CHASE BRISCOE
Pocono Advance
No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (Round 21 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 24
● Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
● Layout: 2.5-mile triangle
● Laps/Miles: 160 laps / 400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 30 laps / Stage 2: 65 laps / Final Stage: 65 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team head to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway after a 15th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway near Loudon. This Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono is a hometown race for primary sponsor HighPoint.com. The leading IT infrastructure and solutions company is based just 90 minutes east of the 2.5-mile triangle in Sparta, New Jersey. The company was founded in 1996 and serves markets in the Tri-State region and southeastern United States, with a presence in Charlotte, North Carolina, and overseas in London.

● Briscoe is 17th in the driver standings with six races remaining in the regular season. He currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his March 13 win at Phoenix Raceway.

● The Cup Series competed in a weekend doubleheader at Pocono last year with Briscoe finishing 24th in the Saturday event. He bettered that result on Sunday with a 21st-place finish in his best result at the “Tricky Triangle.”

● Briscoe already has two victories at Pocono – one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one in the ARCA Menards Series. In 2020, the native of Mitchell, Indiana, overcame a pit-road speeding penalty, a near-miss in a multicar accident and a late-race spin while leading to notch his fourth Xfinity Series win of the season and the first home-track win for HighPoint.com. He led 24 laps that day.

● On July 29, 2016, Briscoe won the ARCA event at Pocono, the last in a series of four consecutive victories that year. He led all but nine of the race’s 60 laps. Following Pocono, he picked up two more victories to take the ARCA championship by an impressive 535 points.

● Briscoe finished ninth in his lone NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Pocono in 2017.

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

Pocono has always been a track where you have a lot of pieces that need to come together to find success. Has that improved with the NextGen car, or has that added more to what you have to think about for 400 miles at the “Tricky Triangle?”

“Pocono is definitely one of the most unique racetracks we go to. The three corners are so different that your car’s never going to drive good in one or two of them. You’ve got to get it driving good through the tunnel turn, and you want to try to get it as close as possible to being good in the others. You want to be able to come out of the tunnel turn with the right balance for that long straightaway. Then you throw in shifting and it adds a whole new element. Most drivers already shifted there, but only in one of the corners. Now, we’re going to shift in all of them. On the aero side, it’s going to be one of the more interesting races just because it’s such an unknown with this new car. With only 15 or 20 minutes of practice, you’re realistically probably only going to get four or five laps and then you’ve got to go qualify, and it’s going to be really important to qualify well. This car has been so different everywhere we go and I don’t see that changing until we get back to some of these places a second time.”

The playoff picture has changed a lot the last few weeks with some new winners, repeat winners, and some shifts in points. How do you feel about where you stand with only six races left in the regular season?

“I’m not really sure. It makes me a little nervous, but I can’t worry about it too much. We just need to do a better job each week because it could definitely come down to a points situation. You know a lot of people think it’s the playoff points, but it’s the regular-season points that we’re going to start going off of when guys start to get eliminated if we’ve got more than 16 race winners. So, for us, we just need to try and capitalize on the stages and just maximize our day because we’re racing for those final spots against guys that have won and guys that are running really well. We can hope it’s just repeat winners the next few weeks and that helps, but there are too many tracks left where anything can happen. It would be nice to go get another win and take ourselves out of that position, but it’s just not that easy. You really have to put a whole race together with no mistakes and hit the right setup. It’s definitely nerve-wracking that there are six races left and only two guys without wins in (the playoff field). That’s what makes it exciting, though.”

No. 14 HighPoint.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe
Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: J.D. Frey
Hometown: Ferndale, California

Engineer: Mike Cook
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen
Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Joey Campbell
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Jack Man: Matthew Schlytter
Hometown: Ponte Vedra, Florida

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Shock Specialist: Brian Holshouser
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

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

Transporter Co-Driver: Rob Fink
Hometown: Mocksville, North Carolina

 
Special Scheme Returns to No. 38 Ford Mustang This Weekend

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 19, 2022) – A&W Restaurants, Front Row Motorsports and Todd Gilliland will help spread the message of an important summer date this weekend at the Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. They join forces to remind fans of National Root Beer Float Day on August 6.

The familiar look of the A&W Restaurants National Root Beer Float Day Ford is back on the No. 38, but this time it is special for Todd Gilliland. His father, David, also raced the A&W Ford in 2014, also on the No. 38 Ford.

“It’s awesome every time the A&W Ford comes back to the track,” said Gilliland. “The fans love this scheme and the promotion of National Root Beer Float Day. It is so much fun and who doesn’t love a root beer float from and A&W?!”

Good news for race fans, A&W is celebrating National Root Beer Float Day all month long. Fans can enjoy a free Root Beer Float now through August 6 by joining the A&W Mug Club at RootBeerFloatDay.com. Donations to DAV (Disabled American Veterans) are encouraged. Gilliland remembers growing up watching his father race the iconic restaurant scheme and is proud to continue the tradition this weekend.

“It is always special to do something that my father has done in the past,” continued Gilliland. “So, if I get to run a cool scheme that he raced, that is super cool for our family. I want to thank A&W Restaurants for this opportunity.”

On the track, Gilliland is eager to make first NASCAR Cup Series start at the track known as the “Tricky Triangle.”

“Pocono has definitely earned the reputation of its nickname,” stated Gilliland. “You really have to approach this track different than any others because of the tight corners and long straightaways. We had good runs in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, hopefully I can translate to the Cup side.”

Gilliland and the A&W Restaurants National Root Beer Float Day Ford Mustang will race the Pocono Raceway this Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

ABOUT A&W RESTAURANTS

Now in its 103rd year, A&W is America’s oldest franchised restaurant chain. Known for its All-American Food, as well as Root Beer that is made fresh in each restaurant and served in frosty mugs, there are more than 900 A&W locations in the U.S. and Asia. Visit www.awrestaurants.com for more information.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

KYLE BUSCH
Appreciating Pocono

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (July 19, 2022) – Mars Wrigley’s involvement with the sport of NASCAR goes all the way back to 1990, when the SNICKERS brand first fielded a car for Bobby Hillin Jr., at Stavola Brothers Racing. The partnership continued the next couple of seasons with Rick Wilson behind the wheel in 1991 and Dick Trickle in 1992.

The Mars brands dabbled as an associate sponsor at Hendrick Motorsports for several seasons before signing on with MB2 Motorsports in 1998 as a fulltime sponsor of driver Ernie Irvan, whose paint schemes most of the season featured SKITTLES brand. It was during that same season that Irvan drove a special scheme featuring Mars’ trademark brand M&M’S® to celebrate the opening of the M&M’S World® store in Las Vegas.

The response to the colorful M&M’S® paint scheme was one of excitement from motorsports and chocolate fans alike. For the 1999 season, Mars unveiled M&M’S® as its on-track focal point. At that year’s season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, M&M’S® began a decades-long tenure as a primary sponsor in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Fast forward to 2022 as Kyle Busch and the M&M’S brand finish off a successful 15-year run together. Since the partnership began in 2008, Busch has scored 56 victories in NASCAR’s top series, including 34 while sporting the colors of M&M’S. This weekend, Mars continues to thank the fans for all their support during its time in NASCAR with its first-ever race entitlement – Sunday’s M&M’S Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

Pocono is important to M&M’S and to Busch for several reasons. Firstly, Mars Wrigley’s offices and its plant in Hackettstown, New Jersey, are less than an hour’s drive east of the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle,” making it a home track of sorts for those two facilities, as well as the company’s plant another 30 minutes to the east in Newark, New Jersey. In addition to its first-ever race entitlement, M&M’S is maximizing its opportunity to thank the fans for their support of the brand with special events throughout the weekend, including a Q&A session in the fan midway on race day featuring former M&M’S drivers Irvan, Ken Schrader and David Gilliland, as well as Busch, of course.

As for Busch, for years he dreaded making the trip to Pocono. But things changed dramatically for the Las Vegas native during the 2017 season, when he and the No. 18 team seemed to turn the corner there. Busch led 100 laps in the June race before coming back in late July and winning his first Pocono Cup Series race. Those two performances sparked a run of 10 Pocono races during which Busch scored four wins, seven top-five finishes and nine top-10s. And his 436 laps led in the last 10 Pocono races is almost 30 percent of all 1,507 laps possible. That’s quite the turnaround from his previous 10 starts there that netted zero wins or top-fives and just four top-10s. In his most recent visit to Pocono during a doubleheader race weekend in June 2021, Busch finished second in the Saturday race and went one better on Sunday by driving to his second victory of the season.

So as Busch and the M&M’S brand head to the Poconos together for a final time, not only will M&M’S be showing its appreciation for its more than three decades in the sport of NASCAR, it hopes to be celebrating with Busch with another Pocono victory in Sunday’s M&M’S Fan Appreciation 400.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Pocono was a place you didn’t take to right away, but you seemed to turn the corner there over the last 10 races. What are you expecting this weekend?

“I get asked a lot what my favorite track is and my answer is usually Bristol, but Pocono is one of those places that has really moved up much higher on that list. It’s always, ‘What have you done for me lately,’ so Pocono has been a really good place for us and a place we started running well starting in 2013, 2014, but really didn’t see the actual results from that until the 2017 season. We were able to make the pit strategy work last year and had enough fuel to get to the finish line first even though we had transmission issues, so it would be great to be able to go back there with this new car and get back to victory lane with our M&M’S Camry. For all that M&M’s has done for the fans over the years, and the cool schemes I’ve been able to drive, it’s also cool to see them sponsor a race and certainly would be pretty cool for them to have the opportunity to hand over the M&M’S Fan Appreciation 400 trophy to me this weekend.”

You make Pocono look easy, but what is still tough about Pocono even for you?

“Every time you go there, it’s a bit different. The bumps change, the characteristics change, where the bumps are. Are they getting bigger? Are they getting worse? Are there more? That turn-two tunnel turn is always a culprit for the bumps, and the harsh winters up there really change the racetrack. Then, what happens in turn three, where the wind is blowing and stuff like that, is always kind of a convoluted piece to Pocono, and how you get through turn three versus turn one versus two. There are three distinctly different corners, there’s definitely going to be compromise.”

How do you learn to get better at a track, like you have at Pocono?

“There are so many different ways you can do it. You can look at data, you can look at the driving technique. Talking is kind of the best resource, just being able to ask a guy, ‘Hey, when you do this, why do you do this, or what do you expect when you get into a run and you’re going this far, and tire wear, and how do you get around turn two,’ whatever it might be. Lots of different things there, being teammates with Denny (Hamlin) for this long, it’s lended itself to myself improving at Pocono and Martinsville, places like that, and him improving at places like Bristol and Charlotte from myself.”

Is missing it as an organization at one track and hitting it at others just a function of this new NextGen racecar?

“A little bit. I would argue to that the Penske guys weren’t great at Kansas. But they’ve been super strong at the flatter tracks. They’re really fast at Martinsville, Phoenix. They’ve been good. They were good at Gateway, as well. They qualified really strong, so as far as their packages there, it seems that these teams or organizations kind of have what it takes to be good at these particular tracks. And so I think as we all continue to learn and grow, it feels like the good teams will be the good teams everywhere. But you know, it is kind of patchy right now with just getting an understanding built around this car. We’ve struggled on the road courses, but we ran well at Gateway, and pretty well New Hampshire, so hopefully that will translate over to Pocono, as well, with all of them being flatter tracks.”

Event Overview:

● Event: M&M’S Fan Appreciation 400 (Round 21 of 36)

● Time/Date: 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24

● Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway

● Layout: 2.5-mile triangle

● Laps/Miles: 160 laps/400 miles

● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 30 laps / Stage 2: 65 laps / Final Stage: 65 laps

● TV/Radio: USA Network / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Meet the No. 18 M&M’S 1998 Throwback / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Ben Beshore
Hometown: York, Pennsylvania

Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Spotter: Tony Hirschman
Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

Race Engineer: Seth Chavka
Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska

Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy
Hometown: Blockville, New York

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Front Tire Changer: Thomas Hatcher
Hometown: Middleburg, Florida

Jackman: Kellen Mills
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona

Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey
Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham
Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois

Road Crew Members:

Engine Tuner: Dan Bajek
Hometown: Camden, New York

Truck Driver: Chris Miko
Hometown: Bronx, New York

Truck Driver: Eloy Trevino
Hometown: Adrian, Michigan

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Justin Peiffer
Hometown: Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Mechanic: Scott Eldridge
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana

Mechanic: Tony Hamm
Hometown: Walla, Walla, Washington

Notes of Interest:

● All in the Stats: Busch has four wins, 11 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s and has led a total of 522 laps in 34 career Cup Series starts at Pocono. Busch’s average Pocono finish is 15.1.

● Alone in Ninth: The two-time Cup Series champion’s 60th career win at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April put him two wins ahead of 10th-place Kevin Harvick, who has 58 wins. Ahead of Busch at eighth on the all-time wins list is Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer who won 76 races during his storied career.

● 224 and Counting: Busch will be aiming to add to his record 224 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series this weekend at Pocono. In addition to his 60 Cup Series wins and 102 in the Xfinity Series, Busch has 62 wins in the Camping World Truck Series.

McDowell Ready to Apply Lessons Learned in Spring

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 19, 2022) – Michael McDowell is set to head back to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series lone visit to the track. McDowell and his Fr8Auctions.com Ford team are on a roll as of late, having scored six top-ten finishes in the last eleven races, and want to continue to pad their stat line.

“Through the first months of our summer stretch we have continued to perform well,” said McDowell. “We have put together results that we know come to expect. With that, comes the next step of getting that win.

“We have been close. Gateway, Sonoma, and Road America were good races. At Atlanta, with Fr8Auctions.com, we had another great car until we got caught up. So, if we continue to do what we have been the last few weeks, we have an opportunity to get a checkered.

McDowell and his Fr8Auctions.com Ford Mustang is also proud to continue to support the Brave Like Wyatt Foundation, which assists in efforts to help children receive lifesaving organ transplants. It has always been a cause that McDowell has helped.

“What Marcus (Barela) and the Fr8Auctions.com family does for Brave Like Wyatt to help young children and their families who are in the hospital with chronic disease is second to none,” stated McDowell. “That has been more important than anything, really. It is saying a ton of Fr8Auctions.com that they use our program to help fans learn more about how they can help.”

Fans are encouraged to go to www.bravelikewyatt.com to learn more.

McDowell and his Fr8Auctions.com Mustang will race this Sunday, July 24, from the Pocono Raceway at 3:00 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.