Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Over the course of his Monster Energy Cup Series career, Paul Menard has had some of his best finishes at Michigan International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway.

The veteran driver of the No. 21 Menards/Nibco Plumbing Ford Mustang said he expects this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan will give him the feel of all three of those tracks. He said the lower horsepower/higher downforce handling package being used in the Cup series this season could bring packs of cars like those in restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega to Michigan.

He also said driving around Michigan will be a lot like touring Talladega with a similarly restricted engine.

“It’ll be fairly easy to run wide open all the way around Michigan,” Menard said, adding that the new rules will mean that straightaway speeds will be 30 miles per hour slower while speeds in the turns will be 10-20 mph faster. “Basically it’ll be like a new race track.”

Menard said how the racing grooves develop during the race will have a lot to do with how the event plays out. “If the groove widens out, it’ll make a good race out of it,” he said.

One thing Menard doesn’t see changing is the strong performance by the Ford contingent, something that has been a factor since the first NASCAR event at Michigan, 99 races ago. That race was won by Cale Yarborough, driving the Wood Brothers No. 21 Mercury. It was the first of 11 wins at Michigan for the Wood Brothers and the first of 49 victories there for Ford and Mercury.

“It’s an important track for the Wood Brothers and for Ford,” Menard said. “Fords have been strong at Michigan. We have high hopes going up there.”

Qualifying for the FireKeepers Casino 400 is set for Saturday at 12:05 p.m. Eastern Time, and the race is scheduled to start just after 2 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on Fox Sports 1.

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.

Roush Fenway Heads North to Backyard of Ford, Jack Roush

In one of the most anticipated weekends on the schedule each year for Jack Roush, Roush Fenway Racing heads North to the backyard of its owner and Ford Motor Company as The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) converges on the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway. Overall RFR Fords have 23 wins at MIS with 91 top-five and 150 top-10 finishes.

Michigan International Speedway
Sunday, June 9 | 2 p.m. ET
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
·         Ryan Newman, No. 6 Coca-Cola Ford Mustang

·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 NOS Energy Ford Mustang

Home Sweet Home
Michigan International Speedway serves as ‘home’ for Jack Roush and Roush Fenway Racing, located just an hour from Roush Industries in Livonia, Michigan. MIS has naturally been one of the organization’s most successful tracks on the circuit, with the team earning a total of 23 wins across NASCAR’s three major touring series.

I Said Welcome to Detroit City

In 207 MENCS starts at Michigan, Roush Fenway has recorded 13 wins, 56 top-fives and 101 top-10 finishes with 2,452 laps led. Former driver Greg Biffle earned the organization’s most recent victory in June 2013 after starting 19th and leading 48 laps. Biffle’s win was also the 1,000th NASCAR victory for Ford Performance.

Roush vs. Everybody Else

Roush Fenway’s 13 wins in the MENCS at Michigan are the most of any track on the MENCS schedule. Five different drivers have earned victories for Roush Fenway at the two-mile oval with former drivers Mark Martin and Biffle both taking the checkered flag on four separate occasions. Roush Fenway drivers Matt Kenseth (two), Carl Edwards (two) and Kurt Busch (one) have also gone to victory lane for the organization in Michigan.

Consistency in the Motor City

Michigan ranks first overall among all tracks that Roush Fenway has competed on in the MENCS in top-five finishes, top-10 finishes and in average finish among tracks that they have run two or more races. Roush Fenway has recorded 56 top-fives, 101 top-10s and has an average finish of 14.2 at the two-mile oval.

Tale of the Tape

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

Where They Rank

Coming off the Coca-Cola 600 and a top-five for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., he is 19th in the points standings, just behind teammate Ryan Newman in 18th. Just 13 points separate positions 15-19 in points as the battle for the playoff spots continue into the summer months.

Roush Fenway Michigan Wins

1990-2   Martin  Cup
1993-2   Martin  Cup
1993       Martin  NXS
1995       Martin  NXS
1997-2   Martin  Cup
1998       Burton  NXS
1998-1   Martin  Cup
1999       Biffle     Truck
2000       Biffle      Truck
2002-1   KensethCup
2003-1   Busch    Cup
2004-2   Biffle     Cup
2005-1   Biffle     Cup
2006-2   Kenseth Cup
2007-1   Edwards Cup
2007       Kvapil    Truck
2008-2   Edwards Cup
2008       Edwards NXS
2008       Darnell  Truck
2009       Braun    Truck
2011       Edwards NXS
2012-2   Biffle     Cup
2013-1   Biffle     Cup

By the Numbers at Michigan International Speedway

Race      Win       T5           T10         Pole       Laps       Led        AvSt      AvFn     Miles

209         13           56           101         4              39849    2452       18.2        14.3        79698

59           5              27           37           4              6459       703         11.7        12.1        12918

21           5              8              12           1              2021       260         10.9        11.3        4042

289         23           91           150         9              48329    3415       16.3        13.6        96658

Event: FireKeepers Casino 400 (Race 15 of 36)
Venue: Michigan International Speedway (Brooklyn, MI)
Format: Three Stages – Stages End: Lap 60, 120, 200
Date/Broadcast: Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 PM ET on FS1 and MRN

After a troublesome weekend in Pennsylvania leaving the team with unfinished business, Corey LaJoie is eager to get on track at Michigan International Speedway to showcase the conspicuous speed that the No. 32 Ford Mustang has exhibited in recent weeks.

Heading into the weekend in Brooklyn, Michigan, LaJoie trails the No. 43 of Bubba Wallace who currently sits 28th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings by just five points.

LaJoie has already secured two top-15 finishes as the series nears the halfway point of the season, tying him with the two top-15 finishes the No. 32 earned over the course of the entire 2018 season.

The driver of the Go Fas Racing Ford has four Cup starts at the two-mile track to his credit, with a best finish of 27th.

Teams will be competing in Ford’s backyard, as Ford Motor Company is headquartered in Dearborn, about an hour from Brooklyn, the site of this weekends event.

Making their second showing with the Mooresville, NC-based team in the Irish Hills of Michigan, Harvest Investments will return to serve as the primary sponsor for the FireKeepers Casino 400. The company first appeared at this race one year ago with their sleek black and gold scheme.

Based in Wethersfield, CT, Harvest Investments was established in 1992 to acquire and manage multi-family apartment properties as a means of generating significant cash flow, a consistent return on capital and long-term capital appreciation.

Harvest Properties can assist anyone in finding the perfect place to call home. Harvest Properties offers pleasant and affordable housing with locations across the United States, offering efficient, one, two, and three bedroom apartment homes.

LaJoie on the upcoming weekend at Michigan International Speedway:

“I expect Michigan to be one of the best tracks for this year’s rules package. It is a very high grip level track and it’s very smooth so the cars should stay in a tight group a lot of the race with drafting playing a big part. This is a big race for us with it being right in Ford’s backyard, and with Harvest Investments making their season debut on our No.32 Ford Mustang. Hopefully we can bounce back this week and give them both a great finish.”

LaJoie MENCS career highlights at Michigan International Speedway:
Starts: 4
Average Start: 32.5
Average Finish: 32nd
Best Finish: 27th (2018)

In the Rearview Mirror: Pocono 400
The odds were not in the Visone RV team’s favor on Sunday afternoon in the Pocono Mountains as damage forced an early end to the day for the No. 32 Ford in just the outset of the second stage. LaJoie qualified 33rd for the 160-lap event and advanced four spots in just the first three laps. He continued to climb the leaderboard for the remaining circuits of stage one, ending 20th. In the early laps of stage two, contact from another competitor hindered the body of the No. 32 cutting the right rear tire. After multiple stops in hopes of sufficiently repairing the damage to continue, outstanding blemishes slashed another right rear tire, driving LaJoie into the wall. The damage ended the day for the team and the No. 32 was credited with a 36th-place finish.

————————————————————–
About Our Team:
About Harvest Investments:
Harvest Investments was established in 1992 to acquire and manage multi-family apartment properties as a means of generating significant cash flow, a consistent return on capital and long-term capital appreciation.

Harvest-Properties.com offers lovely and affordable housing with locations throughout the United States, offering efficient, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom apartment homes. Harvest-Properties.com can assist anyone in finding the perfect place to call home. For more information on Harvest Properties, visit harvest-properties.com.

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

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

Familiar Company to Help Support No. 34 Ford

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 5, 2019) – Melling Engine Parts, a leader in manufacturing cutting-edge performance engine parts, will partner with Front Row Motorsports (FRM) and Michael McDowell this weekend for the “FireKeepers Casino 400” Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

Based in Jackson, Mich., Melling serves the global transportation original equipment and aftermarket segments and is noted for its world-class engineering, product development, and distribution capabilities. Melling operates seven facilities: five in North America, one in Mexico, and one in Europe.

The Melling family is one of the most popular families in NASCAR. Patriarch Harry Melling started Melling Racing in 1982 and won the 1988 Winston Cup Championship with famed driver Bill Elliott. The team also won the first ever “Winston Million” with Elliott in 1985. Son Mark Melling, who owned and operated Melling Racing from 1999 to 2002, currently runs Melling Engine Parts and is happy to be back on track.

“We’re thrilled to have an opportunity to get involved in NASCAR again,” said Melling. “Teaming up with Michael and Front Row Motorsports gives us the chance to stay close to our racing roots while promoting our performance engine parts brand.”

“It’s so cool to have Melling on board this weekend,” said McDowell. “They have a long and rich history in the Cup series, so I’m excited that they’re getting involved again. To have the name ‘Melling’ on our car so close to their home base really means a lot.”

The No. 34 Melling Engine Parts Ford Mustang will make its debut at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, June 7 for practice and qualifying. The “FireKeepers Casino 400” Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will air Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 p.m. ET on FS1.

For more information about Melling, visit www.melling.com.

About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields three full-time entries – the No. 34 of Michael McDowell, the No. 36 of Matt Tifft and the No. 38 of David Ragan – from its Mooresville, N.C., headquarters just outside of Charlotte. The team’s partnership base includes CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Ford Performance, Love’s Travel Stops, Select Blinds, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Tunity, Surface and Speedco. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

David Ragan Ready to Lead CITGARD to Another Strong Weekend

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 5, 2019) – For the second time in 2019, David Ragan’s No. 38 Ford Mustang will carry the CITGARD colors during the “FireKeepers Casino 400” Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

CITGARD, a member of the CITGO® Petroleum Corporation family of brands, began its 2019 partnership with Front Row Motorsports (FRM) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Michigan will be CITGARD’s second race of the year with the No. 38 Ford. Coming off a strong run in Las Vegas, where Ragan qualified sixth (his best of the season thus far), the team anticipates an even stronger weekend ahead.

“It’s great to have CITGARD back on the car this weekend in Michigan,” said Ragan. “We had some great speed and a great qualifying effort with the car in Vegas. Seth and the crew have worked hard to develop our speedway notebook, and we’ve been making a lot of progress with this package, earning a top-15 at Charlotte. Michigan is a super fast racetrack. It’s a fun place to race, but it’s also very challenging. Maintaining track position is super important, and that’s where strategy comes into play a lot of the time. I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for our partners.”

The No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang will take to the track at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, June 7 for practice and qualifying. The “FireKeepers Casino 400” Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will air Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 p.m. ET on FS1.

For more information about CITGARD, visit www.citgolubes.com.

About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields three full-time entries – the No. 34 of Michael McDowell, the No. 36 of Matt Tifft and the No. 38 of David Ragan – from its Mooresville, N.C., headquarters just outside of Charlotte. The team’s partnership base includes CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Ford Performance, Love’s Travel Stops, Select Blinds, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Tunity, Surface and Speedco. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Ryan Newman – Michigan Advance
Team:                   No. 6 Coca-Cola Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Scott Graves
Twitter:                @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman

Firekeepers Casino 400 – Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Michigan International Speedway

·         Newman will make his 36th Cup start at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway this weekend. In 35 prior events, Newman has two wins, nine top-10s and six top fives. He has an overall average finish of 16.4 and starting spot of 13.5 with one pole.

·         Newman’s pair of wins at MIS came in back-to-back races back in 2003 and 2004. Newman led 32 laps en route to his fifth of eight wins that season, holding off Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. The next event he led 22 laps after starting fourth to earn the win under yellow.

·         Newman’s most recent top-10 came in the fall race in 2017 where he finished fourth. He has earned finishes of 22nd, 15th, 11th, 18th and 15th in the previous five opening Michigan races dating back to 2014.

·         Dating back six events, Newman has qualified 11th or better four times, including a sixth-place effort last August. His lone career Cup pole at MIS came back in 2005 before going on to finish 15th.

·         Newman also made four Xfinity Series starts at MIS, winning his first two events (2001, 2005) with a combined 126 laps led.

Scott Graves at Michigan International Speedway

·         Graves will be atop the pix box for his seventh MENCS race at MIS. In six prior events – two with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and four with Daniel Suarez – Graves has an average finish of 22.8.

·         Graves also won an Xfinity event with Suarez at the 2-mile track in 2016, defeating Kyle Busch to lead the final two laps en route to one of his three career NXS victories with Suarez.

QUOTE WORTHY

Newman on racing at Michigan:

“I’ve always loved racing at Michigan, a track that I’ve been coming to for a long time. We’ve been fortunate to have some pretty good success here in years past. It’s always been a fun track to drive since it’s so wide, which can make for some exciting side-by-side racing. We’re looking forward to the weekend in our Coca-Cola Ford Mustang.”

On the Car
Coca-Cola makes its 2019 debut on Ryan Newman’s Ford Mustang this weekend at MIS. Newman, a longtime member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family, will run a scheme promoting the ‘Enjoy Coca-Cola’ campaign.

·         For the first time in six years, Coca-Cola is introducing a new summer program called, “Enjoy Coca-Cola,” encouraging people to enjoy a delicious ice-cold Coke with friends and family and make the most of summer.

·         Coca-Cola invites fans to grab any ice-cold Coke, Coke Zero Sugar or Coke Flavor can, bottle, or mini-can and look for the Sip & Scan icon. Simply use a phone to scan and fans will unlock access to more than 150,000 exclusive Coca-Cola prizes and experiences all summer long.

·         When fans peel the wristband off the label, they will be surprised with six unique Coca-Cola designs. Each wristband displays the Sip & Scan icon, giving people endless opportunities to win experiences from concert, movie, and sports tickets, to VIP experiences at some of the hottest events of the season. The more times a person scans the more chance they have to win.

Recapping Pocono
Newman earned valuable stage points by finishing fifth in stage two before going on to record a 16th-place finish at Pocono.

Matt DiBenedetto – No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota Camry Preview
FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway

No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Camry Notes:

·       DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Michigan, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 31.9, an average finish of 31.1, and he’s completed 1,442 of 1,473 (97.9 percent) career laps at the 2.0-mile track in Brooklyn, Michigan.

·       THE TOYOTA EXPRESS MAINTENANCE DIFFERENCE: When your Toyota needs factory-scheduled service, Toyota Express Maintenance (TXM) helps keep our guests moving with quality, speed and value.  Toyota Express Maintenance provides precision service that’s precisely timed to fit within the busy schedules of Toyota owners.  The pit crew-inspired approach helps get our guests in and out quickly, all at the right price with the quality they expect from a Toyota dealer.  Toyota Express Maintenance emphasizes quality workmanship, competitive pricing and fast service.  Services performed under Toyota Express Maintenance include oil and filter change, brake inspection, tire rotation, fluid inspection/replenishment and multipoint vehicle inspection. Additional expedited services are available.

·       RACE INFO: The FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile) begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 9th. The race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Michigan:

Date                Event:                                     S          F         Laps                 Status

06/14/15          Quicken Loans 400                 43        39        136/138            Running

08/16/15          Pure Michigan 400                  32        30        197/200            Running

06/12/16          FireKeepers Casino 400         31        34        185/200            Crash

08/28/16          Pure Michigan 400                  34        32        195/200            Running

06/18/17          FireKeepers Casino 400         28        28        199/200            Running

08/13/17          Pure Michigan 400                  27        26        200/202            Running

06/10/18          FireKeepers Casino 400         30        36        131/133            Running

08/12/18          Consumers Energy 400          30        24        199/200            Running

Races     Wins     Top 5s    Top 10s       Poles

Cumulative         8            0              0               0                0

DiBenedetto’s 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led      Avg. Start       Avg. Finish

14               0                 0                 0                   0                  50               21.7                 24.7

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led       Avg. Start       Avg. Finish

154                0                 0               4                    0                  73                  30.3                 28.5

From the Driver’s Seat:

Matt DiBenedetto: “I think that Michigan is going to be its own deal since I can’t really think of anywhere truly comparable to it that we’ve raced at so far this year.  I think that qualifying will have us completely wide open with the pedal to the floor, so it will be up to the teams to see what they can do to find whatever advantages they can for qualifying.  Your car will still need to be set-up more for the race in race trim though since qualifying is an impound session.  Before this package at Michigan, we needed a good-handling car in order to be able to sail it off into the corner at over 200 m.p.h., so you worked on making sure that you had the most security in your car and getting the handling good enough to carry a bunch of speed, but we were also out of the gas before.  Now this weekend, I think we’re going to be wide-open and it’s going to be figuring out the mix of speed that you need in your car as well as the right handling mix.  The more speed you typically put in your car is when you sacrifice handling, as far as just straightaway speed.  We’ll work and figure out during practice where the balance is.  Most places you still focus on the handling, but Michigan is so big that we don’t know if it’s going to be mix of superspeedway racing and mile-and-a-half racing together in a weird blend that we’ve never seen.  Michigan has widened out enough where we should be able to find some clean air.  That’s been a challenge at the single-lane tracks is that we can’t pass because we can’t find the clean air.  Michigan isn’t as widened out as Kansas but it’s enough where we should be able to find some lanes to be able to get some decent handling in the corner and then be able to get that draft on the straightaway.  I just don’t know how the racing will be this weekend since Michigan is big and fast, we’ll see how it all goes once we get there.”

From the Pit Box:

Mike Wheeler: “Michigan this weekend might look more like Kansas and Fontana.  As far as the racing this weekend, hopefully the track will widen out enough to where you can have multiple grooves to pass, but in recent years, Michigan has been a one-groove track that’s been hard to pass and that’s been one of the harder challenges of it.  If the track widens out pretty well, then I think we’ll see a race similar to Kansas and California.  Tire falloff at Michigan is generally low, so strategy-wise, staying out on tires, taking rights or taking lefts, and keeping track position is easier to do there compared to other tracks that have greater tire falloff.  The biggest question going into this weekend will be how wide will the track get and how many passing lanes will we see this weekend?  The races at Kansas and Charlotte were good because guys were able to run multiple lanes in order to go fast.  Pocono ended up being a very single-lane track and that’s why it was really difficult to pass and make anything happen to get out of the dirty air.  If Michigan can widen out enough, it could be a race that has more passing in it.  Otherwise, with low tire falloff and the speeds that we’re at right now, it might be a difficult track to pass at if we don’t have enough space.”

No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Camry Team:

Driver: Matt DiBenedetto                   Crew Chief: Mike Wheeler

Car Chief: Greg Emmer                     Spotter: Doug Campbell

Engineer: J.R. Houston                     Engineer: Etienne Cliche

Mechanic: Bill Mares                         Mechanic: Matt Kimball

Shock Specialist: Sean Studer         Mechanic: Zach Marquardt

Tire Specialist: Tony Ramirez          Jackman: Charles Thacker

Fueler: Brian Eastland                       Rear Changer: Deven Youker

Front Changer: Adam Hartman        Tire Carrier: Chris Hall

Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez

About Toyota:

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we’ve built more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 16 years are still on the road today.

Team:                          No. 17 NOS Energy Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:                 Brian Pattie
Twitter:                        @Stenhouse17Team @Stenhousejr and @RoushFenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse Jr. at Michigan International Speedway

Stenhouse Jr. has 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Michigan International Speedway with an average starting position of 19.4 and average finishing position of 21.4.

The 2013 MENCS Rookie of the Year also has three Xfinity starts earning one top-five and one top-10 finish.

One Year Ago at Michigan

After earning his best career starting position in his 11 starts at Michigan International Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got caught up in late-race incident resulting in a 29th-place finish in Sunday’s rain-shortened Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race.

Hometown Native

Veteran Shock Specialist Dave McDonald is from Clinton, MI just 20 minutes from Michigan International Speedway.

About NOS Energy Drink

Based in Corona, California, NOS Energy first launched in 2005.  NOS Energy with CMPLX 6 provides High Performance Energy and Enhanced Mental Focus. Rooted in auto-culture, NOS Energy Drink is a proud partner of Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Sheldon Haudenschild and Chris Forsberg to name a few.  High Performance Energy. High Performance Athletes. For more information, visit www.drinknos.com or on social media @NOSEnergyDrink.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Michigan:

“Michigan is a track that Roush Fenway, Ford, and Jack (Roush) have had a lot of success. With this being the home track for Ford and Roush Industries, we always want to have a strong showing. I think we will see a race similar to Kansas this weekend. We have made gains with our intermediate program this year. Hopefully we can have a solid run this weekend for NOS Energy’s first race back with us.”

FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: MICHIGAN ADVANCE

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series will compete this weekend at Michigan International Speedway while the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series runs at Texas Motor Speedway.

Ford will be looking to extend its string of success at MIS that began when the facility opened in 1969. Ford has won at least one MENCS race in 36 of the 50 years the track has been in operation, including 12 season sweeps. In fact, Ford Motor Company has won almost half of the MENCS events held as Ford (37) and Mercury (12) have combined to capture 49 of the 99 races.

Jack Roush has dominated at his home track as he leads all owners in series victories in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (13) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (5). He has 23 overall wins at the track when his five NASCAR XFINITY Series victories are added to that total.

FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT MIS

· Ford has 37 all-time series wins at MIS, which is tied for the second victories at any track currently on the circuit. The Blue Oval has also won 37 times at Daytona and Bristol.

· Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick gave Stewart-Haas a sweep of the Cup races last season.

· Jack Roush has the most wins among car owners at MIS with 13 while the Wood Brothers are next with 11.

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT MIS

· Ford has 6 series wins at MIS.

· Mark Martin won Ford’s first series race at the track in 1993.

· Jack Roush is tied for the most NXS wins among car owners with 5.

FORD IN THE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES AT TEXAS

· Ford has 3 series wins at TMS.

· Ford’s last victory came in 2000 by Greg Biffle.

· Kenny Irwin Jr. won the first series race at TMS in 1997.

STEWART-HAAS SWEEPS 2019

Clint Bowyer won his second race of the 2018 season when he captured the Firekeepers Casino 400 last year while Kevin Harvick continued his dominant season by taking the August event. The season Cup sweep was the first for Ford since 2013 and ninth overall. Bowyer led a 1-2-3 finish for Ford and Stewart-Haas Racing, edging teammates Harvick (2nd) and Kurt Busch (3rd). Bowyer led eight of the 133 laps, which was shortened from its scheduled 200-lap, 400-mile distance because of rain. He took advantage of a quick two-tire stop during his final trip to pit road, and held off Harvick on the final restart before rain stopped the event. The win was Bowyer’s 10th of his Cup career and first at the two-mile track. Harvick’s win was his seventh victory of the season and second career win at MIS.

LOGANO WINS FOR TEAM PENSKE

Joey Logano started and won from the pole for the second time in his career at Michigan International Speedway when he captured the June race in 2016. Logano finished ahead of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson with Penske teammate Brad Keselowski ending up fourth. The new aerodynamic package, promising to produce lower downforce, didn’t disappoint as there were 14 lead changes with Logano leading six times for 138 total laps. The win gave Team Penske its 50th Cup win with Ford and produced the 100th victory for Roush Yates Engines in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

MERCURY AND FORD SWEEP MIS OPENING SEASON

Ford Motor Co. swept the inaugural season of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway in 1969 when Cale Yarborough (Mercury) and David Pearson (Ford) took turns going to victory lane. Yarborough won an intense battle in the track opener on June 15 after passing Lee Roy Yarbrough with three laps to go to take the Wood Brothers to victory lane. That capped a finish which saw Yarborough, Pearson and Yarbrough swap the lead 20 times over the final 146 laps. The second date took place on Aug. 17 and this time it was Pearson and Holman-Moody taking the checkered flag. Pearson sat on the pole and led 79 of the 165 laps completed. The race, which was originally scheduled to be a 600-mile event, was halted at that point and declared official due to rain. Pearson went on to win a record nine times at MIS, which puts him as the speedway’s all-time MENCS winner.

FOUR STRAIGHT FOR AWESOME BILL

Bill Elliott is the only driver to win four straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway, sweeping both events in 1985 and ’86, and he capped that impressive streak in dominating fashion. Elliott led 125-of-200 laps on Aug. 17, 1986 to beat Tim Richmond to the finish line and win the Champion Spark Plug 400. Elliott went on to win seven career races at MIS and currently ranks third on the all-time list, trailing only David Pearson (9) and Cale Yarborough (8).

JARRETT WINS FIRST CUP RACE

Dale Jarrett registered his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in memorable fashion at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 18, 1991. Jarrett, who was in second season driving for the Wood Brothers, found himself in furious battle with Davey Allison, who stalked him over the final dozen laps in his No. 28 Texaco Havoline Thunderbird. Allison made a move to the outside coming off turn four and got alongside Jarrett as the two took the white flag together. They took turns exchanging the lead, but never left each other’s side. As they came off turn four both Fords made contact, but it was Jarrett who ended up edging Allison by eight inches at the finish line.

BIFFLE WINS FORD’S 1,000TH

Greg Biffle posted Ford’s 1,000th NASCAR victory when he took the checkered flag on June 16, 2013 in the Quicken Loans 400. The milestone win, which included combined victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck, NASCAR XFINITY and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, was Biffle’s second straight at MIS and fourth overall. The race was shaping up to be a battle between Biffle, who was leading, and a hard-charging Jimmie Johnson, but a flat tire ended Johnson’s chances with two laps to go.

LOGANO WIN RESULTS IN TWO FIRSTS

When Joey Logano won the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 18, 2013 it represented his first win with Ford and new car owner Roger Penske. But it also marked the first time the speedway awarded the Michigan Heritage trophy, which goes to the winning manufacturer of every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at MIS. Logano, who won the pole and led a race-high 51 laps, passed Mark Martin for the lead with four laps to go after Martin’s car ran out of gas.

FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP WINNERS AT MICHIGAN
1969 – David Pearson (2)
1984 – Bill Elliott (1)
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1986 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1987 – Bill Elliott (2)
1988 – Davey Allison (2)
1989 – Bill Elliott (1)
1990 – Mark Martin (2)
1991 – Davey Allison and Dale Jarrett
1992 – Davey Allison (1)
1993 – Mark Martin (2)
1994 – Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
1996 – Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett
1997 – Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin
1998 – Mark Martin (1)
1999 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2000 – Rusty Wallace (2)
2002 – Matt Kenseth and Dale Jarrett
2003 – Kurt Busch (1)
2004 – Greg Biffle (2)
2005 – Greg Biffle (1)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2007 – Carl Edwards (1)
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2012 – Greg Biffle (2)
2013 – Greg Biffle and Joey Logano
2016 – Joey Logano (1)
2018 – Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT MICHIGAN
1993 – Mark Martin
1995 – Mark Martin
1998 – Jeff Burton
2001 – Ryan Newman
2008 – Carl Edwards
2011 – Carl Edwards

FORD GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINS AT TEXAS
1997 – Kenny Irwin Jr.
1998 – Tony Raines
2000 – Greg Biffle (1)

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: FireKeepers Casino 400
Date/Time: June 9/2:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2 miles
Track Shape: Oval
2018 Winner: Clint Bowyer

Express Notes:

Pocono Recap: Denny Hamlin earned a sixth-place finish at Pocono Raceway Sunday, putting behind him a stretch of races where he finished outside the top 15 due to mechanical issues or accidents. Hamlin started the 400-mile event in sixth and raced inside the top 10 for most of the afternoon. Passing was difficult, but varying pit strategies mixed up the field multiple times, including putting the FedEx Office Toyota in the lead for a lap. At least five different cars had incidents involving cut tires or contact with the wall, but the #11 team avoided trouble and executed a clean race.

Michigan Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be heading to high-speed Michigan International Speedway for a 400-mile event on Sunday, June 9. After another top-10 finish at Pocono, Hamlin and the #FedEx11 team will be seeking their third win of the 2019 Cup Series, as well as Denny’s third-career win in the Irish Hills.

Hamlin Michigan Statistics:
Track: Michigan International Speedway
Races: 26
Wins: 2 (2010, 2011)
Poles: 1 (2018)
Top-5: 7
Top-10: 12
Laps Led: 187
Avg. Start: 12.3
Avg. Finish 14.4

Hamlin Conversation:

How does it feel for your team to have secured a top-10 finish and have strong momentum heading to Michigan?

“Pocono was a fairly smooth race for us and a top-10 finish was what we needed after a rough stretch the last few weeks. I’m proud of the effort from our FedEx team and we’ll keep it going next week in Michigan.”

How do you expect the racing at Michigan to be different with the current aero package?

“I think the race at Michigan is going to be one of the best shows we’ve put on at that track. That track offers plenty of grip, and we should be able to keep the throttle wide open and close the gaps to make passes. Our FedEx team has had pretty good success there before, and it should be another good weekend for us.”

FedEx Freight Fremont, Ind. Service Center Along for the Ride at Michigan International Speedway: For the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, FedEx Freight recognizes the company’s Fremont, Ind., service center by featuring the call letters FRE on the #11 FedEx Freight racecar. The Fremont service center, opened in 2004, has approximately 200 team members who are committed to making every FedEx experience outstanding.