Category: NASCAR Cup PR

USA Today 301 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, N.H. – June 23, 2024
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Oval Decal – TrackDecals

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 AUTOTRADER FORD MUSTANG

START: 29TH STAGE ONE: 28TH STAGE TWO: 19TH FINISH: 19TH POINTS: 21ST

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang, soldiered on through a chaotic USA TODAY 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, recording a 19th-place finish. After inclement weather scrapped qualifying Saturday, Cindric lined up 29th for the start as the starting order was set per the NASCAR rulebook. The Autotrader Ford remained near that position for the duration of Stage 1 as it had a tight condition that limited Cindric’s ability to run the higher lane. When the flag flew to end the segment, Cindric was scored in the 28th position. The No. 2 was docked for speeding on pit road and lined up 29th for the ensuing restart. Cindric returned to pit road on Lap 120 under green for fresh tires, fuel and additional adjustments to further aid the handling, and again on Lap 154 under caution. With five laps remaining in Stage 2, Cindric informed his team that he was able to run the higher lane much better than he had previously been able to. Cindric took two tires at the Stage break after finishing 19th and restarted 6th to kick off the third and final segment. A series of quick cautions slowed the field before weather rolled into the area, ultimately generating an over two-hour long red flag. Once it cleared out, the race resumed with drivers on wet weather tires and Cindric fired off seventh with 73 laps to go. A plethora of chaotic cautions followed, with Cindric getting collected in one of them, a multi-car incident with 37 laps remaining. He returned to pit road for the team to assess the car and eventually took fresh wet weather tires in preparation for the restart. As the chaos continued to ensue, Cindric fought to the checkered flag to record a 19th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, we had a really strong run up through the field. The guys made some good adjustments, it’s just a grind to get track position back at this place. Then with the rain, wet weather tires, and getting spun out, it was just an absolute mess trying to drive back up through there. I’m proud of the effort we had up until Stage 3, I definitely thought we had a bit more of a normal day in the Autotrader Ford.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/DUTCH BOY FORD MUSTANG

START: 2ND STAGE ONE: 4TH STAGE TWO: 5TH FINISH: 25TH POINTS: 8TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney was in contention for his second win in as many weeks Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway but was collected in a multi-car incident with nine laps to go, relegating him to a 25th-place finish. After starting from the outside of row one in the 301-lap event, Blaney settled into fifth in the running order during the first run of the day while battling issues with rear grip but managed to come away with a fourth-place finish in the opening stage. Blaney continued to keep pace in and around the top-five throughout Stage 2 as the 12-team continued go to work on the balance to help stabilize the Menards/Dutch Boy Ford over the long run. Following a caution on lap 154, Blaney restarted from the outside of row three with 26 laps to go in the segment and battled his way to a fifth-place result in the second stage. With rainfall approaching the track at the start of the final stage, Blaney charged up to third on the leaderboard and was locked into a battle for the lead with the Nos. 45 and 11 but a caution on lap 216 halted his momentum before rain brought out the red flag on lap 219. Following a lengthy delay, drivers returned to their cars as teams mounted wet weather tires prior to the restart with 73 laps to go. With the track still damp, Blaney searched all over the racing surface for the fastest line while managing tire wear to hold his position in second despite several cautions in the opening laps. Teams were required to stick with the wet weather tires during non-competitive pit stops through the end of the race while Blaney continued to challenge for the lead with the laps winding down. Blaney chose to restart from the outside of row two coming to nine laps to go as he found success running the top lane but the No. 34 overshot the entry to turn one on the restart, sliding up into the left side of Blaney and sending the two around in front of the field. Blaney was relegated to the tail end of the lead lap for the ensuing restart, resulting in a 25th-place finish.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I knew what [Michael McDowell] was trying to do. It was a low percentage move. It was wet down there and he drove it in there. What do you think is going to happen? You are going to take both of us out. I know [McDowell] has to win and all that, and that was his excuse, but you have to be a little more calculated than that. It stinks it was at our expense. Man, I really thought we had a decent shot to contend. I was happy because we came in, put tires on, made a big adjustment and I was looking forward to restarting behind [Christopher] Bell and see if we would have anything for him but just never got a chance. I’m proud of the 12 boys. Long day and a really fast car. I really enjoyed where our short track program is going right now. Hopefully we can just continue to get that a little bit better.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 HUNT BROTHERS PIZZA FORD MUSTANG

START: 6TH STAGE ONE: 2ND STAGE TWO: 3RD FINISH: 32ND POINTS: 14TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano was credited with a 32nd-place finish after being involved in a multi-car incident at the start of the final stage but came away with top-five finishes in the first two segments Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Logano’s Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford had exceptional long-run speed on display from the onset of the 301-lap event and chased down the No. 9 in the closing laps of Stage 1 before completing the pass for second out of turn four coming to the green-and-white checkered flag to complete the opening stage. The caution flag flew on lap 142 following the completion of the green flag pit cycle in Stage 2 when crew chief Paul Wolfe elected to keep Logano on track, vaulting him to second in the running order to take the restart from the inside of row one with 37 laps remaining in the segment. Logano battled for the top spot on the ensuing run while fending off teams with fresher tires behind him before coming away with a third-place finish in Stage 2. With the threat of rain quickly approaching prior to the start of the final stage, Logano hit pit road for a four tire stop under caution and lined up 12th for the ensuing restart. On the opening lap of the final stage, Logano was pushed into turn one and slid up the track into the No. 9 to bring out the caution on lap 195. Once Logano was able to make it to pit road, the 22-team made a pair of stops under yellow to repair the right front toe link and assess damage to the right front. After rejoining the field, Logano was able to meet minimum speed was scored 35th, three laps down. A pair of cautions shortly after allowed the 22-team to make additional repairs before rainfall brought out the red flag on lap 219. Following a lengthy delay, teams made the switch to the wet weather tires for the remaining 82 laps and several cautions over the course of the final stretch allowed Logano to make up a few positions along the way, ending in a 32nd-place result.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Unfortunate end to our day after the speed we showed in the first two stages – I thought we had something to contend for the win but just didn’t pan out that way. The Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford had a lot of pace and we could really get it going on the long run. Proud of the 22 crew for sticking with it and keeping us out there to the end.”

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Nashville Superspeedway for the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 30. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

RICK WARE RACING
USA Today 301

Date: June 23, 2024
Event: USA Today 301 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 301 laps, broken into three stages 70 laps/115 laps/116 laps)
Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 301-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Race Finish:

● Kaz Grala (Started 35th, Finished 22nd/Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 24th, Finished 29th/Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (30th with 242 points)
● Kaz Grala (35th with 155 points)

RWR Notes:

● This was Grala’s first Cup Series start at New Hampshire.
● Grala’s 22nd-place finish is a new team-best for Rick Ware Racing at New Hampshire. The previous best was a 27th-place result earned by Brennan Poole in August 2020.
● This was Haley’s fourth start at New Hampshire. His best finish remains 17th, earned in July 2023.

Race Notes:

● Christopher Bell won the USA Today 301 to score his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at New Hampshire. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Briscoe was 1.104 seconds.

● There were 14 caution periods for a total of 85 laps.

● Twenty-nine of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott leave New Hampshire tied atop the championship standings with a 40-point advantage over third-place Denny Hamlin.

Sound Bites:

“We made the most of our finish today, for sure. We got behind early but were on our way forward when one of the crashes in the dry damaged our right side quite a bit. We had to manage that throughout the wet portion of the race, and it definitely hurt our speed, but we fought our way as far forward as we could to salvage a 22-place finish. Our Meat N’ Bone team worked hard all day and executed the way we needed to.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 Meat N’ Bone Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Our Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse was so good today. I really felt like when we went back racing after the delay, we’d be able to stay in the top-10 and battle for a top-five finish. Unfortunately, the damage we got when the Nos. 34 and 12 wrecked made a bigger difference than we thought and there wasn’t much I could do to overcome it. We still have a lot to be proud of. The top-10 runs are getting more consistent and we’re showing just how much work is being put in to improve at Rick Ware Racing.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TY DILLON
No. 16 CarBravo Camaro ZL1

• Ty Dillon started 36th, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the USA Today 301 was canceled, due to inclement weather.
• Dillon and the No. 16 CarBravo team remained silent on the radio for the first half of Stage one, before reporting he was tight in the middle. Dillon fell one lap down, as he continued to battle a car that became loose in and out of turns. After a caution-free stage one came to an end, the No. 16 car finished 36th and one lap down.
• While under the first stage break, the No. 16 team pitted for tires, fuel, a sway bar and rear track-bar adjustment with the goal of being able to enter the corners more aggressively. Dillon restarted 36th and one lap down. As the field returned green, Dillon noted the adjustments had improved the handling of the No. 16. Electing to run long while the field began green-flag pit stops, the No. 16 gained as many as three positions but eventually fell two laps down, before the first caution of the day on lap 143. Staying out, Dillon restarted 31st and one lap down, when a timely caution on lap 155 allowed the No. 16 to pit for a right-rear adjustment, tires and fuel. Dillon restarted 30th and one lap down. As the green-white-checkered flew to wrap up stage two, Dillon finished 31st and a lap down.
• As the final stage got underway, Dillon reported low air pressure did not allow the No.16 to fire off fast enough. Crew Chief Travis Mack brought the No.16 down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, tires and fuel. Dillon restarted 31st when an early caution allowed the No.16 to pit once again and top off with fuel. Dillon restarted 30th and in the free-pass position when the fourth caution fell, putting the No.16 back on the lead lap. Dillon pitted for four tires and fuel, before restarting 28th. On Lap 211 the fifth caution of the day came out. Dillon stayed out and restarted 26th, climbing two spots before the next caution and inclement weather red-flagged the race. After a lengthy delay and a NASCAR-mandated switch to rain tires, the No. 16 restarted 26th, as Dillon fell one position before the next caution. Electing to stay out, the No. 16 restarted 25th. Dillon slowly lost four positions as the No. 16 was free exiting turns, when the next caution came out with 45 laps to go. Staying out, the No. 16 restarted 29th and climbed as high as 23rd before a wreck with 37 laps to go eliminated several cars and caused minimal driver-side body damage to the No. 16 car. The field pitted for a non-competitive pit stop for fresh rain tires. The No. 16 gained as many as seven positions over the next several laps, before the caution once again flew with 18 laps remaining. Dillon avoided the wreck, elected to stay out and restarted 17th, when NASCAR again mandated fresh rain tires. As the field looked to return to green-flag racing, the caution once again came out on the restart. The No. 16 stayed out and restarted 17th. The next and final caution of the race set up NASCAR overtime. Dillon once again stayed out and restarted 17th. Dillon went on to finish 20th.

“I’m really proud of the guys today and everything they did to make the car better. At one point, we were two laps down, and we just kept fighting, hitting our restarts, and gaining positions back. We still need to work on a few things, but was an overall team effort today.” – Ty Dillon  
 
DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Poppy Bank Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric started 33rd, as per the rule book, after qualifying for the USA Today 301 was canceled, due to inclement weather.
• Hemric stayed quiet on the radio, as the opening stage remained green for the entire 70-lap stint. Hemric finished 34th and down one lap to the leaders.
• During the first stage break, Hemric radioed that his No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy was loose on entry. He pitted for tires, fuel, and a handful of adjustments to help the handling of the car. He started the second stage in 34th. Hemric made steady improvements but lacked the rear grip he needed to advance. On lap 141, Hemric spun but acquired no damage, as the caution came out. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for substantial adjustments on the No. 31 Chevy. The field went back to green on lap 148, as Hemric sat two laps down to the leaders. Another caution came out on lap 153, giving the No. 31 team another chance to make more left-side adjustments. He restarted 34th on lap 159 and went on to finish 33rd in stage two.
• During the second stage break, Hemric noted improvements of the No. 31 Chevrolet’s drivability, adding that the rear tires felt more connected. He pitted for four tires and started the final stage in 33rd. A caution came out on the initial restart, followed by another, before eventually going back to green with 96 laps remaining. As another caution came out with 92 laps remaining, Hemric radioed that the No. 31 Chevy was extremely tight handling, and Owens made the call to pit for right-side tires. Hemric restarted in the free-pass position before another caution came out just after the restart. Rain began to fall, red-flagging the race. The race resumed and went back to green on lap 228, as Hemric sat 31st. The next caution fell on lap 234, and Hemric pitted for a wedge adjustment. The field went back to green on lap 262 and only made it two laps before another caution came out. Hemric avoided wrecking cars in front of him, but made slight contact with the wall. The field pitted under caution for a non-competitive stop to put on fresh wet-weather tires. Hemric restarted 30th with 27 laps to go, before the next caution came out with 18 laps remaining, as Hemric avoided a spinning No. 77 car in front of him. He radioed to his team that the No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy was tight on throttle. Hemric pitted under caution for wet-weather tires and restarted 31st with nine laps remaining. A caution on the restart put the field back under yellow, and Hemric stayed out before restarting 31st. The field went green for two laps before a spin brought out an overtime-inducing caution. On a lap of his own, Hemric restarted 31st, where he finished the race.

“We knew coming into the weekend that our short-track package has been a challenge for this Kaulig Racing team, and that’s what today was. Our No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy lacked rear grip, and I spun after using up the rear tires. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t rebound and get our laps back.” – Daniel Hemric  

 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Keselowski Finishes 28th after Untimely Late Spin

LOUDON, N.H. (June 23, 2024) – RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher excelled on rain tires powering his No. 17 Ford Mustang to a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s rain-soaked NASCAR Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The race was delayed for over two hours for persistent rainfall and thunderstorms after 217 laps. Once the skies had cleared and action resumed, Buescher restarted the race 11th and used the remaining caution-filled 82 laps to secure his fourth top-five finish of the season.

“There was no quit in this Fastenal group today,” said Buescher. “It was awesome to come home with a top five. We were really good in the rain when it was wet. We really fought for it when it was dry but we were good on wet tires.

“There at the end there was just really one good groove and that made restarts a battle,” added Buescher. “We were able to persevere through all that and bring this thing home with a handful of more tire marks on the door than when we went in under red initially, but a really good night for us.”

6 Recap
Buescher’s teammate and RFK co-owner Brad Keselowski started the race ninth but battled the majority of the race fighting a loose-handling race car and poor track position. He finished the first stage 16th and the second stage 25th.

Keselowski restarted the race 23rd and broke into the top-20, but a late spin with one lap to go relegated Keselowski and his No 6 BuildSubmarines.com Boston Red Sox themed Ford to a 28th-place finish.

17 Recap
Buescher started the race 15th and finished the first stage 18th. He finished the second stage 11th, where he was running when the race was halted for the inclement weather.

Following the 2-hour plus rain delay, the race restarted for the final 80-lap run to the finish with a myriad of chaos as NASCAR mandated wet tires for the restart. From there, six caution flags were displayed until the checkered flag as teams battled tire wear, damp conditions, and arriving darkness.

Buescher used the flurry of yellows to slowly inch his way forward, ultimately surviving the chaos to drive into the top five. He restarted on the second row in consecutive restarts to conclude the race, hanging on to the top five result, his best-career finish in Loudon. It marks Buescher’s eighth top-10 of the season and fourth top five for the Prosper, Texas native.

Up Next
The final race in June takes place next Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway with race coverage set for 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
USA Today 301

Date: June 23, 2024
Event: USA Today 301 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 301 laps, broken into three stages (70 laps/115 laps/116 laps)
Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 301-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Chase Briscoe (Started 23rd, Finished 2nd / Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 10th, Finished 3rd / Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 31st, Finished 11th / Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 21st, Finished 27th / Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 405 points, 215 out of first)
● Josh Berry (19th with 357 points, 263 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (25th with 297 points, 323 out of first)|
● Ryan Preece (28th with 275 points, 345 out of first)

Briscoe Notes:

● Briscoe earned his second top-five and sixth top-10 of the season with his second-place finish Sunday at New Hampshire. It was his first top-five and second top-10 in four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 1.058-mile oval.

● Briscoe’s second-place finish was the 12th top-five of his NASCAR Cup Series career, a mark highlighted by his March 2022 win at Phoenix Raceway.

● This was Briscoe’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was fifth, earned May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

● Briscoe’s second-place result bettered his previous best finish at New Hampshire – 10th, earned last July.

Berry Notes:

● Berry earned his second top-five and fourth top-10 of the season, and it came in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at New Hampshire.

● Berry equaled his season’s best finish of third, originally earned May 12 at Darlington.

● This was Berry’s second straight top-10. He finished seventh last Sunday at Iowa Speedway in Newton.

● Berry finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and eighth in Stage 2 to earn three more bonus points.

● Berry was the highest finishing rookie.

Preece Notes:

● Preece earned his fifth top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in six career NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire.

● Preece’s 11th-place result bettered his previous best finish at New Hampshire – 16th, earned in August 2020.

Gragson Notes:

● Gragson’s 27th-place result bettered his previous best finish at New Hampshire – 32nd, earned last July.

Race Notes:

● Christopher Bell won the USA Today 301 to score his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at New Hampshire. His margin of victory over Briscoe was 1.104 seconds.

● There were 14 caution periods for a total of 85 laps.

● Twenty-nine of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott leave New Hampshire tied atop the championship standings with a 40-point advantage over third-place Denny Hamlin.

Sound Bites:

“The rain saved us. Awesome recovery for our Zep Ford. I’ve always joked this is one of my worst racetracks, so to run second is kind of surprising, to be honest with you. But, yeah, the rain definitely helped us. If it wasn’t for the rain, we literally would’ve run 24th, probably. We were able to have a couple of good restarts. Our guys did a really good job just understanding the rain balance. I think we learned a lot when we did it at Richmond. We needed a good turnaround day. It definitely didn’t start that way, but I’m certainly glad that it ended that way.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Zep Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Man, that was a lot of fun, honestly. I’m going to think back to a million different things I could’ve done differently there. But the bottom was so hard to get going through (turns) one and two. I felt like if I could just clear the 14 (Briscoe), I was kind of inching in on C-Bell (Christopher Bell) before the final caution and I just got a little loose off of two. That let Chase get back to my left rear, he kind of dragged me back and we got stuck racing each other. I don’t know, I wanted to take the front row so bad there at the end, but we felt like we were making the right decision based on the track conditions. They just didn’t work out.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 MINER Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I feel a lot better about it now with how we ended versus how it was before that rain delay. We were going to end up 28th and now we ended up 11th. We needed a good run, but I’m still ticked off finishing 11th because I feel like we should’ve finished higher. It was great to be back home with family and friends here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Overall, I was happy with the speed in our Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The team has been working hard and we’ll go get ‘em at Nashville.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Mohawk Northeast Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I just lacked grip. Super loose all the way around the track. Must’ve hit the paint on entry to (turn) one, and not intentionally by any means with the 23 (Bubba Wallace). Just a mistake on my part. It was unfortunate and I apologize to the 23 guys for ruining their day. That’s obviously not what we want to do and not what I want to do. It was completely unintentional.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Opportunity for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team Thwarted By Late-Race Accident

Finish: 33rd
Start: 22nd
Points: 32nd

“Our luck is unreal on this No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet team this year. We started the race today with serious balance issues and difficulties going over the bumps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. We finally get rolling, we were going to roll past two on the top, and the No. 10 car loses control and we have no where to go. Our Chevrolet was destroyed and it ended our day. It’s unfortunate because I felt like we had an opportunity to make up some ground and think outside the box on wet tires. We’ll rebound and head to Nashville Superspeedway next weekend.” -Austin Dillon

Late-Race Accident Sidelines Kyle Busch and the No. 8 FICO Chevrolet Team at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Finish: 35th
Start: 30th
Points: 17th

“I’m proud of everyone at RCR and all the guys on the FICO team for their hard work this weekend. They did a great job making adjustments and repairs. We didn’t get to qualify on Saturday and had only five minutes of practice. The FICO Camaro was a handful in the race but Randall Burnett kept making changes. We worked our way back into the lead lap and thought we could pick up a few more spots but unfortunately we hit the wall under caution on wets just before coming back to green after the rain delay and weren’t able to finish. We’ll take the FICO Chevy back to the shop to evaluate what happened and how we can improve on our New Hampshire package.” -Kyle Busch

BELL COMPLETES SWEEP, WINS WILD RACE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Truex’s battle for the win comes up short in final laps

LOUDON, NH (June 23, 2024) – Christopher Bell finished the weekend sweep and won his second Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in wild conditions. After an extended rain delay, NASCAR elected to go with the wet weather tires to finish the race and Bell was able to drive to the front. The Oklahoma-native also won the first stage to continue to showcase his continued skills at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he has won seven NASCAR national series events.

Tyler Reddick, who was leading when the rain fell, finished in sixth, while John Hunter Nemechek battled back from two laps down to score an eighth-place finish. Martin Truex Jr. was able to overcome a pit stop issue and an on-track incident to finish in ninth.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race 17 of 36 – 318.46 miles, 301 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
2nd, Chase Briscoe*
3rd, Josh Berry*
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Chris Buescher*
6th, TYLER REDDICK
8th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
9th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
13th, ERIK JONES
16th, TY GIBBS
24th, DENNY HAMLIN
34th, BUBBA WALLACE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How are you feeling?

“I love this place. It is absolutely amazing. This place – I don’t know – it has been special to me since we came here for that late model race back in, I think, 2015. This one was different though. Rain tires, the track was really slippery – it was just so much fun out there in those adverse conditions, the track was changing around so much. That was one a lot of fun, and I’m really happy for our partners – Rheem, Toyota, DEWALT. We have Watts on the car again. I think we we’ve won every time they have been on the car. Just a really cool weekend.”

What was it like out there?

“I think just trials and tribulations on the wet weather tires. We did it in Richmond and we learned from that on what my car needed and how I needed to drive it and they – Adam Stevens (crew chief) and my team were able to make great adjustments to get this thing where it was driving really good on rain tires.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

Can you talk about this race?

“Yeah, it was a really interesting day – that is for sure. It was a real shame we couldn’t find victory lane today in our SiriusXM Toyota Camry, but for us to take a risk and have a potential to win the race if it continued to rain and to turn that into a top-10 finish is good for our team. We will take the sixth place finish, and move on from it and get ready for the next one, but it was certainly an interesting day and a wild experience.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 8th

Where did you come from at the end of the race?

“We were stuck two laps down until we got all of the cautions. I was sitting on the top of the box with Ben (Beshore, crew chief) praying that we were going to be able to go back racing. We were awful the first run of the race, and just worked on it all day. These guys gave it all they had. A lot of adjustments throughout the day. Thank you to Dollar Tree, Family Dollar for all that they do for us here at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and Toyota, TRD. I’ll take eighth after the day we had. I think we were stuck in 31st or 32nd pretty much all day, so solid finish for us and something that we needed. Hopefully we can build some momentum off of this.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

With everything you went through, did you think you would come out of here with a top-10?

“Definitely not. When it was pouring rain, I thought we were headed home. Definitely a tough day. We had a speed in our Reser’s Camry. It is a shame the way things worked out, but definitely happy to get a top-10. It has been a rough four weeks, so we needed a good finish. We had good stage points, and we needed a good finish, so glad that we got it, but it hurts to have a tough day here, probably being my last one.”

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 13th

Can you talk about the end of that race?

“We put the wets on the Dollar Tree Camry, weren’t really good on them, and had to make some big changes to get better, and just ran out of time in the end trying to get our track position better. Okay day, wish we could have just run on the dries and ran a normal race. We will take what we learned and hopefully be better for the wet next time.”

About Toyota

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
NCS Post Race | Saturday, June 22, 2024

UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd – Chase Briscoe
3rd – Josh Berry
5th – Chris Buescher
11th – Ryan Preece
12th – Todd Gilliland
14th – Harrison Burton
15th – Michael McDowell
19th – Austin Cindric
22nd – Kaz Grala
25th – Ryan Blaney
27th – Noah Gragson
28th – Brad Keselowski
29th – Justin Haley
32nd – Joey Logano

Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Zep Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 2nd)

“What a whirlwind. Two hours ago, we couldn’t even run 25th. The rain saved us. Just an awesome recovery for our Zep Ford. I always joke that this is one of my worst race tracks so to run second is kind of surprising to be honest with you. The rain definitely helped us. If it wasn’t for the rain we were going to literally run 24th probably. We had a couple of good restarts and the guys did a good job of understanding the rain balance. I think we learned a lot when we did it at Richmond. We needed a good turnaround day and it definitely didn’t start that way but I am glad that it ended up that way for sure.”

Josh Berry, No. 4 Miner Docks Doors & More Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 3rd)

“We were 20th when it was raining and then we threw some rain tires on it and did what I knew we could do and moved all the way up there. That was a lot of fun honestly. I am going to think back to a million things I could have done differently there but the bottom was just so hard to get going through one and two. I feel like if I could have just cleared the 14, I was kind of inching in on Bell before the final caution. I just got a little loose off of two and that let Chase get back to my left rear and we got stuck racing each other. I don’t know. I wanted to take the front row there so bad at the end there but I just felt like we were making the right decision based on the track conditions, it just didn’t work out.”

Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 5th)

“Loudon has not been our best track, definitely not mine specifically. There was no quit in this Fastnal group today. It was awesome to come home with a top five. We were really good in the rain when it was wet. We really fought for it when it was dry but we were on wet tires. There at the end there was just really one good groove and that made restarts a battle. We were able to persevere through all that and bring this thing home with a handful of more tire marks on the door than when we went in under red initially, but a really good night for us.”

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 25th)

YOU WERE POISED FOR A TOP-THREE FINISH BUT ENDED UP 25TH. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT CONTACT WITH MICHAEL MCDOWELL THERE AND WHAT DID HE SAY AFTER THE RACE? “He said he was sorry he wrecked me. Apologies are nice but it isn’t going to bring back what he did. I knew what he was trying to do. It was a low percentage move. It was wet down there and he drove it in there. What do you think is going to happen? You are going to take both of us out. I know he has to win and all that, and that was his excuse, but you have to be a little more calculated than that. It stinks it was at our expense. Man, I really thought we had a decent shot to contend. I was happy because we came in, put tires on, made a big adjustment and I was looking forward to restarting behind Bell and see if we would have anything for him but just never got a chance. I am proud of the 12 boys. Long day and a really fast car. I really enjoyed where our short track program is going right now. Hopefully we can just continue to get that a little bit better.”

Ryan Preece, No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 11th)

“I feel a lot better about today now with how we ended versus before how it was before the rain delay. We were going to finish 28th and finished up 11th. I am still mad finishing 11th because I just feel like we still should have finished higher.”

Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 14th)

“I am a little frustrated honestly. I think we should have finished a lot better. We picked the bottom on the last restart and if I had it back I would pick the top. I don’t know. It is hard. It is hard to not restart fifth instead of, I think I would have restarted 10th or 12th or something on the top. You never know how it works out. it is a bummer to not finish it off. It felt like we had a good car once it went to the wet especially. If I could keep the right rear tire on it. The caution came out with nine to go and that was really good timing. It is easy to be mad now but also thankful that it came out because my right rear was pretty hurt. We just have to figure out everything there and go over our process on choose. I would like to finish it off better next time but we had a good car and I am proud of our guys.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
USA TODAY 301
POST-RACE REPORT
JUNE 23, 2024

 Larson Leads Chevrolet With Top-Five Finish at New Hampshire

•  With lingering inclement weather forcing the cancellation of yesterday’s qualifying session for the NASCAR Cup Series, the lineup for the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was set per the rule book – putting series’ points leader Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team on the pole position.
• At the drop of the green flag, Stage One saw the series make 70 caution-free laps, with pole sitter Elliott pacing the field for the first 41 circuits around the 1.058-mile venue. Elliott began to battle very loose conditions in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 on the long run, with the Team Chevy driver ultimately ending the stage in the third position. Crew Chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for the team’s first stop of the event – taking four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment for the start of Stage Two.
• Elliott continued to pace the Bowtie brigade at the start of Stage Two – settling into the seventh position and quickly posting top-three lap times during the first 20 laps of the stage. With a pair of cautions near the midway point of the race, pit strategy came into play to shakeup the running order. On the last caution of the stage, Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, opted to forgo pit road to claim crucial track position in the top-10. Strategy paid dividends for the Team Chevy teammates, with Larson and Elliott going on to take the green-white checkered flag in the seventh and ninth positions, respectively.
• During the final stage break, the threat of weather played a massive factor in strategy throughout pit road. Following a seventh-place finish in Stage Two, Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road for a pair of right-side tires, with the team winning the race off pit road to lineup third for the start of the final stage.
• A caution on Lap 201 involved Elliott after a strong showing in the top-10 throughout the race. The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team went to work on their Chevrolet-powered machine; making repairs while still maintaining a position on the lead lap.
• Taking the restart from the outside front-row, Larson quickly went into a battle for the lead – ultimately losing just a handful of positions but maintained a position in the top-10 as the race entered less than 100 laps to go.
• Under caution for the eighth time, Larson was sitting in the seventh position when precipitation began to fall, forcing NASCAR to bring the field down pit road. The race ultimately went under red flag conditions on Lap 219, with the delay totaling two hours and 14 minutes.
• Teams installed wet weather tires to resume the remainder of the race, eventually taking the green flag at the 227 lap marker. Restarting in the seventh position, it took Larson just three laps to take his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to the front – settling into the third position on Lap 230.
• After significant rainfall forced a lengthy delay of the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series returned to the track for the final 82 laps of the event.
• Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 led Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a fourth-place finish. The result marks Larson’s sixth career top-five finish in NASCAR’s top division at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and his eighth top-five finish in 18 points-paying races this season.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Nashville Superspeedway with the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 30, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS
POS. DRIVER
4th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
7th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex 100 Years Camaro ZL1
10th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

 TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 POST-RACE QUOTES:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

Out on those damp tires, you were one of the first to dive all the way to the bottom. How did it work out?

“Yeah, it was fun. I think when it’s like that, I think that is why you see a lot of the dirt racers kind of migrate to the front. Just tried to feel it out under caution. It’s not my best bet on the restart to go extremely low, but it worked out and I was able to maintain track position the rest of the race, so I am proud of that.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex 100 Years Camaro ZL1

Finished: 7th

Stenhouse Jr. on back-to-back top-10 finishes:

“Our day was all over the place. We were really bad on dry tires and just struggled all day. And then when we went to the wet weather tires, we had really good runs. We struggled a little bit, but there at the end, we got our No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex 100 Years Chevy really good. We were able to battle back from 25th and drive up into the top-10. We made the most out of it, which was really cool. Two top-10s, back-to-back, and hopefully we can do the same thing at Nashville (Superspeedway).”

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

Finished: 10th

“Overall, I think we ended up about where we were going to be if we ran the whole race in the dry. I feel like we just have some fundamental things to work on, like sliding my front-tires too much with slicks on in the dry, wets on in the wet and wets on in the dry. I just need to slide my tires less. But all-in-all, happy to salvage a top-10 finish. We’ll regroup and get ready for Nashville (Superspeedway).”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and 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.