KEVIN HARVICK
North Wilkesboro / All-Star Race Advance
No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points race)

● Time/Date: 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 21

● Location: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway

● Layout: .625-mile oval

● Laps/Miles: 200 laps/125 miles

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

Notes of Interest

● The NASCAR Cup Series recently competed at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, which bills itself as the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR. But the throwback of all throwbacks comes this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The .625-mile oval located in the hills of Wilkes County, North Carolina, had sat dormant for 25 years, save for a one-year respite in 2010 when local investors cleaned it up enough to host a handful of grassroots Late Model racing series. The track closed again in the spring of 2011, reverting back to its Scooby-Doo haunted mansion vibe. Once a staple of the NASCAR Cup Series when Winston cigarettes was its title sponsor, North Wilkesboro was cast aside, despite being a NASCAR original and hosting 93 Cup Series races since 1949, the last of which came on Sept. 29, 1996 when Jeff Gordon beat Dale Earnhardt by 1.73 seconds to win the Tyson Holly Farms 400. But thanks to an $18 million cash infusion from the state as part of the American Rescue Plan, as well as another seven-figure spend by track operator Speedway Motorsports, North Wilkesboro has been revived. It had a soft opening last August with Modified and Late Model racing before its grand reopening this week with five days of racing, from the CARS Late Model Stock Tour to the NASCAR Truck Series and, finally, the Cup Series via the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday. The track Enoch Staley built in 1946 – first as a five-eighths mile dirt oval where whiskey runners displayed their skill behind the wheel, along with their mechanical acumen for building cars that were faster than those of the revenuers, and two years ahead of NASCAR’s first season and three years before the first Strictly Stock (now Cup Series) race was held – is back, and the resto-mod of racetracks is ready for NASCAR’s return.

● DYK? The frontstretch of North Wilkesboro Speedway runs downhill and the backstretch runs uphill. This forces drivers to change their approach to each corner of the racetrack, as they’re carrying more speed entering turn one than they are going into turn three.

● It’s a revival within a revival this weekend at North Wilkesboro as Kevin Harvick brings back the No. 29 for the All-Star Race. The 23-year veteran of the NASCAR Cup Series spent his first 13 years driving the No. 29 for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Harvick joined Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014 and has since scored 37 of his 60 career Cup Series victories. The 2023 season is Harvick’s final year in the Cup Series before he retires and joins the FOX broadcast booth in 2024. As much as Harvick has always looked forward, this year is different, with the 47-year-old taking time to reflect on the past. Bringing the No. 29 back for the All-Star Race is perhaps the best example. Harvick’s Ford Mustang will be white and feature the red stylized No. 29 that he drove throughout 2001 when he finished ninth in the championship standings thanks to his debut win March 11 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and a second victory July 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Busch Light, the primary partner for Harvick in the All-Star Race, will bring back its logos from that era, completing the early aughts look of Harvick’s ride in the All-Star Race. Fans wanting to get their throwback No. 29 gear in advance of the All-Star Race can visit SHR’s online store at store.stewarthaasracing.com for a full offering of merchandise, including diecast replicas of the No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang, along with T-shirts, hats and variety of hard goods such as flags, coozies and decals.

● The first laps Harvick takes this week at North Wilkesboro won’t come in his No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang. Instead, they will come in a Late Model stock car. Harvick will run the CARS Late Model Stock Tour event, practicing his No. 62 Hunt Brothers® Pizza Ford Mustang on Tuesday before racing it on Wednesday. Embracing the retro theme of North Wilkesboro, Harvick’s No. 62 Late Model has a paint scheme harkening back to his early Late Model days when he was competing throughout his home state of California. The No. 62 is a tribute to his late father-in-law, John Paul Linville, a veteran racer who began his career at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Linville won back-to-back Late Model Sportsman Division championships in 1968 and 1969 before taking a third title in 1971. In between, Linville earned the 1970 State Limited Sportsman championship at the Raleigh (N.C.) Fairgrounds by winning 12 of the track’s 15 races. Linville went on to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series where he made 136 starts between 1982 and 1992. Harvick is a co-owner of the CARS Tour with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Burton and Justin Marks. With Harvick’s entry into the CARS Late Model Stock Tour event at North Wilkesboro, he is once again behind the wheel of a Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) machine, bringing the championship-winning organization back to the track after a 12-year hiatus. KHI competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Truck Series and ARCA Series from 2001 through 2011 winning 10 Xfinity Series races, 45 Truck Series races and two Truck Series driver championships with NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr.

● Harvick’s very first laps at North Wilkesboro came way back in March 2010. In that lone year since NASCAR Cup Series stock cars had last roared around the .625-mile oval when Jeff Gordon won the 1996 Tyson Holly Farms 400 on Sept. 29, Harvick drove his No. 29 machine for Richard Childress Racing around North Wilkesboro as part of a promotional event for the speedway. Alton McBride Jr., and a cadre of local investors, including Terri Parsons, the widow of Wilkes County native and NASCAR Hall of Famer Benny Parsons, were bringing racing back to North Wilkesboro, with the USARacing Pro Cup Series headlining a grassroots motorsports lineup that would run Labor Day weekend. Harvick’s first lap was a slow one, as he was also taking in the moment, but eventually he put the pedal down, hammering a few hot laps on the track’s weathered surface. “Do not do anything to this track,” Harvick said. “It’s perfect.” Harvick’s words helped the Labor Day weekend race at North Wilkesboro grow to include the PASS Super Late Models and the ASA Late Model Series. But as the curtain closed on 2010, racing’s return to North Wilkesboro wasn’t enough to sustain another season. It was one and done. It took 14 years for Harvick to make his first drive around North Wilkesboro and then another 13 years before this week’s events at the speedway allowed for his second tour of the track.

● Harvick has always been an all-star. Since his 2001 NASCAR Cup Series debut, Harvick has been a part of every All-Star Race – the only active driver to do so. The driver of the No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang first earned entry into the All-Star Race by winning in just his third career Cup Series start on March 11, 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway marks the 39th anniversary of the All-Star Race and it will be Harvick’s 23rd straight appearance in the race – the most of any active driver.

● Harvick is a two-time winner of the All-Star Race. He won the specialty non-points race for the first time in 2007 by leading the final 20 laps and crossing the stripe .141 of a second ahead of second-place Jimmie Johnson. Harvick scored his second All-Star win in 2019 when he led twice for 36 laps, including the last 11, to take the victory by .325 of a second over Daniel Suárez. Both victories came at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

● Charlotte hosted the first All-Star Race and 34 in total. The All-Star Race debuted on May 25, 1985 at Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval and it was won by Darrell Waltrip. Atlanta hosted the second All-Star Race in 1986 before returning to Charlotte for a 33-race run. The 2020 All-Star Race was held at the .533-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway – the first time the All-Star Race wasn’t held at a 1.5-mile oval. The All-Star Race returned to a 1.5-mile oval in June 2021 when Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth began hosting the All-Star Race for a two-year stretch. North Wilkesboro marks only the second time the All-Star Race has been held at anything other than a 1.5-mile oval.

● Harvick has seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in his 22 career All-Star Races. Harvick finished 17th in last year’s All-Star Race at Texas and 15th in the 2021 event. Prior to the All-Star Race moving to Texas, Harvick had finished third or better in five of the previous seven All-Star Races, including the 2020 All-Star Race at Bristol when he finished third.

● After years of complexity, the 2023 version of the All-Star Race has opted for simplicity. Two heat races on Saturday will set the starting lineup for Sunday’s main event – a 200 lapper with a competition break at or around Lap 100. All laps (caution and green flag) will count, and overtime rules are in effect to ensure a green-flag finish. Each team will start on sticker tires and have three additional sets to use. After the competition break, however, only one additional set of stickers can be used. The undercard All-Star Open, featuring drivers not previously eligible for the All-Star Race, will be 100 laps with a competition break at or around Lap 40. Three Open drivers will advance to the All-Star Race – the top two race finishers and the Fan Vote Winner. All-Star festivities begin Friday evening with a Pit Crew Challenge to determine the starting lineups for the heat races and Open. Each car’s qualifying time will be based solely on their pit stop time. Teams must complete a four-tire stop; timing lines will be established one box behind and one box ahead of the designated pit box. The 22 drivers already locked into the field will be split into two 60-lap heat races on Saturday night which will determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s All-Star Race. Results of the first heat will establish the inside row and results of the second heat will establish the outside row. The weekend will concludes Sunday night with the All-Star Open and All-Star Race. Technical rules for the cars will remain the same as other NASCAR Cup Series short track races. Those eligible for the All-Star Race include drivers who won a points event in either 2022 or 2023, drivers who won an All-Star Race and compete fulltime, and drivers who won a NASCAR Cup Series championship and compete fulltime.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

You’re bringing back the No. 29 for one time only this weekend at North Wilkesboro. You got in that car and entered the NASCAR Cup Series under very trying circumstances, as you were driving the car that the sport’s icon, Dale Earnhardt, once drove. Can you explain what that moment was like and your decision to race the No. 29 in this year’s All-Star Race?

“When I sat in the 29 for the first time, it really wasn’t by choice, but I definitely wouldn’t have done it any differently. Dale’s passing changed our sport forever, and it changed my life forever and the direction it took. Looking back on it now, I realize the importance of getting in the Cup car, and then I wound up winning my first race at Atlanta in the 29 car after Dale’s death. The significance and the importance of keeping that car on the racetrack and winning that race early at Atlanta – knowing now what it meant to the sport, and just that moment in general of being able to carry on – was so important. I had a great 13 years at RCR and really learned a lot through the process because of being thrown into Dale’s car, where my first press conference as a Cup Series driver was the biggest press conference I would ever have in my career, where my first moments were my biggest moments. With this being my last year as a Cup Series driver, we wanted to highlight a lot of these moments, and many were made at RCR in that 29 car. So, with the All-Star Race going to North Wilkesboro – a place with a ton of history – we thought it made sense in a year full of milestones and moments to highlight where it all started.”

How special is it to be back behind the wheel of the No. 29 one final time?

“Everything that started in my Cup career started at RCR. It wasn’t supposed to start in the 29, but it wound up being my first in the 29 after Dale’s death. And to be able to put that car back out on the racetrack is something that we all thought would not ever happen again. But with Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing working together and making my crazy idea work out, and being able to see the first win paint scheme in the 29 and to have it on the racetrack at North Wilkesboro is something I think we’re all excited about. I know the fans are excited, but for us it’s an honor and a privilege to drive it one last time. It will be a fun night for all of us.”

How did it come about to bring back the No. 29?

“It was really simple. We started the retirement planning at Stewart-Haas Racing and working through things, and we got done with what I believe was the second meeting and I said, ‘Hey, by the way, I want to drive the 29 car at the All-Star Race.’ And they all kind of looked at me and were like, ‘You serious?’ Everybody kind of slept on it and talked about it in the next couple of days, and nobody said no. So we went back to the next meeting and I said, ‘What about the 29 car? Do you guys think we can pull that off?’ They said, ‘Somebody’s going to have to call Richard.’ I said I would call Richard, so I called Richard Childress and said, ‘Hey, we want to drive the 29 car at North Wilkesboro and run the first win paint scheme.’ And he said, ‘Kevin, you can have whatever you want. Do whatever you want. You’ve been great for RCR and we’d love to work with you guys to figure it out.’ And they all figured it out and here we are.”

What does it mean to not only see racing return to North Wilkesboro, but to be an active participant?

“I’m fortunate because I drove on the track when this revival first started. I actually drove the 29 car in 2010 at North Wilkesboro Speedway the first time that they cleaned it up. Anytime you get to go to a great racetrack and put on a race that you haven’t been to is fun, but North Wilkesboro has a lot of history in our sport. North Carolina, in general, has a lot of history with the racetrack and asphalt racing. I get to run there twice – with the CARS Late Model stock race Wednesday night and then we’ll run the Cup car on Sunday. It’s going to be a great week.”

When the moment comes when you actually climb back into the No. 29 car and buckle in and fire the engine, can you describe what your mindset will be?

“Well, I think it’s going to be strange just climbing into it, right? For me, there’s a huge sense of pride in being able to be a part of something like this with both organizations. Going back in time and doing everything that weekend in the 29 car is something I’m really excited about. And I think when you go out on the racetrack, the fans will be in the same boat. As you go by the first time, people are going to be, like, ‘I can’t believe that actually happened.’”

You’ve been a part of every All-Star Race since you joined the NASCAR Cup Series. What makes this one at North Wilkesboro different?

“I don’t know the last time the All-Star Race was the most anticipated event of the season. Fans are going to show up in droves. North Wilkesboro is a great short track, the asphalt’s worn out, and I think it’s going to be a fantastic event.”

This is your 23rd and final season in the NASCAR Cup Series and you’ll be making your 23rd straight appearance in the All-Star Race. We’d call that a testament to your consistency. What would you call it?

“I was fortunate to win the first year and qualify for the All-Star Race and, after that, we were able to win the All-Star Race a couple of times, so we make sure we stay in it every year. Obviously, winning a championship doesn’t hurt with your qualification for that, either. For me, I think as you look at the All-Star Race, it’s fun to be a part of. It’s unique and it’s different and all those things combined, so it’s always been an interesting race.”

The All-Star Race doesn’t pay any points. Instead, it pays $1 million to the winner. How does that dynamic make the All-Star Race different from a regular, points-paying race?

“When you put a million dollars on the line, we can all become idiots and do things that we wouldn’t otherwise do. But I think that’s the whole point of the race, right? You want people to reach outside their comfort zone to do things that they wouldn’t normally do in order to try to win a race. And you add the North Wilkesboro Speedway back on the schedule, with none of us ever having raced there before in a Cup car, it’s something that everybody wants – to put that trophy on their mantle.”

This is only the second time the All-Star Race has been run on a short track. Does that ratchet up the intensity?

“I think having the All-Star Race at a short track will change that immediately, just because the short-track racing mentality is a little bit different than at the mile-and-a-half racetracks. North Wilkesboro is very unique in the fact that the asphalt is very old, very worn-out. The cars are going to have a tough time getting ahold of the racetrack, so when you add that in to just the short-track mentality in general, I think we’ll put on a great race and we can all have fun driving the cars and trying to make a difference inside the seat.”

How important is keeping historic tracks like North Wilkesboro open?

“I think when you look at the North Wilkesboros, the Darlingtons, and even when you look at some of the other short tracks, Hickory Motor Speedway, Carraway, a lot of those racetracks, especially here in the Southeast, there’s a lot of history and a lot of heritage that go with those particular racetracks. And I think the more we can do to not have them close down like we’ve seen with Greenville-Pickens and those types of short tracks, the better off we will be. Really, when you have that built-in in following of the short-track system, it bleeds all the way up through. And when you can have a place for the younger generation to go and race at a place like Greenville-Pickens or Hickory Motor Speedway and some of these places as you come up through the ranks, it’s important because they have a loyal following of competitors and fans and it allows you to race against enough people on the racetrack in front of enough fans to make a name for yourself. So it’s important that we protect these racetracks. The amount of people and time and effort that believe in North Wilkesboro is what you need in a lot of these short-track communities, as well. Hopefully it all works out and we can continue to protect these tracks like they did with North Wilkesboro.”

What are you looking forward to the most when it comes to this week’s slate of racing at North Wilkesboro?

“I’m going to run the CARS Tour Late Model race on Wednesday, so my week actually starts on Tuesday with practice in the Late Model stock car and the race on Wednesday night, and then we practice and qualify the 29 car Friday, have heat races on Saturday, and then we race again on Sunday. It just has this buzz to it. It’s the type of moment I like to be a part of, and I know a lot of people haven’t had that opportunity to experience that really high-end, electric feel that our sport can bring. That’s the part I’m looking forward to the most – the energy that the fans bring. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of some of these moments where you feel like you’re living this out-of-body experience that’s just hard to explain because of the electricity and the excitement in the stadium. I hope that’s what it feels like because I’d like our young kids that drive these cars to feel those electric moments and experience that. If you’re going to be in this sport, it’s something you should experience, and I think North Wilkesboro will have that electricity.”

Is the excitement level at North Wilkesboro going to be off the charts?

“I’ve been here for a long time, and the young kids in this particular sport at this particular time remind me that I raced in a different century, most of them being born at the very end of it and some after. North Wilkesboro was not there when I started my career, so it’s been since 1996 that they’ve had a competitive race in the Cup Series on the racetrack. To be able to go back to North Wilkesboro is special, because it’s something that I’d never thought would happen because I really thought it was just a dream that was too big for a group of people who were working hard on a project to revive the racetrack. And here we are about ready to run the All-Star Race there in the Cup Series, so kudos to that group of people for digging their heels in and continuing to work to keep North Wilkesboro alive. And I think when you look at North Wilkesboro and the races it’s had in the past and what it has meant to the Cup Series and, really, when you look at the Southeast and you look at the racetracks that we’ve had in this area – we’ve seen a few of them go away, not many of them come back. Marcus Smith and his group at SMI have done a great job of reviving the racetrack, taking so many of those nostalgic pieces of the puzzle and trying to make them modern, but also make them represent what they did in that particular time period, whether it’s a snack bar or a victory lane or whatever it is. I can’t wait to see it all. I haven’t actually seen it all since last year, so I’ll get my first glance at it Tuesday night for the CARS Tour practice and spend the week there racing Wednesday night and again through the weekend in the Cup car.”

No. 29 Busch Light Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith

Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Stephen Doran

Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Engineer: Dax Gerringer

Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Spotter: Tim Fedewa

Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey

Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard

Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Brandon Banks

Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Tyler Trosper

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Mechanic: Nick DeFazio

Hometown: Orange, California

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski

Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges

Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell

Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

DARLINGTON RACEWAY

RACE: GOODYEAR 400 DATE: MAY 14, 2023

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 FREIGHTLINER FORD MUSTANG

START – 25TH STAGE ONE – 21ST STAGE TWO – 22ND FINISH – 19TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric rallied back to finish with a solid 19th-place finish in Sunday afternoon’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway after being involved in an incident early in Stage 3. Starting 25th, Cindric reported a free-handling Freightliner Ford Mustang at the beginning of the first 90-lap segment but gained a few positions from starting spot to conclude Stage 1 in the 21st position. Following a trip down pit road for service under the Stage break, the 24-year-old racer lined up 22nd for the restart. Cindric hovered around that spot for much of Stage 2, finishing the segment 22nd and continuing to report a free-handling racecar. Shortly after the kickoff to the final Stage, Cindric was collected in an accident that caused serious damage to the No. 2 Ford Mustang. Having to pit multiple times for repairs, Cindric slipped back in the running order and went a lap down. The Freightliner team remained focused for the remainder of the race, ultimately returning to the lead lap to score a 19th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “I thought our Freightliner Ford Mustang was actually pretty strong, just lacked track position early in the race. I was able to progress forward on most runs and make up some spots, so I’m happy with that. I’m happy with the package we showed up with this weekend, just not a lot to show for it. I got in that wreck on the back straightaway and the team did an incredible job to fix the right front and the right rear to get us back out there and eventually get back on the lead lap. Definitely feel like we left something on the table as far as what our car had, but that’s the way it goes.”

Cindric is currently 20th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings.

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/DUTCH BOY FORD MUSTANG

START – 11TH STAGE ONE – 14TH STAGE TWO – 8TH FINISH – 9TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney led Team Penske to the green flag of Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway from the 11th starting position and dealt with minor handling issues in the corners on the first two green flag runs of the day. The No. 12 team made adjustments to equalize the balance during the first two pit stops of the afternoon, resulting in a 14th-place finish in Stage 1. Blaney and the No. 12 team opted to long-pit as green flag stops began to cycle during Stage 2, allowing Blaney to take the lead on lap 141 before coming down pit road for four tires and another round of adjustments. Blaney rejoined the field in the top-15, but quickly made his way towards the top-10 in the following laps before settling into ninth in the closing laps of the stage. He went on to cross the line eighth at the end of Stage 2 under caution. Blaney began to find success running the wall and had a strong drive-off in the corners, but experienced a tight-handling Ford Mustang in traffic while battling to stay in the top-10 of the running order. Following another long, green flag run that saw another long-pit strategy, Blaney brought the No. 12 to pit road from second on lap 252 for four tires and a round of adjustments to free him up on the long run. Despite cycling to 14th in the running order, Blaney took advantage of a flurry of late cautions to restart the overtime attempt from sixth before taking the checkered flag ninth for his seventh top-10 finish of the season and fourth in the last five races.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Track position was big. We got decent in the second stage. We long-pitted and I thought we made up good ground. We went from 18th to eighth and our car was pretty respectable there. but then the track went tight on us and we lost a little bit of speed and handling. We lined up there at the end and just got caught. They stacked up and destroyed the nose, so it was just one of those days.”

Blaney is currently seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings.

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START – 15TH STAGE ONE – 19TH STAGE TWO – 14TH FINISH – 18TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano started Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway from the middle of the field with a loose-handling Ford Mustang on the opening run of the afternoon before the No. 22 team had a chance to make adjustments in the early going. Despite losing some track position on the race’s first round of pit stops following the first caution on lap 38, Logano fought to a 19th-place finish in Stage 1. After another round of adjustments during the stage break, Logano began to settle in with the balance of the car and made his way back into the top-15 following a scheduled, green flag stop on lap 135 before crossing the line 14th at the end of Stage 2. The No. 22 team put together one of its best stops of the day during the stage break to position Logano just outside the top-10 to start the final stage before breaking into the top-10 of the running order on lap 216. After making his way up to eighth on the leaderboard, Logano started the green flag pit stop cycle on lap 244 and was scored fifth by the time the field cycled through. As the laps began to wind down, the caution flag flew on lap 217 and the No. 22 team delivered on pit road in a big way, setting Logano up to restart third on what looked to be the final restart of the afternoon. From the outside of row two, Logano charged hard into turn one but the No. 19 washed up the banking and into right front of Logano to set off a multi-car incident in turn two to bring out the caution. Despite significant nose damage from the wreck, Logano was able to salvage an 18th-place finish on the day.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “We had a pretty decent day, all things considered. We started mid-pack and lost some ground during the first pit stop but, from there, we executed a perfect race. We scratched and clawed our way to start on the second row – for what we thought would be the final restart – with a chance to win. Unfortunately, that chance was taken out of our hands. That’s all there is to it.”

Logano is currently 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings.

WHAT’S NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 21 for the All-Star Race. Coverage of the event will be carried on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 8:00 p.m. ET.

A strong effort from the start to finish of Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway delivered a season-best sixth-place finish for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team.

Burton, running a throwback paint scheme honoring the No. 99 Ford his dad Jeff Burton raced in 1999, took the green flag from 14th place, his best start of the season.

He quickly moved forward and ran in the top 10 for a time before ending the first 90-lap Stage in 11th place.

He fell back a bit in the second Stage after a slow pit stop and ended that 90-lap segment in 18th place, but was back in the top 15 by Lap 210.

Burton had dropped back out of the top 15 as the laps wound down, but a series of late caution periods offered him a chance to capitalize on the speed of his DEX Imaging Mustang.

He drove past a multi-car crash on a restart following a spin by Ryan Newman, and that put him in eighth place for the next restart, with six laps remaining.

Another restart crash paved the way for Burton to move into the top five headed into an Overtime run to the finish, where he came away with a sixth-place finish, his first top-10 of the season.

Burton told reporters at the track that the Darlington performance adds to the optimism that’s building for him and the DEX Imaging team.

“Things are starting to click,” he said, adding that as gets well into his sophomore season in the Cup Series he’s becoming more comfortable behind the wheel. “Things are coming easier… We’ve just got to keep this going.”

He said the strong Darlington run came at a good time and is something he and the team can build on in the near future.

“We really needed it,” Burton said. “The last few weeks we’ve kind of been on the other side of it, where we’ve been fast and didn’t have anything to show for it.

“This week was kind of the opposite. We were probably a 10th-place car and finished sixth. That was just about execution at the end, restarts at the end and getting a decent finish.”

Burton and the No. 21 team now turn their attention to the NASCAR All-Star Race next Sunday at the historic North Wilkesboro 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.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
GOODYEAR 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
MAY 14, 2023

William Byron Caps off Chevrolet’s Weekend Sweep with Win at Darlington
Chevrolet’s Series-Leading Eighth NCS Win of the 2023 Season

· The win is Byron’s third NASCAR Cup Series win of the 2023 season – a series-leading feat – and his seventh career win in NASCAR’s premier series.

· Byron’s triumph marked the 100th all-time win for the iconic No. 24 – all captured with Chevrolet.

· The victory extended Chevrolet’s series-leading NASCAR Cup Series win record at Darlington Racing to 43 all-time victories at the 1.366-mile South Carolina oval.

· The winningest manufacturer in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now sits at 841 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier series.

· Chevrolet swept the NASCAR tripleheader race weekend at Darlington Raceway, with Christian Eckes and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Silverado RST team taking the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and Kyle Larson and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS team taking the NASCAR Xfinity Series win.

DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 14, 2023) – Chevrolet made it three-for-three in trips to victory lane at Darlington Raceway this weekend after Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and the No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 team captured their series-leading third NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win of the 2023 season in the Goodyear 400. Sporting a special livery in honor of Jeff Gordon’s 1998 All-Star Race paint scheme, Byron’s win also marked the 100th all-time win for the iconic No. 24 – all captured with Chevrolet.

“Just things have a way of working out, honestly,” said Byron. “It just worked out that way today. We didn’t have the best third stage. We just kept battling, and things just kind of came back around.”

Looking for redemption after falling just short of the triumph at the ‘Lady in Black’ one year ago, the 25-year-old North Carolina native started the annual ‘Throwback Weekend’ strong with a fourth-place qualifying effort. The No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 team was a front-runner all race long; scoring stage points with top-five finishes in both stages. With a late-race caution involving the race’s top-two drivers, Byron took a front-row position for the first – and only – attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. Byron drove his Camaro ZL1 to the top position, leading the race’s final two laps en route his seventh-career victory in NASCAR’s premier series.

“I have a great group of guys – Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), Brandon McSwain, Tyler (Jones, car chief), everybody on the team does a great job preparing good cars and we work hard at it,” continued Byron.

Joining Byron in the top-five included his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate Chase Elliott, who drove his No. 9 LLumar Camaro ZL1 to a third-place finish – his best finish since returning to competition following a leg injury. Fellow Team Chevy drivers Kyle Busch (No. 8 Lucas Oil Camaro ZL1) and Justin Haley (No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1) finished in the seventh- and eighth-positions, respectively, giving the Bowtie brand four of the top-10 positions in the final running order.

The trip to victory lane marked Chevrolet’s series-leading eighth NCS win of the 2023 season, while also extending the manufacturer’s win record to 43 all-time NCS victories at Darlington Raceway. Byron made for a trio of Chevrolet winners at the conclusion of the NASCAR tripleheader race weekend at the historic South Carolina oval. Christian Eckes and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Silverado RST team took the victory in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, with Kyle Larson driving the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS team to the win in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at North Wilkesboro Speedway with the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1, and RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 – Race Win Press Conference Transcript

THE MODERATOR: At the start of this press conference I shared an interesting stat with Jeff and Rick that I want to share with you guys, as well. This is the 100th win for the No. 24. Your reaction to that?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, we were well aware on the team. It’s kind of that hump we wanted to get over pretty quick. I think I was a little bit anxious about it. Getting those two wins early in the year and then trying to get a third is tough. In this sport everyone is so competitive, as we saw today. You had four or five cars within a chance for the lead.

Yeah, just good to get over that hump and get to get that monumental win for the No. 24. It’s been a really special number to me already.

RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, for sure. Like he said, we were well aware. Been working on it since Phoenix.

That number is iconic, and sitting next to the two that just left here, still got to pinch yourself to know you’re working for them, with them, and winning races in the 24. Just proud to get win No. 100.

Q. For both of you, what is it about each other that has you finding where you are now, three wins this year? What do you see in each other that encourages the other, and how does all that work?

WILLIAM BYRON: I think that we just at our core, we trust each other in the decisions that we make. I think that goes a long way in this sport because a lot of times even if we don’t make the right decision, the right choice on a restart or the right adjustment or whatever, like we finally — we get back to where we need to be because of that trust. I think that’s what it takes.

RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, the trust and then I think each one of us has picked each other up at different times. Each part of the team has picked each other up all year long, so you prove that it’s a team. We’ve known that. We’ve tried to build that culture in year three, but it’s getting there for sure.

Q. William, were you aware that Harvick’s car was somewhat wounded there before the final restart, and did that factor into how you raced at all?

WILLIAM BYRON: No, but I was aware that the guys behind me had some damage, so I was kind of picking a little bit based on that, but also the history of how each person races. Every restart is different. You’ve got to understand the characters around you, and I felt like we went with the decision that obviously put a little bit in the hands of the people around us, but also was — I would say in my head, coming to the restart was 75 percent the right choice.

I spent a lot of time debating in my head. You have a lot of time to figure it out. But I felt like I made the decision that made the most sense.

Q. You had a really good view of all the crazy stuff happening at the front there over the last 20 laps or so. It seemed at the green flag you really took off to get away from Harvick, which is obviously what you want to do, but were you concerned that he might attempt something that the other guys had racing for first over those last laps?

WILLIAM BYRON: No, because I feel like — he’s going to do whatever he can to win, obviously, but it does matter in this sport how you race others. I think with the 1, like he had done that move early in the race, and it had come back his way, and then on that restart with them lined up in front of me, I kind of knew what to expect. That was part of our decision making there.

Then coming to that final restart, you kind of have to put that in the memory bank and think about, okay, who are the people I’m up against in this situation, and we tried to make the best decision based on that.

Q. William, that’s what I wanted to ask you about. Were you prepared before that next to last restart that Kyle and Ross were probably could get into a situation like that, and so you were prepared to just avoid whatever situation they were in?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, we talked about it. All those things — like emotions, if they factor into decisions are important for us. We talked as soon as the caution came out about what we thought was going to happen, and Rudy did a great job filling me in. Obviously I can’t listen but I can assume based on all the information.

We try to make the best decisions, and today I felt like we grinded our way through this race. It was a tough race for us, but we kept our heads in it, and that’s what made us make good calls at the end to get us in a position — I don’t think we really thought we could win in the first restart when there was that big wreck. Then we started to get a glimmer of hope and then we started to go to work on what are the things we need to do to win it.

Q. How much did last year’s finish here affect you coming in this year? Did you think about it a lot this weekend, or did you just put it out of your hand?

WILLIAM BYRON: No, no, I don’t — I think — I came here being excited to race at Darlington. I felt like it would be a tough weekend because of some of our falloff the previous weeks, so I was hopeful that we worked on it, and we did, and we had a good long run car. I was just kind of thinking about those things, just really the things that matter to us and our team.

We went out and put together a great day. It wasn’t going to be the day we hoped for, but that’s how it goes sometimes. That’s kind of what we said on the radio. We’re like, man, we surprised ourselves.

Q. When you first got out of the car and they were asking you about win No. 100 for the 24, you said you were thankful to get the opportunity to drive that car, but you also said it felt like maybe you were too young at the time. I was just wondering, what is it years later now that has made you come to the realization that maybe that was the case?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I think I’m just honest with myself and reflective, and I felt like — I feel like I’m a different person than I was when I stepped in the car. It was a lot of pressure driving the 24, no matter what way you slice it. It’s a big number and has a lot of meaning and being with a team like this.

Yeah, I feel like that growth process happened, and I don’t really look back and say — I don’t compare myself to then. I have different people around me that really know me.

It’s great what we’ve built, and yeah, it’s different.

Q. Last year I want to say you won two in the first eight races and then didn’t win again. I’m curious —

WILLIAM BYRON: Thanks for the reminder.

Q. I’m curious if those thoughts started going through your head after two early wins this year. I don’t want to say 10 races or nine races is a long winless streak, but did you feel that this year was going any different than after your two wins last year?

WILLIAM BYRON: For sure. I think we had kind of a chip and a little bit of just trying not to let that happen again. So we’ve been probably overexerting ourselves a little bit just to make sure that we don’t repeat.

Now I think we’re safely in a groove here where we’ve got to continue our processes, continue what got us here, but it definitely feels different than what we had last year where I felt like after we won those couple races we were kind of — we had just kind of a false confidence, I think.

We’ve learned from that. I have. I don’t intend on doing that again.

Q. You look at the stats this year, laps led, average running position, that kind of thing, stage wins, do you guys feel like you should have more wins than you have right now?

RUDY FUGLE: I mean, this is the hardest form of motorsports in North America. It’s hard. We run up front and we lead a lot of laps and put ourselves in position, but you don’t always win. We’d like to win more, but to me it’s the process. It’s how do you put yourself in a spot to practice well and then qualify well and then race well and lead laps. That’s what we’re doing week in and week out, no matter the type of track. That’s what we didn’t have last year. We kind of — Atlanta is a win, was what it was, and Martinsville is on its own and a night race that was 40 degrees.

We weren’t dominating being in the top 3 or 4, but we consistently have the best running position of anybody in the series, and that’s what we’re doing. You don’t always win those races, unfortunately.

I just want to know how to do — that our team can compete like that, because if you do that and you put yourself in position to win, you’re going to win the races like today where we weren’t the best car but we were close.

WILLIAM BYRON: I mean, Richmond was hard to swallow because I think our MO together is get the best finish that we can, and at Richmond, we went from battling Martin for the win, probably going to finish — maybe going to finish second and then go to 24th. So that one was the hardest year to go back on Monday and be like, what happened.

Yeah, other than that, I don’t know, races can go any way I feel like, but certainly the statistics show, which I’m a big stats guy, I look at our running position, like he said, and stage points and it looks pretty good. We’ve just got to keep the process that we have going because it’s obviously working.

Q. You look at the last few years, Harvick in ’20, Larson in ’21, you could throw Hamlin in that mix, as well. There’s basically a group of guys that have dominated, asserted themselves way clear of anyone else. Do you guys feel you’re capable of that and that’s your ceiling?

WILLIAM BYRON: I think we’ll look back at today and think about the things we could do better, and I think that’s how we’re going to get better. I think when we come back here in the fall if we apply all those things — yeah, I think we’re on a good trajectory, but I don’t really look at potential as much as I look at, okay, how can we improve. There’s still a lot to do, but think about North Wilkesboro. I’ve got a late model race on Tuesday, so I’m going to think about that.

THE MODERATOR: Rudy, thanks so much for joining us, and congratulations.

Q. You’re going to Wilkesboro Tuesday night to race in the late model races. What do you think the fans’ reaction is going to be to being back in that place and watching you and a bunch of other Cup drivers Tuesday and Wednesday, and what do you expect out of the weekend leading into the All-Star Race?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, the track looks juror I couldn’t say. It really looks nice. The whole layout of the place has that feel of kind of a Wrigley Field or just a historic place that has a newness to it. I’m excited for it. I think the late model race will get me ready, running the truck race after that and running the Cup race on Sunday. Lots to do, and feel like we don’t really know what we’re getting into yet. I think I practice at 1:00 on Tuesday, so I’ll tell you after that.

Q. We touched on this maybe a little bit the other day, kind of talked about the fighting and stuff, but you look at with Ross and everything today, what would it take for you to maybe want to confront him and send a message that this isn’t how you want to be raced?

WILLIAM BYRON: I mean, I’ve got to preface it with honestly, Ross and I race pretty good. I think he was a little bit better than me at times today, and we kind of traded positions here and there. But I do think some of the things I’ve seen feel like they’re a little bit over the line, and I feel like whatever that line is has to kind of come back down just a little bit. There’s a certain point when wrecking is just not the answer.

I don’t know what that would entail, but yeah, there’s a line. Like we all have pedals and a steering wheel, so there’s a way to give it back.

I saw a lot of wrecking today, so I didn’t really like that. I thought we had some really good cars out there and could have maybe settled it out that way.

Q. Did you anticipate Ross trying to pinch Kyle up high, so were you thinking, okay, I’m going to stay promptly as low as I can and keep momentum on that restart?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, we talked about it under the caution. We talked about just what was going on and whether we felt like that was going to come into play again.

I was surprised that Ross got the lead on the restart. I guess they were really close side by side. So he got the lead, and when he chose the bottom, I wasn’t surprised, so I chose the bottom, too. But I felt like what I really felt like was going to happen was somebody on the top was going to lose momentum because he was going to take that line away. I didn’t think they would wreck, but obviously it happened, and we rolled on by. I was kind of hopeful that they’d get choked up and I’d just go to the bottom three wide and clear them all.

Q. You said you’re a stats guy, so you know where you stack up against the competition, but do you feel like this team gets the respect or gets recognized as it should for what you guys are doing and where you should stack up in this garage?

WILLIAM BYRON: I mean, I’ve heard a lot of different opinions. But I think as a team, I think — and statistically, I feel like we’re right where we need to be. There’s a couple other guys that are really close or even a little bit better in some categories. Kyle has been really strong. I feel like he’s really fast on some of the bigger tracks. Ross has good stats.

Yeah, I look at all that stuff, laps led, average running position, all those things.

I feel like most of the things I’ve looked at, I feel like we’re pretty good. I do have a couple areas where I feel like we could improve and we’ll keep working on.

Q. You feel like you’re a top-5 driver in this garage right now?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, for sure, definitely that. It’s just really hard to separate at the top. I feel like there’s a few guys that could win every week. Being in that little bit is tough, but sometimes they go your way, and you just try to stay up there and in contention.

Q. What about winning at Darlington? This is a place that gets a lot of recognition for how tough it is and there’s always talk coming into every Darlington weekend that experience is going to win out. You’re a relatively younger guy. What does winning at Darlington say or what does it mean?

WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, it’s a track that takes a lot of patience, but also aggression. Like you can’t run at 90 percent. You’ve got to run at 98 or 99. But that edge is really close, and I feel like that’s what catches young guys out is, at least for me, I made mistakes and then try to back off and drive easier and it just doesn’t work.

It’s one of those places you have to be kind of on that edge and just have to really cut it close. But that’s what makes speed. But also being patient enough to not overstep that edge because you really can’t — you can maybe do it a couple times, but it’s tough.

Q. Where does it stack up for you?

WILLIAM BYRON: It’s up there for sure. Probably not the win that sticks out just dominating the race or anything like that. But being up front, being in contention, and based on the past history we’ve had here, I think it definitely — it stacks up pretty high.

 
 

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