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Foster Steers Clear To Win at Portland; Rasmussen Closer to Title

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Official Release
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PORTLAND, Ore. (Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023) – Louis Foster avoided a Lap 1 pileup and led all 35 laps to win the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday at Portland International Raceway.

Rookie Foster, from England, started from the pole and earned his second victory of the season in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car fielded by Andretti Autosport. He captured his first career victory in the INDYCAR development series in early July at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Foster won by 7.8583 seconds over fellow rookie Nolan Siegel in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. Siegel earned his best finish since winning in June at Road America. Danial Frost placed third in the No. 68 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine, his best result since winning the season opener in March at St. Petersburg.

“The boys gave me an amazing car,” Foster said. “I can’t thank them enough. I was just turning laps out there, to be honest. Once I had a comfortable gap that I knew I couldn’t be closed down from, I was just saving my tires, to be honest. I’m really looking forward to Laguna next weekend now.”

Christian Bogle finished fourth in the No. 7 HMD Motorsports with DCR car, tying his career best set last season at Detroit. Championship leader Christian Rasmussen finished fifth in a damaged No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine after a strong recovery from being collected in the first-lap fracas.

Rasmussen leads second-place Hunter McElrea, who also was involved in the early collision, by 65 points with just the season-ending doubleheader Sept. 9-10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca remaining. Rasmussen can clinch his first title if he leads by 54 points or more Saturday after the race.

“Wow – good recovery,” Rasmussen said. “That’s all I can ask for today, extending the championship lead going into Laguna. Very happy about that. We just basically have to finish the races at Laguna, and we’re champions.”

Qualifying on pole always has its advantages, but perhaps nowhere greater than Portland. The 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course features a tight chicane in the front straightaway as Turn 1, the site of numerous flashpoints on starts in the past.

Mayhem unfolded again in Calamity Corner at Portland on Lap 1, as the cars of Reece Gold, Josh Pierson, Kyffin Simpson, McElrea, Jacob Abel and Victor Franzoni were involved in a chain-reaction collision. Rasmussen’s machine was hit from behind in the incident, damaging its floor and punting it into a spin in Turn 1, but Rasmussen was able to continue.

That incident triggered the only full-course caution of the race, and Foster had no trouble pulling away on the restart on Lap 5.

Foster expanded his gap over Frost to 2.4788 seconds by Lap 10 and 5.3202 seconds by Lap 20.

While Foster ran away out front, there was a spirited joust for second on the final lap. Siegel stayed close to Frost in the closing laps before pouncing with an outside move in the Turn 1 chicane on the final lap to take second place.

INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland Results

  1. (1) Louis Foster, 35, Running
  2. (7) Nolan Siegel, 35, Running
  3. (8) Danial Frost, 35, Running
  4. (11) Christian Bogle, 35, Running
  5. (3) Christian Rasmussen, 35, Running
  6. (16) Jamie Chadwick, 35, Running
  7. (14) Ernie Francis Jr., 35, Running
  8. (12) James Roe, 35, Running
  9. (17) Matthew Brabham, 35, Running
  10. (10) Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 34, Running
  11. (6) Victor Franzoni, 34, Running
  12. (13) Jagger Jones, 33, Running
  13. (4) Kyffin Simpson, 33, Running
  14. (5) Reece Gold, 33, Running
  15. (2) Hunter McElrea, 29, Contact
  16. (9) Jacob Abel, 0, Contact
  17. (15) Josh Pierson, 0, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 102.593 mph
Time of Race: 00:40:12.0978
Margin of victory: 7.8583 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps
Lead changes: 0

Lap Leaders:
Foster, Louis 1 – 35

Stewart-Haas Racing: NXS Race Report from Darlington

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200

Date: Sept. 2, 2023
Event: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 (Round 25 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 147 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/57 laps)
Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 147-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Race Finish:

● Cole Custer (Started 4th / Finished 4th, completed 148 of 148 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 15th / Finished 6th, completed 148 of 148 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (4th with 861 points, 107 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (10th with 657 points, 311 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Custer earned his 10th top-five of the season and his fourth top-five in five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Darlington.
● Custer has never finished outside the top-10 at Darlington in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
● This was Custer’s fourth straight top-five at Darlington. He finished third in May.
● This was Custer’s fourth straight top-10. He finished sixth Aug. 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, seventh Aug. 19 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, and fifth last Friday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
● Custer finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and sixth in Stage 2 to earn five more bonus points.
● Herbst earned his 11th top-10 of the season and his third top-10 in eight career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Darlington.
● Herbst finished 10th in Stage 1 to earn one bonus point and ninth in Stage 2 to earn two more bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 to score his 18th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season and his sixth at Darlington. His margin over second-place Austin Hill was .657 of a second.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 34 laps.
● Thirty-two of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Austin leaves Darlington as the championship leader with a 23-point advantage over second-place John Hunter Nemechek.

Sound Bites:

“There at the end, I was just hoping that the three of them in front of me would battle it out and I could get around them. Our No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang was just so tight all day. I couldn’t get it to turn. We kept trying different adjustments, but we just couldn’t get on the other side of it. Overall, I feel like we did pretty good, and it shows that even on an off day, this team can run in the top-five. That will go well for us as we head into the playoffs.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

“Obviously, we wanted to come here and get a win today at Darlington. That’s always the goal for this No. 98 Monster Energy team. The fact that we’re back in the playoffs at the moment is cool, but ultimately a win is what we’re hunting. We have some work to do, but I know that this team can do it. We’ll take this Ford Mustang and head to Kansas to try to execute a win.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the regular season finale Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, Sept. 9 at Kansas Motor Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Foster Wins Portland Pole To Lead Andretti Front-Row Lockout

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Official Release
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PORTLAND, Ore. (Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023) – Louis Foster led an Andretti Autosport sweep of the front row for the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland during qualifying Saturday at Portland International Raceway, earning his series-leading fourth pole of the season.

Foster, a rookie from England, set a track record with a best lap of 1 minute, 2.6302 seconds in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car. He broke the previous record of 1:02.8074 set by current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Pato O’Ward in qualifying in 2018.

“We waited a bit longer than the others,” Foster said of managing traffic. “Everyone else got a lap more than me or two laps, I think, maybe. We made it work. Andretti gave me an amazing car.

“It was quite difficult. I was struggling throughout the session. I made a few mistakes but managed to just put in one lap at the end that was good enough. We’ll take it.”

Teammate Hunter McElrea will join Foster on the front row for the 35-lap race Sunday (1:10 p.m. ET, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network) after his best lap of 1:02.7924 in the No. 27 Smart Motors car.

Championship leader Christian Rasmussen qualified third at 1:02.9115 in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine. Rasmussen, who has won three of the last four races, leads McElrea by 50 points in the standings with three races remaining.

Rasmussen can’t clinch the title this weekend, but he can go a long way toward getting his hands on the championship trophy during the season-ending doubleheader Sept. 9-10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“When you’re not pole, it’s never good enough,” Rasmussen said. “But I think that’s what we had today. Figuring out the traffic out there was a little bit of an issue. P3 is OK. We were right there.

“With the gap that I have, I don’t have to win every race for the rest of the season. So, I’m just kind of focusing on getting the most out of it.”

Kyffin Simpson will join Rasmussen in Row 2 after qualifying fourth at 1:03.0048 in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR car.

Reece Gold qualified fifth at 1:03.0057 in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. Victor Franzoni fills out Row 3 after qualifying sixth at 1:03.2201 in the No. 75 Juncos Hollinger Racing machine.

Toyota Racing – NXS Darlington Post-Race Report – 09.02.23

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Official Release
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HAMLIN EARNS SIXTH XFINITY SERIES WIN AT DARLINGTON

DARLINGTON, S.C. (September 2, 2023) – Denny Hamlin was victorious at Darlington Raceway on Saturday to give Toyota its 199th win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Hamlin led 14 laps, including the final three, to score his sixth Xfinity Series win at Darlington.

Xfinity Series regular John Hunter Nemechek earned the pole for Saturday’s race in the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra and won the first two stages of the race. Nemechek led 99 laps and battled down the stretch to finish third.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Darlington Raceway
Race 25 of 33 – 200.8 miles, 147 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, Austin Hill*
3rd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
4th, Cole Custer*
5th, Josh Berry*
15th, COREY HEIM
17th, SAMMY SMITH
27th, MATT MILLS
28th, KAZ GRALA
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 19 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

What are your thoughts on earning your sixth Xfinity win at Darlington today?

“Yeah, I’m just proud to do this for Gordon Logan and everyone at Sports Clips. He’s been such a supporter of my career for such a long time. Thank you to Sport Clips and Help a Hero. Appreciate everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing for the opportunity to come and do one Xfinity race per year and it’s great to have a win.”

How long did it take to find a rhythm in the car today?

“It took a while. I really needed some long runs, but I really didn’t want to show everything we had until the very end of the race there. We really did a good job of maintaining what we had and man, it was going to be cool to see that race play out, but still it was a great win.”

How were you able to get the win today?

“These cars just drive so different than the Next Gen does. Really, I just maintained my pace and kept them within shouting distance and then pounced when I really needed to.”

What is it about Darlington Raceway that you love?

“First, I’ve got to thank our sponsors in Sport Clips, Toyota, TRD, FedEx, Coca-Cola, Interstate Batteries, Jordan brand, Logitech, Shady Rays. Man, it just suits my driving style really. I don’t know how else to explain it than I feel like you can manipulate the car to do the things you really need it to if it’s not perfect. And, a driver, when he feels like he can make a difference, you like the race track.”

How much confidence does this give you for tomorrow’s Southern 500?

“I thought our car was pretty good over on the Cup side. I’ll go and work on it tonight. I feel like there’s some things we can improve on, and we’ll work with the team to get it there. I’m obviously very confident.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Are you disappointed with the finish today?

“I’m just frustrated with myself. I didn’t make the right adjustment the last stop and it’s on me. I said I didn’t need an adjustment and probably did. It sucks coming up short here twice with such fast Toyota GR Supras both times. We’ll keep plugging. Solid points day for us. Gained some points back on the 21 (Austin Hill), I think that puts us back to second in points as well. Go to Kansas next week to finish out the regular season and hope to go win all three stages instead of two.”

What is your outlook going into Kansas?

“I think for us, it’s just continuing to push as hard as we can. We’re here to win every single week and we’re going to try and do that. That’s it. I wish I would’ve been in Denny’s (Hamlin) seat and him pushing me instead of me pushing him, but that’s how it works sometimes.”

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.

Back in Black: Rahal Rides Primary Tires to Portland Pole

By
Official Release
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PORTLAND, Ore. (Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023) – Graham Rahal earned two poles in an INDYCAR SERIES season for the first time in 14 years, and he also gave the rest of the field something to think about entering the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday.

Rahal turned a top lap of 58.3195 seconds in the No. 15 PeopleReady Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to add an NTT P1 Award to the one he won last month for the Gallagher Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. And unlike the other five drivers in the Firestone Fast Six, Rahal turned his best lap on Firestone primary tires, which are supposed to be slower but more durable than the Firestone alternate red-sidewall tires.

“Yesterday, we really struggled on the red tires,” Rahal said. “This morning we saved a set of blacks (primary tires) compared to everyone else, and it just worked out to be able to go to the new blacks (in qualifying). Everybody has pushed real hard to get our team back to this point, and it’s nice to have two poles here at the end of the year.”

This was the fifth career pole of Rahal’s INDYCAR SERIES career. His first two came in 2009, on the streets of St. Petersburg and at Kansas Speedway. Rahal was 18th of 27 drivers in practice Friday and improved to fourth in practice Saturday morning, avoiding running on a set of primary tires that ended up being his secret weapon in the Firestone Fast Six.

Reigning race winner Scott McLaughlin qualified second at 58.3525 in the No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet. He won this race from the pole last year, leading 104 of 110 laps.

“We have a great car,” McLaughlin said. “It was the same car we ran last year, so hopefully we’ll be OK.”

Live coverage of this year’s 110-lap race starts at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Colton Herta qualified third at 58.4576 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian. Rahal’s speed on primary tires led Herta to mull over strategy for the race Sunday on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course. Each team has six sets of Firestone primary tires and four sets of alternate tires for use during an event weekend, and all drivers must run the primary and alternate tires during the race.

“That’s one set that he’s taken off the table for the race tomorrow, too,” Herta said of Rahal’s decision to use primary tires in the Firestone Fast Six. “It’s a cat-and-mouse game, and you have to be willing to give up a little bit, strategy-wise, to get that pole.

“We thought the reds were going to be better. I think for us, (the alternate tire) probably was the best. Our Gainbridge car has come a long way this weekend.”

Scott Dixon qualified fourth at 58.5803 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as he tries to keep alive his faint hopes for a record-tying seventh championship. Dixon trails teammate Alex Palou by 74 points entering this race and must trim that gap to 53 points or less after the race tomorrow to carry the title race to the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, Sept. 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

But Palou kept the pressure on his legendary teammate by qualifying fifth at 58.6492 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda. And in bad news for Dixon and the other 25 drivers in the field, Palou was the only driver to end up in the top five in each of the first three on-track sessions this weekend.

Pato O’Ward rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 58.6737 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

The last two Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winners, Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson, and reigning series champion Will Power were eliminated in the second round of qualifying.

2023 Indy 500 winner Newgarden’s chances to advance to the Firestone Fast Six ended early in the Round of 12 when the left tires of his No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet ran over the rumble strips and into the dirt exiting Turn 11, sending his car nose first into the tire barrier in Turn 12. Newgarden was unhurt, but his car suffered moderate damage. He will start 12th.

Ericsson will start 10th in the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing. Power dipped a wheel into the dirt on his final flying lap of the Round of 12 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, and he will start seventh.

The unpredictable, ultra-competitive nature of qualifying in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES was magnified in the first round when the respective two quickest drivers from Friday’s practice, Christian Lundgaard and Kyle Kirkwood, failed to advance to the second round.

Lundgaard was slowed by traffic at the end of the first round of qualifying and will start 17th in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The setup that Kirkwood used to end up second Friday didn’t translate to qualifying conditions and Firestone alternate tires, and he will start 16th in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Autosport.

BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland
Qualifying Results

  1. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 58.3195 (121.236)
  2. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 58.3525 (121.167)
  3. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 58.4576 (120.949)
  4. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 58.5803 (120.696)
  5. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 58.6492 (120.554)
  6. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 58.6737 (120.504)
  7. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 58.3779 (121.114)
  8. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 58.4973 (120.867)
  9. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 58.5023 (120.857)
  10. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 58.5479 (120.763)
  11. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 59.3053 (119.220)
  12. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
  13. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 58.3240 (121.226)
  14. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 58.6652 (120.521)
  15. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 58.3522 (121.168)
  16. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 58.6835 (120.484)
  17. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 58.3678 (121.135)
  18. (30) Juri Vips, Honda, 58.7454 (120.357)
  19. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 58.6529 (120.546)
  20. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 58.7753 (120.295)
  21. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 58.6748 (120.501)
  22. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 58.8006 (120.244)
  23. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 59.0633 (119.709)
  24. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 58.9016 (120.037)
  25. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 59.2642 (119.303)
  26. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 59.2175 (119.397)
  27. (60) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 59.4364 (118.957)

Denny Hamlin scores sixth career Xfinity win at Darlington

By
Angie Campbell
-
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Denny Hamlin continued his Xfinity Series dominance at Darlington Raceway Saturday afternoon, claiming his sixth series victory at the track. The winning move came after a restart on Lap 147 of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW forced the race into overtime, opening the door for Hamlin to overtake Austin Hill for the lead.  

“I really needed some long runs,” said Hamlin, “but I didn’t really want to show everything that we had ’til the very end of the race there. We really did a good job of maintaining everything that we had.”

Hill, frustrated after the race, said, “I just need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what I’m doing wrong on the restarts there, because that was really frustrating all day today. It didn’t matter where I was restarting, I would buzz the tires really bad and just lose track position every time I’d do it.

“So I got to do a better job of that if I’m going to win a championship. All in all, solid for us. That’s kind of something that we’ve been preaching the last six races that if you can’t be first, be second. If you can’t be second, be third. We were second today, but it still stings a little bit when you want to win.”

John Hunter Nemechek had to settle for third after sweeping the first two stages and leading a race-high 99 laps as Cole Custer and Josh Berry rounded out the top five. Riley Herbst, Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed, Kyle Busch and Daniel Hemric completed the top-10 finishers.

Riley Herbst currently has a one-point lead over Parker Kligerman for the final playoff spot with only one race to go in the regular season. Unfortunately for Kligerman, contact with Sam Mayer during the race cost him multiple spots resulting in a disappointing 24th place finish.

The Xfinity Series regular-season finale is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 at Kansas Speedway at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Complete Results:

Darlington-Xfinity-Results-2325_UNOFFRES

Toyota Racing – NCS Darlington Raceway Quotes – Christopher Bell – 09.02.23

By
Official Release
-

Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DARLINGTON, S.C. (September 2, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series event at Darlington Raceway on Saturday:

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

How does this help your confidence being on the pole for the first race of the Playoffs?

“It definitely feels good. Darlington is a place that’s notoriously hard to pass, so starting up front is a really big deal. But, with that being said, it’s an extremely long race. The Southern 500 is in my opinion probably harder than the Coca-Cola 600 just because of the race track that we’re at. Very long time tomorrow so starting position has no indication of where we’re going to finish, but we certainly have the speed to compete and hopefully we can keep it up front all day.”

Has qualifying been a particular point of emphasis with the Next Gen car?

“We always try and qualify good, but I’ll be honest last year we qualified a lot better than what we were doing at the beginning of this year. Definitely after we got through the first probably five, eight races of this year we were wondering what happened, right? Because last year we made the final round a lot – the majority of the time and then at the beginning of this year we were really struggling. My team, Adam Stevens (crew chief), Tyler (Allen) and William (Hartman) my engineers have put a lot of emphasis on qualifying here the last couple months and it’s really showed. We’ve been able to be in the hunt a lot more, make that final round and it really helps out on Sunday’s whenever you get a good pit stall selection. At certain race tracks, qualifying is a really big deal, and this is definitely one of them.”

Why is the Southern 500 more difficult than the Coca-Cola 600?

“Just because Darlington is a very, very mentally taxing race track. You have to put it up against the fence consistently and the track is very slick — much slicker than what we have at Charlotte. The weather is going to be nice and it’s a night race so that helps a little bit, but it’s just a mentally draining place at Darlington.”

Is this the best possible way for you to kick off the 10-race Playoffs with a new pit crew?

“Yeah. It should help. Having the number one pit stall should be a big advantage. I’m excited to drive for this new group and hopefully we can start the Playoffs off strong in our first race. Hopefully, we can both perform up to our standards.”

How important was it building the momentum you did in the Playoffs last year?

“Yeah, that was huge. Getting the Playoffs kicked off at Darlington last year was a huge, huge momentum booster for the Round of 16. And I’ve talked about how hard this race is. It’s a very mental race and people are going to make mistakes and take themselves out of it so you can’t be in that group. Fortunately, last year we were able to qualify on the front row and the race went really smooth for us. We were able to score stage points in stage one and stage two and have a good finish. And, then your outlook is much more positive going into Kansas and Bristol. Bristol is not a road course and it’s not a superspeedway. It has a little bit of that wild card feel because it’s so easy to get caught up in other people’s messes. I would love to be in a great points position going into Bristol where you can be very aggressive there because it’s a track that rewards aggression. We were able to do that last year so hopefully we can do it again.”

Was it an advantage being in Group A today?

“Yeah, it’s always a big advantage being in Group A whenever we come to these slick race tracks. Just because the amount of time you have cooling your tires is a really big deal. It’s been like that since the start of this qualifying format last year and its bit me plenty of times, so I’m glad I was on the opposite end of it this time.”

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 48,000 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 22 electrified options.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Christopher Bell claims Darlington Cup Series pole as Playoffs commence

By
Angie Campbell
-
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Christopher Bell captured the pole position for the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Darlington Raceway with a 169.193 mph qualifying lap Saturday afternoon. It’s his third pole of the season and his seventh career pole in the series.

Bell was happy with the speed of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota but also acknowledged the difficulty of keeping his car up front throughout the race.

“It definitely feels good. Darlington is a place that’s notoriously hard to pass, so starting up front is a really big deal,” he said. “But, with that being said, it’s an extremely long race. The Southern 500 is, in my opinion, probably harder than the Coca-Cola 600 just because of the race track that we’re at. Very long time tomorrow so starting position has no indication of where we’re going to finish, but we certainly have the speed to compete and hopefully we can keep it up front all day.”

Bell’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, will join him on the front row after posting a 169.042 mph lap. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was third fastest, placing three Toyotas at the top of the field. Ford drivers scored the following seven spots with Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five followed by Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell and Aric Almirola to complete the top 10.

Blaney, starting fourth, emphasized the importance of staying focused.

“That’s not a bad starting spot,” he said. “It’s nice to start in the top five and starting fourth. That’s really good. I’m proud of the effort today and now it’s just a matter of staying in it. Five hundred miles is a long race. It’s a super long race and you can make mistakes real easy, so it’s just a matter of focusing in on tomorrow. It was a good effort today we just have to keep improving.”

Playoff contender and Regular Season Champion, Martin Truex Jr., will start toward the back of the field in 31st after his car got loose during qualifying.

The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on USA with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Playoff Drivers Starting Positions for The Cook Out Southern 500:
Christopher Bell – 1st
Denny Hamlin – 2nd
Tyler Reddick – 3rd
Ryan Blaney – 4th
Brad Keselowski – 5th
Joey Logano – 6th
Kevin Harvick – 7th
Chris Buescher – 8th
Michael McDowell – 9th
Kyle Busch – 11th
Kyle Larson – 18th
Bubba Wallace – 19th
William Byron – 23rd
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 25th
Ross Chastain – 27th
Martin Truex Jr. – 31st

Ryan Preece ready to return after scary crash at Daytona

By
Quinn McCullough
-

Playoffs for the NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500. One driver is ready for a bounce-back race, and that driver is Ryan Preece.

He drives the 41 car for Stewart Haas Racing. This season is a return to full-time Cup Series racing for Ryan since he raced for JTG Daughtery Racing just two years ago.

After last week’s scary crash at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona where Preece’s car flipped in the air and crashed to the ground several times. He was discharged and released from the hospital earlier this week.

When NASCAR on Fox Sports Insider Bob Pockrass spoke with Preece earlier this week, Preece said,” ‘They aren’t bad,’ ‘What I want you all to know is [that] racing in general — whether you’re racing a sprint car, modified, anything — is dangerous.”

Drivers like Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports came out and acknowledged that NASCAR was quick to work on safety improvements after Ryan’s dangerous crash at the race last weekend.

https://youtu.be/KU2u_kHZ3to?si=cQ8aWrQHXQzATe2R
Interview with Ryan Preece from Stewart Haas Racing’s YouTube Channel

This is not the first time NASCAR has had safety issues with their 7th Generation Car. NASCAR leadership hopes that their will be fewer safety issues in the future.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – NCS Darlington 2 Cup Qualifying (9.2.23)

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out Southern 500 Qualifying | Saturday, September 2, 2023

Ford Qualifying Results:
4th – Ryan Blaney
5th – Brad Keselowski
6th – Joey Logano
7th – Kevin Harvick
8th – Chris Buescher
9th – Michael McDowell
10th – Aric Almirola
12th – Chase Briscoe
14th – Austin Cindric
30th – Todd Gilliland
32nd – Harrison Burton
33rd – JJ Yeley
34th – Ryan Preece
35th – Ryan Newman

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 StageFront VIP Ford Mustang – “Obviously, times were really close there. I’m really proud of everybody and glad to have as much speed as we do. We were quick in practice and then backed it up there, but I just got a little too tight off of four and had to check out of the gas a little bit. That’s why I’m frustrated because when I saw a .24, a .23, a .26 I’m like, ‘Awwww, I think I could have run that.’ But I’m really proud of everybody. That’s what we needed. We needed a good starting spot for tomorrow to kick off the playoffs right, so we’re doing all the things we need to do.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang – “That’s not a bad starting spot. It’s nice to start in the top five and starting fourth. That’s really good. I’m proud of the effort today and now it’s just a matter of staying in it. Five hundred miles is a long race. It’s a super long race and you can make mistakes real easy, so it’s just a matter of focusing in on tomorrow. It was a good effort today we just have to keep improving.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “It’s not as good as we want, but it’s towards the front. Being in the outside lane is nice, so we’ll try and get a good start for tomorrow and get us in position for the end.”

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