Buescher’s No. 17 Ford for both races this weekend at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’

Starting Lineup Procedures

The starting lineup for Saturday’s race will once 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. Sunday’s starting lineup will be determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of race one.

It’s Tricky, it’s Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky)
Roush Fenway Racing has run 210 Cup races at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ dating back to 1988. A Roush Fenway Ford has visited victory lane on four occasions in the Cup series, with the first coming in 2005 with Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch followed with a win in the July race of that same year, one of his three victories for Jack Roush in 2005. Three years later, Edwards found winners circle again in 2008, and Greg Biffle carded the organization’s most recent win at the 2.5-mile track back in 2010.

Runner-Up

Roush Fenway has finished in the second position 13 times at Pocono with six different drivers. All in all, Roush Fenway has finished first or second 17 times at the triangular track.

Tale of the Tape

Overall RFR has 72 top-10 and 45 top-five results at Pocono along with three poles and the four wins. Mark Martin earned back-to-back poles in 1990 and 1991, before capturing his third in 1996.

Roush Fenway Pocono Wins

2005-1 Edwards Cup
2005-2 Busch Cup
2008-2 Edwards Cup
2010-2 Biffle Cup

POCONO RACEWAY (2.5-MILE TRIANGLE)
LOCATION: LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACES 14 AND 15 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3:30 P.M. ET, SATURDAY, JUNE 27 (FOX/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
4 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JUNE 28 (FS1/MRN/SIRIUSXM)

Chase Elliott
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 24 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia

2020 Season
4th in standings
13 starts
1 win
1 pole position
6 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
425 laps led

Career
162 starts
7 wins
9 pole positions
50 top-five finishes
82 top-10 finishes
2,269 laps led

Track Career
8 starts
0 win
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
67 laps led

OUT FRONT: In the first 13 races of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Chase Elliott has led a total of 425 laps – the third-highest in the series. He needs 177 more to surpass his Cup Series career-high of 601 laps led.

TRENDING UPWARD: Elliott, the driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, continues to lead all Cup drivers with five stage wins, 143 stage points and a series-best 7.39 average running position. His 11 races led are tied for the most in the series.

THE STREAK CONTINUES: Elliott is tied with Joey Logano for the longest active streak of consecutive races led with eight. It is Elliott’s longest career stretch of races with laps led.

TOP-10 TRACK: As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for a weekend doubleheader, Elliott currently holds six top-10 finishes at the “Tricky Triangle,” which tie his results at Dover for the second-most total top-10s he has at any track.

NO STRANGER TO POCONO: Elliott has made eight Cup Series starts at Pocono and collected two top-five finishes. His lone NASCAR Xfinity Series race there came in 2018 when he started 10th and notched a runner-up finish in the 100-lap event. In his first of two ARCA Series starts at Pocono, Elliott started 32nd and went on to lead 21 laps before earning his first career ARCA win in June 2013.

NAPA DOES THE DOUBLE: The familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme will return to the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for both races this weekend at Pocono Raceway. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for a total of 26 NASCAR Cup Series races this year.

ENGINE, ENGINE NO. 9: This weekend, Elliott could become the third driver to win at Pocono with the No. 9 car. The iconic number is currently tied with the Nos. 2 and 24 for third for the most victories at the track with six. Elliott’s father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, garnered five of those wins and Kasey Kahne collected the most recent victory in the No. 9 in June 2008. Only the Nos. 11 and 88 have more Pocono wins.

GUSTAFSON AT THE ‘TRICKY TRIANGLE’: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson has called 30 races from atop the pit box at Pocono, and he will add two more to his resumé this weekend. In his previous starts at the 2.5-mile triangle with five different drivers (Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch), Gustafson has collected two wins (with Gordon in June 2011 and August 2012), seven top-five finishes and 17 top-10s.

HOME SWEET HOME: As the Cup Series heads north for the Pocono doubleheader, there are two members of the No. 9 team who call the Keystone State home. Car chief Matt Barndt hails from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and primary truck driver Heath Edler is from Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

PIT CRUISING: Among the teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, the No. 9 pit crew ranks second in best average time for four-tire stops at 13.96 seconds through 13 races in 2020.

BEHIND THE 9: 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 can 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 tire changer Chad Avrit.

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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
13 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
26 laps led

Career
85 starts
0 wins
5 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
21 top-10 finishes
320 laps led

Track Career
4 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
3 top-10 finishes
35 laps led

SHIFTING MOMENTUM: While the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season may not have started like William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team hoped, they have diligently worked to build positive momentum. During the first seven races this year, Byron had one top-10 finish, three top-15s and led four laps en route to an average finish of 22nd. In the last six races, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has collected three top-10s, five top-15s and led 22 laps, all while holding a 13.5 average finishing position. Even with the unfortunate luck early this season, Byron is sitting 14th in the driver point standings compared to 15th at the same point in 2019.

KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE: Byron has one of the best chances to capitalize on this weekend’s doubleheader at Pocono Raceway, which is one of his best tracks on the NASCAR circuit. Byron is riding a streak of three consecutive top-10 finishes at the “Tricky Triangle” dating back to the July race during his 2018 rookie season. This three-race top-10 stretch is the longest for Byron at any track. The third-year driver is tied for second on the list of longest active top-10 finishes at Pocono behind Kyle Busch who has seven consecutive top-10 results there.

PREVIEWING POCONO: In his four Cup Series starts at Pocono, Byron has one pole award coming in the June race last season, as well as one top-five finish and three top-10s. He led 35 laps in two of those events. With a personal track-best finish of fourth during his last trip to Pocono Raceway, Byron holds a 9.25 average finish, which ranks second-best all-time behind Erik Jones, who has an 8.33 average.

PAST POCONO WINNER: Byron isn’t a stranger to victory lane at Pocono. After starting from the pole in 2016, he dominated the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race, leading 44 out of 60 laps before capturing the checkered flag.

NO TRICKING KNAUS: Making his 38th and 39th starts as a Cup Series crew chief at Pocono Raceway, Chad Knaus leads active Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs in best finishes there. With three wins at the 2.5-mile triangular track, Knaus swept both races in 2004 and captured the win again from the pole in the spring of 2013 with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team. Last year, he called the shots for Byron during their first two trips together to Pocono. In June, the duo captured the pole position, led 25 laps and scored a ninth-place finish. Despite starting at the rear of the field in late July, Knaus and Byron utilized pit strategy to put the No. 24 in contention, scoring a fourth-place finish.

AXALTA’S HOMEBASE: Byron has extra motivation during this weekend’s doubleheader at Pocono Raceway, racing in primary sponsor Axalta’s backyard. With its headquarters located less than 100 miles from the “Tricky Triangle” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third-year driver will pilot the iconic Axalta flames for both races this weekend. In 2020, Axalta is the 22-race majority partner of the No. 24 team. The company’s relationship with Hendrick Motorsports was recently extended, taking one of the most enduring partnerships in sports through 2027.

DISHING ON ‘DEGA: Despite having a weather-postponed race and starting at the tail end of the field at Talladega Superspeedway due to inspection issues, Byron wasted little time making it into the top-five running order – five laps to be exact. With weather looming during the Monday event, Byron showed his drafting prowess by running within the top 10 for the majority of the race, including leading 11 laps. Getting shuffled out of line with less than 30 laps to go, he tried to fight his way back to the front, ultimately scoring a personal track-best finish of 11th at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

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 Camaro 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 qualifying race by winning one of the race stages or receiving the coveted fan vote. Fans can place their vote once per day with votes shared on social media counting double at NASCAR.com/fanvote until noon 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
11th in standings
13 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
99 laps led

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

Track Career
36 starts
3 wins
4 pole positions
11 top-five finishes
20 top-10 finishes
743 laps led

THREE-TIME WINNER: Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is the proud winner of three NASCAR Cup Series events at Pocono Raceway. He swept back-to-back races in the summer of 2004 and won again in 2013. The only other Hendrick Motorsports driver who has more Pocono victories than Johnson is NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, who won six times in the Keystone State. Ironically, Gordon secured his 84th points-paying win at Pocono Raceway in June of 2011. Johnson currently has 83 career victories.

LEADING THE WAY: Of the 13 races run this year, Johnson has led laps in six of them for 99 total laps. Johnson needs 73 more laps led in 2020 to lead more than the prior two seasons combined.

LAST WIN AT POCONO: Johnson’s last win at Pocono came on June 9, 2013, when the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE dominated the 400-mile event by leading 128 of 160 laps.

START-FINISH LINE: In addition to other accolades Johnson will receive throughout the weekend, Pocono Raceway will paint the El Cajon, California, native’s name on the start-finish line in honor of his three wins at the track and in appreciation and recognition of the seven-time champion’s successful career as he races on the Pocono asphalt for the final time.

ROCK AND ROLL: Pocono has many iconic, quirky characteristics. One of the most popular attributes is how the track has commemorated many of the greatest race car drivers across the history of the track in stone as guarding the entrance to the driver/owner motorhome lot and media center in a series of large rocks painted in black and gold. The rocks bear the names and car numbers of iconic drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and the late Doc Mattioli, the founder of Pocono Raceway. This weekend, in honor of Johnson’s final events, the track has added a rock with the No. 48 in Johnson’s honor.

LEGACY GIFT: The Mattioli Foundation, in conjunction with Pocono Raceway, have established the Jimmie Johnson Legacy Scholarship for students pursuing professional skills at the Monroe Career & Technical Institute (MCTI), a Bartonsville, Pennsylvania-based learning institution. This scholarship recognizes and celebrates the achievements of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson. The Jimmie Johnson Legacy Scholarship will provide $4,800 to students at MCTI for the next 23 years – the number of seasons in which Johnson has competed in at least one NASCAR-sanctioned race. Those eligible to receive portions of this scholarship include students who have demonstrated professional skills throughout their time at MCTI.

SEMIFINALISTS ON DECK FOR JJ FOUNDATION: The Jimmie Johnson Foundation has selected 10 Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope semifinalists and the public vote is open from now until June 30. The five semifinalists who garner the most votes will each receive a $25,000 grant, a Blue Bunny Ice Cream party and will have their logo featured on Johnson’s helmet during the race at Dover International Speedway. To vote, go to www.JimmieJohnsonFoundation.org.

DOG DAYS OF ‘DEGA: Although the finish of 13th at Talladega wasn’t what Johnson and the No. 48 Ally Racing team expected after they positioned themselves at the front of the pack with five laps to go, it solidified that the team has the speed to contend for its 84th victory. After being caught up in a spin in the final 10 miles, Johnson and crew were able to recover to a top-15 finishing position.

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Alex Bowman
No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE ​
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 27 Resides Concord, North Carolina

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

Career
166 starts
2 wins
2 pole positions
12 top-five finishes
30 top-10 finishes
855 laps led

Track Career
8 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led

SEVENTH IN ‘DEGA: After weather postponed Talladega Superspeedway to Monday, Alex Bowman rolled off the grid in eighth for the 500-mile race. The Hendrick Motorsports driver quickly got to the bottom lane in the 188-lap event to line up with his Chevrolet teammates. On Lap 46, the No. 88 machine was out front leading the field. Bowman ended up second in Stage 1 after the stage ended under the yellow flag. Battling loose conditions throughout the second stage, Bowman crossed the line in 16th after electing to save fuel at the conclusion of the segment. Crew chief Greg Ives knew that fuel mileage was key in this event, so any chance he had he brought the driver to pit road for fuel. While leading on Lap 163, Ives relayed that Bowman would be one lap short on fuel. The team decided to back off the lead in order to get better fuel mileage before the end of the race. Through a series of cautions at the conclusion of the race, Bowman crossed the line seventh.

WELCOME BACK, CHEVYGOODS.COM: The black and yellow ChevyGoods.com paint scheme featuring Adam’s Polishes will be on board Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE during this weekend’s events at Pocono Raceway. Adam’s Polishes produces high quality products for auto detailing enthusiasts. In January, Hendrick Motorsports announced its partnership with ChevyGoods.com, which includes primary sponsorship of Bowman for 26 events. Associate brands that will be featured throughout 2020 are Adam’s Polishes, NOCO and Truck Hero.

BOWMAN STATS AT THE ‘TRICKY TRIANGLE’: Bowman is set to make his ninth and 10th Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway during doubleheader events this weekend. The Tucson, Arizona, native earned his best start (10th) and best finish (third) at the track in July 2018. He has completed 99.4% of the total laps at the 2.5-mile track. Bowman has one start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Long Pond, Pennsylvania, venue, starting and finishing 10th in 2016. The 27-year-old driver also has two starts in the ARCA Series at the track in 2012, when he finished third in both events.

2020 STANDINGS: After 13 races this season, Bowman and his No. 88 team are sitting in eighth place in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. The Chevrolet driver has one win (Fontana), two top-five finishes and four top-10s. Following Monday’s event at Talladega Superspeedway, Bowman has led 381 laps in 2020 and has led laps in six out of 13 events. He has captured four stage wins thus far and has an average running position of 11.24, which is sixth in the series in 2020.

POCONO RACEWAY CREDENTIALS: Ives has called the shots for the No. 88 team at Pocono Raceway 10 times since joining the team in 2015. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s resumé includes three top-five finishes and four laps led. Ives’ best result at the track came in 2016 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished runner-up in the 160-lap event. Before moving to the No. 88 team, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team between 2006 and 2012. During that time, the driver Jimmie Johnson captured 11 top-10 finishes and one pole award at the track.

HOMETOWN TRACK: Jason Seitzinger, shock engineer for the No. 88 team, grew up in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, which is located about 70 miles from Pocono Raceway. His first job was for Penske Racing Shocks in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the parts room. Seitzinger has been with Hendrick Motorsports for 18 years.

GOOD DISCOUNTS: During the month of June, 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”). Free ground shipping is also available with offer code “FREESHIP.”

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Hendrick Motorsports

CHIPPING AWAY AT 70K: Hendrick Motorsports is quickly approaching 70,000 laps led in the NASCAR Cup Series. Its 69,820 laps led since 1984 is the all-time record and nearly 10,000 more than any other team. After 13 races in 2020, the organization has led 931 laps, which is more than it posted through 13 races in 2018 and 2019 combined. Hendrick Motorsports, which has led laps in every race this season, needs to lead 180 more laps to reach the 70,000 mark. There are 270 laps up for grabs during this weekend Pocono Raceway doubleheader.

NOT EVEN CLOSE: In NASCAR Cup Series competition at Pocono Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in wins (17), pole positions (13), top-five finishes (70), top-10s (126) and laps led. The organization’s 3,270 laps led at the 2.5-mile triangular track is nearly twice the total of the next-best team (Team Penske has 1,641).

LUCKY SEVEN: Seven different drivers have won NASCAR Cup Series races for Hendrick Motorsports at Pocono: Jeff Gordon (6), Jimmie Johnson (3), Tim Richmond (3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2), Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte and Kasey Kahne. The all-time record for different winners by a team at any Cup racetrack is eight, which was set by Hendrick Motorsports earlier this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

ON THESE DATES: The Cup Series doubleheader weekend at Pocono falls on historically successful dates for Hendrick Motorsports. The team has raced three times on June 27 and won them all: Johnson at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2010 and Gordon at Sonoma Raceway in 2001 and 1999. Hendrick Motorsports has posted one victory on June 28: Gordon at Sonoma in 1998.

12 AND COUNTING: Alex Bowman’s seventh-place performance Monday at Talladega Superspeedway extended Hendrick Motorsports’ run of consecutive Cup races with at least one top-10 finish to 12, the longest active streak. The last time the organization did not put a car in the top 10 was the 2020 DAYTONA 500 in February.

ALL-TIME NUMBERS: Since its inception in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 258 race victories, 226 pole positions, 1,081 top-five finishes and 1,861 top-10s in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led nearly 70,000 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 strategy for doubleheader at Pocono:
“So far, our prep hasn’t been any different for this weekend’s doubleheader. We ultimately want to run one car the whole weekend. I think keeping that in mind during the race on Saturday, but at the same time I don’t know that you are really going to approach it much different. You always want to try and finish, and finish toward the front, so I don’t think that is going to change. I do think track position is going to be really important with the shorter races, though, especially lining yourself up for the last stage in each event because it is going to be so short. It’s going to be hard to make up a lot of ground in a hurry.”

Crew chief Alan Gustafson on the challenges of a Pocono doubleheader:
“The doubleheader at Pocono is a bit of an unknown because we haven’t done it before. You want to go run well in the first race and not have any issues and not have any failures, damage or anything. I think that’s the biggest thing, performing well in the first race and understanding that even if it goes smooth, what parts are we going to have to change, the condition of the parts and pieces, thoroughly going over the car for the second race. That is going to be challenging. Then, if you aren’t very good in the first race, being able to adapt quickly and make the adjustments necessary to improve for the second race. There’s just not a lot of time. Those are the two things that really stand out to me. On one hand, if you run really well you want to make sure the condition of your car is good for the next day and on the other hand, if you don’t run well you want to be able to adapt and make as many of the correct adjustments as possible.”

Driver William Byron on the recent string of hot races:
“This is a good time of year in Pocono with the weather being nice. It will probably be one of the cooler race weekends we have had since we returned to racing. Every weekend has been extremely hot and we don’t typically run races in the South at this time of year. Typically, we’re up north during the months of June and July, so that’s been an adjustment.”

Byron on the Pocono doubleheader:
“I think, overall, it’s going to be a fun weekend. I really enjoy racing at Pocono. I think it’s one of those racetracks we go to that’s cool to race at but is also really tough to get around. The restarts are really difficult and usually pretty treacherous. It’s important to have good, clean and consistent restarts there. You also need a good long-run car that turns well to make speed. Now adding in back-to-back races there, I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to bring a new challenge, and I think we’re up for it. We’ve ran well at Pocono in the past, so this is a chance for us to really capitalize.”

Byron on Pocono car setup:
“I think there’s still some truth to when people say you need to have your car set up better in one corner than the others at Pocono Raceway. However, I think nowadays with the way engineering is, you have to figure out how to make it work in all three corners pretty well more than you used to. You have to be close to exceptional in all three turns to be competitive, but I think Turn 3 is the most important, personally. The way that corner is and how difficult it is for the majority of the field, you want to be better there than everyone else. I always look at racetracks and try to see where the majority of the field will be weak, and usually the best cars throughout the race excel in those areas of weakness. With that being said, I think the saying still holds true today with the three corners and having to be good at one end over another.”

Crew Chief Chad Knaus on his attitude toward a doubleheader:
“I’m excited for the doubleheader and the challenges it’s going to bring. I do think though that with us in a new normal of no practice and no qualifying that it almost makes this weekend’s doubleheader a bit easier. We don’t have to worry about the mileage on pieces and parts of the car as much as we would have. Of course, there will be some parts of the car that we’ll go over more closely no matter what just because of how rough Pocono is and the amount that these bodies shift over bumps. I think the biggest challenge will be the strategy aspect not just for the best outcome on Saturday but to set yourself up for a good result in Sunday’s race as well. Honestly though, I’m just really excited to get to the track and see how this whole thing works out. Pocono is a track I love going to and has always been one of my favorites.”

Driver Jimmie Johnson on racing two races in one weekend at Pocono:
“A doubleheader at Pocono will require some stamina. I’m seeing that my physical fitness focus is really paying off during these races that are on top of one another and the work I’ve done to stay fit really is paying off. When it comes to the track itself, Turn 3 is the most important and difficult one to get right. A small mistake in Turn 3 can really hurt you down the front stretch. The restarts are nutty and then everyone divebombs into Turn 1, it’s quite crazy at times.”

Crew chief Cliff Daniels on being prepared for Pocono’s races:
“Going to Pocono this weekend for the doubleheader is going to present some new and exciting challenges. I think our No. 48 team is up for it. There has been so much planning and preparation that have gone into the car for the first race and then we have a checklist of things to change over to make sure we are mechanically sound for the second race. It’s going to be pretty fun — something we have not had to do before.”

Driver Alex Bowman’s thoughts on Pocono:
“Pocono is a really fun track. It is one of my favorite tracks we go to. We are typically really fast there. This track is an interesting track because there is a big compromise in all three corners. It is definitely one of the more technical places that we go to.”

Bowman’s thoughts on the ability to pass at Pocono:
“Pocono is a tough place to pass cars. One of the keys is to qualify decent, but since we aren’t qualifying, we need to hope we get a good draw. The track is really a one-groove track, and since it doesn’t widen out a lot, it is tough to get by cars. Hendrick Motorsports is building some fast cars right now and I know when we go to Pocono this weekend, that is what we will have.”

Crew chief Greg Ives on preparing for a doubleheader weekend:
“The Pocono doubleheader will be the first for the Cup teams, so there is a lack of knowing how it all will play out. The Xfinity cars did have a doubleheader at Homestead a few weeks ago, so we are able to pull from JR Motorsports’ experience there. When preparing you have to assume the worst scenarios so that you have what you need on the hauler. Experience is always the best knowledge when approaching these types of races, and we are getting a condensed course on that as it unfolds. As we have seen with the weather lately, that always can take your plans and make you adjust quickly.”

Team: No. 6 Progressive Insurance Ford Mustang / No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: Saturday: 325 miles, 130 laps, Stage Lengths: 25-42-53
Sunday: 350 miles, 140 laps, Stage Lengths: 30-55-55
Pocono Organics 325 – Saturday, June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
Pocono 350 – Sunday, June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

NASCAR Returns to Action

· NASCAR’s return to racing heads to the Pocono Mountains this weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series tackles its first doubleheader in the modern era (1972-present). The stars of the NCS will first run 325 miles on Saturday afternoon, and follow that with a 350-mile event Sunday. Overall, the 2.5-mile, three-turn track will host 1,250 miles worth of racing across four series.

· To add to the drama of the series’ first-ever doubleheader, teams will use the same car for both days unless forced to a backup car from an incident in Saturday’s event.

· The starting lineup for the first race will be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points, meaning Newman will draw for a spot in the 13-24 group. The starting order for Sunday’s race will be determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of race one.

· This weekend also picks up from the original 2020 season schedule, with the previous nine weeks shuffled around to allow for a safe return to the track.

· 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.

Newman Historically at Pocono Raceway

· Newman will make his 37th and 38th Cup Series starts at Pocono this weekend, a track he has an average finish of 13.1 – his third best of any track on the circuit – with one win, 15 top-10s and nine top-fives.

· Newman won from the pole back in 2003 at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’ He also finished runner-up in the spring of 2007 after starting from the pole. Dating back three events, Newman has an average finish of 12.6.

· Newman has two career Cup poles at Pocono (2003, 2007) with an average starting spot of 11.6. He has 19 top-10 starts all-time, 10 of which were inside the top five.

Scott Graves at Pocono Raceway

· Graves enters the weekend at Pocono with eight Cup starts under his belt and an average finish of 17.2. He has two top-10s and one top five.

· Graves led Daniel Suarez to the pole in the second Pocono event in 2018, before going on to finish second. He also finished seventh with Suarez in 2017. Most recently, Graves led Newman to finishes of 16th and 14th in 2019.

· He also called one Xfinity Series event at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ with Suarez in 2016, finishing ninth after starting third.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Pocono:
“This is obviously something we’ve never done before, run back-to-back races, so it’ll be interesting from a strategy standpoint. Each corner provides its own unique challenges, but the straightaways allow you to carry really good speed, which makes for fun racing. With this format, being patient will have to be part of our mindset with keeping the car clean for both days. We’re excited to welcome Progressive Insurance back to the car, and I’m personally excited for my first race with Wyndham Rewards this year, and hopefully we can come away with two solid runs for both.”

Last Time Out
Newman used his usual Superspeedway strategy Monday at Talladega, riding contently around the tail end of the pack until the last 15-20 laps. After getting inside the top-10 as the laps wound down, Newman unfortunately ran out of fuel coming to the final restart, relegating him to a 23rd-place finish.

On the Car Saturday
Progressive Insurance – who joined the fold at RFR as the primary partner in Atlanta – is back on Newman’s machine this weekend for the first race at Pocono.

On the Car Sunday
Wyndham Rewards makes its return to the No. 6 machine this weekend for the second Pocono event, and first appearance of the season with Newman. Wyndham’s first race came back in Las Vegas, when Ross Chastain filled in for Newman as part of the three West Coast races he missed following the Daytona 500. Wyndham Rewards is in its third season with the team after joining the fold with Matt Kenseth in 2018, and a 10-race program in 2019 with Ryan Newman.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts has launched its Count on Us initiative to put safety first elevating its health and safety protocols. When you stay at hotels by Wyndham like Super 8, Days Inn, and La Quinta, you’ll notice new measures in place to give you peace of mind…

· More frequent cleaning and disinfecting of high tough area

· Use of EPA approved disinfectants

· Complimentary travel-size hand sanitizer for each room

· Disinfecting wipes with your key card at check-in

· Enhanced social distancing measures in public spaces

About Wyndham Rewards

Recently named the number one hotel rewards program by readers of USA TODAY, Wyndham Rewards® is the world’s most generous rewards program with more than 30,000 hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals worldwide. Designed for the everyday traveler, members earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay and may redeem points for a wide-range of rewards, including free nights at any of approximately 9,300 hotels or tens of thousands of vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally through partnership with Wyndham Destinations (NYSE: WYND) and others. Wyndham Rewards has approximately 81 million enrolled members around the globe. Join for free today at www.wyndhamrewards.com. You’ve earned this.®

McDowell on Pocono:

“This weekend at Pocono Raceway is going to be a crazy one, for sure. I have been looking forward to the doubleheader weekend since it was fist announced and I think that holding back-to-back Cup races on Saturday and Sunday will create some really exciting racing. If you have a bad race or maybe wish that you had done something a little bit differently, drivers will have the opportunity for almost immediate redemption the following day. Most of the time, we have to wait months, if not a full year before we’re able to go back to a track and have the chance to apply what we learned during a previous race; so I think that fans are in for a real treat.”

NEMECHEK TALKS POCONO:

“I’m so ready to get back in the car after our run in Talladega. We came so close to winning and as a driver, that’s what you crave more than anything.

“Pocono is a challenging track to start with and it’s hard to get your setup right in all three corners even when you do have practice and qualifying. It will be interesting to see how everyone approaches the weekend, but our Front Row Motorsports team has done a great job getting our cars ready at the shop. Luckily, we’ll have two chances to try to get to Victory Lane.

“Death Wish Coffee is back on our No. 38 Ford Mustang for both races at Pocono. They’ve been a great partner for a long time and they’ve got some really cool contests coming out for people to win free coffee and other swag. It’s cool to see them stepping up their partnership and I’m looking forward to getting them a win this weekend.”

Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: Saturday: 325 miles, 130 laps, Stage Lengths: 25-42-53

Sunday: 350 miles, 140 laps, Stage Lengths: 30-55-55

Pocono Organics 325 – Saturday, June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
Pocono 350 – Sunday, June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

NASCAR Returns to Action

· NASCAR’s return to racing heads to the Pocono Mountains this weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series tackles its first doubleheader in the modern era (1972-present). The stars of the NCS will first run 325 miles on Saturday afternoon, and follow that with a 350-mile event Sunday. Overall, the 2.5-mile, three-turn track will host 1,250 miles worth of racing across four series.

· To add to the drama of the series’ first-ever doubleheader, teams will use the same car for both days unless forced to a backup car from an incident in Saturday’s event.

· The starting lineup for the first race will be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points, meaning Buescher will draw for a spot in the 13-24 group. The starting order for Sunday’s race will be determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of race one.

· This weekend also picks up from the original 2020 season schedule, with the previous nine weeks shuffled around to allow for a safe return to the track.

· 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.

Buescher Historically at Pocono Raceway

· Pocono marks the site of Buescher’s lone Cup win, which came back in 2016 while driving at Front Row Motorsports. After weather played a factor with 133 laps completed, NASCAR red-flagged and ultimately called the race early — giving Buescher his first-career victory in NASCAR’s top series.

· In the last two events at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ Buescher has finishes of 14th and 16th, his two best results at the track outside of his 2016 win.

· Buescher also made four ARCA Series starts at Pocono in 2011-12, recording one runner-up finish in the first, followed by a third-place run and two fifth-place finishes.

Luke Lambert at Pocono Raceway

· Lambert heads to Pocono for the 15th and 16th times as a Cup crew chief this weekend, where he has an average finish of 14.8.

· Lambert has four top-10s dating back to 2011 at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ most recently a seventh-place run with Daniel Hemric last season, a year after an eighth-place run with Ryan Newman in 2018. He also posted back-to-back top-10 runs with Newman in 2014 (seventh and eighth).

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Pocono:
“I’m excited for the doubleheader, I have been ever since it was announced. It will add something different to our sport and bring additional buzz and excitement. Unfortunately, we are not able to bring fans to experience it and get to see all the racing action that is packed into one week, but going forward (the doubleheader) is something I think that can be huge for our sport. With the differing lengths of the two races, I do not think it necessarily changes anything inside the car; we’re going to try and go as hard as we can every lap. With it being a DH, there’s that awareness factor you’re going to need to take the car into the second race and keep your starting position.”

Last Time Out
Buescher was in the runner-up position, pushing the No. 4 car to the finish with one to go at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday, before going on to finish sixth. Buescher earned two more stage points at the 2.66-mile track, and survived the chaos late for his third top-10 of 2020.

On the Car
Fastenal celebrates its 10th season with Roush Fenway Racing in 2020. The Minnesota company spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping to the No. 17 Cup Series entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

Honeywell, Rust-Oleum, Dewalt, Walter Surface and Jet (JPW) will ride aboard the No. 17 as Fastenal Racing’s featured suppliers this weekend in Pocono.

· Honeywell, now headquartered in Charlotte, will ride on the hood.

· Rust-Oleum, a manufacturer of protective paints and coatings for home and industrial use, will ride on the TV panel.

· DeWalt, an American worldwide brand of power hand tools, will ride on the deck lid.

· Walter Surface, a leader in surface treatment technologies, will ride on the lower rear quarter.

· JET, with 50 years’ experience in the industrial tool category, will be on the b-post.

About Fastenal
Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.

This Week in Motorsports: June 22-28, 2020
·         NCS/NXS/NGROTS/ARCA: Pocono Raceway – June 26-28
·         ARCA WEST: Utah Motorsports Complex – June 27

PLANO, Texas (June 24, 2020) – Four racing series take on the ‘Tricky Triangle’, while the ARCA Menards Series West returns to the track with a doubleheader in Utah.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NGROTS

Pocono Streak… It has been a great run of success for Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) at Pocono Raceway with five consecutive victories. Kyle Busch has contributed three wins, while Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin have one victory each. Last year, Busch scored the win in June by leading nearly half of the 160 laps, while Hamlin completed the season sweep by beating his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Erik Jones by less than half a second in July. Hamlin also won in a Camry at Pocono in 2009 and 2010.

First Doubleheader…  For the first time at Pocono Raceway, the NCS will run two separate events this weekend for a combined 675 miles. On Saturday, the NCS will run 325 miles, and complete the weekend on Sunday with a 350-mile, 140-lap event.

Previous ARCA Success at Pocono… Several young Toyota drivers return to Pocono as former winners in the ARCA Menards Series (AMS). NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) rookie drivers Riley Herbst (2017) and Harrison Burton (2018), along with NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) rookie Christian Eckes (2019) have driven to victories in the development series at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track .

Jones Back in a Tundra… Brandon Jones returns to the NGROTS for the first time this season as he wheels the No. 51 Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). Jones, who scored his second career NXS win earlier this season in Phoenix, is scheduled to run four NGROTS events this season for KBM. He is looking for his first NGROTS victory.

Hill Looking for His First Win of the Season… NGROTS points leader Austin Hill continues to have a solid start to the season, but is looking for his first win of the year. He is the only driver to have finished every Truck Series event in the top 10 and holds a 44-point advantage over Eckes in the series point standings.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA | ARCA West

Venturini Undefeated… So far in 2020, Venturini Motorsports has gone three-for-three in the national ARCA Menards Series schedule. Michael Self (Daytona), Chandler Smith (Phoenix) and Drew Dollar (Talladega) have scored one win each. Self leads the overall championship standings by 11 points over Dollar after starting the year with three top-five finishes.

ARCA West Returns… The ARCA Menards Series West returns on track this weekend with a doubleheader at the Utah Motorsports Complex. The series will run two events at the 2.2-mile road course with each event consisting of 30 laps. Bill McAnally Racing will field five Toyota Camrys for Lawless Alan, Holley Hollan, Jesse Love, Gio Scelzi and Gracie Trotter.

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports; Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang; and Doug Yates, CEO, Roush Yates Engines were guest on today’s Ford Performance Zoom conference call. Here is a transcript of their appearance:

MARK RUSHBROOK, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports – HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE SEASON SO FAR? “The season is going really well so far. Certainly the four races before the break that we had with our two wins out of those four races and just continuing that momentum even a little bit better for our win percentage since we’ve returned from that break. I want to commend NASCAR with everything that they have done with their leadership and partnership, including the OEMs and the other stakeholders in the sport that they’ve come back the right way in terms of what they have done with the schedule, with the way that they’re going back racing safely, taking care of people inside of the sport, taking care of the fans, and I think adjustments to the show with no practice, no qualifying other than the qualifying session for the Coke 600, other than that with no practice and no qualifying I think the racing has been fantastic. It’s a real test of the teams and they’re analytical capabilities and what we’re able to give them as tools to be able to go racing, and those races have been really good, including yesterday at Talladega. Throughout the race there was really good racing. I know I was on the edge of my seat that entire time. I loved seeing the Fords work together, especially the three Penske cars, but at the end with the Stewart-Haas cars up there, the Front Row cars and Roush Fenway, and you can’t ask for anything better than what we saw on that last restart and that last lap. That is NASCAR racing. Exciting. I’m very happy that Ryan Blaney and a Penske Ford came out on top, but fantastic for the sport to see that level of racing and passion in the racing. I’m just so excited.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MIDWEEK RACES GOING FORWARD? “It’s something that we’ve talked about as a sport with the stakeholders in the sport and NASCAR for a couple years now. Does a midweek race make sense? Is it something we want to see in the sport? We’ve always held the position that it does, that there is great potential there. As unfortunate as the situation has been this year to be in this situation that we are, that is part of what NASCAR is taking advantage of – the opportunity to try these midweek races and see how they’re working, especially a Wednesday night race at a short track like Martinsville. To me, that’s part of what the sport is all about in getting back to grassroots and really resonating with the people and putting on some great racing. I think we’re learning a lot as we go through that and looking to see how that comes across on TV and what the TV ratings are for a Wednesday night relative to a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon race. So we’re learning from that. It’s good data for us to make some decisions going forward. I am looking forward to continued discussions with NASCAR and the other OEMs of what do we think makes sense for middle of the week races like that, but, to me it looks promising so far from what we’re seeing — maybe there is a home for it in the schedule. The enabler to do it part of what we’re seeing now with the no practice, no qualifying it means fewer days at the racetrack for the weekend and the turnaround to get to that midweek race and then to turnaround again and get another weekend race – no practice, no qualifying or maybe no practice and only qualifying and the race is part of what enables the schedule to permit those midweek races like that. So, we’re learning. We’ll talk about it and see what makes sense going forward.”

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN NO PRACTICE GOING? DO YOU FEEL IT’S IMPACTED SOME TEAMS MORE THAN OTHERS? “I think we’ve seen a mix, honestly, between the different teams and between the different tracks. We’ve certainly seen an increase in the number of hours and number of trips that the teams are making to the simulator at our Tech Center in Concord to prepare for those races and that has been made available to all of our teams to get time in there. I like what it’s done to the racing, actually. You see a lot of cars that are showing up and they’re really fast as soon as they unload from lap one. We also saw at Martinsville especially, where even within the same team we saw the Penske cars at Martinsville where Joey was fast from the first lap and through the entire race and Brad and Ryan went backwards in the first session and lost a lap and fell into the mid-twenties position, but then made their adjustments led by their analytical tools and what they had seen in that first run and came back up onto the lead lap and finished in the top five. So I think it is making the racing really interesting without the practice and qualifying sessions and it’s just forcing our tools and stressing our tools to be even better than they have been in the past.”

HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DO AS AN OEM? “The pandemic has affected everybody in this world, both individually, personally and in whatever their profession may be. Certainly, with automakers when all of our production plants around the world basically get turned off on the same day or within a couple days of each other, that is our cash flow to the company. If we’re not making cars and trucks and shipping them to dealers and selling them, then we don’t have cash coming in the door. So, the company has been prepared in case something like this happens and certainly took very quick actions to address that. I’m very, very proud of our leadership with Bill Ford and Jim Hackett with the actions that they have taken with their senior management team to protect the interests of the company and the employees of the company and applaud all the steps that they have taken. We’re a family company and we reached out to our partners in racing, all of our racing teams and Doug Yates and Roush Yates as our engine builder to work through, ‘How do we get through this situation together?’ And then work with the sport so even beyond the Ford teams, ‘How do we as a NASCAR family get through this together?’ There have been a lot of discussions just with us and the Ford teams and also with NASCAR and the other OEMs to make some of these changes like the one-day shows, the no practice, no qualifying, no backup cars to enable a schedule to come back and get all the races in and to help save money for the sport where it makes sense, where there is spend that we may not be getting a good return and still the highest level of principle from NASCAR was to put on great racing for the fans, and I think we’re seeing that. So, we’re just a part of this NASCAR family and doing what we can to take care of the fans and everybody in the sport and have great racing in front of everybody.”

AS YOU LOOK AT NEXT YEAR, WHAT DECISIONS ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE? WILL FORD BE AS INVOLVED IN ALL FORMS OF MOTORSPORTS? HOW WILL YOU HAVE TO BE SMARTER IN HOW YOU SUPPORT ALL OF THE PLATFORMS UNDER YOUR UMBRELLA? “I think we’ve been pretty disciplined, at least for the last five years or more, where we are always looking at our motorsports cycle plan. Where do we race today? Where do we want to be racing two years from now, three years from now, five years from now and always looking forward to that and how do we get a maximum return out of our motorsports in terms of reaching fans to tell the story that we want to – to make sure it’s relevant to our road car cycle plan, and an opportunity for us to have the innovation and tech transfer and learning from that. So that part of it is no different today, other than the scrutiny to make sure we’re getting the return from every dollar is probably higher than it ever has been before, or at least in the last five years, so that is part of the discussions that we have internally with our motorsports steering team and governance board that we have with our racing partners, but Ford is a company founded based on motorsports with Henry Ford and Sweepstakes and their win and ultimately forming the company over 100 years ago. It’s part of who we are today, so we’re here to be in motorsports. We’re committed to motorsports and getting that learning and being able to tell our story about it. I think the OEMs and NASCAR in some sense have been taking the right steps even before the pandemic started with taking care of the fans, working to improve the racing and the project for the NextGen car, I think, is an important part of that because it’s gonna make the car even more relevant and make the racing even better, and then some cost-savings that come along with that as a benefit that’s realized at the same time and it’s coming into the sport at a time when we probably need it. So kudos to NASCAR and the other OEMs for working together as partners to deliver that car into the sport, to keep the racing great and to make it affordable in a way that we can keep doing this.”

WHAT KIND OF A CHALLENGE IS IT TO BRIDGE THE GAP OVER THE NEXT YEAR BEFORE GOING TO THE NEXTGEN CAR? “I think that NASCAR was very quick to make that decision, again, with input from the stakeholders that with this situation the development of a car in preparation to have it racing and racing successfully could not be contained for 2021, so we fully support that decision to delay it to 2022. In some ways, it actually gives us and the teams more time to do that car properly, not that it was gonna be done improperly before, but we just had that extra time so we can finish our body design, make it look great, make it perform great to pass through the aero submission. It gives the teams some extra time to reduce their inventory that they have this year and plan it out a little bit better into next year, and to make sure that it’s a smoother transition planned out a little bit more. I was certainly disappointed initially with the decision to go to ’22, but it is the right decision. We’ve got great racing and great cars in ’20 that will continue in ’21 and then get that new car on the track for ’22 and I’m looking forward to that.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PARITY WITH THE CARS NOW AND MOVING FORWARD? “I think the racing has been great and certainly different manufacturers or different teams have been faster at different tracks. I don’t know that anybody has a clear advantage, for sure, across all the different tracks and conditions that we’ve seen. There have been some really great races involving different teams and different manufacturers, so I think it’s pretty close right now and expect that will continue through this season to the championship in Phoenix and into next season with these same cars.”

IS THERE A DANGER THAT YOU MAY NOT COME OUT OF THE BOX WITH THE NEXTGEN CAR HAVING THE SAME KIND OF COMPETITION THAT’S HAPPENING NOW? “Anytime you change anything there’s a risk, no matter what it is. That’s part of what comes with change and we believe we’re doing it for the benefit of the sport, that a lot of things are gonna get better in terms of what it does specifically to the racing, from what I’ve seen in these last six-and-a-half years, we as a sport, as a manufacturer, as partners with NASCAR, we’ve learned a lot about what makes good racing and what doesn’t make good racing and you’re seeing that come together this year, that those learnings are being applied to the NextGen car as well. So our expectation is that in ’22 with the new car, the racing is gonna be just as good. If it’s not, then we’ll get together as a sport and make adjustments to it. I wouldn’t expect any big adjustments. I would expect, if anything is gonna be needed, it would be small, fine-tuning and we’d work together to make sure that happens.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – CAN YOU TALK THROUGH THE LAST LAP WHEN YOU WERE RUNNING SECOND TO HARVICK AND PUSHING HIM ON THE WHITE FLAG LAP? “Obviously, now I wish I had it to do all over again, but at the end of the day it was a really solid run for our Fastenal Mustang group. We were able to survive the thing and be in position. I haven’t gone back and watched the race. I’ve seen some of the highlights at this point and I feel like we put ourselves out there a little bit too far and from where I was sitting I was just thinking we were under heavy pressure the entire time and just pushed as hard as I could. I went up to Harvick after the race and I told him, ‘I was gonna commit to you all the way off of turn four.’ I wasn’t gonna make any promises past that point, but we didn’t quite get to that point before we ended two, three-wide and bouncing off about everybody at that point. It was a pretty wild finish. From turn three entry all the way to the checkered flag we hit more than we did the entire time, so pretty wild finish. I was happy with it. It was good for us. I want more. We want to win, but happy that we were able to get another Ford into Victory Lane with it all said and done.”

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR RETURN TO RFR HAS GONE SO FAR? “From kind of an overall look at it, I think it’s progressing really well. I think when you try and get into specifics, we definitely hoped to fire off a little bit better and be a little bit closer just based off of where the 6 car was able to run last season and make it into the playoffs, with the 17 showing a lot of speed at time, and knew that was hopeful and that it was gonna be very difficult to start up coming back to a new team with a new crew chief and not having the ability to do any testing, and then after just four races taking away all of our practice. That’s made it extremely difficult for us as a team trying to build chemistry and come together, so we’ve been put at a pretty serious disadvantage and I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to do in the last several weeks. We’ve made some huge gains that are really helping us be able to be more competitive. Martinsville was good for us. Homestead was a pretty decent day for us, and then Talladega, obviously, if you can keep it clean you can have a good day. We had a good plan from start to finish and it all worked out. There’s been a lot of good lately and I’ve just been trying to emphasize to everybody how difficult that is to build right now without any practice. The teams that have been together for several years it’s not that big a deal. They have notebooks. They have a feel or communication that’s understood between everybody in the group. You don’t have to go through this learning process, so, with that it’s made it very difficult for us, but we’ve made a lot of progress in recent weeks and I’m really proud of that and really looking forward to what we can do once we get practice back in our game plan and in our weekend schedule se we can fine-tune and start these races closer.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGERS OF THE POCONO DOUBLEHEADER? ARE YOU READY FOR IT AS A DRIVER? “I don’t think it’s gonna be that big a deal for us. You see so many drivers that will do the XFINITY race followed by a Cup race. With the length of the two races at Pocono that’s basically what we’re gonna be looking at, so it’s not something that’s gonna be completely new to a lot of people. When I ran my first Cup race I ran sixth that year with Front Row. I was running XFINITY full-time, so doing those doubleheaders on those weekends were different for me, but they were not something that just blew me out of the water. We train really hard to be in good shape and be ready for this. The hardest part about it is that training has become very difficult when I rely on Roush’s group to be able to go in and be able to stay in shape with everything that’s going on. We just haven’t been allowed to do that in the typical way, so trying to do workouts over this app and trying to do it at home has been pretty difficult from that standpoint, but now that we’re starting to get back in the shop a little bit and back in the gym I don’t feel like I’m unprepared for it whatsoever. I think it’s gonna be almost a completely non-issue.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO INDIANAPOLIS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT FACILITY WITH THE IDEA OF NO FANS BEING THERE WHAT COMES TO MIND? “From what I understand, I’ve been in a different mindset than most on the no fans predicament that we’ve been in. I notice it a lot. It’s amazing what you can hear inside the race car when we have grandstands that are packed full of people that are passionate and care about what’s going around the racetrack. It’s amazing what you can hear when their favorite driver takes the lead, or we have a big moment, or, hopefully not, big crashes. It’s amazing the energy you get from that. When you go to something as silly as rain delays, we’re well aware of what they’re like here lately, we’ve had more than we haven’t, when they come over the PA system and say, ‘Drivers back to cars,’ it’s silent now. That’s not normal. There is always that massive uproar of people that are excited that we’re going back to racing, and just all of that is gone and taken away from us. It’s unfortunate because it’s a big part of what we do. It was okay for a week or two to come in and say, ‘Man, it’s just like a big test session. There’s nobody here. We’re gonna come in. We’re gonna race and we’re gonna roll out.’ But it’s not normal. It’s not what we want. We need people here enjoying their trip to a racetrack as a vacation and a time to come out and have fun with everybody, their friends and family. It’s something that I felt has had a bigger impact on me than I guess what I’ve heard many others say.”

WHAT HAVE THE LAST FEW WEEKS OF INTROSPECTION BEEN LIKE FOR YOU WITH WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD THESE DAYS? “A lot is changing very drastically and very quickly so we’re trying to keep up with that and try and be aware and try to learn from it so we can do better. I think NASCAR has responded in a lot of big ways that have been for the better and trying to do better as a whole. I think the biggest thing I want to say and just want to keep pushing from our entire NASCAR family is that we just want this to be a place where everybody can come out and enjoy it together. The moment that we had after the terrible events at Talladega, but what we were able to do on pit road and come together and make a very powerful statement at the end of pit road that we are all in this together and that we are not going to take this. We’re better as human beings than what’s going on with all that and we just have to stay together. What is really unfortunate is with the very limited amount of fans more people could not see in person what that looks like. More people could not hear the amount of fans that were there and that were in grandstands cheering and screaming as we were rolling that car down the end of pit road with Bubba driving. I mean, it made you proud of our sport at the same time those few individuals have really tarnished it. It made us really proud as we rolled down the end of pit road that that many people were in support of trying to be better, of making sure that this is a place where everyone feels welcome and we can come race and put on a show and be a sport that people can enjoy and just get behind and have fun with and spend time with friends and family. I guess that’s the thing that I hate. When I was walking down I hated that more people were not there in person to see the positive reaction out of every single person at the racetrack yesterday. It was really amazing and made you proud that that many people can come together and do right, so we’re gonna keep working on that trying to make sure that our message is very clear as we move forward.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL HALFWAY THROUGH THE SEASON ABOUT YOUR PLAYOFF CHANCES? “I had no clue we were halfway through our regular season right now. That’s a little shock. It’s going quick and that’s another thing is everything just feels strange. You really don’t have a sense of time with how everything is going right now, but, nonetheless, we’re getting to race and getting to put on a show, so that’s good. For us and our team, we still have a shot at making the playoffs and we definitely know that. We have to do better and like I was saying a little earlier we’ve had it rough, and several teams are in a similar situation, but there are tons of others that are extremely competitive every week that have been together for a long period of time and are not having the same struggles. For us, I feel like we should be stepping our game up every week going forward right now. I think we’ve gotten a lot of the elementary stuff behind us that we had to learn as a group and being new with Luke Lambert leading the charge for the 17 group, for me not being able to go into the shop and be a lot more hands-on with everything has been very difficult. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed and pride myself in being able to know exactly what’s underneath our race cars, what’s going into it and how we’re gonna be better. With this distance it’s just made it difficult, so where we’re at we definitely have a chance to make it still. We just have to clean up. We have to keep progressing in what we’ve been able to do the last couple of weeks. If we can keep on that roll, we should have a very legitimate shot at making the playoffs. Hopefully, we take the I’ll call it the easy way out and go get a win and then it will be real easy, but we’ve got some work to do yet and we’re gonna keep chugging along here and do everything we can to make it.”

IT LOOKS LIKE A DOGFIGHT FOR THOSE LAST COUPLE OF SPOTS. IS THAT HOW YOU SEE IT? “Yeah, absolutely. It’s pretty much built its way up in that regard the entire season to date. There’s that group that’s kind of separated itself out front and then there’s a lot of cars that are very tight together, so you’re absolutely right. It’s gonna be a very difficult battle all the way to the end to try to make it into those two spots and then we always run into the predicament where somebody sneaks in and gets a win that you wouldn’t expect and shakes it all up and then you’re sitting there trying to figure out how to gain another spot when you thought you were safe. So there’s a lot that’s gonna happen between now and the cutoff. We’ve got a lot of work to try and get to the point where we feel safe, and I don’t know that we ever will without a win. You’re gonna be trying to get all you can get every week until then.”

YOU WERE A TEAMMATE TO BUBBA IN THE XFINITY DAYS. COULD YOU SEE HAVE SEEN HIM TAKING THIS ROLE BACK THEN? “Not really. Not knowing much about him or much of his career before. I guess not really at the time, but definitely been taking it and trying to do good with his place in our sport here lately. We weren’t teammates that saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things, so I’m probably not the best person to ask. It was kind of funny yesterday. We go down to the end of pit road and he turned around and he thanked everybody for participating and supporting him and everybody in trying to do better, followed by a swift, ‘I know half you all don’t like me and I don’t like you,’ but he appreciates regardless. That was kind of a funny moment out of all that was going on, but I guess back then I didn’t really see it or didn’t expect anything like this.

DOUG YATES, CEO, Roush Yates Engines – SEVEN WINS THIS SEASON. YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THINGS HAVE GONE SO FAR THIS SEASON? “I think we’re obviously off to a great start through a very strange and difficult time for everybody, but our teams have come out of the gate really strong. Team Penske made a lot of changes over the winter that are well-documented with crew chiefs and teams moving around, and that looks like it’s really paying off for them. All three of their cars have won now with Joey, Brad and now Ryan winning yesterday. And then winning at Darlington with Kevin Harvick for his 50th win was something that was really special to me and everybody at Roush Yates and Ford Performance. To be part of a milestone win like that was really great, so I think it’s been very good. I’ve been proud of all the hard work that everybody here at Roush Yates has put in through this time and everything we’ve gone through. It’s been trying. There have been a lot of late nights turning these engines around and it’s all the behind the scenes things that we don’t really get the chance to see or talk about, but there’s a lot of work here in the shop just to meet the schedule and there’s been a lot of long Friday nights – 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 o’clock Friday nights just trying to get prepared to go to the next race, but I like this schedule. I like the midweek races and without practice and qualifying it definitely makes for a different race. In my opinion, Martinsville was probably the most impacted by no practice. If you’re off a little bit there you’re lapped in a fuel run, so that was kind of interesting to see how that played out, but, so far, I’m really proud of all the work that everybody has done here at Roush Yates and all the work that Ford Performance has done and all the things we’ve done together. I think I really like our chances for the season. We’re halfway through the regular season and we’re starting to think about the playoffs and what our new specs will be when we get into the playoffs and going back to Darlington and ultimately ending up in Phoenix. So it’s a different year this year for us and those are the strategic things that we think about, I think about as an engine builder. How do we give our teams advantages to go win races and that’s what we’re working on.”

WHAT HAVE MIDWEEK RACES BEEN LIKE FOR YOU AND IF THAT CONTINUES IN 2021 IS THERE A WAY YOU’D LIKE TO SEE THEM BALANCE IT OUT SO THERE’S NOT AS MUCH STRAIN ON YOU GUYS? “For us, now that we run the races two races, so the long block basically runs two events. A lot of times when we come back and we were gonna use that, say we just raced a fresh engine on a Wednesday night race, we’ll come back and take the valvetrain apart off the engine. We’ll do inspections and get it cleaned up and ready for new valve springs and dyno and dressed for the next event, just depending on whether that’s a 750 engine or a 550 engine – basically a short track engine or an intermediate track. One of the challenges we have with the ever-changing schedule, NASCAR has done a great job – Steve O’Donnell, Steve Phelps, they’re team working together with us. They have done an excellent job of reaching out, holding meetings. The one thing for us is when they change the schedule and they have taper 550 races, a lot of intermediate track races and only a couple short track races and all of those are together, it affects our engine rotations. So, basically we have six race engines for each team, primary race engines, and those are a mix of 550-horsepower specs and 750 specs. When we get that mix kind of mixed up a little bit and it’s not spaced out it provides a little bit of a challenge just from turning those engines around to get them back to their teams to be able to get prepared to go to the next race. So the spacing of those is important and knowing the calendar ahead of that you can plan for it, but everything is changing and has been changing – for the good of course to get back to the track. I’m proud of NASCAR for getting back to the track, but the mix of those races – short tracks and intermediates – is something that’s important to an engine builder.”

675 MILES IF THERE’S NO OVERTIME THIS WEEKEND. IS THAT A BIG TEST OR WITH NO PRACTICE WOULD YOU BE CLOSE TO THAT AT POCONO ANYWAY? “When the Pocono was originally laid out we were gonna have practice and qualifying, and then two 350-mile races, which would have put us over 700, so all of our durability testing is now two races, but on the valvetrain we change valve springs after 700 miles. So if we were to go over 700 miles, we would need to change springs after Race 1 before the second race. Now that we’re not gonna have practice or qualifying, we’re gonna run both races without changing valve springs. We’ve made a pretty extensive checklist, so we’ll probably end up changing oil and checking the filters, going back through some things that you would normally do after a race event. Our team here has worked really hard and we pass that along, but at the track as you know we only have two people. We’ll have Mike Messick, who handles all 15 cars from a mechanical standpoint, and we have a calibrator that is there to help with any challenges with the EFI system, so we’re trying to limit that and all the other engine builders we’ve been talking and they have a very similar approach, but not having practice has allowed us not to have to change springs in-between the two races. So we’ll do our normal checklist and we feel pretty confident going to Pocono.”

HOW MANY BACKUP ENGINES WILL YOU BRING? “Normally, before this all happened, we would take one spare engine, one trailer spare per car. Some of the teams, if you have a four-car team, maybe we’d only take three. But, still, we would have several trailers there at the track just in case something happened during practice or qualifying, but now with no practice or qualifying we’ll take one spare per organization and some people were even questioning why we would need to do that, but if you’ve been around long enough you see strange things could happen or hopefully nothing strange like that happens, but we take one trailer spare per organization just in case something happens. It’s been a big relief for us as an engine-builder not to have to worry about practice and qualifying and all the things that could cause you to have to use a trailer spare.”

HAVE YOU BEEN TO A RACE SINCE THINGS RESTARTED? “I haven’t been to the track. Back when my dad had his team, Robert Yates Racing, I went to every race. I was the trackside tuner. I carried tires. I changed tires and all those things, and that was a lot of fun. Through the years I’ve kind of been pulling back some and last year I went to 20 races and Daytona. I don’t think I’ve missed a Talladega. I can’t remember when I missed a Talladega race and obviously Michigan, which is a huge race for us. I told my wife Saturday morning, I woke up and I said, ‘Man, this just does not feel right. I really miss being at Talladega.’ I love that track. There are a lot of special memories for myself and my family. I actually texted Mike Helton. I said, ‘Man, I didn’t miss going to a couple of these tracks, but I really miss going to Talladega.’ So it felt really strange this weekend. For me, my dad’s first win as a car owner was there in 1989 with Davey Allison. Davey’s first win in ’87. My dad’s last win as a car owner was there with Dale Jarrett in October 2005. Now we’ve won nine of the last 10 races. I take a lot of pride in that. I know everybody here at Roush Yates does and I know Ford Motor Company loves racing there and all of our teams want to go there and win races. It’s a special place and another thing that makes it special is I want to say congratulations to Red Farmer. I think that’s so awesome that Red is in the Hall of Fame. Red used to test our car when Davey didn’t test. Red would test for us and we would go to Talladega and just run and run and run. When we tested at Talladega it was usually for three days. It was a bit like an Allison family reunion, so I consider myself an extended member of the Alabama Gang and I was really happy for Red and just proud of him. That’s a long-winded answer, but, yes, I did miss going to Talladega and I can’t wait to get back to the track and see our success. My wife and I, we left work and ran home and we were watching the race. We’re obviously a big racing family and she said, ‘Ricky won.’ I said, ‘Oh, no. Blaney won. Blaney won.’ I almost jumped. That whole last green-white-checkered I was sitting on the couch and I got up and I was going just like if I was at the racetrack. My dad had a thing when we were on the pit wall if you were looking back the other way he would come and say, ‘Hey, buddy. The race is out there.’ And made sure you were paying attention, but what a race and what a finish and what a really special weekend – a tough weekend, but I’m just proud of NASCAR and proud to be part of it.”

SPECULATING HERE BUT WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES ARE PRESENTED IF THERE ARE DOUBLEHEADERS AT MICHIGAN AND DOVER? “Michigan is probably similar to Pocono in some ways. It’s the same engine spec. We’ve raced these engines multiple races. It’s a 550-horsepower event, so we feel pretty good about going to Michigan, but Dover presents a challenge because it’s a 750-horsepower engine and to run that two consecutive races — the valvetrain is totally different, the cam design is different. Obviously, you’re making more power, so that’s gonna be a little bit tougher for us. I’m a little bit more nervous about a doubleheader at Dover than the other tracks. Dover is a long race no matter what and it’s also a race where on a green track you turn a lot of RPM and as the lap times fall off the RPM comes way down, so when we go there to qualify or when we used to qualify we would turn 9500 RPM on Friday in qualifying, but during the race you’re about 9000 RPM, so it’s a big swing. Conditions change a lot, so I think Dover is the one that makes me nervous and obviously we’ll do our homework and prepare, but just something to look out for and it is a different track.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ENGINES? “I think when all this happened our world obviously changed, everybody is adjusting to a new normal. There was a discussion of perhaps a new engine on the table. That’s about a 36-month timeline to go from a clean sheet of paper to a completely new engine, so that has been pushed back. But the biggest thing on the horizon for engines is hybrid. Hybrid powertrains. So basically implementing an electric motor, recovering energy from braking and putting that back into the driveline to be a power adder. I know that Ford is very interesting in that technology. It’s in a lot of production car we build and it’s something that racing has always been a platform to prove out OEM products. First it was engines, cars, now even more advanced powertrains – all the things we do with simulation and simulators – so the next thing in our world that’s coming in the next probably two to three years is hybrid powertrains. It’s something that I’m excited about as an engine-builder. It’s something that I believe if you are an engine-builder, an engine supplier, almost every series we race sometime in the near future is gonna have a hybrid component. I think that’s exciting because whether you deploy it for push-to-pass, whether you use it save fuel, whether you use it to go down pit road, I think all those things are to be determined, but other series are looking into this. The IMSA Series, or course led by Jim France and his crew there are looking at it. I think that will be a component in NASCAR in years to come. It will be something we’ll be talking about and it should be exciting and relevant and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

BUT WE’LL ALWAYS NEED THE ROAR OF AN ENGINE, RIGHT? “Exactly. Ford challenged us to do social media posts and me being an engine-builder and not a superstar driver, I got the most attention when I went to the place where all of my dad’s trophies and pictures are. Hopefully some of you guys saw this, but I took a car that Jack Roush ran at Phoenix. It was a Robert Yates Tribute car. Ricky Stenhouse ran it. I took it outside. Jack gave it to me. We put an engine in it. I took it outside, cranked it up, revved it up. Man, that was the best feeling and the best sound ever, so, absolutely. I love the sound of it. I think the fans love the sound of it. When you go to Talladega and you hear those cars and you hear them coming, I mean 40 of those cars together is something really special. I think what we’ve got to make sure that we’re really careful, and I know all of you guys have responsibility of how you report things and how you say things, but when you say hybrid that is still today’s internal combustion engine coupled with electrification. It’s not full electric. This is a combination of the two, which you get the best of both worlds. It’s something where there are a lot of unknowns. It’s still new technology. How are we gonna race with that? It’s not new to street cars. Some of you probably own hybrids today. Some of you may own the other things, but hopefully you own a Ford whatever you do. Everybody knows that Ford stands for First On Race Day. Edsel would say, ‘Just win.’ And that’s his famous thing that his dad, Henry II, started back when they won Le Mans, but we want to be production relevant. We’ve got to keep these manufacturers involved. Thank you for all you do to support that and I appreciate your questions.”

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: POCONO ADVANCE

A doubleheader is on tap for the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend at Pocono Raceway with a 325-mile race scheduled for Saturday and a 350-mile event on Sunday.  In addition, the NASCAR RV & Gander Outdoors Truck Series (Saturday) and NASCAR XFINITY Series (Sunday) will also be in action.  Here’s a look at some Ford notes and highlights heading into Pocono.

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT POCONO
·         Ford has 23 all-time series wins at Pocono.
·         The last two Ford wins at Pocono have been by first-time series winners – Chris Buescher (2016) and Ryan Blaney (2017).
·         Bill Elliott got Ford’s first series win at Pocono in 1985 (season sweep).

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT POCONO
·         Ford is the first manufacturer with multiple Pocono wins in the series.
·         Ford has 2 victories in 4 all-time series starts.
·         Those victories have been by Brad Keselowski (2017) and Cole Custer (2019).

FORD IN THE GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT POCONO
·         Ford has 1 series win at Pocono (Ryan Blaney, 2013).
·         Ben Rhodes has one series pole (2017).
·         This will mark the 11th series race at the track.

SEVEN AND COUNTING…

Ryan Blaney’s Cup victory yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway continued Ford’s dominance at the track and increased its win total to a manufacturer-best seven this season.  Ford, which has won 9 of the last 10 NCS races at Talladega, has now seen all three Team Penske drivers win at least once as the series heads to Pocono Raceway.  Ford also holds down the top three spots in the point standings as Kevin Harvick holds a 23-point lead over second-place Joey Logano and 25 points over Blaney in third.  Ford also extended its lead in the manufacturer standings to 32 points after 13 races this season.

BLANEY GETS FIRST CUP VICTORY

Ryan Blaney earned his first NASCAR Cup Series two years ago at Pocono Raceway, giving the Wood Brothers their 99th all-time series win.  Blaney held off Kevin Harvick over the final seven laps to win the Pocono 400 after overcoming a loose wheel only 19 laps into the event.  He found himself in position to win after the caution came out with 19 laps to go.  Kyle Busch opted to stay out while all of the other contenders behind him pitted, including Blaney who got four fresh tires and restarted fourth.  A major battle between Busch and Blaney resulted, but the newer tires proved to be too much as Blaney eventually got by with nine laps to go.  He couldn’t breathe easily, however, as Harvick started to reel him in, but could never pull alongside to challenge.

ELLIOTT SWEEPS IN 1985

Ford reached victory lane at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time on June 9, 1985 when Bill Elliott beat Harry Gant to win the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500.  Elliott was able to pass Gant with 11 laps remaining, shortly after a restart, to claim Ford’s first win at the facility.  Elliott, who also started on the pole, was helped by four cautions over the final 25 laps and won for the sixth time as he led 32 of the 200 circuits.  It marked the front end of what would eventually be a season sweep for Elliott at Pocono as he won a few weeks later on July 21.

KULWICKI’S FINAL WIN

Nobody knew it at the time, but when Alan Kulwicki won the Champion Spark Plug 500 on June 14, 1992 it marked the final victory of his career.  Kulwicki, who was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last week, passed Bill Elliott with 11 laps remaining to cap a day that saw 15 cars drop out before the checkered flag flew, including 11 engine failures.  In a precursor to what happened a few months later at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kulwicki and Elliott battled down the stretch as they exchanged the lead multiple times over the final 25 laps.  Kulwicki passed Elliott for the top spot on lap 181, but traffic slowed him down to the point that five laps later the two swapped positions.  Mark Martin made it a three-way battle, but Kulwicki ultimately prevailed as he got by both drivers on lap 190 and never looked back.  Kulwicki, who won five series races overall, went on to win the championship later that year over fellow Ford drivers Elliott and Davey Allison.

WALLACE HOT STREAK

Rusty Wallace was in his first season with Ford after car owner Roger Penske decided to switch from Pontiac for the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series season.  That decision paid immediate dividends as Wallace went on to win eight times that year, including the UAW-GM Teamwork 500 at Pocono on June 12.  The victory, his second straight in a streak that eventually grew to three with another triumph at Michigan a few days later, was a dramatic one as he passed Dale Earnhardt on the final lap.   The two waged a major battle as Earnhardt grabbed the lead with five laps to go, only to see Wallace fight back after the white flag flew to win by 0.28 seconds.

BIFFLE SNAPS DROUGHT

When Greg Biffle won the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2010 it snapped a 65-race winless drought and gave Ford its first win of the season.  Biffle found himself next to Sam Hornish Jr. on the front row of a restart with 20 laps to go and after he was able to gain the lead through the tunnel turn, he never looked back and ended up beating Tony Stewart to the finish line by more than three seconds.  The win was the first of two for Biffle that season as he also took the checkered flag at Kansas two months later.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1988 – Bill Elliott (2)
1989 – Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott
1990 – Geoffrey Bodine (2)
1992 – Alan Kulwicki (1)
1994 – Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
1995 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1996 – Rusty Wallace (2)
1997 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1998 – Jeremy Mayfield (1)
2000 – Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace
2001 – Ricky Rudd (1)
2002 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2005 – Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2010 – Greg Biffle (2)
2016 – Chris Buescher (2)
2017 – Ryan Blaney (1)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
2017 – Brad Keselowski
2019 – Cole Custer

FORD GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
2013 – Ryan Blaney