Race Information

• Round: NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 15 of 36
• Track Location: World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois
• Race Name: Enjoy Illinois 300
• Broadcast: Sunday, June 4th at 3:30 PM ET live on FS1 (TV), MRN (Radio) Sirius XM NASCAR Ch. 90
• Team Entrants:

No. 42 | Noah Gragson & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro Zl1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet Camaro ZL

Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

World Wide Technology Raceway Stats

Truck Series: Starts: 2; Best start: 3rd; Best finish: 9th; Top-10s: 2; Laps led: 63

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

Starts: 14, Best start: 10th; Best finish: 12th (Atlanta); Laps led: 2; Points position: 32nd

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

Charlotte Recap: Noah Gragson suffered the same issue as teammate Erik Jones at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend. He moved through the field in the first stage and hit debris on track early in Stage 2. The debris tore a hole in the radiator and the team spent 50 plus laps in the garage fixing the car. Once he came back out, Gragson and teammate Jimmie Johnson were caught up in an accident and two laps later Gragson’s machine had a mechanical failure forcing an early retirement.

Gateway in Trucks: Gragson has two starts at the 1.25-mile track in St. Louis. He has two top-10 finishes and has completed all 320 attempted laps around the circuit. This will be his first attempt at World Wide Technology Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series and in any type of racing vehicle since 2018.

Local Spotter: Longtime spotter Earl Barban grew up in St. Louis and is a graduate of Jennings High School. In 1983, Barban enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, where he served as a truck driver until 1988 and received the Navy Achievement Medal. Barban attended Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College and the University of Missouri at Columbia. He worked on a friends sprint car team and did a driving stint at Pevely Speedway in St. Louis before going to work for Penske in NASCAR. Barban spotted for Jimmie Johnson in six of his seven championship seasons.

Quoting Noah Gragson: “I’m looking forward to St. Louis and hope we get to practice and qualify. The weather is really hurting us – when we don’t have a chance to make laps and have to start by the metric, we have to work hard to move forward and have been having some bad luck. I ran well in the trucks at this track so I am looking forward to getting some laps in the No. 43 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

World Wide Technology Raceway Stats

Truck Series: Starts: 3; Best start: 1st; Best finish: 5th; Top-five: 1; Top-10s: 1; Laps Led: 88

Cup Series: Starts: 1; Best start: 21st; Best finish: 7th; Top-10s: 1; Laps Led: 4

2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

Starts: 14; Best start: 8th; Best finish: 6th (Talladega); Top-10s: 2; Laps led: 17; Points position: 27th

Charlotte in the Rear view: Practice, qualifying and the original running of the Coca-Cola 600 was postponed due to rain at Charlotte Motor Speedway. When the race started on Monday, Erik Jones would have to start from the 26th position. After the green flag dropped, Jones worked his way through the field and finished Stage 1 in the 11th position. Unfortunately, early in Stage 2 Jones hit a piece of debris, tearing a hole in the radiator, which forced the No. 43 team to the garage for repairs. When Jones returned to the track 59 laps later, the team used the track time to adjust on the No. 43 as Jones hung on for a 32nd place finish.

Trucking at St. Louis: Jones has three starts at World Wide Technology Raceway in the NASCAR Truck Series. He scored one top-five, led 88 laps and has two DNF’s in that series on the 1.25-mile oval.

Dynamic Duo: Jones and crew chief Dave Elenz had a successful first trip to World Wide Technology Raceway for its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in 2022, managing a seventh-place finish. Jones ran 194 out of the 240 laps inside the top-15 and held an average position of tenth throughout the race.

Meeting “That Jones Boy”: Fans will have the opportunity to meet the driver of the No. 43 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet, as Jones will make an appearance on race day at the World Wide Technology Raceway. At 11:10 am (local time) Jones will sign autographs for approximately 100 fans at the United States Air Force activation in the fan midway.

Jones Partners with MIS: Byron, Michigan native Jones will return to his “home” track of Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in August. To honor the hometown hero, MIS will offer a special Erik Jones Fan Experience ticket package which will include a DJ, games and a chance to meet Jones. The Erik Jones Fan Experience will be located in Lot 3 – click here for details.

Quoting Erik Jones: “St. Louis is a great track, since it was new last year on the Cup schedule, we haven’t had the opportunity to run there as much as the other tracks, but when we do have the opportunity to compete there we have run well. Last year we didn’t have a great start, but we worked our way up to a top-ten finish. With Bommarito back on the car this year I feel like we need to have that same goal in mind. It is going to be our first time back on the road in a while and transitioning from a 600-mile race in Charlotte to a 300-mile race changes your mindset a bit, but I am excited to get back out there and race for a win.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Gateway Advance | Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Zane Smith, driver of the No. 38 ARRMA Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Front Row Motorsports, is coming off a 10th-place finish in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600, which represented only his sixth NASCAR Cup Series career start. Smith answered questions from the media about that performance and this weekend’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

ZANE SMITH, No. 38 ARRMA Ford F-150 – HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE MONDAY’S PERFORMANCE AND DO YOU CONSIDER IT A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? “Yes, definitely. Yes on all of those. Obviously, a very long race, so I had prepared pretty much this whole month of just trying to get ready for it and at the end of the Cup races I kind of battled with some seat insert issues, of just kind of being uncomfortable towards the end of the race, so we put some attention on that and I felt great after. I was happy about the training side of things and then on the performance side we got our car better every single stop and I just kind of learned and learned and learned as the race went on. Our goal initially was just trying to make it to the end on the lead lap, and then I was passing and running with some really good guys and then they would get really good track position and compete up front, so I knew that we just needed to be aggressive on restarts and try to get what we could and we were able to do so and get our car to fire off a little bit better than the beginning of the race. We found a happy medium to where we’d fall off and we came home with a top 10 finish. I was super excited with that, obviously. Everyone is really good on Sunday and the Coke 600 is a crown jewel event. I’ve always enjoyed going to Charlotte and it was a fun weekend.”

CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH A LAP AROUND GATEWAY AND WHAT DO YOU RECALL ABOUT MAKING YOUR CUP DEBUT THERE A YEAR AGO? “Gateway is a really fun place just to make laps at, so it’s a fun racetrack. On the harder side of things to race at just passing-wise and what-not. I think being able to put a good lap down at Gateway really comes in clutch in the race, especially on the truck side just because of how you don’t have a whole lot of time on the truck side. On the Cup side, you have plenty of time to learn and it was a good place, I thought, to make your debut and I feel like I got to experience the Cup cars in between a short track and a mile-and-a-half in a way, and I was shifting at both ends, so kind of got used to some of the shifting even though on the truck side we’re going from fourth to third, most of the guys are in one and two. The Cup car is just so much different than anything I think anyone has ever really raced, so that was a fun weekend looking back to last year when I did get to make that debut on such short notice. I was happy with our run there. I think we finished 17th, but learned so much throughout that day. And then on the truck side, I feel like Gateway has always been one of my best tracks, but I have really struggled to just put together a clean race and finish one off ever since my debut there on the truck side. Hopefully, just have a clean Saturday and see if we could have some good track position there at the end and go for a win and I’m pretty sure it’s a Triple Truck Challenge race, so some extra cash as well.”

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING YOU’VE LEARNED IN CUP SO FAR THIS YEAR? “We all know that Sunday is the best of the best, but I just feel like it’s not talked about enough on how good those guys really are from first to last pretty much. Everyone is just so good, so everyone is really hard to pass. It’s just hard racing for 600 miles, so it’s just kind of adapting to that and obviously the longer races and that one was extremely long, but I felt great after. I felt like I could go for another, which was surprising looking back at my other Cup races that I was just uncomfortable at at the end of them. They honestly race in a way similar to trucks, just the blocking and the dirty air is multiplied by a little bit, but they’re definitely a lot of fun and that was my first mile-and-a-half in a Cup car. Other than that I’ve just done short tracks and superspeedways and it’s definitely the most fun I’ve had in one, so my next one is on a road course, so road courses are kind of home for me and I hear good things about the Cup car on road courses nowadays, so looking forward to that one.”

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT SONOMA? “One, it’s at home for me. It’s a different piece of California, but it’s cool to get back to the home state and really just road courses in general. I’m so excited during the whole week of whenever it’s a road course race. I just really enjoy road course racing, especially in stock cars and Sonoma is a great racetrack. I had a lot of fun there in the truck and looking forward to a Cup car there.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THIS LAST YEAR HAS BEEN LIKE? “It’s been crazy. Really, I had no offseason and then rolling right into this year. It’s kind of been like deja vu of winning Daytona again and COTA, so it’s definitely had its ups and downs throughout this year, just getting caught up in some things that are my fault, some things where we’re competing for another win and inches away and getting caught up in someone else’s mess on the truck side. And then had some things really not go my way at all on the Cup side starting out, so to have that good run at the Coke 600 really, I think, just fueled myself back up and everyone at FRM. It’s been a rough three weeks on the truck side. Darlington for one, having engine issues, and then kind of rebound at North Wilkesboro and had such a good truck after starting in the back and driving up to second and then me speeding on pit road during that final stop frustrated me even more. Then we went into Charlotte and I knew how important clean air was on the truck and we had a parts failure of gear oils spraying the rear tires running the truck race. I’m not blaming that on why I spun out, but I don’t think that really helped. We got to third in the truck race and spun out in front of the field and got more damage, so my truck guys have been working their butts off trying to fix all these trucks and trying to stay competitive. That Coke 600 run put our confidence back where it needs to be and firing everyone back up. We’ve got one more on the truck side until we get a little break, and it’ll be great that I just had that good run on the Cup side and only have one week off and then back in it at Sonoma.”

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE FOR NEXT YEAR AND DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE READY TO GO TO THE CUP SERIES FULL-TIME IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY? “Yeah, I do. I kind of regret not going there this year in a way, but, yeah, I do think I am ready. I feel like just putting myself racing on Sunday has taught me so much and has gotten me used to the longer races, but, no, I don’t have anything in place yet for next year. There are some things we’re working on for this year. We’ll see what happens.”

YOU STAYED OUT ON OLD TIRES AND IT WORKED OUT, BUT HOW MUCH DID THAT HELP IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING THESE NEXT GEN CARS? “I mean, talk about feeding me to the wolves. I felt like we were definitely from the start of the race had a top 20 car and then the second half of the race we had a top 15 car and then that final half I felt like had a top 10 car. Really, the top five were just faster than me in a couple of sections, but consistently I would say. Then, I don’t know what I really thought. I wasn’t too confident when I don’t know how many there were to go, I think there was like 40 to go, and we stayed out and I was gonna be the leader on my first mile-and-a-half and sixth Cup start, holding off two Hendrick cars that have obviously been fast all year. I knew that was gonna be a handful and just didn’t want to embarrass myself of wrecking in front of the field or getting wrecked or wrecking myself or whatever it may be. Fortunately, I was able to hold onto that track position as much as I could, and then those cautions fell and we pitted with three others and started 22nd. I was pretty frustrated then because we had a solid day and I knew we were better than 22nd. I didn’t want to get trapped back three, so I just went to the fence and I think I got eight guys in one lap and then that built me some time to get a few more and just get us track position. That’s just so much of what the Cup side is. You really don’t know who is great until you get them out front, so I guess it was cool to experience the front row for 500 to 1,000 feet maybe. It was short lived, but really cool to run up there.”

HOW HAS IT BEEN BETWEEN YOU AND TODD WITH SHARING THE 38 CUP RIDE? “It’s definitely a hard position FRM is in where they have three of us and two Cup seats, so we’re all aware of the situation and all understand how this racing world works. Todd is a great friend of mine. That’s the worst about our job is we all live the same life and we kind of all hang out with each other. We grew up racing K&N, ARCA, Truck, Xfinity and then eventually when it’s time to get to Cup there’s only so many seats, and when you hang out with people that are winning races, you guys are probably both gonna end up there or have a shot to one day. Unfortunately, our situation has kind of fallen in that boat, but we try to handle it the best we can. I didn’t intend on it being this way. It’s tough for everyone on the 38 team to share two drivers, especially with a rookie crew chief. It’s not only hard on Todd, I think it’s hard on that whole group.”

DO YOU STILL FEEL LIKE THE DEFENDING TRUCK CHAMPION? “I don’t go into it really like that. I know what myself and my team are capable of on the truck side. It’s just kind of unfortunate that circumstances cost us a few possible race wins and good finishes and a lot of points over the past three weeks, but we’re still digging and trying to get some momentum back. It would be a different story if we just flat-out sucked and we were wrecking trucks, but we’re at least going for it and that’s my intention of how I went into it this year of me hoping it’s my last year in truck. My full focus was trophies are the only thing that matters and unfortunately that’s kind of cost me some points and some wrecked trucks. It’s probably time to tone it back some and focus on points and just get some good runs in general.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU’RE WORKING ON FOR THIS YEAR? WOULD IT BE WITH RICK WARE RACING? “I don’t think I’m gonna be doing anymore races for Rick Ware Racing. It was a great learning day at Martinsville and experiencing Martinsville. What I meant by that is I’m just trying to race more in general. That was kind of my plan this year, whether it be on the IMSA side like we did at the beginning of the year. Obviously, getting my feet wet in the Cup Series and hopefully some Xfinity races or something.”

LAST YEAR AT GATEWAY IT WAS A LAST-MINUTE SITUATION TO GET YOU IN THE 17 CAR. DID THAT JUMPSTART ANYTHING TOWARD MOVING MORE TOWARDS CUP? “I definitely think any Cup opportunity that you get, and that one that I got for RFK Racing was a huge opportunity. I was super thankful for that, so I think that run we had got my stock up and then, honestly, getting the Truck championship helped that rise as well. I think just time in the Cup car is so important and I think once that new Cup car came out, people realized that you don’t have to do the route of Truck, Xfinity, Cup. The Cup car is, like I said, so far apart from anything, though it does kind of race like a truck, so I don’t think you need to go that round of Truck, Xfinity, Cup. I think a lot of people would agree with me on that, so I’m happy for these Cup starts that I’m getting. I’m happy for that one that I got last year at a place like Gateway. I think every time that you’re in one you learn a lot.”

IF YOU GET IN SOME XFINITY RACES, WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF THAT? “Just back to racing more. I think Xfinity is a little bit longer race. I think the more things you race and the more often you race, the better race car driver you’re gonna be. If there are any people out there that think, ‘What would he do in Xfinity?’ Hopefully, we could have a good run on the Xfinity side and put that to bed and move forward, but I don’t have any intentions of thinking, ‘Man, I’ve got to go Xfinty racing before Cup.’”

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE MENTAL SIDE OF DRIVING ON THE CUP SIDE? “Definitely, and I think those good runs you have, and fortunately I was just able to experience one, which, that was my goal to kind of run up closer to the front with those guys and just see how it is. I think that just builds confidence of knowing that, ‘Hey, we can run up here.’ That was super important. Sunday just brings a whole different atmosphere in general of way more people. You’ve now made it, so you’re in position where people below you are trying to take your job now, and so it’s definitely a lot more pressure but I think it’s just like any professional sport. It’s really cut throat and if you belong, you belong.”

DID YOU KNOW IT WAS A CUT THROAT TYPE OF BUSINESS OR WERE YOU TOLD THAT? “I knew it and you at least hear about it, but it’s a whole other thing to experience it. So, typically if you experience it, it’s a really good thing – like you’re doing a good job. Obviously, I’m not full-time yet, so I’m fighting to be full-time and earn a good Cup ride and that’s our goal.”

DO ALL OF YOU YOUNG GUYS GET ALONG WITH EACH OTHER WHEN YOU’RE ALL TRYING TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL OF A FULL-TIME CUP RIDE? “Yeah. It’s a very odd time in the sport. There are a lot of people reaching the end of their road on the Cup side, so there’s a lot of young drivers that are trying to fill those seats, so that’s why I think you see a lot of aggressive racing. Team owners, sponsors, everyone really only cares about race wins it seems like, so we’re just trying to put ourselves in position to capture these race wins. That’s where our focus has been to hopefully end up on Sunday.”

HOW MUCH ARE YOU ABLE TO PREPARE IN THE NEXT GEN CAR? “For the previous Cup races, I actually put a lot of sim time in, but for Charlotte I probably only had 30 minutes to an hour, so that’s kind of been my seat time. But, leaning on my teammates and other drivers in general and just looking back at past notes of what they had last year is kind of what I went through and gone about it. That’s my plan for Sonoma. Yes, it’s a completely different car, but it’s still road course racing, so hopefully my background in road course racing can still apply to the Next Gen. That’s how we’ll go about it.”

CHASE BRISCOE
St. Louis Advance
No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter (Round 15 of 36)

● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 4

● Location: Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois (near St. Louis)

● Layout: 1.25-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 240 laps/300 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 45 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps

● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe will carry the Ford Performance Racing School colors for the first of two consecutive races Sunday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis. Ford Performance Racing School is the only school to wear the Ford oval, and Ford is the only full-line vehicle manufacturer to offer product-focused experiential driving programs exclusively to the owners of its complete line of performance vehicles, from cars to trucks to SUVs.

● The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has made two starts at Gateway – one each in the Cup Series and Truck Series – and started both from the pole. He earned his career first Cup Series pole last year on the 1.25-mile, egg-shaped oval, and led the first 27 laps of the Enjoy Illinois 300 before a flat left-rear tire sent him to the pits for an unscheduled stop.

● In his 2017 Truck Series outing at the track, Briscoe led twice for a race-high 88 of 160 laps and finished in the runner-up position. It was his fourth top-five in the first eight races that season. Briscoe went on to win the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and emerged with Rookie of the Year honors and the Most Popular Driver award.

● With 14 of 36 races complete, Briscoe is currently 17th in the driver standings, only four points below the playoff cutline.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Talk through what the season has been like for the No. 14 team to this point.

“For our team this year, it’s been really just a unique season where we are either hot or completely cold. We’re either top-five, or we’re struggling to run 25th. So there have been a lot of character-building days where we’ve just had to not give up. It’s really easy, when you’re struggling like that, to start pointing fingers and lose confidence and, for us, we’ve just had to stay really rooted within ourselves to know that we’re capable of doing better. We know that when we put everything together, we’re battling for wins, but we haven’t been able to do it on a consistent basis. So, it’s been a challenging year from the team side of things for us. But I still think we all believe in each other and have each other’s backs. It’s just a matter of trying to be a little more consistent. Once we figure that out, we definitely have the speed and we’ll be able to put all the pieces together.”

You’re headed to a track where you had a lot of speed last year, but a blown tire took away a chance at a strong finish. Can you get that finish you know you’re capable of this weekend?

“I think this is a weekend where we can put the pieces together to find that consistency through a race and get a good result. The shorter tracks are places where we can go in, lead a lot of laps and get a lot of stage points, and hopefully win the race. We’re kind of right on that cutline for the playoffs, so winning a race would make life way easier, and this weekend is a great opportunity for us to do that. Last year, we were able to sit on the pole and lead laps before the blown tire, so we know that we have a car and setup that’s capable, it’s just a matter of applying the differences to what this year brings.”

No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe

Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier

Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey

Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Spotter: Joey Campbell

Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Jack Man: Dylan Moser

Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola

Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

Transporter Co-Driver: Todd Cable
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Rob Fink

Hometown: Mocksville, North Carolina

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 30, 2023) – Rick Ware Racing, in partnership with Standout Management Group (SMG) and NASCAR driver Gray Gaulding announced today the return of primary sponsor Panini America, the Official Trading Card partner of NASCAR. Gray will be debuting the No. 15 Panini America NFT Ford Mustang at World Wide Technology Raceway this weekend

Gaulding, 25, returns to the NASCAR Cup Series for his 60th NCS start and his 11th with Rick Ware Racing. Since 2014, Gaulding has 158 overall NASCAR starts throughout its top three series.

“Ever since we started working with Gray and his family, he has been more than just a brand ambassador for us, he’s been more like a member of the family,” said Jason Howarth, Panini America Senior Vice President of Marketing and Acquisitions. “Gray has been a huge part of our growth in the NASCAR trading card space, and we’re excited to team up with him and Rick Ware Racing one more time.”

“Personally, today is an exciting career day for me with this opportunity to return to the NASCAR Cup Series along with our sponsor Panini America, and with a team that wants to excel like Rick Ware Racing,” said Gray Gaulding. “Jason and Rick have both believed in my ability as a brand ambassador and driver, I do not plan to disappoint them. Since we ran the first Panini NCS car in 2020, I know the timing is right to reunite and I am really looking forward to this race.”

For RWR, this is not only a reunion with Gaulding as the driver, but with Panini America as the primary partner.

“It will be good to have Gray race with us again,” said Rick Ware, team owner. “He has driven for us previously and we’ve been making overall improvements to the team since then. It’s also great to have Panini America as his primary partner again, too. Like us, they have been growing their company in some major areas and we look forward to having a great race with them.”

About Panini America
The Panini Group, established 60 years ago in Modena, Italy, has subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NFL, NFLPA, NBA, NBPA, FIFA, UFC, NASCAR, College, Disney and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.

For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Rick Ware Racing
Rick Ware Racing is a professional motorsports company with teams in the NASCAR Cup, Indy Car, IMSA, NHRA and World Supercross Series. RWR fielded the 2022 World Supercross Championship team with rider Shane McElrath.

About SMG
Standout Management Group is a sports and entertainment talent management and activation agency headquartered at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. SMG is considered as an “outside the box” agency that works with brand partners and celebrities to help brands “stand out” from the rest. Additionally, SMG uses advanced technology solutions and data capture methods to maximize activation results. For more information, visit www.standoutmg.com.

This Week in Motorsports: May 29-June 4, 2023

· NCS/NCTS: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway – June 3-4
· NXS/ARCA WEST: Portland International Raceway – June 2-3
· NHRA: New England Dragway – June 4

PLANO, Texas (May 31, 2023) – There are Toyotas racing across the country this weekend as the NASCAR Cup and Truck Series run nearby the Arch in St. Louis, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West taken on the road course at Portland International Raceway, while the NHRA teams compete in the first of back-to-back races in Epping, New Hampshire.

NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS

Truex moves up in the standings… After a third-place finish in Charlotte, Martin Truex Jr. sits in fifth in the Cup Series standings – just 13 points out of the points lead. Truex was part of the first Cup Series race at Gateway last season. The New Jersey-native finished sixth after leading 42 laps.

Wallace on a career-best streak… Bubba Wallace is on a career-best top-five streak after adding a fourth-place finish at the 600-mile race at Charlotte on Monday – a career-best finish in Charlotte. Adding the runner-up finish in the All-Star Race, Wallace has earned four straight top-five finishes. Wallace won at Gateway in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2014.

Nemechek adds to his lead… John Hunter Nemechek added to his Xfinity Series championship lead with a runner-up finish in Charlotte on Monday evening. Nemechek holds a 10-point advantage over Austin Hill on the strength of 10 top-10 finishes in 12 races this season. Nemechek is making his Portland debut, but has seen success on the road courses, including a Truck Series road course victory in 2016.

Mosack back at Xfinity debut… Connor Mosack is back at the site of his Xfinity Series debut this weekend. The North Carolina-native started eighth in Portland last year and got up as high as second before getting involved in an on-track incident. Mosack is six races into a 24-race Xfinity Series schedule with Toyota’s two teams – Sam Hunt Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. Back aboard the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra, Mosack will try to better his top-20 finish from the first road course race this season at Circuit of the Americas.

Heim continues to impress… In his first full-time Truck Series season, Corey Heim continues to impress with his consistency. After a runner-up finish at Charlotte, the Toyota development driver extended his points lead to 26. It was the reigning Truck Series Rookie of the Year’s ninth top-10 finish in 11 races this season, which leads all drivers. Heim also boasts a series-best 8.5 average finish and is the reigning pole and race winner at the Toyota 200 this weekend at Gateway.

Gray, Friesen battling to earn Playoff glory… Tanner Gray and Stewart Friesen are both near the Playoff cutline as the Truck Series has five races remaining in the regular season. Gray sits in ninth, seven points to the good, while Friesen is in 11th and is a single marker out of a Playoff berth. Gateway has been a great track for Friesen as the Canadian driver comes in with three consecutive top-five finishes, while Gray holds a single top-10 finish, earning a 10th-place result in 2020.

Love makes his debut… Jesse Love makes his long-awaited Truck Series debut this weekend in the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. It is the first of three scheduled Truck Series races for the 18-year-old, who is coming off three consecutive ARCA national series wins and holds a 13-point lead. The Toyota development driver has one ARCA start at Gateway in 2020, where he scored his first career national ARCA top-five finish.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Hingorani plans to continue winning streak… Sean Hingorani comes into racing action at Portland International Raceway this weekend on a two-race winning streak with his Venturini Motorsport team to close within nine points of the championship lead. The 16-year-old made his track debut at Portland last fall and scored a 12th-place finish.

NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car

Capps closing in on the points lead… Defending Funny Car champion Ron Capps comes into Epping looking for his first race win of the season, but he continues to run strong. After yet another final round appearance in Chicago, Capps has moved up to a season-best second in the standings, just 13 points out of the lead. The three-time champion has multiple wins at Epping, most recently in 2016.

Torrence continues to lead… Similarly, to his Toyota teammate Capps, Steve Torrence is looking for his first race win of the season but sits strong in the point standings as he leads by 17 markers over Brittany Force. The Torrence family has seen much success at Epping with Steve scoring multiple victories, most recently in 2019, while Steve’s father, Billy, claimed victory in 2021.

Stay Connected

A picture containing sketch, line, white, diagram

Description automatically generated https://www.toyota.com/racing A white bird with a blue background

Description automatically generated with low confidence @ToyotaRacing.com A logo of a camera

Description automatically generated with medium confidence @ToyotaRacing

A blue square with a white letter f

Description automatically generated with medium confidence facebook.com/ToyotaRacing Camera With Flash on Apple iOS 11.3 ToyotaRacingMedia.com

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.

ARIC ALMIROLA
St. Louis Advance
No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter (Round 15 of 36)

● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 4

● Location: Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois (near St. Louis)

● Layout: 1.25-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 240 laps/300 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 45 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps

● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● This weekend marks the second NASCAR Cup Series race at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis. Almirola returns to the 1.25-mile oval with confidence after the No. 10 team ran inside the top-five for the majority of the inaugural race last year and brought home a solid fifth-place finish. In addition to the single Cup Series start, his three NASCAR Truck Series starts there add to his confidence, as well. In the 2006 Truck Series race, Almirola started 22nd and finished 10th, he started 15thand earned a solid fourth-place finish in 2009, and in 2010 he started 16th before leading 16 laps and finishing eighth.

● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford team’s season has been a rollercoaster ride. It got off to a strong start during the first two outings of the season. Almirola won his heat race and started on the pole for the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Then, in the points-paying season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the 39-year-old veteran won his Duel qualifying race and led 16 laps of the Daytona 500 – the most laps he’s led at Daytona in 23 starts. Almirola and his team were mired by bad luck at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Phoenix Raceway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway in subsequent races, unable to capitalize on newfound top-10 and top-five speed. He then led the field for a combined 28 laps during what were promising days at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, but a late-race accident ended Almirola’s day at Atlanta and he posted a 22nd-place finish at Talladega. His best outing of the early season came April 16 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where he qualified third, ran up front all race long and earned a sixth-place finish and 42 points in the driver standings. Almirola and the No. 10 team continued to show improvement in their speed at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, but the finishes have not been indicative of the potential top-10 runs they have had. The 39-year-old looks to capitalize this weekend at a track he feels confident about.

● Driver Points: Almirola arrives at Charlotte 26th in the driver standings, 233 points out of first.

● Almirola’s career: In 438 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has three wins, 28 top-five finishes, 92 top-10s, four poles, and has led 1,018 laps.

● Smithfield has been a sponsor of Almirola’s for the entirety of his fulltime NASCAR Cup Series career – making it one of the longest-lasting partnerships in NASCAR. Smithfield is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Its 63,000 team members are dedicated to producing “Good food. Responsibly.®” Smithfield is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. The company has pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including its industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across its entire U.S. value chain by 2030. Smithfield believes in the power of protein to end food insecurity and has donated hundreds of millions of food servings to local communities.

● Beyond the 10 YouTube Series: In 2023, Almirola is continuing to share his life beyond the No. 10 Ford with season five of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and the show gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You had a solid race at Gateway last year. Do you look forward to heading back there this weekend?

“I’ve had this race circled on the calendar all year. I love the way this track races and we had a car fast enough to win it last year. Our cars have continued to show consistent speed over the past few weekends, too. If last year was any indication, I think you’re going to see Stewart-Haas up front as we saw in Martinsville – hopefully dominating the race again, which is where we belong. We just have to have a clean day on pit road and I have to do my part.”

It seems qualifying is more important than ever. Do you find that to be the case?

“Qualifying is more important than ever. Unfortunately, we have had a few races like Dover and Charlotte, where qualifying gets rained out and I have to start somewhere around 20th with the metrics system. It’s important to qualify well with these cars because it’s so hard to pass and, if you can hold your position up front in the first two stages, you have a chance to earn stage points and ultimately a shot at the win at the end. Our finishes don’t show how well we have run this year because we’ve had to come from the back a lot. Last weekend, we fell like a rock in the first stage and then we were back up to eighth place in the third stage, so I hope we get to qualify this weekend so we can get up front and stay there like we did at Martinsville.”

No. 10 Smithfield Ford Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Aric Almirola

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer

Hometown: Decatur, Illinois

Car Chief: Jerry Cook

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Engineer: Davin Restivo

Hometown: Asheboro, North Carolina

Engineer: James Kimbrough

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

Spotter: Joel Edmonds

Hometown: Dobson, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder

Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa

Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

Hometown: King, North Carolina

Jack Man: Sean Cotton

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener

Hometown: Fortuna, California

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Chris Trickett

Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia

Mechanic: Jacob Cooksey

Hometown: Westbrookville, New York

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Tire Specialist: Russel Simpson

Hometown: Medford, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: Steven Casper

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia