CONCORD, N.C. (October 4, 2023) – Cancer doesn’t care. It doesn’t discriminate or play favorites. It’s insidious, unsettling and oftentimes, heartbreaking. Everyone knows someone who either is fighting or has fought for their lives against this unfair enemy. It’s an emotional and unwelcome element of the “human condition.”

But, many times, thanks to unparalleled dedication by caregivers, combined with the indomitable character of their patients, cancer stories can have happy endings. Those are important accounts that need to be shared.

In that spirit, Spire Motorsports and the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits, in collaboration with Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, have partnered to honor cancer survivor Anna Walker with a paint scheme designed from a personal perspective.

The unique look will be on full display to a national television audience aboard Ty Dillon’s No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the October 8 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Walker, 28, was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2021. Thanks to the care and support she received through the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Care at St. Francis Cancer Center in Greenville, S.C., she is now in remission.

Walker’s artwork was chosen as the winning finalist after a host of AYA patients received the call to submit design concepts to adorn Dillon’s race car. Her submission was inspired by actual imaging, revealed following her initial Computed Tomography (CT) scan, that showed the exact shapes of the cancer cells in her body. The lime green color represents the diagnosis and the fading colors, which ultimately lead to an unblemished shade of blue, illustrate the progression of her remission throughout the course of her individualized treatment regimen.

“My entire cancer journey was unexpected and rough, but with the love and support of my friends and family I was able to persevere and can look back at the incredible strength it took to make it through,” explained Walker. “Getting to see that reflected in my design helps bring to life and further establish how far I’ve come.”

Bon Secours St. Francis AYA Cancer Care is a comprehensive. community-based program focused on coordinating care and improving clinical trial access for AYA patients 15-39 years of age, in the Upstate South Carolina area. The program was the first if its kind in South Carolina and is part of a growing trend to have specialized programs and dedicated spaces for adolescents and young adults in the United States.

AYA Cancer Care started in 2012 and has a dedicated medical director, program coordinator, life specialist, research team and integrated financial and psychosocial support. Additionally, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System has dedicated spaces specifically designed by AYAs for AYAs in both hospital and clinical settings.

“We envisioned the AYA Cancer Care program more than 10 years ago to bring best-practices clinical care and innovative clinical trials to young adults in the community,” said Dr. Hal Crosswell, Director of the Bon Secours St. Francis AYA Program. “We have been so blessed to have partners who have driven this dream to reality—amazing partners at the local, regional, and national level like Ty (Dillon) and his awesome team recognizing our own patients’ struggles to not only survive but thrive through cancer. This continues to motivate those of us supporting our patients, clinical and administrative crew members alike, to continue to strive for excellence in compassionate care for all adolescents and young adults with cancer and blood disorders. Thank you for honoring our patients!”

Dillon will visit AYA Cancer Care on Wednesday, October 4, to unveil the paint scheme and visit patients and care providers prior to on-track activities at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“It’s always gratifying to elevate a partnership that is impactful on so many levels,” said Todd Mackin, president of Spire Holdings. “Bon Secours St. Francis Health System has been a key corporate partner of the Swamp Rabbits for several years and we’re thrilled to integrate that relationship into a program with Spire Motorsports to honor Anna Walker and provide hope to young people fighting cancer. Bon Secours St. Francis AYA Cancer Care is doing incredible work. We’re proud to celebrate Anna and the impact of AYA’s commitment to its patients.”

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 from Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live on NBC Sunday, October 8 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 32nd of 36 races on the 2023 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

About Bon Secours …
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of the 20 largest health systems in the United States and the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country. The ministry’s quality, compassionate care is provided by more than 60,000 associates serving communities in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as throughout Ireland. Bon Secours St. Francis Health System provides compassionate medical care to thousands of area residents through Bon Secours St. Francis Downtown and Bon Secours St. Francis Eastside, as well as a network of primary and specialty care practices, and ambulatory care sites across the Greenville region. Consistent with its commitment to serve each patient with dignity, Bon Secours Mercy Health provides nearly $2 million per day in community benefit. The mission of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System is to extend the compassionate ministry of Jesus by improving the health and well-being of our communities and bring good help to those in need, especially people who are poor, dying and underserved. For more information, visit BonSecours.com.

About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Holdings in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team have been providing family friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are proud affiliates of the NHL’s LA Kings and AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports is a full-time, two-car NASCAR Cup Series race team co-owned by long-time NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In 2023, Spire Motorsports will field the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for driver Corey LaJoie and No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Ty Dillon. The team also fields NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series teams in select events.

Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on May 20, 2023 when Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Race Information

Round: NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 32 of 36 (Playoffs Round of 12)

Track Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, North Carolina

Race Name: Bank of America ROVAL 400

Broadcast: Sunday, October 8th at 2:00 PM ET live on NBC (TV), PRN (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90

Team Entrants:

No. 42 | Mike Rockenfeller & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Mike Rockenfeller, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

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Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL Stats

-NCS: Starts: 1; Best Start: 34th (2022); Best Finish: 29th (2022)

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

-Starts: 2; Best Start: 21st (Watkins Glen); Best Finish: 19th (Watkins Glen); No. 42 Owners Points: 32nd

About Sunseeker Resort: Opening in 2023, Florida’s newest luxury resort located in Charlotte Harbor is the first resort property of Sunseeker Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company. Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor occupies over 22 waterfront acres with 785 guest rooms, including 189 Signature Sunsuites™. Set upon the Peace River and Florida Gulf Coast, this premier resort offers 20 original food and beverage concepts; including seven stand-alone restaurants, eleven bars and lounges, two poolside offerings and a 25,000-square-foot multi-dining experience. Additional hotel amenities include a waterfront promenade, two unique rooftop and waterfront pool experiences, 60,000-square-feet of combined convention space, full-service spa and salon, a 7,100-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center with four group exercise studios with specialty instructor lead classes, three retail and market shops, and an 18-hole championship level golf club exclusive to hotel guests only. The resort is conveniently located within a short drive of Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and Tampa airports. For more information, visit www.sunseekerresorts.com. Follow us on Instagram: @sunseekerresorts and like us on Facebook: @sunseekerresorts.

Rocky in for the ROVAL: Road Course Ace Mike Rockenfeller will strap into the No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet for the third time this season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. “Rocky”, a championship-winning sports car veteran, has driven in two prior races for the Club this season, making his first start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (where he finished 24th) and following it up at Watkins Glen International (where he finished 19th). As of right now, this weekend will be his final planned Cup Series start of the season.

Hocevar in for the Rest: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standout Carson Hocevar will drive the LEGACY M.C. No. 42 Camaro ZL1 for the remainder of the year, beginning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hocevar has competed in five races for the Club and has quickly found his groove racing on Sundays. Notching four top-20 finishes with a best result of 11th place at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hocevar is a natural fit to finish out the 2023 season.

Garage 56: Rocky developed a strong bond with LEGACY M.C. Co-Owner, Jimmie Johnson, through the Hendrick Motorsports / NASCAR Garage 56 program as the two were teammates in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans event. On Sunday, the now-iconic Garage 56 car will pace the field before the Bank of America ROVAL 400, and early morning on race day, Rockenfeller will join Jordan Taylor to film digital content with the car for NASCAR On NBC.

Fan Day: This Friday, LEGACY M.C. and GMS Racing will host a Fan Day celebration. Hosted at the teams’ headquarters conveniently located near I-40 and I-77 in Statesville, North Carolina, attendees will be greeted with driver autograph sessions, live interviews held on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, race shop tours, partner displays, merchandise sales, giveaways, food trucks, and more. No RSVP is needed to attend the event, so come out and have fun with our teams leading into the race weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL! More details can be found here.

Driver Appearances: Fans attending the Charlotte ROVAL race will have opportunities to meet both of the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s drivers of the No. 42 Chevrolet throughout the weekend.

Carson Hocevar Merch Trailer Autograph Session | Saturday, Oct. 7th: Though he won’t be driving this weekend, Carson Hocevar will be at the track and will sign autographs at the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB merchandise trailer in the Fan Zone from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM.
Mike Rockenfeller Race Day Q&A Session | Sunday, Oct. 8th: Located on the driver introductions stage on the front stretch, Rocky will chat with Monica Palumbo and Cole Custer from 11:15 AM to 11:30 AM.
Mike Rockenfeller Team Chevy Stage Appearance | Sunday, Oct. 8th: Head to the Team Chevy Stage located in the Fan Zone from 12:00 PM to 12:15 PM on race day to see Rocky host a Q&A session with “The Motivational Cowboy”, Johnny D!
Breast Cancer Awareness: As we enter the month of October, a team tradition that has taken place for many years will continue for the next four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. Both LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ cars will carry pink ribbons onboard to honor family members of the respective car’s crew members that have been affected by breast cancer.

Lambert on the ROVAL: Crew chief Luke Lambert has competed in four NASCAR Cup Series races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. Ryan Newman gave Lambert his best finish at this track back at the inaugural running in 2018, where he finished in 11th place. Last year, while in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Lambert’s No. 9 team finished on the podium with a third-place showing at the ROVAL.

Quoting Mike Rockenfeller: This is your last scheduled Cup Series race for this year, so what are some of the goals that you would like to accomplish before the end of the event on Sunday?

“You know, obviously, we had two races and this one is going to be my last one in Cup this year, so I definitely want to do well. I think in the last two, we had some issues on pit lane, so hopefully this time it will be clean, and that means I think we have a shot to do well. We were able to finish 19th last time even with a slow pit stop, so if we improve slightly I think we can fight for a top-15 or a top-10 hopefully. That’s what my goal is, but on the other hand, I know that this is a critical race in the championship for many guys. So I want to do my thing, and always want to win as a driver and for the team as well; but of course I also don’t want to spoil anybody’s race for the championship. We need to be careful, and smart, and hopefully take advantage of a few things so we can make it a really good one. I will enjoy it and am motivated as always, and am looking forward to drive. I raced there last year, so I know the circuit, and I will be ready to go this weekend.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

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Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL Stats

-NCS Starts: 5; Best start: 12th (2018) Best finish: 3rd (2020); Top-5s: 2; Top-10s: 7; Laps Led: 2

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

Starts: 31; Best start: 8th (COTA) ; Best finish: 3rd (Kansas); Top-5s: 1; Top-10s: 7; Laps led: 24; Points position: 27th

About Allegiant: Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant’s fleet serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic roundtrip ticket. For more information, visit us at Allegiant.com.

Dega’ in the Rearview: Erik Jones marked his 250th career NASCAR Cup Series start last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, and he made an impact from the start. Despite qualifying 26th, Jones put in an impressive performance in the opening stage, narrowly missing a top-ten finish. A pit road penalty resulted in Jones falling a lap down early in the race. However, he was quick to make up the lap and clawed his way back to the front row. Jones led for four laps but struggled to return to the lead during the race’s final stage, and the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy ultimately crossed the finish line in 26th place.

Most recent ROVAL: During his most recent outing at the Charlotte ROVAL, Jones sat in the 26th starting position, leading one lap on the one-of-a-kind track. However, with just three laps remaining, Jones was bumped off course, resulting in a loss of valuable track position. Fortunately, luck was on his side when a caution waved with only two laps to go. In “NASCAR overtime”, Jones was able to make up many positions, eventually concluding the race with an 11th-place finish.

Road Runner: Throughout his 28 Cup Series starts on road courses, Jones has three top-five and nine top-10 finishes, with 22 laps led. His career-best Cup Series performance on a road course came at the ROVAL in 2020 as he finished third During that race, Jones qualified 14th and led for one lap.

Dave at ROVAL: Crew Chief Dave Elenz has an impressive Xfinity Series career at the ROVAL. In four starts, drivers who worked under Elenz have earned one pole position and led for a total of 17 laps. Elenz has coached two drivers to two top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes at the ROVAL with an average finish of 5.5. Notably, none of his drivers have finished outside of the top 10. In his lone Cup Series appearance at the ROVAL, Elenz and Jones secured an 11th-place finish. This included leading for one lap after starting from 26th position.

Erik Jones at Fan Day: Erik Jones will join the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB / GMS Racing Fan Day on Friday and will sign autographs from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM local time. For more details, please visit here.

Paint it Pink: Last week, it was announced that Kurt Busch has “passed the torch” to Erik Jones as The Erik Jones Foundation (EJF) will work in partnership with Kurt Busch’s Windows of Hope program for a third season. Jones’ foundation will support its efforts in the area of “cancer prevention and early detection and care”. Every driver in the field for the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will run a uniquely colored pink window net to signify breast cancer awareness, which will then be autographed and put up for auction through the EJF, which will receive the proceeds to then be donated to multiple beneficiaries to support early cancer detection. The auction for the signed pink window nets will open on October 9th and close on October 16th.

Special Guests: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB drivers will dawn pink ribbons above the driver’s side door to honor survivors and those who lost their fights to breast cancer through the month of October. Notable survivors riding along with the club are the mothers of both Erik Jones and Carson Hocevar.

Meet Erik: Fans will have the opportunity to meet Erik Jones at the Chevrolet Racing display on Sunday in the Fan Zone for a Q&A from 11:15-11:30 a.m. local time.

Quoting Erik Jones: “It’s always nice to have a home race, being at the ROVAL this weekend and not having to travel is good for everybody. Being able to head over there and give it a shot is comforting. Our road course stuff has been one of our biggest struggles this year, but we have been working hard to improve every time to get where we want to be. It’s great to have Mike Rockenfeller back as well. I think he has done a really good job for us here on these road courses, helping us out, getting us better, and showing us what we can work on to improve. So, I am excited to have him in the car again and hope to finish out strong on the last road course for this year.”

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (NCS) Jimmie Johnson. The club competes full-time in the NCS fielding the Nos. 42 and 43 Chevrolet Camaro entries, respectively, along with the No. 84 part-time entry for Johnson in 2023. Richard Petty “The King” serves as team ambassador.

In 2021, Gallagher acquired Richard Petty Motorsports and renamed the team to Petty GMS. With the addition of Johnson to the ownership structure in 2023, the organization rebranded to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY M.C.). With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level.

Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY M.C. operates alongside GMS Racing (GMS), which currently fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS in 2012, Gallagher and Mike Beam, team president, have shared incredible success. GMS Racing captured the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships and the 2019 and 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This Week in Motorsports: October 2 – 8, 2023

· NCS/NXS: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL – October 7-8

· ARCA: Toledo Speedway – October 7

PLANO, Texas (October 4, 2023) – NASCAR heads to its final road course of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, marking the next Playoff cutoff race for both the Cup Series and Xfinity series. After this weekend, the Round of 8 will be set for both series. The ARCA Menards Series also closes its season with Toyota’s Jesse Love as the champion.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS

Three of five Toyota drivers above the cutline … Going into this weekend’s cutoff race, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell currently sit above the elimination line. Hamlin should clinch his spot in the Round of 8 early on as he is 50 points above the cutoff, with Bell 22 points to the good and Truex 17 points up. Their Team Toyota comrades and 23XI Racing drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, are two and nine points, respectively under the cutline going into the ROVAL.

Bell aims for ROVAL repeat … Bell was the lone Toyota driver in last year’s Championship 4, which was sparked by his win at the Charlotte ROVAL last fall. A repeat win for the Oklahoma native would provide a similar boost of momentum, as well as lock himself into the Round of 8. Bell has had a strong season on road courses, finishing in the top-10 in three of the five races (Sonoma, Indianapolis and Watkins Glen).

Hamlin’s road course qualifying magic … No one has been better in 2023 during road course qualifying than Hamlin. The 19-year Cup Series veteran has qualified on pole in three of the last four road courses (Sonoma, Chicago and Watkins Glen). A pole at the ROVAL would put Hamlin in prime position to lock himself into the Round of 8 and give Toyota their 498th pole in NASCAR competition as they close in on a milestone 500.

Toyota Xfinity playoff drivers solidly above the cutline … Heading into their cutoff race, Toyota’s John Hunter Nemechek and Sammy Smith both sit above the Xfinity Series points cutline with some room to spare. Nemechek’s win at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago locked him into the Round of 8, while his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Smith, is 18 points in the clear.

Nemechek’s hot streak … There may be no one driving as well in the Xfinity Series currently than Nemechek. The 26-year-old comes into the weekend with two wins in the last three races, along with four top-fives in a row. A win this weekend would be Nemechek’s first on a road course in the Xfinity Series.

A special tribute to Sherry Pollex … In this weekend’s Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte ROVAL, Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) and Connor Mosack will be running a special paint scheme in honor of the late Sherry Pollex. The No. 24 SHR GR Supra will be highlighting the Sherry Strong Foundation, which in conjunction with the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation, aims to raise awareness around and boost advocacy for ovarian cancer and childhood cancers, along with generating financial support for those battling the disease. Pollex’s brother-in-law Richmond Burgdoff, well-known as “Fuz”, will act as Car Chief of the No. 24 Sherry Strong GR Supra.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Love wraps up dominant championship season … After this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series race at Toledo Speedway, Jesse Love’s 2023 championship campaign will be complete. The 18-year-old Californian has won 10 of his 19 starts this season, along with 16 top-fives and 17 top-10s, allowing him to clinch the title last week at Salem. Love’s championship is the eighth by a Toyota driver in the ARCA Menards Series, with the most recent title coming from Ty Gibbs in 2021.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.

RYAN PREECE
Charlotte Roval Advance
No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 8
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval
● Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 109 laps/252.88 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Taking On The Roval: Ryan Preece and the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) Ford Mustang will stay close to home for some road-course racing on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval at 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, October 8 with live coverage on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

● By The Numbers: The Bank of America Roval 400 marks Preece’s fourth Cup Series start on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course. His first start on the course came in 2019 for JTG-Daugherty Racing, when he qualified 14th and finished 21st. His second came in 2020 and marks his best at the track – 14th. Preece didn’t compete on the Roval last season and this weekend will mark his first start with SHR. Preece made his lone Roval appearance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2018 for Joe Gibbs Racing. He started 10th and finished fourth. The Cup Series has already competed at four road courses this season – Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International – and on the downtown streets of Chicago for NASCAR’s inaugural street race. In the June race at Sonoma, Preece won the Friday ARCA Menards Series West race and on Sunday earned his season-best Cup Series road-course finish of 13th.

● Get To Know Autodesk: From the greenest buildings to the cleanest cars, from the smartest factories to the biggest stories, amazing things are created every day with Autodesk. For four decades, Autodesk has worked together with its customers to transform how things are made, and in doing so, it has also transformed what can be made. A car’s performance now inspires the method of its manufacture, a city’s infrastructure helps predict the unpredictable, and the creation of ever-bigger universes shapes ever-bigger stories. Today, Autodesk’s solutions span countless industries empowering innovators everywhere. But the company is restless to do more. Autodesk doesn’t believe in waiting for progress, it believes in making it. By combining and recombining technologies. By blurring boundaries, reinventing rules, and merging fields. By unleashing talent and unlocking insights across industries. By helping customers converge on solutions to the challenges everyone faces today. Autodesk believes that with the right tools to work and think flexibly comes the power to transform what actually needs making. The power to design and make a better world for all.

● All About HaasTooling.com: Back again in 2023 and joining Autodesk as a co-primary partner this weekend is HaasTooling.com, the cutting tool division of Haas Automation led by SHR co-owner Gene Haas. HaasTooling.com was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, rotaries and indexers, and automation solutions.

● Last Weekend: On the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high banks last weekend, Preece started 19th and showed speed from the first wave of the green flag. He led eight laps en route to a ninth-place finish in Stage 1. The team executed solid pit strategy throughout the race and used the final laps of the race to forge to the front. Preece raced his Ford Mustang to an eighth-place finish.

● Where He Stands: Preece heads to the Roval 25th in the driver standings with 529 points.

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Coming off a strong weekend at Talladega with an eighth-place finish, what kind of momentum does that give the team heading into the final five races of the season?
“Eighth place at Talladega, I’ll take it. We even led a few laps and got some stage points in Stage 1. The superspeedways are all about track position and that was the name of the game all day long. Our team worked hard to execute smart tire strategy and fuel strategy throughout the day. My Ford Mustang was fast all day and I knew if we could make that high line work with the other Fords, we could take off. It was a really fun weekend and a finish that this team needed. We’ll keep that momentum going this weekend at the Roval.”

Another road course this weekend and you and your team have shown improvement on these types of tracks. What’s your mindset like for the weekend?
“The road-course program at SHR has been strong and I feel like I’ve improved as a driver on the road courses. That’s not the background I come from, so it’s something that I had to work on, but we put a lot of work into it and I think we’ve shown great improvement. We won the ARCA race at Sonoma earlier this season and had a really decent run in the Cup car there, too, and got a top-15 finish out of it. I haven’t been on the Roval since 2021 but I’ve put in a lot of work in the simulator. Simulator time is definitely key with the road courses so you can study the turns and where you need to be on the racetrack. Track position will be big since passing is going to be so tough, so we’re going to really put an emphasis on our qualifying laps and trying to get a starting spot up front. I feel good heading into the weekend and I think we’ll have a good race.”

Do you think racing on the Roval will be similar to any other road courses you’ve raced on this season?
“All the road courses have a lot of similiarities and differences, I think. You’re only partially on the throttle in certain places and then you’re in a braking zone and you’ve got to be able to know when and where to take advantage of those shift points. It’s an aggressive road course and it’s going to be tough to pass, especially in some of the corners. Having everything memorized beforehand is what’s going to be important so you can spend those first laps of practice getting yourself and your car right and feeling out the grip on the racetrack. Once I got the hang of things at Sonoma, I felt really comfortable, so I’m hoping it will be the same thing this weekend. I know it’s going to be aggressive every lap, especially with those guys fighting for their spot in the next round of the playoffs, so our goal is to be smart and aware and stay out of the messes so we can be there in good position at the end.”

No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Ryan Preece
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

Hometown: Cayuga, Indiana

Car Chief: Tony Cardamone

Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen

Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Engineer: Scott Bingham

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Spotter: Andy Houston

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Devin Lester

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Rear Tire Changer: Kevin Teaf

Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons

Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Fuel Man: Dwayne Moore

Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini

Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Underneath & Interior Mechanic: Clint Leatherwood

Hometown: Rockmart, Georgia

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn

Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Tire Specialist: Matt Ridgway

Hometown: Carrollton, Georgia

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife

Hometown: Orange County, California

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues

Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer

Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Brad Keselowski Media Availability | Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 RFK Ford Mustang, comes into this weekend’s elimination race on the Charlotte Roval with a two-point lead for the final transfer position. He spoke about being squarely on the bubble on Tuesday following the announcement that the NASCAR Cup Series will be going to Iowa for the first time in the 2024 season.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 RFK Ford Mustang – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CUP SERIES GOING TO IOWA NEXT YEAR? “It’s certainly a historic day for NASCAR and for Iowa to announce the inaugural Cup Series date here next June, I’m really pumped for the community. I’ve advocated for a while that this facility have a Cup date and to see it all come together, I’m just really happy for everybody who has worked so hard for it. It’s a great story. Personally, I like the track. I’ve won there three times in the Xfinity Series and once as an owner in the Truck Series. I can’t wait to go back and hopefully win again. We’re all really, really pumped for this announcement and I’m sure the fans and the community are too. Every time we go to this racetrack there are so many fans that show up with a lot of energy and it’s really an exciting time.”

WHAT SHOULD JUSTIFY GETTING A CUP RACE? “I always look at a couple of things. I look at the quality of racing. I look at the community around the racetrack and how they embrace, and I look at the community at-large and whether they are excited about the event. I think those three things kind of aggregate together, to me, to make an event seem like it’s a big deal or not, and this one I think, in this instance, has all three of those things.”

PEOPLE ARE RABID FOR NASCAR IN IOWA AREN’T THEY? “Yeah. I think that’s probably the biggest thing right there is just the embrace from the community – from the top down. From the governor making time out of her day to be a part of the announcement, to the race fans that showed up, and it just shows how big of a deal this is to this community.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DEAL WITH THE WINDSHIELD FASTENERS? IS THAT A SAFETY DEAL OR CAN THEY GAIN PERFORMANCE BY A LOOSE WINDSHIELD? “That’s a good question. I think it’s probably a better question for them to answer than for me with respect to penalties, but I think as a whole we have a rulebook and there are a lot of things in there and a lot of them that make a lot of sense and sometimes they’re safety items and sometimes they’re performance items, and sometimes they can also be both and that particular item feels like it’s sort of a little bit of both.”

AS A TEAM OWNER, WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FIND WITH OWNING A RACE TEAM? “I think one of the biggest challenges of owning a race team is keeping people motivated. We’re always trying to get them to pull the rope in the same direction, so to speak, and it’s easy for that to kind of get off kilter, where we kind of lose sight on common goals, and I think trying to keep the team and the 150-some people that we have at RFK pulling the rope in the same direction at all times is by far the biggest challenge.”

SOME TEAMS HAVE EMPLOYED ROAD COURSE RINGERS FROM THE SPORTS CAR RANKS. HAVE YOU DONE THAT AT ALL? “We don’t have anything imminent to announce or anything like that, but we’re open-minded to doing anything we can to improve our performance and if that’s bringing in a third party, then we certainly would always welcome that opportunity, assuming that it made financial sense.”

HAVE YOU EVER BROUGHT THEM IN AS A CONSULTANT FOR THINGS LIKE THE SIMULATOR? “Nothing on that level, no.”

PRESUMABLY MONTREAL WON’T BE ON THE SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? “You can’t do everything. You do what you can when you can. We’re certainly always looking for opportunities for the sport and this is a good one here in Iowa. I don’t know what the full schedule is going to be for next year. Hopefully, it will be announced soon, so I couldn’t tell you what is or isn’t on the rest of the schedule, but I think that there’s always opportunities. I think one of the things that I appreciate the most about our schedule nowadays is there’s good disruption in the schedules, which I think keeps it fresh year to year, and I think that’s been a big win for us as a sport, so I think that’s encouraging. It also tells a story that just because a track might not get a date this year doesn’t mean that there isn’t an opportunity for them in years to come. I appreciate that personally, but I don’t know what’s on the rest of the schedule for next year.”

DO YOU THINK THIS CAR CAN PUT ON A GOOD SHOW AT IOWA AND HOW WOULD IT COMPARE TO A PLACE LIKE RICHMOND? “I think what makes Iowa and Richmond so much different is just that I’ve got Rusty Wallace, he’s sitting right in front of me here, so he’s gonna love my answer here, but it’s got progressive banking in it. That allows you to find clean air and do different things where you can move around the track. I think that was a really good design feature that helps combat some of the things that we’re always talking about with the aerodynamics of the car and traffic and so forth, so I’m interested to see that play out.”

IS IT A SILVER LINING THAT WHERE THE SPORT IS RIGHT NOW WE CAN GO TO SOME DIFFERENT PLACES THAT DON’T NECESSARILY SEAT 80,000 PEOPLE? “I think there’s a lot of positives about where we’re at right now as a sport. I think obviously we have great viewership and when you look at the different platforms we have with broadcast and TV and streaming and so forth, that probably affords us to be more nimble than we probably would have said in the past and I think also you’re seeing some of these racetracks make the investments that need to be made to step up. You brought up Gateway and the investments they made there were tremendous. When they came in, the new ownership group over there, all of the things they did to that track made it, to me, a Cup worthy track, so it’s nice to see that happening in a big market, too, in the St. Louis area. I don’t know if that’s a perfect answer for what you’re asking there, but I think new markets are never a bad thing for us. Sometimes even going back to markets we went to a long time ago, that can be fun as well. I think as a whole that whole schedule variability is something fun and exciting for our sport.”

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE FOR YOU AT THE ROVAL? “I think for the Roval the biggest challenge is trying to know when to go for stage points and when to go for race points. There seems to be this tug of war that the teams all have and trying to balance that all out is a big challenge.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR ROAD COURSE RECORD AND DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT VERY MUCH? “I think every loss annoys you and if it doesn’t, you’re not really a great competitor. I work at and work at it and I haven’t had the results I’ve wanted. I’ve got a number of seconds and thirds on a whole bunch of road courses, but haven’t been able to punch through and that can be frustrating, but then you look at other tracks where I have punched through and said, ‘Wow, maybe I deserved that one and maybe I didn’t,’ so you just kind of take that as it goes.”

HOW DOES THE TEMPERATURE IN LAS VEGAS AFFECT THE RACING THERE? “That track is very temperature sensitive and it goes through big swings with a daytime race. There have been a couple different times we’ve actually finished in the dark and that’s a shift as well on how the cars drive, so it goes from having no grip to actually having quite a bit of grip and you just try to be prepared for that with how you drive the cars is the biggest challenge.”

WHAT ABOUT HOMESTEAD THE FOLLOWING WEEK? “I feel like we’ve had a couple really good runs, a shot to win it two or three times and it just hasn’t come together. We only race there one time a year, so I don’t have as many starts as some of the other tracks, but it just hasn’t come together for me. I think ‘15 was probably the best chance I had at winning there and I got beat on a late-race restart. It’s hard to say, but trying to be good as the cars lose grip is really important there.”

HOW MUCH TESTING DO YOU FEEL IS NEEDED AT IOWA? “I’d love to see an org test there. I think that would be good to continue to bring energy to the track, but also I think it’s good to have an org test every once in a while for the teams and the sport to work through different things, whether it be new drivers, new tracks, new tires and, in this case, probably a little bit of all three, so hopefully we’ll see that here, but I haven’t had any of those discussions.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT POTENTIALLY NO INTERNATIONAL RACE NEXT YEAR? “I don’t know everything that went into making the decision of where we’re racing or where we’re not racing, but certainly we like to do both and what it takes to put that together I’m not close enough to quite know what that is, and I haven’t seen the schedule to know what is or isn’t in it for 2024, but having an international race, I think, still remains somewhat of a priority for the sport. It doesn’t necessarily mean that has to happen next year or even the year after, but it’s something that I think is important for us to be working on.”

ARE YOU SURPRISED YOU ARE ABOVE THE CUT LINE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED SUNDAY? “A little. Yes, pleasantly surprised. It was probably more just a bigger kick in the pants that if I could have just finished that race off we’d have had a huge advantage over the cut line, but you take it in stride and you try to move forward. You cannot sit and dwell in this sport. You’ve got to move forward and outside of being here in Iowa to announce the event, it’s all hands on deck to be the best we can be at the Roval.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT LOOKING AT YOUR SYSTEMS AT RFK THAT ALLOWS YOU TO EXECUTE SO WELL ON SUNDAY? “I just think we have some really great people at RFK. We’ve made some good decisions with our personnel over the offseason and over the last six to 12 months as a whole and we just continue to get stronger and stronger with those people and they’re making great decisions that help us execute at a high level. It’s a testament to our people and some of the resources as well, but mostly our people and the training that we’ve undergone here over the last 12 to 18 months to get to where we want to be as a company and I’m super proud of everyone at RFK.”