Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series — NC Drive for the Cure 250
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL | Saturday, October 9, 2021

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd — Austin Cindric
32nd — Ryan Sieg
34th — Riley Herbst

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang — WHERE WERE THE KAULIG CARS BETTER TODAY? “From turn one to turn 17 apparently. They’re fast. They’ve been fast all year. I feel like this has honestly been one of my weakest road courses for probably exactly what you saw — the rear tires fall off way too much. I felt like I was driving a skid pad car after about 10 laps. I feel a little bit lucky and a bit fortunate, honestly. I didn’t get moved or put in the wall, so either way we had a fast car. I think we set a fast lap time and got a good finish, so that sets us up well for Texas. I just wish we could have taken advantage of getting a playoff point.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NEXT ROUND OF TRACKS? “In this format you have to get to Phoenix and then have your best day. That’s where my mind is. Honestly, out of anyone in the playoffs I would like AJ to win because he and I have the most playoff points over anybody and if he gets five more, it’s way better than the guy right below the cut getting five more. That’s my mentality. Those guys have been on it all season, not just recently, so I think today we maximized.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE LAST RESTART? “I spun my tires like crazy. I was worried about that, but I didn’t think it was gonna be that bad. Like I said, I feel like I could have tried a second gear restart. I think that would have helped me out at least maintaining some track position, but from there it was just not meant to be today.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang — WHAT PUT YOU OUT? “I think a truck arm broke or something broke when we were running seventh or eighth in the final stage. We didn’t have the pace to win, but it just stinks because maybe if Las Vegas didn’t happen we would have been OK with a seventh-place finish. It is what it is. We can still race for a win this year.”

YOU HAVE FOUR RACES LEFT AND MAKING THE PLAYOFFS IN YOUR FIRST YEAR WITH THIS TEAM IS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD ABOUT. “My only goal this year was to win a race. I really didn’t care about playoffs, so we still have races left to achieve my goal and we’ll try to do that.”

Whelen Engineering to Sponsor Sheldon Creed for Full 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series

WELCOME, NC (October 9, 2021) – Whelen Engineering, Inc., a global leader in the emergency warning industry, will partner with Richard Childress Racing for Sheldon Creed’s rookie campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022, the two organizations announced today. The partnership includes fulltime sponsorship of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet driven by Shelden Creed for the entire 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Schedule.

“Whelen Engineering takes pride in our long-standing involvement in motorsports,” said Peter Tiezzi, III, General Manager of Motorsports and Project Manager for Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. “We know that our relationship with an iconic team in Richard Childress Racing and a young, talented racer in Sheldon Creed illustrates our commitment to auto racing, while simultaneously increasing the public’s awareness of our presence and capabilities.”

Whelen Engineering is known throughout the world for its powerful, reliable warning lights and scene illumination solutions, sirens, and control systems for first responders and emergency services as well as aviation and mass notification industries, all of which are manufactured in America.

“Whelen Engineering is a world-class brand that continues to innovate and maintains the same passion and dedication to technology and performance as RCR,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of RCR. “We’re looking forward to many on and off-track successes together, and I know that Sheldon will do a great job representing the Whelen brand.”

Creed, 24, is currently in a close battle for the 2021 NASCAR Truck Series title and has eight career wins in the series. The Alpine, California native grew up competing in short course off road racing, winning championships in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and Stadium Super Trucks. He has earned championships in the NASCAR Truck Series (2020) and the ARCA Racing Series (2018).

“Whelen is a name synonymous with motorsports so it is truly an honor to represent them as I start my first year of fulltime competition in the NASCAR Xfinity Series,” said Creed. “I’m going to do my best to make Whelen Engineering, its employees and the entire Whelen community proud, and I’m looking forward to doing so with a competitive team like RCR.”

Myatt Snider, current driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet for RCR, will remain part of the RCR/GM driver development program. Specific 2022 plans for Snider will be announced at a later date.

For more information, please visit rcrracing.com.

About Richard Childress Racing:
Richard Childress Racing (rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2021 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR champion, 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet), along with two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Myatt Snider (No. 2 Chevrolet).

About Whelen Engineering:
Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR XFINITY Series
NASCAR Media Zoom | Thursday, October 7, 2021

Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang, has already clinched a spot in the Round of 8 going into this weekend’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He answered questions from the media earlier today about the Roval and what lies ahead in the playoffs.

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang — HOW MUCH OF THE TEST IS LEARNING THE CAR AND HOW MUCH ABOUT LEARNING WITH A NEW GROUP OF GUYS? “I would say yes to all. Certainly, a lot of emphasis is put on these tests because it’s all we’ve got, and as far as I understand it’s the only NASCAR-scheduled road course test and I wouldn’t necessarily classify the Roval as your traditional road course, so a lot of things that I’m trying to focus on to learn, but at the same time with the race this weekend and within the industry, I can say for our team it’s been not a thrash, but it’s certainly been a very busy week in the shop trying to get cars ready to go to tests, cars ready to go to races so it’s been full-on. Certainly, there’s an importance on both.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE CATCHING UP WITH THE ROVAL? “I think within the industry, if you think about it, I look back at 2018 when they first ran the track and I pulled out on the racetrack and I was several seconds faster than the next car. I don’t think you’re ever gonna have that again in NASCAR. I think there’s been a big transition and a big emphasis on driving as far as road courses and their importance. Obviously, adding one in the playoffs I feel like was a catalyst for that, so I think the addition of this race in the playoffs really kind of kick-started that emphasis on this style of racing and, like I said, I don’t think you’re gonna have those second gaps between cars and drivers. I think the drivers and the equipment have really closed the gap to where you probably aren’t gonna see that again.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE ROVAL THEN AND WHERE IT’S AT NOW? “I wouldn’t necessarily say I thought it was crazy. I’ve done a lot of street course racing, so I’ve had certainly narrower racetracks and bumpier racetracks, but it’s certainly different — the Roval — and, for me, it was actually and environment I was used to racing in the winter heat, the Legends cars stayed on the infield but ran the infield road course. Certainly a couple corners that I already knew, but, otherwise, it’s a unique beast and the challenge is as a driver, yeah, I don’t feel like turns one and two — NASCAR one and two, NASCAR three and four — are that significant, but if you talk to the crew chiefs and the engineers those are very different for how we have to deal with those, so it certainly kind of handicaps a lot of the setup of your race car for the infield.”

YOU’RE PLUS 77 SO ARE YOU FREE TO JUST GO WIN THIS THING? “Yeah, we’re advanced to the next round so I look at it as two parts. One, it is our last opportunity to have a free race that we know of, so whether if that’s learning things, kind of being light, giving our guys time to work on our Texas and Kansas cars. All of those things are great and we’re the only ones in that position, so obviously being conscious of the fact that everybody is racing for their season still, but we have that one week, which is nice. But on the flip side of that, it’s the last week that you can get playoff points that are gonna matter because after this weekend our playoff points will pay off for the Round of 8, and then it’s all about making it to Phoenix from there, so we’re hunting for playoff points whether if that’s trying to win the race or trying to win stages, so everything else really doesn’t affect the rest of my year.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL THE PLAYOFFS HAVE STARTED? A LOT OF GUYS HAVE HAD TROUBLE AND NOT GOTTEN THROUGH VERY CLEAN. “Obviously, you’re gonna have that, especially when you have Talladega in the mix. I feel like a lot of guys really got put in a bad spot with Talladega as you’d expect. A couple guys got some bad luck in Vegas, so I wouldn’t say it was above or below the average expectation by any means, but as far as the 22 team it’s been extremely solid. We’ve brought really fast race cars between Talladega as well as Vegas. I expect us to have a fast car again this weekend at the Roval. It’s somewhere I feel like we got our car a lot better in the dry last year, but we only ran about six laps in the dry last year, so I’d like to hopefully continue to improve that. If it rains, whatever, we’ll throw them on and turn on the rain lights and get after it.”

WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE BALANCING THE XFINITY SEASON WHILE PLANNING FOR CUP NEXT YEAR? “I think that’s a great question and I think this week is a perfect example because I’ve tried really hard to get myself in position by the end of this week to know what to do, know what to expect, know what the priorities are for this test on Monday and Tuesday. But, at the same time, on Saturday I’ve got to race to try to win, so I’m trying to get to a point where I can know what that stuff is, write it down and close it off because obviously winning this championship and doing the most we can to position ourselves for that is top of the list. That’s kind of been a characterization of my entire year. It’s something that was really an unknown factor for me for quite a while after knowing I was going Cup racing at this time last year was who I was gonna be working with. Obviously, I’m working with Jeremy Bullins and his team. All of the boxes are checked. I know what everything looks like for next year, so I have all the tools to be able to effectively prepare for that, so it’s been a balance and trying not to make it a distraction for myself or my race team.”

HOW MUCH OF A PRIORITY ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO KANSAS IN THE NEXT ROUND? “Kansas has been the kryptonite of the 22 XFINITY team since I’ve been on the team. It is crazy how bad it goes for us at Kansas and the tough part is we’re usually fast, whether it’s been my fault or not my fault, we’ve been getting in wrecks there in every single playoff race and it’s really derailed our playoffs. Last year we had all of our playoff points from doing well in the regular season and we really leaned on that because, otherwise, it was pretty terrible. I’m certainly gonna sleep with one eye open heading into Kansas. The best thing we can do, they’ve changed it now. They put Texas in front of Kansas, so maybe that’s gonna be the game-changer for us, but it’s been a bit of a disaster there. Even the spring race there we led every lap and got beat on the final restart, so Kansas has just been a gut-punch for me, so I’d certainly like to just walk out of there with a top 10 and I’ll probably be happy.”

STATESVILLE, N.C. (October 7, 2021) – Michigan-based company Koucar Management has partnered with Our Motorsports’ No. 23 team for this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL with driver Ty Dillon.

Koucar Management specializes in real estate, mergers, acquisitions, and operations of companies providing products, services, and solutions in diverse industries worldwide. A vital component of the Koucar portfolio is EOTECH. Trusted by top-tier professionals, EOTECH produces professional grade optics offering world-class service to our law enforcement, special operations professionals, and civilian consumers.

As the company makes its initial foray into NASCAR sponsorship, the Koucar Management livery will feature the Koucar family of companies in a unique pink and white scheme in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We could not be more excited to be a part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and sponsoring Ty Dillon and the Our Motorsports team,” said Joe Caradonna, Managing Partner of Koucar Management. “What makes it even sweeter is this is a Drive for the Cure event and all of our Food and Beverage locations will be having events and donating a portion of our sales on race day to cancer research.”

Joining EOTECH from the Koucar family of companies will be Cambria Hotels, i2G Systems, Detroit Taco, Bar Verona, Pristine Properties, Verona Inspired Italian, Apex Placement and Consulting and Element 22.

Dillon has five previous starts for Our Motorsports in 2021 not finishing outside the top-15. Saturday will mark Dillon’s first start at the Charlotte ROVAL in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The Drive For The Cure 250 will take place on Saturday, October 9 at 3 p.m. ET. The 155.44-mile event will be broadcast on NBCSN.

About Koucar Management
Located in the Greater Detroit, MI area, Koucar Management specializes in real estate, mergers, acquisitions, and operations of companies that provide mission-critical products, services, and solutions in diverse industries across the Globe. For more information, please visit www.Koucar.com.

About EOTECH
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, EOTECH® designs, manufactures and markets the original Holographic Weapon Sight (HWS), and designs and distributes Vudu® rifle optics, thermal and night vision systems, and laser devices. EOTECH’s full line of professional-grade optics is trusted by the world’s tier-one professionals to deliver unparalleled speed, accuracy, and reliability. Since 1996, EOTECH Holographic WeaponSights (HWS) have been designed, developed, and manufactured in the US. In 2016, EOTECH expanded its optics line by introducing the Vudu line of premium magnified optics designed to cater to the most sophisticated of users. Our exacting standards demand continued focus on product quality, not quantity, ensuring that the highest specifications are not only met but exceeded. Every optic manufactured is treated as if it will be the one that will face a life and death situation. When there are zero margins for error, there is only one clear choice – EOTECH. For more information, please visit www.EOTECHINC.com.

About Our Motorsports
Our Motorsports competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding the No. 02 Chevrolet Camaro for Brett Moffitt, and the No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro for multiple drivers. To find out more information about our team, please visit ourmotorsportsgroup.com.

Jordan Anderson Races to Career Day at Talladega Superspeedway with First Career Xfinity Series Top-5 and Top-15 in Camping World Truck Series Race

Jordan Anderson Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report –
Talladega Superspeedway; October 2, 2021

Track: Talladega Superspeedway – Tri-Oval (2.66-Miles)
Race: Sparks 300
Date: October 2, 2021
Format: 113 Laps –25/25/63; 300 Miles

No. 31 Bommarito Automotive Group / BG Products
Chevrolet Camaro SS – Jordan Anderson

Start: 29
Stage 1: 21
Stage 2: 20
Finish: 5
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 107 (Called early due to darkness)
Laps Led: 0

Stage One Recap:

• Making his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start of the year Owner/Driver Jordan Anderson would line up 29th on the grid for the Sparks 300 after the starting lineup was determined by the competition-based performance metrics system; fastest lap in the previous race 15 percent, driver finish from previous race 25 percent, owner points 25 percent, and driver points 35 percent.
• As the green flag dropped on the Sparks 300, Anderson would get his Chevrolet Camaro SS up to speed advancing one position to 28th on the opening lap.
• By Lap-2 Anderson would work his way past a few more cars into the 25th position.
• Running in the two-by-two formation with a high and low line the cars would circle the Talladega Superspeedway following one another logging laps.
• Continuing to make laps and run a cautious first half of the race Anderson would remain in the 25th position thru Lap-20.
• Running the bottom-line Anderson would move ahead of the No. 44 on Lap-21 into 24th.
• However, the first caution flag would wave over the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway on Lap-24 when the No. 16 & No. 8 would crash into the wall after the No. 02 and No. 68 would attempt to go four-wide.
• Running in the 24th position at the time of the caution Anderson would remain on the track with just one lap remaining in Stage-1.
• Ending under caution Anderson would go on to be scored in the 21st position at the completion of Stage-1.

Stage Two Recap:

• During the stage break Anderson would be called to the pit lane by Crew Chief Arthur Haire for four new Goodyear Eagles, and a full tank of Sunoco fuel.
• Anderson would rejoin the field in the 29th position.
• On Lap-29 the race would be red flagged and the field would be stopped on the backstretch so the track crew could go to work on repairing the safter barrier in Turn-3 that was damaged in the accident.
• After a five-minute red flag, the field would come back to green on a Lap-31 restart.
• Anderson would quickly jump out to a good run on the start passing five cars by the completion of the Lap-31.
• As the field would start to separate into two packs Anderson would become the leader of the second pack scored in the 22nd position in the running order.
• By Lap-35, Anderson would advance into the 21st a position he would remain for the next 12-Laps.
• Anderson would make a move on Lap-48 advancing in front another car to work his way into 20th spot.
• When the Green-White-Checkered flag waved two-laps later signally the end of Stage-2 Anderson would be credited with finishing in the 20th position.

Final Stage:

• Under the stage break, Anderson would come to pit road for his last full-service pit stop of the day. Receiving four fresh Goodyear Tires, and a tank full of Sunoco fuel the No. 31 returned to the track in the 20th position for the Lap-54 restart.
• Getting a good jump on the restart Anderson would move up to the 17th position on Lap-56.
• The low line would lose its run-on Lap-59 as the outside would gain the momentum and Anderson would fall back to 20th.
• A lap later low line would gain ground and Anderson would move back up to 17th.
• As the lead pack would continue to make moves Anderson would muscle his way on the low line to 13th on Lap-65.
• Two-Laps later the No. 31 would fall back to 15th.
• As the leaders would begin to make green-flag pit stops for fuel on Lap-67 allowing Anderson to get shuffled up in the running order.
• By Lap-68 Anderson would move up to the 12th spot.
• Lap-71 would see the Bommartio Automotive Group Chevrolet duck to pit-lane for a fuel only stop.
• Returning to the racetrack on Lap-72 Anderson would be scored in the 28th position as the green-flag pit cycle would continue.
• Lap-74 would see the fourth caution wave as the No. 15 would stop in the middle of pit road.
• Having just pitted Anderson would remain on the track as others would head to pit lane.
• Running in the 25th spot at the time of the caution Anderson would restart in 16th on Lap-79.
• With less than 25-Laps remaining the lead pack would begin to mix things up a bit more jogging for position as it was time to make their way to the front.
• Anderson would gain a position to 15th on Lap-81.
• A lap later the lower line would move ahead allowing Anderson to move up into the 10th position.
• Continuing to advance Anderson would be up to 8th on Lap-83.
• Not stopping there, the No. 31 would move into 7th on Lap-84, and would remain there for two-laps before slipping back into 8th again.
• Getting shuffled to the middle of the track by himself Anderson would lose the draft, and get pushed back to the 18th position on Lap-88.
• Lap-89 would see the first “big one” of the day bringing out the caution for the fifth time and eventually the red flag as the No. 10 would turn the No. 02 into the No. 9 would hit the outside wall hard and bounce back across the track collecting the No. 2 and a host of others.
• Running in the 18th position at the time of the accident Anderson would be able to navigate his way thru the spinning and crashing cars safely.
• Remaining on track Anderson would restart in the 10th position on Lap-93.
• The low line would gain lots of speed allowing Anderson to move into the 9th position by Lap-94.
• Continuing to move forward the No. 31 would work its way up 8th two laps later.
• Followed by 7th on Lap-98.
• On Lap-99, the low line would continue to have a big run allowing Anderson to advance all the way up to 4th.
• Lap-100 would see the No. 68 pushed to the lead from help from Anderson in the low line.
• Lap-101 would see Anderson get shuffled back to 4th in the running order as the battle for the second would go three-wide with the No. 7, & No. 18.
• A lap later the sixth caution of the day would be displayed on Lap-102 when the No. 02 being pushed by the No. 54 would get turned around into the No. 20 who would then make a hard left into the No. 31 of Anderson. Bouncing off the door of the No. 31, Anderson would keep his Chevrolet Camaro SS straight, and keep driving forward. Eight additional cars would be collected in the accident as cars would spin down the Talladega banking.
• Running in the 5th position at the time of the caution flag, and all tires inflated and rolling Anderson would remain on track.
• On Lap-107 NASCAR would determine that weather conditions would be deemed too dark to continue, and would call it an official race throwing the checkered-flag.
• At the completion Anderson would be scored in the 5th position earning his best career NXS finish, and JAR its sixth Top-10 finish of the year.

Sparks 300 Recap:

• When NASCAR declared the Sparks 300 Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway official with six laps remaining due to darkness, #68-Brandon Brown was ahead of the field. Brown gave his family-ran Brandonbilt Motorsports team its first victory.
• NASCAR had to go back to the last scoring line the field crossed when a caution flew on lap 103 to determine the finishing order. Brown was narrowly ahead of #19-Brandon Jones and #7-Justin Allgaier in a three-wide battle, awarding him the victory.
• 18-Daniel Hemric and #31-Jordan Anderson rounded out the top five. Daytona winner #11-Justin Haley placed sixth, while #10-Jeb Burton, #22-Austin Cindric, #1-Josh Berry and #07-Joe Graf Jr. made up the rest of the top 10.
• Making his first start of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing, #54-John Hunter Nemechek won the opening stage. Rookie driver #23-Blaine Perkins won the second stage for Our Motorsports.
• There were 33 lead changes among 17 drivers and five cautions for 21 yellow flag laps.
• The average speed of the race was: 128.486 mph.
• Bommarito Automotive Group; Bommarito Automotive Group is celebrating its 50th year in the St. Louis marketplace, the Bommarito Automotive Group currently operates 20 automotive franchises throughout every St. Louis neighborhood led by president John Bommarito and the over 900 dedicated team members. Bommarito is recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as Missouri’s No. 1 selling automotive group and is currently ranked 52nd in the nation. What once started as a vision to have one Bommarito vehicle in every driveway, is today a reality thanks to the family’s ‘Where Price Sells Cars” mission.

For more information on the Bommarito Automotive Group or to see the vehicles they currently have in stock, visit them online at Bommarito.com, and follow their social channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

– BG Products; BG products are proven to make vehicles last longer and perform better. In partnership with an international network of distributors, BG serves the driving public with innovative automotive maintenance products. To see an entire catalog of what BG has to offer visit them online at BGProd.com.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Owners Point Standings:

After 28 events and the 18th race JAR has been eligible for, JAR continues to hold the 27th position in the NXS Owner Point Standings after Anderson’s 5th place finish on Saturday.

Next Race:

IndyCar Veteran Sage Karam will make his third start behind the wheel the Jordan Anderson Racing No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro SS when the NASCAR Xfinity Series continues at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval; Saturday, October 9, 2021 for the Drive for the Cure 250. LIVE coverage will be on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), Performance Racing Network (PRN), and SiriusXM Channel 90 at 3:30 P.M. EST.

Jordan Anderson Claims Top-15 in Talladega Superspeedway Truck Race

Jordan Anderson Racing NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Report –
Talladega Superspeedway; October 2, 2021

Track: Talladega Superspeedway – Tri-Oval (2.66-Miles)
Race: Chevrolet Silverado 250
Date: October 2, 2021
Format: 94 Laps –20/20/54; 250.04 Miles

No. 3 U.S. LawShield Chevrolet Silverado – Jordan Anderson

Start: 34
Stage 1: 29
Stage 2: 31
Finish: 11
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 99 of 99 (5 Laps of Overtime)
Laps Led: 0

Stage One Recap:

• Jordan Anderson would start the Chevrolet Silverado 200 at Talladega Superspeedway from the 34th position after the use of the NASCAR performance matrix to determine the starting order, the matrix is based off the No. 3 team’s ranking in the owner points standings, along with the finishing position and the fastest lap turned during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series previous race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• As the green flag waved for 94-Laps around the 2.66 Mile Talladega Superspeedway, Anderson would maintain his position as the trucks would work their way up to speed.
• At the completion of Lap-1, Anderson would remain steady in the 34th position.
• Lap-2, the field would start to separate into two different packs of trucks with Anderson the leader of the second pack in the 32nd spot running two by two with a high and low line.
• Lap-5, would see Anderson drive around the No. 28 into the 31st position as trucks would begin to jump out of the lead pack and fall backwards.
• Advancing another position on Lap-9, Anderson would move past another truck that would jump out of the lead pack and fall to the back.
• Following suit of so many others the No. 34 would fall out of the lead pack on Lap-15 allowing Anderson to advance into 29th.
• Running 20-Laps caution free the Green-White-Checkered Flag would wave signally the end of Stage 1.
• Anderson would be credited with the 29th position in the finishing order.

Stage Two Recap:

• During the Stage break, Crew Chief Teddy Brown would call the U.S. LawShield No. 3 Chevrolet Silverado to pit lane for four tires, fuel and an adjustment from the over the wall crew.
• Anderson would return to the track to restart Stage-2 in the 26th position for the Lap-26 restart.
• Lap-28, would see Anderson remain in 26th as the trucks would log laps riding around in line.
• The second caution of the day would be displayed on Lap-29 when the No. 28 would spin on backstretch and crash into the wall. Scored in the 26th position at the time of the caution Anderson would elect to remain on track, and restart in 23rd for the Lap-34 restart.
• On the restart, Anderson would fall out of line and fall back in the pack to the 30th position on the completion of the Lap-35.
• As the lead pack would begin to jockey positions from the high line to the low line. Anderson would hold his ground in the 31st position putting some space between him and the lead pack to allow a buffer for the potential “big one”.
• Lap-40 would see the Green-White-Checkered Flag wave signaling the end of Stage-2. Anderson would be scored in the 31st position.

Final Stage:

• Under the Stage break, Anderson would come to the pit lane for four tires, fuel, and an adjustment from the over-the-wall crew.
• Upon returning to the track Anderson would come over the radio and complain of a vibration, and would have to return to the pit lane a lap later for left side tires, a once over, and a top off with fuel.
• Anderson would line back up in the 36th spot for the restart on Lap-47.
• By Lap-50, Anderson would work his way around two additional trucks, but would radio Crew Chief Teddy Brown that the vibration would remain.
• Under green-flag conditions Anderson would come to pit road for right side tires, and to be topped off with Sunoco Fuel.
• Anderson would return to the track one lap down in the 37th position on Lap-55.
• Two-laps later the red flag would be displayed for the “Big One” when the No. 38 would spin the No. 16 running in 2nd sending both trucks out of control in front of the entire field. In all 19 trucks would be involved in the accident.
• Lap-59, NASCAR would issue Anderson the free pass to earn his lap back for being for the first truck one-lap down.
• Running in the 39th position at the time of the accident Anderson would remain on track and would restart in the 24th spot on Lap-64.
• On the restart Anderson would advance another position by the completion by the end of Lap-65, but would radio to the crew he would continue to feel the vibration with a possible tire going down.
• Two-laps later Anderson would develop a flat right rear tire entering Turn-3, and would need to come to pit road under green flag conditions.
• Running in the 21st position at the time of the flat tire Anderson would return to the track in 21st one-lap down.
• The fifth caution period would come out on Lap-76 when the No. 2 would get into the back of the No. 98 in Turn-4 causing the No. 98 to spin around collecting five other trucks behind him. In all seven trucks would be involved in the accident.
• Lap-77 would see NASCAR gift Anderson the free pass allowing the No. 3 to go back on the lead lap.
• With nothing to lose as the last truck on the lead lap. Anderson would come to pit road under the caution period to hook up the cool down unit for a few moments in an attempt to drop the engine temperature as Anderson radio it was elevated.
• Anderson would return to the track for the Lap-82 restart 15th in the running order.
• Dropping back into the 16th position on the restart Anderson would remain there for the next nine laps.
• Lap-92 would see the sixth caution flag of the day when the No. 38 while battling for the lead would make contact with leader No. 23 on the front stretch sending the No. 23 spinning thru the grass.
• Running in the 16th spot at the time of the caution Anderson would remain on track and restart in the 15th position for the first attempt at NASCAR Overtime on Lap-98.
• On the restart Anderson would get a jump on the outside line for the one lap shootout.
• Coming to the finish line the No. 12 would spin the No. 4 causing chaos behind them. Anderson would dodge past four trucks on the frontstretch.
• When the checkered flag waved on Lap-99 Anderson would be credited with an 11th place finish in the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

Chevrolet Silverado 250 Recap:

• 12-Tate Fogleman won the Chevrolet Silverado 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday afternoon, scoring his first career series win. Fogleman’s truck made contact with #4-John Hunter Nemechek heading toward the checkered flag. Nemechek wrecked as Fogleman edged out #56-Tyler Hill to get the victory. Both Fogleman and Hill also wrecked as they slid down track after crossing the finish line.
• 56-Hill finished second over #38-Todd Gilliland, #4-Nemechek, #40-Ryan Truex, # 04-Cory Roper, #20-Spencer Boyd, #30-Danny Bohn, #23-Chase Purdy, and #41-Keith McGee.
• Stage 1 was won by pole-sitter #99-Ben Rhodes. He finished 13th.
• Stage 2 was won by #2-Sheldon Creed. He finished 12th.
• Many playoff drivers had trouble, getting caught up in the occurrent accidents that are prone to Talladega. Only 15 race trucks finished on the lead lap.
• There were 23 lead changes among 12 drivers and 6 cautions for 29 yellow flag laps.
• The average speed of the race was: 125.119mph.
• U.S. LawShield; Since 2009, the mission of U.S. LawShield remains unchanged. We believe in Preserving Freedom for Good™ by educating our 700,000+ members and 6,000+ industry partners in self-defense law; empowering them to handle critical, life-threatening situations with confidence; protecting them from potential injustices in the legal system after acts of self-defense; and challenging the status quo regarding the affordability of legal defense. Our higher purpose is to create a united community of responsible individuals who believe in liberty and the inalienable right of self-defense. For more information on U.S. LawShield and its Legal Defense for Self Defense Program, visit the website at www.USLawShield.com.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings:

After 19 events, JAR remains in the 33rd position in the NCWTS Owner Standings after Anderson’s 11th place finish on Saturday.

Next Race:

Sage Karam will look to make his NCWTS debut in the JAR No. 3 Chevrolet Silverado when the NCWTS visits Martinsville Speedway for the United Rentals 200; Saturday, October 30. LIVE coverage will be on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), Motor Racing Network (MRN), and SiriusXM Channel 90 at 1:00 P.M. ET.

Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Race: Sparks 300 at Talladega
Date: October 2, 2021

No. 22 Carquest Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 9th
Finish: 8th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 107/107
Laps Led: 10
Driver Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+22)

Notes:

• Austin Cindric and the No. 22 Carquest Ford Mustang clinched a spot in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs with an eighth-place finish in the Sparks 300 Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Cindric led 10 laps and claimed his 21 top-10 finish of the 2021 season. Cindric stretched his points lead to 22 markers over second place Justin Allgaire.
• The starting lineup was once again set by the NASCAR rulebook giving Cindric the second starting position. At the drop of the green flag, Cindric quickly captured the race lead, pacing the top-lane until he got shuffled out of position and fell to 12th on lap 11. Stage 1 ran caution free for all 25 laps. Cindric and spotter Coleman Presley fought back finishing fourth when the stage concluded. During the stage caution, crew chief Brian Wilson called for adjustments to the Carquest Mustang, taking rounds out of the left and right side, while changing two left-side tires. The race was red flagged for wall repair before the start of Stage 2.
• Cindric restarted fourth on lap 30 and continued to run inside the top-two, working with Ford teammate Riley Herbst to hold off the other multi-car team manufactures. A late-stage surge shuffled the Ford duo back, but Cindric would savage a ninth-place finish when the segment ended on lap 50. He reported the handling of the Carquest Mustang was still neutral. During the stage caution, the team changed right side tires.
• A quick stop by the Carquest pit crew allowed Cindric to restart fifth. He quickly recaptured the lead until green flag pit stops started on lap 67. The team stopped for fuel only on lap 70. A caution flag at lap 74 bunched the field up with Cindric restarting in the second position. The race was slowed again, with a second red flag with 25 laps to go for a multi-vehicle incident on the backstretch with Cindric scored 15th. Over the course of several cautions Cindric as able to make his way back inside the top-10 before the race was called for darkness six-laps from the finish with Cindric scored in eighth position.

Quote: “We’ve advanced onto the next round so that’s it’s kind of job accomplished for the day. I felt like there were an equal amount of good moves and moves I made today. I was just trying to be aggressive and gain track position. The track raced a little different today than it usually does, but Riley and I were able to work well through a lot of the day. A lot of that work together is paying off, so, overall, a solid day. I think it’s probably one of the fastest speedway cars I’ve had to be honest, so thanks to Roush Yates and obviously the Penske guys and Carquest. This car has won Daytona, was second here in the spring race and advanced us into the next round of the playoffs.”

Herbst Finishes 27th at Talladega
Late-Race Accident Ends Top-10 Run for Monster Energy Ford Driver

Date: Oct. 2, 2021
Event: Sparks 300 at Talladega (Round 28 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format: 113 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/25 laps/63 laps)
Start/Finish: 13th / 27th (Accident, completed 101 of 107 laps)
Point Standing: 11th (2,030 points, 32 behind top-eight cutoff)
Note: Race shortened six laps prior to its scheduled 113-lap distance due to darkness.
Race Winner: Brandon Brown of Brandonbilt Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Blaine Perkins of Our Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Overview:

Misfortune found Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team in Saturday’s Sparks 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway when an accident ended their day just six laps from the eventual finish after their strong run. The 22-year-old driver rolled off 13th when the green flag waved on the race scheduled for 113 laps. While he initially struggled with a loose Ford Mustang, Herbst was able to use the draft and work his way up to third by the end of Stage 1 to collect eight much-needed bonus points. During the break, Herbst got some help from his friends on the No. 98 Monster Energy pit crew after their fast two-tire pit stop gained him two spots and made him the first car off pit road. He restarted Stage 2 as the leader and stayed there for all but two of its 25 laps. These were Herbst’s first laps led at Talladega in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He lost the draft with his Ford teammate Austin Cindric in the No. 22 Ford Mustang, while coming to the green-and-white checkered flag and fell back to fourth at stage’s end. He still earned another seven bonus points to help with his bid to reach the Round of 8 of the playoffs. During the break, the No. 98 Monster Energy pit crew gained Herbst another three spots on pit road and put him back in the lead for the restart on lap 55. He was shuffled back in the opening laps of the stage and fell to 13th. Herbst quickly worked his way back up to third before coming down pit road on lap 70 for a quick, fuel-only stop. As pit stops cycled, Herbst inherited the lead after the lap-74 caution. The Las Vegas native got shuffled back shortly after the restart but was running seventh by lap 88. A spin at the front of the pack stacked the field, and the car behind Herbst ran into the back end of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Under the caution, crew chief Richard Boswell brought his driver down pit road to change all four tires and fix the right-rear damage. Herbst restarted 23rd but wasted no time in his drive up through the field. He was 12th by lap 100. As he continued his climb to the front, the Las Vegas native was caught up in an unavoidable, multicar accident on lap 101. He was credited with a 27th-place finish in a race that never went back to green due to darkness.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We were doing everything to the plan and then, I think with 10 or 20 laps to go, the incident came and somebody from behind me didn’t use their brake pedal and knocked the back of our racecar off. We had to come down pit road and fix that, and then that obviously put us in the hornet’s nest in the top of three-wide. At that point, I knew we were going to be wrecked. It’s just a shame that they hit us from the back and we had to come back down pit road and fix it or else we could have restarted and stayed up front where we were all day. We led a lot of laps and got a lot of stage points. It just didn’t finish well. I think we’ve got to go win (next week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway) Roval, now.”

Notes:

● Herbst led three times for 26 laps, his first laps led at Talladega.
● Herbst finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and fourth in Stage 2 to earn seven more bonus points.
● Brandon Brown won the Sparks 300 at Talladega under caution to score his first career Xfinity Series victory in 114 starts.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Twenty-two of the 40 drivers in the Sparks 300 at Talladega finished on the lead lap.
● Cindric remains the championship leader after Talladega with an 22-point advantage over second-place Allgaier.

Next Up:

The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Drive For the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

JONES, HEMRIC CONTINUE STRONG PLAYOFF RUNS WITH TOP-FIVES IN TALLADEGA
Jones ties a season-best with a runner-up finish

TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 2, 2021) – Brandon Jones (second) and Daniel Hemric (fourth) scored top-five finishes to lead Toyota in the Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 28 of 33 – 300.58 miles, 113 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Brandon Brown*
2nd, BRANDON JONES
3rd, Justin Allgaier*
4th, DANIEL HEMRIC
5th, Jordan Anderson*
17th, SANTINO FERRUCCI
22nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
23rd, MATT MILLS
25th, HARRISON BURTON
35th, MASON MASSEY
40th, DAVID STARR
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Little Hugs Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Is there a part of you that is disappointed with this finish and felt you were ahead of the 68 when the caution came out?

“First off, let me say how thankful I am to have Menards on our Supra and some executives here from Little Hugs with us this weekend. It’s a big day for us and big weekend for Little Hugs as well. I was wanting to get them a win so bad. But you look at the whole day and all the scenarios that happened and this is probably the best option without us winning is to have the 68 (Brandon Brown) win. I think it doesn’t impact the points too bad there. I don’t know how we missed the big one early on there in the day. I was pretty much committed to the point that I knew I was going to hit it and somehow we made it through. A lot of positives and we’re close, we’re close. It’s tough to swallow.”

Can you describe some of the ups and downs in your race today?

“It was an emotional day for sure. At one point in the race, in (turns) three and four when things went south for some of those drivers, I thought we were in it. I had already committed and was in brace position sort of and then the 2 (Myatt Snider) knocked the 9 (Noah Gragson) out of the way a little bit and we made it through. We fought adversity for sure. We had to go to the back for running over the hose and had to fight that to come back through the field. Kind of was calm all race and I really felt really strong about our performance today and the effort that we’re putting in for these Playoffs. I think we’re sitting pretty good in the points and we’ve been pretty strong on the road courses. We go to ROVAL next week. So grateful to have Menards on our Supra this weekend as well as Little Hugs and Toyota and all they do for us. We’re going to be in that next round here pretty soon.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How was your race overall?

“It was a little more eventful than I care for it to be. We ran up front and put ourselves in position to get really good stage points and such. Those last three or four laps, the way I had it planned and the way it worked out kind of deteriorated to hardly any and I think we got one. I think I lost my mind once so thanks to Dave Rogers (crew chief) and my spotter Tony Hirschman for roping me back in. We had a really fast Poppy Bank Toyota Supra, just trying to position yourself the best you can and thought we were doing that. I asked them at the end when they threw the checkers for darkess, ‘are you sure it’s too dark?’ I guess it was. We’ll take fourth and roll into the ROVAL.”

With your points placement, are you happy with today’s finish?

“I guess so. First off, you want to leave here and be thankful you finished. We had a solid Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. We were inside the top-five or top-three with a couple to go in each stage, and I didn’t get one stage point all day, so that’s hard to swallow. But we got a finish to give us something to lean on going to the ROVAL. I need a little bit more speed at times. I needed to make better moves at some different times. I linked up with some teammates in the last 20-30 laps and that really propelled us all forward. Thankful for that. You know how it is. We are all selfish and we all want more.”

HARRISON BURTON, No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 25th

Can you describe what happened there?

“It’s hard to say (Brett) Moffitt was pushing us really, really hard. We had a lot of good momentum going. I think we just got pushed in the wrong spot, the wrong part of the racetrack. I know that Moffitt is trying to get us going, but wrong place, wrong time, I guess. I got real sideways and tried not to collect the 18 (Daniel Hemric), and I don’t know. Just frustrating. We executed all night and put ourselves in a pretty good position in the end, those things just happen at superspeedway races. We will keep digging and get ready for the ROVAL. Not sure where we stand points wise, but we have to get after it.”

What’s your confidence level going into the ROVAL next weekend?

“Pretty high. I like the ROVAL. It’s fun. I feel better about it if it rains. I like that. I was really fast there last year in the rain. It was a lot of fun. I’m hoping for a little rain. We can go challenge for the win in the rain, but if not, we will go try to beat them in the dry.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

Through its Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Sparks 300
Talladega Superspeedway | Saturday, October 2, 2021

FORD FINISHING RESULTS

8th — Austin Cindric
11th — Ryan Sieg
15th — Joey Gase
27th — Riley Herbst
28th — Jason White

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Carquest Ford Mustang — “As far as I understand we’ve advanced onto the next round, so it’s kind of job accomplished for the day. I felt like there were an equal amount of good moves and moves I shouldn’t have made today. I was just trying to be aggressive and gain track position. The track raced a little different today than it usually does, but Riley and I were able to work well through a lot of the day. A lot of that work together is paying off, so, overall a solid day. I think it’s probably one of the fastest speedway cars I’ve had to be honest, so thanks to Roush Yates and obviously the Penske guys. This car has won Daytona, was second here in the spring race and advanced us into the next round of the playoffs, so it’s a pretty good car.”

YOU AND RILEY TOOK TURNS PUSHING AND HELPING EACH OTHER. HOW DID THAT WORK FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “I think it worked out well. I tried to be mama bear for the first two stages, just protecting the runs that came and it felt like we both did about as good a job as we could. After we had that restart near the end of stage three I pulled up when I probably shouldn’t have to cover the top and the bottom ended up being super dominant, so that’s just the way it goes.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang — “We were doing everything to plan and then I think with 10 or 20 laps to go the incident came and somebody from behind me didn’t use their brake pedal and knocked the back of our race car off, so we had to come down pit road and fix that, and then that obviously put us in the hornet’s nest and the top three-wide. At that point, I knew we were gonna be wrecked. It’s just a shame that they hit us from the back and we had to come back down pit road and fix it or else we could have restarted and stayed up front where we were all day. We led a lot of laps. We got a lot of points, but we just didn’t finish well. I think we’ve got to go win the Roval now.”

SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series
Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway | Sparks 300

Fast Facts
No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Team:
Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)
Primary Partner(s): G-Coin
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro
Crew Chief: Joe Williams
Sparks 300 Starting Position: 40th (Event Formula)
Driver Points Position: 31st | Owner Points Position: 37th
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)

Notes of Interest:

Welcome Back: This weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, SS GreenLight Racing, and Joe Graf Jr. welcome back G-Coin as the primary partner of the team’s No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro for Saturday afternoon’s Sparks 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Talladega marks the ninth race of a multi-race deal where G-Coin, a product that brings gold into the digital age, making it accessible and giving it true utility will be the primary partner.

About G-Coin: Unlike cryptocurrencies, G-Coin is a digital title to a real asset: 1 G-Coin token equals 1 gram of Responsible GoldTM.

G-Coin combines the best qualities of traditional gold – stability, security, value, confidence, and social status – with the benefits of digital innovation, allowing users to easily save, send, and spend gold.

Tech-savvy investors keen to avoid cryptocurrency volatility, or physical storage burden and costs, are now able to purchase G-Coin digital gold tokens. G-Coin tokens can be purchased in increments of 0.01gram, giving individual investors better access to the gold market and the ability to use gold for day-to-day purchases.

G-Coin Wallets give users the freedom to send and receive value instantly, securely, and at no cost from the convenience of your mobile phone.

G-Coin Tip of the Week: A G-Coin token is a digital title of ownership to one gram of a Responsible Gold kilobar stored in a licensed vault.

Holders can redeem the tokens for physical gold on demand*. G-Coin tokens can be sent, spent, gifted or purchased as an investment through the G-Coin wallet.

Same Day Settlements With MoneyGram: G-Coin customers with Tier 3 access can use cash to buy or sell G-Coin tokens at participating MoneyGram locations.

To place a buy or sell order using cash, Tier 3 customers need to select the ‘MoneyGram’ option from ‘Pay With’ that appears on the buy | sell screen. Once the order is placed, customers will receive an email with detailed instructions to follow at participating MoneyGram locations.

For buy orders, customers will have 24 hours to make the payment in cash, which is when the balance on the G-Coin wallet is updated. Buy orders expire after 24 hours so customers will need to place a new order after that time.

For sell orders, customers are responsible for collecting the proceeds of the sale in cash at participating MoneyGram locations. The G-Coin balance will be updated when the sell order has been placed, which is irreversible.

New Sponsor Announcement: SS GreenLight Racing and Joe Graf Jr. will soon introduce a new marketing partner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for two of the final six races of the 2021 season.

The new sponsor is also new to NASCAR and the Xfinity Series scene.

In Loving Memory: This weekend at Talladega and for the remainder of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Joe Graf Jr. and SS GreenLight Racing will carry the name of Bray Pemberton on the passenger side name rail of the team’s No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro.

Pemberton passed away on September 8, 2021, after a brief illness.

Pemberton was an instrumental figure in the everyday business and growth of Graf’s motorsports career. He will be deeply missed by all.

Saving You Some Money: As fall has officially fallen, Joe Graf Jr.’s other marketing partner Z Grills still wants to help the NASCAR community save money – but also enjoy the perfect fall barbecue dinner.

With the holidays on the horizon, Z Grills Racing (ZGrillsRacing.com) is offering a 10 percent discount off your TOTAL purchase, using the code NASCAR at checkout.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Talladega Superspeedway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 2.66-mile superspeedway on Saturday and looks to improve on his 33rd place finish from April’s Ag-Pro 300 where the SS GreenLight Racing experienced a mechanical failure in the rain-shortened event.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Superspeedway Nuggets: In nine career NASCAR Xfinity Series Superspeedway races, has completed 606 of the 858 laps available. He holds an average starting position of 21.6 and an average result of 28.1 with a best finish of 11th at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2021.

Joe Graf Jr. ARCA Menards Series Career Superspeedway Nuggets: In three career ARCA superspeedway track races, Graf Jr. has two top-10 finishes. He has been running at the finish of all three races. He holds an average starting position of 15.3 and an average result of 11th with three (3) laps led.

In 2018, Graf Jr. was involved in the closest finish in ARCA Menards Series history at Talladega Superspeedway in a photo finish.

The margin was so narrow in the 69-year history of the series, it was a statistical dead heat, the margin of victory on the computerized scoring monitors showing 0.00 seconds. Only a video replay and the photo finish camera were able to determine Graf finished second by a matter of millimeters.

Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway | Alsco Uniforms 302 Race Recap: In the most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Graf’s return in Sin City was short lived.

After starting 21st in his No. 07 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet, Graf Jr. maintained his top-20 pace at the 1.5-mile speedway but was one of nearly a dozen victims in a Lap 30 restart incident.

The crash knocked Graf and the SS GreenLight Racing team out of the race with a frustrating 40th place finish.

Put Me In Coach: To strengthen his physique, Joe Graf Jr. began working with new trainer and former NASCAR Cup Series Josh Wise during the 2020 offseason.

In addition to Wise, Graf has also been working with former NASCAR driver and open-wheel driver Scott Speed on being more discipline behind the wheel of his No. 07 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet Camaro.

Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of the Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 85 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow every month.

The current estimated value of his collection tops $90,000.

From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Joe Williams is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief.

He will crew chief his 60th NASCAR Xfinity Series race as crew chief on Saturday afternoon and his fourth at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

In his previous 59 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, he has collected four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.

Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran Garrett Smithley will drive the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro on Saturday afternoon for his third start of the 2021 season.

Smithley, 29, is set to make his 140th career NASCAR Xfinity Series start and sixth at Talladega. His best Xfinity track finished occurred in the 2018 Sparks Energy 300, where he finished 10th after starting 34th for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafJr.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).

For more on SS GreenLight Racing, please like them on Facebook (SS GreenLight Racing) and follow them on Twitter (@SSGLR0708) and visit their website at SSGreenLight.com.

Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quotes:

On Talladega: “I’m looking forward to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend being a little bit of a revival for our SS GreenLight Racing team. We have had incredibly fast speedway cars this season and other than Daytona, we haven’t been able to showcase that for circumstances beyond our control.

“I’m still a little upset that an opportunity to have another good finish at Las Vegas last weekend was robbed from us because we were swept into an accident that happened way too early in the race. Redemption is definitely on my mind Saturday afternoon.”

On Approaching Homestretch: “We have a little over a month left in the 2021 schedule. Our season has not gone the way we planned, but it has not been from a lack of effort, just a variety of circumstances – most beyond our control.

“I really look forward to the rest of the tracks on the schedule the rest of the year and we’re already focused on 2022 and cannot wait to announce those plans soon.”

Race Information:

The Sparks 300 (113 laps | 300.58 miles) is the 28th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2021 schedule. The 40-car field will take the green flag on Sat., Oct. 2, 2021, shortly after 3:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. ET) with live coverage on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), the Motor Racing Network (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90.

About SS Green Light Racing:

As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing led by team owner and former driver Bobby Dotter has been a mainstay in the sport fielding entries in either the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.

SS GreenLight Racing will continue with a two-car program in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021.