TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY APRIL 23, 2023
TRACK: Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama – 2.66-mile Superspeedway
EVENT: GEICO 500 – 188 laps / 500 Miles
RACE: No. 10 of 36
TUNE IN: Sunday, April 23 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
Noah Gragson
No. 42 Wendy’s Biggie Bag Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season
Starts: 9; Best start: 10th (COTA); Best finish: 11th (Daytona); Current points position: 31st
Career Talladega Superspeedway Statistics
NASCAR Cup Series
Starts 2; Best start: 7th; Best finish: 19th
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Starts: 8; Best start: 2nd; Best finish: 1st; Top 5’s: 3 Top 10s: 6; Laps Led: 64
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Starts: 2; Best Start: 8th; Best finish: 13th; Laps led: 3
Wendy’s on the No. 42: Wendy’s was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio. Dave built his business on the premise, “Quality Is Our Recipe®”, which remains the guidepost of the Wendy’s system. Wendy’s is best known for its made-to-order square hamburgers, using fresh, never frozen beef*, freshly prepared salads, and other signature items like chili, baked potatoes and the Frosty® dessert. The Wendy’s Company (Nasdaq: WEN) is committed to doing the right thing and making a positive difference in the lives of others. This is most visible through the Company’s support of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® and its signature Wendy’s Wonderful Kids® program, which seeks to find a loving, forever home for every child in the North American foster care system. Today, Wendy’s and its franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across approximately 7,000 restaurants worldwide with a vision of becoming the world’s most thriving and beloved restaurant brand. For details on franchising, connect with us at www.wendys.com/franchising. Visit www.wendys.com and www.squaredealblog.com for more information and connect with us on Twitter and Instagram using @wendys, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wendys.Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S., Alaska, and Canada.
The “Biggie” One: On Monday, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB partner Wendy’s announced a fresh look on the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro, driven by Noah Gragson. Wendy’s and Gragson are going big with a Biggie™ Bag paint scheme to highlight the best, and biggie-st, deal in fast food. The latest paint scheme is set to be another big crowd favorite at Talladega.
Wendy’s After Dark: Wendy’s will be celebrating on-site at Talladega Superspeedway by bringing fans a one-of-a-kind arcade and dining experience coined, “Biggie’s.” While at “Biggie’s,” fans can play nearly 20 different classic arcade games, get an up-close and personal look at the No. 42 Biggie™ Bag, and score FREE Biggie Bags, frozen Blueberry Pomegranate Lemonades and exclusive, limited-edition Wendy’s and Gragson co-branded merchandise. Once night falls, stick around because “Biggie’s” transforms into “Biggie’s After Dark” — the ultimate glow in the dark party for race fans.
No rookies here: This weekend marks the third outing for Noah Gragson at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series. His best run in the series came when he filled in for the No. 48 of Alex Bowman last fall – Gragson qualified seventh and finished 19th.
From Xfinity and Beyond: One year ago, Gragson was victorious at Talladega Superspeedway in the Xfinity Series. He only led seven laps that day but lead the most important one, to take the checkered flag for his second win of the 2022 season.
Noah Gragson Appearances at Talladega: Fans at Talladega will have multiple chances to see Noah this weekend.
Wendy’s Fan Experience: Noah will be at the Wendy’s Fan experience in the infield at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 22 at 1:30 pm.
NASCAR Fan Experience: Noah will participate in a Q&A session on Sunday, April 23 at 10:30 am at NASCAR Experience Stage.
NASCAR Legends Stage: Noah will participate in a Q&A session at 10:50 am at the NASCAR Legends stage in the GEICO footprint in the fan midway.
Quoting Noah Gragson: “Wendy’s is such a fun brand – I love the new paint scheme of the No. 42 Biggie Bag Chevrolet and they have some fun stuff planned for the fans of Talladega. Talladega is such a party – it’s always one of the most fun races of the year for me and a good show for the fans – I’m really excited.”
“To pass at Talladega is tricky, I try to use the air, but you can’t side draft with this Next Gen car, so it’s pretty hard to pass. We are really optimistic for our speedway program and had a great race in Daytona and a strong car at Atlanta. You have to stay out of trouble, pick a good line and race your race. Being there at the end with a shot is what we want to do in the No. 42 Wendy’s Chevrolet. I have a ‘biggie’ paint scheme and Talladega is just going to be a good show all around.”
Erik Jones
No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season
Starts: 9; Best start: 8th (COTA); Best finish: 8th (Atlanta); Top 10s: 1; Current points position: 28th
Career Talladega Superspeedway Statistics
NASCAR Cup Series
Starts: 12; Best start: 6th; Best finish: 2nd; Top 5s: 2, Top 10s: Laps Led: 73
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Starts: 3; Best start: 4th; Best finish: 5th; Top 5s: 1, Top 10s: 1; Laps Led: 5
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Starts: 2; Best Start: 3rd; Best finish: 4th; Top 5s: 1; Top 10s: 2; Laps led: 7
The United States Air Force on the No. 43: The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win – airpower anytime, anywhere. Whether full time, part time, in or out of uniform, everyone who serves plays a critical role in helping us achieve mission success. For 2023, the Air Force Recruiting Service is hiring over 26,000 new Airmen. An emphasis is on recruiting people with no prior military service into one of over 130 enlisted career opportunities. The Air Force recruits to retain, so we recruit the brightest candidates possible, then provide them with tough, highly technical training that gives them the right skills to sustain the combat capability of America’s Air Force. For more information, visit www.airforce.com
Two out of last three: Erik Jones has twelve starts at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series scoring three consecutive top-10 finishes, two of which were in the top-5. He has led 73 laps, 25 of which came in the last outing at the 2.66-mile Superspeedway in the fall of 2022. In the last two Talladega races, Jones has led a total of 48 laps.
The one that got away: Jones had a strong No. 43 Chevy at Talladega last fall, leading 23 laps on the day – and was less than 10 miles from his second victory of the season. With just three laps to go, Jones was leading, but the outside line was overtaken and the team would have to settle for a sixth-place finish.
Dave knows Superspeedways: Crew chief Dave Elenz is no stranger to success at superspeedways. He has nine starts with five different drivers at Talladega in the Xfinity Series, and has recorded one top-five and five top-10 finishes. Elenz also has had a noticeable record at Daytona. In fourteen starts with six different drivers, Elenz has four wins, five top-fives, and nine top-10’s.
Riding with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds – The partnership between LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and the United States Air Force was announced prior to the start of the 2023 season-opening DAYTONA 500. In its 15th season with the team, The U.S. Air Force uses their partnership with the team to activate at-track for recruiting efforts. Jones will pilot a red, white and blue-themed U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds paint scheme on the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
Salute to Lieutenant General Healy: Lt. Gen. John P. Healy will be joining the No. 43 team in Talladega. Lt. Gen. Healy is the Chief of Air Force Reserve, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia, and Commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. As Chief of Air Force Reserve, he serves as a principal advisor on reserve matters to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff. As Commander of Air Force Reserve Command, he has full responsibility for the supervision of all Air Force Reserve units around the world.
A Diamond Anniversary: The Air Force Reserve Command recently celebrated its “Diamond Anniversary”, for 75 years of service. Over the last 75 years, Reserve Citizen Airmen have answered the nation’s call with a record of combat-proven readiness while also transforming for the future. In celebration of this milestone, Lt. Gen. Healy recently hosted a celebration with a cake-cutting ceremony and dedication of a new Profiles in Leadership display at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on April 14.
Erik Jones Appearances at Talladega: Fans attending this weekend’s GEICO 500 will have several opportunities to meet Erik Jones on Sunday, April 23. (All times local).
Chevrolet Fan Experience: Jones will participate in a Q &A at the Fan Zone Display at 9:45 am.
Read with Erik: Jones will read a book to kids in the NASCAR Kids Zone in the midway from 10:10 am.
United States Air Force Display: Jones will appear at the U.S. Air Force mobile display unit in the midway at 11:00 am.
Quoting Erik Jones: “Talladega is going to be a good one for us to try and get a win. Our speed has been a little off at some places this season, so I am hoping Talladega is somewhere in which we can have some good speed in the No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevy and get out front to contend. I am looking forward to that.”
“It is tough to be the leader at the end sometimes, but the race at Talladega is a long one and you just have to put yourself in a position where you have a chance at the end. So hopefully this time if we are up there at the end it will be our turn. When you have a fast car and don’t win, it is frustrating because wins are hard to come by, especially at speedway races. Just trying to make it to the end of them is hard, but if you have a car that is capable of winning you want to take advantage of that.”
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional motor racing team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, owned by Maury Gallagher and Jimmie Johnson. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB operates two full-time entries, the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Noah Gragson and the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Erik Jones. The team also fields a third part-time entry, the No. 84 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, for Johnson’s limited racing schedule in 2023.
Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY MOTOR CLUB operates alongside GMS Racing, which fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS Racing in 2012, Gallagher, along with one of the NASCAR garage’s most accomplished figures, Team President, Mike Beam, built a victorious organization, capturing the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.
Our mission at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is to create an inclusive environment for auto-racing enthusiasts, celebrate the past and future legacies of our partners and team members, and to compete for race wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content visit www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.
