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Truex Puts on Clinic in NASCAR’s Longest Race

CONCORD, N.C. — Domination was the name of Martin Truex Jr.’s game tonight as he concluded the “greatest day in racing” 2016 with a victory in the Queen City.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota led a race-high of 392 of the 400 laps on his way to winning the 57th annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Truex was overcome with emotion following the victory.

“It feels awesome,” he said. “Coca-Cola 600, man, this is one everybody wants to win. I feel like we had this thing won last year when we gave it up and just, I don’t know. There are so many emotions, I had to unplug my radio and just ride around and think for a few minutes because I didn’t even know what I was going to say or what I was going to do. Just we’ve been through a lot as a group. I’ve been through a lot personally. I’ve been through a lot with Sherry (Pollex, girlfriend) and just it’s fun to have her here and have her celebrate and it’s just – happy for my guys, happy for Barney (Visser, team owner), Toyota, everybody that helps us do this.

“I mean, I’ve got the best team in the world and we’ve got these Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas flying, man. It’s just fun to drive them and I honestly thought we could have been better tonight and just kept digging and just kept making small adjustments and working on it and I don’t know, man. Here we are, so I was – it was 50 to go and then it was 40 to go and then 30 to go and I just kept praying for no cautions and driving away.”

“Yeah, I mean it’s amazing,” said Sherry Pollex, Truex’s business partner and girlfriend. “I keep telling him that he had to lose all those races and that God was building his character to win a big one and this was huge for us and our hometown and our family and for Johnny (Morris, Bass Pro Shops) and Barney and we’ve been through so much. This is just the icing on the cake. It’s awesome. It’s so cool.”

It’s his fourth career win, first of the season, first at Charlotte and the first time in his career where he’s gone back to back seasons with a least one win. His lap led total is a new record for most laps led in a single race at Charlotte. He also recorded a perfect driver rating of 150.0, which hasn’t been achieved since Kevin Harvick at Phoenix in March 2015.

“Happy” Harvick finished second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

“Yeah, we struggled tonight,” Harvick said. “Our Jimmy John’s Chevrolet was not very good in the first; I would say 450 miles of this particular race. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and everybody on our team did a great job to do whatever they did with the air pressure and just told me it was a really big adjustment. The last couple of runs I got tight. The one run when we had the first air pressure adjustment we were really good. The last two runs I was a little bit tighter once I got up behind those guys, right behind them, I just couldn’t go anywhere. Just really proud of the effort to turn the car around. We had a 10th-place car and they turned it into a car capable of racing for the win. That is pretty awesome.”

Jimmie Johnson led five laps on his way to rounding out the podium in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“It’s nice when you have a car like that,” Johnson said. “I’m so proud of the effort we put in tonight. This is the best car I’ve had in Charlotte for a long time. It just shows you how good that No. 78 was and the No. 4 got a little bit better than us at the end. I thought we had a chance at them a few times, a couple of times on the long run we would get close. A couple times on the restarts we would get close, but all-in-all a very strong performance for this Lowe’s Chevrolet. Very proud of the team work and the support that we have from all the employees at Lowe’s. Just came up a little short today.”

Denny Hamlin finished fourth in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“It was a battle, but we kept good track position all day – had one bad restart where I lost some spots, but other than that fourth is about par for us today,” Hamlin said. “The pit crew did an amazing job all day keeping us up front and our car was pretty good at the end. That’s about what we had, nothing else.”

Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

“On the long green flag runs it seemed like we would be able to move up a little bit,” Keselowski said. “On short runs we would fall back, but we definitely didn’t have anything for those guys. The 78 and the 4 were just really fast and Martin Truex deserves this finish. He had a good run.

“It’s a long 600 miles and to come home fifth is decent,” Keselowski added about his night. “It’s not what we want, but we needed a little bit more to be able to run with those guys.”

Kurt Busch finished sixth in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth finished seventh in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Chase Elliott overcame an early speeding penalty to finish eighth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Joey Logano led one lap and overcame his crew jumping over the wall too soon to finish ninth in his No. 22 Penske Ford.

“We got a pit road penalty,” Logano said. “You’re trying to make pit stops so fast and you’re gonna push everything to the edge. I guess we jumped off the wall a little bit too soon. I haven’t seen it, but unfortunately, that kind of made us make a green flag pit stop, which is really hard to overcome. Overall, we were able to get our lap back by racing up there, which was kind of cool. We didn’t have to take a lucky dog or any of that. We actually raced back to the lead lap, but we lost the balance a little bit on the last run and I couldn’t make much time once we got going.”

Ryan Newman rounded out the top-10 in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

The race lasted three hours, 44 minutes and five seconds at an average speed of 160.655 mph. There were nine lead changes among four different drivers and four cautions for 19 laps.

Harvick leaves Charlotte remaining the points leader.

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May 29, 2016
Denny Hamlin Wins XFINITY Race in Overtime at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin won the Hisense 4K TV 300 XFINITY Series Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, moving up through the field and making the pass during overtime to claim the checkered flag.

Erik Jones brought out the eighth and final caution of the event, forcing it into overtime, after contact with the wall due to a blown tire. Hamlin chose to pit for fresh tires while leader Kyle Larson and second-place Joey Logano decided to stay out on the track during the yellow flag.

The gamble paid off for Hamlin who overtook both Larson and Logano for the win.

“It was a second opportunity, obviously,” Hamlin said. ”I was hoping for that caution there at the end, and we got it and we were able to get four tires on this Hisense Camry and took off. A little closer than what I thought. I mean, we were just really tight those last couple laps, but what a great day.”

It was Hamlin’s first XFINITY victory of the season in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and his only start in the series this year. It was the fifth win of the season for the JGR entry, which includes four previous wins by Kyle Busch.

Austin Dillon, who had taken right-side tires only on his last pit stop, finished second in his No. 2 Chevrolet, relegating Logano, who led 58 laps, to a third place result in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Dillon felt as though, with a little luck, he could have taken home the checkered flag.

“We were definitely a fourth or fifth-place car today. We fired off tight and had decent track position, but after the second caution, we had to start pretty deep in the field. I’m not sure what happened there. That forced Danny (Stockman, crew chief) to call for two tires on the next few stops so we could gain our spots back. I think if we would have had a little extra luck on our side on the final restart, we could have won,” he explained. “Overall, it was a good day for this Rheem team. We have a few things to figure out, but we’ll get there.”

Logano was disappointed with his result but was pleased with the speed they showed.

“The Discount Tire Ford was the fastest it’s been all year,” Logano said post race. “We can’t hold our heads down about it. We had a car that was capable of winning if circumstances went right. I felt like I was gonna have a good restart next to Kyle. I felt my restarts were a little better than his all day, and I thought, ‘OK if I can clear him,’ which we did I was like, ‘Alright, we’ve got a shot,’ but it was really hard to hold off those four tires.”

Cole Custer finished fourth in the No. 88 Chevrolet with Justin Allgaier rounding out the top five in his No. 7 Chevrolet. Larson, after leading 46 laps, finished sixth.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Daniel Suarez, finished 12^thand currently leads the XFINITY Series point standings.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Hisense 4K TV 300 – Complete Results

1. (3) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 206.
2. (4) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 206.
3. (7) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 206.
4. (11) Cole Custer(i), Chevrolet, 206.
5. (8) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 206.
6. (5) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 206.
7. (12) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 206.
8. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 206.
9. (14) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 206.
10. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 206.
11. (27) Jeb Burton, Ford, 206.
12. (2) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 206.
13. (19) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 206.
14. (18) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 206.
15. (31) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 206.
16. (13) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 205.
17. (16) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 205.
18. (20) Drew Herring, Toyota, 205.
19. (15) Ryan Reed, Ford, 204.
20. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 204.
21. (23) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 204.
22. (26) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 203.
23. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 203.
24. (40) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 203.
25. (30) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 202.
26. (35) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, 202.
27. (9) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 201.
28. (6) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
29. (22) Spencer Gallagher(i), Chevrolet, 200.
30. (34) Carl Long, Toyota, 200.
31. (1) Erik Jones #, Toyota, Accident, 197.
32. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 183.
33. (36) Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 130.
34. (29) Jeff Green, Toyota, Fuel Pump, 127.
35. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Accident, 91.
36. (33) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Transmission, 84.
37. (32) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, Oil Line, 27.
38. (39) Cody Ware #, Ford, Accident, 12.
39. (28) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 5.
40. (24) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Vibration, 3.

May 28, 2016
Truex fastest in final practice

CONCORD, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.972 and a speed of 186.387 mph. Kurt Busch was second in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 29.074 and a speed of 185.733 mph. Jimmie Johnson was third in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 29.126 and a speed of 185.401 mph. Joey Logano was fourth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 29.172 and a speed of 185.109mph. Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a time of 29.199 and a speed of 184.938 mph.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was sixth in his No. 17 RFR Ford. Casey Mears was seventh in his No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth was eighth in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Paul Menard was ninth in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-10 in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

Truex posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 182.923 mph. Johnson was second at an average speed of 182.713 mph.

All that remains is tomorrow evening’s Coca-Cola 600 at 6:00 on FOX.

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May 28, 2016
Erik Jones takes the XFINITY pole at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — Erik Jones will lead the field to the green flag for this afternoon’s XFINITY Series race in the Queen City.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scored the pole for the Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a time of 29.261 and a speed of 184.546 mph. It’s his seventh career pole in the series and fourth of the 2016 season.

Teammate Daniel Suárez will start second in his No. 19 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 29.273 and a speed of 184.470 mph. Denny Hamlin will start third in his No. 18 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 29.473 and a speed of 183.219 mph. Austin Dillon will start fourth in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.567 and a speed of 182.636 mph. Kyle Larson will round out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 29.597 and a speed of 182.451 mph.

Elliott Sadler will start sixth in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Joey Logano will start seventh in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Justin Allgaier will start eighth in his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. Darrell Wallace Jr. will start ninth in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Ty Dillon will round out the top-10 in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet.

Cole Custer will start 11th in his No. 88 JRM Chevrolet. Brandon Jones will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

TJ Bell and Morgan Shepherd were the two drivers that failed to make the race.

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May 28, 2016
Kurt Busch Quickest in Second Sprint Cup Practice at Charlotte

May 28, 2016
NASCAR Continues Tradition of Honoring United States Armed Forces at Charlotte Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. — For many, Memorial Day weekend is a holiday spent with family and friends, highlighted by cookouts, trips to the beach and lighthearted fun. But for those who have lost loved ones in the service of our country, it is both a time of somber reflection and a celebration of their lives.

NASCAR has an established tradition of honoring these fallen ones in the days leading up to the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and this year is no exception.

For the second straight year, the “600 Miles of Remembrance” will pay tribute to those who died defending the United States. The driver’s names that normally appear on the windshield of each race car will be replaced with the names of fallen soldiers. Many of these names were chosen by the teams because of a special connection and each has a unique story. Some of the drivers took a moment to speak about the soldiers represented on their cars.

Ryan Blaney emphasized the importance of the military, saying, “Military does so much for our sport. They’re the reason we can race and be in NASCAR, and that it’s even possible. We have a huge military program at the race tracks each weekend and this just adds to that. We make the 600 really special which is great. It’s so cool that we can have them on our windshield and honor them the best we can that way. I am honored to have Cherone L. Gunn and to represent him. We will have two of his family members there, so hopefully we can show them a memorable time, and show them some of our world. He’s from Norfolk Virginia, which is close to where the Wood Brothers shop is in Stuart. It’s really neat what NASCAR does allowing us to honor the fallen soldiers.”

Austin Dillon said that these soldiers are his heroes. He selected the name to be displayed on his car by reaching “out to some of the guys in the NAVY and some of my friends in the SEALS. I asked them if there was anyone they’d like me to represent in Charlotte, and they all came up with a name and that was Mark Carter, “The Badger”. It’s very special to be carrying on someone’s legacy. Especially someone that gave their name for our freedom and to allow us to be Americans that fight out there on Sunday for a race. It’s very special to me, I even went out with my guys and we did a workout after Mark Carter which was really special to do. It was special to do a workout that was named after him. It was one of the toughest workouts I’ve ever done. So hopefully I can be as tough as him on Sunday. My heroes are soldiers and those guys fighting for our freedom.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car will feature someone who was a childhood friend of JackRoush.

“Charlotte always does a great job with remembering the veterans and military that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Stenhouse said. “I think our sponsor Fastenal does a great job with it as well and is something that’s very important to them, too. Whether it be hiring the heroes or remembering the ones that gave everything. For us, that week, we’re going to have Jim Woolard on our car, which was one of Jack’s childhood friends growing up. He grew up two doors down from Jack. He died in Vietnam in the Army when he was only 20-years-old. It’ll be a special weekend for us, especially with Jack being our owner. He will want to watch that car run really well. We are going to give it everything we got. It’s very humbling watching the reenactments on pit road before the races. I think that’s one of the special moments everyone comes to see at the Coca-Cola 600.”

US Army 82nd Airborne Prepares for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Photo Credit: Noel Lanier

For David Ragan, it’s also a way to honor family members that have served.

“Memorial Day is an important day for our entire nation, but certainly for our industry. The Coca-Cola 600 has a lot of history and heritage in our sport. Memorial Day is an important day in our country to honor all of our soldiers that lost their lives fighting for our country. I have had a couple of grandfathers and uncles that served in our nation’s military, so it’s a certainly an important day in my family as well to pay tribute for those that served. One of my favorite memories about Memorial Day Weekend is all of the soldiers and pre-race festivities at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the years. It’s always been a lot of fun.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is proud of NASCAR’s continued commitment to the military and said, “NASCAR has always had a close relationship with the military of our country, and honors a family weekly who has lost someone. We always have service men and women out to the track as guests. That’s always been an important addition to the weekend. I like that we ramp it up for this particular weekend. It’ll be great to meet Lance Corporal Aaron Reed’s family and the other members of his squad. That’ll be an experience that I probably won’t forget – it will be pretty weighted. I’m looking forward to it.”

The “600 Miles of Remembrance” is only a small part of planned activities that will span the entire weekend of events to show support for the military as part of a program called, NASCAR: An American Salute.

You can see a gallery of all the fallen soldiers that will appear on the Sprint Cup Series cars during Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 by visiting www.NASCAR.com/salute.

May 27, 2016
Larson’s Progress Won’t Be Enough for Charlotte Victory

In the last couple of weeks, Kyle Larson has been showing some much-needed results. He finished second in a spirited battle with Matt Kenseth at Dover, then followed it up with an aggressive win in the Sprint Showdown, the last-chance qualifier for the Sprint All-Star event at Charlotte. Then in the All-Star, he fought hard with eventual winner Joey Logano before slapping the wall and finishing off the pace.

Still, he showed he can be aggressive when necessary and is capable of winning races, which is much needed considering the 2014 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year has yet to clinch a Sprint Cup victory. But despite his recent hot streak (if it may be called such), a win in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway may be easier said than done.

That’s not for lack of ability, obviously. Larson is set to become a racing legend. He’s as good of a driver as they come and possesses a ton of talent behind the wheel. But for every good stretch he’s had in the past season, almost immediately he’s met with some misfortune or midpack run. For example, at this time a year ago, Larson followed a 25th-place run at Charlotte with a third-place run at Dover and an eighth-place run at Pocono. Immediately after, he had five straight dismal runs with a best finish of 15, including three-straight finishes below 30th.

This year, meanwhile, prior to his second-place run at Dover he had a stout run of seventh in February’s Daytona 500 and a third-place at Martinsville. Two top-fives and three top-10s in a season that has seen more finishes below 30th than anything. So in regards to the possibility of a win in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, it may be a possibility, but to call it a probability is a stretch in logic.

Not that some of his failures are his fault. He’s been caught up in crashes, he’s had parts fail, and unfortunately, he has Chad Johnston on top of the pit box this year (which counts for some of his poor runs). But if Dover was a sign of things to come, if he wins at Charlotte it will be a victory truly earned. Either way, Larson’s overdue for a win.

May 27, 2016
Ty Dillon Fastest in Final XFINITY Practice at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — In case you missed it, Ty Dillon topped the chart in final XFINITY Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.778 and a speed of 181.342 mph. Daniel Suárez was second in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 29.825 and a speed of 181.056 mph. Erik Jones was third in his No. 20 JGR Toyota with a time of 29.937 and a speed of 180.379 mph. Austin Dillon was fourth in his No. 2 RCR Chevrolet with a time of 29.965 and a speed of 180.210 mph. Brennan Poole rounded out the top-five in his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.007 and a speed of 179.958 mph.

Brendan Jones was sixth in his No. 33 RCR Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin was seventh in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Elliott Sadler was eighth in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Jeb Burton was ninth in his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-10 in his No. 42 CGR Chevrolet.

Suárez posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 178.085 mph. Hamlin was second at an average speed of 177.253 mph. Austin Dillon was third at an average speed of 176.652 mph.

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May 27, 2016
Erik Jones Fastest in First XFINITY Practice at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — In case you missed it, Erik Jones topped the chart in first XFINITY Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.808 and a speed of 181.159 mph. Denny Hamlin was second in his No. 18 JGR Toyota with a time of 29.903 and a speed of 180.584 mph. Ryan Blaney was third in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford with a time of 30.021 and a speed of 179.874 mph. Daniel Suárez was fourth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 30.029 and a speed of 179.826 mph. Ty Dillon rounded out the top-five in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 30.089 and a speed of 179.468 mph.

Austin Dillon was sixth in his No. 2 RCR Chevrolet. Cole Custer was seventh in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Kyle Larson was eighth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Brennan Poole was ninth in his No. 48 CGR Chevrolet. Brandon Jones rounded out the top-10 in his No. 33 RCR Chevrolet.

Suárez posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 175.708 mph. Austin Dillon was second at an average speed of 173.709 mph. Ryan Reed, who posted the 20th fastest single-lap time in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, was third at an average speed of 172.642 mph.

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May 27, 2016
Edwards: ‘I’m so excited about the things that are coming at Kentucky and Michigan’

CONCORD, N.C. — Asked about his thoughts on the changes to the aero package being tested in the coming weeks, Carl Edwards said he’s “excited about the things that are coming at Kentucky and Michigan.”

Speaking in the media center during his weekly media availability, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota gave some thoughts on the direction toward lower downforce and the quality of the racing this season.

“It’s all right there, the proof is there, all year we’ve had awesome racing and we have close finishes,” Edwards said in response to being asked about how excited he is about the changes to the aero package. “I mean, yeah things didn’t go exactly as planned at the All-Star event, but that was a new format and a lot of unforeseen things happened, but the racing on the track was good and it’s been good all year. I already sent Steve O’Donnell (NASCAR executive vice-president and chief racing development officer) a thank you text. I’m so excited about the things that are coming at Kentucky and Michigan. NASCAR is doing that it takes, the teams are doing what it takes to go out and figure out how to make this the best racing it can be. This is going to be a blast. These cars, I’m telling you, when you drive them sideways at 200 mph and you’re closing on people and you’re able to pressure them and race like that, that’s as good as it gets. I’m very excited about Michigan and Kentucky, it’s like Christmas for me.”

During last week’s All-Star Race, NASCAR tested smaller changes to the aero package such as welding the truck arm mounts, which had been in place since Kansas, reducing the number of brake fans the cars can use and not allowing teams to skew the rear-end of the car. The end result was racing that fans, drivers and media said was “excellent.”

After the race, Senior Vice-President of Competition Scott Miller said that the truck arm welding and brake fan reduction will remain in place for the remainder of the season, but that the rear-end skew rule won’t be implemented for the rest of the season.

Friday, NASCAR announced that further reductions to downforce will be tested in the upcoming FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway and the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. The changes include a reduction of the spoiler from 3.5 to 2.5 inches, a two-inch reduction in the size of the splitter and resizing the deck fin.

When asked how surprised at how far NASCAR has come in a short span of time in regards to the changes in downforce, he said he’s “really happy with the way things are going, but I think its NASCAR’s job to run this sport the best that they can and they’ve done a really good job over the last 50 or 60 years. They’ve made this into what it is so a healthy dose of skepticism when a bunch of drivers come and tell you what they want probably serves them well. Right now, literally, I can go to anyone at NASCAR – Mike Helton or Brian (France) or Steve O’Donnell whether it’s through the council, I can go talk to them and there’s a lot of communication back and forth. It doesn’t mean we don’t get just as many penalties or black flags or whatever, the competition is still the competition, but it’s pretty neat right now that everyone wants to make the racing the absolute best it can be and people are listening. That’s all you can hope for.”

He was also asked if there were any negatives to the package.

“There are absolutely no negatives,” Edwards said. “This sport, to me, and I can speak as a fan – until I got that call from Jack Roush, this was just something I dreamed of doing and watched on television and the things that I grew up watching drivers do with these race cars. Like that picture with cars sideways and hanging it out, stock car racing, NASCAR racing is built on that. I can’t applaud NASCAR enough for going that direction. I don’t see any negatives. I think we’re just going to have better and better racing.”

May 27, 2016