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CHEVROLET NCS AT RICHMOND: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
RICHMOND RACEWAY
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 14, 2022

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1
12th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1
14th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
16th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 HUK PERFORMANCE FISHING CAMARO ZL1
17th TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1
18th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1
19th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1
20th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2nd Christopher Bell (Toyota)
3rd Chris Buescher (Ford)
4th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
5th Chase Elliott (Chevy)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next Sunday, August 21, at Watkins Glen International with the Go Bowling at the Glen at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on USA Network, the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 35th

“We were just in the wrong spot and got caught in someone else’s mess. We made contact and killed the right front. We struggled all day with our FOCUSfactor Chevy, just couldn’t find the balance we needed to run up front. Not our day. We’ll load up and get ready for Watkins Glen next weekend.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th

“The track was very similar there early and late, if anything, I feel like it got a little faster. It wasn’t a huge deal, just needed to be a little more forward there to have a shot. It was really odd, I didn’t think it was driving any better, but in comparison to people around us, we were going forward. So, just normal Richmond. Just more confusing I feel like. I have been here and had cars like that where you are not driving good, but you are moving forward. Then you will have days where you feel like your car is driving good and you are not going anywhere or vice versa. This place is really strange and the track had gained a lot of grip there at the end too. There were obviously a lot of different strategies going on, and it was nice to get a top five out of a tough day yesterday.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL THIS TEAM IS AS WE RUMBLE TOWARD THE PLAYOFFS?

“Yeah, obviously we want to be better and Michigan was a big time struggle for us. This weekend was too all the way up until the last few runs. We will go to work and try to finish these last two weeks strong and get ready for Darlington.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 HUK PERFORMANCE FISHING CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 16th

“I had fun at Richmond Raceway today and everyone on the No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet team did a great job. We started off the race loose. We came to pit road during the stage break and my crew chief, Justin Alexander, made a good call to get my car tightened up during the second stage. On lap 243 we caught a lucky break by catching a caution, saving us a lap. We struggled most of the day with the handling of our Chevrolet, but towards the end of the race we hit on a setup that really worked well with the track. We were posting solid lap times in Stage 3, even on old tires. I wish we could’ve had that at the beginning of the race. We would’ve been jamming. All-in-all, we’ll take this 16th-place finish and head to Watkins Glen International.”

NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 16 CHEVY ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 24th

“We battled all day with our Chevy Accessories Camaro. We could never just get it fine-tuned. The guys worked really hard, and we had great pit stops. We just kind of missed it overall, but I’m still proud of the effort. We will keep working hard and try to be better next time.”

TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES

Stage One:

After starting in second place, Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1, took the lead and never looked back to lead all 70 laps en route to winning the Stage.

Team Chevy Stage One: Top-10

1st Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1
3rd Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Camaro ZL1
5th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
8th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

Stage Two:

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Camaro, finished second in Stage Two while Chastain, Stage One winner, faded on the long green run and finished 12th.

Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10

2nd Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Camaro ZL1
8th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Camaro ZL1

Final Stage / Post-Race Notes:

Chase Elliott (5th) led Chevrolet to the only top-10 finish of the day at Richmond Raceway.
With 24 NASCAR Cup Series races in the books, Chevrolet continues to lead in lead the series in wins (13), top-fives (55), top-10s (103), and stage wins (21).

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Harvick Goes Back to Back with Richmond Win

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Richmond 2 Cup Race | Sunday, August 14, 2022

KEVIN HARVICK GIVES FORD A SECOND STRAIGHT CUP SERIES VICTORY

  • Kevin Harvick won his second race in as many weeks with his win today at Richmond
  • The win is Harvick’s second of the season and 60th win of his Cup career
  • Harvick now has 25 Ford Cup wins, which puts him 10th on the all-time Ford list.
  • This marks the 33rd win for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining Ford (Harvick has won 25).
  • Today’s win is Ford’s 717th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
1st – Kevin Harvick
3rd – Chris Buescher
6th – Joey Logano
8th – Aric Almirola
10th – Ryan Blaney
12th – Austin Cindric
15th – Brad Keselowski
23rd – Chase Briscoe
25th – Harrison Burton
26th – Cole Custer
27th – Todd Gilliland
29th – Michael McDowell
32nd – JJ Yeley
33rd – BJ McLeod
34th – Cody Ware

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang — Finished 1st

IN ALL HONESTY, DID YOU SEE BACK-TO-BACK WINS COMING FROM THIS 4 TEAM? I KNOW YOU SAID LAST WEEK IF YOU DOUBT US YOU DON’T KNOW US, BUT DID YOU SEE BACK-TO-BACK WINS BEFORE THE REGULAR SEASON ENDED? “You know, I didn’t know. It’s like I said last week, the cars have been running good week in and week out, and you see that we have a lot better understanding of what’s going on with how we adjusted on the car after the first run and were able to get our car handling a lot better.I think as it got dark, the racetrack really came to our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. Just got to thank Mobil, Busch Light, GearWrench, Hunt Brothers, Rheem, Ford, Xfinity, Morton Buildings, E-Z-Go, everybody who helps Stewart Haas on this 4 car.”

DID YOU SEE CHRISTOPHER BELL COMING, AND WERE YOU GETTING A LITTLE BIT WORRIED THERE? “Well, I knew he was coming, but I forgot to shift down the front straightaway the last time. I was not paying attention and he got closer than he should have. I made a mistake there a couple laps doing the same thing. I wasn’t shifting on the back and I was shifting in the front. There was a lot going on, and made a couple mistakes, let him get too close.”

WITH THIS LEVEL OF MOMENTUM FOR YOU AND THE 4 TEAM, HOW DANGEROUS CAN THIS TEAM BE IN THE PLAYOFFS? “We’re just going to keep doing the things that we’re doing. I think we just have to keep an open mind about things and keep progressing and keep understanding the car, understanding what we could have done better today, understanding what we could have done better in qualifying yesterday and do the same thing over and over. I want to say hi to Piper and Keelan, Delana and everybody at home.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang — Finished 3rd

HOW CLOSE WERE YOU? “Really close. Everyone on our Fastenal Mustang did such a tremendous job overnight because we didn’t know we were in this position yesterday. I didn’t qualify real well, and everyone worked hard and had a fantastic race car today. I think it’s a little easy with this format to feel like third place doesn’t matter, but it’s nice to be close and to keep progressing and getting better as we’ve gotten through the summer. Really neat to finish here. Really proud of everybody. Just burned the rear tires up. Ultimately that’s on me. Lap traffic didn’t do us any favors, either, but ultimately just got to keep the rears under us a little bit better so we can have a little bit better shot there to get after him for the win.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SEEING LATELY IN TERMS OF THE ORGANIZATION? “You know, it’s not really fair to just look at results because at the beginning of the year we didn’t fire off as good as we thought. We didn’t have the improvement. It took us a few months, but we’ve had three or maybe four months now of really solid runs, really good speed, ever since Dover really, that we’ve been really close. We’ve had some bad luck, had some mistakes that I’ve got to clean up. We’ve made progress through all of it. The results don’t always show it. We were running really well at the 600 and we ended up upside down. There’s no doubt in my mind we could have competed for a win at the Indy Road Course and we were on fire. We’re making highlight reels for all the wrong reasons. We’ve been fast in those processes, though. We just have to put it all together to show those results like we did here today.

ROAD COURSE AT WATKINS GLEN AND THEN DAYTONA COMING UP. WHAT DO YOU THINK? “I’m excited. I’m ready for the win.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang — Finished 6th

YOU LED 222 LAPS TODAY AND THEN IS STARTED TO GO AWAY IN THAT LAST RUN. WHAT HAPPENED? “Yeah, I think just as the sun went down and the track cooled off and lost some turn on our car. Kevin (Harvick) and some others got a lot better the last couple of runs in the race. When it was hot and slick that was probably our strength with the Shell Pennzoil Mustang. We had good turn and then once it cooled off we lost the turn but still weren’t real good on the exits. Then you start playing defenst and running too hard. It was a downhill slope from there. I was hoping for a late race caution, that was our only prayer at the end there. Overall we got a stage win and playoff points and that is something to be proud of. It stinks when you say we led 222 laps but not the right one.”

YOU GUYS HAVE GOTTEN GREAT RESULTS LATELY WITHOUT THE SPEED. TODAY YOU HAD SPEED. HOW MUCH ENCOURAGEMENT DOES THAT GIVE YOU AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE PLAYOFFS? “It means we are executing really well throughout the race and able to get something out of a race when we don’t have a fast enough car. When you have days like today when you have a fast enough car you want to capitalize. We did as far as playoff points and a stage win but not enough at the end of the race. We need these ones to be race wins instead of just stage wins but I feel like we are starting to come into our own here and getting a little more solid and situated more in the top five than we have been. I am proud of that. We just have to keep that going.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang — Finished 8th

“When the clouds came and the track cooled we kind of lost it. The first couple runs of the race we were so fast. We drove from 32nd up to the top-five. Our Smithfield Ford Mustang was really good on the long run. We took care of the tires really well and it did everything I needed it to do. As the pace picked up and the track cooled off I just couldn’t get the car to rotate like I needed it to and just couldn’t quite carry the speed those other cars could. It was a good day. We have had a rough month, so to come here and rebound and have a good run — we need a win, but to have a good run is a confidence booster.”

Toyota Racing NCS Post-Race Recap — Richmond 8.14.22

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Official Release
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FOUR TOYOTA TOP-10s AT RICHMOND
Bell and Hamlin Capture Top-Five Finishes at Richmond at Playoffs Draw Near

RICHMOND, Va. (August 14, 2022) – Christopher Bell (second) was the highest finishing Toyota in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. Bell was followed to the checkered flag by Denny Hamlin (fourth), Martin Truex Jr. (seventh) and Kyle Busch (ninth) also in the top-10.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Richmond Raceway
Race 24 of 36 – 300 miles, 400 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Chris Buescher*
4th, DENNY HAMLIN
5th, Chase Elliott*
7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
9th, KYLE BUSCH
13th, BUBBA WALLACE36th, TY GIBBS
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Finishing Position: 2nd

What else did you need to catch Kevin Harvick in the final laps?

“I got held up pretty bad at the beginning of the run by a couple slower cars and that was ultimately the difference when you get beat by a couple car lengths. Just really fun and really fun race when you have different strategies and you have guys coming and going. I love whenever the races stay green and you’re able to play your cards a little bit different. Really proud of everyone on this 20 crew to be able to come back from how we started. Very tough weekend for us. We didn’t practice very well and we didn’t qualify very well. And the guys did a really good job getting this Rheem Camry up front and where we needed to be at the end.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How did you feel about the strategy your team put forth today?

“We had the winning strategy. I think we played it great. The fall-off was nearly as great those last couple runs, really for the last 100 when the track was shaded over. So I thought that going long was actually the right play and the team did a great job with that call for sure and just had a slow stop on that last one. We ended up three-and-a-half second behind.”

Did the timing of your last stop make sense with the strategy?

“It was the perfect time. I knew that when we pitted there, the gap that we had to the cars that were on fresh tires, I knew that we were going to come out on the same straightaway with them on much fresher tires. It was the race call and the winning call, just didn’t execute on stuff and just a little hiccup.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race car today?

“We were looking okay, and in a good spot just coming up through there working our way methodically through the field with our M&M’s Toyota Camry, and we got ‘Chastained’ this week. We were his victim this week. And then that didn’t hurt us too bad. We restarted back in a decent spot. But then the next spin I think, was Christopher (Bell). That allowed the guys that were around us that we were kind of racing some of our team guys to come get tires and then they had 10 fresher laps on tires the whole rest of the day. So that kind of hurt us if we would have been on that strategy we would have run out of tires, but we also probably would have been in the top five. So just wrong side of the strategy there. At the end, nothing, nothing to do really to flip that but good fight all day long. You know, the top 10 is about what we had anyway, I figured the best we were it was about a seventh you know, but barring a strategy call, we could have probably been top-five. So that’s all we had anyway.

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About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

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

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America – NHRA Topeka Post-Race Report – 08.14.22

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Official Release
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BROWN SCORES FIRST TOP FUEL WIN OF THE YEAR
Antron Brown delivers in an all-Toyota Top Fuel final round to score his first win as a driver-owner

TOPEKA, Kan. (August 14, 2022) – Antron Brown earned his first win of the season in an all-Toyota final round against Steve Torrence. Brown never trailed on his way to his 53rd career NHRA victory. It was Brown’s first final round of the season, and he scored the first win for his first-year AB Motorsports. With the win, Brown moves inside the top-10 in the point standings. For Torrence, it was his third final round of the season for the four-time and defending Top Fuel champion.

In Funny Car action, both Ron Capps and Alexis DeJoria scored opening round wins.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Heartland Motorsports Park
Race 14 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterEvent WinnerW. 3.816 v. 4.123(B. Force) W. 3.812 v. 3.940(J. Hart) W. 4.757 v. 5.399(J. Ashley) W. 3.902 v. 4.443(S. Torrence)
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFinalistW. 3.771 v. 4.489(K. Wurtzel) W. 3.833 v. 3.969(T. Schumacher) W. 4.105 v. 4.717(M. Salinas) L. 4.443 v. 3.902(A. Brown)
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSemi-FinalsW. 3.842 v. 12.432(B. Hull) W. 3.843 v. 4.810(L. Pruett) L. 5.399 v. 4.757(A. Brown)
Shawn LangdonDHL Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSecond RoundW. 3.814 v. 3.819(C. Millican) L. 4.544 v. 3.802(M. Salinas)
Doug KalittaKalittaAir.com/careers Toyota Top Fuel DragsterFirst RoundL. 3.774 v. 3.779(T. Schumacher)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Ron CappsNAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSecond RoundW. 4.401 v. 8.729(T. Wilkerson) L. 4.047. v. 4.033(J. Force)
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarSecond RoundW. Foul – Red Light v. DQ(J. Todd) L. 4.580 v. 3.987(R. Hight)
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarFirst RoundL. DQ v. Foul – Red Light(A. DeJoria)

TOYOTA QUOTES

ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, AB Motorsports

Final Result: Winner

What does this mean to you?

“This has been a lifelong dream, and I never imagined we were going to struggle like we did, but we all got through it together. It was high emotions, and I only wish my grandmom could’ve been here to see it. We lost her in December, and I know Brian (Corradi) has a heavy heart, too. He lost his mom a year prior, and it’s one of those deals where it doesn’t feel real because it’s a dream when you think about it from where we came from. I worked on motorcycles, Brian worked on cars, and never in a million years did we think we’d ever be able to go out on our own as a team. We talked about it for years; my wife, my family, and you never think it’s a possibility but here we are. We’ve been working our tails off, and we have such incredible support from Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Hangsterfer’s, Toyota, SiriusXM, Western Tech, and Summit coming aboard; all of the people who make this possible, when it all comes together and you look at where you started to where we are now, the struggle is real, but this makes it all worthwhile.”

When do you think you turned the corner?

People weren’t even talking about us anymore, we weren’t even in the conversation. You could see it in some people’s expressions on their faces when the media was writing us off, but those on the outside didn’t know what was going on behind the ropes, and what goes on at the shop. I saw the chemistry change on our team before the Western Swing, and you could see the expression on the guys faces change, even though we were struggling because we knew we were on the right path. I never lost the faith, and all of our partners that are in this with us, they kept saying ‘you guys are going to be fine.’ I knew we turned the table there in Sonoma, and we just needed to qualify a little better and start getting in the right spot. We didn’t get in the right spot when we got here, but everyone put their heads down, and you grind. Once we got past first round today, and through second round, and third round, and went up against Steve-O in the final, and that win light came on it was just like ‘boom, is this real? Yup, it’s real.’ All that sweat and hard work, it was all worth it. From here on out, we’re only going forward. We put that one on the map today for AB Motorsports. It’s our first, but it’s not going to be our last. We’re right where we want to be, and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

Final Result: Finalist

Can you talk about another final round appearance?

“It has been frustrating. When you’re used to winning 10, 11 races a year, to be shut out for this long, you know, is agonizing but we knew we needed to take a big step to stay competitive. It’s just taken a little longer than we wanted to get a handle on things and to get the driver and the race car both doing what they’re supposed to at the same time. Today was a big step forward and I can’t feel too bad since my brother (Antron) won his first race as a team owner.

I think we can still pick up a couple positions (in the point standings in the next two races), especially with extra points at Indy (at the Labor Day Dodge U.S. Nationals, which pays one-and-a-half times as many points as any other event in the regular season) and I still have all the faith in the world in these Capco Boys.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

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

DGR NCWTS Recap: Richmond Raceway

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Official Release
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Friday, July 29
Track: Richmond Raceway, .75-mile oval
Race: 18 of 23
Event: Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation (250 laps, 187.5 miles)

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Pristine Auction Ford F-150

Start: 20th

Stage 1: 23rd

Stage 2: 21st

Finish: 26th

Hailie Deegan qualified 24th for the Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation in her second career appearance at Richmond Raceway. The 21-year-old hovered around her starting position for the race’s opening laps, telling Crew Chief Jerry Baxter and the No. 1 team that she was struggling with a loose condition on corner entry and exit. A pit crew violation would send Deegan to 32nd on the subsequent restart, forcing her to claw through field in order to reach 21st position by the conclusion of stage two. A commitment line violation on the next round of pit stops would relegate Deegan to back of the pack for the final stage, relegating the Temecula, CA native to a 26th-place finish.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Black’s Tire Ford F-150

Start: 19th

Stage 1: 18th

Stage 2: 18th

Finish: 16th

Tanner Gray qualified 19th for Saturday night’s event at Richmond Raceway. After falling back to 21st at the drop of the green, Gray moved back up to 18th midway through the stage and finished there. After a pit stop for tires, fuel and trackbar adjustments, the 23-year-old maintained in 18th for the duration of Stage 2. Gray was trapped one lap down for much of the final stage and while battling the other drivers on his lap, managed to advance to 16th when the checkered flag flew.

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150

Start: 24th

Stage 1: 14th

Stage 2: 5th

Finish: 6th

Taylor Gray qualified 24th for the Worldwide Express 250 and wasted no time on the initial start to begin his march forward. By the halfway point of the opening stage, the younger Gray was up to 17th and he gained three additional positions to finish 14th in Stage 1. Chad Johnston called the No. 17 down pit road for tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments at the stage break and that seemed to do the trick as Gray launched into the top-10 on the restart. The Ford Performance F-150 stacked up fifth at the end of Stage 2. After falling back to seventh early in the final stage, Gray re-entered the top-five on lap 178, but a caution with 36 laps to go led the drivers to pit road one final time. The Ford driver cycled to sixth on the final restart and finished there for his first Truck Series top-10 of 2022.

Next event: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on September 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

GMS Racing NCWTS Race Recap: Richmond

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Official Release
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Grant Enfinger, No. 23 SureDone / Auto Parts 4Less Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 5TH

FINISH: 4TH

POINTS: 4TH

Quote: It seems like you guys are starting to build momentum, getting consistent speed with this truck a couple weeks in a row now, are things turning the tide here?

“I think we are turning the tide a little bit at GMS Racing. Thank you to SureDone [and Auto Parts 4Less] for jumping onboard tonight. We had a solid Chevrolet all day long, but just it wasn’t a contender. I do feel like we’ve made some big gains on the potential of the truck, but we just never quite got the balance good enough for a long run there. [We] qualified fifth and raced from third to fifth for 250 laps. I think we were a fourth place truck tonight, so we will take it, and we will build off of it, and I’m excited to get to Kansas.”

Jack Wood, No. 24 ChevyLiners.com Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 25TH

FINISH: 23RD

POINTS: 25TH

Quote: “You know, we didn’t really get the finish that we were hoping for tonight at Richmond, but at the end of the day, we were able to learn a lot and improve throughout the night. It’s not often that we can bring home a truck without a scratch on it at a short track, and we definitely needed that. This track is really tough, but I thought that I figured some of it out by the midway point in the race. We’ve got a few weeks to build on our notes for Kansas, and I’m really looking forward to going back there with my No. 24 team.”

ABOUT GMS RACING:

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operating the No. 23 and the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs, as well as the ARCA Menards Series with the No. 43 Chevrolet SS. Since the team was formed in 2012, GMS Racing has won five titles across multiple series, including the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship, as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA Menards Series East championships. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. including operations for GMS Fabrication. The GMS Racing campus also houses operations for Petty GMS, a two car full-time NASCAR Cup Series team formed in 2021.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Toyota Racing NCWTS Post-Race Recap — Richmond 8.13.22

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CHANDLER SMITH PUNCHES TICKET TO ROUND TWO WITH RICHMOND WIN
New Father Smith Claims Richmond Victory to Round Two of the Playoffs

RICHMOND, Va. (August 13, 2022) – Chandler Smith claimed his third win of the 2022 season in Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway. With the win, Smith punched his ticket into the second round of the NASCAR Playoffs. Smith’s dominant performance leading 176 laps (of 250) en route to the win, showcasing the strength of Kyle Busch Motorsports heading into the next round of the Playoffs. Fellow Toyota Tundra drivers John Hunter Nemechek (second), Ty Majeski (third) and Corey Heim (fifth) also scored top-five finishes.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Richmond Raceway
Race 18 of 23 – 250 Laps, 187.5 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, CHANDLER SMITH
2nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
3rd, TY MAJESKI
4th, Grant Enfinger*
5th, COREY HEIM
7th, MATT CRAFTON
8th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
11th, STEWART FRIESEN
13th, TYLER ANKRUM
14th, CHASE PURDY
18th, BEN RHODES
19th, LAYNE RIGGS
21st, KADEN HONEYCUTT
31st, TIMMY HILL
33rd, MASON MAGGIO
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 18 ChargeMe Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 1st

After becoming a first-time Dad earlier this week, how special is this race win?

“God is so good. I’m a Daddy now. My wife had such an amazing labor and delivery. We have an amazing and beautiful baby boy at home. Honey, this is for you and Jr. this is for you as well. I can’t wait to get home to you two tonight. The blessings just keep stacking up. I have an incredible group behind me at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and an incredible group of partners with ChargeMe, Safelite and everybody. I’m taking this in. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it, but I’m going to keep taking it in and giving all glory to the Lord.”

Does this race win serve notice that the championship will go through this team?

“I’ll leave that to you guys. Just like I said at media day, if the Good Lord wants it to be our championship, then it will and if it’s not, it’s not. I like how everything is going right now for sure.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Safeway Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 2nd

What did you need to make a run at Chandler Smith for the win tonight?

“We didn’t adjust quite like we needed to from day to night. Partly on me so I’ll take that one. Overall, solid day for our Safeway Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Thank you to all of our great partners that are on this Tundra TRD and everyone that helps out and keeps us going here. Just big picture racing I would say. Really good points day. Second, second and second for all three stages. Can’t complain about that, just one spot short. It’s good to be disappointed when you have a run like that with second, second and second. Really good points day, let’s go advance to the next round. Only thing that matters is getting to the final four in Phoenix to compete for a championship.”

What are you going to do in the two weeks before the Kansas race?

“Going to run two races for Sam Hunt Racing in the Toyota GR Supra. Excited to go stay in the seat and keep everything that I can sharp and go have some fun racing.”

TY MAJESKI, No. 66 TSPORT Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How was your truck overall tonight?

“I thought we had a really good truck in qualifying and practice, but it didn’t quite correlate to the race. Just have to get better at being a little bit more picky with the balance and learning the transition with these race trucks from day to night. All in all, really good run for us today. We had a good points day and we’re right there.”

How difficult was it to recover after the incident with your jackman?

“I saw him trip and I slammed on the brakes so I didn’t hit him. He did a great job and it was actually his first time tonight and he recovered well and really salvaged that pit stop. He rebounded and had some really great stops. That’s what teamwork is all about, we win and lose as a team. I tried to encourage him over the radio and told him it was a good recovery. They gave me two great pit stops on those last two.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

How do you continue with this momentum into the next round of the Playoffs?

“Just keep doing what we’re doing. The team did a great job. We were really good on the long run. When we fired off, we were on the splitter. It took about 10 laps for it to get going and once it did, it was really good. We bumped up the tires there at the end and it made it quite a bit better to where it fired off on that restart. These guys worked their butts off and as fast as we’ve been this year at so many different places, to come here and be capable of running top-five speed wise. Very, very happy with that and we know we can run in the top-five and contend.”

CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 98 CMR Roofing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

What do you have to do to make it into the next round of the Playoffs at this point?

“We just have to undo what we’ve done the last two races. We just haven’t executed and we haven’t brought fast trucks and it’s frustrating for sure. Really proud of everybody at ThorSport Racing for fighting hard tonight. We really fought hard, but we really don’t have much to show for it. We don’t have much to lose at Kansas now. I know it’s only six points, but I feel like it’s going to take running up front and a win to make it happen. Huge thank you to CMR Roofing, ThorSport Racing and everyone involved. We’ll go get them at Kansas.”

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing

Finishing Position: 18th

With a challenging night, you didn’t lose a lot of ground in the points to move onto the next round, but what do you need to contend for a second championship?

“I guess we can run just as bad in Kansas and make it into the next round. We had a terrible night tonight, but to go win a second championship, that’s not what we needed to do. We have to right the ship and get better. Honestly, I’m a little confused on the issues we fought all night. I had some brake issues in practice. We were trying something new and I didn’t like it from the start, from the first laps on the track. But something else was going on tonight, stuff that I’ve never really felt in a race car before. We’ll have to go back and diagnose it and make sure it never happens again. Overall, just have to say thank you to my team. They work their butts off. Not the night we wanted, but we can run this bad again. We need to get wins and run better to contend for this championship.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

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

Switch Issue Puts Burton at Back for the Start of Sunday’s 400-Lapper at Richmond

By
Official Release
-

After an encouraging practice session, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang will have to start Sunday’s 65th annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway from the rear of the pack.

The Menards/Dutch Boy team showed good speed in Saturday’s practice session. Burton posted the 12th-fastest time in the session. His best lap, at 115.276 miles per hour, came on the third of the 47 laps he ran.

He was eighth fastest among drivers who ran 10 consecutive laps, averaging 114.089 mph over the first 10 laps he ran in the session. He and Ford teammate Joey Logano ran the most laps of any drivers in practice.

During the qualifying, Burton was one of the first drivers out on a track that significantly picked up speed as the session went on. He wound up 30th with lap at 113.900 mph, but there was an issue with the car’s master switch.

The Menards/Dutch Boy team plans to replace the switch prior to the start of the race. That’s considered an unapproved adjustment, and therefore the team will be sent to the back of the starting field.

Sunday’s 400-lap, 300-mile race is set to get the green flag just after 3 p.m. with TV coverage on USA Network.

Stage breaks are scheduled for Laps 70 and 230.

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.

Newgarden’s the man to beat at World Wide Technology Raceway

By
Official Release
-

Three Bommarito Automotive Group 500 wins in five years while no one else has won more than once

August 13, 2022, St. Louis – NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Josef Newgarden pretty much has figured out World Wide Technology Raceway. In the space of five years, he’s won the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 three times. Going back to 1997, when Indy cars began racing at WWTR, no one else has won more than once at the egg-shaped oval. Considered a short oval by INDYCAR drivers, the track presents unique challenges: Turns 1 and 2 and different from Turns 3 and 4. It doesn’t seem to bother Newgarden – he’s dialed in at WWTR.

“You know, I love short oval racing. I really do,” said Newgarden. “I think World Wide Technology Raceway is a great track. It’s one of my favorite events that we have all year. It’s sometimes difficult to have confidence in your car because it is so fast, and the cornering speeds have a lot of high commitment. But as a driver we like those challenges of trying to find that confidence and edge over your competitors.

“I can’t really remember each of my WWTR victories in great detail. I do remember the first one in 2017 where Simon Pagenaud and I were racing really hard there. That one is really clear. I remember last year’s, for sure. I guess it’s the middle win that I can’t recall too well. We’ve run there in the day in 2020 and we’ve run there at night, which is the typical race weekend at WWTR. It is a challenge either way. Under the sun you lose a little grip, but at night you obviously gain more grip. You lose some confidence in the car during the day when you’re sliding around a bit. It’s one of those things where you have to tune around the handling depending on the conditions.

“Sometimes, close, hard racing is necessary to make a move happen or to pull off a pass. You try and assert yourself over another driver to gain a position, and there are no gimmes at WWTR. Sometimes you have to force the issue and that can create conflicts and flareups, but that is also exciting to watch when it happens. You 100 percent get that in St. Louis.”

It’s not surprising Newgarden has a strong fan base in the St. Louis region.

“We get a lot of fans that drive up from my hometown of Nashville. I drive up myself. It’s only four hours away, so not a bad drive at all. Short ovals are great events for fans because you can see the entire track. You don’t miss any of the action, and there is quite a bit of action in St. Louis. You get great pit exchanges when the tires start to fade, and guys come in early for the undercut or stay out longer for the overcut. You get that a lot at WWTR. It’s an interesting race to watch from a lot of different angles.

“The entire group at the facility have taken it up to today’s standards. It’s a beautiful track that is very fun to drive. The entire weekend is filled with activities off-track and other series on-track. They give you great value and do it as well as any track we go to. They knock it out of the park.”

In less than one week we’ll see if Newgarden needs to make room in his trophy case for a fourth Bommarito Automotive Group 500 trophy.

WWTR WINNERS

CART World Series

1997 — Paul Tracy

1998 — Alex Zanardi

1999 — Michael Andretti

2000 — Juan Pablo Montoya

IndyCar Series

2001 — Al Unser Jr.

2002 — Gil de Ferran

2003 — Hélio Castroneves

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

2017 — Josef Newgarden

2018 — Will Power

2019 — Takuma Sato

2020 — Race 1: Scott Dixon; Race 2: Josef Newgarden

2021 — Josef Newgarden

BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 PRESENTED BY AXALTA AND VALVOLINE WEEKEND

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES brings the world to the St. Louis-Metro East region. Truly an international series: America’s best drivers competing against men and women from New Zealand, Spain, Australia, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Denmark, England, Canada and Switzerland. They are the cars and stars of the Indianapolis 500.

Bringing the St. Louis region to the world: Viewers from more than 200 countries will tune in to watch the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, the final oval track race on the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule.

Two of American motorsports’ most recognizable names of all time – Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt – remain active in the sport today as team owners.

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline has produced many memorable moments, including Takuma Sato’s thrilling win over Ed Carpenter – the closest finish in WWTR history (by 0.039 sec.) — in 2019. Only one driver has won the Bommarito Automotive Group more than once: Josef Newgarden is a three-time victor.

Tickets and weekend experiences are available at the WWTR ticket office, by calling (618) 215-888, or online at wwtraceway.com.

BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, August 19

7:30 a.m. — Parking lots open.

8 a.m. – Spectator gates open; Fan Walk open for paddock pass holders.

8 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

9 a.m. – INDYCAR garage and paddock opens for paddock pass holders.

9:15 a.m. — Vintage Indy exhibition.

10 a.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series practice.

10:45 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

12 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 practice.

1 p.m. – Midway entertainment begins.

1:15 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series practice.

2:10 p.m. — Indy Lights Series practice.

3:15 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 practice.

4:15 p.m. — Coors Light Pole Night festivities begin.

4:30 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series qualifying.

5:15 p.m. — Indy Lights Series qualifying.

6:15 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 qualifying.

7:50 p.m. — Coors Light Pole Night qualifying awards.

8 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series driver introductions.

8:30 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series Gateway 100 (80 laps, 100 miles).

11 p.m. – Track closed.

Saturday, August 20 – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline

8 a.m. — Parking lots open.

8:30 a.m. – Spectator gates open; Fan Walk open for paddock pass holders.

9 a.m. — Vintage Indy exhibition.

9:45 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 practice.

10:15 a.m. – Midway entertainment begins.

11 a.m. – BMX Freestyle Team exhibition.

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Indy Lights driver autograph session (main stage on midway)

11:45 a.m. — Indy Pro 2000 qualifying.

12 p.m. — INDYCAR garage and paddock opens for paddock pass holders.

12-1 p.m. – SpeedFreaks Live! (main stage on midway) – INDYCAR drivers will participate 12-12:30 p.m. Indy Lights drivers will participate from 12:30-1 p.m.

12:30-1:30 p.m. – INDYCAR driver autograph session (main stage on midway).

1 p.m. — BMX Freestyle Team exhibition.

1:15 p.m. — Vintage Indy exhibition.

12:30-2 p.m. — SpeedFreaks Live! Driver Interviews on midway stage.

2:15 p.m. — Indy Pro 2000 Series race (45 laps).

3:15 p.m. — Indy Lights Series race (75 laps).

4:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 driver introductions.

5 p.m. – Sixth annual NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (260 laps).

7:30 p.m. — BMX Freestyle Team exhibition.

7:45 p.m. — Post-race track walk for fans and victory lane celebration (time approximate).

8 p.m. – post-race concert on midway stage.

11 p.m. – Track closed.

Schedule subject to change.

About World Wide Technology Raceway

World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) is the only track in the world to host the premier series of NASCAR, INDYCAR, and NHRA . Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering more than 600 acres, WWTR is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. WWTR’s facilities include a 1/4-mile drag strip, 1.25-mile superspeedway, 2.0-mile road course, the Gateway Kartplex (a state-of-the-art karting facility), and the adjacent Gateway National Golf Links. WWTR and owner Curtis Francois have been recognized with several awards, including: 2021 Comcast Community Champion of the Year; 2021 Jack Buck Award; 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Track Award; 2018 Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference; and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from the St. Louis Attractions Association.

Our mission: We are committed to making a difference in our community, while providing first-class entertainment and memories that last a lifetime.

Chandler Smith Wins Truck Series race at Richmond, Advances to Round 2 of Playoffs

By
Angie Campbell
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RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - AUGUST 13: Chandler Smith, driver of the #18 Charge Me Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation at Richmond Raceway on August 13, 2022 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Chandler Smith won the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway Saturday night after leading 176 laps of the 250-lap event.

Smith joins Grant Enfinger, who won at Indianapolis Raceway Park, to advance to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs. It was Smith’s third win of the season and the fifth of his Truck Series career.

Kyle Busch Motorsports entries were dominant throughout the race, finishing first, second (John Hunter Nemechek) and fifth (Corey Heim). ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski finished third and Grant Enfinger was fourth in his GMS Racing Chevrolet.

Taylor Gray, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top 10.

There was only one caution during the race (excluding the stage breaks) after contact between Nick Leitz and Carson Hocevar on Lap 215.

Majeski had the dominant truck at the beginning of the race leading 73 laps and winning the first stage. However, there was an incident during the stage break pit stop as his jackman fell in front of the truck, resulting in a slow stop. The jackman appeared to be unharmed as Majeski was able to stop quickly with only slight contact.

The final race of Round 1 in the Truck Series Playoffs is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Kansas Speedway and will be broadcast on FS1 with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Notes: Post-race inspection is complete and Chandler Smith has been confirmed as the winner; Smith had one unsecured lug nut.

Driver Points:

Truck-Series-Points-Standings-after-Richmond32218_UNOFFDRIVPTS

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