Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Darlington II

The NASCAR Cup Series visits ‘The Lady in Black’ for the second race in four days Wednesday night as NASCAR will shine in a rare weekday primetime slot. Ryan Newman will pilot the No. 6 Oscar Mayer machine and Chris Buescher will pilot the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford at the track ‘Too Tough to Tame’. Roush Fenway Racing has five Cup Series wins all-time at Darlington and has finished in the top-ten in nearly half the events it has raced it.

Darlington Raceway
Toyota 500

Wednesday, May 20, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. ET

FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang

· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Mustang

NASCAR Returns to Action

· Following its return to racing Sunday at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR continues its modified schedule with a second event at ‘The Lady in Black’ Wednesday night in primetime. It will mark the third of seven NASCAR national series races in an 11-day span.

· Once competition wraps at Darlington on Wednesday, the NCS will transition to Charlotte Motor Speedway for two-consecutive events, the first on May 24 with the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600. It will be followed by a shorter event on May 27.

· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the outbreak before races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville were later postponed.

Sunday Recap, Wednesday Preview

· Buescher had an unlucky return to the track Sunday at Darlington after being caught up in two other cars’ incidents twice. He received heavy damage early on that set he and the No. 17 team back for the remainder, eventually crossing the line 32nd.

· The starting lineup for Wednesday’s 311.4-mile race will be determined by an invert for the top-20 cars, with cars 21-40 starting where they finished on Sunday, meaning Buescher will fire off 32nd.

· In his first race back since the Daytona 500, Newman fought his way inside the top-10 early on in Sunday’s 293-lap race at Darlington, before finishing 15th. He crossed the line ninth in stage one to earn stage points, and came back from a speeding penalty and cut tire in the closing laps to earn a top-15.

· With the top-20 invert, Newman will be sixth on the grid Wednesday night.

Darlington Two-Step

Roush Fenway has twice won consecutive NCS races at Darlington, including a season sweep in 1999 with former driver and current NBC commentator Jeff Burton. Roush Fenway also earned victories in consecutive seasons at the egg-shaped oval in 2005 and 2006 with Biffle.

Tale of the Tape

In 246 all-time NASCAR starts at ‘The Lady in Black,’ Jack Roush’s Fords have 20 wins, 69 top-five and 116 top-10 finishes, along with 20 poles. Over the years RFR has led 4500+ laps across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, with more than 85,000 miles logged at the 1.366-mile track. In NCS action alone, RFR has finished top-10 in 43 percent (69-of-160) of the races with 35 top-five results and five wins.

Kickin’ It Old School

Legendary Roush Fenway drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are responsible for the five Cup wins for Jack Roush at Darlington. Martin earned Roush’s first Cup win back in 1993 after leading 178 laps. Burton swept the 1999 events as the dominant car, and Biffle earned the two most recent victories in 2005 and 2006.

Most All-Time

It’s no secret that when Roush has dominated in the Xfinity Series at Darlington. In 79 starts, the organization has 15 wins, 33 top-five and 44 top-10s. Mark Martin is responsible for eight of the victories, second-most for him among any track, after winning five of the first seven races at the track for Roush from 1993-96. He also went on to win in 1999, and swept again in 2000. Jeff Burton got in on the fun with wins in 1997, 2001 and 2002, while Biffle earned a win in 2004. Most recently, Kenseth drove to victory lane in 2005 and 2009.

The Real Heroes Project Debuts at Darlington

NASCAR is collaborating with other professional sports properties across the country to embark on The Real Heroes Project. The goal is to motivate and inspire healthcare workers as sports only can, by turning its greatest heroes (the athletes) into their greatest fans. To that end, the name of a COVID-19 frontline worker will be displayed above the driver’s side door on each entry Wednesday night.

NASCAR allowed teams to select the names of the frontline workers to appear on their cars, and Roush Fenway elected to have Newman select two names that were influential in his recovery since the Daytona 500. Newman chose a name special to him, Fe Roster, VP & Chief Care Continuum Officer at Halifax Health. Fe played a vital role in Newman’s life in the days following his horrific, last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, where he walked out of Halifax Medical Center three days later under the care of Roster and others. Dr. Jerry Petty, a partner with NASCAR for 40+ years, also played a vital role in Newman’s recovery all the way up until clearing him for NASCAR action, and – at Newman’s request – Petty will be on the name rail of the No. 17 machine Wednesday night.

Roush Fenway Darlington Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1999-1 Burton Cup
1999-2 Burton Cup
2005 Biffle Cup
2006 Biffle Cup
1993-2 Martin NXS
1994-1 Martin NXS
1994-2 Martin NXS
1995-2 Martin NXS
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-2 Burton NXS
1999-2 Martin NXS
2000-1 Martin NXS
2000-2 Martin NXS
2001-2 Burton NXS
2002-1 Burton NXS
2002-2 Burton NXS
2004-1 Biffle NXS
2005 Kenseth NXS
2009 Kenseth NXS

Team: No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert

Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 311.4 miles, 228 laps, Stage Lengths: 60-65-103

Toyota 500 – Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

NASCAR Returns to Action

· Following its return to racing Sunday at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR continues its modified schedule with a second event at ‘The Lady in Black’ Wednesday night in primetime. It will mark the third of seven NASCAR national series races in an 11-day span.

· Once competition wraps at Darlington on Wednesday, the NCS will transition to Charlotte Motor Speedway for two-consecutive events, the first on May 24 with the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600. It will be followed by a shorter event on May 27.

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

Sunday Recap, Wednesday Preview

· Buescher had an unlucky return to the track Sunday at Darlington, getting caught up in other cars’ incidents twice. He received heavy damage early on that set the No. 17 team back for the remainder of the race, eventually crossing the line 32nd.

· The starting lineup for Wednesday’s 311.4-mile race will be determined by an invert for the top-20 cars, with cars 21-40 starting where they finished on Sunday, meaning Buescher will fire off 32nd.

Buescher Historically at Darlington Raceway

· Buescher makes his sixth Cup start at Darlington Wednesday night where he carries an average finish of 18.2.

· Buescher finished 12th last fall at ‘The Lady in Black,’ his best effort in five starts.

· After qualifying 31st and 27th in his first two events at Darlington, Buescher followed that with qualifying efforts of 19th and 12th in 2018-19.

· Buescher earned a Xfinity career-best fifth-place run at Darlington back in 2015 in the No. 60 RFR entry. He also finished 12th two years prior in the No. 16 for Jack Roush.

Luke Lambert at Darlington Raceway

· Lambert will be atop the box for his ninth NCS race at Darlington on Sunday. In eight prior events, he has an average finish of 18.4 including three top-10 runs.

· All three of those came with Newman in the No. 31, with a 10th-place result in 2014, an eighth-place finish in 2016 followed by seventh a year later.

· Lambert also has one Xfinity Series race under his belt at Darlington with Elliott Sadler in 2012, finishing 24th.

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Darlington:
“We had an unlucky Sunday at Darlington in getting caught up in a couple accidents that spoiled our day. Thankfully, the turnaround is quick and we can put that behind us and use our notes to tackle Wednesday night. We’re excited to have Fifth Third on board in their first race of 2020, and look forward to putting on a great show at one of my favorite tracks.”

The Real Heroes Project Debuts at Darlington
NASCAR is collaborating with other professional sports properties across the country to embark on The Real Heroes Project. The goal is to motivate and inspire healthcare workers as sports only can, by turning its greatest heroes (the athletes) into their greatest fans. To that end, the name of a COVID-19 frontline worker will be displayed above the driver’s side door on each entry Wednesday night.

NASCAR allowed teams to select the names of the frontline workers to appear on their cars, and Roush Fenway elected to have Buescher’s teammate, Ryan Newman, select two names that were influential in his recovery since the Daytona 500. Dr. Jerry Petty, a partner with NASCAR for 40+ years, played a vital role in Newman’s recovery all the way up until clearing him for NASCAR action, and – at Newman’s request – Petty will be on the name rail of the No. 17 machine Wednesday night.

On the Car
Fifth Third Bank makes its 2020 debut aboard Buescher’s No. 17 entry Wednesday night at Darlington. As part of NASCAR’s return and Fifth Third’s return to the car, the company will run special messaging aboard Buescher’s Ford Mustang on the hood and TV panel.

· In appreciation of all frontline employees, Fifth Third has added a special tribute to the No. 17 scheme. The message reads, “Thank you frontline heroes for giving your 166.7%.” The messaging is a nod to the Bank’s brand campaign, which plays off the improper fraction that is the Bank’s name.

· As a fraction, 5/3 translates to more than 100 percent – 166.7 percent, to be exact – this special scheme honors all frontline employees who are going the extra mile to help our communities during this difficult time.

About Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association, a federally chartered institution. As of March 31, 2020, Fifth Third had $185 billion in assets and operated 1,123 full-service banking centers and 2,464 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with access to approximately 53,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2020, had $374 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $42 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Deposit and Credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head back to Darlington Raceway Wednesday night for an encore performance with the Lady In Black.

DiBenedetto finished 14th in this past Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington, which marked NASCAR’s return to racing after a 10-week hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With that race in the books, DiBenedetto and the team are working to find more speed for Wednesday’s 500-kilometer race, a rare midweek prime-time TV appearance for the sport. Once again, there will be no fans in the grandstands due to the threat of spreading COVID-19.

DiBenedetto, who will be making his sixth career Cup start at the iconic South Carolina track, said he plans to review the broadcast of Sunday’s race, taped for him by his wife Taylor, to see what can be learned from it.

“I’ll watch the other guys and see what I can pick up as far as how to improve,” he said, adding that he expects crew chief Greg Erwin to make adjustments as well to the Mustang they’ll race on Wednesday. “We’ve got a little catching up to do, but we can do it.”

Wednesday’s race will be the 95th Cup appearance at Darlington for the Wood Brothers, who first competed there in the 1961 Rebel 300 with the legendary Curtis Turner, a close friend of the Woods, at the wheel of the No. 21.

Modern era fans point to the spring race at Darlington in 2003, where Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch for the win in a door-slamming battle to the checkered flag, as the best-ever finish at Darlington. But for fans of an earlier era, the ’61 Rebel 300 was the gold standard for great Darlington finishes.

Here’s how author and historian Greg Fielden described the late-race battle between the veteran Turner and the youngster Fred Lorenzen in his book, Forty Years of Stock Car Racing: “Fair-haired Fred Lorenzen and old pro Curtis Turner literally fought each other with fists of steel in Darlington Raceway’s fifth-annual Rebel 300 in a death-defying slugfest which decided perhaps the most exciting stock car race of all time.”

Fielden reported that the two “slapped considerable sheet metal” before Lorenzen finally took the lead with two laps remaining, leaving a frustrated Turner to finish second.

Turner expressed his sentiments to reporters after the race, saying: “If I could have caught [Lorenzen] before he got the checkered flag, I guarantee you he never would have finished the race.”

It was the first of seven runner-up finishes at Darlington for the Woods, who have eight victories there. Six of those victories were with David Pearson driving. Cale Yarborough and Neil Bonnett scored the other two.

In Wednesday’s race, DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will show that not all heroes drive race cars.

The team will honor Loretta Burton as a Star of Life.

Burton, a paramedic from Youngstown, Ohio, will be recognized for her actions that saved the life of a cardiac arrest patient in April of 2019.

On that day, she and her EMT partner were called to a dental clinic parking lot where they found an 81-year-old male in cardiac arrest. With the help of her partner, Burton began CPR and then continued ALS care on her own.

She was able to establish a return of spontaneous circulation, and the patient was transported to the emergency department of a local hospital. The patient was released a few days later with no neuro deficits or cardiac damage.

This save was a direct result of Burton’s dedication to the patients she serves. That dedication perhaps was demonstrated best when she was the medic on the scene of a car accident involving the man who had earlier tried to shoot her policeman husband. She treated this patient with respect, and he received the best of care.

Burton has been in EMS for 18 years. She began her career as an EMT and continued her education to become a paramedic. She attained the rank of supervisor but reduced her hours to part-time to care for her five children.

Wednesday’s 228-lap race is set to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on FOX Sports One.

###

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.

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: DARLINGTON 2 NOTES

The NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled to continue tomorrow with its second event at Darlington Raceway in four days after Kevin Harvick won Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400, marking the sport’s return to active competition. Following Wednesday night’s primetime feature, the series shifts to Charlotte Motor Speedway and the annual Coca-Cola 600.

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT DARLINGTON

· Ford has 30 all-time series wins at Darlington.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner won Ford’s first race at Darlington in 1966.

· Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are the only active Ford drivers with Darlington Cup wins.

FORD STARTS 2020 WITH THREE WINS IN FIVE RACES

This marks the second time in three years that Ford has won three of the first five races to start a NASCAR Cup Series season. Joey Logano registered two wins during the western swing, taking the checkers at Las Vegas and Phoenix, while Harvick followed up at Darlington. Ford is the only manufacturer with more than one victory this season and leads the manufacturer standings by 15 points.

FORD DRIVERS DOMINATE TOP 10 IN POINT STANDINGS

Kevin Harvick was already the points leader going into Darlington, so his victory only increased his lead, which now stands at 28. Overall, there are seven Ford drivers in the top 10, including three each from Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske. Following Harvick in the standings are: Joey Logano (3rd), Brad Keselowski (5th), Aric Almirola (7th), Ryan Blaney (8th), Matt DiBenedetto (9th) and Clint Bowyer (10th).

HARVICK JOINS SELECT GROUP

Kevin Harvick’s victory Sunday marked his 50th in Cup competition, becoming only the 14th driver to achieve that milestone. He joins NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett with that many wins. Harvick will move into 12th-place on the all-time list with his next Cup victory and needs four more to catch Lee Petty for 11th and five to tie Rusty Wallace for 10th. Of the 20 Cup races Stewart-Haas Racing has won since joining Ford in 2017, Harvick was won 15. In addition, Harvick is the only driver on the circuit who has recorded a top 10 finish in all five events this year.

NEMECHEK RECORDS FIRST TOP 10

John Hunter Nemechek registered his first top 10 career NASCAR Cup Series finish on Sunday. Making his eighth career start, Nemechek drove his No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang to a ninth-place finish after starting the event 34th. The top 10 finish was the first for Front Row Motorsports at a speedway other than Daytona or Talladega since Chris Buescher finished fifth for the organization in the Bristol Night Race on Aug. 21, 2016.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE WINNERS AT DARLINGTON
1956 – Curtis Turner
1960 – Joe Weatherly (1)
1961 – Fred Lorenzen and Nelson Stacy
1962 – Nelson Stacy and Larry Frank
1963 – Fireball Roberts (2)
1964 – Fred Lorenzen (1)
1965 – Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett
1968 – David Pearson (1)
1969 – Lee Roy Yarbrough (2)
1970 – David Pearson (1)
1981 – Neil Bonnett (2)
1982 – Dale Earnhardt (1)
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1988 – Bill Elliott (2)
1992 – Bill Elliott (1)
1993 – Mark Martin (2)
1994 – Bill Elliott (2)
1997 – Dale Jarrett (1)
1998 – Dale Jarrett (1)
1999 – Jeff Burton (Sweep)
2001 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2005 – Greg Biffle
2006 – Greg Biffle
2018 – Brad Keselowski
2020 – Kevin Harvick (1)

Denny Hamlin
#11 “Delivering Strength” Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Toyota 500
Date/Time: Weds, May 20/7:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 228 laps/311.4 miles
Track Length: 1.36 miles
Track Shape: Egg-shaped oval
2019 Winner: N/A

Express Notes:

Darlington “The Real Heroes 400” Recap: Denny Hamlin battled the track “Too Tough to Tame” for a top-five finish in NASCAR’s return to live racing on Sunday. Hamlin finished fifth at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in the Cup Series’ first event since going on hiatus in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The #11 “Thank You FedEx Team Members” Toyota lined up 10th by virtue of a random draw for the one-day event. With no practice or qualifying laps before the green flag, Hamlin had to assess the car for the first time during the first part of the race. The FedEx Racing team had brought a fast car – they just worked on slight handling issues through the 400-mile event. Hamlin remained in the top 10 throughout the afternoon, but never had enough to challenge for the lead. Kevin Harvick dominated much of the race for the win, leading 159 of the 293 laps.

Darlington Toyota 500 Preview: The series heads back to Darlington Raceway Wednesday night for a 500-kilometer event on the egg-shaped oval. Hamlin is a two-time winner at the track, taking the checkered flag in 2012 and 2017. Hamlin owns eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 15 career races at Darlington, leading a total of 562 laps. Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team will look to improve on their fifth-place finish in Sunday’s return-to-racing event at the South Carolina oval.

FedEx “The Real Heroes Project” Spotlight: FedEx is honored to highlight team member and “Real Hero” Jami Clark, from Afton, Wyo., with her name above the door of Hamlin’s car for the Toyota 500. Clark splits her time as a Sr. Global Operations Control Specialist with FedEx and as an Air National Guard C-17 pilot. Lately she’s been flying COVID-19 aid in missions for the 155 Airlift squadron. When she gets a free moment, she loves to go for runs with her dogs and train horses. FedEx is honored and thankful for her continued service during these challenging times.

FedEx “Delivering Strength” Paint Scheme: The #11 FedEx Toyota will sport a special paint scheme for the Darlington NASCAR race, carrying the message “Delivering Strength” on the hood and #fedexstrong on the back of the car. FedEx wishes to draw attention to not just its 475,000 FedEx team members, but all the organizations FedEx is working with during the COVID-19 crisis, including nonprofit organizations, the healthcare community and FedEx customers.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Darlington Raceway
Races: 15
Wins: 2
Poles: 1
Top-5: 8
Top-10: 12
Laps Led: 562
Avg. Start: 8.9
Avg. Finish: 7.6

Hamlin Conversation – Darlington:

How did it feel to be back on a real racetrack in the FedEx Toyota?

“It definitely felt good to be on the racetrack, that’s for sure. I’m proud of our FedEx team and everyone who helped put this program together. NASCAR and FOX did a great job to put together a process of making this a safe return that fans could enjoy on TV. Obviously, we wish we could do it with fans at the track, but that will come in due time.”

What do you need to do differently in the return to Darlington on Wednesday?

“I’m excited to go back and give it another shot. I like the process of figuring out what we can do better and getting to work on those things. Our FedEx Camry is going to be just as good, if not better, than it was Sunday.”

Team:                   No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves

Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format:     311.4 miles, 228 laps, Stage Lengths: 60-65-103

Toyota 500 – Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

NASCAR Returns to Action

·         Following its return to racing Sunday at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR continues its modified schedule with a second event at ‘The Lady in Black’ Wednesday night in primetime. It will mark the third of seven NASCAR national series races in an 11-day span.

·         Once competition wraps at Darlington on Wednesday, the NCS will transition to Charlotte Motor Speedway for two-consecutive events, the first on May 24 with the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600. It will be followed by a shorter event on May 27.

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

Sunday Recap, Wednesday Preview

·         In his first race back since the Daytona 500, Newman fought his way inside the top-10 early on in Sunday’s 293-lap race at Darlington before finishing 15^th. He crossed the line ninth in stage one to earn two stage points, and came back from a speeding penalty and cut tire in the closing laps to earn a top-15 finish.

·         The starting lineup for Wednesday’s 311.4-mile race will be determined by an invert for positions 1-20, putting Newman sixth on the grid for Wednesday night’s race.

Newman Historically at Darlington Raceway

·         Wednesday will be Newman’s 23^rd Cup Series start at Darlington, where he has 13 top-10s and seven top fives. He carries a 12.7 average finish – his second-best of any track on the circuit behind only Richmond (12.3).

·         Newman has finished top-10 in 59 percent of the races at the 1.366-mile track, including a runner-up finish in his first ever-Southern 500 back in 2002. Dating back eight events, Newman has five finishes of 13^th or better including four top-10s.

·         Newman has one career pole at ‘The Lady in Black’, which came back in the 2003 Southern 500. Overall he has an average starting position of 11.1 with 13 top-10 starts, eight of which were inside the top five.

·         Newman also made five starts at Darlington in the Xfinity Series, earning the pole in each of the first two events in 2001. He went on to finish fourth in the 2001 fall race – his best career Xfinity result – with an overall finish of 13.6 in the series at the famed track.

Scott Graves at Darlington Raceway

·         Graves will call his sixth NCS race at Darlington atop the pit box. In five prior events, Graves has an average finish of 24.6, coming off Newman’s 15^th-place finish on Sunday.

·         In Xfinity Series action, Graves led Suarez to a third-place finish in 2016 after starting fifth. A year prior, he and Chris Buescher paired up for a fifth-place result.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on Wednesday’s race:
“I felt like we unloaded pretty well Sunday and had a good run going for a good portion of the race. We just got a little off in terms of adjustments and had a couple things go south, but battled back for a top-15. With those notes and our performance early on I feel pretty good heading into Wednesday. Looking forward to putting together another strong race in our Oscar Mayer Ford and once again showing everyone how NASCAR is coming back during these times.”

The Real Heroes Project Continues at Darlington
NASCAR is collaborating with other professional sports properties across the country to embark on The Real Heroes Project. The goal is to motivate and inspire healthcare workers as sports only can, by turning its greatest heroes (the athletes) into their greatest fans. To that end, the name of a COVID-19 frontline worker will be displayed above the driver’s side door on each entry Wednesday night.

NASCAR allowed teams to select the names of the frontline workers to appear on their cars, and Newman chose a name special to him, Fe Roster, VP & Chief Care Continuum Officer at Halifax Health. Fe played a vital role in Newman’s life in the days following his horrific, last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, where he walked out of Halifax Medical Center three days later under the care of Roster and others. Dr. Jerry Petty, a partner with NASCAR for 40+ years, also played a vital role in Newman’s recovery all the way up until clearing him for NASCAR action, and – at Newman’s request – Petty will be on the name rail of the No. 17 machine Wednesday night.

On the Car
Oscar Mayer returns for Wednesday’s race at Darlington, this time promoting its love for hot dogs. Oscar Mayer and Roush Fenway announced their continued partnership at the end of the 2019 season, as the company continues to highlight its quality meat offerings via its paint schemes throughout the season.

About The Kraft Heinz Company
For 150 years, we have produced some of the world’s most beloved products at The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC). Our Vision is To Be the Best Food Company, Growing a Better World. We are one of the largest global food and beverage companies, with 2018 net sales of approximately $26 billion. Our portfolio is a diverse mix of iconic and emerging brands. As the guardians of these brands and the creators of innovative new products, we are dedicated to the sustainable health of our people and our planet. To learn more, visit https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Event: Darlington II
Venue: Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina)
Format: Three Stages – Stages End: Lap 60, 125, 228
Date/Broadcast: Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is back underway and NASCAR Cup Series drivers return to Darlington Raceway on Wednesday for the sixth race of the year and second at the famed South Carolina track.

For Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 32 Ford Mustang for Go Fas Racing, he will power the Keen Parts Ford, the Ohio-based Corvette parts supplier, for Wednesday night’s 310-mile contest.

It won’t be the usual CorvetteParts.net scheme, though. Keen Parts and the No. 32 team will honor all of the frontline workers who are working around the clock during the COVID-19 pandemic with a special “Thank a Hero” livery that will decorate LaJoie’s Ford under-the-lights at the Lady in Black.

Keen Parts and GFR wanted to show their appreciation for healthcare workers, first responders, as well as other essential workers aiding the public during this unprecedented time in our country, just as millions of others say “thank you” to the frontline heroes.

Tune in to FS1 on Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET for NCS racing at Darlington Raceway and cheer on LaJoie as the No. 32 team races for the real heroes fighting on the front lines.

To look for any of your Corvette restoration parts and accessories, or more information, visit CorvetteParts.net.

LaJoie on the upcoming race:

“We know we have a really good baseline to work off of based off of our speed on Sunday. Going back to the same track twice in a row allows a small team like ours to close the gap a little bit on some of the bigger teams that might have a little more engineering or sim time than we have. I’m sure [Crew Chief Ryan] Sparks is just as excited as I am knowing the speed we showed early in the race last week. It’s great to be back, and it is great to be running this special Keen Parts “Thank a Hero” scheme as we honor all of the frontline workers helping us battle the coronavirus.”

LaJoie’s history at Darlington Raceway:
Starts: 4
Best Finish: 27th (2018)
Average Start: 28.8
Average Finish: 30.5

Looking back on Darlington I:
Corey LaJoie and the Drydene team returned to the track this past Sunday at Darlington Raceway for the first of a handful of races announced by NASCAR as the industry cautiously returns to action. The driver of the No. 32 started 19th by virtue of a random draw, but on the opening lap, sustained minor damage to the left-rear from an overaggressive move by a competitor, including a flat tire that forced him to pit road.

After the restart, LaJoie gained 13 positions in the following laps despite battling tight conditions. At the lap-30 competition caution, crew chief Ryan Sparks called for an air pressure and wedge adjustment. The Drydene Ford cracked the top-25 on lap 67 of the 90-lap stage but relayed to the No. 32 team concerns regarding the fuel pressure.

During the stage break, the Go Fas Racing crew bolted on four fresh tires and fueled up the No. 32 Ford to start stage two from 26th. By lap 115 of The Real Heroes 400, the North Carolina native had worked his way up to 24th, and soon after reached 22nd. After a caution and a trip to pit road for service, the Drydene machine maintained its running in the top-25, completing stage two 25th.

In the final stage, the GFR team battled overheating issues and made multiple trips down pit road as the crew assessed the ongoing problem. LaJoie finished the 400-mile event 31st and looks to bounce back this Wednesday.

————————————————————–
About Our Team

About Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net:
Corvettes are all they do, so whether you’re looking for a complete interior for your vintage ’58 Corvette or a performance accessory for your ’09, they have the Corvette part you need and the expertise you want. For your Corvette exterior, they got you covered bumper-to-bumper. They even have emblems, moldings, grilles, bumpers and brackets, fiberglass, exterior trim and weather stripping. For the interior, they have steering wheels, seats, dash pads, consoles, carpeting, door panels, seat belts, interior trim and fasteners. Under the hood, they’ve got it all from air cleaners to exhaust systems, air conditioning, radiators, and valve covers all the way down to the decals and correct fasteners to bolt it all back together. For more information, please visit www.corvetteparts.net
or call 1-844-Tom-Keen.

About Go Fas Racing:
Go Fas Racing (GFR) currently fields Ford Mustangs in the NASCAR Cup Series for driver Corey LaJoie. Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, GFR has competed in the NASCAR’s premier series since 2014; fielding cars for some of NASCAR’s top drivers, including past champions. To find out more information about our team please visit www.GoFasRacing.com.

Stay up-to-date on Corey LaJoie:
To get live updates during the race weekends follow @coreylajoie on Instagram and Twitter. Make sure to give Corey a “like” on Facebook – “@CoreyLaJoieRacing”. For a detailed bio and updated in-season statistics, please visit www.coreylajoieracing.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Monday, May 18, 2020
Darlington Media Availability

John Hunter Nemechek is coming off a career-best ninth-place finish in yesterday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. Nemechek answered questions as part of a teleconference on Monday to talk about his run.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang – WHAT DID IT MEAN TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 AND GET BACK TO THE TRACK? “It definitely means a lot to our team. I feel like we’ve kind of had speed all year and we’ve made our cars better during the off-season transitioning to Front Row Motorsports. Yesterday, we came in with no expectations. We just kind of had the mindset to run every lap and learn the most that we possibly could, and while doing that we made the right adjustments all day. We stayed on top of the race track and we kind of ran our own race and it led to us running top 15 most of the day, which is a really great accomplishment for myself and Front Row Motorsports for my first time being at Darlington in a Cup car and just trying to learn. It’s definitely a hard race track, but, overall, the pit crew did amazing. Seth and myself did great at communicating. The engineers were awesome. It was a full team effort and we stayed on top of it, so it was definitely a great day and something to be proud of for us. I think that’s Front Row’s first top 10 finish on a non-superspeedway in almost four years, so it’s pretty amazing to have that accomplishment and hopefully we can continue to have the momentum roll our way, but it came down to the final restart and we had our car tuned up for the end. I was hoping we were gonna have a couple more laps. I think we could have got Reddick and Erik Jones, but, overall, a solid day. I’m looking forward to going back to Darlington on Wednesday.”

CAN YOU COMPARE THE EXPERIENCE OF COMPETING IN THIS RACE VS. WHAT YOU DID LAST YEAR IN THE XFINITY SERIES? “We weren’t very good at Darlington last year in the XFINITY Series, so for myself to kind of go there with an open mindset, a lot of preparation was done, a lot of video was watched, talked to quite a few Cup drivers during the quarantine about Darlington when we knew that we were going back there and just tried to be a sponge and just soak everything up. I would say Darlington last year I didn’t really like it. I didn’t really like the place. It definitely was a struggle for myself and for our team last year. We weren’t that great, so coming into Darlington this year it was completely different than the XFINITY car, just trying to make the most of the situation and with no practice I definitely like it almost gave our team a little bit of a better opportunity to run good as we didn’t have time to either mess up our car or our adjustments and set up through practice, but it didn’t really allow others to make major gains through practice, where we might not be able to do the same, so it was a lot of fun being able to tame the Lady in Black, and I had a blast. It’s a place I really like now, not really from last year, but being able to slide around and tire wear, being able to run multiple grooves, it was overall just a really fun race yesterday and really great just to be back in the seat.”

HOW TOUGH WAS THIS RACE COMPARED TO WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING GOING IN, AND WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE GOING INTO WEDNESDAY? “I think from a confidence standpoint it definitely makes me feel really good to be able to go back there. We have some notes that I think we can get better from, from yesterday, some things that I wish the car would have done a little bit differently. It’s an opportunity for us to have a really good notebook. I mean, coming into yesterday our kind of plan as a team to run every lap and learn the most that we possibly could and we were really planning on the second Darlington race being our best race, so to come home with a ninth in the first Darlington and hopefully we can build momentum and continue to roll on that.”

WAS THE RACE TOUGHER OR EASIER ON YOU THAN EXPECTED? “I don’t think that it was terrible from a physical demand standpoint or anything like that. I definitely think from being out of the race car and coming back into the race car from so much time off, I explained it as a really long rain delay even though it was almost the amount of time that our off-season is, so it was definitely very good to be back in the seat. I definitely think that it shows who has been training and who hasn’t, and who has been preparing for coming back to racing. I’m just glad that from a physical standpoint it wasn’t as demanding as I thought it would, but I was tired afterwards. I left everything out there on the race track, that’s for sure.”

WILL YOU TAKE THE SAME CAR BACK ON WEDNESDAY? DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE WITH THE BIGGER TEAMS WITH TWO DAYS IN BETWEEN? “I definitely feel like from the advantage standpoint, I don’t necessarily know if the bigger teams will have more of the advantage or if we’re gonna have the advantage. With not having practice or anything, it’s definitely, I feel like it gives us a little bit of a chance. With Front Row Motorsports and us having two cars we can learn off of each other, but when you’re racing against big teams that have four cars, you can almost come to the race track with four different setups and see which one works best, and then all the cars can kind of trend to that setup, whereas with two it’s hard to learn and hard to gain that many notes during the whole time, so I feel like going back some of the bigger teams are probably gonna step their game up. We just have to do the same and we just have to stay focused on the task at hand and we’re gonna go back with the same mindset of running all the laps and just try to put us in position to have a good finish.

ARE YOU BRINGING THE SAME CAR BACK? “We’re not bringing the same car back Wednesday. Darlington is really rough on equipment as far as with the sand and everything in the race track being so abrasive, so we’re definitely gonna have to tune it up. Even though the car was clean, it didn’t have any scratches on it, it was very well pitted out from all the sand and what-not.”

HOW DOES THREE RACES IN A SHORT PERIOD AFFECT YOUR TRAINING, ESPECIALLY WITH A 600-MILER AT THE END OF THE WEEK? “It’s definitely something I have to get used to. The longest race I’ve been a part of has been 500 miles, and I think I’ve run two of those races so far, so it’s definitely something that I have to train my body for, but as far as physical shape and mental shape during the whole quarantine process with COVID, I upped my training quite a bit. I probably doubled or tripled what I was doing on a weekly basis already, so I feel really good about my physical shape and my mental shape right now. As far as the recovery process, I actually got home and took an ice bath last night, so it’s definitely something that you have to kind of train for and I’ll be on a bike later today spinning and trying to recover a little bit, but everything that we’re doing during these times with three races in pretty much seven days is all recovery stuff, just trying to flush out the body and trying to flush out the legs, rather than putting in very high, physical demand process and letting all of our energy and what-not kind of recover before we get back in the race car.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE ON THE GRID YESTERDAY WITH NO FAMILY, FRIENDS AND PROBABLY NO MRO TO DO A PRE-RACE PRAYER? “It was definitely different. I know I think MRO had virtual chapel yesterday. I did not get to attend, sadly. We were actually debriefing and getting ready for the race with our team, but I did have some texts and some chat back and forth with another pastor that we’ve been able to talk with during this time and trying to create that mentality as well. As far as on the grid it was definitely a different feeling, something that we’re not used to and something that we hopefully don’t have to get used to as far as not having friends and family there. The whole atmosphere was different without fans and it’s not something that you kind of look forward to going back to, knowing that there aren’t gonna be fans there, but I am glad that we’re back in the seat and that we are back racing. Hopefully, we can get fans back soon because it’s definitely not the same.”

WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOUR ROLE IS IN THIS ROOKIE CLASS? CUSTER, BELL AND REDDICK HAVE GOTTEN ALL THE ATTENTION, SO HOW DO YOU FEEL? “I definitely think from a success standpoint it’s coming back to I guess putting all your effort into trying to make the most of the opportunity, but it goes back to communication with my crew chief and my whole team, and making the right decisions at the right time. I definitely feel like all the talk was about the big three. It was like the big three and me, like what about me over here? So, definitely trying to make a name for myself as far as part of the rookie class, and I feel like we’ve been able to do some of that and we just have to continue to try to do that, but the big three definitely aren’t going away. They’re hard to compete with and they’re all really good. To be able to continue to compete with them and to race them week in, week out with the circumstances that we have at Front Row, it definitely makes myself feel good and makes our team feel good. I hope to continue to build momentum through the runs that we’ve had. Like I said earlier, we’ve had speed all year, we just haven’t had finishes that we need to show. We’ve always gotten collected in somebody else’s stuff at the end of a race and that part definitely stinks, but we want to continue to run strong and finish strong and continue to show the speed that we have.”

CAN YOU LOOK AHEAD TO THE 600 AND QUALIFYING FOR THAT RACE? “It’s definitely gonna be interesting. I definitely feel like going back qualifying with no practice, I mean go out there and hold it wide-open and hope she sticks, but, all in all, it’s gonna be interesting to see who comes out with more of their race setup or who comes out with more of their qualifying setup to qualify good or whatever it may be. The 600 is gonna be a long race. It’s gonna be the longest race I’ve ever been in, so it’s a matter of taking your time and making the most of the opportunity and not getting tired, not getting mentally tired, staying focused throughout the whole thing. I think yesterday definitely shows that we started 34th and ended up ninth, and we continued to make passes. It may be a little bit different at Charlotte, but I don’t think it really matters where you qualify at this point, so to continue to try and build on that and just focus on the race, I think, is gonna be our No. 1 priority.”

DO YOU FEEL YOUR STRENGTH IS OUTWORKING THE COMPETITION OFF THE TRACK? “I wouldn’t say that I outwork the competition. I definitely think that everyone puts in effort and time into studying and what-not, but I think it’s utilizing your resources to the max. I definitely feel like I work hard in that aspect of trying to utilize all your resources from video to data to asking questions to try and be a sponge and soak everything up. I definitely feel like through my years of racing I’ve kind of had to learn some things the hard way and sometimes that’s the best way to learn things, so just trying to learn, trying to be the best sponge I can be, but, all in all, I definitely feel like the whole atmosphere in the garage of all of us rookies trying to be the best that we can be is working hard, so I wouldn’t say that I outwork everyone, but I definitely do put in a lot of time and effort and I am dedicated to this.”

WHO IS YOUR SPOTTER AND HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY UNDER THESE CONDITIONS? “I have Chris Osborne as my spotter. He’s a veteran spotter. He’s been a great help and a great influence to me this year. He’s definitely given me all the information that I could ask for and he’s been around for a while, so he’s seen different trends through the years and he can continue to relay information that there are certain things I don’t necessarily think about from yesterday during the race or before we even raced, getting on a call with him and just being able to talk about his experiences at the race track. He can throw out pointers for me and I definitely kind of know my trends as a driver when certain things happen or when I kind of focus on not necessarily the wrong things, but not the fully correct things while we’re running laps. He can kind of see those trends and push me to be better and tell me to focus, so he keeps me on my toes and he keeps me focused, but at the same time he gives me a lot of information. Spotters are key right now with no practice and no qualifying, and especially for my first time being at Darlington in a Cup car, being able to learn some of the things from these guys that have so much experience at Darlington and are race winners and champions in this sport, he can definitely give me information on them and just trying to be smart about everything that we do. He definitely keeps me on my toes with that aspect.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
THE REAL HEROES 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 18, 2020

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his Top-10 finish in The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. Full Transcript:

WALK US THROUGH YOUR RACE, YOUR FIRST RACE BACK WITH NO PRACTICE AND NO QUALIFYING. IT SEEMS LIKE YOU DIDN’T MISS A STEP.
“I don’t know about that. It ended up being a great finish. I had a lot of fun in the car and working with those guys. There were certainly some things that I need to be sharper on and brush up on. But yeah, overall, it was a great day. The CGR cars run really well there at Darlington (Raceway), so I was glad we were able to get a good finish and work our way back up toward the front there at the end.”

HOW WOULD RATE THAT AS FAR AS THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS YOU’VE DONE IN RACING? WAS IT ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT? WAS IT NOT ALL THAT DIFFICULT? WHERE WOULD YOU RATE IT?
“It’s never really easy. I would say to get prepared and get the mental mindset and everything ready to start the race was very difficult. I was definitely anxious when they were getting ready to throw the green, firing off there in the first corner, and everything being new and different with having an extended period of time off. But really once we got into that second restart and ran three or four laps, I really felt pretty comfortable. There are a lot of things when you’re out for awhile that you just aren’t as sharp on as when you left; just all the little detail stuff like getting in your pit box clean, pit road stuff, just a lot of different little stuff. But I really felt pretty comfortable in the car. They did a great job of getting everything ready. I felt really good physically. There were really no issues there, just trying to get rolling again. So, I mean they were all difficult, but I certainly think it helped that typically their cars run really well at Darlington. Certainly, this package makes the cars easier to drive than what they were when I left. When you have less power and more drag, everything is happening just a little bit slower and that helps with the adjustment as well.”

WE THOUGHT VETERANS WOULD ACCEL AT DARLINGTON. IT’S PRETTY AMAZING WHAT YOU DID. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT GOING BACK AND DO YOU THINK THE VETERANS WILL BE THE ONES THAT WILL BE THE ONES TO DO BETTER WHEN WE GO BACK WEDNESDAY? HOW DO YOU LOOK AT PREPARING FOR THE RETURN?
“I don’t know, I haven’t really gotten to review any film yet or anything. I don’t really know what everybody looked like, except for the cars that I raced around. It’s just hard to predict who’s going to do better than everybody else on Wednesday, although it is a quick turnaround. I wouldn’t expect the guy that won the race is going to run really bad or vice versa necessarily. I just hope to improve a little bit on everything we did. But, at the same time, that’s what everybody is trying to do. It’s not like you’re going to go out there and be like ‘we finished tenth, I need to do this better and that better, and we’re going to go there and automatically do that much better’ because that’s what everybody’s goal is. Everybody went in there, nobody had any practice, all the drivers have been out of their cars for 60 or 70 days or whatever it was. I think everybody is going to get better. I have to try to figure out how to be better, we’ve got to get the car a little better. It’s definitely going to be different conditions, most likely, than what we had this weekend. So, there are a lot of variables.”

HOW ODD WAS IT YESTERDAY WITH ALL THE PROTOCALS AND NO FANS FOR YOUR FIRST RACE BACK? TODAY, THIS MORNING, HOW HAS YOUR BODY RESPONDED TO BE READY TO GO BY WEDNESDAY?
“I feel fine, I could probably use a little bit more sleep. It was pretty busy around here getting everybody going with the kids, getting all the race notes done and then throwing in some of this stuff. So, it’s a little busy; need a little bit of time probably to get caught up on everything. But I feel good, I feel really good. I haven’t really had any issues, which I’m thankful for. Everything fit pretty good and I feel good.”

“It kind of felt like you were going to a test, so yeah it was different not having all the fans there. I would say once they threw the green flag, you didn’t really notice it as much. But certainly, pre-race and post-race it definitely felt different, for sure. Once the race started, I thought the racing was good. With nobody having practice, I think that typically makes for better races because some people kind of hit it and some people kind of miss it. You didn’t really notice the environment from the driver’s seat being different once we started the race.”

SINCE YOU HAVEN’T DRIVEN THIS PACKAGE BEFORE, WHAT WAS IT LIKE AND WHAT KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE TO YOUR DRIVING STYLE? LISTENING TO THE RADIO A LITTLE BIT, CHAD (JOHNSTON) WAS GIVING YOU A LOT OF INFORMATION, LIKE WHAT THE LEADER OR OTHERS WERE DOING WITH THE THROTTLE IN THE CORNERS. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE GETTING MORE OF TO HELP YOU WITH THIS PACKAGE?
“It’s always good to get information; I would rather have too much information than not enough. So, I think that’s the approach we take. If you can use it to your advantage, you can get better and adjust to something faster. A lot of it is dictated on how your car is driving, the traffic your in and all that stuff. As far as the package, I certainly think it made the adjustment a little bit easier to get going again. It’s definitely different. Even Darlington for as worn out that it is and all the tire fall off, you have to be much more strategic, especially on restarts. The first three or four laps there were, I hate to say luck, but being on the right line on restarts. I can imagine that will be a lot more important when we get to places like Charlotte where you have a lot of grip and can run closer to wide-open, if not wide-open. But yeah, you had to be more patient. There were times where if it was the old package, you would catch somebody on a restart, you would turn under them and try to pass them and you could usually make that pass. I caught myself doing that a few times; you’d get along side of him and then four cars would pass you down the straightaway on the top. So, you certainly had to be more patient, I think. You had to get whatever you could get on restarts, but you also had to be careful to not get yourself in a position where you would get your car bogged down, get stacked up down the straightaway and go back by you. So, certainly a little more strategy involved, particularly when the cars were bunched up, than there used to be.”

YOU SPOKE GOING INTO THIS RACE HOW YOU WERE A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS AND YOU JUST USED THE WORD ‘ANXIOUS’. WAS THERE A POINT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RACE WHERE YOU FELT LIKE ‘I GOT THIS’?
“You never feel like you got this until you’re coming off four and leading; that’s the only time you really feel like that. I would say about the second or third lap, I felt pretty good. I felt pretty comfortable and I felt pretty aware of my surroundings. I was able to race a lot of the cars around me and even in that first segment, make a few passes on some competitive cars. It really felt pretty good, so just the part about being on the race track it didn’t take me long to feel comfortable or at home, or I haven’t really had any time off. That part didn’t really take very long. A big part of that, like I said, was having a good-driving race car. I really wasn’t uncomfortable at all by the time we got done with the second restart.”

A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, KEVIN HARVICK WENT OUT OF HIS WAY ON HIS RADIO SHOW TO PRAISE YOU AND HE WAS GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK. HARVICK SAID IT AGAIN LAST NIGHT AND HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WAS TO HAVE YOU BACK. HAVE YOU HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE SAID THEY ARE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU BACK?
“I’ve heard from a lot of people. That’s really nice of him to say, especially when he’s out there winning those races. Certainly, it feels good to be back. I’ve had a lot of fun the last two or three weeks working with Chad (Johnston) and my new team, and getting back on the race track and being competitive. You just don’t know, I wasn’t real competitive the last season that I raced and, certainly, the year before that really didn’t go the way I thought it should go or wanted it to go necessarily. It feels good to be back, to be wanted, to be part of that team and to get a good start. It’s only one race; I have a lot of racing to do and I realize I have a lot of improving to do. But it has been fun so far, for sure.”

KURT BUSCH TOLD US LAST NIGHT THAT HE WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO CALLING YOU ON THE WAY HOME. I WAS WONDERING, DID YOU GUYS HAVE A CONVERSATION AND HOW THAT WENT TALKING TO KURT?
“I actually called him, I didn’t know he was calling me (laughs). I called and talked to him a little bit on the way home. Actually, as soon as we hang up here, we have a call scheduled. It was good, Kurt had a really good day. He finished really well and I’m looking forward to reading more of his stuff, and hearing more about his race. Hopefully, I can learn something from that and apply it for Wednesday.”

HOW DOES YOUR FINISH COMPARE TO HOW YOUR EXPECTATIONS WERE GOING INTO THE RACE? ALSO, SINCE YOU DID SO WELL IN THAT RACE, ARE YOU ALREADY LOOKING POTENTIALLY AHEAD AT A PLAYOFF BID FOR CHIP GANASSI RACING?
“We’re only one race in and have a lot of work to do and racing to do to have a shot at making the Playoffs. Obviously, a win would get you there, but I don’t know about any of that. Expectations are a tricky thing. I expect to be competitive. I didn’t know how long that would take for me to be at my best, necessarily. You never know how you’re going to run week to week. It was super, super random and I never usually make predications. But my kids were talking to me last week and Kaylin was kind of grilling me on where I thought we were going to finish and how we were going to run. I don’t know why, but I just had 12th in my head. She had two other people last week when they were talking about it, everybody had 12th. I would have been pretty happy with being 12th my first day, so finishing 10th I thought was really good. Top-10’s are not easy to come by, so to get one on our first day and for Kurt to go out there and run third, I thought that was a big success for the whole organization.”

I KNOW YESTERDAY YOU WERE RUNNING AROUND TYLER REDDICK A BIT; I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU RAN AROUND JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK AT ALL. BUT SEEING THOSE TWO ROOKIES COME HOME WITH TOP-10’S, DID YOU SEE ANYTHING THAT JUMPED OUT ABOUT THEM THAT MAY HAVE SURPRISED YOU?
“I watched the championship race for Xfinity at Homestead last year. I don’t know him at all, but I watched that race with my dad and it was just incredible driving. He went and won that race, and he was the difference maker in that. A lot of times, everybody is pretty good when you get to this level, and you feel like it’s more about the car, positioning, and a lot of different stuff. But when I watched that race at Homestead, he’s just incredibly talented. Especially at those tracks where you have to run high and get all that extra out of it, and just laying it on that line without making a mistake. A lot of people can lay it on that line, but typically or eventually make a mistake. He really impressed me watching that race, so I can’t say it really surprised me when I saw how fast he can run. Yesterday, particularly when he had nobody in his way in that top grove, he really got that working well.”

“John Hunter (Nemechek) I haven’t really raced against a lot. I’ve watched him race; he’s obviously got a lot of talent. It’s not a knock at all on the team, but especially when you see him in that car in the top-10, that was a really impressive run.”

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.