NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Road America

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July 4, 2021

William Byron leads Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger to the green flag waved by running back Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers to start the NASCAR Cup Series Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip at Road America on July 04, 2021 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Larson: Larson contended all day at Road America, but was spun out late by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. Larson eventually finished 16th.

“Alex apologized,” Larson said. “It was a sincere apology, so Alex, much like his braking into that corner, was ‘truly sorry.'”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin overcame early brake issues to post a fifth in the Jockey Made In America 250.

“Kyle Busch had a clutch problem last week at Pocono,” Hamlin said. “I can certainly empathize, because I myself have ‘clutch’ problems, most often in the final race of the season.”

3. Chase Elliott: Elliott started 34th after failing to post a qualifying time, but methodically worked his way into the lead, passing Matt DiBenedetto on Lap 38, and then overtaking Kyle Busch with 17 to go. Elliott then cruised to victory.

“I wasn’t able to complete a full qualifying lap,” Elliott said. “So, I didn’t even register a lap time, which has to be the ultimate in ‘bad timing.'”

4. Kyle Busch: Busch started 40th but quickly found his way to the front and eventually finished third at Road America.

“I made my way to the front of the field so fast,” Busch said, “even troopers in Mooresville, North Carolina had to take notice.”

5. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 22nd at Road America.

“I made a crucial error and wrecked Kyle Larson late in the race,” Bowman said. “What do you say to a teammate whom you just wrecked? Oddly enough, it’s the same thing you say to your team after a win—‘I did it!’ But maybe leave off the exclamation point.”

6. Joey Logano: Logano finished 15th in the Jockey Made In America 250.

“As is typical on a road course.” Logano said, “there was a lot of passing. Obviously, a better name for this race would have been the ‘Jockey For Position 250.'”

7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex overcame a pit road speeding penalty to record a ninth at Road America.

“NASCAR raced at Road America for the first time in 65 years,” Truex said. “It’s awesome to be racing here, and in the great state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is considered part of the ‘heart of America;’ with NASCAR fans here, it’s considered, at least for three days, the ‘heart attack of America.'”

8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 27th at Road America.

“The No. 4 Chevrolet sported the Busch Light Apple paint scheme,” Harvick said. “If I’m reluctant to give you my honest opinion of the taste of Busch Light Apple, just tell me to ‘spit it out,’ and I’ll happily oblige.”

9. William Byron: Byron started on the pole at Road America and was in contention until a late mistake sent him off course. Byron finished a disappointing 33rd.

“I just made a stupid error,” Byron said, “and it cost me a top-five finish. My No. 24 Liberty University Chevy was set up perfectly. It handled like a dream. Despite having the word ‘Liberty’ on it, the car was anything but ‘free.'”

10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 13th in the Jockey Made In America 250.

“A driver named Kyle Tilley drove the No. 78 car,” Keselowski said. “Tilley is from a place called Bath, England. From what I hear, it’s a great place for any NASCAR fans to visit. But first, I suggest they visit Bath, America.”

Elliott extends road course dominance with a win at Road America

By

Andrew Kim

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July 4, 2021

In NASCAR’s six-plus decade return to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Independence Day weekend, Chase Elliott extended his road course skillsets after the reigning Cup Series champion rallied from starting at the rear of the field to lead the final 17 laps and muscle away from the field to win the Jockey Made in America 250 at Road America on Sunday, July 4, as he returned to Victory Lane in the Cup circuit following a one-month dry spell.

Qualifying occurred on Sunday, July 4, and William Byron claimed his sixth NASCAR Cup Series career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 110.359 mph. Teammate Kyle Larson joined him on the front row.

Prior to the event, Kyle Busch and Ryan Preece dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. Justin Haley also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Bubba Wallace due to a transmission change. Kyle Tilley, Josh Bilicki and Quin Houff started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective machines.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron peaked ahead with the lead through the first three turns. Through the Turn 4 straightaway and with the field fanning out to two and three lanes, Larson, who was battling AJ Allmendinger for the runner-up spot, also ignited an early challenge on teammate Byron for the lead from Turn 5 to Turn 9, but Byron maintained his advantage through the kink. As the field settled in a single-file line, Byron remained as the leader over Larson and Allmendinger from the kink to Turns 13 and 14.

When the field returned to the start/finish line, Byron maintained the lead over teammate Larson and led the first lap. Allmendinger remained in third place followed by Reddick and Austin Cindric. Ross Chastain was in sixth followed by Matt DiBenedetto, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin and teammate Martin Truex Jr.

On the second lap, the first caution of the event flew when the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE piloted by Suarez came to a stop under the Corvette bridge in Turn 6 due to a transmission issue, an issue that required a wrecker to have Suarez’s car pushed back to pit road and the garage.

When the race restarted on the fourth lap, Byron retained the lead through the first three turns. Larson also maintained second place over Allmendinger and the field, which made its way through the Turn 4 straightaway and the left-hand fifth and sixth turns.

By the fifth lap and with the field settling in a single-file line, Byron was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, while Allmendinger, Reddick and Cindric continued to run in the top five. Chastain, meanwhile, retained sixth followed by Truex, DiBenedetto, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman. By then, Joey Logano was in 12th behind Christopher Bell, Kurt Busch was in 14th, Chase Elliott was in 18th in between Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski was in 22nd in front of Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola was in 25th ahead of Ryan Newman and rookie Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace was mired back in 31st.

Then in Turn 5, Larson, who made a bid for the lead over teammate Byron, overshot the left-hand fifth turn, which allowed Allmendinger to move into the runner-up spot while Larson fell back to third in front of Reddick and Cindric.

The following lap, Ryan Preece pulled his No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE off the course in Turn 5 and behind the wall due to an engine issue. Despite Preece’s exit, the race remained under green as Byron continued to lead by nearly a second over Allmendinger.

Through the first 10 laps of the event, Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE continued to lead by more than a second over Allmendinger’s No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Larson, racing in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, settled in third ahead of Reddick and Cindric while Chastain, Truex, Hamlin, DiBenedetto and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch, both of whom started at the rear of the field, were in 14th and 16th.

During the 10th lap, Ty Dillon spun in the right-hand kink corner. Despite the spin, Dillon continued and the race remained under green. Shortly after, names like Cindric, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Truex, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, rookie Anthony Alfredo and Austin Dillon pitted. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon was busted with a pit road speeding penalty. Briscoe and Michael McDowell, both of whom pitted, were also penalized for driving through multiple pit stalls.

The following lap, the second caution of the event flew when Kyle Tilley got stuck in the gravel trap after overshooting Turn 9. The incident was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 14 to conclude under caution, and William Byron claimed his third stage victory of the season. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Larson, Reddick, Chastain, Hamlin, Bell, Bowman, Kurt Busch and Elliott.

Under the stage break, a multitude of competitors led by Byron pitted while the rest led by Martin Truex Jr. remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 16 with Truex and DiBenedetto on the front row. At the start, Cindric ignited his early bid for the lead as he pulled a three-wide move on Truex and DiBenedetto entering the first turn. By the third turn, Cindric emerged as the new leader. Through the Turn 4 straightaway and the left-hand fifth turn, Cindric was out in front of DiBenedetto while Kyle Busch muscle his way into third place.

When the field returned to the start/finish line, Cindric was out in front by two-tenths of a second over DiBenedetto, who started to challenge Cindric for the top spot. Kyle Busch moved up to third followed by teammate Truex and Bubba Wallace in the top five. Byron, meanwhile, was in sixth while Aric Almirola, Ty Dillon, Reddick and Hamlin were in the top 10. Larson was in 11th ahead of teammate Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Chastain and Allmendinger.

On Lap 18 and with a multitude of battles ensuing around the road course, DiBenedetto and Cindric engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead through the Turn 4 straightaway and the left-hand fifth turn as Kyle Busch closely tucked himself behind the two leaders. While Cindric was able to retain a brief lead for another turn, DiBenedetto, though, was able to prevail for the lead in Turn 6 while Cindric retained the runner-up spot over Kyle Busch.

The following lap, Cody Ware punted Quin Houff in Turn 5, but the race remained under green as both continued.

By Lap 20, DiBenedetto, piloting the No. 21 Menards Ford Mustang, was leading by nearly a second over Cindric and his No. 33 Pirtek Ford Mustang. Kyle Busch, racing in his No. 18 Skittles American Mix Toyota Camry, was still in third followed by Truex and Byron. Reddick was in sixth followed by Larson, Wallace, Elliott and Hamlin.

Then in Turn 5, Hamlin overshot the corner and kicked up some gravel after his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry overshot the corner, with the driver taking evasive action to avoid hitting Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The off-track ride dropped Hamlin from the top 10 to 16th behind Aric Almirola.

Two laps later, the battle for the lead ignited between DiBenedetto and Cindric, with the latter gaining a run through Turns 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 along with the kink corner. By then, Brad Keselowski was continuing from a spin in Turn 14.

In Turn 1 and during the following lap, Cindric returned to the lead. Four turns later, however, Cindric locked up the brakes and went wide, which allowed Kyle Busch to move into the lead through Turn 6. Then, things went from bad to worse for Cindric, who spun in Turn 8 and had to loop his car around to continue without drawing a caution. Despite continuing, Cindric was off the pace and he ended up nursing his car to his pit stall, where he then took his car to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

Back at the front, Kyle Busch, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Road America and one of the Pocono Raceway doubleheader events last weekend, was leading by more than a second over DiBenedetto, with Truex, Reddick and Byron scored in the top five. By then, Corey LaJoie went off course, got loose and spun in Canada corner, but he continued despite kicking up dirt in the air.

By Lap 25, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over teammate Truex, with Reddick, Byron and DiBenedetto in the top five.

Not long after, names like Blaney, Elliott, Hamlin, Bowman, DiBenedetto, Allmendinger, Larson, Keselowski, Almirola, Chris Buescher, Bell, Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, McDowell, Alfredo, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who had a flat tire, pitted under green. Kyle Busch and teammate Truex also pitted.

In the midst of the pit stops, Reddick emerged with the lead on Lap 27. With pit lane closed, Reddick was able to maintain his advantage for the next two laps before claiming the second stage victory on Lap 29 as he also claimed his first stage victory of the season. Byron settled in second, trailing by more than four seconds, followed by Chastain, Larson, Kurt Busch, Logano, Kevin Harvick, Wallace, Justin Haley and Kyle Busch. Earlier, Kurt Busch went off course in Turn 6, though he was able to remain in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a multitude of competitors led by Reddick pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch and Elliott remained on the track.

With 30 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Kyle Busch launched ahead with the lead followed by DiBenedetto through the first turn while Elliott slipped back to third. Busch maintained the lead through the first three turns and the Turn 4 straightaway as the field fanned out to two lanes while battling for positioning.

From Turn 5 to Canada corner, Busch continued to lead, but everything changed when DiBenedetto powered back into the lead entering Turn 12.

Through the first three turns, the Turn 4 straightaway and the left-hand fifth turn, DiBenedetto was the leader followed by Kyle Busch and Elliott while Hamlin and Briscoe were in the top five.

With 25 laps remaining, DiBenedetto was leading by two-tenths of a second over Elliott, who earlier made his way by Kyle Busch for the runner-up spot. Busch settled back in third ahead of teammate Hamlin and Bell. Briscoe, Bowman, Chris Buescher, Byron and McDowell were in the top 10.

Then, Elliott took over the lead for the first time of the day in Turn 1. By Turn 6, Elliott was out in front by a decent advantage over Kyle Busch, who dropped DiBenedetto back to third.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by more than four seconds over Kyle Busch, with Hamlin, Bell and DiBenedetto in the top five. Shortly after, Aric Almirola and Ryan Blaney pitted under green. Then, the caution flew when rookie Anthony Alfredo spun in Turn 1 and got stuck in the gravel trap as a result of a cut left-rear tire. The caution was well-timed for Blaney, who was having his front nose repaired following on-track contact.

Under caution, nearly all of the leaders led by Elliott pitted, except for Almirola and Blaney, both of whom pitted earlier and remained on track.

With 17 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Almirola led the field through the first turn while Kyle Busch followed pursuit. Then, Busch engaged in a brief battle with Almirola through the following two turns before he took the lead away entering Turn 3. Through Turn 5, Elliott charged his way up into the runner-up spot behind Busch as the field behind battled and fanned out to two lanes.

Entering the Canada corner, however, Elliott was able to reassume the lead over Kyle Busch as he maintained the top spot when he returned to the start/finish line and slowly started to pull away.

With 15 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by more than a second over Kyle Busch, with Hamlin, Larson and Almirola battling in the top five. Blaney was back in sixth followed by Bell, DiBenedetto, Bowman and Briscoe.

While Elliott and Kyle Busch continued to run in first and second, Larson was able to muscle his way into the third place over Hamlin in Turn 5.

A lap later, Byron, the pole-sitter, went off course in Turn 5, but the race remained under green.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Elliott remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Kyle Busch. Behind, Bell marched his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry into third place while Larson was in fourth ahead of Hamlin and Bowman. Kurt Busch, Briscoe, Almirola and DiBenedetto were in the top 10.

With six laps remaining, Bowman locked up his brakes and bumped his teammate Larson, sending Larson spinning in Turn 5. Following the contact, Bowman and Hamlin, both of whom sustained damage following the contact with Larson, moved up to fourth and fifth followed by Kurt Busch and Briscoe while Larson fell back to 11th.

Five laps later and with five laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by nearly five seconds over Kyle Busch while third-place Christopher Bell trailed by six seconds. Bowman and Hamlin, meanwhile, remained in the top five ahead of Kurt Busch, Briscoe, Chastain, DiBenedetto, Reddick and Larson.

A lap later, Bell moved into the runner-up spot after overtaking teammate Kyle Busch, with Elliott still leading by more than six seconds.

Down to the final two laps, Elliott maintained an advantage of more than five seconds over Bell, with Kyle Busch trailing by eight seconds. Behind, Briscoe locked up his brakes entering Turn 5 and nearly ran into the rear of Hamlin, though he was able to continue and remain in sixth place while Hamlin and Kurt Busch battled for fourth.

When the final lap of the race started, Elliott was leading by less than six seconds over Bell. For one final time through the 14-turn circuit and with no challengers closing in, Elliott was able to cruise to the checkered flag and score the victory on the Fourth of July weekend as the crowd cheered.

With the victory in NASCAR’s first event at Road America since 1956, Elliott notched his second victory of the 2021 season, first since winning the rain-shortened event at the Circuit of the Americas in May, his seventh road course win and his 13th Cup Series career victory in his 205th series start. Elliott also recorded the 10th victory of the season for Hendrick Motorsports.

“I appreciate y’all [fans] coming out,” Elliott said on NBC. “Thank you for spending your Fourth of July with us. I hope you enjoyed the show. Man, it was a hot day, but a lot of fun, man. Just really proud of our team for overcoming some adversity early, having to start at the back, having good pit stops. [I] Had a really fast NAPA Chevy, so just so proud. We’ve had a rough few weeks, so [the win]’s really good.”

“I just never felt like I got in a real good rhythm all of yesterday,” Elliott added. “For whatever reason there, about halfway through the race, I started finding some of that rhythm, was able to put it together, piece different parts of the track and then finally, I felt like I was able to piece most of it together. [I] stayed with it and glad that it worked out.”

Bell, who won the Daytona Road Course event in February, came home in a strong second-place result for his third top-five result of the season, first since Richmond Raceway in April, followed by Kyle Busch, who achieved his ninth top-five result of the season.

“Yeah, I just, kind of, buried ourselves there,” Bell said. “We had that pit road penalty, but man, it was a lot of fun. Our SiriusXM Camry was really good and really proud of this No. 20 group. It’s been a trying last two months, but we feel like we’re getting back on track here, so there’s no reason why we can’t be running upfront every week.”

“[I] Just kept working at it,” Busch added. “[I] Kept trying to do what I needed to do for adjustments there. Just did not have the tire life that [Elliott] did. Just incredible that they could continue to just drive away from us. His braking was really good, but then, the drive-off out of the corners was just awesome. They out-beat us by far today. Proud of the Skittles bunch, everybody here on the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camrys did a good job. We all ran upfront, we had good speed. We showed that we’re close. That’s all we had for what [Elliott] seems like impossible. Overall, just a good day fighting through traffic…I feel like we’re in a good spot and hopefully, we’ll go get’em next week.”

Kurt Busch and Hamlin finished in the top five while rookie Chase Briscoe achieved his second top-10 result in the Cup Series by finishing sixth. Chastain, Reddick, Truex and DiBenedetto finished in the top 10.

Austin Dillon finished 11th, Keselowski settled in 13th in front of Almirola and Logano, Larson ended up in 16th following his late dust-up with teammate Bowman, Chris Buescher finished 18th in front of Erik Jones and Blaney and Bowman, who pitted following his contact with Larson, ended up in 22nd.

Bubba Wallace came home in 24th, Kevin Harvick ended up in 27th behind Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger ended up in 29th in front of McDowell and pole-sitter William Byron fell all the way back to 33rd.

There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured four cautions for nine laps.

With six races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by three points over Kyle Larson. Currently, 11 competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell) are guaranteed Playoff spots based on winning at least once throughout the regular season. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch occupy the remaining five vacant spots as winless competitors, with Kurt Busch ahead by 25 points over Chris Buescher, 69 over Ross Chastain, 70 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 74 over Matt DiBenedetto, 79 over Bubba Wallace and 88 over Daniel Suarez.

Results.

1. Chase Elliott, 24 laps led

2. Christopher Bell

3. Kyle Busch, four laps led

4. Kurt Busch

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Chase Briscoe

7. Ross Chastain

8. Tyler Reddick, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

9. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

10. Matt DiBenedetto, 10 laps led

11. Austin Dillon

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Aric Almirola, one lap led

15. Joey Logano

16. Kyle Larson

17. Cole Custer

18. Chris Buescher

19. Erik Jones

20. Ryan Blaney

21. Corey LaJoie

22. Alex Bowman

23. Josh Bilicki

24. Bubba Wallace

25. Justin Haley

26. Ty Dillon

27. Kevin Harvick

28. James Davison

29. AJ Allmendinger

30. Michael McDowell

31. Cody Ware

32. Ryan Newman

33. William Byron, 15 laps led, Stage 1 winner

34. Quin Houff

35. Kyle Tilley, two laps down

36. Daniel Suarez, nine laps down

37. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Brakes

38. Austin Cindric – OUT, Rear gear, two laps led

39. Ryan Eversley – OUT, Rear gear

40. Ryan Preece – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway for the series’ second visit to Hampton, Georgia this season. The event is slated to occur on Sunday, July 11, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

CHEVY NCS AT ROAD AMERICA: Chase Elliott Captures His Second Victory of 2021 at Road America

By

Official Release

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July 4, 2021

NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
JOCKEY MADE IN AMERICA 250
PRESENTED BY KWIK TRIP
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 4, 2021

CHASE ELLIOTT CAPTURES HIS SECOND WIN OF 2021 AT ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 4, 2021) – Chase Elliott continues his road course success by taking his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series’ return to Road America in the Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip. The impressive run came after Elliott started deep in the field in the 34th starting position, charging through the field to lead a race-high 24 of 62 laps and 5.705-second margin of victory. The win was Elliott’s second victory in 2021 and his 13th triumph in 205 races in NASCAR’s premier series.

Elliott is no stranger to success on road course circuits. The victory at the 14-turn, 4.048-mile Wisconsin road course venue marks Elliott’s seventh career NASCAR Cup Series road course victory. The 25-year-old Georgia native is now ranked third on the NCS all-time road course wins list, behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). The victory marks Chevrolet’s 10th NASCAR Cup Series victory thus far in 202; and its 805th all-time win in NASCAR’s premier series. This is Hendrick Motorsports’ 273rd NCS victory, the winningest team in NCS history.

Team Chevy drivers captured two of the top-five and four of the top-10 in the finishing order of the race. Kurt Busch drove his No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE to a fourth-place finish, scoring his fourth top-10 in the last five races. Busch’s teammate, Ross Chastain, had a strong seventh-place finish in his No. 42 AdventHealth Camaro ZL1 1LE to give the Chevrolet driver his third straight top-10 on a road course circuit. Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Camaro ZL1 1LE, took the checkered flag in eighth to round out the Team Chevy top-10.

Christopher Bell (Toyota) was second, Kyle Busch (Toyota) was third and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) rounded out the top-five of the final running order.

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart on Sunday, July 11, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: We’ve been now joined by our race winner here at Road America, Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

This is Chase Elliott’s seventh career NASCAR Cup Series road course victory. He is now ranked solely third on the NASCAR Cup Series for road course wins behind Hall-of-Famers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Not bad company to be in. Tell us a little bit about Road America today, Chase.

CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it’s super cool an honor to even be in at least like four lines below them much less a couple (smiling).

Just really, really proud of our team. Yeah, we really kind of struggled yesterday and never got into a good rhythm I didn’t feel like on my end. And I thought we could be a little better with the car. Made a lot of changes overnight. Kind of started the day. I thought that I liked it – I thought. But I just still wasn’t in a good rhythm. About halfway I felt like I started to kind of put things together, start minimizing some mistakes I’d been making all weekend, then started finding some pace.

So, yeah, after that it got fun. I was able to get a flow going, get in rhythm. Then from there we were able to get on — we kind of got caught up from our bad starting spot, got on the same strategy as the leaders. From there, we were able to go to work. Had things going good enough to keep up and get by those guys.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll now go to questions for Chase.

Q. Was there any kind of mindset reset that had to be done, especially after what happened in qualifying this morning?
CHASE ELLIOTT: No. I mean, it is what it is. Yes, it wasn’t good, but it’s not like you don’t have enough time if things are good.

Yes, it’s a bad starting spot, a lot of opportunity to tear something up, get in the back of somebody or something back there. That’s obviously not good.

At the same time if your car is good, we made the right adjustments, all those things, I feel like 60 however many laps the race was is plenty of time to work itself out. Fortunately, we did make the right changes and our car was good, we were able to move forward and have a shot.

Q. Why do you think you’ve been so effective on these road courses, so many different types of road courses as well?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I honestly don’t know, man. I wish I did. If I did, I’d tell you – maybe (smiling). But I honestly don’t. I have no idea. I just feel like it’s good cars. Our team has a whole, I mean, has been good at road courses the whole time, too. Kyle won, where, at Sonoma, yeah. I feel like drivers are only as good as what they have to drive. Fortunately I feel like I’ve got the best stuff and just got to make it work.

Q. As the most popular driver, fan enthusiasm is nothing new for you. But you seem to have a kinship with Wisconsin fans?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I haven’t spent any time in Wisconsin, so I’m not sure why they were so loud. It was super cool. Man, they were fired up. The amount of peer pressure I felt to do a burnout was, like, wow. I don’t know that I’ve ever had that much peer pressure in my life to do a burnout. I knew it was going to happen. NASCAR was yelling at me to make sure I went around the whole track. I did a burnout in the frontstretch. I was out of tire. I knew they were going to blow out.

I got down there in the interview, literally that place was packed. All these people are chanting ‘burnout’ at me. I wasn’t going to say no. So I did. Blew the back tires off of it, then ran out of gas, had to have a push. It was just a timely deal.

Sorry for my tardiness. I will say, I mentioned this before, the road to that first win, the lessons learned along the way, one of them is you have to enjoy these moments. They’re way too hard to get. You don’t know if or when you’ll ever get another one. If the fans want a burnout, I’m going to give them a burnout. That’s what it’s going to be. We’ll take the extra time going down the road.

Q. Chad Knaus was in here talking about the passion the race fans have. Did you sense that during the course of this weekend? Did you see it today?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, walking around I saw a lot of 9 hats and T-shirts and stuff. Yeah, it’s super surprising. I ran two Xfinity races up here. I think I ran an ARCA race in Madison I think, somewhere up here one time. Outside that, I never really spent any time up here. So I don’t really feel like I’ve earned the right to have that kind of support in this region.

But it was amazing. I was super humbled by that. Just the people in general. Whether you’re wearing 9 gear or not, there were just a lot of people here. I was just struck by how big of race fans we have and had here today. This place was packed. This is a massive road course. They were literally, I mean, people everywhere around the course.

It’s exciting, man. When they change the schedule up, go to new places, you bring energy and excitement that our series deserves to have. I think we saw that today.

Q. Maybe you should stick around and run slinger, too.
CHASE ELLIOTT: I actually considered it, but it didn’t work out (smiling).

Q. Are you feeling a little more pressure under your own roof this year because Larson has been on fire, Bowman, light switch has gone on there as well. You guys are winning so much. For you to make a comment where you sound like Mark Martin in his 30th year, these races only come along every so… That’s probably your hardest competition.
CHASE ELLIOTT: No, I just genuinely know how hard it is to win. I want to enjoy ’em. That has nothing to do with our team. I think it’s great our company’s having success. It’s making all of us better. It’s pushing us to be better. And the men and women at HMS deserve to win. I feel like we have the best people, and most importantly Mr. Hendrick deserves to win for all these given to this sport and the people in it for many, many years. He deserves to win the most. I’m proud of that. Proud to be a part of it.

But, no, I think my comments just come from literally it’s hard to win. I learned that lesson firsthand in how many races I threw away on the way to that first win. It makes you appreciate it more. I mean, bottom line, it makes you appreciate wins more and being in this position.

When the day comes that I don’t appreciate it, I should probably go do something else.

Q. You mentioned earlier, Alan talked about Pocono, how damage kind of hurt your days at Pocono. That was his big concern about starting in the back. Did you have thoughts of is this going to be Pocono all over again?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I was very aware. I was trying really hard not to knock the nose off of it, you know, or get hit, have body damage. Bodies are just so important now. Even at the road courses, you don’t want to suffer any damage if you can help it.

I did a poor job of that at Pocono. Right there on the first start of the Saturday race, got kind of sandwiched there on the start, hurt our car. Late in the race there on Sunday, I knocked the nose off of it again.

There’s a reason that we build them the way we build them. When you break it, it doesn’t work as good. There’s a reason for all that. I tried to do a better job today of not breaking it.

Q. The race was at Milwaukee, the other one you did.
CHASE ELLIOTT: I ran one there. I did go to Madison one time, but it’s been a while. I think it was an ARCA race. Forgot about Milwaukee (smiling).

Q. You should have had a win here years ago, right?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I remember it. Shoulds don’t matter. Coulds don’t matter. You either do or you don’t. We didn’t. Today we did and that’s what matters right now.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations again on another victory. We appreciate you spending some time with us.

CHASE ELLIOTT: Thank you.

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by our race-winning crew chief, Alan Gustafson.
We’ll open it up for questions for Alan.

Q. After what happened in qualifying, were there any concerns not about Chase coming from the back, but mentally the frustration over that?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: I wasn’t really concerned about him, no. Just there’s a lot of danger. It’s super easy to get caught up in somebody else’s mess. Obviously we had to pass pretty much everybody at some point in time, which isn’t what you ideally want to have to do.

I think the biggest concern was just not getting wrecked or getting damage. At Pocono, we had both of our races ruined with damage, the first race right off the get-go. That’s something that can really happen easy back in that position. That was really my biggest concern, is just surviving the first few laps. That was our focus, is to kind of let it string out. Then there was that quick caution. Yeah, after that I think he was okay.

Q. We’ve talked to you many times about Chase’s road course prowess. He’s now won on five different road courses. Can you talk about what that says about his adaptability, versatility?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think I’ve said this before, I think he’s a very intelligent race car driver. I think that’s what puts him in a really good position at road courses where there’s a lot to process and a lot that goes on. It takes him a bit of time to kind of get all that put together and figured out. When he does, it’s not just a feel, he knows what he’s doing. There’s a lot of thought and process behind what he does. It’s very repeatable.

Then throughout the day, I think he iterates and improves. He’s really a fantastic driver, period. Really great at the road courses. This is a really challenging track. It’s got that old school feel, which the gravel is right there, the runoff is small, the risk is high. You have to be really, really calculated.

It just speaks to how smart and methodical he is. He just improved through the day and took very little unnecessary risk coming from the back, like I mentioned, which was a big risk for us. Kept the car in one piece. We knew he had a good car. We didn’t know it was that good based on yesterday. We knew certainly we have a platform for the road courses, it runs really well. Had to take care of that. He did an amazing job with it, yeah.

Q. What was going through your mind when Bowman got into the back of the 5? If the caution comes out, then all bets were off.
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, Alex is doing everything he can do. He did a great job. I don’t know exactly, but he was right there at fifth place. He was running really, really well. Did a great job all race. You certainly don’t want him — I’m super selfish. You’re like, Stop, don’t race. You know it’s his job, right? What do you do?

I’m sure he feels terrible that he got into the 5. Looked like he got deep wheel hopped or something. Then the 5 was just like, Get going. Fortunately Alex didn’t have a flat tire.
But those are tough circumstances. Hey, man, those guys do a great job. We’ve got great teammates. Guys that we genuinely like to race with. It happens. Not what any of us wanted to see. It’s not what he wanted to see or the 5 or us certainly. Fortunately for us, it didn’t impede our progress.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Alan.

ALAN GUSTAFSON: Appreciate it.

CHAD KNAUS, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS’ VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPETITION, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: Chad, congratulations own another victory for Hendrick Motorsports.

CHAD KNAUS: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Another road course win by Chase Elliott. Tell us a little bit about what it’s like to watch Chase on a road course.

CHAD KNAUS: Well, from our seat it’s a lot of fun. Maybe from some others, not great.
Just phenomenal, the skill level that he’s got to be able to come to a racetrack like this that’s four miles long, to be able to go out there and run as competitive as what he did. I thought it was pretty impressive.
We really enjoy it. He’s a technical driver, very smart, very savvy. So he understands the ebb and flow of a race, the tire falloff. You couple that with a good pit crew and a great crew chief, you’re going to go out there and get some wins.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Chad.

Q. Chad, Chase was not comfortable at all yesterday, really felt kind of out of sorts, couldn’t get a rhythm mentally or with the car. How did he get from that point yesterday after practice to running away at the end today?
CHAD KNAUS: Well, I think obviously they’ve got a great baseline package that they’re very comfortable with. Chase, as he goes to these racetracks, albeit the tracks are a little unique, he knows that the car has got a very familiar feel for him. The guys do a really good job of matching that and working on the car for Chase.

I think as he showed up here, maybe some of us uncomfortableness was mainly him just getting acclimated to the racetrack. Once he was able to get out there, make some more laps, had a night to digest what went on throughout the course of practice, he was able to analyze it, get out there and start to methodically pick things off.

Honestly, starting in the rear maybe wasn’t a bad thing. The pace was slower back there, probably was able to pick some people off, learn some critical turning points where guys were making mistakes and he was able to capitalize on those. As he started to really string together some good laps, it was evident pretty quickly that he was fast.

Q. I know Jeff Gordon obviously has a big role in Hendrick Motorsports. Is there anything that Chase Elliott possibly learned from Jeff to get better at road courses?
CHAD KNAUS: I would say definitely. Like I mentioned very earlier, Chase, he’s very technical. He studies, he watches film. He analyzes tapes, all of that. So absolutely. There’s no doubt that Jeff has contributed to his success in some shape or form.

Now, you have to remember Jeff has never really raced here either, so he didn’t really have much to fall back on from that standpoint.

Yeah, just from a mentorship, Jeff is a great resource for all of our drivers. All of our guys are really young and look for that type of leadership. Jeff definitely contributes in that manner.

Q. Obviously the points race between Kyle and Denny are very close for the regular season championship. Kyle talked about, Denny raced me really hard today. Denny said, Yeah, I did, because of what’s at stake. How much do you see that battle, how that’s evolved on the track, what that means?
CHAD KNAUS: Yeah, points are points, right? You want to get as many as you possibly can. You never know what’s going to happen once you get into the Playoffs.

You can definitely get yourself in a position to points through I think the first few rounds. Beyond that, you’ve got to be able to win.

You have to try to get as many as you can to try to get as much cushion to kind of protect you if something goes wrong.

Those guys are going to continue to battle for that. I don’t see it ending any time soon. I think we can all anticipate the Gibbs guys are going to run stronger and stronger. We know weren’t going to be on their heels for long. As they continue to run strong, hopefully everybody at Hendrick Motorsports does the same thing and we can keep everything in position where they go for a regular season championship.

Q. A situation where there was contact between two teammates, Alex went down to pit road to talk to Kyle. How important is that to get that resolved? Alex talked about the brake issues. Any other cars have brake issues today?
CHAD KNAUS: I’m sure you guys heard a lot of folks on the track had brake issues. It was getting hot. If you look at that series right there, there were five cars that were really racing hard – the 11, the 5, the 48 was in the mix catching those guys. As you’re approaching on those groups of cars like that, you starve your car for air. Your water temperature increases, your brake temperature increases.

He went in there pretty hot, obviously tried to get some position, to protect against the 11. It’s unfortunate that they rolled in there with a soft brake pedal and got into the 5. I don’t think there’s anything for us to be concerned about from a management standpoint at Hendrick Motorsports. There’s a tremendous amount of respect between our drivers, crew chiefs and teams. It was unfortunate. It was a racing situation.

But we’ll get home, talk about it, make sure there’s nothing ill willed that comes out of this.

Q. Beyond the fact that you guys won this thing, walk off with a big trophy, you’re happy. Overall first-time event, what’s your impression of how this weekend came up?
CHAD KNAUS: This weekend up here?

Q. Yes.
CHAD KNAUS: Could you have asked for anything better? Holy smokes, it was phenomenal.
I was able to take a little bit of time I guess yesterday during practice. I rolled around to the back straightaway, just tried to get a feel for the vibe. I hadn’t been here in 20-plus years. This venue is still just as exciting today for me as what it was when I came here 20 something years ago. It’s a beautiful facility. The fans are just awesome. There’s fans everywhere. They’re lined up and down the straightaways, along the fence, on the concrete stairs. It’s amazing.

I think it was an awesome show. The race was great. Obviously fantastic for us to be able to get the victory. But I think all in all, if you look at what happened, the support that we got from everybody up here in Wisconsin to be able to come up here on Independence Day, a day we all cherish and win, it was awesome. Great event. Couldn’t be happier.

Q. You’re a Midwestern native. As a Midwestern native, you know what race fans up here are like. Perhaps they’re sort of overlooked. NASCAR not having the Chicagoland stop, is it important to have a Midwestern presence for NASCAR?
CHAD KNAUS: Racing up here is such a huge deal, always has been. You can name hundreds of greats that came out of this area not only from the driver standpoint but from the mechanics, crew chiefs, all of that. Deep-rooted motorsports group up here.

I think it’s awesome any time you go into a venue you see memorabilia on the walls, photographs, hoods, the beer signs with “Dale Jr.” on them. All that stuff is everywhere, right? People really love motorsports up here.

It’s a lot of fun to come up here, man. It’s really good stuff.

Q. Given his unfortunate situation with qualifying this morning, was it kind of like all hands on deck to try to figure out how do we need to strategize? Alan said something like, Give him some time and he’ll be there. Things kind of have to fall your way. Clearly his advantage at the end was substantial.
CHAD KNAUS: You’re right. But there’s really nothing you can do other than make sure that the guys have what they need, let them go do their deal. There’s nothing that I can do to help Alan Gustafson call a better race. He’s way smarter than I am. He’s going to do a way better job than I ever could. His team is going to do a way better job of understanding the chassis adjustments.

The best thing you can do, there he is right there, is let these guys get in there and do their job. They did a fantastic job. They executed flawlessly. Great strategy. Yeah, they came home with the trophy.

Q. Chad, obviously you referenced Joe Gibbs Racing. Everybody at Hendrick is highly motivated. How does Joe Gibbs Racing push you guys?
CHAD KNAUS: We all understand the ebb and the flow of the way the performance circle is in motorsports. It’s our job right now to continue to try to execute at a high level, continue to try to find advantages with our race cars. But we know that the Gibbs guys and the Penske guys, everybody else in the industry, is doing the exact same thing.

We’ve got to stay on point. We can’t sit back. We may have had one car win today, but we had other cars that didn’t. We understand the importance of continuing to push. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports right now is doing that. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.

THE MODERATOR: Chad, thank you for joining us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Busch Light Apple Racing: Kevin Harvick Road America Race Report

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Official Release

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July 4, 2021

Harvick Finishes 27th at Road America

Date: July 4, 2021
Event: Inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 (Round 20 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (4.048-mile, 14-turn road course)
Format: 62 laps, broken into three stages (14 laps/15 laps/33 laps)
Start/Finish: 25th / 27th (Running, completed 62 of 62 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (599 points, 199 out of first)
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-14):

● Kevin Harvick started 25th and finished 18th.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang dropped a pair of positions in the opening laps, falling to 27th by the time the first caution flag of the day appeared on lap three for a car stopped on track. Harvick said his racecar was loose in the righthand corners and tight in the lefthanders. He was 27th when the race went back to green on lap five.
● A second caution flag appeared on lap 11 for a car stuck in a gravel trap while Harvick was running 22nd. He said his racecar was still loose to the right and tight to the left.
● The stage finished under caution with Harvick running 18th after a handful of cars ahead of him had pitted just before the caution flag flew. He pitted during the break for tires, fuel and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 15-29):

● Harvick started 19th and finished seventh, earning four bonus points.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang held its relative position until six laps remained in the stage, which went green from start to finish. Harvick began moving forward as cars ahead of him began to peel off track for their second round of pit stops. He stayed on track through the stage’s end, then pitted during the break for tires, fuel and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 30-62):

● Harvick started 20th and finished 27th.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang dropped three positions in the opening lap of the stage, then held its relative position until the field began a green-flag pit stop cycle on lap 42, when he had moved up to 20th.
● The caution flag flew for a single-car incident before that lap was completed. Harvick reported his racecar was “still loose to the right.” He pitted for fuel, tires and air-pressure adjustments all around and restarted 15th on lap 45.
● Moving forward proved problematic for Harvick the rest of the way. He was running 21st on lap 57 when two cars at the front of the pack made contact and one of them spun off the track. Harvick was quickly called into the pits in anticipation of a caution flag, but the race stayed green.
● Harvick took four tires and a splash of fuel on that stop and resumed in 29th. He picked up two positions before the checkered flag.

Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 to score his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his second of the season. His margin over second-place Christopher Bell was 5.705 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of nine laps.
● Thirty-four of the 40 drivers in the Jockey Made in America 250 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Road America with a three-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Atlanta 400 on Sunday, July 11 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – Road America

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Official Release

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July 4, 2021

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Road America
Race: Jockey Made in America 250
Date: July 4, 2021

No. 2 Snap-on Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski

Start: 20th
Stage 1: 16th
Stage 2: 11th
Finish: 13th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 62/62
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (ahead of second): 10th (-205)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski collected a 13th-place finish Sunday afternoon at Road American despite several issues that threatened to derail his respectable afternoon. Keselowski overcame a spin, pit road penalty and a malfunctioning driver cooling unit to claim his solid finish. Keselowski remains 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 205 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
Keselowski qualified 20th on Sunday morning and used a conservative strategy throughout Stage 1. The driver of the Snap-on Mustang tried to be as smooth as possible and take care of his equipment early in the race. As the opening 14-lap stage drew to a close, several cars on the lead lap began to pit but crew chief Jeremy Bullins kept his driver on the track. The move gave Keselowski a 16th-place finish. He pitted during the stage caution for four tires, but the team was penalized for a crew member over the wall too soon, which shuffled the No. 2 Ford back to 31st on the restart on lap 16.
Keselowski had passed six cars when he spun at the exit of Turn 14 on lap 22. Once again he lost track position but Bullins kept his driver on the track until the stage ended. The strategy moved Keselowski up to 11th when Stage 2 concluded on lap 29. The balance on the No. 2 Mustang needed lateral grip and Bullins made the call during the stage caution for four tires and wedge adjustment. Keselowski restarted 26th when the race went green on lap 32.
The third and final stage saw Keselowski make up positions and be in contention for a top-10 finish as the race drew to a close. He continued to battle not having drive or lateral grip, but Bullins kept adjusting improve the car. Keselowski climbed up to 16th position with eight laps to go and moved into 13th when three leaders were forced to pit for fuel during the final two laps.

Quotes: “We had a hard-fought day in our Snap-on Ford. This is a tough track and we fought hard to make the most of our day with what we had.”

No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 17th
Stage 1: 17th
Stage 2: 30th
Finish: 20th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 62/62
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (ahead of second): 8th (-195)

Notes:

Ryan Blaney started 17th and finished 20th in the No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang in Sunday afternoon’s Jockey Made in America 250 at Road America. Blaney battled a lack of grip early and suffered damage in the middle of the race after making contact with another competitor while wheel hopping. Blaney caught a lucky break with a caution at lap 42 but was unable to maintain pace with the significant damage.
During the opening stage, Blaney struggled with a lack of braking power and overall grip, drive-off and lateral. On the first stop of the race at lap 14, crew chief Todd Gordon called for a significant air pressure change on the No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang. Blaney had finished the stage in the 17th position, where he began the race. The changes made on the first stop worked as Blaney was able to steadily pass cars during the second stage.
With the second stage drawing to a close, the team called the driver to pit road for four tires and a chassis adjustment on lap 26, pitting prior to the conclusion of Stage 2. Blaney would be scored in the 30th position at the stage end.
Blaney began the final stage in the 14th position and was moving forward. Unfortunately, at lap 37, Blaney wheel hopped and made significant impact with the rear of the No. 3 of Austin Dillon. Coming to lap 42, the team elected to pit and were in the box when the caution flag was displayed. The team repaired the damage and sent Blaney back out onto the track.
While Blaney restarted on the front row after pitting at lap 42 he dropped steadily, struggling with the BODYARMOR Mustang’s handling following the damage. Blaney would solider on to finish the race in the 20th position.

Quote: “Lacked some overall grip early in the race, felt like we made some good adjustments but then taking the damage really set us back for the rest of the day. The good news is, we head to Atlanta next week and the last time we were there we won.”

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano

Start: 14th
Stage 1: 11th
Stage 2: 6th
Finish: 15th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 62/62
Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (ahead of second): 5th (-120)

Joey Logano started 14th and finished 15th in Sunday afternoon’s Jockey Made in America 250 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The driver of the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang struggled throughout the race with handling and braking issues but was aided by solid stops throughout the day by the No. 22 Ford crew, gaining multiple positions on each yellow flag stop.
Logano struggled with a tight condition through the carousel while lacking overall rear grip for the majority of the opening laps. Crew chief Paul Wolfe adjusted with two rounds of trackbar and air pressure on the first stop of the race after finishing the opening stage in the 11th position. Quick work by the Shell-Pennzoil crew gained Logano three positions on pit road.
During Stage 2, Logano reported the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was better, still a little on the free side at certain points on the track. The team elected to remain on the track and score stage points for a sixth-place finish. Under the caution, the team elected to pit for an additional trackbar adjustment and four tires.
Logano began the final stage in the 21st position and battled briefly inside the top-10, making his last pit stop at lap 44 under caution where the Shell-Pennzoil crew gained four positions while making a trackbar and air pressure adjustment.
Late in the race, Logano started struggling with the handling of the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang and dropped back to the 15th position before the completion of the race.

Quote: “We struggled today overall with handling and braking. The guys on pit road did a great job on each stop, grabbing us positions every time, just needed a little more to be super competitive. We’ll regroup and we’ve got a few weeks before we hit another road course and we’ll be stronger at Watkins Glen.”

No. 33 PIRTEK Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric

Start: 5th
Stage 1: 29th
Stage 2: 37th
Finish: 38th
Status: Mechanical
Laps Completed: 35/62
Laps Led: 2
Driver Points: N/A

Notes:

Austin Cindric and the No. 33 PIRTEK Ford Mustang team finished the Jockey Made in America 250 in the 38th position Sunday afternoon at Road America. Before the No. 33 PIRTEK Mustang suffered a mechanical failure on lap 24, the NASCAR Cup Series rookie showed his potential by battling and leading laps.
Cindric showed his speed early after he qualified fifth in his second-ever Cup Series qualifying attempt. During the opening laps of the first 15-lap stage, Cindric settled into the fifth position. He reported his PIRTEK Ford was ok, just needed more grip. Crew chief Miles Stanley elected to pit early on lap 11 for four tires, fuel and tape. Shorty after the caution was displayed with Cindric scored in the 29th position to finish out Stage 1. During the stage caution most of the field came to pit road while Cindric stayed out, allowing him to restart the second stage in the third position.
As the green-flag fell to restart the race, Cindric powered his way, three wide for the race lead, putting on an impressive battle between Matt DiBenedetto and Kyle Busch. Cindric recaptured the lead with six-laps remaining in the second stage until misfortune struck and the No. 33 PIRTEK Ford suffered a mechanical failure while leading on lap 24. Cindric drove his PIRTEK Ford to the garage for repairs and rejoined the field in 39th position, 13 laps down and continued to run laps and gain experience before retiring his PIRTEK Ford from the race on lap 48, resulting in a 38th-place finish.

Quote: “I only had one wheel drive and when you only have two other ones spinning with 750 horsepower it is a bit challenging. It was quite dramatic taking the lead and then immediately losing everything. Not a weekend I am necessarily happy about. To have the opportunity to show up at this race track with extremely well-prepared race cars and have a shot to win both races is really great for someone in my position. But I want to make the most of it and I put way too much into it to have it go that bad, especially when you get moved out of the lead and then take it back as clean as possible, and then this is all you’ve got. That is racing. That is my motto for the weekend. I appreciate Pirtek and everyone at Road America for coming out to support us. It has been a great weekend.”

CHEVY NCS AT ROAD AMERICA: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

By

Official Release

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July 4, 2021

NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
JOCKEY MADE IN AMERICA 250
PRESENTED BY KWIK TRIP
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 4, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
4th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KALAHARI RESORTS & CONVENTIONS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
11th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW SALUTES VETERANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
12th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/BALLPARK BUNS & ROLLS CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
2nd Christopher Bell (Toyota)
3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
4th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
5th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart on Sunday, July 11, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner
CHASE, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DRIVE FROM 32ND TO THE WIN. I LOVE THAT VICTORY CELEBRATION. YOU WANTED TO SEE EVERYBODY HERE AND THANK THEM FOR A TERRIFIC TAKE.
“Absolutely, I wasn’t going to miss anybody. I appreciate y’all coming out. Thank you for spending your 4th of July with us. I hope you enjoyed the show. Man, it was a hot day. But a lot of fun, man.”

“Just really proud of our team for overcoming some adversity early and having to start in the back, having good pit stops. Had a really fast NAPA Chevrolet. Just so proud.”

“We’ve had a rough few weeks, so it feels really good. I guess I was supposed to do a burnout here, I’m sorry. I missed the memo. I did a really cool one on the front stretch. Thanks, everybody, for coming out. Happy 4th. Y’all have a safe weekend. Thanks for coming out.”

AREN’T YOU THE SAME GUY THIS MORNING THAT TOLD ME, I HAVE A LOT TO FIGURE OUT ABOUT THIS RACETRACK. HOW DID YOU FIGURE IT OUT SO QUICKLY?
“Yeah, I never felt like I got in a real good rhythm all of yesterday. For whatever reason there, after about halfway through the race, I started finding some of that rhythm, was able to put it together, piece different parts of the track. Finally, I felt like I was able to piece most of it together.”

“Yeah, stayed with it and glad it worked out.”

TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGE OF THIS DAY, THE HEAT AND A NEW RACETRACK FOR EVERYONE. THAT WAS A LOT TO FIGURE OUT.
“Yeah, it’s just this track has a lot of character to it. It’s so long. You have a lot of opportunity to make mistakes or be good whenever you hit it.”

“I mean, four miles is a long course. Just has a lot of character to it, a lot of bumps, a lot of sections that are really tricky to get through. I think conserving your tire was actually a little bit of a thing today, which to be honest we don’t have much of that I feel like any more.”

“It was a little different race. Like I said, proud of our group. Most importantly, thanks everybody for coming out. Thanks to our partners, everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports. Been doing a phenomenal job. Bodies, chassis, engines, fab shops. It’s just been incredible. Looking forward to more.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th
YET ANOTHER STRONG RUN AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON WHEN IT MATTERS MOST, TO GET YOU TO THE PLAYOFFS. WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU TODAY?
“It was fun. I really enjoyed Road America and just the whole challenge of running here; posting good laps early with fresh tires and then managing the tires on the long run. I knew our strategy was to go for Stage points; which man, I was going to have to work hard today. I gave it everything I could. So, I think we got a lot of points with the Monster Energy Chevy.”

“I’m just really proud of our group to come here. I worked through the simulator work and worked through everything we could. I put one tire wrong today and gave up one point to (Kyle) Larson in Stage 2. I really enjoyed coming up here today and the Wisconsin people were great. There were tons of old school gear that I saw from racing back in my Penske days. The fans here were just ecstatic that the Cup Series was here. It was a lot of fun.”

COMPARED TO SOME OF THE HOT RACES YOU’VE DONE IN THE PAST, HOW HOT WAS IT TODAY?
“It was hot. Once you get heat soaked and you’re going and you’re in the groove, things go away. At 42, got to keep pushing hard. We’re getting a little older, but I love it. I’m having fun and we’ll keep pushing.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th
“Seventh-place here at Road America in our No. 42 AdventHealth Camaro ZL1 1LE. We got good stage points and a good finish. Proud of the effort from all the men and women at Chip Ganassi Racing to bring two really fast hotrods. Kurt Busch and the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevy was fast and we were too. We were around each other all day and had speed passing a lot of cars.”

“Proud of AdventHealth, Clover, McDonald’s, and Moose for all the support. It puts a little calming factor into everybody I think now. We’re still going to bring fast cars. It’s been a crazy week. We still race for Chip Ganassi and Team Chevy; and we’re going to keep pushing and keep trying to win.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KALAHARI RESORTS & CONVENTIONS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
“We worked really hard on prepping for these road course races over the off-season, and it’s great to see all the hard work pay off when we have a solid day like today. I was really happy with the speed and handling of our No. 8 Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE right from the start of the race today. It handled so well that I was worried about adjusting on it at all today, but my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and the team made some good changes on air pressure throughout the race that helped me with all around rotation through the course. We stayed out during Stage 2 and played a little bit of strategy to grab our first Stage Win of the year, which is great for our points situation in the standings. By doing that, we did trade-off a little bit and have to climb back up through the field in the final stage, but I was confident we had both the speed and handling to do so today. It got a little tough during the final laps of the race when I felt like my brakes were starting to fade, but we were able to fight through it and grab another top-10 finish.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW SALUTES VETERANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th
“I’m proud of everyone who works on the No. 3 Dow Salutes Chevy. We knew we had our work cut for us since we started deep in the field, but if there’s anything this Richard Childress Racing team has proven this year, it’s that we aren’t afraid of grinding it out. We passed a lot of cars on old tires in Stage 1, which really shows how fast our Chevy was. It was hard to get track position today but we finally clawed our way into the top 10 to start Stage 3. Overall, 11th is a solid finish so nice job to the pit crew, spotters, road crew, everyone today.”

“Thanks to all of our troops, especially the 1,903 veterans and active-duty military members featured on the No. 3 Dow Salutes Chevy this weekend. It was great to highlight them, Team Rubicon and Dow’s Military Degree Equivalency program on the July 4th holiday. We’re headed to Atlanta next, and we’ll do our best to get a win there.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th
IF MY MATH WAS CORRECT, YOU WERE IN A POSITION TO TAKE THE POINTS LEAD.
“Yeah, we hate to give up points, but there’s still a lot of racing left before the Playoffs start. We’ll just keep trying to do a good job in the Stages. It would be nice to get back and win some Stages, win some more races and pad our bonus points. Obviously, it would be good to beat Denny (Hamlin) and get those five extra. Really shooting for it. You can tell he’s really shooting for it too. He was really aggressive today. Those five bonus points are important.”

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CAR TODAY? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD HAVE RACED CHASE (ELLIOTT)?
“No, I don’t think I could have raced Chase (Elliot). He’s so good at road courses. I don’t know – I felt like we were a fifth-place car. Not bad, but I think there’s a lot of areas that I need to get better. I feel like our team did a really good job of improving it from practice. It definitely drove better today than it did yesterday, so I was happy with that. I think we still have some room to improve all around; myself and the car a little bit.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 SCAG POWER EQUIPMENT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th
“Was a fight all day for the SCAG Chevrolet. We stuck with it and came home with a top twenty. Think we learned some things for the next road course and hope for some more improvement there.”

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

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

No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota: Ty Dillon Road America Race Report

By

Official Release

-

July 4, 2021

Ty Dillon Finishes 26th at Road America
Driver of No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota Rallies from 39th-Place Starting Spot

Date: July 4, 2021
Event: Inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 (Round 20 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (4.048-mile, 14-turn road course)
Format: 62 laps, broken into three stages (14 laps/15 laps/33 laps)
Start/Finish: 39th / 26th (Running, completed 62 of 62 laps)
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-14):

● Ty Dillon started 39th and finished 37th.
● The No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry lined up 39th after too many caution periods during qualifying thwarted Gaunt Brothers Racing’s ability to set a lap time. Dillon was one of seven drivers in this predicament.
● Nonetheless, Dillon entered the race optimistic. “We ran some laps (in qualifying) and none of them counted, so that’s frustrating. I think we were 400 feet from the start/finish line and the caution came out. We definitely improved from practice and I think we picked up quite a bit. We still need some more to go. We’re just going to have to run a smart, methodical race and hope people make mistakes.”
● Dillon picked up 10 spots on the first lap to climb to 29th.
● During a caution on lap three, Dillon said he was managing his brakes early on so that he didn’t “overcook them.”
● Dillon spun in the kink on lap 11, but didn’t hit anything. “Just getting tighter and tighter and didn’t hit my mark there in the kink,” said Dillon shortly after bringing his Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota to pit road for four tires and fuel.
● The stage ended under caution and Dillon was 37th. He stayed out since he pitted on lap 12.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 15-29):

● Dillon started eighth and finished 33rd.
● Despite the advantageous track position, the No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry couldn’t hold off the cars behind it. By lap 23, Dillon was 30th.
● “Still too tight,” said Dillon near the end of the stage.
● Pitted on lap 27 for four tires and fuel.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 30-62):

● Dillon started 16th and finished 26th.
● The tight handling condition on the No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry persisted, making it hard for Dillon to maintain track position. By lap 35, Dillon was 25th.
● The Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota sustained some left-rear damage on lap 38 when the No. 47 car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., made contact.
● “The kink and through the Carousel is where I’m getting beat the most,” said Dillon while under caution on lap 43.
● Dillon took advantage of the caution and pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 44.
● Lined up 32nd for lap-45 restart and rose to 29th with 10 laps to go.
● Picked off three positions in the final laps to finish 26th.

Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 to score his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his second of the season. His margin over second-place Christopher Bell was 5.705 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of nine laps.
● Thirty-four of the 40 drivers in the Jockey Made in America 250 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Road America with a three-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry:

“We had a long way to go from practice and qualifying to get into a good speed zone. We improved and improved. P26 is a good run for what we had in front of us today. We would’ve liked to get more out of it, but I’m pretty proud of the effort. I had a little mess up earlier in the race, but to come back and to get a good finish for this Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Camry is a good day.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Atlanta 400 on Sunday, July 11 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RCR Post Race Report – Road America 250

By

Official Release

-

July 4, 2021

Strong Showing for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet Team at Road America

Finish: 11th
Start: 37th
Points: 12th

“I’m proud of everyone who works on the No. 3 Dow Salutes Chevrolet. We knew we had our work cut for us since we started deep in the field, but if there’s anything this Richard Childress Racing team has proven this year, it’s that we aren’t afraid of grinding it out. We passed a lot of cars on old tires in Stage 1, which really shows how fast our Chevy was. It was hard to get track position today, but we finally clawed our way into the top 10 to start Stage 3. Overall, 11th is a solid finish with what we overcame, so nice job to the pit crew, spotters, road crew and everyone involved with today. Thanks to all of our troops, especially the 1,903 veterans and active-duty military members featured on the No. 3 Dow Salutes Chevy this weekend. It was great to highlight them, Team Rubicon and Dow’s Military Degree Equivalency program on the July 4th holiday. We’re headed to Atlanta next, and we’ll do our best to get a win there.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and No. 8 Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Team Capture Stage Win, Eighth-Place Finish at Road America

Finish: 8th
Start: 4th
Points: 13th

“We worked really hard on prepping for these road course races over the off-season, and it’s great to see all the hard work pay off when we have a solid day like today. I was really happy with the speed and handling of our No. 8 Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE right from the start of the race today. It handled so well that I was worried about adjusting on it at all today, but my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and the team made some good changes on air pressure throughout the race that helped me with all around rotation through the course. We stayed out during Stage 2 and played a little bit of strategy to grab our first Stage Win of the year, which is great for our points situation in the standings. By doing that, we did trade-off a little bit and have to climb back up through the field in the final stage, but I was confident we had both the speed and handling to do so today. It got a little tough during the final laps of the race when I felt like my brakes were starting to fade, but we were able to fight through it and grab another top-10 finish.” -Tyler Reddick

No. 10 Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford Racing: Aric Almirola Road America Race Report

By

Official Release

-

July 4, 2021

Almirola 14th at Road America
Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford Driver Earns Best Road Course Finish of Season

Date: July 4, 2021
Event: Inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 (Round 20 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (4.048-mile, 14-turn road course)
Format: 62 laps, broken into three stages (14 laps/15 laps/33 laps)
Start/Finish: 19th / 14th (Running, completed 62 of 62 laps)
Point Standing: 27th (317 points, 481 out of first)
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-14):

● Aric Almirola started 19th and finished 35th.
● The caution was called on lap three with Almirola scored 21st.
● The Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford driver pitted on lap 10 from 25th for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
● Another caution was called while Almirola was on pit road, providing him with multiple spots gained to start Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 15-29):

● Almirola started fifth and finished 28th.
● Almirola said he needed more rear grip and couldn’t get into the braking zones the way he needed to.
● The Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford driver pitted on lap 25 for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
● Almirola was told to save his tires throughout the run and stayed out at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 30-62):

● Almirola started 13th and finished 14th.
● On lap 42, Almirola radioed that “something came apart” on lap 42. He pitted shortly after for four fresh tires.
● The caution was called when Almirola left pit road again.
● The remainder of the field pitted under caution, promoting Almirola to the lead.
● The Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford driver held his No. 10 Ford inside the top-14 to earn his best road course finish of the season.

Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 to score his 13th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his second of the season. His margin over second-place Christopher Bell was 5.705 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of nine laps.
● Thirty-four of the 40 drivers in the Jockey Made in America 250 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Road America with a three-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

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

“I’ll take a 14th-place finish at a newer road course. Our Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford just needed more rear grip and speed to race with the top guys. We’re continuing to build on our road course program. All of the fans who came out on Fourth of July weekend was awesome to see. On to Atlanta.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Atlanta 400 on July 11 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Newgarden dominates Mid-Ohio for first win of the season

By

Briar Starr

-

July 4, 2021

_JGS-2021-MID-OHIO-170748-1 — Photo Courtesy ofJoe Skibinski

Starting from the pole and leading all but eight laps, Josef Newgarden became the winningest American in the NTT IndyCar Series on a special holiday weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as he claimed his first win of the season.

However, the victory wasn’t all that easy as he had to fend off a hard-charging Marcus Ericsson who closed the gap lap by lap inside the last 10 laps. Despite being challenged by the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, Newgarden secured the victory on the weekend of Roger Penske’s very first win as a car owner that came 50 years ago Saturday at Pocono.

“Mainly focused on my pace,” Newgarden said about winning the Mid-Ohio race. “We were struggling with 10 laps to go. Super fast at the beginning of the stint. Felt like we could pull a gap on Marcus right off the bat out of a pit stop. Those last 10 laps, I was losing pace. I was just kind of calculating the pace loss, looking at where he was, looking at overtaking, all that. That kept me busy. That’s pretty much what I was focusing on. It’s not the thing you want to be kept busy with. You’d rather be busy looking at the gap growing and taking it easy. That was not the case.

“It was a hard-fought win. I think we definitely had the car to win the race, but it didn’t come easy. These guys made us push for it and work. Yeah, very happy to get the win.”

Ericsson erased a 10-second gap that was held by Newgarden in the remaining laps, only to come 0.8790 seconds short of overtaking Newgarden. The second place finish was Ericsson’s second podium finish since his win at the first Belle Isle race a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, exactly,” Ericsson said about running out of time catching Newgarden. “We were hunting him down there. The Honda felt really good on the black tires especially. We lost a little bit too much time on the first stint on the reds. Gap was sort of too big. Another lap I think we could have really been challenging him. He was really struggling with his tires the last five laps. Just catching him quickly.

“Anyway, I think it was a great day, great day for the team, to have me, Alex and Scott, P2, P3 and P4. It’s a strong result. Shows how strong we are at the moment. Me jumping up to fifth in the championship feels pretty good. Very happy with my day. Like I said, another lap or two would be even better, but I’ll take second today.”

Newgarden’s dominant Mid-Ohio weekend started Saturday afternoon after qualifying on the pole for the 14th time of his career. The Team Penske driver got a good start on the initial start but had to keep patient as two yellow flags flew early in the race.

The first yellow came on Lap 1 when the No. 28 of Ryan Hunter-Reay was turned by James Hinchcliffe and the No. 7 of Felix Rosenqvist was turned by Romain Grosjean causing a major lockup in Turn 4. The second yellow flew on the Lap 3 restart when the No. 12 of Will Power made slight contact with the left-rear of the No. 9 of Scott Dixon. Power appeared he was going to keep his car clean, but with the blinding Turn 5 hill, Power was pounded by the No. 18 of Ed Jones which saw both cars get major damage.

Jones’s front was nearly destroyed as his left-front wheel was loose. Power’s car sat idle and received damage as well. Fortunately for both drivers, they were medically cleared from the incident, but neither returned to the race and finished 25th and 26th, respectively. Power however stated on the NBC broadcast that he had a bruised right wrist which was sore.

The restart came on Lap 8 and once again, Newgarden continued to set the pace leading Colton Herta by 1.0 seconds. Meanwhile, the No. 14 of Sebastien Bourdais was penalized on Lap 12 for blocking the No. 51 of Grosjean. As a result, Bourdais had to give up two positions for the penalty.

The first round of green-flag pit stops came as soon as Lap 22 when the No. 3 of Scott McLaughlin pit. But, the leaders, Dixon, Rossi and O’Ward, and eventually race leader Newgarden, didn’t make their stops until Lap 29 and 30. Herta used a different strategy and pitted one lap later on Lap 31 hoping to gain a sizable gap over Newgarden. Unfortunately for Herta, he did not beat Newgarden as Herta’s team had a fueling issue and had a 25-second stop with the Andretti team.

The long pit stop saw Herta drop to seventh in the running order and 20 seconds back from the lead. The fueling issue was, as later reported by NBC, an issue with the fuel hose and not a human error made by the team.

Halfway on Lap 40, Newgarden held Ericsson by 7.2 seconds, a comfortable lead heading into the final stops with 27 laps to go as Newgarden pit for the final time. Herta grabbed the lead momentarily, hoping to gap Newgarden. But the Andretti driver’s plan didn’t work as they had yet another longer stop.

Eventually, Newgarden cycled out to the lead with 22 laps to go and led second place, Ericsson, by 6.7 seconds. From there, Ericsson closed the gap to where the lead was 4.814 seconds with 10 laps to go and then, cut the gap to 2.6 seconds with five to go.

As Newgarden started to approach lap traffic toward the white flag, Ericsson needed another strong lap or a mistake by Newgarden to allow him to pass the leader to have any chance of winning. Despite Ericsson erasing a six-second difference, Newgarden held on and won for the 19th time of his NTT IndyCar Series career. Ericsson, Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five finishers.

Alex Palou increased his championship points lead to 39 points over Pato O’Ward.

“Yeah, we’re going to win this championship just by being here every weekend, getting some more wins,” Palou said on his Mid-Ohio run. “We always look at the championship. It’s good to have three cars now in the top five in the championship. Like Marcus said, that shows how strong we are as a team, how the team is working together. Yeah, super happy. But still, a long way to go. I mean, I would stop the count now, but I don’t think they allow me to do that (smiling). We’ll try to win some more races and be at the podium.”

There were two cautions for six laps and five lead changes among three different leaders.

Official Results following the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

Josef Newgarden, led 73 laps
Marcus Ericsson, led two laps
Alex Palou
Scott Dixon
Alexander Rossi
Graham Rahal
Romain Grosjean
Pato O’Ward
Santino Ferrucci
Takuma Sato
Sebastien Bourdais
Scott McLaughlin
Colton Herta
Simon Pagenaud
Conor Daly
Rinus VeeKay
James Hinchcliffe
Max Chilton
Jack Harvey
Ryan Norman, 1 lap down
Dalton Kellett, 1 lap down
Jimmie Johnson, 1 lap down
Felix Rosenqvist, 2 laps down
Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2 laps down
Will Power, OUT, Contact
Ed Jones, OUT, Contact

Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series will take a month off before resuming their 2021 season Sunday August 8 for the inaugural streets of Nashville live on NBCSN at 5:30 p.m./ET.

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RCR Post Race Report – Road America 250

No. 10 Smithfield/Pit Boss Ford Racing: Aric Almirola Road America Race Report

Newgarden dominates Mid-Ohio for first win of the season

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