WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL (2.45-MILE ROAD COURSE)
LOCATION: WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 22 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 2:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, AUG. 5 (NBC/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
Chase Elliott
No. 9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 22 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
2018 Season
12th in points
21 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
5 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
56 laps led
Career
98 starts
0 wins
4 pole positions
27 top-five finishes
48 top-10 finishes
974 laps led
Track Career
2 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
9 laps led
TRENDING UPWARD: After scoring fifth- and seventh-place finishes the last two weekends, Chase Elliott has compiled some impressive statistics. The third-year driver has won two stages and collected a total of 38 stage points, both of which are the most among all drivers in the past two weeks. Elliott’s average running position (4.06) over those two races also leads all drivers. The driver of the No. 9 has earned 100 points over the last two weekends, ranked second only to Kevin Harvick, who has amassed 103.
SUNENERGY1 RETURNS: For the second time this season, SunEnergy1, one of the world’s largest privately held solar energy companies, will adorn the hood of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. SunEnergy1 will serve as the primary sponsor for Elliott in four NASCAR Cup Series races in 2018.
NEW LOOK FOR SUNENERGY1: The SunEnergy1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will debut a new look this weekend at Watkins Glen. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy has been transformed to look similar to Kenny Habul’s SunEnergy1 Racing No. 75 IMSA ride that is primarily blue and features flames on the hood and TV panel. Habul is the founder and CEO of SunEnergy1.
ROAD COURSE ROUNDUP: In the 22-year-old driver’s five previous starts in the Cup Series at road courses (Sonoma and Watkins Glen), Elliott has collected two top-10 finishes and averaged a starting position of 9.4 and finishing position of 11.8. Earlier this season, Elliott started and finished inside the top five at Sonoma Raceway, earning his career-best road course finish of fourth. The driver of the No. 9 has also made six road course starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (two apiece at Road America, Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio). Elliott finished inside the top 10 in all six starts and collected top-five finishes in four. In the Xfinity Series, the third-year driver averages a starting position of 7.8 and finishing position of 5.0 at road courses. Elliott garnered victories in his only road course starts in the NASCAR Truck Series (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, 2013) and K&N Pro Series West (Sonoma Raceway, 2016).
FIRST CAREER WIN: If Elliott wins this weekend at Watkins Glen International, he could join an impressive list of drivers who scored their first career win on a road course. One notable name on the list is his father, Bill Elliott, who captured his first career win at Riverside International Raceway on Nov. 20, 1983.
WATKINS GLEN STATS: Elliott is set to make his third Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. In the Dawsonville, Georgia, native’s previous two starts at The Glen, he averages a starting position of 10.0 and finishing position of 13.0. Last season at the 2.45-mile road course, Elliott qualified fourth and raced inside the top 10 for much of the 90-lap event before ultimately finishing 13th after having to pit for fuel in the closing laps.
DRIVEN TO GIVE GLOVES: During the Watkins Glen race weekend, Elliott and 31 of his Cup Series competitors will wear Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s signature skeleton gloves to raise awareness for the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Elliott has chosen blue gloves – they are modeled after the four butterflies that make up the Nationwide Children’s Hospital logo (blue, white, orange and yellow). Following the race, each pair of gloves will be autographed by the driver wearing them and put up for auction on the NASCAR Foundation auction site on Aug. 8. The funds will support patients and their families in pediatric injury rehabilitation, research and prevention.
POCONO REWIND: For the second consecutive weekend, Elliott and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team collected a stage win. The driver led 14 laps on his way to a solid seventh-place finish at Pocono Raceway. Elliott is currently 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings with four races to go until the cutoff race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 9.
BIRTHDAY WISHES FOR ALAN: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will celebrate his 43rd birthday on Sunday, Aug. 5, in Watkins Glen. Gustafson, who grew up just down the road from historic Daytona International Speedway, got his start in racing turning wrenches on the go-karts of childhood friend Casey Yunick, the grandson of legendary car builder and mechanic Smokey Yunick.
William Byron
No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 20 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2018 Season
21st in points
21 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
53 laps led
Career
21 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
53 laps led
Track Career
0 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
GAINING MOMENTUM: Coming off a career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish at Pocono Raceway last Sunday, William Byron will head to Watkins Glen with plenty of momentum. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native had a great weekend at Pocono, qualifying sixth and although he was one of many competitors sent to the rear following post-qualifying technical inspections, Byron didn’t waste any time moving forward once the 400-mile race was underway. He advanced to 15th by the end of Stage 1, earned a stage point for finishing 10th in the second segment, and led 10 laps at the beginning of the final segment before bringing home a career-best sixth-place result. Byron currently leads the Cup Series rookie of the year standings by 71 points.
TOP-SIX: Byron’s career-best sixth-place finish last weekend at Pocono marked the 23rd time a Hendrick Motorsports driver age 20 or younger has finished sixth or better in a race – a NASCAR Cup Series record. In the last 272 races, a driver age 20 or younger has finished in the top six a total of 12 times, every one of whom drove the No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports. Byron’s Pocono result was only the third time a driver age 20 or younger finished in the top six at the Pennsylvania track, and all three drove for Hendrick Motorsports – Kyle Busch in June 2005, Chase Elliott in June 2016, and Byron in July 2018. Rolling off the grid 38th, Byron tied the lowest starting position of a driver age 20 or younger to finish inside the top six in a race since 1952.
HERTZ RETURNS: The Hertz colors will return to the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Watkins Glen International, albeit with an update as the scheme is now primarily yellow with black numbers and lettering. The Hertz Corporation, one of the world’s largest vehicle rental companies, joined 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports as a primary sponsor of Byron and his iconic No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team earlier in 2018. Following The Glen, Hertz will be the primary sponsor for three additional races in 2018: Talladega Superspeedway in October and the final two races of the season in November, ISM Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
WATKINS GLEN STATS: Byron will make his third start at Watkins Glen this weekend and his first in the Cup Series. The 20-year-old raced on the 2.45-mile road course in the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race, when he started second and finished seventh, and again in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2017, when he started 15th and finished 10th. Overall, Byron has run nine road course races across four different NASCAR series – Cup, Xfinity, Truck and K&N Pro – finishing inside the top 10 in all but two of those races. His best road course finish is a third-place result in the K&N Pro Series East race at Sonoma in June of this year while running double-duty. He scored a 25th-place finish in the Cup race that same weekend. No. 24 team crew chief Darian Grubb has led a Cup team to victory at Watkins Glen before – he won with Tony Stewart in August 2009. However, only one Cup rookie has ever scored a road course win – Juan Pablo Montoya at Sonoma Raceway in 2007 – so it’s certainly a challenging feat.
HERTZ SWEEPSTAKES: To celebrate the partnership with Byron and Hendrick Motorsports, Hertz is currently running a sweepstakes where with the booking of a Hertz rental car, fans have a chance to be entered to win a VIP race weekend experience in Phoenix by using the provided promotional code when booking the rental car. The grand prize includes a trip for four to Phoenix from Nov. 9-12, four VIP tickets to the Nov. 11 race at ISM Raceway, a meet-and-greet with Byron, a tour of the No. 24 Hertz hauler, pit box seating with pit and garage access, round-trip airfare, a three-night hotel stay, and, of course, a Hertz rental car. The sweepstakes runs from July 1 to Aug. 15. Click here for more information or to enter.
CATCH BYRON AT THESE APPEARANCES: Byron will participate in the Watkins Glen tweet-up in Victory Lane on Sunday, Aug. 5, at 10:30 a.m. local time. He’ll also make an appearance at the Team Chevy stage on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. local time. Fans can visit the Chevy stage in the midway to see the Q&A with Byron.
TDJF SKELETON GLOVES: Byron will join his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in wearing Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s signature skeleton-themed gloves to support The Dale Jr. Foundation this weekend at The Glen. Both Byron and Earnhardt will sign the yellow skeleton gloves that Byron will wear for this weekend’s race and auction them off to raise money for the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as part of the annual “Driven to Give Gloves” program. The fund supports the courageous patients and their families in the area of pediatric injury rehabilitation, research and prevention.
Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 42 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2018 Season
13th in points
21 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
7 top-10 finishes
15 laps led
Career
600 starts
83 wins
35 pole positions
224 top-five finishes
348 top-10 finishes
18,678 laps led
Track Career
16 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
4 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
17 laps led
WATKINS GLEN PERFORMANCE: Although Jimmie Johnson has yet to score a win at the road course at Watkins Glen International, he has accumulated four top-five finishes and eight top-10s, with his best finish of third coming in 2007 and 2012. Johnson won the pole position at the 2.45-mile road course in 2009. He has an average starting position of 7.6 and finishing position of 16.2 at the venue.
JOHNSON’S SPECIAL GLOVES: During the Watkins Glen race weekend, Johnson and others will wear Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s signature skeleton gloves to raise awareness for the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Johnson’s gloves are black and white. Following the race, Johnson will autograph the gloves and they will be auctioned on the NASCAR Foundation auction site Aug. 8. The funds will support patients and their families in pediatric injury rehabilitation, research and prevention.
POCONO REWIND: Johnson made his 600th career NASCAR Cup Series start last weekend at Pocono Raceway. He overcame a 35th-place starting position, picking up 21 positions and finishing the first stage in 14th. The driver finished 11th in the second stage and then ran in the top 10 for the majority of the final stage. A late-race pit stop strategy for four fresh tires didn’t pan out the way the team had hoped and Johnson was only able to recover to the 17th position at the finish.
DARLINGTON THROWBACK REVEALED: On Monday, Lowe’s revealed its Darlington throwback paint scheme that will run at the track on Sept. 2. The black, rally-striped KOBALT Chevy was selected for the theme “Seven Decades of NASCAR” as a tribute to Johnson’s win on May 12, 2012. The victory was Johnson’s 56th career win and the milestone 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports. See the paint scheme here.
DARLINGTON CELEBRATION: Fans attending the race at Darlington Raceway will have an exclusive opportunity to hear from many of the stars and legends of NASCAR at Darlington’s “Saturday Night Celebration” event taking place at the track on Sept. 1. Seven-time Cup Series champion Johnson will appear alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. For more information, click here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAD: No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus will celebrate a birthday this weekend at Watkins Glen. The Rockford, Illinois, native will turn 47 on Sunday, Aug. 5. and is expecting his first child later this month with wife Brooke.
VIP EXPERIENCE: Johnson has two more VIP experiences remaining for the 2018 season. The package gives fans the opportunity to meet the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in a one-on-one setting and includes a meet-and-greet, an autograph and a photo with Johnson along with a behind-the-scenes garage tour and an amazing, exclusive gift. Packages remain for Indianapolis and Dover. For more information, visit: https://jimmiejohnsonvip.com/.
LOCAL CREW MEMBER: Mark Ellis, the No. 48 transporter driver, hails from Utica, New York. Ellis went to Thomas R. Proctor High School, roughly 140 miles from Watkins Glen International, and before becoming a teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, Ellis was a crew member on the 2014 NHRA Drag Racing Top Fuel championship-winning team with driver Tony Schumacher. A bowling aficionado, Ellis is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association and is in his second season at Hendrick Motorsports.
Alex Bowman
No. 88 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 25 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2018 Season
15th in points
21 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
2 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
67 laps led
Career
102 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
270 laps led
Track Career
2 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Alex Bowman and Nationwide vice president of sports marketing Jim McCoy will visit the Watkins Glen media center on Sunday, Aug. 5 at 11:30 a.m. local time. Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will feature a special Nationwide Children’s Hospital paint scheme this weekend.
POCONO REWIND: Alex Bowman earned his career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish last weekend at Pocono Raceway. The No. 88 team rolled off the grid 10th for the 400-mile race, with the driver remaining inside the top 10 for the majority of the event. The team received stage points for finishing Stage 1 ninth and Stage 2 fourth. Bowman kept his eyes out front and wound up bringing home a third-place result, the driver’s career-best finish and his second top-five finish of the 2018 season.
TOP-10 STREAKING: In the last six races, Bowman has amassed four top-10 finishes, tying him for the second-highest total in the NASCAR Cup Series during that span. He nearly notched a fifth, finishing 11th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
CAREER YEAR: Of the 19 tracks on which Bowman has raced this season, he has earned a career-best finish at 14 of them. Eight of his 11 career top-10 finishes have come in the last 16 races – and all 11 of his top-10s have come in his 31 starts driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: On the heels of his career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish last weekend, Bowman will pilot the No. 88 Nationwide Children’s Hospital paint scheme at Watkins Glen this weekend. In 2013, the 25-year-old drove the first-ever scheme supporting the hospital when he was running in what was then the Nationwide Series. Bowman has visited the children’s hospital, based in Columbus, Ohio, twice and will make a third visit on Thursday, Aug. 2, with Earnhardt and JR Motorsports driver Tyler Reddick. The sports marketing program at Nationwide has raised over $27 million over the last seven years for the award-winning facility. Bowman, along with many of his Cup Series competitors, will wear Earnhardt’s famous skeleton gloves during the event weekend, which will then be autographed and auctioned off following the race for a donation to the hospital.
NATIONWIDE ON BOARD: Nationwide will be back on the No. 88 Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Watkins Glen with the special Nationwide Children’s Hospital scheme. This weekend will mark the second time that the Nationwide colors have been on the No. 88 car at Watkins Glen since joining Hendrick Motorsports. In 2015, Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the Nationwide Chevrolet to an 11th-place finish at the track after qualifying seventh.
BOWMAN AT THE GLEN: Bowman has two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at the New York-based road course. Bowman’s best finish at the track came back in 2015 when he finished 29th. In 2013, Bowman ran the Nationwide Children’s Hospital paint scheme in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and finished 13th after qualifying 19th. Earlier this season, Bowman drove the No. 88 at the road course at Sonoma Raceway to a ninth-place finish.
IVES AT WATKINS GLEN: Crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots three times for the No. 88 team at the 2.45-mile road course. The Michigan native has two top-15 finishes, an 11th-place finish with Earnhardt and a 14th-place finish with Jeff Gordon back in 2016. Ives has two starts as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the track, capturing one top-five finish and two top-10s. Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team from 2006-2012 and captured one pole (2009), two third-place finishes and four top-10 finishes.
BACK HOME IN NEW YORK: Andrew Seamans, a tire specialist on the No. 88 Nationwide Children’s Hospital team, is going back to his home state of New York this weekend when the Cup Series visits Watkins Glen International. Seamans grew up in Liverpool, New York, which is approximately 80 miles from the 2.45-mile road course. The 32-year-old attended college at SUNY Oswego in Oswego, New York, and has a degree in Informational Science. Prior to joining Hendrick Motorsports, Seamans worked with Kasey Kahne Racing and Kyle Larson Racing in the World of Outlaws Series.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES TRAINING CAMP: Last Friday, Bowman visited the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia to attend training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bowman met key members of the defending Super Bowl champions and was presented with a No. 88 Eagles jersey with his name on the back from Eagles president Don Smolenski. In return, Bowman presented Smolenski with one of the Hendrick Motorsports Philadelphia Eagles/All-Pro Teachers crew shirts. Read more about his day here.
VALVOLINE: Tomorrow is the final day to enter Valvoline’s current sweepstakes. Valvoline is giving race fans the chance to win a trip for two to Las Vegas to meet Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and watch him race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 16. One grand-prize winner will receive a travel voucher for airfare, hotel stay and car rental courtesy of Valvoline. The winner will also get the chance to be the honorary pit crew member for the No. 88 team, which includes premium seating, behind-the-scenes access, a meet-and-greet with Bowman and other exclusive experiences. Fans can enter here until Aug. 1.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT WATKINS GLEN: In 32 races at Watkins Glen, Hendrick Motorsports has six wins, six pole positions, 18 top-five finishes and 35 top-10s. Jeff Gordon ranks second on the all-time wins list at The Glen with four victories. He earned Hendrick Motorsports’ most recent victory at the road course when he won the 2001 event. With 262 laps led, Gordon is the all-time leader in that category at the serpentine track.
POCONO PROWESS: Three Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the top 10 at Pocono Raceway last weekend, marking the first time the organization accomplished that feat this season. The average finish of all four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets was 8.25, the organization’s best mark of the season. The previous week’s combined average finish was 10th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the third-best mark of the season.
ON A ROLL: A Hendrick Motorsports driver has led laps in each of the past four races, amassing a total of 85 laps led during that span after the organization led just two laps in the prior six races. Thanks to Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports has notched a stage win in each of the past two races – the organization’s only stage wins this season.
PLAYOFF POSITIONING: Hendrick Motorsports currently has three drivers in playoff position – Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman – which is tied for the second-most among all teams in the NASCAR Cup Series.
ROCKING THE ROAD COURSES: Hendrick Motorsports owns the record for the most wins all-time on road courses with 15. Gordon leads all drivers in road-course victories with nine (five at Sonoma and four at Watkins Glen). Stepping away from the ovals, the organization leads the way among NASCAR Cup Series teams on road courses with 17 poles, 56-top-fives, 99 top-10s and 1,435 laps led.
ON THIS DATE: Of the last seven races held on Aug. 5, Hendrick Motorsports has claimed victories in two of them. Gordon drove his No. 24 Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 5, 2001, and again on Aug. 5, 2012, at Pocono Raceway.
CHARMING THE SERPENTINE: While Hendrick Motorsports has found Victory Lane six times at Watkins Glen, the organization’s most recent win at the New York track was Gordon’s 2001 victory. Since that trip to Victory Lane, Hendrick Motorsports has won 147 times on 21 different tracks, including three wins at Sonoma.
250 ON THE HORIZON: The next points-paying win by a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will be the organization’s milestone 250th in NASCAR Cup Series competition. With 268 Cup victories, only Petty Enterprises has more. Joe Gibbs Racing is third all-time at 155, followed by Junior Johnson and Associates with 153 wins and Roush Fenway Racing with 137.
16 MAKES 249: Sixteen different drivers have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ total of 249 points-paying Cup wins. Only the Wood Brothers team, which has sent 19 different drivers to Victory Lane, has more. Junior Johnson and Associates won with 13 different drivers.
FIRST-TIME WINNERS: If Elliott, William Byron or Bowman wins at Watkins Glen, it will mark the ninth time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing share the all-time record, having each sent eight first-time winners to Victory Lane in Cup Series competition.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 249 race victories, 215 pole positions, 1,038 top-five finishes and 1,767 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 67,000 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on racing at Watkins Glen:
“In the last couple of years, I feel like we’ve run better at Watkins Glen. We had a good run at Sonoma earlier this season, so hopefully we learned some things that we can do this weekend. I’ve never really had the results to show (at Watkins Glen), but we usually always have had some speed and pace.”
Elliott on the upcoming races and impending playoffs:
“It doesn’t hurt that we have some good momentum. We are coming up on some tracks the next few weeks that we ran well at either in the first go or places that have been better for us in the past. So we’ll keep after it and see where we end up.”
William Byron on racing at Watkins Glen:
“Watkins Glen is all about getting the most out of the braking zone and stability under braking. That’s really a key there. Also, it’s important to get through the ‘Bus Stop’ well and then getting off of Turn 1 is very important to get up through the ‘esses.’ It’s fun, but it’s kind of an aero(-sensitive) track, so those factors play in.”
Byron on comparing Watkins Glen to Sonoma:
“Really, they are polar opposites. It’s like going to Martinsville versus going to Michigan. Watkins Glen is more like a superspeedway for road-course racing.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Watkins Glen:
“I took to the Watkins Glen track pretty quickly in the then-Busch Series days and in the Cup Series, I’ve been a top-three car at times and we have had a few top-fives. So, I hope to find that little bit extra to hold on with the long-run speed. I seem to be able to be competitive on the short runs so I need to take care of my brakes for the long runs.”
Alex Bowman on Watkins Glen versus Sonoma:
“The tracks are pretty different, but it definitely gives me some road-course confidence at least at being good at Watkins Glen. I think Watkins Glen is probably a little easier than Sonoma is from a driver’s standpoint. Excited to get there and be in a really fast car. I know our road course stuff is really strong, so it should be fun.”
Bowman on preparing for Watkins Glen:
“Well, they have paved it since then, so that is obviously a big difference, but other than that anytime you go to a road course you are doing extra things to try and be prepared. So, probably be in the simulator and all that good stuff.”
Bowman on Nationwide Children’s Hospital:
“Having the Nationwide Children’s Hospital on our Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Watkins Glen is really special. I drove a car featuring the hospital back in 2013, in what was then the Nationwide Series. I have had the chance to visit the hospital twice and I am going again on Thursday. It is such a special place and it is an honor to have Bricen (Thall)’s name on our car this weekend. Bricen is a Nationwide Children’s Hospital patient champion and he will be with us all weekend getting the best behind-the-scenes experience. We are hoping for a good finish with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital on board.”
