NEWS RELEASE

This Week in Motorsports: September 27-October 3, 2021
· NCS/NXS/NCWTS: Talladega Superspeedway – October 2-3
· ARCA: Salem Speedway – October 2

PLANO, Texas (September 29, 2021) – It’s time for the final superspeedway race weekend of the year as NASCAR’s top three series make their way to Talladega, while the ARCA Sioux Chief Showdown champion will be crowned in Salem, Indiana.

NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NCWTS

Hamlin locked in… Denny Hamlin has clinched his spot in the Round of 8 with his second consecutive opening round win, this time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hamlin has proven to be one of the best at superspeedways as well with three Daytona 500 victories. Hamlin is also the defending Talladega race winner as he drove past Matt DiBenedetto on the final lap to earn his second victory at the Alabama superspeedway last October.

Strong starts for Busch, Truex… It was a strong start to the Round of 12 for both Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. as both earned top-five finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Both drivers sit 30 points over the cutoff heading into Talladega.

Xfinity Series drivers in position to advance… After earning top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all three Toyota Xfinity Series Playoff drivers – Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones are in position to advance to the second round. Jones made the biggest move from below the cutoff to 10 points to the good with his sixth-place finish in Las Vegas.

Ferrucci returns… Santino Ferrucci will be back behind the wheel of the Sam Hunt Racing Toyota Supra this weekend, making his superspeedway debut. In six starts this season, the former Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year has been impressive – scoring four top-15 finishes.

Toyota looking to sweep Truck Championship Four… With two races remaining in the Round of 8, Toyota drivers are currently in position to sweep the Championship 4. Ben Rhodes regained the points lead with a second-place finish at Las Vegas. He is followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen and Matt Crafton. Friesen has had an incredible run in the Playoffs – finishing all four events inside the top-six.

Toyota Truck Manufacturer Championship… After a stellar season in the Truck Series, Toyota is looking to potentially clinch the Truck Series Manufacturer’s Championship at Talladega Superspeedway. With victories in 14 of the 19 Truck Series events this season, Toyota has clinched the tiebreaker and needs to hold an 80-point advantage leaving the superspeedway. Currently, Toyota holds a 76-point advantage over Chevrolet.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Toyota Drivers in Contention for Sioux Chief Championship… Either Ty Gibbs or Corey Heim is going to win the Sioux Chief Showdown Championship this weekend at Salem (Indiana) Speedway. With six victories in the nine events thus far, Gibbs holds a 17-point advantage over Heim heading into the weekend.

Stay Connected

https://www.toyota.com/racing @ToyotaRacing.com @ToyotaRacing

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 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

Through its 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.

Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Sunday Race Info:
Race: YellaWood 500
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 3/2:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 188 laps/500.08 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Track Length: 2.66 Miles
Banking: 33 degrees

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Las Vegas Recap: Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team scored their second win of the Playoffs and claimed their spot in the Round of 8 with a dominant win Sunday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hamlin led more than half of the race and claimed the Stage 2 win before pulling away in Stage 3 to lead the race’s final 39 laps. Crew chief Chris Gabehart and the #11 team got the FedEx Office Toyota handling better and better as the race wore on, and the pit crew gained Hamlin positions on pit road with fast stops as well. The win is Hamlin’s first at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval and his second of the 2021 season.

Talladega Preview: Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team now head into the more precarious Round of 12 races at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval knowing they’ve already advanced to the next round. First up is the 2.66-mile superspeedway at Talladega on Sunday. In 31 career starts at the tri-oval track, Hamlin has recorded two wins and nine top-5 finishes, including a win at the fall race one year ago.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Talladega Superspeedway

Races: 31
Wins: 2
Poles: 0
Top-5: 9
Top-10: 13
Laps Led: 389
Avg. Start: 16.4
Avg. Finish: 17.2

Hamlin Conversation – Talladega:

Do you feel a sense of relief to know you’re already moving into the Round of 8?

“Definitely. Especially with the rest of this crazy round coming up. Talladega and the Roval are places where you don’t always have control over your own result, so it’s good to know we don’t have to worry about what might happen these next two weeks.”

Do you consider Kyle Larson your biggest competition in winning a title?

“We are our own competition. As long as we don’t make mistakes, we’re going to be OK. When we have clean races and don’t make any mistakes, we’re contending for race wins. We can’t really focus on one guy. I have to focus on the process that gives me a chance to race for a win. I just want an opportunity to go to Phoenix and have a chance.”

FedEx Express Along for the Ride at Talladega: Two Category 4 hurricanes just five weeks apart in September/October 2020 decimated Lake Charles, La., including the LCHA station. Despite catastrophic losses, station employees rallied as a team to provide humanitarian relief to the community while operating out of a makeshift trailer with limited connectivity. Fast forward to 2021, Lake Charles and surrounding communities once again were hit with two hurricanes just weeks apart, including another Category 4. Once again, the LCHA team responded by providing support and relief to the communities of Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Supporting the communities where they live and work epitomizes the FedEx culture value of CARING and is why FedEx Express is proud to honor its Lake Charles employees by featuring the letters LCHA on the B-post of the FedEx #11 at Talladega Superspeedway’s YellaWood 500.

FedEx Office – Closest to Talladega Superspeedway: 117 Resource Center Pkwy, Birmingham, AL 35242, (205) 981-0077

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Talladega II

NASCAR returns to Sweet Home Alabama this weekend for what is sure to be an action-packed Sunday afternoon at the 2.66-mile Superspeedway. Jack Roush has five Cup wins at the track and eight overall, and he has five top-10s in the past five outings, with laps led in those five consecutive races.

YellaWood 500
Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. ET

NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Violet Defense Ford Mustang

Vegas Recap, Talladega Preview

· Newman finished 20th last weekend at Las Vegas in a race that saw just one natural caution across 400 miles, while Buescher finished 25th.
· Kohler Generators returns to Newman’s Ford for Talladega, and will run a pink number on the roof and sides in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month which kicks off this weekend.
· Violet Defense is back for its second-straight primary on the No. 17 at Talladega.

Recently at Dega

An RFR Ford has led laps in five straight Talladega events, and Jack Roush has five top-10s in that stretch. Take out a controversial post-race penalty for Chris Buescher last fall, and the tally would be six. Going back to his first Talladega race with RFR in 2019, Ryan Newman finished seventh, then followed that with second, 24th, sixth and 13th. Buescher ran sixth in this race a season ago, and was aligned for another sixth-place run in the fall before the penalty gave him a 22nd-place finish officially.

Photo Finish at the Line

It came down to the final few inches for Newman two years ago in the fall race, as he finished second behind Ryan Blaney by .007 seconds, the sixth-closest finish in NASCAR history. Newman lined up fifth on the inside line for the final restart with three laps to go. After a four-car group went single-file coming to the white flag, Newman took the lead and led coming out of turn four and through the tri-oval before Blaney snuck to his inside just before the start/finish line. It was a long 188 laps for the entire field as rain set in after 57 laps were completed, postponing the finish to Monday afternoon.

Running Clear Across Alabama

Roush Fenway has seen its fair share of success at the Alabama track, amassing 275 starts, eight wins, 44 top-fives and 94 top-10s across NASCAR’s three major touring series. Roush machines have also tallied seven poles, including three in cup action, and have led more than 1500 laps.

Winning in Greenbow

Roush Fenway has won in all three of NASCAR’s major series at Talladega. The team won its first race at Talladega in the NCS event in the spring of 1995. Former Roush Fenway driver Mark Martin won for the organization in all three series at the 2.66-mile oval.

Most recently, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. piloted his Fifth Third Bank Ford to victory lane four years ago when the NCS rolled through Talladega for the organization’s eighth win at the historic track.

Fastest Chicken in the South

Former Roush Fenway driver Mark Martin won the fastest Cup race ever recorded on May 10, 1997 at Talladega piloting the No. 6 Ford. Martin, who held off NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, started from the 18th position and led 47 laps en route to the victory. The race saw 26 lead changes and had an average speed of 188.354 mph.

Tale of the Tape

Roush Fenway has started 216 NCS races at Talladega with 77 top-10 and 37 top-five finishes along with three poles. Former drivers Mark Martin (1995, 1997), Jamie McMurray (2009), Matt Kenseth (2012) and Stenhouse are responsible for RFR’s combined five Cup wins and overall a Jack Roush Ford has led 1519 laps at the 2.66-mile track.

Roush Fenway Talladega Wins

1995-1 Martin Cup
1997-1 Martin Cup
1997 Martin NXS
2006 Martin Truck
2009 Ragan NXS
2009-2 McMurray Cup
2012-2 Kenseth Cup
2017-1 Stenhouse Cup

Team: No. 17 Violet Defense Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 500.08 miles, 188 laps, Stages: 60-60-68
YellaWood 500 – Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Buescher at Talladega Superspeedway

• Buescher makes his 13th start at Talladega on Sunday where he has an average finish of 20.5 with one top-10, which came in the 2020 spring race when he ran sixth.
• Last fall he crossed the line sixth, but was ultimately credited with a 22nd-place finish after a controversial review and subsequent penalties.
• Buescher has two Xfinity starts at Talladega with a runner-up result in 2014 followed by a sixth-place run in 2015.

Luke Lambert at Talladega Superspeedway

• Lambert will call his 19th Cup race from Talladega on Sunday, where in 18 prior starts he has an average finish of 15.1 with seven top-10s, four of which were inside the top five.
• Overall Lambert has two runner-up results, two fifth-place finishes, and three additional top-10s. Most recently he finished 22nd last fall with Buescher.
• Lambert called one NXS race with Elliott Sadler in 2012 finishing 10th after starting on the pole.

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Talladega:
“It’s no secret anymore that anything can happen on Superspeedway tracks, and that’s definitely been proven lately, especially in the scenarios this race offers in the fall. I think we made a pretty good statement in the summer Daytona race, and even last fall at Talladega we were there and were on the wrong end of an unfortunate situation. We’re confident and look forward to a good day Sunday with Violet Defense on board.”

Last Time Out
Buescher finished 25th last weekend in Las Vegas.

On the Car
Violet Defense – an Orlando-based germ-killing company with patented UV technology – makes its second-straight appearance on the No. 17 this weekend. They will switch to the No. 6 as the primary partner for the Texas and Kansas races, and will continue to serve as a partner through the 2023 season as part of the multi-year partnership.

About Violet Defense

Violet Defense uses UV disinfection to protect everyday spaces from harmful pathogens by killing up to 99.9% of E. coli, Salmonella, MRSA, C. diff., Norovirus, C. auris, and coronavirus. Violet Defense’s technology is the only known Pulsed Xenon solution that can be installed into a room full-time, creating a continuous way to address disinfection needs of all types of settings. For more information, visit www.violetdefense.com or follow us on Facebook (@violetdefense) or LinkedIn (@violetdefensetechnology).

Team: No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: 500.08 miles, 188 laps, Stages: 60-60-68
YellaWood 500 – Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Talladega Superspeedway

• Newman makes his 40th Cup Series start on the high banks of Talladega this Sunday where he has 16 top-10s and an average finish of 18.4.
• Since joining RFR in 2019, Newman has been in the mix in every race finishing seventh in the 2019 spring race, second that fall, sixth last fall and 13th this spring. Overall, three of his top-10s have come in the last five races.
• Newman’s past two fall events have Talladega have been particular kind to the 20-year veteran as he ran second to Ryan Blaney in 2019 in the sixth-closest finish in NASCAR history, and followed that up with sixth last fall.
• In addition to his Cup results, Newman also made one Xfinity start at Talladega in 2009, finishing second after qualifying on the pole.

Scott Graves at Talladega Superspeedway

• Talladega by far stands as Graves’ track statistically with an average finish of 11th and five top-10s in 10 starts.
• Graves led Ricky Stenhouse Jr., to a third-place run in the 2013 fall race, and most recently led Newman to three top-10s in the last five outings.
• Graves also called three NXS events at Talladega, all of which were top-10s. He led Chris Buescher to a runner-up result in 2014 and followed that with a sixth-place run a year later.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Talladega:
“Talladega and Superspeedway racing will always be a toss-up as you never know what can happen other than there will be chaos and you just have to avoid it. We’ve been pretty fortunate lately to be in the hunt multiple times, and we’re confident we can do that again, just have to be there at the end and make smart moves to hopefully put ourselves in victory lane.”

Last Time Out
Newman finished 20th last weekend at Las Vegas in a 400-mile race that saw just one natural caution fly.

On the Car

Kohler Generators returns to the No. 6 Ford Mustang this weekend for the big race at Talladega. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month kicking off this weekend, Newman will run a pink number on the No. 6.

About KOHLER Generators
KOHLER Generators is a leading manufacturer of automatic standby generators, which connect to the electrical system of a home or a business and quickly restore power following an outage to provide security and peace of mind for everyday life. KOHLER whole home generators are permanently installed outside a home, similar to a central air conditioning (AC) unit. The generator operates on natural gas or liquid propane (LP) and is wired into a home’s electrical system. When power is lost from unexpected events such as severe weather storms, the standby generator automatically kicks in – generally within seconds – and can power hard-wired systems and appliances including air conditioning, heat, medical equipment, Internet and Wi-Fi, security systems and lighting. KOHLER Generators is part of privately held Kohler Co., headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin. The company provides complete power systems including portable, residential, industrial, and marine generators; automatic transfer switches; switchgear; monitoring controls; and accessories for emergency, prime power and energy-management applications. Kohler Power Systems has delivered energy solutions for markets worldwide since 1920. Visit KOHLERGenerators.com, facebook.com/KOHLERPower, or Twitter at @KOHLERPower. or more information.

About Kohler Co.
Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies comprised of nearly 35,000 associates. Kohler is a global leader in the manufacturing of kitchen and bath products; engines and power systems; premier cabinetry, tile and lighting; and owner/operator of two of the world’s finest five-star hospitality and golf resort destinations in Kohler, Wisconsin, and St. Andrews, Scotland.

LANDON CASSILL
Talladega Advance
No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry

Event Overview

● Event: YellaWood 500 (Round 31 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 3
● Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
● Layout: 2.66-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 188 laps/500 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 60 laps / Final Stage: 68 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● NASCAR Cup Series veteran Landon Cassill and partner Carnomaly return to the No. 96 Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing (GBR) for the second time during Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a special paint scheme on the No. 96 GBR Toyota this weekend will recognize a pair of individuals and their respective battles with cancer.

● Trisha Fennell, the sister-in-law of Carnomaly founder and CEO Scott Heninger, and 11-year-old Avery Pacheco are the individuals recognized on the No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota this weekend. Both are from Lewisville Texas, near the Dallas-Fort Worth-area headquarters of Carnomaly.

● Fennell is a two-time breast cancer survivor and her personal journey began when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2018. Being diagnosed twice with breast cancer was and is a physical and emotional journey for Fennell and she has learned that her new normal could be different from day to day. Alongside her husband and two young children, she stayed with her daily routine and activities as much as possible throughout her treatment, and is grateful for her strength and support system through her family and friends. Fennell is a true believer that you should take cancer head on and lean into it. A favorite quote she stands by is, “She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails.”

● Pacheco was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in August 2019. Up until two weeks before her diagnosis, she was a completely healthy 9-year-old. She started the fourth grade and, like always, spent several nights at the cheer gym tumbling, stunting, and training with her team. She began complaining of pain in her leg and lower back and, days later, could no longer walk without help. After leukemia was confirmed, she had surgery to place a port in her chest that began a 30-month treatment plan, which has involved countless chemotherapy treatments, spinal taps, bone marrow biopsies, blood draws, chemo side effects, months of physical therapy learning to walk again and regain her strength, and multiple hospital stays. She is in her last phase of treatment and long-term maintenance with a just a few months of chemo left. Pacheco started middle school this fall and again is busy doing what she loves most, competitive cheer. Her positive attitude, strength and courage throughout her treatment has led to her new nickname of “brAVERY” among her family and friends.

● Sunday’s 500-mile race on the 2.66-mile Talladega oval will be the 326th of Cassill’s Cup Series career dating back to his debut on June 13, 2010 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. His start in the Carnomaly Toyota Aug. 29 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway was his first in the Cup Series since the 2019 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 32-year-old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was running at the front of the pack in the latter stages of that Daytona race with his fellow Toyota drivers when he was caught up in a multicar accident less than 20 laps from the finish. Sunday’s race at Talladega will be Cassill’s 18th Cup Series start at the track with best previous finishes of 11th scored in the 2014 and 2016 spring races.

● Carnomaly, the world’s leading automotive crypto company with an eye on revolutionizing the future of the automotive industry, made its first appearance as a NASCAR Cup Series primary team partner on the No. 96 GBR Toyota Aug. 28 at Daytona. Carnomaly’s fleet of tech solutions is designed to bring digital innovation to the automotive industry through the power of blockchain and crypto technology. Through the company’s innovation, Carnomaly is on a path to change the way consumers buy, sell, shop, report and finance new or used vehicles.

● The No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry will be making GBR’s 80th start since joining the Cup Series as a part-time team in 2017 and its seventh start of 2021.Team owner Marty Gaunt’s almost two-decades-long relationship with Toyota dates back to his ownership of Toyota-powered Clean Line Racing in the Truck Series, which became Red Horse Racing, as well as his executive role in the formation of Red Bull’s nascent Toyota-powered Cup Series team. Gaunt’s Toyota ties strengthened after the 2008 season, when he purchased Triad Racing Development, which leased Toyota engines across NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Truck series and continues to be NASCAR’s exclusive distributor of Toyota parts as Triad Racing. Gaunt founded GBR in 2010, with his eponymous team starting out in the Canada-based NASCAR Pinty’s Series and the U.S.-based NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Its first driver, Jason Bowles, scored GBR’s maiden victory in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, with the precursor to that win being the pole position in track-record time at the 2011 Streets of Toronto 100. After seven years competing in NASCAR’s development divisions, Gaunt stepped up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017.

● Sunday’s race will be the eighth on the Talladega oval for the GBR Toyota. Parker Kligerman drove it to a best finish of 15th in the October 2019 race. In April, 20-year-old Harrison Burton took the reins of the GBR Toyota at Talladega in history-making fashion, becoming the first driver born in the 2000s to make a Cup Series start. Burton had a strong run, restarting as high as seventh in the closing laps of the race before getting shuffled back to 20th at the checkered flag.

Landon Cassill, Driver of the No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing

You’re back in the No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota after a strong run that ended abruptly at Daytona. What are your thoughts as you head to Talladega this weekend?

“Daytona was incredible. It felt so great to get back in the Cup car and, even more specifically, to drive a Cup car with that caliber of equipment. That was the best-driving car I’ve had at Daytona in a long time – it was the nicest car, the fastest car. We put ourselves in position to be able to have a great finish. We were right where we needed to be, with all the other Toyotas in the top-five with less than 20 laps to go and that’s where you want to be. But ‘Daytona’ does happen and I feel like there’s always something you can do as a driver and I always take responsibility for my own racecar, but it is a tough place. It motivates me even more for Talladega because I know we have the speed and I’m comfortable with this package and I’m comfortable with this Carnomaly Toyota.”

You said you were leaving Daytona trying to figure out what you could’ve done differently. Did you get it sorted out in your mind?

“I think it just kind of became more clear to me how the race was playing out and it confirmed the best strategy for me to advance through the field, especially during green-flag pit cycles. That’s something I’ll remember for Talladega because I do feel like Talladega is even more likely to have a green-flag pit cycle than Daytona, so we’ll definitely keep an eye on that. And I think my emphasis with being with the Toyotas for those green-flag pit stops will be even more important.”

After knowing Marty Gaunt for such a long time, what was it like to final work with Marty and his team for the first time?

“I think, for the most part, it was maybe confirmation about what I already knew about Marty and his team – they’re first-class and they’re a top-notch group. Racing at the superspeedways is a very complicated creature in the moment, but everything else leading up to it is pretty simple. They’re obviously great folks and they put together a great car. It’s confirmation, again, of everything I’ve already known about.”

To the casual observer, Daytona and Talladega appear very similar on paper and with how the racing appears on television. But, as a NASCAR veteran, would you agree?

“They’re just completely different racetracks, and that’s cool because superspeedway racing is such a special creature. It’s awesome to have two very different versions of superspeedway racing between the two tracks. Talladega is just a lot wider and it feels bigger because it’s so much wider, so running three-wide is so much easier. In fact, running four-wide is even a possibility there, and I would definitely expect to see that.”

Since it’s wider and it feels bigger, safe to say you’re more comfortable racing at Talladega?

“It just has its own characteristics. I wouldn’t say it’s more comfortable because you can just end up in a tighter group of more cars. The track is easier to drive on its own, so that can be considered comfortable. But, ultimately, it’s not any more comfortable than Daytona, definitely not with 40 cars out there.”

What was it like working with the other Toyota drivers for the first time at Daytona, and how might that help you at Talladega?

“A lot of it was really with the track and executing on the plan that they set out to do. That was the best thing for me. As a driver, I hate to say I was to do as I was told, but they’re a smart bunch, they brought a fast car, they had a strategy, and my job was to execute on it. I was happy to be in that role and I’ll be happy to do it again on Sunday at Talladega.”

You’re representing Carnomaly for the second time ever in the Cup Series. How has that experience been for you and your partner?

“Carnomaly has just been over the moon about it. They loved the exposure they got out of it. Their community had a lot of energy around the racecar and it was such a great moment for Carnomaly. I think if we can get their car out front again and get it on TV again, they may feel even better. Scott (Heninger, founder and CEO) from Carnomaly was at Daytona and he’ll be at Talladega again. I think he’s definitely caught the racing bug.”

Talk about the special paint scheme your racecar will be featuring at Talladega this weekend.

“With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to take the opportunity to recognize a couple of people close to Carnomaly who have fought the disease over the past few years. We have pink and gold ribbons along both sides of the car – pink for breast cancer and gold for childhood cancer. Trisha Fennell’s name is on the pink ribbon as she is a two-time cancer survivor and the sister-in-law of Scott Heninger, the founder and CEO of Carnomaly. Avery Pacheco is in the latter stages of her two-and-a-half-year battle with leukemia, which was diagnosed when she was just 9 years old. Both are true inspirations to their friends and family and everyone who knows them. And both are from Lewisville (Texas), which is near Carnomaly’s headquarters in Plano. Carrying the names of these two ladies will give us added incentive to go out and get a really strong finish in their honor on Sunday afternoon.”

Champion Driver Unveils Plans for NASCAR Industry to Recognize Breast Cancer Awareness

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 28, 2021) – NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) veteran driver Kurt Busch unveiled his Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro with colored window nets; specifically, pink window nets, a unique look for his or any NASCAR race car. The 2004 NCS champion announced plans for the special window nets, dubbed “Window of Hope”, offering each team in the NCS field the opportunity to display a pink window net at next month’s running of the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 (The ROVAL) at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). The inspiration for “Window of Hope” came from one of Busch’s young fans to show support for breast cancer survivors and those continuing to battle breast cancer.

In September of 2019 Kurt Busch received a letter from a young fan, Mason Bradley, expressing how big of a fan he was of the 2004 champion, and his hopes to one day meet Busch in-person. Mason’s letter included a hand-drawn image of Busch’s No. 1 Chevy and conclude, “maybe you could do the window net pink”. Bradley’s request for the pink window net was an inspiration to support others, like his mother Stephanie, who was battling breast cancer at the time; she is now in remission. The note resonated with Busch and set the wheels-in-motion to try and make the pink window net idea a reality.

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season presented many challenges for the industry and hopes of making the pink window nets a reality, were put on hold. Through hours of commitment and support from NASCAR, The NASCAR Foundation and Thermal Control Products, “Window of Hope”, will finally become a reality this year at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Part of the initiative will feature an online auction through the support of The NASCAR Foundation. Following the ROVAL race, each participating driver will sign their window net which will be auctioned with the proceeds benefiting breast cancer research and treatment. Proceeds from the campaign will be used to offset out-of-pocket expenses associated with providing care for families currently facing a breast cancer diagnosis. NASCAR fans can go to www.NASCARfoundation.org/pinknets to place a bid and support “Window of Hope”.

About The NASCAR Foundation

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc. (NASCAR) established The NASCAR Foundation in January 2006 to support initiatives that positively affect the lives of children throughout the United States. The 501(c) (3) non-profit entity partners with medical experts and other charitable organizations to fund children’s health care programs. The NASCAR Foundation has cumulatively donated nearly $40 million to reach more than 1.4 million children. For more information on The NASCAR Foundation, visit NASCARfoundation.org. Follow The NASCAR Foundation on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/NASCARFoundation or on Twitter at @NASCAR_FDN.

About Thermal Control Products

Thermal Control Products (TCP) specializes in custom design and execution of a wide variety of thermal and protective components and heat shield products. TCP works with clients across several different industries including motorsports, military, aerospace, aviation and engineering. Our insulation and heat shield products are used domestically and internationally, with a focus on providing exceptional solutions and service.