This Week in Motorsports: September 12-18, 2023

· NCS/NXS/NCTS/ARCA: Bristol Motor Speedway – September 14-16

· NHRA: Maple Grove Raceway – September 17

PLANO, Texas (September 13, 2023) – NASCAR heads to Bristol for its annual night race, while the NHRA kicks off its Countdown at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS

Reddick clinched into the Round of 12… Tyler Reddick delivered in the final laps at Kansas Speedway and earned his second victory of the season to move on to the Round of 12 for the first time. The California-native had a clutch final restart the score the win, and now can rest easy going into Bristol Motor Speedway. Reddick has one top-five in four career starts on the pavement in Bristol.

Hamlin plans to clinch early… Denny Hamlin should be able to clinch his spot in the next round early in the running at Bristol as he holds a 49-point advantage over the cut line heading into Saturday night’s race. The Virginia-native has won the race twice, most recently in 2019.

Truex, Wallace look to move above the cutline… After cut tires in Kansas, Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace head to Bristol Motor Speedway looking for strong runs. Truex, the 2017 Cup Series champion, sits in 13th – just seven points below the cut line. He has multiple strong runs at Bristol but is looking for his first win. His best finish – a second – came in 2011. Wallace, who is 19 points below the cut line, has a best finish of 10th in 2020.

Nemechek starts Xfinity Series from top spot… John Hunter Nemechek heads into Bristol off another dominating performance. He earned his series-leading sixth win this season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, leading 145 of 200 laps. It was also a major race for Toyota, as Nemechek earned the 200th Xfinity Series win for Toyota. The points leader is making his first Xfinity Series start at Bristol since 2019, where he finished in third.

Bayne returns for back-to-back races… Trevor Bayne will compete in the next two races for Joe Gibbs Racing in their Xfinity Series no. 19 Toyota GR Supra. Bayne, who is a Tennessee-native, has seven top-10 finishes in 10 starts for Joe Gibbs Racing over the last two seasons. In his season debut in Daytona, Bayne led 26 laps before being caught up in a late-race incident.

Heim plans to continue top-10 streak… Corey Heim added another strong run to his tally at Kansas Speedway. The Toyota development driver led 40 laps of Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race before finishing fourth for his 12th consecutive top-10 finish, which ranks amongst top-15 all-time in NASCAR history. Heim begins the Round of 8 atop of the Truck Series points lead, eight points above the Playoff cutline. The Georgia-native finished in the top-10 in his pavement debut on Bristol last season.

Gray impresses in Kansas… Taylor Gray earned his career-best finish at Kansas Speedway on Friday night as he brought his Toyota Tundra TRD Pro home in the runner-up spot. Gray, who is making his third pavement Bristol start, finished third in the ARCA Bristol race last season.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Sawalich looks to earn first title… William Sawalich comes into Thursday’s ARCA race looking to clinch his first ARCA Menards Series East title. The 16-year-old has a 20-point advantage coming into Bristol. He has earned top-five finishes in every ARCA East race this season, including three wins. Sawalich will also run the NASCAR Truck Series race later that evening for TRICON Garage.

NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car

Brown, Capps look to continue streak… Former champions Antron Brown and Ron Capps come into Maple Grove after winning back-to-back races. Brown, who moved up to the third seed in the Countdown in Top Fuel after the victories in Brainerd and Indy, earned a semi-final finish last season at Maple Grove, while defending Funny Car champion Capps started his championship run with a final round appearance.

Toyota Top Fuel looks to continue streak… After Brown’s victory in Indianapolis, Team Toyota has won the last five Top Fuel races this season starting with Steve Torrence scoring Toyota’s 200th NHRA win in Seattle, followed by back-to-back wins from points leader Justin Ashley in Sonoma and Topeka and Brown’s last two victories.

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

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

In the two weeks they’ve been paired as driver and crew chief, Harrison Burton and Jeremy Bullins seem to be making progress getting speed from the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang only to see potential good finishes derailed by crashes.

Bullins figures it’s just a matter of time before Lady Luck smiles on the No. 21 team and the finishes will better reflect their performance.

“It would be easy to be disappointed with our finishes the last two weeks, but the reality is we had two solid races going that both ended in getting caught up with other cars and crashing,” Bullins said. “Once we get that bad luck behind us, I feel like we are ready to string together some good finishes.”

He’s hoping the change will begin this weekend in the 500-lap Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Bristol Motor Speedway’s high-banked, concrete, .533-mile oval.

“Bristol has always been a favorite track for me, and I was lucky to be there with the 21 team when they won back in 2001,” he said. “This race will be wild as a Playoff cut-off race, but hopefully we can make some good set-up decisions and good strategy calls and get ourselves in contention this week.”

Practice for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race is set for Friday at 4:35 p.m. Eastern Time to be followed by qualifying at 5:20.

Saturday’s 500-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. with Stage breaks at Laps 125 and 250.

USA Network will carry the live TV coverage all weekend.

About Motorcraft®
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford Dealers and Lincoln Retailers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
*See your dealer for limited-warranty details.

About Omnicraft®
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.
*See your dealer for limited-warranty details.

About Quick Lane® Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change and maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator and electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension and steering, wheel alignment, belts and hoses, lamps and bulbs and wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
*See your dealer for limited-warranty details.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, that is committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for and deepen the loyalty of those customers. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, as well as connected services. Additionally, Ford is establishing leadership positions in mobility solutions, including self-driving technology, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 176,000 people worldwide. More information about the company, its products and Ford Credit is available at corporate.ford.com.
*See seller for limited-warranty details.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Bass Pro Shops Night Race Advance | Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 and co-owner of RFK Racing, met with the media on Tuesday as a part of a NASCAR hosted Zoom meeting to discuss the playoffs, the upcoming round at Bristol Motor Speedway and more. Keselowski currently ranks fifth in the NASCAR Playoff points standings ahead of the final race in the Round of 16.

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang – HOW DOES RFK RACING APPROACH BRISTOL THIS WEEKEND, HAVING EXPERIENCED GREAT SUCCESS FROM LAST SEASON? “It’s good to have both cars in the black, and not in the red when it comes to points. Of course, the No. 6 car having a good 30-something point cushion, which is enough to feel pretty comfortable as long as we just don’t have a complete disaster of a race. The No. 17, still having a cushion somewhere over 10 points – I think he’s 12 or 13 up – that’s better than nothing certainly and better than being in the red. But, not as much as we’d hoped – with Chris [Buescher] having the failure there with the tire at the end of the race in Kansas really shook things up. So that was unfortunate, but I’m pretty confident that we can have two strong cars and good runs this weekend. Looking forward to repeating our results from last Fall at Bristol. A lot of energy, a lot of excitement for RFK with both teams, and certainly pumped to go to Bristol this week – it’s one of my favorite tracks.”

THEY ANNOUNCED SOME CHANGES TO THE CHARLOTTE ROVAL, WHICH INCLUDES USING THE FRONTSTRETCH CHICANE FOR RESTARTS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? “I had the opportunity to meet with NASCAR sometime last week or the week before – it’s all running together – to discuss it all. You know, I think the restart thing is trying to avoid some Turn 1 calamity. These cars are just so durable that they race a lot differently. They need to be stretched out a little bit just to keep everybody from running over each other on the restarts. So, I think it’s a pretty welcomed move. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like that restart zone change, at least from my perspective.”

TIRES BECAME A TOPIC AFTER THIS PAST WEEKEND’S RACE AT KANSAS. AS THE WINNER OF THE OPENING STAGE AND RACE LEADER UNTIL A TIRE FAILURE LAST SEASON AT BRISTOL, HOW MUCH ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE TIRES FOR THIS UPCOMING RACE? “Yeah I think we look at these three races – Kansas, Bristol and next up Texas – and they’re just tough tracks on the tires – really tough tracks on the tires. You try to be smart, which is always a double-edged sword. You lay off too much and slow down, and you have no chance at winning. Push it too hard, you blow a tire and that’s not good. So, there’s certainly a line to walk, and we’re all trying to figure out where it is in real-time. Sometimes you step over and sometimes you don’t push hard enough. So, it’s just really questionable where to be on that. I think going back to last year at Bristol, I was certainly very happy that Chris was able to win the race. But also, very frustrated that there were two or three guys that blew out tires and got a yellow, and when we blew out a tire, we didn’t get a yellow. I think it significantly changed the outcome of the race. Really in that sense, all you can really hope for is just consistency with that – either nobody gets a yellow or everybody gets a yellow when they blow a tire out. That’s easy to ask for. I know when I’ve watched races from up-top, it’s harder to do. There’s a lot going on. But, it’s part of the game.”

HOW DO YOU BE AGGRESSIVE BUT NOT LET THESE SITUATIONS AND FAILURES AFFECT YOU? “Thankfully, our points position does that for us. But, it’s difficult. You look at these scenarios and there’s a lot of opportunities to be aggressive and gain some positions, but they come at a higher risk. You’re just constantly doing risk analysis. In real time, it does make it harder but again, it’s part of why the drivers make the money they do and what makes them special. They have to always be performing in real-time risk analysis, the moves that we make and how hard we drive the car. That’s a lot of the fun for me.”

HOW DO YOU STAY COMPOSED AND RELAXED THIS TIME OF THE YEAR? “Last week, I got to go to the Lions game with my friend that I haven’t seen in a long time from Detroit, which was an incredible experience. My wife has some things planned while we’re in Bristol, and one of the benefits of having the limited practice time is having some down time during the weekend for reading and some family getaways. This weekend, my family will be with me at the racetrack. MRO has the National Anthem with the kids at Bristol. Certainly a great family event. The points position I’m in just really affords us to take a breath as a team. We can’t go to Bristol and lay up – we aren’t planning on doing that. We plan on going there to compete for a win. But, it also allows us to run a race without a lot of stress, and that’s important, because there is plenty of induced stress throughout the season – especially the playoffs.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE SWITCHING FROM DAD MODE DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM TO DRIVER MODE PRE-RACE? “It is interesting. I find myself having two girls, and I don’t want to miss the moment with them – it’s a really special moment for our family. And then you have to high-tail it because the cars are on the backstretch, like six minutes before the race starts. I find myself quite often asking NASCAR, ‘Hey, can you give us an extra minute or two so maybe we can not sprint to the car?’ They’ve been accommodating the last few years, but certainly it’s a big mental transition. But, it’s also a privilege when you get to do those things with your family. Not everybody gets to do it, and I enjoy those special moments. Once you get in that car, you have to put your game face on and go to work.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU STACK UP AGAINST THE COMPETITORS, AND DO YOU THINK THAT YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE ENOUGH SPEED ON THE BIGGER TRACKS? “Yeah, it’s going to be difficult. The Toyotas: I don’t know. They have a little bit more speed than we do, but mostly, they just don’t seem to slow down. Our cars seem to slow down over the course of a run. Certainly they have front-end speed, too. You look at qualifying and how fast the No. 20 was – that was really impressive. But, the mile-and-a-halfs, we’re not where we want to be. We’re excited about next year’s car, and we think fundamentally, it’s going to make us a lot closer to the other OEMs. So, we’re not where we want to be right now, for sure.”

IT SEEMED TO BE A BIG RUSH TO GET OFF OF PIT ROAD AFTER THE FINAL STOP AT KANSAS. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THAT MOMENT? “Honestly, I didn’t know what happened until after the race, when I got to see the replay. I have such a limited view in the car, and that makes it really difficult. I had the No 20 car in front of me, who was still performing his pit-stop, and I launched into the furthest left lane – I don’t know if that’s the first lane or third lane, depending on which way you’re looking at it. But, I launched into the furthest left lane from inside my pit box, and I saw that I was really close to the No. 5 car once I got up to speed. I didn’t realize that those guys made contact. It’s just part of the deal when you have a late race pit stop and you have four cars that leave their box at the same time. None of us really know where everybody else is, and you just try to feel it out – it’s a little bit driving by braille. Sometimes, it doesn’t work out as smoothly as you’d prefer.”

IN THE NEXT ROUND, WE HAVE TALLADEGA. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GO INTO THAT RACE WITH A POSITIVE MINDSET? “That’s important anywhere you go, but especially for a track of that nature. I’m going there thinking that I’d like to have that seventh win. It’s been a good track for me there, and I dream about winning there all the time and I actually dreamt about it last night. It’s one of my favorite places to go. It’s a gigantic chess match. You just want to be there at the end to have a chance to play the game. I think last spring, I had a chance to win it – one or two little moves that likely made a little difference. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to do that. You look at the plate tracks for RFK this year, to say we had the nice one-two at Daytona… but beyond that, we have had great runs at all and had a chance to win all these plate races. It’s been a lot of fun. I haven’t got the win at Talladega in two years, but I’m ready to bring home another one. We’ve certainly been in position and primed to do so.”

WE’VE SEEN HOW DRIVER-OWNERS BALANCE THE RACE WEEKEND. HOW DIFFERENT HAS THE LAST TWO RACES BEEN FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, WHILE YOU’RE RACING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? “Usually, I don’t that much track on Chris during the race, but when it’s over, certainly want to know. It’s a balance. I have to focus on my race. I can’t run his race and my race at the same time, right? I just tell people at the time that I just feel like I have more opportunities to win on any given weekend. It might not always be as a driver, maybe it’s as an owner and a driver. That’s a good thing. We know we’re entering the playoffs with two cars that can win the championship, and I hope I win it with my car. If I don’t, and Chris wins the championship, I’ll still feel like I’ve won.”

THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES PLAYOFF STARTS THIS WEEK. HOW MUCH DO YOU FOLLOW THAT SERIES AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT PLATFORM? “I’m not a huge consumer of the Xfinity series. I used to be when I was allowed to race in it, but it’s a different series now than what it was. It’s gone through this huge identity change with kind of the banning of the Cup drivers and the severe reduction of what they can run. You’re seeing the team owner model change, and now you’re seeing the TV model change here in the next 12 months… 24 months or so. It’s a completely different identity from what I once knew it as. But, it’s still racing and we love to watch racing. So, we try not to miss it. It’s certainly different.”

YOU TWEETED AFTER SUNDAY ABOUT “SURVIVING” IN THE PLAYOFFS. BUT DON’T YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE INSTEAD THRIVING WITH THESE RECENT RESULTS? “Surviving and thriving may not always be the same. But, sometimes surviving is thriving in the playoffs with the way these things are set up. I guess I have a different perspective on it. I want to get through each round the best we can and then move on. Ultimately, if you get to the Championship Four, nobody else cares about the nine races before that. Conversely, you can win two or three races and not make the final four and it still not be considered a good year. I think the way that this thing is set up, you have to just continuously survive. It’s a survivorship mentality.”

AT DARLINGTON, THE REAR TIRE CHANGER ON THE NO. 17 HAD A SPARK FROM THE AIR GUN THAT INFLAMED. THERE WAS A SIMILAR INSTANCE AT KANSAS WITH ANOTHER TEAM. HAVE YOU TALKED TO NASCAR ABOUT THESE CONCERNS? “I think fires on pit road kind of go hand-in-hand unfortunately, but we’re doing everything we can over the years, innovations to try and mitigate the risk or the damage along the way. I think the design of the Next Gen wheel and nut lends itself to more fire risk. There’s no easy solution to it. We just try to make sure we have good equipment to cope with the fires, and we’ve done a good job with that – knock on wood. We try to practice for it and prepare for putting it out. Last week, we implemented a new training policy at RFK for how to put fires out faster. I think that was a good success for us. I don’t know if we’re ever going to get away from having fires. It would take a significant design change to do so. But we can try to mitigate the damage and try to put them out as fast as possible. I think our focus has been more internal with what do we do to put out a fire when it happens, and what do we do to prevent someone from getting hurt when it happens. Not necessarily external with respect to NASCAR. A redesign could certainly and their ball, in their court could play-in.”

WHY ARE THESE WHEELS MORE CONDUCIVE TO FIRES? “There are a couple things to go on. I think first-off: There’s one big nut rather than five little nuts, which is a change. The socket needed has many different points so the shower of sparks is different. Then last but not least – and this may be the most important – whether it be the Xfinity car or Truck, the old wheel we used to compete with had a really deep dish to it. The sparks would tend to roll in that dish and stay inside the wheel assembly, whereas this car has a really shallow dish to the wheel, and it tends to shoot out the sparks or expel the sparks onto the ground, where there’s going to be a little fuel spillage.”

RYAN PREECE
Bristol Advance
No. 41 Operating Engineers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Round 29 of 36)
● Time / Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 16
● Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: .533-mile, concrete oval
● Laps / Miles: 500 laps / 266.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 125 laps / Stage 2: 125 laps / Final Stage: 250 laps
● TV / Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Under The Tennessee Lights: Ryan Preece and the No. 41 Operating Engineers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head back to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Live coverage will be provided by USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Competitors will take to Bristol’s .533-mile concrete oval after racing on its dirt-covered surface in the eighth race of the season in April.

● By The Numbers: Saturday evening’s race will mark Preece’s sixth Cup Series start at the track. He has a best finish of ninth in the 2020 race after starting 22nd for JTG-Daugherty Racing. This weekend will also be Preece’s first with SHR at Bristol. In three Xfinity Series starts at Bristol, Preece has one win, one top five finish and two top-15s. His win came in 2018 for Joe Gibbs Racing after he started seventh and led 39 laps along the way. Preece, who favors short tracks due to his grassroots background in the Whelen Modified Tour, is looking forward to racing on the concrete at Bristol this weekend. He started eighth and finished 24th in April’s Food City Dirt Race.

● Get To Know The IUOE: This weekend marks the second race as the primary partner on the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang for the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). IUOE primarily represents operating engineers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, pipeliners and surveyors in the construction industry, along with stationary engineers who work in operations and maintenance in building and industrial complexes, and in the service industries. Founded in 1896, the IUOE has more than 400,000 members in 106 local unions throughout the United States and Canada. The IUOE International Training & Education Center, along with over 100 local training and apprenticeship programs, ensures that IUOE members are the safest, most productive and highly skilled craft workers in North America.

● Join The IUOE: Operating Engineer members enjoy paid, on-the-job training with free classes at over 100 local training sites and at the International Training & Education Center. The 265-acre campus near Houston is the largest and most comprehensive training facility for union operating and stationary engineers in North America. More information is available by texting “JOIN” to 41041, or at www.IUOE.org/41.

● 2023 Driven To Give Gloves Program: This weekend under the lights at Bristol, Preece will be wearing a special pair of black-and-white skeleton gloves as he races his No. 41 Ford Mustang around the high banks of the concrete Bristol oval. Preece will sport the gloves to support the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and their work to help kids everywhere. The race-worn gloves will be signed by Preece and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and will be auctioned off. Bidding begins on Friday and ends Monday at www.thedalejroundation.org.

● Last Weekend: Preece returned to Kansas Speedway in Kansas City last weekend for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. The No. 41 team qualified 28th and struggled throughout the duration of the race with a loose-handling racecar. The team worked hard to make substantial adjustments during each pit stop and rallied for an 18th-place finish.

● Where He Stands: Preece heads to Bristol 27th in the driver standings with 457 points.

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 Operating Engineers Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Is Bristol Motor Speedway a track that you have circled on your calendar with your background on short tracks?

“I’m really looking forward to getting to Bristol this weekend. I’ve won at Bristol in the Xfinity Series and a Modified. It’s a track on the circuit that we expect to be strong at. We were strong earlier this season at Bristol and that was on the dirt, which I didn’t have much experience on at all. I’m a short-track guy, so Bristol is one I always have circled on my calendar. We’ve been really good at short tracks this season and I think we’re going to have a really good car. I think Saturday’s race will be an opportunity for our team to have a really good day and execute so that we can keep that momentum going in the last handful of races.”

What’s it like racing at Bristol Motor Speedway?
“It’s a really fast short track and it’s a 500-lap race, so it’s a long one. Everything about it is different than the other short tracks. You’ve got the high banking, and the surface of the track makes the tires wear, so you have to manage that throughout the race. Pit road is so different and it’s tough at Bristol. We’ve got to be on it this weekend but I’m confident we will be. I think our car is going to be really good and I’m ready for it.”

What’s the main goal of the No. 41 team as the 2023 season winds down?
“Consistency. That’s been the goal all year but even moreso now. We need to be consistent each and every weekend and execute where we can. We have fast racecars and we are all putting in the work, so it’s just about putting it all together each weekend and performing. If we can consistently unload and qualify well and then stay consistent on strategy and maintaining position throughout the race, we’re going to see better results and that’s what we need.”

No. 41 Operating Engineers Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Ryan Preece
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

Hometown: Cayuga, Indiana

Car Chief: Tony Cardamone

Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen

Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Engineer: Scott Bingham

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Spotter: Andy Houston

Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Devin Lester

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Rear Tire Changer: Kevin Teaf

Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons

Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Fuel Man: Dwayne Moore

Hometown: Griffin, Georgia

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini

Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Underneath & Interior Mechanic: Clint Leatherwood

Hometown: Rockmart, Georgia

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn

Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Tire Specialist: Matt Ridgway

Hometown: Carrollton, Georgia

Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife

Hometown: Orange, California

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues

Hometown: Santa Clarita, California

Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer

Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania

Race Information

• Round: NASCAR Cup Series race no. 29 of 36 (Playoffs Round of 16)
• Track Location: Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tennessee
• Race Name: Bass Pro Shops Night Race
• Broadcast: Saturday, September 16th at 7:30 PM ET live on USA Network (TV), PRN (Radio), and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90
• Team Entrants:

No. 42 | Carson Hocevar & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Bristol Motor Speedway Stats

-Carson Hocevar will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol on Saturday night

-NCTS: Starts: 3; Best Start: 8th (2021), Best Finish: 6th (2021); Top 10s: 1; Laps Led: 6

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

-Starts: 3; Best Start: 15th (Darlington, Fall); Best Finish: 17th (Darlington, Fall)

2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Season Stats

-Starts: 19; Wins: 3 (Texas, Nashville, Richmond); Best Start: 2nd (North Wilkesboro); Top 5s: 9; Top 10s: 11; Laps led: 255; Current Points Position: 4th

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

Kansas Recap: Carson Hocevar made his third NASCAR Cup Series start in last Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, and was fast right off the bat. The No. 42 Chevy was 18th quick in practice, and despite some contact with the wall in qualifying, he was still able to start from the 21st position. Carson stayed in tow with the leaders sticking around on the lead lap for the most part of the day, climbing to as high as 15th at the end of stage two. On the final pit stop, a costly uncontrolled tire penalty dropped him to the tail end of the lead lap, however he was able to pass a couple of cars to come home in 20th place.

Solid on Sundays: Hocevar has impressed in his two NASCAR Cup Series starts with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Last Sunday’s finish makes it two top-20 results in two starts, notably finishing both races on the lead lap. As he continues to learn the ropes in the Cup Series, he joked that these past few weekends have been ‘surreal’, recalling that just a few short years ago, he was a fan of many of the drivers that he now races door-to-door with, collecting their die-cast cars and playing as them in NASCAR video games. No doubt, Hocevar has a great future ahead of him in the sport.

Double Duty: Before he takes the green flag for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Hocevar will embark on his primary position competing for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series title on Thursday night. Hocevar secured his spot in the Round of 8, and hopes to continue his dream season by advancing to the Championship 4 in Phoenix. So far this year, he’s won three times (Texas Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Richmond Raceway), and enters the start of this round positioned fourth in points, currently tied with the driver directly below the cutline. Tune-in to FOX Sports 1 on Thursday, Sept. 14th at 9:00 PM ET to watch the Truck Series drivers go to battle for 200 laps.

Back in Green: Hocevar’s No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet will revert back to the sea foam green version of the paint scheme as he runs under the lights in on Saturday. The white version of the Sunseeker scheme, which was most recently ran at Kansas last weekend, will return for the remainder of the season in the “day” races, starting next week at Texas Motor Speedway.

2024 and Beyond: On Wednesday of last week, the Club announced that John Hunter Nemechek will join to drive the No. 42 entry beginning in 2024 when the team makes its manufacturer change from Chevrolet to Toyota. The Xfinity Series driver has had a break-through year in 2023, posting a series-high six wins (Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Kansas Speedway), two poles (sweeping at Darlington Raceway), along with 13 top-fives and 19 top-10 finishes. Following his most recent win at Kansas, Nemechek enters the start of the NXS Playoffs seeded as the championship leader heading into Friday night’s race in Bristol. He’ll assume his new role following the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, but until then, his focus will be purely on competing for the coveted NXS title. Read the exciting news here.

Lambert at Bristol: Luke Lambert has called the shots for 18 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway, along with one All-Star race. Making his first start in 2011, Lambert’s Cup drivers have finished inside the top-10 six times, with Ryan Newman finishing as high as fifth in 2015. Lambert has been great in the Xfinity Series at Bristol, winning twice in the three races that he has served as crew chief. His first win came in 2012 while working with Elliott Sadler, and in his return to the series last year, he was able to win for a second time in a stretch of four race victories in a row.

Quoting Carson Hocevar: You’ve had two top-20 finishes in two weeks with the Club, so what has been the biggest factor in acclimating yourself with the NextGen car? Do you think the Truck Series race will help you prepare for 500 laps on Saturday?

“The last two weeks has been a lot of fun, being able to now race a Cup car and truck on the same weekend have just helped myself become better and more in the rhythm lately. Super excited to run a lot of laps at Bristol, the truck isn’t too far away from the Cup car in terms of throttle points and the track stays the same, so looking for a good showing on Friday to get me as up to speed as I can for 500 laps on Saturday night with my No. 42 LEGACY M.C. group.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Bristol Motor Speedway Stats

-NCS Starts: 10; Poles: 1 (Fall, 2017); Best finish: 2nd (Fall, 2017); Top-5s: 4; Top-10s: 5; Laps Led: 293

-NXS Starts: 6; Poles: 3 (Spring, 2015, Spring, 2016, and Fall, 2016); Wins: 2 (Spring, 2016 and Spring, 2017), Top-5s: 3; Top-10s: 4; Laps Led: 120

-NCTS Starts: 1; Best start: 4th (2015); Best finish: 6th (2015); Top-10s: 1

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

Starts: 28; Best start: 8th (COTA); Best finish: 3rd (Kansas II); Top-5’s: 1; Top-10’s: 7; Laps Led: 17; Current points position: 25th

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Kansas in the Rearview: Erik Jones earned his best finish of the season on a two-lap shootout in overtime at Kansas Speedway. Jones started in the 20th position and quickly moved to the front, earning stage points in the second stage. After a caution came out with seven laps to go, Dave Elenz called Jones in to pit and made the gutsy decision to take two tires. After a well-rounded stop from the pit crew, Jones restarted on the front row with just two to go. Jones had a great restart, but the checkered flag was just out of reach, finishing third on the day. This marks his best finish of the season and the first top-five for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

Back in Bristol Baby!: Earlier this year, the NASCAR Cup Series took on the dirt-filled Colosseum of Bristol Motor Speedway where Jones started out 18th on the day. Throughout the race, Jones moved up and down the scoring pylon, running as high as 12th and as low as 34th. Despite this, the No. 43 kept its pace, earning a 14th-place finish when the checkered flag waved. Jones’ best finish on the Bristol dirt track came in his first attempt in 2021 where he worked around the competition, starting in 24th and ending with a noteworthy ninth place finish.

First Xfinity Win in Bristol: Jones took the victory by a narrow margin in 2016, winning the spring Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Jones held off Kyle Larson and his mentor, Kyle Busch, for the checkered flag, leading for an impressive 62 laps after holding the pole position at the start of the race. Jones also capped off the day by winning the “Dash for Cash,” pocketing an extra $100,000 bonus.

Second W at the World’s Fastest Half Mile: Erik Jones showed some real speed by winning the spring Xfinity Series race the following year in 2017. After starting fourth, Jones was running a consistent day until receiving a speeding penalty on lap 230. With 70 laps to go, Jones fought the odds and climbed back into contention, beating out Ryan Blaney for the checkered flag. Jones led 27 laps on his way to the victory.

Three of a Kind: Jones holds three pole positions in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Bristol Motor Speedway, and all three of these came consecutively. Jones held the pole in all three of his starts from 2015-2016, including both races during the 2016 season. Jones also won the pole in the 2017 Cup Series race, making it nearly three full years in a row on the pole in Thunder Valley.

Meet Erik: On Saturday, September 16th, Jones will sign autographs for approximately 100 fans at the United States Air Force activation display in the Bristol Motor Speedway Fan Zone at 2:50 pm local time.

Quoting Erik Jones: “Bristol has always been fun for me. I’ve come so close there a couple of times to winning that night race and really would love to close that one out. It is always one of my favorite races. The Bristol night race is one that I tell people all the time, ‘If you haven’t been to a NASCAR race, try and make it out to that one.’ It is one of my favorites of the year and one that I have been really close to winning before, so hoping we can close it out.”

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:

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

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

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

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