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Brad Keselowski is back on top with a win at Darlington Raceway

By
Angie Campbell
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Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Brad Keselowski is back in Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway after a 110-race winless drought. He captured the checkered flag in the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 Sunday evening, earning his 36th career win and the second at the 1.366-mile track.

It was also his first win as a co-owner and driver for RFK Racing and his first trip to Victory Lane since taking the checkered flag at Talladega in April 2021 for Team Penske.

“It’s just so great to be here in Darlington, Keselowski said. “I love this track. I love coming here. It’s a special place to me whether you win or not, but to run up front all day and have a great car, qualify up front, it was just an awesome day for Castrol.

“I’m glad for Ford. Ford has been working really hard to get us up here and here we are. We got them a win, so they don’t have to hear about that anymore. I’m happy for Ford. Hopefully, there are more great things to come.

“It was a total team effort from the top to the bottom to get us to where we could have a fast car. We executed on pit road, led laps and were there when it counted at the end.”

Ty Gibbs finished second in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota, his career-best result in the Cup Series and his seventh top-10 of 2024.

Josh Berry earned a third-place result in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and was the highest-finishing rookie. Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five.

Kyle Larson leads the point standings despite a disappointing finish. He won the first stage but lost the handling of his car. Finally, on Lap 254 during the final stage, Larson spun due to a flat left-rear tire and took his car to the garage, ending his day early.

The post-race inspection was completed with no issues, confirming Keselowski as the winner.

Next week the Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star Race.

Darlington Goodyear 400 Race Results:

  1. Brad Keselowski
  2. Ty Gibbs
  3. Josh Berry
  4. Denny Hamlin
  5. Chase Briscoe
  6. William Byron
  7. Bubba Wallace
  8. Alex Bowman
  9. Justin Haley
  10. Michael McDowell
  11. Ross Chastain
  12. Chase Elliott
  13. Christopher Bell
  14. Noah Gragson
  15. Todd Gillian
  16. Corey LaJoie
  17. Ryan Preece
  18. Kaz Grala
  19. Erik Jones
  20. Austin Cindric
  21. Joey Logano
  22. Harrison Burton
  23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  24. Daniel Suarez
  25. Martin Truex Jr.
  26. Carson Hocevar
  27. Kyle Busch
  28. Austin Dillon
  29. Derek Kraus
  30. Chris Buescher
  31. John Hunter Nemechek
  32. Tyler Reddick
  33. Daniel Henric
  34. Kyle Larson
  35. Zane Smith
  36. Ryan Blaney

Buescher, Reddick involved in post-race altercation amid late-race battle at Darlington

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

For a second consecutive weekend, Chris Buescher was denied an opportunity to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2024 season amid an eventful run and intense battle for the win in the closing stages of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 12. 

Compared to a week ago at Kansas Speedway, where he was edged by Kyle Larson in the closest-recorded finish in the Cup Series history at 0.001 seconds but managed a smile, Buescher this week was left fuming over Tyler Reddick, the latter of which foiled both opportunities of netting a victory at the track deemed “Too Tough to Tame.” 

The late drama for the victory that eventually led to tempers flaring started during a restart with 33 laps remaining when Reddick and Brad Keselowski, Buescher’s teammate and co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, spent the following three laps battling dead even for the lead. By then, Reddick, the pole winner had received stellar pit stops from his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota pit crew that enabled him to beat Keselowski off of pit road from the first pit stall throughout the event’s caution and stage break periods, including the latest service with 37 laps remaining.

Then entering the frontstretch with 30 laps remaining, Keselowski, who made a bold charge underneath Reddick, made contact with the latter as Reddick scraped the outside wall while Keselowski nearly bounced off of Reddick. With both Reddick and Keselowski briefly falling off the pace and trying to regain their pace, Buescher capitalized on the contact and hard racing by diving his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank/Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse beneath both through the frontstretch as he emerged with the lead entering the first two turns. 

After muscling ahead of Keselowski to claim the runner-up spot with 28 laps remaining, Reddick then spent the next 18 laps stalking and narrowing his deficit to Buescher. Then as he got to Buescher’s rear bumper while trailing him by a tenth of a second through the backstretch with 10 laps remaining, Reddick seized an opportunity by diving low beneath Buescher in a bid to reclaim the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Instead of the move sticking below the track through the turns as Reddick had hoped, Reddick’s Toyota slid up the track and pinned Buescher’s Ford against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4.  

The contact resulted in both falling off the pace as both had their rear tires flattened and pitting their respective entries during the following lap, with their hopes of winning for the first time at Darlington Raceway also evaporated. During their late-race issues. Keselowski zipped by both and led the final eight laps en route to his first Cup victory in three years as he also received the honors of recording the first elusive victories of the season for both Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing and the Ford Mustang Dark Horse stock car. 

After taking the checkered flag in 30th place, two spots ahead of Reddick but two laps behind the leaders, before parking his entry on pit road, Buescher wasted no time stalking over to Reddick, where he gave the latter a shove and exchanged harsh words as Reddick still had his helmet on before Buescher walked back to his car. Amid the heated confrontation, Buescher maintained his composure as he summarized his disappointment and perspective over the late-race incident from his post-race interview. 

“We got wrecked,” Buescher, who led 21 of 293-scheduled laps, said on FS1. “That one’s clear as day. [I] Don’t need any cameras to tell us. [Me and Reddick] raced each other really clean over the years, try to be really respectful about it, and we get used up. I’m just really pissed off about it right now. We certainly had a chance to win another [race].” 

“Man, I wanted [the win] for our Fifth Third Bank group right here,” Buescher added. “[Reddick] knows he messed up. He said it, but it doesn’t change anything for us. I told him he’s got a win sticker on [his No. 45 door] and we’re still trying to find ours. We get used up like that and take away those opportunities stuff. That’s two weeks in a row we’ve had a shot to win races.” 

The 30th-place result marks Buescher’s second-worst finish through the first 12 events of the 2024 Cup Series schedule and it dropped him one spot in the regular-season standings to 12th place, where he trails points leader Kyle Larson by 155 points. Nonetheless, Buescher, who remains poised for his first victory of the season, is 15 points above the top-16 cutline, enabling him to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs as this year’s regular-season stretch reaches its halfway mark. 

Meanwhile, Reddick, who led a race-high 174 laps and won the second stage, was also left disappointed on pit road after ending up 32nd in the final running order despite spending the majority of the event running at the front and dominating in his No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry XSE entry that sported a special throwback scheme honoring the late NASCAR icon Tim Richmond as Reddick also sported a throwback mustache to mirror Richmond. Amid the confrontation, Reddick was quick to accept responsibility for his role in the contact with Buescher.  

“I completely understand where [Buescher]’s coming from,” Reddick said. “He’s running the top [lane], running his own race, running his own line, keeping me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and was hoping I was gonna clear him. When I realized I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up and not slide up into him, but…I wish I wouldn’t have done that.”  

Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“I completely understand why he’s that mad,” Reddick added. “He did nothing wrong. Just trying to win the race. Take myself out, that’s one thing like I can live with that. I’m just disappointed it played out the way it did and took him out of the race as well. That was not the goal there. Just have to work on that and try to make some better decisions going forward.”  

Compared to Buescher, Reddick has one victory under his belt through the first 12 events of the 2024 Cup Series schedule after he won at Talladega Superspeedway three races ago. Despite being currently guaranteed a spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, Reddick also dropped one spot in the regular-season standings as he is ranked in sixth place and trails Larson by 90 points as he continues his pursuit for additional victories before the regular season’s conclusion in August. 

With Darlington Raceway in the rearview mirror, the next event on the 2024 Cup Series schedule for Buescher, Reddick and the rest of the field is the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, where both Buescher and Reddick are set to compete in for equal chances of the event’s prize of $1 million.

The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway is set to occur next Sunday, May 19, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTP Teams Finish in Top Six at MOTUL Course de Monterey

By
Official Release
-

MONTEREY, California (May 12, 2024) – The Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 and the No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP teams shared the fourth row of the GTP grid for the MOTUL Course de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. After a competitive qualifying on Saturday seeing the field separated by less than one second, the WTRAndretti team knew strategy would become a key factor in the race especially given the unknowns of how the race would play out on the new track surface.

Louis Deletraz in the red and black Acura GTP got off to a strong start, quickly gaining a position as the green flag flew to put himself in sixth position. As the field settled into the opening laps, Deletraz was able to maintain a strong pace throughout the first stint. During the first round of pit stops, the No. 40 car capitalized on the race’s only caution and jumped up to fourth position with Jordan Taylor behind the wheel to finish out the race. In a race that saw very minimal attrition of the field, Taylor was able to keep the GTP leaders in his sight and was able to battle his way forward to achieve a fourth-place result, even contending for a spot on the podium near the end.

Similar to their No. 40 teammates, Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 capitalized on the start, gaining a position forward. Taylor showed promising pace as he looked to cut through the field. However, the team received an early mechanical penalty, forcing the team to pit earlier than anticipated – changing the game of strategy for the team. After the penalty was served and a driver change to Filipe Albuquerque, the team found themselves in ninth, one lap down from the leaders. With luck from the race’s singular caution, the No. 10 team were able to get the lap back. As the team made a strategy call on the final pit stop to take full fuel and four tires, Albuquerque was able to put his head down and work his way up to the GTP leaders fighting for a top five in the closing laps before ending the day in sixth position.

Next up for the WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 GTP duo will be taking on the streets of downtown Detroit for the first time. As another 100-minute sprint race, the GTP class will make its’ debut on the street circuit on May 30 – June 1, 2024.
No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Ricky Taylor: “It was a positive day for the team. I think we improved the cars throughout the weekend and we learned a lot. We checked off every page of the book as far as set up goes and things we could try. On the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 car side, that penalty early on really set us back for the rest of the race. Recovery wise it was a really strong day. We were coming through the field at the start, got the penalty which dropped us back, then we were climbing our way back up with some nice strategy, taking four tires at the last stop gave us a fast car to the end. I think Filipe just ran out of time toward the end, otherwise I think we could’ve gotten the No. 01 car. Fourth or fifth would’ve been possible for us today. We learned a lot, and we’re on to the next one. At least this race was smooth, so we’ll build on it for the next one.”

Filipe Albuquerque: “It was a hard day for us. We were a lap down and then pretty much after that we were elbows out and fighting. It was good fun. I had good fun. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 car was fast. Unfortunately, the position I was in, there was not much I could do. Twice I was last and just came back. To finish P6 was good to minimize the damage of the position we were in.”

No. 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 GTP Drivers
Louis Delétraz: “P4, good day, good points. I think we struggled for pace this weekend, so to come out with a P4 and fighting for the podium is very good news. It means we did our best and executed well as a team. I’m very proud of WTRAndretti and DEX Imaging, and of course to everyone at HRC a big thank you, because without them we wouldn’t be able to do it. It keeps our championship goals alive, so to take P4 this weekend was very good for us.”

Jordan Taylor: “It was a good race for us. Starting in eighth, we went from eighth to fourth, so that was good progress. We were lacking a bit of pace all weekend and were able to execute very well in the race to go up the grid a bit. We had some good fights on track, and we had a good car to maybe fight for third position, but it was all down to get the traffic in the right spot. Taking two tires was a good strategy call to make some ground up on the out lap and be able to fight towards the end of the race. It was frustrating to not be able to battle for a win, but we are heading in the right direction.”

ABOUT WTRANDRETTI
Andretti Global and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership in 2023 that combines the resources of the two championship-caliber teams to compete in IMSA’s top classes. In 2024, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) has expanded to a two-car GTP program as well as competes in the GTD class. Coming off its 2023 championship winning effort, WTRAndretti continues its Driver Development Program competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with a full stable.

WTRAndretti’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013 and 2017), and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2020, 2021) which contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac. In its brief 17-year history, WTRAndretti has accumulated multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events: Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Six Hours of The Glen. With its back-to-back PRO Class Championship wins (2022, 2023), WTR also has ten North America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.

Andretti Global, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, competes in additional racing categories worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australian Supercars and the Mexico SuperCopa Championship. Additionally, the racing enterprise commits to driver development through competition in INDY NXT by Firestone and through support of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon’s racing careers.

WTRAndretti’s long term partnerships include Acura, Honda Racing Corporation US (HRC), Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, DEX Imaging, Harrison Contracting Company and Gainbridge.

Rick Ware Racing: Goodyear 400 from Darlington

By
Official Release
-

RICK WARE RACING
Goodyear 400

Date: May 12, 2024
Event: Goodyear 400 (Round 13 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)
Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)

RWR Race Finish:

● Justin Haley (Started 28th, Finished 9th/ Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)
● Kaz Grala (Started 34th, Finished 18th/ Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (32nd with 162 points)
● Kaz Grala (34th with 119 points)

Haley Notes:

● Haley earned his first top-10 of the season and his second top-five in seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.
● This was Haley’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was 17th, earned March 17 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
● This was Haley’s third consecutive top-10 in the May race at Darlington. He finished eighth last May and third in May 2022.
● Haley’s ninth-place finish was the best result for RWR on a non-superspeedway-type track and a new best finish for the team at Darlington.

Grala Notes:

● Grala earned his third top-20 of the season in his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington.
● Grala’s 18th-place finish also surpassed the previous best result for the RWR at Darlington, a 19th-place finish earned by Cody Ware in May 2022.

Race Notes:

● Brad Keselowski won the Goodyear 400 to score his 36th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Darlington. His margin of victory over second-place Ty Gibbs was 1.214 seconds.
● Keselowski’s victory was the first by a NASCAR Cup Series driver/owner since Tony Stewart won at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway on June 26, 2016.
● This was Ford’s 729th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its first of the season.
● This was Ford’s 33rd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Darlington. Ford won its first race at the 1.366-mile oval on Sept. 3, 1956 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 38 laps.
● Twenty-eight of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 30-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“We had a really good Rick Ware Racing No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse today. From the moment we unloaded it was super into the track and fast. We kind of decided to go with the No. 6 team’s setup and in the end, he won and we had a great race. Overall good day, great execution on pit road and we cleaned up a lot of little things. It’s really cool to bring home a top-10 for Rick, everyone on the team, and all of the guests from NC Fraternal Order of Police and the families and friends of the fallen officers who we carried with us on the car today.” – Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 NC Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9 Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Really good recovery today by our No. 15 group. We started the race a little behind but dialed in our handling by the third stage. RWR brought two excellent cars this weekend, and we both brought home great points. We’ll keep the momentum rolling into the next few races.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 19 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the undercard NASCAR All-Star Open.

CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: Podium for Catsburg, Milner

By
Official Release
-

No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R records third-place finish in topsy-turvy GTD PRO race

MONTEREY, Calif. (May 12, 2024) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports climbed the GTD PRO podium for the first time this season as Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner finished third Sunday at the Motul Corse de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

The No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R led the Corvette GT3 effort in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s annual stop in Monterey. Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims finished fifth in GTD PRO in the No. 3 Corvette, which had its race compromised by an early full-course caution.

In GTD, the AWA duo of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani placed 11th in class with the No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R but won the Bob Akin Award, which goes to the highest-finishing GTD entry with a Bronze driver.

Catsburg led early in GTD PRO from pole position and a strong pace early with Garcia right behind. The two Corvettes consistently ran within one second of each other while building a gap of upwards of three seconds to the third-place car in class.

Catsburg was the first of the Z06 GT3.Rs to make its first stop with four tires, fuel and a driver change to Milner at the 45-minute mark. But an issue on the pit stop and then a full-course yellow near the 50-minute mark turned the race on its head.

Garcia was set to pit the No. 3 Corvette when the yellow came out but had to wait until the GT pits opened with the field behind the safety car. He handed over to Sims, who left the pits in seventh place and mired in out-of-class GTD traffic. Meanwhile, Milner restarted second in class but was shuffled back to third by the eventual class-winner not long after the green flag dropped.

The No. 3 Corvette was the first of the GTD PRO contenders to make its final stop, opting for right-side tires and fuel with less than 70 minutes left. The strategy pushed Sims from sixth when he entered the pitlane to fourth after the class pit cycle ended. Milner came back in for four tires and fuel about 10 minutes later after inheriting the lead and re-emerged third. The rest of the race went green with the Corvettes unable to make up ground in traffic.

The AWA Corvette had a noteworthy day, as well. Fidani drove the first 46 minutes from the seventh row of the GTD grid, and Bell moved the car into the top-10 just past the midpoint of the race. The team had to serve a drive-through penalty after its final pit stop due to a pitlane infraction, but Bell raced his way up three spots to secure the Akin award for AWA. Winning the season championship is the main objective for the team, which would earn an automatic entry into the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The next IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the streets of downtown Detroit on Saturday, June 1.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS

PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s always tricky trying to plan out your pit strategy. It’s typically not preferred to pit early. You make it hard on yourself at the end of the race, but you’re also exposed if you don’t pit if there’s a yellow. We saw that today with the 3 car. They did the preferred strategy if there’s no yellow that comes out, but unfortunately for them there was in that window. So it did work out for us there. We had a little bit of a slow stop on our first stop. I think we probably had the car for second, but it looked like the Porsche was a little bit too quick for us today. I’m happy for these Corvette Racing guys to get this Corvette Z06 GT3.R on the podium for the first time. The pole was great and we were looking strong at the start of the race. We just have a little bit more to go in order to get that first win.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think the Corvette did everything fine today. We had good balance. I think we lost the chance to finish P2 at our first stop when we had an issue with our refueling and lost about four seconds. I think P1 was destined for the Porsche. They were way faster than we were. Second was possible but we will see what we need to do in order to make sure those things don’t happen again. I think from our side we did everything we could. I’m pleased with our first podium.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We were covering the 9 car because we split strategies between our cars. The McLaren pitted a lap before us – I don’t think they anticipated the yellow – and the team told me to push because we were pitting on that lap. I came out of Turn Nine and saw the yellow coming. And that was our race. It looked really good before that. It wouldn’t have been a nice battle with the 77, the 9 and the 4. I’m sure we would have cycled to the front after that. It’s a shame they didn’t allow everyone to pit before it went yellow for a little piece on the track. It really dictated our race.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The yellow dictated everything for us. We were all quite happy with the situation beforehand. I was up on the pit wall with the team ready for Antonio to come in that lap but saw the pit closed light come on. I was hoping Antonio was just immediately around the corner and had made it in. So unfortunately that compromised us significantly and put us at the back of the group. Then we went to a more aggressive fuel strategy and pitted early. That did cycle us back forward a bit, but we were up against it fuel-wise and had to save every lap as no yellows came out. There were some nice battles but it was unfortunate that we got caught out early.”

AWA POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Normally in races, I have a fairly decent idea about what’s going on around me but today I just had my head down and drove hard. The AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R was really good. We saw that in practice and qualifying. I had a nice car in the race to try and wrestle with people and move up. I stayed focused and kept pushing. We moved up from where we started. The No. 1 objective today was achieved which was winning the Bob Akin award and taking that points lead. Our quest for Le Mans in 2025 is really starting to gear up and we’ll keep marching forward.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The track was consistent throughout the weekend. I was fighting a high tire-pressure skew in my stint, which made the car have an oversteer imbalance on entry and made it hard to get consistent turn-in points. So I was struggling to push through that and kept going to give the car over to Matt to get to the end. Overall it was a good result for us at the end with the Akin award for today.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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Stewart-Haas Racing: Goodyear 400 from Darlington

By
Official Release
-

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Goodyear 400

Date: May 12, 2024
Event: Goodyear 400 (Round 13 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)
Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Josh Berry (Started 33rd, Finished 3rd / Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 13th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 36th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 26th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (14th with 322 points, 164 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (19th with 239 points, 247 out of first)
● Josh Berry (21st with 230 points, 256 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (28th with 192 points, 294 out of first)

Berry Notes:

● Berry earned his first top-five of the season and his first top-five in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.
● This was Berry’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was 11th, earned March 31 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
● Berry’s third-place result bettered his previous best finish at Darlington – 30th, earned last May.
● This was Berry’s fourth straight finish of 16th or better. He finished 16th April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, 14th April 28 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, and 15th last Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.
● Berry was the highest finishing rookie.

Briscoe Notes:

● Briscoe earned his first top-five and fifth top-10 of the season. It was his first top-five in seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.
● Briscoe’s fifth-place finish was the 11th top-five of his NASCAR Cup Series career, a mark highlighted by his March 2022 win at Phoenix Raceway.
● This was Briscoe’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was sixth, earned April 14 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
● This was Briscoe’s 11th straight finish of 21st or better.
● Briscoe’s fifth-place result bettered his previous best finish at Darlington – 11th, earned in his first start at the track in May 2021.
● This was Briscoe’s second consecutive top-15 at Darlington. He finished 15th last August in the Southern 500.

Gragson Notes:

● Gragson earned his eighth top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.
● This was Gragson’s seventh straight top-20.
● Gragson’s 14th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Darlington – 26th, earned last May.

Preece Notes:

● Preece earned his sixth top-20 of the season and his fifth top-20 in nine career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.

Race Notes:

● Brad Keselowski won the Goodyear 400 to score his 36th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Darlington. His margin of victory over second-place Ty Gibbs was 1.214 seconds.
● Keselowski’s victory was the first by a NASCAR Cup Series driver/owner since Tony Stewart won at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway on June 26, 2016.
● This was Ford’s 729th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its first of the season.
● This was Ford’s 33rd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Darlington. Ford won its first race at the 1.366-mile oval on Sept. 3, 1956 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 38 laps.
● Twenty-eight of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 30-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“It was just a really good day. We had a really good car yesterday in practice. Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify where we should’ve. A lot to take away from that. But overall, the car was really strong. We know we’re capable of days like this, we just need to keep chipping away at it, keep learning, keep getting better. I have a great group of people around me and this is a finish they deserve, for sure.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Harrison’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Our car was extremely good on the really, really long runs. The short run, we kind of gave up too much time. We kind of needed those really, really long runs. It would’ve been interesting to see how the race would’ve played out if it would’ve gone green until the end. We were probably the best car over 40 or so laps, but the race didn’t play out to go with our car. Overall, it was a really good weekend for our guys. It was a good day for Stewart-Haas Racing. Just wish we could’ve been four spots better, but after the last two weeks, we needed a really solid run. I’m really happy to see that a Ford won. I wish it would’ve been us, but it’s nice to see a Ford finally win. Now we go to the All-Star Race and see if we can race our way in.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Started in the back, got put in bad positions on restarts. Got fenced by the 38 (Todd Gilliland), that was frustrating. It was good to see the 4 and the 14 run in the top-five. Just a tough weekend overall for the Overstock.com team. We’ll get ready for next weekend.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 19 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the undercard NASCAR All-Star Open.

Brad Keselowski Drives Ford Mustang Dark Horse to First Cup Victory

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Goodyear 400 Post Race| Sunday, May 12, 2024
Darlington Raceway

BRAD KESELOWSKI TAKES FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE TO VICTORY LANE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND CAPTURES FIRST WIN WITH RFK RACING

  • Brad Keselowski won the first race for the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse with today’s victory.
  • It also marked Keselowski’s first win as owner/driver with RFK Racing and snapped a 110-race winless streak.
  • The win is the 36th of Keselowski’s Cup Series career and 27th with Ford.
  • This marks the first win for the No. 6 Ford since David Ragan won at Daytona on July 2, 2011.
  • Today’s win is Ford’s 729th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
  • The win is the 142nd NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Jack Roush and the fifth under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW: WELCOME BACK TO VICTORY LANE. “It’s just so great to be here in Darlington. I love this track. I love coming here. It’s a special place to me whether you win or not, but to run up front all day and have a great car, qualify up front, it was just an awesome day for Castrol. I’m glad for Ford. Ford has been working really hard to get us up here and here we are. We got them a win, so they don’t have to hear about that anymore. I’m happy for Ford. Hopefully, there are more great things to come. It was a total team effort from the top to the bottom to get us to where we could have a fast car. We executed on pit road, led laps and were there when it counted at the end.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE LAST 30 LAPS OR SO WITH ALL THE RACING THAT HAPPENED? “We were all just racing our guts out. I mean, there was nothing left on the table for any of us. I got underneath Tyler. We were kind of switching back and forth and I felt like he was probably holding me down. He probably felt like he was being pushed up. Chris got by both of us, but Chris’ car was falling off too much. He couldn’t drive away and we were just right there with him and it looked like the 45 tried to do a slide job and it just didn’t quite work and both of them had some kind of an issue. We were able to scoot back by them. A hell of a day. I don’t know if you could have asked for me. We thought Kansas was exciting. I think this was more exciting.”

WHAT ABOUT RFK AND YOUR JOURNEY TO GET HERE. “I thought Chris was gonna win it there when he got by me. I was like, ‘Dog gone it. Here’s another one that Chris got,’ but he did a hell of a job there. It’s good for us as a company, good for us as a team. It locks us into the playoffs. Just and incredible day for us here in Darlington.”

YOU ENDED THE BLUE OVAL DROUGHT. FORD FANS CAN SLEEP EASY TONIGHT. “It hasn’t been the month or two that the Ford guys have wanted, but it’s over now and they can’t hear about it now. Good for Ford. Good for everybody on this race team. We had a pretty fast car today. We just held them honest all day and ran up front and had great pit stops, good strategy and then just a dogfight at the end on the restarts. It had to be thrilling. I feel like I could hear the fans cheering in the car, but what a race. If you missed it, I’m sorry you missed a golden race. It was a hell of a day.”

WHAT ABOUT THAT DOGFIGHT WITH TYLER REDDICK AND WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WITH BUESCHER PASSED YOU BOTH? “I was thinking that he just won this race. Clean air and he could just set sail and go. It didn’t play out that way for a number of reasons. I think he was getting free, but still a pretty epic day.”

YOU GOT THE LEAD AFTER THE 17 AND 45 GOT INTO EACH OTHER. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING THEN? “I just felt like we finally caught a break. We’ve been catching enough bad breaks that kept us from winning, so it’s nice to catch a good one.”

YOU LED FIVE TIMES FOR 37 LAPS. THIS TEAM IS STARTING TO COME TOGETHER, RIGHT? “Yeah. I feel like all along this has been a good team. We just weren’t getting the results. Some of that was in our control and some of it was not in our control, but this one we took the bull by the horns and made it happen.”

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE LEGACY YOU’RE BUILDING? “I’ve got a lot more I want to do. Thirty six wins is great. It’s a nice stat to have, but I want to win a lot more.”

Ford Performance Results:

1st – Brad Keselowski
3rd – Josh Berry
5th – Chase Briscoe
9th – Justin Haley
10th – Michael McDowell
14th – Noah Gragson
15th – Todd Gilliland
17th – Ryan Preece
18th – Kaz Grala
20th – Austin Cindric
21st – Joey Logano
22nd – Harrison Burton
30th – Chris Buescher
36th – Ryan Blaney

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT WAS THE FRUSTRATION WITH REDDICK? “Just getting wiped out. For me, we know it’s gonna be good, hard racing here, but we hit so hard we wheel-hopped into the fence. I don’t get it. We’ve been able to race respectfully for our careers. I try and do that week in and week out and it’s not getting us anywhere right now. To just get wiped out like that with this Fifth Third Bank Mustang, that’s a big shame. On the flip side, I’m stoked for Brad and the 6 bunch and RFK to get a win here. That’s huge, but, right now, selfishly I’m mad for my team and our group. We had a great day there and we didn’t get any finish to show for it.”

WILL YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU RACE REDDICK? “It’s got to come back around at some point. You try and be decent about it. We had clean racing all day long and to get flat-out fenced like that there’s no excuse. It’s a poor decision and an immature move. I just don’t get it.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Harrison’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was just a really good day. We had a really good car yesterday in practice, but unfortunately didn’t qualify like we should have. There’s a lot to take from that, but, overall, the car was really strong. We feel like we’re capable of days like this. We just have to keep chipping away at it, keep learning, keep getting better week in and week out. I have a great group around me and this is a finish they deserve for sure.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Our car was extremely good on the really, really long run, it was just the short run that we gave up too much time. It would have been interesting to see how the race played out if it went green until the end, but, overall, it’s a really good weekend for the guys. I wish we could have been a few spots better, but after the last few weeks we needed a solid run.”

WHAT ABOUT BRAD WINNING? “Brad is really the whole reason I’m in NASCAR. He was the guy who gave me a chance in one of the top three series when I was able to drive for Brad Keselowski Racing. It means a lot to me to be able to race against Brad. He was one of my favorites growing up, so I’m happy for everything. He’s been through a lot the last couple of years and to finally get back to the top I know that has to feel good. I’m also happy that a Ford won. I wish it would have been us, but it’s nice to see a Ford finally win. Our day, it was just a solid day. We kind of ran pretty much ninth to twelfth pretty much all day long and then there at the end was able to have a couple good restarts. Our car was extremely good on the long run. We were one of the best cars after 40 laps or so, but the race just didn’t play out to go with our car. Overall, a good day for us and Stewart-Haas Racing and now we’ll go on to the All-Star Race next weekend and try to race our way in.”

JUSTIN HALEY, No. 51 NC Fraternal Order of Police Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We had a really good RIck Ware Racing 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse today. From the moment we unloaded it was just super on the track and fast and kind of followed suit with the 6’s setup and it happened that he won and we had a good race. Overall, it was a good day. We had great execution on pit road. I feel like we cleaned up a lot of stuff and got a top 10 for Rick Ware. It was a good points day.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was kind of up and down for us. I felt like we made some pretty good gains at the beginning of the race, jumping up quite a few spots on the pit cycle and just under green passing some cars. We kind of got lost in the middle of the race. We really struggled to get through one and two, which was hurting me in traffic, but I felt like we made the car better at the end. We grabbed a couple more spots from where we restarted, so I was back on another upswing, but not quite enough to recover from the way I qualified.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 10 Overstock Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We started in the back and got put in bad positions on restarts. It’s good to see the 4 and the 14 run in the top five. I thought we had decent speed, but it was just a tough weekend overall for the Overstock team. We’ll just get ready for next week.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “Me and the 19 got put three-wide and it’s just a tight corner. The replay I saw, the 24 took up probably more racetrack than he should have after kind of rewatching it back. I thought it was just, kind of got tight, but you can’t run three-wide through there. Nobody wanted to lift and I got tagged and then kind of collected a few guys. The 24 took up more track than I would have liked, honestly. He kind of sandwiched the 19 into me, but it’s a really, really crappy end to our day. I thought we got pretty good. We came from not starting great and drove up there in the top 10 the first stage and finally got good pit stops and restarted sixth. I was ready to look forward to the second half of the race and never got a shot, and then the guy that causes it gets away scot-free. That’s what normally happens. It’s an unfortunate end to our day. I thought we could have learned some stuff today that could have helped us for the future and hopefully we can still take from what we learned today and apply it later on.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BATTLE BACK AND THEN HAVE IT GONE ALL OF A SUDDEN? “A rollercoaster ride. Ups and downs. Ebbs and flows. You’ve just got to roll with it.”

WHY DIDN’T YOU HIT THE 24? “I’m not gonna hit him. I’ll save that for another time. I almost did on accident, actually. I got on the apron and the toe link was busted. I almost actually hit him when I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to show my displeasure, so we’ll see where it goes. I just wanted to show that I wasn’t happy. After watching the replay, I kind of deserve not to be happy. He used up some good track that I thought he didn’t have to use up.”

WHAT MORE DID HE DO THAT HE SHOULDN’T HAVE? “One, don’t shove it three-wide at a place you can’t run three-wide. If he wants to do that, fine, but your responsibility is to leave room. You have to leave room for the top two cars. You shoved the bottom of three (wide), you have to leave space and he was off the dotted line until we were already wrecking. He faded up and sandwiched the 19 into me. We’re as high as we can go, so it’s like, I don’t know if he thought he had enough room or gave us enough room and didn’t or whatever. That’s just what I was like, you’re responsible for those two guys when you shove guys three-wide. You have to act like two cars are to the top of you.”

Brad Keselowski breaks 110-race drought with dramatic Darlington win

By
Official Release
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By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. — A combination of stubbornness and patience paid off handsomely for Brad Keselowski on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, where the driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford ended a 110-race winless streak with victory in the Goodyear 400.

Keselowski’s triumph, which came at the expense of hard-luck teammate Chris Buescher and pole winner Tyler Reddick, gave the Ford Dark Horse Mustang its first NASCAR Cup Series victory this season in 13 races and led to a heated exchange between Beuscher and Reddick on pit road after the fact.

It was also Keselowski’s first win as a principal in RFK Racing, his second at Darlington and the 36th of his career.

“What a heck of a day,” exulted Keselowski, who finished 1.214 seconds ahead of runner-up Ty Gibbs. “It’s Darlington, so whether it’s your first win, your last win, this is a really special track. The history of NASCAR, it’s as tough as it gets, and that battle at the end with my teammate and Tyler Reddick, we just laid it all out on the line, it was freaking awesome.

“I thought it couldn’t get much better than Kansas. It did today. That was awesome. I’m so glad you guys got to see that (addressed to the fans). That was incredible. Thanks for being here.”

Keselowski was stubborn in the way he raced Reddick after the final restart on Lap 261 of 293, aggressively staying beside the No. 45 Toyota and running him up the track in Turn 3.

For four straight laps, Keselowski and Reddick battled side-by-side, allowing Buescher to slip past into the lead at the start/finish line on Lap 264. Reddick cleared Keselowski shortly thereafter and took off in pursuit of Buescher.

That’s when Keselowski exercised patience as stayed within striking distance, waiting for the drama that unfolded ahead of him.

On Lap 284, Reddick’s ill-timed bid for the lead went awry, and his No. 45 Camry slid up the track into Buescher’s Ford, pinning it against the outside wall in Turn 4. Both cars were damaged and unable to maintain pace, and Keselowski charged into the lead on Lap 285.

Buescher, still smarting from last week’s loss to Kyle Larson at Kansas in the closest finish in Cup Series history (0.001 seconds), confronted Reddick on pit road after the drivers climbed from their cars.

“We got wrecked,” Buescher said later. “That one’s clear as day. Don’t need any cameras to tell us. I don’t know what to say. We’ve raced really clean through the years, tried to be really respectful about it, and we get used up.

“It (Reddick’s move) is just something that you know is not going to work. I’m just really pissed off about it right now. We certainly had a chance to win another one. I’m proud to have that speed. Just huge congratulations to Brad and the 6 bunch on their win. That’s awesome, but I wanted it for our group right here.”

Reddick took responsibility for the incident and punctuated his conversation with Buescher with the words “I know. I (screwed) up—I’m sorry.”

Reddick elaborated after he and Buescher separated.

“I completely understand where he is coming from,” Reddick said. “He was running the top, running his own race, running his own line to keep me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and was hoping I was going to clear him. When I realized I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up to not slide up into him, but, yeah, I wish I wouldn’t have done that.

“I completely understand why he is that mad. He did nothing wrong. Just trying to win the race, and to take myself out—that’s one thing—I can live with that, but just disappointed it played out the way that it did, and I took him out of the race as well.”

All but lost in the late-race drama was Gibbs’ career-best second-place finish. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota also finished second in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 behind respective stage winners Kyle Larson and Reddick.

Josh Berry finished third in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, followed by Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell completed the top 10.

Hamlin led one lap during a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the final stage, extending his streak of consecutive races with at least one lap led to 17.

Larson (34th on Sunday after a late-race crash) leads the series standings by 30 points over Martin Truex Jr., who finished 25th after suffering alternator issues.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Goodyear 400
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Sunday, May 12, 2024
(2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 293.
(4) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 293.
(33) Josh Berry #, Ford, 293.
(7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 293.
(13) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 293.
(5) William Byron, Chevrolet, 293.
(8) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 293.
(18) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 293.
(28) Justin Haley, Ford, 293.
(16) Michael McDowell, Ford, 293.
(9) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 293.
(31) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 293.
(12) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 293.
(36) Noah Gragson, Ford, 293.
(15) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 293.
(24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 293.
(26) Ryan Preece, Ford, 293.
(34) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 293.
(30) Erik Jones, Toyota, 293.
(25) Austin Cindric, Ford, 293.
(14) Joey Logano, Ford, 293.
(35) Harrison Burton, Ford, 293.
(20) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 293.
(19) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 293.
(10) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 293.
(21) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 293.
(11) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 293.
(23) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 293.
(32) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 292.
(3) Chris Buescher, Ford, 291.
(22) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 291.
(1) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 291.
(29) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 290.
(6) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 252.
(27) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, Accident, 161.
(17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, DVP, 129.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 124.75 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 12 Mins, 30 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.214 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 6 for 38 laps.

Lead Changes: 16 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Reddick 1-37;B. Wallace 38-43;R. Blaney 44;T. Gibbs 45-78;K. Larson 79-93;B. Keselowski 94;T. Reddick 95-225;B. Keselowski 226-237;W. Byron 238-239;D. Hamlin 240;C. Hocevar # 241-242;B. Keselowski 243-256;T. Reddick 257-261;B. Keselowski 262;T. Reddick 263;C. Buescher 264-284;B. Keselowski 285-293.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Tyler Reddick 4 times for 174 laps; Brad Keselowski 5 times for 37 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 34 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 21 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 15 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 6 laps; William Byron 1 time for 2 laps; Carson Hocevar # 1 time for 2 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 1 lap; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,54,6,45,19,38,17,12,24,23

Stage #2 Top Ten: 45,6,54,22,5,24,17,11,23,1

No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 Achieves Best Finish of the Season at MOTUL Course de Monterey

By
Official Release
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MONTEREY, California (May 12, 2024) – Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s (WTRAndretti) No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team started off strong at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca after showing blistering pace all weekend. In Saturday’s qualifying session, Danny Formal secured pole position for the GTD Class. As the green flag flew, Formal was able to lead his first laps of his career in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD field.

After an hour of intense racing, Kyle Marcelli took over for Formal, and following a shuffling of the order from the race’s only caution period and pit stops found himself in fifth in the GTD Class. Marcelli was able to maintain position and again showcase the strong pace from behind the wheel.

In the final hour, the WTRAndretti team pitted to change back to Formal for the final stint in an attempt at an overcut strategy. With lots of traffic on track and passing quite tough, Formal came out in sixth yet continued battle for positions into the closing minutes of the race. Formal was able to reclaim fifth position in the final stint, earning the No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team’s best result of 2024.

The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team will return to the track for endurance racing with the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen on June 21-23, 2024 at Watkins Glen International.

No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2

Kyle Marcelli: “The No. 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 car was fantastic all weekend. The WTRAndretti guys have always done a great job with the prep and reliability. The performance was there. Danny has been awesome all week long. He has really been on it, and it was great to get that pole position for the team. He led the entire opening stint. We went a little longer on the first stop and just got hung out with the yellow, pushing us back to fifth. I did the middle stint and I felt like we had more pace if we could be in clean air, but we didn’t see much of it. So, it was just a matter of not making mistakes. Danny jumped back in at the end, and we finished fifth – which is the best result of the season. There’s more to come. We are going to find our way to the podium and victory lane soon.”

Danny Formal: “The second sprint race of the season is over. We led about an hour and seven minutes but got really unlucky with a yellow. It cycled us back to fourth position and there was nothing that we could do. We missed it by 18 seconds, and they didn’t let us pit when a lot of other people pitted. So, it is what it is, it’s racing. I’m extremely grateful to WTRAndretti and DEX Imaging. The 45 DEX Imaging Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 was on rails today and I’m so proud of this team. We left the pits in seventh place on the last stint and were able to make it up to fifth, and I finished on the bumper of fourth. It’s a hard place to pass and we were still down a little bit of power on the straights, but we are just so good on the corners. I’m extremely grateful to be partnered up with Kyle Marcelli this season, he does a fantastic job. He always gives me a car that’s brand new when I get to it. I’m proud of the team, just disappointed that we didn’t win, but it’s our first top-five of the season, so you have to be happy. Watkins Glen is up next, and Graham Doyle will be back with us since it’s an endurance race, so I’m super excited about that. We’ll see what happens and hopefully we can bring a good result to the team.”

ABOUT WTRANDRETTI
Andretti Global and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership in 2023 that combines the resources of the two championship-caliber teams to compete in IMSA’s top classes. In 2024, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti (WTRAndretti) has expanded to a two-car GTP program as well as competes in the GTD class. Coming off its 2023 championship winning effort, WTRAndretti continues its Driver Development Program competing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series with a full stable.

WTRAndretti’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013 and 2017), and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2020, 2021) which contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac. In its brief 17-year history, WTRAndretti has accumulated multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events: Rolex 24 At Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Six Hours of The Glen. With its back-to-back PRO Class Championship wins (2022, 2023), WTR also has ten North America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.

Andretti Global, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, competes in additional racing categories worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australian Supercars and the Mexico SuperCopa Championship. Additionally, the racing enterprise commits to driver development through competition in INDY NXT by Firestone and through support of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon’s racing careers.

WTRAndretti’s long term partnerships include Lamborghini Squadra Corse, DEX Imaging, Harrison Contracting Company and Gainbridge.

Cadillac at Laguna Seca: Runner-up finish

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Official Release
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No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earns third second-place finish in 4 races

MONTEREY, Calif. (May 12, 2024) – Cadillac Racing extended its streak to four of finishing first or second in WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races this season as the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finished runner-up Sunday in the Motul Course de Monterey.

It is the third second-place finish in Grand Touring Prototype competition for Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken, who qualified second for the 2-hour, 40-minute race.

Cadillac sits atop the Grand Touring Prototype Manufacturer Championship standings, while Derani and Aitken moved to second in the Driver Championship.

“Congratulations to Cadillac Racing and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R on their podium in the Motul Course de Monterrey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,” said John Roth, Cadillac global vice president. “Every member of the team can be proud of their efforts in preparing the racecar for success. For more than a century, racing has provided a testbed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between racecars and production vehicles and is brought to life in our V-Series portfolio. Today’s second-place finish demonstrates the incredible technology and durability of the V-Series.R, and the remarkable capabilities, expertise and determination of the Cadillac Racing team.”

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, finished fifth. Bourdais, who reset the track lap record of 1 minute, 12.455 seconds in the dash for the pole in the 15-minute qualifying session, also owns the race lap record of 1:14.196 set on Lap 16 on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca road course.

A Cadillac GTP entry has recorded the fastest race lap in three of the four races, and Cadillac has earned the pole in all four races (Derani at Daytona, Sebring and Long Beach to start the season and Bourdais earning his seventh career IMSA pole with the record lap at Laguna Seca).

Cadillac has claimed at least one podium spot in seven of the eight races at Laguna Seca since joining IMSA prototype competition in 2017. The No. 6 Porsche Penske 963 overtook the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in Turn 3 with 11 minutes remaining and went on to the victory.

For editorial use Cadillac Racing photos from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Cadillac Racing IMSA GTP 2024 statistics

The team made an early service stop for right-side tires and fuel after Derani deftly kept the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in second behind the sister Cadillac racecar for 24 laps while battling low tire pressure caused by a puncture on Lap 1. The Action Express Racing-run team raced to the front with 1 hour, 31 minutes left following service stops under the race’s lone full-course caution.

Cadillac Racing led 98 of the 119 laps — a field-high 56 by Aitken and Derani and 42 by Bourdais and van der Zande.

Cadillac Racing will head to Detroit for its hometown race May 31-June 1. It will be the first time IMSA’s premier class will compete on the 1.7-mile, nine-turn downtown street circuit. A Cadillac DPi won four of the five races on the Detroit Belle Isle circuit from 2017-2022 (no race in 2020), with van der Zande co-driving to victory in 2022 and ’21. USA will telecast the 100-minute race beginning at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, June 1, with Peacock providing flag-to-flag streaming.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: “You win some and you lose some, and last time this call was giving us the win. We didn’t change tires like at Long Beach, but it didn’t work out. We tried to go for the win and we learn from that. You don’t make those decisions to go backward; you make those decisions to go forward. That’s racing. I’m very proud of the team and Cadillac. We go on to the next one.”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “It was a really tough fight. Unfortunately, traffic was just wild today. Some of the GTDs were fighting me like they were fighting for the overall win and I’m not really sure why. It was a great, fun race and I enjoyed the battle. It’s a shame that we didn’t come out on top, but it was good for the championship. We just have to keep getting those points and that win is going to come sooner or later. I’m really proud of the Whelen Cadillac team.”

Pipo Derani: “It was one of those days when everything looked perfect for a race win but it slipped away at the end. You look at the positives. It was a good points day, the third second place of the year and three poles so far and front row in every race. We’ll look forward to moving to Detroit, our home race, and hoping that we can do one better at Detroit.”

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