Bristol Motor Speedwa
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021
.533-Mile Oval
7:30 PM ET
Location: Bristol, Tennessee

TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (29 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 1st

No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

ANOTHER ROUND: On Saturday night at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Larson punched his ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 12. The 29-year-old driver secured a spot in the next round following fourth-place finishes in the first two stages. Larson finished sixth in the 400-lap race – his 20th top-10 result of 2021.

CONCRETE NUMBERS: In 12 starts on the concrete Bristol Motor Speedway, Larson has two top-five finishes – a pair of runner-up finishes in 2018 – and seven top-10s. The driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has led 200 or more laps on two occasions at the Tennessee venue.

PLAYOFF POINTS: Larson has accumulated 53 playoff points this season through five race wins (five points per win), 13 stage victories (one point per stage win) and by winning the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season championship (15 points). The drivers ranked second and third in playoff points combined have 53 points.

HIGH FIVE: Through 28 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), top-10s (tied career-best 20), stage wins (13), average start (6.9) and laps led (career-best 1,730). His 15 top-five finishes are tied for the most and match his career-best during a season.

FAST TIME: At 13.68 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew owns the quickest average time for four-tire pit stops in 2021. The over-the-wall crew is comprised of gasman Brandon Harder, jackman Brandon Johnson, tire carrier R.J. Barnette and tire changers Donnie Tasser (front) and Calvin Teague (rear).

I SAW RED: Valvoline will make its third of three appearances as the primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume. To learn more, visit www.valvoline.com.

NOW THE RACE IS ON: In March, Larson announced the launch of the Kyle Larson Foundation, which was established to better serve today’s youth, families and communities in need through hands-on support. The Sanneh Foundation and the Urban Youth Racing School are the primary beneficiaries of the foundation, which also works closely with Hendrick Cares, the corporate social responsibility program of Hendrick Automotive Group. To kickstart the “Drive for 5” program, Larson pledged a personal donation of $5 for every NASCAR Cup Series lap he completes this season and will contribute another $5,000 for every top-five finish he earns. Through 28 races, he has already pledged more than $105,000 and raised nearly $175,000. To learn more, please visit KyleLarsonFoundation.org. Valvoline, the primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend, will also contribute $5 for each lap Larson completes at Bristol on Saturday along with $5,000 if Larson scores a top-five finish.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 7th

No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

EIGHT TO GO: The NASCAR Cup Series is just eight races shy of the conclusion of the 2021 season. Heading into the final race of the Round of 16, Chase Elliott sits seventh in the playoff standings, 19 points above the cutline. So far this season, Elliott has garnered two wins, 12 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and led a total of 395 laps.

CUTOFF RACE CONQUERER: The Cup Series is heading to the first cutoff race in the playoffs and Elliott has proven to excel with a little extra pressure. He and the No. 9 team have won the last three playoff elimination races (2020 – the Charlotte ROVAL, Martinsville Speedway, Phoenix Raceway).

WELCOME BACK, HOOTERS: This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hooters will make its final 2021 appearance on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with the Night Owl paint scheme. A casual dining establishment with a deep history in NASCAR, the Atlanta-based company has been a three-race primary sponsor of the No. 9 team this year. Elliott also piloted the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet in May at Darlington Raceway and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in August.

NIGHT OWL: As Elliott’s Hooters Night Owl paint scheme returns to the track on Saturday, Elliott has also proven to be quite the night owl himself. In the last 16 night races, he holds a 9.69 average finishing position, the third-highest of drivers who have competed in all 16 of those events.

SHORT-TRACK STATS: On Saturday night at Bristol, Elliott will make his 36th short-track start in the Cup Series. In those previous 35 races, he has collected one win, 12 top-five finishes, including three runner-up results, 18 top-10s and led 833 laps. In the eight short-track races, Elliott has earned more points (337) than any other driver.

‘THUNDER VALLEY’ STATS: This weekend, Elliott will make his 11th NCS start on the concrete configuration at Bristol. In his 10 previous events held on the .533-mile oval, the driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet secured three top-five finishes, five top-10s and led 310 laps – the most laps led for Elliott at a track where he has not won. In addition, Elliott also led 60 laps en route to winning the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race held at Bristol in July 2020. The 25-year-old driver also holds the longest active streak for races led at Bristol (five) and has won three of the last six stages at the track.

2021 SHORT TRACKS: The Cup Series has competed four times short tracks in 2021: the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race, Martinsville Speedway and twice at Richmond Raceway. Elliott has top-10 results at three of the events – a second-place finish at Martinsville, 10th-place performance at Bristol and fourth-place result at last week’s playoff race at Richmond.

GUSTAFSON AT BRISTOL: On Saturday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 32nd Cup Series race at Bristol. In his previous 31 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson has accumulated one points-paying win, nine top-five finishes – including two runner-up results – 16 top-10s and 910 laps led. He also was victorious last season in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race with Elliott.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 15th

No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

IT’S BRISTOL BABY: With Saturday night’s race marking the final race of the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, William Byron is currently sitting below the cutline, in 15th place. Needing to be in the top 12 in points to advance on, this is not a must-win situation for Byron who is just 18 points below the line. With a solid night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native can still earn enough points to move on, while a win would automatically lock him into the Round of 12.

BEST YEAR YET: With only eight races left in the 2021 Cup Series season, Byron is continuing to have a career-best season at the highest level of competition in the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. So far, Byron has collected one win (Homestead-Miami Speedway), two pole awards (Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – most by a driver this season), nine top-five finishes and 16 top-10s (tied for the third-most by a driver this season) all while leading 276 laps and collecting three stage wins. In his Cup career, these are the most top-five finishes, top-10s, laps led, and stage wins the 23-year-old driver has collected in a single season.

BATTLE AT BRISTOL: This weekend, Byron will make his seventh Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has a best qualifying effort of second at “The Last Great Colosseum,” lining up alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in April 2019. In his six starts at Bristol, Bryon has a track-best finish of eighth which came last year in the spring race. In the last night race in September 2020, Byron found himself running inside the top 10 before being collected in an on-track incident, ending his night early.

THE FUGLE FILES: While the Cup Series traveled to Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year for the dirt event, Saturday night’s race will mark Rudy Fugle’s first on pavement as a Cup Series crew chief at “The Last Great Colosseum.” In seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, Fugle has one win at the half-mile track coming in the spring of 2013 with Kyle Busch. In total, his drivers have collected three top-five finishes, along with six top-10s. In fact, Fugle only has one finish worse than ninth across his seven starts at Bristol.

ALL ABOUT AXALTA: For the final race of the Round of 16, Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Now in its 29th year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta will return as primary partner on Byron’s No. 24 for 14 races in 2021. For a better look at Byron’s No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, click here.

48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 13th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

ROUND OF 16 FINALE: Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark the final race of the Round of 16 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Alex Bowman currently sits 13th in the standings, with the top-12 drivers advancing on in the playoffs at the conclusion of Saturday’s event. Since the playoffs began in Darlington, the No. 48 Ally team has had a 26th-place result at the South Carolina based track and a 12th-place finish at Richmond Raceway. During these two events, Bowman has collectively captured 38 points.

BOWMAN AT BRISTOL: Bowman has 10 Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with two top-10 results. His best performance at the half-mile Tennessee venue came in 2018 when he brought home a fifth-place finish after 500 laps in the spring race. Earlier this season, the series visited the track for the first NCS event on dirt where Bowman finished 22nd after rolling off seventh. In 2013, he made two starts at the facility in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, capturing one top-15 finish.

SHORT-TRACK STATS: The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has made 32 paved short-track starts in his seven-year Cup Series career. Bowman has one win (Richmond), two top-five finishes and seven top-10s on these tracks. He has collected the ninth-most points (238) at short tracks in the last eight short-track events since the start of 2020.

TENNESSEE NUMBERS: Greg Ives will call his 13th Cup Series race at Bristol on Saturday night under the lights. In 12 previous events at the half-mile track, the crew chief has two top-five finishes and four top-10s with a best finish of second in 2016 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 2013 and 2014, Ives was a crew chief in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports where his drivers led 59 laps and claimed one top-five finish and three top-10s in four races at Bristol. As an engineer for driver Jimmie Johnson from 2006-2012, he was part of one win, two pole awards and eight top-10 finishes at the venue.

ON BOARD WITH BOWMAN: During Saturday night’s race at the Tennessee-based track, fans can see how Bowman views the track by watching his in-car camera. The No. 48 Chevrolet will be carrying the Xfinity on-board camera, allowing fans to have a 360-degree view over the shoulder of Bowman for 500 laps.

PIT ROAD STATS: Going into this weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway, the No. 48 pit crew sits fifth on the board for the fastest four-tire pit stop average in the Cup Series with a time of 13.89 seconds. The team had the fastest single stop at Dover International Speedway (12.18 seconds) on May 16 and had the third-fastest stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway (12.25 seconds) on July 11. The No. 48 pit crew includes fueler Jacob Conley, tire carrier Allen Stallings, jackman Dustin Lineback, and tire changers Scott Brzozowski (front) and Devin DelRicco (rear).

CLEAR THE SHELTERS: The “Clear the Shelters” nationwide campaign is underway and will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 18 with a nationwide adoption event. The NBC/Telemundo initiative rolled out at the end of August and WCNC, the local Charlotte, North Carolina, NBC station, teamed up with Bowman and No. 48 team partner Ally for the 2021 campaign to get as many pets adopted from local shelters. This Saturday, all adoption fees will either be waived or discounted with the goal to clear out the 10 shelters that are participating in the Charlotte area. Learn more about the amazing cause and adoption event here.

ELIMINATION SITUATION: Entering the final event of the opening round of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has won eight of the 28 elimination races held since 2014, including three in 2020: the Charlotte ROVAL, Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The team has won at least one elimination race in each of the last three seasons.

BMS SUCCESS: Eleven of Hendrick Motorsports’ 52 NASCAR Cup Series short-track wins (best of active teams) have come at Bristol, where it has secured 12 pole positions and led more than 6,000 laps. The organization holds the BMS track records for top-five finishes (60) and top-10s (109). A record six different drivers have won there for team owner Rick Hendrick.

SWEET 16: Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane in eight of the last 16 Cup Series races (50%). No other organization has won more than three times in that span.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on atmosphere for Bristol night race: “Bristol is cool all the time, but the night race, to me, has a little bit more meaning than the spring race because of the atmosphere around it. The lights, the crowd, the energy is just up for the night race. It makes me excited, and it makes me want to win there even more.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the mindset being locked into next round of playoffs: “Our goal is to go to Bristol and win, of course, especially since we are locked into the next round. But being locked in really doesn’t change our mindset – we just need to execute a good race. It allows us the opportunity to go after stage wins and the race win possibly with a different strategy, but I don’t know what a crazy ‘Hail Mary’ would look like at Bristol, so I don’t think we would do that.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Bristol’s concrete configuration: “It’s a little different, for sure. It seems like (Bristol) did a really good job of how they put the dirt down and took it back up to where the track surface doesn’t really look any different. I anticipate everybody will adapt pretty quickly. The Bristol night race is always one of my favorite races of the year. It’s a great environment. To me, it’s one of the coolest events on our schedule. It will be an exciting weekend. I am glad it’s in the playoffs and we get to go up there and enjoy a Saturday night in eastern Tennessee.”

Elliott on Bristol being a cutoff race: “A cutoff race at Bristol is perfect. It’s a great event. Like I said, it’s one of my favorite races of the year and, honestly, I feel like it is one of the most exciting events of the year. It’s one that has been that way for a long time on our schedule. I think that’s a great place for a cutoff, and I am glad it’s in the playoffs.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the high-pressure playoff format: “It’s tough; that’s one of the hardest things about it. It’s a long time; just under a third of the season. A lot can happen, and you can have the best-laid plans and something happens that puts you in a tough spot. You just have to maximize your opportunities and your moments to try to get ahead. When it gets really tough is when you have a bad week to start a round, then you’re behind. You’re trying to reach and make too much happen. (We’re) just trying to stay ahead, execute, maximize points and keep ourselves on the front side of it. That takes a lot of the pressure off.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on heading to Bristol under the playoff cutline: “Obviously, we’re not in an ideal situation heading to Bristol but we’re by no means out of it. Just because we’re below the cutline doesn’t mean we need to try anything crazy, either. That’s when people put themselves in bad situations, I feel like. We just need to go to Bristol and execute on all levels as a team. We know we have the speed in our cars to run well at Bristol; we just need to focus on running our race. We’ll be aware of what’s going on around us, but we can only control our race and that’s what we’re going to focus on. We need to maximize our points and be around at the end of the night to capitalize.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the strategy going to Bristol: “Every week we try to go win and this race is no different. We put in the same amount of effort every week. There are always going to be some tracks that you have a better chance at winning at than others, but we feel like Bristol is one of those that is high up on our list. We think we can go in there, reach the top five hopefully by the end of stage one and continue to race in the top five all night long before seeing what happens at the end of it. There’s probably a couple scenarios where if we get a lot of stage points and a few people have issues – which statistically happens at the Bristol night race – that we could point our way in with a top-five night. But there’s no easier way to lock in than to win and there’s no better place to do it than the Bristol night race. We want to end the night driving up into victory lane and celebrating.”

Fugle on how easily things can change throughout a race: “No one knows better than us that anything can happen in a race, especially something out of your control. We had that happen at Darlington when a lug nut got wedged down in the wheel and broke a valve stem, ending our night early. These races – you can lose them faster than you can win them. All we can do is get those stage points early on and put more pressure on those guys in front of us. They may think they’re in a safe situation and can run 10th all night, but if we can put pressure on them to step it up, that’s when mistakes happen and we can be there to capitalize.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on how the team is strategizing for Bristol: “I think we need to maximize stage points and hopefully that has us in a good spot at the end of the day. I don’t think we are in a must-win situation by any means, but when you are racing Kurt (Busch) and Kyle (Busch) and guys who are so good at Bristol, it is going to be tough. We are going to go do everything we can to win the race. I don’t think we are going to put ourselves in a situation where we either win or run 30th. We are just going to go maximize the day and do the best we can.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on preparing for the cutoff race at Bristol: “I have been in playoff situations plenty of times to know … you take all of your pennies out and figure out how many points you have. You divide them all up and if you do this and add that and you get this many stage points and finish here, you end up transferring on. Honestly, my thought is that if you go out there and execute, have good pit stops, don’t have any loose wheels, vibrations, great restarts, and keep your car clean, you are probably going to transfer on. That’s our goal and I haven’t been quiet about it either, it all comes down to executing the races and finishing where we should.”

Ives on the No. 48 team’s history at Bristol: “I would say we have performed decent there – capable of top-10s. We haven’t been in the situation where I felt like we could win the race. Alex talks about it a lot, we kind of just focus on trying to get his driving style to match up with the setup I have underneath the car and being able to repeat that. Last time there, we were running between third and seventh most of the day and we had a left-rear tire come unbalanced. We had to pit, went two laps down and never got it back. That’s kind of what I am talking about, is whether we have a top-three car or a top-10 car, it doesn’t matter if you run into issues that you can’t overcome. Adversity is all about overcoming it and Bristol is definitely going to have plenty of opportunities to try and overcome.”

CHASE BRISCOE
Bristol Advance
No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Round 29 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 18
● Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: .533-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/266.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 125 laps / Stage 2: 125 laps / Final Stage: 250 laps
● TV/Radio: NBCSN / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the second of back-to-back short-track races. The No. 14 team locked in a 16th-place finish at Richmond (Va.) Raceway last Saturday, a vast improvement from the result earned in the first outing at the Virginia short-track in April.
● Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race will be the NASCAR Cup Series first race this season on the concrete of the famed .533-mile Bristol oval. Earlier this season, the Cup Series drivers competed on the dirt-covered short-track with Briscoe bringing home a 20th-place result.
● In six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Bristol, Briscoe earn four top-five finishes, including a win last September. He also had one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start resulting in a 12th-place finish.
● Briscoe made a total of 15 short-track starts in the Xfinity Series, scoring two wins – at Bristol last September 2020, and at Iowa Speedway in Newton in July 2019 – among his 10 top-10s.
● Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang will carry the colors of Rush Truck Centers with a reminder to #ThankATrucker during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, which runs Sept. 12-18. National Truck Driver Appreciation week takes on a special significance considering the crucial role truck drivers have played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rush Truck Centers encourages fans to use #ThankATrucker to show their appreciation for the 3.6 million professional men and women who deliver our goods safely, securely, and on time.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang and all the SHR cars travel from race to race in haulers from Rush Truck Centers, the premier service solutions provider to the commercial vehicle industry. And those haulers are supported by RushCare, which helps customers find the nearest Rush Truck Centers location, provides service concierge and technical support, schedules mobile service, dispatches roadside assistance and more. Rush Truck Centers is the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in the United States with more than 100 locations, and takes pride in its integrated approach to customer needs – from vehicle sales to aftermarket parts, service and body shop operations, plus financing, insurance, leasing and rental, as well as alternate fuel systems and other vehicle technologies.
● Indiana-based Cummins, from car owner Tony Stewart’s hometown of Columbus, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. It is best known for its diesel truck engines. Since its founding in 1919, Cummins now employs approximately 61,600 people and serves customers in about 190 countries and territories through a network of some 8,000 wholly owned and independent dealer and distributor locations.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

A 16th-place finish at Richmond is not bad considering the improvement that you and the team have made since the start of the season. Can that be backed up or even topped at Bristol?

“I think so. Our short-track program has definitely improved and we’re in such a different place than we were earlier this year, but I understand Bristol a lot better than I do Richmond. The biggest thing now is keeping up with the track and making sure the car is where I need it to be. Bristol is a track that is going to change a lot with the traction compound on the bottom. Everyone will be moving up to the top, and then the top will get rubbered in and you’ll move down to the bottom when that cools off. There’s always a lot going on at Bristol from a driver perspective that you have to keep an eye on and the track changes is one of those things.”

For someone who didn’t grow up short-track racing, you found success quickly at Bristol in the Xfinity Series. How were you able to figure out such a tricky track in a short amount of time?

“Bristol is a track I’ve always enjoyed because it reminds me a lot of racing at Salem (Speedway) and Winchester (Speedway) in Indiana. Those high-banked, fast tracks are always ones I’ve enjoyed. I don’t do well on the flat tracks like Loudon or Richmond, but the higher banks seem to help me. I had high hopes for the dirt race and may have gotten a little ahead of myself, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in our Rush Truck Centers/Cummins team this weekend and I’m really looking forward to this race.”

No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe
Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: Chad Haney
Hometown: Fairmont, West Virginia

Engineer: Mike Cook
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen
Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Joe White
Hometown: Windsor, Virginia

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey
Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Chris Jackson
Hometown: Rock Hill, South Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

Jack Man: Brandon Banks
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Fuel Man: Justin Wilson
Hometown: Wise, Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Front End Mechanic: J.D. Frey
Hometown: Ferndale, California

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

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

Transporter Co-Driver: Glenn Funderburk
Hometown: Mint Hill, North Carolina

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Reese/Draw-Tite Ford team are headed into the 61st annual Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway hoping to steal some of the thunder from the Cup Series Playoff contenders.

Throughout his career, DiBenedetto, who is 18th in the points standings, has had some of his best runs on the high-banked concrete half-mile oval in the Tennessee foothills.

His best run there came in 2019, before he took over the iconic Wood Brothers Ford. He finished a close second after leading 93 laps late in the race.

The Wood Brothers also have had success at Bristol, with a win in 2001 along with nine other top-10 finishes and a total of 26 top-10s. Their most recent top-10 came in 2019 when the now-retired Paul Menard finished sixth.

“I’m hoping for some redemption after coming so close there before,” DiBenedetto said, adding that he’s proud to be representing his sponsors for Saturday night’s 500-lapper under the lights. “I’m excited for Reese/Draw-Tite, this is one of my favorite races of the year.”

There will be no practice or qualifying prior to the start of Saturday night’s race. DiBenedetto will line up his No. 21 Mustang in 19th place for the drop of the green flag.

The starting order was set based on results from Richmond Raceway, with the 16 Playoff drivers starting ahead of all others.

The green flag is set to fly just after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time with Stage breaks at Laps 125 and 250.

NBCSN will carry the live TV broadcast.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen 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 WoodBrothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 15, 2021) – It’s a win and you’re in situation for Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops / Luber-finer team this Saturday night at the Bristol Motor Speedway as McDowell currently sits 38 points outside of the final transfer position leading into this weekend’s elimination race.

Much like Daytona (International Speedway), Bristol (Motor Speedway) has proven to be another strong race track for the reigning Daytona 500 Champ. McDowell knows what it takes to find Victory Lane and is optimistic about his team’s chances to do it again this weekend on the half-mile short track of Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I think that Bristol has always been a strong track for Front Row (Motorsports) as well as for our alliance with Roush Fenway (Racing). For whatever reason, even with package changes and things like that, it has seemed to fit our cars well and it was definitely the track that we had circled in this first round of the playoffs,” said McDowell.

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops team had a dominating performance in last year’s Bristol Night Race, to which they brought home a 10th-place finish. As the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Bristol this Saturday, the No. 34 team looks to pick up right where they left off and contend for the victory.

“Obviously, we’ve dug ourselves a big hole, but Bristol has been a good track for us and we know what we have to do,” McDowell continued. “We’ve already put our No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang in Victory Lane once this season, so hopefully we can do it again on Saturday night with Luber-finer along for the ride as well.”

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops / Luber-finer Ford Mustang will take the green flag in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series elimination race from the 16th position. Race coverage from Bristol Motor Speedway will air live on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ABOUT LOVE’S TRAVEL STOPS
Love’s Travel Stops is the nation’s leading travel stop network with more than 560 locations in 41 states. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company remains family-owned and operated and employs more than 33,000 people. Love’s provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love’s has over 415 truck service centers, which include Speedco and Love’s Truck Care. Love’s and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network with over 1,500 maintenance bays and 1,200 emergency roadside vehicles. Love’s is committed to providing customers with “Clean Places, Friendly Faces” at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com or follow the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

ABOUT LUBER-FINER
Luber-finer® provides premium filtration solutions for all fleets operating vehicles on-highway, as well as all off-road applications such as heavy construction, mining, agriculture, oil and gas industry and marine. Luber-finer filtration products are part of FirstBrands Group, which includes Raybestos® complete brake solutions, Centric® Parts replacement brake components, FRAM® filtration products, TRICO®wiper blades, Carter® fuel and water pumps, ANCO® wiper blades, StrongArm® lift supports, and Autolite® spark plugs. Luber-finer® has been a trusted name in filters since 1936, providing high efficiency performance in the most demanding work environments. For more information visit www.luber-finer.com or call (800) 851-3641.

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

COLE CUSTER
Bristol Advance
No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Round 29 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 18
● Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
● Layout: .533-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/266.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 125 laps / Stage 2: 125 laps / Final Stage: 250 laps
● TV/Radio: NBCSN / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Cole Custer and the No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) return to pavement racing on the half-mile, high-banked, concrete oval at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where they and their fellow NASCAR Cup Series competitors made history in March by competing in the first Cup Series dirt race in more than 50 years. This weekend’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race is typically one of the most highly anticipated stops on the Cup Series tour.

● Back with Custer and the No. 41 SHR Ford team for the season’s fourth of six appearances as primary partner is Autodesk Fusion 360, which kicked off its fourth season with the 23-year-old driver and SHR in June on the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway road course and made its third appearance three weekends ago on the 2.5-mile oval at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The Sonoma weekend was a hometown race for San Francisco-based Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in software applications for the engineering, manufacturing, construction, architecture, media and entertainment industries.
● Saturday night’s 500-lap race on the half-mile Bristol oval will be Custer’s 68th Cup Series start and his third on the high-banked, .533-mile concrete oval. The reigning Cup Series Rookie of the Year’s 23rd-place finish in last year’s Bristol night race was the best of his first two Cup Series visits to Thunder Valley. In last year’s non-points NASCAR All-Star Race held for the first time at Bristol, Custer started eighth and finished 16th. He qualified for that event with his maiden Cup Series victory just three days prior at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. In this year’s inaugural Food City Dirt Race on the Bristol oval, Custer posted a 24th-place finish.
● In six career NASCAR Xfinity Series appearances at Bristol from 2017 through 2019, all in SHR Fords, Custer has a best finish of third from his pole starting position in the spring 2019 race. That came on the heels of his fourth-place finish in the fall 2018 race, and his pole position in the spring 2018 race that resulted in an eighth-place finish. He led 31 laps in those six Xfinity Series starts at Bristol.
● Custer made annual spring-race stops at Bristol for the 2014 through 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. He had a best finish of sixth in his most recent visit in 2016, driving the No. 00 JR Motorsports entry. The previous year, in the JR Motorsports entry, he led 111 of the first 159 laps of the race from the fifth starting position before getting caught up in an accident that relegated him to a 16th-place finish.
● The first taste of the Bristol oval for Custer came in the 2013 and 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events. He finished 24th for owner Ken Schrader in 2013 and 14th for owner Bill McAnally the following year.
● After last Saturday night’s 22nd-place finish on the .75-mile Richmond (Va.) Raceway oval, Custer arrives at Richmond 28th in the driver standings.
● Joining Autodesk on the No. 41 Ford Mustang is team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, which was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally last July, and the cutting tools available for purchase at HaasTooling.com have proven to be even more important during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as CNC machines have become vital to producing personal protective equipment. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.
● September is Hunger Action Month, and SHR, its partner Wow Wow Classic Waffles, and Feeding America®, the largest hunger relief organization in the United States with a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, are asking fans to think about their answer to a simple question: How will you choose to end hunger? Hunger Action Month is an annual campaign dedicated to driving awareness and inspiring action to help end hunger in America, both on a national scale and on the ground in local communities. It’s a time when the Feeding America network of food banks and the public come together to raise awareness and inspire action to help people facing impossible choices due to hunger. Fans are encouraged to visit the Hunger Action Month page via the Feeding America website to learn how they can take action through sharing, volunteering, pledging to advocate, fundraising and making a donation. Each $1 donated helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. Custer and the No. 41 SHR Ford team have accumulated nearly 100 volunteer hours to date, working with Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in packing bags and helping with drop-off events at Charlotte-area schools.

● Fans can do their part by texting HUNGER to 50555 to make a $5 donation to Feeding America, by visiting the Feeding America donation page on Facebook, or the donation page via the Feeding America website. Each $1 donated helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local member food banks.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

What are your thoughts as you and the team head to Bristol for the annual night race?

“I think it’s great. Bristol’s an exciting racetrack where a lot of stuff can happen fast. When you put 40 guys out there who are trying to fight hard for every single spot, it can create some great racing and it always does. It’s definitely one of the greatest shows we put on for the fans.”

You excelled at Bristol when you were in the Xfinity Series. Why do you think that was the case, or what about the track suits your driving style?

“Bristol was a good track for me in the Xfinity Series, for sure. It’s a track that has always come a little natural to me, I feel like. I like the feel of it and being able to move around in the lanes. It’s a lot about keeping momentum. The bottom is about hooking the line. Hopefully we’ll be able to make those things happen in our Cup car with the 750 (horsepower) package, managing our race from beginning to end and getting through traffic without getting caught up in someone else’s mess. It can get pretty chaotic.”

Do you prefer the 750-horsepower package at Bristol?

“I think the 750-horsepower package is definitely something that’s more natural to me because it’s similar to what we had in the Xfinity car. A lot of the stuff I did in the Xfinity car transfered over to this 750 package in the Cup Series. It doesn’t do that with the 550-horsepower package we run at a lot of tracks. So I’d say I’m more comfortable and used to the 750.”

No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Cole Custer
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, California

Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
Hometown: Amherst, Ohio

Car Chief: Tony Cardamone
Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engineer: Davin Restivo
Hometown: Ashboro, North Carolina

Engineer: Scott Bingham
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Spotter: Andy Houston
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: John Roselli

Hometown: Terre Haute, Indiana

Rear Tire Changer: Coleman Dollarhide
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons
Hometown: Tyler, Texas

Jack Man: Matthew Schlytter

Hometown: Ponte Vedra, Florida

Fuel Man: Corey Coppola
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini
Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Mechanic: Nick McIntosh
Hometown: Havre, Montana

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn
Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Tire Specialist: Thomas Gagliano
Hometown: East Hampton, Connecticut

Engine Specialist: Evan Cupples
Hometown: Hudson, Illinois

Transporter Co-Driver: Eddie DeGroot

Hometown: Baldwinsville, New York

Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues
Hometown: Santa Clarita, California