Daniel Dye, No. 43 Champion Container GMS Racing Chevrolet
Mid-Ohio Stats
- Daniel has no prior starts at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
2022 ARCA Menards Series Stats
Starts: 8
Top 5’s: 4
Top 10’s: 6
Poles: 1
Avg Finish: 7.5
Notes:
Daniel Dye will make his first career start at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Friday evening, in the Dawn 150. Dye will drive the GMS Racing No. 43 Champion Container, Heise LED, Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet.
Friday’s race will be Dye’s inaugural attempt on a race course with the national touring ARCA Menards Series.
DD competed in the ARCA Menards Series West event at Portland Intl. Raceway earlier this season, where he captured the General Tire Pole Award and finished fourth in adverse weather conditions. Dye has no other road-course starts of any kind.
The Dawn 150 can be seen on FS1 and the FOX Sports app Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET. Coverage will also be provided by the Motor Racing Network, on SiriusXM Satelite Radio, and through ARCAracing.com.
Behind-the-scenes updates and content will be posted to Daniel’s Twitter account on race day, @danieldye43.
Quote:
“I’m truly excited to get up to Mid-Ohio on Friday and see what that place is all about. Portland was so much fun and I feel like we’ll be able to translate some of what we learned there for Friday and when we go to Watkins Glen later this year. It’ll also be great to have the Champion Container colors on our GMS Chevy for the first time this season.”
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.
LONG POND, Pa. (July 6, 2022) – Pony rides. Morning yoga in the infield. Nightly block parties. Access to legendary drivers and chocolate galore. Race fans will enjoy all that and much more when NASCAR returns to Pocono Raceway for a jam-packed weekend of on- and off-track activities, July 22-24.
On track, fans will enjoy four main events in just three days, including the General Tire Delivers 200 ARCA Menards Series (Friday), CRC Brakleen 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Saturday), the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 NASCAR Xfinity Series (Saturday), and the M&M’SⓇ Fan Appreciation 400 NASCAR Cup Series main event on Sunday.
Off track, Pocono Raceway is committed to providing a full schedule of free entertainment that is included with each event ticket. Here’s a glimpse of what fans can expect:
Family-Friendly Fun
Free Kids Admission
Kids 12 and under are admitted free ALL weekend, including to the M&M’S Fan Appreciation 400 NASCAR Cup Series race; up to four kids tickets with one adult ticket.
Fan Fair & Midway Fan Fair offers fun for everyone, featuring a classic carnival, rides and games, as well as the Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital Kids Zone for face painting, inflatables and kid-friendly fun. Fan Fair will include interactive displays from Chevrolet, General Tire, Weis Markets, Busch Light, M&M’S, Bear Hollow Wood Carvers, Rowdy Energy and DoorDash, to name a few. Admission to this fan-favorite area is included with your race ticket and will open daily: Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m.
Free Classic Carnival
Fan Fair will also host a classic carnival, including rides, slides, and plenty of fun. All rides are FREE with gate admission.
Pocono Raceway Vet Village
Pocono Raceway will continue its longstanding tradition of honoring our veterans and military members. The Vet Village, located in Fan Fair, will host more than 30 veteran-based organizations. In addition, the raceway will host more than 100 Gold Star families for breakfast and a special ceremony on Sunday morning.
Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital Kids Day
Saturday is all about the kids at Pocono Raceway. Enjoy FREE activities, including face painting, exhibits, photo booths, educational/community activities and more. All activities and entertainment are FREE for kids (ages 12 and under) and FREE for adults with a Saturday ticket.
Roaming Entertainers
Keep your eyes peeled all weekend long for something super! You might just find magicians, Captain America and Wonder Woman roaming around the fan areas.
Playgrounds
Pocono Raceway is home to two playgrounds for kids to burn some energy. Tricky’s Kit Kamp is designed for our youngest fans to play near gate 8 behind the grandstands. Located in the infield, the #PoconoMtns Inclusive Playground is designed for children of all ages and abilities to learn, grow and play together. The nearly 5,000-square-foot playground is one of the top 100 inclusive playgrounds in the country.
Sensory Rooms
Pocono Raceway partnered with KultureCity to make the raceway a sensory-inclusive motorsports facility. If needed, guests can access sensory bags, which include noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and weighted lap pads, two sensory rooms, and the #PoconoMtns Inclusive Playground to maximize their enjoyment of race weekend.
Camping
Camping at Pocono Raceway is simply the best and easiest way to maximize four days of fun and entertainment. Campers will enjoy:
Pocono Mountains Activities & Welcome Center
Built three years ago in the heart of the infield, the Welcome Center is open to campers and staffed by Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau employees who can offer local information and tips.
This popular spot will host activities Thursday-Sunday ranging from morning yoga to science activities for the kids to ‘paint & sips’ for adults. All FREE for campers. All programming is directed by teachers and counselors from Northampton Community College.
Reptile Wrangler
Say hello to some friendly reptiles and learn from the Reptile Wrangler on Friday from 3-5 p.m.
Pony Rides
Kids can enjoy a different type of horsepower with pony rides on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. in the grassy area adjacent to the #POCONOMTNS Inclusive Playground.
Infield Block Party
From 5 p.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday, the Infield Block Party is the place to be! Enjoy high-energy cover bands, drink specials and a one-of-a-kind celebration each night. Please note: The Infield Block Party is only open to camping guests; no public access.
Track Access
Campers have special access to enjoy a walk, run or bike ride on ‘The Tricky Triangle’ Thursday evening from 3-6 p.m. and Friday morning from 8-11 a.m.
Fireworks
Don’t miss the Pocono Mountains’ biggest fireworks show on Saturday night at 9:15 p.m. Free to all camping guests. Limited spots are still available at poconoraceway.com/camping.
Bark Park
Pocono Raceway’s camping areas are dog friendly! All guests with dogs are encouraged to check out the Bark Park, centrally located in the infield. Please follow all posted rules. Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
Recess with Chase Briscoe
School may be out, but kids can still enjoy ‘recess’ with NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The first 300 kids at the infield playground will enjoy a free treat with Tricky and hang out with Briscoe.
Alex Bowman Visits the Bark Park
Bring your pooch and meet Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman at the Bark Park on Sunday at noon. For the comfort and convenience of all our furry friends, access will be limited.
Driver Access
Driver Autograph Sessions
On Friday and Saturday, bring out the family to get autographs from drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Friday, 3 p.m.) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (Saturday, 11:30 a.m.). Wristbands will be distributed in advance and autograph sessions will take place at the M&M’S® Fan Stage located in Fan Fair.
Austin Cindric Trackside Q&A
Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric will take his place in the Starter’s Stand on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. as race fans sign the start/finish line.
Fan Amenities
Monster Energy Free Friday
Bring an empty Monster Energy drink can to any grandstand gate, recycle it and get in free on Friday, July 22, for the General Tire Delivers 200 ARCA Menards Series race and Camping World Truck Series practice and qualifying.
Hauler Parades
Fans can give NASCAR’s highway warriors a Pocono Raceway-sized welcome during three hauler parades on Saturday and Sunday. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series haulers will parade in on Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively, while the NASCAR Cup Series haulers enter on Saturday at 7:30 a.m.
The haulers will come from behind the grandstand, pass outside of Turn 3, cut across the track and pass through the Turn 3 infield campgrounds before entering the garage.
M&M’S® Fan Stage (located in Fan Fair)
The M&M’S® Fan Stage is the sweetest place to enjoy autograph sessions, fan Q&As, live music and more. Don’t miss Sunday’s Q&A sessions with legendary M&M’S® drivers, including Ernie Irvan, Ken Schrader, David Gilliland and Kyle Busch. Check the stage-side schedule for complete details.
Worry-free Weather Guarantee
The Worry-Free Weather Guarantee ensures that fans who purchase M&M’S(R) Fan Appreciation 400 NASCAR Cup Series tickets for Sunday, July 24, directly from Pocono Raceway in advance will be reimbursed the ticket’s face value if weather postpones the race and they are unable to make the rescheduled event.
Free Fan WiFi
FREE WiFi is now available at Pocono Raceway. Fans can turn on their Wi-Fi setting, find the #PoconoFreeFanWiFi network and log on with the click of a button for FREE!
Food & Drink
Pack your appetite when you head to the track! Fans can enjoy everything from a Greek food truck in the Paddock to Tricky’s Trash Can Fries located behind he grandstands. Plus, quench your thirst at Busch Light bars in the Paddock, Midway and Fan Fair areas or enjoy local-favorite Pocono Punch crafted by local favorite Barley Creek Brewing Company in Tannersville, Pa.
2022 NASCAR Schedule of Events
Friday, July 22 – General Tire Delivers 200 – ARCA Menards Series Saturday, July 23 – CRC Brakleen 150 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Saturday July 23 – Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 – NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunday, July 24 – M&M’SⓇ Fan Appreciation 400 – NASCAR Cup Series
About Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway, also known as ‘The Tricky Triangle,’ is family-owned and situated in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. In business for over 50 years, the Raceway hosts multiple, national motorsports events including the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series events each year. The facility’s calendar also consists of over 200 events including Tough Mudder and a wide range of car clubs and racing schools. Pocono Raceway is recognized as the world’s first, privately-owned solar-powered sports facility. Their 25-acre, three-megawatt solar farm provides the energy needs of the Raceway, as well as, adds electricity to the local power grid. Each member of our raceway staff is committed to creating exciting experiences and lifelong memories. For more information, please visit www.poconoraceway.com.
COLE CUSTER Atlanta Advance No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
Event Overview
● Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 19 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 10 ● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway ● Layout: 1.54-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps ● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will be making his 94th career NASCAR Cup Series start during Sunday’s Atlanta 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It will be the series’ second race on the 1.54-mile oval after it underwent a wholesale offseason reconfiguration and repave. The banking was increased from 24 to 28 degrees, the racing surface narrowed from 55 to 40 feet wide, and it has been completely resurfaced with fresh asphalt and an improved, high-tech drainage system. Prior to the series’ first race on the redesigned racetrack last March, competitors benefitted from a full, 50-minute practice session. This weekend, just two rounds of single-car, single-lap qualifying will precede Sunday’s 260-lap, 400-mile race.
● In March at Atlanta, Custer started 20th and saw his race end just short of its midpoint after getting caught up in a multicar accident not of his doing. In three Cup Series starts at Atlanta prior to this season, Custer scored top-20 finishes in each and made incremental improvement each time. He was 19th in his first outing in 2020, and was 18th and 17th in last year’s March and July races, respectively.
● In three Atlanta starts in the Xfinity Series, Custer’s best was his most recent, when he qualified his No. 00 SHR Ford on the pole and finished second by .191 of a second to Christopher Bell in the February 2019 race. Custer finished 10th in his Atlanta Xfinity Series debut in 2017 before returning in 2018 to qualify fourth but seeing his race end early after a lap-10 accident.
● Custer’s first appearance at Atlanta came in the February 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, when he started sixth and finished 17th in the No. 00 entry for JR Motorsports.
● Riding along with Custer and his SHR Mustang is team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, which was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
You had your first chance to experience the new Atlanta layout in March. What did you think about the race?
“Atlanta, now, is such an oddball racetrack, really unique, because we’re pretty much superspeedway racing similar to Daytona but on a mile-and-a-half racetrack, which is way smaller, way tighter, and give you much less room for error. We’re really packed up tight, which makes for some exciting racing because you’re side-by-side and inches apart the whole race. So you’re just hoping you’re not involved in one of the big wrecks.”
How would you describe the racing on the new layout, and what are you expecting this weekend?
“It’s kind of like a hybrid between mile-and-a-half racing and speedway racing. We have a lot of the aspects of speedway racing, we’re all really close in a pack, but at the end of the day I think handling matters a lot more when you go to Atlanta because it is a tighter-radius corner than it is at Daytona and it is a lot tighter of a racetrack. And looking at this weekend, it’s going to be really hot and slick, which is going to make the cars pretty out of control. We’re going to see who has the handling figured out.”
How much do you think everybody is looking back on the March race to help decide what to do there this weekend?
“I think everybody’s going to be looking back at the last race a ton. When you look at it, that race was really unexplored, we had no idea what to expect. It was so much different than we’ve had in the past there at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the way they repaved the racetrack, completely different aero package and motor package, and that made the racing completely different from what you saw there in the past. So now for us drivers, we’re going to go back and look at that race and try to figure out what moves worked, what didn’t, and try to get a feel for what we’ve got to do inside the car.”
With eight races to go in the regular season, what kind of urgency is there to win?
“For our 41 team, we’re looking at every single race like we’ve got to go out there and win. There have been a lot of different winners this year, so you pretty much have to win to make the playoffs. We’ve had the speed at times to run up front and do what we need to do, but we just need to be consistent with it and hopefully put everything together one of these weekends coming up. Hopefully that’ll happen at Atlanta.”
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Cole Custer Hometown: Ladera Ranch, California
Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett Hometown: Amherst, Ohio
Car Chief: Tony Cardamone Hometown: Bristol, Virginia
Engineer: Lee Deese Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina
Engineer: Scott Bingham Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Spotter: Andy Houston Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Josh Leslie Hometown: Mount Clemens, Michigan
JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW: TRACK: Atlanta Motor Speedway RACE: Alsco Uniforms 250 (163 laps / 251 miles) DATE: Saturday, July 9, 2022
Broadcast Information – TV: 5 p.m. ET on USA / Radio: 4:30 p.m. ET on PRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90
Sam Mayer No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet • Sam Mayer earned his first career top-10 finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during his first start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July of 2021. • In 15 starts at tracks measuring between 1-2 miles in length in the NXS, Mayer has five top fives and seven top 10s, with a best finish of third at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season. • Mayer raced as high as third during the first event at the newly paved and configured Atlanta before finishing 21st after a cut tire took him out of contention. • With 10 races before the NXS Playoffs begin, Mayer currently sits 97 points above the playoff cutline.
Josh Berry No. 8 HarrisonsUSA.com Chevrolet • In Atlanta earlier this season, Josh Berry started second and led three laps before being involved in a multi-car incident on lap 153. • Berry started from the back last week at Road America and drove to a third-place finish to earn his seventh top-five finish of the 2022 NXS season. • In 24 starts on tracks measuring between 1-2 miles in length, Berry has recorded three wins (Charlotte, Dover, Las Vegas), eight top fives and 12 top 10s while leading the field for 288 laps. • Berry currently sits fifth in the championship standings only 74 markers from first place.
Noah Gragson No. 9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet • In the first Atlanta race this season, Noah Gragson started from the pole and led 38 laps prior to a pair of incidents that relegated him to a 26th-place finish. It was the first time in five AMS starts that Gragson had not finished in the top 10. • The 23-year-old Las Vegas native has been stellar at Atlanta, earning finishes of second, third, fourth and ninth and leading 58 laps in his five starts. • On 1.5-mile tracks in his career, Gragson has 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 35 starts and has led 470 laps. • Gragson and the No. 9 team are currently second on the playoff grid and fourth in driver points after 16 races this season.
Justin Allgaier No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet • Justin Allgaier will make his 14th career NXS start at Atlanta this weekend. • In 13 previous races at the 1.54-mile quad-oval, Allgaier has earned one win, three top fives and eight top 10s. • Allgaier’s lone victory came in March of 2021, after the JRM driver led 47 of the final 50 laps. • The Illinois native has finished seventh or better in five of the last six races at Atlanta dating back to 2018. • In his NXS career, Allgaier has scored 10 wins, 65 top fives and 128 top 10s in 207 starts on tracks between 1 and 2 miles in length, with his most recent victory coming two weeks ago at Nashville Superspeedway
Driver Quotes
“We had a really good run going earlier this year in Atlanta but a cut tire really cost us a good finish. We were able to get back on the lead lap but it was just too late at that point. This Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team never gave up. I know we will have another fast Camaro this weekend, we just need a little luck to go our way.” – Sam Mayer
“It’s going to be interesting heading back to Atlanta this weekend. It’s our second race on this new configuration and I feel like we learned a lot here back in March. This place definitely races more like a superspeedway now, so I know that we are going to have a ton of speed out of our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. Hopefully we can find ourselves in the right position on Saturday afternoon and avoid any trouble out there to be in contention for the win when it counts.” – Justin Allgaier
“Atlanta is a track that hasn’t been good for me in the past. I don’t think I’ve had an uneventful race there yet but I know this HarrisonsUSA.com team is going to unload with a fast No. 8 Chevrolet on Friday. Hopefully I can stay out of anything that happens and be contending for the win at the end. With the new configuration really anything can happen and we saw that earlier this year.” – Josh Berry
“We were fast at Atlanta in the spring, and I have no doubt we’ll be fast again this weekend. Luke (Lambert, crew chief) and our team have given me great Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolets, and we were in strong position in the first race at Atlanta. We’re 10 races from the playoffs starting, and now is the time to build momentum.” – Noah Gragson
JRM Team Updates:
• JR Motorsports at Atlanta: JR Motorsports has competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway a combined 51 times in the NXS. Over the course of these 51 starts at the 1.54-mile facility, JRM has tallied four wins (two with Kevin Harvick, and one each with Justin Allgaier and Jamie McMurray), 16 top fives and 32 top 10s. JRM’s most recent win came with Allgaier during the 2021 season. The average finish for JRM at Atlanta is 10.7 which ranks as the fourth best single-track average for the organization. • Harrison’s USA: When Josh Berry finishes inside of the top eight, head on over to harrisonsusa.com and use code “Josh8” to receive eight percent off your online order. • Atlanta Fan Stage: JRM driver Sam Mayer will be at the Atlanta Fan Stage in the Fan Zone on Saturday, July 9 from 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. • Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports/Hendrick Motorsports souvenir rig on Saturday, July 9 starting at 1 p.m.
· NCS/NXS: Atlanta Motor Speedway – July 9-10 · NCWTS/ARCA: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – July 8-9
PLANO, Texas (July 6, 2022) – The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series head to their second stop of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series makes its first ever stop at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – supported by the ARCA Menards Series.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCWTS
Kurt Busch solid in the ATL… Kurt Busch led Toyota in the spring race on the newly-paved Atlanta Motor Speedway as the Las Vegas-native led four laps and finished third. Busch also was strong in the last race at the track before the repave – leading 144 of 260 laps on his way to the victory in July 2021.
Bell looking for redemption… Christopher Bell is looking for redemption at Atlanta after a post-race penalty earlier this season in Atlanta negated a podium finish. Bell has consistently run well at the track, including earning the first NASCAR victory for the Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2019.
Gibbs continues to impress… Ty Gibbs scored an impressive win on Saturday at Road America, getting past reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson on the final lap. It was Gibbs’ series-leading fourth victory of the season, which helped him close within nine points of the championship lead. Gibbs is looking for his second straight win at Atlanta after he won earlier this season at the track with a bold last lap pass.
Back home for Jones… Brandon Jones is headed back to his home track – Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Georgia-native is coming off his third top-five finish of the season at Road America and had a strong run earlier this spring in Atlanta, crossing the finish line in seventh.
Truex, Earnhardt return… Ryan Truex and Jeffrey Earnhardt are back in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event this weekend – competing in Toyota GR Supras. Truex will make his fifth start in the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing. In his last start, Truex finished a season-best sixth at Texas. Earnhardt is back in the No. 26 for Sam Hunt Racing (SHR). Similarly, Earnhardt had a strong run in his last start – finishing seventh in Nashville. He competed at Atlanta earlier this season for SHR, finishing 13th.
Majeski, Eckes look to clinch… Ty Majeski and Christian Eckes plan to clinch their NASCAR Truck Series Playoff berths this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with another strong run. With two races remaining in the regular season, Majeski holds a 127-point advantage over 11th in the point standings as he is on a streak of three consecutive top-five finishes. Eckes is seventh in points, 97 points ahead of 11th. He has five top-six finishes in his last seven starts.
Heim battles for Rookie of Year title…Toyota development driver Corey Heim looks to become the second consecutive driver from the Kyle Busch Motorsports stable to earn the Rookie of the Year title, joining last season’s winner, Chandler Smith. Heim, who turned 20 on Tuesday, already owns two wins in his seven starts this season. Despite only starting seven of the 14 events this season, Heim sits just eight points out of the Rookie of the Year lead.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Double for Nemechek… As the Truck Series makes its first laps at Mid-Ohio, John Hunter Nemechek is getting some extra laps in Friday’s ARCA event aboard the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports (VMS). VMS will field four Camrys for the event as Nemechek will have road course ace Parker Chase, 17-year-old Jesse Love and full-time competitor Toni Breidinger as teammates.
Smith looks for three straight… One week after making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, Sammy Smith heads to Mid-Ohio on a hot streak in ARCA Menards Series action. Smith is coming in on a two-race winning streak after a dominating performance at Minnesota’s Elko Speedway – leading 233 of 250 laps.
facebook.com/ToyotaRacing Camera With Flash on Apple iOS 11.3 ToyotaRacingMedia.com
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 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.
With the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season stretch reaching its conclusion, Kyle Busch Motorsports is set to surpass a milestone start in the team’s 13th season in Truck competition. When KBM drivers Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith compete in this weekend’s inaugural event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, KBM will surpass a combined 750 career starts in the Truck Series.
Kyle Busch Motorsports debuted in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2010 with trucks purchased from Roush Fenway Racing and assets acquired from Xpress Motorsports as the team headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. By then, Busch had campaigned in seven part-time seasons in the series while accumulating 16 victories, all occurring with Billy Ballew Motorsports.
For the 2010 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports planned on fielding three trucks: one that would be split between Busch and Brian Ickler, another that would be driven on a full-time basis by Taylor Malsam and a third that would be piloted by former champion Johnny Benson Jr. pending additional sponsorships. Prior to the start of the season, however, Miccosukee Resorts, one of Busch’s key Truck sponsors that initially followed him to KBM from Billy Ballew Motorsports, terminated its partnership with NASCAR and left Busch without a full-time sponsor throughout his part-time campaign. In addition, Benson’s role was limited to a part-time status as he shared the No. 18 Toyota Tundra entry with Busch, Ickler and Kasey Kahne while the second KBM entry, the No. 56 Toyota Tundra that was piloted by Malsam, was terminated following the first seven events. Despite the rocky start, it only took the first four events of the season for Kyle Busch to record the first victory for KBM at Nashville Superspeedway in April 2010. Busch went on to achieve victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Bristol Motor Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway in August, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, Talladega Superspeedway in October and at Texas Motor Speedway in November, all occurring in the No. 18 entry. After winning the season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November following a four-lap shootout, Busch captured the 2010 Truck Series owners’ championship on the strength of eight victories in 16 starts throughout the 25-race schedule. In total, KBM achieved eight victories, six poles, 16 top-five results and 21 top-10 results in its first season in NASCAR competition.
For the team’s second season in 2011, Busch fielded the No. 18 Toyota Tundra as the primary, “all-star” entry that was split between himself, Kasey Kahne, Brian Ickler, Josh Richards and Denny Hamlin. Busch also fielded the Nos. 15 and 51 entries that both campaigned in limited events and was shared between Kimi Räikkönen, German Quiroga and Richards. Throughout the 2011 Truck season, Busch notched six victories in 16 starts, Kahne won at Darlington Raceway in March and Hamlin notched his first Truck victory at Martinsville Speedway in October, all occurring in KBM’s No. 18 entry. Despite accumulating a total of eight victories, two poles, 16 top-five results and 18 top-10 results throughout the 25-race schedule, the No. 18 entry settled in second place in the final owners’ standings behind the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. entry.
Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR.
The 2012 Truck season was a difficult season for Kyle Busch Motorsports despite the team fielding the No. 18 Toyota Tundra on a full-time basis for a third consecutive season while the No. 51 Toyota Tundra competed the final five scheduled events with Quiroga and Hamlin behind the wheel. At the start of the season, veteran Jason Leffler piloted the No. 18 Toyota as the team’s primary competitor, but was released in August after only recording six top-10 results through the first 10 events. For the remainder of the season, the No. 18 entry was split between Busch, Hamlin, Brian Scott, Kurt Busch, Drew Herring and David Mayhew. After going winless for the majority of the season, Hamlin recorded the first victory of 2012 for KBM when he piloted the No. 51 Toyota to a win at Martinsville in October. Two races later, Scott overtook rookie Kyle Larson during a two-lap shootout to wheel the No. 18 Toyota to a late victory at Phoenix Raceway in November. In the end, KBM capped off the season with Busch being edged by Cale Gale in a photo finish at Homestead as Busch concluded a Truck season winless for the first time since 2004.
In 2013, Kyle Busch Motorsports fielded three full-time entries for the first time in the team’s history with the No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry becoming the team’s “all-star” entry that was piloted between Busch, Erik Jones, Chad Hackenbracht, Scott Bloomquist and Hamlin throughout the 22-race schedule. For the new season, the No. 18 Toyota Tundra entry was taken sole possession by full-time competitor Joey Coulter while KBM’s No. 54 Toyota Tundra entry debuted for newcomer Bubba Wallace. Through the first 20 events, the No. 51 entry visited Victory Lane four times, all with Busch. At Phoenix in November, Jones became the youngest winner in the series at age 17 years, five months and nine days after recording his first career victory in KBM’s No. 51 truck. During the following weekend at Homestead, Busch survived three late-race restarts to capture his fifth win of the 2013 season and clinch the owners’ title for his No. 51 entry in a tie-breaker against ThorSport Racing’s No. 88 entry piloted by the 2013 drivers’ champion Matt Crafton. Meanwhile, the No. 18 entry that was piloted by Coulter achieved a total of five top-10 results and a 15th-place result in the final drivers’ standings while the No. 54 entry managed to earn a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville in October as Wallace became the first African-American competitor to win in the Truck Series. To go along with his first Truck career victory, Wallace capped off his first full-time campaign in the series with a pole, five top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an eighth-place result in the drivers’ standings.
Photo by Kala Perkins for SpeedwayMedia.com.Photo by Gary Buchanan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
The 2014 season was a breakout year for Kyle Busch Motorsports, which featured Busch and Erik Jones splitting driving responsibilities of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra while Bubba Wallace returned as the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. In total, KBM won 14 of the 22 races to the schedule as Busch and Jones, both of whom earned a combined 10 victories, guided the No. 51 entry to the team’s third owners’ championship. Wallace piloted the No. 54 truck to four victories, two poles, nine top-five results and 14 top-10 results as he finished in third place in the final drivers’ standings.
A month following the conclusion of the 2014 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports unveiled its driver lineup for the 2015 season with Erik Jones headlining the lineup as he was promoted to a full-time Truck Series campaign in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while newcomer Justin Boston replaced Bubba Wallace, who graduated to the Xfinity Series with Roush Fenway Racing, in the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. Meanwhile, KBM’s No. 51 Toyota Tundra team remained as an “all-star” entry that was split between Busch, Daniel Suarez, Matt Tifft and Christopher Bell. Early in the season, Suarez and Tifft served as the primary competitors of the No. 51 entry with Busch recovering from injuries sustained in a late multi-car wreck during the Xfinity season-opening event at Daytona in February. Boston, however, was released by KBM nine races into the new season due to a breech of contract involving the driver and his sponsor Zloop. With Boston out, the No. 54 entry was split between Tifft, Cody Coughlin, Gray Gaulding, Bell and Busch, who returned to full-time competition in May. Despite the early season drama for KBM, Bell captured his first career victory at Eldora Speedway in July following a two-lap shootout while Busch piloted the No. 51 truck to two victories at Pocono Raceway and at Michigan International Speedway between July and August. Meanwhile, Jones earned victories at Iowa Speedway in June, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in August and at Texas Motor Speedway in November. To go along with five poles, 11 top-five results and 20 top-10 results, Jones claimed the 2015 Truck Series championship following a sixth-place result at Homestead and by 15 points over Tyler Reddick and 22 over Matt Crafton. With Jones’ accomplishment, Kyle Busch Motorsports achieved its first drivers’ championship along with its fourth owners’ title in NASCAR.
Photo by Don Dunn for SpeedwayMedia.com.
The 2016 Truck Series season featured another new driver lineup for Kyle Busch Motorsports as Bell, coming off his first career victory at Eldora, replaced Erik Jones, who moved up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, as the driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while William Byron, the reigning ARCA Menards Series East champion who made his Truck debut with KBM at Phoenix in November during the previous season, piloted the No. 9 Toyota Tundra. The No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry was split between Daniel Suarez, Cody Coughlin, Jones and Gary Klutt throughout the season while the No. 18 KBM entry made a total of five starts between Busch, Coughlin and Harrison Burton. Throughout the season, Busch wheeled the No. 18 truck to victories at Martinsville in April and at Chicagoland Speedway in September while Suarez drove the No. 51 Toyota to his first Truck career victory at Phoenix in November. The No. 9 Toyota team piloted by Byron achieved great success throughout the season with the Charlotte native earning his first career victory at Kansas Speedway in May after dodging a final lap incident involving Johnny Sauter and Ben Rhodes. He went on to win at Texas and Iowa Speedway in June followed by Kentucky Speedway in July as KBM became the winningest team in the Truck Series with 51 victories. After Byron won at Pocono in July, he established a new record for achieving the most victories by a rookie Truck competitor with five. After qualifying for the inaugural 2016 Truck Playoffs, he won the first postseason event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September and utilized consistency to transfer all the way to the Playoff’s Round of 6. Byron’s title hopes, however, came to an end at Phoenix in November after his No. 9 entry suffered an engine failure with 10 laps remaining while he was leading, which prevented him from earning a ticket to the Championship Round at Homestead. Nonetheless, he went on to win the season-finale event at Homestead for his unprecedented seventh victory of the season as he wrapped up both the 2016 Rookie-of-the-Year title and the fifth career owners’ title for KBM. In comparison to Byron and the No. 9 team, Bell and the No. 4 team rallied from a rocky start to generate a consistent regular season run, including a victory at Gateway in June, to qualify for the Playoffs. Bell remained consistent throughout the Playoffs to make it all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead and contend for the drivers’ title. During the finale, however, Bell finished in eighth place on the track and in third place in the final drivers’ standings.
Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
For the 2017 season, Kyle Busch Motorsports retained Bell as driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra while welcoming Noah Gragson as a full-time competitor of KBM’s No. 18 Toyota Tundra. Busch remained as a part-time competitor of his No. 51 Toyota Tundra as he split the ride with rookies Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Myatt Snider while also debuting the No. 46 Toyota Tundra for a total of four events, with himself and Gilliland earning two events apiece. Busch earned a total of three victories throughout the 2017 Truck season: two in the No. 51 entry at Kansas and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and one in the No. 46 entry at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. In addition, the No. 51 team earned a total of nine top-10 results and settled in fourth place in the final owners’ standings. For the No. 18 entry, Gragson earned his first career victory at Martinsville in October following a late duel with former champions Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter. To go along with three poles, four top-five results and 13 top-10 results, Gragson finished in 10th place in the final drivers’ standings and in his first full-time Truck campaign. For Bell, who entered the season as a potential title favorite, he achieved five victories along with five poles, 15 top-five results and 21 top-10 results as he made his second consecutive appearance both in the Playoffs and in the Championship Round at Homestead. During the finale, Bell finished in the runner-up spot on the track and captured the 2017 Truck Series drivers’ championship over Sauter, Austin Cindric and Crafton. With his first championship in NASCAR, Bell recorded the second drivers’ championship and the sixth owners’ title overall for KBM.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
During the following season, Busch retained Gragson in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra while Todd Gilliland contended for the 2018 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title in the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, thus replacing Bell as Bell became a full-time Xfinity competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gilliland, however, missed four of the first six events due to age restrictions and spent the early portions of the season splitting the No. 4 Toyota with his father David, Busch and newcomer Spencer Davis while Davis, Busch, David Gilliland, Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Logan Seavey and Christopher Bell took turns piloting the No. 51 Toyota Tundra. The No. 46 KBM Toyota Tundra also returned for a total of six events that was split between Brandon Jones, Herbst and newcomer Christian Eckes. Throughout the season, the No. 46 entry’s best on-track result was third at Charlotte in May made by Jones while the No. 4 entry achieved a season-best result of second place at Gateway in June with Todd Gilliland, who finished in 10th place in the final drivers’ standings. The No. 51 entry went to Victory Lane twice during the season with Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and at Pocono in July while Gragson wheeled the No. 18 entry to a dominant win at Kansas in May. Despite being absent at Pocono due to illness, where he was replaced by Erik Jones, Gragson utilized consistency to qualify for the 2018 Truck Playoffs and transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead, where he settled in the runner-up spot in the final drivers’ standings.
The 2019 season featured Harrison Burton replacing Noah Gragson, who graduated to the Xfinity Series, as the driver of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra while Todd Gilliland remained as a full-time driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra. Meanwhile, the No. 51 Toyota Tundra entry returned as the “all-star” entry that was split between Busch, Eckes, Brandon Jones, Greg Biffle, Chandler Smith, Alex Tagliani and Riley Herbst. The No. 46 Toyota Tundra entry returned for a total of seven events that was split between Herbst, Smith and Raphaël Lessard. In comparison to recent seasons, KBM endured a difficult 2019 season as both Burton and Gilliland did not make the Playoffs. While Burton finished in 12th place in the final drivers’ standings with no victories and 11 top-10 results, Gilliland managed to record his first Truck career victory at Martinsville in October along with 14 top-10 results before settling in 11th place in the final standings. With the No. 46 entry finishing no higher than fourth at Gateway in June made by Chandler Smith, the No. 51 entry won six of the 23-scheduled events: five with Busch and one with Biffle. To go along with a total of 15 top-five results and 17 top-10 results throughout the 23-race schedule, the No. 51 entry managed to capture the 2019 Truck owners’ title as KBM achieved its seventh owners’ championship in NASCAR.
Photo by Brad Keppel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
For the following season, Kyle Busch Motorsports introduced new drivers to the Nos. 4 and 18 entries as Harrison Burton moved up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing while Todd Gilliland moved over to Front Row Motorsports. The No. 18 Toyota was taken over by Christian Eckes while Raphaël Lessard took over the No. 4 Toyota. The No. 51 Toyota also returned as Busch, Brandon Jones, Chandler Smith, Riley Herbst and Alex Tagliani took turns to drive the truck throughout the season. In his first full-time campaign in the series, Eckes qualified for the 2020 Truck Playoffs, but was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 10 as he ended up in eighth place in the final drivers’ standings with no victories and 11 top-10 results. Lessard, on the other hand, did not make the Playoffs, but he managed to capture his first career victory at Talladega in October along with a total of seven top-10 results before finishing in 12th place in the final standings. Meanwhile, the No. 51 entry went to Victory Lane four times: three with Busch and once with Brandon Jones, who captured his first elusive series win at Pocono in June. To go along with a total of 10 results in the top five, the No. 51 entry settled in sixth place in the final owners’ standings.
This past season, Kyle Busch Motorsports welcomed John Hunter Nemechek as the driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, where he replaced Lessard, while Chandler Smith replaced Christian Eckes as a full-time competitor of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra. The No. 51 Toyota Tundra remained as the “all-star” entry for a ninth consecutive season as the truck was piloted between Busch, Drew Dollar, Parker Chase, Martin Truex Jr., Corey Heim, Brian Brown, Derek Griffith and Dylan Lupton throughout the 22-race schedule. Three races into the new season, Nemechek recorded his first win with KBM at Las Vegas in March before the No. 51 entry visited Victory Lane during the following two events: the first with Busch at Atlanta and the second at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course with Truex, who claimed his first Truck career victory. Not long after, Nemechek fended off Busch to win at Richmond Raceway before Busch capitalized on a late restart to win at Kansas. Those five victories followed by three additional victories by Nemechek capped off a strong regular season stretch as Nemechek, who claimed the regular season championship, and Chandler Smith qualified for the 2021 Truck Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Smith claimed his first Truck career victory at Bristol in September to advance from the Round of 10 to 8 along with Nemechek. During the Round of 8, Smith’s title hopes evaporated while Nemechek was able to earn enough points through consistency to secure a spot in the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway. An early tire issued, however, derailed Nemechek’s title hopes as he ended up in third place in the final drivers’ standings while Smith won the finale and captured the 2021 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title. Meanwhile, the No. 51 entry settled in 10th place in the owners’ standings.
This season, Kyle Busch Motorsports retained John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith as drivers of the Nos. 4 and 18 entries, respectively. In addition, Corey Heim returned with an expanded part-time Truck schedule as he split the No. 51 entry with Kyle Busch and Buddy Kofoid. Through the first 14 scheduled events, all three KBM entries have visited Victory Lane at least once, with Smith winning at Las Vegas in March, Nemechek winning at Darlington in May, Busch winning at Sonoma Raceway in June and Heim recording his first two career victories in the series at Atlanta in March followed by Gateway in June. Heim is scheduled to take over the No. 51 entry for the remainder of the season as he contends for the 2022 Truck Rookie-of-the-Year title while Nemechek and Smith, both of whom are pursuing their first championship in NASCAR, are guaranteed spots for the 2022 Truck Playoffs.
Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Through a combined 749 Truck starts, Kyle Busch Motorsports has achieved two drivers’ championships, a record seven owners’ championships, 95 victories, 63 poles, 276 top-five results, 439 top-10 results and 13,196 laps led with 51 different competitors making at least one start for the organization.
Kyle Busch Motorsports is primed to surpass 750 career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, July 9, with coverage to occur at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra team piloted by multiple competitors in this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ratcliff will call his 500th Xfinity event as a crew chief.
A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Ratcliff, who began his racing career working on mini Sprint Cars in Texas before working for the Sadler Brothers Racing Team in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995, made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief in 2000 for Casey Atwood and the No. 27 Brewco Motorsports Chevrolet team. In his first season as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series, Ratcliff led Atwood and the No. 27 team to two poles and eight top-10 results throughout the 32-race schedule before Atwood settled in eighth place in the final standings.
During the following two Xfinity seasons, Ratcliff remained at Brewco Motorsports while being paired with rookie driver Jamie McMurray, who replaced Atwood. Together, the duo achieved a total of six top-five results and 17 top-10 results through the two seasons with a best points result of sixth place in 2002. In addition, Ratcliff achieved his first two career wins as a NASCAR crew chief in back-to-back weekends as he guided McMurray to his first two career victories in the Xfinity circuit at Atlanta Motor Speedway and at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway between October and November.
In 2003, Ratcliff was paired with the 1996 Xfinity champion David Green, who was driving the No. 37 Pontiac for Brewco Motorsports. After calling his 100th Xfinity event as a crew chief during the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, Ratcliff guided Green to three victories: Nashville Superspeedway in April, New Hampshire International Speedway in July and at Kansas Speedway in October. To go along with two poles, 11 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 11.1, they settled in second place in the final standings and fell 14 points shy of the title to driver Brian Vickers and crew chief Lance McGrew from Hendrick Motorsports.
After leading Green to a seventh-place result in the final standings in 2004 despite going winless, Ratcliff joined forces with Joe Gibbs Racing to serve as a crew chief for JJ Yeley and the No. 18 Chevrolet team for the 2005 Xfinity season. Throughout the season, Ratcliff and Yeley achieved a season-best runner-up result at Memphis Motorsports Park in October along with a pole, six top-five results and 16 top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule before Yeley finished in seventh place in the final standings. By then, Ratcliff surpassed 200 career events as an Xfinity crew chief.
Despite enduring a winless season in 2006 while guiding Yeley and the No. 18 JGR team to four poles, nine top-five results, 22 top-10 results and a fifth-place result in the final standings, Ratcliff retained his role as a crew chief for the No. 18 team in 2007. On this occasion, the No. 18 entry was piloted between Aric Almirola, Brad Coleman, Kevin Conway and Tony Stewart throughout the 35-race schedule. The team’s best result throughout the season was a runner-up performance by Coleman at Kentucky Speedway in June coupled with two poles, five top-five results and eight top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule.
Ratcliff remained at JGR and as crew chief for the team’s No. 18 entry for the 2008 season that competed on a part-time basis and was shared between Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart in the early stages of the season. By then, the organization swapped manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota. After leading Busch and the No. 18 team to a runner-up result at Daytona in February and a 31st-place result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, Ratcliff and Busch achieved their first victory of the season and with JGR when Busch claimed a dominant win at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Ratcliff went on to achieve three additional victories with Busch and another with Hamlin during the next nine events that the No. 18 entry competed in the Xfinity circuit. In August, however, Ratcliff was among a number of JGR employees, including crew chief Dave Rogers, who were suspended from NASCAR indefinitely after NASCAR penalized JGR’s Nos. 18 and 20 Xfinity Series teams due to rule violations discovered by NASCAR inspectors prior to post-race testing on the chassis dynamometer at Michigan. Despite the hefty points penalties and suspensions, JGR’s No. 18 Toyota team went on to win five more events for the remainder of the season as Wally Brown, Doug Hewitt and Joel Weidman were atop the pit box of JGR’s Xfinity Series operations.
Following his indefinite suspension, Ratcliff returned as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Camry team piloted by Kyle Busch, who elected to run a full Xfinity schedule along with a full Cup Series schedule in 2009. Despite being absent for the season-opening event at Daytona, Ratcliff earned a one-way trip to Victory Lane in his return atop the pit box at Auto Club Speedway in February when Busch won after leading all but seven of the 150-scheduled laps. The 2009 season proved to be a memorable one for the South Carolina native, who led Busch to eight additional victories, three poles, 24 top-five results and 29 top-10 results throughout the season. When the final checkered flag flew at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, Busch, who fended off title rival Carl Edwards to win the finale, claimed his first Xfinity Series championship by 210 points over Edwards. The 2009 Xfinity title was also a first for Joe Gibbs Racing, a first for Toyota in the series and for Ratcliff, who surpassed 300 career events as an Xfinity crew chief and recorded nine victories, three poles, 24 top-five results and 29 top-10 results with the No. 18 team.
In 2010, Ratcliff remained as a crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota team while Kyle Busch, who decided to not defend his series title, participated in 29 of the 35-race schedule. Brad Coleman drove the No. 18 car in the remaining six vacant events. Despite not being in contention for the drivers’ championship, JGR’s No. 18 entry achieved the 2010 Xfinity owners’ championship on the strength of 13 victories, all achieved by Busch, as Busch established an all-time record of most victories produced by a driver in an Xfinity season. The No. 18 team also achieved a total of three poles, 22 top-five results and 28 top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule.
Ratcliff remained as a crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Camry team for a seventh consecutive season in 2011 that was piloted between Kelly Bires, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Logano, Michael McDowell and Ryan Truex. Throughout the season, Ratcliff achieved eight victories, all with Busch. In addition, the No. 18 entry achieved three poles, 21 top-five results, 27 top-10 results and a runner-up result in the final Xfinity owners’ standings behind Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford Mustang team.
Following 12 seasons in the Xfinity circuit, Ratcliff graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2012, where he assumed the role of crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry team. From 2012 through 2017, he notched 15 victories in NASCAR’s premier series while working with Logano and Matt Kenseth. Then in 2018, Ratcliff returned to the Xfinity Series to serve as a crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry piloted by Christopher Bell, who was coming off a Camping World Truck Series championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Eight races into the new season, Ratcliff and Bell achieved their first victory of the season at Richmond in April. The duo went on to achieve three consecutive victories in July at Kentucky, New Hampshire and Iowa before entering the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs as a title favorite. After collecting victories at Richmond and Dover between September and Dover to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 12 to 8, Ratcliff and Bell rallied from sustaining back-to-back DNFs at Kansas and Texas during the Round of 8 to win for the seventh time of the season at Phoenix in November and clinch a Championship 4 spot at Homestead. During the finale, however, Bell cut a tire in the closing stages and finished 11th on the track while also settling in fourth place in the final drivers’ standings. Despite falling short of winning his second championship, Ratcliff, who surpassed 400 Xfinity events as a crew chief, achieved great success in his return to the series as he led Bell and the No. 20 to seven victories, five poles, 18 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.3.
Remaining as Bell’s crew chief for the 2019 Xfinity Series season, Ratcliff achieved another successful season that started with a victory during the second event of the season at Atlanta. The duo went on to achieve seven additional victories, qualify for the Xfinity Playoffs and transfer all the way to the Championship 4 finale at Homestead with another opportunity to contend for the drivers’ championship. The duo, however, settled in fifth place during the finale and in third place in the final standings in a season where they recorded an additional victory, pole and top-10 result along with two additional top-five results and a higher average-finishing result (9.1) in comparison to 2018.
Following two strong consecutive seasons in the Xfinity circuit highlighted with 15 victories and two championship finale appearances, Ratcliff and Bell moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series and joined forces with Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 season. Once Leavine Family Racing ceased operations at the conclusion of the 2020 season and Bell re-joined Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 20 Toyota in the Cup Series, Ratcliff returned to the Xfinity Series for the 2021 season as a crew chief for the No. 20 Toyota Supra team piloted by Harrison Burton, the reigning Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year who won four races during his rookie campaign. Despite being absent at Darlington Raceway in September due to COVID-19 protocols and enduring a winless season, the new duo achieved a consistent season highlighted with nine top-five results, 21 top-10 results and a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs before finishing in eighth place in the final standings.
For this season, Ratcliff was assigned to lead JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Supra entry that has been piloted by Trevor Bayne, Drew Dollar, Connor Mosack, John Hunter Nemechek, Sammy Smith, Ryan Truex and Bubba Wallace. Through the first 16 events of 2022, Ratcliff has led the No. 18 team to a pole, four top-five results and seven top-10 results as they are situated in 10th place in the Xfinity owners’ standings. The No. 18 entry, which is coming off a 24th-place run at Road America with newcomer Sammy Smith, is set to be piloted by Ryan Truex for this upcoming weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Through 499 previous appearances, Ratcliff has achieved one championship, 55 victories, 33 poles, 167 top-five results and 266 top-10 results while working with 22 different competitors.
Ratcliff is scheduled to call his 200th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief at Atlanta on Saturday, July 9, with the event’s coverage to occur at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Wyatt Coffey (Beginner Bandits), Kaeden Ballos (Bandolero Outlaw), Joel Smith (Young Lions), also victorious in Round 5 of Cook Out Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Boston Reid & Company Pro and Masters division Round 5 features were postponed to next week due to lightning in the area.
Round 5’s fireworks show was canceled due to inclement-weather and rescheduled for Champions Night on Aug. 2. Spectators should save tickets from tonight for a discounted $5 admission on Aug. 2.
CONCORD, NC (July 5, 2022): While Mother Nature took the fireworks out of the sky, the drivers put a show on the track for Round 5 of the Cook Out Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway presented by Cabarrus Brewing. Connor Zilisch (VP Racing Semi-Pro division) and Darren Krantz Jr. (Bandolero Bandits) were among the drivers claiming stars and stripes victories one day after the Fourth of July.
Zilisch Outruns the Rain in the VP Racing Semi-Pro Competition
The VP Racing Semi-Pro feature showcased Trevor Wester’s speed as he led the competition for the first six laps until a restart gave Connor Zilisch room to take control. The second caution of the night gave the lead back to Wester who maintained it for five more trips around the frontstretch quarter-mile. On a third restart, Zilisch took the inside corner of turn two at lap 12 to pass Wester for good in a race to outrun the weather. Lightning in the area caused the race to be called at lap 19, giving Zilisch the win.
Krantz Jr Battles Bandolero Bandits for Second Win
In the Bandolero Bandits division, Hudson Canipe started at the front with an intense battle behind him among Ben Morabito, Darren Krantz Jr. and Beckham Malone. Canipe maintained his lead until lap 16 when Owen Zacharias blew a tire to bring out a yellow flag. Canipe and Morabito battled side by side after the restart before contact sent Canipe spinning sideways and out of contention. On the subsequent restart, Krantz Jr. passed Morabito for the lead off turn 4 on lap 18, then cruised to victory for his second Cook Out Summer Shootout win.
Krantz Jr. is now five for five in podium finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway this summer including a first place win in Round 2.
Cook Out Summer Shootout fun continues with Round 6 on Tuesday, July 12. “Night of Games” at America’s Home for Racing will feature a full slate of fun and games with thrilling Legend Car and Bandolero action. Next week’s schedule will also include weather-postponed Boston Reid & Company Pro and Masters division features from tonight’s schedule.
TICKETS:
Cook Out Summer Shootout entry is $10 for adults and kids 12 and under are FREE. Tickets can be purchased at the gate, by calling 800-455-FANS or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets.
KEEP TRACK:
Follow all the thrilling Cook Out Summer Shootout action using the hashtag #WeCreateLegends. Connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Top 10 in each division of Tuesday’s races (unofficial results):
KEVIN HARVICK Atlanta Advance No. 4 Hunt Brothers® Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
Event Overview
● Event: Atlanta 400 (Round 19 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 10 ● Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia ● Layout: 1.54-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 260 laps/400 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps ● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), comes into Atlanta Motor Speedway on a three-race streak of top-10 finishes. It began with a fourth-place drive June 12 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and continued with back-to-back 10th-place finishes June 26 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and last Sunday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Harvick is currently 11th in the championship standings, but when it comes to playoff eligibility, he is 17th, one spot shy of the 16-driver playoff field. Eight races are left before the NASCAR Playoffs are set, and at the remaining venues before the 10-race playoffs begin, Harvick has totaled 19 wins, including three at Atlanta.
● Atlanta, however, is a new animal. The 1.54-mile oval was reconfigured over the winter. The banking was increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees and the track was narrowed from 55-feet wide to 40-feet wide, and it was all covered in fresh asphalt. The goal of the reconstruction was to recreate the kind of pack-style racing seen at the behemoth, 2.5-mile Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the even bigger 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. NASCAR Cup Series drivers competed on the new layout for the first time back in March, where Harvick finished 21st.
● Sunday’s Atlanta 400 will mark Harvick’s 34th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta – the most of any active driver – but only his second on the new configuration. In his 32 starts on the old layout, Harvick led the way with a series-high nine top-fives, 16 top-10s (tied with Kurt Busch), 1,348 laps led and 10,127 laps completed. Who is the all-time leader at Atlanta? That’s none other than Richard Petty. They call him “The King” for a reason: 65 career Cup Series starts at Atlanta with six wins, 22 top-fives, 33 top-10s and 1,827 laps led with 17,513 laps completed.
● Harvick’s first NASCAR Cup Series win at Atlanta was the first of his career, and it came a little over 20 years ago on March 11, 2001. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 was just Harvick’s third race in a Cup Series car. He started fifth in the 325-lap contest and led twice for 18 laps, including the final six. But Harvick had to earn the win on the final lap and hold off a then three-time champion in Jeff Gordon. Harvick succeeded, outdueling the eventual 2001 series champion to take the win by a scant .006 margin of victory – the seventh-closest finish in NASCAR history.
● Of course, the backstory to that first win is significant. Harvick wasn’t just driving any racecar when he won at Atlanta. He was driving the racecar that less than a month earlier had been piloted by the sport’s titan, Dale Earnhardt. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Team owner Richard Childress tabbed Harvick, who was racing for him in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, to pull double-duty and take over Earnhardt’s Cup ride. The No. 3, made iconic by Earnhardt, was changed to the No. 29 and Harvick made his Cup Series debut Feb. 25 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. Harvick started 36th that Sunday at Rockingham, but rain washed over the 1.017-mile oval just 51 laps into the 393-lap race. The race resumed at 11 a.m. ET on Monday, whereupon Harvick drove to a solid 14th-place finish. He then traveled to Las Vegas on Tuesday, married his wife, DeLana, on Wednesday, and was back in a racecar on Friday, competing in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series events at Las Vegas. After finishing eighth on Sunday to score his first career top-10 in the Cup Series, Harvick headed to Atlanta where the first of his 58 career Cup Series wins was secured.
● Harvick’s two other NASCAR Cup Series wins at Atlanta came with SHR. In February 2018, Harvick won the Folds of Honor 500. He led eight times for a race-high 181 laps on his way to defeating runner-up Brad Keselowski by an impressive 2.690 seconds. Harvick’s most recent Atlanta victory came in February 2020 in the Folds of Honor 500. Harvick again led the most laps, pacing the field four times for 151 laps en route to an even greater margin of victory – 3.527 seconds over Kyle Busch.
● Harvick is also incredibly good at Atlanta outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. He has five Xfinity Series wins at the track, including four in his last six starts at the 1.54-mile oval, the most recent of which ended in victory – February 2018 when he walloped the field in his Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang, leading four times for a race-high 141 laps and cruising to the win with a 4.183 margin over second-place Joey Logano. In 17 career Xfinity Series start at Atlanta, Harvick has 11 top-fives and 13 top-10s with 973 laps led. And in his two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Atlanta, Harvick has a win and a second-place finish. He finished second in his Truck Series debut at Atlanta in March 2009, where he led four times for a race-high 68 laps before coming up .122 of a second short of beating Kyle Busch for the win. But in Harvick’s Truck Series return to Atlanta in March 2010, he dominated by leading twice for a race-high 100 laps and this time besting runner-up Kyle Busch by 1.308 seconds.
● The 2022 season marks the 13th year of partnership between Harvick and Hunt Brothers Pizza. The nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry has sponsored Harvick for years in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Hunt Brothers Pizza joined Harvick fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 and has been a mainstay in NASCAR’s premier division ever since. With more than 8,000 locations in 30 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin-crust pizzas available as a grab-and-go Hunk A Pizza®, perfect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle, or as a customizable whole pizza that is an exceptional value with All Toppings No Extra Charge®. Hunt Brothers Pizza is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and is family owned and operated. For additional information, visit www.HuntBrothersPizza.com or download the app.
● Said Harvick about his more than decade-long partnership with Hunt Brothers Pizza: “Our fans are pretty loyal to the brands that are on our cars. Many of my pictures come from the standees in the store. People take selfies next to them. There are a number of reasons you have sponsorships – you want that brand recognition, the brand integration. Hunt Brothers Pizza is a very family-oriented company and we’re a very family-oriented group. Those relationships you build through the years with brands that recognize and reflect what you believe in are few and far between. We’ve grown with the Hunt Brothers Pizza brand. They’ve grown with us and have been very loyal to us, and I think our fans are very loyal to Hunt Brothers Pizza. It’s fun to see that brand recognition and that understanding of loyalty and partnership. You realize how many Hunt Brothers Pizza stores there are as you drive to racetracks.”
Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang
There were a lot of unknowns when the NASACAR Cup Series raced at Atlanta earlier this year. After 500 miles on the reconfigured layout back in March, what are your thoughts for your return visit this weekend?
“It’s just a superspeedway race on a mile-and-a-half racetrack. Things just happen a lot faster, so the decisions have to happen faster, the cars move around a lot more, the corners come up a lot quicker. A lot more just seat-of-your-pants, just, ‘Go here, go there, do this, do that.’ And I think that the way the lines formed and moved and everything happened, you just had to get used to a different style of race than we’ve had before.”
Did the new Atlanta perform like Daytona and Talladega, or was the Atlanta race its own animal?
“It’s got some characteristics of superspeedway racing in the way that you wind up in a pack and you’re holding it wide open. But the way that the bumps and things are there, and the way you have to go into the corner, and the way the race developed, there wasn’t near as much pushing and shoving as there is at Daytona and Talladega.”
How was the grip level at Atlanta, and with a full race weekend under its belt, do you expect it to be better this weekend?
“It’s definitely going to be hotter. Turns three and four were a little bit edgy, but you’re probably going to want just a touch of downforce in your car just to try to make up for some of the heat and lack of grip that’s going to come with just the time of year and the temperature.”
You prepared for Atlanta by spending a decent amount of time on the simulator. How accurate was the sim to what you ended up experiencing when you started turning laps on the real thing?
“It’s a little bit different. You can kind of work on your car and kind of drive around, but the draft is so much faster than driving by yourself. You have to go a lot off of your eyes and just what you see, and the racecar itself is definitely more of a feel thing than anything. So in the end, you have to validate the sim by what you feel in the car and try to make those things as close as possible.”
No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Kevin Harvick Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin
Engineer: Dax Gerringer Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina
Engineer: Stephen Doran Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania
Spotter: Tim Fedewa Hometown: Holt, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina
Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith Hometown: Concord, North Carolina
Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard Hometown: Delhart, Texas
Jack Man: Brandon Banks Hometown: High Point, North Carolina
A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Blickensderfer will call his 400th race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Mount Zion, Illinois, Blickensderfer, who grew up interested in racing and had a brief career as a modified racer before relocating to North Carolina and working as a crew member for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Bill Davis Racing and Roush Racing, became a crew chief for the first time during the 2006 Xfinity Series season when he worked atop the pit box of the No. 50 Roush Racing Ford team driven by Danny O’Quinn Jr. He then remained as an Xfinity crew chief for the newly named Roush Fenway Racing in 2007, where he led the No. 17 Ford team to his first two career victories as a crew chief with Matt Kenseth piloting the ride. After commencing the 2008 season as a crew chief for the No. 17 entry, where he went to Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Kenseth in March, he made a mid-season swap to Roush’s No. 60 Ford team that was being piloted by Carl Edwards. With Edwards behind the wheel, Blickensderfer led the No. 60 team to seven victories and a runner-up result in the 2008 Xfinity drivers’ standings.
In 2009, Blickensderfer graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series to work as a crew chief for the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team. In his first appearance as a Cup crew chief, Blickensderfer achieved his first career win in the rain-shortened 51st running of the Daytona 500, which marked the first 500 victory for both Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing. The duo then went two-for-two early in the 2009 season after Kenseth held off Jeff Gordon to win at Auto Club Speedway during the following weekend. Their flawless start to the season, however, came to an end during the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when Kenseth retired in 43rd place, dead last, due to an early engine failure. Then for the remaining 23 regular season events, the No. 17 team led by Blickensderfer only achieved seven additional top-10 results as they slipped out of the top-12 postseason cutline during the regular season finale at Richmond Raceway in September and resulted with Kenseth failing to make the Cup Series Playoffs for the first time in his career. Kenseth and Blickensderfer went on to record three top-three results during the final 10 events before finishing in 14th place in the final standings.
Early in the 2010 Cup Series season, Blickensderfer was replaced by veteran Todd Parrott despite guiding Kenseth to an eighth-place result during the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 in February. Seven months later, he returned as a crew chief for David Ragan and the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team, beginning at Kansas Speedway. Blickensderfer served as Ragan’s crew chief for six of the final eight scheduled events as they achieved a season-best result of eighth place at Texas Motor Speedway in November before Ragan finished in 24th place in the final standings.
Blickensderfer remained as Ragan’s crew chief for the 2011 Cup Series season. During the 53rd running of the Daytona 500, Ragan was in position to win until he was penalized for a late restart violation, where he swapped lanes from the top to the bottom prior to reaching the start/finish line to restart the event. The penalty sent him to the rear of the field as he ended up in 14th place in the final running order. Blickensderfer and Ragan then recorded four top-10 results, including a runner-up result in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, during the following 15 scheduled events. They also managed to earn a victory in the non-points All-Star Open at Charlotte in May that allowed Ragan to compete in his first All-Star Race, where he finished eighth. Then when NASCAR returned to Daytona in July, Ragan redeemed himself by claiming the Coke Zero 400 and notching his first career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory also snapped Blickensderfer’s 57-race winless drought dating back to February 2009. For the remainder of the season, however, the duo earned only three additional results in the top 10 and did not make the Playoffs as Ragan fell back to 23rd place in the final standings.
For the 2012 Cup season, Blickensderfer transitioned from Roush Fenway Racing to Richard Childress Racing, where he served as a crew chief for veteran Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala team. The duo earned a fifth-place result during the 54th running of the Daytona 500 before finishing sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway three races later. Despite achieving a runner-up result at Daytona in July, Burton and Blickensderfer struggled with consistency as they did not make the Playoffs. Then with three races remaining to the season, Blickensderfer moved to Richard Petty Motorsports to serve as crew chief for Australia’s Marcos Ambrose and the No. 9 Ford Fusion team. During the three-race stint, the new duo managed a season-best result of 13th place during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November before Ambrose finished in 18th place in the final standings, one spot ahead of Jeff Burton. By then, Blickensderfer surpassed 100 career events as a Cup Series crew chief.
Blickensderfer remained as Ambrose’s crew chief for the following two seasons. During the two seasons, the duo earned a pole, three top-five results and 13 top-10 results with Ambrose’s best points result being 22nd in 2013. Their best on-track moment during the two-year stretch was at Watkins Glen International in August 2014, where Ambrose settled in second place following a late battle with eventual winner AJ Allmendinger.
Ten races into the 2015 Cup Series season, Blickensderfer was a crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr., who replaced Ambrose in the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion but finished no higher than sixth place at Talladega Superspeedway in early May. After being replaced by veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion in May, Blickensderfer did not return as a Cup Series crew chief until late into the 2016 season, where he worked atop the No. 43 RPM Ford Fusion pit box piloted by Aric Almirola. Appearing in seven of the final eight scheduled events, Almirola and Blickensderfer finished no higher than eighth place, which occurred at Talladega in October, before Almirola finished in 26th place in the final standings for a second consecutive season. By then, Blickensderfer surpassed 200 Cup career events as a crew chief.
Remaining as Almirola’s crew chief, Blickensderfer commenced the 2017 Cup season with a fourth-place result in the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Nine races later at Talladega in May, however, Blickensderfer was hit with a three-race suspension and a $65,000 fine due to Almirola’s fourth-place car failing post-race inspection. By the time Blickensderfer returned atop the No. 43 paddock, Almirola was absent and recovering from injuries sustained from a harrowing wreck at Kansas Speedway in May. At Pocono Raceway in June, Blickensderfer worked with Bubba Wallace, who finished 26th in his Cup debut. After spending the following four scheduled events working with Wallace and road-ringer Billy Johnson, Blickensderfer reunited with Almirola at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. The duo, however, could not generate on-track consistency for the remainder of the regular season stretch as they missed the Playoffs. They went on to finish in the top 10 three times during the final 10 events before Almirola settled in 29th place in the final standings.
For the 2018 Cup Series season, Blickensderfer was paired with Bubba Wallace, who took over the No. 43 RPM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and contended for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. During the 60th running of the Daytona 500, Wallace rubbed fenders with Denny Hamlin to earn a strong runner-up result by a nose. Blickensderfer and Wallace would proceed to finish in the top 10 on two additional occasions for the remainder of the season as Wallace settled in 28th place in the final standings and a runner-up to the Rookie-of-the-Year title behind William Byron.
In 2019, Blickensderfer departed Richard Petty Motorsports and joined Front Row Motorsports to serve as a crew chief for Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Ford Mustang team. The new duo earned a strong fifth-place result during the 61st running of the Daytona 500 before earning one additional top-five result at Talladega in October and finishing in 27th place in the final standings. By then, Blickensderfer surpassed 300 Cup career events as a crew chief.
Despite finishing in 16th place during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 in 2020, Blickensderfer and McDowell doubled their top-10 results from the previous season to four and boosted their final standings result by four places to 23rd.
Then in 2021, Blickensderfer etched his name as a two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chief and returned to Victory Lane after McDowell dodged a multi-car melee on the final lap to take the lead at the moment of caution and claim his first victory in his 358th career start in NASCAR’s premier series. The Daytona 500 victory along with four additional results in the top 10 during the 26-race regular season stretch were enough for McDowell to claim a spot for the 2021 Cup Playoffs, which marked Blickensderfer’s first postseason appearance as a Cup Series crew chief. The duo’s run for the title, however, came to an early end during the Round of 16 after McDowell finished 37th, 28th and 24th respectively. Finishing no higher than 16th place twice during the final seven events, McDowell settled in a career-best 16th place in the final standings.
Following a three-year stint at Front Row Motorsports, Blickensderfer announced his departure from the team in December 2021. A month later, he was announced as a crew chief for Almirola, who was set to retire as a full-time competitor following the 2022 season, and the No. 10 Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing. The move marked a reunion for both the crew chief and the driver since 2017. Through the first half of the 2022 Cup season, Blickensderfer and Almirola have achieved two top-five results and five top-10 results. Despite being ranked in 12th place in the regular season standings, they trail the cutline to qualify for the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 47 points with eight regular season events remaining to the schedule.
Through 399 previous appearances, Blickensderfer has achieved four victories, four poles, 26 top-five results and 68 top-10 results while working with nine different competitors.
Blickensderfer is scheduled to call his 400th Cup Series career event at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 10, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
