Category: XFINITY Series PR

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
Saturday, February 29, 2020
EVENT: NASCAR Xfinity Series Race (Fontana)

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
3rd – Austin Cindric
19th – Chase Briscoe

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Odyssey Battery Ford Mustang
“Obviously it is great to continue the consistency. I think we had a car capable of winning, especially with some of the attrition there at the end. Execution kind of bit us today. I had to get brave on some restarts. We were better than the 20 and 18 there at the end but you just need track position sometimes. Overall, I couldn’t be prouder of my Odyssey Battery Ford Mustang team for where we came from after unloading to being a race winning car. Just not enough laps in the race for us.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang
“We had a pretty good car and just couldn’t ever get track position early in the race. When we finally got the track position we had a voltage issue where the motor kept shutting off. I kept overdriving it trying to make up for it and then I just spun out off of four and that buried us obviously. That one is on me. We definitely had a car capable of winning or for sure running second at the absolute worst. I don’t even know where we ended up. We will have to just go to Phoenix and try to not do that again.”

Toyota Racing – Harrison Burton
NASCAR Xfinity Series Quotes

FONTANA, Calif. (February 28, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Harrison Burton was made available to media at Auto Club Speedway:

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

How would you classify the start of your season?

“I would classify our start as good not great. We’ve run well and finished pretty well, but I feel like we still need that last step to win. I feel like we’ve come really close to that. Hopefully this weekend we can turn it from good to great. Our team has really high standards for ourselves and our job is to win races. Hopefully we can do that here this weekend and put our Toyota Supra in victory lane.”

Have you run this race track on simulators?

“Absolutely. This is a really unique track. From what I’ve seen, it seems really, really fun. I’m excited. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Toyota simulator and a lot of time on iRacing at home. Just kind of preparing and trying to get a feel for everything. This place is so big that if you fire off and you miss where you have to drive into or where you have to g get back on the gas, whatever it may be, if you miss it by a little bit, it adds up super-fast. It’s like Pocono where a small mistake can add up to a half-second in a heartbeat. Just being really, really solid when you fire off the truck here is really important for lap time. Tires are important here as well. Make everyone feel better when you’re fast off the truck and that’s pretty important.”

Are the seams able to simulate?

“It’s crazy how much detail they put into especially the Toyota simulator. The port-a-potties are in the same spot on pit road. It’s weird. You go down and they try to mimic everything that happens on the race track whether it’s bumps or whatever it may be. Losing grip across seams, getting stuck on seams, hitting the seams with the left side making you loose, right sides making you tight and that kind of thing. The seams are definitely an obstacle to get over, but if you use them right, they can be a tool too. It’s smart to have them in there and be able to practice using them to help you turn or tighten you up if you’re really loose or whatever it may be. That’s pretty useful in the Toyota simulator for sure.”

How is the communication with the team?

“Every driver has their own scale. We use a one-to-10 scale. If I’m a one out of 10 loose, it means I need a super small adjustment. If it’s a 10, I’m going to wreck. That’s the scale I use and when you talk with your crew chief and your engineers and your mechanics about that and you break down every part of the corner. You talk about early entry, entry, center – you use a fraction scale and I’m not really good in math so sometimes I struggle with fractions. Like 5/8 of the way through the corner is pretty important normally so as a driver it’s your job to make it as understandable for the crew chief as possible. With guys as smart as people like Ben Beshore that I have as my crew chief. My job is just to paint the picture for him and let him do his job. He’s super smart. I grew up racing Late Models and I know a lot about cars like that, but I’m not at the level of an engineer type person like him. I’m trying to get there, but I’m definitely just letting him take the reins for sure.”

What is the most challenging part of this race track?

“The seams are part of it. I think the biggest part is how much a small mistake can lead to time loss here. It’s similar to Pocono, to Michigan where if you don’t get a good run off that corner, you have a super long time to pay for it. As a driver you have to be really perfect to be consistently fast here. The seams are a big part of that because you can get caught up on the seam and get caught on the right-front and just get stuck in it or whatever it may be. It slows you down by a half-second just like that. You don’t really feel like you did anything super different, but as the driver it’s your job to be super perfect and super precise to make yourself really good here.”

Are you looking forward to the challenge at this track?

“This place looks like so much fun, I’m excited. I watched a lot of Kyle Busch’s in-car camera from last year. He’s sliding around sideways and driving the heck out of this thing. Hopefully it’s like that for me. It looks like a super-big Iowa, which Iowa is one of my favorite race tracks. Hopefully it’s like that and you get to slide around and things like that. Makes me pumped up.”

What do you think of the bounty around Kyle Busch and the Truck Series?

“It’s going to be hard to beat Kyle (Busch), I know that much. I ran trucks last year and ran second to him for a lot of laps at Atlanta especially. I remember thinking, ‘Well, I’m about a tenth better than the field and he’s about three-tenths better than me so this is pretty impressive.’ Ran second most of that day. Didn’t finish second, but Chase (Elliott) is going to have his work cut out for him there and (Kyle) Larson is going to have his work cut out for him at Miami. Kyle hasn’t raced Miami in a truck in a long time because of the Playoff schedule so that might be — Chase has a steeper hill to climb than Larson.”

What are your thoughts heading to Phoenix next weekend?

“I’m excited for that. I love that race track. I ran pretty well there in a truck a couple times. Ran ARCA West a time there so I have some experience there. It’s one of my favorite race tracks. I get to race Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch, which is going to be awesome. That’s exciting for me. I know a lot of people say they don’t want to the Cup guys to come down and race, but for me as a driver that is the coolest opportunity in the world because that’s your time to prove yourself. That’s your time to go out and make stuff happen. I’m excited, bring them on, let’s do it.”

Who do you lean on for advice?

“My dad is obviously a good resource. He’s right down the hallway from me and I live with him so that’s nice. The convenience level is there. He’s a great race car driver and he’s really smart. I use him, I use my team, my organization, my driver coach, Blake Koch who ran good here in Xfinity. I have so many resources that it’s really easy. Everywhere I go whether it’s at home, at the shop, in the simulator or at the gym, I have so many more opportunities to learn than some people. If I don’t utilize all of them, I don’t think I’m doing my job to prepare as a race car driver. I think I use them all. I try and use every resource that I have.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the 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 (NXS)
Friday, February 28, 2020
EVENT: NASCAR Xfinity Series Media Availability

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Production Alliance Group Ford Mustang

YOU SAID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO GET EIGHT WINS THIS SEASON TO KEEP YOUR FUTURE GOING. IS THAT JUST THE LAY OF THE LAND AND NATURE OF WHERE WE ARE AT? WHAT GOES INTO THAT STATEMENT? “I think just knowing how good our cars are and the big three moving up creates an opportunity, not to win easily, but have a better chance to win. Cole won six or seven and last year I felt like I had a little bit of an excuse because I didn’t have the experience and hadn’t even been to a lot of the tracks. Now I feel like I have that and there is no reason that we can’t go perform. If we do our jobs right I feel like we can win more than 10. That is just kind of where I am coming from. I feel like I always put a lot of pressure on myself. The investment that Ford has put in me the past three or four years, winning one or two races is great but I am to that point that I have the experience and don’t have that excuse any more. I feel like I need to win that much and if I do, I think that will hopefully put my name in the mix to maybe go Cup racing. I don’t understand why if I won one or two races why they would move me up to Cup because I haven’t done enough. If I go win eight to 10 then it shows I am ready to have a chance at it.”

DURING THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR THERE WAS THE BIG THREE AND IT FELT LIKE YOU AS THE FOURTH GUY WERE JUST AS GOOD. HOW SATISFYING IS IT FOR YOU TO COME TO VEGAS, WIN THERE AND MAINTAIN THE SPEED DURING THE OFF-SEASON? “I feel like, especially in the playoffs, we could have won four or five of the playoff races and weird stuff happened at the end. I feel we were just as good as the big three guys, like you said. I think that is why my expectations are so high because I know we were just as good as they were at the end of last year and if we transition that to this year I feel like we will be really strong. We have a new body on the Mustang and that took a little time at Vegas to figure out how much different it drove, but to be able to keep that speed and unload fast and have that notebook now where we aren’t building a notebook is a huge deal. If you are going to try to win eight to 10 races you have to win early, so it was nice to get one out of the way. After making a statement like that you have to show where you are coming from and it felt like I was able to back that statement up and not messing around and feel like I can do that. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to bite me but I feel like I can be just as good this weekend and truthfully I feel like this is a place that fits my driving style way more than Vegas.”

WHY DOES IT FIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE? “Just slicker, more worn out. You can run right on the wall. Vegas typically we can run the middle and run to the top and last week it cost me a lot of time and position because I kept trying to work it in and it wasn’t there for whatever reason. It was a really weird race for Vegas. This place you can run the wall and there is a lot of tire fall off and I feel like it fits my style more. I only have run here once but I felt like it was one of my favorite tracks after I ran it. I feel like I have decent confidence when I come here and Cole (Custer) won here last year and I know our cars are going to be good. We ran fifth here last year. I know we will have good equipment.”

YOU WERE TIGHT WITH CHRISTOPHER BELL A FEW YEARS BACK, HOW TOUGH WAS IT WATCHING HIS CAREER JUST TAKE OFF LIKE IT DID? “I don’t think it was tough. We were really good buddies in 2016 and then when we were racing in the trucks we were battling against each other for wins and our friendship kind of turned quickly. If anything it kind of gained my confidence because I know that I can do what he is doing. To see his career progress and Cole and Reddick, all guys I feel like I am pretty good buddies with. It is cool. I have raced against those guys a lot of my career and I know I am equally as capable if I can put it all together. For me, if anything, it is a confidence booster. Especially Christopher. He is the same as me. We both grew up dirt racing and didn’t come from any money so to see a guy like him win his way to the Cup Series I feel like it creates an open door for me that if I go win a lot of races it creates that opportunity hopefully. For me, I think it was encouraging if anything.”

YOU HAVE WON A RACE EACH YEAR IN THE XFINITY SERIES, THIS YEAR IT WAS THE SECOND RACE OF THE SEASON, WHAT KIND OF CONFIDENCE BOOST DOES IT GIVE YOU? “It is huge confidence wise. I didn’t win in ARCA until halfway through the season, then we won a lot. The Truck deal I didn’t win until the very last race of the year and in Xfinity it was one of my last races my first year. I feel like I have always been a little bit of a late bloomer just because it takes me a little bit to figure out the cars and how they drive and figure out setup wise what I need. Whenever I have been able to kind of find that in every car it makes it a lot better for our team because I can direct them in practice where I need to be and not just shoot in the dark to find where we need to be. To win early I think it creates added confidence for sure and opportunity to win a lot more races. For me, this is the first year I have been able to go to the same series twice with the same crew chief and that has been huge just because we are not learning each other, we have a notebook and for example at Vegas we didn’t unload not knowing where we were going to be, we went exactly how we were last time we were there and I knew what the car was going to drive like and it made it easier from my end. I think that will continue throughout the year. Even last year if you look back, everytime we went to the track for the second time we either won or ran second. To be able to have a notebook from a previous race we were at was huge for our team and hopefully that will continue throughout the year.”

WHAT HAS THE CELEBRATION BEEN LIKE THIS WEEK? “It has been short. We got back from Las Vegas at 7 am and I was at the simulator at 9 am. Tuesday I was at the shop doing stuff and then I flew out here Wednesday morning for an appearance. I don’t get too worked up typically anyway. I am pretty laid back all the time. I don’t do a lot of celebrating. Like I said, we landed at 7 and at 9 we were all at the simulator focused on this week. Obviously we tried to take it all in while we were at the race track but now it is back to work.”

HOW DO YOU FIGHT THE SIMULATOR WITH ALL THE SEAMS ON THIS TRACK. I DON’T THINK THE SEAMS ARE BUILT IN THE SIMULATOR ARE THEY? “Yeah, the Ford simulator is pretty incredible. Truthfully, the seams work in the simulator just how they do in real life. Ford has done a really good job of figuring out how to do that stuff. I don’t think any of the other manufacturers have it so that it is possible to run the wall really well. Truthfully I have spent four or five hours working on how to get the wall to race how it actually does. When you come to a place like here or Homestead where we will be on the fence, to be able to get in the simulator and get in a rhythm and figure out what I need in the race car to run the fence that well is a huge thing. Hopefully that will correlate over to this weekend. The Ford simulator is something that has come a long way in the three or four years that I have been there. It is pretty incredible how good we have it now. It is only going to get better.”

AT WHAT POINT IN THE SEASON DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT IS SAFE TO THINK ABOUT IF YOU ARE A CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER TEAM? “I think come July you will have a pretty good idea of where you are at. I think it kick starts after the west coast swing and I think we will have an idea of where we are at once we get to Bristol. After Bristol you have run on one of every race track with the exception of a road course. We have a lot of really good tracks for me personally coming up with Homestead and Atlanta. Phoenix is probably my worst race track and that is where we go next week and that is where the championship is at. That is going to be a huge thing for us to evaluate where we are at. With Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski running there it is good for me cause I can try to learn from those guys. For our team, we have to judge where we are based off the 7 car and 22, the guys we have to race for a championship. Hopefully we can go to Phoenix and hit on something because I have never found a feel l like there for whatever reason.”

AND YET, WE AREN’T QUITE THERE TO WHERE IT IS GOING TO GET REAL SERIOUS YET, RIGHT? “Yeah, from the outside looking in it looks like that with the big three moving up, but you never know because there could be two guys that win over half the races, you never know. I think it is hard to really say where the series is at until you get halfway through the year. Then you can evaluate where it is at. This series is so neat because there are so many different personalities and so many different teams. For example, I don’t think anybody expected Ryan Sieg to be competing for a win last week. If he is like that all year long he is going to be tough to beat all year long. I think that is what is neat about this series with the young guys that are moving up, you don’t really know where they are going to be at. You could have a guy like Harrison Burton who might have not won in the Truck Series but this Xfinity car could fit his style like with Jimmie Johnson moved up to Cup. You never know until you get kind of halfway through the year of where you are going to be at. It will be exciting to watch those guys.”

DOES THE SIMULATOR HELP YOU WITH THE BUMPS IN THE TRACK AND THE SEAL ON THE TRACK? “I think the bumps and seams and everything else. Ford has done a really good job of getting their simulator accurate and close to whatever race track we are at, but it seems like the rough tracks to me are where we are best at in the simulator. We can exaggerate those bumps how big or how little we need them to be. From a driver standpoint it is nice to know where those bumps are, especially when you come to a place like California.”

SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series

Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway | Production Alliance Group 300

Fast Facts
No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Team:

Driver: Ray Black Jr. (@RayBlackJr.)

Primary Partner(s): CDA High Risk Training

Crew Chief: Jason Miller

Ray Black Jr. Auto Club Starts: Three previous NASCAR Xfinity starts from 2016 to 2019 with a track-best finish of 17th (2019). Qualified a track-best 21st last year.

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No: 717; competed last weekend at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway where Black finished 17th.

Engine: Pro-Motor Engineering (PME)

Driver Points Position: 12th

Owner Points Position: 11th

Follow on Social Media: For more on Ray Black Jr. visit RayBlackJr.com, like him on Facebook (Ray Black Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@RayBlackJr) and Instagram (@RayBlackJr).

Ray Black Jr. Pre-Race Quote:

“We’ve had two solid weekends so far in 2020 and I’m hoping for more of the same this weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

“It’s a fast track with a lot of room to race but since the surface is worn, it will be important for us to keep our No. 07 CDA High Risk Training Chevrolet Camaro balanced so we have an opportunity at another strong finish.”
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:

Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)

Primary Partner(s): Core Development Group | EAT SLEEP RACE

Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue

Joe Graf Jr. Auto Club Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway debut in Saturday afternoon’s Production Alliance Group 300.

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No: 708; competed last weekend at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway where Graf led four laps and finished 20th.

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)

Driver Points Position: 26th | Owner Points Position: 32nd

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).

Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quote:

“I’m very optimistic about Auto Club Speedway this weekend. It’s another new track for me, but I’ve spent a lot of time in the simulator as well as iRacing and even studying previous races on film to get myself better prepared for this weekend.

“The track reminds me of Michigan International Speedway, a place I’ve had success in the ARCA Menards Series, so I’m hoping we can have another solid finish on Saturday and ride that momentum to Phoenix.”

Race Information:

The Production Alliance 300 (150 laps | 300 miles) is the third of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Feb 28 from 12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m. A final 25-minute session has been etched in from 2:02 p.m. – 2:27 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Feb. 29 beginning at 10:05 a.m. The 36-car field will take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Pacific).

About SS Green Light Racing:

As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing has been a developmental hub for drivers looking to climb the ranks. Led by owner and former driver Bobby Dotter, the team has fielded entries in either the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.

Coming off a successful 2019 Xfinity campaign, SS GreenLight Racing looks to build further momentum with their two-car program in 2020 with rookie driver Joe Graf Jr. and series’ veteran Ray Black Jr.

Haley Looks to Earn Back-to-Back Best Track Finishes in Fontana for Kaulig Racing
Justin Haley Notes:
Best start at Auto Club Speedway: 12th (2019)
Best Finish at Auto Club Speedway: 10th (2019)
Haley earned Kaulig Racing their best finish at Auto Club Speedway in 2019

Kaulig Racing Notes:
Best Start at Auto Club Speedway: 8th (2016)
Best Finish at Auto Club Speedway: 10th (2019)

Justin Haley Quote:
“We just finished up the long race weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We are headed back to the west coast in California – Auto Club Speedway. It’s a wide track that’s got plenty of racing grooves and it’s an old surface, so it’s really bumpy out there. I’m looking forward to it – we got a top 10 there last season. This is my second time going there and hopefully we can get this No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet up to the front and lock ourselves into the playoffs.”

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016 Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started. Kaulig Racing fields two full-time entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ross Chastain and the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Justin Haley, as well as, a part-time entry – the No. 16 driven by AJ Allmendinger. Kaulig Racing™ earned two wins in 2019 and have come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

About LeafFilter Gutter Protection™
Since 2005, LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ has revolutionized the gutter protection industry. The company is proud to have grown from one small office in Hudson, Ohio to the largest direct to customer home products company in the nation and the leading choice in gutter protection systems. Once installed on a homeowner’s existing gutters, LeafFilter Gutter Protection eliminates gutter cleaning for life. With more than 70 million feet of gutter guards installed on homes across the United States and Canada, LeafFilter Gutter Protection has the knowledge and expertise to guarantee that nothing, but water, will get into your gutters. Learn more about LeafFilter Gutter Protection and request a free estimate at www.leaffilter.com .

Over 2,000 Signatures of FFA Members Don the Hood of Chastain’s No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet

Ross Chastain Notes:
Best start at Auto Club Speedway: 13th (2019)
Best Finish at Auto Club Speedway: 10th (2019)

Kaulig Racing Notes:
Best Start at Auto Club Speedway: 8th (2016)
Best Finish at Auto Club Speedway: 10th (2019)

Ross Chastain Quote:
“The hood of my racecar this weekend will have over 2,000 signatures of FFA students, faculty and Alumni. I’m also a lifetime member. Make sure to check out our FFA special paint scheme car this weekend in Fontana – the No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy.”

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016 Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started. Kaulig Racing fields two full-time entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ross Chastain and the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Justin Haley, as well as, a part-time entry – the No. 16 driven by AJ Allmendinger. Kaulig Racing™ earned two wins in 2019 and have come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

About Nutrien Ag Solutions™
Nutrien Ag Solutions™ is the retail division of Nutrien™ Ltd. It combines global innovation with local expertise to provide full-acre solutions through a network of trusted crop consultants at retail locations around the world. Nutrien Ag Solutions strives to help growers achieve the highest yields with the most sustainable solutions possible, offering a wide selection of products, including our proprietary brands: Loveland Products, Inc.®, Proven® Seed and Dyna-Gro® Seed.

JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Auto Club Speedway
RACE: Production Alliance Group 300 (150 laps / 300 miles)
DATE: Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020
Broadcast Information – TV: 4 p.m. ET on FS1 / Radio: 3:30 p.m. ET on MRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90

Michael Annett
No. 1 Pilot Flying J / American Heart Association Chevrolet
• Fresh off of his first top-10 finish of the season, Michael Annett heads to Auto Club Speedway fourth in series points after two races.
• Annett’s best finish at Auto Club Speedway is sixth back in 2009. In nine NXS starts there, he has completed all but two of the 1,354 laps (99.9 percent) in those races.
• In 2019, Annett was in position for a victory after running in the top 10 all day long on the 2-mile D-shaped oval. Staying out on older tires with one set left in the pits, Annett had a chance to win but the hoped-for caution flag never waved and he finished 13th. The Iowa native led five laps on the day.

Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier has 11 NXS starts at Auto Club Speedway with a best effort of second in 2018. In his four races at the track since joining JRM, the 33-year-old driver hasn’t finished worse than 10th.
• The Illinois native leads active NXS drivers in top 10s over the last eight races on 2-mile tracks with seven. His solo finish outside the top 10 came in Michigan in 2017. His average finish during that span is 8.5.
• Two races into the 2020 season, Allgaier has already led 86 laps and won two stages, earning a total of two playoff points.

Daniel Hemric
No. 8 Poppy Bank Chevrolet
• Daniel Hemric returns for his second race behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet this weekend in Fontana.
• In two previous NXS starts at the 2-mile speedway, Hemric has an average start of 3.5 and a best finish of fifth. Hemric’s top-five effort came in 2018.
• In four starts on 2-mile tracks in the NXS, Hemric has earned two top fives and two top 10s.
• This weekend marks the first primary race of 2020 for Poppy Bank with the No. 8. Poppy Bank also partnered with Hemric during his 2018 NXS campaign and his 2019 Rookie of the Year campaign in the Cup Series.

Noah Gragson
No. 9 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Chevrolet
• In Gragson’s lone NXS start in Fontana, the Las Vegas native started fifth and finished 12th while leading three laps.
• At tracks that are between 1-2 miles in length in the NXS, Gragson has an average finish of 9.4.
• Through the opening two races of the 2020 season, Gragson currently ranks second in the championship standings, just seven points shy of the series lead.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital returns to the No. 9 Chevrolet for the first time this season.

Driver Quotes
“Our Pilot Flying J/American Heart Association Chevrolet has shown a lot of speed in the first two races and Auto Club Speedway is all about speed. We were in the hunt to win there last year, and if that caution flag had come when we needed it, we were the only car with tires on pit lane. I’ve been really happy with the car so far this year and we’re going back West looking for a victory.” – Michael Annett

“I love racing at Fontana. It’s just a fun track because it’s fast and slick. Our JR Motorsports Camaros have already showed a lot of speed this season, so I think if we can get our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevy handling like we want it to during practice, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with come Saturday.” – Justin Allgaier

“Fontana should be a lot of fun this weekend. It’s such a big track that has a ton of character to it. It takes a little bit to get used to how slick and worn out it is through the corner but once you do, it’s a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do with our Poppy Bank Chevrolet. I ran pretty well here in the past so hopefully that previous knowledge can translate to a strong run this weekend.” – Daniel Hemric

“Fontana is always a fun place to race because you can run anywhere from the bottom to the top of the track and be competitive. As the race gets later, you’ll see guys start moving to the fence and that always puts on a good show for fans. Our last couple races at these types of tracks we have seen improvements and I think that will show when we unload a fast Nationwide Children’s Hospital Camaro from the hauler.” – Noah Gragson

• JRM at Fontana: JR Motorsports has scored one win, nine top fives and 24 top 10s in its 41 NXS starts at Auto Club Speedway. The organization’s solo victory at the track came in 2015 when Kevin Harvick led 100 of the 150 laps and drove the team’s No. 88 Chevrolet to Victory Lane.
• Allgaier, Hemric and Gragson NXS Autograph Session: Teammates Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson will be participating in the NXS autograph session in the Auto Club Speedway Fan Zone on Friday, Feb. 28 from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. PST.
• Celebrating American Heart Month: This weekend is the third and final race for the No. 1 Chevrolet to run a special paint scheme in honor of American Heart Month. Pilot Flying J is proud to unite with its guests across the country to support the American Heart Association “Life is Why We Give™” campaign in their mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives by raising awareness and inspiring heart healthy lifestyles for our team members, guests and their loved ones.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)
Sunday, February 23, 2020
EVENT: Boyd Gaming 300

Ford Finishing Order:
1st – Chase Briscoe
2nd – Austin Cindric

WINNER’S PRESS CONFERENCE

RICHARD BOSWELL, Crew Chief, No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang – WOULD YOU AGREE CHASE IS BECOMING ACCLIMATED TO ALL STYLES OF TRACKS? “Yeah, from an on-track standpoint absolutely. I think the one thing that a lot of people don’t get to see is just the humbleness that comes with him and his positive attitude and his way to relate to all the guys and sponsors and everybody, so from an off-track and on-track standpoint that’s what I’m most impressed with is just his ability to relate with the people. On-track, you hit the nail on the head. He’s good everywhere.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang – THOUGHTS ON BEING THE POINTS LEADER. “Yeah, it’s so early, but definitely it’s nice to get a win early. I think obviously we were hoping that we could get a win at some point in the year, we expected to, but to get it before Phoenix is definitely nice just because we can go there and kind of try some stuff because I feel like that’s one place I need to get way better at. That being said, it’s nice to take the point lead. It doesn’t mean as much this early in the season like you said, but it’s a good confidence-booster for all the guys and it goes a long way when you’re that first garage stall with your guys and their work ethic and everything else. We knew that we could go win races, but to get one this early in the year I think it’ll go a long way, especially on this west coast swing. It’s hard to stay motivated and for us to win the first one that definitely goes a long way.”

YOU SAID YOU WANT TO WIN EIGHT RACES. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WIN SO EARLY? “I think that statement I was saying it’s not like it’s a definite make-or-break thing if I win eight or so races. That’s just personally what I feel like I need to do to prove that I’m ready for Sunday racing. It’s hard to win eight if you wait until halfway through the year, so it definitely makes it nice to kind of get one early, but, yeah, it’s nice just to win in general whenever you do it. Just winning, to be able to show that we’ve won on different types of race tracks goes a long way. Hopefully, we can continue to do that and go next week and win on a two-mile track.”

IS IT TOO EARLY TO MAKE A STATEMENT OR DO YOU FEEL YOU JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING? “Not that it’s a definite statement, but I think it’s always nice whenever you can win. There’s a lot of talk at least on the XFINITY side of who is gonna be those next guys and hopefully us winning shows that we can be one of those guys. If we do our job every week, I feel like we can contend at any race track. It’s not a definite statement, but it shows that we’re capable of winning and that’s something that internally I feel like we all knew, but you never know until you do it. It makes a little bit of a statement, but not a definite statement that this is who you’ve got to go through to win the championship by any means. There are still a lot of guys that are gonna be really good and truthfully we’ve got to get a lot better too to be that definite guy.”

WHAT DID YOU FEEL YOU DID RIGHT THIS WEEK? “Have a good pit stop at the end, that’s for sure. That was key. The race was really weird. I feel like every time I came to Vegas you can run up to the wall or even run the middle really well and the bottom kind of goes away after seven or eight laps. The beginning of the race I felt like I was really, really good and I had clean air obviously and we lost the lead and my car completely changed. It took a total 180 and it was hard to tell if it was really just dirty air doing that or the sun going down. At the end Cindric obviously ran away with it there for a while and then when I was able to get the lead I kind of ran away with it and it seemed like tonight was the fastest I’ve ever felt like I’ve gone around Vegas just because we had so much grip and so much speed around the bottom. It was almost like driving a truck how hard you could drive the thing, so clean air was crucial just because it was so hard to make a pass. I probably gave up a ton of time trying to make the top work and even trying to make the middle work and pass guys and just had to try to stay disciplined to run the bottom and obviously it would prevail.”

DID YOUR NAME COME UP IN THE MIX WHEN NEWMAN GOT SIDELINED? “No, nobody reached out to me. I told Ford that if it was something for a couple weeks I would be willing to do it, but I never heard anything from anybody or never even knew if my name was in the mix. I tried to stay out of it truthfully. I’m focused on trying to win an XFINITY championship and trying to win as many races as I can, so I’ll just let that try to do the talking.”

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM YOU DAD YET? “I haven’t even been on my phone yet. He won’t be disappointed, he’s obviously gonna be thrilled, but he’s only missed two races my entire career on the NASCAR side and this is the first one that I won at, so I know he was sending me texts all day long and telling me to be disciplined on the bottom. I’m sure if he would have come to victory lane tonight he would have ripped me pretty good about how I was not being patient hitting the bottom. He’s definitely my hardest critic and I know he would have been pretty mad at me tonight by how I ran, that’s for sure.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang – DID YOUR CAR JUST GO AWAY FROM YOU LATE? “A little bit. It was definitely a track position sensitive race after the sun went down. We knew it was gonna tighten up and tried to adjust for it on the final stop and didn’t get quite enough, and then obviously lost a little track position. I tried to hang it wide-open on Chase’s door, but track position is pretty important and then just fell off too tight following him there. It was pretty bottom dominant. It was really weird the track didn’t take any rubber today even in the Cup race. That was different than what I expected, but overall a great day for our MoneyLion Ford Mustang and we’ll try again next week at Fontana.”

IS THIS THE FIRST OF MANY BATTLES WITH CHASE THIS YEAR? “That’s about as tame as it’s gonna be, I’d say (laughing). It’s a testament to everything the guys at Ford Performance have done. This is a brand new body kit for us, so it shows the hard work that those guys at the Tech Center and the guys in Michigan have been doing to get us a little more speed and it’s obviously showing a bit. Chase and I are getting a little more experience and having a little fun racing together, so it should be a fun year that way.”