Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team put themselves in position to win Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, but their involvement in a late-race, multi-car crash knocked them out of contention for a win and the Playoff berth that would have come with it.

DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team earned the ninth starting spot for Saturday’s regular season finale and took the green flag in seventh place. The team’s strategy called for playing defense early on, so they rode near the back of the pack for most of the first two Stages, hoping to avoid damage to their No. 21 Mustang.

Those plans worked as he finished 27th in both Stages but had an unblemished Mustang to put to work in the final segment of the race.

DiBenedetto and his fellow Ford drivers were able to leapfrog to the front after the Blue Oval contingent made their final pit stops under the green flag on Lap 123.

When the caution flag flew on Lap 141 and their competitors drove to pit road, the Fords cycled to the front, with DiBenedetto lining up in fourth place for the restart.

His outside line didn’t advance, and he dropped to seventh place but had recovered to sixth place when the next caution flag – and eventually the red flag – flew.

Back under green, DiBenedetto initially dropped to the back of the top 10 as the outside line didn’t keep pace, but he worked his way into the lead with four of the scheduled 160 laps left to run.

But his chances for victory ended there after contact with Chase Elliott took him out of contention and brought out a caution flag that extended the race into Overtime.

DiBenedetto recovered to finish 26th as the race ended under caution for another multi-car crash.

“Our strategy going into the race was to be smart and be there when it counted,” DiBenedetto said. “We worked on the car, got it right and had a shot at winning.”

DiBenedetto said he wasn’t surprised when Elliott moved to block him as the Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang surged forward.

“We had prepared for that exact scenario,” he said. “We had a good push and a huge run.

“We were all racing for the win, so there are no hard feelings. But [Elliott] double blocked us, and we had too big a run for him to do that.”

Despite being disappointed by the outcome, DiBenedetto’s focus remained on the positives.

“No regrets,” he said. “We did everything right.

“Our Menards/Dutch Boy team should be proud. We’ll take our good momentum and go get a win.”

DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team now head to Darlington Raceway for next Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500.

Menards

A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

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 Wood Brothers 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.

Accident Leaves Harvick 15th at Daytona
Driver of No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang Still Playoff Bound

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 11th / 15th (Running, completed 165 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (777 points, 249 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Kevin Harvick started 11th and finished 27th.
● Harvick wheeled his No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang around the low line of the 2.5-mile oval, climbing to seventh by lap three.
● Harvick opted for the high line on lap four and promptly rose to third.
● A dive back down to the low line off turn two on lap seven enabled Harvick to take the lead from William Byron
● Harvick held the top spot for two laps until Byron reassumed the lead.
● Harvick was 15th when the competition caution came out on lap 20, whereupon he pitted for four tires and fuel.
● Lined up 22nd for lap-26 restart.
● Harvick held steady at the back of the lead pack through the end of the stage, ultimately finishing 27th.
● “Balance is fine,” said Harvick. “I’ve just got to get in a better spot.”
● Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel at the end of the stage, and then pitted again to top off with fuel before the start of the second stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Harvick started 31st and finished 12th.
● Harvick climbed to 16th by lap 65 while utilizing the high line.
● The No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang withstood a shot in the rear bumper when cars got stacked up on lap 77 and caused an accident.
● Harvick was able to keep his car steady and he took advantage of the caution to pit for four tires and fuel on lap 80.
● Lined up 18th for lap-82 restart and climbed to 12th before the end of the stage.
● Pitted for right-side tires and fuel at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Harvick started third and finished 15th.
● The No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang took the lead on lap 108, swapped it with Chase Elliott on lap 109 before Harvick re-took the lead on lap 110. Joey Logano then assumed the top spot on lap 111.
● The jockeying up front was intense. Harvick kept his head, running the inside lane and dropping to eighth on lap 118.
● By lap 120, Harvick was back up to fifth, using the inside lane to make his way toward the front.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop for fuel only on lap 123 with fellow Ford drivers.
● Was 28th when the caution flag waved on lap 140 for a four-car accident off turn four.
● Harvick stayed out to gain some track position, restarting in eighth on lap 145.
● The caution flag waved again on lap 147 for a multicar accident on the backstretch that happened just behind Harvick.
● Harvick lined up 12th for the lap-151 restart.
● An 11-car melee erupted off turn four on lap 158, but Harvick deftly maneuvered through the chaos and came out unscathed.
● Harvick was fifth for the lap-164 restart as the race was set to go into overtime with a green-white-checkered finish.
● Harvick used the draft to his advantage and was third going into the final lap with momentum pushing him toward the lead.
● A bump from the car behind him while in turn three on the final lap sent Harvick spinning. The Unibet Ford Mustang bounced off the wall and into other cars. Harvick was able re-fire his machine and limp what was left of it across the finish line to bring home a 15th-place result as the last car on the lead lap.

Notes:

● Harvick qualified for the playoffs by virtue of his ninth-place finish in the regular-season standings.
● This is Harvick’s 12th consecutive playoff appearance and his 15th overall. He won the championship in 2014.
● Harvick led three times for four laps, increasing his laps led total at Daytona to 283.
● Harvick has now led 11,250 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 15,674 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.
● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 711th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its second straight. Ford driver Blaney also won the series’ prior race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
● This was Ford’s series-leading 39th win at Daytona. Ford scored its first win at the track with Tiny Lund on Feb. 24, 1963.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I didn’t see anything. I got hit in the left-rear quarterpanel and then we wrecked a lot, but everybody on our Unibet Ford Mustang did a good job. We had a shot there at the end and that’s all you can ask, and just wound up in a wreck.”

Playoff Standings:

1. Kyle Larson (2,052 points)
2. Ryan Blaney (2,024 points, -28)
3. Martin Truex Jr. (2,024 points, -28)
4. Kyle Busch (2,022 points, -30)
5. Chase Elliott (2,021 points, -31)
6. Alex Bowman (2,015 points, -37)
7. Denny Hamlin (2,015 points, -37)
8. William Byron (2,014 points, -38)
9. Joey Logano (2,013 points, -39)
10. Brad Keselowski (2,008 points, -44)
11. Kurt Busch (2,008 points, -44)
12. Christopher Bell (2,005 points, -47)
13. Michael McDowell (2,005 points, -47)
14. Aric Almirola (2,005 points, -47)
15. Tyler Reddick (2,003 points, -49)
16. Kevin Harvick (2,002 points, -50)

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Briscoe Finishes 21st at Daytona
Mobil 1 Driver Caught Up in Last-Lap Accident

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 16th / 21st (Accident, completed 164 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 22nd (466 points, 561 out of first)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Chase Briscoe started 16th and finished 22nd.
● At the start of the race, Briscoe radioed that he felt the Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was bottoming out, and he slipped outside the top-20.
● Briscoe was back inside the top-10 and scored eighth by the lap-20 competition caution. He pitted during the caution for fuel only, telling the team his handling was great. No adjustments were made, and he restarted ninth on lap 26.
● As the race returned to green, Briscoe made the decision to move to the second pack of cars with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick to avoid the “dicey racing” happening in the front pack.
● He was as far back as 27th on lap 30 but made his way up to 22nd by the end of the first stage. Briscoe pitted the Mobil 1 Ford for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments at the break and restarted 22nd for the second stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Briscoe started 22nd and finished 21st.
● He restarted 22nd on lap 56 but gained seven positions on the first green-flag lap to enter the top-15. On lap 72, he worked his way into the top-10.
● A second line of cars began to develop in the bottom lane, shuffling Briscoe back to the 14th position when the caution flag waved on lap 78.
● Briscoe lined up 13th for the lap-82 restart and remained in the top-15 until lap 91 when he was scored 21st. He maintained that position until the conclusion of the second stage on lap 100.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Briscoe started 20th and finished 21st.
● The Mobil 1 driver ran as high as seventh before pulling out of line to go to the back of the pack on lap 122.
● On lap 123, the Ford drivers made a scheduled green-flag pit stop for fuel only. When the No. 2 car lost the pack, Briscoe fell back to become his drafting partner and was scored in 35th once back up to speed.
● When the yellow flag came out on lap 141, Briscoe was able to take the wave-around and rejoin the lead lap. He restarted 30th on lap 145.
● On lap 147, Briscoe was nearly clear of a multicar wreck, but a car came back down the track and made contact with his No. 14 Ford Mustang, causing heavy damage. The team made two stops for repairs and restarted 27th on lap 151.
● Briscoe made it through the next caution period on lap 158 and lined up 14th for the first overtime attempt. As the field approached the checkered flag, Briscoe was running just outside the top-10 but was collected in the final multicar accident. He was unable to complete the final lap and was scored 21st, one lap down.

Notes:

● Briscoe was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie for the 22nd time this season.

● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 711th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its second straight. Ford driver Blaney also won the series’ prior race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

● This was Ford’s series-leading 39th win at Daytona. Ford scored its first win at the track with Tiny Lund on Feb. 24, 1963.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.

● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I’m not even really sure what happened at the end, but we had a really good Mobil 1 Ford Mustang, and I really felt like we’d have a shot. We just had trouble getting to pit road for the green-flag stop, and then we were so far behind. I thought we got a break when we got the wave-around chance, but then the wrecking started, and we just couldn’t avoid it. It’s tough, I thought we’d have shot, but we still have plenty of time to get a win before the season is done.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Almirola Finishes 14th at Daytona
Smithfield Ford Driver Advances to NASCAR Playoffs for Fourth Straight Season

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 11th / 14th (Running, completed 165 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 23rd with 458 regular season points; 2,005 points in Playoff Standings, 47 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Aric Almirola started 19th and finished 23rd.
● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford driver fell out of the draft at the beginning of the race and said he was sliding the tires and laying on the splitter.
● Almirola pitted during a caution on lap 23 for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments.
● On lap 44, he radioed that he needed the rear of the car down more to improve drivability.
● At the end of the stage, he pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments, then pitted again for more fuel.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Almirola started 29th and finished 22nd.
● On lap 65, Almirola told the Smithfield team that the adjustments made the car much better.
● Almirola was scored 17th on lap 72.
● On lap 77, Almirola was forced to check up due to multiple cars making contact on the inside line, ultimately spinning his car out of control and causing right-rear damage.
● Almirola pitted three times to repair the damage to make the racecar competitive.
● The No. 10 team pitted again at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and more repairs to the right rear.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Almirola started 35th and finished 14th.
● On lap 116, Almirola cracked the top-10 when the inside line began to gain momentum.
● Almirola pitted for fuel only under green on lap 123. He was scored 28th when he returned to the track.
● Almirola restarted third. He led the inside lane on lap 142 but was shuffled out to the bottom lane a lap later and fell to the rear.
● On lap 147, Almirola avoided a multicar accident that brought out the red flag.
● He pitted for four tires and fuel, and then restarted 19th.
● Another caution was thrown on lap 158, putting the race in overtime. Almirola avoided the incident and pitted for two tires and fuel under caution.
● Almirola restarted 19th and aggressively drove inside the top-20. Another multicar accident forced the Smithfield Ford driver to slam on the breaks and avoid as much contact as possible, and he crossed the finish line 14th.

Notes:

● Almirola qualified for the playoffs by winning July 18 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
● Almirola takes five bonus points into the playoffs via his win at New Hampshire.
● This is Almirola’s fifth playoff appearance and his fourth in a row.
● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 711th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its second straight. Ford driver Blaney also won the series’ prior race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
● This was Ford’s series-leading 39th win at Daytona. Ford scored its first win at the track with Tiny Lund on Feb. 24, 1963.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It was just one of those days. It was an up-and-down day. We definitely fought really hard to get track position, and I finally got it there at the end. I made a move to pull out on the restart. I thought the No. 41 might go with me, and I misjudged and kind of got hung out there on the bottom. Excited to move on to the playoffs and make a run for the championship.”

Playoff Standings:

1. Kyle Larson (2,052 points)
2. Ryan Blaney (2,024 points, -28)
3. Martin Truex Jr. (2,024 points, -28)
4. Kyle Busch (2,022 points, -30)
5. Chase Elliott (2,021 points, -31)
6. Alex Bowman (2,015 points, -37)
7. Denny Hamlin (2,015 points, -37)
8. William Byron (2,014 points, -38)
9. Joey Logano (2,013 points, -39)
10. Brad Keselowski (2,008 points, -44)
11. Kurt Busch (2,008 points, -44)
12. Christopher Bell (2,005 points, -47)
13. Michael McDowell (2,005 points, -47)
14. Aric Almirola (2,005 points, -47)
15. Tyler Reddick (2,003 points, -49)
16. Kevin Harvick (2,002 points, -50)

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Landon Cassill Finishes 37th at Daytona
Strong Run by Carnomaly Toyota Driver Thwarted by Late Multicar Accident

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 39th / 37th (Accident, completed 146 of 165 laps)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Landon Cassill started 39th and finished 26th.
● The No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry quickly made its way up through the field and gained 10 spots by lap two of the 160-lap race. Cassill ran around that spot until the lap-20 competition caution. He was running 30th when the caution came out.
● After a quick pit stop for fuel only, the No. 96 Carnomaly driver came back out in 20th, his first time in the top-20 this race.
● When green-flag racing resumed on lap 25, Cassill continued his journey through the field, making it as high as 10th while running in the lead pack.
● Ultimately, Cassill lost the lead draft and fell back in the pack in the final 15 laps of the stage. He finished 26th.
● During the stage break, Cassill brought his No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry down pit road for four tires and fuel. He reported the balance was good and he felt secure in the car.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Cassill started 16th and finished 24th.
● When the second stage got underway, the No. 96 Carnomaly driver worked his way up to 11th after just three laps into the run.
● After battling with the draft, Cassill fell back in the pack to 24th in the initial laps of the stage. He worked his way up into the top-20 by lap 70.
● Cassill avoided the lap-78 wreck that brought out the caution and restarted the race on lap 81 in 15th.
● Just two laps into the run, Cassill was sitting ninth, breaking into the top-10 for the second time of the race.
● As the second stage came to an end, Cassill was shuffled back to 24th.
● During the stage break, Cassill reported that his No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry was continuing to be consistent and stable. The team pitted for four tires and fuel.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Cassill started 22nd and finished 37th.
● The No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry got shuffled back in the pack on the restart and fell all the way to 36th in the opening laps of the stage.
● As the run continued, Cassill was able to work his way up to 12th with the help of the draft.
● On lap 124, Cassill reported that he needed to bring his No. 96 Carnomaly Camry down pit road soon. The team opted to stay out, which worked in their favor as Cassill worked his way up into the top-five before the caution came out on lap 138.
● During the caution, the No. 96 Carnomaly team pitted for fuel only. Cassill restarted 17th when the race went back green on lap 144.
● Unfortunately, Cassill was caught up in the lap-147 wreck, abruptly ending his strong run at Daytona. The No. 96 Carnomaly Camry could not continue the race due to the damage sustained. Cassill was credited with 37th place.

Notes:

● The Coke Zero Sugar 400 marked Cassill’s milestone 500th career start across NASCAR’s top-three series – Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck.
● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry:

“We had a pretty decent race going, and it was shaping up at the end. We proved what we had there going into the last stint since the last pit stop. The No. 96 Carnomaly Camry was running in the top-five with the other Toyotas. That was really the first time all day I had gotten my car in the outside lane, and it ran really well up there. I was really proud of that and really proud of the race we ran. It stinks. At Daytona it’s really hard to miss these wrecks, but you can always do something different. I’ll certainly replay that one in my mind many times, but it’s over now.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry
Race Recap for the Coke Zero Sugar 400

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 4th/35th (Accident, completed 156 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 4th (2,022 points, 30 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Kyle Busch started fourth and finished third, earning eight bonus points.
● Busch started in the top-five with his Interstate Batteries Toyota and held his spot up toward the front of the field.
● The driver of the No. 18 came for a fuel-only stop on lap 22 during the caution for the competition yellow and then restarted 13th on lap 24.
● The Interstate Batteries Toyota driver worked his way back up through the field and into the top-five. He reached the third spot to end Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Busch started 23rd and finished eighth, earning three bonus points.
● The Interstate Batteries Toyota came to pit road following the stage on lap 53 to take on four tires and fuel. The No. 18 over-the-wall team performed an impressive stop, putting him to the lead off pit road.
● With the team hoping to make the next 50-lap stage without having to stop, crew chief Ben Beshore made the decision to come back to pit road with one to go before the field took the green for Stage 2 to top off the fuel tank, helping to ensure they made the entire stage on one tank of fuel.
● The Interstate Batteries driver restarted deep in the field, but he moved up quickly again, reaching the third spot by lap 60.
● Busch got shuffled out of the draft with three laps go in the stage and lost a few spots, but he still earned stage points by finishing eighth in the second stage.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Busch started 10th and finished 35th.
● The Interstate Batteries driver restarted the final stage within the top-10 and held his spot up front until the caution waved on lap 140.
● Busch came to pit road two laps later to take on fuel only and restarted in the ninth position.
● The Interstate Batteries driver fell to 13th. As the field came out of turn four on lap 156, Busch was caught up in a multicar accident ahead of him and was not able to finish the race after what had looked like a promising night of running up front.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“There was a bunch of blocking going on, and guys got crossed up. I don’t know if anyone touched me, I just lost it trying to check up and stay out of it. Just frustrating to come to these places and wonder if you are going to walk out of here. Thanks to Interstate Batteries, Toyota and M&M’S. And we’ll see what we can do next week.”

Team Interstate Results:

● Denny Hamlin finished 14th.
● Martin Truex Jr. finished 30th.
● Christopher Bell finished 33rd.
● Kyle Busch finished 35th.

Team Interstate Points:

Martin Truex Jr. (3rd with 2,024 points, 28 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Kyle Busch (4th with 2,022 points, 30 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Denny Hamlin (7th with 2,015 points, 37 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Christopher Bell (12th with 2,005 points, 47 out of first – IN THE PLAYOFFS)

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Custer Finishes 25th at Daytona
Late Accident Foils Top-Five Bid for Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford

Date: Aug. 28, 2021
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway(2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 25th / 25th (Running, completed 164 of 165 laps)
Point Standing: 28th (394 points)
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Cole Custer started 25th and finished 18th.
● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford made steady forward progress from the wave of the green flag. Custer cracked the top-10 by lap 15 and was eighth when the competition caution flag flew on lap 20. Custer said his racecar started out “a little free,” but then he began “losing the front end a bit.” He pitted for fuel only and restarted second on lap 25.
● Custer held his position in the top-three, climbing up to second on laps 42 and 43, before pulling out of line and dropping back to 18th by the end of the stage. He said his Mustang now was “just a bit tight, but pretty good there at the end.” He pitted during the break for four tires and fuel, then pitted a second time a lap later to top off the fuel tank.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Custer started 26th and finished 23rd.
● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford moved up to 18th during the opening laps of the stage and maintained that relative position. Custer was running 22nd when the first incident-related caution flag appeared on lap 77. Custer cleared the four-car incident in turn four before reporting he liked the balance of his racecar, even though it was “a tick tight.” He pitted for four tires, fuel and a left-rear track-bar adjustment and restarted 19th on lap 81.
● Custer again made forward progress on the restart and reached the top-15 within two laps. He held that relative position before the final laps of the stage, when he again stepped out of line to “keep from getting wrecked.” He asked to have his Mustang “freed up a little bit” before pitting for four tires, fuel and another track-bar adjustment.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-165):

● Custer started 22nd and finished 25th.
● The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford driver held his position for the first 18 green-flag laps of the stage before hitting pit road on lap 123 with the rest of the Fords for a round of fuel-only stops. Custer said his Mustang was “still too tight here,” but he was able to manage the issue.
● Custer and the lead Ford contingent stayed in a pack over the next 17 laps, but then a three-car accident in turn four brought out the caution flag. Custer and the lead Fords stayed on track and moved to the front while the remainder of the field pitted. Custer restarted eighth on lap 144.
● An eight-car accident on the backstretch behind Custer less than two laps later brought out the caution flag after he had moved up to fifth place. The race was red-flagged for 14 minutes, 51 seconds before resuming under caution on lap 147. Custer restarted fifth on lap 150.
● Custer stayed in the top-five for the next several laps before losing the draft. He was still holding position in the top-10, but he got collected in an 11-car accident in turn four on lap 156. The Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford suffered damage that required multiple trips down pit lane for repairs.
● Custer restarted 26th for the green-white-checkered finish on lap 163. He picked up one position before the checkered flag.

Notes:

● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin over second-place Chris Buescher was .773 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 711th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its second straight. Ford driver Blaney also won the series’ prior race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

● This was Ford’s series-leading 39th win at Daytona. Ford scored its first win at the track with Tiny Lund on Feb. 24, 1963.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.

● Only 16 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

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

“Bad luck – if we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t have any luck at all after something like that. We had a good Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford and were in a good position at the end, but we just couldn’t take advantage of it. It’s disappointing, but we can only look ahead and see we have 10 more chances to get to victory lane.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 5, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 29, 2021

KYLE LARSON CROWNED THE NASCAR CUP SERIES REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION
Six Team Chevy Drivers Lock into NCS Playoffs

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 29, 2021) – The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season has been an unprecedented year for Kyle Larson. The battle for the NCS Regular Season Championship all came down to the 400-mile, 160-lap race at the famed Daytona International Speedway, where the 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver captured his first-career NCS Regular Season Championship title. In addition to the title, the Chevrolet driver will enter the 10-race playoff run with 15 additional playoff points to kickoff the fight for the coveted title of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.

“Our team has worked so hard all of the regular season,” said Larson. “I couldn’t do it without Mr. Hendrick and Linda and all of their support. Everybody back at the shop, too. This is a long season and we still have 10 races to go. It’s a long point to get here and it’s just a big hats off to everybody at the shop. HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, Tarlton and Son, everybody who’s been on board to help us out this year.”

Larson’s debut season with Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 Camaro ZL1 1LE team took the NASCAR Cup Series competition by storm. Through 26 races thus far, Larson leads the series in wins with five, a career-best; top-five finishes (14); top-10’s (18); stage wins (12); 37 playoff points; and a career-best 1,566 laps led. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took over the point lead from Denny Hamlin following his win at Watkins Glen and came into the regular-season finale at the World Center of Racing with a 28-point advantage.

“Congratulations to Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team on clinching the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports. “It was quite a battle right to the end, but the combination of the most wins, top-five’s, top-10 finishes, stage wins and laps led made the difference to secure this Regular Season Championship. The team has momentum going into the Playoffs.”

The 16-driver playoff field is set for the NASCAR Cup Series, with six Chevrolet drivers securing their chance to battle for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kurt Busch, and Tyler Reddick. Heading into the 10-race stretch, momentum is with the Bowtie Brand after capturing 13 wins in 26 NCS races.

Chevrolet is entering the championship hunt in search of a back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championship after Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, captured his first-career Championship in 2020, giving Chevrolet its 32nd Championship title in NASCAR’s premier series. The Bowtie Brand also sits atop the NCS Manufacturer Standings in pursuit of its 40th title. “It’s great to have six Chevrolet drivers locked into the 2021 Playoffs,” said Campbell.

There are three rounds of Playoffs (3 races per round) in the 2021 format, plus one final championship-crowning season finale. Four drivers will be eliminated following each round of three. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs commences at Darlington Raceway with the annual Cook Out Southern 500 at 6 p.m. ET on September 5. Live coverage of the 367-mile, 501.3-mile race can be found on NBCSN, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Kyle Larson. Congratulations on winning the NASCAR regular season championship. Give us a quick recap of the race from your vantage point, but also the opportunity to take home that regular season championship trophy.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, the race went well until the last lap. We didn’t get any stage points the first time, first stage, and the 11 did. I felt like after thinking about it a little bit more if I could just kind of follow him and stay close to him in the second stage, he wouldn’t gain much on me.

It actually ended up where I beat him in the second stage. That gave me a little bit more comfort going into the final one. We were able to dodge a couple wrecks. He actually got collected in one of them. Then it was kind of go for the win at that point.

Just things didn’t work out for me in the green-white-checkered. Ended up getting shuffled back, then getting right in the middle of that wreck. Yeah, bummer that we didn’t get to finish well, but we accomplished the goal going into tonight, which was coming away with the regular season title.
Got those 15 bonus points. Now we can look forward to the next 10 weeks and hopefully get some more wins.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Kyle.

Q. How special is it to lead the way with an historical team and number?
KYLE LARSON: It’s cool. I think just racing the car in general for Mr. H, what that paint scheme and number means to him, it means a lot to me for him to kind of have that trust in me to carry it on. Had a lot of success with it this year, have ourselves positioned in a good spot to chase the championship.

Would have loved to put that car and that paint scheme with HendrickCars.com on it in Victory Lane more often throughout the rest of the year, especially in Phoenix.

Q. You’ll have a huge points lead going into the round of 16. With that margin, what tracks do you have circled in the Playoffs that you feel more confident about?
KYLE LARSON: I mean, I think there’s a lot of good tracks for us. I don’t know which ones specifically. I feel like we have a shot to win anywhere right now. That’s encouraging.

I really just look forward to getting it started next week, kind of getting into the flow of that, racing in the Playoffs against multiple other drivers chasing points and wins.

Yeah, I feel good about it.

Q. What is the possibility seeing all Hendrick cars make the Final 4?
KYLE LARSON: It would be hard to get all of us in the Final 4 at Phoenix, but it’s not impossible either. We’ve all four been really strong I feel like all season long. It’s been nice to have us all win this year and challenge for many other wins. Yeah, it’s not impossible, but it’s definitely going to be tough. That would be awesome.

Q. You’re a guy that’s used to going out and your philosophy is win, win, win. How are you going to temper that balance to win a championship? You’ve never really been in a position to be the favorite going into the Playoffs, at least at the Cup level?
KYLE LARSON: I don’t know, I feel like we’ve kind of had that mindset the last month or so already. It’s not been all about just winning. Once points kind of came into the picture of us being able to beat the 11, kind of points racing against him. I think getting into that mindset, that kind of style it takes to not be so go for broke, which I feel like is a lot of what you need. You obviously have to have that go for broke somewhere in your arsenal.

Yeah, I think a lot of it, you can’t make any big mistakes and take yourself out of it. That’s what we’ve been doing this last month and a half or so. I feel like that’s been good to prep us leading into the Playoffs.

Q. Is there anything you’re looking at as far as changing what you have been doing? Will you continue to race as much outside of NASCAR?
KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I mean, I’ve answered that question a lot. Naturally the schedule, there’s not a lot of midweek racing. There’s no speedweeks and stuff this time of year. I can’t go race as much as I have been.

I’m still going to race. I think it’s been a big part of what’s made me, what’s gotten us to this point, this strong on Sundays, is being fresh throughout the week. Competing is a big part of me.
Yeah, I’m going to race when I can. Hopefully we do a good job in the Playoffs.

Q. From your point of view, what differences did you see with the package compared to Daytona and Talladega earlier this season?
KYLE LARSON: I didn’t really get to race Talladega. Race ended before the race started almost.
The 500, from what I remember of that, I feel like the runs were maybe just a touch smaller. Maybe it was a little easier to block runs and stuff because of that.

But really I didn’t think it was way different. The other drivers who kind of were up front would maybe have a different opinion. From where I was, I didn’t think it was way different.

Q. Looking forward to the Playoffs, are there any tracks in particular that you’re looking forward to the most?
KYLE LARSON: I mean, I think I’m happy to start off at Darlington. It’s a fun racetrack. There’s a lot of good racetracks for us and our race team. I’m really looking forward to Bristol. It’s my favorite race of the year, favorite racetrack. We only get to go there really once this year I feel like. Hopefully take advantage of that and have a good time and get my first win at Bristol.

Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of good tracks. Really we look forward to all of them.

Q. Talladega is not that far away. Did you learn anything you can take to Talladega from tonight?
KYLE LARSON: I’m not sure. Obviously there’s always something that you take away from each race. I think after going back and looking at some video, really studying this race, I think you’ll be able to learn a little bit more going to Talladega.

Yeah, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it yet.

Q. Looking ahead to the Playoffs, is there a certain driver or team you feel is your biggest competition?
KYLE LARSON: I mean, I think everybody has had their moments of being really strong this year. I think the three others, my teammates, are going to be really tough. I think I look at obviously Denny, Martin, Kyle Busch as probably being the three others besides our team that stand out.

I feel like there’s always one or two guys that you don’t really notice that much during the regular season, maybe don’t even notice that much in the first round, but really start hitting their stride after that. There’s probably definitely a few wild cards out there. You won’t really know who they are until we get a few races in.

THE MODERATOR: Kyle, thank you for joining us. Congratulations once again. Best of luck in the Playoffs this season.

KYLE LARSON: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 28, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER/COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 77 FOE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Ryan Blaney (Ford)
2nd Chris Buescher (Ford)
3rd Bubba Wallace (Toyota)
4th Ryan Newman (Ford)
5th Ryan Preece (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, September 5, at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th
WERE YOU NERVOUS AT ANY POINT IN THE RACE GIVEN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?
“There was definitely so much happening there during the race and I didn’t get nervous till Stage 3 there on a restart that I thought was coming, but he did a really good job of matching the move with Chase Elliott going three-wide on the bottom and we lost all the track position that we gained there in Stage 2. From that point on we had the cycles and the cautions that came when we got collected in that accident with 15 to go. Yeah, that is when the nerves kind of shot up because the car is crashed, we were out of the draft, and not really sure what was going to happen. We caught a caution and fortunately got through that last crash. Even more fortunate than that was that Ryan Blaney was able to win and if you look at the guys from third to myself, if any of those guys win but Blaney, we are having a different conversation.”

WITH THE SMOKE COMING OUT OF YOUR CAR, WAS THERE ANY POINT WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE?
“Well, once the vitals on the dash showed everything was fine, me personally, I wasn’t worried. It was a matter of getting the oil that was trapped or stuck…..just a matter of time for it to just work its way out of the car and to stop looking like we were having all kinds of leaks. That is when NASCAR thought we still had a leak. Technically our engine was good, and we didn’t have any leaks. We just had some fluid lying around from the accident.”

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE MOST PRESSURED SITUATIONS YOU HAVE BEEN IN BEFORE?
“Almost more than the Xfinity Series Championship honestly because you have so many drivers that were in the top 15 that could win and change everything for our year. So yeah, a lot of nerves running right there and getting through that crash somehow like we did, and getting the finish and crossing the line and whatnot. Still got sixth and we got lucky.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1L1 – Finished 8th
END OF THE REGULAR SEASON AND INTO THE PLAYOFFS. ALEX, AS YOU GET READY TO GO PLAYOFF RACING, WHERE’S YOUR TEAM AT AND HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU STACK UP AS WE GO TO DARLINGTON NEXT WEEK?
“Yeah, we definitely struggled the three weeks after the two off weeks. But solid top-10 here today for the No. 48 Ally Camaro. Last year, we were miserable all summer and then showed up in the Playoffs and were really strong each and every week. I’m not worried about it. I know we’re going to be good every week. Our Ally Camaro is going to be fast. Greg (Ives, crew chief) and the guys have been doing a really good job. Confident going into a lot of good racetracks for us and excited to get going.”

ARE THERE TRACKS THAT YOU’RE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO AND IS THERE A TRACK OR TWO THAT YOU’RE HOPING TO GET A GOOD RUN AT IN THESE PLAYOFF RACES?
“Yeah, obviously we won Richmond; excited to go there. That was always the one that I circled that I was worried about. Since we’ve gotten a little better there over the last couple of years, it’s cool to have a win there and be excited to go there rather than somewhat dreading it. But then, the typical good racetracks for us – Las Vegas, Darlington, Kansas – a lot of good places for us. Just excited to get going.”

WHAT’S YOUR TAKEAWAY FOR YOUR RUN AT DAYTONA?
“We crashed three times and ran eighth; pretty typical superspeedway race. At least we made it to the end there. We had a pretty solid car until we got that left-front damage. It was just kind of slow after that, but the guys did a good job trying to fix it up on pit road. We had a good Ally Camaro. Wish we would have been a couple spots better, but just ready to go Playoff racing and have this one done and over with.”

WHAT IS YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL GOING INTO THE FIRST RACE OF THE PLAYOFFS?
“It’s been a rough stretch since the two off weeks, but I feel like we were really successful last year in the Playoffs and we have the ability to repeat that and go further. I’m excited; a lot of great racetracks for us.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
CHASE, NINTH-PLACE FINISH TONIGHT. INITIAL TAKEWAYS FROM YOUR RUN.
“We had a really, really fast UniFirst Chevrolet. I thought we were probably better than we’ve ever been down here. Just a lot of ability in our car to do the things that we’ve been asking of it for a few years. So, we’re really excited about that. I hate to crash there. It’s so tough when you get in those situations where you have the lead and trying to hold it. You have big runs coming and it’s just like, where do you draw the line.”
“I feel like you’ve got to be pretty aggressive or you’re going to get taken advantage of. That’s just the style of racing.”

YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE TO GO BACK-TO-BACK?
“I feel like the same thing that it was last year. Just execute a really solid 10 weeks and try to be at our very best during the most important part of the year. We’ll see how it stacks up. It’s hard to time those things up, but we’ll try our best to do that.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 COLUMBIA PFG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“Thought we had a good Columbia Chevy, we rode for most of the race and went hard towards the end. Got towards the front and were in position just didn’t get through the last wreck at the end. Proud that we brought a good car, and hope that we get to have Columbia back on the car.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th
“For us, we wanted to protect the car and get it to the end and have a shot to win. Five points in the Playoffs is what we were after. Secondary was to push the 42 of Chastain, but in the end, the lineup……they couldn’t seem to find out which lane all of us were supposed to restart in. Really doesn’t matter for the lineup if they just let us choose which lane. Some weeks we get to choose, some weeks we don’t. There are too many different inconsistencies and then all hell breaks loose at the end of plate racing and everybody is ripping and gouging for themselves. The Monster Energy Chevrolet is all beat up, and I got it close, but I don’t even know if we got a top 10 out of it. We will see where things shake out. It’s what it is and now we are in Playoff mode. I can feel it and we have a good 10 weeks ahead of us.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“It was a little bit of a roller coaster ride. We fought our butts off in the stages. We made some good moves to get points and found ourselves in fourth-place for a green-white-checkered here at Daytona. That’s where we were when we won the Daytona 500, so I was feeling pretty good about it. I don’t know – looking back, I wish I would have been a little more patient and probably stay in the top line. But I had a run and they all kind of boggled getting into (turn) three, so I went with the 17 (Chris Buescher) just to see if we could get all the way to the front. The 42 (Ross Chastain) kind of left us at the line and our night was over there. We were kind of in the middle, had a big run and then the crash happened.”

“We fought hard. The Bass Pro Shop Chevy was very fast. Two weeks in a row we’ve had great cars out of the 3 Team. Just haven’t gotten the finishes we’d like to have, but very thankful that the good Lord took care of us tonight and we get to race at Darlington next week. Unfortunate that we’re not in the Playoffs, but we gave it all we could and fought until the very end.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st; Clinched Regular Season Championship.
“We had a stretch there where we won like every Stage and every race for a few weeks in a row. I think we took huge chunks out then. I think I read somewhere where we overcame I think a 166-point gap to Denny (Hamlin). I didn’t think it was possible, but our team has worked so hard all of the regular season. I couldn’t do it without Mr. Hendrick and Linda and all of their support. Everybody back at the shop, too. This is a long season and we still have 10 races to go. It’s a long point to get here and it’s just a big hats off to everybody at the shop. HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, Tarlton and Son, everybody who’s been on board to help us out this year.”

WHEN YOU FIRST SIGNED ON AND MR. HENDRICK CALLED YOU AND SAID, ‘HEY WE’RE GOING TO MAKE THIS A-GO’, DID YOU HONESTLY THINK THIS WAS POSSIBLE WITH THE NO. 5 TEAM?
“Yeah, I did for sure. I honestly thought we’d get off to a slower start than we did. But I felt like we could string together some good runs. We’ve had speed all season, so we actually started off the year better than I thought. I didn’t expect to go through that stretch where we were winning every week. But with all of the success that they had last year for Chase (Elliott) and the other three drivers, I knew that it was possible. We just have great people that work so hard and I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive it. It’s really credit to everybody back at the shop.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 145; Finished 38th
TOUGH NIGHT TONIGHT. TOUGH END TO THE REGULAR SEASON, BUT STILL IN THE PLAYOFFS. WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK GOING INTO DARLINGTON?
“Just reset. Tonight was going OK. I thought we were kind of biding our time to the end and tried to put ourselves in a good position. We had pretty good momentum on the top to make something happen and just got cleaned out. That’s part of it; part of racing. We’ll go onto Darlington and reset for the Playoffs.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE IN ALL THAT?
“It looks like I was just one row short of getting through it. I was basically with the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) and the No. 19 (Martin Truex) came up the track all of a sudden…yeah, just got off-center and got loose; the No. 19 did. We were the meat in the sandwich there. That’s just how it goes sometimes.”

“I thought we were having an OK night. We were third in Stage 2 and got some Stage points. And then, just trying to get back to the front and just nowhere to go. We’ll go onto Darlington and get ready for the Playoffs.”

THE RACING WAS DIFFERENT TONIGHT. WHAT WAS THE FEELING BEHIND THE WHEEL AND IN THE PACK?
“The lanes were really tight so there wasn’t a lot of room to make a gap. You just kind of basically got pushed into the next guy in front of you. So, it was kind of like bumper cars out there. And just bumper car your way to the front and hope you can kind of control the lane. We were able to control the lane early, and then we never really got the right position to do so again. So, it was just kind of like bumper cars out there.”

MORE SO THAN USUAL?
“Yeah, I think so. More so than usual just because, I don’t know exactly why. I don’t know if it was the less horsepower or the wicker off the back. But it seemed like you could never kind of get separation and get pushed out, so you were just kind of always being pushed back to the guy behind you. I think there was a half a lap I pushed the No. 3 car (Austin Dillon) and so, it was just all strategy to try to put yourself in the right spot.”

WITH THIS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, ARE YOU READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS?
“Absolutely. We’re excited. We finished fourth at Darlington in the Spring, and I feel like we’ll have a good car there. So, I’m excited for the first round.”

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

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

Erik Jones and the No. 43 Columbia PFG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team finished in the 12th-place in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Saturday, August 28.

The lineup for the 160-lap event was determined by using NASCAR’s competition-based formula, which takes into account finishing positions from the previous race (weighted 25% owner and 25% driver, 18th-place Michigan International Speedway), the ranking in team owner points (35%, 24th-place) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15%). Jones started the event at the 2.5-mile track in Daytona Beach, Fla., from the 21st-place on Row 11.

“I thought we had a good No. 43 Columbia PFG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. We rode for most of the race and went hard towards the end. We got towards the front and were in position for a strong finish – just did not get through the last wreck at the end. Proud that our Richard Petty Motorsport team brought a fast Chevrolet.

“I hope that we get to have Columbia back on the car this season.”

-Erik Jones