BRISTOL, TN – September 21, 2020 – Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines win both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick from Stewart-Haas Racing had their work cut out for them throughout the race and during the final laps at “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile”, both battling elite competition for the win.
“What a weekend in Bristol! Congratulations to Kevin, Chase, Tony, Gene, and the entire Stewart-Haas Racing Organization for the weekend sweep. These teams were well prepared and worked their strategies for the race wins,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Our team at Roush Yates Engines is looking forward to the Round of 12 in the Cup Series playoffs and the start of the Xfinity Series playoffs this weekend at Las Vegas.”
Brad Keselowski led the field to green in the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race and led a total of 82 laps before a power steering issue sent him to the garage. Team Penske racing teammate, Joey Logano, had a strong run finishing in the top ten in both stages while spending most of the night inside the top five. A loose wheel forced Logano to pit early and trapped him laps down, ultimately finishing P11.
The final laps at Bristol Motor Speedway surely did not disappoint, with two stock car racing champions, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, in a fierce battle for the win. Harvick and Busch swapped the lead multiple times before Harvick took the lead with 31 laps to go and crossed the finish line .310 seconds over Busch earning his ninth win of the 2020 season.
When asked about his battle with Busch, Harvick commented, “To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of got myself in a little bit of a ringer there. I hit a lapped car and got a hole in the right-front nose, but just kept fighting. We don’t have anything else to lose. We were here to try to win a race. I know how much Rodney really enjoys coming here and, hell, how can you not enjoy coming here with all this enthusiasm.”
Five Ford Mustangs finished in the top-10. Following Harvick was Stewart-Haas teammates Aric Almirola in P5 and Clint Bowyer in P6. Roush Fenway’s Chris Buescher had a great run finishing P8 as well as Michael McDowell from Front Row Motorsports finishing P10.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series race was just as exciting this past weekend at Bristol. Both Ford Performance drivers, Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe, finished inside the top five in both stages in the Food City 300. The final stage saw Austin Cindric take a comfortable lead at lap 253, until a power steering issue surfaced just 17 laps later. Cindric did a great job of hanging onto the lead until six laps to go when Briscoe made the winning pass.
This was Briscoe’s seventh time in victory lane in 2020, but winning at Bristol was special due to the fact that there were a limited number of fans back in the stands. Briscoe commented, “I am so thankful that we are back with the race fans. You guys are the best. It’s not the same without you guys. We can’t wait to get you back all the time, but, man what a race.”
The NASCAR Playoffs head out West to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Round of 12 kickoff for both series. In the Cup series there are five Ford drivers still in the hunt for the championship (Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, and Clint Bowyer). In the Xfinity series both Ford drivers, Briscoe and Cindric, will be competing for the championship over these next seven weeks. Reference the full 2020 schedule on Roushyates.com.
27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 408 WINS – 364 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.
Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.
With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.
3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races
