Category: NASCAR Cup PR

New paint scheme will feature on the No.11 Camry at Charlotte on May 24 and May 27

MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 21, 2020 – Ahead of this weekend’s race at Charlotte, FedEx and Denny Hamlin unveiled a brand-new paint scheme that recognizes small business owners across the United States.

The paint scheme features a series of stars along the rear panel, which honors the role small business owners play across the country. #SupportSmall is also included on the hood to highlight FedEx support of small businesses during the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s an honor to unveil this new paint scheme, which acknowledges small businesses, the backbone of America,” said Hamlin. “I am from a small business family, so I know how important they are, not just to local communities, but to the country. To all small business owners out there, thank you for everything you do. I can’t wait to recognize you on the track this weekend.”

FedEx understands how small businesses strengthen the economy, which is why during these trying times, they have committed to providing $1 million in grants. FedEx #SupportSmall Grants will provide small business recipients with $5,000, plus a $500 credit from FedEx Office to use for printing, posters, custom branded boxes, floor decals, and more. Small business owners can visit fedex.com/supportsmallgrants to find out more information about how to apply and eligibility.

FedEx also collaborated with BigCommerce, an open SaaS e-commerce platform, to help small and medium businesses get online fast and affordably. More information about how FedEx and BigCommerce can help your small business is available at FedEx.com/bigcommerce.

Despite struggling to find the speed he hoped to have at Darlington Raceway, Matt DiBenedetto came away from two races in four days with two solid finishes, including his second top-10 finish of the season, a ninth-place effort in Wednesday night’s 500-kilometer race at the Lady in Black.

DiBenedetto and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang fired off fast in Wednesday’s race, the start of which was delayed by rain throughout the day.

He started seventh after the qualifying order was set through an inversion of the finishing order of Sunday’s Darlington race in which he finished 14th.

He had driven up to fifth place, but made an early pit stop because he and the team were worried that there might be an issue with his car.

The decision to pit cost DiBenedetto and the team track position and caused them to use up one of the eight sets of tires each team was allotted for the race.

DiBenedetto restarted 27th and passed 15 cars in just 10 laps.

“It was fun to fly through the field like that,” he said. “I was surprised how many cars I could just fly by.”

But as the track took on more rubber, the results weren’t as good.

“We were a lot better on the green track,” he said. “When the track rubbered up, we just weren’t where we needed to be.”

Still he was able to finish 10th in the second 60-lap stage, earning one stage point.

As the laps wound down, DiBenedetto and his team, led by crew chief Greg Erwin and spotter Doug Campbell, used strategy to move into the top 10 when it counted.

Sensing rains would arrive before the race reached the advertised distance, the decision was made to leave DiBenedetto on the track when the caution flag flew with 32 laps remaining.

DiBenedetto moved up to second for the restart and was hanging on to ninth place when the race was called for rain 20 laps shy of the planned 228 laps.

“We gambled at the end and got lucky, but we’ll take it,” he said of his second top-10 finish of the season, the first a runner-up run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the second race of the season. “All of the tracks except for Darlington we have had really good speed, so I know we will take a little luck from this one and moving forward we should be fast at a lot of places and be better at Charlotte.”

DiBenedetto and the team remain in ninth place in the Cup standings heading into this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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, visit www.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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TOYOTA 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 20, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
8th JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
12th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
13th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE
15th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
16th BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
2nd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
3rd Kevin Harvick (Ford)
4th Brad Keselowski (Ford)
5th Erik Jones (Toyota)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
“It was a solid night for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. We had to start in the back because of the crash during the first race. Things were looking pretty good early, we were able to march up through there. But the competition caution, and just so many cautions honestly, affected our strategy and affected us being able to take advantage of our strong racecar and move forward. Finally, in the middle of the race, we got some longer runs in and were able to move forward. We were in a nice position and then we were caught a lap down when the caution came out when the 42 car spun from his flat tire. So, we had to start all over again. On that last restart, I think I was 14th and, fortunately, I was in the outside line, which was the place to be, and we worked our way up to 8th before the caution happened and the rain came.”
“It was a good rebound from a few days before; I wish I could have that weekend back. I really felt like we had things going our way there and could have capitalized. But it’s nice to be back. Good finish in the top-10 and looking forward to going to Charlotte.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“It was a solid night for us. We really just needed a decent result. We’ve had a tough stretch of races with a multitude of things go bad that were really out of our control. Today was good just to be able to put together a solid result. Obviously having to start in the back was a detriment with a short race and short runs. Our pit stall was difficult too, having to go around the No.14 who ran really well all night and the No.42 was in front of us. So, we had a tough time on pit road there. Overall, it was solid and we got some stage points in Stage Two. We got trapped a lap down in that green-flag sequence which was tough. We rallied though and finished 12th. We’ll take it. Definitely not where we want to be but at least we could put a number up there and go into Charlotte.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th
“Man, we had to fight hard for that finish, and I’m proud of my No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet team for sticking together tonight. We weren’t exactly where we needed to be to fire off tonight and just missed the handling a little bit for the first half of the race. I kept bouncing from being too tight to too loose, but mostly too tight. It honestly felt different every lap we ran, which made it tough to decide which way to keep adjusting. I made a slight rookie mistake at one point and got some damage after a brush with the wall, but my team helped get back after it. I have to hand it all my guys. They kept after it and worked really hard to make the changes we needed to pick our way back through the field. We were in a good spot for that final restart in the 11th position, but restarting on the bottom is tough here and we slipped back a couple spots to 13th. That’s just a product of the restarts here. The top lane is so good that it’s almost impossible to stop that momentum. We’ll take it though and move on to the Coke 600. We’re going twice the distance there, more than I’ve ever gone in a race, so minimizing mistakes will be key, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th
“What a tough race. Seems like nothing went our way tonight. The handling was all over the map with our Monster Energy Camaro. After finishing third on Sunday, it is tough to understand how we had such a difficult time finding the handle on the car. The guys had to make a ton of adjustments on pit road, so it was hard to make up any ground on pit stops. We will have to go back and dissect that one and figure out what we had. Ready to move on to Charlotte this weekend.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th
“It was an interesting night at Darlington Raceway for the round two race. Position 16 – I’m excited about the finish and I’m bummed about the finish for two reasons. I wish we would have restarted, I know with the weather, but I also wish that caution wouldn’t have come out because we had a big run off of turn four. So, I believe we would have finished a couple of spots better, especially with another restart and starting on the top. I was excited about that. But, all-in-all, it was a great day for our No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet team. We pulled some strategy there, led some laps, and got a career-best finish at Darlington Raceway. So, we got a lot of positives that came out of it. I’ve already talked to Jerry (Baxter) on the way home. I’m proud of him and the guys for the efforts they put in. We’ll jump on calls in the morning on how to be better; the grind never stops. The Coca-Cola 600 is up next, I’m excited about that one. It’s a home race for us and we’ve always had speed there. We’ll build off this and continue on.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM NOCO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“Not the day we wanted. At least not the finish we wanted. Just didn’t go our way there at the end. Definitely some differences from Sunday to now. We struggled to get the balance where we needed to get it with the car. It was much better through the bumps. Bummed out about that, but we will move on to Charlotte and be strong there.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th
“My GEICO guys are awesome. They build and prepare solid Chevrolet Camaros each and every week, which gives me the confidence to dive it into turn one like I did at the beginning of the race without any practice laps. For four years now, I’ve trusted them and it just builds confidence as a driver. I appreciate all the hard work everyone at Germain Racing is putting in, especially with racing so close together right now. A pair of 19th-place finishes isn’t a bad way to get this thing restarted and it was so cool to lead laps early, especially in the GEICO Hump Day car.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW / KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th
“Long race tonight, not what we wanted. We thought at the beginning we were going to be OK getting the car freed up, but just never could. It was just really tight; we just missed it pretty bad with the weather change. The cool weather, the rain, the temperatures dropping – it didn’t play into our hands. We wanted a little more heat. It just wasn’t a good night for the No. 3 team, but we’re looking forward to the Coca-Cola 600. We know we can find some speed there and I think it will be a good one for us. Thank you for tuning in, all the people out there. It’s been fun. We’ll see you Sunday, another quick turnaround!”

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 30th
“It was an up and down day today. It ended on a down note, unfortunately. We had some good runs and some bad runs. I made a couple mistakes. I had a good run going and just scraped the wall a little bit off of turn two. We ran another ten laps; we didn’t really think we had any damage. We came in and got new tires, got a tire rub and cut a right rear down. So, it got us a couple of laps down and pretty much ended our night. It was a disappointing finish to the day, for sure. But I felt like we learned a lot the last five days or so, and I’m ready to give it another shot at Charlotte!”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
YOU HAD A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO KYLE BUSCH’S EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED. DOES THAT CALM THE WATERS SOMEWHAT?
“No; I mean ultimately he (Kyle Busch) made a mistake and I get it. I don’t think he intentionally wrecked us, but you just get tired of coming out on the wrong end of those deals too often. I certainly feel like we were in position to win that race. Denny (Hamlin) was in trouble on old tires and we were going to clear Kyle. You get tired of getting ran over like that. His explanation I’m sure is accurate, but it doesn’t change it. All these guys work their tails off on this NAPA Chevy and they deserve to win a race.”

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

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

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Darlington Raceway
Race: Toyota 500
Date: May 20, 2020
____________________________________

No. 2 PIRTEK Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 8th
Stage 1: 16th
Stage 2: 14th
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 208/208
Laps Led: 7
Point Standings (behind first): 6th (-67)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski scored a fourth-place finish in the rain-shortened Toyota 500 Wednesday evening at Darlington Raceway, for his best finish and second top-five result of the 2020 season. A gusty call by crew chief Jeremy Bullins late in the event, paired with a timely caution flag, gave Keselowski the race lead and propelled him into contention for a win. The driver of the PIRTEK Ford Mustang is now sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 67 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski started Wednesday’s race eighth and he had his hands full with an ill-handling Mustang throughout Stage 1. He was also squeezed into the wall while racing Ryan Newman on lap 33 but he overcame those struggles to finish 16th when the segment concluded on lap 60. He pitted for wedge and track bar adjustments during the stage caution on lap 63, while the No. 2 crew also made repairs to the right-rear of the Ford Mustang. Keselowski restarted 25th when the race went green on lap 68.

During Stage 2, Keselowski gained and lost track position twice following pit stops and he continued to wrestle with the balance on the PIRTEK Mustang. He finished 14th when the stage concluded on lap 125 and he pitted during the stage caution for four tires, plus wedge and air pressure adjustments. Keselowski restarted 16th when the third and final segment began on lap 132.

Good fortune smiled on the PIRTEK team during Stage 3. Keselowski climbed his way into the top-10 on lap 166. As a sequence of green flag pit stops began on lap 174, Bullins made the call to keep his driver on the track. Keselowski cycled into the race lead on lap 176 and five laps later the caution flag came out, which gave Keselowski much-needed track position. He made his final stop for four tires during the 10th caution on lap 196 and he restarted eighth when the race went green three laps later. He worked his way through traffic and up to fourth position when Chase Elliott spun on lap 202 to cause the final caution. Moments later, a light rain began to fall and it quickly intensified, soaking the track and ending the race at lap 208.

Quotes: “I thought we were in a really good spot. We had made kind of an aggressive, bold move to stay out on the long run there and it was looking like it was going to pay off. The yellow came out and we hit pit road and lost a few spots there, which was a bummer, but we cycled back to fourth right when the next caution came out and were in position to have the optimum lane and be behind a car that had older tires. I was licking my chops, but the rain never gave us a chance. Just part of the way it goes. We weren’t the fastest car today, but I thought we persisted and put ourselves in a spot to potentially steal a race win with our PIRTEK Mustang and just came up a tiny bit short.”

________________________________________________

No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 5th
Stage 1: 3rd
Stage 2: 33rd
Finish: 21st
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 208/208
Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (Behind First): 11h (-90)

A strong early start for Ryan Blaney and No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang was derailed by an unscheduled pit stop in Wednesday night’s Toyota 500 at the Darlington Raceway. Blaney fought to get back on the lead lap before the race was called 20 laps from the finish, which resulted in a 21st-place finish.

The field was inverted following Sunday’s 400-mile race Darlington, which gave the High Point, N.C. native the fifth-place starting position. By lap 10, he worked his way up to second after the first round of pit stops on lap 27. After he was eventually passed by Martin Truex Jr. for the runner-up spot, Blaney finished Stage 1 in third place.

As stage 2 began, Blaney said the Menards/Moen Ford was on the tight side, especially coming off turn 4. Crew chief Todd Gordon made multiple changes during the opening segment of the race, including air pressure, track bar and tape on the nose of the No. 12 Ford Mustang.

Nearing the conclusion of Stage 2, Blaney’s car got loose and made hard contact with the turn 4 wall which caused an unscheduled pit stop for repairs. After Blaney returned to the track he brought home a 33rd-place finish in Stage 2.

Blaney and the Menards team continued to battle back and they returned to the lead lap under the final caution of the race on lap 202. Unfortunately, the race never returned to green flag conditions as rain halted the event for good on lap 208.

Blaney is now 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 90 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “I’m really proud of my No. 12 Menards/Moen team. We made big progress from where we were on Sunday. Unfortunately, I got loose off turn 4 and made contact with the wall. Darlington has been tough on our team today and Sunday, but I’m looking forward to racing in Charlotte this coming Sunday.”

________________________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 3rd
Stage 1: 5th
Stage 2: 9th
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 208/208
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 2nd (-34)

Notes:

Joey Logano started third and finished sixth in Wednesday night’s Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Logano had a night full of uphill track position battles as multiple early pit stops set the No. 22 back in the running order while the team adjusted the handling of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford. Once the performance of the car improved, Logano marched forward and reached the sixth position in the closing laps before rain brought an end to the race, 20 laps short of its full distance.

After starting third, Logano moved to the lead for the first time of the race at Lap 10 and led the race until the competition caution period at lap 25. Throughout the opening run, Logano battled a tight-handling condition, which prompted crew chief Paul Wolfe to make air pressure and track bar adjustments on the first stop of the race. Unfortunately, the combination of the adjustments and the changing track conditions made the No. 22 Ford too loose on the second run of the race as Logano finished fifth at the end of the first stage.

Logano started the second stage from the ninth position but was shuffled back to 13th after fighting the losing battle of the inside restart line. The team elected to pit again when the caution flag was displayed five laps into the run. The team restarted 22nd and rallied forward to 15th with 20 laps remaining in the second stage before the caution flag was displayed again.

Through the second stage, Logano battled track position and dirty air, but was able to advance inside the top-10 to the ninth position before the stage concluded. During the final stage, Logano reported the balance on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang was neutral and the team just needed to gain track position.

With 34 laps remaining, the caution flag was displayed for the 10th time, prompting the Shell-Pennzoil crew to return to pit road for four tires and a slight adjustment to its setup for a run to the finish. Logano was able to rally to the sixth position before a caution flag was displayed for an accident. Unfortunately, rain moved in over Darlington Raceway and brought an early end to Wednesday night’s race.

Quote: “Hard fought, blue collar night for us. A lot of the race came down to where you placed yourself. You needed the outside lane on restarts. A lot of it came down to strategy. We only had one long green flag run all day, which isn’t normal. Wish we’d have had one more restart in the Shell-Pennzoil Ford at the end.”

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Keep America Beautiful Chevrolet Team Fight Hard Through Handling Challenges at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 20th
Start: 10th
Points: 21st

“Wednesday night NASCAR Cup Series racing – how great is that for our industry to pull together and make that work. I hope all of the fans enjoyed tuning in. I know a lot went into it. We started off the race with a tight-handling Dow Keep America Beautiful Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and that proved to be our challenge all race long. Handling issues plagued us in Stages 1, 2 and 3. I thought for sure that we were going to be able to get our Chevy freed up, but we never could. It wasn’t for lack of effort. The team never gave up and made adjustments all race long. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.The weather was much different than it was last Sunday. Cooler weather, rain and temperatures dropping didn’t play into our hands. We wanted a little more heat in the track. Even though it turned into a long race and we didn’t get the finish we were hoping for, I know we have it in us. I think we can find some speed heading into Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. It feels good to be back racing and I want to thank everyone at Dow, Keep America Beautiful and all of the fans who tuned in.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Team Battle Through Tough-Handling Conditions for 13th-Place Finish at Darlington Raceway

Finish: 13th
Start: 14th
Points: 17th

“Man, we had to fight hard for that finish, and I’m proud of my No. 8 Caterpillar team for sticking together tonight. We weren’t exactly where we needed to be to fire off and missed the handling a little bit for the first half of the race. I kept bouncing from being too tight to too loose, but mostly too tight. It honestly felt different every lap we ran, which made it tough to decide which way to keep adjusting. I made a slight rookie mistake at one point and got some damage after a brush with the wall, but my team helped get back after it. I have to hand it all my guys. They kept after it and worked really hard to make the changes we needed to pick our way back through the field. We were in a good spot for that final restart in the 11th position, but restarting on the bottom is tough here and we slipped back a couple spots to 13th. That’s just a product of the restarts here. The top lane is so good that it’s almost impossible to stop that momentum. We’ll take it though and move on to the Coca-Cola 600. We’re going twice the distance there, more than I’ve ever gone in a race, so minimizing mistakes will be key. I’m looking forward to the challenge.” -Tyler Reddick

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TOYOTA 500
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
3rd — Kevin Harvick
4th — Brad Keselowski
6th — Joey Logano
7th — Aric Almirola
9th — Matt DiBenedetto
14th — Ryan Newman
17th — Michael McDowell
21st — Ryan Blaney
22nd — Clint Bowyer
23rd — Chris Buescher
24th — Corey LaJoie
31st — Cole Custer
35th — John Hunter Nemechek

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang — COULD YOU WALK US THROUGH TONIGHT’S THIRD‑PLACE FINISH? “ Yeah, we had to start 20th, battled kind of an ill‑balanced car tonight. The track conditions were just a lot different. We made some adjustments going into the race. Just couldn’t get the front of the car to turn. Every time we tried to adjust the back, it would just take the back out. We never could get the front of the car to turn. Had to use a lot more throttle tonight. The things I could do with the car Sunday, I couldn’t do tonight. They kept clawing and fighting. In the end we had a great pit stop on the last pit stop, were in position to have a chance to win the race there, and it rained. The whole night we wound up restarting on the bottom of the racetrack. We’d lose three or four spots every time we’d restart. Definitely didn’t get the good end of the draw on the restarts. In the end our Mobil 1 guys did a great job of just battling. Sometimes you have great nights, sometimes you have nights you have to battle. It was a good two days in Darlington for us.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE ON THE KYLE BUSCH‑CHASE ELLIOTT DEAL THERE? KYLE SAID HE JUST MADE A MISTAKE. IS THAT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE TO YOU? “He wanted to get back in line so quick. Kyle was on the bottom. He had a hole between myself and Chase. I’m sure he had one eye in the mirror, glanced forward. It looked to me like he completely misjudged and got the 9.”

DID IT LOOK INTENTIONAL AT ALL? “I just said he just misjudged and got the 9.”

DO YOU THINK WE’RE ON TO SOMETHING HERE? WEDNESDAY NIGHT NASCAR LOOKED PRETTY GOOD ON TV. MAYBE IN FUTURE SCHEDULES WE CAN BUILD THIS INTO THE SUMMER SCHEDULES WHERE SOME TRACKS ARE CLOSE TO ANOTHER, HAVE A FULL SEASON IN FEWER WEEKS? “As long as the TV ratings are good. That’s what drives our sport, the amount of people watching TV. If the TV ratings are good, it’s good for everybody.”

OBVIOUSLY YOU WINNING SUNDAY AND DRIVING TO A THIRD‑PLACE FINISH TODAY, WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DAY RACE AND NIGHT RACE AT DARLINGTON? “For us the lap times were up a little bit. Obviously the cars were a little bit faster than the lap times from Sunday. For us the front tires just didn’t turn as well. The back just ‑‑ every time we’d try to adjust the back, it didn’t help the front turn. Carrying that extra speed made our car push the front tires a little bit worse. That’s really all I have to go off of.”

YOU’VE TALKED BEFORE TRYING DIFFERENT THINGS WITH THE SCHEDULE. DOES THIS SHOW YOU THAT WEDNESDAY NIGHT MIDWEEK RACES CAN WORK GOING FORWARD? “Well, we did it. Like I said before, we can make it work. From a team standpoint and from competitors, it’s great if we can shorten the schedule, do all those things. In the end, the telltale sign is going to be when those TV numbers come out. If they’re good, that’s what drives everything. That’s what everybody sells their sponsorship on, that’s what we all want to see, is great TV numbers. We’d love the fans at the racetrack, but in the end the biggest stick comes from how many people turn on the TV.”

YOUR 50TH WIN. BROKE A TIE WITH YOUR BOSS, TONY STEWART. HAVE YOU TALKED WITH HIM SINCE SUNDAY SINCE TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY? “I sent him a text and he’s never responded. I haven’t heard from him since his birthday, so I hope he’s okay (laughter).”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BREAK THE TIE WITH HIM? “You know what, as I went through Sunday night and into Monday morning, went through Tuesday and got to the racetrack today, just the amount of people that have called. 50 was great, obviously to get 50 wins. I’m not knocking that by any means. Being next to Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett is quite an honor. I don’t want to degrade that at all. But the impact that Sunday had on the country, as I got text messages from speaker of the house Kevin McCarthy talking about how great it was for America, Joe Girardi talking about how great it was for sports, how it gave them hope for baseball. The PGA called today, talking about how the sports world was watching NASCAR to see what they needed to do to get their players back safely. The impact was way bigger than 50 wins. It was way bigger than breaking a tie with Tony Stewart. The impact of that race on Sunday meant so much in so many different directions. Totally on my part underestimated the impact that Sunday’s event had. Being the winner of that really, really drove it home for me, not only after the race with the fans not being in the stands, the lack of enthusiasm that you didn’t have to share all your enthusiasm with everybody. There were just so many moments that were just so much bigger than anything that had anything to do with my stats. I was just really proud of our sport at that particular point for putting on a safe event and doing the things we did.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRACK SUNDAY NIGHT VERSUS TONIGHT? “Temperature is just a huge difference for our cars. Obviously with the rain all day, the low temperatures, it just affects the cars differently. It affected ours with the front tire not turning, the way the car traveled when it hit the ground off of turn two. We never could get the balance of the car like we had on Sunday with where the car was tonight. That was magnified, starting 20th, in traffic. Every time we’d restart on the bottom, we’d lose four or five spots. We were very slow gaining the track position to get a better handling car till the end of the race. It was a battle. Definitely different tonight than it was Sunday.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Pirtek Ford Mustang — HOW MUCH DID YOU WANT TO SEE THAT RACE FINISH UNDER GREEN AT THE END? “Yeah, a bunch. I thought we were in a really good spot. We had made kind of an aggressive, bold move to stay out on the long run there and it was looking like it was going to pay off. The yellow came out and we hit pit road and lost a few spots there, which was a bummer, but we cycled back to fourth right when the caution came out and were in position to have the optimum lane and be behind a car that had older tires. I was licking my chops, but the rain never gave us a chance. Just part of the way it goes. We weren’t hte fastest car today, but I thought we persisted and put ourselves in a spot to potentially steal a race win and just came up a tiny bit short, but that’s a part of it.”

FIRST MIDWEEK NASCAR RACE IN 30-SOME YEARS, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS? WERE YOU HAPPY WITH IT? SHOULD NASCAR KEEP THESE GOING FORWARD? “Loved it. Let’s do it every week.”

ARE YOU SERIOUS? EVERY WEEK? “Okay, every other week.”

DID YOU GET A LOOK AT THE KYLE BUSCH/CHASE ELLIOTT DEAL AND COULD YOU TELL IF IT WAS WHAT KYLE SAID THAT HE JUST MISJUDGED IT? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT? “I couldn’t see it at all. I had Harvick right in between us. Honestly, I didn’t see them wrecking until Chase was almost hitting the wall, so I didn’t have a look at it at all.”

WAS IT IMPORTANT AT ALL TO GET THIS RACE IN TODAY VERSUS TOMORROW WITH 600 MILES COMING ON SUNDAY? “I think definitely for the team guys. They are pushing hard to get cars ready. I heard from them this week that they came in at six or seven in the morning the day after the race with all the staggered times and the last thing they need, already fighting COVID, they don’t need to be fighting weather too. For the drivers, I think it is less of a story than it is for the crew guys. These poor guys are working their guts out and deserve a lot of credit for it and I am just glad they don’t have to go through it.”

DO YOU LIKE THESE ONE DAY SHOWS WITH NO PRACTICE? “It doesn’t hurt my feelings. I think some of your major events it probably makes sense, but I think this way is good. Of course we are a little biased because we are experienced. If we were rookies we would be calling BS. I think you should be rewarded for experience but I also think you should be rewarded for hard work. I am all for not having all these practices and all that. I can’t figure out why some tracks we used to go to we would practice at 9 am. That never made a lot of sense to me. I think this cuts costs down and puts emphasis on drivers that are experienced and professionals and I don’t think that is a bad thing overall. I feel a little bit differently about the lower tier series. Those guys definitely need some practice. For us, I think we are showing it can work.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — TELL US ABOUT YOUR RACE. “Our race was hard fought, blue collar. A lot of it was where you placed yourself, so it was just like last week. Strategy calls that can play out the right way and being on the top lane for the restarts was what it was all about. There was only one long run in these two races. I feel like, overall, I’d say we maximized our day, but I also feel like if we had one more restart being sixth it’s a pretty sure bet you’re gonna get to fourth and with Denny out there on old tires he was gonna be a sitting duck for Brad for sure, and, most likely, a lot of cars would have got by him once he lost that clean air. So I wish we ran a little bit more, but, overall, we made improvements from the first race. I’m proud of that and we’re off to the 600.”

FIRST MIDWEEK NASCAR RACE IN 30-SOME YEARS, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS? WERE YOU HAPPY WITH IT? SHOULD NASCAR KEEP THESE GOING FORWARD? “I think it really shows and opens up what we can do. We just raced Sunday and now we are racing Wednesday and then we are going back to the track on Sunday again. It is pretty cool to see that we can do that and put on good races without any real big hiccups at all. I love it. More racing and less practice. I am all about that.”

DO YOU LIKE THESE ONE DAY SHOWS WITH NO PRACTICE? “Let’s race. We are racers, that is what we do. We are race car drivers, not practice car drivers.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang — CAN YOU SUM UP YOUR RACE TONIGHT FOR US? “Yeah, we started off the night okay. I thought we made some improvements on the car and had a little track position and moved forward. We pitted under the first caution and thought we might have had an issue. We did not. So that stuck us back in the field. We wanted to check on a possible issue and got stuck in the back of the field. From then on, not having track position with this high downforce racing is a real pain in the butt. We struggled to get it the rest of the day. As the track rubbered up we fought the same issue we did on Sunday of losing rear grip in the car. We were fading at the end and then Greg Erwin just made a good bold call at the end seeing some weather coming and my spotter Doug Campbell as well was in on that. We got lucky and pulled a ninth place out of it. All of the tracks except for Darlington we have had really good speed at so I know we will take a little luck from this one and moving forward we should be fast at a lot of places and be better at Charlotte.”

FIRST MIDWEEK NASCAR RACE IN 30-SOME YEARS, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS? WERE YOU HAPPY WITH IT? SHOULD NASCAR KEEP THESE GOING FORWARD? “Yeah, I enjoy less practice and more racing for sure. It makes me feel like an old school dirt racer. I love the schedule and getting back at it.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Mustang — “Unfortunately that wasn’t as much fun as we were hoping to have. We were better tonight with our Mustang but we were still fighting a little bit of handing and some mistakes on my part that I need to clean up and try to get back in a rhythm there. We are trying to work to be better but it is tough without practice right now. We are working hard on simulation and do what we can to dial in and get ready for Charlotte. We have a long race coming for us and it was a good race for us last year. I am glad we got the race in tonight, a little late, but better late than never.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield #GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang — “I thought we had a really good car tonight. We ran up in the top-five quite a bit and had a really fast car on the long runs. Everyone else’s car would slow down a lot and my car wouldn’t slow down nearly as much on the long run. We would start beating all the leaders really good on the long run. If we could have had that race go green to the end, I think it would have been interesting because we were beating the leaders pretty bad. I’m just really proud of all of the guys on our Smithfield team. We came back with some setup changes from what we ran Sunday, and I felt like we made some real improvements to the car and were very competitive. We cleaned up some things on pit road, so I’m really proud of those guys. We’ll just continue to build off of that. I feel like we’re in the game.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang — “Very proud of the car the guys brought for me on a short turn around. Fast hot rod. The thing just took off behind two cars racing for the lucky dog and smoked the wall and blew our night. The 14 was fast, so if we keep doing that our day will come.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Car Parts.com Ford Mustang — “It was a solid night for our No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang. We definitely made improvements from our first race at Darlington, unfortunately the last restart didn’t go our way. The inside line was just really hard to get going and we lost a couple of spots, finishing 17th. We raced around a lot of competitive cars today and I felt really good. Everybody at Front Row Motorsports did a really good job this week, we just need a little bit more and we’ll be right where we want to be. All in all, it was a really good day.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang — “For as good as our day was on Sunday, we swung to the opposite end of the spectrum tonight. It was a long night. You never want to be that guy who goes out early. Not sure if I cut a tire or just drove it too hard and got loose. I really hate it for my crew and our No. 38 Scag Power Equipment team. These guys have been working their tails off over the last two weeks, and it’s obviously very frustrating to have the kind of race we did tonight. It happens sometimes, but I’m still happy to be here. We’ll take it as a learning experience and move on to Charlotte. Thank you to everyone at Scag Power Equipment and all of our Front Row Motorsports partners for continuing to support us race after race.”

DENNY HAMLIN WINS THE TOYOTA 500 AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY
Hamlin scores his second win of the season

DARLINGTON, South Carolina (May 20, 2020) – Denny Hamlin drove to victory in a rain-shortened Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Darlington Raceway
Race 6 of 36 – 311.4 miles, 228 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, Kevin Harvick*
4th, Brad Keselowski*
5th, ERIK JONES
10th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
11th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
27th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
33rd, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx “Delivering Strength” Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

Are you happy to have won tonight’s Toyota 500 at Darlington?

“I’ve got my happy face on and made sure I brought it with me today. Just can’t thank FedEx and Toyota and Coca-Cola, Jordan Brand – the whole JGR engine and fab shop. The pit crew did a great job today. Everybody really. I was pretty happy with how it all turned out.”

What does it mean to win at Darlington again?

“This is a driver’s race track. You can move around, you can do different things to make your car handle. We got it right today.”

What was going through your mind on old tires coming to the final restart?

“The weather really didn’t play a factor in our call there. It was really, we were limited on tires. We had just come to take tires, which was our last set, but we had a set of one-lap scuffs. They weren’t glued up in time. We didn’t have time to glue them. The only choice for us was to stay out. We were really the best car on that long run anyway. I think the right car won.”

Did you feel the field was more intense with a shorter race and a threat of weather?

“It was good. The distance was perfect. It’s not too little and it’s not too much. I think the distance was perfect. I think it gives you enough racing to where things work out and you can still make your way from the back to the front and be able to win the race. It’s not too short. I’m in favor of these types of races.”

What is it about Darlington that suits your driving style?

“I run good here. Sometimes I run a different line here than most. It just works and it’s always worked. I don’t know what it is. It’s awesome to win here with the Toyota 500. Ever since I came here for my very first Xfinity start and got a top-10, that essentially got my job in the Xfinity Series, there’s something about me and this track that works.”

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

Finishing Position: 2nd

What took place between yourself and Chase Elliott?

“There’s no question I know, I made a mistake and just misjudged the gap. When we were racing there with the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and the 9 (Chase Elliott) had a run on him. I knew he was there and I knew I needed to get in line as quick as I could and in doing so, I watched him and his momentum as he was going by me. I tried to look up in my mirror and see where (Kevin) Harvick was to get in and I just misjudged and made a mistake and clipped the 9 there and spun him into the wall. I hate it for him and his guys. I have too many friends over there on that team to do anything like that on purpose. I’ve raced Chase since he was a kid and never had any issues with him whatsoever. It was just a bad mistake on my part and I’ll just have to deal with it later on.”

How did you leave it after crew chief Alan Gustafson spoke with you post-race?

“They’re mad, I’m not just going to fix it and we’re going to go have ice cream tomorrow. Obviously, they’re going to have to dwell on it and the repercussions of it for sure I’m going to have later on, down the road.”

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Stanley Tools Toyota Camry, Gaunt Brothers Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Two great races for you at Darlington, talk about the run tonight.

“We were really strong. We had to start at the back. We had an unapproved adjustment there before the race and had to come from the back. But we made our way up pretty quick and got the car a lot better stop by stop. By the mid-part of the race, we were up contending in the top-five and challenging for the lead. Got the lead there and led for a while till I got in the wall hard enough that it made the car drive a little bit worse. Finally got the damage fixed and got back up in the top-five, and then the rain came. Good day, and a disappointing day. Disappointed that I made a mistake and cost us a shot to win a race there, but another good points day for us and our first top-five, so hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling. We’ve been a little bit better each race so far.”

How does this solid start bode well for you as we head into Charlotte?

“I think it’s good. We’ve done a good job at these first two with no practice. I think we can continue down that path. I’ve been putting a lot of work in the simulator and been trying to get things close for when we fire off on race day in the race. It’s been paying off. I’m going to continue that trend. Hopefully, we can keep bringing good cars to the track to start the race and I’ll keep having shots to go out and win. Charlotte’s been good to us. We’ve had some issues there, but we’ve had some really fast cars. Hopefully, we can finish a few spots better.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

What happened in tonight’s race?

“We started the race off and started 15th and worked our way forward, I was really happy with the car early on. Worked our way towards the front and really the first two stages – or the first stage was good. Passed a lot of cars and got track position and felt like we had a top-three car. Got right there to the two leaders and couldn’t quite make the move. Traffic has been pretty tough there at Darlington. We were able to stay right there. Then stage two, we started off towards the front and stayed there again. Pit strategy got a little off there and we stayed out, took the lead and everybody else pitted that we were racing with so it was a little touch-and-go there for a minute, but we were able to hang onto third on that run as well. Got good stage points and then the restarts in stage three, our car was still really strong and we just kept getting bottom restarts and every one of them we would go backwards because the bottom is so bad. Just frustrating night. Felt like we had a top-three or four car again and maybe a shot at the leaad. When we were out front, we were really fast. Just frustrated. Hard to keep track position there when we would restart on the bottom. That was really the tale of the tape. The very last one, when the rain came, we were 10th and we were finally going to start on the outside and I was licking my chops with 20 (laps) to go thinking, ‘now we’re finally going to catch a break’ and then the rain came. Just wasn’t our night, but the guys on the Bass Pro Toyota did a really good job. Just a solid day and a good race car. Didn’t do what we quite should have.”

What did you think of starting with the inversion?

“I thought it was okay. The good cars still worked their way to the front. There was a few guys that started up there and had tough nights the other night and had fast cars. For the most part, it took a while for a lot of them, but Darlington is really a track position sensitive race track. We were able to overcome that, which was good and felt like we did a better job than most with that so that was cool. I think it’s a good theory and we’ll have to see how it plays out going forward.”

Was there more aggression in tonight’s race?

“I think everybody had a couple days to think about it and work on the race cars. Certainly I felt like there was more competitive cars tonight than there was Sunday. Everybody stepped it up, which we knew was going to happen. You give all these guys a couple days to work on something, they’re going to get it better. I was proud of our guys for making our car better for sure. We didn’t quite gain as much as we needed to, but it was definitely a good step in the right direction. I think everybody was just more comfortable and more confident in their cars. The nighttime, track definitely had more grip so there was more options. You could be more aggressive because of the grip in the track. Pretty typical for a night race.”

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

Finishing Position: 11th

Solid run tonight. Talk about that finish.

“We made the most out of those last couple restarts. I was fortunate enough to restart on the top and that’s a big advantage at a place like Darlington. I was able to bounce up through there those last couple restarts and make the most out of it.”

This weekend is your first Coke 600. Talk about your excitement heading into the tour’s longest race.

“Yeah, just pretty anxious about it. Obviously, it’s a really long race, so trying to make sure I’m as prepared as I can be. I just want to do a good job. I want to make sure I see the end of the race. After that one, the rest of them are going to feel short.”

# # #

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.

Track: Darlington Raceway, 1.36 Mile Oval
Race: 6 of 38
Event: Toyota 500 (311.4 miles, 228 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang

Started: 12th
Finished: 35th

Stage One: 39th
Stage Two: 37th
Stage Three: 35th

Following an impressive finish in Sunday’s race and an inverted starting lineup, John Hunter Nemechek started Wednesday’s “Toyota 500” at Darlington Raceway in 12th position. Trouble came early for the Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year candidate with a spin on Lap 2, which caused heavy damage to the rear of the car. Nemechek would spin again on Lap 11 and later radioed to the team that the car turned on him as soon as he hit the brakes. Nemechek would finish Stage 1 in the 39th position.

Down but not out, Nemechek worked with Crew Chief Seth Barbour to make adjustments to the car’s handling in Stage 2, and take notes for the next time NASCAR returns to the track “Too Tough to Tame.” Unfortunately, the car’s balance was consistently unpredictable and Nemechek took the Stage 2 green-and-white-checkered flag 37th on the leaderboard.

Nemechek hung on and kept his nose clean throughout the remainder of the race despite his car’s handling being unpredictable. Nemechek would finish the rain-shortened evening in 35th place, 6 laps down.

Nemechek on Darlington:

“For as good as our day was on Sunday, we swung to the opposite end of the spectrum tonight. It was a long night. You never want to be that guy who goes out early. Not sure if I cut a tire or just drove it too hard and got loose. I really hate it for my crew and our No. 38 Scag Power Equipment team. These guys have been working their tails off over the last two weeks, and it’s obviously very frustrating to have the kind of race we did tonight. It happens sometimes, but I’m still happy to be here. We’ll take it as a learning experience and move on to Charlotte. Thank you to everyone at Scag Power Equipment and all of our Front Row Motorsports partners for continuing to support us race after race.”

Track: Darlington Raceway, 1.36 Mile Oval
Race: 6 of 38
Event: Toyota 500 (311.4 miles, 228 laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang

Started: 23rd
Finished: 17th

Stage One: 27th
Stage Two: 23rd
Stage Three: 17th

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang took the green flag in Wednesday’s “Toyota 500” from the 23rd position at Darlington Raceway. As the caution flag flew on Lap 4, he noted that his CarParts.com Ford Mustang, “seemed to fire off better,” compared to Sunday’s “Real Heroes 400.” The team made both trackbar and wedge adjustments under multiple cautions and would go on to finish Stage 1, 27th.

During Stage 2, McDowell battled hard inside of the top-20 for a majority of the stage as Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call to stay out under the Lap 72 caution to gain track position. He was able to stay inside of the top-20 until the caution flag flew again on Lap 108. McDowell mentioned that his No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang was tight in the center of the corners in traffic, so the team took 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. McDowell would finish Stage 2 from the 23rd position.

Under the Stage 2 caution, McDowell and his CarParts.com Ford Mustang came down pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment in hopes of loosening up his tight race car for the final stage. During Stage 3, the adjustments made under caution prevailed as McDowell drove his CarParts.com Ford inside of the top-15. However, with less than 30 laps remaining, Mother Nature had other plans as rain began to fall and cars were called to pit road, where McDowell would finish the Toyota 500 from the 17th position.

McDowell on Darlington:

“It was a solid night for our No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang. We definitely made improvements from our first race at Darlington Raceway, unfortunately the last restart didn’t go our way. The inside line was just really hard to get going and we lost a couple of spots, finishing 17th. We raced around a lot of competitive cars today and I felt really good. Everybody at Front Row Motorsports did a really good job this week, we just need a little bit more and we’ll be right where we want to be. All in all, it was a really good day. We built some confidence and my guys did a really good job on pit road. Lastly, I want to thank CarParts.com for coming on board for both Darlington races. I’ve really enjoyed promoting their brand all week long.”

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 20, 2020) – In a day filled with avoiding raindrops, the scheduled 311.4-mile NASCAR Cup Series race was cut short Wednesday with Ryan Newman scoring a 14th-place finish in the Oscar Mayer Ford. At one point Newman led the field just past the halfway point, as varying strategies played out with the race ending after 208 laps.

It was an eventful night for Newman, who rolled off sixth after scoring a 15th-place finish in Sunday’s race at Darlington. He maintained his top-10 standing early as he and the team managed tight conditions. After ending the opening stage 13th, he restarted 11th for stage two. Three laps later, the yellow was displayed again in which he fired off eighth, but lost the coveted track position on the next caution in which he had to pit.

He ran comfortably inside the top-15 just past lap 100, when the yellow was displayed bringing Newman’s machine down pit road. The team had pit gun issues on the right rear, losing multiple spots on pit road, putting him 24th on the restart just prior to the stage two end, where he would finish 19th.

An immediate yellow waved just after the stage three green, and crew chief Scott Graves called for Newman to stay out, putting the Oscar Mayer Ford at the point for the ensuing restart. Throughout all of this, rain crept closer to Darlington Raceway, only reinforcing the strategy call. Despite rain drops falling during the yellow in which he and teammate Chris Buescher ran 1-2, the field would restart at lap 132.

After getting a slight tire rub on the restart, Newman continued to battle feverishly against the field with 20 lap fresher tires. He fell to seventh by lap 140, and slipped to outside the top-15 some 20 laps later due to ill handling. With the remainder of the field on a differing pit cycle, Newman and Buescher were forced to pit under green, as Newman stopped for service at lap 163 from the 23rd spot.

Some 15 laps later, the yellow was displayed as the majority of the field pitted under green, with Newman reporting the balance had improved aboard his No. 6 Ford. After taking the wave around, Newman fired off 12th for the restart at lap 186. By lap 194, Newman was 22nd when the yellow came out again, bringing Newman down pit road one final time for service.

He would restart 18th at lap 199, moving inside the top 15 as the yellow came out just three laps later for an incident on the front stretch. Newman received some slight damage on his machine, but the rain eventually set in at Darlington, ultimately ending the race after 208 laps.

Following two-straight events at Darlington, the focus now shifts to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where the NASCAR Cup Series will visit Sunday night for the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, Sirius XM Channel 90), where Roman makes its debut aboard Newman’s machine.