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Ford Performance NASCAR: Keselowski Makes It Two Straight Cup Wins
Keselowski Earns Fourth Win of 2016 –

Brad Keselowski’s win today is his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season and 21^st of his career.
- This marks the first time since last year that a Ford driver has won back-to-back races. Joey Logano did it last year when he swept the Chase Contender Round and won at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega.
- In addition, it is the 52^nd series win for Team Penske with Ford.
- The win is Fusion’s 76^th NSCS triumph since becoming Ford’s flagship vehicle in 2006.
- Ford now has 644 all-time NSCS victories.
- Of Team Penske’s 52 NSCS wins with Ford, 25 have come over the past three years.
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – HOW DID YOU SAVE FUEL AND HOLD OFF CARL AT THE END? “We almost didn’t, but I’ve got to give credit to my guys, the Roush Yates Engine shop, and everybody at Ford. We knew the fuel mileage. We went out and we set a really fast pace there on that restart and was just using fuel, and then it became obvious that you were gonna have to save fuel at the end, but I already used so much. It’s a testament to our guys to have the fuel mileage that we did to be able to get back what I burnt early in the run and get the Miller Lite Ford in Victory Lane. It’s number four this year. Gosh, that’s great. Usually these repaves are kind of my Achilles heel, but to get a win here at Kentucky. I know it’s been a good track for us in the past, but this isn’t the same Kentucky, I can tell you that. These cars were tough to drive today, but a good tough. This was a hard-fought battle and I’m really proud of everybody on the 2 crew to get win number four and take that first place.”

WHAT WILL YOUR NOTES SAY LEAVING HERE TONIGHT? “Save fuel.”

IS THIS A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? “Yeah, this is our best stretch and I’m really, really proud of that. We’ve got to keep it going through the fall, that’s really important, but this is great. I’m just so proud of my guys. I feel terrible for the fans because I didn’t get to do a burnout. I didn’t have any gas. The car wouldn’t run, but we’re back here in Victory Lane and what a great Saturday night.”

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A TOW TRUCK TAKE YOU TO VICTORY LANE? “I don’t know if I’ve ever had that. I don’t want to have it ever again. I’d rather drive it in Victory Lane, but you take them any way you can get them, and I’m glad to be here and glad to be doing things that are fun on a Saturday night. I know there is a lot going on in the country to be down about, but here we are we’re at a race track, we’re having run, and I just want to say thank you to all the fans that watch and care about our sport. We’re thinking about those who made some tremendous sacrifices over the last few weeks and months, and I’m just glad to be here.”

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion – “It was slick. The first run I was like, ‘Man, we’ve got a top 10 car.’ We drove up to 12^th and we were decent. Then we took four tires and a lot of guys took two and that put us back in track position that hurt us the rest of the race. We could never get it back, but at the end the result is really all that matters and we got to 11^th. I probably could have held off three or four more of those guys if I knew I had enough fuel, but you’ve got to save all you can. I almost ran out coming to the checkers, so I saved just enough but maybe could have held them off. I don’t know. It’s a good day for our team and a good points day. We just have to keep building on it and get faster with our race cars so we don’t have to do it on fuel mileage.”
July 9, 2016
Lap-87 Crash Sends Blaney, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford to Garage, 35th-Place Finish in Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway

SPARTA, Ky., July 9, 2016 – A lap-87 crash that collected fellow rookie Chase Elliott sent a strong-running Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion to the garage early and to a 35th-place finish in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night.

Starting from the 15th position on the grid, Blaney moved into the top 10 before the end of the first lap and stayed with the leaders until he went sideways and backed into the wall.

“I got loose,” Blaney explained. “It’s unfortunate and we took the 24 out. Obviously, it’s not intentional and not what you want. We both had really good cars. You just get put in spots on re-starts that aren’t ideal and things like that happen, unfortunately.

“That restart was pretty hectic from the beginning with the 78 getting loose and it kind of put everybody in a bad spot, and it wound up with us being in the middle of three-wide into three,” he continued. “It’s so hard to get into that corner all night with a car close behind you and outside of you, and no one lifting either, and it’s just an unfortunate spot we got put in and I hate to see two really good cars tore up. We were both very fast tonight (24 and 21) and it’s just a really unfortunate deal.”

Blaney just missed being collected himself when Jimmie Johnson got loose and hit the wall on lap 32. Right before the wreck that took him out of contention, Blaney made contact with Cole Witt on pit road that caused damage to the right front of the Wood Brothers’ iconic No. 21.

“We were coming out and the 98 was coming in,” Blaney said. “Communication was off a little bit. That didn’t effect it at all.”

The Wood Brothers Racing Team got the car put back together and back on the track with 60 laps to go and got their rookie driver more experience on the newly re-paved Bluegrass State track and gathered some precious extra points by gaining two spots.

With that 35th-place result, Blaney moves down to 19th in the driver points standings before heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the New Hampshire 301 on Sunday, July 17 at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

About Motorcraft

Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to under-hood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers are backed by Ford Motor Company’s two-year, unlimited-miles Service Parts Limited Warranty. Ask for Motorcraft by name when you visit your local auto parts store or your favorite service facility. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers

Ford’s Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers routine vehicle maintenance such as oil and filter changes, light repair services including brake repair, and tire replacements on all vehicle makes and models. With nearly 800 locations and growing, customers can visit www.quicklane.com to find a center that is closest to them, print savings coupons and review maintenance tips to keep their vehicles running at peak efficiency. This site includes information on how to spot tire wear, how to jump-start a battery and even a series of tips to improve a vehicle’s fuel economy.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 98 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 117 poles in NASCA’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion driven by Ryan Blaney in the famous number 21 racecar.

July 9, 2016
Keselowski Survives Carnage and Fuel Scare to Win at Kentucky

SPARTA, Ky. — Not only did Brad Keselowski endure carnage, but he also saved enough fuel to hold off a charging Carl Edwards, make the finish and score the victory in the Bluegrass State.

When asked how he saved fuel in the end, he said he “almost didn’t, but I’ve got to give credit to my guys, the Roush Yates Engine shop, and everybody at Ford. We knew the fuel mileage. We went out and we set a really fast pace there on that restart and was just using fuel, and then it became obvious that you were gonna have to save fuel at the end, but I already used so much. It’s a testament to our guys to have the fuel mileage that we did to be able to get back what I burnt early in the run and get the Miller Lite Ford in Victory Lane. It’s number four this year. Gosh, that’s great. Usually these repaves are kind of my Achilles heel, but to get a win here at Kentucky. I know it’s been a good track for us in the past, but this isn’t the same Kentucky, I can tell you that. These cars were tough to drive today, but a good tough. This was a hard-fought battle and I’m really proud of everybody on the 2 crew to get win number four and take that first place.”

It’s the 21st career victory in 251 Sprint Cup Series starts, fourth of the 2016 season and 12th top-10 finish of the season as well as his third win and fifth top-10 finish in six races at Kentucky Speedway for the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

Edwards posted his 12th top-10 finish of 2016 and third top-10 at Kentucky in six races with a runner-up finish in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“I thought I had him, too,” Edwards said of trying to get by Keselowski on the final lap. “He played it perfectly and he did it – he won at the absolute slowest possible speed he could. I thought he was out of fuel and that was that. I just appreciate the crowd coming out here, it’s always neat to come to Kentucky. It’s the site of my first win 13 years ago and it’s a special place…That’s a tough one to be that close. We were getting such good fuel mileage with our TRD (Toyota Racing Development) engine, I think we might have had a little extra there. That’s going to be the hard part, going to bed knowing you could have gone a little faster.”

Ryan Newman rounded out the podium in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“We had a good car,” Newman said of his race. “We really struggled, like most people did in dirty air. Track position was definitely key, but I’m proud of these guys on the Caterpillar Chevrolet; all the ECR guys, they obviously did a good job on the fuel mileage to make that happen. I think all us drivers that made it, knew what we were doing, it’s just a matter of it we thought we were as good as we were. And, I could have used this iced cold Coke about 30 laps from the end. I’m just proud of the guys. It’s our first Top-5 of the year, but we’ll keep digging.”

Kurt Busch, who started from the rear in a backup car, led 10 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. His fourth-place finish gives him a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR schedule.

“That is a nice feather in the cap,” Busch said of the significance of the milestone. “It’s special to have raced for good teams over the years to give me winning cars. Top five’s are special everywhere. As a driver it feels like you got something at each of the places to be competitive, give to the team, to give feedback and then the team can give better feedback to me on how we can win. Today, we persevered. I have never seen such an effort from everybody to dig deep and to just be back on their heels the whole time and just start to lean forward, lean forward and then right at the end to turn into fuel mileage and our car just came to us at the end. It was a perfect day for us to get a top five. We had to sweat it all weekend.”

Tony Stewart rounded out the top-10 in his No. 14 SHR Chevrolet.

Greg Biffle finished sixth in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Jamie McMurray finished seventh in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth led two laps on his way to an eighth-place finish in his No. 20 JGR Toyota, preserving his status as the only driver to finish in the top-10 in every Sprint Cup Series race held at Kentucky.

“We were three laps short, exactly if the calculations were right,” Kenseth said of fuel mileage concerns. “It was unfortunate tonight. We ran well tonight with our Dollar General Camry, its’ the best we ran in two months really. I thought we had a top-three to a top-five car. Throughout the night we just didn’t get good fuel mileage.”

Kevin Harvick led 128 laps, the most of any driver, on his way to a ninth-place finish in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. led 46 laps and overcame a pass-through penalty to round out the top-10 in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

Austin Dillon, who led one lap, finished 16th. Danica Patrick, who led two laps, finished 17th. David Ragan, who led two laps, finished 22nd. Ty Dillon led one lap and finished 25th.

Sixteen cars finished the race on the lead lap and 32 were running at the finish. Eight cars failed to finish the race via accident.

The race lasted three hours, six minutes and 55 seconds at an average speed of 128.580 mph. There were 16 lead changes among nine different drivers and 11 cautions for 53 laps.

Harvick leaves Kentucky with a four-point lead over Keselowski in the drivers’ championship standings.

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July 9, 2016
Blaney, Buescher and Scott Accident Quotes

RYAN BLANEY – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “That restart was pretty hectic from the beginning with the 78 getting loose and it kind of put everybody in a bad spot, and it wound up with us being in the middle of three-wide into three. It’s so hard to get into that corner all night with a car close to behind you and outside of you, and no one lifting either, and it’s just an unfortunate spot we got put in and I hate to see two really good cars tore up. We were both very fast tonight (24 and 21) and it’s just a really unfortunate deal, but we’ll try to get it fixed and get back out there and make some laps.”

CHRIS BUESCHER – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Fusion – “I was really happy with our Love’s Ford Fusion. Our fire-off speed was excellent and this was the best car we’ve had all year. The guys did a heck of a job. Unfortunately, the call was made to run practice during our qualifying time and we started by points. We’ve had three of these situations at superspeedways already this year and just didn’t put us in a good place for the start and the pit selection wasn’t good because of it, and we ended up in a bad spot because of it. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TRACK TONIGHT? “They did a good job with the repave. The track is a lot of fun to drive. Everybody keeps begging for less and less downforce, and we keep seeing more and more incidents because of it. I think it has made better racing at a lot of racetracks, but it’s not easy to get into turn three here side-by-side.”

BRIAN SCOTT – No. 44 Medallion Bank Ford Fusion – “The 11 was pretty tight on my door and I had the 42 up my bumper there on that restart and these cars are pretty difficult to drive when you’re in that type of situation. I was expecting it and when it happened I thought I had it saved. I was just trying to gather it back up and lose the spots we were gonna lose but go on and then some cars barreled in pretty fast from behind and caused a pileup. It started with me. It’s a product of new paves. You just don’t have any room and everybody holds each other really tight, and it’s just difficult. This low downforce package is racing really well, but it doesn’t really matter what downforce package you have when you’ve got two cars really tight on you from behind and on the side, you just have no air on your car and there was nothing I could do.”

July 9, 2016
Joey Logano Accident Quote

JOEY LOGANO – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion –

DID YOU HAVE ANY INDICATION OF A PROBLEM? COULD IT HAVE BEEN A HEAT-RELATED PROBLEM WITH THE RIGHT-FRONT TIRE?

“I think so. It’s hard to say for sure, but I got loose off of four and knocked the right-rear quarter off it and then got real loose. When you get loose you have to slow down more and you use a lot of brake to slow down. Usually, the next thing to go is the right-front tire and that happened. Unfortunately, I put us in a bad spot here. It’s not where we want to be and we’ll figure out next week.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

“I was just looking at the tire in there. I got loose and hit the wall about 10 laps before that and the car got really loose when you tap the right-rear quarter over. You’re trying to slow down a lot and the brakes started going away and I don’t know what happened after that, if a rotor blew up or what made the tire go down, but the right-front went flat and I was pretty much along for the ride after that. I hit a ton, so I’m pretty impressed by the way the safety is in these race cars. That was one of the hardest hits I’ve had in a while. I had a long time to look at the wall before I hit it and not really slow down much before I got there and I’m alright, so it’s pretty cool to get through that. It just kind of stinks for our race team to be crashed out so early in the race, but we’ll just go back to Loudon and go back to work.”

YOUR CHEEK IS RED. DID YOU HIT THE SIDE OF YOUR FACE?

“Yeah, a little bit, but everything did its job. It doesn’t hurt. I think it’s just red.”

IS THE TRACK REAL SLIPPERY?

“Yeah, it’s real slick. The first lap I was out there sideways and then tried to make a little bit of progress on it. For me, it was either you’re really loose in and really tight off, or you’re good in and decent off – or at least it was for my car, so it is what it is.”

July 9, 2016
Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Toyota NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Daytona International Speedway
Race 16 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps
Friday, July 8, 2016

TOYOTA NXS DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS at Kentucky Speedway

1st, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, DANIEL SUAREZ
4th, ERIK JONES
17th, JJ YELEY
18th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG
33rd, JEFF GREEN
39th, JOHN JACKSON
40th, MATT DIBENEDETTO

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA NXS DRIVER POINT STANDINGS following Kentucky Speedway (race 16 of 33)*

1st, DANIEL SUAREZ 537 points
4th, ERIK JONES 480 points
15th, DAKODA ARMSTRONG 324 points
16th, JJ YELEY 298 points

*unofficial point standings

TOYOTA NOTES
- Camry driver Kyle Busch won his fifth NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race of the season on Friday night at Kentucky Speedway.
- Busch led a race-high 185 laps (of 201) en route to his 81st career NXS victory and 70th in a Camry, which is built in nearby Georgetown, Kentucky.
- This is Toyota’s 10th NXS win of 2016 and 119th since entering the series in 2007.
- Daniel Suarez (third) earned his seventh top-five finish of the season and continues to lead the series point standings.
- Camry driver Erik Jones (fourth) grabbed his ninth top-five result of the year.
TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st

How does it feel to win the XFINITY Series race at Kentucky?

“This is a great effort by this team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everything was really, really good about this race car since we unloaded. NOS Energy Drink Camry had really good speed and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job each and every week, this 18 Camry is always the best, always the one to beat. I think that’s just a true testament to everyone at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and this XFINITY Series program. I want to thank the fans as well with everyone out here and everyone at home watching on TV. It was a new repave and it probably wasn’t one of the best races from the visual, but a couple of odd things were definitely happening at the end when (Erik) Jones got me on the restart then he kind of got back when his motor didn’t re-fire there. That last restart there, I heard three-wide for a second and I don’t know what to do here but I tried to give a little bit of room and then I heard clear and I turned down. It was enough excitement from my vantage point.”

Were you surprised to see Austin Dillon coming for you at the end?

“He kind of struggled a little bit on the restart before that I believe, maybe two restarts before that. Obviously, you learn as a driver and you figure it out so he got it going there. He just made a bold and aggressive move there getting down low like that. He was forcing his way and I haven’t really seen it, but I imagine that’s what it looked like.”

How does it feel to get back to victory lane at Kentucky in the XFINITY Series?

“The JGR cars just haven’t been that great here for a long time. I think Joey Logano was the last win here for a JGR car was in 2010. This certainly means a lot to us as an organization and for NOS Energy Drink and everyone that has been a part of this program. Our cars were so fast here this weekend, it felt really, really good. We were worried about tires and we had some issues today during the race but we were able to make it through the whole event and not have a big problem. That’s just a true testament to Kentucky Speedway and what they did here tonight for this weekend in preparation to have a good race track.”

Was that finish hard work?

“We always get the Kyle Busch cautions. Apparently, this time, it was true. There was some problems with another car smoking. You always have to make your monies worth, I guess. Always have to give the show to the fans and their monies worth. Certainly, means a lot to us to win here and bring our Camry home to victory lane again at Kentucky Speedway. Certainly wish last night went a little bit better for myself, I’m proud of William Byron but we’ll see how it goes – maybe we can make it a Toyota sweep this weekend.”

What did you think at the time of the restart when Erik Jones car seemed to stall?

“The restart before that when I chose the bottom, Chris Gayle (crew chief) and I were just talking about that. When I gave Erik Jones the top, I figured it was going to be the smart thing to do because I had been trying to run around some lap cars on the top side of three and four and you just get so loose on entry and then you get so tight on the middle of the corner that you were taking a really big risk of getting outside of the black and into the grey and potentially crashing your car. That’s why I didn’t want the outside, I didn’t think it would carry the speed like the inside would. Erik Jones proved me wrong. I certainly learned from that and then when he had his problems there with not being able to get the car refired, it just kind of handed the race back to us. I chose to restart on the outside from there on out. That’s what won us the race, just being able to have that outside and that control on the inside. A guy could over push it and make a mistake and try to run you hard and get loose and run into you and push you up in the gray, but smartly, (Austin) Dillon didn’t do that and we ran a good race and we kept a lot of throttle through three and four. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to clear him but we were able to and set sail from there for the final lap.”

Did Erik’s move on the restart give you the confidence to take the lead for the final time on the last restart?

“When Erik (Jones) drove off into turn three, I started to roll out just a little bit because I knew I needed to in order to run the bottom. He drove right on past me and I was like, ‘Well, alrighty then.’ I was waiting for him to slip and not be able to control his car in the black, in the rubber and it stuck for him and it worked. From there I definitely learned there was some speed up there at least for one lap, for one corner on being on the outside of a guy and also it kind of disturbed the air on my car a little bit. I knew that having that opportunity again if I could have the top I’d be able to do the same thing, so that’s what I did at the end.”

What will you do with this Juke Box?

“I’m not sure. Getting the one that we got last year was really cool and being able to win the Cup Series one, that was really special. We’ll see how tomorrow goes, maybe we can get another one and have too many to deal with. This one right here for the XFINITY guys and Brexton (son) will be fighting over that one. We’ll see who wins that battle.”

How were you able to save your Cup car in practice?

“The car was good, it was fast. Three laps earlier than that we were the fastest lap of practice and then all of a sudden just going through one and two a little bit loose on me and then I throttled up and drove through that and it was fine. Then, I hit that bump out of the exit of turn two on the bottom side of the race track and it jumped sideways on me. Lost traction and somehow I held on to it from sliding and spinning out this way and then when it came back the other way, I had to make sure I had the steering wheel cranked so it wouldn’t cut back and nose into the wall or hit the wall some way or spin out the opposite way. You just had to be ahead with the steering so it was definitely a very tense moment, one that I would not want to do again, but certainly was a good show, I guess. It scared me enough that there’s no more need for that.”

CHRIS GAYLE, Crew Chief, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What type of preparation did you need to do to prepare a winning race car for a new track surface?

“Really there wasn’t a whole lot of adjustment. We were definitely worried about the tires. We had 10 laps or so in practice having blisters so we kind of went into the night wondering how long we were going to be able to go. We knew when we would start blistering them, but we didn’t know how much longer we could go before they came apart and created a problem. I don’t think anyone knew what it was going to be until we got to the race tonight. Once we got those two right side tire stops earlier and got the full laps on that one set of tires and we could go 50 laps. They looked bad, but not as much as we saw in the truck race last night, not as bad as we expected. It relieved all of us a little bit and we didn’t have to adjust on the car too much. Kind of had to make it take off a little better for him on one four tire stop and he got loose toward the end of the last stop so we made a few small adjustments. It was a pretty good night to not have to have too many issues.”

STEVE DESOUZA, EVP of XFINITY and Development, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What is it like to see JGR’s XFINITY Series program perform so well this season?

“We have two that are contending for the driver’s championship, then the 18 contending for the owner’s championship, so all three of them are going after championships. Obviously of the way and the effort that they are all putting together. All three teams work really well together and the results are showing up on the race track. We’re really proud of all the guys. Kyle (Busch) is our senior guy helping the young guys come along and it’s paying dividends for the entire group.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd

How was your race?

“I knew that the old tires on the bottom wasn’t the place to be. I knew with Austin (Dillon) behind me he was going to go. My team did a really good job. We had the best car for the first half of the race. I’m pretty much in the same situation as Austin with the first stop was rights and then lefts and then four and then rights. My car was really good in four, but it wasn’t as good in rights and we ended up with rights. That’s part of racing. I feel like we learned some good stuff for next time here, our first race of the Chase. We still have some homework but overall so did everyone. I think there’s some things we could have done a little bit better. We lost some track position and I went sideways in three and four for a couple laps. I’m really looking forward to seeing that on TV. I’m looking forward to next week in Loudon.”

How important is it for you to run well and continue a strong season with your family at the race with you?

“It feels really good. My family doesn’t have the opportunity to come very often. Actually, this is the first race that they came this year and it’s exciting and fun to have them here and enjoy and to have some racing and family time at the same time. It was cool. I’m really looking forward to the next couple races that they are going to stay here as well.”

What did you think of the new track surface?

“For me, I really like it. It’s fast and I know it’s hard but I think that the second groove was coming. I really think that by the second part of the race we had some good racing going on. I’m really looking forward to seeing tomorrow’s Cup race because I’m sure they are going to start making that second line work. I really think Kentucky did a good job with this race. It’s really fast, has a lot of grip and I think everyone is learning about this race, Goodyear is learning. There were some issues with tires, but it’s all a learning process the first time.”

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th

JJ YELEY, No. 44 Zachry Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 17th

DAKODA ARMSTRONG, No. 28 WinField Toyota Camry, JGL Racing
Finishing Position: 18th

JEFF GREEN, No. 14 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 33rd

JOHN JACKSON, No. 40 CrashClaimsR.US Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 39th

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 10 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports
Finishing Position: 40th
July 9, 2016
Ray Black Jr. Secures Third Top-20 Finish of the Season

NASCAR Driver Finished 19th During ALSCO 300 at Kentucky Speedway

SPARTA, Ky. (July 9, 2016) – The freshly repaved Kentucky Speedway had its challenges, but NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) driver Ray Black Jr. persevered on Friday night to capture his third Top-20 and second-best NXS finish of the 2016 season. The driver of the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro finished 19th during the ALSCO 300 after overcoming pit road challenges and a late-race spin.

Black and his SS Green Light Racing team had a lot of unknowns coming into the newly repaved 1.5-mile track but were successfully able to improve the handling of their Camaro throughout the four practice sessions on Thursday. Black went on to qualify 29th for Friday’s race.

After the drop of the green flag, Black immediately began making his way up through the field and was in the 24th position when a caution for debris came out. His trip down pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments was a tough one, as the No. 22 came peeling out of his stall right in front of Black, who was forced to slam on the brakes and overshoot his pit stall in order to avoid getting in an accident.

Black restarted 27th but once again immediately began working his way up through the field with daring four-wide moves before settling in around the 18th position.

With just 25 laps to go, Black moved up high on the track to pass a competitor when he lost the handling of his Chevrolet and spun out on the track. In order to avoid hitting another car, Black kept his car high on the track and scraped the right rear side of his car on the exit of Turn 4. Luckily, the car mostly received only cosmetic damage and Black was able to hold on to his 19th place position for the remainder of the race.

“A Top-20 out of Kentucky Speedway – we’ll take it!” said Black after the race. “After the challenges of the last couple of races, it feels great to have a solid finish like this one. Kentucky Speedway did a great job with the repave. I had a lot of fun out there and found more grip than I expected to. I’m really proud of how hard everyone worked this week and look forward to going after another Top-20 next weekend.”

Black and his SS Green Light Racing team will now take on the “Magic Mile” of New Hampshire Motor Speedway next Saturday, July 16.

Fans can keep up with Ray Black Jr. by following him and his sponsor, ScubaLife, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @RayBlackJr and @TeamScubaRacing. Learn more about Ray Black Jr. and Team Scuba by visiting www.rayblackjr.com and www.teamscuba.com.

About Ray Black Jr.
Ray Black, Jr. grew up in Florida after relocating from Montgomery, Alabama at age 9. It was here that Black fell in love with deep sea diving after a couple of scuba trips with his father. His passion for motorsports came later at age 14 after playing some racing video games. He began competing in the Florida Mini Cup Racing Association (FMCRA), where finished in the Top-5 in every race and secured the FMCRA Junior All-Star Championship. In 2013 Black moved up to racing pro late models and then into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2014. During that year, he got his first taste of true NASCAR racing when he competed in seven races for SS Green Light Racing. In 2015, Black competed in his first full season of NASCAR in the Camping World Truck Series, where he finished 11th in the championship standings with one Top-5 and 11 Top-15 finishes. Black will compete in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for the 2016 season. Learn more at www.rayblackjr.com.

About ScubaLife
ScubaLife is more than a website; it is a comprehensive resource for those who are passionate about the water. Members receive access to a wealth of information that helps guide them to plan the best water sport experience. ScubaLife provides members with world-class support, affiliate resources, Professional Liability insurance, educational programs and access to our worldwide partner network. Members can also now receive discounts on general insurance rates for their homes, automobiles and more. ScubaLife can help you find new ways to relax, discover new recreational opportunities and explore the infinite possibilities of a water lifestyle through promotional savings to help you save on hotels, water activities and much more. ScubaLife helps you discover the unknown, which at times is a place, but more commonly, and importantly, a state of mind. Check out ScubaLife’s all-new website today at www.scubalife.com.

July 9, 2016
RCR NXS Post Race Report – Alsco 300

Austin Dillon Gambles on Green-White-Checker Restart to Capture Second-Place Finish in Richard Childress Racing’s Rheem Chevrolet

“I feel like we had a very competitive No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet tonight. We took right-side tires, then left-side tires, then right-side tires and we learned that we were very good on left-side tires, so good that we were posting the fastest laps of the race. I tried hard on that last restart. I just wish Turns 3 and 4 would have went differently for us at the end. I never lifted. I just came off the gas a little bit in Turns 3 and 4 and that’s what made all the difference. I’m proud of everyone on this team and we will get a few more wins before the end of this season.”
– Austin Dillon – Started 4th – Finished 2nd

Ty Dillon Starts From Rear, Battles Back for 10th Top-10 Finish of the Season

“We battled back from a mishap in qualifying after getting into the wall. It’s nothing that our team couldn’t handle. We started from the rear and raced our way into the top 10 before the first caution. The Alsco/Red Cap Chevrolet was fast, and we worked pit strategy in a way so that we were able to lead a few laps. Overall, it was a solid finish. Another great top-10, but I know our team can win here in the fall in the first round of the Chase.”
– Ty Dillon – Started 23rd – Finished 7th

Brandon Jones Fights Through Adversity To Finish 11th At Kentucky

“The guys on this AAA Car Care Centers Chevrolet team did a great job all day leading us to 11th in a backup car. It was an older chassis that we had run before, so I was really impressed with how it ran with only a few practice laps on Thursday. The guys got it to where it could run in the top six, we just needed track position at the end to get back up there. The track was very line sensitive. If you missed it just a bit or got up into the marbles, you would get really tight and then it would snap loose. It was kind of tough to tell crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. how to adjust to the conditions we were facing, but I think they did a great job working on it and getting us to just outside the top 10.”
– Brandon Jones – Started 17th – Finished 11th

Brendan Gaughan Perseveres After Going to a Back-Up South Point Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway

“The groove was super narrow all weekend. In practice, we hit debris which pushed us out of the groove and into the wall. Once we left the groove on this new surface, there was zero grip at Kentucky Speedway. The team worked hard to get the back-up ready to race. We had a loose South Point Chevy with little to no bite in the front end. Shane Wilson and the guys made big swings to fix our handling issues. I’m really proud of how hard the team worked this weekend, I just wish we had a better finish. We will regroup and come back stronger next week in New Hampshire.”
– Brendan Gaughan – Started 18th – Finished 13th

July 9, 2016
Ford Performance NASCAR: Wallace Rallies for Fifth-Place XFINITY Finish

Ford Performance NXS Notes and Quotes
Alsco 300 – Kentucky Speedway

Ford Finishing Results:
5th – Darrell Wallace Jr.
8th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Brad Keselowski
29th – Ryan Reed

DARRELL WALLACE JR. – No. 6 EcoBoost Ford Mustang – YOU GOT TO FIFTH ON THAT LAST RESTART. “It’s a good night for us, but we’ve got to be better. We finished fifth, so that was a good rebound from when we showed up here at Kentucky. We were way off in left field, so we worked hard all night long. There were no mistakes on pit road. I kept sliding through, so I need to work on that. The mistakes are on me, but my guys are awesome. They did a great job, but we’ve got to be better. Fifth is good, but we’re getting close to Chase time, so we need to start winning.

DO YOU LIKE BEING IN THOSE POSITIONS WHERE YOU CAN BE AGGRESSIVE ON THOSE RESTARTS AND JUST GO FOR IT? “Yeah. It’s good. It’s showcasing that we’re making improvements and that’s all we can ask for right now. We’re still in building stages. Don’t get me wrong, we had a pretty good Ford EcoBoost Mustang and just need a little bit more. We’re usually about seventh to eighth and we picked it up two spots, so the credit goes to all of my guys and my pit crew for no mistakes and coming away with a solid somewhat clean race. My right-front over there is a little damaged. Me and Keselowski got together, but hopefully no hard feelings there.”

WHAT DOES RFR NEED TO DO AS AN ORGANIZATION TO GET YOU INTO VICTORY LANE? “Just look at what we’ve been doing this last month or two. They’ve been really hitting on some stuff on the Cup side and it’s kind of trickling down to the XFINITY shop, so we just have to keep taking notes and keep trying things. I say we need to win because it’s getting close to Chase time, but we still have some time to tweak and tune some stuff. We’ll go to Loudon next week and we’ll go have some fun.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GOING FOUR-WIDE THERE ON THE RESTART? “I didn’t know we were four-wide until Freddy said, ‘Clear of four-wide.’ It’s cool that we all made it through here at Kentucky. It was an awesome job with the repave by the whole Kentucky staff. It was fun racing, but couldn’t really do much passing. It will be better when we come back.”

RYAN BLANEY – No. 12 Snap-On Ford Mustang – YOU MADE SOME BOLD MOVES DOWN THE STRETCH TO TRY AND GET SOME TRACK POSITION. “That’s really all you can do. It’s really hard to pass. I thought we were our best at one point of the race late and we got to the tail end of the top three and we couldn’t pass anybody. It was too tight, so restarts were really, really key to try and make positions. The 20 ran us down on the apron and that wasn’t very cool, but whatever. Props to everybody on this team. Greg Erwin and the guys did a great job. It’s just a group we got together at the last minute and they did a great job getting the car together and spent so much time working on it. I can’t thank Snap-On and Ford and Discount Tire enough for what they do. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll get ‘em next time.”

WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST FEW RUNS? “We got better and better. The last two runs is where I thought we were the best. We’d lose so much ground early in the run and then we would just kind of gain it all back and were kind of stuck there, but restarts were a different story. They did a good job of getting me to where I needed to be and, luckily, learned a lot of stuff for tomorrow night.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FOR TOMORROW NIGHT? “I can’t tell you that.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – “We just didn’t have enough speed to get the cars better than everyone else. Once we got settled out we were probably good enough to run right behind them speed on the race track-wise, but we just had nothing on restarts and got passed by everybody down the straightaway through the gears. That kind of hurt Ryan and I both there at the end. I hate that both of us had to deal with that and get tore up as well, but we’ve got to be better.”

July 9, 2016
Kyle Busch Puts on XFINITY Clinic in Kentucky

SPARTA, Ky. — The odds-on favorite thoroughbred Kyle Busch put on a classic domination clinic on his way to winning in the Bluegrass State.

“This is a great effort by this team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said of his feelings on winning at Kentucky. “Everything was really, really good about this race car since we unloaded. NOS Energy Drink Camry had really good speed and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and the guys did an awesome job each and every week, this 18 Camry is always the best, always the one to beat. I think that’s just a true testament to everyone at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and this XFINITY Series program. I want to thank the fans as well with everyone out here and everyone at home watching on TV. It was a new repave and it probably wasn’t one of the best races from the visual, but a couple of odd things were definitely happening at the end when (Erik) Jones got me on the restart then he kind of got back when his motor didn’t re-fire there. That last restart there, I heard three-wide for a second and I don’t know what to do here but I tried to give a little bit of room and then I heard clear and I turned down. It was enough excitement from my vantage point.”

He led 185 of the 201 laps on his way to scoring his 81st career victory in 320 XFINITY Series starts in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It’s his fifth victory and ninth top-10 finish of the 2016 season. It’s also his second victory and seventh top-10 finish in nine races at Kentucky Speedway.

Austin Dillon posted his fifth top-10 finish in five races at Kentucky and 10th top-10 finish of the season with a runner-up finish in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Daniel Suárez earned his second top-10 finish in three races at Kentucky as he rounded out the podium in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. Erik Jones led three laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Darrell Wallace Jr. rounded out the top-five in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

Elliott Sadler finished sixth in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Ty Dillon led 10 laps on his way to a seventh-place finish in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney finished eighth in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Brennan Poole finished ninth in his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10 in his No. 22 Penske Ford.

Ray Black Jr., who led one lap, finished 19th. Ross Chastain, who led one lap, finished 22nd. Jeff Green, who led one lap, exited the race with transmission failure prior to halfway and finished 33rd.

Eleven cars finished the race on the lead lap while 32 were running at the finish.

The race lasted two hours, five minutes and 24 seconds at an average speed of 144.258 mph. There were 11 lead changes among six different drivers and five cautions for 22 laps.

Suárez leaves Kentucky with a nine-point lead over Sadler in the points standings.

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July 8, 2016