Watkins Glen International
Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022
2.45-Mile Road Course
3:00 PM ET
Location: Watkins Glen, New York
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (25 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

5 KYLE LARSON

Age: 30 (July 31, 1992)

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels

Standings: 3rd

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

BOWLING FOR A DOUBLE AT THE GLEN: Last year at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Larson led the final 26 laps to capture the victory. The win in the 23rd race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season moved the Elk Grove, California, native into the top spot in the points standings – his first time atop the standings during his inaugural season with Hendrick Motorsports.

JUUUUUNIOOOOR: Saturday will mark Larson’s second start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season. The driver of the No. 88 HendrickCars.com JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro has won four of his last six starts in the Xfinity Series, capturing victories at Bristol Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2018. In July of this year, Larson won stages one and two in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Xfinity Series entry before ultimately finishing second at Road America.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: In seven Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen, Larson has one win, two top-five finishes and four top-10s. In six Xfinity Series starts at the 2.45-mile road course located in New York, the 30-year-old driver has one top-five – a third-place finish in 2016.

KING OF THE ROAD: Larson won three road course events in 2021, the most ever during a NASCAR Cup Series season. Victories at Sonoma Raceway in June, Watkins Glen in August and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in October were integral during his 10-win championship season.

BACK NINE: Dating back to June 2021, Larson has been victorious in three of the last nine Cup Series road course events – tops in NASCAR’s premier series. Overall, the 2021 Cup Series champion ranks fourth among active drivers in road course wins (three), one behind Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., who are tied for second.

ROAD COURSE RINGERS: Only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers have scored more wins on road courses than Larson. On serpentine layouts in the Cup Series, the all-time winningest driver is NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon with nine while Chase Elliott has crossed the line first on seven occasions.

GOOD STARTING POINT: With a 6.71 average starting position in seven Watkins Glen Cup Series starts, the defending event winner is tops in this statistical average among active drivers at NASCAR’s highest level. Among drivers with a minimum of three starts, Larson trails only Tony Stewart, who posted a 5.88 average start at the New York track during his NASCAR Hall of Fame career.

YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series and No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro in the Xfinity Series. From the convenience of home, customers can select the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com. The website also makes it easy for customers to find one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealership locations nationwide.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT

Age: 26 (Nov. 28, 1995)

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia

Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson

Standings: 1st

No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

BACK WHERE IT STARTED: In 2018, Watkins Glen International was the site of Chase Elliott’s first NASCAR Cup Series win. He led 52 of 90 laps en route to victory. In just five starts on the 2.45-mile road course, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has three top-two finishes including two wins. Elliott’s most recent trip to victory lane at Watkins Glen came in 2019 after he swept the stages and led all but 10 laps of the race. His average finish is an impressive 6.0, which is the best among active drivers at the venue, and he has led for a total of 141 laps.

IN THE RUNNING: The four-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award winner heads into the weekend with a 116-point lead in the Cup series point standings. Elliott could be named the regular season champion as early as this Sunday, needing only a 61-point advantage following the race over second place to clinch the title. It would mark the 26-year-old’s first Cup Series regular season championship and give him 15 bonus points heading into the playoffs. So far in 2022, Elliott has earned a series-high 25 playoff points thanks to his four victories and five stage wins. He’s also tops in the laps led category, pacing the field for 659 circuits. Elliott is the only driver with more than two wins this season.

WATKINS GLEN REWIND: Last season, Elliott and the No. 9 team came from the back of the field to score a second-place finish at Watkins Glen behind teammate Kyle Larson. It was the fourth time in the season that the duo had scored 1-2 finishes. Elliott took the green flag for the final stage of the race from the 19th position and was up to third with 20 laps to go. At that time, he was 11 seconds behind leader Larson and made the pass for second on lap 82. He cut into Larson’s lead by more than eight seconds but ran out of time, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the runner-up spot. It was his third consecutive top-two finish at the track.

FEELING ‘22: Elliott has three top-10 finishes on road courses in 2022 out of four events. The 2020 Cup Series champion drove to a fourth-place result at Circuit of The Americas, scored an eighth-place result at Sonoma Raceway and was the runner-up finisher at Road America. He’s tied with Austin Cindric for the most points earned on serpentine tracks this season with 138.

GETTING IT DONE: Elliott has proven his road-racing prowess, leading all active drivers with seven wins on road courses. He’s also third on the overall list of drivers with road course victories, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). Elliott has victories across five different road courses, the most in series history. In 23 Cup Series starts on road courses, Elliott has an average finish of 7.83, which is not only the best among active drivers, but ranks third all-time among drivers (five or more starts) behind NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts (nine starts) and Buck Baker (10 starts). He is also tied with Kyle Busch for the most laps led on road courses among active drivers with 404.

GUSTAFSON THE GREAT: No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 16th Watkins Glen Cup Series race from atop the pit box. In 15 races at the venue, the Ormond Beach, Florida, native has two victories – both with Elliott – two top-five finishes and four top-10s with 178 laps led. Gustafson leads all active crew chiefs with seven road course victories.

KBB IS BACK: This weekend at Watkins Glen, Kelley Blue Book will make its second and final appearance on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2022 season. The Atlanta-based Cox Automotive Group company was the primary partner for Elliott and the No. 9 team earlier this year for the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing eighth. The long-standing Hendrick Motorsports partner has one win with the No. 9 team coming at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2020. Earlier this year, KBB unveiled a new look for its 2022 paint scheme. See all the angles of the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet here.

24 WILLIAM BYRON

Age: 24 (Nov. 29, 1997)

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle

Standings: 10th

No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

RACKING UP THE POINTS: So far in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron has secured 13 playoff points – tied for the third-most by a driver this season with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. In the last six races, the 24-year-old driver has collected 45 stage points – the fourth-most among the Cup Series field.

UP FRONT: Byron continues to hold the statistic of leading the second-most laps this season with 611, just behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott who has led 659. Those 611 laps led are not only Byron’s most in a single Cup Series season but have come across 12 races – tied with Ross Chastain for the seventh-most races led by a driver this year.

ROAD RESULTS: During his Cup Series career, Byron has been working to step up his road course racing skills. In the last 10 road course races to hold qualifying, Byron has won the pole for three of them (Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL 2019, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course 2021). He also has five top-10 finishes in the last 14 road course races. In the four road course races this year, Byron has finished 12th at the Circuit of The Americas, ninth at Sonoma Raceway, 16th at Road America and was poised for a top-five finish at the Indianapolis Road Course before a late-race incident left him with a 31st-place result.

WATKINS GLEN WIZ: Sunday’s race will mark Byron’s fourth Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International and his fifth NASCAR national series start overall at the road course. In the Cup Series, Byron has a track-best qualifying effort of second (2019) and a best finish of sixth (2021) at the 2.45-mile course. Prior to his Cup Series starts, Byron made his first start at the track in the 2015 ARCA Menards Series East race, starting second and finishing seventh. He then returned to the road course in 2017 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, qualifying 15th and crossing the line in 10th. In fact, in his five previous national starts at Watkins Glen, Byron has finished outside the top-10 running order only once, which occurred during the 2019 Cup Series race when he was collected in an on-track incident while running second.

HOMEWARD BOUND: While Rudy Fugle may have limited experience at Watkins Glen, the Livonia, New York, native is excited to be heading to his hometown track for Sunday’s race. This weekend will mark Fugle’s second Cup Series start at the 2.45-mile road course. In his first Cup Series start in front of his hometown crowd, the crew chief led Byron and the No. 24 team to a sixth-place finish. In total, Fugle has 11 Cup Series starts on road courses, three starts in the Xfinity Series and seven in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In those seven Truck Series starts, he has one win (Erik Jones, 2015), three top-five finishes, and five top-10s. One of those seven truck starts was also with Byron, where the duo raced to a 10th-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2016.

DOUBLE UP: Byron is pulling double duty at Watkins Glen this weekend. In addition to Sunday’s Cup Series race, he’ll drive the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday afternoon. Byron’s primary partner in the Cup Series, Axalta, will also serve as an associate partner on his Xfinity Series car. The No. 17 has raced in two other Xfinity races this year, scoring runner-up finishes in both events with Kyle Larson at Road America and Alex Bowman at the Indianapolis Road Course.

RAPTOR® TOUGH: The Charlotte, North Carolina, native will be back behind the wheel of the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend. RAPTOR® is a durable protective coating and bed liner that is designed to tolerate the toughest climatic conditions and can be applied to a wide range of substrates from steel, wood, concrete and plaster to plastics and composites. Resistant to common fuels, U.V., scratches and stains, RAPTOR® is available at local paint distributors, auto parts stores and can also be purchased from online retailers like Amazon.

48 Alex Bowman

Age: 29 (April 25, 1993)

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona

Resides: Concord, North Carolina

Crew Chief: Greg Ives

Standings: 11th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

TWO TO GO: With just two races left in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Alex Bowman has tallied one win (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), three top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and six playoff points.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: For the fifth time in the 2022 Cup Series season, Bowman will be turning left and right as the top series races at Watkins Glen International. In his previous four road course starts this year, the Tucson, Arizona, native has a runner-up finish at Circuit of The Americas – tied for the best result by any Hendrick Motorsports driver on serpentine layouts this season.

SECOND PLACE: In his career, the 29-year-old driver has two second-place finishes on road courses, which is the second-most among active drivers without a win. In addition to his runner-up showing at COTA this year, he also placed second at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2019. Brad Keselowski leads the category with three second-place results without a win on road courses.

SLINGING DIRT: On Tuesday, Bowman strapped back into the No. 55 Ally sprint car for Alex Bowman Racing in the Kyle Larson High Limit Open at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana. Bowman won his heat race to qualify for the feature race, where he placed sixth.

NO. 48 PIT CREW: This weekend, the No. 48 pit crew will have four new members going over the wall. The five-man crew is made up of Austin Dickey (front-tire changer), Andrew Bridgeforth (rear-tire changer), Scott Riddle (tire carrier), Allen Holman (jackman) and Jacob Conley (fueler).

BEST FRIENDS UPDATE: Through 24 Cup Series races, Bowman and Ally – the primary sponsor of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 – have teamed up to donate $125,200 to Best Friends Animal Society and its network partners in the race markets that NASCAR’s premier series has visited. Each week of the season, Bowman and Ally join forces and donate $4,800 to Best Friends Animal Society. If Bowman wins, the donation increases to $10,000.

REVVING TO A MILESTONE: The engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports sits five wins away from 500 victories. To date, the company’s engine program is responsible for 336 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, 122 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, 22 wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and 15 wins in the ARCA Menards Series and K&N Pro Series ranks.

EDGE OF SEVENTEEN: For its three 2022 Xfinity Series races, Hendrick Motorsports will field the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro – the same number Ricky Hendrick drove in the Camping World Truck Series. That number has won 39 times in Xfinity Series history and two of the four drivers to win in it – Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte – would go on to win in the Cup Series with the Rick Hendrick-owned organization. You can see renderings of the Xfinity Series paint scheme here.

GETTING GOING AT THE GLEN: The No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro will be making its final Xfinity Series start of the season with William Byron piloting the ride in Saturday’s race at Watkins Glen International. Kevin Meendering is serving as the team’s crew chief. The organization has 26 wins in the series with Tony Stewart recording the last win to date at Daytona International Speedway in 2009. Last month, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman each finished second at Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, respectively, in the team’s first Xfinity starts in 13 years.

LEADING THE WAY: With eight wins through 24 NASCAR Cup Series races in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports has earned the most victories so far this season. It is the only four-car team to see all of its drivers win a race this season. The 1,590 laps out front lead all teams in the series by 40 circuits. Teammates Chase Elliott and Byron rank 1-2 in laps led this year.

STARTING STRONG: In six of the last nine road course events with qualifying, the Concord, North Carolina, based team has scored the pole position. During that span, which dates back to 2019, Byron has won three poles, Elliott has had two and Larson got one. In fact, two of the poles came this season with Elliott (at Road America) and Larson (at Sonoma Raceway).

RULERS OF THE ROAD: At 25 wins, Hendrick Motorsports has the most all-time triumphs on road courses in Cup Series history. The two closest teams in this statistic have combined for only 21 wins. Since their inaugural season in 1984, the organization has won 28 percent of road courses events (25 wins in 89 races).

COUNTING ‘EM UP: Seven different drivers have accounted for the 25 road course wins in team history and those seven winners are the most for a Cup Series team on road courses. Jeff Gordon leads the way for the team with nine victories (which are also the most among all drivers) followed by Elliott with seven. Larson and Tim Richmond are tied for third on the list with three wins apiece. Jimmie Johnson, Geoff Bodine and Ricky Rudd each tallied one victory.

WATKINS GLEN WINNERS: Among those 25 serpentine layout wins, nine have come at Watkins Glen – most among all Cup Series teams. Gordon’s four wins are the most for the squad followed by two for Elliott. Richmond, Rudd and Larson each have one win at the track near New York’s Finger Lakes region.

NEW YORK MINUTE: Larson’s win last year came in an event that saw Hendrick Motorsports finish first, second (Elliott) and sixth (Byron). The victory extended the organization’s winning streak at the 2.45-mile venue to three with Elliott’s victories in 2018 and 2019 – there was no 2020 race due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the second time the team has won three in a row at this track, with Gordon scoring triumphs from 1997 to 1999.

SWEEP SENSATIONS: In the era of stage racing, there have been two times – both by Hendrick Motorsports – when one driver swept every road course stage and won the race. Elliott was the first to do so in his 2019 win at Watkins Glen. Larson also accomplished this with his victory in 2021 at Sonoma.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the difference going from the NASCAR Xfinity Series car to NASCAR Cup Series car: “At Road America, the braking points were pretty similar, which was surprising. I thought the Cup car would brake much deeper. I hope it’s the same this weekend at Watkins Glen (International) because it would really, really help getting into a rhythm quickly for the entire weekend.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the benefit of Larson running in the Xfinity (Series) race at Watkins Glen International: “I think him getting the track time is great – not really because of his skill and abilities, but for him to understand the grip level. I know he is going to be fast in the Xfinity car and I know he is going to be fast in our car, but having the extra time to understand the grip level and other nuances of the track that’s different from a year ago. We do have recent test data to go off of and feedback from those tests – but nothing replaces actual track time and the condition of the track and how we approach it.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Watkins Glen: “Watkins Glen (International) was where I got my first win so it’s of course a place that holds some great memories for me. We’ve had a good amount of success there as a team and I feel like this year we’ve come a long way in our road course program with the new car. This is a track that I feel like we can really go and have a good run and get some momentum back heading into the playoffs.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen: “Certainly the last three years have been good for our team at Watkins Glen (International). We’ve been really competitive there and we feel like this is another opportunity for us to go out there and have a good race. Our focus will be winning and ultimately trying to get some more playoff points. That’s the key. This is a track we should be able to do that at. Hopefully that will come to fruition and put us in a good position for the playoffs.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on why he enjoys racing at Watkins Glen: “Honestly Watkins Glen (international) is one of the most fun race tracks we go to as a driver because it’s so fast. It’s not like a lot of the other road courses we go to that have much slower zones and such aggressive braking. Watkins Glen almost really feels like a superspeedway for road courses. I got to test there earlier this year in the Next Gen car and I think it’s just as fun of a road course in these cars compared to last year’s. I’m excited that I get extra track time this weekend there too with being able to run Xfinity on Saturday. It will make for a full day, but I think it will be beneficial to get those extra laps before Sunday’s race in similar race conditions. Plus, I want to be able to get Mr. Hendrick a win in the No. 17, especially since they’ve been so close this year already.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the preparation by the No. 24 team for Watkins Glen: “I think our race last year at Watkins Glen (International) went well but I always think there’s room to improve. Since then, we have really worked on improving not only our road course racing notes but especially now with the Next Gen car and getting up to speed there. We’ll be utilizing the same tire Sunday that we have for most of the other road course races this year, so we have a good notebook built up on how they will react over a run. We also were able to test there earlier this year and had a lot of positive feedback while we were there. I think we’re more prepared for this race than we have been earlier this year on road courses. The main difference is how much faster this track is compared to the other road courses on the schedule. Downforce really plays a factor and so does handling, but I think that’s where our testing notes will really come into play.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his expectations heading to Watkins Glen: “We have had good runs on road courses this season, but each track has its challenges, so I look at them one at a time. Hendrick Motorsports has had a lot of speed on road courses, and I have run a few extra races. Whether it was in the No. 7 Spire truck or the No. 17 Chevy Camaro in Xfinity, I had the opportunity to get more time on road courses, which I think has helped me this season. I will prepare like I have every week and make sure I give Greg (Ives, crew chief) all the feedback he needs to get the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the right place and we will go compete on Sunday.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the strength of Hendrick Motorsports at road courses this season: “We have had speed every time we have raced at a road course this year and it goes to show how talented our team is back at the shop at building exceptional race cars. We had a No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 capable of winning at Circuit of The Americas and had a great car at Road America, so I know we will have another great car this weekend at Watkins Glen International. Alex (Bowman) continues to do his homework and our team is matching his effort as we get ready to head up to New York and try to get Hendrick Motorsports a win on a road course this year.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Watkins Glen Advance | Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Greg Zipadelli, chief competition officer for Stewart-Haas Racing, was a guest earlier today on the weekly Ford Performance NASCAR media call. He discussed the recent resurgence of the organization, which has seen Kevin Harvick win the last two Cup Series races and all four teams improve their performance.

GREG ZIPADELLI, Chief Competition Officer, Stewart-Haas Racing – WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF THREE STRAIGHT WINS THIS WEEKEND AT WATKINS GLEN? “We go every week to win with all four of our teams performing to the highest level. That’s always the goal. The 4 car has done a really good job in the last, honestly you’ve got to go back to Nashville, Sonoma, Pocono, I think it gets overlooked at how good they ran at some of those racetracks. They didn’t have an opportunity to win or lead a bunch of laps, but they had speed and it kind of started then. The last two weeks they’ve done a great job of executing. Things have gone their way. The cars have unloaded with a little bit more raw speed and it’s allowed them to have an opportunity to win and they’ve been able to capitalize on that.”

WITH THE TWO WINS DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE MADE SOME GAINS OR SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT YOU WEREN’T THE FASTEST CAR THE LAST TWO WEEKS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE MAYBE A BIT BEHIND? “I think we’ve made gains, but I don’t think by any means that you can sit and say that you can stop working. I’d say that Kevin had a really good car last week. He drove around a car for the lead and never looked back, so you can say what you want, you know what I mean? There’s always room for improvement. I think what I look at last week was all four cars were fast. Honestly, if things went well and Cole didn’t have his issue and Chase didn’t have his fire, I feel like we had the potential to have four cars in the top 10 or top 12 pretty easily. So, to me, that’s something that as a group we’ve struggled with. We’ve unloaded here every week and had at least one if not two cars qualify in the top 10, top 12 and run there, but we haven’t been able to have all four cars and have that kind of speed and execution. From that perspective, I think it shows that all of the work we’ve been doing is going in the right direction, but, like I said, it’s the time of year where everyone is working just as hard as you are, so you’ve got to continue to push and build as much speed in these cars as you can on a weekly basis.”

IS THE 10 CAR SITUATION UNSETTLING OR TYPICAL OF WHERE WE ARE IN AUGUST? “To me it’s not a big deal. We’ve waited a lot longer to make some of those decisions to try to build around, so I think we’ll be fine there. We’ve got a couple of good options and just kind of waiting to see how everything plays out.”

DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE FIRE IN CHASE’S CAR? WAS IT THE SAME THING AS WHAT HAPPENED TO LOGANO AND BUESCHER TWO WEEKS AGO? “It doesn’t appear to be exactly why that insulation in the rocker box caught fire. We’re looking into it. There wasn’t damage to it, so that’s kind of the surprising thing. I don’t know if rubber got up in there and started the fire and burned. It’s so hard to tell because so much of it had burned for a while, so pretty disappointing. Chase and Johnny and that whole group had done a really good job of adjusting on their car and keeping him in the game all day and that’s what they needed. To come up short again was a little disappointing.”

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR KEVIN AND RODNEY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS? “I think they’ve done a good job of not letting it tear them up and making a bigger deal out of it. They’ve just gone every week and raced as hard as they could and tried to put themselves in position. I’ve been in some of those situations before where it’s like you feel like you’re doing everything you have been doing and you’re working just as hard and you’re just not getting the results. You’re not having the speed. As a whole, I would say us as a group – the Fords as a group – have been off a little bit this year. We’re working hard along with all the other Ford teams and hoping to peak at the right time.”

WHAT ARE THE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 4 TEAM IN THE PLAYOFFS. THE FIRST FOUR TRACKS ARE PRETTY STRONG FOR THEM. “I think if we continue to progress and keep working on our cars and pit crew keeps doing what they’ve been doing and Rodney keeps his group focused and executing like they have the last six weeks or so, I think they’re gonna have a shot to move much further into the playoffs. Like you said, a couple of the first races are good tracks for Kevin. He ran pretty solid at Kansas with a lot of speed in the spring and pit stops and pit road, so there were some issues there that took them out of a really good finish, but it’s always been a really good place for him – there and Bristol. I would expect nothing less than strong runs there.”

WHAT DO YOUR DUTIES AS CHIEF COMPETITION OFFICER AT SHR ENTAIL? “It’s basically over all of our departments from manufacturing to building the cars to our pit crews to traveling to and from the racetrack. It’s just a lot of logistics and budgets and a lot to do with people and contracts and things of that nature. It’s not as much hands-on as I used to like from working on the cars. Gosh, some days it’s even hard to get down on the floor to see the guys with all the stuff we have going on. That’s pretty much the gist of it is just really overseeing and to help support these guys in any way that is needed.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEXT GEN CAR? “I think being an old-schooled racer, and a lot of us here in this building came into the year thinking, ‘Oh, man. This is not what we’re used to. It’s not what we want.’ I think maybe that might have even been some of why we started out slow. There are a lot of good old racers here and maybe sometimes we’re creatures of habit too much, but, in all honesty, I think this car has performed at most racetracks above expectation. There has been some little issues, like we were talking about the fire and toe links breaking and things like that, but, in all honesty, when you look at the scope of this car and what they did in two years, all the parts and pieced that had to get manufactured, I don’t know that anybody could have done it any better. I really feel like it’s gone off really really well.”

WHAT KIND OF LETTER GRADE WOULD YOU GIVE IT SO FAR? “Just because I’m old-school and not many A’s ever come out of anywhere because you can always do better, but, in all honesty, I’d say it’s a strong B, B-plus. A lot of the problems that we have had with this car that are probably our frustrations aren’t because of what the group at NASCAR did as far as launching this car. It was parts and pieces were hard to get and that’s everywhere in the industry. You can’t buy appliances. You know what I mean? Everybody is out of everything, so we just hit trying to produce this car at probably the worst time in my life as far as working and getting over COVID and people working from home – just all those things that are so different from what we’re used to in this industry. Because of that, it has put a lot of frustration on teams because we haven’t had parts and we were taking them off and bringing them home, but that’s just part of the era we’re living in right now. They haven’t had a lot of parts changes from that perspective, so I think they’ve done a really good job.”

WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THE SEASON TO DATE? “I think we started the year off. We thought we went to Daytona and raced and we went to Phoenix and Vegas and California and we thought we had decent cars and speed, and then it seemed like we got off a little bit. I think through the early part of the summer it was a dry spell. We won one early and were like, ‘Oh, man. We’ve got this. We’re good. We’ve got this figured out,’ and now we’re back to everybody running better, so it’s been a bit of a disappointing year. It’s not those years you go, ‘Oh, my God. You’ve won three races. That’s a solid year in today’s sport as competitive as it is.’ But we haven’t run good week in and week out like we expect ourselves to do and what’s expected of us from our fans and all of our partners and sponsors. We definitely had work to do and I feel like everybody has dug deep and worked well together here in the last two months or so and feel like we’ve moved the needle on making our cars better.”

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES IN 2023? “We’re right in the middle of those negotiations right now. Probably, more than likely, we’re gonna have an Xfinity team, but we don’t have that all locked up yet. I think in the next 10-14 days we should have things ironed out and be able to let the world know what we’re doing.”

HOW HAS THE COMPETITION FOR PIT CREW MEMBERS EVOLVED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS? “I think you’ve got to go back a couple of years. I wouldn’t say it’s gone crazy, but to have that right group of guys that can work together and execute a stop at the speed that these are today, it’s crazy how these guys are getting it done and how fast and how strong and athletic they need to be. I think that’s a lot of what’s changed is where you’re finding these guys and bringing them in and how you’re training them. It’s definitely still growing, also. That’s the crazy thing is I don’t think it’s plateaued yet.”

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT – STILL GROWING? IS IT IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING OR JUST THE CRAZINESS IN TRYING TO GET PEOPLE AND SIGN THE BEST PEOPLE BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH BALANCE IN THIS SPORT? “Not to be vague, but all of the above, honestly. Everybody is looking for the next football or baseball player that didn’t make it to the majors that is right there on that edge that’s just one of those freak athletes that is super strong and very dedicated. It’s turned into way more than from when I was changing tires in 14-second stops. It’s crazy. We’ve seen some 8-second stops in practice, so they’re not far around the corner. I think just from finding athletes and from different sports that you can bring into NASCAR and train them and teach them to change tires, carry the jack, whatever it might be – gas – it’s been a little hectic, but it’s been fun to try to have to look outside places. All of the other teams are doing it. You’re competing in a lot of different areas to bring the future in. That’s why we’ve got so many development guys and development teams that go to the racetrack on the weekends. It’s just trying to run through a lot of people and see who is out there and who is stepping up to the plate.”

IN TERMS OF DRIVERS WITH WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT HAS THAT EVOLVED AND CHANGED WITH LESS TRACK TIME AND MORE ENGINEERING ON THE SIM? ARE YOU LOOKING AT THINGS DIFFERENTLY? “I think the sport has definitely changed from that perspective. You need guys willing to work and study and put their time in the simulator and watch previous races, look at pit road, study the restarts and all of those aspects of on and off pit road because all of that stuff matters and when you don’t have but 15 minutes to do that, you’ve got to show up and have a pretty good idea of what you need and the feel that you’re looking for and you’ve got to be able to go out and execute that. So, I think from the team’s perspective a lot of it is done obviously before you show up at the racetrack and for drivers I think it’s very similar.”

LOOKING AT THE CAR AND HOW BULLET PROOF IT HAS APPEARED IS THERE ANYTHING THAT HAS SURPRISED YOU? “No, overall I think the car has held up really well. There are no good wrecks, but we’ve had damage where you couldn’t continue on in a race and you got it home and it was literally some bolt on components. And then there were other times where the car didn’t even look like it was damaged, but we couldn’t finish because a control arm broke because it hit the wheel at just the right direction at the right force. But, overall, I think from the bodies, the chassis, the transaxle, all of those little things that we thought might be issues, for the most part, none of them are issues at all.”

WILL COLE CUSTER CONTINUED WITH SHR IN 2023? “Right now, I believe that’s what our plan is right now. We’re just looking and trying to sort out the 10 car at this particular time.”

IS THERE ANY CHANCE FOR TWO TEAMS IN THE XFINITY SERIES IN 2023? “If we had the right deal, we would be excited about doing it, but I don’t know that we’re in that position or have all the key ingredients to do that – basically funding any younger driver that we believe in could be in one of our Cup cars in the future right now. I would not say never, but that’s not very likely.”

 Kaulig Racing Weekly Advance | Watkins Glen International
Go Bowling at the Glen
Watkins Glen International

NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)

Sunday, August 21 at 3 p.m. ET on USA

In the 2022 NCS season, Kaulig Racing has earned one top five, six top-10 finishes and has led 25 laps
 

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger earned his first-ever NCS win at Watkins Glen International
• He has recorded three top five finishes, has an average finish of 9.9 and has led 58 laps at Watkins Glen in the NCS
• In 2022, Allmendinger has earned three top-10 finishes and has led five laps

“Watkins Glen will always be a special place for me. The crowd is always amazing and the memories from my first Cup win will last forever. Ever since they repaved the track, it’s been a challenge for me, but with the NextGen car in the Cup Series, it may be completely different. Hopefully we will have two really great finishes for the weekend.” – AJ Allmendinger on Watkins Glen International

Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

• Justin Haley has made one start at Watkins Glen in the NCS
• He has earned one top five, two top 10 and and nine top-15 finishes in 2022
• Haley’s third-place finish at Darlington was Kaulig Racing’ first top-five not at a superspeedway or road course
• Haley has led 20 laps in the 2022 season

“We had a good week at Richmond and have something to really build on that we can use this weekend at Watkins Glen. The road courses have been pretty decent tracks for us so far this season, so hopefully we will be able to contend.” – Justin Haley on Watkins Glen International  
 
Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen
Watkins Glen International
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Saturday, August 20 at 3 p.m. ET on USA

Kaulig Racing has earned three wins, 14 top five and 36 top-10 finishes in the 2022 NXS season
The team has led 341 laps in the 2022 NXS season so far
Allmendinger: 271 laps
Hemric: 53 laps
Cassill: 17 Laps
 

Landon Cassill, No. 10 Carnomaly Chevrolet

• Cassill has made five starts at Watkins Glen in the NXS
• Landon Cassill has earned three top five and eight top-10 finishes in the 2022 NXS season and has an average finish of 15.7
• He has led 17 laps in the 2022 NXS season

“Coming off a top 10 finish in Michigan, I’m excited to get to Watkins Glen this weekend. We have been gaining speed the last few weeks and I am excited to build on that and keep that momentum going. We’ve also had a ton of speed at the road courses this year, so I know Kaulig Racing will bring some fast Chevrolets this week.” – Landon Cassill on Watkins Glen International

Daniel Hemric, No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet

• Daniel Hemric has made three starts and led 11 laps at Watkins Glen
• Daniel Hemric has earned two top fives and eight top-10 finishes in the 2022 NXS season
• Daniel Hemric has an average finish of 16.3 in 2022 and has led 53 laps in 2022

“Watkins Glen is more of a speedway-style road course since it was repaved. I feel like each time I go back there, the track is getting a little bit more of its character back and losing a little bit of grip throughout the runs. That makes it a ton of fun and also challenging. As a team, we need to minimize our mistakes and execute at a high level to give ourselves the best opportunity at the end.” – Daniel Hemric on Watkins Glen International

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet

• He has earned a win for Kaulig Racing in four-straight NXS seasons
• In 2022, Allmendinger has led 271 laps, recorded two wins, nine top five and 18 top-10 finishes
• Allmendinger has an average finish of 7.0 in the 2022 NXS season

 

About Kaulig Racing™

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and made the Championship 4 round in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. They will continue fielding three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Landon Cassill, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger. With multiple wins, Kaulig Racing has come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. The team made multiple starts in the NCS in 2021 and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The young team has acquired two charters for the 2022 NCS season, with Justin Haley competing as its first, full-time driver in the series. The team’s second entry will be shared by part-time teammates AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Roush Fenway Keselowski Weekly Advance | Watkins Glen

RFK Racing heads to New York for the fifth road course race of the season. Just two races – including this weekend’s – are left in the 2022 regular season with both RFK drivers needing a win. RFK has six wins all-time at The Glen including three in the Cup Series.

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Watkins Glen
Sunday, Aug. 21 | 3 p.m. ET
USA, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Violet Defense Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

There’s Nothing You Can’t Do, Now You’re in New York
In 107 NCS starts at WGI, RFK has three wins, 23 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes along with four poles. All three of RFK’s victories came with former driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin (1993, 1994, 1995).

Buescher’s Recent Road Course Results
Buescher has quietly put himself in the conversation for drivers that have excelled on road courses as of late. Dating back to February of 2019, Buescher ranks sixth in average finish among active drivers with a 12.6 average result across 16 races. All five of his career top-10s on road courses – and three top fives – have come in the last four seasons.

Dating back five road course races, Buescher has finishes of 10th (Indy 2022), sixth (Road America 2022), second (Sonoma 2022), 21st (COTA 2022) and third (ROVAL 2021). He led laps in two of those, and earned a P3 finish in stage two in Sonoma before going on to run second to the No. 99.

Top of the List, King of the Hill

Martin secured three-straight wins for RFK at the famed New York road course from 1993-95. He started on the pole for each of the three races and led a combined 183 laps during the three-year streak.

Tale of the Tape – Road Courses

In 240 road course starts all-time in the NCS, Jack Roush’s Fords have won five races and tallied 40 top-five and 83 top-10 finishes, along with six poles. In those 240 starts, an RFK Ford has led 585 laps for an average finish of 17.6.

RFK Watkins Glen Wins

1993 Martin Cup

1994 Martin Cup

1995 Martin Cup

1998 Ruttman Truck

2000 Biffle Truck

2012 Edwards NXS

Winning NASCAR Cup Series Driver to Build on Success with the Team for the Future

MOORESVILLE, NC (August 17, 2022) – Team Penske announced today that it has reached a contract extension with Ryan Blaney, a seven-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. The long-term agreement will provide the opportunity for Blaney, the driver of the No. 12 Ford Mustang and the winner of this year’s NASCAR All-Star race, to build on the success he has experienced with the team well into the future.

Blaney joined Team Penske in 2012, initially competing in select NASCAR Xfinity Series races for the team. He produced his first victory for Team Penske in 2013, earning a Xfinity Series win at Kentucky Speedway. The 28-year-old third-generation racer has been winning ever since and he’s established himself as a consistent Cup Series championship contender over the last several seasons, competing in the No. 12 Ford.

“Ryan has become one of the top competitors in the NASCAR Cup Series and we are excited for him to continue his career and build on his success with Team Penske,” said Roger Penske. “He has been a key part of our team for more than a decade and we have seen him grow and develop, both on and off the track. He has become a consistent winner behind the wheel of the No. 12 Ford, and he also does a great job representing our team partners. We look forward to what the future holds with Ryan and Team Penske.”

Since joining Team Penske, Blaney has earned a combined 14 victories and 10 poles for Team Penske across both Cup Series and Xfinity Series competition, including a win in this year’s NASCAR All-Star race at Texas Motor Speedway. He has competed in over 250 Cup Series races in his career, winning at tracks including Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Pocono, Atlanta and Charlotte.

In 2022, Blaney has ranked among the top championship contenders all-season long and is currently second in points with just two races to go in the regular season, after posting eight top-five finishes, 12 top-10 results and three poles.

“Team Penske has been family to me for 10 years, so I’m incredibly excited to continue with this family for the future,” said Blaney. “Roger Penske is a legend in our sport, and I’ve always said getting to drive for him is something everyone dreams of doing. On top of that, we’ve got a great group of partners with Menards, Advance Auto Parts, BODYARMOR, Wurth, Discount Tire, Dent Wizard, Wabash and Ford that have shown a lot of faith in me. I look forward to continuing to win for Team Penske, Roger and all of our partners, as we work towards our goal of winning a Cup Series championship.”

Along with his success on the track, Blaney has consistently been named as a finalist for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award since he became a full-time Cup Series competitor in 2016.

About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 600 major race wins, over 660 pole positions and 41 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 56-year history, the team has also earned 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2022, Team Penske competes in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, NASCAR Cup Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. For more information about Team Penske, please visit www.teampenske.com.