AJ Allmendinger qualified 22nd for the Bristol Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
In the early laps, Allmendinger fell back to 31st reporting he was plowing tight and lacking front turn. The No. 16 brought out the first caution on lap 70 after hitting the wall in the exit of turn three and making contact with the No. 2. The No. 16 team brought the car down pit road to assess and repair the damage before Allmendinger restarted in 36th on lap 75. On lap 107, the caution came out for rain, and the team came down pit road for air pressure and wedge adjustments to help with the handling of the car. Allmendinger restarted 35th on lap 113 and was racing the No. 78 for the lucky dog. The No. 16 went on to finish the opening stage in 34th and was awarded the lucky dog, putting Allmendinger back on the lead lap. The team came down pit road under the stage break for additional wedge adjustments before the red flag was displayed for weather.
The red flag was lifted, and the field restarted on lap 141. Early in this run, Allmendinger was tighter than he had been all night, but by lap 205, the No. 16 Barger Chevy had built free. Allmendinger held on to his loose race car and went on to finish the second stage in 34th.
The team came down pit road under the stage caution for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Allmendinger restarted 30th where we ran for the remainder of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race and finished 30th at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“It was a long night for our No. 16 team. We struggled early with handling and definitely hurt the speed of the car after we hit the wall. I’m proud of my guys for their effort all night but we’re disappointed with the result.” – AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley, No. 31 Mountain Dew Camaro ZL1
Justin Haley qualified 19th for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Haley fired off slightly free in the No. 31 Mountain Dew Chevy but gained three spots before the first caution came out on lap 70. Haley pitted for four tires and fuel and restarted 22nd on lap 77. The next caution came out on lap 107 for rain, as Haley gained four spots. He radioed that he was happy overall with his No. 31 Chevy but was slightly free on entry and exit. Haley restarted as the sixth car on the outside with 12 laps to go in stage one. He made it up to 11th before getting caught in multiple three-wide battles, ultimately falling to 20th where he finished the opening stage.
Haley pitted under caution for four tires and fuel and restarted 33rd on lap 141 after rain prolonged the first stage caution. By lap 214, Haley was caught by the leader and radioed that the No. 31 Chevy was plowing tight as he went down one lap. He went on to finish the second stage in 27th.
Haley pitted for tires, fuel and a right-rear air pressure adjustment to help free up the No. 31 Chevy. He started the final stage in 32nd before a wreck in front of Haley collected him on lap 263, ending his night early. He was scored 35th.
“I was really happy with the No. 31 Mountain Dew Camaro ZL1 firing off tonight. We were just a touch free until our right front went away in the second stage. After that the car was plowing tight. Unfortunately, we got collected in someone else’s mess at the beginning of the final stage and broke something in the left front. Hopefully we can rebound in Texas, where we had one of our best finishes as a team last year.” – Justin Haley
Food City 300
Daniel Hemric, No. 10 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro
Daniel Hemric qualified fifth for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Hemric’s No.10 Cirkul Chevrolet fired off extremely loose as soon as the race started. Similarly to practice and qualifying, he reported he was loose all around. Hemric was running 12th with 30 to go, where he went on to finish the opening stage.
Under the stage break, Hemric came down pit road for four tires, fuel and a major air pressure and track bar adjustment to help tighten the car up. He restarted 12th on lap 96 and would maintain his position inside the top-15 before the caution came out on lap 149. Hemric radioed that the previous adjustments had helped the handling of the car but he was still on the freer side. Still under caution, he came down pit road on lap 151 for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment. After restarting 11th on lap 154 with fresh tires, Hemric was back up to seventh with 12 to go. He went on to finish seventh, following a stage-ending caution.
Hemric pitted again during the stage break for four tires and fuel, before starting the final stage in 10th. The caution came out on lap 221, and Hemric stayed out, while a majority of the field came down pit road. On the restart with 76 laps to go, Hemric restarted as the first car on the inside lane. Battling with the No. 7, Hemric held on to second as 69 laps remained. The caution came out again on lap 248, and the leader pitted, while Hemric stayed out. Hemric led the field to green from the outside on the restart with 44 to go. After leading a total of 33 laps, Hemric got caught up in lapped traffic and slid back to second with 12 to go. The race stayed green until the end and Hemric finished second, his third runner-up finish with Kaulig Racing this season.
“There is always something you could have done better, or different. I really just wanted to keep him [No.7] on us to get that last little group of lapped traffic we were closed in on. When you catch those guys side by side, you have a slight chance, but I just could not stay far enough forward and keep the momentum from center exit enough to give me some leverage to get into lapped traffic. Ultimately, that prevailed for him [No.7] on the bottom to clear me. You hate to lose them that close to the end, but as a group, we know what we did today was special from how far we brought this race car throughout the race. I am proud of that.” – Daniel Hemric
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Barger Precast Chevrolet Camaro
Chandler Smith qualified fourth for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Smith jumped to second quickly at the start of the race but began falling back as the first stage progressed. He was passed for second by the No. 20 on lap 14. Six laps later, a group of three cars moved him off the bottom line, which was the preferred line early in the night, and he struggled to get back to the bottom before being shuffled back to fifth. Smith dropped two more positions by lap 65 but began running quicker lap times in the final laps of stage one. He finished sixth in the opening stage.
Smith said during the stage caution that he was too free and needed front grip. Crew chief, Bruce Schlicker, made a big swing with adjustments to tighten the car up as he pitted for tires and fuel. Smith started stage two as the fourth car on the inside but fell back to ninth overall on the restart. Over the next 52 laps, Smith shuffled between eighth and 10th, the latter of which he was running when the caution came out on lap 147. Smith came down pit road for tires and fuel, getting a left-rear air pressure adjustment as well. He started 14th on the lap-154 restart and moved up the ninth with four to go after battling cars on different tire strategies. Another yellow flew, ending the stage with Smith running ninth.
Smith stayed out during the stage break and restarted the final stage in third. He moved up to second quickly and battled the No. 88 for the lead before getting tight and falling to fourth. Another caution came out on lap 184, and Smith, who was still battling a loose car, restarted with 110 to go on the outside in the second row. After firing off well, the No. 16 Barger Precast Chevrolet got free mid-corner on lap 197, sending Smith up the track but avoiding the wall. He lost four spots, moving back to eighth. Another caution brought out the yellow again on lap 217 with Smith running 10th. Schlicker called him into the pits for tires and fuel for the final time. He restarted 13th with 76 to go and slowly made his way to seventh when the final caution came out on lap 248. He stayed out, restarting as the third car on the inside on lap 257. Moving up to fifth overall by the next lap, Smith fought to break into the four-car battle for the lead in the waning laps but couldn’t get by the No. 00 that was in fourth. Dealing with a loose-handling race car all night, Smith finished the race in fifth.
“We put a lot of eggs in one basket coming here, and if we didn’t have our issues, I think we would have been a top-three car all night. We caught some breaks and recovered well. We’re leaving here 18 points above the cutline, and that’s not a bad buffer to have. We just have to maintain that through the next two races.” – Chandler Smith
Derek Kraus, No. 11 Hardscape Construction/Crav’n Chevrolet Camaro
Derek Kraus qualified 18th for the Food City 300 but started at the rear, due to an unapproved adjustment.
Kraus fired off free in the No. 11 Hardscape Construction / Crav’n Chevrolet. He was passed by the leader to go one lap down on lap 33, but fought the other lapped cars to finish the opening stage in 22nd.
Kraus radioed that he was extremely free on entry and could not drive the No. 11 car as hard because of it. He pitted during the stage break for a big air pressure swing and a track bar adjustment, starting the second stage as the first car one lap down in 21st. The first caution came out on lap 147, and Kraus relayed that the adjustments made during the first pit stop helped his center exit, but the No. 11 Chevy was still free on entry. Crew chief, Jason Trinchere, made the call to pit under caution with the intention of taking the wave around at the end of the stage to put Kraus back on the lead lap. The field went green with 17 laps left in the stage, before a stage-ending caution came out with three laps to go. Kraus finished the second stage in 16th place.
Kraus was unable to take the wave around but started the final stage in 16th place. The caution flag came back out on lap 184, as Kraus sat in the lucky dog spot, allowing him back on the lead lap. He pitted under caution and restarted 16th on lap 191. By lap 208, Kraus made his way into the top 15 for the first time of the night. The next caution came out on lap 218, and Trinchere made the call to pit for the team’s last set of sticker tires. Kraus restarted 15th on lap 224. By lap 241, Kraus made his way into the top 10 before the caution came out on lap 249. Following the restart, Kraus made it as high as seventh before dropping back to 12th where he finished the race.
“Overall, it was a fun night at Bristol. We got caught a lap down early, which hurt us throughout the race. We were fighting all night to get our lap back, and when we did, we were able to get going and stayed around the top 10. At the end, my tires started to go away on me. Thankfully, we kept our Hardscape Construction / Crav’n’ Chevy in one piece and had a solid finish.” – Derek Kraus
About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 with Justin Haley piloting the No. 31 Camaro ZL1, and an all-star lineup featured in the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. Haley will continue to drive the No. 31 full-time in 2023, alongside AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. The team will continue to field three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by an all-star lineup, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Chandler Smith. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Date: Sept. 16, 2023 Event: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Round 29 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile, concrete oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps) Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
● Ryan Preece (Started 17th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 499 of 500 laps)
● Kevin Harvick (Started 21st, Finished 29th / Running, completed 495 of 500 laps)
SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (14th with 2,071 points, four points below top-12 cutoff)
● Aric Almirola (22nd with 510 points)
● Ryan Preece (24th with 484 points)
● Chase Briscoe (30th with 383 points)
Playoff Standings to Begin Round of 12:
William Byron (3,036 points)
Martin Truex Jr. (3,036 points)
Denny Hamlin (3,032 points) -4
Kyle Larson (3,023 points) -13
Chris Buescher (3,021 points) -15
Kyle Busch (3,019 points) -17
Christopher Bell (3,016 points) -20
Tyler Reddick (3,014 points) -22
Ross Chastain (3,011 points) -25
Brad Keselowski (3,011 points) -25
Ryan Blaney (3,008 points) -28
Bubba Wallace (3,000 points) -36
Failed to Advance to Round of 12:
Joey Logano (2,071 points)
Kevin Harvick (2,071 points)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2,068 points)
Michael McDowell (2,059 points)
SHR Notes:
● This was Preece’s fifth straight top-20 at Bristol. His average finish at the track is 15th in six career starts.
● Preece finished ninth in Stage 2 to earn two bonus points.
● This was Almirola’s fourth straight top-20. He finished third Aug. 26 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, 14th Sept. 3 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and 17th last Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.
Race Notes:
● Denny Hamlin won the Bass Pro Shops Night to score his 51st career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Bristol. His margin over second-place Kyle Larson was 2.437 seconds.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 53 laps.
● Only 10 of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Sound Bites:
“We just need speed. Our long run isn’t terrible, but we struggled to fire off to where we could be aggressive and then once you get your track position, you can hold it. Gotta find the grip and the speed, and that’ll change our days.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Ford Mustang
“We’ve been like that all year. We’ve been hit or miss. Tonight we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days (at Bristol), but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it. I didn’t really have many expectations (for the playoffs) with as up and down as the year has been. It is what it is. It’s probably about what we deserve.” – Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday, Sept. 24 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The fourth race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
HAMLIN DELIVERS BRISTOL VICTORY All five Toyota Camry drivers advance to the round of 12
BRISTOL, Tenn (September 16, 2023) – Denny Hamlin took the lead with 134 laps to go and led the rest of the way to earn his third win of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Hamlin, who clinched his spot in the next round earlier in the night, will be joined by four other Team Toyota teammates – Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace in the Round of 12. Toyota now has more cars in the Round of 12 than any other manufacturer. It is the first time since 2016 that five Toyota drivers will be in the Round of 12.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Bristol Motor Speedway Race 29 of 36 – 266.5 miles, 500 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, Kyle Larson*
3rd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
4th, Chris Buescher*
5th, TY GIBBS
14th, BUBBA WALLACE
15th, TYLER REDDICK
19th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What do you think about all of this?
“Everybody likes a winner right. I can’t thank this whole FedEx team enough. They really kicked ass this whole first round. Just amazing how good our team has been. So happy about the way we are running. I can’t wait to keep going.”
Is there something different with the 11 team this year?
“It’s our year. I just feel like we’ve got to put it all together. We’ve got the speed at every different type of race track. Nothing to stop us at this point.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
When you lead that many laps and come home third, is it discouraging or does it give you confidence going into the next round?
“It definitely is a run to be proud of, but I’ll be honest, this was probably our best race we’ve had in a while and probably the most disappointed I’ve been in a while. Just got a little bit away from us there in the last half of the race. That is how it goes sometimes, but I’m really proud of the effort on this Reser’s Camry. It was a lot of fun leading laps, and this track is just the best.”
How would you evaluate your night?
“I just kind of lost the handle on it, the same time we lost the track position. The 11 (Denny Hamlin) was fast. Whenever he got up front, he just drove away. Disappointing to be good at the wrong time, but at least we got out here with a lot of points for this Rheem Camry.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Led some laps tonight and ended up with a top-five. How was your race?
“We had a good Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD. The pit crew did a great job all night. I feel like we had a chance for the win, but it is a top five. I just need more a bit more experience and to keep learning. But a solid night.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 14th
You made it to the next round. Can you describe how you did it?
“It was a tough run. (hearing boos) I love that shit right there. They counted us out. Like Coco Gauff said, all they are doing is adding fuel to the fire. I love it. I love where I’m at with this team. Wish my mom, dad and sister were here to celebrate. I’m in a career year, just have to keep it going. I appreciate all of the partners involved. Columbia has done great when they are on this Toyota. I hate it for them last week. I’m mentally exhausted. We gave it our all there. We battled hard and executed and that is what we have to do. We know next week is a reset. We just have to go out and have some fun and work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me. On to next week.”
I don’t think you’ve ever been happier finishing 14th. Can you talk about what your feeling right now? “Mentally exhausted. Physically exhausted. You have to give it your all in these Playoffs. I’m proud of the efforts, appreciate the crew. Just thankful for the opportunity – we just need to keep it going.”
How did tonight happen?
“Just surround yourself with the right people – Bootie (Barker, crew chief), all of my guys that work on this thing. We make the most of it. Survive and advance.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 15th
Can you talk about your run tonight and moving on to the round of 12?
“We had a fast Jordan Brand/J. Balvin Toyota Camry TRD. It was a tough night. I thought we had an okay car, it just struggled in traffic and that is pretty much what we were in all night long. We could bust off a fast lap every now and then, but it didn’t seem like the repeatability was quite there. It was so easy to piss off the front tires tonight unfortunately. The car seemed okay at times. I think if we could have got some track position, and kept the tires a little cooler, we would have been okay, but it was just a tough night for us.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 19th
Can you describe your night – did you ever feel comfortable?
“Well that’s the thing, you never really knew what you needed to do. The 4 (Kevin Harvick) had a really terrible night. We started the race off, I felt okay about it. We got too tight, but track position – we were pretty okay there. Once we lost it, just forget about it – it was plowing tight, blowing the right front off. There wasn’t a whole lot that I could do. We kept adjusting on it. We got a lap down. The last run we finally made a little bit of progress on the car, and we were just so far back. All-in-all, it was just a fighting night. You had to fight through it and do the best you could. It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. Now we reset and we go hopefully not have two terrible weeks in a row and be in good shape.”
How does it feel to make it?
“It feels really good. I don’t know that this round could have gone any worse. To have to come to Bristol and get through – we knew it was going to be tough. This has not been a very good place for us. We had a decent Bass Pro Toyota tonight. Just got behind on track position. Got a lap down, and then we were kind of stuck. We stuck with it, and just tried to go as hard as we could all night, and luckily it all played out. Definitely excited about the next round and the reset, hopefully we will keep from having so much bad luck.”
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,
NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT SEPTEMBER 16, 2023
Four Team Chevy Drivers Advance to NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12
Kyle Larson capped off a strong performance in the opening round of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs – driving his No. 5 Valvoline / HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Team Chevy driver earned top-five finishes in all three races of the Round of 16, including a win in the opening race at Darlington Raceway.
With the playoff standings reset heading into the first race of the Round of 12 at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson regained the top position of the points standings with an 11-point lead over second-place Denny Hamlin.
Joining Larson in the Round of 12 is his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain.
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 begins at Texas Motor Speedway with the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday, September 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
Finished: 23rd
You finished 23rd today, but more importantly, you’re onto the Round of 12. What were you battling tonight that ultimately prohibited you from getting up to the front?
“We were just too tight for our No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevy. Aside from the very first run, we were just too tight all night. We were catching up to it running the bottom, and then when we moved to the top, we were just too tight again. Just not quite enough speed for our Chevy.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
Finished: 17th
“We had a fast Bass Pro Shops/Ranger Boats Chevrolet but didn’t get the chance to capitalize on it tonight at Bristol Motor Speedway. We struggled with a tight-handling condition for much of the race, but a lot of that was due to traffic. Track position is just so important. Our Chevy got pretty decent as the race went on. We just ended up too loose at the end of the race. Proud of the effort of this RCR team. On to Texas Motor Speedway.”
By the end of Stage One, you were able to collect points and you were a factor in the top-five all day. Runner-up finisher, how tough is that or is this a happy second-place finish?
“I’m definitely happy to finish second. The race went a lot better than I thought it would. Thankfully, the No. 1 (Ross Chastain) and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) went a lap down – they were pitted behind me and in front of me, and had they been on the same lap as us, that would have been very difficult for all of us. So got fortunate there, which made pit stops much easier. And our No. 5 Valvoline Chevy was good, too. I feel like we had the second-best car and we finished second with it. We just didn’t have the pace that Denny (Hamlin) had. He was really, really fast and got through traffic really well. I thought maybe his balance was fading when we got to traffic, but as soon as he got clear of them, he took back off. Just didn’t quite have the balance that I needed to really charge through the corners and be aggressive on the throttle and exit. We made it better on that final run, but just not quite enough.”
“I’m glad we advanced to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs, but it just wasn’t a strong showing for the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen/Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet team tonight. We didn’t have any front grip in the beginning of the run, or any rear grip in the later run. It was a struggle to go anywhere, and to make passes. I just felt mired in traffic and dirty air. Even when we had clean air, we weren’t passing anybody because lap times were just so stagnant. It’s not the race we wanted, but we’ll move on at go to Texas Motor Speedway.”
William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL1
Finished: 9th
Good run tonight with a top-10 finish. What are your thoughts heading into the Round of 12?
“We’re really happy with 500 good laps here. A top-10 finish is good, but definitely wanted more. After practice, I felt like we could have a little bit more today, but I’m happy with it. I think our No. 24 Relay Payments Chevy was good tonight.”
Are there any tracks you have picked out within the next round that you have circled that you think you have a better chance of winning?
“No, I think just steadily work through them. We have a good points position. We need to try to keep getting bonus points, but we just need to keep trying to run better. Two of the three weeks (in the Round of 16) were really good, and even Kansas (Speedway) was really good. Just need to do a little bit better job executing and we should be in good shape.”
“We had a really fast No. 42 Sunseeker Chevy. It was a lot of fun. We were running fifth at one point and I think that’s where we finished in Stage Two. Our car was so fast. Luke (Lambert, crew chief) and this whole LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team has worked so hard. They were so excited to come here. This is Luke’s favorite race and it was huge to get a strong finish. We had a lot of speed; we were just too free there at the end. We wanted to get a top-10, but we were really close.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Camaro ZL1
Finished: 24th
“Just not a very good day for the No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevy team. We just kind of struggled on balance all weekend. We had a loose wheel that just put us a couple of laps down and we caught a yellow during that. It just didn’t cycle out very good and got kind of trapped. We’ll go onto Texas (Motor Speedway). We’ve had a good past couple of weeks. It wasn’t our day today, but we’ll hopefully rebound next weekend.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Scott Brand Camaro ZL1
Finished: 10th
“We executed in the race really well, but just didn’t execute on Saturday good enough to put us starting up front and get some stage points early. That’s kind of where we’ve been lacking, I would say most of the year – just with qualifying and being able to set ourselves up for the beginning stages of the race. I’m proud of the effort and another top-10 finish. Our No. 47 Scott Brand Camaro was really fast and really good there at the end when I needed it to be. We went as far forward as we could, but it just wasn’t enough. We’ll keep learning and trying coming back better next year.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES:
STAGE ONE
· For the 19th time this season, William Byron put his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 in the top-10 of the starting lineup – taking the green flag for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway from the third position.
· After a brief delay due to light precipitation, NASCAR’s premier series finally took the green-flag for 500 laps around the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”. Byron settled his Chevrolet into the fourth position in the opening laps – closing in on third as the leaders started to hit heavy lap traffic by the 40-lap marker.
· Under caution for the first time this evening on lap 69, Byron reported that his Chevrolet was “tight at the three-quarter mark” as Crew Chief Rudy Fugle called the Team Chevy driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment – restarting in the 12th position.
· Varying pit strategies throughout the field came early with the threat of incoming weather. A small group of drivers that elected to stay out during the first caution period including Team Chevy’s Corey LaJoie – giving the No. 7 NEGU Camaro ZL1 a front-row position for the restart on lap 77.
· LaJoie went on to pace the field until another caution came out for rain. Choosing track position once again, Crew Chief Ryan Sparks kept LaJoie out when pit road opened to put LaJoie back on the front-row for the restart with 12 laps to go in Stage One. LaJoie regained the lead before ultimately taking the green-white checkered in the second position to lead Chevrolet to the end of the stage.
· Joining LaJoie in collecting points at the end of Stage One included three Team Chevy playoff contenders: Byron (fourth), Ross Chastain (sixth) and Kyle Larson (eighth).
4th William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL1
6th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
8th Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1
STAGE TWO
· While under the stage break, a brief rain cell overcame the Tennessee short-track, forcing the field to bring their cars to pit road as the race was brought under red-flag conditions.
· Getting the signal to return to competition, a handful of the top-10 finishers in the stage elected to stay out for track position including Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson after driving from the rear of the field to an eighth-place finish in Stage One. Larson chose the third position for the start of Stage Two. Quickly making gains on the top-two positions as the leaders hit lap traffic, Larson ultimately took the lead for the first time on lap 179.
· Continuing to work traffic during a long green-flag run, Larson lost the lead on lap 200, but was able to hold onto the third position to close-out Stage Two.
· Following top-10 finishes in both stages, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team clinched a spot into the Round of 12.
· After a third-place finish in Stage Two, Larson reported to the No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 team that he was fighting loose conditions with his Chevrolet. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called for a pit stop for four tires, fuel and an adjustment – maintaining the third position in the race off pit road. Larson elected the outside lane of the second row for the start of the final stage.
· Larson remained in the third position as the race continued under green-flag conditions for nearly 100 laps. Closing in on the top-two drivers, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin, Larson was looking to setup a pass for the lead when a caution flew at lap 361 that nearly collected the leaders.
· Scored in the second position, Daniels called Larson to pit road for four tires and fuel under the caution. Second off pit road, Larson opted for the inside lane of the front-row for the restart with 131 laps to go.
· Battling side-by-side with Hamlin on the restart, Larson got loose while entering the corner, forcing the driver to settle his Chevrolet into the second position. The Team Chevy driver maintained the position as the leaders were once again faced with lap traffic – progressively closing the gap to then-race leader Hamlin to under a one-second margin with 50 laps to go, but ultimately took the checkered flag in the runner-up position.
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race | Saturday, September 16, 2023
Ford Finishing Results:
4th – Chris Buescher
6th – Michael McDowell
8th – Brad Keselowski
12th – Ryan Preece
16th – Todd Gilliland
18th – Aric Almirola
22nd – Ryan Blaney
26th – JJ Yeley
27th – Chase Briscoe
28th – Harrison Burton
29th – Kevin Harvick
32nd – Austin Cindric
34th – Joey Logano
36th – Ryan Newman
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang – NO SWORD THIS YEAR, BUT YOU ARE GOING TO THE ROUND OF 12. “Yeah, it was a great day for us. Our BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang was really fast. We’re not disappointed in the car at all. Obviously, we want to win and coming off the win last time being close and seeing it was good, but we had a really good race car. We needed a touch more to go fight for that win, but I’m really proud of this group. We’re on to the next round of playoffs. We’ve got some more really great tracks coming for us. We’ve got the first Ford out here tonight, so it was definitely a strong night for us. We just want a little bit more.
YOUR HOME TRACK NEXT WEEK AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. “It will be very busy. It is cool to make it past the first round. For my first playoff appearance this was the end or wherever the cutoff was it was the end of our playoff experience, so I’m proud to be moving on and into the next one. I can’t wait to get to my home track.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BOTH RFK MUSTANGS ADVANCING TO THE NEXT ROUND? “It’s good to move into the next round. We certainly are gonna have our work cut out for us, but that’s what this thing is all about. It was a good day for us for both cars. It was a good Round of 16 for us and let the Round of 12 begin.”
WHAT TRACK ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ROUND? “The one right in front of me. That’s Texas and you’ve just got to take the one at a time.”
BOTH TEAMS STILL HAVE SOME GREAT MOMENTUM AS YOU GO INTO THE NEXT ROUND. “It’s a good feeling for sure. Chris has done a great job. The 17 car looks good. The 6 car looks good. We’ve got a real good shot of making it through the next round, but we’ve got to be careful to keep our head down and stay focused.”
KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? “We’ve been like that all year. We’ve been hit or miss and tonight we just missed by a mile.”
LAST RACE AT BRISTOL. “I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it.”
THOUGHTS ON NOT MAKING THE NEXT ROUND? “I didn’t really have many expectations with how up and down the year has been. It is what it is and that’s probably about what we deserved.”
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THIS FIRST ROUND? “We were slow.”
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO FROM HERE ON OUT? “I’m probably looking forward to Phoenix. I think that’s definitely been our best racetrack. We haven’t been great on the mile-and-a-halves and tonight we were just way off.”
WHAT WERE YOU MISSING THIS ROUND? “We could have won Darlington. We were off at Kansas and terrible here.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – “It’s disappointing not to advance, for sure, but we dug ourselves such a big hole those first two races that we were in a must-win situation. We weren’t good enough to do that tonight, but I’m still really proud of the speed that we brought and the effort that we brought. We still needed a little bit more to contend for that win, but we gave ourselves a fighting chance. Unfortunately, at the end there wasn’t enough action. Normally at Bristol you get a late-race caution and get the front row beating and banging and maybe you get an opportunity, but that just never happened. We’re learning. It’s a learning experience for us. This is only the second time we’ve been in the playoffs. We’ve had a good season. We’ve showed good speed and we’ll learn from the mistakes that we made here in this first round and we’ll keep working hard the rest of the season to try to treat it like we are in and we’re fighting for a championship because hopefully next year we will be. So, it’s a learning experience for us. It’s not what we wanted, but I’m still proud of the effort.”
THE FIRST TIME YOU MADE THE PLAYOFFS YOU WERE JUST HAPPY TO BE THERE. THIS TIME WAS A DIFFERENT FEELING, RIGHT? “The performance was there. I don’t want to downplay that, but we just didn’t execute well and we had some issues. We qualified in the second round of all three races, which you need to do if you want to advance, so we got that part down. At Darlington, we got into that crash at the end and that’s 10-15 spots. That’s all you need to make it, so a lot of things could have gone differently that would have put us in a position to advance, but it just didn’t work out. It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll learn from it and get better for the next time.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang – YOU SURVIVED AND ADVANCED TO THE NEXT ROUND. “That’s what we did. It was not a pretty night by any means, but we ran all the laps and did what we needed to do. You’d like to have a little bit more speed and just be competitive and we weren’t tonight, but we get to go on to the next round and reset and start off at Texas to see what we’ve got.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHAT WAS THIS TEAM MISSING THIS YEAR? “Speed. Just a lot of things. We’re not out yet. As much as it feels like I’m out at the moment there’s still a long ways to go in this race and things can happen to the competitors that are out there. You don’t want to wish misfortune on people for your own good, but it’s kind of our only hope at the moment. It’s what happens. You don’t go fast enough, you’re in the back and they wreck in front of you at Bristol on a restart and you’re going so fast that you can’t whoa up or turn or do anything and you get kind of pile drove into the wreck. It’s our own fault.”
HAS IT FELT LIKE AN UPHILL BATTLE ALL YEAR? “Yeah. I haven’t really felt like we’ve made any big gains that we need to and unfortunately it seems like it’s at every track. Typically you may say, ‘Oh, we’re off on a mile-and-a-half, but our short tracks are OK or your road courses are OK.’ It just seems like we’re off everywhere right now, so we’ll see what happens here the rest of the race and if we get knocked out it gives us a few races to swing big and try to figure it out for next year. That’s about where we’re at, so we’ll wait anxiously. I keep watching the TV behind you. I’m pretty distracted at the moment, but it is what it is. We just move forward from here.”
HOW FRUSTRATING IS THIS? “Obviously, it’s a real bummer. You get out of the race like that and you’re behind the wall and you’re in denial for a minute. You don’t want to believe that it happened and you want to think that it’s fixable, but the car was tore up too bad.”
HOW UNCHARACTERISTIC IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO RACE FOR 15TH? “It takes something different out of a driver to drive a car in 15th and tonight we weren’t even that. It’s a little uncharacteristic for us right now and we just have to go to work and keep our heads down and stay faithful in each other, keep trusting each other that we can figure it out. It’s still the same team that won the championship last year. We’re a little lost at the moment, but we’ll keep fighting and try to figure some things out.”
HOW DISAPPOINTING HAVE THESE FIRST 29 RACES BEEN FOR YOUR TEAM? “Like I said, I’m not saying it’s over yet, but at the moment obviously not as good as we needed to be – inconsistent, not fast enough, not scoring stage points. When you don’t score stage points that just says you’re not fast enough. We’ve been able to manufacture finishes like we did last year. Paul does a great job of giving me a chance to finish good. If this was a few years ago and there wasn’t stage racing, we’d be sitting in a lot better shape because we would figure out a way to close races, but we don’t score the points during the race because we’re just not fast enough.”
HOW MUCH DID YOU COME INTO THIS RACE THINKING YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL BUT BE AGGRESSIVE? “I knew my situation and what I needed to do, but it’s Bristol and there’s not really many things you do differently depending on your scenario. There’s nothing I could have done there in that wreck. It’s just a product of being back there and the way we raced or anything like that didn’t affect that. The only thing that affected that is we were back there, so that’s it.”
DID YOU JUST GET HIT FROM BEHIND AS EVERYBODY SLOWED UP? “Yeah, I saw the smoke. I saw the 7 spinning. Coleman was saying, ‘He’s coming up. He’s coming up.’ As I was on the brakes to try to pull onto the bottom. I think it was Newman behind me, but I think someone hit him behind him and it was just kind of a chain reaction into it. Once I got hit I was like, ‘Shoot, I’ve got to go up now’ because I couldn’t make the bottom, so I committed to that and the hole closed up.”
1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started second at Bristol, overcame an early pit lane speeding penalty and stormed back to win the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol.
“This was a great win for me,” Hamlin said. “If I could take this performance and put it in a bottle for future use, I would. Heck, if I could put it in a ‘Cup,’ I would, but I don’t have one.”
2. Kyle Larson: Larson ran up front all night at Bristol and finished second.
“We’ve got two Hendrick Motorsports cars in the Round Of 12,” Larson said. “It’s too bad Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman missed the Playoffs. Don’t get me wrong, they should have made the playoffs. Hopefully, they’ve learned their lessons about doing things that they shouldn’t have, like missing the Playoffs, or snowboarding, or racing sprint cars.”
3. William Byron: Byron finished ninth at Bristol and easily advanced to the Round Of 12.
“I clinched a spot in the Round Of 12 after Stage 2,” Byron said. “I didn’t get complacent, though. I refused to let myself start thinking about the next race at Texas. Why, you may ask? Because first, I have to pass inspection at Bristol. And for the No. 24, that’s never a guarantee.”
4. Christopher Bell: Bell started on the pole at Bristol and finished third.
“That was my third straight pole,” Bell said. “Of course, poles don’t mean a thing. But polls do. If you polled all drivers and asked them if they think Christopher Bell could win a race from the pole, 100% of them would say ‘No.'”
5. Chris Buescher: Buescher was solid at Bristol, posting a fourth and easily advancing to the Round Of 12.
“Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was driving the car primarily sponsored by Scott Toilet Paper,” Buescher said. “It’s certainly appropriate at this track, because ask any driver, after 500 laps at Bristol, you’re pooped.”
6. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished 15th at Bristol.
“Michael Jordan himself was in my pit box,” Reddick said. “I asked him if he thought I was going to win the race, and he said ‘You bet.’ I replied ‘You bet?’ And he replied, ‘Yes. $100,000.'”
7. Ross Chastain: Chastain fell a lap down during Stage 2 and finished 23rd, two laps down, in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. He advanced to the next round of the playoffs.
“I’m just trying to get to Martinsville,” Chastain said. “That’s where I can pull off another miracle and make it to the championship round. The miracle being me destroying my car as opposed to someone else’s car for the betterment of me.”
8. Kyle Busch: Busch struggled at Bristol, but did enough to qualify for the Round Of 12 with a finish of 20th.
“I just had to put myself in the right mindset to get where I needed to,” Busch said. “I just equated ‘missing the Playoffs’ to ‘spending the night in a Mexican prison,’ so there was no way I was spending the night in a Mexican prison.”
9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney struggled at Bristol and finished 22nd, but clinched a spot in the Round Of 12.
“I’m not too thrilled with the car’s performance,” Blaney said, “but at least I advanced to the next round. There are 12 drivers, so I guess I have a 1 in 12 chance of winning the championship. I like those odds, because they are way better than my actual odds.”
10. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex battled all night and ultimately secured a spot in the next round of the playoffs with a 19th-place finish at Bristol.
“I had to fight my car all night,” Truex said. “Let’s just say the handling on No. 19 Toyota was ‘half-assed.’ Now I am, because I had to work my ass off just to get the car across the finish line.”
Not even the chorus of boos from the crowd prior to and after the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 16, could damper Denny Hamlin’s mood and sense of enthusiasm and optimism to contend for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series championship upon winning for the third time in the 2023 season.
The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, led three times for 142 of 500-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and rallied from speeding on pit road under caution on Lap 70. The resulting penalty sent him to the rear of the field but he methodically drove his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry back to the front.
Managing a top-five result during the second stage period, Hamlin, who led for the first time with under 150 laps remaining amid a tight battle with teammate Ty Gibbs, regained the lead for good with 134 laps remaining. From there, he spent the remainder of the event navigating his way through lapped traffic and fending off Kyle Larson to score his third Cup Series victory of the 2023 season and become one of 12 Playoff competitors to advance into the Round of 12.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, September 15, Playoff contender Christopher Bell notched his third consecutive Cup pole position in recent weeks and the fifth of this season after posting a pole-winning lap at 126.997 mph in 15.109 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Denny Hamlin, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 126.930 mph in 15.117 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race started amid a delay spanning more than half an hour due to light, persistent precipitation, Bell rocketed his No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota TRD Camry ahead of the pack from the outside lane to lead through the first two turns as Michael McDowell followed suit and moved his No. 34 Love’s Ford Mustang into the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who did not gain a strong start from the inside lane, fell back to third in front of William Byron and Ty Gibbs as Bell proceeded to lead the first lap.
Through the second to fifth lap, Bell kept his pole-winning car out in front of the pack while Hamlin managed to overtake McDowell in Turn 3 to reclaim the runner-up spot. Behind, Byron retained fourth ahead of Ty Gibbs, who fended off Brad Keselowski, as Martin Truex Jr., Corey LaJoie and Bubba Wallace followed suit. With Chase Elliott, who was initially running behind Wallace, slowly losing spots and dropping out of the top 10 after getting his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stuck on the outside lane, Bell stabilized his lead to two-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Bell was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin, McDowell, Byron and Ty Gibbs while Truex, Keselowski, LaJoie, Wallace and Tyler Reddick were in the top 10. Behind, Ryan Blaney was in 11th ahead of Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece while Elliott, Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick, Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher occupied the top 20. By then, Playoff contenders Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were mired in 22nd and 23rd while Kyle Larson was in 31st behind Ty Dillon.
Fifteen laps later, Bell, who was starting to approach lapped traffic, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin while McDowell trailed in third place by nearly two seconds despite having Byron close in. Behind, Ty Gibbs retained fifth while Truex, Keselowski, LaJoie, Wallace and Reddick continued to run in the top 10.
Another 10 laps later, Bell, who continued to deal with lapped traffic as he had lapped Daniel Suarez and Harrison Burton, also continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin while McDowell retained third place as he trailed the two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates by more than a second. With Playoff contenders Byron, Truex, Keselowski, Wallace, Reddick, Blaney and Kyle Busch running in the top 13, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Harvick, Chastain, Buescher, Logano, Stenhouse and Larson were mired outside the top 15 and running within the top 30.
At the Lap 50 mark, Bell, who lapped Austin Cindric a few laps earlier, stabilized his advantage over teammate Hamlin while McDowell, Byron and Ty Gibbs continued to trail in the top five. By then, Truex moved his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry into sixth place while Keselowski, LaJoie, Wallace, Reddick, Blaney, Bowman, Kyle Busch, Briscoe and Ryan Preece followed suit in the top 15.
Eighteen laps later, the first caution of the event flew when AJ Allmendinger, who was just lapped by the leaders, ran his No. 16 Barger Precast Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up the track in turn 3 and smacked the outside wall entering the frontstretch before he was hit by Cindric’s No. 2 Menards/Monster Energy Ford Mustang. By then, Bell was still leading ahead of teammate Hamlin while Hamlin, McDowell, Byron, Ty Gibbs, Truex, Keselowski, LaJoie, Wallace and Reddick were in the top 10.
During the first caution period, a majority of the field led by Bell pitted for service while the rest led by LaJoie and including Wallace, Reddick, Chastain, Logano and Todd Gilliland remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Chase Briscoe was assessed a commitment line violation. In addition, Playoff contender Hamlin and Cindric were penalized for speeding on pit road, Playoff contender Larson was penalized for running over equipment and Austin Dillon was penalized for a safety violation.
When the race restarted on Lap 76, LaJoie and Wallace dueled for the lead until LaJoie managed to muscle his No. 7 NEGU Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead through the backstretch and clear Wallace to assume both lanes to his control with the lead during the following lap. With LaJoie leading Wallace’s No. 23 Columbia Toyota TRD Camry, Chastain was in third ahead of Reddick while Bell muscled his way back into fifth as the field behind fanned out and jostled for positions amid those who pitted and those who remained on the track. With Bell battling Reddick for fourth place and trying to navigate his way back to the front, LaJoie stabilized his advantage to nearly half a second over Wallace by Lap 85.
At the Lap 100 mark, LaJoie continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Wallace while Bell, who moved up to third, trailed by seven-tenths of a second as he started to challenge Wallace for the runner-up spot. By then, Chastain and Reddick were in the top five while McDowell, Byron, Ty Gibbs, Logano and Keselowski were in the top 10 on the track. Behind, Truex was in 11th ahead of Blaney while Kyle Busch and Buescher settled in the top 15. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Larson, following their pit road penalties, were mired back in 23rd and 24th, Stenhouse was down in 26th and Harvick, who restarted 16th, plummeted his No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang to 28th.
Five laps later, the event’s second caution period flew due to the return of rain. By then, Bell overtook Wallace for the runner-up spot and nearly overtook LaJoie for the lead while Chastain, Reddick and McDowell followed suit in the top six. By then, Larson, Hamlin, Stenhouse and Harvick were mired back in 23rd, 24th, 27th and 28th, respectively. During the caution period, some led by McDowell and including Ty Gibbs, Blaney, Bowman, Buescher, Hamlin, Stenhouse and Harvick pitted while the rest led by LaJoie remained on the track.
With the event restarting on Lap 113, LaJoie muscled ahead to retain the lead ahead of Bell, Wallace and Reddick as the field fanned out through the backstretch. With LaJoie leading, Bell started to reignited his challenge for the lead by Lap 115 while Wallace maintained third ahead of a side-by-side battle between Byron and Reddick. Then on Lap 120, Bell reassumed the lead after navigating his way around LaJoie through the backstretch for the top spot.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 125, Bell, who came into the event 13 points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 12, claimed his third Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. LaJoie settled in second followed by Wallace, Byron and Reddick while Chastain, Keselowski, Larson, Truex and Ty Gibbs were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Kyle Busch, Buescher, McDowell, Blaney, Hamlin, Stenhouse, Logano and Harvick were mired outside the top 10 and did not score the first wave of stage points. In addition, 33 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, some led by LaJoie and including Wallace, Reddick, Chastain, Keselowski, Truex, Kyle Busch and Logano pitted while the rest including Bell remained on the track. Not long after, the field led by Bell was directed to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period due to the return of precipitation. Nearly 15 minutes later, the field re-fired the engines and returned to the oval under a cautious pace.
The second stage started on Lap 140 as Bell and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Bell muscled ahead from the outside lane to retain the lead as Byron and Ty Gibbs moved up to second and third followed by McDowell while Larson fell back to fifth. As Bell retained the lead, Ty Gibbs muscled his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot from the outside lane. McDowell would then challenge Byron for third place nearing the Lap 145 mark as Larson trailed behind in fifth.
By Lap 155, Bell was leading by over teammate Ty Gibbs while Byron, McDowell and Larson followed suit in the top five. Behind, Elliott, Buescher, Bowman, Hamlin and Stenhouse were in the top 10 ahead of Preece, Blaney, Aric Almirola, Todd Gilliland and Carson Hocevar while Erik Jones, LaJoie, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton and Wallace occupied the top 20. Bell would stabilize his lead to half a second over teammate Ty Gibbs while Larson, who continued to navigate his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 towards the outside wall to gain the momentum and extra speed towards the straightaways, was up to fourth as he started to challenge Byron for third place.
Just past the Lap 175 mark, Bell, who lapped Logano five laps earlier, was leading by two-tenths of a second over Larson followed by Ty Gibbs, Byron and McDowell while Buescher, Elliott, Hamlin, Bowman and Stenhouse rounded out the top 10. By then, Blaney, Wallace and Kyle Busch were mired in the top 20 while Reddick, Keselowski, Truex, Chastain, Harvick and Logano were all mired below the top 20 and within the top 32 on the track. Amid lapped traffic, Bell would proceed to lap Harvick during the following lap before Larson rocketed to the lead on Lap 179.
By Lap 190, Larson was leading by half a second over Bell while third-place Ty Gibbs trailed by more than a second. Behind, McDowell and Byron retained top-five spots ahead of Buescher, Byron, Hamlin, Elliott, Bowman and Hocevar while Stenhouse, Preece, LaJoie, Erik Jones and Blaney occupied the top 15.
At the Lap 200 mark, the battle for the lead between Bell and Larson reignited as Bell, who reassumed the lead a lap earlier, was leading Larson while Ty Gibbs, McDowell and Buescher followed suit in the top five. With Hamlin and Byron in sixth and seventh, Stenhouse and Blaney were in the top 15 while Playoff contenders Kyle Busch, Reddick, Wallace, Keselowski, Truex, Chastain, Logano and Harvick were mired within the top 32, with Chastain, Logano and Harvick were scored a lap down.
Fifteen laps later, Bell extended his advantage to two seconds over Larson while Ty Gibbs, McDowell and Buescher continued to run in the top five. By then, Hocevar, who was having a stellar run in his fourth event driving the No. 42 entry for Legacy Motor Club, moved up to seventh behind Hamlin while Byron, Elliott and Bowman battled in the top 10.
Another 15 laps later, Bell continued to stretch his advantage as he was now leading by more than three seconds over Larson followed by Ty Gibbs, McDowell and Buescher while Hamlin, Hocevar, Byron, Elliott and Bowman were in the top 10 ahead of Preece, Stenhouse, LaJoie, Erik Jones and Blaney. By then, Playoff contenders Reddick, Wallace, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Truex, Chastain, Logano and Harvick were mired in 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 28th, 31st and 32nd, respectively.
Just past the Lap 240 mark, Bell retained the lead by more than a second over Larson while Ty Gibbs, Hamlin and McDowell remained in the top five as the leaders started to approach lapped traffic and a bevy of Playoff contenders, including Kyle Busch and Truex.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 250, Bell captured his fourth Cup stage victory of 2023 and second of the night. Ty Gibbs navigated his way around Larson to claim the runner-up spot while Hamlin, Hocevar, McDowell, Buescher, Byron, Preece and Elliott were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Stenhouse, Blaney, Wallace, Keselowski, Reddick, Truex, Kyle Busch, Chastain, Logano and Harvick did not score the second wave of stage points while Chastain, Logano and Harvick were mired a lap down. By then, 23 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap, including 23rd-place runner Kyle Busch, while Hamlin and Byron clinched their spots for the Playoff’s Round of 12 based on points.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Ty Gibbs emerged as the new leader after exiting pit road first followed by teammate Hamlin, Larson, teammate Bell, Buescher, Hocevar, McDowell and Preece.
With 240 laps remaining, the final stage started as teammates Ty Gibbs and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs rocketed with the lead over Hamlin while Larson and Buescher battled for third place in front of Bell and McDowell. Then two laps later, the caution quickly returned when LaJoie, who was running 12th and having a strong run towards the front, got loose entering the backstretch and bounced off Erik Jones before spinning down the track, clipping the inside wall and sliding back up the track as he clipped Logano with Ryan Newman, Ty Dillon and Justin Haley all being collected in a multi-car wreck. The damage to the left rear of Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang was enough to terminate Logano’s event from further contention and potentially his title hopes of this season pending the outcomes of Truex, Wallace and Harvick.
During the proceeding restart with 229 laps remaining, teammates Ty Gibbs and Hamlin dueled for the lead until Gibbs muscled ahead through Turns 3 and 4 as he retained the lead. Behind, Larson was in third followed by Buescher while Bell navigated his way into fifth as McDowell and Hocevar battled for sixth amid a series of battles ensuing within the pack.
With less than 210 laps remaining, Ty Gibbs retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin followed by Larson, Buescher and teammate Bell while Hocevar, McDowell, Preece, Bowman and Erik Jones while Elliott, Byron, Stenhouse, Wallace and Almirola trailed in the top 15 ahead of Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Reddick, Todd Gilliland and Truex. By then, Harvick, who was currently scored three points below the cutline behind Truex and Wallace, was mired in 28th after scraping the outside wall earlier.
Down to the final 200 laps of the event, Ty Gibbs continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin as Larson, Buescher and Bell remained in the top five. Behind, Wallace, who drew himself back into contention to make the cutline amid Logano’s retirement, was in 14th behind Byron and Stenhouse. In addition, Truex, who was also battling for the final transfer spot to the cutline, was mired in 20th in front of Kyle Busch while Harvick, who was four points below the cutline, was trapped in 29th as he continued to deal with handling issues to his Ford.
Five laps later, Blaney, who was in 24th place on the track and 23 points above the cutline despite making earlier contact with the wall, was lapped by the leader Ty Gibbs as Hamlin tried to close in on his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate for the lead.
With 175 laps remaining, Ty Gibbs extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Hamlin as Larson, Buescher, Bell, Hocevar, McDowell, Bowman, Preece and Byron were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Wallace, who nearly made contact with Keselowski a few laps earlier, was in 13th, Truex was in 19th in front of Kyle Busch, Blaney was back in 23rd, Chastain was mired in 25th and Harvick was in 28th.
Twenty-five laps later, Ty Gibbs, who lapped Playoff contender Kyle Busch more than 10 laps earlier, continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin while Larson, Buescher, Bell, Hocevar, McDowell, Bowman, Preece and Byron remained in the top 10. By then, Keselowski, Stenhouse and Wallace were in the top 14, Reddick was in 17th, Truex was in 19th ahead of Kyle Busch, Blaney was back in 23rd, Chastain was in 25th and Harvick lost a spot to 29th.
Another four laps later, the battle for the lead intensified between Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs and Hamlin as Hamlin used the inside lane to muscle ahead and lead a lap for himself before Gibbs fought back on the outside lane and reassumed the top spot. With Gibbs trying to pull away, Larson started to close in on both for the lead while Truex was trying to remain ahead of the leaders to remain on the lead lap. Then with 141 laps remaining, Hamlin, who transitioned to the outside lane, navigated his way around Ty Gibbs to assume the lead.
Then with 139 laps remaining, Truex, who was running 19th and just lapped by teammate Hamlin, got sideways entering the frontstretch and made contact with the right-rear quarter panel of his car towards the wall, though he managed to continue straight without spinning his car. Despite Truex being scored the first competitor a lap down at the moment of caution, he was not awarded the free pass due to instigating the caution for the spin.
During the caution period, the leaders led by Hamlin pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin retained the lead after exiting first ahead of Larson, Buescher, Bell, Ty Gibbs, McDowell, Hocevar and Byron.
With 131 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin and Larson dueled for the lead for a lap until Hamlin used the outside lane to rocket ahead of Larson during the following lap. Hamlin, however, slipped up the track, which allowed Larson to nearly draw even with Hamlin and battle him for the lead as the field behind jostled for late positions. With 127 laps remaining, Hamlin managed to clear Larson with the lead as Bell navigated his way up to third ahead of Buescher and Ty Gibbs. With Hamlin leading by seven-tenths of a second over Larson with 120 laps remaining, McDowell was in sixth as he was currently scored 17 points below the cutline and faced a “must-win” situation to advance into the Round of 12. Meanwhile, Wallace was in 14th behind teammate Reddick, Truex was in 19th a lap down, and Harvick was in 29th, three laps down.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Hamlin continued to lead by more than a second over Larson followed by Bell, Buescher and Ty Gibbs while McDowell, Elliott, Byron, Hocevar and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10 ahead of Keselowski. Behind, Wallace retained 13th ahead of teammate Reddick, Truex remained as the first competitor a lap down in 19th in front of Kyle Busch, Blaney and Chastain while Harvick continued to run three laps down in 29th, which currently places him and Logano below the cutline behind Wallace and Truex.
Twenty-five laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over Larson followed by Bell, Buescher and Ty Gibbs while McDowell, Elliott, Byron, Hocevar and Keselowski were in the top 10. By then, Hamlin lapped 18th-place Aric Almirola a few laps earlier as Almirola was ahead of Truex in a battle for the free pass position while Wallace remained in 13th in between Preece and Bowman. In addition, Harvick continued to run 29th while now scored four laps down.
With less than 60 laps remaining, Hamlin, who was trying to lap 16th-place runner Todd Gilliland, stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson while Bell, Buescher and McDowell remained in the top five. Despite Larson gaining ground in the proceeding laps while continuing to rim-ride towards the outside wall, Hamlin, who managed to lap Gilliland, increased his lead to more than a second over Larson with 50 laps remaining.
With 35 laps remaining, Hamlin stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Larson. By then, Wallace was a lap down despite retaining 14th place on the track while Truex retained 19th ahead of Kyle Busch, Blaney, Suarez and Chastain. Both Wallace and Truex, though, continued to emerge ahead of both Harvick and Logano above the current Playoff cutline as Hamlin continued to lead with 25 laps remaining.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hamlin retained the lead by more than two seconds over Larson while Bell, Buescher and McDowell followed pursuit in the top five. As Ty Gibbs, Elliott, Keselowski, Byron and Hocevar were scored in the top 10 on the track, Wallace and Truex remained in 14th and 19th on the track while Harvick also remained in 29th. Amid the late battles for on-track spots and potential transfer spots to the Round of 12, Hamlin remained out in front by less than two seconds over Larson.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Hamlin kept his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry out in front by less than two seconds over Larson’s No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while third-place Bell trailed by more than four seconds. Hamlin, who would proceed to lap teammate Truex for a second time, would also proceed to lead by less than two seconds with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hamlin remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Larson. Despite being marred by more lapped traffic and trying to catch 10th-place Stenhouse, Hamlin was able to smoothly cycle his way around the 0.533-mile oval for a final time and cross the finish line first to claim the checkered flag and win by more than two seconds over Larson.
With the victory, Hamlin notched his 51st career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, which moved him into sole possession in 13th place on the all-time wins list. The Bristol victory under the lights marked his third at the track, his third of the season and his first since winning at Pocono Raceway in July. It also marked the seventh of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the ninth of the season for Toyota.
Having clinched his spot for the Round of 12 earlier in the night, Hamlin will continue his quest to contend for his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series championship in his 18th season as a full-time competitor.
Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Everybody likes a winner, right?” Hamlin, who took a swipe at the chorus of boos from the crowd, said on USA Network. “[I] Can’t thank this whole FedEx team enough. They really kicked ass this whole first round. Just amazing how good our team has been. Just so happy about the way we’re running. Can’t wait to keep going. It’s our year. I just feel like we’ve got it all put together. We got the speed every single type of racetrack. Nothing to stop us at this point. Hey, I beat your favorite driver! All of them!”
Kyle Larson settled in the runner-up spot followed by Bell and Buescher, all of whom transferred into the Playoff’s Round of 12 while rookie Ty Gibbs ended up in fifth place after leading 102 laps. McDowell, Elliott, Keselowski, Byron and Stenhouse completed the top 10 on the track, all of whom finished on the lead lap.
Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr., both of whom entered Bristol below the cutline, were left smiling on pit road after both managed to secure the final two transfer spots into the Round of 12 by finishing 14th and 19th, respectively, amid a grueling event.
“God, I love that [expletive] right there, counting us out,” Wallace, who proceeds forward in his quest to win his first Cup title and secured both 23XI Racing cars into the Round of 12 along with Tyler Reddick, said. “Like [tennis star] Coco Gauff said, all [the critics] are doing is adding fuel to the fire. I love it. I love where I’m at with this team. I’m at a career year. Just got to keep it going. I’m mentally exhausted. I’m wore out. Gave it our all there. Battled hard and executed. That’s what you gotta do. We know next week’s a reset and we just got to go out, have some fun and work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me. Keep it going and onto next week.”
Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“All in all, it was just a fighting night,” Truex, who will continue to battle for his second Cup title, added. “We had to fight through it and do the best we could. It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. Now we reset and we can go, hopefully, not have two terrible weeks in a row like we did this round in the next couple and be in good shape.”
Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.
With Wallace and Truex advancing into the Round of 12 along with Byron, Hamlin, Larson, Buescher, Kyle Busch, Bell, Reddick, Chastain, Keselowski and Blaney, Logano, who ended up 34th, was officially eliminated from title contention as he will not defend his series’ title nor contend for a third Cup title this season. Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell also joined Logano as the first four wave of competitors to be eliminated from Playoff contention for the 2023 season.
“We’ve been like that all year,” Harvick, who ended up 29th, five laps down, and will not contend for his second championship in his 23rd and final full-time season in the Cup Series, said. “We’ve been hit or miss and tonight, we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst [run at Bristol] I’ve had with fenders on [the car]. I didn’t really have many expectations with this up and down as the year has been, so it is what it is. That’s probably about what we deserved.”
Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Tonight, it wasn’t enough,” McDowell added. “We were in a “must-win” situation. Still really proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. Not quite enough to run with those top two or three guys, but pretty good. Those first two [Playoff] races just killed us. It just put us so far behind, but this is a learning experience. It’s a young group. We didn’t do what we wanted to do here in these Playoffs, but I think we showed speed. We showed that we could do it, so we’ll learn from this. We’ll get ready for next year.”
There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 53 laps.
Results.
1. Denny Hamlin, 142 laps led
2. Kyle Larson, 20 laps led
3. Christopher Bell, 187 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
4. Chris Buescher, one lap led
5. Ty Gibbs, 102 laps led
6. Michael McDowell
7. Chase Elliott
8. Brad Keselowski
9. William Byron
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11. Carson Hocevar, one lap down
12. Ryan Preece, one lap down
13. Alex Bowman, one lap down
14. Bubba Wallace, one lap down
15. Tyler Reddick, one lap down
16. Todd Gilliland, one lap down
17. Austin Dillon, one lap down
18. Aric Almirola, one lap down
19. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down
20. Kyle Busch, two laps down
21. Daniel Suarez, two laps down
22. Ryan Blaney, two laps down
23. Ross Chastain, two laps down
24. Erik Jones, three laps down
25. Corey LaJoie, three laps down
26. JJ Yeley, five laps down
27. Chase Briscoe, five laps down
28. Harrison Burton, five laps down
29. Kevin Harvick, five laps down
30. AJ Allmendinger, nine laps down
31. BJ McLeod, 10 laps down
32. Austin Cindric, 12 laps down
33. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident
34. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident
35. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident
36. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. William Byron – Advanced
2. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced
3. Denny Hamlin – Advanced
4. Kyle Larson – Advanced
5. Chris Buescher – Advanced
6. Kyle Busch – Advanced
7. Christopher Bell – Advanced
8. Tyler Reddick – Advanced
9. Ross Chastain – Advanced
10. Brad Keselowski – Advanced
11. Ryan Blaney – Advanced
12. Bubba Wallace – Advanced
13. Joey Logano – Eliminated
14. Kevin Harvick – Eliminated
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Eliminated
16. Michael McDowell – Eliminated
The Round of 12 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to commence next Sunday, September 24, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
BRISTOL, Tenn. (Sept. 16, 2023) – Thirty-six of America’s best drivers selected thirty-six classic, eclectic and meaningful tunes to be introduced with Saturday prior to the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The longtime tradition, emceed this year by famed announcer Michael Buffer, is sure to pump up the crowd before the field of NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders is whittled down from 16 to 12 when the checkered flag falls at The Last Great Colosseum.
Driver introductions for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (USA Network, PRN Radio) are scheduled for 5:45 p.m., with the green flag following at 6:30 p.m. Some selections seem natural – defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano picked “Champ is Here” by Jadakiss and Ross Chastain selected “Watermelon Moonshine” by Lainey Wilson.
Classic rock options are also covered – Aric Almirola chose “Back in Black” by AC/DC while BJ McLeod selected “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne.
For pole winner Christopher Bell, the Bristol Dirt Race champion from this past spring, it’s “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor.
And perhaps there’s a not-so-hidden message in the pick of Cup Series regular season champion Martin Truex Jr., who needs to have a top finish to avoid postseason elimination. His selection? “Thinkin’ Bout Me” by Morgan Wallen.
Below is a full list of the musical selections, with drivers listed in qualifying order.
DRIVER SONG Christopher Bell Remember the Name by Fort Minor Denny Hamlin Sirius by The Alan Parsons Project William Byron Left Hand Free by alt-J Michael McDowell Get Out My Way by Tedashii (featuring Lecrae) Martin Truex Jr. Thinkin’ Bout Me by Morgan Wallen Brad Keselowski We are All Made of Stars by Moby Chase Elliott 24K Magic by Bruno Mars Ty Gibbs Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds Bubba Wallace Long Violent History by Tyler Childers Corey LaJoie Pardon by TI Ryan Blaney Rustin’ in the Rain by Tyler Childers Tyler Reddick Dientes by J. Balvin, Usher and DJ Khaled Alex Bowman Sabotage by The Beastie Boys Chase Briscoe Wild Side by Motley Crue Kyle Busch How U Like Me Now, by Heavy Carson Hocevar I Wish by Skee-Lo Ryan Preece Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio Austin Dillon Cowboy by Kid Rock (Instrumental) Justin Haley Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet Chris Buescher Country Clubbin’ by Paul Cauthen Kevin Harvick Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones AJ Allmendinger Victory by Fire from the Gods Ross Chastain Watermelon Moonshine by Lainey Wilson Daniel Suarez I Feel Good by Pitbull Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Speed by Parker McCollum Aric Almirola Back in Black by AC/DC Ryan Newman Strokin by Clarence Carter Joey Logano Champ is Here by Jadakiss Austin Cindric Goofy Goober Rock by SpongeBob SquarePants Todd Gilliland Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1 by Kanye West Erik Jones Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle) by Limp Bizkit Harrison Burton House of the Rising Sun by The Animals Ty Dillon Many Men by 50 Cent BJ McLeod Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne JJ Yeley Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffett Kyle Larson Dirt by Kenny Montgomery
RACE SCHEDULE The remaining NASCAR Playoff Weekend schedule includes:
Today: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (6:30 p.m., USA Network, PRN Radio). FAN ACTIVITIES Off-track activities for the today include: Today: Kenny Wallace and John Roberts host Trackside Live (Food City Fan Zone Stage, 3 p.m.) Today: Midland concert (4:30 p.m.) Today: BMS tradition-rich driver intros with host Michael Buffer (5:45 p.m.) See a full entertainment schedule on www.BristolMotorSpeedway.com.
NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 16, 2023
JUSTIN MARKS, OWNER AND FOUNDER OF TRACKHOUSE RACING; BILL ANTHONY, PRESIDENT OF SPIRE MOTORSPORTS; and ZANE SMITH met with the media at Bristol Motor Speedway to announce that Trackhouse Racing has made a multi-year driving agreement with Zane Smith, beginning in January of 2024. Press Conference Quotes:
Justin Marks: “This is a really, really exciting moment for us at Trackhouse. Expansion is something that has been important to us since we first got on the racetrack, getting to a place where we felt like we could be the most competitive organization as possible. Expansion can look a lot of different ways. With our alliance with Spire and the opportunity to have Zane drive over there next year gives us the ability to grow in 2024 to an organization where we can put three cars on the racetrack full-time in 2025 and beyond. As that conversation started happening and conversations around the garage area about what growth looks like for Trackhouse, there was a short list of names and Zane was pretty much at the top of that list the whole time. Huge fan of him, what he’s accomplished in the racecar, his talent and his grind. Probably most importantly and a core tenant of what we do at Trackhouse is he’s a good human and a good person. We try to have good people in our company no matter what they’re capable or not capable of doing. Zane proved that to us really, really quickly in our early conversations. I’m really excited to facilitate a Cup ride for him in 2024 and then go to work as Trackhouse Racing to expand and put three racecars on the racetrack in ’25 and beyond and have Zane be a part of that for a while.”
ZANE, TELL US WHAT THIS DAY MEANS TO YOU.
“Obviously it’s a huge day. I can’t thank both you guys enough. It’s been a crazy road… I had held it together during the championship speech but I thought I was all good today. This just means the world to me. I almost didn’t have anything a couple of years ago. This is the place I want to be. Three hundred sixty-five days ago, I sat at Bob Evans with a very close friend, and he had asked me where I want to race someday. I think he expected maybe some different answer, but my answer was Trackhouse. Almost 365 days later, I’ve signed a contract with them. It means the world to me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted do to. The sacrifices that have been made are where the emotion comes from and how bad I want it… I’ll do whatever it takes to win on Sunday and I have that chance thanks to Justin Marks. I’m just so, so thankful for the people that are around me. I’m ready to go compete on Sunday. It’s crazy to say.”
BILL, TALK ABOUT THE EXPANSION FOR YOU AS WELL.
“There are a lot of ties. It’s actually pretty interesting how close we’ve been over the years, and that makes this a special moment. When Justin was a driver, we had a close relationship with him as a management agency. Ty (Norris) actually worked with us for a couple of years. We also had a connection through Ross (Chastain). You think of all those connections and ties and being members of the Chevy family, a lot of this made sense. It’s unique in many regards. You don’t see this type of alliance and collaboration. We’ve had the great fortune of being affiliated with some pretty special companies and people over the years. Hendrick Motorsports and all they’ve done for us… We really relish this opportunity to offer support to someone in the garage that is important. Our ability to offer support tells a lot about our organization. TJ (Puchyr) and Jeff (Dickerson) have made some bold decisions to stay the least. They’ve taken some big swings. I think that they’ve proven step after step that they are willing to take the chances and make the decisions that you need to progress in this sport. This collaboration and affiliation shows everybody’s commitment to the sport. It shows that we’re optimistic about the future of NASCAR and what it can be and what we can be in it. There’s no doubt that Trackhouse has set the standard for coming out of the block as a new competitive team. It challenges people like us, and we accept that challenge and we embrace that challenge. In fact, we want to be a part of that challenge as well. It speaks very well to our ownership, the willingness and transparency to do that. I will say that the ties for Spire also really go back to their driver management days. It means a lot to help very talented drivers and to help them progress in the sport and do things that help push the sport forward. Part of this also is giving a little bit of a nod to Zane and allowing him to move up and achieve his dream. I know that’s important to us as well.”
MORE ON ZANE SMITH JOINING TRACKHOUSE…
Justin Marks: It’s been an interesting story arc for Trackhouse from the beginning. It’s a reuniting of people. I think it shows that when you build something and you operate authentically and you stay committed to the vision and who you are, things just kind of work out. We’ve told the story ad nauseum about Ross buying his first racing seats for me when he moved up to North Carolina, the fact that I raced for Ganassi and the way the CGR thing went and we put Ross in the car and he won his first race for us and all that. It’s fascinating. This is another really interesting anecdote about this journey… the fact that we didn’t know Zane was under any kind of contract or anything with Chip. When I got the text I was like, ‘Oh… ok. We’re not in a spot right now to do anything.’ It was a moment that went on Ty’s world-famous whiteboard and sat there for a long time. It’s that kind of thing. It’s like when Ross texted me after we announced the CGR thing, and he said ‘I want this.’ When someone like Zane reaches out and says ‘How can I be a part of this, whatever you’re doing?’ at that stage of Trackhouse, it shows the drive that he has and the commitment that he’s got and how he’s constantly thinking about how to create opportunities for himself. It’s another element to a great story that we’re all writing together.”
ZANE, WHAT ABOUT THAT TEXT?
“Yeah. I haven’t recovered, now that I got it out. I mean, it’s crazy how this has all gone, and full circle. Not many years before that, I was walking through the gift shop getting (Chip Ganassi Racing) diecast cars, and now it was the gym, and I went there a couple of days ago. What attracted me to Trackhouse, obviously, I want to be a part of it. I feel like every driver is always winning a race on Sunday. It’s so dang hard to get there. I don’t know. I said it over and over again to the people that were around me of ‘Man, that’s a group I really want to be with and I don’t know how we’re going to make it happen, but I want to be there. I see the leadership Justin (Marks) has. I see the sponsors and the people; it’s such a people sport. I believe those are some of the best people at that race team. I just wanted to be a part of it. Unfortunately, it was a weird situation we were all in but truthfully, I don’t know if I was ready as a driver to take on Sunday now that I’ve got my feet wet in the Cup series. I truly do believe I’m ready now. I’m excited for next year with Spire to learn. Sunday is a whole different ball game, and I’m just ready to attack it and take advantage of the opportunity in front of me. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Just really believe what (Trackhouse) is doing and thankful it’s a big enough word to be a part of it.”
Bill Anthony: “Speaking of thankful, I’m not getting out of this room without thanking Shawn and Lucy Holt. Shawn Holt has been there since the spring when we started talking about things with Zane (Smith), and obviously he has relationship with Zane. Going to dinner, having conversations, keeping up with him, he’s been an huge part of keeping us up to date and being a part of this future. So Shawn, thank you for that.”
Justin Marks: “I just want to thank BJ McLeod and Matt Tifft, and everyone over at LiveFast and everyone working on this transaction with us. I appreciate everything they’ve done and what they’ve contributed to this sport, and are still involved in this sport, but I just wanted to put that out there that they’ve been really great to work with.”
JUSTIN, YOU’RE NOT AFRAID TO SWING FOR THE FENCES, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF DECISIONS HAVE BEEN METHODICAL AND THOUGHT OUT. IT SHOWS THE PRECISE PLAN YOU HAVE. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT?
“I think it depends on the opportunity and what we’re trying to do. Every project or development scenario within the company is unique, and the players and what we’re trying to do. Growth and expansion in this sport is difficult. There are a lot of moving pieces and there’s a lot of different ways to envision what growth looks like. I think it’s no small feat to grow to a third team. We have to be very methodical and cerebral about how we approach all of the elements to get something like this. All I know is we didn’t want to get all that stuff put together and then go, ‘Okay, who is our driver? Who’s at the end of a contract?’ To me, it’s the driver that has been the most important part of the puzzle. And at the end of the day, it’s always been about the 147 people working in the shop. It’s one guy holding a steering wheel at the end of the race. So that has to be the tip of the spear, and I wanted to make sure we started this journey knowing who our driver is going to be and then filling in kind of everything around it. We were able to do it with great friends at Spire (Motorsports), to be looking at experience next year as we work intelligently and methodically about growing the business.”
JUSTIN, YOU HAVE FOUR DRIVERS NOW WITH SHANE (VAN GISBERGEN) CAN YOU EXPAND ON BEING FOUR, OR DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE THREE FOR 2025?
“Shane’s (van Gisbergen) program is about 2024. There’s a lot of unknowns around Shane and how he’s going to do on the ovals, if he’s even going to enjoy it. There’s so many unknowns around him, but I’m really excited about that program but that’s one where we’re going to have to see how things play out and see how things go. We’ll be able to make some more announcements and talk about that, but I’m just really excited about what we’ve got with Zane (Smith).”
JUSTIN, TRYING TO CONNECT DOTS, WITH SPIRE ACQUIRING THIS CHARTER, WAS THERE EVER A THOUGHT IN YOUR MIND TO LEASE THE CHARTER AND RUN IT UNDER THE TRACKHOUSE BANNER? WHY PUT ZANE (SMITH) IN A TRACKHOUSE CAR?
“Because of where we are at, with expanding to a third team, it takes time and a lot of money. We have to be strategic in how we capitalize that third team. It sounds stupid, but Featherlite Trailers are eight months out and there’s none in the used market. We have to take our time in doing this stuff. Where it makes sense for us, is putting Zane (Smith) in an established team where he can focus on the driving and we can focus on everything we can to support him and that car over there while we expand over the course of the year. We can’t rush it, and we didn’t want to throw it together late. It’s a process that’s going to have to take course over time.”
JUSTIN, THIS ALLIANCE WITH SPIRE, IS THIS JUST WITH ZANE’S CAR OR IS THIS MORE ORGANIZATIONAL TYPE OF THING INCLUDING INFORMATION FROM THE NO. 7 AND NO. 77?
“This is just mainly focused on Zane (Smith). Zane has signed a contract with Trackhouse. Zane will have a presence in our shop and in our systems, meetings. Zane is a driver we have placed with the help of Spire in another car that we’re going to be supporting. It’s really to make sure all of Zane’s opportunities develop in experiences. Everything next year is in the context of him learning in the first year in the Cup series and becoming a Trackhouse driver under our roof.”
BILL, SPIRE HAS BEEN A PLAYER THROUGH THE YEARS WITH THE CHARTER SYSTEM. SOME TEAM OWNERS WERE HESITANT MOVING FORWARD ON THIS AGREEMENT WITH THE TEAMS. WHAT LED TO GOING OUT AND PURCHASING THIS, AND MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT NUMBER THAN FIVE, SIX YEARS AGO?
“I was just talking to Justin (Marks) about this on our walk over. I think if you look down the list of organizations in the Cup series, you’d be hard pressed to find any that are more transparent about their ambitions and intentions than these two organizations. Jeff and TJ have consistently, I think this move is consistent with their prior ambitions and intentions. People question, there was cynicism when there was one charter, and there was cynicism when there were two charters. Corey (LaJoie) signing and re-signing. We’ve proven and come through in each of those circumstances; that is certainly a double-down on the future of the sport. My guess is it’s a triple-down now and a showing of belief in the sport. That’s not to say there isn’t work to be done with NASCAR and the charter agreement, but I think we believe in all the people in the garage and all the people in the NASCAR.”
ZANE, WITH BEING SO CLOSE TO THE CUP SERIES FOR SO LONG NOW, TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE FOR SURE COMING TO A CUP SERIES RIDE IN 2024, HOW MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT DOES THAT MAKE TODAY FOR YOU?
“I mean, yeah, for me it’s all I’ve ever wanted, but to have that weight lifted off my shoulders and knowing that I’m doing next year is huge. I feel like it’s just so nice to have clarity in this industry. But then again, it’s another weight added on my shoulders because these are my final three races left in a Truck, and I want to make those the best races I’ve ever had and hopefully get into this Final Four, and walk off into the sunset with a back-to-back championship.”
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The reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith is set to establish his mark in NASCAR’s premier series for the 2024 season after inking a multi-year driving deal with Trackhouse Racing that will feature Smith driving for Spire Motorsports in an alliance with Trackhouse in next year’s Cup Series season.
The news comes as Smith, a 24-year-old native from Huntington Beach, California, is currently campaigning in his fourth full-time season in the Truck Series and second with Front Row Motorsports with his future initially uncertain beyond this season. The news also comes amid a report from The Athletic that Spire Motorsports purchased Live Fast Motorsport’s charter for $40 million that would enable an opportunity for the organization in conjunction with Trackhouse to field a Cup ride for Smith, who will campaign in his first full-time season against NASCAR’s elite and future stars in 2024.
“This is an incredible moment for me,” Smith, who will officially join Trackhouse in January 2024, said in a released statement. “Trackhouse is one of the most progressive organizations in the garage. I told some friends a year ago that I wanted to be a part of what Trackhouse is doing and I just can’t believe this is all coming true. I am very excited and thankful to have a future with the organization.”
Commencing his racing career with BMX and go-karts before ascending up the racing ladder through various racing divisions, among which include legends cars, super late models and CARS Tour, Smith established his mark during the 2018 ARCA Menards Series season, where he achieved four victories and a runner-up result in the final standings while driving for MDM Motorsports. Smith proceeded to make 10 career starts in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, where he achieved seven top-10 results, before spending the following two seasons in the Truck Series for GMS Racing, where he notched three victories and two runner-up results in the final standings. He would then join Front Row Motorsports for the 2022 Truck season, where he notched four victories, including the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and the series championship after winning the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, which marked the first NASCAR championship for Smith and Front Row Motorsports.
During the 2022 season, Smith made his inaugural presence in the NASCAR Cup Series level at Worldwide Technology Raceway as an interim competitor for Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, where he finished 17th. Since then, he has made six Cup starts this season between Front Row Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing, where his current best on-track result is a 10th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
Through September 2023, Smith has garnered nine Truck career victories and four ARCA wins as he aims to hone his competitiveness towards the Cup Series division in 2024.
“The Cup series is the pinnacle of racing in America, and I cannot wait to compete, learn and hone my skills against the best in the world,” Smith added. “I am really looking forward to working with the Spire Motorsports team in 2024 and believe the alliance with Trackhouse will help continue Spire’s ascent up the grid.”
Smith’s addition to Trackhouse Racing marks another milestone moment for the organization that made its debut in 2021 as a single-car team with Daniel Suarez and has since expanded to new heights on an annual basis, from becoming a two-car team by adding Ross Chastain in 2022 to fielding a part-time PROJECT91 entry on a part-time basis while giving international racing stars an opportunity to compete in NASCAR.
Through September 2023, Trackhouse Racing has achieved five Cup victories: three with Chastain, one with Suarez and one with three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen. Gisbergen, who won at the Chicago Street Course while driving for Trackhouse’s PROJECT91 program in his NASCAR debut in July and was signed by Trackhouse two days earlier, is already set to compete across various NASCAR national series and late model events in 2024 as Trackhouse aims to field three full-time Cup entries in 2025.
“Expansion is not something to be taken lightly, but we feel Trackhouse is commercially and technically positioned for growth,” Justin Marks, owner and founder of Trackhouse, said. “You need good timing, very good partners and great drivers. Adding Zane is like signing the No. 1 draft pick and we are proud that he is now a member of the Trackhouse family.”
The collaboration with Trackhouse Racing and Zane Smith marks another milestone moment for Spire Motorsports, which debuted in 2018 and currently fields two full-time entries in the Cup Series and a part-time entry between the Xfinity and Truck Series divisions. The team achieved its first Cup victory at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019 with Justin Haley and has since notched two Truck victories between 2022 and 2023 with Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Kyle Larson.
“Spire Motorsports will acquire a NASCAR charter from Live Fast Motorsports prior to the 2024 season and we’re thrilled to offer our support to Trackhouse Racing, a key member of the Chevrolet family,” Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire Motorsports, added. “Spire has a longstanding relationship with Justin Marks and we are proud of everything he and all the men and women at Trackhouse have accomplished in a relatively short time. This cooperative agreement is also proof-positive of the hard work of everyone at Spire Motorsports. We certainly wouldn’t be in this position without Mr. [Rick] Hendrick and the competition group at Hendrick Motorsports so we continue to be grateful for that relationship. T.J. [Puchyr] and I are also grateful to [Live Fast Motorsports’ owners] B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft for working with us on the charter acquisition. We’re looking at a watershed moment for our organization that further demonstrates our commitment to the sport.”
With his future plans set, Smith’s quest to defend this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship continues at Talladega Superspeedway. The event is scheduled to occur on September 30 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.
