Just like every aspect of technological advancements and evolution, the automotive world is not left behind with every car brand trying to outdo the other. Amongst the various features of luxury car brands like high-speed coupes, sedans, and rugged SUVs, Dacia is one brand that stands out for its distinct value proposition. Dacia is a subsidiary of Renault, the Romanian carmaker. This manufacturer is known for delivering affordable, efficient, and functional vehicles and has made a notable impact in the automotive market.
Now, is leasing a Dacia worth it?
The following are reasons why you might want to consider this option.
1. Affordable Monthly Payments
Compared to an outright purchase, leasing any vehicle, including a Dacia offers lower monthly payments. The prospect of leasing a Dacia makes it more attractive because it is already known for affordability. What this means is if you lease a Dacia, you pay even less monthly payments as compared to leasing other brands. The lower monthly amounts paid on a lease are for the car’s depreciation over the lease term and not the car’s entire cost.
2. Drive a New Car Every Few Years
Car Lease agreements are typically slated for 24, 36, or 48 months allowing you the opportunity to experience new Dacia models with their unique designs, technology, and safety features. At the expiration of the lease term, you have the option to upgrade to a more luxurious, sustainable, and greener model, ensuring that you are always behind the wheel of a state-of-the-art vehicle without the burden associated with ownership.
3. Minimal Maintenance Worries
With car leasing, you get to continually experience the best years of a car. What this means is generally, new cars have fewer issues compared to older cars. Given the short durations for lease agreements, you are likely to have the car during its trouble- free years. If your Dacia gives you issues, the manufacturer warranty on the lease agreement covers the repair and maintenance costs for the duration of the lease.
4. No Hassles with Resale
The car resale market is very volatile therein certain factors – economic downturn, shift in consumer preference, and depreciation- affect vehicle’s value. Car leasing eradicates concerns about car resale value. You never have to worry about selling the car. You simply have to return the car at the end of the lease term.
5. Flexibility
With leasing comes flexibility. This means an easy transition from one vehicle to the other at the end of every lease. Car leasing adapts briskly to changes – say you need a larger vehicle for a growing family or you are moving and no longer need a car – you can easily opt to walk away, or pick another car depending on the life circumstance.
6. Enjoy Modern Safety Features
Like it is with most automakers, Dacia updates its safety technology all the time. By leasing rather than an outright purchase, you’re more likely to always have access to the latest safety features, giving you and your loved ones peace of mind on the road.
7. Decreased Upfront Costs
Dacia is known for its affordability amongst other brands. Leasing one will definitely come with a lesser upfront cost. In some cases, dealerships and leasing companies can offer deals with zero or minimal down payments, unlike traditional car ownership, which requires a substantial down payment.
8. Benefit from Tax Advantages
In most governments or local authorities, lease payments are considered as a business expense hence, reducing the tax and increasing savings. Leasing Dacia for businesses can offer potential tax advantages. To understand the specifics related to your tax situation, consult a tax professional.
9. Eco-Friendly Options
As the automotive industry evolves, so does Dacia. They have introduced new models that are more eco-friendly. Leasing the new models allows you to take advantage of the eco-friendliness without a long-term commitment. That way you are sure to always drive an environmentally friendly vehicle.
10. Experience Dacia’s Surprising Comfort and Features
Dacia is known for its affordability. Regardless it also offers comfort – spacious interiors, efficient infotainment systems – and other features. They often punch their own weight. Experience these benefits firsthand without committing long-term. If you’re interested, check out these Dacia lease deals!
Conclusion
The Dacia brand offers a unique blend of general and distinct benefits – cost saving, flexibility, convenience, lesser monthly payments, and the comfort of leasing. Leasing a Dacia allows you to take advantage of these newer, greener models without a long-term commitment.
Consider your personal circumstances and consult your financial professional before making a decision. For many enthusiasts, the call for Dacia’s value, combined with the flexibility of leasing, is hard to resist.
Internet commerce has reached such a high level that now the buyer has the opportunity to order anything on the Internet, to make purchases not only in their own country, but in any country in the world. In addition to cosmetics, clothing, furniture, now through the Internet can buy even a car, and for this you only need your computer or even a phone, access to the Internet. All that remains is to find the right site to buy a car.
Advantages of buying a car on car selling websites
Buying a car on specialized websites has many advantages:
Wide choice. You can consider more offers on sites of different countries, analyze prices and choose the most favorable and interesting option for you.
Low price. Online marketplaces sell used cars, both in very good and fair condition. But even cars in excellent condition will cost cheaper here than at resellers or at the usual car bazaar.
Equipment. It is not uncommon for sites to insert exclusive models of cars or models released for a particular country, a certain class of users, which have a unique configuration that is not available in the domestic market. And this is a great opportunity to become the owner of such a car.
Ease of purchase. You spend minimum resources (time, money) to search for a car and make a purchase.
No Borders. Car buying websites give you the opportunity to buy your dream car, which will be delivered to your city from anywhere in the world according to buyherepayhere.io.
How used auto shopping sites work
To understand and appreciate all the possibilities and advantages of the online car market, let’s take a detailed look at how the best website for buying used cars works https://plc.auction/. This is an international online auction that is a partner of the best auto auctions in the world and offers a huge selection of cars from different countries – USA, Germany, Italy, Belgium, South Korea, UAE and others.
What features you get when you buy an auto from this site:
You choose your car on the best shopping sites in the world.
You pay for your car purchase just as quickly and easily – through your personal account, using any convenient payment method.
You get a unique service – car delivery from anywhere in the world to any country in Europe.
You get a guarantee – the conclusion of a contract, which clearly spells out the company’s obligations to the client.
Economy. PLC auction provides prompt delivery of vehicles all over the world, has well-established logistics, which allows you to minimize your vehicle transportation costs.
Another unique option available at PLC auction is the ability to check the car by VIN code. In the auction catalog you can see not only the description of characteristics, but also the VIN code of each lot. With the help of BIN code, you can check the configuration, history of the car, exclude the risks of falsification, hidden defects, learn about insurance claims, which are not mentioned by the seller, assess the real condition of the car and the feasibility of its purchase.
Buying a car on PLC Auction is very easy. The site is multi-lingual, has a simple, intuitive interface and different filters to quickly find the best options. To participate in the auction, you need to register instantly, make a deposit (is part of the lot payment and is returned if the transaction did not take place), go to the catalog and select the lot, participate in the auction and if you win, to pay the invoice within 3 days. Then you just have to wait for the company to organize and provide transportation of your car to your city, while you can track the path of the purchased car in real time through your personal account on the site.
Online sports betting has become increasingly popular as a means of entertainment and potential profit just like slot game online Malaysia. However, the success of your sports betting endeavors depends on several factors, including the selection of the right online sportsbook. With a lot of options available, it’s essential that you make an informed decision. Here are some steps to help you choose the best sportsbook in trusted online casino Malaysia 2023:
1. Check the Bonuses:
Many online sportsbooks offer various bonuses to attract new customers. These bonuses can be an excellent way to kickstart your betting experience. Look for sportsbooks that offer welcome bonuses, which may include a percentage match of your initial deposit, free bets, or other promotions. Beyond welcome bonuses, consider the availability of ongoing promotions and loyalty programs. These incentives can enhance your betting experience.
2. Website Speed and User-Friendliness:
A top-notch online sportsbook should provide a fast and user-friendly website. Slow-loading pages and complex navigation can be frustrating, especially when you’re trying to place a quick bet. Choose sportsbooks that offer a smooth and efficient website experience, allowing you to place bets without delays or confusion.
3. Customer Support:
Reputable sportsbooks should offer reliable customer support. Look for sportsbooks that provide multiple channels of communication for customer support, such as live chat, email, phone, or contact forms. Also, check their response times. Quick and efficient customer support can be vital when you encounter issues, need assistance, or have questions about your bets.
4. Payment Options:
Consider the payment options available for deposits and withdrawals. A good sportsbook should offer a variety of reliable payment methods, such as credit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers. Also, check the withdrawal process; it should be hassle-free and timely.
5. Reputation and Licensing:
Prioritize sportsbooks with a strong reputation and proper licensing. Look for online reviews and testimonials from other users to gauge the trustworthiness of the sportsbook. Sportsbooks operating under valid licenses are more likely to provide a fair and secure betting environment.
6. Betting Options:
Different sportsbooks may offer varying betting options and markets. Assess whether the sportsbook covers the sports and events you are interested in. A wide range of betting options, including live betting and in-play wagering, can enhance your betting experience.
7. Odds and Payouts:
Compare the odds and payout rates offered by different sportsbooks. Better odds can lead to higher potential profits. Look for a sportsbook that provides competitive odds and favorable payouts.
8. Mobile Compatibility:
In today’s mobile-centric world, a sportsbook should offer mobile compatibility. This enables you to place bets on your smartphone or tablet, enhancing convenience and flexibility.
9. Security and Fair Play:
Ensure the sportsbook employs strong security measures to protect your personal and financial information. They should also promote fair play by using certified random number generators and adhering to strict betting regulations.
10. Terms and Conditions:
Thoroughly read and understand the terms and conditions of the sportsbook, including rules for bonuses, betting limits, and withdrawal policies. This will help you avoid any potential surprises or misunderstandings in the future.
Following these steps, you can choose the best sportsbook in Malaysia that suits your preferences and ensures a safe and enjoyable betting experience. Always remember that you need to stay within your budget along with gambling responsibly.
1. William Byron: Byron finished fourth at Homestead.
“Liberty University has been with me as a sponsor through a lot this season,” Byron said. “As Jerry Falwell, Jr. well knows, that includes the ups and downs, the ins and outs, and everything pool boy in between.”
2. Christopher Bell: Bell led 26 laps and held off Ryan Blaney down the stretch to win the 4Ever 400 at Homestead and secure his spot in the Championship 4.
“I’ve never been more excited for a ‘berth’ in my life,” Bell said. “And that will also be the case after I have children.”
3. Kyle Larson: Larson overshot the pit entrance with 55 laps left and slammed into the sand barrels protecting the pit wall. He finished 34th.
“I don’t think sand has been a factor in a NASCAR race,” Larson said, “since Daytona in 1958.”
4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney won Stage 2 and finished second at Homestead.
“My disqualification at Las Vegas was rescinded by NASCAR,” Blaney said. “Apparently, NASCAR discovered an issue with the tool used to measure damper lengths, though, there’s no issue with the tool used to measure the effectiveness of a bribe.”
5. Tyler Reddick: Reddick led one lap and finished third at Homestead.
“My car featured the McDonald’s/Hamburglar paint scheme,” Reddick said. “And my car was good enough to win. Talk about ‘fast food.'”
6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin slammed the wall in the final stage due to a steering issue and sustained damage that was too severe to allow him to continue. He finished 30th.
“Sports Clips served as my primary sponsor at Homestead,” Hamlin said. “I think they should be with me at Martinsville because I have my work ‘cut’ out for me.”
7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started on the pole at Homestead and finished a disappointing 30th after engine trouble late in the race.
“I’m devastated,” Truex said. “In light of what my engine did at Homestead, I’m reconsidering my own retirement.”
8. Chris Buescher: Buescher finished 21st at Homestead.
“Ryan Newman drove the No. 51 car for Rick Ware Racing,” Buescher said. “Even at 45 years of age, Newman still intimidates. Back in the day, he instilled fear in everyone on the track, especially his teammate.”
9. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 18th at Homestead.
“I can’t win the championship,” Busch said, “but I can still try to pad my wins total. I’ve won in every form of racing I’ve tried, and that includes speeding away from the Mexican police.”
10. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 31st in the 4Ever 400.
“I can’t wait to get to Martinsville,” Chastain said. “Last year, that’s the track where I left my mark. I think fans there can relate because after eating a Martinsville hot dog, you’ll also ‘leave your mark.'”
AJ Allmendinger qualified 25th for the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Allmendinger moved through the field quickly, making it to 14th place by lap 26. On lap 33, Allmendinger brought the No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy to pit road for a scheduled green flag pit stop. After coming to pit road, Allmendinger reported his car was tighter in clean air this run. When the green flag pit stop cycle was complete, Allmendinger was in 11th place where we went on to finish the opening stage after the caution was brought out on lap 78.
During the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help free up the car. The No. 16 restarted in 10th place on lap 86. On lap 116, Allmendinger came down pit road for a scheduled green flag stop. The took four tires, fuel and made an air pressure adjustment. On lap 118, Allmendinger reported he was plowing tight. By the time the pit cycle was complete on lap 127, Allmendinger had driven back up to 10th place. The No. 16 ended the second stage in 13th place, reporting he was still battling a tight race car. The team came to pit road under the stage break for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to help Allmendinger with the handling of his car.
Allmendinger restarted stage three in 13th place on lap 173. On lap 192, Allmendinger had taken over 12th place, telling his team he was sliding around a lot. As the team prepared to come to pit road during the green flag pit stop cycle, the caution came out on lap 214 while Allmendinger was in fifth place. The team came to pit road under caution for tires, fuel, wedge and air pressure adjustments and Allmendinger went on to restart in fifth place on lap 222. A wreck on the restart brought the caution back out. Allmendinger was scored in sixth place, where he would restart on lap 230. The caution came out on lap 237 and Allmendinger has fallen to seventh place, reporting he was too free. The team came to pit road to tighten the car with an air pressure adjustment. Allmendinger restarted from ninth on lap 243. By lap 250, Allmendinger had driven up to sixth place and took over fifth place on lap 260 where he went on to finish at Homestead Miami Speedway.
“Our No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy was really good. We started the race in the 25th position and drove right up into the top-10 there. The track was tricky – you got on one side of the race track and we fought tight through the middle-half of the race. Our crew chief made some really good adjustments there, and we got some more clean air and I was able to make some moves. I thought maybe we were one of the fastest cars there at the end, but overall, just a really solid day. It’s always great when you can get a top-five finish.” – AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley qualified 27th for the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Haley made up two positions on the initial start but dropped back to 31st, radioing he had no front downforce. Haley pitted on lap 31 for four tires, fuel, and an adjustment to help free up the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. Haley went down a lap with 16 laps remaining in the opening stage, and went on to finish 29th.
During the first stage break, Haley pitted for tires, fuel and a major adjustment to help the front end of the No. 31 LeafFilter Chevy. Following the long stop, Haley started the second stage from 32nd place. He made his next green-flag pit stop on lap 117 for tires and fuel, shaking out 27th where he went on to finish the second stage.
Haley pitted again during the stage caution for more tires, fuel and adjustments to help the No. 31 Chevy feel more connected. He started the final stage in 27th, one lap down. He made it as high as 24th before the field began making their green-flag pit stops. Haley pitted for tires and fuel on lap 210, just before the caution came out on lap 213. On the restart, a wreck brought the caution out again. Haley sat 26th, one lap down. Haley pitted for tires and fuel and restarted 27th with 38 to go. The next caution came out on lap 235, and Haley took the wave around to finally put him back on the lead lap. He restarted 22nd and went on to finish the race in 23rd.
“I felt like I had an issue with my steering all day. We fired off so tight with no downforce and couldn’t drive in traffic. We made solid adjustments all day, but there was definitely a bigger issue. Hopefully we can regroup and head to Martinsville.” – Justin Haley
Contender Boats 300
Daniel Hemric, No. 10 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro
Daniel Hemric qualified 15th for the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Hemric lost four spots on the initial start, but gained momentum during the following laps to get back to 14th on lap five. Although he was lacking right-rear grip, Hemric worked his way to 10th with six to go in the stage and went on to finish the opening stage in 10th place.
Hemric came down pit road at the stage break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. After gaining one position off pit road, he restarted as the fifth car on the outside lane on lap 53. Hemric was running strong in 12th when the caution came out on lap 69. Under the caution laps, he reported that the last pit stop adjustments seemed to be headed in the right direction. After the team elected to stay out, Hemric restarted as the fifth car on the inside with 18 to go in stage two. Hemric stayed consistent during the closing laps and went on to finish the second stage in 10th position.
The team came down pit road under the stage break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. After gaining three positions off pit road, Hemric restarted as the fourth car on the inside on lap 97. When the caution came out on lap 98, the team stayed out. Hemric restarted eighth with 98 laps to go. While running ninth, he relayed to the team that he was loose on entry. Hemric pitted from sixth for a scheduled green flag pit stop with 61 laps to go for four tires and fuel. Once the rest of the field made their green flag stops, Hemric was up to sixth with 44 laps to go. The caution came out again with 37 laps to go, and the No.10 Chevy followed the leaders down pit road under the caution. The team put on his last set of sticker tires before restarting as the fourth car on the outside with 30 laps to go. Shortly after, the caution came out again with 28 laps to go. The restart came with 23 to to go where Hemric restarted as the sixth car on the outside. After having a solid restart, Hemric was back up to eighth with 20 laps to go. He was able to work his way up to sixth with 10 laps to go. Hemric stayed consistent and went on to finish the race in sixth place.
“It was a pretty eventful weekend at Homestead. From the time we unloaded, we ended up making the most speed on the bottom lane. I had joked around about possibly having to play catfish all weekend, and that is exactly what I did. Catfish live at the bottom, and that’s what I did all day and ultimately managed our risk to end up sixth. I’m proud of the effort and the finish we got considering our average running position of the day. We maximized what we could and that is all we can ask for.” – Daniel Hemric
Derek Kraus, No. 11 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro
Derek Kraus qualified 20th at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Contender Boats 300.
Kraus worked his way up four spots on the initial start before reporting his No. 11 Celsius Chevrolet had fired off “wrecking loose”. He went on to finish an uneventful stage one in 19th place.
During the first stage break, Kraus pitted for a major adjustment after radioing he had zero security on entry. He restarted 22nd and was on the move, gaining six spots by lap 56. When the caution came out on lap 69, Kraus sat 14th and radioed that the No. 11 Chevrolet was starting to build free on entry. He pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Kraus restarted 25th on lap 73 and went on to lead the final 15 laps of the stage, earning his first-ever stage victory and Kaulig Racing’s sixth of the 2023 season.
Kraus pitted once again under caution for a right-side chassis adjustment before starting the final stage on lap 97. On the opening lap of the final stage, Kraus sat three wide between the Nos. 9 and 16 cars before the No. 9 pushed him into teammate, Chandler Smith, bringing out the caution. While Smith had heavy damage, Kraus did not acquire significant damage and restarted 10th when the green flag came back out. After slipping out of the top 10 on the restart, Kraus made his way back to 10th on lap 121 and later took over the lead once again on lap 141 before pitting for four tires and fuel on lap 149. The next caution came out on lap 163, and Kraus was in the lucky dog position, putting him back on the lead lap. He pitted for scuff tires and restarted 14th with 30 to go. The field went green for only one lap before the next caution came out, and Kraus sat 13th. The green flag came back out with 23 laps remaining, and Kraus went on to finish 11th.
“Overall, we struggled with fire-off speed, which carried throughout the race. At the end our No. 11 Celsius Chevrolet was pretty decent, but unfortunately, we were just on the wrong tire strategy. We took our last set too early and only had scuff tires left while everyone else had their last set of stickers on. We just didn’t quite have enough there at the end. Fortunately, the car is in one piece and we learned a lot that we will take to our last race together in Phoenix.” – Derek Kraus
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro
Chandler Smith qualified 12th for the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Smith opened the race by dropping a spot on the initial lap, but he gained it back and more to move into 11th on lap 10. He dropped back to 13th on lap 20 but re-gained momentum, moving back into 11th on lap 30, where he’d finish the first stage.
Smith said he had no lateral drive, so the No. 16 Quick Tie Products crew made a left-rear adjustment during the full service pit stop at the stage break. He restarted on lap 53 in 12th. Smith fought hard over the next dozen laps to break into the top 10, making it into ninth on lap 61. He lost control coming out of turn four while fighting for eighth then saved it, but he fell back to 11th. The yellow flag flew on lap 69, and Smith said that the past stop’s adjustment was a positive for the car’s driveability. After a brief discussion with crew chief Bruce Schlicker about whether or not to pit for tires during the mid-stage caution, the team decided to stay out to save a fresh set of tires for a potential late-race stop. Smith restarted on the outside of row four on lap 73 and ran 10th with 13 laps remaining in the stage. He fell back to 11th and remained there until the green-white-checkered flew on lap 90.
Smith pitted for tires and fuel during the stage yellow and restarted in 11th on lap 97. On the restart lap, Smith ran four-wide, middle-inside off the exit of turn two. The No. 9, on the outside, pushed Kaulig Racing teammate Derek Kraus, who was running middle-outside, into the No. 16, turning Smith into the No. 25 car. The No. 16 suffered major damage to its right front, and after the team repaired it as best as it could be repaired, its engine blew on lap 138. Smith retired and finished in 34th.
“It’s partially our fault for qualifying as far back as we did, but I hate that we got involved in a mess we had no part in starting. We’re in a must-win situation now going to Martinsville, so we’ll put our heads down and keep fighting to make it into the Championship 4.” – Chandler Smith
About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 with Justin Haley piloting the No. 31 Camaro ZL1, and an all-star lineup featured in the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. Haley will continue to drive the No. 31 full-time in 2023, alongside AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. The team will continue to field three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by an all-star lineup, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Chandler Smith. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
STEWART-HAAS RACING 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil 1
Date: Oct. 22, 2023 Event: 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil 1 (Round 34 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval) Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps) Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
SHR Race Finish:
● Aric Almirola (Started 30th, Finished 9th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps) ● Kevin Harvick (Started 22nd, Finished 11th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps) ● Ryan Preece (Started 29th, Finished 13th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps) ● Chase Briscoe (Started 21st, Finished 17th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (14th with 2,170 points) ● Aric Almirola (22nd with 616 points) ● Ryan Preece (24th with 590 points) ● Chase Briscoe (30th with 473 points)
SHR Notes:
● Almirola earned his fourth top-10 of the season and his fifth top-10 in 14 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead. ● This was Almirola’s second straight top-15. He finished 14th last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ● This was Harvick’s second straight result of 16th or better. He finished 16th last Sunday at Las Vegas. ● Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has only one finish outside the top-11 at Homestead. ● Preece earned his 11th top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in five career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Homestead. ● Preece’s 13th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Homestead – 21st, earned in 2021. ● Briscoe’s 17th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Homestead – 18th, earned in 2021.
Race Notes:
● Christopher Bell won the 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil 1 to score his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Homestead. His margin over second-place Ryan Blaney was 1.651 seconds.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 35 laps. ● Twenty-three of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap. ● This was the second race in the penultimate Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs. Bell secured his spot in the Championship 4 via his win and joined last week’s winner, Kyle Larson. William Byron and Blaney are the other two drivers above the top-four cutline while Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher are currently below the cutline with one race remaining before the final, winner-take-all Championship 4 Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
Sound Bites:
“We ended up with a solid top-10 today even after a mistake on pit road by me. We finally had something go our way with that caution that brought us back in the game. We found some speed in our Smithfield Ford Mustang today. We needed a top-10 as a team after the year we’ve had, and to do it at Homestead is awesome. We never gave up today after coming back from 30th, to that penalty, and then back up again. We kept taking a swing at the balance all day and found something when it mattered. I love it here at Homestead and in my home state. Really excited to carry this momentum to Martinsville next weekend, where we had a shot at a win and ran up front all day.” – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang
“Decent day for our 41 group. We spent a majority of the first stage trying to get our car a little bit tighter so we could run the top, but our entry and exit were good throughout the day. Our car was fast and we were able to make positive gains throughout the day with pit strategy. Wish we could’ve gotten a few more spots there at the end, but it was an overall good day for us and we’ll take a 13th-place finish. Really looking forward to Martinsville next weekend, I know it’ll be a good weekend for us.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang
“We never really could get the track position. I felt like our car was good enough to run up front. We were able to pass the 23XI guys who finished up front and were able to, about halfway finally get to 11th or 12th, then got a penalty that just kind of killed our day. Frustrating but, overall, we still had a fast car, which is a positive for our mile-and-a-half program. But it’s definitely frustrating. It shows how important execution is at this level, where you win or lose as a team – frustrating because we definitely had a car that was capable of running up front.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It is the second-to-last race of the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs and the final race in the Round of 8. The Xfinity 500 starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
A week after coming within striking distance of securing a Championship 4 berth before being edged by Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell earned a redemptive NASCAR Cup Series victory in the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, October 22, to officially race his way into this year’s Championship 4 round.
The 28-year-old Bell from Norman, Oklahoma, led two times for 26 of 267-scheduled laps in an event where he started 13th and flirted between running towards the top 10 to running outside the top 10 throughout the event’s first two stage periods. Then after leading for the first time with 37 laps remaining, Bell withstood three late caution periods that knocked out Larson along with teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin to assume the lead for the second and final time with 15 laps remaining amid an intense battle between Playoff rivals William Byron and Ryan Blaney. From there, Bell muscled away with the top spot and claimed the checkered flag by more than a second over Blaney to notch his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season and become the second Playoff competitor alongside Kyle Larson to secure one of four vacant spots into this year’s Championship 4 round.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 21, Playoff contender Martin Truex Jr. secured his second Cup Series pole position of the season and the 22nd of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 167.411 mph in 32.256 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Bubba Wallace, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 167.115 mph in 32.313 seconds.
Prior to the event, Joey Logano dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s practice session.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Truex and Wallace dueled for the lead through the first two turns as the field behind fanned out. Entering the backstretch, Wallace gained the momentum and pulled his No. 23 McDonald’s Grimace Toyota TRD Camry ahead of the pack, but Truex fought back on the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4 as he managed to lead the first lap by a hair over Wallace. Truex and Wallace would continue to duel dead even for the lead through the next two laps until Wallace used the outside lane to his advantage as he led the next two laps before clearing Truex to have both lanes to his control.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Wallace was leading by a tenth of a second over Truex. Wallace would retain the lead by three-tenths of a second over Truex by the Lap 10 mark as Brad Keselowski, William Byron and Tyler Reddick were in the top five. Then during the following lap, Truex moved his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry back into the lead over Wallace as Keselowski and Byron battled for third place in front of Kyle Larson.
At the Lap 20 mark, Byron emerged as the new leader over Truex followed by Keselowski, Larson and Tyler Reddick while Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Christopher Bell were running in the top 10. Behind, Kyle Busch trailed in 11th place ahead of Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell while AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, rookie Ty Gibbs and Austin Cindric occupied the top 20 in front of Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Ryan Preece and Playoff contender Chris Buescher. In addition, Logano was mired in 27th in between Buescher, Harrison Burton and Chase Briscoe while John Hunter Nemechek was in 34th behind Todd Gilliland.
Ten laps later, Byron continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Keselowski followed by Larson, Truex and Reddick while Blaney, Hamlin, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Bell were running in the top 10 on the track. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Buescher was mired back in 28th.
Shortly after, the first wave of green flag pit stops commenced as Kyle Busch and Ryan Preece pitted their respective entries. Austin Dillon would pit by Lap 31 along with Chase Elliott, McDowell, Bowman and others before a bevy of names led by Keselowski, Larson, Truex, Blaney and Chastain pitted by Lap 32. By Lap 33, Byron surrendered the lead to pit his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green before Reddick, who led a lap for himself, pitted his No. 45 McDonald’s Hamburglar Toyota TRD Camry during the proceeding lap along with teammate Wallace as Hamlin cycled into the lead.
By Lap 40 and with most of the field having made a pit stop under green, Hamlin, who led the previous seven laps, surrendered the lead to pit his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota TRD Camry along with Logano as Keselowski cycled into the lead ahead of Larson, Byron, Blaney and Truex.
Ten laps later, Keselowski retained the lead by a second over Larson followed by Byron, Blaney and Truex while Reddick, Austin Dillon, Bell, Hamlin and Chastain were running in the top 10. With seven of eight Playoff contenders running in the top 10, minus Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Chastain, Buescher was the lone Playoff contender not running in the top 10 as he was mired in 26th behind Harrison Burton.
Another four laps later, Larson muscled his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead over Keselowski while racing on the inside lane. Larson would proceed to lead at the Lap 60 mark by two seconds over Keselowski’s No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang while Byron, Blaney, Truex, Reddick, Austin Dillon, bell, Hamlin and Chastain were scored in the top 10. By then, Buescher was mired back in 27th while AJ Allmendinger, Wallace, Ty Gibbs, LaJoie and Kyle Busch occupied the top 15 in front of Kevin Harvick.
By Lap 70, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Keselowski as Blaney, Byron and Truex battled in the top five ahead of Reddick, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bell and Ty Gibbs. Meanwhile, Buescher lost one spot in the process as he was down in 28th.
Then on Lap 76, the first caution period of the event flew after Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was running 18th, made contact with the backstretch’s outside wall before he spun below the track and damaged the right-rear toe link of his No. 47 Boost by Kroger/Vitaminwater Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The caution for Stenhouse’s incident was enough for the first stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 80 to conclude under caution as Larson, who secured his spot into this year’s Championship 4 round by winning last weekend’s Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, captured his eighth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Keselowski settled in second while Blaney, Byron, Truex, Hamlin, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Bell and Ty Gibbs were scored in the top 10. By then, Buescher was the lone Playoff contender to not score the first round of stage points as he was mired in 27th.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted. Following the pit stops, Larson retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Keselowski, Byron, Truex, Blaney, Austin Dillon and Reddick.
The second stage period started on Lap 85 as Larson and Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Larson muscled ahead on the outside lane as he retained the lead over Keselowski, Byron, Ty Gibbs and Truex while Blaney and Reddick battled for sixth place alongside Chastain. As the field behind jostled for spots, Larson proceeded to lead just past the Lap 90 mark over teammate Byron by two-tenths of a second as Keselowski, Truex and Blaney trailed in the top five. Behind, Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Reddick, Austin Dillon and Hamlin were in the top 10 while Bell and Buescher were mired in 14th and 26th, respectively.
At the Lap 100 mark, Larson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Keselowski while third-place Byron trailed by more than a second in third place. Behind, Blaney and Truex were scored in the top five ahead of Chastain, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs and Hamlin while Allmendinger, LaJoie, Wallace, Logano and Bell occupied the top 15 ahead of Aric Almirola, Cindric, Erik Jones, Harvick and Chase Briscoe. Meanwhile, Suarez, Ryan Preece, Elliott, Kyle Busch and McDowell were running in the top 25 while Buescher was mired in 26th.
Thirteen laps later, a second wave of green flag pit stops commenced as Ty Gibbs pitted under green along with Briscoe and Preece. Larson would then surrender the lead to pit under green by Lap 114 along with teammate Byron, Blaney, Logano, Almirola, Bell, Buescher and Ty Dillon as Keselowski assumed the lead. Keselowski would then pit from the lead on Lap 115 followed by Truex, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Chastain, LaJoie, Erik Jones and Jusitn Haley as Hamlin moved into the lead. Hamlin would lead through Lap 125 before he pitted under green as Larson cycled back into the lead followed by Keselowski, Blaney, Byron and Truex. By then, more names that included LaJoie, Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Suarez and Wallace had pitted under green.
At the halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134, Larson was leading by more than four seconds over Keselowski followed by Blaney, Byron and Truex while Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Chastain and Allmendinger were scored in the top 10. Behind, Logano was up to 11th ahead of LaJoie, Briscoe, Hamlin and Almirola while Bell, Erik Jones, Wallace, Preece and Harvick were scored in the top 20 ahead of Suarez, Elliott, Cindric, Kyle Busch, McDowell and Buescher.
By Lap 150, Larson stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Blaney while Byron, Keselowski and Truex were running in the top five ahead of Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Chastain. Meanwhile, Bell was mired back in 18th behind Wallace while Buescher continued to run in 26th behind McDowell.
Then on Lap 162, Blaney tracked and overtook Larson for the lead. Byron would then overtake teammate Larson for the runner-up spot during the following lap as Blaney checked out with the lead by a second in his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Blaney, who came into Homestead 17 points below the top-four cutline, captured his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Byron settled in second followed by teammate Larson, Hamlin and Keselowski while Truex, Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon and Logano were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Bell and Buescher were scored in 22nd and 26th, respectively.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Blaney pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Blaney retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Byron, Keselowski, Hamlin, Larson, Logano, Austin Dillon and Reddick.
With 95 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Blaney and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney retained a brief advantage over Byron through the first two turns and the backstretch before Byron drew himself into a side-by-side challenge against Blaney for the top spot while running on the inside lane. Byron would then muscle ahead during the following lap before he engaged in another side-by-side duel against Blaney for the lead. Amid the duel, Blaney would use the inside lane to muscle ahead, slide up and clear Byron through the frontstretch with 92 laps remaining. In the process, Hamlin was in third place and trailing by eight-tenths of a second while Keselowski and Larson were in the top five.
With 85 laps remaining, Blaney was leading by half a second over Hamlin while Byron, Larson and Chastain trailed in the top five. Behind, Truex, who endured a slow pit stop during the second stage break, and Keselowski made contact as Keselowski then hit the outside wall exiting the backstretch, but the race proceeded under green. Amid the late on-track battles, Blaney retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Hamlin while Larson, Byron and Chastain remained in the top five with 75 laps remaining. With Austin Dillon, Truex, Keselowski, Reddick and Bell running in the top 10, Buescher was mired back in 27th while racing a lap down.
Then with 57 laps remaining, another wave of green flag pit stops commenced as Keselowski pitted followed by Truex, Ty Gibbs, Suarez, Ryan Newman and Chastain. Then amid the green flag pit stops, the caution flew with 55 laps remaining after Larson, who was trying to enter pit road behind the leader Blaney under green, locked up his front tires while trying to ease off of the throttle and hit the sand barrels towards the pit road entrance before he nursed his damaged No. 5 Chevrolet into his pit stall. The incident was enough for NASCAR to place the event in a red flag period as the track crews proceeded to clean up sand from the destroyed barrels towards pit road entrance.
Following the red flag period that lasted more than 12 minutes, the field led by Hamlin returned under a cautious pace. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Hamlin pitted while Blaney, who benefitted during Larson’s incident by pitting his No. 12 Ford Mustang and remaining on the lead lap, remained on the track as he inherited the lead. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited pit road first followed by Byron, Harvick, Allmendinger, Bell, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch. Amid the caution period, the following names that included Chastain, Truex, Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Elliott took the wave around back to the lead lap while Keselowski received the free pass.
With the race restarting under green with 46 laps remaining, Blaney and Hamlin dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first two turns until Hamlin motored ahead on the inside lane to assume the lead from Blaney as Bell joined the battle. Shortly after, the caution quickly returned after Keselowski, who was running in the middle of the pack and was sandwiched in between Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek entering the backstretch, sent both Nemechek and Chastain sideways and into one another, where they collected JJ Yeley in the process as Yeley spun and pounded the inside wall head on while Nemechek also spun towards the inside wall and Chastain spun sideways in the middle of the track. During the caution period, some that included Wallace, Keselowski, Truex, Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Preece and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
During the following restart with 38 laps remaining, Hamlin and Blaney dueled for the lead in front of Bell and Byron through the frontstretch and entering the first two turns. With Blaney and Hamlin continuing to duel dead even for the lead through the backstretch, Bell made a bold three-wide move on both through Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead during the following lap. With Bell checking out with the lead, another three-wide battle ensued for the runner-up spot between Hamlin, Blaney and Byron before Byron used the outside lane to clear both through Turns 3 and 4 and retain the runner-up spot. As Blaney and Hamlin continued to battle dead even for third place, another three-wide battle ensued behind between Harvick, Austin Dillon and Logano for fifth place while Bell was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Byron with 35 laps remaining.
Then three laps later, the caution flew after Playoff contender Hamlin, who was locked in a tight battle with Blaney for third place, went up the track in Turn 1 and pounded the outside wall hard as a result of a broken steering before he limped his damaged No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry to pit road and eventually retired from the event. In the process, concerns started to occur for teammate and Playoff contender Truex after light smoke was seen billowing out of the No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry, an issue that would result with Truex’s car being pushed to the garage.
During the caution period, the field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Byron assumed the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Blaney, Bell, Harvick, Logano, Wallace and Reddick.
The following restart with 25 laps remaining witnessed Byron and Blaney duel dead even for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch while Bell trailed closely behind. Byron and Blaney continued to battle dead even for the lead through the frontstretch as Bell, Logano and Wallace battled for fifth place. Then with 24 laps remaining, Byron managed to clear Blaney entering the backstretch and assume both lanes to his control while Bell challenged Blaney for the runner-up spot through the frontstretch.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Byron was leading by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Bell as third-place Blaney trailed by seven-tenths of a second. Behind, Wallace overtook Logano for fourth place and Reddick was in sixth as Ty Gibbs, Allmendinger, Almirola and Austin Cindric were in the top 10.
Then five laps later, Bell made his move beneath Byron as he assumed the lead by a hair through the frontstretch. Bell and Byron would duel for the top spot through the first two turns until Bell slid up the track and cleared Byron through the backstretch. As Bell assumed the lead, Blaney, who was trailing the two leaders by nearly two seconds, retained third place ahead of 23XI Racing’s Reddick and Wallace.
With 10 laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Byron as Blaney, Reddick and Wallace retained their respective spots in the top five ahead of Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Logano, Almirola and Harvick. Bell would proceed to retain the lead by more than a second over the new runner-up competitor, Blaney, as Byron fell back to third in front of Reddick, Allmendinger and Wallace with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by more than a second over Blaney. With Blaney unable to narrow the deficit amid his late-race charge, Bell was able to cycle his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry around Homestead smoothly for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed both the checkered flag and a berth into this year’s Championship 4 round.
With the victory, Bell notched his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season, his first since winning the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April, his first at Homestead and the sixth of his career. The victory was also the eighth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 10th of the year for the Toyota nameplate.
Above all, Bell, who punched his ticket into this year’s Championship 4 round for a second consecutive season, will contend for his first Cup Series championship two weeks from now at Phoenix Raceway.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I’ve got the best team behind me,” Bell said on NBC. “Honestly, I don’t know, man. That race was a whirlwind. I was ready to throw the towel in there in the second stage and I got really frustrated on the radio. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] kept after it. Adam, Tyler, William, the guys back at the shop are working over the adjustments. They gave me what I needed. Whenever we got some clean air, this thing was really good. I cannot say how proud I am to be here with our partners. I’ve been with Toyota since day one. Thank you everyone that supported me. This is better than a dream come true.”
Behind Bell, Blaney muscled his way into a strong runner-up finish ahead of Playoff rivals Reddick and Byron while Allmendinger, the highest non-Playoff contender, settled in fifth place. With the results, Blaney and Byron are currently scored above the top-four cutline to make this year’s Championship 4 round entering the Round of 8 finale next weekend at Martinsville Speedway while Reddick stands as the first competitor currently scored out of the cutline by 10 points. Hamlin, Truex and Buescher are also scored below the cutline following the second Round of 8 event.
“We were good on the long runs all day and that’s what we needed,” Blaney said. “I just couldn’t go for 10 laps or so and those guys got better. I just couldn’t maintain the lead or second, and by the time we kind of got going and people’s stuff were falling off, just too late. Overall, proud of the Menards, Duracell Ford Mustang team. Really, really strong piece. Just got a little bit there at the end, but proud of the effort.”
“The balance was really tricky on our McDonald’s Toyota Camry TRD,” Reddick said. “I just think the biggest thing is we didn’t fire off too good on a couple of restarts. Thankfully, the pit crew did a good job overcoming the difficulties today. Like we weren’t the best on pit road, but the last pit top, we maintained and gave us a shot at that restart. It was still a terrible restart for us, maybe lost two of three spots still, but just found the top [lane] and others weren’t up there and was able to get to third. I was so much faster than [Blaney]. It’s just as soon as he moved up, I was just stuck. It’s just the nature of these cars.”
“We were just really tight all day,” Byron said. “We did a really good job executing our race and kind of managing our long runs and being able to run the fence. We just built way too tight in the center and it’s as much wheel as I could put in the car and as much as I could to slow it down to go left. The guys did a great job of adjusting on the car all day. We had a really good execution day. We came out there with the lead thanks to my pit crew. We just need to bring a winning car next two weeks to get where we want to be, but we’re close.”
Wallace ended up sixth while Ty Gibbs, Logano, Almirola and Austin Dillon finished in the top 10 with Kevin Harvick finishing 11th in his final race at Homestead. In addition, Playoff competitor Chris Buescher capped off his long afternoon in 21st place while Truex and Hamlin ended up 29th and 30th after both were unable to finish the event.
There were 25 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 35 laps. In addition, 23 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to conclude next weekend at Martinsville Speedway, which will determine the Championship 4 field. The event is scheduled to commence next Sunday, October 29, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
BELL DELIVERS VICTORY AT HOMESTEAD; ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP 4 Toyota continues streak of only manufacturer to have a Championship 4 driver every season
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 22, 2023) – After last week’s close defeat, Christopher Bell ended up in victory lane after a hectic race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Bell battled back from a tough stage two to move through the field in the final laps. Bell took the lead for good with 16 laps to go and clinched his second consecutive Championship 4 berth.
For Toyota, the manufacturer continues its streak as the only manufacturer in NASCAR to have at least one driver in the Championship 4 every season.
His Toyota comrades and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace carried their Camrys both to top-10 finishes, with Reddick in fourth and Wallace in sixth. Ty Gibbs also came home in the top-10 with a seventh-place finish, his best on an intermediate track in 2023.
Heading into Martinsville next weekend, Reddick, Hamlin and Truex are below the cutline. Reddick is 10 points back of the Championship 4 in fifth, with Hamlin and Truex tied in sixth – 17 points out of a title berth. For Hamlin and Truex, Martinsville has provided distinct success over the years as the two have combined for eight victories.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Homestead-Miami Speedway Race 34 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL 2nd, Ryan Blaney* 3rd, TYLER REDDICK 4th, William Byron* 5th, AJ Allmendinger* 6th, BUBBA WALLACE 7th, TY GIBBS 29th, MARTIN TRUEX, JR. 30th, DENNY HAMLIN *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem/Watts Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Christopher Bell delivers today at Miami. How in the world did you and Adam Stevens take a car that was about to go a lap down and turn it into a winning race car?
“I’ve got the best team behind me. Honestly, I don’t know, man. That race was a whirlwind. I was ready to throw the towel in there in the second stage. I got frustrated on the radio. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) kept after it. Adam (Stevens, crew chief), Tyler (Allen, engineer) , William (Hartman, engineer), the guys back at the shop were working over the adjustments and gave me what I needed. Whenever we got some clean air, this thing was really good. I cannot say how proud I am to be here with our partners, with Rheem and DeWalt, driving these Toyota Camrys. I’ve been with Toyota since day one. Thank you, everyone, that’s supported me. This is better than a dream come true.”
Take us through your emotions during that race.
“I let my emotions get to me, that’s for sure. Normally, I don’t do that. But yeah, that was frustrating. It’s no secret this track hasn’t been my favorite. The first stage, I thought we were onto something. Started 14th and got all the way up to ninth, I thought if we can improve just this much, we’d have a great day. And then, it went the opposite as soon as we got to stage two. I have no idea what adjustments Adam made. We threw the kitchen sink at it, as we went from being one of the worst cars on the track to being one of the best at the end. Adam and the engineers back at the shop have the magic. What they can do on the pitstops, it’s pretty incredible the turnaround we had today.”
After last week, how does this win feel?
“It’s pretty sweet. I don’t know if last week any bearing on it, but we’ve had two good races in a row now. Have some momentum going. It’s all about Phoenix and now we have some more time to prepare for it.”
Does this win take off some pressure for next weekend?
“It’s going to be very relieving going into Martinsville. I looked at this round as a must-win every race. We had three opportunities to get to Phoenix. I was pretty vocal after last week, thinking that was our chance. Fortunately, we got it done this week.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How would you describe your day?
“Yeah, it was a frustrating day. I was really hoping we were going to get a little more out of that. The finish was what we needed, but we didn’t run as well as we wanted to all day, which was the disappointing part. I don’t know, it’s been a gripe of mine ever since we went to the composite body on the Cup side. Everyone runs the fence, and there’s no penalty when you have a mistake and hit the wall. Everyone just ran up there and hit it all day long. Gotta be more willing to take that risk in this car as there’s no penalty.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Walk us through your day today.
“Ooh, frustrating day, frustrating sixth place. But, proud of our effort today, that’s what it takes. Never give up. We just need to be better. Have to look at what we did from Saturday night into today and not do that again and start better to put ourselves in contention. I thought our pit crew put us back in the game there today. Just not what we had for our No. 23 McDonald’s Grimace Toyota team, but all in all, a good result for sure.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 30th
Do you think the initial problem contact with the wall led to that?
“Honestly, I didn’t hear you. We tried and it just didn’t work out. Unfortunate for this Sport Clips Toyota team. We really battled back well today – just a tough break.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the U.S.).
Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series | Post Race Quotes 4EVER 400 | Sunday, October 22, 2023
UNOFFICIAL FORD FINISHING RESULTS 2nd – Ryan Blaney 8th – Joey Logano 9th – Aric Almirola| 11th – Kevin Harvick 12th – Austin Cindric 13th – Ryan Preece 17th – Chase Briscoe 21st – Chris Buescher 22nd – Michael McDowell 25th – Todd Gilliland 26th – Ryan Newman |28th – Brad Keselowski 33rd – JJ Yeley 36th – Harrison Burton
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang (Finished 2nd)
WAS THERE ANYTHING MORE YOU COULD DO AS YOU WERE TRYING TO CATCH CHRISTOPHER BELL? “We were trying. We just needed laps. The long run car was really good. I just couldn’t fire off for 10 laps or so. I think the track cooling off helped those guys. I think we were better in the hotter, slicker conditions when fire off speed didn’t matter as much and it fell off quicker. That played into our benefit. It got a little cooler at the end and we never really front the front end speed and they did. We ran out of laps a little bit. I am proud of the effort. It was a really good day, we just got beat a little bit there at the end.”
WALK US THROUGH THE INCIDENT ON PIT ROAD WITH LARSON. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOU SAY AND IF THE DAMAGE IMPACTED YOUR CAR? “I didn’t see anything. You guys watch it. All I know is I got hit in the bumper. I don’t think it hurt it at all. I didn’t even know what happened until I saw him in my mirror. I don’t look at that stuff.”
GOING TO MARTINSVILLE, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CHANCES? “I hope we can perform. We’ve had two good weeks in a row at Vegas and here. We have had solid weekends, so hopefully we can do it again next week. It is nice to come in here a decent chunk down and then go to Martinsville in the positive. We just have to perform. We have to run well.”
JUST TO CLARIFY, DID YOU HAVE ANY DAMAGE FROM THE BUMP FROM LARSON? “I have no idea. I really don’t know.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang (Finished 21st)
A TOUGH DAY FOR YOU OUT THERE TODAY: “Yeah, that was a brutal day. We worked hard on this Fastenal Mustang and got it better. We started off the race really tight and went a lap down and didn’t have any opportunities to get that back. The cautions didn’t fall at the right time for us and about the time they would start the green flag cycles something would happen. We couldn’t quite catch the break we needed. We did find some good speed and I feel like on equal tires there at the end we would have been able to move up quite a bit. It just wasn’t the case. We had 10 laps or something on tires and had to finish out. We were still able to get to the last four or five cars that were on fresh tires, so I know we were a lot better than we had been and were making good progress, it was just too late. Too late in the day to make anything happen.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT BEING TIGHT IN PRACTICE, WAS IT SIMILAR FOR YOU TODAY? “Yeah, it was similar. We got a lot better for qualifying and then kind of know this place frees up once we get in the race and we were fully planning on it. It did free up on the tail end of the run, we just needed to get the front working earlier in the run to make some headway. We made some adjustments through the race and got the back underneath us for later. I was really able to run the top really well, by far the best I have run the top here, so I am really happy with that. We just didn’t have a chance to use it to actually make anything of it.”
WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH HOW MUCH YOU STRUGGLED? “Yeah, the first stage just got us. We got really way too tight to fire off and went a lap down early. We made good adjustments and got running in the right direction as far as speed goes. We were able to pace the leader once we got going and drive away and keep some track position in that sense but cautions just didn’t fall in the right place for us and we ended up not able to show anything all day. We finally got back on the lead lap with 30 to go but we had a fairly large tire deficit and we were still able to run up on the last few guys that had pitted for tires, so I knew we were improving, we just didn’t get to show it. We needed a caution with 20 to go and we would have been in a lot better shape.”
IT IS PRETTY OBVIOUS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NEXT WEEK. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CHANCES AT MARTINSVILLE? “Yeah, it is a must-win. There is no other way around that one now. For us, I feel like we have brought really fast race cars to a lot of these tracks. We obviously needed some tweaks today and we did a good job during the race. Another short track and we have been good at them this year, so we need to go make that one trophy for us.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang — (Finished 9th)
“We ended up with a solid top-10 today even after a mistake on pit road by me. We finally had something go our way with that caution that brought us back in the game. We found some speed in our Smithfield Ford Mustang today. We needed a top-10 as a team after the year we’ve had and to do it at Homestead is awesome. We never gave up today after coming back from 30th, to that penalty, and then back up again. We kept taking a swing at the balance all day and found something when it mattered. I love it here at Homestead and in my home state. Really excited to carry this momentum to Martinsville next weekend where we had a shot at a win and ran up front all day.”
NASCAR CUP SERIES HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY 4EVER 400 PRESENTED BY MOBIL 1 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT OCTOBER 22, 2023
Byron, Allmendinger Take Top-10 Finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron led Chevrolet to the finish in the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight at Homestead-Miami Speedway– driving his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 to a fourth-place result for the team’s14th top-five finish of the season.
Three drivers from three different Chevrolet teams recorded top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile South Florida oval with Byron leading Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger in fifth and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon rounding out the top-10.
Heading into the Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron sits third in the points standings with a 30-point advantage over the playoff cutline.
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 4th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 5th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1 10th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of Eight elimination race will get underway at Martinsville Speedway with the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, October 29, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1
Finished: 31st
“We were outside the top-10 and needed to work our way back up into the top-five there. We needed to catch a lucky caution to be back into the mix. Just ran out of room — I don’t think it was anyone’s fault, just four-wide coming off turn two.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident entering pit road in the final stage.
Finished: 34th
We know this series is all about inches – taking every inch you can get. I know you were trying to get aggressive to come onto pit road there. Take us through what happened.
“Yeah, that’s just it. I was just trying to push it as much as I could. He (Ryan Blaney) had a great car and I felt like if he was to come off pit road the leader, he was going to end up winning the race or beating me. I was just trying to maximize my pit-in, and honestly I felt like I was doing a really good job. I just didn’t anticipate him slowing down as much as he did. But on the replay, it looks like I just missed it by a lot. I need to look at data. I knew where the yellow line was and thought I was going to be under control getting there, and then yeah, he just slowed down – I locked the brakes up, slid to the right and clipped him and the barrels.
I’m pretty upset at myself, more than anything. Whether he got to pit road speed sooner than the yellow line or not, I could have just done a little bit better job judging it. I hope they are able to recover. I hope he can get a good finish or get a win and get the finish that he deserves.
Just a bummer, but we had a great No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy today.”
We talked before the race about the fact that you’re already locked-in. You wanted to get this win here today. How frustrating was it? It seemed like you had a great car early on, but as the run went, I could tell the frustration. How much did your car drop off?
“There in the middle portion of the second stage, I was racing hard and got my tires hot. If not for that, we would have been able to keep stretching the lead out in the second stage. I just got loose for a few laps, and then I could never recover from it. I was just kind of hanging on there at the end of the second stage and gave him control of the race, and it kind of just led to this. Just have to do a little bit better job.”
Was there a point there where you were like – guys, I have to hit the barrels or else I’m going to run into him?
“Yeah, I mean honestly, I don’t really know what I was thinking during the initial part. I was trying to stay off him. As I knew I was going to probably hit him, I just locked the brakes up; I locked the fronts up and slid to the right and clipped the right-side of his rear bumper, and that kind of shot me even more right into the barrels.
Yeah, I don’t know – was in control in my car, I just didn’t anticipate him getting to pit road speed as early as he did.”
Do you feel like you had a winning car up to that point?
“Yeah – we won the first stage and we had a great No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy in the second stage. Just ran hard for a few too many laps; got my right-rear hot and gave him the second stage. But other than that, we were good.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1
Finished 5th
“Our No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy was really good. We started the race in the 25th position and drove right up into the top-10 there. The track was tricky – you got on one side of the race track and we fought tight through the middle-half of the race. Our crew chief made some really good adjustments there, and we got some more clean air and I was able to make some moves. I thought maybe we were one of the fastest cars there at the end, but overall, just a really solid day. It’s always great when you can get a top-five finish.”
How close to the front do you think you go.. do you think you could have had just a little bit more?
“Well don’t get me wrong, it entered my head what the four people in front of me were racing for, so I was never going to force the issue. I was going to take it if I had an opportunity. It was just a great day. We executed the best job on pit road all year. The guys did a great job, so I’m happy.”
How good were you at riding up high against the fence?
“I didn’t have to ride up against the fence. With this car around this place, you can find different lanes that work. It was a lot of fun.”
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
Finished 4th
That last run there – you got up towards the front; kind of slipped back a little bit, but still finished up in the top-five. Take us through that last run.
“We just didn’t have the turn in our car to go into a run, so we just struggled there to fire-off. I was doing all I could to air-block; move my line around and try to take his air, but it just wasn’t enough. I couldn’t get through the middle well enough to maintain pace.
But our No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet was really solid all day. We just needed more there at the end, but we had good execution, good pit stops and put ourselves in position to win.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
Finished: 14th
“Just an OK, up-and-down, day for the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy team. We had some good runs and some bad runs, but overall, ended up with a decent day. We needed that. We’ve had some bad finishes; some weren’t necessarily all our fault; we were just in a bad spot. It’s nice to come home with an OK day, and hopefully go to Martinsville (Speedway) and get it a little bit better.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES:
STAGE ONE:
· Coming off his win in the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team led the field to the green-flag in the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
· Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron took the green-flag from the seventh position and quickly went to work to climb the leaderboard – moving his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 into the top-five less than 10 laps into the race. Just after reporting to his team that his Camaro ZL1 was building tight, Byron made a pass on then-race leader Martin Truex Jr. – ultimately taking the lead on lap 20.
· The first round of green-flag pit stops got underway just shy of the halfway mark in Stage One. Continuing to pace the field, Crew Chief Rudy Fugle called Byron down pit road on lap 34 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment – returning to the track in the seventh position.
· As the field cycled through upon completion of green-flag pit stops, Team Chevy’s playoff contenders Larson and Byron continued to lead the Bowtie brigade in the second and third positions, respectively, with 30 laps remaining in Stage One.
· Larson quickly closed the gap on then-race leader Brad Keselowski to under a one-second margin. Despite reporting tight conditions on exit in his Camaro ZL1, Larson was able to make a pass for the lead and settle into the top position with 27 laps to go in the stage.
· Continuing to work his way through traffic, Larson built nearing a three-second lead when the first caution of the race came out with four laps to go in the stage. Unable to return to green-flag conditions before the end of the stage, Larson led the field to the completion of Stage One – marking his eighth stage win of the season.
4th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
8th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
STAGE TWO:
· Under the stage break, Larson reported that the handling of his Camaro ZL1 was good while running the bottom and middle lines, but he was struggling with tight conditions as he moved closer to the wall. Looking to improve the handling conditions in the top lane, Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road for four tires, fuel and a round of adjustments – maintaining the top position in the race off pit road to lead the field to the start of Stage Two.
· Larson was able to defend the lead at the drop of the green-flag, going on to build a nearly one-second lead when the race hit the 100-lap marker. Continuing to click-off laps running his Camaro ZL1 just inches off the wall, crew chief Daniels called Larson to pit road on lap 114 to start the next round of green-flag pit stops. Continuing to struggle with tight conditions against the wall, Daniels called for another round of adjustments on the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1. Getting back up to race pace, the benefit of four fresh tires proved dividends – clocking-in lap times nearly four mph faster than the leaders that had yet to make their scheduled stops.
· As the final lead-lap car came to pit road, Larson returned to command of the race – already building on his 4.5-second lead over second-place Keselowski with 35 laps to go in the stage.
· Racing hard in traffic during the closing laps of the stage, Larson’s pace started to fade, allowing Ryan Blaney and Byron to close the gap to the race leader. Both drivers were able to make the pass on the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 with three laps remaining in Stage Two en route to the green-white checkered flag.
· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10
2nd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES:
· Following back-to-back top-five stage results, Byron was looking for “longer rear longevity” at the end of the run. Fresh with feedback, crew chief Fugle called Byron to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and both a chassis and air pressure adjustment. Choosing the bottom lane for the restart, Byron and the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 team led the field to the green-flag for the start of the final stage.
· Also pitting during the stage break, Larson chose fifth for the green-flag marking 94 laps to go in the race. With the start of the final stage underway, Larson slowly started to make gains on the leaders – moving into the runner-up position 20 laps into the stage.
· With another round of green-flag pit stops underway, Larson brought out a caution at lap 215 following an incident entering pit road. Damage sustained on his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 was deemed too much to repair – resulting the team to retire early from the race.
· With 39 laps to go, Byron was running in the second position in a three-wide battle for the lead when the caution flew. Crew chief Fugle called Byron down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment – with the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 pit crew getting the driver off pit road first for the restart.
· At the restart with 25 laps to go, Byron powered his Camaro ZL1 to the lead – pacing the field until the Christopher Bell made a pass around Byron for the lead, with the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 ultimately taking the checkered-flag in the fourth position.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
