NASCAR Cup PR

PAUL MENARD No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang -- HOW WOULD YOU GAUGE YOUR SEASON SO FAR, HALFWAY THROUGH? “It is certainly not where we want to be. I feel like we have definitely shown some speed in the races, it is just a matter of putting together the entire race, something we have struggled to do. It starts on Friday, or qualifying day. The package that we are dealt this year it is really hard to pass and track position is as important as it has ever been and when you qualify 15th it is hard to make up passes and get stage points and do the things you need to do to make the playoffs. The times we have qualified in the top-10 we have been able to get stage points and finish in the top-10 a few times. Track position is key. That is something we have been working on for sure but it isn’t playing out to our satisfaction but we keep working on it.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – 12th IN STANDINGS “You know, Kentucky has lost a lot of grip quickly. They repaved it less than five years ago and it has really gotten greyer and greyer each year. I’m sure it’s going to be even more slick this year when we go back. It’s one of those tracks that takes a while to get rubber, so you just have to almost wait for that process to happen and make sure you tune your car to the rubber and not the clean track. That’s really all I’m worried about is once the rubber lays down you know it’s going to be a different race track.”

Exuberant. That's how Corey LaJoie and the Go Fas Racing team are feeling after a remarkable weekend at Daytona. Both parties have a lot to be proud of headed into the weekend in Kentucky for a different kind of derby.

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.