Richmond Raceway
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021
.75-Mile Oval
7:30 PM ET
Location: Richmond, Virginia
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (28 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 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

BAKER’S DOZEN: In 13 starts at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Larson has one win (2017), two top-five finishes and five top-10s. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has finished seventh or better in five of his last eight starts at the Virginia venue.

OT WIN: In September 2017 at the .75-mile track, Larson held off Martin Truex Jr. and others in overtime to earn his lone short-track victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The native of Elk Grove, California, led 53 laps in the event that was extended by four laps due to a late-race caution.

LAST 16: Larson has finished top three in 11 of the last 16 races dating back to Darlington Raceway in May. Over that span, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has four wins, five runner-up finishes and two third-place results. The Cup Series’ regular-season champion holds an 80-point advantage over the final transfer spot with two races remaining in the Round of 16.

FIVE-STAR RATING: Through 27 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), top-five finishes (tied career-best 15), top-10s (19), stage wins (13) and laps led (career-best 1,722). In fact, he has paced the field 755 more times than any competitor this season and his stage wins are the most by seven.

SOME MORE DIRT: On Wednesday and Thursday, Larson is scheduled to participate in the World 100 dirt late model race at Eldora Speedway. HendrickCars.com will appear on Larson’s gloves and helmet.

FAST TIME: At 13.71 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).

VIRGINIA SON: No. 5 crew chief Cliff Daniels is a native of Smithfield, Virginia, which is approximately 75 miles southeast of Richmond. Daniels received a go-kart at age 7 and his first bandolero car at 9. As a driver, he competed at Southside Speedway near Richmond and progressed to legends cars at Langley Speedway by 2001. Daniels competed in late models at South Boston Speedway from 2004 until 2007, the year after he graduated high school from Hampton Roads Academy in Newport News, Virginia.

YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. From the convenience of home, customers can select the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com. The website also makes it easy for customers to find one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealership locations nationwide.

WE’RE HIRING: Hendrick Automotive Group is hiring more than 300 technicians at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Interested people can apply at HendrickCars.com.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 10th

No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

DARLINGTON REWIND: The NASCAR Cup Series kicked off the 2021 playoffs at Darlington Raceway last weekend. Chase Elliott rolled off the grid fourth and spent most of the evening inside the top 15 before being collected in an on-track accident with only 38 laps remaining. The damage proved to be terminal and ended the No. 9 team’s race with a 31st-place finish.

SHORT-TRACK PERFORMANCE: On Saturday night at Richmond Raceway, Elliott will make his 35th short-track start in the Cup Series. In those previous 34 races, he has garnered one win, 11 top-five finishes, including three runner-up results, 17 top-10s and led 775 laps. In the last six short-track races, Elliott has earned the second-most points (260), behind only Joey Logano (261).

RICHMOND RUNDOWN: Elliott will make his 12th Richmond start in the Cup Series this weekend. In his previous 11 races at the .75-mile oval, he has collected three top-five finishes – one being a runner-up result – and four top-10s. Additionally, he has made four Richmond starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, never finishing outside the top five and earning a win in 2015.

2021 SHORT TRACKS: The Cup Series has competed on three short tracks in 2021: the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race, Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. Elliott has garnered top-10 results at two of the events – a second-place finish at Martinsville and a 10th-place performance at Bristol.

600 STARTS: This weekend at Richmond, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 600th career Cup Series race. In his previous 599 starts as a crew chief, he has called the shots for five different drivers, collecting one championship, 33 wins, 172 top-five finishes, 297 top-10s and 9,308 laps led.

GUSTAFSON AT RICHMOND: On Saturday, No. 9 team crew chief Gustafson is set to call his 32nd Cup Series Richmond race. 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 13 top-five finishes including five runner-up results, 17 top-10s and 566 laps led.

KELLEY BLUE BOOK IS BACK: The navy and gold colors of Kelley Blue Book will return to Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the first time this season this weekend at Richmond. KBB.com is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week, the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website, www.KBB.com.

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

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

BEST YEAR YET: With only nine races left in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron is continuing to have a career-best season at the highest level of competition in the No. 24 Liberty University 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, this is the most top-five finishes, top-10s, laps led, and stage wins the 23-year-old driver has collected in a single season.

SHORT-TRACK SUCCESS: With two paved short-track races completed so far in the 2021 Cup Series season, Byron is one of six drivers who have finished in the top 10 for both, securing a fourth-place effort during the race at Martinsville Speedway and a seventh-place finish the last time he was at Richmond Raceway. In fact, Byron finished sixth in the dirt event at Bristol Motor Speedway as well earlier this year, making him one of three drivers with top-10 runs in all three short track events in 2021.

READY FOR RICHMOND: This Saturday’s race at Richmond Raceway will mark Byron’s seventh Cup Series start at the .75-mile track. He currently has a track-best finish of seventh coming earlier this season. Aside from his six Cup Series starts, Byron has made two NASCAR Xfinity Series appearances that the Virginia-based track, both in 2017. He earned a best starting position of sixth and finished seventh in the fall. He also has one NASCAR ARCA Menards Series East start in 2015 when he won the pole and finished sixth.

RUDY AT RICHMOND: Making his second Cup Series start at the .75-mile track Saturday night, Fugle has four previous starts at the national level at Richmond Raceway – one in the Cup Series, one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and two in the Xfinity Series. His most recent start at the short track came earlier this year when Byron started fourth and raced to a track-best finish of seventh.

LIBERTY U ONBOARD: Heading to Liberty University’s home track of Richmond Raceway, Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the Saturday night event. Redesigned for the 2021 season, the new paint scheme features a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will be sure to stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks. Liberty University has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offers more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in communications, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s new Liberty University paint scheme, 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

REVISITING FIRST WIN OF 2021: Alex Bowman will return to the site of his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2021 season this weekend when the field visits Richmond Raceway for the second race of the Round of 16. The 28-year-old driver led the final 10 laps of the spring event to capture Ally’s first points-paying victory with Hendrick Motorsports. His April win was Bowman’s first short-track victory in the Cup Series and his third overall win at that level. Since Richmond, the No. 48 team has captured victories at Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway.

NINE MORE: Following last weekend’s event in Darlington, the Cup Series has nine races remaining this season. Aside from Bowman’s three 2021 wins, he has six top-five finishes and 13 top-10s. Last weekend, the Ally team finished 26th at Darlington after suffering various issues during the 367-lap event. Bowman goes into this weekend’s race tied for 12th in the NCS playoff standings with Tyler Reddick.

RACING AT RICHMOND: Bowman has 10 previous Richmond Raceway starts in the Cup Series. Along with his win earlier this year, Bowman also has two top-10 results at the .75-mile facility. He has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the Virginia track where he qualified a career-best second and finished ninth in 2016 for JR Motorsports. In 2011, the driver of the No. 48 made one start at the track in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, qualifying fourth and finishing fifth after 100 laps.

SHORT-TRACK STATS: The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has made 31 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 fifth-most points (210) at short tracks in the last six events and is the most recent short-track winner in the Cup Series at Richmond. Out of Hendrick Motorsports’ 11 victories at the .75-mile venue, the last time the team won prior to this season was in 2008 when Bowman was 15 years old.

IVES IN VIRGINIA: Crew chief Greg Ives is set to call his 12th Richmond event in the Cup Series on Saturday night under the lights. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s best finish at the track came earlier this season when the team claimed the victory after 400 laps. Ives has one win, two top-five results and three top-10s at the Virginia-based venue. The sixth-year Cup Series crew chief also has four Xfinity Series starts at Richmond and his drivers finished inside the top five all four times. Chase Elliott placed second in both events in 2014 and Regan Smith finished fifth and third in 2013. Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team from 2006 until 2012. During that time, he was a part of Jimmie Johnson’s three wins, one pole award and seven top-10 finishes at Richmond

PIT ROAD STATS: Following last weekend’s event in Darlington, the No. 48 pit crew sits sixth for the fastest four-tire pit stop average in the Cup Series with a time of 13.92 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 run through Sept. 18. 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. On Sept. 18, 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 here.

NOMINATE A CANCER HERO: The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation is giving race fans the opportunity to have a cancer survivor’s name, a caregiver’s name, or a medical provider’s name in place of Bowman’s moniker above the door at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 24. Fans can bid on the door space, which is now live on the NASCAR Foundation’s eBay page and will close out on Sept. 13. To bid on a chance for a special name to ride along with the Ally team in Kansas, click here.

1-2 PUNCH: With Kyle Larson’s second-place result Sunday at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has recorded 24 top-two finishes through 27 NASCAR Cup Series points races in 2021 – the most by a team at this point in a season since 1956 (34 by Carl Kiekhafer). This year, the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable has amassed a league-leading 11 wins and finished in the runner-up spot 13 times. It has swept the top-two positions in five events.

THE ONES AND TWOS: Since its inaugural season in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has a combined 527 top-two finishes at the elite NASCAR Cup level. The team holds the series records for both points-paying victories (274) and second-place results (253). It has swept the top-two spots in an all-time best 48 Cup races.

SHORT-TRACK SUCCESS: Hendrick Motorsports has 52 victories on short tracks, which is 10 more than any other active NASCAR Cup Series team. Eleven of its wins have come at Richmond Raceway including Alex Bowman’s first-place performance there in April. A record-tying six different drivers have won at Richmond for car owner Rick Hendrick, who grew up 100 miles from the track in Palmer Springs, Virginia.

THE NEXT SIX: Since 2019, Hendrick Motorsports has visited victory lane at each of the next six tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule: Richmond, Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL and Texas Motor Speedway. In points-paying races, Bowman won Richmond in April 2021, Larson won Las Vegas in March 2021 and Chase Elliott won Talladega in April 2019 and the ROVAL in October 2020. In addition, the team has won the last two NASCAR All-Star Races: Elliott at Bristol in July 2020 and Larson at Texas in June 2021.

SCOREBOARD: Over the last 15 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races, Hendrick Motorsports has won eight times and is the only organization to go to victory lane more than twice.

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the spring Richmond race: “Richmond was really the only bad race from start-to-finish we’ve had this year. I know we’ll be better this time around because we learned a lot. Alex (Bowman) won there and we have their notes, but we learned a lot even from how we ran in the spring.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on confidence level heading into Richmond following the race earlier this season: “We were absolutely terrible in the spring. Once we were able to compare notes (with other Hendrick Motorsports teams) it made sense – we know where we were weak and need to get better. We’re very fortunate to have the success of the 48 (team) and their baseline.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on 9/11: “Sept. 11 is always a day that I think sticks out to any American. I don’t think you could ever just ignore that or act like it’s just any other day. That’s a major tragic event in our history and one that we’re all going to live with for the rest of our time. Our sport is patriotic, but just being an American, you could never forget about that.”

Elliott on the challenges of the playoff format: “It’s a cutthroat 10 weeks. Unfortunately, the more the rounds go on you just can’t have poor races. A lot of times having a poor race doesn’t mean you did a bad job or you weren’t fast, it just means something didn’t go your way. Unfortunately, that could be the end of your season. Do I necessarily agree with that all the time? No, but at the same time we had 26 weeks to win races and to accumulate playoff points. The more of those you accumulate, you’re hedging your bet to make it further in the round. That’s the best thing you can do, try and build that buffer and get those points and get yourself in a better position to where if you do have a bad day you can still recover.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief for the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on if a specific playoff round matches up best for the No. 9 team: “There’s not one round that stands out to me. You could go to any of the races and have a problem or issue and have a terrible points day and then start significantly worse than you expected for the next race, like Darlington for us. All of those things can happen at any point in time, so you are always apprehensive and a bit nervous. But, at the same time, I have a lot of confidence in what we can do. We should be on the attack mode not conserve mode. I feel good about it, but I certainly respect all of the tracks and all the potential hurdles that they all have. I think we can compete well at any one of them and win at any one of them and that’s what we are going to try to do. At the same time, we certainly understand that you’ve got to be at your best form and really super prepared because at a moment’s notice anything can happen that puts you in a bad spot.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Richmond: “Richmond has always been a challenging track for me. The track already has very low grip and making sure the tires last during a long run is key. The surface resembles Atlanta (Motor Speedway) but has characteristics of Phoenix (Raceway). I feel like every time I’ve run there that I’ve learned a bit more and improved each time. With Darlington not going the way we hoped, we will need to really execute this weekend and maximize whatever situation we are in to set us up for Bristol and advancing on through the playoffs.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on rebounding for race two of the Round of 16:
“Obviously, this isn’t the position we want to be in this weekend on the outside looking in, but we’re also are by no means out of the hunt, either. The No. 24 team has the speed capable of winning and I think we’ve done a good job of showing that, especially lately. Unfortunately, we’ve just been wrong place wrong time the last couple weeks. We’ve already put that behind us, though, and moved on to the next task at hand – Richmond. We had a top-10 car there earlier this season and the guys are putting in extra hours this week to make sure we bring a rocket to the track for Saturday night. This isn’t a must-win situation, but we’re going to execute what we need to maximize on our results.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Richmond after winning there in April: “Going back to Richmond is something to look forward to this week. Richmond is a track where our No. 48 team feels really strong at, and we are bringing the same car from earlier this year when we ended up in victory lane. After last week, we need to rebound and capitalize on a good night on Saturday. There’s not a lot of comfort going forward the next two weeks, but we are going to two places we know we can be strong at and have good runs.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 team, on chassis for Richmond: “It is going to be the same car and same chassis but obviously different things that you’re able to do, either to make it better or in NASCAR’s world, you’re able to regulate or put a little more sight and difficulties on you. Whatever that scenario is, whether it’s true or false or to allow other guys to get their cars get better, you have to keep up with it. That’s ultimately the goal – to bring a better race car and try not to reinvent the wheel. For the most part, the general setup is going to be very close. Just trying to fine tune and then make things a little bit better.”

Ives on how quickly the playoff rankings can change: “You got to look at history, right? The biggest factor I see (are) the unknowns. Putting yourself in a bad situation and then hurting yourself. You kind of look at the history of last year’s playoffs and we scored the second-most points in the playoffs. We didn’t go to the final four but, in the end, it calls for a really good run and the 4 team there with Kevin Harvick, they had how many wins last year? Eight wins and a lot of points and they got themselves in a bad spot and wasn’t able to transfer to the final four. It definitely is a tough grind and tough season, but then you add on the quickness of a reset and going to probably one of the toughest racetracks (Darlington) to either get the handling right (or) the toughness on the teams from a pit standpoint (or) the ease of getting damage to the car and putting yourself in a bad situation with the wreck. It’s a tough place to start out, for sure, and you have to be pretty flawless. If not, you got to learn how to overcome dramatically. Unfortunately, that’s what we have to do – overcome a really bad situation.”

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Richmond

NASCAR heads back to Virginia this weekend for a short-track showdown under the lights Saturday night. Richmond is the site of 15 of Jack Roush’s all-time wins, including five in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders
Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET
NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

• Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Bacon Ford Mustang
• Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

Darlington Recap, Richmond Preview

• Newman hovered around the top-15 for a majority of Sunday’s race from Darlington, ultimately driving to a 14th-place finish. It marked his third top-15 in the last four races.
• Buescher was inside the top five late at Darlington and finished ninth for his fifth top-10 of 2021.
• Oscar Mayer returns to Newman’s Ford at Richmond for its final race of 2021, and will run a bacon-inspired theme on his No. 6 Ford.
• Fastenal is back on the No. 17 at Richmond and they will run a red, white and blue feature as part of the 20th anniversary of the events of 9/11.

History in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Overall, Roush Fenway has 356 starts at Richmond Raceway, earning a total of 15 wins, 89 top-five and 150 top-10 finishes. RFR Fords have sat on the pole 14 times and led 4,960 laps across NASCAR’s three major touring series.

To Xfinity and Beyond

Roush Fenway has earned nine victories, 43 top-five finishes, 66 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 11.8 at Richmond in the Xfinity Series. All in all, three different drivers are responsible for the nine victories at the Virginia short track (Edwards, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton).

Nine and Counting

Roush Fenway’s nine victories at Richmond rank fourth among all tracks the organization has competed on in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, trailing Darlington Raceway (15), Charlotte Motor Speedway (12) and North Carolina Speedway – formerly known as Rockingham – (11).

Tale of the Tape

Roush Fenway has started 215 NCS races at Richmond with 73 top-10 and 37 top-five finishes along with seven poles. Former drivers Mark Martin (1990), Jeff Burton (1998), Matt Kenseth (2002), Kurt Busch (2005), and Carl Edwards (2013) are responsible for RFR’s five Cup wins, and a Jack Roush Cup Series Ford has led 2,442 laps at the .75-mile track.

Roush Fenway Richmond Wins

1990-1 Martin Cup

1993-1 Martin NXS

1993-2 Martin NXS

1997-1 Martin NXS

1998-1 Burton NXS

1998-2 Burton Cup

1999-1 Martin NXS

1999 Biffle Truck

2000-2 Burton NXS

2002-2 Kenseth Cup

2005-1 Edwards NXS

2005-2 Busch Cup

2008-2 Edwards NXS

2009-2 Edwards NXS

2013-2 Edwards Cup

KEVIN HARVICK
Richmond Advance
No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview
● Event: Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders (Round 28 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 11
● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway
● Layout: .75-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps / 300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 155 laps / Final Stage: 165 laps
● TV/Radio: NBCSN / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● The Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders NASCAR Cup Series race Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) Raceway marks the second race of the 10-race playoffs. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, comes into the race ranked seventh among the 16 playoff drivers, 20 points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the Round of 12. The 16-driver playoff field will be whittled down to 12 after the third playoff race Sept. 18 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. This is Harvick’s 15th playoff appearance since the inception of the playoffs in 2004, and it’s his 12 consecutive playoff appearance. Harvick has finished among the top-eight in points every year since 2010. He won the championship in 2014.
● In the first playoff race last Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Harvick delivered a gritty fifth-place drive. How gritty? An unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel on lap 288 of the 367-lap race put him a lap down. He earned his lap back on lap 318 and rallied to fifth with a pass of Joey Logano on lap 352. Then, with two laps remaining around the 1.366-mile oval, Harvick suffered a flat right-rear tire. Despite this, Harvick stayed out and manhandled his Ford Mustang to hold onto fifth place through the checkered flag. It was Harvick’s seventh top-five and 17th top-10 of the season, and his 12th top-five and 17th top-10 in 28 career starts at Darlington. No other driver has more top-fives or top-10s at Darlington than Harvick. His nearest pursuer in this category is Denny Hamlin with 11 top-fives and 15 top-10s.
● The .75-mile Richmond oval serves as a return to short-track racing. The NASCAR Cup Series hasn’t raced on a track less than a mile in length since the series’ first visit to Richmond back on April 18. In that race, Harvick was a regular among the top-five until lap 379 when a cut right-rear tire sent him spinning into the turn-one wall. Work to repair the damage on his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang resulted in an extended stay on pit road. By the time repairs were completed and Harvick was able to return to the track, he was scored three laps down in 24th.
● Harvick has made 745 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, with 120 of those starts coming on short tracks. And of his 58 Cup Series wins, seven have been at short tracks, with Richmond accounting for three of those victories. Harvick scored his first Richmond win in September 2006, his second in September 2011 and his third in April 2013.
● Harvick joined SHR in 2014 and has since recorded 35 of his 58 career NASCAR Cup Series wins. However, none of them have been at Richmond. But Harvick has remained stout at the .75-mile oval. In his last 14 starts at Richmond as a member of SHR, Harvick has two runner-up finishes, eight top-fives and 10 top-10s. He has only one finish outside of the top-15.
● Harvick has led 15,694 total laps in his NASCAR Cup Series career, with 1,180 of those laps coming at Richmond.
● The Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders will mark Harvick’s 41st NASCAR Cup Series start at the Virginia short track. His first start at Richmond came on May 5, 2001. That race was won by SHR co-owner Tony Stewart, who beat then three-time champion Jeff Gordon by .372 of a second. Harvick finished 17th in what was his 10th career Cup Series start. Nine of the 43 drivers in that race have since been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame – Stewart, Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Ron Hornaday Jr., Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte.
● Harvick is the winningest NASCAR Xfinity Series driver at Richmond with seven victories. (Kyle Busch is next best with six wins.) Harvick finished among the top-10 in all but six of his 21 career Xfinity Series starts at Richmond.
● The 2021 season marks the 12th year of partnership between Harvick and Hunt Brothers Pizza. The nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry has sponsored Harvick for years in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Hunt Brothers Pizza joined Harvick fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 and has been a mainstay in NASCAR’s premier division ever since. With more than 7,800 locations in 30 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin-crust pizzas available as a grab-and go Hunk, perfect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle or as a customizable whole pizza that is an exceptional value with All Toppings No Extra Charge®. Celebrating 30 years of serving great pizza to convenience store shoppers through its store partners, Hunt Brothers Pizza is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and is family owned and operated. To find a Hunt Brothers Pizza location near you, download the app by visiting app.HuntBrothersPizza.com.
● Said Harvick about his more than decade-long partnership with Hunt Brothers Pizza: “Our fans are pretty loyal to the brands that are on our cars. Many of my pictures come from the standees in the store. People take selfies next to them. There are a number of reasons you have sponsorships – you want that brand recognition, the brand integration. Hunt Brothers Pizza is a very family-oriented company and we’re a very family-oriented group. Those relationships you build through the years with brands that recognize and reflect what you believe in are few and far between. We’ve grown with the Hunt Brothers Pizza brand. They’ve grown with us and been very loyal to us and I think our fans are very loyal to Hunt Brothers Pizza. It’s fun to see that brand recognition and that understanding of loyalty and partnership. You realize how many Hunt Brothers Pizza stores there are as you drive to racetracks.”

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

You’ve had a lot of success at Richmond and you’re a fan of short-track racing in general. What is it about Richmond that makes it a good track for you?

“Through the years we’ve figured out how to get some solid finishes. We had a really good Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang there earlier this year and wound up blowing a tire and not getting a very good finish. I’m looking forward to going back just because of the fact that we ran so well there at the beginning of the year. Richmond is a little bit like Darlington just in the tire fall-off and the way the cars slow down. The line doesn’t move around very much at Richmond anymore, for whatever reason, so you have to grind away at one particular spot on the racetrack and make your car work as well as possible. It’s definitely a unique short track. It’s got enough speed to where you have to be good under braking and have a good-handling car in order to make it through the long runs that you know you’re going to get throughout the night. Hopefully, we can have a good night. Based upon the first race, we should run well.”

The Richmond race falls on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Do you remember where you were on Sept. 11, 2001?

“We were flying to Memphis to test the Xfinity car that day and we were in Mike Skinner’s airplane. It was in the middle of the flight when everything happened. We got to the airport, landed, saw everything that happened, and we all got in the van and drove 12 hours home. We never ran that test.”

As you look back on 9/11, what stands out the most?

“We had so many men and women lose their lives that day, a lot of whom were first responders. I think as you look back, you just want to say thanks to all the first responders and everybody who was there to do everything they could do to help those in need. It was a tragic day, so as we go into Richmond, we have to remember and thank all those who were there during a really tough time.”

You and Kurt Busch are the only drivers in Saturday night’s race who competed in the first race after 9/11 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. What do you remember about that race?

“I just remember the enthusiasm of the crowd. It was massive, and when you have the enthusiasm from a crowd like that, it’s something you never forget. Obviously, any time Dale Jr. won, it was quite the emotion from the crowd. But on that particular day, it was just different. Everything about that particular day was different. After the race, after he won, that was pretty spectacular and something that I’ll never forget, and for all the right reasons, too. And it wasn’t just Dover. The New Hampshire race got postponed to the end of the season and we raced the day after Thanksgiving, and then the banquet was still in New York. We toured Ground Zero and saw the magnitude of it all. There were just a lot of moments from that particular time period.”

No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

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

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Stan Doolittle
Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

NASCAR CUP SERIES
FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400
RICHMOND RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript Highlights:

DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO STAY POSITIVE OR KEEP YOUR TEAM POSITIVE?
“I don’t know. Definitely a little bit, after a weekend like last weekend. It wasn’t good by any means. From start to finish we had radio issues, trouble with the engine, I drove it into the fence; and we had another flat tire after that. It was just kind of one of those days. I’m definitely trying to keep the team pumped up, but at the same time I think everybody on the team knows how strong we can be each and every place we go. We just had a bad day. Going forward, to a place like Richmond, where we won in the Spring, I think everybody is pretty positive that we can go there and have success and be strong. This Round of 16, with everybody having issues at Darlington, it’s not as bad as it could have been, the hole that we’re in. I think we’re in an okay spot going forward. Not comfortable by any means, but if we just go do our jobs, we’ll be all right.”

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WHAT WORKED AT RICHMOND IN THE SPRING WILL WORK IN THE FALL, OR ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES THAT WILL DISRUPT THAT TYPE OF THOUGHT?
“I hope so because I haven’t ever had anything work at Richmond before the Spring. So that’s all I’ve got that works. But I hope so. I feel like I drive that place incorrectly to a point and I ask some different things out of the race car that kind of a lot of the normal guys that grew up racing stock cars on short tracks don’t do. So, going there has always been tough for me. I think Greg (Ives, crew chief) finally hit on something that worked really well for me. So, hopefully we can get it to work again. You never know until you get there, and without practice it’s hard to say. But I’m pretty confident that we’ll have another great race car this weekend.”

WITH THREE OUT OF FOUR HENDRICK DRIVERS EITHER NEAR OR BELOW THE CUTOFF LINE AND COMING OUT OF THIS PAST WEEKEND’S RACE, WHAT ARE YOUR TEAM MEETINGS LIKE?
“It definitely wasn’t a great mood after Darlington. But I feel like everybody is focused-forward and working hard to be the best we can be at Richmond. It was one race. It’s one week. The Playoffs, the way it goes, you have two bad weeks in one round, and you are kind of done. So, we know we have to be strong the next two weeks. But at the same time, we’ve been strong all year. I think there is a lot of confidence going forward that we can continue to do that. I think I’m probably the most frustrated of anybody and that’s just because it was like blatantly my fault, right? I drove the car into the outside wall. I’m frustrated with myself that I did that and that I made that mistake, but I’m also frustrated that I hurt the No. 24’s (William Byron) day like it did. But the No. 24 and the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) kind of had things going outside of their own control. And then the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) had a good day. I think we all just know we need to be strong at Richmond.”

WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLAYOFF DRIVERS AT DARLINGTON?
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. Darlington is an easy track to have issues at. So, for as many people to have issues as they did, I’m not all that surprised about it.

THIS SPORT IS SO FICKLE WITH THE POWER RANKINGS, LIKE S0-AND-SO IS FAVORED FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE HENDRICK DRIVERS CANNOT BE BEAT. WITH ONE RACE, EVERYTHING HAS SWITCHED. DOES THAT DRIVE YOU CRAZY A LITTLE BIT?
“As far as the media stuff goes, once I realized that I’m always going to get kicked a little bit by the media, I just quit reading it (laughs). Some are not the nicest to me. So, I just quit reading it and don’t pay attention to it. That’s fine. That’s part of my job. I’m sure Kyle (Larson) was the favorite and is still the favorite. Other than that, I don’t know anything about power rankings or anything like that. I just try to drive the race car as fast as I can.”

QUESTION REGARDING STARTING POSITIONS AND STAGE POINTS AT RICHMOND
“It’s still going to be difficult. In the Spring we had a really difficult day. We had a pit road penalty. I think we started at the tail end of the longest line in Stage 3. That late-race caution got us the win, but we had still driven back to third from last, basically. And for as strong as we were in the Spring, I know we’ll be able to pass cars because with a great long-run race car we were able to make a lot of headway there. But yeah, it’s going to be tough. It is definitely a little more intense in the Playoffs. Everybody is going to race a little harder. But Richmond is a place like, if you’re race car is good and you’re good on a long, run, you can give up that short run a little bit and make a lot of headway as the run kind of rolls on. So, I’m just excited to see how we are when we get there and go to work on making the car better and being there at the end.”

THERE ARE POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE NEXT YEAR, WHICH INCLUDE A BUSCH CLASH AT THE L.A. COLISEUM OR RACING AT WORLDWIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY. WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?
“I love going to new race tracks. Obviously, I don’t know any more than what you guys (media) know. I haven’t heard anything officially. But it all sounds cool, right? When I ran the e-NASCAR Series, we ran Bowman Gray Stadium, which sounded like the most ridiculous idea I’d ever heard in my life. But when we got there, it was a lot of fun. So, I would imagine it would be somewhat similar to that at least. It could be pretty neat. If we went to Gateway, that would be neat. And it looks like a really interesting place. I’ve never been there. But anything new is always cool, right? Like any of the new races we’ve had this year have been kind of exciting and cool to be a part of. So, I’m all for new race tracks and new challenges. Shuffling-up the schedule every year I think is really cool.”

THE SAME TIRE IS BEING USED THIS WEEKEND AS WAS USED AT PHOENIX. IS THIS THE LAST CHANCE TO FINE-TUNE THINGS FOR PHOENIX? IF YOU WIN AND DOMINATE, DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU WOULD BE THE FAVORITE AT PHOENIX BASED ON WHAT YOU DID AT RICHMOND?
“It’s interesting that you say that. Looking back, the NO. 5 (Kyle Larson) was really fast at Phoenix. And they were not very good at Richmond. We were terrible at Phoenix and won Richmond. So, I don’t know how much you can really take from one to the other. I know it’s the same tire and a somewhat similar race track. But at Phoenix you have some tire falloff, but you don’t have what you have at Richmond. Richmond is so much slicker. There is so much less load in the race car. There are so many big differences. Like it’s a quarter-mile shorter, but it feels tiny and extremely slow in comparison to a place like Phoenix. It’s definitely different, but I want to say we can carry it all over because we were good there in the Spring. But ever since 2016 we’ve really struggled at Phoenix. Hopefully we can get our stuff together and be good there at the end of this year.”

ARE THE COMMITMENT LINES MORE CHALLENGING AT RICHMOND?
“Yeah, it’s just where it is. How early it is. There are a lot of factors that go into it. I feel like people don’t realize how little you can really see out of the Cup cars. You can’t really see that box unless you’re squared-up with it. Late pit calls probably play a role in that. But it’s early. It’s hard to see. And that pit road entrance is super slick. The race track is super slick. So, there are a lot of factors. But it is definitely a tough one and an easy one to miss and cause a big penalty for yourself.”

DO YOU LOOK AT POINTS AND STUDY THEM? OR DO YOU JUST GO RACE?
“Yeah, I just go race. You can stare at the points sheet and know exactly how many points you have to beat so-and-so by. But it doesn’t help you any. Then you’re just more stressed out about situations you can’t control. I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to go drive the race car as fast as you can and maximize every Stage and go do the best job you can. I did a really poor job on Sunday night, and I’ve got two weeks to make up for it. I’ve just got to go maximize both races. Last year during the Playoffs I wasn’t looking at points. I wasn’t worried about it. We just went and tried to execute to the best of our ability each and every week. And we had a really good Playoff run. This year we started off really poorly, but I’m confident we can turn that around and at least do what we did last year if not better.”

DID YOU HAVE A RACE-WINNING CAR BEFORE THE DAMAGE AT DARLINGTON?
“I don’t think we were very good before I hit the wall at Darlington because I wasn’t running very hard. I was starting to struggle really early in that run and drove it right into the fence pretty early. So, I feel like we were going to struggle a little bit. I think we’d end up somewhere in the top 10, but now where we wanted to be by any means. I felt down on grip. I think it still would have been a way better day than it was, obviously. I’m still mad at myself that I did that.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE MISTAKES, RATHER THAN SPEED, COULD BE WHAT KEEPS HENDRICK DRIVERS FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR?
“I think we’ve had speed every week. It very well could be. But nothing has stopped us from getting there yet. We still have a chance. All four of us are not eliminated yet and still in it. I don’t want to say what’s going to keep us out because we’re not knocked out yet.”

DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE LESS CHAOS AND AGGRESSION AT RICHMOND OR DO YOU THINK IT WILL CONTINUE?
“It’s hard to say. I feel like you’re going to have a lot of aggression at Richmond because it’s Richmond. It’s a short track. Tempers typically flare there. Stuff happens. And that’s just a part of it. I feel like it’s still going to be exciting. It’s still going to be dramatic. We’ll wait and see. Maybe it’s a smooth and easy day and the No. 48 is out front with no issues, and we get another trophy. I’d be okay with that.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
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