NASCAR Cup PR

Paul Menard and his No. 21 Ford Mustang will be honoring one of America’s racing heroes this weekend in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Menard’s Quaker State-sponsored Mustang will carry a paint scheme reminiscent of the Quaker State colors that appeared on the No. 11 World of Outlaws sprint car driven by Steve Kinser in 2005, the year he won his 20th series championship.

Jimmie Johnson on Kentucky: “We are back to getting some top-fives and knocking on the door right now. These guys on my team have been working really hard. I think we’re starting to hit our stride as a group. While I’ve had a lot of success on 1.5-mile tracks, Kentucky has always seemed to be a challenge for me. It’s got bumps. Going into Turn 1 you are climbing up a hill and then quickly descend until you actually turn into Turn 3. The cars are very edgy and then you get some grip off of Turn 4 and then you are down the front straightaway again.”

Richard Childress Racing in the Bluegrass State ... In 24 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kentucky Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has earned two top-five and three top-10 finishes, completing 6,403 of the contested 6,429 laps (99.6 percent).

A Kentucky Speedway triple-header is on tap as NASCAR’s top three touring series head to the 1.5-mile facility for feature events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. The weekend kicks off with the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series on Thursday with the NASCAR XFINITY and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series running Friday and Saturday, respectively.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In four Monster Energy Open career starts at Kentucky Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 35.2 and an average finish of 35.5 and has completed 694 of 1,075 (64.6 percent) career laps.  DiBenedetto’s best finish at the 1.5-mile track in Sparta, Kentucky is 25th in 2017.

Newman will make his ninth MENCS start at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday. In eight prior races, Newman has an average finish of 15.1 with three top-five finishes.

The two-time Xfinity champion has six career MENCS starts at Kentucky with an average starting position of 17.3 and average finishing position of 22.2.

Kentucky Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be heading to Kentucky Speedway next weekend for a 400-mile event on Saturday, July 13.Having faced some adversity the past couple races, Hamlin and team will be seeking a strong finish and Denny’s first-career victory at Kentucky.

July 9, 2019. Quaker State is proud to host the 9th annual Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart, part of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), at Kentucky Speedway. The triple-header motorsports weekend is headlined by the Quaker State 400, the final race on the 1.5-mile tri-oval speedway taking place on Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 7:30PM EST and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.

“At Kentucky, it's all about restarts, pit strategy and being aggressive. But you have to be really precise in your execution, as well. You see a lot of guys spin out when they get just outside the groove and that's because you're pushing so hard to get as much throttle time as possible, but it ends up backfiring. They're applying PJ1 to the upper grooves at Kentucky this weekend, which I think will help widen out the racing and make restarts even more exciting. I'm ready to go out and get a good finish in our Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang and I'm excited to have Ark Encounter on the car this weekend, as well. My family and I have enjoyed going there when we're in Kentucky so it's great to have them aboard the No. 34.”