Category: NASCAR Cup PR

CHASE BRISCOE
Charlotte Advance
No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 26
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/600 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 100 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Stage 3: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe comes into the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway with the kind of momentum any driver wants heading into the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing finished an impressive fifth in the series’ prior points-paying race May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. It was his best finish in the 13 races run this season and it was his first top-five in seven career Cup Series starts at Darlington. The fifth-place drive was the 11th top-five of Briscoe’s Cup Series career, a mark highlighted by his March 2022 win at Phoenix Raceway.

● The Coca-Cola 600 will mark Briscoe’s fourth career NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval. His best result came in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600, when Briscoe started 15th and worked his way into the lead on lap 260 before finishing fourth.

● Briscoe has made four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte with his best result coming in his most recent drive at the intermediate-style track – sixth in May 2021. It was a bittersweet run as Briscoe qualified his Ford Mustang second and led three times for 60 laps. But as eventual race-winner Ty Gibbs muscled past Briscoe on lap 181, Gibbs’ No. 54 machine took the air off Briscoe’s spoiler, sending Briscoe into a spin. That Briscoe recovered in the race’s final seven laps to finish sixth was a testament to his strength that day.

● Before Briscoe turned a lap at Charlotte in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car, he raced at the D-shaped oval in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Driving a Ford F-150, Briscoe started second and finished 11th in May 2017. It was his first and only Truck Series race at Charlotte.

● As part of #NASCARSalutes and the 600 Miles of Remembrance initiative during the Coca-Cola 600, the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors team is honoring United States Marine Corps Corporal David W. Smith. A native of Garden City, Michigan, Smith graduated high school in May 2003 and enlisted in the Marine Corps four months later. Smith completed his recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina, Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, after which he was promoted to Private First Class on May 1, 2004. Smith reported to Okinawa, Japan and was assigned to Motor Transport Company, 3rd Transportation Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group as a motor vehicle operator. He was deployed to Iraq from September 2004 through March 2005, and was promoted to Lance Corporal on Jan. 1, 2005. Smith returned to Okinawa and, in less than a year, was promoted to Corporal on Dec. 1, 2005. It was shortly thereafter, on Dec. 11, 2005, that tragedy struck and the 20-year-old Smith faced his untimely death when a seven-ton MTVR (Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement), towing another MTVR, overturned during a training exercise at Camp Fuji in Japan. Throughout Smith’s childhood, adolescence and adulthood, he continuously impressed, commanded respect, and was loved by everyone with whom he crossed paths – family, neighbors, peers, teachers, principals, coaches, pack leaders, preachers, employers, strangers and his fellow brothers and sisters in arms among all U.S. military branches and all ranks. Smith filled his free time with cars, sports, music, family, friends, telling jokes, pulling pranks, video games, more cars and using his magic touch to fix anything someone else deemed unfixable. Smith lived life to the absolute fullest with a laugh that was genuine, full and incredibly contagious. He looked eye to eye with full confidence into any challenge, obstacle, threat or fear that he encountered.

● Mahindra Ag North America is in its third year as the anchor sponsor for Briscoe and the No. 14 team after extending its partnership with Stewart-Haas during the offseason. The multiyear agreement with the NASCAR team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart and industrialist Gene Haas continues to feature Mahindra Tractors, a brand of Mahindra Ag North America, on Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang for the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America is part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, the No. 1-selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra offers a range of tractor models from 20-75 horsepower, implements, and the ROXOR heavy-duty UTV. Mahindra farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Steel-framed Mahindra Tractors and side-by-sides are ideal for customers who demand performance, reliability and comfort. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.

● Mahindra Ag North America is using the Coca-Cola 600 to promote its newest line of sub-compact and compact tractors. From a new paint scheme on Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to a display on the midway at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Mahindra is showcasing its 1100 and 2100 tractors, which are designed with features to enhance operation for first-time buyers. Boasting comfort amenities like telematics, leather seats and USB charging ports, the Mahindra 1100 and 2100 models are designed around ease of use for acreage owners, farmers and ranchers, with features like a push-button PTO and side-by-side HST pedals. Other features include a hand throttle on the console, tilt and telescopic steering, implement quick raise and lower, and auto lift at three points while turning and backing. Every model in the 1100 and 2100 series is available in open station or cab configurations, with an HVAC system exclusive to the 2126. This line of compacts have compatible Mahindra attachments, including loaders, backhoes, mowers, snowblowers, post hole diggers and grapples. The loader on the 1100 series has a max lift of 770 pounds, while the 2100 has a max lift of 1,760 pounds. Both can be seen this weekend at Charlotte.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Before the Coca-Cola 600 goes green, two of motorsports’ biggest races take place earlier in the day – the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. How much racing do you watch prior to the Coca-Cola 600?

“I’ll typically turn on Monaco at some point and I’ll catch a couple of laps, but not a whole lot. I’m normally watching as much Indy 500 coverage as I can, including prerace. But at some point, I’ve got to step away from it. I’m normally doing meet-and-greets right when the Indy 500 is coming to an end, and I feel like during those meet-and-greets I’m kind of in La La Land because my mind’s on the Indy 500. Just growing up in Indiana, that race means a lot. I always watch almost every single practice session and definitely qualifying, and the race is just a super-big deal. It’s something I grew up doing. I remember watching with my family every Indianapolis 500, so that’s something I really enjoy doing.”

Memorial Day weekend is a big weekend for auto racing between Monaco, Indy and Charlotte. What sparked your interest in racing?

“Growing up in a racing family certainly sparked that interest from the get-go. I just didn’t know any differently. I thought when I was 3, 4 years old, that everybody just did the same thing that I did, right? I just didn’t know anything different. I’d go to the racetrack on the weekend, and during the week I’d go to the race shop and play around racecars and stuff like that. It was just normal for me. Looking back, it’s definitely not normal for very many people, but I kind of see it the same now with my son, Brooks. I don’t push racing on him at all, but he’s just naturally growing up around it. He loves playing with racecars and being around racecars, and that’s all he really talks about. He wants to watch the movie ‘Cars,’ or watch racing, and I don’t ask him, ‘Hey, you want to watch a race?’ He just wants to do it. It’s kind of the same for him. When you grow up around it, it becomes something you want to do and look forward to, and for me, growing up in a racing family was certainly that for me.”

Kyle Larson is doing the Double – running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. How interested are you in his endeavor?

“I’m really excited for Kyle. I know it’s something that he’s wanted to do for a really, really long time. I’m excited from the NASCAR side, but I’m more excited from the sprint car side to see another sprint-car guy go to the Indianapolis 500. It’s kind of the origins of Indy. You had these sprint car guys who would go and run, you had A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Jack Hewitt, Bryan Clauson recently, and that was always the thing, if you were the best sprint car guy, you wanted to run the Indy 500, that was the dream. So it’s cool from that standpoint. Truthfully, I’ve never had the desire to run the Indy 500. I appreciate it so much as a fan, and I really don’t want to thrash at 240 miles an hour. I know I’m not going to put myself in those situations, so I’ve never really had that desire to go do it. But I will say seeing Kyle do it and talking to him about it and, honestly, hearing how similar he feels like it is to our Cup cars as far as how they drive, and the Indy stuff has gotten way safer over the last couple of years, so it very, very, very briefly piqued my interest. During the month of May, I typically get a ton of questions about running the Double, just being from Indiana. I always tell people I would like to just start and park the Indy 500, like I want to go through the prerace ceremonies, I want to do ‘Back Home Again in Indiana,’ do the pace laps, take the green flag and then just bring her down pit road and watch the rest of the race. I don’t think that’s ever going to be a possibility – I’m not going to say it’ll never happen, but I would say it’s a very slim chance, and slim’s probably left town or getting close to leaving town. But it’ll be cool to watch Kyle and I’ll certainly be pulling for him, and hopefully for the sprint car guys he can do it.”

The only person to complete all 1,100 miles between the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on a single day is Tony Stewart. Growing up a Tony Stewart fan, what do you remember about Tony’s attempts at the Double?

“Truthfully, I don’t remember a ton of it just because I was a lot younger and really didn’t understand what was going on with guys running the Double and what that meant. I do remember watching the Coke 600 and seeing him try to get there in time and all that. I remember that part of it, but I don’t remember any of him running the Indy 500. At that point, I didn’t watch any IndyCar races outside of the Indy 500, so I didn’t really know any of the drivers, where in NASCAR I knew every single guy. It’s definitely crazy to think he’s completed all 1,100 miles and just what that day would be like. Even hearing him talk about it, just the difference in how he was physically the first year to the second year, shows just how much Tony loves racing. It’s pretty cool that he’s the only guy who’s done that. I don’t know if that record will stand at the end of this year, but it’s been pretty cool for Tony to do the Double not only once, but twice, and to do it really successfully.”

Much is made about the Coca-Cola 600 being the series’ longest race. Because the race is so long, can it be a good thing where if you’re not where you want to be, you have time to make things right? Or is the other side of the coin being that it’s too long of a race to not be good, as the delta to being off can quickly become insurmountable?

“It can definitely be both, just depending on how far off you are. That’s a race where your car definitely goes through a lot of transitions. Last year we were way off, and it was hard to ever get back. You go back to 2022, I wasn’t great in the beginning part of the race, but then nighttime came and I kind of started creeping up. I probably should’ve won the 2022 Coke 600 and threw it away with three or four to go. It was one of those races where, at the beginning of the race, I definitely didn’t think I was going to be in the mix, and that transition happens when the sun goes down and some guys’ cars come to life and other guys’ kind of fall apart. Ours certainly came to life. It’s a long race. It’s one of those races where a lot of guys just eliminate themselves, whether it’s pit-road mistakes or just putting yourself in bad spots early in the race. I feel like, typically, the longer races kind of suit my style a little bit more. I feel like throughout my career I’ve always run better in the longer races, and the Coke 600 is obviously a long, long race. Hopefully this year we can kind of make up for that mistake I made in 2022.”

The Coca-Cola 600 used to be about pushing drivers and their cars to the limit, as attrition was once a key factor. But today, drivers are fitter than ever and cars seem to be built better than ever before. Is that extra 100 miles noticeable anymore, be it from your perspective behind the wheel or from your team’s when it comes to building your racecar?

“From a performance standpoint, I don’t really notice the extra 100 miles. Now, the first 100 laps of that race does feel like it takes forever. It’s one of those deals where in that race we have that extra stage, you get done with Stage 1 and you’ve got 100 laps down and you have 300 laps to go and it’s like, ‘Man, how am I going to make it?’ It’s just super long and I think some of the reason it feels so long is that you start that first stage in the daylight and that first stage is when that transition is typically from day to night, and it just feels like it takes two or three hours for that transition to happen, and in the car you just don’t realize how fast it happens. You get to halfway, I feel like the final 200 laps go fairly quickly, but that first 200 laps there, it definitely takes a long time. But from a performance standpoint, this car definitely seems to take it.”

The Coca-Cola 600 is considered one of NASCAR’s crown jewels because it is the only 600-mile race on the schedule. But in this short-attention-span era, is a 600-mile race still needed?

“Yeah, I think so. I think it’s different than every other race that we have. I feel like all of our other races are fairly similar. If the Coke 600 was a 400- or 500-mile race on a mile-and-a-half, it probably wouldn’t be as special. I think even with it being on Memorial Day weekend, if it wasn’t 600 miles, that’s what makes that race unique. In the past, it was more of a battle for the machine than what it probably is now, but it’s still different. It’s different from any other race we have all year long. And because it’s different, it makes it significant, and obviously with it being on Memorial Day weekend, with how much racing goes on that day, it’s always been a crown jewel. I don’t think you can change a crown jewel and have the same significance. Look at the Brickyard 400. When it went from the oval to the road course, it wasn’t a crown jewel anymore. Now that we’re going back to the oval, it’s a crown jewel instantly again. I feel like it’d be the same if you took any mileage off the Coke 600.”

No. 14 Mahindra Compact Tractors Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe

Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: Richard Boswell

Hometown: Friendship, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey

Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal

Hometown: Holland, Michigan

Jack Man: Dylan Moser

Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams

Hometown: Plymouth, Wisconsin

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads

Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips

Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable

Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Dale Lackey

Hometown: Taylorsville, North Carolina

Ty Gibbs
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Advance
No. 54 Interstate Batteries/Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 28
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/600 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 100 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Stage 3: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Outrageously Dependable for 33 Years and Counting: Interstate Batteries has 11 primary sponsorships on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2024, a similar number of schemes to last year’s expanded presence among all four JGR Toyota Camry XSEs. The Coca-Cola 600 is the second of four primary sponsorships on Gibbs’ No. 54 Camry this season with Gibbs sharing Interstate Batteries and Monster Energy as co-primaries this weekend. Bell and Gibbs will run the majority of the Interstate Batteries races with eight primaries total between the two drivers. Denny Hamlin also returns for the second of two races sporting Interstate colors at Iowa Speedway in Newton in June, and Martin Truex Jr., will carry a primary Interstate Batteries sponsorship for one race on the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in July.

● Interstate Batteries Stands the Test of Time: Former JGR and Interstate Batteries driver Bobby Labonte created some special memories for sponsor and team during the 1995 edition of NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. In his first season with JGR, Labonte led 85 of the 400 laps en route to his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series victory. Labonte went on to win 21 total races and the 2000 Cup Series championship in what became a NASCAR Hall of Fame career. Each of Labonte’s 21 wins came with Interstate Batteries adorning his car for JGR. Gibbs is also looking for his first career cup series win this weekend at Charlotte.

● NASCAR Salutes: As part of #NASCARSalutes and the 600 Miles of Remembrance initiative during the Coca-Cola 600, the No. 54 Interstate Batteries/Monster Energy Camry will be honoring Private First Class Mitchel Thomas Morton, who lost his life on March 21, 1969, in Vietnam and led a life devoted to his family, his faith, and, ultimately, his country. In 1968, PFC Morton joined the Marines, and his dedication to his country took him far from his hometown of Norwood, North Carolina, to the challenging terrains of Vietnam, where he served with honor in the Da Nang area of South Vietnam. Tragically, his service was cut short when he was killed in action just four months into his tour, marking a solemn day for all who knew him. PFC Morton’s life, though brief, was a testament to his strong character. He was a member of Porter Baptist Church, a reflection of the faith that guided him. His service and sacrifice are a poignant reminder of the cost of war and the valor of those who serve. Gibbs and everyone on the No. 54 team thank PFC Morton and all those who have sacrificed so much for our great country.

● Semper Fi & America’s Fund and Interstate Batteries: Interstate Batteries continues its collaboration with Semper Fi & America’s Fund to provide crucial support for our Nation’s critically wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, and military families from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. This partnership focuses on funding adaptive transportation to support independence and deliver the best quality of life possible. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cars with adaptive modifications can cost up to $80,000. However, the difference these vehicles make in the lives of service members, veterans, and military families is priceless. This weekend, Gibbs will feature the Semper Fi & America’s Fund logo on his No. 54 car to promote and encourage donations for this vital cause. Contributions can be made at TheFund.org.

● Just a Little Bit Closer. Gibbs makes his 64th career start in the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend at Charlotte. He’s had a strong start to his sophomore season in NASCAR’s top series, recording four top-five finishes and seven top-10s, and leading 349 laps in the 13 points-paying races contested so far this season. Sitting at the top of his to-do list is scoring his first career Cup Series win, and he’d like nothing more than to bring home that first victory in his hometown race near JGR headquarters.

● Gibbs heads to Charlotte seventh in the driver standings with 390 points, just 96 behind series leader Kyle Larson. Three of the four JGR drivers reside inside the top-10 in points heading to the 14th race of the season, with Truex. second, Denny Hamlin third, and Gibbs seventh, while JGR’s Christopher Bell is 15th in helping propel Team Interstate’s strong start.

● At the age of 19 years, 9 months and 20 days, Gibbs made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start last July 24 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for 23XI Racing. He became the 37th driver younger than 20 years of age to make a Cup Series start. He started at the rear of the field but completed all 160 laps on his way to an impressive 16th-place finish.

● Dazzling Debut: Gibbs was victorious in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the February 2021 race on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course. He led 14 of the 56 laps and became the youngest driver to win an Xfinity Series road-course race at 18 years, 4 months and 16 days. The native of Charlotte, North Carolina, also became the second-youngest winner in Xfinity Series history behind Joey Logano, who won in June 2008 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta at the age of 18 years, 21 days.

Ty Gibbs, Driver of the No. 54 Interstate Batteries/Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE

Where do you think you and the No. 54 team stand as you enter in the summer months with the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend and beyond?

“I think our team is doing a great job. We are slowly getting better and I’m getting better, as well. I love racing with these guys and working on things every week. We have been good on the 1.5-mile tracks this year and hoping we can get our Interstate Batteries/Monster Energy Camry up front this weekend and have a shot at the end of a long night. Bobby (Labonte) won his first Cup race in the Coca-Cola 600 in an Interstate Batteries car and hoping maybe we might be able to do the same thing this weekend. We are going to give it our best shot.”

You are an active guy during the week, biking, workout out, etc. With the Coca-Cola 600 being so long, how do those things help you in such a long race?

“It definitely put me to the test last year when I did the 900 miles with the Xfinity and Cup races ending up on the same day with the rain. It would be really cool some day to do the 1,100 miles with the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. I feel like I prepare really well. I’ve been around a lot of great athletes in my family and I consider myself an athlete.”

How much more do you feel like you have this year when you go to your best tracks versus last year?

“I think just having more experience has really helped. Charlotte – I’ve had a bit more track time with with Xfinity and a little bit of ARCA. It is helpful to have experience there. I feel like it would be a lot different if we had more practice like they did years ago. You just have to use the valuable sim time you can get, study and go after it.”

Joe Gibbs Racing has been very strong over the last few seasons. How do you describe the dynamic at the team right now?

“First of all, we need to give all of the thanks to the Joe Gibbs Racing aero department, along with Toyota. The new Toyota Camry XSE body – they’ve just done a great job with it. They’ve worked really hard on it, so it is great for all of them. Our team is great, and I have great teammates – they all have different characteristics, which is really cool, and I think that is really helpful with a team. We all come from pretty different backgrounds, so it’s a good atmosphere there and, in our meetings on Mondays, I can tell we all want it. All of the great feedback is just going to help us get better and better.”

No. 54 Interstate Batteries/Monster Energy Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Ty Gibbs

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Chris Gayle

Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas

Car Chief: Nate Bellows

Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Spotter: Tony Hirschman

Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

Race Engineer: Kyle Abrahims

Hometown: Spring Grove, Pennsylvania

Race Engineer: Evan Karl

Hometown: Ballston Lake, New York

Road Crew Members

Truck Driver: Ben Smith

Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina

Mechanic: Ryan Towles Hometown: Salem, Virginia

Mechanic: Scott Eldridge

Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana

Truck Driver: Mike Yates

Hometown: Daytona Beach, Florida

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Jeff Swearengin

Hometown: Elkhart, Indiana

Over-The-Wall Crew Members

Gas Man: Ian Anderson

Hometown: Pffattown, North Carolina

Jackman: Braxton Brannon

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Nick McBeath

Hometown: Miami, Florida

Front Tire Changer: Jackson Gibbs

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Kevon Jackson

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Will Sponsor Michael McDowell’s No. 34 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 21, 2024) – Front Row Motorsports announced that Walmart Stores and RTIC Coolers, the Official Cooler and Drinkware partner of NASCAR, will come on board the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Michael McDowell for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, this Memorial Day weekend.

Founded in 2014, RTIC’s mission has been to provide high-quality, affordable products for all. That includes premium Coolers, Drinkware, and Outdoor Gear that are engineered to perform, built to last, and always priced right. In April 2023, RTIC became the Official Cooler and Drinkware sponsor of NASCAR, offering officially licensed NASCAR Drinkware and Coolers at rticoutdoors.com. As part of their commitment to continue providing quality, affordable products directly to consumers, RTIC has expanded into 3,800 Walmart stores nationwide. The Walmart customer seeks reliable gear for every occasion and adventure, and this expansion helps provide consumers with mass market accessibility to premium coolers and drinkware.

This will be McDowell’s 31st total start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which includes an 8th-place finish in the 2022 May race and is excited to carry the Walmart and RTIC Outdoors branding on his No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

“I’m happy to be welcoming Walmart and RTIC Coolers to Front Row Motorsports and our 34 team,” McDowell said. They are a brand that has had a strong presence around our sport, and it is great to have them join us the Memorial Day weekend. I can’t wait to get this partnership started and see what we can all accomplish together.”

The Coca-Cola 600 will be on Sunday, May 26th at 6:00 p.m. on FOX.

ABOUT RTIC OUTDOORS

The premium outdoor gear brand, RTIC Outdoors wants to make incredible outdoor adventures accessible to everyone by offering high-quality drinkware, coolers and outdoor essentials that you can rely on without breaking the bank. From adrenaline boosting expeditions to your routine activities, RTIC’s innovations are expertly designed and crafted with quality materials to be ultra-durable and lock in the cold. Bridging the gap between high-performance gear for every adventure and an affordable price tag, RTIC is here to make the good times last longer. RTIC’s innovations have been crowned by media across the outdoor and lifestyle spaces. RTIC is based in Houston, Texas and its products can be found online rticoutdoors.com, along with in-stores at Walmart.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

RYAN PREECE
Charlotte Advance
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 26
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/600 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 100 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Stage 3: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● As part of #NASCARSalutes and the 600 Miles of Remembrance initiative during the Coca-Cola 600, the No. 41 HaasTooling.com team will remember and honor SPC Jonathan Batista of the U.S. Army. A native of Rutherford, New Jersey, Batista was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment out of the 4th Brigade Combat Team to Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in February 2012. Batista’s courage and determination were second to none, and he gave his best every day. Batista gave his life protecting his brothers on July 8, 2012. He is survived by his mother, Jeannette Gaston.

● Ryan Preece enters Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway after posting a 17th-place finish in the last points-paying event May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Preece’s best performance in his five previous Coca-Cola 600s came in his most recent drive in NASCAR’s longest race when he finished 13th last May.

● Preece has made three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts and one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start on Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval. His best Xfinity Series outing came in May 2022 when he finished fifth for B.J. McLeod Motorsports, and his lone Truck Series start netted an 11th-place result for David Gilliland Racing.

● The Coca-Cola 600 marks the start of the second half of the regular season. Preece sits 28th in the driver standings with 192 points through the first 13 points-paying races. He sits seven points behind 27th-place Erik Jones and eight points behind 26th-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Preece has one top-10 finish this season – a ninth-place run April 7 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. He also has seven top-15 finishes, compared to five at the same point last season. Preece is hitting his stride with career-best finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway (16th), Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (23rd), Martinsville, and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (12th).

● Back with Preece and the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Charlotte is HaasTooling.com, the cutting tool division of Haas Automation. HaasTooling.com allows CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. Haas Automation, founded in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, rotaries and indexers, and automation solutions.

● Haas Automation is hosting Project MFG and its Clash of Trades competition this weekend at the Stewart-Haas facility in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Four schools from across the country will come together at Stewart-Haas this Friday, Saturday and Sunday to compete for $100,000 in a national advanced manufacturing competition. Autry Technology Center in Enid, Oklahoma, Calhoun Community College in Tanner, Alabama, Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Alabama, and Everett (Wash.) Community College will be the four schools competing. Each team will be tasked to build an engine manifold, and the three-day event will provide a platform for teams to showcase their expertise in a variety of areas such as CNC programming and machining, mill and lathe operations, three- and five-axis milling, TIG welding, metrology and precision assembly. The event will be filmed and air on YouTube in July. For more information on Project MFG and Clash of Trades, please visit projectmfg.com.

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

You and the No. 41 team will be honoring and remembering SPC Jonathan Batista this weekend at the Coca-Cola 600. Talk about the importance of the annual #NASCARSalutes and 600 Miles of Remembrance.

“NASCAR’s tradition of recognizing our heroes at the Coca-Cola 600 certainly has an important place in the sport and all our hearts. It’s a great way to pay tribute to those who have sacrificed everything for our freedom. All of us drivers want to represent them and their families in the best way this weekend. For our team, it’s an honor to carry SPC Batista’s name on our car, and we’re going to do everything we can to have a good run for him and his family in the race.”

What do you have to do as a driver to prepare for the longest race of the season with the Coca-Cola 600 this Sunday at Charlotte?

“Temperatures look like they’re going to be high on Sunday. We’re getting into the heat of the summer, so hydrating before the race weekends coming up will certainly be important for all of us drivers, especially this weekend when we’re going to run 600 miles. You have to be hydrated to be on your game in a race like that. Outside of what we’ll have to do to hydrate, it’ll be about getting into the sim and having those conversations with the team to be sure we’re in the best position possible from a setup standpoint. I’ve felt pretty good about our team’s speed on the mile-and-a-half racetracks this year, so Sunday’s certainly an opportunity to have a good run and to begin turning things around in the right direction for the No. 41 team.”

Qualifying has proven to be challenging for you and the No. 41 team this season. What must happen to improve that performance?

“The potential has been there in qualifying this season. We just have to be sure we’re getting fast, clean laps in to get us further up the grid before the green flag falls on Sunday. It’s certainly an area that’s really important for us to improve on because track position is so important in the series right now.”

We’re halfway through the regular season. Are there any racetracks that you have circled to give you the best shot at gaining ground in the point standings?

“I’m a driver that looks at all the racetracks as places to have a strong run. New Hampshire has certainly been good to me in the past, and it’s a place that is very special to me, being so close to where I’m from and grew up racing. I’m a Northeast guy and racer, so I’m looking forward to getting up there in a few more races and having a strong run. Nashville and Iowa have also been a couple of good racetracks for me. I won my first Xfinity Series race at Iowa, and that win really changed everything for me and my career, so there are definitely a few racetracks coming up that we’re looking forward to going to, for sure.”

No. 41 HaasTooling.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Ryan Preece

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

Hometown: Cayuga, Indiana

Car Chief: Jeremy West

Hometown: Gardena, California

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen

Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Tony Raines

Hometown: LaPorte, Indiana

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Devin Lester

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Rear Tire Changer: Austin Chrismon

Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons

Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Fuel Man: Dwayne Moore

Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Front End Mechanic: Joe Zanolini

Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Interior Mechanic: Robert Dalby

Hometown: Anaheim, California

Tire Specialist: Matt Ridgeway

Hometown: Carrollton, Georgia

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife

Hometown: Orange County, California

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues

Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer

Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

CHARLOTTE 1

Friday, May 24 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 8:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, May 25 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
Sunday, May 26 — NASCAR Cup Series, 6 p.m. ET (FOX)

Racing on Memorial Day Weekend is a NASCAR tradition and Charlotte Motor Speedway will once again take center stage by hosting all three national series. Ford is the defending winner of two events after Ben Rhodes won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race last season and Ryan Blaney followed in the NASCAR Cup Series in the Coca-Cola 600.

BLANEY GOING FOR 600 REPEAT

Ryan Blaney will try to become the first NASCAR Cup Series driver since Jimmie Johnson (2003-05) to repeat as winner of the Coca-Cola 600. Blaney took the checkered flag first in last year’s event that was delayed a day due to rain and snapped a 59-race winless streak in the process. He led a race-high 163 laps, including the final 26 after passing William Byron on lap 375, and scored top-five points in all four stages. Overall, Ford had a strong night as five drivers combined to lead 201-of-400 laps.

MULTIPLE FORD 600 WINNERS

Only two drivers have won the Coca-Cola 600 more than once with Ford, but two current drivers have an opportunity to add their name to that list. NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen was the first driver to win multiple 600 events, doing it in 1963 and 1965 while Jeff Burton joined him after victories in 1999 and 2001. Ryan Blaney (2023) and Brad Keselowski (2020) are the two eligible drivers who can join them on Sunday.

Fred Lorenzen — 1963 and 1965

Jeff Burton — 1999 and 2001

LOGANO PURSUES

ALL-STAR/COCA-COLA 600 SWEEP

Joey Logano registered his second career victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and on Sunday he can join a select group of drivers who followed that up with a win in the Coca-Cola 600. Only eight drivers have accomplished the feat, which was done for the first time by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip in 1985, and most recently achieved by Kyle Larson in 2021. Only one Ford driver has captured both events in the same season and that was Davey Allison in 1991. The complete list is below:

DRIVER, YEAR

Darrell Waltrip, 1985

Davey Allison, 1991

Dale Earnhardt, 1993

Jeff Gordon, 1997

Jimmie Johnson, 2003

Kasey Kahne, 2008

Kurt Busch, 2010

Kyle Larson, 2021

RYAN BLANEY ON COKE 600 WIN: “It was nice to put that race together. That’s obviously a long night and it was a long weekend running on Monday. It’s just cool that we were able to put a whole race together and could snap that streak of not winning for awhile and then to do it – Joseph won the Indy 500 the day before that on Sunday, so it was nice to kind of finish that off. We’re always watching that race and if one of those guys wins, we kind of know we’ve got a shot to do it and you don’t get that shot very often, so it was nice for it to all come together. And then being from just down the road was super cool with my family there and a bunch of buddies, so it would be nice to do it again. That’s something I’ll never forget.”

CHASE BRISCOE ON COCA-COLA 600: “It’s honestly a race I really enjoy running, just that whole day is special for me growing up in Indiana and what Memorial Day means. From a motorsports standpoint with the Indy 500 and then the Coke 600 it’s just a special day to be able to say you’re one of the guys that’s racing in a premier series on that day is special. The Coke 600 is a super cool race. I enjoy the long races because I feel like there’s a lot of comers and goers and you can really try to make your car better. It’s a race of attrition to a certain extent, so I’ve always enjoyed that race. Last night, I went back and watched the whole race from 2022 and I’m still kicking myself, so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting some redemption this year.”

JOSH BERRY ON RACING THE COCA-COLA 600 FOR THE FIRST TIME: “I’m excited. I think to experience that for the first time is gonna be a lot of fun. It’s gonna be a challenge, though, running 600 miles. I haven’t driven the Next Gen at Charlotte, so that will be a new experience for me, but I have a win in the Xfinity Series there so I’m excited to get there and see it. It’s gonna be a long night. We’re gonna have to grind it out. The track is gonna change a lot from when the race starts to when it finishes, but Rodney and this 4 team have had some solid runs there, so hopefully we can keep that up.”

KESELOWSKI ADDS ANOTHER JEWEL

Brad Keselowski became the first Ford driver since Mark Martin in 2002 to win the Coca-Cola 600 when he held off Jimmie Johnson in an overtime finish to take the checkered flag in 2020. The race ended up going five laps past the advertised distance and ended with Keselowski adding another crown jewel victory with Ford to go with his wins in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis (2018) and Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (2018).

THREE MAJORS FOR DJ IN ONE SEASON

Dale Jarrett won his share of major races during a sterling career in the NASCAR Cup Series, but no season may have been better than his first year driving at Robert Yates Racing in 1996. After winning the season-opening Daytona 500, his second of three triumphs in that event, Jarrett came to Charlotte in search of winning the Coca-Cola 600 for the first time. Jarrett, who qualified 15th, wasn’t much of a factor when the race started, but when the sun went down his No. 88 Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Ford Taurus came to life. He took the lead for the first time on lap 175 and ended up leading 199 of the final 226 laps for RYR to win going away. Jarrett eventually went on to win the Brickyard 400 a couple of months later to give him three of the sports biggest victories in one season.

HOLMAN & MOODY CONQUER THE WORLD

Ford won the Coca-Cola 600 for the first time on May 27, 1962 when the race was still referred to as the World 600. This marked the third running of NASCAR’s longest race and in the end it was Nelson Stacy, behind the wheel of a 1962 Holman & Moody Ford, that ended up in victory lane. Stacy passed David Pearson, who developed engine trouble with eight laps to go, and went on to beat Joe Weatherly to the finish line by 32 seconds in posting the third of his four career victories. Fellow Holman & Moody teammate Fred Lorenzen finished third. The win was Stacy’s second straight after he took the checkered flag two weeks earlier in Darlington.

CUSTER CLOSING IN

Cole Custer is still looking for his first win of the season, but the California native comes into this weekend’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a streak of nine straight top-10 finishes, a mark that leads all series drivers. He’s coming off a third-place run at Darlington Raceway and sits only three points out of first in the overall point standings. This weekend will be Custer’s seventh career NXS start at CMS, a place where he has one runner-up finish (2018) and a third-place showing last year.

FIRST CHARLOTTE TRUCK SERIES WIN

Ben Rhodes provided Ford with its first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway last season when he passed Carson Hocevar and led the final 25 laps. For Rhodes, it marked the only win during his championship-winning season and seventh of his career. The race was a three-way battle between Rhodes, Hocevar and Corey Heim, who combined to lead all but five of the 134 circuits.

FORD COCA-COLA 600 WINNERS

1962 – Nelson Stacy

1963 – Fred Lorenzen

1965 – Fred Lorenzeon

1970 – Donnie Allison

1982 – Neil Bonnett

1987 – Kyle Petty

1991 – Davey Allison

1996 – Dale Jarrett

1999 – Jeff Burton

2000 – Matt Kenseth

2001 – Jeff Burton

2002 – Mark Martin

2020 – Brad Keselowski

2023 – Ryan Blaney

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS

AT CHARLOTTE OVAL

1992 – Jeff Gordon (Sweep)

1993 – Mark Martin (2)

1995 – Chad Little (1) and Mark Martin (2)

1996 – Mark Martin (Sweep)

1998 – Mark Martin (1)

1999 – Mark Martin (1)

2000 – Jeff Burton (1)

2001 – Jeff Green (1) and Greg Biffle (2)

2003 – Matt Kenseth (1)

2006 – Carl Edwards (1)

2011 – Matt Kenseth (1) and Carl Edwards (2)

2014 – Brad Keselowski (2)

2016 – Joey Logano (2)

2017 – Ryan Blaney (1)

2018 – Brad Keselowski

FORD NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT CHARLOTTE OVAL

2023 – Ben Rhodes

• Bommarito Automotive Group to serve as primary sponsor on the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek
• Tune into the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET

STATESVILLE, N.C. (May 21, 2024) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ today announced Missouri’s very own Bommarito Automotive Group, will serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 42 Bommarito Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, June 2.

“It’s an honor to be able to represent the Bommarito Automotive Group brand at World Wide Technology Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series race,” said Nemechek, driver for the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE. “Having won a race at World Wide Technology Raceway in the past, this is an event that I have had circled on my calendar all season. Everyone at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and I are hoping to be able to put together a strong showing and make everyone at Bommarito Automotive Group proud.”

Frank Bommarito founded Bommarito over 50 years ago as a single-point Oldsmobile dealer, and is now Missouri’s No. 1 automotive group, ranked among the top 50 in the nation. Bommarito Automotive Group’s current CEO/President John Bommarito employs over 1,000 people across 20 locations in the Missouri marketplace, including Toyota. Bommarito continues to work in conjunction with CLUB Ambassador Richard Petty “The King” to grow awareness of world class racing in the St. Louis and Illinois region.

“We’re passionate about racing and proud to be partners for the third continuous year with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB,” said Chuck Wallis, Vice President of Bommarito Automotive Group.

Bommarito Automotive Group made its debut in the auto racing scene in 2015 and has since expanded its presence in the racing world, particularly in NASCAR, including LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, the INDYCAR Series, and the IMSA Series.

The driver of the No. 42 Bommarito Toyota Camry XSE has seen his fair share of success at World Wide Technology Raceway. Nemechek won the 2017 NASCAR Truck Series race at the track and has seven starts at the 1.250-mile oval in the NASCAR Truck Series. The Enjoy Illinois 300 will mark Nemechek’s first race at World Wide Technology Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Tune in for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 2 at 3:30 ET. Race coverage will be on FS1, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and Motor Racing Network (MRN).

For more information on Bommarito Automotive Group, visit www.bommarito.com. For more information on John Hunter Nemechek and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, visit legacymotorclub.com.

ABOUT BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP: What Frank Bommarito started over 50 years ago, as a single-point Oldsmobile dealer, has now successfully grown into Missouri’s No. 1 automotive group, also ranked top 50 in the nation. With over 1,000 employees and 20 locations offering 20 franchised brands, Bommarito Automotive Group continues to grow its brand while also growing its involvement in motorsports. Our vision was to have a vehicle in our portfolio for every type of buyer. We now can drive home our mission: One Bommarito vehicle in every driveway. Once a vision, today a reality.

Bommarito began its motorsports involvement in 2015 with Jordan Anderson Racing and since has evolved into Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport and are owners of the No. 31 and No. 27 NASCAR Xfinity Series teams. Bommarito also holds the title sponsorship for the Bommarito 500 NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway since 2017, and is proud of its strategic partnership with Vasser-Sullivan in the IMSA Series. Thanks to you and the millions of dedicated race fans, Bommarito’s success and involvement in racing continues to demonstrate when you win on Sunday it generates sales on Monday. Visit bommarito.com 24/7 and follow us on all social media platforms @bommaritoautosport.

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice “Maury” J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The CLUB competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series fielding the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE of John Hunter Nemechek, the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE of Erik Jones, and the No. 84 limited schedule entry for Johnson. LEGACY M.C. also competes in the Extreme E Series. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty “The King” serves as Club Ambassador. With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ on Facebook, X, Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.

NOAH GRAGSON
Charlotte Advance
No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Event Overview

● Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 26
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/600 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 100 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Stage 3: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● If the Coca-Cola 600 is about being consistently good for a prolonged period of time, it could very well serve as a microcosm of Noah Gragson’s season to date in the NASCAR Cup Series. The driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing comes into the series’ longest race this Sunday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway riding a wave of front-running consistency. Gragson has scored seven straight top-20s coming into Charlotte, and he has finished among the top-15 in his last four races. His career-best finish of third was earned during this span – April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – and his average finish of 16.4 in the 13 races held this season is 15th best among the 33 drivers who have run all the races so far this season.

● Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 will be Gragson’s third career NASCAR Cup Series start on Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval. His best result at the track is 24th, earned in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600.

● Gragson’s record in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Charlotte is another example of his penchant for consistency. In four career Xfinity Series starts at the D-shaped oval, Gragson has three finishes of 11th or better, with his best result being a pair of fourth-place drives – May 2019 in his first Xfinity Series start at Charlotte and May 2022 in his most recent Xfinity Series start at the track. That last Xfinity Series race was arguably Gragson’s best at Charlotte as he started seventh and led twice for 36 laps before finishing fourth. The winner that day was Josh Berry, who was a teammate to Gragson in the Xfinity Series and is a teammate today with the duo both driving for Stewart-Haas.

● Gragson has also made two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Charlotte, earning a pair of top-10s. He finished ninth in May 2017 and eighth in his return to the track in May 2018, where he led twice for 13 laps.

● As part of #NASCARSalutes and the 600 Miles of Remembrance initiative during the Coca-Cola 600, the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester team is honoring United States Marine Corps Sergeant Jasper P. Sloan. The native of Corpus Christi, Texas, was a Squad Leader with the Third Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, Fifth Marine Division, who posthumously received the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity. Born June 30, 1922, Sloan was killed in action against enemy forces during the Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 26, 1945. With his platoon held up by a devastating rain of hostile sniper and machine-gun fire, Sloan advanced his squad 75 yards to a strategic position on higher ground where he initiated a daring attack against strongly fortified Japanese positions despite a lack of flanking support. Repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire as he pointed out new targets and directed his men, Sloan waged battle for more than two hours, enabling the remainder of his besieged platoon to move forward. Later that same day, Sloan twice braved heavy machine-gun fire to go to the aid of a seriously wounded comrade and, while ministering to him on the second occasion, was mortally struck down. Sloan’s dauntless courage, cool decision and self-sacrificing devotion to duty in the face of tremendous odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service.

Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Before the Coca-Cola 600 goes green, two of motorsports’ biggest races take place earlier in the day – the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. How much racing do you watch prior to the Coca-Cola 600?

“I’ll tune in. It’s a great day of racing. For me, we’ve got our longest race of the year, so my ultimate focus is on the nighttime show, the Coke 600. It closes out the greatest day in motorsports.”

Memorial Day weekend is a big weekend for auto racing between Monaco, Indy and Charlotte. What sparked your interest in racing?

“I like competing in sports, and I like competing in action sports. I love dirt bikes, mountain bikes, snowboarding, skateboarding. If we’re building a jump for our snowboards, I’m going to jump higher and I’m going to jump farther than you. If we’re racing skateboards down a hill, I’m going to be the last one to jump off the skateboard, even if it causes me to get road-rashed up just to go a foot farther. I always like the competition side of things. I love driving. We had a golf cart as a kid and I loved driving that thing. I went and did some go-karting when I was really little at a family fun place where they had roller coasters and arcade games and they couldn’t get me off the go-karts. So I loved it as a kid, and I finally got the opportunity when I was 13.”

Kyle Larson is doing the Double – running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. How interested are you in his endeavor?

“I’m super interested. I’ve been around Kyle a little bit through my career. He’s a remarkable driver, and to be able to see one of our guys who we’ve raced with every weekend go and try a different discipline of motorsports is really cool and awesome. I would love to do it one day. It’s definitely a special moment. I remember buying a Kurt Busch ‘The Double’ shirt back in the day off his website. It was black and gold and had his Indy car and his Cup car on it, and I thought, ‘Man, this is super cool, like I don’t know if we’ll ever see this again.’ So to have Kyle Larson doing it, it’s a lot more rare nowadays than it was in the late ’90s, early 2000s. Tony (Stewart) used to do it quite a bit, but to have a guy doing it now and be a part of the Cup Series and see one of our guys go over and race the Indy 500, it’s really special for everyone.”

Prior to Larson doing the Double, Kurt Busch attempted it in 2014. How much did a 16-year-old Noah Gragson watch of your fellow Las Vegas native’s attempt at the Double?

“I didn’t really know much about what it takes to be a Cup driver and what it takes to do both. Now, obviously, I have a different perspective. Used to think, ‘Man, 1,100 miles, that’s not that long,’ but then I ran a Coke 600 and I’m like, ‘This thing’s long. What if I’d had to run a 500-mile race earlier in the day?’ It’s cool seeing the behind-the-scenes. Hopefully, they’ll do a video showing the whole journey for Kyle Larson from the start to the finish, like a documentary. I think they did that with Kurt Busch. It was cool to see the behind-the-scenes stuff, like him getting the IV in the airplane, flying from Indy to Charlotte, helicoptering into the track, getting there, changing in the airplane, all that stuff, stuff you wouldn’t ever see, I hope they’re able to do that. It’s really cool.”

Much is made about the Coca-Cola 600 being the series’ longest race. Because the race is so long, can it be a good thing where if you’re not where you want to be, you have time to make things right? Or is the other side of the coin being that it’s too long of a race to not be good, as the delta to being off can quickly become insurmountable?

“You definitely have to stay on the lead lap, but it’s a long enough race where you have plenty of opportunity to fix the thing if it’s not handling the way you want it to.”

The Coca-Cola 600 used to be about pushing drivers and their cars to the limit, as attrition was once a key factor. But today, drivers are fitter than ever and cars seem to be built better than ever before. Is that extra 100 miles noticeable anymore, be it from your perspective behind the wheel or from your team’s when it comes to building your racecar?

“The cars are very durable, and us drivers have a different mindset on how we prepare. I think things have evolved a lot to where it’s kind of just another race, but we do know it’s the longest one. It’s still a little intimidating, especially the first one.”

The Coca-Cola 600 is considered one of NASCAR’s crown jewels because it is the only 600-mile race on the schedule. But in this short-attention-span era, is a 600-mile race still needed?

“Yes, I think it’s cool. It’s something different and it’s fun as a driver. It’s different. It’s unique. Do we need all races to be 600 miles? Absolutely not. But one a year is something different, interesting and cool. It’s a long time, though. It’s not short, by any means, and I think the passionate motorsports fans enjoy it.”

What makes turning fast and consistent laps at Charlotte so challenging?

“The Coke 600 goes from day to night. Definitely, the sun in your eyes off of turn four, and really through (turns) three and four, you can’t really see so you might not run the wall. But it seems like in the Cup cars, getting them wound up right against the outside wall on both sides is pretty fun. It’s a rough racetrack in (turns) three and four. There are a lot of bumps because the track has been settling. Actually, the back straightaway is downhill and the front straightaway is uphill. You wouldn’t know that, but if you ride a bicycle, it’s like a two-gear difference if you kept the same rpm. Up the hill you need to downshift two gears to carry the same rpm, the same miles an hour. We don’t really feel that inside the car, but it’s definitely a challenging racetrack, and then 600 miles, the mental side of it, you need to be 100-percent focused until the end of it.”

No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Noah Gragson

Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

Hometown: Decatur, Illinois

Car Chief: Jerry Cook

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Engineer: James Kimbrough

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

Spotter: Andy Houston

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder

Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa

Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

Hometown: King, North Carolina

Jack Man: Sean Cotten

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener

Hometown: Fortuna, California

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Beau Whitley

Hometown: Carmel, Indiana

Tire Specialist: Jacob Cooksey

Hometown: Westbrookville, New York

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Steve Casper

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

Leader in Casual Dining to Honor Gold Star Family at Coca-Cola 600

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 21, 2024) – A fourth-place finish and 200,000 margaritas sold in a single day stamped a standout maiden voyage for Spire Motorsports and Chili’s® Grill & Bar, and the pair announced today a partnership extension for three additional NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) races in 2024 aboard Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 beginning with this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The extended partnership includes associate sponsorship on the No. 7 for the rest of the 2024 season.

In addition to this weekend’s annual 600-miler, Chili’s will also be showcased as LaJoie’s primary sponsor at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 2 and again at Darlington Raceway Labor Day Weekend. LaJoie earned a career-best fourth-place finish in Chili’s first foray with the team at the Daytona 500, and just three days later the brand had a banner National Margarita Day, selling more than 200,000 of its signature drinks that day.

“Numbers are important, but relationships are everything,” said Chili’s CMO George Felix. “We jumped into NASCAR for the first time this year because we saw a chance to reach this passionate fanbase, but to do that we needed to find the perfect driver and team for Chili’s. We have that with Corey and Spire. We’re excited to solidify this partnership by putting the pepper back on the hood at some of the season’s remaining marquee races.”

In keeping with the tradition of honoring fallen service members during NASCAR’s annual Memorial Day Weekend festivities, LaJoie will be racing in honor of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeremie S. Border, of Mesquite, Texas, who died September 1, 2012, by small arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.

Border was assigned to Company Alpha, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Okinawa, Japan and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.

His name will be displayed on the windshield of LaJoie’s Chevy Camaro throughout the race weekend. Border is the brother of long-tenured Chili’s team member DeLaynie Peek, who will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway as NASCAR and its teams honor Gold Star Families for the seventh consecutive year.

“I’d put my brother’s name or face on anything if it meant people could learn about the hero and protector he was, so for it to happen in such a visible and memorable way is just amazing,” Border’s sister and Chili’s team member DeLaynie Peek said. “Chili’s wanted to honor someone connected to its family, and that says so much about the company’s culture that they’re making sure this moment didn’t pass without making one of their own feel special. We’re so grateful to them and to Spire and Corey for choosing Jeremie to ride along this weekend.”

Border graduated from Mesquite High School in 2002 and attended college at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas earning his bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Communications. He entered the Army in 2006 as an infantryman, where he completed basic training, advanced individual training and basic airborne course at Fort Benning, Ga.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 2, Army Service Ribbon, Special Forces Tab, Expert Infantry Badge and the Army Parachutist Badge.

Border was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Afghan Campaign Medal.

“This is always a special weekend,” said LaJoie. “Seeing Staff Sgt. Border’s name on the windshield of our Chili’s Chevy Camaro is incredibly humbling. He put the wellbeing of his fellow soldiers and civilians above his own. Chili’s has stepped up in a big way to honor one of their very own Gold Star Families, and It’s really an honor to represent Chili’s, Staff Sgt. Border and his family.”

LaJoie has logged 10 previous NCS starts at the legendary 1.5-mile Concord, N.C. oval and earned a venue/race-best 12th-place finish in the 2019 running of NASCAR’s longest race. Last May, the third- generation racer started 25th and finished 17th.

The Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, May 26, beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. NASCAR’s annual Memorial Day Weekend 600-mile classic will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

About Chili’s® Grill & Bar …
Hi, welcome to Chili’s! We are a leader in the casual dining industry and the flagship brand of Dallas-based Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT). We are known for our big mouth burgers, Chicken Crispers®, full-on sizzling fajitas and hand-shaken margaritas. We take our food seriously – but not ourselves – because dining out should feel like a celebration even if there is nothing to celebrate. Our passion is making everyone feel special, and every day, our ChiliHeads make it their job to spread #ChilisLove across almost 1,600 restaurants in 27 countries and two territories. And Chili’s cares. We host local Give Back Events to support kids, education and hunger and have raised more than $100 million benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through generous Guest donations. Find more information about us at chilis.com, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, like us on Facebook or join us on TikTok.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports is a NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race team co-owned by long-time NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In 2024, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively. The team will also field the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Chevrolets in the No. 77.

Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.