NASCAR Cup PR

EVERY WEEK, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE DEALING WITH A TRACK WITH A NEW RULE CHANGE AND THAT’S NOT GOING TO CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER. WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE DEALING WITHOUT A NOTEBOOK WEEK AFTER WEEK? “You just have to figure out how to find some consistency in all of it. We all still know what makes the cars go faster. There are only a few things you can do to make them faster, so that’s what we have to focus on. I do think it’s been more of handling track; a lot more people lifting and not running as wide open. The cars aren’t handling great, so you have to work on them and make them drive better. We did a lot of that today and a lot of other cars did too. It was nice to have some speed in practice.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 met with media and discussed his multiple wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the rules package change for the All-Star race, the tribute paid to service men and women on Memorial Day, his visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and more. Full Transcript:

“No, just different race tracks and ones that we knew we had concerns with entering the race track. Did we even have the right setup or splitter heights or anything. Really, our races have spun from getting behind in practice and not showing up with the car hitting the race track and things like that. Just some different race tracks as we go back to some of these tracks again, we’ll get more data and tracks that are similar, you won’t have that issue in practice and we’ll be a little bit closer when we get there.”

Matt Tifft's No. 36 Surface Sunscreen/Tunity TV Ford will pay tribute to Carrollton, Virginia native U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Joshua "Zach" Beale this Memorial Day weekend. SFC Beale was killed on January 22, 2019 in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. He was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Alex Bowman, driving the No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1, has been the runner-up the past three races – a successful but frustrating stretch. Thirteen others in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series modern era have had three consecutive second-place finishes, most recently by Team Chevy driver Kyle Larson in 2017.

All-Star Showdown… Drivers will compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway where all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have secured starting positions after winning a race last season. Kyle Busch has the most All-Star starts with 12 appearances while Denny Hamlin has 11 and Martin Truex Jr. has seven. Meanwhile, this will be Erik Jones first All-Star appearance. In total, Toyota drivers have won two All-Star races with Busch earning one win in the 2017 exhibition race while Hamlin was also victorious in 2015.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) takes a break from points racing this weekend for the annual All-Star weekend. Ryan Newman is locked into Saturday night’s main event by way of his win in the 2002 event, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., will attempt to race his way in during The Open. Jack Roush Fords have driven to victory lane on our occasions in the All-Star Race.

Chase Elliott on the All-Star Race: “I’m very appreciative of the fan vote the past couple of years, but it’s nice to be locked in already and not have to worry about it. I think it will be exciting to go into the weekend locked in the race for the first time. I’m looking forward to being a part of the big show, for sure.”

Charlotte All-Star Preview: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be heading home to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the series’ All-Star Race on Saturday, May 18. With a top-five finish last year in the All-Star Race, Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team will be seeking another strong performance and Denny’s second-career All-Star victory.

Michael McDowell's No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang will honor a fallen service member as part of a patriotic paint scheme for the Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The decal across the top of the windshield of McDowell's car will display the name of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Farmer. CW2 Farmer died of wounds sustained during an attack while conducting a local engagement in Manbij, Syria earlier this year.