Buescher goes back-to-back with dramatic Cup victory at Michigan

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August 7, 2023

Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

The one-day wait amid an extensive rain delay period was worth the wait for Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing as both navigated their way to win the rain-postponed FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway that started on Sunday, August 6, and concluded on Monday, August 7.

The 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Prosper, Texas, led three times for a race-high 52 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he rolled off the starting grid in fourth place and was coming off a breakthrough victory at Richmond Raceway. Amid a one-day postponement of the event due to precipitation and various pit strategies that ensued throughout the event, Buescher, who managed to cycle his way past dominant Martin Truex Jr. amid the final cycle of green flag pit stops with nearly 40 laps remaining, assumed the race lead with 18 laps remaining and, despite nearly losing the lead with 12 laps remaining, fended off a late surge from Truex to notch his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory in recent weeks and gain needed momentum with the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs looming.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, August 5, Christopher Bell notched his second Cup pole position of the season and the sixth of his career after posting a fast pole-winning lap at 193.382 mph in 37.232 seconds, which marks the fastest qualifying lap posted since the 2020 Daytona 500. Joining him on the front row was Ross Chastain, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 193.242 mph in 37.259 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that included Corey LaJoie, JJ Yeley and Austin Hill dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Another competitor who also dropped to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments was Josh Berry, who was piloting the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club entry in place of the suspended Noah Gragson.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a delay of more than an hour and a half due to precipitation, Bell and Chastain dueled for the lead through the frontstretch until Chastain, who restarted on the inside lane, received a huge shove from rookie Ty Gibbs to muscle his No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead through Turns 1 and 2, where he then moved in front of Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry entering the backstretch. As the field fanned out and jostled early for positions exiting the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4, Chastain proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Bell while Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs followed suit.

Through the second lap, Chastain maintained the lead ahead of Bell while Truex battled Buescher for third place ahead of Ty Gibbs. Behind, Logano retained sixth ahead of Chase Elliott while William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney were in the top 10.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Chastain was leading by four-tenths of a second over Truex followed by Bell, Buescher and Ty Gibbs while Logano, Elliott, Wallace, Byron and Blaney were in the top 10. Behind, Denny Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick while Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick was mired in 21st ahead of Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley, Todd Gilliland and Corey LaJoie rounded out the top 30.

At the Lap 10 mark, Chastain stabilized his early advantage to four-tenths of a second over Truex while third-place Bell trailed by more than a second. With Buescher and Ty Gibbs remaining in the top five, Wallace was up to sixth ahead of Elliott and Byron while Logano fell back to ninth in front of teammate Blaney.

Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Kyle Busch, who was battling Blaney for 10th place, moved up the track and made contact with Blaney, where he then got loose, spun and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2 on the driver’s side. The incident, which was enough to terminate Busch’s event early as he sustained his fifth DNF of the season, occurred as Chastain was being challenged by Truex for the lead. It also served as the competition caution period initially planned for Lap 20.

During the competition caution period, a majority of the field led by Chastain pitted for service while 11 competitors led by the race leader Truex remained on the track amid mixed strategy.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 19, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Ty Gibbs dueled for the lead until Truex muscled his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota TRD Camry into the lead through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With the field fanning out, Truex maintained the lead by half a second over teammate Gibbs while Buescher followed suit along with Wallace and Blaney. Behind, Elliott was in sixth followed by Suarez and Reddick, but Reddick would overtake both by Lap 21 while Chastain, the first competitor who pitted during the competition caution, was in 10th.

Just past the Lap 25 mark and amid a series of on-track battles, Truex was leading by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Ty Gibbs while Buescher, Wallace and Blaney were scored in the top five. Truex would extend his advantage to more than a second over Gibbs by Lap 30. By then, Reddick, who started 15th, rocketed his No. 45 Rocket League Toyota TRD Camry into fifth place while Chastain was mired in ninth in between teammate Suarez and Keselowski. In addition, Bell was in 12th behind Byron, Larson, who nearly got loose entering Turn 4, fell back to 15th ahead of Hamlin and Logano was mired in 24th ahead of Aric Almirola and Harvick. In addition, Josh Berry was in 28th in between Kaulig Racing’s Haley and Allmendinger.

On Lap 34, the second caution of the event flew when Elliott, who was running in ninth after being overtaken by Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain a lap earlier, slipped sideways after blowing a right-rear tire and wrecked against the Turn 2 outside wall. The incident not only terminated Elliott’s race amid extensive damage to his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, but it hampered his hopes of gaining valuable points towards the 2023 Cup Series Playoff cutline. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Buescher pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

With six laps remaining in the first stage period, the race proceeded under green as Truex and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, Truex muscled ahead from Wallace while starting on the outside lane as the field fanned out to four lanes entering the first two turns and the backstretch. With Truex remaining ahead of Wallace on the track and amid a series of on-track battles between competitors on mixed strategies, Ty Gibbs was in third followed by Keselowski and Suarez while Larson was in sixth ahead of Corey LaJoie and teammate Alex Bowman.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Truex, who announced his return for the 2024 Cup season with Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday, claimed his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Wallace trailed in second while Ty Gibbs, Keselowski, Larson, Suarez, Bowman, Hamlin, Erik Jones and LaJoie were scored in the top 10. By then, Byron, who was running ninth, got loose, slipped up and slapped towards the outside wall entering Turn 4 as he limped his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 across the start/finish line in 13th.

Under the stage break, some led by Truex, who remained on the track during the two previous caution periods, pitted while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Stenhouse was penalized for speeding on pit road and for an uncontrolled tire violation. Not long after, Truex made another pit stop as he was sent to the rear of the field.

The second stage started on Lap 50 as Bowman and Erik Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman and Jones dueled for the lead entering the first two turns as the field fanned out. Bowman and Jones would continue to duel for the lead through the backstretch while Hamlin, Reddick, Bell and Blaney followed pursuit. Then as the field made their way through Turns 3 and 4, the caution quickly returned when Berry, who was running 16th and battling with Harrison Burton, got loose in front of LaJoie and spun backwards towards the outside wall as he slapped the wall while barely missing Todd Gilliland before the damaged No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came to a rest below the turn’s grass as his event came to an end. By then, Byron, who was on the Damaged Vehicle Policy clock period spanning seven minutes as his pit crew attempted to repair the No. 24 car, ran out of their scheduled repairment time as his event also came to an end.

During the following restart on Lap 55, Bowman rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane as he then moved in front of Erik Jones to retain the top spot through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. With the battles ensuing through the backstretch, Bell rocketed his way around Erik Jones for the runner-up spot as he pursued Bowman for the lead while Chastain aggressively carved his way up to 11th.

Through the Lap 60 mark, Bowman was leading by a tenth of a second over Bell followed by Erik Jones, Hamlin and Reddick while Blaney, Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece, Austin Dillon and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, Chastain, Wallace, Briscoe, Larson and Truex were in the top 15 while Logano, LaJoie, Almirola, Haley and Buescher occupied the top 20. Behind, Keselowski was mired in 21st ahead of Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Ty Gibbs and Suarez while Harvick was back in 26th.

Four laps later, Bell, who had just overtaken Bowman amid a battle for the lead through the frontstretch, slipped sideways entering Turns 1 and 2 amid close-quarters racing with Bowman with Hamlin joining the battle. This resulted with Bell spinning backwards towards the outside wall as he pounded the wall and sustained significant rear end damage to his pole-winning car. During the caution period, the entire field led by Bowman, expect for Josh Bilicki, pitted for service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Bowman exited first followed by Truex, Reddick, Blaney, Larson, Austin Dillon and Cindric. Bilicki would pit prior to the restart as Bowman reassumed the lead.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 69, where Bowman and Reddick occupied the front row, Bowman and Reddick dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Reddick managed to muscle ahead from the inside lane and assume the lead through the backstretch. As the field fanned out amid a series of on-track battles, including a pair of run-ins involving Blaney and LaJoie, Reddick maintained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Bowman while Larson was up in third followed by Truex, Cindric and Erik Jones.

Four laps later, the caution returned due to reports of precipitation occurring around the speedway. Soon after, the field led by Reddick was directed to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period due to the ongoing precipitation on Lap 74. With the precipitation increasing and the delay spanning more than an hour, NASCAR ended up postponing the remainder of the event’s coverage to Monday, August 7, at noon ET on USA Network.

The following day on Monday, the field endured a brief 33-minute delay due to light mist before returning to the track under a cautious pace. During the caution period, Bell pitted even when pit road was closed for additional repairs to his pole-winning car amid his wreck from Sunday as he was still scored on the lead lap. Once pit road opened for the entire field to pit, some led by Reddick and including Bowman, Larson, Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs, LaJoie, Stenhouse, Michael McDowell, Haley, Cole Custer and Bilicki pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

When the race resumed under green flag conditions on Lap 82 amid an extensive caution period due to reports of light precipitation, where Truex and Cindric occupied the front row, Truex and Cindric dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Bubba Wallace made a bold three-wide move on both through the backstretch to assume the lead in his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry. With Wallace leading the proceeding lap, Truex settled in second while Keselowski battled Cindric for third in front of Erik Jones, Buescher and Hamlin. Jones then overtook Keselowski and Cindric in a three-wide move through the backstretch to move his No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up to third as Wallace retained the lead. As the field continued to jostle for positions through the Lap 85 mark, Wallace stabilized his advantage to within a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Truex.

By Lap 90, the top-three competitors were separated by nearly half a second as Wallace was still leading by two-tenths of a second over Truex followed by Erik Jones while Cindric and Suarez trailed in the top five by more than a second. Behind, Keselowski was in sixth ahead of teammate Buescher, Hamlin, Harrison Burton and Allmendinger while Blaney, Chastain, Logano, Reddick, Bowman, Larson, Briscoe, Harvick, Ryan Preece, Almirola and Ty Gibbs were battling within the top 20.

At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Truex cycled his way around Wallace, who continued to remain on the track and stretch his fuel tank to finish the second stage, to reassume the lead through the frontstretch while third-place Erik Jones trailed by six-tenths of a second. Behind, Suarez trailed in fourth place by more than a second while Hamlin was in fifth and trailing by more than two seconds.

Two laps later, the caution flew when Preece, who was running 22nd, blew a right-rear tire entering Turn 1, but he managed to avoid hitting the outside wall as he fell off the pace with light smoke coming out of his No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang. During the caution period, some including the race leader Truex pitted while the rest led by Wallace and including Suarez, Keselowski, Chastain, Allmendinger, Logano, Bowman, Larson, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, LaJoie and Custer remained on the track amid mixed strategy ensuing. Amid the pit stops, Hamlin, who was running in the top five prior to the caution period, stalled his car while trying to exit his pit stall as he plummeted towards the rear of the lead lap field.

As the race restarted with 13 laps remaining in the second stage period, Wallace and Suarez dueled for the lead amid two tight-stacked lanes. Behind, Austin Dillon fell off the pace after nearly hitting the outside wall in Turn 1 and pitted under green due to a flat right-side tire, a move that pinned him a lap behind the leaders. Back at the front, Wallace and Suarez continued to duel for the lead until Suarez, who restarted beneath Wallace on the front row, managed to rocket his No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead entering Turns 3 and 4 as he assumed the lead from Wallace while Keselowski was in third.

Just past the Lap 110 mark and amid a series of on-track battles, Suarez retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Keselowski while Wallace fell back to third in front of Bowman and Logano. Behind, Larson was in sixth ahead of Allmendinger while Truex charged his way up to eighth place while on four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel. Meanwhile, Hamlin carved his way up to 17th while battling Harvick for position.

At the conclusion of the second stage period on Lap 120, Truex, who overtook Wallace for third place on Lap 118 as he continued to rocket his way back to the front on fresh tires, surged past Keselowski entering the backstretch and managed to side-draft Suarez amid Suarez trying to block Truex to claim the stage victory, his fifth of the season, in a photo finish. Suarez, who came into the event 34 points below the top-16 cutline towards the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, settled in second followed by Keselowski while Wallace, Bowman, Larson, Logano, Allmendinger, Cindric and Buescher were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Truex while the rest led by Buescher and including Reddick, Blaney, Harvick, Almirola, Gilliland and McDowell remained on the track with more mixed strategy ensuing. Amid the pit stops, Bell was penalized for his pit crew jumping over the pit wall too soon.

With 74 laps remaining, the final stage started as Buescher and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Buescher and Reddick dueled for the lead as the field fanned out through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. The caution then quickly returned when Cindric rubbed McDowell up into teammate Gilliland as Gilliland got squeezed towards the outside wall. In the ensuing contact, Bowman, who came into the event 42 points below the top-16 cutline, received light contact from Briscoe that got Bowman loose and spinning as he hit Gilliland before spinning with front nose damage on his No. 48 Ally Detroit Pistons Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. During the caution period, some including Wallace, Briscoe, the Dillon brothers, Gilliland, Erik Jones, Larson and Haley pitted while the rest led by Buescher remained on the track.

With the race restarting with 67 laps remaining, Buescher surged ahead with the lead from the outside lane as he then fended off Reddick through the first two turns and entering the backstretch. Reddick maintained second in front of Blaney, Harvick and Cindric while Almirola was in sixth. Behind, Truex carved his way to seventh as he then battled Almirola for more while Hamlin was in eighth followed by Chastain and Burton.

Seven laps later, Buescher stabilized his lead to two-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Blaney while Truex moved up to fourth in front of Harvick. Behind, Cindric was in sixth ahead of Hamlin, Almirola, Chastain and Burton while McDowell, Ty Gibbs, Keselowski, Logano, Suarez, Preece, Allmendinger, Wallace, Larson and Austin Hill occupied the top 20.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Buescher continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Reddick while Truex trailed by less than six seconds as Hamlin moved up to fourth ahead of Blaney, Cindric and Harvick.

Seven laps later, green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Buescher surrendered the lead to pit followed by Reddick and Harvick as Reddick exited ahead of Buescher off of pit road. During the following lap, however, Reddick returned to pit road due to a flat right-rear tire on his No. 45 entry, an issue that left Reddick steaming towards his pit crew. By then, Hamlin and Almirola pitted under green before Truex surrendered the lead to pit with 41 laps remaining. Amid the pit stops, Buescher managed to cycle his No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang past Truex on the track as Keselowski assumed the lead with less than 40 laps remaining.

With 30 laps remaining, Keselowski retained the lead by over Suarez followed by Larson, Erik Jones and Logano, Bell, Wallace, LaJoie, Stenhouse and Preece were scored in the top 10. By then, Ty Gibbs, who was running in fifth place, pitted under green. Logano and LaJoie would pit a few laps later as Keselowski extended his lead to six seconds over Suarez and seven seconds over Larson. By then, Buescher worked his way up to 11th while Truex trailed behind in 12th.

With 25 laps remaining, Suarez surrendered the runner-up spot to pit under green along with Preece. Keselowski would then surrender the lead the following lap to pit his No. 6 Nexlizet Ford Mustang as Larson assumed the lead. With 23 laps remaining, however, Larson pitted his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the lead along with Erik Jones, Bell and Wallace as Ty Dillon cycled into the lead followed by brother Austin Dillon. Behind, Buescher and Truex moved up to third and fourth as the latter, who had a strong race car, continued to try to navigate his way around the former with both having enough fuel to finish the event.

Once the Dillon brothers pitted with nearly 20 laps remaining, Buescher cycled his way into the race lead with 18 laps remaining as Truex continued to intimidate and trail by two-tenths of a second. Buescher would continue to lead by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Truex while third-place Hamlin trailed by four seconds as Keselowski and Harvick were in the top five.

Then with 13 laps remaining, Truex, who gained ground to Buescher’s rear bumper through the frontstretch, made his move beneath Buescher for the lead through Turns 1 and 2 as both dueled for the top spot through the backstretch. Truex then side-drafted Buescher back through the frontstretch as he led the following lap by a hair before Buescher returned the favor by side-drafting Truex in a fight to reassume the lead. Despite leading with 12 laps remaining, Truex got loose entering Turn 1, which allowed Buescher to pull ahead with the lead by nearly a second.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Buescher stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Truex while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than three seconds. Keselowski and Larson remained in the top five while Harvick, Chastain, Blaney, Suarez and Cindric were in the top 10. Behind, Ty Gibbs was in 11th ahead of Erik Jones and Almirola while Bell carved his damaged car to 14th place ahead of Wallace.

With five laps remaining, Truex regained his ground on Buescher as he was only trailing by two-tenths of a second for the lead in his fast No. 19 Toyota. With Buescher retaining the lead, Truex kept Buescher’s No. 17 Ford close within his sights amid the draft as he tried to gain a run around Buescher with the laps dwindling.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Buescher remained as the leader by less than three-tenths of a second over Truex. Through Turns 1 and 2, Truex could not gain a run to draw even with Buescher as both entered the backstretch. Then entering Turns 3 and 4, Truex made a final lap charge to get alongside Buescher, but the run was not enough as Buescher managed to retain the lead and beat Truex to the finish line by a tenth of a second to notch his second consecutive checkered flag in recent weeks.

With the victory, Buescher, who ended up leading a race-high 52 laps, recorded his fourth career win in NASCAR’s premier series as this marks his first season notching multiple Cup victories, thus making him the sixth multi-race winner of the 2023 Cup Series season, and first time claiming back-to-back Cup race victories. The victory was also the 14th overall in the Cup circuit for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing at the Irish Hills, making RFK Racing the winningest organization at the speedway, and their first since Greg Biffle won in 2012 while Ford claimed its 21st Cup victory, ninth in a row, at Michigan.

“That was our plan [to win],” Buescher said on USA Network. “That’s what we come to do every weekend. It’s awesome. Glad we got to get this whole [race] in. I know it’s been a long weekend, but this Castrol Edge Mustang was so good in practice, qualifying. This team gave me a great car again. [I] Had to work for that [win], too. Hard racing there at the end. Martin [Truex Jr.] was very clean with me. I appreciate that. [I] Get to go to Victory Lane two weeks in a row, so that’s pretty awesome. We’ve got work to do, but that’s massive progress right there for us to do [and win at] two vastly different racetracks. We got road [course] races coming up. I’m excited for those two and Daytona. I look at the schedule we have ahead of us, and this is a heck of a time to get turned on and get rolling.”

Truex, who led six times for 47 laps, settled in second place for the second time this season amid a strong performance on the track. This also marks Truex’s fourth runner-up result at the Irish Hills as he continues his pursuit for his first Michigan win.

“I think we just needed maybe a little bit longer run to wear the tires some more,” Truex, who extended his lead in the regular-season standings to 57 points, said. “I felt like we were a little better, but it’s just really hard to pass the leader on equal tires. We had an unbelievable Auto-Owners Camry today and hats off to everybody that puts in the work on these things. It was a rocket. It’s just the leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass. Just didn’t quite have enough, but all in all, a good day.”

Hamlin came home in third place while Keselowski, Buescher’s teammate and co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, ended up in fourth place in his home track. The fourth-place result marked Keselowski’s fifth top-five result of the season as he is now 168 points above the top-16 cutline towards the Playoff standings, but he was also left satisfied from an owner’s perspective with Buescher winning the race and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing gaining momentum with the start of the Playoffs lingering.

“[I’m] Really happy for all the folks at Castrol and for [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing],” Keselowski said. “There’s a lot of work going on here and we’re digging deep and getting the results. I’m just so thankful and proud for everyone at RFK. We’re letting our results speak for themselves and Chris [Buescher] has done a heck of a job driving the car. When you can win, it feels really good, but we got to keep some humbleness and keep our head down. There’s some great competition out here.”

Larson completed the top five in fifth place while Suarez, teammate Chastain, Harvick, Blaney and Erik Jones finished in the top 10. Notably, Ty Gibbs settled in 11th while Bell rallied from his early wreck on Sunday to finish 13th ahead of Logano and LaJoie. In addition, Wallace fell back to 18th ahead of Austin Dillon, McDowell ended up a lap down in 24th, Allmendinger settled in 26th, Reddick fell back to 30th and Bowman ended up 33rd after he was unable to finish due to a steering issue to his car stemming from his late wreck.

There were 26 lead changes for 16 different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 43 laps. In addition, 21 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

With three regular-season events remaining of this year’s Cup Series schedule, Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the regular-season standings by 57 points over teammate Denny Hamlin and 96 over William Byron.

William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and rookie Ty Gibbs occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points, with Gibbs occupying the 16th and final vacant spots by three points over Michael McDowell, five over Daniel Suarez, 24 over AJ Allmendinger, 44 over Alex Bowman, 53 over Austin Cindric, 55 over Chase Elliott, 72 over Justin Haley, 81 over Aric Almirola and 89 over Ryan Preece.

Results.

1. Chris Buescher, 52 laps led

2. Martin Truex Jr., 47 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

3. Denny Hamlin, one lap led

4. Brad Keselowski, 15 laps led

5. Kyle Larson, two laps led

6. Daniel Suarez, 12 laps led

7. Ross Chastain, 16 laps led

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

10. Erik Jones

11. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

12. Austin Cindric

13. Christopher Bell, one lap led

14. Joey Logano

15. Corey LaJoie

16. Aric Almirola

17. Harrison Burton

18. Bubba Wallace, 21 laps led

19. Austin Dillon, two laps led

20. Ty Dillon, two laps led

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

22. Ryan Preece, one lap down

23. Justin Haley, one lap down

24. Michael McDowell, one lap down

25. Cole Custer, one lap down

26. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down

27. JJ Yeley, one lap down

28. Austin Hill, two laps down

29. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

30. Tyler Reddick, three laps down, seven laps led

31. Chase Briscoe, three laps down

32. Josh Bilicki, four laps down, one lap led

33. Alex Bowman – OUT, Steering, 19 laps led

34. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident

35. William Byron – OUT, Dvp

36. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident

37. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Verizon 200 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, August 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Chase Elliott’s Playoff hopes jeopardized amid early exit at Michigan

By

Andrew Kim

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August 7, 2023

Photo by Stephanie McLaughlin for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Even before the conclusion and the winner of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway took an extra day to be determined, Chase Elliott’s hopes of making the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs took a major hit during the event’s starting phases on Sunday, August 6, that prevented him from finishing the remainder of the event on Monday, August 7.

Rolling off the starting grid in 10th place on Sunday amid an early delay due to precipitation, the 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, spent the opening 14 laps battling within the top 10 and was running in seventh place by the time the event’s first caution period occurred after Kyle Busch wrecked in Turn 2. During the caution period, Elliott was one of 11 competitors who chose to remain on the track as he moved up to fourth place prior to a restart on Lap 19.

After quickly falling out of the top five and stabilizing himself back into the top 10 during the proceeding laps, Elliott’s event went south on Lap 34 when the right-rear tire on the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 blew and sent Elliott, who was running 10th, spinning and rear-ending the car towards the outside wall in Turn 2. With Elliott making more contact and damaging the car against the wall, the damage was enough to terminate his event in the garage and in 36th place as he only completed 34 of 200 scheduled laps.

“[I] Hate [the wreck] happened,” Elliott said at the infield care center on USA Network. “It was just really early in the day to have a tire blow like that. It was really weird. Bummer, but not surprised. No [warning of the flat tire], not at all. Obviously, we stayed out [during the previous caution period], but I don’t feel like I was being hard on [the car]. Unfortunately not, just add it to the list. I told y’all [the media I need to win] the week I got back, so nothing’s changed.”

With three regular-season events remaining on the schedule, Elliott, who came into the event 40 points below the top-16 cutline and in 20th place in the regular-season standings, is now down to 22nd place in the standings and 55 points below the cutline, which still places him within striking distance of reaching the cutline by points, but likely needing a victory to solidify a spot for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs.

Since being absent for six events from early March to early April while recovering from a snowboarding accident and being suspended from the Cup event at World Wide Technology Raceway in early June amid a retaliatory incident with Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May, Elliott had managed to earn a stage victory at Talladega Superspeedway in late April, four top-five results, seven top-10 results and finish no lower than 13th in 13 events prior to Michigan. Currently, his best on-track result is a runner-up result that occurred at Auto Club Speedway in late February, with his latest Cup victory occurring at Talladega in October 2022, as Elliott attempts to extend his streak of making the Cup Playoffs to eight consecutive seasons.

Elliott’s quest to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs continues next Sunday, August 13, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. The event’s broadcast is scheduled to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Stewart-Haas Racing: FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan

By

Official Release

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August 7, 2023

STEWART-HAAS RACING
FireKeepers Casino 400

Date: Aug. 6-7, 2023
Event: FireKeepers Casino 400 (Round 23 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/75 laps/80 laps)
Note: The race’s first 76 laps were run on Sunday before rain forced the completion of the race to Monday.
Race Winner: Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Race Finish:

● Kevin Harvick (Started 22nd, Finished 8th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

● Aric Almirola (Started 18th, Finished 16th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

● Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 22nd / Running, completed 199 of 200 laps)

● Chase Briscoe (Started 21st, Finished 31st / Running, completed 197 of 200 laps)

SHR Points:

● Kevin Harvick (5th with 663 points, 136 out of first)

● Aric Almirola (24th with 405 points, 394 out of first)

● Ryan Preece (25th with 397 points, 402 out of first)

● Chase Briscoe (31st with 289 points, 510 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Harvick earned his 11th top-10 of the season and his series-leading 23rd top-10 in 43 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan.

● This was Harvick’s fourth straight top-10. He earned back-to-back fourth-place finishes July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and July 23 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, and finished 10th July 30 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

● Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has only one finish outside the top-15 at Michigan.

● This was Harvick’s 14th straight top-15 at Michigan.

Race Notes:

● Chris Buescher won the FireKeepers Casino 400 to score his fourth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Michigan. His margin over second-place Martin Truex Jr., was .152 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 724th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory, its third of the season and its second straight. Buescher also won the series’ prior race at Richmond.

● This was Ford’s series-leading 44th win at Michigan, which is the most at any track currently on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Ford scored its first Michigan victory with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson on Aug. 17, 1969.

● This was Ford’s ninth straight win at Michigan, a streak that started with former SHR driver Clint Bowyer in June 2018.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 34 laps.

● Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Truex remains the championship leader after Michigan with a 57-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Verizon 200 at The Brickyard on Sunday, Aug. 13 on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

CHEVROLET NCS AT MICHIGAN: Post-Race Report

By

Official Release

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August 7, 2023

NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
AUGUST 7, 2023

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
6th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
7th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1
10th Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

Chris Buescher (Ford)
Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
Brad Keselowski (Ford)
Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday, August 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 7th

“It was a grind all weekend. We started on the front row but didn’t have the balance or the grip level we needed when we got back in traffic. I felt like we were so fast and I just couldn’t get back up there. We just didn’t have the car to do it. The changes that we were able to make were small – air pressures and stuff – but helped the car today.

Thank you to everyone at Trackhouse Racing and Chevrolet to be able to come back on a green race track and make the car better. It was a good run for the No. 1 Jockey Chevy team.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 5th

Top-Five finish for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team. Is that where this car was or did you think you had some more?

“I felt like we were a little bit better, and then after that wreck off of (turn) two, the No. 14 (Chase Briscoe) and I hit pretty decently, and I just felt like we were a little slower after that. I think the handling was still similar, but just a little bit slower overall. We took what we could get out of the day. Happy with the pit strategy there at the end to get some track position and come away with a top-five for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy. We’ll take it.”

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 KWIK TRIP / KWIK STAR CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.

Finished: 37th

“I put myself in a bad spot. I really hate that I did that. I wish the results were better for the day for our entire RCR team. They work so hard and do so much for me to put myself in a bad spot like that and get crashed. Hate it for Kwik Trip and everybody involved, it was a really short day.”

Did your car just snap on you as you got beside him?

“We touched a little bit and that’s when you lose all the air and you spin out.”

You put yourself in a bad position? Did you feel like (Ryan) Blaney did anything wrong there?

“They all run hard. They all want to race to crash. I tried to make a move and in the old days, guys that you were racing would let you go and have that spot and work for it later. But in this day in age, it’s completely different. So I got a guy that ran on my outside and took the air off.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage One.

Finished: 36th

That was a hard hit there. Are you feeling alright?

“Yeah, I feel good. I hate that it happened. It was really early in the day to have a tire blow like that. It was really weird. It’s a bummer, but not surprised.”

Was there no warning that the tire was going?

“No, not at all. Obviously we stayed out, but no I didn’t even feel like I was being hard on it. Unfortunately not.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.

Finished: 35th

“I just got loose trying to get stage points there. We were dicing it up. We didn’t have the best restart, so we were gaining spots back, but just tried too hard. We’ll just regroup and try to get a good couple of weeks before the playoffs. Just made a mistake – was just trying hard and got loose.”

JOSH BERRY, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two.

Finished: 34th

Any warning that the car was coming around?

“No, I had no idea. Just wild restarts here and just trying to learn as much as I can. I just got loose there and backed it into the wall. Just hate it that we didn’t get to run all the laps today because that was the main goal.

Was it traffic, aero-effects or just no warning?

“I’ll have to go back and watch it. Obviously it’s a lot to learn here with everything going on back there. I’ll just go back and look, learn and see what I can do better.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 10th

“It was a good day for the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy team. I thought our Chevy was a top-five car. We just got shuffled around on some restarts. When the No. 48 (Alex Bowman) got wrecked there, we had to come in and change tires; got shuffled to the back and we had that long green-flag run there at the end. To drive from the back up to 10th, it’s good. Obviously we wish it was better, but we had good speed and a good car all race yesterday and today. The balance was just a little tighter today and kind of held us back. We’ll see moving forward. We’re getting faster, we just need to capitalize on these days and go try to make the most of them to get the finishes that we can. Happy with the way we’re going.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 6th

“Proud of my No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevy team. This is exactly what we needed after a couple of rough weeks. The team did an amazing job with execution and the car was fast. It wasn’t easy – we had to work for this one. Two days ago in practice, I knew our car had the speed, but we were just very off on balance. Once we found the balance, the car was pretty fast so I’m happy with that. I feel like we still have maybe one more step to go to be able to win races, but it was definitely a race that we needed, especially heading into two road course races. Now we have a little momentum on our side and I’m optimistic for the final three races of the regular season.”

STAGE ONE:

· Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain led the NASCAR Cup Series to the green flag in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway – his ninth top-10 start of the season and his first career top-10 qualifying effort in NASCAR’s premier series at the two-mile oval. Chastain drove his No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1 to the top position in the opening lap – leading the race’s first 16 laps.

· Two of Team Chevy’s former champions faced trouble in Stage One with Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott making an early exit due to damage sustained in accidents in the race’s first 35 laps.

· Under caution with 11 laps to go in the stage, crew chief Cliff Daniels opted for track position – calling for Larson to stay out when pit road opened. With varying pit strategies among the leaders, Larson lined up in the seventh position for the final six laps of Stage One.

· Larson went on to lead Team Chevy to the green-white checkered flag – collecting top-five points at the conclusion of Stage One. The No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team led the manufacturer to four of the top-10 positions in Stage One:

5th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

6th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1

7th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally x Detroit Pistons Camaro ZL1

9th Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1

STAGE TWO:

· During the Stage break, Larson visited pit road for four tires and fuel. With much of the field staying out, Larson was forced to start in the 21st position for the start of Stage Two.

· Coming to the end of Stage One, William Byron made contact with the wall while in a three-way battle for top-10 stage points. Crew chief Rudy Fugle called Byron down pit road to assess the damage on the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1. Unable to make repairs by the end of the DVP clock, Byron was forced to make an early departure from the race for a 35th-place finish.

· Shortly after the start of Stage Two, the fourth caution of the day flew involving Team Chevy’s Josh Berry following a spin and contact with the wall. With too much damage to continue, the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1 team ended the race in the 34th position.

· LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s Erik Jones was in a battle for the lead when the caution flew. Taking the green flag on lap 56, Jones settled his No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1 into the third position on the restart.

· A trio of Camaro ZL1’s were running in the top-five (Alex Bowman – 2nd, Kyle Larson – 3rd and Erik Jones – 5th) when the caution flew for precipitation, ultimately bring the race to red flag conditions for approximately 85 minutes before being postponed until Monday.

· Restarting the race with 38 laps left in the Stage, a caution flew for debris in Turn Two at lap 102. Many drivers looking for stage points chose to stay off pit road with seven Team Chevy drivers lining up in the top-10 for the restart with 14 laps left in the Stage.

· Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez led the manufacturer to the end of Stage Two, driving his No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1 to a second-place finish in the Stage.

· Four Team Chevy drivers collected top-10 points in Stage Two:

2nd Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1

5th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally x Detroit Pistons Camaro ZL1

6th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

8th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Farmsmart Camaro ZL1

FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES:

· Kyle Larson led Team Chevy to the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway – driving his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 to a fifth-place finish.

· Four drivers from three different Chevrolet teams took top-10 finishing positions at the two-mile oval with Larson leading Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain in the sixth and seventh positions, respectively, and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’S Erik Jones rounding out the top-10.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCS Michigan Post-Race Quotes (8.7.23)

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Official Release

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August 7, 2023

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Firekeepers Casino 400 | Monday, August 7, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:

1st – Chris Buescher

4th – Brad Keselowski

8th – Kevin Harvick

9th – Ryan Blaney

12th – Austin Cindric

14th – Joey Logano

16th – Aric Almirola

17th – Harrison Burton

22nd – Ryan Preece

24th – Michael McDowell

25th – Cole Custer

27th – JJ Yeley

29th – Todd Gilliland

31st – Chase Briscoe

BUESCHER GIVES FORD NINTH STRAIGHT CUP WIN AT MICHIGAN
Chris Buescher gave Ford its ninth consecutive win at Michigan International Speedway Sunday.
The win was the second straight for Buescher who was victorious a week ago in Richmond.
This marks the second straight year a Ford driver has won Richmond and Michigan back-to-back after Kevin Harvick did it last season.
The win is the 140th NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Jack Roush and second under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner.
Ford is the all-time leader in Cup wins at MIS with 44.
Today’s win is Ford’s 724th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang (Finished 1st) – “I am so proud of everyone at RFK and what we have been able to accomplish these last few years. To get it here at Ford’s home track, this one is always big. It is Jack’s home track and Brad’s home track and this is where we needed one. To fight for it and have such a clean race there with Truex at the end, he was really close to getting us at one point. We had to keep digging on it. I am really proud of everybody. That was awesome to put our Castrol Edge Mustang in victory lane here at Michigan and we have road courses coming up, I am really excited for those.”

HOW DID THE PIT STRATEGY PLAY OUT FOR YOU? “I didn’t know anything. I pitted when they told me to pit. We knew we had a fast car and were running really well. The 45 was fast too and when he had his issue we were able to get the lead and tried to make the most of clean air. I didn’t have a clue of what was going on around us. That was just this group right behind me here and their work to get us this spot. We started planning back on Tuesday for this race and it is really cool to see it all work out.”

THE LAST 20 LAPS, HAVING TRUEX CHASING YOU DOWN, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? “We talked alot yesterday about the 19 being very fast and probably being the class of the field. We also talked about dirty air and how bad it was for us so the only thing I could think was to make it as dirty behind us as possible to make it difficult. He was so good on the bottom. I just couldn’t quite pull the car down that low but I was able to dirty up the air enough to hold him off and get away with some traffic. It was a tough race.”

THE HERITAGE TROPHY. FORD HAS HELD THAT TROPHY FOR EIGHT YEARS AND HAD TO BRING IT BACK TO THE TRACK, BUT YOU GET TO SEND IT BACK TO DEARBORN. “Yeah, that is awesome. I am a Ford guy through and through and have been for a really long time. To be here in Ford’s backyard and get this done and have so many Ford folks with us here today, it is a special weekend. You always have a little more on your shoulders here and we bring our A game when we come here. I knew to take care of this thing during the burnout too because I want to take care of this car for the playoffs too.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Nexlizet Ford Mustang (Finished 4th) – “Chris (Buescher) nailed it there at the end. We got really fast right at the end of the race with both cars and hadn’t shown that speed all weekend. Credit to both teams working together and making good adjustments and learned from each other applied them to get the speed out of our cars. We drove from 21st or 22nd there the last run up to fourth. I wish the race was like 30 or 40 laps longer because I was coming. We were running 37.80’s and the leaders were running 38.0. We just ran out of laps. If we can’t win it, I am so glad Chris did.”

WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE MULTI-WIN PER YEAR THING ON SATURDAY, I DON’T THINK YOU THOUGHT IT WAS COMING THIS WEEKEND, DID YOU? “You hope, right? Yeah, it seemed like most of the race the 19 and 11 car were just dominant. Right at the end we made some adjustments on both of our cars, found some speed. Chris was able to hold off Martin, running all of them down.Really happy for all the folks at Castro, RFK. There’s a lot of work going on here. We’re digging deep, getting the results. I’m so thankful and proud for everyone at RFK.”

SEEMS TO BE A BIT OF A STATEMENT WIN FOR RFK, TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ON A SHORT TRACK EIGHT DAYS AGO, NOW A TWO-MILE RACETRACK. IS RFK SAYING THAT WE’RE THE BEST FORD TEAM IN THE GARAGE AREA? “We’re letting our results speak for themselves. Chris has done a heck of a job driving the car. When you get win, it feels really good. We got to keep some humbleness and keep our head down. There’s some great competition out here.”

SECOND MOST POINTS EARNED FOR YOU. IT WAS A BIG ONE. “Yeah, I scored a lot of points. Obviously we want to win. The speed we showed at the end was enough to win the race, but at the beginning and early part of the race we were only really good enough to run 10th. We went for our points mode. The speed showed up. Dang, maybe we shouldn’t have gone for points. That’s part of how it always plays out. All in all a really strong day for both teams at RFK. Really proud.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang (Finished 9th) – “Just kind of a decent, okay day. Just different pit strategies and stuff like that. I thought the call we made to come in before the second stage and put tires on with like 15 to go flipped the stage. It had us restart in the top-five and got us our track position back that we lost earlier. We were able to kind of halfway hang on. I didn’t think my speed was great but just a hard working day for sure. It is nice that a Ford run. That is nine in a row here for Ford which is great. I wish it was us but I am happy for the overall goal. We gotta keep going to work.”

Toyota Racing – NCS Michigan Post-Race Report – 08.07.23

By

Official Release

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August 7, 2023

TRUEX, HAMLIN EARN TOP-FIVE FINISHES IN MICHGIAN
Martin Truex Jr. adds to his Playoff point total with two stage wins

BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 7, 2023) – Martin Truex Jr. expanded his points lead with two stage wins and a runner-up finish at Michigan International Speedway. His teammate, Denny Hamlin, followed him to the line. Christopher Bell (13th) made an incredible comeback after suffering damage in the event to come home in the top-15.

Bubba Wallace (18th) again extended the advantage over the Playoff cutline to 58 points, while Ty Gibbs (11th) moved back inside the provisional Playoff field with three races remaining in the regular season. Gibbs holds a three-point advantage heading into Indianapolis on Sunday.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Michigan International Speedway
Race 23 of 36 – 200 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Chris Buescher*

2nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

3rd, DENNY HAMLIN

4th, Brad Keselowski*

5th, Kyle Larson*

11th, TY GIBBS

13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

18th, BUBBA WALLACE

30th, TYLER REDDICK

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What more did you need?

“I think we just needed a little longer run. I felt like we were a little better, but it is just really hard to pass the leader on equal tires. We had an unbelievable Auto Owners Toyota Camry. Hats off to everybody that puts the work in these things, Toyota, TRD, Bass Pro, Resers – everybody that supports us. It was a rocket – just the leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass. We just didn’t quite have enough, but all-in-all a good day.”

What is the big takeaway as we head closer to the Playoffs?

“We are excited. Every week we feel like we have a shot to win, that is all I can ask for. It’s exciting to come to the track every weekend knowing what these guys are going to bring me. Hopefully, we can keep it up. It would have been nice to get a win today, but all-in-all it was a good day, strategy kind of shook us up a little bit. We were luckily able to get our track position back all day because of our speed. One more stinks – it’s been tough to get a win here. We’ve been really good here in the past. Just can’t get it done, hopefully next year.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

What happened on pit road?

“Yeah, I just stalled it and couldn’t get it refired. Something with the ECU – just had to get it refired and cycled it there. I thought we were really close with the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.). I thought he got through traffic better than I did all day, and it looks like the 17 (Chris Buescher) was pretty good too. That’s no shock – he showed some speed yesterday. Showed some things on the track that I felt like – caught my eye. Track position was king, we just never got to be up towards the front enough until the very end. Proud of the whole Mavis Toyota team – we will go onto the next one.”

How different was the track from yesterday to today?

“It wasn’t a whole lot different. These conditions are cooler – cloudy, more on-throttle time, harder to pass. But that is kind of what you get here at Michigan – it’s a track position, track strategy track.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

Can you talk about your run today?

“Yeah, I feel like we had a great Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD. I just didn’t do my job. I didn’t execute. I need to do a better job – be smarter, better race craft. I don’t know if that’s more studying or what. Just didn’t do a good job today. I appreciate all of the team effort. We had a great car – I just didn’t do my job.”

About Toyota

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

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

Flying Lizard Celebrates First Podium with Tait at Road America

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Official Release

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August 7, 2023

ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin. (August 7, 2023) – Flying Lizard Motorsports once again closed out a Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race weekend with a pair of podium finishes, continuing to build on the team’s historic legacy. The weekend at the fan-favorite Road America road course concluded with driver Tom Tait celebrating a third-place finish in Lamborghini Super Trofeo in front of a record-breaking crowd, his first podium result in the series. Chris Bellomo and Johannes van Overbeek also drove to a second-place finish on Saturday afternoon, gaining valuable points in their quest for the championship.

“All of the cars performed well this weekend,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “It was great to see Andy Lee secure pole for race one and then also to have cars on the podium with Johannes and Chris in second for race one and Tom Tait getting his first podium of the year in race two. We are continually working on what it takes to engineer these Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars and look forward to VIR in just a couple of weeks.”

Race One

Andy Lee and the No. 14 pink unicorn Lamborghini started race one from pole position in the Pro/Am class, his first pole of the 2023 race season. The No. 41 of Marc Miller started from sixth, with Johannes van Overbeek and the No. 68 right behind in seventh. In the Am class, the No. 64 of Tom Tait started eighth in the Am class, after missing the two previous rounds at Watkins Glen International. Lee slid into second place at the start, as the No. 96 of Billy Johnson took the lead in the opening lap. Miller advanced up a spot to run in the top five before Tait’s car slid off the track after running across fluid on the circuit surface. Ultimately, Tait had to retire early. Round five went back to green 20 minutes into the race, and the ten-minute mandatory pit window opened. Van Overbeek climbed to sixth place and the team of the No. 68 opted to bring the car in for the required stop early in the window, a move that would benefit him and co-driver Chris Bellomo. Bellomo took over, and a full course caution paused the chase for 16 minutes. Due to the pits being closed during the caution, the second-place No. 14 and the third-place No. 41 were unable to pit until the race returned to green and the pit window re-opened. The pit procedure resulted in a hoard of cars pitting with just a handful of laps complete, shuffling the race order to benefit those that pitted before the caution. With pit stops complete, Chris Bellomo joined the race in fourth place, and the duo worked their way up to second place at the finish. Together with van Overbeek, Bellomo celebrated the car’s second podium finish of the season and the fourth for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Paul Nemschoff and Marc Miller finished fifth in the Pro/Am class, with teammates Slade Stewart and Andy Lee in seventh.

Race Two

The No. 14 pink Lamborghini once again led the team charge at the start of race two, with Slade Stewart taking the green flag from fourth place with the No. 68 of Chris Bellomo behind in fifth place. Paul Nemschoff and the No. 41 began the final run from seventh in the Pro/Am class and Tom Tait and the green and black No. 64 entry rounded out the group in ninth. The field spread out early on, creating minimal passing opportunities for the Lizard squad. Stewart and Bellomo pitted early into the 10-minute mandatory window, allowing Lee and van Overbeek to drive to the finish. Nemscoff and Tait pitted in the final five minutes, ready to get the second half of the race underway. Tait rejoined in seventh, gaining two spots since his start, while his co-drivers continued to race in their starting positions. The race turned his way with 14 minutes remaining when contact between several cars brought out the first of two late-race cautions The caution brought the field back together, positioning Tait and the rest of the Am class to have a competitive battle to the end. That competitive spirit led to a multi-car incident as the field roared into turn one, and Tait masterfully maneuvered through the calamity, driving to a well-earned third-place finish. Stewart, Lee, Bellomo, and van Overbeek once again earned top-five results, with Nemschoff and Miller closing out their home race weekend in seventh.

Next Up:

The Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series next races at VIRginia International Raceway, the fourth double header racing weekend of the six-race United States races on the 2023 schedule. The four Flying Lizard Lamborghinis will once again race in support of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship, August 25-27. For event information, visit lizardms.com.

2023 Race Schedule

May 12-14, 2023