Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Coca-Cola 600 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, NC – May 26, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/DURACELL FORD MUSTANG

START: 17TH STAGE ONE: 16TH STAGE TWO: 27TH FINISH: 20TH POINTS: 20TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang, finished 20th in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday evening. Cindric fired off from the 17th position and battled a tight condition throughout the start of the event, making his first trip to pit road on Lap 41 for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. When Stage 1 ended, the Team Penske driver was scored in the 16th spot. Still fighting a tight-handling Menards/Duracell Mustang, Cindric returned to the attention of his crew on pit road under the Stage break for service to help correct the unfavorable handling condition of the car. The No. 2 lined up 18th for the restart on Lap 111 and steadily gained position on the leaderboard as varying pit strategies played out in the second segment, but older tires ultimately led the No. 2 to lose track position late in the Stage as Cindric finished Stage 2 in the 27th position. With a four-tire service stop on deck, the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion ventured to pit road ahead of the restart, but it was ultimately inclement weather that forced an early-end to the Coca-Cola 600 with 151 laps remaining in the race.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “I definitely wish we would have been able to pick the race back up. We had a really well-executed day going up until we had to stay out on some older tires and that kind of put us behind. We were kind of in the middle of recovering from that, but past that, I’m happy with our improvement all weekend, we just didn’t have enough speed to run up front. We had a really tight car all race, we just needed more laps to work on it.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 BODYARMOR FLASH I.V. FORD MUSTANG

START: 16TH STAGE ONE: 7TH STAGE TWO: 39TH FINISH: 39TH POINTS: 12TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney’s defense of his Coca-Cola 600 victory was cut short Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway as an issue with the right front in Stage 2 ended a promising start to the 400-lap, crown jewel event. Despite a tight-handling condition during the opening green flag run of the night, Blaney drove the No. 12 BODYARMOR Flash I.V. Ford Mustang into the top-10 by the halfway point of the opening stage. A caution on lap 87 set up a seven-lap dash to the end of Stage 1 as Blaney lined up to restart from the inside of row four and came away with a seventh-place finish in the first 100-lap segment. Following another four-tire stop at the stage break, Blaney navigated his way around three-wide battles on the ensuing restart as he continued his push to the front. The No. 12 team called Blaney to pit road for a scheduled green flag stop on lap 143 and while on his out-lap getting up to speed, the right front wheel came loose and sent him into the wall in turn four. Blaney immediately brought the BODYARMOR Flash I.V. Ford to pit road, but the 12-team was unable to put on a new right front tire due to the damage sustained by the impact, signaling an abrupt end to the night at Charlotte.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I don’t know. We’ll have to look if I hit something or, I don’t know. I just went into three getting up to speed and blew a tire and hit the fence. It’s an unfortunate end to our night. We’re not even halfway and just wanting to work on your stuff all night. I thought we were getting it a little better here and there, but won’t get a shot.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 28TH STAGE ONE: 18TH STAGE TWO: 19TH FINISH: 14TH POINTS: 17TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano was credited with a 14th-place finish in a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway as the crown jewel event was declared official after 249 laps. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang was forced to start at the rear of the field after replacing the diffuser due to an issue in Saturday’s practice, but Logano charged forward to pick up 14 spots in the first 20 laps. Following a caution on lap 87 to set up restart with seven laps to go in Stage 1, Logano battled through traffic to come away with an 18th-place finish in the opening segment. The 22-team was one of two cars to take right side tires only during the stage break – vaulting Logano up to sixth in the running order for the ensuing restart – in order to flip their track position for the start of Stage 2. However, fresher tires prevailed as Logano was shuffled outside the top-20 during the green flag run as a tight-handling condition began to set in. The Shell-Pennzoil team continued to go to work on the balance throughout the 100-lap segment before the caution flew on lap 196, signaling the end of Stage 2 and a 19th-place result for Logano. As inclement weather began to make its way closer to the area, Logano’s handling started to settle in as he raced his way back into the top-15 before the yellow flag was displayed on lap 245. The red flag officially came out on lap 249 with Logano scored 14th in the running order before the race was declared official just before midnight.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Challenging race starting in the back and not knowing what we were going to have after the diffuser issues we had in practice. We were off on the balance for the first few runs but got it in a place where we were starting to get better and make our way through the field a bit. But we ran out of time with the rain – I think we could’ve bettered our position if we went back racing, just didn’t get the opportunity.”

Next up for NASCAR Cup Series teams is a trip to Word Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300. The 300-mile event is scheduled for Sunday, June 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RICK WARE RACING
Coca-Cola 600
Date: May 26, 2024
Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Note: Race called official due to rain after 249 laps.
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 3 Winner: None

RWR Race Finish:

● Justin Haley (Started 22nd, Finished 22nd/ Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
● Kaz Grala (Started 33rd, Finished 34th/ Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (31st with 177 points)
● Kaz Grala (34th with 122 points)

RWR Notes:

● This was Haley’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte. His best finish remains 15th, earned in May 2023.
● This was Grala’s second NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte. His best finish remains 23rd, earned in May 2022.

Race Notes:

● Christopher Bell won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Charlotte.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 46 laps, including the final four laps.
● All but five of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin leaves Charlotte as the new championship leader with a five-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“We had a really strong Ford Mustang Dark Horse this weekend in Charlotte. We’ve been aiming to qualify better and this weekend was a good step for that. The balance in the race was great, we just had some trouble on pit road that led to our finish not being quite as strong as it could’ve been. Proud of the RWR guys for bringing a competitive car again. Lots of momentum for the next one..”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 The Cleaning Authority Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We really struggled with the handling right from the start of the race tonight. By the halfway point, we finally got the balance to a pretty good place, and then it got away from us just a little bit at the very end. We’re on the lead lap, and I think if the race had gone the full distance we could have rebounded to a good finish. Unfortunately, the race was called short right after our worst stint of the night, so we didn’t get the finish we could have.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

CHRISTOPHER BELL WINS FIRST COCA-COLA 600
Bell earns second victory of the season

CHARLOTTE (May 26, 2024) – Christopher Bell was the leader when the rain and lightning came at lap 249 of the Coke 600, and despite NASCAR’s valiant effort to dry Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race was unable to continue, and Bell was declared the winner. The Oklahoma-native led a race-high 90 laps on his way to victory. It is Bell’s first Coca-Cola 600 victory, second win of the season and the sixth points-paying victory of the season for Toyota.

Despite starting last, Tyler Reddick drove through the field to finish fourth, with Denny Hamlin in fifth. With the finish, Hamlin is the new points leader.

Ty Gibbs, who started on the pole for the first time in the Cup Series, led 74 laps and finished sixth to give Toyota four of the top six finishers.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race 14 of 36 – 600 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
2nd, Brad Keselowski*
3rd, William Bryon*
4th, TYLER REDDICK
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
6th, TY GIBBS
11th, BUBBA WALLACE
12th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
19th, ERIK JONES
29th, JIMMIE JOHNSON
30th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Finishing Position: 1st

What does this mean to you?

“This is everything. We had TK on the windshield – Thomas Kennedy. Unfortunately, the Kennedy family just left, so that is disappointing that they couldn’t stay for victory lane, but I was very proud and honored to carry their name on the windshield. Memorial Day weekend – it is not about racing. It is about honoring and remembering. I am just thankful for those who have served have allowed us to do what we love to do on this Sunday evening. I can’t thank all of the guys at Rheem enough – all of our partners at Rheem, DeWalt, Toyota, Yahoo – they deserve this. It has been a heck of a trying eight weeks or so, so to get our second win means a lot.”

How far is that bad run behind you after a run like this?

“It feels so good. To win or to lose, but just to have a great race to go off of, and a race that we led laps. We were able to pass cars. We lost the lead at times, and we were able to drive back to the lead, and had great pit stops. It was amazing to have a good race, and hopefully this is something we can build on and get back to being more consistent.”

It sounds like you are surprised too. How does it feel to be the winner?

“Hey man, I’m hearing boos out there, I wanted to get racing too, but this is an amazing weekend and just so honored and thrilled to be able to carry the Kennedy name and be able to put these guys in victory lane. It has been a wild change of emotion, because all of the rain came and I was like okay, is it going to be over? Then, I was kind of like – I don’t know, and then when I was fully mentally prepared to go racing, and then all of a sudden, they called it. I wanted to race too.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy – Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

Can you tell me about your race?

“Hate the race got cut short because I feel like our Monster Energy/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE was really good up front. And I think we could have come back over the next 150 laps to be competitive at the end. Hate that it ended early, but we’ll get ready for St. Louis.”

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 19th

How was your race?

“Up and down day for us but happy with a top twenty for this Family Dollar Toyota team. Feel like we learned quite a bit going forward for the mile and a half’s coming up.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 | Sunday, May 26, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
2nd – Brad Keselowski
10th – Josh Berry
14th – Joey Logano
16th – Michael McDowell
17th – Todd Gilliland
20th – Austin Cindric
22nd – Justin Haley
23rd – Chris Buescher
25th – Chase Briscoe
26th – Ryan Preece
32nd – Harrison Burton
34th – Kaz Grala
37th – BJ McLeod
38th – Noah Gragson
39th – Ryan Blaney

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – PRESS CONFERENCE – TAKE US THROUGH YOUR NIGHT. “It’s pretty disappointing. I felt like we had a car to win the race. We kind of ran down the 20 car twice and just didn’t get to see it play out. So, it kind of slipped through our fingers there. I would have liked to have just had more laps and ran the Coke 600. I think we ran the Coke 350 today, but, all in all, I’m really happy with our performance. The car was really fast. Our pit stops were phenomenal. We just didn’t get to see it through. I’m bummed for our team. I’m bummed for everybody, but the weather is what the weather is.”

WITH KYLE LARSON NOT MAKING A LAP IT OPENS UP THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT. DO YOU FEEL THAT WILL PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN HOW THAT UNFOLDS? “Yes, this is a big point scoring race normally because you have four stages and I don’t think we’re gonna play those points out. I don’t know. We’ll have to get some kind of ruling on that, so it probably actually played to his favor in that regard with the rain, but, still, we scored good points today. I think we moved up to 10th, which is nice and the highest Ford, which is nice, but I think we had a lot more capability than what we were able to get out of it.”

IS THIS RFK REALLY STARTING TO SHOW THE POTENTIAL YOU HAVE THIS SEASON? “Yeah, it was good to be that fast. You want to make it count with wins. You don’t want to be a sore loser for second, but it stings because I know we had a car to win today and if it doesn’t hurt, you’re in the wrong business. We’ve got a lot of work to do on our short track program and our road course program, but our mile-and-a-half stuff seems really good right now.”

YOU’VE WON THIS RACE AT A FULL DISTANCE BEFORE. DID YOU TALK OVER THE RADIO ABOUT THAT LAST GREEN FLAG RUN ABOUT THE WEATHER? “I think everybody knew the situation. I can’t claim ignorance to that. We were going as hard as we could. I feel like I needed another 10 laps or so to be able to make a pass, but that’s not how it played out.”

WHEN THE LAST CAUTION CAME OUT YOU KEPT SAYING ‘I NEED LONGER RUNS’. WHAT PREVENTED YOU FROM HAVING ENOUGH TO GET BY THE 20? “I think we had more speed than him, but there was a pretty big air advantage that he had and as laps would go on the aero grip gets displaced by the mechanical grip and then we could take him, but the leader – I feel like the 20 car was the second-best car today, but he was still the second-best car, so to be able to displace him we needed him to fall off and that’s only gonna happen with laps and catching the back of the pack and we just didn’t get that.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Overstock Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a really solid day> We qualified well and maintained our track position. Rodney made some really good adjustments to the car overnight. We were just really solid. We’re just getting better and better, and tonight was a night to be really proud of.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I definitely wish we would have been able to pick the race back up. We had a really well-executed day going up until we had to stay out on some older tires and that kind of put us behind. We were kind of in the middle of recovering from that, but past that, I’m happy with our improvement all weekend; we just didn’t have enough speed to run up front. We had a really tight car all race, we just need more laps to work on it.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Flash I.V. Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE? “I don’t know. We’ll have to look if I hit something or, I don’t know. I just went into three getting up to speed and blew a tire and hit the fence. It’s an unfortunate end to our night. That sucks. We’re not even halfway and just wanting to work on your stuff all night. I thought we were getting it a little better here and there, but won’t get a shot.”

WHAT HAPPENED? “I just came off pit road and put tires on it and I don’t know if I ran over something, but one of them blew. I blew a tire going into three, so I don’t know if I hit something or what, but it’s kind of odd. We’ll have to go back and take a look at it. It stinks. That’s two unfortunate weekends in a row. I thought we at least had a shot to get better. I’d run close to the top 10 and maybe top five, but we’ll get through it. We’ve just got to hopefully put together a good race next week.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WAS THERE CONTACT WITH THE 47? “Yeah, he just misjudged his run and got us in the left rear, just a miscalculation. It sucks, but the sun will come up tomorrow.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Overall, it was kind of just a frustrating night. I felt like everytime we would get track position, we would end up losing it, whether it was a restart not going our way or pit road. I felt like if we could ever just put it all together we had a car capable of running anywhere from eighth to 12th, but everybody from eighth on back ran the same speed, so wherever you came out on a restart or off pit road is kind of where you ran. We’ve got to clean everything up and definitely felt like we should have finished way better than where we did tonight from a speed standpoint. We just have to figure out our execution.”

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 24th for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Hemric made his way into the top 20 within the first few laps and radioed that the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet was tightening up after 15 laps complete. He began consistently running the fastest lap times by as much as a tenth of a second. Comfortably sitting in the top 15, Hemric made it as high as 12th as green-flag pit stops began. He pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 42, before cycling back into 16th place. The first caution of the day came out on lap 86, and Hemric pitted for qualifying tires and restarted from 16th with seven laps remaining in stage one. Hemric lost four spots on the restart before finishing the opening stage in 20th.
• As a handful of cars stayed out during the stage break, Hemric started the second stage from 20th place. Hemric worked his way to 15th before making a scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 142. The next caution fell on lap 159, and Hemric pitted once again for tires and fuel. As the next caution fell on lap 171, Hemric stayed out, restarting 12th with 25 laps left in the stage. He made it as high as ninth, before ultimately falling to 17th, where he finished the second stage, which ended under caution.
• Hemric pitted during the stage break for tires, fuel and a rear air pressure adjustment. He started the third stage from 20th, where he sat when the first caution of the stage came out on lap 228. Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel during the caution and restarted 19th with 65 laps remaining in the third stage. The caution and red flag came out on lap 245 for rain in the area, as Hemric sat in 18th place. The race was ultimately shortened, and Hemric finished 18th.

“Really solid day for this No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. We fired off really strong and ran laps similar to the leader at times. It’s unfortunate that it was shortened, but I’m really proud of the effort and speed we showed today.” – Daniel Hemric  
 
SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 16 WeatherTech Camaro ZL1

• Shane Van Gisbergen qualified 36th for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• By lap 35 SVG worked his way to 32nd and hit pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 51. Following the stop, Van Gisbergen cycled back to 37th, one lap down. The WeatherTech team took the wave around and gained their lap back under the lap-88 caution and ultimately finished stage one in 31st on lap 100.
• Van Gisbergen started the second stage in 28th on lap 111. Splitting the stage in half, Van Gisbergen hit pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 139 while running in 28th. The caution flag waved once again on lap 159 with SVG in 26th. Under the caution the 16 team hit pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Following the stop, SVG was served with a pit-road penalty for running through too many boxes and restarted 34th. Van Gisbergen would go on to finish stage two in 28th.
• With a fresh set of Goodyear Tires on the WeatherTech Chevrolet, Van Gisbergen restarted stage three in 36th. Battling a tight Chevrolet, he worked his way up to 27th when the caution flag waved once again on lap 230. Following another four-tire stop, Van Gisbergen restarted the race on lap 236. The field would race the incoming weather and Van Gisbergen ended up in 28th when the caution flag waved once again for weather forcing the conclusion of the race.

“We had an up and down day. I hate we didn’t get to run the full 900 miles this weekend, but ultimately the weather won out. I appreciate all the hard work from everyone on this Kaulig/Trackhouse team.” Shane van Gisbergen  

 
About Kaulig Racing

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

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Coca-Cola 600
Date: May 26, 2024
Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Note: Race called official due to rain after 249 laps.
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 3 Winner: None

SHR Finish:

● Josh Berry (Started 13th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 18th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 31st, Finished 26th / Running, completed 249 of 249 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 19th, Finished 38th / Accident, completed 170 of 249 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 334 points, 158 out of first)
● Josh Berry (19th with 263 points, 229 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (21st with 240 points, 252 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (28th with 203 points, 289 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Berry earned his second top-10 of the season and it came in his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte.

● This was Berry’s fifth straight finish of 16th or better. He finished 16th April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, 14th April 28 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, 15th May 5 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, and third May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

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

● Berry led once for seven laps.

● Berry was the highest finishing rookie.

Race Notes:

● Christopher Bell won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Charlotte.

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 46 laps, including the final four laps.

● All but five of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Denny Hamlin leaves Charlotte as the new championship leader with a five-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“It was a really solid day. I thought we qualified well, maintained our track position. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) made some really good adjustments to the car overnight. We were just really solid. We kept getting better and better and better. Tonight was just a night to be proud of.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Overall, it was kind of just a frustrating night. I felt like every time we would get track position, we would end up losing it, whether it was a restart not going our way or pit road. I felt like if we could ever just put it all together we had a car capable of running anywhere from eighth to 12th, but everybody from eighth on back ran the same speed, so wherever you came out on a restart or off pit road is kind of where you ran. We’ve got to clean everything up and definitely felt like we should’ve finished way better than where we did tonight from a speed standpoint. We just have to figure out our execution.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Yeah, he (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) just misjudged his run and got us in the left rear, just a miscalculation. It sucks, but the sun will come up tomorrow.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
MAY 26, 2024

 Byron Leads Chevrolet in Rain-Shortened Coca-Cola 600
Camaro ZL1 Scores Four Top-10 Finishes

• William Byron led Chevrolet in the final running order of the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 – tallying a third-place finish in his No. 24 Liberty University Patriotic Camaro ZL1. The result marked Byron’s fourth top-10 finish in eight NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Byron led the Bowtie brand to four top-10 finishes at the conclusion of the event, with Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Patriotic Camaro ZL1, in seventh; Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey x Folds of Honor Camaro ZL1 in eighth; and Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Patriotic Camaro ZL1 in ninth.
• Team Chevy’s Justin Allgaier, who was subbing in for Kyle Larson while he competed in the Indianapolis 500, piloted the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM H1100 Camaro ZL1 to an impressive 13th place finish.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
3rd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Patriotic Camaro ZL1
7th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Patriotic Camaro ZL1
8th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey x Folds of Honor Camaro ZL1
9th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Patriotic Camaro ZL1

 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Patriotic Camaro ZL1

Finished: 3rd

“Our race was good. Our No. 24 Liberty University Patriotic Chevy was really good the whole race, but then we got a little bit of wall contact there and bent the toe just a little bit. That was a bummer, but I still feel like we had good potential in the car. It was just hard to put it all together, but we came home with a third-place finish and that was a solid day for us.”

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey x Folds of Honor Camaro ZL1

Finished: 8th

“It was definitely a great call to cycle ourselves forward there at the beginning of Stage Two. It felt good to lead. It just felt good to be winning in something. I’m a competitor and it’s just good to lead laps again. We were running competitively and we’d been in the top-10 all night.

We had been working on the balance of the car. There’s a balance for me of how comfortable is it, how confident can I drive it and how fast it is. As we tend to make it more comfortable, they tend to go slower. As they tend to make it uncomfortable, I never know if I’m going to crash and I didn’t want to tear up this beautiful Jockey x Folds of Honor Chevy. We were just fighting the balance on the No. 1 car.

I felt good. I slipped through the box after we led. We came down pit road in around fifth-place and I slipped through the box. That set us back and we slowly worked our way back up to eighth. It’s not easy to pass. It’s so tough, but I had a lot of fun though. I’ve raced with my teammate, and I’ve raced with other Chevy’s. It’s a handful. We’re doing slide jobs; driving low and sliding up and ripping the fence. The restarts were wild and there were a lot of pit stops.”

Justin Allgaier, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM H1100 Camaro ZL1

Finished: 13th

“Even at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, I was pretty confident that I wasn’t going to be driving today. With everything that happened the way that it did and being able to be here – I said it the other day, the attention to detail that Hendrick Motorsports has, they’re always prepared for all scenarios and we were that tonight.

To be honest with you, at the start of the race, I was pretty disappointed in myself. I was just trying to get acclimated. Cliff Daniels (crew chief) did an amazing job getting me up-to-speed. We were able to look at SMT data and get the car where I needed to be at. We really worked on the balance throughout the course of the run there. To be able to unlap myself was probably the highlight of the night, to be honest with you. I was able to pass a Hendrick Motorsports teammate (William Byron) to pass Ty (Gibbs), both of which I have a lot of respect for on the racetrack. It just kind of helped how the race went.

The restarts were definitely tough, just with the aero. You always hear about aero-blocking and all those things every week from the Cup drivers. As somebody coming from the Xfinity Series, it was pretty wild how much different it was in traffic. To be able to make our way up through there, the team had great strategy and we got ourselves up to 13th. It felt like there was some good potential to go even further. The HENDRICKCARS.COM H1100 Chevy was so good.

You get opportunities very rarely in life to drive something that’s that good, and it truly was that. It was really, really special; something that I’ll take with me for a number of years as a good opportunity.”

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 18th

“Really solid day for this No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. We fired off really strong and ran laps similar to the leader at times. It’s unfortunate that it was shortened, but I’m really proud of the effort and speed we showed today.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 WeatherTech Camaro ZL1

Finished: 28th

“We had an up and down day. I hate we didn’t get to run the full 900 miles this weekend but ultimately the weather won out. I appreciate all the hard work from everyone on this Kaulig/Trackhouse team.”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Toyota Racing – Ty Gibbs
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (May 25, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs was made available to the media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday.

It is the first Cup Series pole for Gibbs, who also won the pole for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend.

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Can you talk about your run?

“I felt like it was a really easy, clean lap. My car was handling really well. I just had to be really disciplined in (turns) three and four in getting to the bottom and making sure my exit was good.”

How significant is starting up front in tomorrow’s race?

“It really helps. Being able to start up front in clean is really nice, and to have the first pit stall as well is great, also.”

How cool is it win your first pole in such a big race for NASCAR?

“It is really cool to be able to get the pole here for the first time at the Coca-Cola 600. For me, the biggest thing is winning a race. The pole is great, and it helps us out a lot, but it doesn’t win us a race at all.”

What is your earliest memory coming to the Coca-Cola 600?

“I think my earliest memory is probably watching pole night – I don’t know if that was on a Thursday or a Friday, but I remember coming to that when I was younger with my family. I’ve been to so many of them.”

How much a leadership stance have you started to take within Joe Gibbs Racing?

“I grew up around a lot of those guys that work on that team, that is mainly why I spend time around them. I really appreciate them, and have a great relationship with them. Along with some of the drivers, I just like being around racing. I enjoy it a lot, that’s why I come hang out with them when I could.”

What did you tell Tanner Gray on the grid?

“Go win.”

What would it mean to win here tomorrow night?

“It would be really cool. The first two races I had here a couple of years ago, I won. It’s really cool winning at your home track. I’m glad that I’ve experienced that. It is definitely a really cool place and a special place for me.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 26 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying | Saturday, May 25, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
9th – Michael McDowell
13th – Josh Berry
16th – Ryan Blaney
17th – Austin Cindric
18th – Chase Briscoe
19th – Noah Gragson
22nd – Justin Haley
28th – Joey Logano
30th – Brad Keselowski
31st – Ryan Preece
32nd – Harrison Burton
33rd – Kaz Grala
35th – Todd Gilliland
37th – BJ McLeod
39th – Chris Buescher

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Walmart/RTIC Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It’s great. I’m really proud of everybody. We made a great effort there because we missed it unloading in practice. We were really loose, but made good changes. I felt like we got caught up a little bit, and then you had to go out there and lay down a big lap. I thought my commitment level was high enough on that last run, but obviously not. I had a really good one and two, I felt like, and then three and four I had to wait just a little bit on it and it got away from me a little bit. A top 10 starting spot though for 600 miles, it still matters. There’s a lot of racing for sure, but track position matters and I’m glad that we were able to get a Ford Mustang in the top 10 and we’ll make the most of the track position and pit selection as well.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Overstock Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I hate that we must missed advancing. I didn’t love how I felt in practice, but we did run a pretty good lap. We had a little traffic, too, so I was optimistic about qualifying and I thought we made some really good adjustments. We had a really good one and two. The car felt really good on that end. I just got a little bit loose in three and four and just barely slipped on exit and that was probably the difference on making the final round. Nonetheless, we’re getting better week in and week out and it’s becoming more obvious now.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We made a lot of progress from practice. We really struggled off the truck and probably under drove my qualifying lap, so I’m a little frustrated with that. It’s always high commitment at these mile-and-a-half tracks. I thought I had a little bit better and maybe enough to squeak into the final round, but we’ve got some work to do for 600 miles tomorrow and I think it’s probably in our favor that the race ends at night.”

Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Roush Fenway Keselowski, had a tire go down during practice and hit the wall. He spoke about the incident afterwards.

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DID A TIRE GO FLAT? “Yeah, it was flat. We lost the left-rear. I haven’t had time to catch up with the team yet, so I’m not sure where we’re at yet. We’ll begin to diagnose it a little bit afterwards. Right now, we’ve got to build a race car and get it back on track and make sure it’s just as fast as that one. I know our team is capable of doing that. We’ve obviously showed it over the past couple years now, but really the last couple of weeks, so we’re gonna make that hard charger run tomorrow, I guess. I hate to be in that situation, but that’s where we’re at. I’m not having run at this exact moment, but I’m very proud of the speed we had right before that happened.”

SCOTT SAID HE WANTS TO GO TO A BACK UP AND IS JUST WAITING FOR NASCAR TO GIVE THE APPROVAL. “Yeah, I don’t see any way it doesn’t go to a backup. Honestly, from where I was inside the car it was a hard of a hit as you want to take and to think about staying in the same car, I don’t think that’s doable, really. I’m sure we’ll get the approval. They’ll see it. Unfortunately, it’s not good either way, rebuilding this car or going to a backup. Neither is a good place, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. Our team will hustle and they’ll get this done. They’re the best out there, so I’ve got confidence in them. I know we’ll be able to get right back going on track tomorrow and be able to put good laps like that down again.”

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT TIRE WEAR FOR TOMORROW? DID YOU CUT IT? DO YOU KNOW? “I was rushed to the care center as soon as I got out of the car, so I don’t have a good answer yet. It was unexpected, I’ll say that. That’s all I know.”

YOU DIDN’T FEEL ANYTHING BEFORE? “No, just right on entry I maybe had about a car length to get your thoughts together, but that’s not enough at 190.”