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LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Race Preview: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL

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Official Release
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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.

INDYCAR Announces 14-Race 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone Schedule

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Official Release
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INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023) – INDYCAR has announced a 14-race schedule for the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone season, with another oval added to even better prepare drivers for the diverse skills required in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition.

One of the highlights of the schedule is a return to the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday, Aug. 31. It’s the first time INDYCAR’s development series has raced at the historic 1-mile oval at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, since 2015.

There are three exciting oval races on the 2024 schedule, including events July 13 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, and Aug. 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Three of the final five events of the season will be on ovals, placing more importance on success in this discipline as the race for the championship reaches its climax.

The 2024 season opens Sunday, March 10 on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, with the champion being crowned Sunday, Sept. 15 on the Streets of Nashville, Tennessee, which will host the season-ending event for the first time.

There also are two doubleheader weekends, May 10-11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and June 22-23 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

“The 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone schedule builds on the growth and success of the 2023 season,” said Levi Jones, INDY NXT by Firestone series director. “We enjoyed great competition among a growing field of 17 to 19 cars at nearly every event, with a talented group of drivers from all over the world.”

All 14 races will take place during NTT INDYCAR SERIES event weekends. That will further integrate INDY NXT by Firestone teams and drivers into the INDYCAR paddock.

Every race will be streamed live on Peacock, with live coverage of practice and qualifying available on INDYCAR LIVE. The INDYCAR Radio Network again will provide audio coverage of all INDY NXT by Firestone sessions in 2024 via SiriusXM Channel 160 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

The schedule was released after a banner 2023 season for INDY NXT by Firestone. Besides an average car count of 18 starters, the most since 2009, 14 different drivers finished on the podium – twice as many as in 2022. A total of 25 drivers competed in at least one race last season, an increase of eight over 2022.

On-track action also was breathtaking among the talented young drivers. The average number of lead changes increased 25 percent, and on-track passes for position increased 113 percent, from 651 to 1,226. The average margin of victory also tightened from 3.13 seconds to 2.59.

Start times for the 2024 events will be announced at a later date.

2024 INDY NXT by Firestone Schedule

DateVenueBroadcast
Sunday, March 10Streets of St. PetersburgPeacock
Sunday, April 28Barber Motorsports ParkPeacock
Friday, May 10Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Race 1Peacock
Saturday, May 11Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Race 2Peacock
Sunday, June 2Streets of DetroitPeacock
Sunday, June 9Road AmericaPeacock
Saturday, June 22WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Race 1Peacock
Sunday, June 23WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Race 2Peacock
Sunday, July 7Mid-Ohio Sports Car CoursePeacock
Saturday, July 13Iowa SpeedwayPeacock
Saturday, Aug. 17World Wide Technology RacewayPeacock
Sunday, Aug. 25Portland International RacewayPeacock
Saturday, Aug. 31Milwaukee MilePeacock
Sunday, Sept. 15Streets of NashvillePeacock

Stewart-Haas Racing: Charlotte Roval NXS Advance (Cole Custer | Riley Herbst)

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Official Release
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COLE CUSTER | RILEY HERBST
Charlotte Roval NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview

  • Event: Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina (Round 29 of 33)
  • Date: Saturday, Oct. 7
  • Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval
  • Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course
  • Time/TV/Radio: 3 p.m. EDT on NBC/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

  • Cole Custer heads to Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval with nothing to lose but everything to win. Prior to last weekend’s Xfinity Series open date, the driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) clinched his spot in the Round of 8 of this year’s playoffs on points. With his sixth-place finish Sept. 23 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Custer found himself third in the playoff standings, 62 points above the top-eight cutline. He finished fourth in the Round of 12 opener Sept. 15 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Custer has now made the Round of 8 in all four of his fulltime seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He joins Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek as the only drivers to lock themselves into the next round of playoffs prior to this weekend’s cutoff race at Charlotte. With the weight of playoff points racing off his shoulders for one race, Custer plans to focus on ending the Round of 12 on a high note by parking his Ford Mustang in victory lane at the Charlotte Roval. With top-10 finishes in his two prior starts at the track, Custer is confident as he and his team head to the eighth road-course race of the 2023 season.
  • The Drive for the Cure 250 marks Custer’s third Xfinity Series start at the road course built inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval. He made his first start in the inaugural Roval race in September 2018, when he finished seventh and led five laps. He followed that with an eighth-place finish in September 2019 after starting sixth. He has an additional three starts outside of the Xfinity Series on the Roval, all coming in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2020 to 2022 with a best finish of ninth in October 2020.
  • Custer and the No. 00 team have been a force to be reckoned with at the previous seven road-course races this season. He won two of those seven starts and earned top-10 finishes five times. Custer won on June 3 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway in his first start at the track and on July 1 in the inaugural Chicago Street Race. In his Xfinity Series career, Custer has raced a total of 22 road-course races. Of those, he’s earned 16 10-top finishes. He and the team hope to keep the road-course success going as the Round of 12 comes to a close.
  • In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Custer’s No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang will pay tribute Diana Falsettti, a double breast cancer survivor, by displaying her name above the passenger side window. Falsetti’s son, Anthony “Pockets” Arnold, works as a front suspension mechanic at Stewart-Haas Racing for both the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series cars.

Riley Herbst Notes of Interest

  • Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team head into Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 on the Charlotte Roval refreshed from a much-needed off weekend for the Xfinity Series competitors. While the team enjoyed the off weekend, Herbst made use of the opportunity to gain more experience by hopping behind the wheel of the No. 36 Beast Unleashed White Haze Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It was his second time driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang after piloting it in the Cup Series regular season-finale at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Herbst qualified an impressive sixth at Talladega after being the fastest in the first of Saturday’s two rounds of qualifying. On race day, he stayed in the top-10 for the opening laps before dropping back in the pack to try and avoid mayhem. Later, Herbst achieved a career milestone when he led his first laps in the Cup Series – leading five times for a total of 10 laps. After avoiding multiple incidents in the final stage, Herbst was running third on a restart with 13 laps to go. As the field came to the checkered flag, he was pushing SHR’s Kevin Harvick toward the lead, but contact from behind caused Herbst to spin as the field crossed the finish line. He was able to salvage a Cup Series career-best ninth-place finish. He opened the season in February with a 10th-place finish in his Cup Series debut during the 65th running of the Daytona 500. It gave Herbst top-10s in each of his NASCAR national series debuts. He was sixth in his first Xfinity Series appearance in June 2018 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, eighth in his NASCAR Truck Series debut, also in June 2018, at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, and seventh in his first ARCA Menards Series start in April 2017 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
  • The Drive for the Cure 250 will be Herbst’s fourth career Xfinity Series start on the Charlotte Roval. Herbst had a strong outing in his first start there in 2020 during a torrential downpour. He ran up front and led seven laps en route to a 12th-place finish, best among that year’s rookie class. In October 2021, Herbst started ninth and was holding his position in the top-10 during the final stage before a suspension issue ended his race seven laps from the finish. Last October, Herbst started 11th and led a lap before an accident ended his bid five laps from the finish.
  • Herbst is driving for the team that knows how to win on the Roval. SHR’s No. 98 team won the inaugural Xfinity Series race there in Sept. 2018 with driver Chase Briscoe. It was Briscoe’s first career Xfinity Series victory. He led twice for 33 laps to beat Justin Marks by 1.478 seconds.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

Your solid finishes in the first two playoff races clinched your spot in the Round of 8 as you head to Saturday’s Round of 12 finale on the unpredictable Charlotte Roval. How are you approaching this weekend, knowing that you don’t have to focus on the points situation?

“We’re going there to win, now. The points are off the table, so we can just focus on winning at Charlotte. I honestly think we’ll have a good shot at parking our No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang in victory lane. The Roval has been good to us in the past. We knew that to make it to the Round of 8, we would have to put together a couple of races with speed and no mistakes. We did exactly that and were able to lock ourselves in early. It takes a lot of the pressure off as we head into this final race of the round. I’m proud of this team and hope we can keep this going into the next round.”

You’ve had solid runs on the Charlotte Roval in your previous starts there, earning back-to-back top-10s in 2018 and 2019. Do you feel like this is a solid track for you and the team, and what are your thoughts heading into the weekend?

“I think the Roval has been a good track for us throughout my career at Stewart-Haas Racing. On top of that, our road-course cars have been really good this year, and we even scored two victories with these cars this season. Hopefully, we keep that going and take that to the Roval this weekend. I think it’ll be a strong race for us, especially since we’re not watching the points. We just need to have a fast car and not make mistakes to keep outselves in the game at the end.”

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

You spent your Xfinity Series off weekend behind the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series car last weekend at Talladega. How does driving in that series help you as a young driver, and is there anything that can translate to the Xfinity Series?

“It helps with overall experience and just showing everyone what we can do. Not much translates over from the Xfinity cars to the Cup cars anymore, so it’s about getting the seat time as a young driver. I came into NASCAR at a time when we didn’t really have a ton of practice because of the pandemic, so it really does help me understand some of these bigger tracks. The superspeedways have always been some of my favorite tracks, so to be able to get extra seat time is a plus, and it helps showcase what I can do in the NextGen car, as well. It’s all positives when you’re able to drive the Cup Series cars.”

The Charlotte Roval has been a wild card for you in the past, but you’ve also never been in this situation where you don’t have to worry about the points situation. How are you approaching this weekend, where you can just focus on bringing a fast racecar and making the moves for a win?

“To be honest, this is one track that I haven’t been able to wrap my head around. It’s not that we haven’t run decent there in the past, but I think I was just at a disadvantage because I never had practice on this track, and I was never able to lay down laps outside of the simulator until it was race time. Then the past two years, we’ve just had such bad luck. It’s nice to know that we’re not watching this playoff bubble this year and we can just focus on getting the car better for the future, but it’s also such a difficult track. It’s unique, but I’ve been leaning on Cole (Custer) a lot to try and see what he’s done differently. Hopefully, we can have a strong weekend as a team.”

JR Motorsports — NXS Charlotte Roval Preview

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Official Release
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JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
RACE: Drive for the Cure 250 (67 laps / 155.44 miles)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

Broadcast Information – TV: 3 p.m. ET on NBC / Radio: 2:30 p.m. ET on PRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90

Sam Mayer
No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet

  • Sam Mayer and the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team head into a must-win scenario in the final race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. With a victory, Mayer would transfer into the Round of 8.
  • The Franklin, Wis. native has two career starts at the Charlotte Roval with one top-10 finish and an average effort of 10.5 in those events.
  • Both of Mayer’s wins this season have come on road courses (Road America and Watkins Glen). His career stats include five top-five and 11 top-10 efforts in road course events.

Josh Berry
No. 8 High Rock Vodka Chevrolet

  • Berry enters the final race of the Round of 12 just 27 points below the cutline. The Hendersonville, Tenn. native can ensure his way into the Round of 8 in the NXS Playoffs by virtue of a win on Saturday.
  • In his lone start on the 2.28-mile road course inside Charlotte last season, Josh Berry earned an eighth-place finish to continue his progress toward the Championship 4.
  • On road courses in his NXS career, Berry has earned three top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts, with his best a third-place effort – coming at Road America in 2022.

Brandon Jones
No. 9 Menards/Pentair Myers Chevrolet

  • Brandon Jones will make his sixth start at the 2.28-mile Charlotte Roval this weekend. In five previous starts, Jones has tallied one top-five and three top-10 finishes, with a best of fifth coming at this race during the 2021 season.
  • Jones’ average finish of 12.0 at the Charlotte Roval is tied with Portland as the best average finish on active road courses in the NXS for the 26-year-old.
  • In two previous starts with Pentair Myers on the hood, Jones has recorded one top-10 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway last season after crossing the finish line in the seventh position.

Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT/BRANDT Foundation Chevrolet

  • Justin Allgaier enters the final race in the Round of 12 having already advanced into the Round of 8 in the NXS Playoffs by virtue of his victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 15.
  • In five previous NXS starts on the Charlotte Roval, Allgaier has scored two top fives and three top 10s, with a best finish of fourth coming in 2019.
  • Through seven road course races in 2023, Allgaier has amassed four top fives and five top 10s, with a best finish of second coming at Portland International Raceway in June.

Driver Quotes

“The Charlotte Roval is a super important race for us given the circumstances we find ourselves in. This No. 1 team has worked extremely hard all year long and we have had greatruns on the road courses this year so I am confident that we can get this Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet to Victory Lane at the Roval and continue on to the Round of 8.” – Sam Mayer

“The Roval has always been a challenging place. It’s such a unique track where anything can, and usually does, happen. Our road course program has been really strong this year and I feel like we will be capable of unloading with that same speed again this weekend with our BRANDT / BRANDT Foundation Chevrolet. Hopefully, we can have a solid day out there and head into the Round of 8 with as much momentum as possible.” – Justin Allgaier

“We were decent here at the Roval last year, and we need to be even better to move on to the Round of 8. We can doit. It’s great to have High Rock Vodka on the car again this year. We ran really well with them last year at Homestead and plan to be better this weekend. We’ll pull out all the stops and do everything we can to make the Round of 8 and continue to chase the championship.” – Josh Berry

“I feel like we have gotten better and better on the road courses this season and we have been in the sim this weekpreparing for the Roval. I’m feeling pretty good about this weekend. This Menards/Pentair Myers team has been hard at work through the off-weekend to make sure we are ready and I believe we are. I’m ready to get back to the track this weekend and hopefully put ourselves in position for a great finish.” – Brandon Jones

JRM Team Updates

  • JR Motorsports at Charlotte Roval: JR Motorsports has made 20 starts at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Over the course of those 20 starts at the 2.28-mile Roval, the organization has recorded six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, with the best of second coming during the 2020 season with the No. 9 team.
  • zMAX Display: Brandon Jones will make an appearance at the zMAX Racing display located in the Charlotte Motor Speedway Fan Zone on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.
  • Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Legacy MC souvenir rig on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET

Toyota Racing – Weekly Preview – 10.04.23

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Official Release
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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.

Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Racing: Ryan Preece Charlotte Roval Advance

By
Official Release
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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

Brad Keselowski Roval Advance (10.4.23)

By
Official Release
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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.”

Rudy Fugle to call 100th Cup event as crew chief at Charlotte Roval

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

A significant milestone mark is in the making for Ryan “Rudy” Fugle, crew chief for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Playoff event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Bank of America ROVAL 400, Fugle will call his 100th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

A native of Livonia, New York, Fugle made his inaugural presence as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at the start of the 2021 season, where he was hired by Hendrick Motorsports to lead the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team piloted by the 2017 Xfinity Series champion William Byron. By then, Fugle was coming off seven seasons in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he worked as a crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports and had accumulated 28 victories and two championships (2015 with Erik Jones and 2017 with Christopher Bell). The move also reunited Fugle and Byron, both of whom won seven races during the 2016 Truck season.

During the first two scheduled events of the 2021 season, Fugle and Byron finished no higher than 26th and were mired back towards the top-30 cutline. Then during the third event of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February, Fugle achieved his first career victory as a Cup crew chief after Byron led a race-high 102 of 267 laps to claim his second career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The Homestead victory would serve as the first of 16 top-10 results, including two runner-up finishes, achieved between the duo along with two poles during the 26-race regular-season stretch as they claimed a spot to the 2021 Cup Playoffs. Their title hopes came to an end following the Round of 12, but Fugle led Byron and the No. 24 team to four top-six results during the 10-week Playoff stretch before concluding the season in 10th place in the final standings. By then, Byron had tripled his top-five results compared to his previous two Cup seasons at 12, achieved a career-high 20 top-10 results and finish in the top 10 in the final standings for the first time in his career.

Remaining as Byron’s crew chief for the 2022 season, Fugle led the No. 24 team to its first top-five result of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March following two consecutive DNFs during the first two scheduled events. He then earned his second career victory as a crew chief after Byron notched a dominant win at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. The duo went on to win at Martinsville Speedway in April and endure an up-and-down regular-season stretch before securing their spots for the 2022 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no lower than 16th throughout the Round of 16 and 12, Fugle and Byron transferred to the Round of 8. Despite achieving respective finishes of 13th, 12th and seventh during the penultimate round, they were unable to transfer to the Championship 4 round. Nonetheless, a sixth-place result during the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November was enough for Fugle, Byron and the No. 24 team to settle in a career-best sixth place in the final standings.

This season, Fugle and Byron have notched five victories (Las Vegas and Phoenix in March, Darlington Raceway in May, Atlanta Motor Speedway in July and at Watkins Glen International in August), nine top-five results and 14 top-10 results in 25 events. Fugle’s low point of this season was being suspended for four events from late March through early April as part of Hendrick Motorsports being hit with a severe points and fine penalty involving its hood louvers being confiscated from all four entries during the Phoenix weekend at March, which the event was won by Fugle and Byron. Despite all four Hendrick entries each being docked 100 points and 10 Playoff points, Fugle and Byron made the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs on the strength of their five regular-season victories. After finishing no lower than 15th during the first three Playoff events and transferring from the Round of 16 to 12, the duo notched their sixth Cup victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in late September. The victory not only guaranteed them and the No. 24 team into the Round of 8, but they delivered the record-setting 300th Cup career victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Currently, they are coming off a runner-up result at Talladega Superspeedway as they continue their pursuit of winning their first Cup Series title, beginning in the Round of 8 following this weekend’s Round of 12 conclusion.

Through 99 previous Cup events, Fugle has achieved nine victories, five poles, 28 top-five results and 47 top-10 results while working with William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team.

Fugle is primed to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on Sunday, October 8, with the event’s broadcast to commence at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

Will NASCAR Return to Kentucky? The Closed Kentucky Speedway and Prospects for a New Race Track

By
SM
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The Kentucky Speedway, once a hub of high-speed racing action and a staple on the NASCAR calendar, has been noticeably absent from the racing scene in recent years. The Sparta, Kentucky, speedway was a fan favorite and hosted NASCAR races for nearly a decade. However, in 2020, the Kentucky Speedway was removed from the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, leaving racing enthusiasts wondering if it would ever make a comeback.

In this article, we’ll explore the reasons behind the closure of the Kentucky Speedway, the prospects of NASCAR’s return, and the potential for a new race track in the region, especially in the context of the availability of sports betting.

Why Doesn’t NASCAR Race At Kentucky Speedway? 

Kentucky Speedway, once a hub for NASCAR races, has been absent from the racing schedule since 2021. The Speedway, inaugurated in 2000, initially hosted the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, and IndyCar races. However, the Speedway’s journey with NASCAR was short-lived, and several factors contributed to its exclusion from the racing calendar.

The Speedway’s first Cup Series date in 2011 was marked by a sellout, with Kyle Busch emerging victorious. However, the event was marred by extensive traffic jams, preventing many fans from attending. The situation was so dire that Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI), the track’s owner, offered fans the option to redeem their tickets for the 2012 race or any other SMI-owned track for the rest of the year.

Despite the initial enthusiasm, the Speedway struggled with dwindling attendance in the subsequent years. The racing product was often criticized, and a controversial reconfiguration of the track in 2016 did little to alleviate the issues. 

The reconfiguration resulted in a single-groove track with limited passing, diminishing the appeal of the races. Even though the Speedway produced some of its best finishes in 2019 and 2020, the declining attendance and small market size rendered it undesirable for NASCAR’s plans.

The Speedway’s location, roughly halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville, presented another challenge. While both are decent-sized markets, they lack the magnitude of other major cities NASCAR targets. The proximity of other race tracks like Nashville Superspeedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway also raised questions about the viability of returning to Kentucky Speedway.

Financial considerations were pivotal in NASCAR’s decision to cease racing at Kentucky Speedway. The Speedway, owned by Speedway Motorsports, was not generating sufficient revenue from events, impacting the overall financial stability of the parent company. The lack of competitive racing and poor attendance numbers significantly contributed to the financial inadequacy, leading to the eventual discontinuation of all NASCAR events in 2021 at the Speedway.

Is There Any Chance of a Return?

With the recent legalization of sports betting apps in Kentucky, the return of NASCAR can add massive value to its sports betting scene. Sports betting promos in Kentucky will further add to the excitement and opportunities in the motorsports scene. 

The prospects of NASCAR returning to Kentucky Speedway are currently shrouded in uncertainty. Despite its challenges, the Speedway is a fully constructed track under the ownership of Speedway Motorsports Inc., eliminating concerns related to leasing or building a new race track. However, the location of the Speedway remains a contentious point, given its proximity to other major race tracks and its placement between two moderate-sized markets.

NASCAR’s introduction of the Next-Gen car in 2022 has sparked discussions about the return to intermediate tracks like Kentucky. The Next-Gen car has been well-received at such tracks, leading to a shift in fan preferences, with some fans expressing a desire for more 1.5-mile race tracks. 

The changing dynamics and evolving preferences raise questions about whether Kentucky Speedway received a fair evaluation, considering it was assigned one of the least favorable race cars for intermediate track racing.

The Speedway’s current utilization for long-term parking and its contracts with companies like Amazon for storing overflow trailers indicate a shift in its operational focus. The Speedway’s executive vice president and general manager, Mark Simendinger, has stated that the Speedway is exploring various business avenues, including hosting special events, commercial television production, music festivals, and other racing series.

While some fans and local entrepreneurs express hope and advocate for NASCAR’s return to Kentucky Speedway, the overall sentiment is mixed. The Speedway’s return to the NASCAR schedule seems to be more of a wishful aspiration rather than a guaranteed reality. The evolving nature of fan preferences, the introduction of new car models, and the Speedway’s strategic location offer a glimmer of hope. Still, such a return’s practicality and financial viability remain to be evaluated comprehensively.

Benefit of Returning

The potential return of NASCAR to Kentucky Speedway could have multifaceted benefits. For the local economy, the return of big-time racing could signify a resurgence in business opportunities and revenue generation. 

Local businesses and nonprofits that previously depended on the surge in revenue from racing events could experience revitalization, contributing to the overall economic well-being of the region.

The Speedway’s return could also serve as a testament to NASCAR’s commitment to diversifying its racing portfolio, responding to evolving fan preferences, and revisiting tracks that have been previously excluded. The return could offer fans a diversified racing experience, catering to the growing demand for intermediate tracks and enhancing the overall appeal of the racing calendar.

However, realizing these benefits is contingent upon thoroughly evaluating the financial implications, market dynamics, fan preferences, and operational considerations. The Speedway’s strategic alignment with NASCAR’s vision, ability to offer competitive racing, and adaptability to changing market demands will be crucial determinants in assessing the feasibility and desirability of its return to the NASCAR schedule.

Summary 

The contemplation of NASCAR’s return to Kentucky Speedway is intertwined with many considerations, reflecting the complexities of market demands, fan expectations, financial viability, and operational adaptability. The Speedway’s journey, marked by initial enthusiasm followed by challenges and uncertainties, exemplifies the intricate interplay of diverse factors influencing the trajectory of racing venues in the dynamic landscape of motor racing.

Iowa Speedway to Host First-Ever NASCAR Cup Series Race in 2024

By
Official Release
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Cole Custer, driver of the #00 FIELDS Ford, takes the green flag to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series CircuitCity.com 250 Presented by Tamron at Iowa Speedway on June 16, 2019 in Newton, Iowa. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Iowa Corn Signs on as Entitlement Partner for Historic Event on ‘Fastest Short Track on the Planet’

Weekend also includes the NASCAR Xfinity Series & ARCA Menards Series, June 14-16, 2024

NEWTON, Iowa (Oct. 3, 2023) – NASCAR today announced that it is bringing its first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race to Iowa Speedway on Sunday, June 16, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. CT on USA Network. This inaugural Cup Series race in Iowa Speedway culminates a weekend that will also include the NASCAR Xfinity Series at 2:30 p.m. CT on USA Network and ARCA Menards Series racing on June 14-16, 2024.

“Today’s announcement is an exciting one for NASCAR and for race fans in the state of Iowa,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy. “They have long sought a NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, and we’re happy to deliver that for them. We fully expect this to be one of the most highly-anticipated dates on the 2024 schedule and an amazing weekend of NASCAR racing in The Hawkeye State.”

“The things Iowans value most are what NASCAR represents best—hard work, family, and community—which is exactly why our partnership has always been a natural fit,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said. “We’re thrilled to bring a NASCAR Cup Series race to Iowa Speedway next summer and for this incredible opportunity to introduce millions of racing fans to our great state.”

Iowa Corn will be the entitlement partner for the first-ever Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. Comprised of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Corn works to unlock the potential of corn in a sustainable manner to meet the global need for food and energy. The name and logo of the Cup Series race will be announced in the near future.

“Iowa Corn is no stranger to racing and the Iowa Speedway as we helped introduce farmer produced biofuels to consumers through race sponsorships for a dozen years,” shared Craig Floss, Chief Executive Officer of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. “By bringing the NASCAR Cup Series to Iowa, farmers are able to showcase the power and performance of Sunoco Green E15 at the fastest short-track on the planet, which is surrounded by corn fields, the very source of that amazing, renewable, homegrown and affordable biofuel.”

Iowa Speedway successfully hosted the Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series from 2009-2019, while the ARCA Menard Series has competed at the track in all but one season since the facility opened in 2006. Yet, since the racetrack opened in 2006, and was acquired by NASCAR in 2013, placing a Cup Series race at the venue had yet to materialize – until June 16, 2024.

To download the Iowa Speedway and Iowa Corn logos, click here. Assets including broll and images from today’s press conference will be available at the link above following event.

Iowa Speedway is the latest new venue added to a season schedule as NASCAR continues making bold moves with its schedule, entering new markets and engaging new audiences with its premier series, the sanctioning body brought the Cup Series to the streets of downtown Chicago earlier this year and began its season with an exhibition race on a temporary oval inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 2022.

Now NASCAR is bringing a Cup Series race to Iowa Speedway’s 7/8ths-mile tri-oval, considered one of the most challenging short tracks in the country. The race will feature the best drivers in the world vying for a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ berth to the Cup Series Playoffs.

“This is a dream come true,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, Iowa Speedway’s co-founder and designer. “This track was built with the intent of hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race one day, and to finally see it come together is a testament to the tenacity of the great race fans in Iowa.”

The action will begin on Friday, June 14 with the ARCA Menards Series, continuing on Saturday, June 15 with the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and concluding on Sunday, June 16 with the NASCAR Cup Series.

Of the drivers projected to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next year, 19 have won at Iowa Speedway in other NASCAR national and touring series, including Brad Keselowski, who joined NASCAR and state dignitaries for the announcement Tuesday on the Iowa State Capitol steps.

“For years, the Iowa community has patiently waited for the NASCAR Cup Series to come to town,” said Keselowski. “It is with great pleasure for all of the racing community to announce they will finally see that dream come together. Iowa truly is a hotbed for motorsports fans, I saw that enthusiasm firsthand in 2009 for the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and can’t wait to see the atmosphere on race day in 2024.”

On-sale ticket information for the first-ever Cup Series Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway will be announced in the near future. Today, fans can put down a $25 deposit for priority access to purchase tickets before the public on-sale at iowaspeedway.com.

To stay up to date with Iowa Speedway, follow @IowaSpeedway on X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and download the NASCAR Tracks App for the latest real-time updates on all aspects of the event.

About Iowa Corn

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), works to develop and defend markets, fund research, and provide education about corn and corn products. The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) is a 7,000-member strong grassroots-driven organization, headquartered in Johnston, Iowa, serving members across the state, and lobbying on agricultural issues on behalf of its farmer members to create opportunities for long-term Iowa corn grower profitability. For more information, visit iowacorn.org.

About Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway, The Fastest Short Track on the Planet, is a state-of-the-art 7/8-mile asphalt paved tri-oval racetrack and motorsports facility located in Newton, Iowa. Our 2024 schedule includes two exciting race weekends: June 14-16 (NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, ARCA Menards Series) and July 13-14 (Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend). For more information on Iowa Speedway, visit www.iowaspeedway.com.

About NASCAR

Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of sixteen of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Pinty’s Series (Canada), NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 12 countries and more than 30 U.S. states. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

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