Official Release

Ford Championship Weekend is in full swing, and to celebrate the XFINITY Series championship race on Saturday, Homestead-Miami Speedway announced Johnathan Hillstrand, star of the show “Deadliest Catch,” as the Grand Marshall for the Ford EcoBoost 300.

Roger Penske is going for his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship this weekend after Brad Keselowski delivered his first in 2012. Joey Logano will be the man trying to give him his second in his 50th anniversary season in motorsports. Penske was part of an owner’s press conference to talk about this weekend earlier today at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

CHIP GANASSI, TEAM OWNER, CHIP GANASSI RACING, met with members of the media to discuss the addition of Tyler Reddick to the CGR Xfinity Series team. Partial Transcript: ON TONY STEWART: “He drove for us at Indy one day, did a great job. You know you get involved in this business and you meet people along the way and I’m just sorry we didn’t work harder to do more with him as a driver with our team."

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 ALWAYS A RACER/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed his final race as a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor, his future plans, his legacy and many other topics.

Team Penske announced today that AutoZone, the industry leader in retail automotive parts and supplies, will return as an associate sponsor on the No. 22 Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano for the 2017 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season and beyond. AutoZone will continue its presence on the c-post of the No. 22 Ford Fusion for the fourth-consecutive season.

Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) announced today that Tyler Reddick, a current driver and a three-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), will pilot the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro in multiple NASCAR XFINITY Series races in 2017. Reddick, 20, will share the No. 42 Chevrolet with 2014 NASCAR Sprint Series Rookie of the Year and 2016 member of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Kyle Larson. Veteran XFINITY Series crew chief Mike Shiplett will continue to lead the No. 42 team.

Team leadership at Leavine Family Racing has announced that the team has secured an ownership charter in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Championship Media Day at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel and discussed a variety of topics.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, is in the Championship 4 for the second time in three seasons. He participated in a press conference this afternoon in Miami to talk about his chances of winning his first championship and the second for owner Roger Penske, who is celebrating his 50th year in motorsports.

Smithley has scored eight top-20 runs in a season in which he raced on many of the Xfinity tracks for the first time. He enters Saturday’s race 18th in Xfinity points – in front of three drivers who have run the entire schedule (Smithley missed the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway).