Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Friday, May 10, 2019
EVENT: Digital Ally 400 Media Availability

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang — COMPARED TO OTHER PRACTICE SESSIONS THIS YEAR, IT SEEMED LIKE EVERYBODY WAS MORE JUMPING INTO DRAFTING AND FORGOING SINGLE-CAR STUFF: “I think so. I think everyone just realizes that you are going to have a lot of wide-open time here and the more you have the more the draft will come into play. You have to be around other cars for those reasons. The difference between clean air and dirty air, balance wise, is quite a difference because the speed is faster and you don’t have as much downforce. If you go out there and are easy, wide-open by yourself, what are you learning? If you get into traffic like you are going to race, then at least you can start working on your car. It makes it more challenging to work on your car because it is hard to get a consistent run. In the past, the way we have done things is that you want to get clean air to get a clean read on what is going on. You would say, “Well, I was in traffic so maybe the change didn’t do this.” Now it is like, “I am in traffic but every scenario is different. There is a car closer to me this time. I had three cars in front of me instead of six cars in front of me.’ There are a lot of variables to work through. That is challenging. It is kind of the only way to do it though.”

WHO TRACKS THAT? ENGINEERS? ARE YOU TRACKING THE NUMBER OF GUYS IN FRONT OF YOU ON A RUN? “You have somewhat of an idea. I can see. My windshield is clear so I can see through it, which is good. I try to put myself in the position that I want to be to get a decent read. It is hard to do because a car will come in or a couple cars will pull out and you are in a different situation. You have to take it from a global view. It is hard to really pinpoint where exactly in the corner and be as precise as we used to be.”

YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ALL-STAR RACE STRATEGY NEXT WEEKEND? “The strategy for the All-Star race is always all or nothing. Right? There is a million bucks on the line. That is all that matters. I don’t know who finished second there last year. You go for it. You have nothing to lose. There are no points. It is such a fun race for that reason. If something happens, you go, ‘Oh well.’ and you move on to the next one. You don’t have the penalty that comes with it of not having the points that you lost. You go for it. For me it is one of the most fun, if not the most fun race of the year for me. I really enjoy it. Everyone is so aggressive. Everyone ‘s the same way and has the same mentality. They hang that million dollar carrot out in front of you and we all kick it up a notch. It is fun.”

POCONO, HOMESTEAD AND DARLINGTON PACKAGES HAVE BEEN CHANGED IN TERMS OF THE AIR DUCTS ON THE CAR. YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? “It is pretty simple. We just haven’t been using much brake. To try to keep the rules the same throughout all of the series’, I sit in some of the meetings when they talk about this stuff, and we try to keep it all the same instead of having some with brake ducts, some with drag ducts. You end up with more parts and pieces and it just costs the teams more money and you have different development cycles because you have two different aero packages in a way. If we aren’t using the brake like we kind of thought we would, then we might as well take that out and keep that the same. I think it is a good move by NASCAR to keep it simple. It probably saves the teams a couple bucks. Not a whole bunch, but a couple. Directionally it is the right way.”

A LOT OF DRIVERS COMPLAINED ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO PASS LAST WEEK BUT YOU WERE ABLE TO COME FROM THE BACK OF THE PACK TO THE FRONT AGAIN. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE DIFFERNCE WAS FOR THE 22 COMPARED TO GUYS THAT GOT MIRED IN TRAFFIC? “It was really an execution day. We got back to sixth or seventh but in all honesty that is as good as we were. I can’t say that, as far as the cars around us, that we were much better than that. Perfect day, maybe we finish fourth. But we had a pretty well executed day and we finished sixth or seventh. We made that pit call to go get a stage win, which I thought was worth it, then we paid the penalty by going back to 24th or so. It took us awhile to get back to sixth or seventh. We needed cautions, good restarts and good pit stops to get back up there. It was hard to move your way up there but we slowly picked off one here, a couple there and the next thing you know you are in a decent spot. It was challenging but I feel like for us we did our jobs as far as executing throughout the day and that is what picked up positions as the day went.”

WOULD YOU WRECK A TEAMMATE TO WIN THE ALL-STAR RACE? “No, you can’t do that. You can’t just go out and wreck anyone because you are going to pay the price. Believe me, I know. I think it is probably not a wise decision. I have always said, moving someone is one thing, wrecking someone is something different. That is my opinion on it. I think you have to race that race the same way you would any other race because it is the same competitors. Yeah, we are more aggressive, but it doesn’t mean you are going to go out there and just dump people.”

CHASE (ELLIOTT) SAID THAT BECAUSE OF THE CONDITIONS TOMORROW NIGHT HE FEELS THE FIELD WILL BE CLOSER TOGETHER. IF SO, DOES THAT GIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DRAFTING EFFECT DESIGNED TO OVERTAKE THAT DIRTY AIR BALANCE AND SHIFT IT MORE IN THE DIRECTION OF YOU BEING ABLE TO USE THE DRAFT TO PASS PEOPLE? “Yep, you are right on it. That is exactly how it is going to be. Cooler temperatures will bring the pack closer. The cars today in practice it was surprising how much we were lifting actually in that draft. The cars were really sliding all over the place in dirty air and the temperature is a little warmer right now with the sun out. When you get to a night race it will bring the pack closer together. It used to be the other way around. When we were lifting a lot we wanted the track temperature to be hot and to rubber up a lot so that it would get really wide and we could move around and do all this stuff. Now you want it cooler so that you are more wide open and that is what brings the cars closer.”

SINCE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW IT IS COOLER AND MORE LIKE PROBABLY THE RACES IN THE FALL, CAN YOU EVEN APPLY ANYTHING FROM THIS RACE TO THE SUMMER RACES BECAUSE OF THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES? “I think this race has some similarities to what Charlotte may be like. Even though it is cooler we are still lifting and you will lift when we go to Charlotte. We have lifted at every race track with this 550 package. Just about everywhere. Even California we were lifting a fair amount. Texas you lifted in one corner at least. You are going to have that piece of it. Kentucky is a place you are going to lift a lot into three. You know that everyone is going to be bringing some downforce to that race track. This track here, I was thinking that you are going to have kind of a mixed back. Kind of like Michigan. You may have some guys that think handling is important and some guys think getting the drag out is important. Maybe in the middle is where you want to be. Maybe one way or the other is where you want to be. I think those are the things we will learn here this week. How far one way or the other do you want to be when you come to a race track like Kansas compared to a place like Texas or California, Vegas, Kentucky, you name it. I think each track you are going to kind of want something different depending how much you are in the gas.”

THERE HAS BEEN TALK THIS WEEK ABOUT WHETHER NASCAR IS LISTENING TO THE FEEDBACK THEY GET FROM DRIVERS. DO YOU FEEL THEY ARE LISTENING? DO YOU THINK THEY TAKE INPUT BUT CHOOSE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS? AS A CHAMPION, DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE ANY BIGGER OF A VOICE WITH NASCAR? “Yes, I do feel like they listen to us as drivers. But I also realize that we are not the only players in this game. There is plenty of other members that have a vested interest in what we do. You think of our fans for one. It has to be a good race. It has to look good and be good passing. Our TV partners will weigh in on that. Media members weigh in on that. The team owners weigh in on that. And yes, the drivers will weigh in on that. Do I feel like the drivers have a great view of what is happening? Yeah, probably better than anyone because you can do all the CFD studies and show me all these squiggly lines but there is nothing like real life when you get out there and actually feel it. There are only 40 people that really know what it feels like out there. I feel like the drivers have a good opinion of what is going on but we also have to realize and almost take a step back and look at it from a global view of what is best for our sport. There are a lot of good metrics going on and you guys have all seen them as far as the ratings and approvals and all that stuff. It is all trending the right way. Dover was a little different but it wasn’t awful. There was still good racing back and forth, it was just different. To answer that, I do feel like our voice is heard. I just feel like it is not everything and it probably shouldn’t be everything because there are other groups that need to be heard as well.”

Next up for Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team is Saturday’s Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway, a track that has been a good one for Menard and his No. 21 team.

In the past seven races on the 1.5-mile oval, the team has five finishes of seventh or better, including a sixth-place run by Menard last May. In the fall, he was poised to run the string to six strong Kansas finishes, but after driving from his 18th starting spot to fifth at the end of the first 80-lap Stage, he was involved in a collision on pit road that damaged his car and led to a disappointing finish.

Menard and the Woods have done well at Kansas before the recent stretch of good runs.

Menard has six top-10 finishes with a best of third place in 2012 in 20 career starts. He also has a pole and a runner-up finish in the Xfinity Series at Kansas.

The Wood Brothers have four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 18 races plus a pole in 2017. Their best Kansas finish came in 2004 when Ricky Rudd finished a close second to Joe Nemechek in one of the last races in which two single-car teams battled for the win on a non-restrictor-plate track.

Jon Wood, a co-owner of the team and the company’s business manager, wrote his name in the Kansas Speedway record book. He won the first-ever pole at the speedway when he took the top spot for the Kansas 100 Winston West race in 2001 with a speed of 168.534 miles per hour. He also won a Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Kansas in 2002, beating his Roush Racing teammate Carl Edwards to the line by 1.176 seconds.

Kansas Speedway wasn’t around when team founder Glen Wood was driving, but he had a strong run in the state of Kansas, at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson in a 1959 Convertible Series race.

With mud from the wet track blocking his radiator, Wood had to nurse his car to the finish line but still finished second.

That was significant in the team’s history as it was his first top-level finish after receiving factory backing from Ford Motor Company, a relationship that continues to this day.

“Kansas and Kansas Speedway have been good places for us over the years,” Eddie Wood said. “We’re excited to be heading back out there and looking forward to another good run there.”

Qualifying for the Digital Ally 400 is set for Friday at 6:05 p.m. (7:05 Eastern Time), and the race is scheduled to start just after 6:30 p.m. (7:30 Eastern) 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.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
DIGITAL ALLY 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
MAY 11, 2019

BOWTIE BULLETS:

ELLIOTT RETURNS ON A ROLL:
In October 2018, Chase Elliott became the youngest (22 years, 10 months, 23 days) winner of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. “I think as it has aged that outside lane has really prevailed and I think that will continue to be that way,” said the driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, who is coming off a victory and fifth-place finish in the past two events. Elliott will be making his 125th MENCS start.

FIRST IN KANSAS:
Groundbreaking for Kansas Speedway was held on May 25, 1999. Jeff Gordon in a Chevrolet won the inaugural MENCS race on the 1.5-mile oval on Sept. 30, 2001, and followed with a victory in the next race at the track. Gordon added another win in 2014.

EVEN FURTHER BACK:
The first NASCAR national series race contested in Kansas was on July 29, 1995, at Heartland Park Topeka. Ron Hornaday Jr., driving a Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., won the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race.

TUNE-IN:
FS1 will telecast the Digital Ally 400 live at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, May 11. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• Chevrolet has won 39 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships.
• Team Chevy drivers have scored 780 wins and 705 poles in MENCS competition.
• Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 12 wins in the 26 races at Kansas Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers:
  Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has three wins (2008, ’11, ’15).
  Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, has one win (2018).
• The next start for Landon Cassill, No. 00 Star Com Fiber Camaro ZL1, will be his 300th in MENCS competition. He’ll be the 66th driver to reach the mark.
• Kurt Busch, No. 1 Global Poker Camaro ZL1, is among three drivers to have competed in all 26 MENCS races at Kansas Speedway.
• Johnson has three MENCS pole starts at Kansas Speedway.
• Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 10 pole awards in the 26 races.
• Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) leads all teams with seven wins at the track.
• Johnson leads MENCS active drivers with nine top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 25 starts at the track.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – 7th IN STANDINGS “Kansas has become a cool place. I think as it has aged that outside lane has really prevailed and I think that will continue to be that way. I think it’s going to be a top lane-dominant racetrack as it continues to wear and age, and as time goes on even more than it already is. So that makes it difficult. It’s hard to make a lot happen in a hurry when everybody is riding the wall and up in those top grooves. That’s the challenge of it is trying to pass and move forward. It’s a difficult thing to do when everybody is griping the top.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GLOBAL POKER CAMARO ZL1 – 8th IN STANDINGS “Kansas Speedway is one of those sneaky fast mile-and-half tracks, its very fast and the pace that we can run there in the draft can challenge the engine sometimes, right to the limit of the rev-chip. Then with the set-up there, being a night race, early in the year and going back its a day race for the Playoffs. Kansas is a track, if you show well there it really helps you solidify your mile-and-half program. One of the biggest challenges at Kansas Speedway is keeping up with the wind conditions, a lot of times we’ll have different wind directions from day-to-day and that will swap each end of the track. The Kansas Speedway is in its prime from a track conditions standpoint, low grove, middle groove and high groove. You go where the other guys aren’t. You can get that big run of speed in the high groove, but speed early-on, with new tires, is generated in that low groove.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 13th IN STANDINGS
ON LAST WEEKEND’S FINISH: “We are coming off two great weekends. Talladega is a speedway, so there is a lot of luck involved in that one. Dover, however, is just physically exhausting. We had a shot at the win and that is all that you can ask for. I have to give credit to Greg (Ives) and the No. 88 guys. They put a great car together last weekend and they should definitely be proud of Monday’s execution. We will continue moving forward with this momentum and try to finish one spot better on Saturday night.”
ON WHAT MAKES KANSAS UNIQUE: “Kansas Speedway is cool because it’s newer pavement, but it’s widened out a lot. You can run from the bottom to the top. That is one of the only newer paved places that you can do that right now. I enjoy going there as much as it widens out.”

“This is one of my favorite tracks to be honest. I feel like when you run at night versus during the day, the track doesn’t change much and feels really the same. The top always comes in, which makes the racing fun. This is a race that I definitely look forward to coming to.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 – 15th IN STANDINGS
“It feels really good to be coming off of a solid race for our team. The last month had been pretty rough, so to put together a complete weekend in Dover, from qualifying to the race, was great for us. It was also good to see another race where the Chevy’s were really competitive. Kansas has been a pretty good track for our team, with two top-fives there last year, so I’m excited to head to a track where we’ve been strong. We just need to keep putting together good weekends, and keep putting our Chevy in a position to win races.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 – 18th IN STANDINGS
A LOT OF THE 1.5-MILE TRACKS LOOK A LOT ALIKE BUT YOU SAY THEY’RE NOT WHEN YOU RACE THEM. HOW IS KANSAS UNIQUE COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS?
“Kansas has really done a 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 all the tracks have figured out yet; but Kansas got it right. So, you can run from top to bottom there. The bottom is a preferred group for a while but it becomes too tight to try and run around there in (Turns) 1 and 2 sometimes, or whatever the balance is of your race car. I’ve enjoyed that track since they’ve repaved it. I wish everybody else could do as good a job as Kansas did in their repave.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 – 19th IN STANDINGS
HAS KANSAS GOTTEN BETTER AS THE ASPHALT HAS AGED OVER THE YEARS? “It’s definitely aged. I think the tire Goodyear has brought has been really good for that track. It has been able to lay rubber and we’ve been able to run up the track pretty quickly. Even with cooler temperatures, I think the track has taken rubber pretty quickly. Not sure why that’s been the case, but it’s been a really fun race there the last couple years because of that. Kansas Speedway is one of my favorite tracks because if you feel like you’re struggling on the bottom you can immediately move to the top and be competitive. I’ve enjoyed this track really in all three series and am excited to get there this weekend.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 – 22nd IN STANDINGS
“The good thing so far this year is that we’ve had speed at the intermediate tracks. We’re still working on what we need for the car to handle how we need it to during the race, but I think we’re certainly getting there. We have seen our short-track program grow in a positive direction this season. Matt (Borland, crew chief) and I feel very confident in our communication with one another. The next step is fine-tuning our mile-and-a-half program, and we’re getting closer and closer with each track. We’ve shown speed in qualifying, which is a plus. We’re just looking forward to carrying that speed over into consistency throughout the race. We’ve been great at the end of races, but we’ve been a little bit behind at the start. Once we get all of that ironed out, our GEICO Racing team is going to be a really strong, competitive team at these intermediates.”

Chevrolet Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2018): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2018): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – (2007)

2019 STATISTICS:
Wins: 1
Poles: 6
Laps Led: 703
Top-five finishes: 12
Top-10 finishes: 31

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 780 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 705
Laps led to date: 232,958
Top-five finishes to date: 3,981
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,203

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date:

       GM: 1,115
       Chevrolet: 780
       Pontiac: 155
       Oldsmobile: 115
       Buick: 65

       Ford: 780
       Ford: 680
       Mercury: 96
       Lincoln: 4

       Chrysler: 466
       Dodge: 217
       Plymouth: 190
       Chrysler: 59

       Toyota: 129

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

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

KANSAS SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
LOCATION: KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 12 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 7:30 P.M. ET, SATURDAY, MAY 11 (FS1/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
7th in standings
11 starts
1 win
2 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
312 laps led

Career
124 starts
4 wins
6 pole positions
36 top-five finishes
63 top-10 finishes
1,555 laps led

Track Career
6 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
3 top-10 finishes
48 laps led

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to the media on Friday, May 10, at 3 p.m. local time in the media center at Kansas Speedway.

LAST SIX: Over the last six races, Chase Elliott has led a total of 312 laps – leading in five of the last six races after going the first five races of the season without leading a single lap. He has started from the pole position in two of the last six races (Bristol, Dover).

ON A ROLL: Since capturing his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in August 2018 at Watkins Glen, he is the only Chevrolet driver to have won a race. In his last 26 starts, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has collected four wins, nine top-five finishes – including one runner-up result – 15 top-10s and 581 laps led.

DOVER REWIND: On Monday, Elliott started on the pole and led a career-high 145 laps at the “Monster Mile” in Dover, Delaware, on his way to his second consecutive top-five finish. The fifth-place finish is Elliott’s third top-five result of the 2019 season and 36th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

LAST TIME AT KANSAS: 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.

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.

NAPA BRAKES: Last weekend at Dover, Elliott’s NAPA Brakes paint scheme promoted NAPA AUTO PARTS’ brakes special that will run throughout the month of May. Customers can get up to $75 off a qualifying NAPA brake parts purchase of $250 at participating NAPA AUTO PARTS stores and NAPA AutoCare centers.

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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
19th in standings
11 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
88 laps led

Career
47 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
149 laps led

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

HEADING TO KANSAS: With momentum on his side after a strong run at Dover International Speedway, William Byron is hoping that success carries over for Saturday night’s race at Kansas Speedway. With two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, luck has not been on the No. 24 driver’s side. While running solidly within the top 10 at the end of the 2018 spring race, Byron was collected in a multiple-car incident with 14 laps to go, ending his night with a 33rd-place finish. In the fall, Byron felt like he had one of his best cars of the 2018 season, but an engine issue 55 laps in resulted in a 38th-place finish. However, in his first two NASCAR national series starts at Kansas Speedway – one Xfinity Series start and one Gander Outdoors Truck Series start – Byron started from the pole position in both races and finished inside the top five each time. In fact, in his debut at the 1.5-mile tri-oval 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 kickstarted the most successful season by a rookie in the history of the Truck Series.

HELLO, UNIFIRST: Unloading at Kansas Speedway this weekend, Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will have UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) on board for the first time in 2019. This weekend’s race will be the first of three where fans can see the refreshed UniFirst Chevrolet paint scheme at the racetrack 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 work-wear 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.

‘MONSTER MILE’ MOMENTUM: Qualifying second for the third time in 2019, his fourth time starting on the front row, Byron showed speed throughout the entire weekend at Dover International Speedway. After rain postponed the Cup Series race until Monday afternoon, Byron went on to collect stage points, lead laps, and cross the finish line with a track-best finish of eighth at the “Monster Mile.”

DOVER VICTORY TOUR RECAP: Last weekend, Byron had the opportunity to hang out with 150 kids from the Dover area at the annual NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Fun Day Festival. The event showcased the importance of physical fitness and overall healthy living in youth. To see more from Byron’s time at the event, check out the story.

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Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

2019 Season
17th in standings
11 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
4 top-10 finishes
68 laps led

Career
626 starts
83 wins
36 pole positions
225 top-five finishes
356 top-10 finishes
18,771 laps led

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

GOOD TRACKS ON THE HORIZON: Performance-wise, Jimmie Johnson has some great tracks coming up in the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. At Kansas Speedway, Johnson has three wins, tied for the most all-time. In the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Johnson is a four-time winner, the most all-time. He has eight wins in points-paying races at Charlotte, three wins at Pocono Raceway and one win apiece at Michigan International Speedway and Sonoma Raceway.

JOHNSON AT KANSAS: Johnson has the second-best driver rating of all active drivers at Kansas with a score of 104.1. He has an average finish of 9.7 and has led 601 laps at the 1.5-mile track.

JOHNSON WRITES EXCUSE FOR YOUNG FAN: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, resident and long-time Johnson fan Beau Smith skipped school on Monday so he could see the race at Dover International Speedway. The eighth-grader was in need of an excuse for the absence, so Johnson personally wrote a note to Beau’s teacher on a hero card. Johnson later jokingly tweeted that he hoped the excuse worked. Click here to see the video.

DOVER IN THE REAR-VIEW: Johnson had the fastest car in final practice last Saturday in Dover. Expectations were high on Monday in the rain-delayed race, but the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 proved to be a handful at the “Monster Mile.” Although he led a handful of laps, Johnson was not able to contend for his 12th win at the one-mile track. Johnson tweeted that it was “not the day we were looking for,” and when the No. 48 team raised the hood post-race, they found some welds that had ripped away from the frame on the front clip, noting that Dover is tough on equipment.

CLOSE(ER) TO HOME: Kansas Speedway is a home track of sorts for longtime No. 48 team spotter Earl Barban. Barban is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, roughly four hours east of Kansas Speedway. Barban has been Johnson’s spotter for six of his seven championships and now resides outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Chel.

ALL EYES ON 84: Johnson’s next trip to Victory Lane will be his 84th points-paying Cup Series win. In June 2017 at Dover, he secured his 83rd, which is the most among all active drivers. An 84th win would tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for fourth all-time.

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

2019 Season
13th in standings
11 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
23 laps led

Career
128 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
16 top-10 finishes
297 laps led

Track Career
7 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
0 laps led

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to the media on Friday, May 10, at 4:25 p.m. local time in the media center at Kansas Speedway.

DOVER REWIND: Alex Bowman is coming off another career-best weekend after Monday’s race in Dover. The Nationwide team finished second when the field took the checkered flag after 400 laps, made even more impressive by the fact that Bowman raced from starting the race at the tail end of the field. The 26-year-old driver finished Stage 1 in the seventh position after driving through the field in the first 120 laps. During Stage 2, Bowman remained inside the top five and raced his way to the front, taking the lead with 15 laps to go in the segment. The Nationwide machine ultimately crossed the line second in the stage, as the No. 19 car passed Bowman on the final lap. During the final segment, Bowman settled into the third position as cars raced single-file. With 45 laps to go, the No. 88 Camaro ZL1 was scored second and would ultimately cross the line in that position as the remainder of the event ran caution-free. It marked Bowman’s second weekend in a row with a second-place finish.

MULTIPLE TOP-10 FINISHES: Bowman has finished inside the top 10 twice at four tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. The Arizona native has finished 10th or better at Bristol, Chicago, Kansas, and Talladega. Bowman has finished in the top 10 in two out of three races at Kansas Speedway.

BOWMAN AT KANSAS: Bowman will make his eighth start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway this weekend. Last spring, the No. 88 Nationwide team finished 18th at the track after starting 19th. The 26-year-old driver started in the 10th position in the fall at the Kansas-based track and finished ninth. Back in 2016, Bowman ran the No. 88 machine for Hendrick Motorsports in the fall event and captured his first top-10 finish at the track by crossing the line seventh. The Tucson, Arizona, native has one start at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he qualified and finished in the 11th position. Bowman has a stellar record at the 1.5-mile facility in the ARCA Series with two front-row starting positions including a pole position in 2012, and he captured the victory in both events. The driver led a total of 70 laps at the track in the series.

RUNNING NEAR THE FRONT: Since 2016, Bowman has run 515 laps inside the top two positions on three different tracks. The driver ran 128 laps inside the top two last weekend in Dover and 56 laps the weekend prior in Talladega. Coincidentally, Bowman ran inside the top two at the same two tracks in 2018, running 31 laps inside the top two at Talladega and 28 in Dover. In 2016, the No. 88 team ran 272 laps inside the top two, 194 of which were run in the lead.

IVES AT KANSAS: Crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots for the ninth time for the No. 88 team in Kansas this weekend. The Michigan native has one top-five finish and four top-10s at the track. Ives’ drivers have an average start of 17.5 and an average finish of 12.5 at the track. The crew chief’s resume includes one top-five finish and two top-10s at the venue in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2013, Ives’ driver led 81 laps en route to a third-place finish at the facility. 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.

WELCOME BACK, AXALTA: This weekend marks the third of 12 events in which the Axalta primary colors will adorn the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Axalta will be on board the No. 88 machine this weekend in Kansas and next weekend at Charlotte for the All-Star Race. Last year, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Axalta signed a four-year contract extension that will take the partnership through 2022. The leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings unveiled a new Axalta Racing website last year that includes plenty of behind-the-scenes content, photos, and videos. Check out Bowman’s page here.

PITCH TO WIN BIG: Small Business Week runs from May 5-11 and recognizes small businesses everywhere. Nationwide and BlueVine are teaming up to give away up to $100,000 to one small business to help it grow. From now until the end of June, small business owners can visit www.pitchtowinbig.com to enter for a chance to win funds to achieve their business goals. Nationwide and BlueVine will select the contest finalists, who will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Nationwide’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, to pitch business leaders in-person during a live “Pitch to Win” event. The winning pitch will win the $100,000 prize, with second place receiving $20,000 and third place taking home $10,000.

HOME-TRACK FEELS: The fueler for the No. 88 Axalta team, 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 of college.

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Hendrick Motorsports

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT KANSAS: At Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has amassed seven wins, five pole positions, 31 top-five finishes and 55 top-10s, all of which lead NASCAR Cup Series teams all-time at the track. With three wins apiece, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are tied for the most wins all-time at Kansas. Johnson leads all drivers in top-10 finishes (17) and active drivers in top-five finishes (nine) at Kansas. Most recently, Chase Elliott won for the organization at the track last fall. Hendrick Motorsports’ average finish of 13.51 at the track is the best all-time. Kansas is one of 14 active tracks where the organization owns or is tied for the most wins all-time at the venue.

ON A ROLL: After starting one-two in each of the past two races, Hendrick Motorsports has occupied 75 percent of the top-two finishing positions over the past two weeks. It marks the first time since April 2016 that the organization has had multiple drivers finish inside the top five in consecutive races. On Monday at Dover International Speedway, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers led laps for the first time in a race since last July at Daytona International Speedway.

STARTING ON THE FRONT ROW: Hendrick Motorsports owns four pole positions in 2019, the most of any team so far this season. The organization is the only team to have swept the front row in qualifying this year, accomplishing the feat four times. That ties for the second-most front row qualifying sweeps in a single season by the organization behind its record of seven in 1986.

1.5-MILE CHAMPS: Hendrick Motorsports has a NASCAR Cup Series record 58 total wins on 1.5-mile tracks, 12 more than the next closest team, Joe Gibbs Racing.

LOOKING AHEAD: Of the next six races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule – Kansas, All-Star Race, Charlotte, Pocono, Michigan and Sonoma – Hendrick Motorsports owns the most all-time wins at five of them. The only exception is Michigan, where the organization’s eight wins are tied for third-most.

FIRST-TIME WINNERS: Hendrick Motorsports holds the record for the most first-time Cup Series winners with nine. If William Byron or Alex Bowman win at Kansas, it would extend the record to the 10th time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

ALL-STAR FAN VOTING: Fan voting for the NASCAR All-Star Race is now open with two teammates from Hendrick Motorsports on the ballot. Byron and Bowman are in the fan voting pool, providing one route to join their teammates Elliott and Johnson, who are locked in, in the All-Star Race field on May 18. Fans can cast their vote here, and votes shared on Twitter and Facebook count double.

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 253 race victories, 219 pole positions, 1,051 top-five finishes and 1,799 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 68,200 laps since 1984.

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QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on racing at Kansas:
“Kansas has become a cool place. I think as it has aged, that outside lane has really prevailed and I think that will continue to be that way. I think it’s going to be a top-lane-dominant racetrack as it continues to wear and age, and as time goes on even more than it already is. So, that makes it difficult. It’s hard to make a lot happen in a hurry when everybody is riding the wall and up in those top grooves. That’s the challenge of it is trying to pass and move forward. It’s a difficult thing to do when everybody is gripping the top.”

William Byron on the asphalt at Kansas:
“It’s definitely aged. I think the tire Goodyear has brought has been really good for that track. It has been able to lay rubber and we’ve been able to run up the track pretty quickly. Even with cooler temperatures, I think the track has taken rubber pretty quickly. Not sure why that’s been the case, but it’s been a really fun race there the last couple years because of that. Kansas Speedway is one of my favorite tracks because if you feel like you’re struggling on the bottom you can immediately move to the top and be competitive. I’ve enjoyed this track really in all three series and am excited to get there this weekend.”

Jimmie Johnson on racing at Kansas:
“It would be nice to leave Kansas as the only four-time winner there. This weekend will be a bit different with the new rules package and the race being at night. I am anticipating a lot of speed, a lot of grip and a lot of action. This package promotes a lot of passing in the pack, so it should be a very charged-up race. I’m looking forward to it.”

Alex Bowman on what makes Kansas unique:
“Kansas Speedway is cool because it’s newer pavement, but it’s widened out a lot. You can run from the bottom to the top. That is one of the only newer paved places that you can do that right now. I enjoy going there as much as it widens out. This is one of my favorite tracks, to be honest. I feel like when you run at night versus during the day, the track doesn’t change much and feels really the same. The top always comes in, which makes the racing fun. This is a race that I definitely look forward to coming to.”

Bowman on back-to-back second-place finishes:
“We are coming off two great weekends. Talladega is a superspeedway, so there is a lot of luck involved in that one. Dover, however, is just physically exhausting. We had a shot at the win and that is all that you can ask for. I have to give credit to (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the No. 88 guys. They put a great car together last weekend and they should definitely be proud of Monday’s execution. We will continue moving forward with this momentum and try to finish one spot better on Saturday night.”

Roush Fenway Returns to the Heartland

Roush Fenway Racing heads to the Great Plains this weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) converges on Kansas Speedway for a Saturday night showdown. Jack Roush has sent nine cars to victory lane at the 1.5-mile track, four of which were Cup wins.

Kansas Speedway

Saturday, May 11| 7:30 p.m. ET

FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Performance Plus Ford Mustang

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Overall, Roush Fenway has started 163 races across the MENCS, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series (NGOTS), earning a total of nine wins, 41 top-five finishes, 75 top-10 finishes and has an overall average finish of 14.4.

Winning at Kansas

Roush Fenway swept both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and MENCS races at Kansas in the fall of 2012 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt Kenseth. Stenhouse became the sixth driver to win at the track for the organization via his Xfinity victory.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin earned Roush Fenway’s first MENCS win at Kansas in 2005 and former driver Greg Biffle bested the 1.5-mile track in 2007 and 2010. Roush Fenway’s first overall win at Kansas came in 2002 via Jeff Burton in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Three drivers (Jon Wood in 2003, Carl Edwards in 2004 and Erik Darnell in 2007) have won in the NGOTS at Kansas for Roush Fenway.

Tale of the Tape

Roush Fenway has started 94 MENCS races at Kansas, recording four victories, 20 top-five finishes, 35 top-10 finishes, an average finish of 15.9 and has led 944 laps. Kenseth earned the most recent victory at Kansas in the fall of 2012.

Where They Rank

Coming off Dover, Ryan Newman sits inside the playoff picture 14th in the driver standings, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., is 21st. Just 16 points separate the 14th-20th spots in points.

Roush Fenway Kansas Wins

2002 Burton NXS

2003 Wood Truck

2004 Edwards Truck

2005 Martin Cup

2007 Biffle Cup

2007 Darnell Truck

2010 Biffle Cup

2012-2 Kenseth Cup

2012 Stenhouse NXS

By the Numbers at Kanas Speedway

Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles

94 4 20 35 2 24136 944 16.7 15.9 36204

50 2 14 28 3 9699 383 12.9 12.9 14548.5

19 3 7 12 0 3059 229 9.9 11.0 4588.5

163 9 41 75 5 36894 1556 14.7 14.4 55341

Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway

No. 95 Digital Momentum / HubSpot Toyota Camry Notes:

· DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Kansas, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 30.1 and an average finish of 26.0 and has completed 2,099 of 2,138 (98.2 percent) career laps and has led for one lap. DiBenedetto’s best finishing position at Kansas is 22nd which he’s earned twice (October 2017 and May 2018).

· MODERNIZE YOUR MARKETING MACHINE: In addition to changing car manufacturers by switching to Toyota, Leavine Family Racing also made some changes to their sales and marketing machine in 2019. In partnership with Digital Momentum, LFR launched a digital marketing program to augment their business development efforts. This weekend the team is excited to announce a digital marketing event that will take place adjacent to the Chicago race in June. The event, produced by Digital Momentum and co-sponsored by LFR and HubSpot, is an opportunity for businesses to learn how they can #growbetter in the digital age, through the inbound marketing methodology. The panel of industry-expert speakers assembled for this half-day event will be anchored by Dan Tyre, Sales Director at HubSpot, and an original member of the HubSpot team. Representatives from LFR will also be there to share their experience and what they’ve learned on their digital marketing journey. You can register to attend this event, for free, here: https://digmo.co/GrowBetter.

· RACE INFO: The Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile) begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 11th. 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 Kansas:

Date Event: S F Laps Status

05/09/15 Sponge Bob Square Pants 400 35 25 266/267 Running

10/18/15 Hollywood Casino 400 34 30 265/269 Running

05/07/16 GoBowling.com 400 24 30 264/267 Running

10/16/16 Hollywood Casino 400 27 24 267/267 Running

05/13/17 Go Bowling 400 23 32 243/267 Running

10/22/17 Hollywood Casino 400 30 22 267/267 Running

05/12/18 KC Masterpiece 400 37 22 263/267 Running

10/21/18 Hollywood Casino 400 31 23 264/267 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

11 0 0 0 0 50 21.4 23.1

DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

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

151 0 0 4 0 73 30.4 28.5

From the Driver’s Seat:

Matt DiBenedetto: “Kansas has always been one of my top 1.5-mile tracks we race at because it has aged a little bit and the groove has widened out where you can run from the very bottom of the track up to the very top of it. I think it’s a place that a lot of drivers like because of the various lanes we can race there. There will probably be a lot less off-throttle time now, and I anticipate that we’ll probably be wide-open all the way around the track. I think that passing will be better this weekend than what we experienced in Dover because you can have lane options to find clean air, since dirty air is basically a problem everywhere. So far this season, I feel that we’ve been pretty decent at 1.5-mile tracks, and I feel that we’ve been pretty good at making up positions on restarts at them. I think that restarts are going to be a big focus this weekend because we’re most likely going to need to put our cars in uncomfortable positions to try and make up spots because track position is more important this year than it has been in the past.”

From the Pit Box:

Mike Wheeler: “I think that this weekend will be a mix between Vegas and Texas type of racing that we saw earlier this season. I feel that it’s definitely going to yield a closer-knit group on restarts and drafting on straightaways will be part of the focus. The reasoning for that is that speeds are up and this new package itself allows for drafting. We will be a little grip-limited in the corners so there will probably be some lifting in dirty air through the corner since the banking at Kansas is relatively flatter compared to Turns 3 and 4 in Texas as well as Vegas in general. Ultimately, Kansas is a pretty smooth track, so the bumps and car attitude won’t change that much during the course of a lap. Passing will be a concern in the fact that fortunately, the track does widen out some during the race. There will be two or three-wide groves that generally pan out, but it’s a question of whether the top lane becomes the dominant lane or not, so we’ll need to see that as the race goes on. Fortunately, the corners at Kansas in the past have been friendly enough to allow two or three-wide racing that you may be able to get some good runs on the straightaways in order to make some passing in the corners happen. Again, this is a new track with this package along with a new tire for this weekend, it’s always something that we just need to learn as much as we can once we unload and get on track.”

About Digital Momentum:

For over 20 years, Digital Momentum (formerly RACERSITES) has delivered winning digital marketing solutions to top brands in the motorsport and automotive performance industries. A HubSpot Certified Agency Partner, Digital Momentum helps companies grow by combining their industry-specific knowledge with user-centric web design and development principles, along with the inbound marketing methodology, to deliver marketing you can measure. For more information, visit: www.digitalmomentum.com.

About HubSpot:

HubSpot is a leading growth platform. Since 2006, HubSpot has been on a mission to make the world more inbound. Today, over 48,000 total customers in more than 100 countries use HubSpot’s award-winning software, services, and support to transform the way they attract, engage, and delight customers. Comprised of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, and a powerful free CRM, HubSpot gives companies the tools they need to manage the customer experience from awareness to advocacy.

HubSpot has been named a top place to work by Glassdoor, Fortune, The Boston Globe, and The Boston Business Journal. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA with offices in Dublin, Ireland (EMEA HQ); Singapore; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; Berlin, Germany; and Portsmouth, NH.
For more information, visit: www.HubSpot.com