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Buescher Secures Best Finish of Year, P2 at Sonoma

No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Leads Laps, Runs Inside Top-Five Much of Sunday Afternoon

SONOMA, Calif. (June 12, 2022) – Chris Buescher led laps, ran inside the top-five much of Sunday afternoon, and was a position away from victory lane as he drove the Fifth Third Bank Ford to a second-place finish at Sonoma Raceway for his best finish of the season.

“This team did a great job and put a really fast Fifth Third Bank Mustang underneath me this weekend,” Buescher said. “What a way to return and come back to the race track, but I didn’t get the job done there at the end. I feel like we should have had the win and I didn’t get it. We were close, just needed more. I needed to make it happen on that restart and I didn’t, but if we can keep getting cars like this then a win will come. It was an awesome run, and I should be happy, but I’m disappointed to be that close and not get it.”

Fresh off his return from COVID, which sidelined him last week in St. Louis, Buescher put the No. 17 near the front in qualifying Saturday afternoon with the third-quickest lap in the field. It marked his second such top-five qualifying effort in as many months (pole – Dover).

Once the green dropped for the 110-lap race Sunday, Buescher held his own inside the top five and was fourth at the time of the first caution at lap 10. That yellow turned out to be one of only two non-stage cautions.

The team would short-pit the stage, hitting pit road at lap 23 from the second position. He would end the stage in 13th, then after track position flipped under the break fired back off second for the second, 30-lap stage. It ran caution-free, and again Buescher short-pitted the conclusion, this time from P2. Stops again would cycle and Buescher got credit for a P3 finish and seven stage points.

The Prosper, Texas, native was the leader to begin the final stage, where he led four total laps once the segment went green. With green flag stops cycling again, Buescher initially stayed on track to stay on sequence with the No. 99, but eventually hit pit road at lap 80 from the second spot.

After his teammate Keselowski inherited the lead for a few laps, a caution flew at lap 84 for debris in what would be the final of the day. At the time Buescher was ninth, but jumped to P2 on the ensuing restart. That came with 23 to go as he and the No. 99 stayed nose-to-tail for multiple laps in the run. Despite Buescher hanging within a half second for a majority of the laps, the 99 ultimately prevailed to snag the win.

The second-place effort marked the first P2 finish of Buescher’s Cup career. It is also his first top five of the 2022 season, and fourth overall top-10 on the year.

The No. 17 team will ride a wave of momentum now into the Cup Series’ lone off week of the year. Action returns June 26 at Nashville Superspeedway for the second half of the season and NBC’s return to coverage.

RCR NCS Post Race Report: Sonoma

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 True Velocity Chevrolet Team Race to Solid 11th-Place Finish at Sonoma Raceway

Finish: 11th
Start: 13th
Points: 15th

“It feels great to earn an 11th-place Finish in the True Velocity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. This team has worked hard, and I have worked hard personally, on improving our road course performances. We qualified 13th on Saturday and came into Sunday’s race knowing that we had a strong car and a solid plan. We maintained our position throughout Stage 1. We tried to play the pit strategy a few times and got caught on the wrong side of a caution flag. During the final stage, we were making a green-flag stop right as the caution came out. It put us back about seven spots, but we had newer tires than the guys in front of us which gave me a little more leverage. I’m proud of the effort that everyone has put in. It was fun racing in the top 10 and seeing the improvements we’ve made. We’ll take an 11th-place finish and take the off weekend to regroup for Nashville.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet Team Show Resilience at Sonoma Raceway

Finish: 35th
Start: 5th
Points: 14th

“Our Lenovo Chevy was strong this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. We started the race fifth and spent most of Stages 1 and 2 in and around the top five. We were running fourth with three laps remaining in Stage 2 when we made a green-flag stop. Unfortunately, we were caught speeding on pit road and had to restart at the tail end of the field to start Stage 3. We got mirrored back in traffic. Everyone was bunching up and another car ended up making contact with us. It destroyed our left-rear and we had to go to the garage for repairs. We made it back out, but finished 14 laps down in 35th. It’s definitely disappointing to get a finish like that after running so strong today.” -Tyler Reddick

CHEVY NCS: DANIEL SUAREZ GETS FIRST CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT SONOMA

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350
JUNE 12, 2022

DANIEL SUAREZ GETS FIRST CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT SONOMA
Team Chevy Scores Eighth NCS Victory of 2022

· The win is Suarez’s first-career victory in 195 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.
· It also marks the third NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Trackhouse Racing in 2022.
· With his victory, Suarez secures a spot into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Field.
· Suarez’s triumph is also the eighth of the season for the Camaro ZL1 and the 13th victory for Team Chevy at Sonoma Raceway, both of which are manufacturer-leading feats.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 822 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

SONOMA, Calif. (June 22, 2022) – Daniel Suarez has been on the horizon of his first-career win in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) all season and a trip out west checked off that monumental feat in his career. In 195 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, Daniel Suarez drove his No. 99 Onx Homes/Renu Camaro ZL1 across the line first, capturing his first-career NCS win in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

“It’s a crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now,” said Suarez. “I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series. These guys believe in me – Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get to this point. Alot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t (tearing up).”

The feat came after Saurez took the green from the eighth-starting position. Piloting his Chevrolet-powered machine to a top-five finish in Stage Two, track position and a strong performance on pit road setup the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team to start up front for the final stage. The 30-year-old Chevro driver went on to lead a race-high 47 laps en route to the victory at the 1.99-mile Northern California circuit. The win marks the third win for Trackhouse Racing in NASCAR’s premier series, all of which have been captured this season. The victory makes Suarez the sixth different Chevrolet driver to win in the series thus far this season; joining Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain, and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron and Chase Elliott on the elite list that have secured a spot in the 2022 NCS Playoff field.

With 16 points-paying races in the books for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Camaro ZL1 has recorded eight wins, giving Chevrolet an impressive winning percentage of 50 percent. The trip to victory lane also marks Chevrolet’s 13th triumph at Sonoma Raceway and the 822nd all-time in NASCAR’s premier series to lead all manufacturers. Ross Chastain (7th), Chase Elliott (8th) and William Byron (9th) rounded out the Team Chevy top-10, giving the bowtie brand four top-10 finishes.

Heading into the off week for the series, the NASCAR Cup Series will be back in action at Nashville Superspeedway with the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 26, at 5 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES/RENU CAMARO ZL1 – Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by today’s winner, Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet.

Take us through what went through your mind when you crossed the finish line on the last lap and became the first driver from Mexico to win in the NASCAR Cup Series.

DANIEL SUAREZ: I didn’t know what to do. It was special. Man, I’ve been working very hard for this moment, not just myself, but my entire team. I am very lucky to have people around me in the team, but outside the team. My family always supporting me, my beautiful girlfriend Julia that she work very hard in the last few months keeping me up and letting me know that I was doing the right things. We just need to have a clean day. That’s what we had today.

So today just felt special. I told her this morning that today felt good. We did it in front of a few hundred Mexicans and Daniel’s Amigos. It was just a special day. I have always seen California as my second home. To be able to get the first victory here is quite special.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q- What was the mindset knowing you had pretty much control of this race hoping there were no cautions?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I mean, honestly, I didn’t care who was behind me. I was just trying to do my race, trying to control what I can control. I knew that Buescher was very strong in the short run. Probably a little bit better than me. But in the middle part of the run I was better than him. In the long run I felt like I was better than him. It was able to play out pretty good right there near the end.

I knew if I stay up front for the first five to seven laps, I was going to be able to control the race. Obviously the last 10, five laps, I was just trying to take care of my tires in case we had a restart. If we had a restart at that point, I knew we were not going to come for tires. It was going to be a track position race.

I was trying to save a little bit, even though my car was already a little tired at the time, but everyone else was tired as well.

It worked out great. It was good. My team, my crew chief, everyone did what they had to do. They called the pit stops, everything work out where they were supposed to. We were able to maximize the potential of our car.

Q- Justin and Travis were talking about your confidence, that they never doubted you would be here. They felt like you never doubted it. What kept you confident?

DANIEL SUAREZ: You know, it has cost me a lot to get to this point. A lot of people doesn’t know that, but it has cost me a lot to get to this country first 10 years ago, and to get to this point, fighting. I come from a very humble family. Every step of my life has cost me a lot.

I knew that it’s important to remember that if I was able to come all the way here, I wasn’t going to give up here. My confidence was high. But obviously knowing that you haven’t won yet, there is a little bit of doubt. But I knew that I was fast. I knew that I could race with them, with the guys that are winning. But I haven’t showed that first victory.

I told my team, you know, the last five weeks we have had very fast race cars, but things happen. The jack broke last week. A few weeks ago the (indiscernible) broke. In Charlotte we were the fastest car and we were missing something on pit road every single time. It was hard to stay on track.

But at the end my team, everyone, stayed together. We keep pushing. I told them that bad luck doesn’t last forever, and tough people do. We keep working very hard and here we are.

Q- You said on Thursday you felt good about this weekend. What was it coming in here about why you felt so good? What was going through your head throughout the weekend?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I grew up racing go-karts, road course stuff. I never raced big cars in road course, but I raced go-karts a lot all over the world. Road course for me is fun. It’s something different. It’s something we don’t do every day. In years past I been always strong but never very strong.

In COTA it just felt special. In COTA we were the car to beat, we were the best car. Unfortunately my car had issues. I made sure in the radio in the middle of the race, if I can’t win the race, I want my teammate to win the race. I felt he was probably a good second best car. He was able to win the race. I was able to dominate the first stage with a car that was a rocket.

We came here with the confidence that it’s another road course. We had a good car, but we didn’t have the best car today. I felt like we were able to make the right calls, maximize what we got, and the result shows for that.

Q- What was going through your mind when you came around the final turn here? Once you crossed it, what did you think?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I was asking for my piñata. I was asking the team to bring the piñata with me. I wanted to break it (smiling).

It just felt right, man. It’s been a long journey, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of hard work. To finally be able to get the first one. I have told this to many people. The first one always costs a lot. Once you get the first one, be ready because we’re going to get some more.

Q- What does this mean for Mexico and what does it mean it was one of the races where you had Daniel’s Amigos here?

DANIEL SUAREZ: That’s special. That was very, very special. In the very last caution I was already slow on the caution. I was able to see in corner one on the right there was Daniel’s Amigos group there. All of them were cheering, the fans, all of them were excited. That fuels me. That’s energy for me.

I knew that I wasn’t going to let them down. I was going to push and I was going to do everything in my power to make this happen. Just felt right.

This morning I spent an hour and a half with them. Just felt right. I woke up this morning and I was ready to go. Yesterday we had a long race in the Trucks and I was tired. But it just felt right.

California like my second home. The people here are amazing to me. They support me a lot. I just can’t describe how thankful I am for being able to win the first one here in front of my people.

Q- For Mexico?

DANIEL SUAREZ: For Mexico the same. I don’t get to race in my country. There is a lot of races that feel like home. This is one of them. Texas is one of them. There is a lot, Auto Club, Vegas, Phoenix. There is a lot of racetracks, they feel like home.

Just very thankful being a kid coming from Mexico trying to live the NASCAR dream in the U.S.

Q- Do you keep in touch with anyone that you met in previous Daniel’s Amigos groups? Did you see any revisits, familiar faces?

DANIEL SUAREZ: Yeah, couple. It’s hard to keep track of everyone, of course. There is a couple, I remember them from here, from last time here. Yeah, that’s always very special.

The cool part is that they come this week, and the ones that are new, I’m going to see them next year. That’s something very special to me. Those are the faces I remember. The faces I remember from last year. I’m sure I’m going to see a lot of faces next year that I just met today. That’s very special.

I just can’t describe how happy I am to be able to get this win, the first one, in California in front of all of them.

Q- You have some of the earliest alumni from the Drive for Diversity program at Trackhouse. What does this win mean to you and what do you think it means for NASCAR moving forward?

DANIEL SUAREZ: Yeah, I mean, that’s very special. A lot of people doesn’t know this, but one of my engineers, he’s from Mexico City. Unfortunately he got sick, he couldn’t come to this weekend. He’s at home. He called me crying. He works extremely hard.

He is a big part of today’s win. His name is Jose Velasco. He’s a huge part of this team. We’ve been working together for two years. Part of my pit crew are from diversity, as well. Myself. If it wasn’t for the Drive for Diversity, I don’t think I would be sitting here right now.

Back in 2013 and ’14 they saved my butt. I was about to come back to Mexico. They gave me an opportunity to keep racing in 2013. That kept me alive. I was able to win races that year and keep the momentum going. Before that it was very, very tough.

So it’s been quite a journey. But those tough moments and those ups and downs is what makes this moment so special.

Q- With the final restart 23 laps to go, are you nervous? I was hearing from Justin your radio was silent.

DANIEL SUAREZ: I was just trying to stay calm. I knew that it was a big stake on the line, but I was trying to stay calm. I was silent. I wanted to do my thing. I didn’t want too much noise on the radio. I knew what I had to do.

I felt like I was controlling well what I could control. If the caution was coming out, welcome, try to go again. I was just trying to stay calm.

I would say after the white flag is when I got out of control. I just start crying inside the helmet, just thinking about. Especially because I had a big gap. If it wasn’t a big gap, I would be focused. Since I had a big gap, I was just thinking about every single moment that has cost me to be here.

It’s been a different journey. Every NASCAR driver has had a tough journey. Everyone has a different journey. But my journey is definitely the most different of everyone else, leaving my family, my country, and just coming to a different culture, different language.

Thinking of all those things, it makes today very, very special.

Q- What was inside the piñata?

DANIEL SUAREZ: A lot of chocolate. A lot of chocolate. Next time we have to organize that better. Next time I need a bat so can I break it. Actually we had one. I don’t know. It was missing somewhere.

It was good. Just felt good. Very, very thankful to all my team for today.

Q- What kind of momentum does this give for you and the No. 99 team 10 races to the Playoffs?

DANIEL SUAREZ: Yeah, it feels good. My team has been working very hard.

But to be able to finally get the first one, I feel like that is going to make us feel more relaxed. Now we’re going to do things more calm.

I told my team, Hey, let’s say calm. Let’s do our thing. We’re capable of winning races. But one thing is to say it, another thing is to do it. Today we did it. So now we’re going to be able to (indiscernible) and do things more relaxed. That way victories and success is going to be able to find us much easier.

Q- Have you ever punched a piñata before?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I have. I have. But I have punched a piñata after I smash it with a stick. This time nobody gave me a stick so I had to punch it.

Man, a few weeks ago or a month and a half ago when they gave me that taco piñata, I knew we were going to break it soon. I was keeping it in my lounge, getting ready to break it. Today finally we smashed that thing.

Q- When was the last time you punched one?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I was a kid, man. Probably my grandma’s house in front of all my cousins. I couldn’t see because I had my eyes taped. I was knocking out the piñata. Eventually when you break it, it’s not broken 100%, you just start smashing it to get all the candy. It’s been at least 15 years.

Q- Off weekend coming up. Are you celebrating?

DANIEL SUAREZ: Believe it or not I’m going to Mexico tomorrow. I have that already plan for a few weeks. My girlfriend is going to Brazil to visit her family, her father, after two years and a half that she hasn’t see him. Yeah, she going to celebrate in Brazil, I’m going to celebrate in Mexico.

I can’t wait to see my mom, my dad, my sister to give them a big hug. They’ve been with me on this journey since the beginning. My mom already called me, she was crying. It’s special.

I’m going to see the people I like to see, I love to see. Just try to enjoy the moment. Like I said, very few people knows how much work, sacrifice, tears, sweat this has cost me. So we have to enjoy it. After a few days, we’re going to keep working because we want more.

Q- 10 or 11 years ago you’re living in Upstate New York watching cartoons to learn English. Are you dreaming of this moment? Is this moment a thought? Could you have conceived what happened today?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I was always dreaming about winning in the Cup Series. I knew it was going to be a tough journey. At the time I was scared not to be able to compete because I didn’t speak English. At the time I didn’t have money to buy myself classes to speak English, so I had to in a way learn by myself by watching movies and watching cartoons and reading. It was quite a journey.

I remember one day waking up and being scared that the language barrier was going to keep me away from my goal, which was being a winner, a championship winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. I didn’t want that to happen.

I started working extremely hard to learn English. It’s been quite a journey. That’s why I felt like my story is very similar to many, many Mexicans, Latinos, out there coming to this country, trying to find a goal or trying to find their dream.

If I was able to make it happen, everyone out there can make it happen. So just feel very, very proud to be an example for many of them.

Q- Do you think this team can make a deep Playoff run? Are you a championship team?

DANIEL SUAREZ: I think we are. I think we are. The beautiful part is that we get stronger as we go. If you were asking me that question three months ago, I was going to tell you, man, we have work to do. We have the potential, but we have work to do. Two months ago I was starting to believe more. A month ago I would say, Heck, yeah. Right now, of course we are here.

We just keep getting stronger. I guarantee you in a month from now we’re going to be stronger than right now. We’re going to keep working.

Today was amazing. We did a lot of things right. But we believed that our car could have been a little bit better. So when you look at the big picture and always try to see yourself as what I could have done better or different, that’s when you become a great team. I feel like we’re on our way there.

Q- Thursday you talked about diversity. Does this win spur more Mexicans and Latinos to take up driving? One lesser thought. Ross smashes pumpkins and you’re smashing piñatas. Do the other teams have to step their game?

DANIEL SUAREZ: They’ll have to step their game.

We talk about diversity, how important it is. I personally feel extremely, extremely lucky and fortunate to be that driver that the whole Hispanic community can connect with. I feel extremely, extremely lucky. I feel so fortunate. I feel like I have an entire country and community behind me.

All the people wearing red shirts today, those are my people. Some of them, they have exactly the same journey that I have. Coming from Mexico, not knowing the language, trying to find an opportunity, having goals, just trying to find that dream or trying to make that dream happen. These are my people. I feel extremely lucky to be the one that can represent all of them.

Hopefully the success that we have had, that we’re having, can fuel them as well to continue to push in whatever they want to do, that is racing, mechanic, engineering, business, whatever that may be, to continue to fuel them to know that they can do it. They just have to work hard and put in the table what they have to do.

JUSTIN MARKS, FOUNDER AND OWNER, TRACKHOUSE RACING – Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by today’s winners, owner of the No. 99 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, and crew chief Travis Mack.

We’ll go right into questions for Justin first as he has to leave.

Q- Justin, I guess Suarez said last year this was his best opportunity. Now he’s finally put it into Victory Lane. How does that feel for you as a car owner?

JUSTIN MARKS: Yeah, it’s hard to put it into words. When Ty Norris and I first started talking about this, I came to Ty, I’ve got this idea. What I said first and foremost is I believe with this new car it’s truly going to be about the people, the people are going to make this car go.

The way they changed the model of the sport a little bit is you have to invest in your people and keep them motivated, and put talented people in positions, lift them up, empower them. I just believe that.

I think we’re doing that right now because we have a great culture at Trackhouse. Daniel checked a lot of boxes for us right away. He’s an experienced Cup driver. He is a winner. When he’s been in positions to win, he’s won with his Xfinity championship and Truck.

He had a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to prove to the world he belonged in the Cup Series. 2020 was a difficult year for him.

He checked all the boxes for us and I knew he had a tremendous amount of potential, that he was a winner at this level. I told him from day one, This is your team, this 99 team is your team. You come to me and tell me anything and everything that you need. We’re going to put that behind you.

Travis to my left here is a big part of that. He’s been a big believer in this project. It’s really nice to see all that work over the last couple of years be at a place where everybody is rewarded for it.

Q- You say you saw the potential in him. Do you ever feel like he felt that he was never going to meet that potential?

JUSTIN MARKS: Did I feel like he thought that?

Yes.

JUSTIN MARKS: Not for one second. Not for one second ever. I have almost never met a more determined, focused, hard-working race car driver in my 20 years in this sport.

Every single morning he wakes up and says, I am going to be the best version of myself I can be today, I’m going to do all the work I can possibly do today to win this race this weekend.

I think Travis will say the same thing. It’s amazing how consistent he is, how that continues, that fire continues to burn so bright even after stringing numerous tough races in a row together. Tough month last year. He’s just very, very impressive in that regard.

Q- Have you talked to Armando?

JUSTIN MARKS: I haven’t talked to him. But he was on the phone. You can always count on Ty Norris having him on the phone in Victory Lane. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.

Q- Is there any surprises so far with this team with Daniel and with Ross, Trackhouse, the accomplishments that you guys have had so far?

JUSTIN MARKS: What I tell people is I’m not surprised that we’re a winning race team because I wouldn’t have started this project if I didn’t think, truly believe, that the opportunity existed to build a new race team in this sport that could win. It’s just happened really quickly. That’s been the surprise, is how quickly it’s happened.

To me it kind of makes sense, too. We’ve got such great people that work so hard. The promise of this car is being delivered every single weekend. We have talks in the race, in the team, I have talks with myself. It’s like, Is this a moment in time or is Trackhouse arrived? I think we’ve arrived because we fundamentally invest in the things that I believe are going to be…

Literally Pitbull texting me right now.

Congrats. I can’t say that word. I’m taking a couple tequila shots right now. History in the making. See you soon. Step on the gas and haul ass.

Anyway, it’s happened very, very quickly. When you have this many people together working, supporting each other, focused, and are talented, these are the things that can happen.

Q- Tell the truth, were you nervous on the final lap?

JUSTIN MARKS: Of course. I have a long way to go before I get comfortable at the ends of these races when we’re leading. My colleagues have been doing this for a long time. I sort of operate under the assumption that a late caution always comes out and these races can devolve into total chaos. I sort of was half expecting that today.

But some days it’s just your time, it’s just your day. Everything lined up perfectly. Everybody on the 99 team did an awesome job. Great strategy, Travis ran a great strategy, Daniel drove a career race.

Q- Was the radio silent?

JUSTIN MARKS: It’s actually funny. The 99 radio is typically the opposite of silent. I think there were five words said the last half hour of that race. 10 to go, you didn’t hear anything for eight minutes, then it was five to go, then there was a bunch of screaming.

Q- This one is huge not only for Daniel but also Mexico. The team has been about unification, diversity. What does this mean?

JUSTIN MARKS: I mean, it’s big for all that. Trackhouse is a race team that anybody and everybody can be a fan of. We’ve made investments in the minority community with Pitbull’s schools, our great (indiscernible) night program, our STEM stuff.

To me this is sort of a representation of what America stands for. It’s a place you can come with big dreams and you can work hard to achieve those dreams. I always say that Daniel is one of one. A Mexican race car driver moving to America, can’t speak the language, to be a NASCAR Cup Series winner, that shows the amazing place we live.

Not only him, but Jose our lead engineer from Mexico, wasn’t here today, probably is killing him that he’s not here today. Truly an elite talent. It’s really great to be able to write those stories.

Q- Justin, Suarez is four points ahead of Cindric and 11 points of Kurt Busch. There’s 10 races left. Do you feel comfortable he’s in the Playoffs or is it going to be a scrap?

JUSTIN MARKS: I haven’t really thought about that yet to be honest. How many races are left? Eight?

10.

JUSTIN MARKS: I don’t know. I saw you ask Denny that question. I thought about it, not in our context, but just in general, is this going to be a season.

I don’t really feel like it’s gonna. Anything can happen. I don’t really feel like it’s going to be that way. I don’t think we think about that until there’s 16 winners and a race or more left.

THE MODERATOR: Justin, thank you so much.

JUSTIN MARKS: Thanks, everybody.

TRAVIS MACK, CREW CHIEF, NO. 99 ONX HOMES/RENU CAMARO ZL1 – Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: We’ll continue with questions for Travis.

Q- Travis, what does this one mean for you being involved with a guy that’s got their first win?

TRAVIS MACK: This is huge. Just taking it all in today. Really excited for Justin and Daniel, just really excited for all these team guys. I’m the lucky guy that gets to sit on top of the box and watch it all happen.

I’ve just had so much belief in Daniel and his capability of winning a race. We really believe in each other. You take two guys who have never won a Cup race, put us together, we’re both very, very hungry to win races. This is what you get.

Q- The last few laps can be crash, caution, green-white-checkered, are you sitting there thinking stay green? Are you praying?

TRAVIS MACK: I was so calm. Felt so confident coming in today. I think I stayed up studying last night till 12:30 West Coast time, that’s 3:30 East Coast time. I just felt so confident coming into today that we could get this done today.

Everything that has happened to us this year has led up to this moment. It’s taught us what we need to do, what we don’t need to do, and just execute this race the best we could. That’s what we did.

Q- Probably the biggest story is Trackhouse being the surprise of the year. Have you been surprised at the success?

TRAVIS MACK: Not really. This is what I do every year. Even last year, having the conversations with Justin, I think I was number two hire at Trackhouse, it was very exciting.

The first time I met with him, I was doubting if I should leave the Hendrick family, what I needed to do. I was really comfortable at Junior Motorsports. After I met with Justin, talked to him on the phone, I was so confident in what he was building.

I told him, You just give us the tools and you do you and I’m going to build us a great race team. We’re going to go to Daytona and get the pole. That’s how confident I was. I told him that. I think he believed in that. We believe in each other.

We went down there, had a top 10 effort. I wasn’t happy because we weren’t on the pole because I told him we would get the pole.

I was confident to get this win for Daniel and I’m excited to get it in Sonoma.

Q- Can you speak to the culture at Trackhouse right now? Two wins for Ross, one for Daniel. What is it like working there? Why is it working so well?

TRAVIS MACK: Just having fun. I’ve never been at a place that has had so much fun. We’re building fast race cars. Everybody is enjoying work. It’s just a great place to be right now. Team chemistry is amazing between the 1 and the 99. It really feels like one team building two cars, confident in each other and our capabilities of winning races, bringing the best cars to the racetrack every week.

Q- You said you have confidence in Daniel. Why?

TRAVIS MACK: First time I met with Daniel, I think a lot of crew chiefs in the past kind of doubted his capabilities. Around the garage you hear he shouldn’t be in the ride, this or that.

Once I met with him, I could see the drive in his face, in his eyes. Once we started becoming friends and talking to each other, I could see how hard he was working. He wanted this so bad. I was the same way.

Coming up as a crew chief, people doubted me being a crew chief. Not being an engineer, coming up through the mechanic, car chief role, there’s not many of us that has done that in the Cup Series. So people doubted me. They doubted him.

They put us together and I think we’re a great team.

Q- In the last part of this race, we saw teams that are at the front of the field with new names. Did that make the strategy any more difficult or is it just another car to you guys?

TRAVIS MACK: No, I think we played a perfect strategy. I didn’t feel like we had the best car coming into today. I think the 5 car was really good. 9 car was really good on long runs. So was the 4. All we had to do was execute. I knew we had a top five car. If everything worked out perfectly, made no mistakes on pit road, executed the race perfectly, we could have a day like we did today.

Q- Of all the victories, you mentioned a long journey, the engineer, where would you say this one ranks?

TRAVIS MACK: Yeah, I’m not an engineer. There’s not many of us that aren’t engineers in the sport today, especially with this car.

I trust my engineers on my team. I have really great engineers. Jose Velasco, Dustin and Troy. Those guys just work so hard. They make me look really good. I try to do the things, I’m dealing with the driver, the pit crew, the team, just trying to keep our team upbeat, moving the right direction, organized, prepared to come into the race weekends.

Coming up through the ranks at Hendrick, being a car chief, working so hard for this first win. This was actually my first win with Jeff Gordon. I believe in ’04 Sonoma was my first win on a Cup team. It’s very excited to get my very first win as a crew chief in Sonoma.

THE MODERATOR: Travis, congratulations and thank you.

TRAVIS MACK: Thank you.

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

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

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Recap – Sonoma

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Recap
Track: Sonoma Raceway
Race: Toyota / Save Mart 350
Date: June 12, 2022


No. 2 America’s Tire Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric

Start: 25th

Race Finish: 5th

Stage 1 Finish: 28th

Stage 2 Finish: 16th

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings: 18th (-174)

Race Rundown: Austin Cindric started the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in the 25th position and finished fifth on Sunday afternoon. The driver of the America’s Tire Ford Mustang fought slight handling conditions and made his first scheduled pit stop before the lap 25 stage caution. With a mix of pit strategy, Cindric finished the first stage in 28th. He restarted 16th and raced his way to 10th before crew chief Jeremy Bullins once again called to flip the stage and come to pit road. The No. 2 crew made minor adjustments to the America’s Tire Ford and Cindric finished the second stage in 16th. He restarted the race eighth on lap 60 and was scored sixth before making his final pit stop on lap 80. He was able to gain one more position to finish fifth. The result was Cindric’s second top-five finish of the season.

Cindric’s Thoughts: “I would say this weekend was a real team effort. I appreciate Jeremy (Bullins) and the Discount Tire team for believing in me with flipping the stages like we did when we probably could have taken a stage win and a bunch of stage points. We made a lot of adjustments and some bold decisions honestly, overnight. I am really happy for Daniel Suarez. To see a first-time winner, that isn’t great to have another first-time winner on the season and stacking up on those but otherwise, it was a really solid day and to do it in front of Discount Tire and America’s Tire folks who had a bunch of people out here today. It was good to come out of here with a top-five.”


No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 14th

Race Finish: 6th

Stage 1 Finish: 24th

Stage 2 Finish: 11th

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings: 4th (-25)

Race Rundown: Ryan Blaney started 14th and finished sixth in the No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. The team elected to pit prior to the end of Stage 1 for four tires and fuel. Blaney and the Menards crew elected to pit again prior to the stage end, finishing the stage in the 11th position but cycling into the top-five as the other leaders pitted. As the final stage progressed, Blaney found himself inside the top-five within striking distance of the leaders. As the tires began to wear, Blaney slipped out of the top-five, bringing home a sixth-place finish.

Blaney’s Thoughts: “We had decent speed but needed a little bit more. Struggled being tight early in the race and track position was tough to come by. At the end when the sun came out the track took a big swing which hurt our Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang. We’ll take a top 10 day and go into the off weekend and get ready for Nashville.”


No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang – Joey Logano

Start: 9th

Race Finish: 17th

Stage 1 Finish: 2nd

Stage 2 Finish: 1st (Second stage win of 2022)

Laps Led: 4

Point Standings: 5th (-30)

Race Rundown: Joey Logano started ninth and finished 17th in the No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. Logano and the Autotrader team were one of the few cars that made forward progress in the opening stage with track position proving to be at a premium. The team elected to remain on the track until the conclusion of the first stage and collect second place points. The team would again elect to run long, scoring the Stage 2 win as most of the field elected to pit during the stage. After playing for the stage points, Logano was forced into offensive mode trying to regain track position. The Autotrader Ford would soldier on and finish the race in the 17th position.

Logano’s Thoughts: “We had a good day in terms of stage points and getting a stage win. That was on our list of objectives going into the race. We just got trapped by that last caution which made it really tough to get that track position back. We didn’t have the fastest car this weekend, but we had a decent Autotrader Ford Mustang and got a playoff point.”

Petty GMS Race Recap: Sonoma Raceway

Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 34th

FINISH: 23rd

POINTS: 26th

Ty Dillon Post-Race Thoughts: “Our Allegiant Chevrolet needed some tweaks off the truck yesterday, so unfortunately we started behind with qualifying in the back. The adjustments our No. 42 team made before the race definitely helped and we kept working on it throughout the race. Track position was the key today though. Hopefully we learned a few things that we can apply to our next road course race in a few weeks. Our group will enjoy the off-weekend and get back to business for Nashville.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 33rd

FINISH: 22nd

POINTS: 16th

Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: “We just missed the mark this weekend with our FOCUSfactor Chevy. We made some adjustments after practice that didn’t really help us in qualifying. We put ourselves in a hole with where we qualified and decided to make additional changes to better our car for the race. Unfortunately, those changes didn’t help much and we fought the handling all day. We’ll go back to the shop and take the time to look over the notes and data to see where we can improve before we go to Road America in a couple of weeks.”

ABOUT PETTY GMS:

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

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

Stewart-Haas Racing: Save Mart 350k from Sonoma

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Save Mart 350k
Date: June 12, 2022
Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format: 110 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/30 laps/55 laps)
Race Winner: Daniel Suárez of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

SHR Race Finish:

● Kevin Harvick (Started 23rd, Finished 4th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 15th, Finished 13th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 21st, Finished 14th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 6th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)

SHR Points:

● Aric Almirola (11th with 423 points, 113 out of first)
● Kevin Harvick (12th with 416 points, 120 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (13th with 386 points, 150 out of first)
● Cole Custer (27th with 262 points, 274 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Harvick earned his fourth top-five and eighth top-10 of the season, It was his seventh top-five and 11th top-10 in 21 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.

● Harvick finished fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.

● Briscoe earned his eighth top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.

● Briscoe’s 13th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Sonoma – 17th, earned last June.

● Almirola earned his ninth top-15 of the season and his fourth top-15 in 10 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.

● Almirola finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and second in Stage 2 to earn nine more bonus points.

Race Notes:

● Daniel Suárez won the Save Mart 350k to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was 3.849 seconds.

● Suárez is the 12th different winner and the fourth first-time Cup Series winner in the 16 races run this season.

● Suárez joins Juan Pablo Montoya (June 2007) as the second driver to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race on the 1.99-mile Sonoma road course. He is the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the Cup Series, and the fifth different driver all-time not from the United States to win a Cup Series race, joining Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy).

● There were four caution periods for a total of 14 laps.

● Thirty-one of the 36 drivers in the Save Mart 350k finished on the lead lap.

● Chase Elliott remains the championship leader after Sonoma with a 16-point advantage over second-place Ross Chastain. Only 10 races remain in the regular season before the start of the 10-race, 16-driver NASCAR Playoffs.

Sound Bites:

“A few more laps and I think we would’ve had a top-10. Our long-run speed was really good today. The timing of the caution in the last stage wasn’t in our favor, so we had to battle back. Those last few laps we really had the speed. Proud of this Farmer John Ford team for putting together a really good points day. Ready for an off weekend.” – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang

“Another solid day taken away late after getting spun in turn 11. The guys brought a fast Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Mustang, but nothing to show for it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a year where so many things just don’t fall right. Ready to regroup after the off week and get it turned around.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Autodesk / HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series gets a well-deserved weekend off before returning to action on Sunday, June 26 for the Ally 400 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race starts at 5 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

CHEVY NCS AT SONOMA: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
JUNE 12, 2022

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES / RENU CAMARO ZL1
7th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1
8th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
9th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
11th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 TRUE VELOCITY CAMARO ZL1
12th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
15th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
16th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY/BETTER TOGETHER CAMARO ZL1
19th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 GOLD FISH CASINO SLOTS CAMARO ZL1
22nd ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
23rd TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1
25th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

  1. Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)
  2. Chris Buescher (Ford)
  3. Michael McDowell (Ford)
  4. Kevin Harvick (Ford)
  5. Austin Cindric (Ford)

Heading into the off week for the series, the NASCAR Cup Series will be back in action at Nashville Superspeedway with the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 26, at 5 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES / RENU CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 1st

THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN QUITE THE CELEBRATION. DANIEL SUAREZ, SINCE YOU WON YOUR XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP, IT HAS BEEN A LONG ROAD HERE IN THE CUP SERIES, DIFFERENT TEAMS, A LOT OF HEARTBREAK. HOW DO YOU PUT INTO WORDS THE RACE YOU HAD TODAY?

“It’s crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now. I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series. These guys believing in me – Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me get to this point. A lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t.

Just very happy we were able to make it work.”

I MENTIONED DIFFERENT TEAMS. TRACKHOUSE, SEEMED LIKE MAGIC FROM THE MOMENT YOU STARTED TOGETHER. WHAT HAS BEEN DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS TEAM FOR YOU?

“Their energy. They believe in me since day one. They believe in me. All the people, all the resources to make it happen.

We have Daniel’s Amigos over there. (Expletive) yeah.”

TALK TO THOSE DANIEL’S AMIGOS OVER THERE AND ALL THE DANIEL’S AMIGO’S WATCHING ON TV. TELL THEM IN SPANISH WHAT YOU’RE FEELING JUST NOW.

“(Answer in Spanish.) This is the first one of many.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 7th

OF COURSE YOUR TEAMMATE HAS BEEN WAITING HIS TURN SO PATIENTLY. WHAT DOES THIS MOMENT MEAN FOR YOU WATCHING ON AS THE TEAMMATE?

“Yeah, it’s Team Trackhouse all the way. I’m so happy for this group. Man, so good. The people behind the scenes that put in the time and effort to help us drivers. They’re just total team support. To be this new and special of a group, this is not supposed to happen. Another two fast Chevy’s and I couldn’t be prouder of Daniel (Suarez). I know what he is feeling right now and gosh, he’s so good. I’m so proud of him and so happy for him.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 9th

“Ended up ninth here at Sonoma. Good run for our team. Fought hard all day and got the balance right and the second half of the race was good. Happy with that and going into the off week with some good momentum.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 22nd

“We just missed the mark this weekend with our FOCUSfactor Chevy. We made some adjustments after practice that didn’t really help us in qualifying. We put ourselves in a hole with where we qualified and decided to make additional changes to better our car for the race. Unfortunately, those changes didn’t help much and we fought the handling all day. We’ll go back to the shop and take the time to look over the notes and data to see where we can improve before we go to Road America in a couple of weeks.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 35th

“Our Lenovo Chevy was strong this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. We started the race fifth and spent most of Stages 1 and 2 in and around the top five. We were running fourth with three laps remaining in Stage 2 when we made a green-flag stop. Unfortunately, we were caught speeding on pit road and had to restart at the tail end of the field to start Stage 3. We got mirrored back in traffic. Everyone was bunching up and another car ended up making contact with us. It destroyed our left-rear and we had to go to the garage for repairs. We made it back out, but finished 14 laps down in 35th. It’s definitely disappointing to get a finish like that after running so strong today.”

TEAM CHEVY – RACE QUICK NOTES

Stage One:

· A Chevrolet front row led the field to the green in today’s Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, with Kyle Larson capturing a series-leading fourth pole at the track; joined by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott on the front row.

· Varying pit strategies in the closing laps of Stage One, Cliff Daniels kept the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 out until the end of the stage.

· Defending race winner, Kyle Larson, led all 25 laps of Stage One, giving Larson his second stage win of 2022.

· Team Chevy Top-10 of Stage One: Kyle Larson (Stage Winner), Justin Haley (4th), Josh Bilicki (7th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9th).

Stage Two:

· Chase Elliott, who pitted prior to the conclusion of the Stage One, capitalized on track position, leading the field to the green from the pole position.

· Leading 26 laps of the 30-lap Stage Two, Alan Gustafson brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 down pit road in the closing laps of the stage, with a long stop causing Elliott to lose track position. Issued a penalty for pitting outside the box, Elliott was forced to restart at the rear of the field to start the Final Stage.

· Team Chevy Top-10 of Stage Two: Daniel Suarez (4th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9th).

Post-Race Fast Facts:

· Suarez’s triumph is also the eighth of the season for the Camaro ZL1 and the 13th victory for Chevrolet at Sonoma Raceway, both of which are manufacturer-leading feats.

· The win is Suarez’s first-career victory in 195 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.

· It also marks the third NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Trackhouse Racing in 2022.

· With his victory, Suarez secures a spot into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Field.

· The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 822 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

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

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

Burton Finishes 28th at Sonoma

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team entered Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway with the goal of earning Stage points and scoring a good finish, as they did earlier this year at Circuit of the Americas.

They wound up with a mixed bag as they scored Stage points in both Stages but took the checkered flag in 28th place.

Burton, who started the race from 26th place, ran inside the top 25 for much of the first Stage, then stayed on the track when others pitted near the end of that 25-lap segment. He moved up to sixth place and finished the Stage there, earning five points.

After making his pit stop, he rejoined the race in 33rd place. The DEX Imaging team employed the same strategy in Stage Two, ending that segment in seventh place and collecting four more points.

Burton lined up 24th for the start of final segment of the race and made his final pit stop early, with 36 laps remaining.

When the caution flag flew with 27 laps remaining, and other drivers made their pit stops, Burton moved up to 15th place for the ensuing restart.

He ran inside the top 25 for much of the remainder of the race, which saw just two yellow flags for incidents on the track, one of them coming in the final segment. In the closing laps, Burton lost several spots to drivers who made later stops for fresh rubber and wound up 28th, which gave him a total of 18 points earned for the day.

Next up for Burton and the No. 21 team is the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 26.

About DEX Imaging
DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES:
Reducing Operating Costs
Reducing Paper Consumption
Increasing Productivity

DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

The Difficulty of Writing an Essay about Cars

Photo by Lisa Fotios

Transportation is essential for people to run their businesses and increase their productivity. It is due to this fact that cars have become a part of our daily lives. The time that people spend moving from one to another is greatly reduced by cars. If vehicles hadn’t been invented till now, we could likely be way behind in terms of growth and development. The role that cars have played over the years cannot be stressed enough. If your professor has requested you to write an essay about cars, don’t fret. We are here to help you achieve this goal. Here are a few simple tips that you should use when writing an essay about cars.

Why is it difficult to write an essay about cars?

It’s difficult for the modern-day student to spend hours studying the invention of cars and how they have evolved over the years. Apart from that, relating it to technological advancements and other important fields is not easy. However, it’s essential if you want your essay to be professional.

Choosing a good topic is not easy. However, you have to find something about cars that ignites your interest. Spending a lot of time and energy writing something that you are not passionate about can seem like a burden. Since you want to get good grades, it’s important to choose a topic that you love. In the car market, there are a lot of interesting subjects that you can choose to discuss in your essay.

Tips to write an essay about cars

When writing an essay, you should keep in mind that such papers play an important role in assessing your critical thinking skills. To write a good essay about cars, you need to:

  1. Understand the question

You write an essay to respond to someone’s questions. Your essay must directly address a particular question for you to get good grades. To address a particular topic, you need to go through the guidelines and understand what the professor requires you to do. In most cases, essay questions have three components. They include:

  • Limiting terms: The scope of the topic that you should focus on
  • Content terms: Important concepts that are task-specific
  • Directive terms: What you are required to do about the task – analyze, compare, discuss or define
  1. Brainstorm the topic

You cannot write a good essay unless you have a clue of what you are required to write. Brainstorming is one of the most effective processes for coming up with ideas. All you have to do is sit, read best essay writing service reviews, think, and write down your ideas. To brainstorm and come up with great ideas, you should:

  • Write down anything that comes to mind. Don’t focus on narrowing down things now
  • Use the mind mapping method to come up with ideas. This involves writing down an idea in the middle of your paper and creating clusters of ideas that relate to it
  • Brainstorming will help you understand your topic deeply and find connections between different points or concepts
  • With a list of topics on hand, you should go for the one that answers the question directly. You should avoid too broad or narrow topics
  1. Conduct extensive research

After brainstorming and choosing the best topic on cars, you need to conduct extensive research. Using your phone or computer to search for information online and visiting the library regularly will help you understand your topic well. Always keep your research organized to make things easier for you when it’s time to refer. You’ll be surprised by the number of sources that you can find on the web today.

  1. Write your thesis statement

The thesis statement is the foundation of your essay. It is usually made up of one sentence and it is focused on what your essay is all about. You should keep in mind that all points in your essay should point back to this central statement. The thesis statement shouldn’t be too broad or narrow. There are a lot of thesis statement samples online that you can find in seconds using your phone or computer. If you are having a hard time coming up with a thesis statement, don’t be afraid to seek help from experts.

Conclusion

Writing an essay about cars is not a walk in the park. However, by using the right tips and methods, you can greatly increase your chances of success. Writing is a skill. And like any skill, it requires practice and consistency. The more you write, the better you become. If you don’t have the time to practice or write an essay, you should consider seeking help from experts. There are a lot of skilled writers who are ready to help you achieve your goals. The best part about working with an expert is you’ll get to learn about their ways of writing at an affordable price and impress your professor.

How Car Dealers Use Live Chat to Sell More Cars

Photo by Łukasz Nieścioruk on Unsplash

Car sales, in general, are looking healthy in 2022. After the pandemic caused an inevitable slide in car sales starting in 2020, but the market has now picked up. It has not only stabilized, but it is also showing good signs of growth.

Part of the reason for this is the rise of eCommerce. Of course, generally speaking, eCommerce has been used for retailers who market clothing, electrical goods, and even groceries. Now though, car dealers are looking into the possibilities of selling cars online.

Live chat technology has been adopted. The live chat software market was valued at $755 million in 2020 but is expected to grow to $1.7 billion over the next decade. Allied Market Research reports that there is an expected growth of a CAGR of 8.8% from 2021 up to 2030.

This type of software is common on many websites today, but how do car dealers use it, and can it increase sales?

How can car dealers use live chat to sell vehicles?

Some chat systems are treated suspiciously by visitors to websites due to the feeling that there isn’t a real person behind the chat interface. Indeed, chatbots are rife on the internet, and while they can serve some purpose, they are unlikely to help sell cars.

Buying a car is generally seen as a large investment. They are one of the larger purchases that someone will make, and buyers tend to seek out advice and take their time before making a purchase.

A real-live chat service such as the one from the Visitor Chat site will offer operators who are knowledgeable in the automotive industry. Instead of having questions answered by a chatbot, an interested buyer can speak to a real person who understands the industry at any time of the day and night.

Why use live chat in a car dealership?

As mentioned, live chat can provide a 24/7 service. This means that someone who is looking at a used car dealer in reno no longer needs to waste time traveling to a dealership to ask questions.

This doesn’t mean that the dealership is cut out of the loop though. At any time in a conversation, the chat operator can hand over the line of communication to a dealer’s internal staff to finalize a sale.

The ease of access to information can help to improve customer satisfaction levels. This in turn can help to generate repeat business for a dealership. It saves time for both the dealer and the potential buyer.

Here are some other reasons for using live chat in eCommerce car retail

Helps to increase sales

Consumers today are more knowledgeable about the products they are purchasing. Traditionally, it would be standard for someone to visit a dealer and perhaps be hit with the hard sell. Now though, consumers can find out what they need to know online.

Most people would prefer to completely avoid the sales pitch and they head straight online to make their purchase. Live chat offers a way to get some extra questions answered, and make a purchase.

Book test drives

Live chat can be used to book a test drive without the need to visit the dealers. The car can be booked for a suitable time and delivered to a person’s workplace or home.

Order car to be delivered or picked up at dealers

After a test drive has been carried out and a purchase has been made, the live chat can be used to once again order the car to be delivered. Alternatively, the buyer may wish to visit the dealership for the final handover of the keys, and this can be done through live chat.

Saves time in general

It isn’t unusual for someone to have many questions about such a large purchase. Live chat means that the consumer can return to ask as many questions as they need without physically traveling anywhere.

And, with integration through Messenger, SMS, and other platforms, access is free and easy for the consumer.

Will 2022 see more car dealers using live chat?

One of the more effortless ways to sell a used car is to do so online, so it makes sense that professional car dealers would investigate the possibility of doing the same. It can seem odd that such an expensive purchase would be made online, but the dealer’s web portal can make such a transaction simple and painless.

For instance, once a buyer has checked out the specs on the car, they can move on to live chat to ask further questions, book a test drive, etc.

Then, once satisfied, they can apply for credit online through the dealer’s site, and get an automatic response. If everything is good, the purchase can be made then and there, and the delivery date booked.

For the car dealership, there will be fewer overheads as everything is carried out online. Fewer man-hours are needed, as no time-wasting forms are filled in at the dealers. While 95% of buyers still make car purchases at a dealer’s, that 5% will continue to grow.

Embracing live chat will help to snare a share of the current 5% of eCommerce car buyers, and help a dealer to grow in a way that wouldn’t have been considered not so long ago.

Summary

The automotive digital retail industry was worth $14.6 billion in 2019. This was dwarfed by the general automotive market which surpassed $2 trillion in the same year. Nevertheless, the eCommerce sector of automotive sales is gaining traction now.

Consumers have shown that they prefer to make purchases online in many cases. The only concern is being able to still reach someone knowledgeable to answer queries and receive some support. Live chat can help a car dealer continue with high levels of customer support without standards dropping.

To make this work though, the dealer needs to choose a live chat service that has operators who know the industry. The consumer needs to feel that they are talking to someone associated with the dealers and not a random person who is not invested, or even worse, a chatbot.