Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Michael McDowell on Kansas
16 Starts
Best Finish: 13th
“We’ve seen that a lot can happen on mile-and-a-half tracks so far this season, so I think we’ll be able to take a lot of those learnings and observations and apply them at Kansas this week. Track position is important anywhere, but it’s particularly important at Kansas, where restarts are pretty chaotic. We have Prime, Inc on our car this week as part of our Love’s Travel Stops program, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to get a strong finish for our partners.”

Richard Childress Racing at Kansas Speedway … In 83 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has one win, visiting victory lane in 2013 with Kevin Harvick, among five top-five and 23 top-10 finishes.

RCR in the MENCS … In 2,983 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 51 pole awards,108 wins, 489 top-five finishes and 1,075 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.8 and an average finishing position of 16.3. RCR has earned 15 total championships (six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships with Earnhardt in 1986, ’87, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ’94, six NASCAR Xfinity Series titles, two Truck Series titles and one ARCA Menards Series title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR’s three national series.

A Celebration of 50 Years … Help Richard Childress Racing celebrate their golden anniversary at RCR Fan Day at our campus in Welcome, North Carolina on Friday, October 25. The unique, one-day event will include driver/owner autograph sessions, panel discussions with key personnel, a kids’ interactive area, pit crew demos, shop tours and even a hauler parade to help send off our teams as they head to Martinsville Raceway. Follow RCR’s social media channels for updates regarding Fan Day and all 50th Anniversary events.

Interactive RCR … For up-to-date news and exclusive content, visit RCR’s corporate Twitter page – @RCRracing – along with the RCR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Twitter page – @RCRCup, and driver Twitter pages @austindillon3, @TylerReddick and @DanielHemric. Information about the 15-time championship winning organization can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing and at www.RCRracing.com along with official driver pages –  http://www.facebook.com/austindillon3 and www.facebook.com/DanielHemric.

Catch the Action … The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway will be televised live Sunday, October 20 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This Week’s Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Kansas Speedway … Dillon has made 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, earning his best finish of sixth in May and October 2016.

About Roland … Roland DGA Corporation serves North and South America as the marketing, sales, distribution and service arm for Roland DG Corporation. Founded in 1981 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Roland DG of Hamamatsu, Japan is a worldwide leader in wide-format inkjet printers for the sign, apparel, textile, personalization and vehicle graphics markets; engravers for awards, giftware and ADA signage; photo impact printers for direct part marking; and 3D printers and CNC milling machines for the dental CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, part manufacturing and medical industries.  For more information, visit rolanddga.com.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
How is Kansas unique compared to some of the other 1.5-mile tracks?
“Kansas Speedway has done a really good job with their banking. There’s a line right up by the fence that has a little extra grip. There’s an angle up there that I don’t think many tracks have figured out yet, but Kansas got it right. You can run from top to bottom there. The bottom groove is the preferred groove at the beginning, but it becomes too tight to try and run around there in turns one and two sometimes depending on what the balance of your race car is. I’ve enjoyed that track a lot ever since they repaved it. I wish every track could do as good as a job as Kansas has with repaves.”

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Hollywood Casino 400
Date/Time: October 20/2:30PM ET
Distance: 267 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Banking: Turns: 17-20°; Straights 5-11°
2018 Winner: Chase Elliott

Express Notes:

Talladega Recap: Denny Hamlin made a textbook recovery from a lap down to finish third in Monday’s rain-postponed Talladega Superspeedway race, won by Ryan Blaney. After starting last on Sunday due to a blown engine during his qualifying attempt, Hamlin worked his way up to fourth in the running order before getting caught in the middle lane, slipping back to 14th as the skies opened up after 55 laps of racing. Persistent rain forced the officials to postpone the remainder of the race until Monday. When the race resumed, Hamlin was running in the lead pack of cars when he radioed the crew that the right-side hood flap was loose. The flap eventually flew off the car as the team made preparations to fix the problem. Hamlin lost the draft in the process and the #11 went a lap down. Two laps later, a multi-car accident collected Hamlin and the FedEx car sustained sheet metal damage to the left front fender. The FedEx team made numerous pit stops to fix the damaged fender and replace the hood flap. Trapped a lap down to the leaders, Hamlin made some aggressive moves to put himself in the “Lucky Dog” position in an effort to get his lap back. The strategy worked, as a timely caution waved while Hamlin was in that position, allowing him to get back on the lead lap. He and crew chief Chris Gabehart decided to ride around in the back of the pack in an effort to stay out of any further trouble and aim for a top-10 finish. The strategy would pay dividends as Hamlin was able to dodge three multi-car wrecks that progressively reduced the number of cars left to race. Hamlin lined up seventh for the final restart with two laps to go. As the drivers jockeyed for position, Hamlin tried to draft his way to the front, but ran out of racing room and crossed the line under the checkers in a photo finish, beating Aric Almirola by inches for third place.

Kansas Speedway Preview: The series heads to Kansas Speedway this Sunday for the next cut-off race in the 2019 NASCAR Playoffs that will narrow down the field of contenders from 12 to eight. Hamlin currently sits first in the Playoff point standings and is 56 points above the cut-off line to advance to the Round of 8

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Kansas Speedway
Races: 22
Wins: 1
Poles: 0
Top-5: 6
Top-10: 7
Laps Led: 74
Avg. Start: 12.1
Avg. Finish: 15.7

Hamlin Conversation – Kansas:

How are you feeling heading into Kansas knowing you’re virtually locked in to the Round of 8?

“The third-place finish at Talladega definitely let us exhale a bit. We weren’t in a great position earlier in the race, but we executed a good strategy to put us in position for a good finish. Now, we just have to race smart in Kansas and make sure nothing crazy takes us out.”

Kansas has undergone some changes in recent years. How do you approach it?

“Kansas is a fast racetrack. It almost races like a superspeedway. It’s going to be about getting good restarts and having a car that handles well.”

FedEx Office Southwest Sales Along for the Ride at Kansas Speedway: The FedEx Office Southwest Sales team will be recognized during Sunday’s race as the leading Sales team for FY20 Q1 results. The team will be represented with the numbers “7389” on the B-post of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota.

With Talladega and the possibility of landing on his lid behind him, Paul Menard is set to run the final five races of 2019 without having a relief driver on standby.

Not wanting to risk complicating the neck issues he’s been dealing with by racing at Talladega where there was a chance of flipping, Menard and the Wood Brothers team had Matt Crafton run the majority of the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega. Now that’s in the rear-view mirror as Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Atlas Roof Shingles team head to Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400.

“I’m good to go for the rest of the year,” said Menard, who has announced that he’s retiring from full-time Cup competition at season’s end.

In the meantime, he’s hoping to have some fun – and some good runs – beginning this weekend.

“Kansas is always a fun place to race,” Menard said. “The top groove came in good in the spring.

“I was kind of surprised because I wasn’t sure how it would be with the lower horsepower package, but the race turned out to be one of the better ones we’ve run with this package.”

Menard said there was plenty of room to race throughout the event.

“You could run the top and the middle,” he said. “The cars would fan out, and you wouldn’t get stuck behind somebody.”

The final five races include three on intermediate-length, 1.5-mile tracks, but Menard said the three venues – Kansas, Texas and Homestead – each have their own characteristics, which require different set-ups.

“Kansas is kind of rough and bumpy,” he said. “Texas is extremely smooth, and Homestead is somewhere in between.

“There’s really not much we can take from one track to the next.”

Qualifying for the Hollywood Casino 400 is set for Saturday at 12:35 p.m. (1:35 p.m. Eastern Time), and the race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on NBC.

Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI.  Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY.  Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader.  It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember.  For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

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 Paul Menard in the famous No. 21 racer.

KANSAS SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
LOCATION: KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 32 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 2:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, OCT. 20 (NBC/MRN/SIRIUSXM)

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Chase Elliott
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 23 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia

2019 Season
10th in standings
31 starts
3 wins
4 pole positions
10 top-five finishes
14 top-10 finishes
597 laps led

Career
144 starts
6 wins
8 pole positions
43 top-five finishes
73 top-10 finishes
1,840 laps led

Track Career
7 starts
1 win
1 pole position
3 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
93 laps led

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, Oct. 18, at 4:30 p.m. local time in the media center at Kansas Speedway.

WHITE FLAG FOR ROUND OF 12: This weekend will set the field for the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Chase Elliott currently ranks 10th in the driver playoff standings, 22 points out of eighth. This weekend, the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver would need help to clinch on points, so his surest way to advance to the next round would be to win on Sunday.

THIS RACE, LAST SEASON: Last October, Elliott and the No. 9 team captured their third victory of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season after leading the final 44 laps in the race at Kansas Speedway. His average running position during the event was 6.6. Although a Diet Mountain Dew/Dark Knight Rises car won with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2012, Elliott’s 2018 Kansas victory marked the first win for a Mountain Dew primary paint scheme since October 1982 with Darrell Waltrip.

AT KANSAS IN MAY: During the spring visit to Kansas Speedway this season, Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA team started in 32nd. By Lap 33, the 23-year-old driver had advanced into the top 10 and less than 20 laps later, he was running in the top five. Elliott collected a runner-up result in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. During the 267-lap event, he led 45 laps and his average-running position was 6.2 – third-best of all drivers. He ultimately finished fourth and collected 52 points, the most of all drivers.

KANSAS STATS: This weekend, Elliott is set to make his eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at Kansas. In his previous seven starts, the driver of the No. 9 has garnered one win, three top-five finishes and four top-10s. His three top-five finishes at Kansas are his second-most at a single track in his Cup career, tied with Michigan, Bristol and Talladega. He has led a total of 93 laps at the 1.5-mile track, all but four coming in the two most recent events. In the last four races at Kansas, he has earned a total of 164 points, the second-highest of all drivers.

LAST TEN: In the last 10 races, Elliott is tied for the second-most top-10 finishes among Cup Series competitors with seven. His two wins in that same span are tied for the most in the series.

PIT CREW PROWESS: Among the teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the No. 9 pit crew leads the field. Through 31 races in 2019, the team owns the best average time for four-tire stops at 14.147 seconds.

HOME SWEET HOME: No. 9 team tire carrier/jackman T.J. Semke hails from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, less than 40 miles from Kansas Speedway. Before stepping on the football field at the University of Kansas in 2012, Semke was a part-time bounty hunter. The 25-year-old was a defensive lineman for the Kansas Jayhawks for three years, and in two of them, he earned Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors. Semke signed with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2016.

ELLIOTT AT KANSAS: On Sunday, Oct. 20, Elliott will appear at the Team Chevy Stage at 11 a.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.

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William Byron
No. 24 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 21 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
12th in standings
31 starts
0 wins
5 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
224 laps led

Career
67 starts
0 wins
5 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
15 top-10 finishes
285 laps led

Track Career
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
4 laps led

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, Oct. 18, at 4:45 p.m. local time in the media center at Kansas Speedway.

RECAPPING THE ROUND OF 12: With only one race remaining in the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, William Byron heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend looking for redemption. While the sophomore driver has scored the second-most stage points (20) in the Round of 12, a 13th-place finish at Dover and a 33rd-place finish at Talladega have left him sitting 12th in the Cup Series playoff standings, 27 points below the cut-off line. This weekend’s race will be Byron’s final chance to keep his playoff dreams alive in his Cup playoff debut, with his surest chance to advance to the next round being a win on Sunday.

LEADING THE FIELD: In the NASCAR Cup Series, Byron currently holds the longest active streak of races with at least one lap led at three. The 21-year-old driver is just ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and competitor Kurt Busch, both of whom have led laps in two consecutive races.

UNIFIRST RETURNS: This weekend will be the third and final time in 2019 that Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will have UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) on board, featuring the company’s signature green and white colors. In 2016, Unifirst and Hendrick Motorsports announced an eight-year partnership that runs through the 2023 NASCAR season. UniFirst is the official workwear provider of Hendrick Motorsports, supplying work clothing and uniforms to the team and its sister company, Hendrick Automotive Group, which is the largest privately held retail automotive organization in the United States.

TOUGH LUCK AT KANSAS: With three previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, luck has not been on Byron’s side at the 1.5-mile oval. While running solidly within the top 10 at the end of the 2018 spring race, the No. 24 driver was collected in a multi-car incident with 14 laps to go, ending his night with a 33rd-place finish. In the fall of 2018, Byron felt like he had one of the best cars he had driven all season, but a mechanical failure 55 laps in resulted in a 38th-place finish. In the spring event this season, Byron was running second when an issue on pit road during green-flag stops forced a 20th-place result.

EARLY KANSAS SUCCESS: Byron saw success at Kansas early in his career. In his first two NASCAR national series starts at the 1.5-mile track – one in the Xfinity Series and one in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series – he started from the pole position in both races and finished no worse than fourth. In his debut at the track in 2016, just his fifth Truck Series start, Byron started from the top spot, led 34 laps and collected his first Truck Series win, which kick-started the most successful season by a rookie in the history of the series.

TALLADEGA TIMES: Qualifying third for this past weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, Byron went on to capture his second career Cup Series stage win during the opening segment Sunday before rain postponed the rest of the race until Monday afternoon. Remaining in contention at the front of the field when the race restarted, Byron was battling for the lead with 26 laps to go when an untimely push from behind turned the No. 24 Chevy and ended his day early with a 33rd-place finish.

MEET BYRON: Fans will have two chances to meet Byron this weekend at Kansas Speedway. The first opportunity is Saturday, Oct. 19, at 11:45 a.m. local time in the infield FanWalk. Byron will also make an appearance at the Team Chevy stage in the Kansas Speedway Fan Zone on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 10:10 a.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.

HERTZ ULTIMATE RIDE SWEEPSTAKES: In conjunction with Hendrick Motorsports, Hertz is introducing a new “pace car” to its fleet with a limited-edition custom 2020 Camaro ZL1 and 2020 Camaro SS. Available to be reserved beginning mid-October 2019, customers have the opportunity to rent the custom Camaros fashioned in the signature Hertz yellow and black color scheme with custom wheels, interior badging and full performance upgrades outfitted by Hendrick Motorsports. In conjunction with the program rollout, customers can celebrate the debut of the limited-edition Camaros by participating in The Hertz Ultimate Ride Sweepstakes – beginning Sept. 18, through Nov. 15, 2019 – for a chance to win a 2020 Hertz-Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS. Five finalists will also win an exclusive driving experience in Charlotte. Click here for more information on the Hertz-Hendrick custom Camaro program.

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Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Fueling Futures/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 44 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
17th in standings
31 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
3 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
91 laps led

Career
646 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
227 top-five finishes
363 top-10 finishes
18,794 laps led

Track Career
26 starts
3 wins
3 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
18 top-10 finishes
601 laps led

THAT’S TALLADEGA: Jimmie Johnson had a strong run going Monday at Talladega Superspeedway but was collected in a multi-car incident on Lap 106 as he was running in the top five. Prior to the incident, he started the race fourth and finished Stage 1 in seventh. He was on track for another top-10 finish in Stage 2 when the incident ended his day. He was credited with a 38th-place finish.

KANSAS WINS: The No. 48 driver has seen plenty of success over the course of his 26 starts at Kansas Speedway, accumulating three wins at the 1.5-mile track. The driver’s last win came on May 9, 2015, when he led the final 10 laps to edge competitor Kevin Harvick for the victory. He owns 28 wins on 1.5-mile tracks in his career, the most all-time.

FUELING FUTURES: This weekend at Kansas Speedway, the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will feature a special paint scheme to recognize the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Ally Fueling Futures. The Fueling Futures program debuted at Michigan International Speedway in August and later hosted more than 60 high school students from Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Hendrick Motorsports campus in September. The program is a collaboration between Ally Financial and the Jimmie Johnson Foundation to introduce children and teens to careers in motor sports and money basics. For a look back at both events, click here for Michigan and here for Charlotte.

HELMET OF HOPE: In June, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation announced the five charities – nominated by a week-long public vote – that would be the recipients of the $25,000 grants awarded to not-for-profit organizations that support K-12 public education. The five organizations are Art With a Heart in Indianapolis; High Mountain Youth Project in Ruidoso, New Mexico; Immigrant Family Services Institute in Roslindale, Massachusetts; Lakeshore Elementary School PTA in San Francisco; and Pilot Light in Chicago. To date, the program has contributed more than $1.2 million to 111 different charities. More than 215,000 votes were cast for the 10 semifinalists during the voting period. The five winning organizations will be featured on Johnson’s special Helmet of Hope for this weekend’s race.

VISOR STRIP CAMPAIGN: Along with Johnson’s Helmet of Hope, a number of the driver’s teammates and competitors will sport a specially designed Jimmie Johnson Foundation visor strip on their respective helmets. After the race, the autographed visors will be available in an online auction to raise funds for the Jimmie Johnson Foundation programs that support K-12 public education. For more information, click here.

PINK ACCENTS: To promote awareness for October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Johnson will don pink Alpinestars driving gloves and an Ally Racing hat with pink accents.

SPORTY OVER NEXT FIVE: At the next five tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, Johnson owns 24 wins. In addition to the three wins at Kansas Speedway, he has nine at Martinsville Speedway, seven at Texas Motor Speedway, four at ISM Raceway and one win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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Alex Bowman
No. 88 Nationwide AgriBusiness Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 26 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
7th in standings
30 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
182 laps led

Career
147 starts
1 win
2 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
24 top-10 finishes
456 laps led

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

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Nationwide AgriBusiness Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, Oct. 18, at 1:30 p.m. local time in the media center at Kansas Speedway.

ON BOWMAN’S SIDE: Nationwide will adorn the hood of Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway. On Aug. 28, Bowman joined the Nationwide AgriBusiness team at the Farm Progress show in Illinois to unveil the No. 88 machine that will run at Kansas on Sunday. Nationwide is the No. 1 farm insurer in the country, which is important to them since the company was founded by farmers. Check out the scheme here.

TALLADEGA RECAP: Bowman and the No. 88 Nationwide team qualified second for the event at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. For the majority of Stage 1, the 26-year-old maintained a spot inside the top 10. The Chevrolet teammates stuck together, and Bowman crossed the line third at the conclusion of the opening segment. As the field completed the stage, raindrops were reported on track. NASCAR brought the cars down pit road and the track went under the red flag. The event resumed on Monday afternoon and Bowman rolled off third at the start of Stage 2. He remained inside the top 10 once again and as the laps wound down in the stage, the driver found himself in the front of the field. Knowing that stage points are key, he stayed out front but with two laps to go in the segment, the driver was involved in an on-track incident that ultimately ended his day. The No. 88 team was relegated to a 37th-place finish.

PLAYOFF STANDINGS: Following his 37th-place finish at Talladega on Monday, Bowman now sits ninth in the playoff standings. The driver of the No. 88 machine is currently 18 points out of the eighth position with one race remaining to advance to the Round of 8. Earlier this year, Bowman earned 42 points at Kansas Speedway after leading 63 laps, his third-most in a race.

QUICK FEET: So far in the 2019 season, the No. 88 Nationwide pit crew ranks fourth among all teams with an average four-tire stop of 14.364 seconds. In the five previous playoff events, the No. 88 crew ranks first against all competitors with an average stop of 13.660 seconds.

BOWMAN STATS IN KANSAS: Bowman will make his ninth Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. His three top-10s at the venue are tied for his most at a single track. Earlier this season, the Tucson, Arizona, native qualified fifth and led 63 laps en route to a second-place finish at the 1.5-mile facility. He had the second-best average running position of sixth and spent 181 laps inside the top five, which was the most for a driver in that event. The 26-year-old driver has one top-five finish and three top-10s at Kansas. He made one start at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series back in 2013 and finished 11th at the end of the 200-lap event. Additionally, he made two starts at Kansas in the ARCA Series and brought home the win in both races including from the pole in 2012.

1.5-MILE TRACK STATS: Bowman has made eight starts on 1.5-mile tracks this season and owns an average finish of 9.6. In June, he captured his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Chicagoland Speedway after rolling off fifth. Bowman is one of 13 active drivers with a win on a track that length.

KANSAS STATE OF MIND FOR IVES: Crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots for the 10th time for the No. 88 team at Kansas Speedway this weekend. The Bark River, Michigan, native has two top-five finishes and five top-10s at the 1.5-mile oval. Earlier this season, Ives led the team to a second-place finish after leading 63 laps at the venue. Ives’ drivers have completed 99.9 percent of the total laps run in their starts at Kansas. The crew chief’s resume also includes one top-five finish and two top-10s at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2013, the crew chief’s driver led 81 laps en route to a third-place finish. Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team at Hendrick Motorsports from 2006 until 2012. During that time, he was a part of two wins, two pole awards and eight top-10 finishes at Kansas.

POINTS, POINTS, POINTS: In the Round of 12, Bowman and the No. 88 team have secured 18 stage points, which is the fourth-highest amount of stage points secured among playoff drivers. The 26-year-old driver earned 53 total points between the races at Dover International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway in the Round of 12, the sixth-highest total among the 12 playoff drivers.

HOME-TRACK FEELS: No. 88 team fueler Jacob Conley, grew up approximately 204 miles from Kansas Speedway in Omaha, Nebraska. The new father to a baby girl went to Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, and graduated with a degree in sociology in 2012. While at the university, Conley played offensive tackle for the Tigers and was a starter during all four years.

TEAM CHEVY: On Sunday, Oct. 20, Bowman will be at the Team Chevy stage at 10:30 a.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.

VICTORY TOUR IN KANSAS: Last Wednesday, Bowman visited Kansas City, Kansas, for a victory tour with Kansas Speedway. The Nationwide driver visited Giving the Basics, which is a non-profit organization that provides the basic necessities of everyday life to people in need. The organization works with food pantries and schools to make sure that individuals who are in need of those necessities have access to them. While there, Bowman helped pack boxes with necessary products and helped load cars that will deliver the items to people in need. Check out Bowman’s day here.

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Hendrick Motorsports

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT KANSAS: Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams with seven wins, five runner-up results, 33 top-five finishes, 58 top-10s and 1,233 laps led. Its five poles at the track are tied for the most, and its drivers’ average finish of 13.3 is the best of all teams.

1.5-MILERS: Hendrick Motorsports owns an all-time record total of 59 wins at 1.5-mile tracks, and its drivers’ average finish of 11.38 on the track length in 2019 leads all teams. Three Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won at 1.5-mile tracks. Jimmie Johnson has earned 28 wins, the most all-time, and Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott have one apiece.

2019 VS. 2018: Through eight races on 1.5-mile tracks in 2019, Hendrick Motorsports has improved its stats in virtually every category compared to the same starts in 2018. This year, the organization owns two more poles, one more win, six more top-five finishes, 11 more top-10s and 441 more laps led. The drivers have also bettered their average start by more than six positions and average finish by more than nine positions, scoring 393 more points than 2018 in the process.

PILING UP POLE POSITIONS: After securing just two poles in 2018, Hendrick Motorsports has amassed 10 poles this year, the most of all teams in 2019, with five races remaining in the season. It’s the fourth-highest total the organization has earned in a single season, tied with the 1995 campaign. Hendrick Motorsports’ record for poles came in 1986 with 16, followed by 12 in 2007 and 2009, and 11 in 2008 and 2012.

SWEEPING UP: Hendrick Motorsports has tied its most-ever front-row sweeps in a single season with seven. In fact, the seven front-row sweeps are tied for the most in a single season in the modern era with the organization’s seven in 1986.

PLAYOFF WINNERS: Hendrick Motorsports has won at least once in 15 of the 16 seasons of the playoffs, with the 2017 campaign as the only outlier.

POSTSEASON POSITIONING: The 2019 season marks a series-best 12th in which Hendrick Motorsports has sent at least three drivers to the playoffs. It is also the 14th consecutive year that the organization has at least two drivers in the playoffs, which is the most of all teams. Its three drivers still in the playoffs in the Round of 12 are tied for the most from a single team.

LEADING LAPS: In 2019, Hendrick Motorsports has more than doubled its total of laps led from a season ago. Last year, the organization’s drivers tallied 497 laps led. After last weekend’s race at Talladega, the 2019 total has been brought to 1,094 laps up front with five races remaining in the season.

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 256 race victories, 225 pole positions, 1,067 top-five finishes and 1,833 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 68,800 laps since 1984.

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QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on racing at Kansas:
“We are going to head out to Kansas and try to get a win. That’s about all we can do now. We just have to have the mindset to go out there and control what we can control and do everything we can to get a win. I feel as confident going there as I do anywhere. Just going to hope for the best. That’s all we can do.”

William Byron on whether Kansas is a ‘cookie-cutter’ 1.5-mile track:
“I don’t think so this year. I think it will be interesting to see how things play out with how our mile-and-half packages have evolved just throughout the year, whether it continues that trend this weekend or whether it reverts back to how it was in the spring at Kansas. I’m just interested to see how that is since the cars have come a long way since that race. I’m also interested to see with it being an elimination race, I think it will open things up for different strategies. It’s a bit of an unknown at this point.”

Jimmie Johnson on going from Talladega to Kansas:
“I refuse to look at a 38th-place finish last week and get discouraged about my team. The progress and performance is there. We just can’t get the finishes for one reason or another. I can’t wait to get to the track this weekend. Kansas has been a good track for me. I’m also looking forward to having the Ally Fueling Futures logo on the car as well as wearing the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope. It reminds me of our effort to give back as well as all the good things my partners and the Jimmie Johnson Foundation do for public education.”

Alex Bowman on getting back to Kansas:
“I can’t wait to get to Kansas this weekend. I feel like I gave that one away in the spring. I know that car we are taking there is really good. That’s one of my favorite tracks, regardless of everything. I am looking forward to getting there and it definitely is a race that puts on a great show. This track is probably the best place to showcase the current rules package.”

Bowman on the spring race at Kansas:
“At the end of the race earlier this year, we had all of those cautions. Some guys took tires and some stayed out. We were on much older tires than the guys we were racing, so that definitely didn’t help us. I went to the bottom behind a lapped car, lost the nose and had to lift. That ultimately gave Brad (Keselowski) the opportunity to get around me. He was faster than we were at that point, just based on him being on fresher tires. I would have liked to put up a better fight than I did.”

BANGOR, Maine – The Travis Mills Foundation has been providing support and respite to combat-wounded veterans and their families since 2013. Next month, Bangor Savings Bank will put the foundation on a literal fast track for growth when it gifts its primary Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car sponsorship to the nonprofit for the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

Northern New England native Austin Theriault will drive the No. 52 Rick Ware Racing car covered with the Travis Mills Foundation name and logo in the Ford EcoBoost 400 on Nov. 17, the final Cup Race of the season. The speedway has a spectator capacity of 46,000, and the race annually has one of the largest television audiences of the Cup Series season with more than 4 million viewers last year.

“We’ve had a wonderful partnership with Austin Theriault and, with Austin’s support, thought it was a perfect opportunity to highlight a local nonprofit that is responding to a nationwide need,” said Bangor Savings Bank President and CEO, Bob Montgomery-Rice. “The Travis Mills Foundation’s philosophy of ‘Never give up. Never quit’ is an inspiration to us all. We hope the exposure leading up to and during the race helps the Travis Mills Foundation fulfill their mission.”

Bangor Savings has supported the Travis Mills Foundation through its events, like the Miles for Mills Memorial Day 5K, and through donations to the amazing vacation retreat it has built for military families. The foundation has supported more than 300 families from 38 states since its founding.

Travis Mills is a retired United States Army Staff Sergeant and one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. Mills is a motivational speaker, actor, author and an advocate for veterans and amputees who continues to overcome life’s challenges, breaking physical barriers and defying odds.

“The Travis Mills Foundation is honored to partner alongside Bangor Savings Bank to support more of America’s recalibrated veterans and their families. Since 2016, Bangor Savings Bank has been in our corner, and we are so proud that they share our mission,” said SSG Travis Mills. “We know that our veterans matter to our bank, and we look forward to seeing Austin on the track at Homestead and sharing our Foundation’s work with millions of racing fans.”

Mills and his wife Kelsey founded the Travis Mills Foundation to benefit post 9/11 veterans injured in active duty or as a result of their service to the nation. The foundation provides programs that help veterans overcome physical obstacles, strengthen their families and provide rest and relaxation. The foundation retreat in Rome, Maine hosts families for an all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid, barrier-free vacation where they participate in adaptive activities, bond with other veteran families, and enjoy much-needed respite in Maine’s great outdoors.

Bangor Savings Bank has sponsored Theriault in five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season, including his series debut in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The bank plans to sponsor Theriault for Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway leading up to the season finale in Florida.

For more information about Bangor Savings Bank, visit www.bangor.com.

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Photos: The Travis Mills Foundation/Bangor Savings Bank No. 52 Rick Ware Racing car that will be driven by Austin Theriault in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 on Nov. 17. Bangor Savings Bank is gifting its primary car sponsorship to the foundation, which supports combat-wounded veterans and their families. Credit for all images: AT Racing

About Bangor Savings Bank

Bangor Savings Bank, with more than $4.4 billion in assets, offers retail banking to consumers as well as comprehensive commercial, corporate, payroll administration, merchant services, and small business banking services to businesses. The Bank, founded in 1852, currently has 58 branches across Maine and New Hampshire and can also be found on the Web at www.bangor.com. The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation was created in 1997. Last year, the Bank and its Foundation invested over $2 million into New England communities in the form of nonprofit sponsorships, grants, and partnership initiatives. Bangor Savings Bank is an equal opportunity employer.

No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota Camry Notes:

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Kansas, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 29.0, an average finish of 27.1 and he’s completed 2,360 of 2,409 (98.0 percent) career laps at the 1.5-mile track.

Team:                   No. 6 Roush Performance Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves
Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman

Hollywood Casino 400 – Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Kansas Speedway
·         Newman will make his 28th Cup start at Kansas on Sunday. In 27 prior starts, Newman has an average finish of 18.7 with seven top-10 and three top-five finishes, along with one win.
·         Newman’s win at the 1.5-mile track came back in 2003, a year in which he won eight races. In that event he started 11th and led the final 28 laps holding off Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield for the victory.
·         Prior to the win in 2003, Newman finished runner-up in each of his first two Cup races at the track (2001, 2002). He also finished inside the top-10 in 2010 (ninth), 2014 (sixth), 2015 (10th) and 2016 (seventh).
·         Newman has an average starting position of 14.0 with nine starts inside the top-10.
·         He also has one start at Kansas in the truck series, finishing second after starting fourth back in 2015.

Scott Graves at Kansas Speedway
·         Graves has six MENCS races atop the pit box at Kansas with a best finish of seventh in 2017. He also finished 11th with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., back in 2013 after starting third.
·         Graves also has three races as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series, finishing third with Daniel Suarez in 2016 and sixth with Chris Buescher in 2015.

Last Time at Kansas
Back in the spring race in May, Newman had driven inside the top-10 later in the race, before a pit road penalty forced him to eventually finish 23rd.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Kansas:
“Coming off an exciting finish at Talladega, we’re looking forward to getting back to Kansas this weekend for our second shot at it. Ricky showed some speed there in the spring and we’ve done a pretty good job of adapting to the package changes going back to tracks for a second time. We’re looking forward to the opportunity in our Roush Performance Ford.”

Recapping Talladega
in the sixth-closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, Newman was just edged out at the line by 0.007 seconds by Ryan Blaney to finish second in his Wyndham Rewards Ford.

Driven for a Cause
Throughout the month of October, Roush Fenway Racing will show its support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by running special pink numbers on its Ford Mustangs. In addition, Roush Fenway Fords will sport pink ‘Driven for a Cause’ ribbon decals on the C-Post all month long.

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: KANSAS PLAYOFF ADVANCE

There will be four drivers eliminated from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs this weekend at Kansas Speedway while the NASCAR XFINITY Series kicks off its Round of 8.  Ford has eight drivers in the two series combined still in title contention.  Here’s a look at where each one stands going into their respective races.

FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT KANSAS
·         Ford has eight all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at Kansas.
·         Brad Keselowski goes for the season sweep after winning in the spring.
·         Logano, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski all have at least one Kansas win.

ROUND OF 12 MENCS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Kansas)
4th – Kevin Harvick (+40 ahead of cutoff)
5th – Brad Keselowski (+20 ahead of cutoff)
6th – Joey Logano (+18 ahead of cutoff)
9th – Ryan Blaney (Clinched spot in Round of 8 after Talladega win)
11th – Clint Bowyer (-24 from final transfer spot)

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT KANSAS
·         Ford has three NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at Kansas.
·         Jeff Green won the inaugural series race in 2001 while Jeff Burton won the following year.
·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has Ford’s last series win at the track (2012).

ROUND OF 8 NXS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 4 Advance After Phoenix)
2nd – Cole Custer (+36 ahead of cutoff)
4th – Austin Cindric (+3 ahead of cutoff)
6th – Chase Briscoe (-4 from final transfer spot)

KESELOWSKI GOING FOR CUP SWEEP

Brad Keselowski registered his third win of the season when he prevailed in overtime during the first visit to Kansas Speedway this season.  Keselowski led only 12 of the 271 laps, which was extended four laps past the scheduled distance, but he was able to outduel Alex Bowman by passing him under green on Lap 261 and then holding him off with fresher tires in overtime.  Keselowski will try to become the second Cup driver to win both Kansas races in the same season since the track started hosting two events in 2011.

HARVICK CONTINUES 2018 ROLL

Kevin Harvick passed Martin Truex Jr. coming to the white flag and held on to capture his fifth victory of the season after winning last year’s KC Masterpiece 400.  Harvick, who started on the pole, had a competitive car all night as he led five times for 79 laps and finished second the first two stages.  A series of late-race cautions set the stage for Harvick to rally after a red flag with 14 laps remaining reset the field.  Even though Truex built a good-sized lead, Harvick was able to close the gap with three laps to go before making the decisive pass.  The win gave Harvick back-to-back Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins for the second time in 2018, a year that saw him win eight times overall.

KANSAS BACK-TO-BACK

Joey Logano became the first driver to automatically advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase in 2014 as he took the lead from Ryan Newman with 29 laps to go and held off Kyle Larson to get his career-best fifth win of the season.  In 2015, Logano ended up dueling with Matt Kenseth in a well-documented battle that resulted in contact as the two entered turn one with five laps to go.  That controversial finish marked Logano’s second straight win in the Chase and led to a sweep of the Contender Round as he took the checkered flag the following week at Talladega Superspeedway.

UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

A couple of rain delays and impending darkness couldn’t keep Greg Biffle from winning a shortened Lifelock 400 on Sept. 30, 2007.  The race was delayed for more than three hours and NASCAR decided to shorten the distance from 267 laps to 210 laps when it became evident there wouldn’t be enough daylight to finish the event.  Biffle passed Kevin Harvick on lap 274, but when Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire to bring out the caution with four laps to go it appeared he would have to survive a green-white-checker finish in order to win.  NASCAR, however, decided to end the race under caution due to darkness.  The win was Biffle’s first of the season and snapped a 32-race winless drought.

ON THE MARK

Ford went to victory for the first time at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9, 2005 when Mark Martin took the checkered flag in what was a Roush Fenway Racing runaway with teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards finishing second and third, respectively.  Martin led a race-high 139 laps, including 81 of the final 83 circuits, to win by one-half second.  It marked the second time in as many months that RFR swept the top three spots, a feat it did two more times during that season.  In addition, the victory ended up being Martin’s last with Ford.  His 35 series wins with the manufacturer ranks third all-time behind leader Ned Jarrett (43) and second-place Bill Elliott (40).

FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT KANSAS
2005 – Mark Martin
2007 – Greg Biffle
2010 – Greg Biffle
2012 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2014 – Joey Logano (2)
2015 – Joey Logano (2)
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)
2019 – Brad Keselowski (1)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT KANSAS
2001 – Jeff Green
2002 – Jeff Burton
2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Team:                          No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:                 Brian Pattie
Twitter:                        @Stenhouse17Team, @stenhousejr, and @roushfenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse at Kansas Speedway

Stenhouse has 13 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Kansas Speedway with an average starting position of 14.3 and average finishing position of 17.9.

Stenhouse knows how to get to victory lane at Kansas. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. overcame being two laps down with less than a 100 laps remaining to persevere to claim his sixth win of the 2012 NASCAR Xfinity season at Kansas Speedway.

Last time at Kansas

After the caution flag waved on lap 240, Stenhouse lined up in the third position for the final 27 lap shootout. With the restarts being dicey, Stenhouse dove to the bottom taking the lead with 19 laps remaining. While racing for position, Stenhouse made slight contact with the outside wall costing him a few positions.

When the final caution flag waved on lap 263 sending the race into overtime, Pattie called Stenhouse to pit-road for four tires, fuel, and to clear the fenders for the final shootout. Stenhouse lined up in the 13th position for the final restart and was able to pick up two positions in the final two laps to take the checkered flag in the 11th position.

Recapping Talladega

After leading 32 laps in the rain postponed 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. battled back to earn a ninth-place finish in his SunnyD Ford after sustaining damage while battling for the lead in typical three-wide superspeedway racing with eight laps remaining.

Fastenal Racing Fan Club

Make sure to go join the new Fastenal Racing Fan Club to receive exclusive content and prizes.  https://www.fastenalracing.com/fanclub.html

On the Car

Fastenal is currently in its eighth season as a primary partner in the MENCS for Roush Fenway. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping over to the No. 17 entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Kansas:

“We’re definitely looking forward to going back to Kansas. I felt like my rookie year we had a chance to win.  We led 50 or 60 laps the first time we went, so it’s been a good race for us in the past.  Earlier this year, being able to battle with the 9 and 88, take the lead there, it gives us some confidence that the package that we had was good, but it was still fresh in the season. I feel like the package, team to team, has evolved a lot and what you need in your race car to be fast at Kansas will be different than what we had there in the spring. We didn’t really manage the end of that race very well and gave up definitely a top-five finish, but, all in all, we’re excited to get back there.”