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Top Ways to Revamp Your Old Car

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SM
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Photo by The Nigmatic on Unsplash

Do you have an old car just loitering in your space and have no idea what to do with it? Or you might be interested in getting an old car and revamping it for a cool project.

No matter what your reason may be, there are many ways to update an old vehicle.

Here are some ideas on what you can do to revamp your car:

1. Scrub every corner

The first thing one must do before revamping any car is deep cleaning. Make every part of the vehicle as clean as new as much as you can.

There is nothing quite like getting into a spotlessly clean car to make a positive impact. Consider taking your vehicle to a nicer car wash for a thorough cleanse that gets in to all the crevices and corners. The majority of accredited care car depots only execute a quick rinse of the vehicle. Concentrate on areas such as the interior, tire wells, electric motor bay, and so on. If at all possible, have the car’s interiors professionally cleaned by dry cleaning and scrubbing.

2. Wax

After cleaning, one can opt to wax the car for a shiny and luxurious look. Waxing not only makes it shiny, but it gives the old car a brand-new appearance. Waxing of cars is usually overlooked because people think that after washing the car, that’s it, you can add more shine to your old car when doing this.

3. Car paint

For those who want to create a 180-degree physical appearance, having the car painted with another color is an excellent way to do it. Not only will it look drastically different, but it will also tidy up the car’s look through the painting process.

This is a significant step up from simply giving your car a thorough carwash. Car enthusiasts firmly believe that a paint modification can make a substantial difference in the looks of your car. Any machine cleaning will make your car paint appear fresh, intense, and shiny and enhance your vehicle’s overall image.

4. Car wrap

A car wrap is an excellent idea for those who do not have the time and money to paint the car but still want to give the vehicle a new color. Car wrap and car paint each have different sets of pros and cons, so you should find out what works for you. Invest in a window film to ensure safety and privacy when parking outdoors.

5. Change up the wheels

Another way to improve the vehicle’s overall appearance is changing up the old wheels with new ones. Changing the car’s wheels is also for safety because the old wheels might be too worn out for the road.

When you install new tires, you will observe a considerable enhancement in the overall performance of your vehicle. You will notice substantial progress in the smoothness of your ride as you drive down the interstate, thanks to the deeper treads on the new wheels. New tires will also be significantly less loud than old tires, which is a huge advantage. And the chances are that you will feel safer than you have in a long time.

6. Choose cool looking rims

While choosing new wheels, take a good look at the rims. Finding a great set of rims will drastically improve the general physical appearance and overall feel of the vehicle. Take time to select the rims that match the car model.

7. Use better lights

Another way to revamp the car and improve its safety is switching the old lights with better options. One may change either the headlights, taillights, signal lights, brake lights, etc. One may even change all the lights of the vehicle.

8. Change up the car seats

If the car seats seem like they are no longer in good condition, it’s best to switch them up with a new set. When choosing new car seats, always consider the material, maintenance, and comfort. You can even try to invest in car seats that have a massage system.

9. Seat covers

To give the interior a different feel, one may change the seat covers for old vehicles with well-maintained car seats. Changing the car’s seat covers is also an excellent alternative for those on a tight budget or who don’t want to spend as much.

10. Give the car’s insides a final check

The final thing that one must do when revamping an old vehicle is to perform a last check. This process includes checking the engine, breaks, and the like. It is one of the most important things to do before taking the car out on the road because it avoids future problems that might risk one’s safety.

Vision tips for around-the-clock safe driving

By
SM
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Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

By Gary Heiting, OD

Circuit de la Sarthe, the route of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is a combination of a racing stadium capable of accommodating 100,000 spectators, along with public roads in and around Le Mans that are used by local residents most of the year.

During the race, teams often cover well over 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles).

Professional drivers know the importance of good vision and attention to details. Even a momentary lapse in vision or focus can be the difference between a triumphant finish and a potentially disastrous outcome.

But the stakes are equally high for all of us. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.35 million people are killed each year on roadways around the world.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an exciting opportunity to watch professional drivers navigate Circuit de la Sarthe, but it also offers valuable lessons for everyday drivers about vision and driving safety.

Beginning your day

Professional drivers at Le Mans know they can’t drive their best if they are tired and drowsy. Neither can you.

A recent survey of adults in 12 countries found that 62% of adults admitted they sleep only somewhat well and 44% stated that their sleep has worsened in the past five years.

Also, according to the World Economic Forum, drowsiness has been a significant factor in roughly 100,000 car accidents every year, causing an estimated 1,500 deaths annually.

Being a safe driver begins with getting a good night’s sleep. Go to bed early enough to sleep eight hours if possible. And don’t get behind the wheel in the morning if you’re still drowsy.

Morning drive time

Before getting in your car in the morning, make sure your glasses, contacts, and/or sunglasses are clean and comfortable and you’re seeing well.

In the 24 Hours of Le Mans, about 60 cars share the road. Cars are often bumper-to-bumper during the race — and sometimes in hazardous conditions.

During your morning drive to work or school: 

  • Be aware of the cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians you’re sharing the road with. 
  • Check your mirrors frequently. 
  • Anticipate — and be ready for — possible problems or sudden congestion.
  • Pay attention to the road and avoid distractions (radio, coffee, others in the car, your phone).
  • Never EVER text or read emails when driving.

Daytime driving

The drivers at Le Mans wear tinted visors on their helmets for good reason. Bright sunlight and changes in lighting conditions during the day can cause blinding glare that can be disastrous on the road.

Sunglasses are a must when driving in daylight — especially in full sun. Polarized sunglasses are especially good for reducing glare from road surfaces and the hood of your car.

Ask your eye care professional for advice on the best lens tints for driving — including tints for photochromic lenses that darken and lighten automatically depending on the light conditions around you.

Driving at dusk

Many people find driving at sunset can be visually challenging. The sun can shine directly into your eyes when it reaches the horizon and your eyes have to adapt to a decreasing amount of ambient light.

Driving at dusk can also be especially bothersome for older drivers, who are more prone to discomfort from glare due to aging changes in the eye (such as early cataracts).

A dirty or pitted windshield (one with natural wear and tear) can especially affect your vision at sunset, causing oncoming lights to scatter and reflect off the glass.

Make sure to routinely to check that:

  • Your windshield is clean
  • Your wiper blades are in good condition
  • Your car’s windshield cleaning fluid dispenser is full

Wear sunglasses and use your car’s sun visor as needed to improve your line of sight, and turn on your headlights on the highway, before dark and when it rains to help other drivers see your vehicle.

Night driving

There’s no question that driving is more difficult and dangerous at night. According to the National Safety Council, we do only a fourth of our driving at night, but 50% of traffic deaths occur after dark.

Even small amounts of uncorrected nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism can cause significant vision problems at night. Even if you can pass a driver’s vision screening without your corrective lenses, it’s a good idea to wear them whenever you drive, and especially at night.

If you wear prescription eyeglasses, be sure your lenses include anti-reflective coating for driving at night. Anti-reflective (AR) coatings eliminate light reflections from the surface of your glasses lenses.

The American Optometric Association offers these additional vision tips for safe driving at night:

  • Don’t wear glasses with tinted lenses at night. All tinted lenses — including those marketed as “night driving glasses” — reduce visibility in darker nighttime driving conditions.
  • Never look directly at an oncoming vehicle, regardless of the type of headlights it’s using. Staring at headlights can make it harder for you to recover your vision after the vehicle has passed.
  • Clean your windshield (inside and out). A dirty windshield can cause glare and reduce visibility when driving at night or during the day.
  • Keep your headlights clean. Also, replace headlight coverings if they become fogged due to prolonged sunlight exposure, which can reduce the brightness and range of your headlights at night. 
  • Make sure your car’s headlights are properly positioned, aimed and aligned for maximum visibility.

“Start your engine!”

Tomorrow, start your day by deciding to be a safer, more attentive driver.

The skills and endurance of Le Mans drivers are an inspiration, and not something to try at home. Weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds should be reserved for video games, race courses and your dreams — not on a standard roadway. 

Instead, focus on being a champion of safe driving — in your neighborhood, during your daily commute and wherever your travels take you!

Toyota Racing – NCWTS Playoff Media Day Quotes – 08.17.21

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Official Release
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Toyota Racing – Playoff Media Day
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Quotes

CHARLOTTE (August 17, 2021) – Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith, ThorSport Racing drivers Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton, Hattori Racing Enterprises driver Austin Hill and Halmar Friesen Racing driver Stewart Friesen were made available to media as part of the Truck Series Playoff Media Day today:

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

How is life different for you now than it was one year ago?

“I was stressing out to try to run 25th every week. Putting in a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of sim time, a lot of studying, data, with no practice. Rookie year, Cup Series, it was difficult. At the same time, I felt like Michigan was going to be one of our better races, running well and maximizing restarts, and it wasn’t very good. We ended spinning through the grass. Life has definitely changed in a positive way I feel like. Now I’m stressing out to go out and try to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. It’s definitely rewarding when you put in the time and effort and you are able to work so hard to try to do your best every single week and you are competitive every single week. You know showing up at the racetrack that you are one of the guys to beat – if not the guy to beat every single week. That’s definitely a nice feeling to have. I’m having fun. I’m smiling. The truck schedule has definitely been nice this year with having Aspen (daughter) brought into the world. A lot has changed, but all for the positive and winning races.”

How do you keep your mind clear and not let talk of being the favorite take over or is that something you embrace?

“It’s definitely nice to be called the favorite, but at the same time, just because we are called the favorite doesn’t mean that we stop working. There is a lot of work, a lot of detailed work, a lot of execution, a lot of optimizations from week in and week out, studying, a lot of things that go in to making you the favorite. For us, we are humble. We want to continue to win races and for myself, I’ve been the underdog. I’ve had that mindset, and now we are kind of the favorite going into it. We have to go perform. We can’t beat ourselves. We’ve had the championship mindset from the first race of the year, and now we are going to continue to do so. We’ve got to win when it counts and hopefully, we can carry the momentum and all of the race wins that we’ve had so far this year into the Playoffs and go get quite a few more wins. The racetracks coming up for us, I feel like are really good for myself and Kyle Busch Motorsports as a whole, and we just have to execute. We can’t beat ourselves.”

What is about the Truck that maybe you enjoy more or that you were able to find success easier than the Cup car?

“I guess equipment, resources, all of the work and the effort that Kyle (Busch) puts into KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports). All of the guys and girls at Kyle Busch Motorsports that put in the time and effort, as well as Toyota, TRD, everything that they are able to do for us as far as drivers, as teams. They put in a lot of effort behind the scenes as well. It’s nice to be able to be in competitive equipment every single week. I’ve enjoyed the Truck Series. It’s where I got my start. I feel like the Cup Series in the mile-and-a-half package, or the high downforce package drives similar to a truck, and what not. I’ve enjoyed all three series that I’ve been in. Each one is unique in its own way.”

What does next year look like for you?

“That’s a really good question. I’m not sure. There have definitely been some talks of a lot different things, but at the same time, not trying to get ahead of ourselves. It’s definitely crunch time and silly season, I guess you could say. Who knows what could happen, but right now, we’re focused on trying to win races and trying to win this championship. That’s all that matters right now. If I don’t perform now, next year doesn’t matter. We are focused. Our eyes our set on the task of winning Gateway this weekend and trying to go for wins through the next seven races to try to bring that year end huge trophy.”

If you had to guess, do you think you will be back in the Truck Series next year?

“Who knows. Everything is kind of up in the air and I’m kind of at the mercy of Kyle (Busch), Toyota and everyone else.”

Where can you be as a team and as a driver?

“There have really been three races that stand out that we haven’t ran good at. Circuit of the Americas, Nashville, Knoxville. Well, four really, including Bristol dirt. Luckily, we have that road course out of the way, the two dirt races out of the way, and Nashville is kind of unique in its own way. I feel like more the one-off racetracks or wild card racetracks, we haven’t been so good at, but we went to work after COTA and made Watkins Glen way better. For myself, just can’t make mistakes, can’t speed on pit road. I’ve got to optimize restarts, pick and choose my battles when we need to and go and win races. We don’t want to make anyone mad. We don’t want to make anyone wreck us or put ourselves in a position to do so, at least on purpose. For us, it’s going out and having that championship mindset to go and compete every single week and do the best that we can. We’ve had the mindset #Here4Wins all year. We are going to continue to use that through the Playoffs. Nitpicking, I feel like there are a few races that we gave away as well from leading laps and running up front to not finishing where we needed too and that is taking home the checkered flag, but luckily one of those races is coming back up in the next few weeks.”

Do you feel like anything less than a championship would be a failure?
“Kind of. I don’t know if we would categorize it as a failure, but using the #Here4Wins, we want to win everything. The goal was to come back and win as many races as possible through the year and try to win all the championships that we could, all of the money that Marcus Lemonis put up for the bonuses going throughout the year, that was huge for us as well. Our goal is to take the big trophy at the end of the year. I don’t know if I would categorize it as failure. We want to make it to that final four in Phoenix and give it our best shot. If our best shot isn’t good enough, then we have work to do in the future.”

AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 AISIN Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises

Is there a sense that you and your team are peaking at the right time this season?

“Looking at last year versus this year, I don’t think you can really outweigh one season to the next if we were peaking at the right time or not last year versus this year or vice versa. I just think that with us winning these two races though just kind of builds our team’s confidence going forward, because before we won at the dirt track and before we won at the road course, we had won on mile-and-a-halves together, so we are kind of getting outside of that bubble that we were in, and we are winning at these different types of racetracks. Now we feel like we can go to these types of racetracks and win anywhere we go, so that kind of builds the confidence even more going into these Playoffs that we feel like we can get the job done no matter where we are at.”

How confident are you going into the Playoffs and that you can close the gap on John Hunter Nemechek? Does it have to be in the first round?
“No, it really doesn’t matter if I close the gap a whole lot on (John Hunter) Nemechek in the Playoffs. As long as we can, say win at Gateway this weekend, or win in the first round and we go to the next round, and win in the next round the first race or two and it locks us into the Playoffs, obviously points do not matter anymore. Honestly, I’m not looking at a whole lot of points situations. I think we are pretty good where we are sitting. I think that if we don’t win in the first round, we feel confident enough that we can at least keep that second-place spot. If we do close the gap on Nemechek, then great. If not, as long as we can stay in the top-four in each round and get us to Phoenix, that is all we are worried about right now.”

This is your third chance at the Playoffs, do you go into this Playoffs thinking third times the charm?

“We feel like we just need to keep doing what we are doing. We need to keep doing what we were doing last season. Last season came down to that final round before Phoenix race, and we went into Texas – had a shot at winning Texas, actually took the lead right there at the end and they reverted back to the last timing line from the last time before the caution came out and we were second, so we ended up running second there at Texas. Going into Martinsville, we thought like we had a good gap on us and then we had an engine issue. Very easily could have another engine issue this time around, you just don’t know. I think if we wouldn’t have had that engine like last year, then we felt like we would have made it in from points and we felt like we were pretty good at Martinsville. You can’t really look back at the past with these past two seasons and say we really did anything wrong, it’s just kind of been circumstances for us, so going into this season, our number one goal going into each round is we want to be very aggressive and try to go win races. If we can win a race, then that takes us out of any issue that could possibly come about later in the rounds.”

Do you think you have more momentum right now than John Hunter Nemechek?

“It’s hard to tell. I’d like to believe so. Honestly, when you get to these Playoffs the wins that you had in the regular season don’t really matter. Obviously, you get those bonus points and that helps you start the Playoffs, but the wins that you had prior to the Playoffs don’t matter a whole lot. You need to go win races in the Playoffs now and these races that we are going to, a lot of them are a lot different than where we ran in the regular season. You look at Bristol, Martinsville, Talladega, those type of racetracks – we haven’t really been running a whole lot at those type of racetracks. There’s a lot of unknowns going into these Playoffs. I personally feel like we have the upper hand on everybody. I feel like we can compete with the 4 team, and I think that we are the team that they need to be worries about the most.”

Why does your wins give you confidence when you are not racing at those tracks in the Playoffs?

“That’s a good question. I think the best answer that I can give you is prior to winning at those two racetracks, we had only won at mile-and-a-half racetracks as a team, and now fast forward to us winning at dirt and on a road course, I think it just shows to our team that we can win anywhere we go. I think it just builds the confidence that no matter if we go to Martinsville, if we go to Gateway, any of these racetracks that we haven’t won at, we feel like as a team that we can get the job done because of us winning at these other racetracks that we really weren’t great at. We thought we needed to be better on dirt. We thought that we needed to be a little bit better on the road course side and then we go out there and win. It just builds that momentum and builds this whole race team and the fire up under us that no matter what racetrack that we go to that we can win anywhere, whether its Bristol, Talladega, Vegas. It doesn’t matter where we go, we just think we can win.”

What do you compare Gateway too?

“That track is such a unique racetrack. It’s so hard to really lean on any other setup that you are going to go with. You can take a little from short track and kind of apply it. We take a short track truck when we go there. (Turns) one and two are totally different than (turns) three and four. Three and four is one of those corners that is very long and sweeping, and one and two is one of those tight corners. You are downshifting most of the time into third gear to get out of that corner, so there is probably going to be a lot of shifting. That racetrack is just totally different. Going back last year, we found a setup that seemed to work for us, and we were trending at the right time for a place like Gateway. We thought we had a shot to win that race last year, so going into this season, there are some minor changes that we wanted to make setup wise. We think going to Gateway, no matter that it doesn’t really compare to other racetracks, that the setup that we brought last year was so good that we think that we can tweak on it a little bit and be the one to beat.”

With the Playoff drivers starting at the front and the modified pit stops, how does that change the strategy?

“I think that the modified pit stops are the biggest thing. Strategy kind of goes out the window. Everyone is going to be pitting at the same time, I would imagine. I guess you could take right side tires only and somebody else take four times and maybe you could gain a spot. It’s hard to say what it’s going to be like. I know last year we did that deal. I guess the only way to leapfrog a group is if you just stay out and if you think that you will have enough fuel. I don’t know what the fuel situation is going to be like yet. We haven’t really set down and discussed all of that. I guess you could try to stay out and see if clean air is good enough. Honestly, I don’t know. I think where we are starting, if we can just stay up front, that’s where we want to be. The clean air is going to be big, I think, and I think where we are starting as long as we can keep these good restarts and we fire off okay, I think we are kind of in the catbird seat, honestly”

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 18 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Do you feel like you are playing with house money given how up and down this season has been?

“Yes and no. I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason and I think there is a reason all of the disaster happened at Watkins Glen. It was very unpredicted, obviously, and we were still able to – worst case scenario – and we ended up in the Playoffs, so I believe everything happens for a reason, and I’m definitely looking forward to flipping all of this luck around.”

Does Kyle Busch’s comments at Watkins Glen give you spark to turn things around?

“Yeah, for sure. I stay heavily involved with the team outside of just driving the truck as it is and I was very aware of the situation that happened and how it happened and at the end of the day, a mistake was made. We still made it into the Playoffs, but it doesn’t need to happen anymore.”

Do you go to John Hunter (Nemechek) for advice or do a baseline setup off of what that truck is doing?

“No, I feel like the past five or six races, we’ve been really good. I feel like we have been one of the best trucks when we go the racetrack. It’s just a matter that we haven’t been able to really show it because something happens that forces us into a bad situation, so that we are not able to show it. For instance, Pocono, I felt like we were easily one of the best trucks and went in for a pit stop and couldn’t get the right front tire out and went a lap down. Just simple stuff like that happens and it puts you back for the rest of the race and you can’t recover because our races are so short.”

Does it make any difference that this is your first go round at this?

“I definitely think there is an experience gap especially for me and the 42 (Carson Hocevar), the other rookie driver. If you look at all of the other drivers in the Playoffs and how many starts that they have compared to us. Look at all of the overall experience and practice they have in the Truck Series compared to myself, so yes, there is a very big experience gap but there is no excuse for it. I feel like we are more than capable of going to win this championship.”

What have you taken from Kyle Busch’s role in team ownership?

“No, Kyle is a great mentor, team owner for sure, and a great friend. He has always been there to help me in anything I’ve ever asked him to. He’s always given me loads of advice when I needed it. I definitely lean on him a lot; I couldn’t ask for a better team owner.”

Have you worked with your fill-in spotter for Gateway?

“He was my spotter at Knoxville and Gateway last year. We’ve worked together a few times now and I’m not a picky driver when it comes to spotters. I’m a guy who doesn’t want much talking on the radio at all. Inside, outside, I will let you know if I need anything more than that. It’s not that hard of a job coming to be a new spotter for me, because I don’t ask for much. (Chris) Lambert is the best in the business, and I’m thankful and grateful to have him. He’s awesome to have up on the roof. I’m definitely going to miss him though.”

Is there a certain track in the Playoffs that you feel good about?

“I think we are going to it this Friday. We were really strong at Gateway last year, made a bonehead move. It was all of the driver’s fault. It was the race last year that I felt like it was one of our better races out of the 10 or 11 races that I raced. I feel like that we should be really, really good at Gateway. We are going with a very similar package, very minimum difference, but other than that, looking forward to advancing to the next round. Knock on wood, I’ve been good at restrictor plate tracks. Daytona, I was pretty strong at, Talladega, last year, I was pretty good at, so I definitely don’t think you can count us out of the mix with that.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra, Halmar Friesen Racing

What will it take to replicate your Championship 4 run two years ago and is it doable?

“I think so. I think we can be in the top-five for a lot of races to be honest. Our team has got a lot of great equipment, a lot of great people. Our Tundras have been fast. Just executing the races and having a little bit of luck on our side to not get bounced around. Hopefully, we can start with a positive at Gateway Friday night and just keep it rolling from there.”

Do you know how many races you have run this year?

“53 modified races on top of the Truck schedule and a few late model races we run during February and March, so it’s up there.”

Is fatigue ever a factor with that much racing or is it all positive?

“This year has been a little bit crazy. Last year, being off for two months with the COVID break, when we went back to racing it was like, well, let’s do everything we can. Let’s go, go, go, go. This year it seems like we started the last week in January with some modified stuff in Florida that got added to the schedule to led into some late model races into March and we’ve kind of been on the gas ever since. It’s been awesome. Big thanks to Halmar. We have a lot of product sponsors, and it’s important behind the scenes to support the people that let us do that. It’s been a little bit much the last few weeks with the mid-week modified stuff. We are coming off a run where we ran five modified races in seven days since Watkins Glen, so it’s been busy, but what a problem to have right? To be able to make a living a go racing like that, so I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

What’s been the biggest accomplishment for your group since going out on your own?

“Just seeing that improvement throughout the whole organization. It’s been just an awesome experience with Chris (Larsen, team owner) and with Trip (Bruce, competition director) to be able to build this. The three of us set down right after Homestead in 2019 and missing the championship and we started getting to work the next day. We started looking for a shop and said this is what we are going to do. We are going to go on our own, and to now be in the Playoffs is a big sense of accomplishment for all of us. Personally, to see the improvement in the team and now we get into some races, where we are really geared up. We have some really nice equipment lined up to go to Gateway this weekend and roll that into Darlington and Bristol. I think we are sitting pretty good, maybe, we are not exactly where we need to be yet, but as far as experience along those lines, but we have the speed and I think if we execute, we have a shot to win.”

Is it too much to ask for you to win the championship?

“That’s a good question. Realistically, I don’t know. The Truck Series is so crazy and there is so many races that anything can happen at the end of the races. There has been races where we thought – Darlington, man we are going to have a shot to win this, and then end up on the hook. I think anything can happen. If we check all the of boxes and really execute as a team, good pit stops all of that kind of stuff, and dial our trucks in as much as we can with sim. The setup stuff hasn’t been really all that too far off except for Pocono. That was one kind of uncharacteristic on the season, where we didn’t have a lot of speed. And as long as I don’t make mistakes behind the wheel when we have fast trucks, so hopefully, all of that is behind us and our best days are ahead of us.”

What has the progression with Toyota meant for you over these last couple of years?

“There is a definite since of pride between myself and Chris Larsen (team owner), the whole race team carries into this Playoffs. We know where we were two years ago and the building process that we were going to undergo, and now having some top-five runs this year and having some speed, we are proud of where we are at. Anything is possible from here on out.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing

You could tie Ron Hornaday with the most Truck championships this season. Does that motivate you?

“No, not really. It doesn’t take much to motivate me. I want to win as many championships as I can and to have my name possibly next to Ron Hornaday, I mean, I’ve always looked up to Ron. He’s a great, great racecar driver, one of the greatest to ever race in the Truck Series full-time. It would be very cool, no doubt, but we definitely have some work to do.”

Have you had conversations with Ron about possibly tying him?

“Actually, last week we had a beer together and he said if I make the final four, he might just show up and be there and come on stage and have a shot. He was there when I won three and (Carl) Joiner (crew chief) and I held up threes and (Ron) Hornaday stood next to us with his four and said ‘Still one more to go boys. Four, you could get there.’ I’m sure he would be proud without a doubt, especially all of us coming from the West Coast, but I’m sure down inside he’s like ‘man, I would like to hold this one as my own.”

Does entering the Playoffs without a win phase you at all at this point?

“Not even a little bit. It doesn’t bother me at all. I like to give you all something to complain about and talk about, so it’s all about taking care of the media.”

Is the mindset for this year’s Playoffs different with your seeding and Playoff point total?

“I couldn’t tell you how many points I have or where I stand or where I stack up. I don’t care about any of that. All I know is my task at hand is to go maximize my points each and every week. I don’t even know where I start St. Louis. All I know is I’m going to go out there and have a different mindset going into these next few races to get to Phoenix and have something to prove. I always do that each and every week, but at the same time, if you go out and maximize your points, it will take care of itself.”

Where do you feel like you have to be better over these last seven races?

“Just at the start of the race being better at the start of the race and not playing catchup. We’ve just been behind the eight-ball when the green flag falls and that has to do some of it with me and all of us. As an organization, we haven’t been what we think we should be when we drop the green flag. Tuning on the trucks and making big changes throughout the race. We make it a lot better, but we definitely need to be a little bit better at the start to maximize our stage points.”

What are your thoughts on the modified pit strategy this weekend?

“Would I like to have live pit stops, yes, but at the same time, it gets rid of the pit strategies. When you are racing for a championship, it’s tough, because you have to go out there and maximize your points, and when you’ve got the guys from 10th on back or whatever it is that are not racing for a championship, they just come in early. If there is a yellow even close to that stage end, they just come in and pit and we have to stay out to maximize stage points, so it always puts us at a deficit when you are racing for a championship, so now at least we don’t have that deficit to crawl out of.”

Besides John Hunter Nemechek, who do you see as your chief rival during the Playoffs?

“I don’t take any of them lightly to be totally honest. I feel like in 2019 everyone counted me out and the other guys were the ones that were going to do it and never even thought about the 88 team and the path we’ve had and the wins we’ve had and the championships we’ve had. You can’t count anyone out. All of these guys got here for a reason, for being consistent and being good all year.”

Do you feel like your path this year is similar to what it was in 2019, when you won the championship?

“To be honest, I felt a little bit better going into 2019 just because we had practice and we were making a lot of headway going into the Playoffs. We were running well, and we had everything going our way at that point. It was almost funny to see everyone counting us out and I knew thee progress we had made throughout that year, and we used all of the tools that we had. It felt good to be counted out to be totally honest and go and do what we did. I definitely wouldn’t count us out again this year. Junior (Carl Joiner, crew chief) and every one of these guys are working hard and you never count the 88 group out.”

Do you have a sense of who has momentum right now?

“Of course, you are going to think Austin (Hill) has momentum just because he has won the last two, but do we go to dirt during this? No. Do we go to a road course race during this? No. The momentum and confidence in him is definitely got to be at an all-time high, but we aren’t going to any of those style of racetracks. I think it’s a complete reset and we go from here.”

BEN RHODES, No. 99 Bombardier Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing

You haven’t won since Daytona. Are there any concerns you haven’t won since then?

“Nope, I’m pretty chill to be honest. No, not really worried. I think we will be fine. Ships not really sinking. There’s no holes in it. It seems pretty solid, so it’s made of metal. We are going to just keep on floating on. Season resetting here, we are just going to kind of calm down and kind of rebuild some momentum and not really focus on anything crazy. We don’t need to go out and win a race right off the bat here. The biggest thing is to kind of let some other people make some mistakes. We’ve got some youth in the Playoffs and some rookies here, so we will see if they can maybe make some mistakes for us and we can pad our points a little bit and we will see after the dust settles after Gateway what we need to do. I think the first step is to just take that first step and then evaluate and see what we need to make for goals.”

With you back in a Toyota, is this your best opportunity to win a championship?

“Yes and no. Up to this point, it’s been the best season that I’ve had. Now I really, truly see the season resetting. This is the most bonus points I’ve had going into the Playoffs, so yeah, I’ve got the best chance now based off of bonus points, but that’s about it. It’s anybody’s race at this point. It’s anybody’s championship, so I wouldn’t’ count anybody out going into the final four and I wouldn’t certainly try to make anyone the favorite just yet. The 4 (John Hunter Nemechek) truck has a lot of wins right now, but we’ve seen the regular season champions go out and not make the final four. We’ve seen the regular season champions get in trouble in the Playoffs. For us, we just want some good quiet races, link some stuff together where I’m not putting any pressure on for wins. The truth of the matter is there is only 10 of us, and there is only three of us that can win at anyone stage, so it’s not like everybody’s going to win. Sometimes there is back-to-back winners. I’m just trying to be calm. We’ve kind of reset as a team and pull off of ThorSport’s long history in the sport. Go back and look at everything they have done as a team and come up with the best plan and the best resources going forward. I do think it’s our best season that we’ve put together, but anything can happen.”

Who is your biggest threat in the Playoffs besides John Hunter Nemechek?

“I don’t know. I would say John Hunter (Nemechek), Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland, I’m going to throw Matt Crafton in there because he seems like he just gets it done when time comes down to it, he just finds a way. He gets it done. I would say those four are the ones that come to mind right off my head.”

Is there something to be said about experience in this year’s Playoffs?

“I think it’s a help. I wouldn’t say it’s a huge advantage in this day and age with the quality of drivers that are in the Playoff field. They are all very good. They all know what they are doing. The benefit of the experience is just putting your blinders on and knowing how to focus and not letting the emotions get to you. It is an advantage, but it’s not the end all be all. You still have to have speed. The truck still has to handle, and it still has to be fast. Having a great Tundra is what gets you into victory lane, but the emotions certainly play a factor and that certainly can cause you to make mistakes. It can cause you to not be on you’re a-game. My first year Playoffs, I remember being so nervous and constantly thinking about it and being stressed and now, I would say I’m a little bit like (Matt) Crafton. I’m pretty relaxed. He’s so relaxed he got here I think 30 minutes late today. I’m as relaxed as it gets. Maybe when I get older, I will get like Crafton, but I tell you what, it’s amazing what a few rounds of the Playoffs can do for you and it’s as intense as ever, but I’m not feeling it as much as I did the first time.”

How do you manage being calm but having the aggressiveness you need?

“It’s a balance. It’s been a good balance for me actually. Up to the race, I’m pretty calm and chill, and then about a day after the race, pretty calm and chill again. Even up to the green flag, I’m pretty calm and chill. It’s in the race truck – you are right. I’m really aggressive with the truck. I try to be at least, and that’s just product of the racing. The field is so close now with these Ilmor motors. Everybody is very close and passing now is so hard. There’s not that big of a speed difference. It used to be before the Ilmor motor package, you could pass guys like a Jordan Anderson or whoever it was, a lower budget team that maybe built a really good truck, but they couldn’t get the motor package. It’s not just like now you can blow the doors off of them and they are out of the way. You’ve got to make passes now. If you get put at the back, it’s hard to come to the front. If you are in the front, it’s hard to make that pass on the next guy. Everyone is racing a little bit dirtier now. Everybody is racing a little bit more aggressive now than before and it’s just from the time since I’ve been in the series. I made my first start in 2014 and in 2016, I went full time, so just in my short time, I’ve seen that change. All I can say is I have good folks around me. The past couple of years, I got some really good coaching from TJ Majors, who kind of helped coach me along. I’ve got TJ Bell on the roof now. I’ve got Rich (Luches, crew chief), who is insanely calm. He makes me mad with how calm he is. I’m like are you even listening to me, and he’s just like okay. He’s like Eeyore without the sadness. He’s just so calm. I don’t know. I hear what you are saying, but I don’t know how to answer it. I feel like over time I was the puppy that was excited about everything and now I’m like the dog that you have to kick to get up. It’s a little harder to get a reaction out of me I think.”

John Hunter Nemechek – No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra Camping World Trucks WWTR Preview

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John Hunter Nemechek: Driver, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Toyota 200, Race 16 of 22 (Race 1 in the Round of 10), 160 Laps – 55/55/50; 200 Miles
Location: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill. (1.25-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Aug. 20, 2021 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

Neme’chek’ The Facts:

  • John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team head into the first race in the Round of 10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) at Gateway as the top seed in the three round, elimination-style format. The 24-year-old driver accumulated 49 playoff points heading into the playoffs on the strength of a series-leading five race wins, a series-leading nine stage wins and an additional 15-point bonus for capturing the regular season championship. He enters Friday’s race at WWTR 48 points above the cutoff line for advancing to the Round of 8.
  • The Toyota Racing driver will be competing in the Camping World Truck Series playoffs for the third time in his career. He finished eighth in the championship standings for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports, in 2016 and 2017.
  • The second-generation driver has put together a remarkable season thus far in his first season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). In addition to leading the circuit in race wins and stage wins, he leads the Truck Series in top fives (nine), laps led (487), fastest laps run (240), driver rating (117.0), average running position (5.9) and average finish (7.0).
  • Nemechek registered his fifth Truck Series win of 2021 June 26 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. The talented wheelman was able to beat KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch head-to-head for the third time this season. Nemechek also bested his boss at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in March and at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in April. Busch finished second to his pupil in all three of those events. Busch was victorious at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in March and Kansas Speedway in May. In addition to beating Busch three times, Nemechek also outdueled reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott to pick up the victory at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth in June. So, he holds a four-to-two advantage this season going heads up against the last two Cup Series champions.
  • The North Carolina driver was victorious at WWTR in June of 2017. He led 46 laps, including the final six, to pick up the fourth Truck Series win of his career. Overall, across four career starts at Gateway, he has one win, 100 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.2.
  • Nemechek is an 11-time winner in Camping World Truck Series action, winning at least one race each season from 2015 to 2018 for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports, and returning to victory lane this year with KBM. Across 117 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 1096 laps led, 37 top-five and 62 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4.
  • Eric Phillips returned to KBM to lead the No. 4 team this season. Phillips led the No. 18 team at KBM in its debut season in 2010 and helped build the organization into one of the premier teams in all of NASCAR before departing at the end of the 2014 season. Under his guidance, the No. 18 team won eight races in its inaugural campaign and became the first team in Truck Series history to capture an owner’s championship in its first season of competition. In 2014, the Illinois native led the No. 51 team to an owner’s championship and his team’s 10 wins spearheaded KBM to a single-season Truck Series record of 14 wins. His 42 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 32 of those coming while at KBM. Phillips’s drivers have earned one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes across seven Truck Series starts at WWTR. Mike Skinner was victorious with Phillips calling the shots at Gateway in 2009.

John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:

Evaluate your regular season.
“The regular season went good. Had five wins in the regular season, won a bunch of stages, so overall it was a really solid performance by our KBM No. 4 Toyota Tundra team. Looking forward to the playoffs — hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling, we’ve had some really good runs during the regular season. We’ve been one of the dominant trucks every week, I feel like. We just have to carry that into the playoffs now and go get it.”

You enter the post season with 49 playoff points.
“It’s definitely nice having a lot of points and a big lead over the cutoff line for an insurance policy. At the same time, we don’t want to have to use that. We’ve seen instances in the past with Kevin Harvick having the most playoff points last year and didn’t make the Final 4. A lot goes into it, we’ve just got to keep our head down, stay focused and go out and win races. That’s what we are here to do, #Here4Wins.”

Does having a Truck Series win at Gateway give you confidence going into Friday’s race?
“Gateway is unique. They repaved it not long ago, so it has quite a bit of grip now. Definitely a little bit different with the spec motor compared to the built motors that we used to run, but overall, the same race track. I really enjoy going to Gateway, you use quite a bit of break there, you shift some and I would call it a big short track. We start second, so we have to try and get the lead early and try to lead every lap and win the race. That’s what we are set out to do and with no pit stops this week and being stage breaks like we’ve done on the dirt side of things, we are going to have to go and race your way to our front. There is no pit strategy, you have to go and have the fastest truck and I believe that we can do that out of Kyle Busch Motorsports.”

John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:

  • Eleven-time winner in Camping World Truck Series action, winning at least one race each season from 2015 to 2018 for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports. Across 117 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled two poles, 1,094 laps led, 37 top-five and 62 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4.
  • Qualified for the Camping World Truck Series playoffs in each of his two full-time seasons, finishing eighth in the championship standings in both 2016 and 2017.
  • Produced three top-10 finishes and an average result of 22.4 while competing for rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020. He recorded a career-best eighth-place finish twice, both coming at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award four times and finished 23rd in the championship standings.
  • Across 52 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled one win (Kansas Speedway, 10/20/18), one pole, 225 laps led, 12 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.0.

John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra:
KBM-58: The No. 4 Mobil 1 team will unload KBM-58 for Friday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway. So far in 2021, KBM-058 has collected three wins (Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway) with Nemechek behind the wheel. Overall, the chassis has collected four wins across 12 career starts. The other win came with Kyle Busch behind the wheel at Charlotte in 2019. KBM-58 finished 11th in its most recent outing as a backup truck at Knoxville (Tenn.) Raceway.

KBM Notes of Interest:

  • KBM drivers have collected two wins, 363 laps led, six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.6 across 23 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
  • Christopher Bell was victorious at the 1.25-mile track in 2016 and Darrell Wallace Jr., won the 2014 event.
  • KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (88) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Truex Jr. became the 16th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
  • The No. 4 has 16 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.

Baby Doge Coin Returns to Brandonbilt Motorsports at Michigan International Speedway

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#68: Brandon Brown, Brandonbilt Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Baby Doge Coin

Track: Michigan International Speedway | 2 Mile Oval
Race: 22 of 33
Event: New Holland 250
Race: Saturday, August 21 | 3:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN & MRN
Stages: 30 / 60 / 125 = 250 Miles

Brandon Brown | Michigan International Speedway | Stats
Starts: 2
Best Start: 25
Best Finish: 26
Brown on Michigan:

“I’m looking forward to heading back to Michigan this weekend after what feels like a lifetime, since the Xfinity Series hasn’t raced there since 2019. Hopefully we can turn our luck around this weekend after the unfortunate race that we had in Indianapolis and rebound for a strong performance on Saturday.

“This weekend, I’m proud to welcome Baby Doge Coin back on board for their second race as a primary partner of our No. 68. Their paint scheme really stands out on the race track and they have an extremely passionate fanbase, so hopefully we can give the whole Baby Doge Coin community a great run and something to be excited about.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the pressure was starting to sink in as we get closer and closer to the end of the regular season. I know that if we want to have a shot at making it into this year’s playoffs, we’ll need to be aggressive and maximize our stage points, while also trying to be smart and not put ourselves in a risky situation, so it’s going to be a fine line to walk, but I’m ready for the challenge and I know that my team at BMS (Brandonbilt Motorsports) is too.”

About Baby Doge Coin
Baby Doge Coin was born June 1st , 2021. The mission was simple: save dogs. Birthed by fans & members of the Doge Coin online community, Baby Doge is being labeled as the world’s 1st dog-charity cryptocurrency. Having quickly ammased over 368,000 holders & 100,000 followers on Twitter, even Elon Musk recently tweeted about Baby Doge. Baby Doge has already donated over $75,000 to help save dogs & has plans to donate much more.

To learn more about Baby Doge Coin, visit www.babydogecoin.com.

Facebook: @BabyDogeCoin
Instagram: @thebabydogecoin
Twitter: @BabyDogeCoin

About Brandonbilt Motorsports
Brandonbilt Motorsports is a family-owned, professional stock car team competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS). Owned and operated by Woodbridge, Virginia native, Jerry Brown, Brandonbilt Motorsports has quickly become a household name in the NASCAR Xfinity Series through hard work and determination. As a smaller team in the NXS, Brandonbilt Motorsports’ goal has always been to do the most with less, while also becoming a contending organization in every race that it enters. Brandonbilt Motorsports shocked the racing world in 2020 as driver, Brandon Brown, secured the team’s first playoff berth in only its second, full-time season in the NXS, before going on to finish the year 11th in the overall points standings. On the horizon in 2021, Brandonbilt Motorsports looks to pick up where it left off as a playoff-caliber team at each event it enters. To learn more, visit bmsraceteam.com.

BC39 Attracts Top Drivers from USAC, NASCAR, INDYCAR in Race for Glory

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INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021) – There will be serious star power Aug. 17-18 at The Dirt Track at IMS, as top drivers from the United States Auto Club, NASCAR and INDYCAR will compete in the third Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship race.

This year’s entry list includes 72 drivers aiming to earn $15,000 and heaps of prestige for winning the 39-lap feature race Thursday night on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the famed IMS oval. The popular event, which resumes after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starts Wednesday, Aug. 17 with hot laps, heat races and the 25-lap Stoops Pursuit race.

Among the drivers who will compete are reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, 2013 Brickyard 400 winner Ryan Newman, 2020 Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard winner Chase Briscoe and the dominant Kyle Larson, arguably the hottest driver today in America.

Larson won the prestigious Knoxville Nationals last Saturday night and finished third in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday on the IMS road course, and he will attempt to repeat as Stoops Pursuit champion and take the checkered flag in the feature of this event for the first time.

Popular INDYCAR and Indianapolis 500 veteran Conor Daly returns, as does NASCAR and Indy 500 veteran and USAC Triple Crown winner J.J. Yeley.

Those drivers will take on a lineup of USAC’s best, including 2018 BC39 winner Brady Bacon and 2019 winner Zeb Wise, who also won the Stoops Pursuit in the inaugural event in 2018.

There are eight USAC National Midget season champions vying for a spot in the feature: Reigning champ Chris Windom, Russ Gamester, Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tanner Thorson, Spencer Bayston, Logan Seavey and Tyler Courtney.

The BC39 also has drawn two drivers from New Zealand, Glenn Waterland and Hayden Williams.

USAC National Midget Championship leader Buddy Kofoid will race in the BC39 for the first time, trying to pad his points lead. This also will be the first BC39 for 2016 Midget national champion Thorson, who has six victories this season.

Elliott and Newman bring varying levels of USAC experience into their first respective attempts at the event. Elliott has competed in three USAC National Midget events this season as he embraces dirt racing more and more, while 1999 USAC Silver Crown champion and Indiana native Newman will return to his roots, as he was a 13-time USAC National Midget feature winner in his illustrious short-track career before he climbed to NASCAR.

The BC39 event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 at IMS will continue to honor late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increase awareness of and participation in the Indiana Donor Network and Driven2SaveLives.

On-track action for the BC39 begins Wednesday, Aug. 18, starting with practice at 5 p.m. (ET) and opening ceremonies at 6:30 p.m. Heat races begin at 7:15 p.m., with the exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race concluding the night’s action at 8 p.m.

NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and five-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon will serve as honorary starter Wednesday.

As a part of his duties, Gordon will wave the green flag for the Stoops Pursuit. He also will turn exhibition laps in a Clauson Marshall Racing USAC Midget car in front of the crowd, something he hasn’t done in nearly 30 years.

Thursday’s action starts with practice at 4:30 p.m., with qualifying races at 5:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7 p.m., immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple 12-lap D-Mains, the 15-lap C-Main, the 20-lap semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.

Tickets are still available for both nights at IMS.com.

Cindric, Gragson, Haley, Allmendinger and Allgaier Set to Join Q&A Session at Daytona Int’l Speedway’s UNOH Fanzone Prior to the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, Aug. 27

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Austin Cindric, who won the season-opening Beef. Its What’s For Dinner. 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, will participate in the UNOH Fanzone Question & Answer Sessions on Friday, Aug. 27, prior to the start of the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at the World Center of Racing.

Pre-Race Fan Q&A Part of the UNOH Fanzone Experience!

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 17, 2021) – Four Daytona International Speedway Champions, three in NASCAR and one in the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, along with one of the NASCAR Xfinity Series best, are ready to answer fans burning questions before the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola on Friday, Aug. 27.

The group of four consists of Austin Cindric (2021 Beef. Its What’s For Dinner. 300 Champion), Noah Gragson (2020 Beef. Its What’s For Dinner. 300 Champion), Justin Haley (defending Wawa 250 Champion), AJ Allmendinger (the 2012 Rolex 24 Champion), the NASCAR Cup Series’ most recent winner, and Justin Allgaier, who will seek his first Daytona triumph.

Anyone who has access to the UNOH Fanzone can ask these drivers their questions and get a personal experience with the potential victor of the 2021 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Friday Admission is $25 for adults and FREE for kids 12 and under. Here fans will also have access to pre-race ceremonies, driver introductions, access to the large grass ballfield and the start/finish line through the middle of the 18-degree, banked trioval. Fans can also get photos with the winning trophies of the weekend in Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane.

Below gives more detail on the group of drivers scheduled to be a part of the UNOH Fanzone on Friday, Aug. 27:

Cindric (driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford) is the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion. Carrying on with last season’s success, Cindric has already won five races this season, one of those races being the season opener Beef. Its What’s For Dinner. 300, and has clinched a playoff spot. Cindric, who won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race over the weekend in Indy, also captured the first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Daytona Road Course in 2020.

Gragson (driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) is the 2020 Beef. Its What’s For Dinner. 300 Champion. While Gragson is above the playoff cut line in eighth and ha two stage wins this season but needs a win to guarantee a playoff position.

Haley (driver of the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet) is the defending champion of the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Like Gragson, he is above the playoff cut line thanks to four stage wins but is in need of a victory to cement his spot in the playoffs. Haley is also the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.

Allmendinger (driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevy) is a 2012 Rolex 24 winner, showcasing his skill on the Daytona Road Course. Allmendinger has already clinched a playoff spot with two wins this season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allmendinger surprised the racing world this past weekend by winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

Allgaier (driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) sits fourth in the title standings, winning two races this year. Over the last 10 years, he has finished in the top five of the NASCAR Xfinity Series final standings on seven occasions, including runner-up last season. Always a constant frontrunner at Daytona, he will be looking for his first win at the 2.5-mile trioval.

Driver availability for the DIS Pre-Race Fan Question & Answer session is subject to change and without notice. Neither NASCAR nor any of its affiliates are responsible for this event

For UNOH Fanzone access the day after, for the Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400, admission is $60 for adults and FREE for kids 12 and under if they are accompanied by a paid adult. Another lineup of drivers will be doing a Q&A before the Saturday race as well. If fans would like to visit the UNOH Fanzone before both the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, they have the option of the Two-Day Pass, where access to the pre-race events for both days will be only $75.

Tickets for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway and see the latest speedway news on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of The Great American Race – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the World Center of Racing, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Todd Gilliland Ready for Truck Series Playoff Opener

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
Tuesday, August 17, 2021

EVENT: Playoff Media Day

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Crosley Ford F-150 – DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FAVORITE IN THESE PLAYOFFS? “I definitely don’t think we can say we’re a favorite, but I really do think over the last two or three months we’ve been a top two or three type guy week in and week out. That gives me a lot of confidence. This is definitely the most confident I’ve ever been going to the playoffs. Last year was my first year. This year we have a little bit of a buffer to start and then just how we’ve been running recently I definitely think we can be a top two or three guy.”

WHAT WOULD BE IN YOUR PLAYOFF PLAYBOOK OF THINGS YOU MUST DO AND THINGS YOU CAN’T DO? “I think under the things you absolutely can’t do is make bad mistakes. You have to have good restarts. I think that could be the two things that could get you in trouble, but things you have to do, I think with the way we’ve been running you just have to keep doing the same things. You can’t really look at it too much different, except maybe kick it up another notch and just go racing, and really keep having fun with it.”

HOW IS YOUR TEAM BETTER THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST? “Really, I don’t know if this has been a big part, but last year we were working out of the DGR shop and then this year we’ve been at Front Row Motorsports, just right beside the Cup cars, and having two really good Cup teams just walking by your trucks, just looking at them every chance they can get makes a difference. I think another year of truck experience for my crew chief. Building notes. Last year it was really hard to have your first truck season as a crew chief when you can’t go to the racetrack and really learn from practice. I think going back we’ve really stepped it up at the racetracks we struggled at last year, and then also continue to run good at the ones that we did run good at last year, so I think that’s the biggest thing for me – crew chief setup-wise, having a much better idea after going to these places once.”

YOU HAD THE TRUCK TO BEAT AT GATEWAY LAST YEAR, BUT IT DIDN’T END THE WAY YOU HOPED. IS THAT MOTIVATION FOR THIS YEAR? “Yeah, absolutely. Just it being the first race of the playoffs, to start off on a good foot. Last year, we went out and won both stages and then I’d say I had a top five truck at the end of the race and got wrecked, but just overall to have that confidence going into the first race of the playoffs. I think even if we came out of here with a really solid run that would definitely set our playoffs on the right track.”

IS CONSISTENCY THE NEXT SEVEN RACES GOING TO BE ENOUGH OR WILL YOU NEED TO WIN? “Really, the greedy side of you obviously wants to win, but I’d say with the way we’ve been running and we’ve been getting really good stage points, I mean you still have to be super consistent, but you also have to go for wins. Hopefully, our consistency can keep ratcheting up a notch every so often. I think we’ve been doing that. We were just inside the top 10 and now we’ve been top 5 every week. Now if we can go to top three for the whole playoffs, then obviously that will put you in a good spot to be one of the top four to go to Phoenix, and then once you get there you’ve got to go for broke and go all-out for the win. It would be nice to get an early win in one of these rounds, but being smart and being consistent can get your (rest of answer is unclear).”

DO YOU FORGET SOMETIMES THIS IS ONLY YOUR SECOND YEAR AS A TEAM? “Yeah, I definitely do think of that. Even last year to make the playoffs, I think we all kind of expected it and honestly probably expected a little bit more than we did last year. We wanted to kind of go out and get a win or two or three, but to make the playoffs in our first year was pretty cool, and then this year we started off the season pretty rough and even the progress this year has been awesome for me to see because really everyone was down pretty bad. We started off wrecking at Daytona and then just had a lot of bad runs at the beginning of the season, where the guys could have definitely given up, but that was one thing I think has really helped my team is that everyone races go-karts with each other at Millbridge and just the camaraderie on our team is like one I’ve never been on and it’s a great thing.”

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT SEASON? “Honestly, I haven’t talked about it much, just kind of focusing on winning a championship and really put myself in the best spot come November.”

IS THERE A PATH TO RUN XFINITY NEXT YEAR? “I don’t know. I haven’t talked about that, but certainly as a driver I would love to move up to the Xfinity Series. I’ve been in the truck series for four or five seasons now and it’s a lot of fun. This has been by far my best season and moving up to the Xfinity Series would be amazing, but honestly I have not talked to anyone about it.”

WHAT IS THE MOOD LIKE AT FRONT ROW THESE DAYS? “It’s really good. Even starting off the year with the Daytona 500 win, like I said earlier, this is our first year in the shop, but really those guys take a lot of pride in watching the truck compete for wins and top fives every single week. That does raise the spirit and like I said too those guys just being the Cup Series team trying to be a part of it is a huge benefit to us. I think the two have lived in there really well together and probably benefitted each other quite a bit.”

WHICH TRACK IN THE PLAYOFFS DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR BEST CHANCE TO WIN? “I’m really excited for all of them. I think Gateway, last year we ran really well. Darlington, this year we won a stage and got caught up in a big wreck. Bristol can be a little bit of a wild card for us. We didn’t run great there last year, but I definitely feel confident going back there and Martinsville is going to be a wild one. It’s a cut off race, but I’ve won there before and then Phoenix is a lot like Gateway, so I feel really confident going there.”

HOW DO THE UPS-AND-DOWNS YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH MAKE YOU APPRECIATE HOW WELL THINGS ARE GOING NOW? “It’s crazy. When I came into the Truck Series I expected to win and when we didn’t it really took the fun out of it and the pressure was just crazy on me at the time. It probably shouldn’t have been, but I made it worse than it was, and that’s the biggest thing. This year racing we’ve just been having a lot of fun and that’s been so refreshing to me and my whole team. I really feel like we’ve had a great group of guys, but this year bringing the fun back into it and having a great time at the racetrack is ultimately what it’s all about.”

IT’S ALLOWED YOU TO RELAX AND BE BETTER IN THE SEAT AND EVERY OTHER FACET OR NOT? “Absolutely. I think just the team beyond my actual team, the pit crew has done a great job for us the last two years, but this year especially. Just knowing you don’t have to take that extra chance to get past someone on the last lap because you know your pit crew is gonna pick up a spot or two every time you come down pit road. That takes a little bit of pressure off. Knowing that my crew chief is gonna understand what I’m saying and make the right adjustments for the next run that you also don’t have to make a dumb move the run before. All the little things take an ounce of pressure off and then soon everything is just clicking right. It’s been a lot of fun too just to be a part of the growing of the Front Row Motorsports truck team and bringing the fun into it.”

CAN YOUR STRONG ROAD COURSE PERFORMANCES THIS YEAR EXTEND INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “Yeah, I think we’ve been really good at the weird racetracks this year. When we went to the road courses we ran really well. The dirt tracks we ran really well, so it’s been fun. Really, the Truck Series schedule has been hard to get a good flow or read on how you are because you’re going to dirt one weekend, road course and then you might have one or two mile-and-a-halves scattered through there, but I think that’s been great that we’ve been good at those places. I definitely think our mile-and-a-half program has gotten head and shoulders better from the beginning of the year. We had a couple rough runs there at Atlanta and Vegas, so just to turn that around was huge, but I think we’ll be in a much better place at the asphalt and more cookie-cutter, normal racetracks also.”

HOW IS IT TO YOU TO LOOK AT THE PROGRESSION YOU’VE MADE AS A DRIVER? “I think you always have to look back and really appreciate how far you’ve come. I definitely can see that in myself. I’ve made a lot of just weird mistakes, like going in the K&N Series you don’t have live pit stops, where in the Truck Series you can make it past the first pit stop, let your team work on it. If you don’t, you never really know how good that race you could have been because you don’t give them a chance to work on the truck, so I think I’ve become a lot more patient as we’ve gotten our trucks better. That allows a driver to be more under control driving the truck, so that’s helped a lot and I’ve definitely grown a lot as a driver.”

ARCA Menards Series Race Advance: Michigan & Springfield

By
Official Release
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Friday, August 20
Track: Michigan International Speedway, 2-mile oval
Race: 14 of 20
Event: Henry Ford Health System 200 (100 laps, 200 miles)

Schedule
Practice/Qualifying: 4:00 p.m. ET
Race: 6:00 p.m. ET (MAVTV)

Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Clean Harbors Ford Fusion

  • Thad Moffitt enters his 14th race of the ARCA Menards Series season on Friday evening at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
  • Last time out at Watkins Glen International, the 20-year-old driver started 15th and finished 11th in his Clean Harbors Fusion.
  • Moffitt and crew chief Derek Smith have one previous start at the 2-mile Michigan oval together. Last season they started eighth and finished ninth.
  • The Ford driver has five top-fives and 10 top-10s in 13 starts with the ARCA Menards Series. He remains third in the series point standings.

Sunday, August 22
Track: Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1-mile dirt oval
Race: 15 of 20
Event: Allen Crowe 100 (100 laps, 100 miles)

Schedule
Practice: 11:00 a.m. ET
Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. ET
Race: 2:30 p.m. ET (MAVTV)

Taylor Gray, No. 46 Ford Fusion

  • After a week off, Taylor Gray will enter the ARCA Menards Series event at the Springfield Mile in the No. 46 Fusion for DGR.
  • The 16-year-old driver qualified ninth and finished fourth last season at the Illinois State Fairgrounds with David Gilliland atop the pit box.
  • Through 18 career races with the ARCA Menards Series, Gray has 12 top-fives and 17 top-10s with an average finish of 5.6.
  • It will be the second race of the weekend for Gray and Chad Johnston after they run their second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois on Friday night.

Charred Flag Factory to support Chris Hacker in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut

By
Official Release
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MOORESVILLE, N.C.: fgrACCEL and Reaume Brothers Racing jointly announced today that Charred Flag Factory has leaped aboard for Chris Hacker’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) debut in Friday night’s Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) at Gateway.

The Charred Flag Factory was formed in Rochester, New York in 2017 by Paul Cummings after a cherry tree was cut down on his property.

After a few years of making flags around the holidays, he started customizing them and turned the Charred Flag Factory into his full-time passion.

The Charred Flag Factory only offers flags of the highest quality. They only use solid hardwoods and hand-pick each slab. They won’t let anything leave their shop that they wouldn’t be proud to display in their own homes.

They have built a few thousand flags for just about every industry imaginable including the military, corporations, fire departments, law enforcement, sports teams and more.

Because they send digital layouts before they start each flag, their customers can alter their designs and change things around before they start production. They can verify their flags’ appearance before they buy it!

They take a lot of pride in our work and love what we do. This helps give peace of mind.

“I’m honored to play a small part in Chris’s journey and his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race,” said Charred Flag Factory owner Paul Cummings. “His story has inspired me. He’s a proven fighter, a hard worker, and exactly the kind of person I like to be around and work with.

“Chris strikes me as someone who dreams about excellence and won’t stop working to improve each and every day. I can’t wait to see where this road takes him.”

Hacker has been overwhelmed by the support of his upcoming NASCAR national series debut, especially from Cummings and Charred Flag Factory.

“I will forever be thankful to Paul and everyone at Charred Flag Factory for being a part of my journey and this incredible opportunity at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Friday night,” offered Hacker.

“I’ve set some personal goals for my debut and that includes representing my partners with the best finish possible. What the Charred Flag Factory has done for so many is amazing, and I hope we’re able to bring them some new business with their reach into the NASCAR world at Gateway.”

For more on The Charred Flag Factory, please visit charredflags.com.

For more on Chris Hacker, please like him on Facebook (Chris Hacker Motorsports), follow him on Twitter (@chrishacker_) and Instagram (@chris_hacker).

The Toyota 200 presented by CK Power (160 laps | 200 miles) is the 16th of 22 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2021 schedule. The 40-truck field will take the green flag on Fri., Aug. 20, 2021, shortly after 9:00 p.m. ET with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 90.

About Reaume Brothers Racing:

Reaume Brothers Racing (RBR) began in 1997 when John Reaume got his sons, Jonathan and Joshua into competitive kart racing. From these humble beginnings, the brothers have chased the racing dream, competing in events all around the world, studying mechanical engineering at university, and building a successful racing business specializing in karting and oval track racing.

Since 2018, RBR has fielded at least one full-time entry in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. With a culture focused on innovation, RBR will utilize cutting-edge technologies to improve on and off-track performance.

Driven with passion and fueled with engineering, RBR is looking to make its mark in NASCAR.

In 2021, the team will continue its presence in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, while also planning to expand its focus to the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

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