Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ford Zoom Media Availability | Tuesday, August 24, 2021

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang — HAVE YOU GOTTEN ANY SENSE OF WHETHER IT WILL BE ANY DIFFERENT WITH THE SMALLER TAPERED SPACER AND THE WICKER? “Not a real good one yet. I think the hope is to make it a little bit, I say safer but the idea is to hopefully make it to where when you’re pushing you don’t have the rear wheels off the ground of the car in front of you and hopefully that will make it to where we can dance around a little bit more and be able to race a little bit harder. The current scenario is what’s got me more intrigued than anything else. We’re in a must-win situation. We know that and we pretty much figured it for a few weeks now, but when I look at the standings and where everybody is at, you’re looking at two drivers — teammates — that are sitting there and honestly racing on maybe a slightly conservative points situation. And then you have everybody that’s locked in that’s going for those playoff points and go after a trophy or a steering wheel, and then you have everybody from us back that is sitting there saying the same thing — it’s trophy or steering wheel. I don’t know if the package and what we’re bringing is going to be the biggest deciding factor in how the race plays out this weekend. I think it’ll more or less be the mindset as we look at Daytona being a cutoff for our playoffs yet again, so that’s my opinion. I don’t know. There are probably some different strategies throughout there, but I feel like where I’m sitting at and looking it’s a lot of people saying this is our opportunity. It’s that one last shot and nothing else really matters at this point.”

HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT FOR YOURSELF WHAT THE LINE YOU’RE WILLING TO GO TO IS IN ORDER TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AND IS IT DIFFERENT THAN THE LINE TO TRY TO GET A WIN AT TALLADEGA IN APRIL? “I would say a little bit, yeah. I don’t know where my cutoff is, so to speak. I think I’m usually pretty aggressive with trying to make moves, but I’m also not the most aggressive with trying to block moves. That came through my upbringing in racing. If you got blocked, you took care of that person really quickly, and if you blocked, you got sent very quickly as well and you learned that just wasn’t how we were gonna race. It’s not been the scenario in the last several years, especially as we look at speedway racing, so that’s been the mindset. It’s been a little bit tough for me to be able to adapt on throwing the blocks, so that is something I would say is gonna have to step up and be more aggressive with. As far as making moves, I think a lot of it is gonna be similar. Maybe you don’t think so much about the intensity of where you’re heading, so if you’re looking at a middle lane going forward and know that that is a hornet’s nest, if you think it can net you out gains and there’s a heavy amount of risk involved, then you might just go for that at this point. I think it just makes it to where I don’t like tearing up race cars. Nobody does, but I think it will be more aggressive and that will be a more accepted outcome as long as you were trying to do something you feel like could have gotten you a win and could have gotten you in the playoffs. And we hope it does. We hope we’re able to be aggressive and we can get to the front and win a race and get into the playoffs right on the buzzer, so we’ll see if it works out. It won’t for some, but we just hope we’re one of the ones that it does.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN YOU SAY YOU’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN A RACE? “There’s still a line to be drawn. You’re not gonna intentionally wreck somebody. It’s not going to come down to turning somebody just because you’re upset, but what you just said is accurate. You’re not gonna cut the same breaks you would. If you have a fender or half a car on somebody and they go and try to close the gap, you’re definitely not gonna lift at that point. It’s a hard balance there because it has the potential to mess you up at the same time. Push a fender in on a tire, cut a tire down, or have to pit out of sequence, that’s the part where it’s hard to adapt. I was never fortunate enough to run in the XFINITY Series once they were over to the composite bodies. It’s made them a lot more aggressive and a lot more recoverable from some bad situations, so that will be coming for us next year. We’ll be looking at how that affects our race cars and how much you can really get away with, but right now we’ve still got thin sheet metal. It gets very sharp when it’s pulled over, so it can mess you up very quickly, so that’s the balance. It’s how do I make sure we’re aggressive and we do everything in our power to move forward without hurting ourselves, and if you feel like somebody is not going to — not necessarily cut you a break, but is gonna try and force the issue and you’re confident that you’re there — you’re probably gonna stay in that. It means you’re probably gonna be more aggressive with going three or maybe four-wide at certain times of the race. I hope that’s not where we get too early on and end up like we did with over a dozen cars at the 500 early in the year, but I think that we’ll be able to go out and say that these are gonna be moves we’re more aggressive with. It’s kind of funny too, coming off of Michigan, it’s not a superspeedway it’s extremely fast, we’re not restricted like we are at Daytona or Talladega, but I was talking with my spotter on the right home and it’s very much a warm-up for Daytona. That place was wild. The restarts, getting going and trying to run up on some drafts and try a side draft. Everything we were doing is similar to Daytona, but you struggled more with the dirty air in the corners, but it was a good warm-up to what we have coming this weekend. We already had it in our mind that we were gonna be a little bit more aggressive in these last couple races anyway and we were able to do that and get up to some decent track position at the end of that race and that’s kind of what we’re looking at for Daytona. It’s the same thing — go out there and be a little bit more aggressive and when it comes down to the end of the race and you feel like you have an opportunity to win, no matter the risk at that point you’re probably going to take it because we are in a situation where there is one outcome that gets us into the playoffs and whatever we have to do to get to that point, we’ll go after that.”

HAVE YOU HAD MUCH CONVERSATION WITH BRAD ABOUT NEXT YEAR? “No, I haven’t had the one-on-one conversations just due to it’s a tough situation right now. We’re competitors. We’re at teams competing for wins every week and so it’s just a little bit of a tricky scenario. I’ve had some short conversations with him and we have talked that as we get farther into the end of our season that we can really step into these conversations a lot heavier and try to get an understanding, but from what I can see on the outside and what I’ve seen Brad do, I think that it’s gonna be a really positive thing for us. I’m really looking forward to it. I know Brad is very meticulous and a very sharp individual and I’m excited to see how that plays out for Roush Fenway Racing and going into the future for the whole company, for myself and what we’re able to do as we lean into this Next Gen car, so that’s my long way of saying, no, we haven’t had those talks yet, but I’m very much looking forward to them and I know they will be coming as we get a little farther into our season.”

IS DAYTONA THE RIGHT PLACE TO HAVE THE FINAL REGULAR SEASON RACE? “That is a very complex answer. First of all, part of it is based on opinions and if you asked me purely my opinion, I’m a short track guy and I think that we could have a lot of fun battling it out at a place like Bristol or even if you started talking about tracks you’d like to see added you start thinking about ORP. I can think of a half-dozen ARCA race tracks that we went to that I absolutely loved, but that’s purely my opinion side of it. To your point, talking about the speeds being up and cars getting airborne, obviously, that’s a side that NASCAR has worked really hard on preventing. I think that is why we’re seeing the little tweaks in the package as we head to Daytona this time around. They studied the crash from, I guess Logano’s crash from Talladega and this is something that has gone through and believe as an industry will help try and get rid of some of these airborne moments, and try and reduce the things that are creating them as well. That will never happen completely because we’re always gonna push to the absolute limit. Yes, emotions are gonna be a little bit higher here, so the chances of things happening are greater because of that, but it also creates a really exciting race and it is somewhat of an equalizer for a lot of the field. So, if you’re sitting there on the bubble, I would say you’re probably gonna raise your hand and say, ‘No, this is absolutely not where we want this race to be’ because there are so many cars that could sneak up, win a race and knock you out. And then for others that really enjoy superspeedway racing, they’re probably excited about it. There’s a lot of things that go into it. You could say it is or isn’t the right race. I think it’s gonna create a lot of excitement and we’re looking forward to getting down there with our partners and giving it a go, and then I guess to your other point about it being a little bit redundant about Daytona right now, I get it. It’s all we are looking forward to. I have not thought outside of Daytona to the next race at all yet. We’ve run a little bit of simulator work to try and get ready for some of the next races, but this is what’s on our minds because this is the big moment for us to try and make that last push into the playoffs. So, yeah, it’s going to be. We’re going to be talking about it a lot. We’re talking about it a lot during the week. We have been leading up to this for three or four weeks now. We knew that we had a couple of racetracks that we hoped we could go ahead and get a win in and be done with the Daytona discussion — go down there with the opportunity to race, and I guess we’re really in the same mindset. It’s nothing to lose. We’re going out there to win a race, so I don’t know that that really changed, but it would have been nice not to have the pressure of our whole season and trying to make it into the playoffs hinge just on this final weekend. There’s a lot going on to it. We’ve had a strong year, and that’s one thing I want to say. We’ve had a strong year. We’ve had a really strong start. Our team worked hard through the offseason to find speed in our race cars. We’ve been in the points battle for the playoffs all season long. It’s just one of those unique seasons where so many drivers have snuck a win or earned a win and have leapfrogged us and now we’re sitting here on the outside of the bubble. Most other years I would say that we’d be looking at pointing our way into the playoffs right now, but it’s just not the way that this one worked out. It’s on us to go get a win. It was on us to get a win before now and we haven’t achieved that, but we’re still working hard at it and we’re gonna go down to Daytona with an all-or-nothing mentality and see how it plays out. At superspeedways in general, Roush cars have been strong. We know we’re gonna have fast race cars. Ryan and I both have had speed at all of these races, so we’re excited about our opportunity. We’ll work together and we’ll see what we can pull out.”

WHEN YOU STRAP INTO THE CAR ON SATURDAY IS THAT THE MOST FUN A DRIVER HAS WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT THE ROAD IN FRONT OF YOU IS IN TERMS OF PLAYOFFS AND THE POSTSEASON? “I think the pressure and the stress of everything leading up to the weekend dwindles down at that point, which makes it a lot more enjoyable. Again, I can enjoy a superspeedway race. It’s not my favorite, but it can still make you happy and excited to go out there. I think it’s more or less, it’s not necessarily the track where we’re at, it’s our situation that’s going to make it where it’s going to be more about racing hard and not worrying about consequences. If you’re sitting there on that points bubble and you have to race differently, that’s hard because points racing in general is difficult as a competitor to really wrap your head around. I think about growing up I never raced for points in anything. We never purposely raced to try and win a track championship or any national events that were big ones. We wanted to go where everybody was showing up and go win that race, and so that was something that I grew up not really racing for points. It’s was you maximize your weekend and it will get you the maximum amount of points that you’re capable of. Winning every race will win you championships, so it’s something that I don’t have a whole lot of experience in doing and actually kind of dislike doing because of it, and I think that it always has to be on your mind as we look towards the playoffs, but in our scenario now we don’t have to think about the points side and we haven’t for a couple weeks now. Now, it’s go to the racetrack and figure out how to win a race.”

LAST YEAR IN THE DAYTONA RACE YOU WERE IN THE BOTTOM LINE WITH REDDICK SECOND WITH FIVE LAPS TO GO AND THEN WITH FOUR LAPS TO GO YOU GOT BROKEN UP. WHAT DID YOU DO RIGHT TO GET INTO THAT SITUATION AND WHAT WENT WRONG AT THE END? “If I remember correctly, I believe the 8 car had damage at the end that had made him pretty draggy, and so that was something that we talked about before that restart was that this is going to be a tough spot that we probably aren’t going to be able to push a damaged car. We’ve seen damaged car be just fine at the speedways, but I believe it was a quarter panel ballooned out and just creating a big parachute. Don’t quote me directly on that, but I believe there was enough damage that it had us worried about our situation, so we’ll go back and look at that and maybe you’ve got to get to a different lane quicker. Daytona is narrower than Talladega, so you don’t have those options quite as quickly, and when it comes to superspeedway racing I don’t really know that I could put it into words that it is that we try to do to put ourselves in position, but more times than not we find ourselves there. We work hard throughout the day so that when it comes down to the end that we have a chance to win the race, that we are in a good position. Talladega was one we were in a good position as well. We find ourselves up there in the right spots with fast race cars and good decision-making at whatever time of the race that is, so when I say we’re going down to Daytona and it’s even more aggressive, it’s all bets off, you still have to keep in mind what gets you to the final closing laps of a race with that opportunity, but, at the same time, get their quicker maybe or try and learn a little bit more earlier honestly so you’re ready for the end. You’re constantly learning at these races, but I don’t know that I can tell you what it is that we do, but we work hard to make the right decisions and calculate decisions throughout a race that when it comes down to those closing laps we’re in the talks and if a couple things roll out just right we’ll be sitting in victory lane. We’ve been really close to it several times and, in my mind, if you can be in the top five enough, eventually you’ll be the one that comes out on the best side of it. That’s our plan. That’s everyone’s plan, but we’ll see if we can apply the same things that we have been to get there and then see how much more aggressive we can be towards the last lap to get a checkered flag.”

DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO FALL BACK THE LAST COUPLE LAPS OF A STAGE OR IT DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE YOU CAN BE FIFTH AND PULL BACK TO 24TH AND STILL GET CAUGHT IN A WRECK IN THAT SITUATION? “That’s a fair question. Two parts to it. One, we’ve played that from a points side in the past and trying to make sure there at the end and said, All right if we’re looking at a ninth to 15-place stage finish, then if they start getting too dicey up front we’re probably gonna pull back and try to save the car, and we’ve done that. Strangely enough, these stages have been incredibly clean for several years now, so all that can change this weekend, but it has been surprisingly clean as we get to the end of the stages. It’s a valid question because, yes, ultimately there’s one lap that matters to us and stage points do not. I think we need to race hard and try and discover what we’re capable of and be in those situations, but if it’s something where you feel like four-wide at Daytona in the closing laps does not typically lead to a very good result for most people, especially when you’re on older tires at that point, so there will be a balance and we’ll make that decision on the fly. Right now, I’d say we just race hard to try and maximize every lap and if it gets to the point where it’s aggressive and we feel like we’re gonna be tearing stuff up, then we’ll try and back out. The Daytona 500, it’s usually the mindset there for me. It’s make sure you’re there at the end. I had a rough go my rookie season with Front Row at superspeedway racing in general. In the Daytona 500 we hit head-on. We barrel rolled at Talladega. I don’t think we finished but one of the four, so tried to dial back and learn from that season, so that we can be smarter about it and it’s for the most part worked. We’ve finished a vast majority of the races since then and finished them well and been in the hunt, so I don’t know. I don’t have all the right answers here. I don’t know if I have even the wrong answers, I’m just trying to figure out what it is that we need to do to be there and hopefully have a little bit of luck on our side at the same time.”

McDowell a Confident Contender for Regular Season Finale
Explain Success Found with Partnership

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 24, 2021) – All eyes will be on the No. 34 CarParts.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) Ford Mustang team and driver Michael McDowell as they return to the Daytona International Speedway after their prestigious Daytona 500 victory in February. Joining the team will be PowerStop, the leading brand in performance braking systems. PowerStop will be a major associate sponsor.

The race will serve as the final regular season race before McDowell enters the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs. There is no better track and race for the CarParts.com team before competing for a chance at the NASCAR Cup Series championship. McDowell comes back to Daytona, not only as the reigning Daytona 500 champion, but also with confidence knowing his car will be fast and that he can beat the field.

“Winning the Daytona 500, it gave our team a tremendous amount of confidence to begin the season,” explained McDowell. “It triggered so much momentum for us. But, our winning Daytona 500 car is sitting in the museum. So, we had to build another fast speedway car. We took that car to Talladega and nearly won that race. We know the car is capable of winning. Our confidence comes from knowing that we can do it again.”

Winning the Daytona 500 also helped the No. 34 team off the track as well. CarParts.com locked in a season-long partnership that featured McDowell in a national commercial as well as returning as the primary partner this weekend with PowerStop again on the No. 34.

“This was a case of success meeting success,” explained McDowell. “We took our win at the Daytona 500 and helped share that with CarParts.com and all our partners. Everyone benefited and it helped us as a race team get better. We have had better finishes than ever before and when you see CarParts.com on TV or on social media, we hope we’re a part of growing their business. We are here to tell their story, too. PowerStop returning to the program is another example of the entire program growing. It makes me excited knowing that our team has confidence, but the partners do, too.”

CarParts.com offers an easy-to-navigate, mobile-friendly shopping platform, connecting drivers with the parts they need to get from point A to point B with confidence. With over 1 million square feet of warehouse space, the company stocks a variety of collision, repair, maintenance parts, tools, and accessories, including premium brands such as PowerStop. PowerStop pioneered the performance brake upgrade category by providing exceptional quality brake parts and complete brake kits at an affordable price. Making brake upgrades easy and hassle free.

“We have enjoyed being a part of the success with Michael and his team,” said Houman Akhavan, Chief Marketing Officer at CarParts.com. “Michael has become more than a brand ambassador for us, but someone who is a part of our company. We’re finding success at the same time he is, and we relate to building a winning culture together. We wish Michael the best this Saturday on his return to Daytona, and we’re proud to welcome PowerStop back on the #34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang.”

Saturday night’s race will be televised live on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET.

For more information, order PowerStop brakes and shop a vast catalog of auto parts, visit CarParts.com. For more information about PowerStop, visit PowerStop.com.

About CarParts.com
With over 25 years of experience, and more than 50 million parts delivered, we’ve streamlined our website and sourcing network to better serve the way drivers get the parts they need. Utilizing the latest technologies and design principles, we’ve created an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly shopping experience that, alongside our own nationwide distribution network, cuts out the brick-and-mortar supply chain costs and provides quality parts at a budget-friendly price.

CarParts.com (NASDAQ: PRTS) is headquartered in Torrance, California.

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.

KYLE BUSCH
Playoff Primer

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (Aug. 24, 2021) – As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the race marks the 26th and final race of the regular season for NASCAR’s top series.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has already secured his spot in the 2021 playoffs, currently sitting third in the driver standings with an eye on putting himself in the best possible position on the 16-driver playoff grid with a strong performance in Saturday night’s playoff primer at Daytona.

From the time the 2.5-mile Daytona oval opened in 1959 through 2018, the NASCAR Cup Series has competed on its high banks every Fourth of July weekend. From 1959 to 1997, the series competed on the morning of July 4, no matter what day of the week the holiday fell on. Starting in 1998, the event was moved to the first Saturday night in July after lights made their debut at the World Center of Racing that season. But when NASCAR’s July 4 Cup Series race moved to Indianapolis for a one-time run in 2020, Daytona moved its summer oval race to the regular-season finale in late August, and this year’s regular-season finale returns to Daytona for the second time this weekend.

Whether this race is in July or August, Busch – the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion – knows he will not only need to beat his fellow competitors, but also the Florida summer heat at Daytona. This part of the season is annually the hottest for Cup Series competitors, with select race venues seeing record temperatures this year, and also for those who are heading out on their late-summer road trips. Whether on the highway or the racetrack, the summer months can be taxing on both man and machine. Caring for the latter is one of the ways JGR founding partner Interstate Batteries – with whom JGR is celebrating its 30th anniversary together – leverages its NASCAR program, reminding consumers to have their batteries checked during the hot summer months at a local dealer prior to their summer road trips.

Busch is certainly no stranger to victory lane in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, having won the July 2008 race behind the wheel of – yes – the Interstate Batteries Toyota. The Las Vegas native has fared much better in his summer races at Daytona during his career, when the track is much more slick thanks to Florida’s summer heat. He has five top-five finishes in his 16 summertime starts at the track.

With all of that on his side, Busch hopes to have a strong car and track position in pack-style racing, where a driver not only has to be good, but must have good fortune to go along with it. He would like nothing more than to head into the playoffs in the best way possible – by bringing the Interstate Batteries green lightning paint scheme to victory lane Saturday night. With one final primer before the 2021 Cup Series playoffs begin, Busch and his Interstate Batteries team will not only look to beat the Florida heat, but finally recharge the batteries and get back to his favorite place – victory lane.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Is Daytona still a special racetrack for you?

“Daytona is cool – a lot more in February than in the summer just because it is the Daytona 500 versus the August race. For us, you still want to win everywhere you go, every single week. To win at Daytona is always cool. It’s definitely special. It’s the birthplace of NASCAR – the superspeedway aspect of it. I definitely love going there. It’s hot, it’s slick, and you can make the most out of yourself as a driver and what you’ve got in the car. We won there in 2008 and I’m hoping we can get a win with our Interstate Batteries Camry this weekend. Interstate Batteries has quite the legacy with JGR with 30 years together and counting. I’m always proud to represent those guys, so we hope to get a win for Norm (Miller, Interstate Chairman).”

Are there still things you and your team need to work on heading into the playoffs?

“There are always things you have to work on heading into the playoffs or heading into any race. With the way the Hendrick cars are, obviously the dominant force that’s been talked about over the year – we’ve had that, we had that in ’16, ’17, ’18, whatever it was where the Toyotas were the fast guys with the 78 or the 18 back then. We feel as though we’re working on things to catch back up and get where we need to be in order to be true contenders.”

Do you feel the Daytona cutoff race runs differently, or is it the same as other Daytona races?

“No, it’s going to all out for anybody who’s top-30 in points. Anybody who’s top-30 in points can win that race. We’ve seen Front Row Motorsports win. We’ve seen Spire win. We’ve seen teams that don’t normally win races be able to score victories in the restrictor-plate races, so that just leads to the anxiety level of everybody. We are going to try to be there, too, so would love to get our Interstate Batteries Camry to victory lane this year. It would be a great way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of JGR and Interstate’s relationship.”

What do you do to prep for the night race at Daytona?

“It’s going to be a hot one. Right now, it’s all about getting your fluids back in you throughout the entire week. You’re not going to get them all back in one or two nights. It’s going to take the entirety of a week. You’ll start over again after that race. It’s Daytona. A lot of different planning goes into that.”

When you look at guys who have won superspeedway races in the last several years, it seems there are those who win more often than not. Why do you think that’s the case?

“You’ve got to be good, but there’s still a lot of luck involved. You’ve got to be out front. When your cars are fast, you need to do a good job, you know how to lead it, get yourself through traffic, you’ll be out front a lot of the time. So hard to hold those fast cars back, if you will. They do a good job of being able to predict the lines and how they build the inertia and everything behind them.”

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

Meet the No. 18 Interstate Batteries / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Ben Beshore
Hometown: York, Pennsylvania

Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Spotter: Tony Hirschman
Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Front Tire Changer: Blake Houston
Hometown: Enochville, North Carolina

Jackman: T.J. Ford
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Joe Crossen
Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Jeff Cordero
Hometown: Salem, Connecticut

Road Crew Members:

Race Engineer: Seth Chavka
Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska

Truck Driver: Chris Miko
Hometown: Bronx, New York

Truck Driver: Tom McCrimmon
Hometown: Spicer, Minnesota

Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Justin Peiffer
Hometown: Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Mechanic: Scott Eldridge
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana

Notes of Interest:

● 30th Anniversary Celebration: This season, JGR and Interstate Batteries are celebrating quite the milestone in their 30th year together in NASCAR’s top series. No other sponsor has been with the same team for as long of a run as this strong partnership. In fact, Interstate Batteries has brought home 32 all-time Cup Series wins as a primary sponsor and countless others as associate sponsor on JGR cars. Interstate Batteries and JGR brought home their first win together in the 1993 Daytona 500 with Dale Jarrett behind the wheel. Jarrett won twice in Interstate Batteries colors, Kyle Busch nine times, and Bobby Labonte leads the way for the Dallas-based company with 21 all-time Cup Series wins in its colors.

● 30-Year Giveaway: In celebration of the 30-year partnership with JGR, Interstate Batteries is hosting a Twitter giveaway on the 30th day of each month. Fans can follow Interstate on Twitter (@interstatebatts), Facebook (@interstatebatteries), Instagram (@interstatebatteries), and YouTube (@interstatebatteries) for giveaways, how-to tips, NASCAR updates, and even more car-related content most people never knew they needed.

● Green Machine: In addition to Busch’s nine Cup Series victories in Interstate Batteries colors over the years for JGR, he’s brought home two Xfinity Series victories for Interstate Batteries. Both came at Phoenix Raceway, in 2008 and 2011. In addition to the aforementioned victories, Busch also brought home a Camping World Truck Series victory for Interstate Batteries in 2010 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, which happens to be in the backyard of the company’s Dallas headquarters.

● Daytona Stats: Busch has one win, eight top-five finishes and nine top-10s and has led a total of 468 laps in 32 career Cup Series points-paying starts on the Daytona oval. Busch’s average Daytona finish is 19.3.

● Playoff Points: After scoring a stage win at Michigan last weekend, Busch has accumulated 15 important playoff points he can take with him through each round, with a chance to add more at Daytona as the final race of the Cup Series regular season. Busch also currently sits third in the point standings with 11 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s over the 25 races of the season.

● Alone in Ninth: With his win in June at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Busch sits at 59 career wins in NASCAR’s top series as he moved past Kevin Harvick into sole possession of ninth on the all-time win list. Next up on the win list is Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer who won 76 races during his storied career.

● 222 and Counting: Busch will be aiming to add to his record 222 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series this weekend at Daytona. In addition to his 59 Cup Series wins and 102 in the Xfinity Series, Busch has 61 wins in the Camping World Truck Series.

World’s Largest Quick-Service Restaurant Brand Puts Eat Fresh Refresh™ on Fast Track

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Aug. 24, 2021) – Subway® restaurants has partnered with Stewart-Haas Racing to put its Eat Fresh Refresh™ on the fast track by becoming a primary partner of the championship-winning NASCAR team.

The world’s largest quick-service restaurant brand will begin its association with Stewart-Haas Racing when it debuts on the No. 4 Ford Mustang of Kevin Harvick during the Sept. 18 NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Subway will return as a primary partner of the No. 4 team Oct. 24 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. For all other races, Subway will be an associate sponsor on the No. 4 Ford.

“Subway is proud to team up with Stewart-Haas Racing, Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Ford to help us showcase the ongoing transformation happening at Subway restaurants across the country,” said Carrie Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer, Subway. “The track record of Stewart-Haas Racing, Kevin and the team mirrors Subway’s promises to guests of offering better choices, as well as the importance of refreshing to stay at the top of your game. We look forward to celebrating success on and off the track.”

Subway launched the Eat Fresh Refresh last month, which celebrates the biggest changes in the brand’s history, including improvements to almost every core product on the menu along with an enhanced digital and in-restaurant experience to deliver better choices every day.

The partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing reunites Subway with NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart. The “Stewart” in Stewart-Haas Racing scored the 33rd of his 49 career NASCAR Cup Series victories in a yellow-and-green Subway-sponsored racecar on Oct. 5, 2008 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It was his last win before a refresh of his own, as he formed Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 with machine tool magnate Gene Haas to become a driver/owner where he ultimately won his third and final NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2011.

“Sometimes you’ve got to change direction and, for me, becoming a driver/owner in the NASCAR Cup Series was exactly the refresh I needed,” Stewart said. “Quality, quickness and the ability to adapt drives everything we do at Stewart-Haas Racing. Subway operates very similarly. I admire what Subway is doing to strengthen its customer experience, from in store to online, and we’re very proud to help tell that story.”

Stewart embodies Subway’s mantra that to be fresh, you need to refresh. He is one of the most versatile racers in all of motorsports with 13 driving championships in various styles of racecars across an array of series. His business acumen matches his driving prowess, as his race teams have claimed 29 titles, three of which are by Stewart-Haas Racing – his own in 2011 and then a second via Harvick in 2014, along with a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2018.

“This is an exciting partnership because of the intensity and creativity of Subway’s activation plans,” said Brett Frood, President, Stewart-Haas Racing. “To have the personalities within our team leverage our synergies with Subway on a national scale is an incredible opportunity for our organization and our sport. We look forward to delivering all of Subway’s improvements to our loyal fans and beyond.”

About Subway® Restaurants:

As the world’s largest quick-service restaurant brand, Subway serves freshly made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, salads and bowls to millions of guests, across more than 100 countries in nearly 40,000 restaurants every day. Every restaurant is owned and operated by Subway franchisees – a network of more than 20,000 dedicated entrepreneurs and small business owners – who are committed to delivering the best guest experience possible in their local communities.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 90 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on YouTube.