LANDON CASSILL
Daytona Advance
No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry

Event Overview
● Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 28
● Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
● Layout: 2.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 160 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 50 laps / Stage 2: 50 laps / Final Stage: 60 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● When NASCAR Cup Series veteran Landon Cassill straps into the cockpit of the No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing (GBR) on Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, it will be his milestone 500th career start across NASCAR’s top-three series.

● Saturday night’s 400-mile race on the 2.5-mile Daytona oval will be the 325th of Cassill’s Cup Series career dating back to his debut on June 13, 2010 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. It will be his first Cup Series start since the 2019 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 32-year-old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will be just 24 hours removed from his 167th career NASCAR Xfinity Series start dating back to 2007. His 499th career NASCAR start comes Friday night in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona, which will be his 23rd start of the season as a fulltime competitor for JD Motorsports. Cassill also raced in eight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events in 2008 and 2010.

● Carnomaly, the world’s leading automotive crypto company with an eye on revolutionizing the future of the automotive industry, will serve as the primary partner for Cassill and the No. 96 GBR Toyota both Saturday night at Daytona and for the Oct. 3 YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Carnomaly’s fleet of tech solutions is designed to bring digital innovation to the automotive industry through the power of blockchain and crypto technology. Through the company’s innovation, Carnomaly is on a path to change the way consumers buy, sell, shop, report and finance new or used vehicles. The Coke Zero 400 will be its first appearance as a primary team partner in NASCAR.

● The No. 96 Carnomaly Toyota Camry will be making GBR’s 79th start since joining the Cup Series as a part-time team in 2017 and its sixth start of 2021.Team owner Marty Gaunt’s almost two-decades-long relationship with Toyota dates back to his ownership of Toyota-powered Clean Line Racing in the Truck Series, which became Red Horse Racing, as well as his executive role in the formation of Red Bull’s nascent Toyota-powered Cup Series team. Gaunt’s Toyota ties strengthened after the 2008 season, when he purchased Triad Racing Development, which leased Toyota engines across NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Truck series and continues to be NASCAR’s exclusive distributor of Toyota parts as Triad Racing. Gaunt founded GBR in 2010, with his eponymous team starting out in the Canada-based NASCAR Pinty’s Series and the U.S.-based NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Its first driver, Jason Bowles, scored GBR’s maiden victory in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, with the precursor to that win being the pole position in track-record time at the 2011 Streets of Toronto 100. After seven years competing in NASCAR’s development divisions, Gaunt stepped up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017.

● Saturday night’s race will be the seventh on the Daytona oval for GBR. D.J. Kennington drove it to a best finish of 13th in the July 2018 race, and Parker Kligerman drove it to 15th in the 2019 Daytona 500. A year ago this weekend, Daniel Suárez drove the No. 96 GBR Toyota to the lead midway through the race and led 19 laps before an accident on the next-to-last scheduled lap of the race ended his bid. In this past February’s Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500, veteran driver Ty Dillon finished a solid sixth in the No. 96 Toyota but was nipped at the finish line by .04 of a second in his bid to qualify for The Great American Race. It marked the highest Duel finish ever by a team that did not qualify for the Daytona 500.

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

Your first career start in the Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota will be the milestone 500th of your career across NASCAR’s top-three series. Does that make Saturday night’s race that much more special for you?

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s been an interesting couple of years with COVID and running fulltime in Xfinity. You know, I’ve made a vast majority of my career starts in the Cup Series, but it’s really exciting to be making my 500th NASCAR start. I guess I have a lot of experience (laughs). It’s kind of humbling and emotional, honestly, to think about making that many starts. That’s a career, not just getting in by luck or by chance. It’s a lot of work and sacrifice from my family and support from my family and teams and sponsors over the years that have given me opportunities time and again. It’s pretty incredible.”

One of the things that you’re known for is taking care of equipment and being there at the end of the race. How important will that be for you Saturday night at Daytona?

“That’s what it’s about. You want to be fast and you want to show your speed, but the most important thing is to see the white flag because that’s the only way to give yourself a chance at these places. For me, the first 50 laps are going to be where I want to feel the car and understand my spotter and really try to get an idea of what this team is going to be like. We don’t have any practice or qualifying, so I really want to use the first part of the race to get comfortable and communicate with my crew chief and maybe get through a pit stop cycle before I really start getting aggressive.”

Do you feel having raced in Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race will help you get up to speed more quickly Saturday night?

“With the car just on another level in the Cup Series, I don’t think technically it’ll help me. But I think fundamentally I’ll be in the mindset, I’ll be fresh off a race, I will have done things right, I’ll have things that I’ll want to improve from the night before, so I think it’s definitely helpful that I’ll have myself in the right mindset going into Saturday.”

Everyone says you can’t succeed at the superspeedway events without the help of friends. You’ll be one of seven Toyota drivers out there Saturday night. How does that bode for you and the No. 96 team?

“It’s definitely good equipment, it’s definitely good company to be in. Gaunt Brothers has a relationship with those teams that they’ve earned and built, so I’m just looking forward to getting in the car and doing the best service that I can for everyone.”

You and team owner Marty Gaunt have talked about racing together over the years, and now you finally get your chance. How far back does your relationship go?

“When I first worked with Marty, I ran his engines at BK Racing back in 2012. We haven’t really worked together since then, but we’ve both been in the sport and we’re both very deep into the business and we’ve known each other well. We talk pretty consistently, always have stayed in touch, and we just have really good conversations.”

How special is it for you to bring Carnomaly to an actual NASCAR Cup Series race after partnering with the company in esports?

“Carnomaly is really cool, and it’s really exciting for me to bring them in because it’s the blend of my love for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and automotive. Carnomaly is really breaking new ground in the cryptocurrency space by creating an automotive-focused platform that’s all on their blockchain, and it’s a really incredible technology that’s going to have a lot of cool use cases in the automotive world. So, as a kid who grew up in car dealerships and racecars, and now my recent dealings with cryptocurrency, it’s a really good partnership. That’s really where it came from almost a year ago when I first started talking with Carnomaly and got them involved on the esports side.”

How long have you been active in cryptocurrency and how were you able to bring companies like Carnomaly into NASCAR?

“I got into cryptocurrency back in 2013 and it’s something that’s delivered a great yield for me, personally. But I really decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to bring it into my professional career and I started networking in the space and meeting people. Networking in the cryptospace is how I developed relationships with Carnomaly, and with Voyager, my partner on the Xfinity Series side. Voyager is the first fulltime primary sponsorship that’s paid for entirely in cryptocurrency. It’s my marquee partner sponsoring my No. 4 car at JD Motorsports all season long in the Xfinity Series. It’s helped break new ground with partnerships like Carnomaly, which is more proof that NASCAR is a great place for these new companies and new networks and new communities to be to get their name out there and show their use cases. For Carnomaly, it’s exciting to get them to the Cup Series, get them to a couple of tracks where we could have a shot at winning the race, especially with a car like the No. 96 at Gaunt Brothers. They’ve got just really good equipment and stuff that’s capable of running really well.”

CHASE BRISCOE
Daytona Advance
No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview
● Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 28
● Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
● Layout: 2.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 160 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 50 laps / Stage 2: 50 laps / Final Stage: 60 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will sport a new look this weekend with Mobil 1, the Official Motor Oil of NASCAR since 2003, serving as the primary partner at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the first time this season. Mobil 1 products are used throughout the racecar and they extend beyond just engine oil. Power steering fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil and driveline lubricants from Mobil 1 give Briscoe and team a technical advantage over their counterparts by reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance.

● The bold new livery features the Mobil 1 brand’s iconic Pegasus and Mobil1Thousand.com on the TV panel. Mobil 1 Thousand is a weekly contest guaranteeing that if Mobil 1 wins, fans win. Through the remainder of the season, one fan will win $1,000 or more if a NASCAR Cup Series driver who uses Mobil 1 scores the victory. The sweepstakes remains open through the NASCAR postseason, with even higher prize totals for the playoffs and special bonuses for cutoff races. Fans can sign up at Mobil1Thousand.com for a chance to win.

● Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona marks the end of the regular season for the Cup Series drivers and Briscoe’s last chance to earn a spot in the 16-driver playoff field. Though his rookie season was slow to start, the No. 14 team has shown more speed and consistency over the last three races. Briscoe earned his third top-10 of the season at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International before heading home to compete on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. At Indy, he qualified on the front row, led a total of 12 laps and was contending for the win before a last-lap run-in with leader Denny Hamlin left him one-lap down in 26th. In the Cup Series’ most recent outing at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn last Sunday, Briscoe struggled in the early stages of the race before advancing as high as fifth with five laps remaining. Kurt Busch’s car snapped loose in front of Briscoe, causing damage to the nose of the No. 14 Ford and costing Briscoe positions, but he held on for an 11th-place finish.

● Briscoe made his Cup Series debut in this year’s Daytona 500 and finished 19th after sustaining damage early in the race when the car in front of him had a tire go down and made contact with the No. 14. Outside of the Cup Series, Briscoe has made six starts at Daytona – four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one apiece in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. His best finish is third, earned twice – August 2020 in the Xfinity Series and February 2017 in the Truck Series.

● Briscoe will also compete in Friday night’s Wawa 250 Xfinity Series race piloting the No. 99 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for BJ McLeod Motorsports. It’s his second Xfinity Series start of the season, the last coming at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, where he finished sixth.

● With 25 races complete in the Cup Series season, Briscoe is 22nd in the driver championship standings and leads the Rookie of the Year battle by 213 points over Anthony Alfredo.

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

You’re running double duty. How does that help at a track like Daytona, where success is really about staying out of trouble?

“I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of years running Daytona in the Xfinity Series. There were only two Fords in the field and we had to work so hard to run well against everyone else when all the manufacturers and multicar teams work together. It was more rewarding to come out of those races with a good finish and you felt like you really did something when you were at a deficit in terms of numbers. It’ll be fun to do that and help the other Fords in the field and add to those numbers. Superspeedway racing is a completely different game. Running on Friday will just give me a chance to go in with nothing to lose and get a feel for that type of racing coming off of all the road-course races. Michigan gave us a little taste of it with the way the draft works there, but there’s nothing like Daytona, so the extra track time will be nice.”

It’s the last chance to get in the playoffs. What is the strategy for the No. 14 team?

“I think it’s what my strategy has always been at Daytona and that’s to stay aggressive all day long. I don’t like to run in the back and wait it out. One conversation with Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. years ago really changed my thinking on how to race Daytona and Talladega. Every time I’ve followed his advice of just going for it from the start and staying aggressive, I’ve run well. You still have to stay out of trouble, but if you’re just hanging out in the back you don’t know what your balance is in the pack and what you need your car to do when you finally do get up there, so we’ll just try to get up front from the beginning and stay there.”

You finished 19th in the Daytona 500, but is there really any comparison between where the team was then and where you are now?

“No, not at all. I was a totally different driver then. It was my first race as a Cup driver and there were so many things I was still trying to learn during the race, not to mention trying to see how the other drivers race. The Cup car and Xfinity cars are so different on the superspeedways with how they race. It was pretty eye opening, but now I’ve raced Daytona and Talladega, so I think that will help. In general, we’re a different team than we were and, if we can do what we’ve done the last few weeks, execute all day and last until the end, I think we’ll have a shot at the win and the playoffs.”

No. 14 Mobil 1 Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Chase Briscoe
Hometown: Mitchell, Indiana

Crew Chief: John Klausmeier
Hometown: Perry Hall, Maryland

Car Chief: Chad Haney
Hometown: Fairmont, West Virginia

Engineer: Mike Cook
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engineer: Marc Hendricksen
Hometown: Clinton, New Jersey

Spotter: Joe White
Hometown: Windsor, Virginia

Over-The-Wall Members

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

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

Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Shelby, North Carolina

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

Fuel Man: Justin Wilson
Hometown: Wise, Virginia

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Stephen Gonzalez
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

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

Interior Mechanic: Trevor Adams
Hometown: Naples, Florida

Tire Specialist: Keith Eads
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Engine Tuner: Jon Phillips
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri

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

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

Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway offers Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team one last chance to be among the 16 team that will participate in the 2021 Cup Series Playoffs.

DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team enter the regular season finale 16th in the Cup Series standings, but because two teams behind them in the standings have a race victory this season, the No. 21 team will need a win on Saturday night to return to the Playoffs.

DiBenedetto, who will start Saturday night’s 400-miler from ninth place, said he and the Menards/Dutch Boy team are optimistic that they will be able to earn that final Playoff spot.

“We have really fast Mustangs on the speedways, and our team is on a roll,” he said, adding that he and the crew, including spotter Doug Campbell, will be making plans to best respond to the different scenarios that races at Daytona produce.

“Doug and I study like crazy for these races,” he said. “We have an entire day set aside to study together and be fully prepared for what I call a chess match of a race.”

DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team have reasons to be hopeful for a victory.

They enter the race riding a string of six consecutive finishes of 11th or better, including top-six finishes in the past two races.

And Fords have been fast at Daytona and its sister track, Talladega Superspeedway. Ford drivers have won 10 of the past 12 Cup races at Talladega and have six wins in the past 14 Cup races on the oval at Daytona, including the most recent race there.

“Obviously the hope is to get this Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang in the Playoffs because we have a ton of strength and momentum as a team,” DiBenedetto said.

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is set to get the green flag just after 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, with TV coverage on NBC.

Stage breaks are set for Laps 50 and 100 of the 160-lap race.

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.

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Daytona

The 2021 regular season comes to a close Saturday night at ‘The World Center of Racing’ as both Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher will be part of the group battling for the last spot in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs. Odds have been in favor of the RFR Fords as Jack Roush has 11 wins overall at Daytona, five of which came in the summer race.

Coke Zero Sugar 400
Saturday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. ET
NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

• Ryan Newman, No. 6 Coke Zero Sugar Ford Mustang
• Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang

Michigan Recap, Daytona Preview

· Buescher survived much of the late chaos in Sunday’s 400-mile race at Michigan to bring home a 15th place finish in the Castrol Ford.

· Newman had his eyes set on a top-10 late before a multi-car pileup collected the ITsavvy Mustang, ultimately relegating him to a 24th-place finish.

· Fifth Third Bank – who was on the car for Roush’s last win at Daytona – returns to Buescher’s No. 17 this weekend.

· Newman will carry the new look of Coke Zero Sugar on his Ford Mustang as part of the brand’s rollout of its new flavor and packaging.

Confidence? No Problem
It is no secret that the Superspeedway program Jimmy Fennig and Roush Fenway have built is stellar. Go back to the 2017 campaign which saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win twice on Superspeedways, and Jack Roush’s Fords have been in the hunt in nearly every race since. At Daytona alone, Roush has four top-10s in the past five races, including two each from Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher.

Early crashes caught both RFR Fords in the 2021 Daytona 500, and the 2020 summer race ended similarly for Newman, while Buescher finished that chaotic event in ninth. The 2020 version of the Daytona 500 has been well documented, a horrific ending that saw Buescher finish third, but was most notable for Newman ending the event on his roof only to walk out of a Florida hospital two days later.

Take the same time frame at Talladega and Roush has five top-10s, including a very close second-place finish by Newman in the 2019 fall event. Buescher and Newman finished sixth in the spring and fall 2020 events, respectively, and overall an RFR Ford has led laps in five straight Talladega races.

Shining Bright in the ‘Sunshine State’
In 216 NCS starts at Daytona, Roush Fenway has recorded seven wins, 41 top-fives, 78 top-10s and has led 832 laps. Stenhouse earned the win in this race three years ago, the organizations most recent win overall. RFR also has five poles in the Cup series at Daytona, with the most recent coming in 2016 with Greg Biffle.

Two Trips to Victory Lane in 2017
Just two years after earning his first ever NASCAR win, Ryan Reed survived a wild kickoff to the 2017 season. He survived multiple on-track incidents after starting on the outside of the front row and led only nine laps, but the final two, en route to the win over a host of Cup regulars.

Then, in July of 2017, Stenhouse found himself in victory lane for the second time after leading 17 laps in his Fifth Third Ford. Stenhouse first led at lap 86, and from there survived a total of 14 cautions for 51 laps in what was his second win of the season.

Born in the USA

Roush Fenway has recorded five victories in the July event at Daytona, including the organization’s first at the high-banked oval with former driver Jeff Burton in 2000. Former Roush Fenway drivers Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan earned victories in 2003, 2007 and 2011, respectively. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. earned the fifth in 2017.

Roush Fenway Daytona Wins

2000-2 Burton Cup

2003-2 Biffle Cup

2004 Edwards Truck

2006 Martin Truck

2007-2 McMurray Cup

2009-1 Kenseth Cup

2011-2 Ragan Cup

2012-1 Kenseth Cup

2015-1 Reed NXS

2017-1 Reed NXS

2017-2 Stenhouse Jr. Cup

This Week in Motorsports: August 23-30, 2021

· NCS/NXS: Daytona International Speedway – August 27-28

· ARCA/ARCA East: Milwaukee Mile – August 29

PLANO, Texas (August 25, 2021) – The regular season concludes for NASCAR Cup Series drivers as this weekend event at Daytona International Speedway sets the Playoff field. They will be joined by the NASCAR Xfinity Series, while the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East run a combination event in the series’ return to the Milwaukee Mile.

NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NCWTS

Playoff field set… The NASCAR Cup Series sets its Playoff field this weekend at Daytona International Speedway and four Toyota drivers – Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell – have already clinched their spots. Bubba Wallace can claim his first Playoff berth with a win this weekend.

Hamlin looks to add another Daytona win… Hamlin has been the king at the Daytona 500 recently – winning three of the last six – but surprisingly is looking for his first win in Daytona International Speedway’s second annual event. Hamlin hopes to score his first 400-mile Daytona victory and close the gap on Kyle Larson, whom he trails by 28 points for the regular season championship.

Wallace wants to be one spot better… Bubba Wallace heads back to the site of his career-best Cup Series finish – a runner-up – which he scored at the Daytona 500 in his 2018 rookie season. Wallace earned the result in a side-by-side battle to the line with now-team owner Hamlin.

Two chances for a win for Bell… Bell will get two chances for victory this weekend as he is back behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota Supra this weekend for the second time this year. Bell won his other Xfinity Series start this season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and came just one spot short of the weekend sweep, finishing second in the Cup Series event there on Sunday.

Season-best for Jones… Brandon Jones tied his season-best finish with a runner-up result on Saturday in Michigan. The four-time Xfinity Series winner is looking for his first Daytona victory. He scored a third-place finish at the track in 2019.

Back-to-back for Garrett… For just the second time in his young career, Colin Garrett will get to run consecutive races as he is back behind the wheel of the No. 26 Supra this weekend. Garrett will make his first start at Daytona, but his team – Sam Hunt Racing – scored a season-best eighth-place finish at Daytona with Brandon Gdovic in February.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA| ARCA East

One point… After trading victories this past weekend, just one point separates Ty Gibbs and Corey Heim in the ARCA Menards Series championship battle. Both had dominating performances with Gibbs scoring the pole, leading the most laps and winning at Michigan International Speedway, and Heim doing the same at Illinois State Fairgrounds on Sunday. Both are making their track debut at the Milwaukee Mile this weekend.

ARCA East Combination Event… This weekend’s race is a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series East as they compete in their second-to-last race of their season. Toyota development driver Sammy Smith is the championship leader by 19 points over Mason Diaz.

Stay Connected

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About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

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

Through its Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Shaping Black Futures Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Saturday Race Info:
Race: Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date/Time: Saturday, August 28/7:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 160 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Banking: 31 Degrees

Express Notes:

Michigan Recap: Denny Hamlin earned his 13th top-five finish of the season Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. The 400-mile event was a chaotic one – with four-wide passing and 11 different leaders – with plenty of contact that left the FedEx Express Toyota with dings and dents all around. After starting ninth, Hamlin took the lead after a Stage 1 caution by pitting for fuel only. He led four laps in that stage and six more in Stage 3, all the while mixing it up with multiple other frontrunners. In the final cycle of green-flag stops, Hamlin came to pit road for fresh tires and fuel with about 35 laps remaining. He then surged from the back of the top 20 to chase down the leaders once again. But a pop-up rain shower brought out the yellow flag with 19 laps to go and doused his momentum. Drivers circled the track amid the raindrops under yellow for only five laps, and then the green flag waved once again. A multi-car wreck brought out a final caution with 13 laps to go, setting the stage for 10 wild, final green-flag laps. Hamlin was behind leader William Byron, both choosing the preferred top lane. Ryan Blaney, the first driver to opt for the low lane, used the front-row position to make his move for the lead. While Byron and Hamlin were racing each other, Blaney took off and, 10 laps later, took the checkered flag. Hamlin crossed the line fifth.

Daytona Preview: The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Florida for the final regular season race of the 2021 season at Daytona International Speedway. In recent history, Hamlin has been the king of Daytona with three career wins, including back-to-back Daytona 500 victories in 2019 and 2020. Hamlin and team are still in mathematical contention for the regular season championship and will look for a win and a big points day to push them to the top of the standings.

FedEx Cares on the #11: The FedEx Toyota will have a special Shaping Black Futures paint scheme at the Daytona race, highlighting the longtime FedEx commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The scheme includes an illustration of HBCU college graduates, “Shaping Black Futures” on the quarter panel, and four HBCU school logos – Jackson State, Tennessee State, Mississippi Valley State, and Lemoyne Owen – on the rear bumper.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Races: 31
Wins: 3
Poles: 0
Top-5: 11
Top-10: 12
Laps Led: 628
Avg. Start: 16.6
Avg. Finish 16.0

Hamlin Conversation – Daytona:

What is the message behind the FedEx Shaping Black Futures paint scheme?

“The scheme focuses on the FedEx initiative to shape the futures of Black students and foster relationships across several HBCUs. We have included four HBCU logos on the TV panel of the car. FedEx stands dedicated to making the communities it serves more equitable and creating opportunities for the next generation.”

How do you like your chances of winning the final race of the regular season at Daytona?

“Daytona’s been one of the best tracks for me. I’ve won the 500, and I’d love to win the Coke Zero 400. I’m a Coke driver and I have not yet won that race. We seem to put ourselves in contention each and every year at Daytona, so we always look forward to racing there. And because my playoff spot is clinched, I can go on offense. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

FedEx Office – Closest to Daytona International Speedway: 2274 W International Speedway, Daytona Beach (386) 323-7840

Alfredo Ready to Take Partner Back to Victory Lane and Playoffs

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 25, 2021) – Speedy Cash visited victory lane at the Daytona 500 in February as a partner of Michael McDowell. They are now ready to help Anthony Alfredo to his first NASCAR Cup Series win this Saturday night when the NASCAR Cup Series closes its regular season back at the Daytona International Speedway.

For Alfredo and the No. 38 Speedy Cash team, it’s a win-and-in scenario concerning their last opportunity to join the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Saturday night’s race is poised to be one of the most exciting races of the season with over a dozen drivers racing for the final berth into the playoffs.

“Speedy Cash has been our biggest partner this season and it’s great have them back on our No. 38 Ford Mustang at Daytona,” said Alfredo. “I want to go out and win this race. We’ve had so much bad luck, that we should have some good luck coming our way. It will be perfect to win on Saturday night and get our No. 38 team in the playoffs with Michael.”

“I think it’s going to be a wild race,” continued Alfredo. “There is so much on the line. We can potentially have our bad luck season turn into a top-16 or better season with just one win. That’s true for about 15 or 16 guys. So, the final few laps are going to be wild. If we can be there on the last lap, FRM has proven that we can win it.”

For Speedy Cash, the Daytona 500 provided their first win in the NASCAR Cup Series as an associate partner on the No. 34 Ford Mustang. They then powered Alfredo to his season-best finish at the Talladega Superspeedway in April. Alfredo has been mired in bad luck finishes since late June but can change all that on Saturday night.

Speedy Cash will return their familiar look and colors to the No. 38. Saturday night’s race will be televised live on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET.

For more information about Speedy Cash, visit www.SpeedyCash.com.

About Speedy Cash
Speedy Cash is an omni-channel lender that specializes in financial services such as installment loans, title loans, payday loans, personal lines of credit, check cashing, money transfers and money orders. The company was founded in 1997 in Riverside, California by three friends from Wichita, Kansas to meet the growing consumer need for accessible credit. Speedy Cash has brick & mortar locations across the U.S. (operating as Rapid Cash in Nevada, Oregon and Washington) and offers loans online. Speedy Cash is owned and operated by CURO Group Holdings Corp (NYSE: CURO).

About CURO
CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO) serves the evolving needs of the financial consumer. In 1997, the Company was founded in Riverside, California by three Wichita, Kansas childhood friends to meet the growing consumer need for short-term loans. Their success led to opening stores across the United States, later expanding to offer online loans and financial services in the United States and Canada and now broadening into a full-spectrum consumer lender through the point-of-sale / buy-now-pay-later channel. CURO combines its market expertise with a fully integrated technology platforms, an omni-channel approach and advanced credit decisioning to provide an array of credit products across all mediums. CURO operates under a number of brands including Speedy Cash®, Rapid Cash®, Cash Money®, LendDirect®, Flexiti®, Avío Credit®, Opt+® and Revolve Finance®.

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