Official Release

Paul Menard Leads Laps and Wins Stage 2 in Richmond/Menards Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International "We had a really strong Richmond/Menards Chevrolet today and led a lot of laps. In Stage 2, we made an air pressure adjustment and had a top-two car. The 22 car was a little better at that point, but we were able to stay out front and win the stage. In Stage 3, we had something break pretty early on and as the run went on it got worse."

Ryan Reed drove his No. 16 Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang to a 15th-place finish Saturday afternoon at Watkins Glen. Reed showed off some road course skills, finishing final practice fourth and making the final round of qualifying. Different pit strategies unfolded with late race cautions and a gamble for four tires at the end did not turn out to be as beneficial as the team had hoped.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 12 Snap-On Ford Mustang (Finished 2nd) -- “It’s fun. Dang, I wish it was for the win and not for second. I had such a good short run car, just in the wrong position to start that last run. I feel like if I was second I could have won the race. I just had a really good short run car. Our long run speed was off a bit and that’s when the 18 and 22 would drive by us and we were a third-place car on the long run but probably a winning car on the short run. By time I cleared the 22 the 18 was gone. If we had another four or five laps (he would have drove off again). I needed a caution”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 12 Snap-On Ford Mustang -- “We were a third place car on the long run and maybe a first place car for the first two laps of every run. It just depended on what type of race we had. We had some issues on pit road with a lugnut getting stuck behind a wheel and lost a lot of track position. Once we got to third I went into cruise control to save my stuff and hope for a late-race restart and boom, we had one. I thought it was my chance but just couldn’t accelerate as good as Kyle (Busch) and wasn’t able to stay with him. Brad (Keselowski) and I had a fun battle to the end. By the time I got by Brad the 18 was just too far in front of me. It was a little too late. Maybe one more restart and one of those green-white-checkered things would have been nice. Overall, to start on the pole and be the runner-up doesn’t always feel good but we did learn some things for tomorrow.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 12 Snap-On Ford Mustang (Finished 2nd) -- “It’s fun. Dang, I wish it was for the win and not for second. I had such a good short run car, just in the wrong position to start that last run. I feel like if I was second I could have won the race. I just had a really good short run car. Our long run speed was off a bit and that’s when the 18 and 22 would drive by us and we were a third-place car on the long run but probably a winning car on the short run. By time I cleared the 22 the 18 was gone. If we had another four or five laps (he would have drove off again). I needed a caution”

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his season thus far, the differences between Sonoma and Watkins Glen, road course racing in general, and more.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media at Watkins Glen International: DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - What is your approach for tomorrow’s race at Watkins Glen International after winning here last year? “Just focusing mostly on the corners that you need to setup to pass on and making sure all of the braking is good. Those are all of the keys to being upfront and having a fast car and after that it’s all about circumstances and strategy and things like that.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his desire to win at Watkins Glen, hard racing with Kyle Larson, stage racing, and more.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford has enjoyed past success on the road course of Watkins Glen. Logano looks to this weekend as possibly his best chance for victory and securing a spot in the upcoming NASCAR Playoffs. Logano explained to media Saturday morning.

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet SS and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) team engineers made a pit stop at Meeting Street Academy in Charleston, S.C. today, to speak to the fourth and fifth grade science classes about the role STEM subjects play in racing. Team partner Credit One Bank was also in attendance and donated $25,000 to the school.