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Debunking Slot Machine Superstitions and Strategies

By
SM
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Slot machines have long been a well-liked type of entertainment in casinos and other gaming venues. Many superstitions and methods have developed throughout the years, with players believing they are the secret to large wins. We shall explore slot machine superstitions and techniques in this post, trying to determine whether there is any truth to them or if they are just urban legends.

The Gambler’s Fallacy

The belief in patterns is a widespread superstition among slot machine players. Some players believe that a significant win will eventually occur after several defeats. The Gambler’s Fallacy, which contends that previous results might affect present ones, is the foundation of this concept. Slot machines use random number generators (RNGs) to ensure that the results of each spin are completely independent of those of earlier spins. Every spin has an equal chance of winning or losing, and there are no predictable patterns to take advantage of.

Lucky Charms and Rituals

Many gamers have their fortunate charms, customs, or pre-slot machine procedures that they follow. These behaviors are said to bring good luck, like carrying a rabbit’s foot and wearing a specific outfit. However, the placebo effect is responsible for any successful outcomes from such actions. Players that participate in these rituals could feel more at ease and self-assured, which would result in wiser choices and a better experience overall. However, it has no impact on the spin of the slot machine itself.

Bet Size and Payout Rates

Some gamers think that changing the amount they wager might affect the slot machine’s payout percentage. They may alternate between placing minimal and maximum wagers in the hopes of generating larger gains. The payout rate of a slot machine, however, is fixed by its software and cannot be changed by changing the size of the stake. If you get the jackpot or a high-paying combination, raising your stake could result in greater payouts, but this is entirely dependent on chance and has nothing to do with the machine’s behavior.

Progressive Jackpot Timing

Progressive slots draw a lot of eager players because of their constantly rising prize sums. Others think there is the best time to play these machines to increase their chances of winning the jackpot. They may decide not to play right away after someone else wins, reasoning that the machine needs some time to “build up” the jackpot once more. However, the timing of a progressive jackpot win is completely arbitrary. No matter how many times you’ve won before or how long it’s been since the last jackpot, it might happen at any time.

Money Management

Although money management techniques are frequently advised in gambling, they have no direct bearing on changing a slot machine’s outcome. Players may regulate their bankroll and play responsibly by using techniques like establishing loss caps or quitting after a particular number of victories. They do not affect the results of the slot machine, which are always random.

Slot machine superstitions and techniques could make gambling more enjoyable and exciting, but they have no real impact on how the game will turn out. Players must be aware that, despite how fun they may be, slot machines use RNGs to ensure that every spin is completely random. The next time you play the slots, enjoy yourself while remembering that luck, chance, and unpredictability are what ultimately decide your chances of winning.

Burton Finishes 31st at Richmond

By
Official Release
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Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team struggled throughout Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway and wound up 31st at the finish.

Burton started 22nd but was never able to work his way forward. He fell a lap down by the end of the first Stage, a 70-lapper. From that point on, the strategy options were few as the only yellow flag other than for the end of a Stage came with just eight laps left to run.

By the end of a long, hot race on the three-quarter-mile oval, the No. 21 Mustang was three laps behind the leader.

Burton and the DEX Imaging team will have an opportunity to turn more laps on a short track as they participate in a NASCAR test at Richmond on Monday and Tuesday.

Then they will turn the focus to the intermediate-track program and next week’s FireKeepers Casino 400 on the two-mile Michigan International Speedway.

About DEX Imaging
DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES:
Reducing Operating Costs
Reducing Paper Consumption
Increasing Productivity

DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.

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.

Chris Buescher captures Playoff berth with win at Richmond

By
Official Release
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Photo by Mike Biskupski for Speedwaymedia.com

By HOLLY CAIN
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Chris Buescher capped Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s dominant day at Richmond (Va.) Raceway with a trophy, holding off the field on a restart with three laps remaining to win the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 Sunday afternoon – his and the RFK team’s first victory of the season.

Buescher and his teammate Brad Keselowski (also a co-owner of RFK) combined to lead a race-best 190-of-400 laps – Buescher’s 88 laps out front was the most laps he’s ever led in a race in his eight-year NASCAR Cup Series career. And it all results in an important automatic bid into the 16-driver Playoff field with only four races remaining in the regular season.

Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Ford ultimately held off last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin by a slight .549-seconds although Buescher had held more than a five-second advantage on Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota up until that caution flag flew for an accident involving Noah Gragson and Daniel Suarez in the closing laps.

“It was smooth sailing trying to take care of this Fastenal Mustang, it was so good and trying to take care of it there and about the time (crew chief) Scott (Graves) said over the radio ‘It’s working perfect, keep it up,’ and then there’s a caution,’’ said Buescher with a smile.

“But we were so strong during the race, I had a good feeling there about it,’’ added Buescher who now has three career NASCAR Cup Series wins. “So awesome to pull it off. I’m proud of everybody. That was a long way from the back.’’

That late-race yellow flag was the only caution flag on the day other than the two stage breaks. And the afternoon racing at the Richmond three-quarter mile track was physically demanding under intense heat – over 130-degrees inside the race car. As seventh-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. said smiling after the race, “my cheek feels like it’s sunburned, it was like a hair dryer blowing on you.’’

The 30-year old Texas native Buescher, however, handled the heat and the field, starting 26th but steadily working his way forward. He first cracked into the Top-5 by lap 160 of the 400-lap race, chasing down then-leaders Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Keselowski and Hamlin.

For a race with so many green flag laps, it was actually issues on pit road that thwarted several winning efforts, not problems racing on the track.

Wallace’s 80 laps out front mid-race in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota marked the most laps led in a single race in his career. But he ultimately had to play catch-up when his team had a slow tire change on green flag pit stop on Lap 175. He finished 12th.

With 56 laps remaining, race polesitter and Wallace’s 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick got flagged for violating the commitment line coming to pit road for green flag stop, relegating him from running among the Top-3 to desperately trying to remain on the lead lap with the laps counting down. He finished 16th after leading 81 laps early – every lap of Stage 1 en route to claiming his fourth stage win.

Similarly, Keselowski suffered a misstep in the pits after his No. 6 RFK Ford led a race-best 102 laps. He made an awkward turn into his pit during a green flag stop with 115 laps remaining and it cost just enough time to allow his teammate Buescher to take the lead with under 100 laps remaining.

“We wanted to finish one-two, that’s the ultimate goal, but we still had a heckuva day,’’ said Keselowski, who finished sixth and won Stage Two – his third stage win of the season.

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch – the all-time active winner at Richmond – finished third; his best showing on a short track this season. Team Penske’s Joey Logano rallied in the late laps to finish fourth and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece turned in his best showing of the season with a fifth place run.

Keselowski and Truex finished sixth and seventh followed by SHR’s Aric Almirola, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and SHR’s Kevin Harvick. Chase Briscoe finished 11th giving SHR one of its best full team efforts of the season – all four cars inside the Top-11.

Every car in the 36-car field finished the race, the first time the full field was running at the end since 2018.

Buescher is now the 12th driver to win a race in 2023, leaving four positions still available for a new winner or the top drivers in points. Harvick and Keselowski hold more than a 100-point advantage on the 16th place cutoff. Wallace is up 54 points and Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell holds an 18-point buffer on Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Ty Gibbs for that 16th place position. Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger is 22 points behind McDowell.

Four races now remain to settle the 2023 Playoff field. The series moves north next week for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harvick is the defending race winner.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Cook Out 400
Richmond Raceway
Richmond, Virginia
Sunday, July 30, 2023

1. (26) Chris Buescher, Ford, 400.
2. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
3. (2) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 400.
4. (23) Joey Logano, Ford, 400.
5. (11) Ryan Preece, Ford, 400.
6. (13) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
7. (10) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 400.
8. (24) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400.
9. (17) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 400.
10. (8) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 400.
11. (20) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 400.
12. (5) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 400.
13. (4) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400.
14. (25) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 400.
15. (7) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 400.
16. (1) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 400.
17. (9) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 400.
18. (15) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 400.
19. (14) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400.
20. (29) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 399.
21. (6) William Byron, Chevrolet, 399.
22. (18) Michael McDowell, Ford, 399.
23. (27) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 399.
24. (19) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 399.
25. (16) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 399.
26. (30) Austin Cindric, Ford, 399.
27. (36) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 399.
28. (12) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 398.
29. (32) Ryan Newman, Ford, 398.
30. (28) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 398.
31. (22) Harrison Burton, Ford, 397.
32. (31) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 397.
33. (33) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 396.
34. (34) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 396.
35. (35) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 396.
36. (21) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 395.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 98.783 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 2 Mins, 13 Secs. Margin of Victory: .549 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 3 for 21 laps.

Lead Changes: 18 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Reddick 1-78;B. Wallace 79-122;D. Hamlin 123-128;M. McDowell 129-137;B. Wallace 138-173;T. Reddick 174-175;D. Hamlin 176-180;M. Truex Jr. 181;B. Keselowski 182-233;T. Reddick 234;B. Keselowski 235-284;D. Hamlin 285-292;M. Truex Jr. 293-304;C. Buescher 305-339;R. Blaney 340-341;M. Truex Jr. 342-346;C. Buescher 347-392;D. Hamlin 393;C. Buescher 394-400.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Brad Keselowski 2 times for 102 laps; Chris Buescher 3 times for 88 laps; Tyler Reddick 3 times for 81 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 80 laps; Denny Hamlin 4 times for 20 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 3 times for 18 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 9 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,23,11,9,4,41,24,10,6,54

Stage #2 Top Ten: 6,17,45,23,11,8,41,19,54,22

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Race Recap: Richmond Raceway

By
Official Release
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Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 12TH
FINISH: 28TH
POINTS:33RD

Noah Gragson Post-Race Thoughts: “It was a solid weekend of building, especially in practice and qualifying, for our Sunseeker Chevrolet. Qualifying went really well, and I’m proud of that. We just missed a little in the race, but we will keep building and learning. I’m still so super thankful for this team and look forward to the test tomorrow.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 27TH
FINISH: 23RD
POINTS: 28TH

Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: “It was an ok day for us on the Allegiant 43 Chevrolet. We got better all day and picked up some spots. We still have some work to do here; Richmond has been one of our tougher places, really, in the last year or so. We have some work to do still, but this was a step in the right direction.”

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 ZL1 for drivers Noah Gragson and Erik Jones, 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.

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

Stewart-Haas Racing: Cook Out 400 from Richmond

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Cook Out 400

Date: July 30, 2023
Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway (.75-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (70 laps/160 laps/170 laps)
Race Winner: Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing (Ford)

SHR Race Finish:

● Ryan Preece (Started 11th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

● Aric Almirola (Started 24th, Finished 8th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

● Kevin Harvick (Started 8th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

● Chase Briscoe (Started 20th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

SHR Points:

● Kevin Harvick (6th with 634 points, 110 out of first)

● Aric Almirola (24th with 384 points, 360 out of first)

● Ryan Preece (25th with 382 points, 362 out of first)

● Chase Briscoe (31st with 283 points, 461 out of first)

Preece Notes:

● Preece earned his first top-five as well as his first top-10 of the season. This was his first top-five and second top-10 in seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond.

● This was Preece’s best finish so far this season. His previous best was 12th March 12 at Phoenix Raceway.

● Preece’s fifth-place result bettered his previous best finish at Richmond – 18th, earned in the series’ prior visit to the track in April.

● Preece finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points and seventh in Stage 2 to earn four more bonus points.

Almirola Notes:

● Almirola earned his second top-10 of the season and his fifth top-10 in 21 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond.

● This was Almirola’s second straight finish of 12th or better. He finished 12th last Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

● This was Almirola’s second straight finish of 13th or better at Richmond. He finished 13th in the series’ prior visit to the track in April.

● Almirola finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points.

Harvick Notes:

● Harvick earned his 10th top-10 of the season and his 31st top-10 in 45 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond.

● This was Harvick’s third straight top-10. He earned back-to-back fourth-place finishes July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and last Sunday at Pocono.

● This was Harvick’s fifth straight top-10 at Richmond. He finished eighth in September 2021, second in April 2022, first last August and fifth in his prior start in April.

● Harvick’s 31 top-10s at Richmond are the most among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Kyle Busch is next best with 28 top-10s.

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

● Harvick finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points.

Briscoe Notes:

● Briscoe’s 11th-place result equaled his previous best finish at Richmond. He finished 11th in April 2022.

● This was Briscoe’s second straight finish of 12th or better at Richmond. He finished 12th in the series’ prior visit to the track in April.

Race Notes:

● Chris Buescher won the Cook Out 400 to score his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Richmond. His margin over second-place Denny Hamlin was .549 of a second.

● Buescher was the 13th different winner in the 22 NASCAR Cup Series races run this season.

● This was Ford’s 723rd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its third of the season.

● This was Ford’s 35th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win at Richmond. It won its first race at the track on May 5, 1957 with Paul Goldsmith.

● There were just three caution periods for a total of 21 laps.

● Nineteen of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Martin Truex Jr., remains the championship leader after Richmond with a 39-point advantage over second-place Hamlin.

Sound Bites:

“My confidence was I’ve seen what Chad (Johnston, crew chief) has given here in year’s past and we talked a lot about what we were gonna need and I said, ‘Man, if you can get me to roll the center, I’ll deal with loose in,’ so that’s what he gave me today and this United Rentals Ford Mustang was pretty stout. Fifth, we lined up in that second row at the end, but we run more like this, we’re gonna have more opportunities to challenge for wins.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang

“It was a strong day. I don’t know that we had anything for the 17 (Chris Buescher) or the 6 (Brad Keselowski). They were really good, but I could maintain and after about 55 laps, I think we were arguably the best car on the racetrack from that point on. The first run it went 70 laps and from like lap 50 to 70 I passed a ton of cars and, unfortunately, in those next few stages the runs aren’t as long. They’re only 45-50 laps when you break them up into three, and I didn’t have enough of a long run to pass a lot of cars like I did previous. I’m frustrated that I bottomed out getting onto the apron coming to pit road under the green flag there and kind of took off in a four-wheel slide and barely clipped the orange box there with my right side tires. I’m frustrated. That’s a silly mistake. You can’t make those mistakes, but, all in all, it was a great day. I had a great Smithfield Ford Mustang. I’m really proud of our guys. We’ve been bringing some really good racecars to the racetrack lately, so we’ll see. We’ve got a few more here to try and get one.” – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang

“Overall, it was a decent day. Our qualifying effort hurt us more than I thought it was going to. I thought our car was really good on a long run, but just could never get the track position to go with it. It seemed like toward the end of the run we would be better than a lot of guys, but were never better enough to pass them. Overall, I thought our car was good, but just needed a little bit more speed to finish it off. With how our last couple of months have gone it’s definitely nice to have another solid run. It seems like all the short tracks we can always run good, it’s just the big tracks that we kind of struggle on so, hopefully, we can apply something we learned today for Michigan and move on.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, Aug. 6 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Sonoma Post-Race Report – 07.30.23

By
Official Release
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ASHLEY, TODD COMPLETE TOYOTA DOUBLE IN SONOMA
Justin Ashley takes back the points lead with series-leading fifth win of the season

SONOMA, Calif. (July 30, 2023) – Justin Ashley continued his incredible season as the New York-native earned his fifth win this season in just 12 events as he defeated fellow Toyota driver Antron Brown in the final round. With the victory, Ashley went back around Steve Torrence to the top of the point standings by 33 points with three races to go in the regular season.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd earned his first victory since 2021 and first win the Toyota GR Supra as he bested Chad Green in the final round at Sonoma. Todd, who scored his first Funny Car victory at the track in 2017, continued his special history at the facility as the former world champion also owns two Top Fuel triumphs at the track.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Sonoma Raceway
Race 12 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel DragsterWinnerW. 3.707 v. 3.750(D. Kalitta) W. 3.740 v. 3.761(A. Prock) W. 3.768 v. 3.793(J. Hart) W. 3.778 v. 3.787(A. Brown)
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFinalistW. 3.744 v. 3.717(M. Salinas) W. 4.034 v. 6.321(B. Force) W. 3.794 v. 3.810(S. Torrence) L. 3.787 v. 3.778(J. Ashley)
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSemi-FinalsW. 3.751 v. 3.878(R. August Jr.) W. No Time – Mechanical v. BYE L. 3.810 v. 3.794(A. Brown)
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSecond RoundW. 3.755 v. 3.746(L. Pruett) L. 4.697 v. 3.793(J. Hart)
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFirst RoundL. 3.750 v. 3.707(J. Ashley)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarWinnerW. 3.958 v. 3.980(B. Alexander) W. 3.985 v. 4.110 (B. Tasca III) W. 3.965 v. 3.999 (M. Hagan) W. 3.972 v. 4.039(C. Green)
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSemi-FinalsW. 4.602 v. No Run(T. Gibbons) W. 4.018 v. 4.577 (R. Hight) L. 4.013 v. 3.991(C. Green)
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarFirst RoundL. Foul – Redlight v. 3.991(P. Lee)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Maynard Ashley Racing

TF Final Result: Winner

Can you talk about your race?

“It was tough. Especially in Top Fuel now, competition is so tough, and so hard. It really feels like four final rounds, every time you get up there – the margin of error is so small. Looking at the ladder and seeing as we advance all of the opponents that would come next, you’ve got to think that it is going to take a real team effort to win a race this weekend. It did. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs) had an incredible raceday as they always do. We ran good in qualifying. We were better than our qualifying position showed. We had a great car on raceday.”

Could you see Antron Brown? It was a close race.

“Yeah, I couldn’t that time. Sometimes, I can see them, or I can hear them. That time – maybe because it was a final round and I was dialed in, I didn’t see him or hear him or anything. I knew it was going to be a close race no matter what. Most of the time when we line up, it is a really close race. You have to credit Antron (Brown) and his team. I didn’t know where he was. I was trying to do everything I could to stay focused on my point ahead in my lane. Happy to win such a close race and that is the way to close out a race like that, a weekend like this in Sonoma Raceway.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Final Result: Winner

Can you summarize what this win means?

“It has been a long road to get here. We started off with a brand-new combination at the beginning of the season, and it wasn’t dumb luck that we did there in Gainesville. We tested there for almost a week – preseason testing and then testing right before the race, and ran well during the race there, and then had the problems in Pomona. Todd (Smith, crew chief) said before the problems we had that it was going to take him a while to get a handle on this new tuneup, and the problems just set that back even further. We were just trying to recoup everything after Pomona, so now I feel like he and Jon-O (Jon Oberhofer, co-crew chief) are getting a good handle on things and just are fine tuning it and the car is responding, and the consistency is coming around. When you are going down the track like you are, it gives them more confidence and a better ability to tune it.”

What is your current take on the Funny Car class?

“I keep saying that I think that Funny Car is the toughest class in the sport. From the top to the bottom anyone can win, and we need to work on qualifying better. We definitely don’t do ourselves any favors going into Sunday – it seems like we are always in that seventh to 10 spot, which sets you up to be second-to-last or last pair first round, and when that happens you get the quick turnaround with these live TV deals, where if you have oil downs in front of you – that just makes it less time to service the thing. Guys like (Matt) Hagan), Robert (Hight) and (Ron) Capps – I feel like they set the bar high for everybody. They win a lot, and they make it look easy, but it is not easy. It is definitely not easy. You can go through guys like that and have a trophy at the end of the day, you have to take advantage of it, because when you go two-plus years without winning one of these things, you don’t know if it is going to happen again.”

What is it about Sonoma?

“There is no reason. It’s not like I try harder or anything like that. I’ve been fortunate to be with good teams in the past. It’s my favorite track on the tour; I say that when we’re not here, and I mean it. I love coming here. I got to share the winner’s circle with Eric Medlen here, and anytime you can come back here and win – it’s just extra special. To do it in Scott Kalitta’s car, and in Eric Medlen country, it is pretty magical. It’s definitely my favorite track on tour. I love Sonoma and Napa Valley. I love wine tasting and things like that, and to get the special trophy along with the Wally – it’s cool things like that, that makes this place special.”

What does mean to win in the Supra body?

“I was getting really mad. I was the only ones who hadn’t won in it. We did a lot of r&d and testing with it, and I feel like we got it all ironed out for (Ron) Capps to go out there and beat it with us, week-in and week-out with it. To finally break through and hold up our end, means a lot. I can’t thank Slugger (Labbe) and everybody at Toyota Gazoo Racing North America enough for giving us the parts and pieces and the help to go out and compete with these teams. It means a lot.”

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.

NHRA AT SONOMA: Team Chevy Post Race Recap

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2023 DENSO NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS
SONOMA RACEWAY
SONOMA, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
JULY 30, 2023

TEAM CHEVY AND JOHN FORCE RACING FACE TRICKY TRACK IN SONOMA

  • Austin Prock and Brittany Force faced Round 2 elimination after moving from Round 1 on opposite ends of the ladder, with Prock falling to Justin Ashley and B. Force to Antron Brown.
  • In Funny Car, Robert Hight faced an early elimination by Ron Capps after defeating team owner and teammate John Force in Round 1.
  • Securing his second career Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier, Austin Prock secured the top position on the Sonoma Nationals ladder with his Friday run of 3.704 ET at 331.36 MPH.
  • Prock (Top Fuel) went provisional No. 1 qualifier Friday night after two rounds of qualifying with his pass of 3.704 ET at 331.36 MPH.

SONOMA, California (July 30, 2023) – Battling a tricky track and fluctuating water grain conditions along with tough luck, it was an early day for the Chevrolet-supported nitro teams of John Force Racing at this year’s DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

After securing his second career Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier and first for the 2023 NHRA season, Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, rocketed to the top spot on the ladder with his Friday pass of 3.704 ET at 331.36 MPH holding through the end of Saturday’s qualifying sessions. While going three-for-three on No. 1 qualifiers during the three stops on NHRA’s Western Swing, (Brittany Force, Top Fuel – Denver, John Force, Funny Car – Seattle, Austin Prock, Top Fuel – Sonoma), the Sonoma Nationals looked to be a promising turnaround for the team.

Prock noted after qualifying Saturday that he’s “really proud of this team, this goes out to my Montana Brand boys. These No. 1 qualifiers are hard to come by, only my second in three years. It’s all about the race team, your crew chiefs and crew outdid everyone else out here and that’s very special. This is the first No. 1 for Chris Cunningham as a Top Fuel crew chief and he and Joe Barlam are really working well together.”

Qualifying No. 9, and on the opposite side of the Sonoma Nationals ladder, Prock’s teammate Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, secured her race day position facing Clay Millican in Round 1 with her Friday pass of 3.771 ET at 323.58 MPH. With both Prock and B. Force defeating their competitors in Round 1, both Top Fuel pilots found their days were done early in Round 2 after both faced elimination.

“We closed out the final race of the Western Swing here in Sonoma,” said B. Force. “John Force Racing swept No. 1 qualifiers, which is impressive. I was No. 1 in Denver, my dad was No. 1 in Seattle, and Austin was No. 1 here in Sonoma. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done today, and we weren’t able to defend the win from last year. We got beat in the second round, but we moved up one in the points to third and we have a week off to get this car figured out before we go to the next one in Topeka, Kansas.”

Unfortunately for Robert Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and teammate/team owner John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, who qualified No. 6 and No. 11 respectively, kicked off the Sunday race day competing against each other on either side of the Sonoma Raceway lanes. After Hight moved to Round 2, he faced off against defending Funny Car champion Ron Capps, but after smoking the tires at half-track, he also faced a premature ending to his Sonoma Nationals race day.

“There’s nothing I could have done (different racing against Ron Capps), Hight said. “The car smoked the tires. We’re still looking for consistency with this new clutch setup. This is the time of the year we always say we better have our act together because this crazy Countdown is coming up pretty quick. But, the good news is we head to Norwalk next weekend for the (Night Under Fire) match race and we’re going to do some testing during the day. We’re not giving up. This Cornwell car will be in the Winner’s Circle soon. The car is close, it’s very close.”

The Chevrolet Nitro and Pro Stock, teams next head to Topeka, Kan. for the 2023 Menards NHRA Nationals Presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park Aug. 11-13, 2023. Broadcast of Sunday’s eliminations air live at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:

“Definitely not the Sunday this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team thought we’d have. We were really confident heading into today and after a good run in the first round bye we felt good. It was another wrong place at the wrong time situation, ran into it in Seattle against Brittany in the first round and again today against Justin Ashley in the quarterfinals. Would have beat anyone else that round. That’s drag racing. It’s sucks but we’ll be back at it in a week and a half and I’ll be chomping at the bit to get back in this hot rod. I’m proud of this team and the work they’re putting in, we’re due for another one, it’s coming.”

Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pack Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:

“We closed out the final race of the Western Swing here in Sonoma. John Force Racing swept No. 1 qualifiers, which is impressive. I was No. 1 in Denver, my dad was No. 1 in Seattle, and Austin was No. 1 here in Sonoma. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done today, and we weren’t able to defend the win from last year. We got beat in the second round, but we moved up one in the points to third and we have a week off to get this car figured out before we go to the next one in Topeka, Kansas.”

On not notching a win just yet this season…

“It’s not a concern. We’re not lost. Our team knows what we’re doing, and it’s just been slow for us. We’ve made a lot of changes and we will be there for the final six.”

Robert Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

“It was a tough weekend. Didn’t qualify great but the track was difficult. Glad NHRA was able to get it evened out today but disappointed we weren’t able to take advantage of it. Jimmy Prock and this Cornwell Tools team are working hard. It’ll come. We just need to keep putting the work in and get that consistency. We’ve got several races before the Countdown and a lot can happen in those races. We’ll just have to see. It was a great crowd out here, this is my hometown track so it was nice to have family here, just sorry we couldn’t get the job done.”

John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

“Never ideal to be racing Robert (Hight) in the other lane unless it’s in the finals. It’s disappointing but at least it guaranteed one of us would be in the second round. Been a challenging couple of races but we’ll be okay. Just a couple of races left until the Countdown, so we’ll move on to the next one and hope for better.”

Round 1 Recap:

Top Fuel:

No. 1 Austin Prock races to a run of 3.742 ET at 330.72 MPH on a bye run.
No. 9 Brittany Force defeated No. 6 Clay Millican with her pass of 3.703 ET at 334.57 MPH to Millican’s 3.786 ET at 301.07 MPH.

Funny Car:

No. 8 Robert Hight defeated No. 11 John Force with his pass of 3.904 ET at 331.53 MPH to J. Force’s 4.845 ET at 163.77 MPH after getting out of the groove and losing traction.

Round 2 Recap:

Top Fuel:

B. Force is defeated by Antron Brown after smoking the tires on her run.
A. Prock is defeated by Justin Ashley after Ashley goes 3.740 ET at 327.03 MPH to Prock’s 3.761 ET at 329.10 MPH.

Funny Car:

Hight is defeated by Ron Capps after smoking the tires at half-track to Capps’ 4.018 ET at 316.90 MPH run.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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 – Buescher Clinches Playoff Berth With Richmond Cup Victory (7.30.23)

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out 400| Sunday, July 30, 2023

CHRIS BUESCHER SECURES PLAYOFF BERTH WITH RICHMOND WIN

  • Chris Buescher won his first race of the season and third overall with today’s victory.
  • The win is the 139th NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Jack Roush and second under the Roush Fenway Keselowski banner.
  • Today’s win is Ford’s 723rd all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

Ford Finishing Results:
1st – Chris Buescher
4th – Joey Logano
5th – Ryan Preece
6th – Brad Keselowski
8th – Aric Almirola
10th – Kevin Harvick
11th – Chase Briscoe
14th – Ryan Blaney
22nd – Michael McDowell
25th – Todd Gilliland
26th – Austin Cindric
29th – Ryan Newman
31st – Harrison Burton
35th – JJ Yeley

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – WHEN THE CAUTION CAME OUT TAKE US THROUGH YOUR EMOTIONS. “I don’t get too stirred up most of the time (laughing). I was sitting there and we had a nice easy lead going there. I was taking care of it and then shifting and about the time Scott came on the radio and said, ‘Let’s work it just like that. Keep it smooth.’ I don’t think he even got off the button and, caution.’ So, I knew it was gonna take some work to get back going, but our Fastenal Mustang was so good firing off today, so good in practice. I didn’t get the job done in qualifying. I had to pass a bunch of cars today and have some great strategy and some great pit stops. Everybody at RFK Racing who has worked so hard to get us to this point. This is awesome. I knew that last restart was gonna be tough, but I knew we had the speed in this thing.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS SUMMER RACE AT RICHMOND THAT FITS YOU SO WELL? “I love it when it gets hot and slick out here. I like searching for grip. I like that line moving around and it made it fun. I felt like the spring race we were pretty decent, but didn’t have everything go our way. That was just textbook execution from everybody. We had a clean day, good strategy, good pit stops, good choices and that got us here to Victory Lane with our Fastenal Mustang. I just feel that the hot, slick weather lets us move around and chase what we need to have that speed in our race cars.”

HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIYING AND THE RACE? “It might have been me (laughing). I won’t take the credit today. That was a ton of other people working together. We had a little bit of a miss in qualifying and group choice was bad luck of the draw, but at the end of the day it put us in a tough spot to start the day and to be in victory lane that makes it even more special.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang – “I’m happy for Chris. We’re incrementally building. It was a solid day for both teams here at RFK. I’m happy for everybody that works on these teams, everybody that supports us with Fastenal and Ford and Build Subs. We led a lot of laps with both cars. Neither of our cars started up front and drove through and great job with the pit crews and just a lot to be proud of today. Of course, I want to win as a driver, but I’m just happy we’re as competitive as we are and we just want to keep building and keep getting more competitive every week.”

IS THIS A STATEMENT THAT YOU GUYS ARE MAKING PROGESS? “One win is good, but you get three or four or five and then you feel a lot better. It sure beats not having any at all, but we want to keep going. It’s nice to have one car locked in the playoffs. We need to get both cars locked in the playoffs. We have a good points gap, but we want wins and this is where we need to be.”

MICHIGAN IS NEXT WEEK. DO YOU HAVE THAT CIRCLED? “Yeah, Michigan has always been a great track for what was Roush and then Roush Fenway and hopefully it will be that way again for RFK. We know it’s not gonna be easy. There’s a lot of great competition there, but it’s nice going in there with a win under your belt.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “We weren’t that bad with the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang, just a little bit off from the best cars. Really couldn’t hang. If you put us at fifth, we could probably hang at fifth, but just qualifying as poorly as we did, slowly getting our way up there, a couple setbacks during the race, kind of made us hang around 7th and 10th place range for a little bit. I knew we just had to get there. Paul did a good job. Must have been a special set of tires. I don’t know, but it fired off pretty good and was able to roll the outside of two lanes there. When Denny screwed up and slid up, got me down the middle and I was like, ‘Maybe this is okay,’ and then it allowed the 8 to get back to the outside. We gave up a spot there. I saw him. I got excited. I was like, I’m also there. I need one more caution. It wasn’t fun (smiling).”

WHAT ABOUT THE FORD PERFORMANCE TODAY? “I think where our weaknesses were hidden today by the lack of grip in the racetrack. Mechanical grip seems to come in and it’s hard to put the power down as it is, so I think just where our weaknesses are were masked and I’m glad Chris was able to capitalize on it and a Ford got in Victory Lane. We need to get more of them in there, but it’s nice to see one there in Victory Lane right now.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang – “My confidence was I’ve seen what Chad has given here in year’s past and we talked a lot about what we were gonna need and I said, ‘Man, if you can get me to roll the center, I’ll deal with loose in,’ so that’s what he gave me today and this United Rentals Ford Mustang was pretty stout. Fifth, we lined up in that second row at the end, but we run more like this we’re gonna have more opportunities to challenge for wins.”

HOW BIG WAS THIS FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE, BUT FOR TEAM MORALE? “We all did (run well). I think that’s just a product of working hard. Sitting and twiddling your thumbs isn’t gonna get you the results that you really want. I know that from racing, so we’ve just been working hard and trying to find what I like, find what Aric likes, Kevin likes, Chase likes and I feel like we’re all trending in that direction.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – “It was a strong day. I don’t know that we had anything for the 17 or the 6. They were really good, but I could maintain and after about 55 laps I think we were arguably the best car on the racetrack from that point on. The first run it went 70 laps and from like lap 50 to 70 I passed a ton of cars and unfortunately in those next few stages the runs aren’t as long. They’re only 45-50 laps when you break them up into three and I didn’t have enough of a long run to pass a lot of cars like I did previous. I’m frustrated that I bottomed out getting on to the apron coming to pit road under the green flag there and kind of took off in a four-wheel slide and barely clipped the orange box there with my right side tires. I’m frustrated. That’s a silly mistake. You can’t make those mistakes, but, all in all, it was a great day. I had a great Smithfield Ford Mustang. I’m really proud of our guys. We’ve been bringing some really good race cars to the racetrack lately, so we’ll see. We’ve got a few more here to try and get one.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang – “Overall, it was a decent day. Our qualifying effort hurt us more than I thought it was going to. I thought our car was really good on a long run, but just could never get the track position to go with it. It seemed like toward the end of the run we would be better than a lot of guys, but were never better enough to pass them. Overall, I thought our car was good, but just needed a little bit more speed to finish it off. With how our last couple of months have gone it’s definitely nice to have another solid run. It seems like all the short tracks we can always run good, it’s just the big tracks that we kind of struggle on so hopefully we can apply something we learned today for Michigan and move on.”

Toyota Racing – NCS Richmond Post-Race Report – 07.30.23

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Official Release
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HAMLIN FINISHES RUNNER-UP IN HOME RACE
Hamlin moves up to second in the standings with second consecutive podium result

RICHMOND, Va. (July 30, 2023) – Denny Hamlin earned a runner-up finish at his home track in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday afternoon to lead Toyota. With the finish, Hamlin moved up to second in the point standings, 39 points behind his teammate Martin Truex Jr. All six Toyota Camry TRD’s finished inside the top-20 today.

Bubba Wallace (12th) extended his points advantage above the Playoff cutline to 54 points, while Ty Gibbs (15th) closed to 18 points behind the final spot as he moved up to 17th in the standings.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Richmond Raceway
Race 22 of 36 – 300 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chris Buescher*
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Kyle Busch*
4th, Joey Logano*
5th, Ryan Preece*
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
15th, TY GIBBS
16th, TYLER REDDICK
20th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Finishing Position: 2nd

Can you take us through your day and the last laps?

“The whole last couple laps were not good on my end. I got a bad restart. I spun them coming to the green. Kyle (Busch) actually gave me a really good push down the front straightaway to get me going. I got great run through (turns) one and two. I just needed to be beside him. I had to recover too much ground from what I lost on the front stretch. Almost got to the outside, and then on turn four, almost got to the outside again, and then in turn one, I was like I’m just going to ship it in there and try to get to the outside one more time and I just carried way too much speed and locked up the left front tires. Happy for Chris (Buescher) that team really deserved it too. It was going to be luck for us to get a caution to get a second chance to go at him there. They deserved it. RFK, hats off to them. I know how hard they’ve worked to get to this point. Proud of them, and proud of this whole Mavis Toyota team to get to this second-place finish.”

It did look like there may have been some contact with you and Kyle Larson after he got come fresh tires. Can you give us your take on that?

“I think he was having a frustrating day. I understand that it’s all good.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

You were on a different strategy all day. How hard was it to keep track of that in the seat?

“It was tough – honestly, the whole day was tough. This place is never easy, but I felt like as loose as we were all day, that was a handful. It was so on edge. It was really, really difficult to drive and make two laps the same. We just really had to battle. Good job by the guys to do what they did to come up with that strategy. I was flipping out because I didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t hear James (Small, crew chief) again on the radio. Just really a hard fought, battle of a day for our Bass Pro Shops Camry. I thought we were probably going to run fifth there without the caution. We were just so bad on the short runs today, for whatever reason, just luckily only lost two spots there at the end. All-in-all, a decent day, but man, it was tough.”

How difficult was this race physically?

“It was tough. It was definitely really, really hot. It felt longer than 400 laps. I’ll be honest, when we got to the end of stage two – I thought there was no way. I thought that was the checkered flag (laughter). It just felt really, really long. My face felt hot because the helmet blower, it sucks cool air from the outside – and it just felt like a hair dryer. My cheek feels like its sunburned. It’s very, very hot, but it is what it is. We hung on. My shoulder hurts more than anything just from how loose I was all day. I’ll work that out, but the heat wasn’t too bad other than on my face.”

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.

CHEVROLET NCS AT RICHMOND 2: Post-Race Report

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
COOK OUT 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JULY 30, 2023

Richard Childress Racing Teammates Lead Chevrolet with Top-10 Finishes at Richmond

 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

3rd Kyle Busch, No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1
9th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

  1. Chris Buescher (Ford)
  2. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
  3. Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)
  4. Joey Logano (Ford)
  5. Ryan Preece (Ford)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Michigan International Speedway with the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, August , at 2:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
STAGE ONE:

· Kyle Busch, the winningest NASCAR Cup Series driver at Richmond Raceway, led the field to the green in today’s Cook Out 400 – Busch’s tenth top-10 start of the 2023 season.

· Leading the Bowtie brigade from the third position at the midway point of Stage One – Busch reported to the No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1 team that he’s fighting loose conditions all the way through turns one and two, with tight conditions while rolling the center through turns three and four.

· With Stage One running caution free, Chase Elliott maintained a top-10 running position through the race’s first 70 laps – leading Chevrolet to the green-white checkered flag from the fourth position.

· Team Chevy Stage One: Top-10

4th Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1

7th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1

STAGE TWO:

· Following a top-five finish in Stage One, crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott down pit road for the team’s first stop of the day for four tires and fuel. The No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1 was the fourth car off pit road for the start of Stage Two.

· Running in the top-five through the first-half of Stage Two, Elliott brought his Camaro ZL1 to pit road on lap 121 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment while trying to manage his rear tires.

· Differing strategies among the leaders as the race reached the second-half of Stage Two, some teams opted to split the stage into a two-stop pit strategy.

· Continuing to lead Chevrolet from the tenth position, the second green-flag pit cycle of Stage Two began with Elliott returning to pit road on lap 174 for another set of four tires, fuel and an adjustment.

· Falling out of the top-10 after continuing to battle loose conditions on his No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1, crew chief Randall Burnett continued to go to work on Busch’s Camaro ZL1. After a set of adjustments during the two-stop, green-flag pit cycle, Busch returned to the top-10 in the closing laps of Stage Two.

· Busch worked his way up into the sixth position to lead Chevrolet to the end of Stage Two.

· Happy with the last two adjustments made to his Camaro ZL1, Busch hit pit road for a scheduled stop under the stage break – taking four tires and fuel; lining up in the sixth position to start the final stage.

FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES:

· Taking the green flag with 140 laps remaining, Busch remained steady between the sixth- and seventh- positions when another round of green-flag pit stops began. Busch brought his Camaro ZL1 to pit road on for a scheduled stop – cycling back into the top-10 with 100 laps to go.

· Busch’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon entered the top-10 as the team prepared for its final scheduled green-flag pit stop of the race. Dillon reported the air pressure adjustment made on his Camaro ZL1 on the previous pit stop was starting to come to him, but was still fighting tight driving conditions when he hit pit road with 62 laps to go.

· With 25 laps to go, Busch continued to climb the leaderboard to the fourth position – holding onto the position until the race’s only natural caution fell with 10 laps remaining.

· With the field coming down pit road under caution, the No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1 pit crew powered off a fast four-tire and fuel stop – picking up one spot during the race off pit road. At the choose cone, Busch elected to take the outside lane of row two to take the green flag with three laps to go.

· In the final sprint to the checkered flag, Busch led Chevrolet with a third-place finish in his No. 8 X World Wallet Camaro ZL1 – his 19th career NASCAR Cup Series top-five finish at Richmond Raceway.

· With 22 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races complete, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (12), top-fives (49), top-10s (93), stage wins (18) and laps led (2,344).

 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 X WORLD WALLET CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 3rd

Busch on his third-place finish at Richmond Raceway:

“We certainly fought hard on the long runs. It was after about lap 50 that we really dropped off and fell off. But the first 50 laps, we could hang on and do OK. Really appreciate the No. 8 Chevy team, X World Wallet, Netspend, Chevrolet. We just had a really good day on pit road and just a solid effort. We needed something like this to be solid on the short-tracks and to kind of get our momentum back heading in the right direction. Happy with what we’ve got right here.

Thank you to RCR, ECR especially. I ran the heck out of this engine today. I think I spent most of the race in fourth gear, where about everybody else was fifth gear. It just helped me the way I was driving and it got us a good, third-place finish.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CLUB CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 9th

Dillon on his top-10 finish at Richmond Raceway:

“It was a solid race for us all day. We weren’t that great in the beginning and we just kind of tuned on it. We got really good at the end of Stage Two and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy was pretty solid. I want to thank all of our partners. Last week was tough – I feel like that should have been two top-10’s in a row, but we’ll take it. We’ve had a rough year all-in-all, but to get a top-10 here at Richmond (Raceway), it means the world.”

At one point, you thought maybe they went the wrong way on adjustments and your crew chief Keith (Rodden) said – Hey, I told you it would come back, right?

“Yeah, it just didn’t fire-off like it had when we got the track position we needed. In the middle of the run, it would really go, but by that time, it was kind of over. I don’t know if the track tightened up for us a little bit as we went. We’d hit it in the middle, but by the end, I was really proud of that last restart. It was a good one.”

 
 

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.

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