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Georgia Peanut Commission Returns with Alfredo

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Official Release
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Makes Second Donation of Over 1,400 Jars of Peanut Butter to Canine Assistants

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 7, 2021) – The Georgia Peanut Commission will return to support Anthony Alfredo and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team this weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Commission returns after running their colors with Alfredo earlier this year at the same track.

The Georgia Peanut Commission will also make a second donation to Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization, dedicated to educating people and dogs so they may enhance the lives of one another. Canine Assistants will receive 1,440 sixteen-ounce jars of creamy peanut butter with Alfredo helping to make the donation this Friday.

“It’s awesome to have the Georgia Peanut Commission back on the car this weekend,” said Alfredo. “I really enjoyed helping to make their donation to Canine Assistants earlier this year and I’m looking forward to helping make another donation this week. I also want to continue to help promote the Georgia Peanut Commission, as the Georgia farmers do so much to help better our lives.”

The Georgia Peanut Commission conducts programs in the areas of promotion, research and education. Funding is derived from a $2 per ton assessment on all producers. Peanuts are a $2.2 billion industry in Georgia and a vital part of the economy. Facts about the peanut industry in Georgia include:

  • Georgia farmers produced 53% of the United States’ peanuts in 2020 – more than 1.64 million tons
  • Georgia farmers harvested 800,000 acres, yielding an average of 4,100 pounds per acre
  • Georgia farmers planted peanuts in 76 counties in Georgia
  • Georgia has approximately 4,500 peanut farmers
  • Georgia peanuts accounted for 25.5% of the state’s row and forage crops income
  • Peanuts are Georgia’s Official State Crop

“The Atlanta Motor Speedway, Front Row Motorsports and Anthony Alfredo help us spread the message of the work we do,” said Joe Boddiford, Promotion Committee chairman for the Georgia Peanut Commission. “We are proud to continue our partnership with Anthony and the Front Row Motorsports team this weekend and will be cheering them on the track and supporting our community with our donation to Canine Assistants.”

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The race will be televised live on NBCSN.

About Georgia Peanut Commission
The Georgia Peanut Commission was established in 1961 under the state’s Commodities Promotion Act. Today, the commission represents Georgia’s 4,500 peanut farmers and conducts programs in the areas of promotion, research and education. To learn more, visit gapeanuts.com or follow @gapeanuts on Facebook and Instagram or @GeorgiaPeanuts on Twitter.

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.

Chastain to achieve 100th Cup start at Atlanta

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Don Dunn for SpeedwayMedia.com.

A significant milestone start is in the making for Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chastain will accomplish 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

A native of Alva, Florida, Chastain made his Cup Series debut at Dover International Speedway in June 2017. By then, he was a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for JD Motorsports. Driving the No. 15 Chevrolet for Premium Motorsports, Chastain finished 20th in his Cup debut. He returned for the Cup Playoff race at Dover in October, where he finished 38th while driving for Premium Motorsports.

The following season, Chastain competed in 34 of the 36-race Cup schedule, making all of his starts with Premium Motorsports. Throughout the season, he earned two top-20 results, including a season-best 18th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

In 2019, Chastain campaigned in all but one of the 36-race Cup schedule with Premium Motorsports. He also competed the entire Truck Series schedule with Niece Motorsports and on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series between JD Motorsports and Kaulig Racing. During his Cup tenure, Chastain earned a 10th-place result in the season-opening Daytona 500 and a 12th-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in October. He also led a total of 11 laps and averaged a finishing result of 28.2.

While competing as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Kaulig Racing in 2020, Chastain also made a total of eight Cup starts, starting with the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. Driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in a partnership between Spire Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing, Chastain was in position to win the 500 until he was involved in a late multi-car wreck that relegated him to 25th in the final running order.

Two days after the 2020 Daytona 500, Chastain was named a substitute competitor for Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford Mustang driven by Ryan Newman, with Newman hospitalized after suffering non-life threatening injuries from a final lap accident during the 500. Making his first Cup start with RFR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February, Chastain finished 27th after being involved in a late spin. He went on to finish 17th and 23rd during the following two race weekends at Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway in March before the COVID-19 pandemic put a hiatus to all racing activities.

When NASCAR resumed the 2020 season in May at Darlington Raceway, Newman was medically cleared to return to racing. Chastain, meanwhile, returned the following week at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Driving for Spire Motorsports, he finished 21st. He made three more Cup starts for the remainder of the season, all for Spire Motorsports, beginning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where he finished 17th. He also competed at Daytona in August, where he finished 16th, and at Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500 in September, where he finished 29th.

Prior to the 2021 season, Chastain was selected by Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the team’s No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on a full-time basis. The move fulfilled the fruition of Chastain competing with CGR following sponsor DC Solar’s fallout and FBI raid in December 2018, an event that cost Chastain an opportunity to compete with CGR for the 2019 Xfinity Series season due to sponsorship woes and resulted with CGR’s Xfinity team ceasing operations.

Commencing this season with a seventh-place result in the Daytona 500, Chastain has achieved two top-five results, five top-10 results, 40 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.1 through the first 20 Cup races of the schedule. This includes a career-best runner-up result achieved at Nashville Superspeedway in June along with a strong fourth-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas in May. He and Ganassi’s No. 42 Chevrolet team are currently ranked in 18th place in the regular-season standings.

Through 99 previous Cup starts, Chastain has achieved two top-five results, six top-10 results, 53 laps led and an average-finishing result of 25.7.

Chastain is primed to make his 100th Cup career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 11, with the race scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN.

Chris Gayle to call 150th Xfinity race as crew chief at Atlanta

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwayMedia.com.

A significant milestone start is in the making for Chris Gayle, crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team piloted by multiple competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Gayle will call his 150th Xfinity career race as a crew chief.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Gayle spent two years as a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville before transferring to the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 2002. Not long after, he joined Joe Gibbs Racing to work as a race engineer.

Eleven years later, Gayle, who was a senior engineer for Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series, was promoted to the crew chief role, where he was paired with veteran Elliott Sadler and JGR’s No. 11 Toyota Camry team for the 2013 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Throughout the 33-race Xfinity schedule, Gayle and Sadler earned nine top-five results and 20 top-10 results before finishing in fourth place in the final standings.

Eight races into the 2014 Xfinity season, Gayle earned his first NASCAR career victory as a crew chief at Talladega Superspeedway in April, where Sadler held off the field in a three-lap shootout to return to Victory Lane following a one-year winless season. They went on to earn a pole, seven top-five results and 25 top-10 results before settling in third place in the final standings.

Prior to the 2015 season, Sadler departed JGR and the team shuffled its crew chief lineup, placing Gayle as crew chief for the team’s No. 54 Toyota Camry piloted by multiple competitors, starting with Kyle Busch for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. The season, however, started off on a harrowing note when Busch was involved in a late multi-car accident that saw his car make head-on contact into a concrete wall installed with no SAFER barriers and the driver being transported to a local hospital, where he suffered a massive compound fracture to his right leg and a fractured left foot.

With Busch absent and recovering from his injuries, Gayle spent the following 11 Xfinity events working with Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin and Boris Said. When Busch returned at Michigan International Speedway in June, he and Gayle went to Victory Lane after Busch completed a late pass on Chase Elliott en route to his first win of the season and in his first Xfinity start since the Daytona accident. A week later, Gayle went to Victory Lane with Erik Jones at Chicagoland Speedway. 

In total, Gayle achieved seven Xfinity victories in 2015, six with Kyle Busch and one with Erik Jones. In addition, he notched five poles, 17 top-five results and 23 top-10 results throughout the 33-race schedule for JGR’s No. 54 Toyota team, which settled in the runner-up position behind Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team in the final Xfinity owners’ standings.

Gayle remained as JGR’s Xfinity “all-star” crew chief in 2016, where he worked with Dakoda Armstrong, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Drew Herring, Sam Hornish Jr., Owen Kelly, Bobby Labonte, David Ragan and Matt Tifft, all of whom took turns piloting the No. 18 Toyota Camry throughout the season. Throughout the 33-race schedule, Gayle earned 11 victories (10 with Kyle Busch and one with Hornish), 11 poles (nine with Kyle Busch, one with Ragan and one with Tifft), 19 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. When the final checkered flag of the season flew, JGR’s No. 18 Toyota team ended up in fourth place in the owners’ standings.

Following the 2016 Xfinity season, Gayle moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series, where he worked as a crew chief for Erik Jones and the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry team. After a four-year run in the Cup Series, where Gayle earned two career victories between 2018 and 2019 with Erik Jones, Gayle returned to the Xfinity Series for the 2021 season, where he was assigned to JGR’s No. 54 Toyota Supra team piloted by multiple competitors, starting with Ty Dillon for the season-opening event at Daytona in February. 

Following a 14th-place result with Dillon at Daytona, Gayle returned to Victory Lane the following weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course with Ty Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, winning his first Xfinity race in his series’ debut. Since then, Gayle has achieved four additional victories this season, three with Kyle Busch and another with Ty Gibbs. Currently, with seventeen races of the 2021 season complete, JGR’s No. 54 team led by Gayle is ranked in second place in the owners’ standings.

Through 149 previous Xfinity appearances, Gayle has achieved 25 victories, 20 poles, 63 top-five results and 102 top-10 results while working with 15 different competitors.

Gayle is primed to call his 150th Xfinity race as a crew chief at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 10, with Kyle Busch scheduled to drive the No. 54 JGR Toyota Supra and with the race scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Gilliland Goes Dirt Racing with Frontline Enterprises

By
Official Release
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Team Ready to Sling Dirt at Historic Knoxville Raceway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 7, 2021) – Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Frontline Enterprises team will race at the famed Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway this Friday night. It’s the first race at the track for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Knoxville Raceway hosts the annual Knoxville Nationals for winged sprint cars each season and the facility is the one of the premier dirt tracks in America. Gilliland comes to the track knowing all its history.

“It’s pretty cool that we’re going to be racing at Knoxville,” said Gilliland. “The is one of the best dirt tracks in the country and it’s great for us to have the opportunity to race there. Fans in Iowa, they love racing, dirt racing, sprint cars and now we’re going to show them some truck racing on the dirt, too.”

Gilliland finished fourth earlier this season on the dirt at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and is looking for another top-five or better on Friday night in the Frontline Enterprises Ford F-150.

“I love racing on the dirt,” continued Gilliland. “I mean, I haven’t done much racing on dirt, but it’s pretty fun. I think you need to have a good attitude about it, go out there and have fun. Then, it’s been easier to see the good results come. We did that at Bristol and it worked out for us. So, hopefully we can do the same for Frontline Enterprises with us on Friday night.”

Gilliland and the Frontline Enterprises team will practice on Thursday before lining up for heat races on Friday and the feature Friday night under the lights. The race will be televised live on FS1 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

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.

Toyota Racing – Weekly Preview – 07.07.21

By
Official Release
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This Week in Motorsports: July 5-11, 2021

· NCS/NXS: Atlanta Motor Speedway – July 10-11
· NCWTS: Knoxville Raceway – July 9
· ARCA: Elko Speedway – July 10

PLANO, Texas (July 7, 2021) – The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series make their second stop in Atlanta this season, while the Truck Series returns to the dirt as the series races at Knoxville Raceway for the first time. The ARCA Menards Series is also back in action as they begin five consecutive weekends of racing at Elko Speedway.

NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NCWTS

Hamlin holds the lead… After driving to his 11th top-five finish of the season, Denny Hamlin continues to hold the series points lead – a position he has held most of the year. Atlanta Motor Speedway would be a great place to cross off his first victory of the year. The Virginia-native previously won at the track in 2012.

Bell ready to add another Atlanta milestone… Christopher Bell had a stellar weekend in Road America as he showcased his road course racing skills on his way to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. Bell looks for the successful runs to continue this weekend, at a place he already delivered a win for Toyota. Bell drove the Toyota Supra to Victory Lane for the first time in 2019 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and in dominating fashion by leading 142 of 163 laps.

Busch wants to go five-for-five… After scoring his 200th Toyota win last weekend at Road America, Kyle Busch looks to close out his 2021 Xfinity Series schedule with his fifth consecutive victory. The all-time win leader in the Xfinity Series scored Toyota’s first Cup Series win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2008 and scored back-to-back Xfinity Series wins there in 2016 and 2017.

Georgia-native looking for a big win… Atlanta-native Brandon Jones is back at his home track looking for a big victory. The four-time Xfinity winner has never visited Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway but scored a track-best finish of fourth in 2019.

Back to the dirt for the Trucks… For the first time in series history, the Truck Series will have two races on dirt in a single season as they make their debut at Knoxville Raceway on Friday. Cup Series regular Martin Truex Jr. won in the No. 51 Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) at the other race on dirt this season – Bristol – and that team will look for another good run with dirt veteran Brian Brown making his series debut this weekend.

Two Friesens this weekend… After impressing in practice at the Bristol dirt race before inclement weather took away her chance to qualify, Jessica Friesen will return behind the wheel of her No. 62 Toyota Tundra this weekend. Her and husband, Stewart Friesen, will look to become the first husband and wife duo to compete in the same Truck Series race on Friday evening.

Playoffs closing in… With just two races remaining in the regular season for the NASCAR Truck Series, Toyota drivers currently hold the majority of the 10-truck field. John Hunter Nemechek can clinch the regular season championship by leaving Knoxville Raceway with a 60-point lead over fellow Toyota driver Ben Rhodes. Nemechek, Rhodes and Austin Hill have all clinched spots in the post-season, while Matt Crafton, Stewart Friesen and rookie Chandler Smith are currently all in Playoff positions.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Heim and Gibbs battle for title… It has become a two-driver race for this year’s ARCA Menards Series title as Toyota drivers Corey Heim and Ty Gibbs have battled throughout the season. After his third win of the season at Pocono, Heim retained the points lead by three markers heading into Elko Speedway in Minnesota. Gibbs, who has won the other five races this season, is looking to improve on a track-best second-place run from 2019.

Love and Trotter return… Venturini Motorsports will welcome back both Jesse Love and Gracie Trotter to Camrys this weekend. Love is coming off a victory in last weekend’s ARCA West event at Irwindale Speedway, while Trotter was a season-best seventh in her last ARCA start at Toledo.

Stay Connected

https://www.toyota.com/racing @ToyotaRacing.com @ToyotaRacing

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About Toyota

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

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

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

Fr8 Auctions and Michael McDowell Celebrate with Camp Braveheart

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Official Release
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McDowell to Visit Camp and Fr8 Auctions Ahead of Racing Fr8 Colors on Sunday

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 7, 2021) – It will be a busy week and welcomed week for Daytona 500 Champion, Michael McDowell and partner Fr8 Auctions. McDowell and Fr8 Auctions will celebrate their Daytona 500 win together on Friday at the auction’s house headquarters, but first, McDowell will make a special appearance to Camp Braveheart on Thursday evening.

Camp Braveheart is a unique, residential summer camp providing essential medical care, treatment and fun for kids with heart defects and heart transplants. For some campers, camp brings many firsts – the first time away from home, the first time to ride a bike, climb to the top of the rock wall or learn to swim.

For many, it is the first time their scars make them feel included instead of different. The camp environment provides a unique setting where campers grow in confidence, build resiliency as they face difficult aspects of their disease head-on and acquire important life skills. For campers and volunteers alike, it is truly a magical and transformative experience.

“We’ve been waiting so long to see fans again, our partners again and to make these appearances to brighten up children’s lives,” said McDowell. “Fr8 Auctions and the Be Your Own Hero Foundation with the Brave Like Wyatt messaging, they do so much in the Atlanta community. Fr8 Auctions, Marcus Barela and their family, they are more than just partners. They make the whole deal like family.

“It’s great that I can go to Camp Braveheart and see these children,” continued McDowell. “I’m then heading to Fr8 Auctions and spend time with the staff. These are weekends that we’ve longed for since the pandemic. It makes for a full weekend of giving back, thanking people for their support and then having a great race.”

McDowell will be behind the wheel of the No. 34 Fr8 Auctions Ford Mustang this Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. His No. 34 Fr8 Auctions Ford Mustang will carry over 20 names of individuals who made a donation of $500.00 to Camp Braveheart.

“Michael represents us in a gr8 way at the track, but it’s what he does away from it that makes him special to us,” said Marcus Barela, Owner, Fr8 Auctions. “He’s always one of the first ones to help with #BraveLikeWyatt and helping others. We’re proud of him and wish him the best of luck on Sunday.”

For more information about Fr8Auctions, visit Fr8Auctions.com and follow Fr8Auctions on social media: Twitter at @fr8auctions and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Fr8Auctions-165690083576986/

For more information about the Be Your Own Hero Foundation #BraveLikeWyatt, visit www.bravelikewyatt.com.

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.

Chandler Smith – No. 18 JBL Tundra Camping World Trucks Knoxville Preview

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Official Release
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Chandler Smith: Driver, No. 18 JBL® Toyota

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Corn Belt 150, Race 14 of 22, 150 Laps – 40/50/60; 75 Miles
Location: Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway (half-mile dirt oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 9, 2021 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

Mr. Smith Goes Dirt Racing:

  • Chandler Smith and the No. 18 JBL team head to Knoxville Raceway Friday looking to solidify their spot in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs. With two races remaining in the regular season, Smith currently holds a 31-point advantage over Johnny Sauter for the 10th and final spot on the playoff grid.
  • The 19-year-old driver has made a remarkable rally in the point standings over the last four events. When the Camping World Trucks left Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, he sat 12th on the playoff grid, 35 points behind Sauter for the 10th position. Over the four-race span, Smith has tallied 134 total points, fourth-most in the series. Despite a disappointing 23rd-place finish in the series’ last stop at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., the talented teenager has gained 66 points on Sauter.
  • Knowing it will be a tight battle for the final spot in the playoffs, the No. 18 has executed a strategy of scoring stage points in recent events. Over the last three races by finishing seventh or better in five of the six stages, including winning Stage Two at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, the team accumulated a total of 31 stage points.
  • Across 13 starts this season, Smith has two top-five and four top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 17.9. He produced a season-best result of fourth at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in April. He sits second in Rookie of the Year standings, 21 points behind Carson Hocevar. The Toyota Racing Development driver has 10 top-five, and 13 top-10 finishes across 29 career Camping World Truck Series starts, including a career-best runner-up finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in 2019.
  • Smith showed speed in the first Camping World Truck Series dirt race of the season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, climbing his way from his 21st starting position to 11th over the first 26 laps, but a pair of incidents after that would leave him with a disappointing 34th-place finish.
  • Aiming to keep his skills sharp, Smith spent his off weekend from the Truck Series behind the wheel of a Late Model Stock Car July 3 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. After turning the 12th-fastest time in qualifying, he went on to finish the 200-lap race in the seventh position. A regular in the Super Late Model ranks, Saturday was just his second career start in the Late Model Stock Car division.
  • Veteran crew chief Danny Stockman calls the shots for Smith and the No. 18 team this season. Stockman led the No. 51 team to four wins in his first season atop the pit box at KBM in 2020. He came to the organization with experience as a crew chief in all three national series, including a Truck Series championship with Austin Dillon in 2011 and an Xfinity Series championship with Dillon in 2013. Stockman has been atop the pit box for two dirt races, his best result was a fifth-place finish with Ty Dillon at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio in 2014.
  • JBL, the authority in engineering superior sound, will be the primary sponsor for the No. 18 team this week at Knoxville and again Aug. 7 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International Speedway. Safelite AutoGlass – the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair, replacement, and recalibration services – returns to Smith’s Tundra Aug. 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Chandler Smith, Driver Q&A:

The two remaining regular season races are on unique tracks. Is one of them more of a wild card than the other?
“Not really. Knoxville is obviously a dirt track a, so it is going to be chaotic just like Bristol dirt was. We had a really strong truck at Bristol dirt, driving through the field and we ended up getting taken out. I think we are going to have to play it really conservative, we are right on the playoff bubble. We’re good by a decent bit, so all we really have to do is survive right now.”

After racing on dirt for the first time at Bristol, are you looking forward to Knoxville?
“For sure, my JBL Toyota Tundra was a rocket ship at Bristol dirt, so that definitely made it that much more fun. I’m looking forward to Knoxville, it’s going to be a completely different atmosphere for sure than Bristol dirt was. I’m ready for whatever it throws at us.”

As you’ve prepared for racing at Knoxville, how do you think it will be different than what you experienced at Bristol?
“I don’t think the racing is going to be much different, I think there is going to be two lanes. The SRX just raced there a few weeks ago and I’ve watched that race obviously, there was two lanes a bit there and you could race around each other and not run over each other. I feel like there is going to be two grooves, where we can race side-by-side fairly clean. I think it’s going to drive a lot like a short track on a Saturday night to be honest with you.”

Chandler Smith Career Highlights:

  • Across 29 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts has recorded 187 laps led, 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 14.8.
  • Posted an average finish of 7.7 across his final seven of 12 total Truck Series starts in 2020, including third-place finishes in the series finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway and his first career superspeedway start at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October.
  • Produced three top-five and four top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.2 across his first four career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts in 2019. He led 55 laps and finished eighth in his Gander Trucks debut at Iowa Speedway last July and then posted top-five finishes in his final three starts, including a runner-up finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
  • Has collected nine wins, 10 poles, 1783 laps led, 22 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes en route to an average finish of 5.4 across 34 career ARCA Menards Series starts. Set an ARCA Racing Series record by winning four consecutive poles to start his career and earned his first victory after leading a race-high 102 laps at Madison (Wis.) International Speedway in his fourth series start.
  • Chandler Smith’s No. 18 JBL Tundra:
  • KBM-25: The No. 18 JBL team will unload chassis number KBM-25 for Friday’s night’s race at Knoxville Raceway. Smith raced the same Toyota at the dirt race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where he was relegated to a 34th-place finish after being involved in an accident in the Final Stage. Todd Gilliland won with this Tundra at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October of 2019. The truck has two other career wins, 2017 with Noah Gragson at Martinsville and 2016 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. with Christopher Bell. In addition to Smith’s Bristol dirt outing, Todd Gilliland finished fifth with KBM-25 in 2019 at Eldora Speedway.
  • KBM Notes of Interest:
  • KBM drivers have earned three wins, one poles, 407 laps led, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 13.5 across 24 starts on dirt tracks. Martin Truex Jr. won the inaugural dirt race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March while Darrell Wallace Jr. (2014) and Christopher Bell (2015) both claimed victories at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
  • 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. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 21 career victories.

Chris Buescher – Atlanta Advance

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Official Release
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Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 400 miles, 260 laps, Stages: 80-80-100

NASCAR Cup Series Race at Atlanta – Sunday, July 11 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Buescher at Atlanta Motor Speedway

  • Buescher will make his seventh Cup start at AMS come Sunday, where he carries a 19.2 average finish with two top-10s.
  • Most recently he and the No. 17 team drove to a seventh-place finish earlier this season, and three races ago he ran ninth (2019) after starting 30th.
  • In three Xfinity starts at AMS, Buescher ran a career-best fourth in the Fastenal machine in 2015, and prior to that finished 13th in back-to-back seasons (2013-14) for Jack Roush.

Luke Lambert at Atlanta Motor Speedway

  • Lambert will call his 11th Cup race from Atlanta this weekend, a place he has three top-10s with an average finish of 19.4. He most recently led Buescher to the seventh-place run this March.
  • Lambert and Ryan Newman ran seventh and 10th back in 2014-15, and together they captured five top-10 starting spots – two of which were on the outside front row in 2017-18.
  • Lambert also called one NXS race with Elliott Sadler in 2012 finishing fourth after starting seventh.

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Atlanta:
“We’ve had Atlanta circled on the calendar since the first race there, and feel this is a great opportunity for our team to win a race. We were really strong there in the first one, very similar to Homestead, and a lot of the characteristics of the track are similar – very worn out asphalt with a ton of character to it – and I think that’s been our strong suit this year is that kind of race track. Atlanta is probably my favorite 1.5-mile track we visit, I like slipping and sliding from the white line to the wall, you have options. We just have to get a little better than last time in our Fastenal Ford.”

Last Time Out
After advancing to the final round of qualifying Sunday at Road America, Buescher drove to an 18th-place finish.

Where They Rank
Buescher remains 17th in the Cup Series standings with 25 points to make up to 16th as the playoff race heats up throughout the summer.

On the Car
Fastenal returns to the fold at Roush Fenway for its 11th season in 2021. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping to the No. 17 Cup Series entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

The No. 17 Fastenal Ford, known for prominently featuring top suppliers, will change gears this weekend and feature Fastenal’s own FAST Solutions brands. FAST Solutions represents Fastenal’s industry-leading innovative supply chain solutions which help companies save money, streamline efficiencies, and focus on what they do best. Each brand on the No. 17 represents a different supply chain solution offered by Fastenal:

FAST Solutions – FMI (Fastenal Managed Inventory) Technology: A range of solutions to simplify, monitor, and control your inventory.

FASTVend: Bringing visibility and control to assets and high-use consumables. FASTVend allows users to collect more meaningful data around parts that are most vital to their supply chain.

FASTBin: From manual programs to automated solutions. FASTBin is perfect for managing those higher dollar and more frequently used parts that benefit from electronic monitoring for a more streamlined supply chain.

FASTStock: Tailoring a custom solution to take waste, touches, and delays out of your supply process. Specifically, FASTStock allows you to manage lower frequency and lower dollar parts that don’t need as much attention.

About Fastenal
Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.

MAACO PARTNERS WITH AXALTA AND NASCAR STAR WILLIAM BYRON TO “WATCH MAACO GO” AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

By
Official Release
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Maaco to Award Ultimate Race Experience to One Lucky Fan

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 6, 2021) – Maaco, America’s Body Shop and the leader in the $38 billion automotive paint and collision industry, is ready to race at Atlanta Motor Speedway this July with William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series. Through its partnership with Axalta, Maaco will be featured on the quarter panels, roof and rear TV panel of the No. 24 machine.

“We’re excited to carry the Maaco logo on the No. 24 Axalta Chevy for Atlanta,” said Byron. “Our goal is to win at Atlanta and this weekend, fans can win, too. They just have to watch for my car on TV or on social media to have a chance to win the ultimate race experience from Maaco.”

To celebrate the partnership, Maaco is hosting the “Watch Maaco Go” promotion, in which fans can share a screenshot every time they see the Maaco logo on the No. 24 Axalta Chevy during the week of the race (July 5 to July 11, 2021) to win the Maaco Ultimate Race Experience. Fans can watch race week programming and social media for images of the race car from Hendrick Motorsports or on the track during the race, then share those screenshots on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #BetterGetMaaco.

One winner from the entries will be randomly selected to win the Ultimate Race Experience from Maaco, including the Maaco TV panel from William Byron’s racecar. See promotion rules for details here.

“Axalta has always been a great partner with Maaco and this is a tremendous opportunity to be on William Byron’s car through our partnership with them,” said Chris Dawson, president of Maaco. “We’re looking forward to seeing Maaco on the track and leading the field. On behalf of our more than 400 Maaco franchise partners, we hope to see William Byron and the No. 24 Axalta/Maaco Chevy in victory lane. We also look forward to all the fans tuning in to ‘Watch Maaco Go’ this weekend.”

About Maaco

Maaco is North America’s body shop, with almost 50 years of experience in providing affordable auto body repair and car painting. Maaco, with more than 400 independently owned and operated franchises across the United States and Canada, has been named a top automotive franchise numerous times by Entrepreneur Magazine in its Annual Franchise 500 ranking and Franchise Times’ list of Top 200 franchises. Maaco is a member of Driven Brands, the largest automotive services company in North America. For more information about Maaco, visit Maaco.com.

Spire Motorsports Heads to Atlanta With a New Boss

By
Official Release
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CONCORD, N.C. (July 6, 2021) – When Corey LaJoie hits the track for the Quaker State 400, veteran crew chief Ryan Sparks might be calling the shots from pit road, but LaJoie will have a new “Boss” riding along on his No. 7 ZL1 1LE Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“The Boss Baby: Family Business”, now in theaters and exclusively streaming on Peacock, will be showcased aboard LaJoie’s Spire Motorsports entry Sunday afternoon during coverage of the Quaker State 400 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. NBC Sports picked up its portion of the 2021 NCS broadcast schedule last month with the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway and will broadcast the remaining 16 races, including the 10-race playoffs between NBC and NBCSN.

DreamWorks Animation’s “The Boss Baby: Family Business”, the sequel to the Oscar®-nominated blockbuster comedy, debuted in theaters as well as being Peacock’s summer movie event for no additional charge to Peacock Premium customers in the U.S. on July 2. Fans can sign up for Peacock here.

LaJoie finished 25th in the Cup Series most recent visit to the legendary Hampton, Ga., oval where he has four previous starts on his resume. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old driver has made a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at AMS, including a venue-best 16th-place finish in March 2017.

The Concord, N.C., native has earned one top-10 and five top-20 finishes and currently sits 29th in points with 16 races remaining on the 2021 schedule. LaJoie finished 21st Sunday at Road America.

“Anytime you can partner up with a company like NBC is always cool,” offered LaJoie. “We’re able to do some fun things around the Boss Baby movie to push people towards theaters and the Peacock app to check it out. I’m looking forward to sliding around Atlanta on what will be the final race on the abrasive surface before a repave.”

The Quaker State 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live on NBCSN Sunday, July 11 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 21st of 36 races on the 2021 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports was established in 2018 and is co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. Spire Motorsports earned an upset victory for the ages in its first full season when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019.

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