Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, June 6, 2021
2.52-Mile Road Course
4:00 PM ET
Location: Sonoma, California
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (16 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 2nd

No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

RECORD-BREAKING WIN: On Sunday in the annual 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson led 327 of 400 laps to capture Hendrick Motorsports’ record-breaking 269th NASCAR Cup Series win. Through 15 Cup Series races this season, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has two victories (ranks second), eight top-five finishes (second), 10 top-10s (fourth) and currently sits second in the driver point standings. He has the most stage victories (nine) and has accumulated the most playoff points (19).

WOO BACK-TO-BACK: On Monday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana, Larson won his first World of Outlaws sprint car race of the year. The 28-year-old started second in the 35-lap feature and took over the top spot on lap 11 en route to victory.

LEADER OF THE PACK: There have been 4,199 laps completed during the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season and Larson has paced the field a series high 1,105 times, or 26%. The driver of the No. 5 entry is nearing his career-high record, which occurred in 2017 when he led 1,352 laps in 36 races.

40 PERCENT: Larson has finished first or second in six of 15 races this season. The 2014 rookie of the year won at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway while posting second-place finishes at Circuit of The Americas, Dover International Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

HOMETOWN BOUND: Sunday will mark the fourth consecutive Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway that Larson, who grew up in Elk Grove 80 miles northeast of Sonoma, has led the field to the green flag. Larson won the pole position in 2017, ’18 and ’19, and he earned the first starting spot this weekend based on NASCAR’s qualifying metrics.

RC RACING: Larson has 16 starts on road courses in the Cup Series with two top-five finishes, five top-10s and two stage victories (third-most all-time). In May at Circuit of The Americas, Larson led four laps and finished second to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in the rain-shortened event. In sports cars, Larson competed in the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2014 through 2016 and was victorious in 2015.

ROUTE 66: In June 2014, Larson competed in the ARCA Menards Series West event at Sonoma Raceway. After winning the pole, he led all 66 laps on the 1.99-mile layout and crossed under the checkered flag more than three seconds ahead of the competition.

FOURTH FOR 5: Larson has a 9.5 average running position in 2021 – the fourth-best average in the Cup Series. That average factors in position scored in all 4,199 laps run in NASCAR’s premier series this year. To better understand Larson’s average, 4% of it is scored as 40th place since the No. 5 entry experienced engine issues at the start of the Talladega race and completed only three of 191 laps.

YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. From the convenience of home, customers can select the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com. The website also makes it easy for customers to find one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealership locations nationwide.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 4th

No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

COURSE KING: Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, is set to make his 15th Cup Series start on a road course this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Most recently, he collected a victory in the inaugural race at Circuit of The Americas. He has collected the most wins (six) in the fewest starts (14) and stage wins (six) of active drivers. Overall, 25-year-old Elliott is the youngest driver to have six road course wins. He has garnered seven top-five finishes, nine top-10s and a total of 289 laps led at road courses. His six wins tie him with NASCAR legends Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for third-most all-time road course wins behind Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). He also remains the youngest road course winner at 22 years, 8 months, 8 days.

ROAD COURSE PROWESS: Elliott’s wins at COTA (2021), Watkins Glen (2018, 2019), Charlotte ROVAL (2019, 2020) and the DAYTONA Road Course (2020) account for six of the last nine road course victories. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has led laps in the last seven road course races, the longest active streak. In 2021 on road courses, Elliott has led the most laps of all drivers (49) and also holds the best average finish (9.21) of active drivers and sixth-best all-time average of drivers with at least five starts.

WHAT A STREAK: Sunday’s second-place result is Elliott’s third consecutive top-three finish of the season. Also, having collected a top-10 finish in each of the last five NASCAR Cup Series events, Elliott currently holds the longest active streak.

RETURN TO WINE COUNTRY: Elliott is set to make his fifth Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway this weekend. In his previous Cup starts at the road course, the driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 earned his first top-10 result at Sonoma in 2017 and followed it up in the 2018 season with a fourth-place finish – his first career top-five on a road course. During the last visit to the 2.52-mile course, Elliott raced inside the top five for most of the event before a mechanical issue ended the No. 9 team’s day in the final stage.

GUSTAFSON ON ROAD COURSES: Crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 37th road course race from atop the pit box this Sunday at Sonoma. In his previous 36 starts, the Florida native has garnered six wins, the most of active crew chiefs, 11 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and 346 laps led.

SEASON SUMMARY: Sunday marked the 15th race of the 2021 Cup Series season. So far this year, Elliott has one win, seven top-five finishes (three of which are runner-up results), nine top-10s, and has led a total of 103 laps. He has also collected the fifth-most stage points (114), one stage win, has spent 1,368 laps inside the top five and 2,605 laps running in the top 10. Elliott’s average running position for the season is 10.04 and his average finish is 10.6. He currently sits fourth in the driver point standings, 92 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.

PIT ROAD POWER: Heading to Sonoma, the No. 9 team owns the sixth-best average time for four-tire pit stops at 13.76 seconds through 15 races. The NAPA pit crew is comprised of jackman T.J. Semke, gasman John Gianninoto, tire carrier Jared Erspamer and tire changers Chad Avrit and Nick O’Dell.

NAPA KNOW HOW: The No. 9 Chevrolet will don the familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme on Sunday at Sonoma. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 3rd

No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

UP FRONT VIEWS: After another top-five run this past Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, William Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE continue to be a model of consistency. After 15 races, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has collected one win, six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s all while leading 190 laps. With the second-best average running position throughout the NASCAR Cup Series field of 7.99 and an average finishing position of 9, Byron is tied for the second position in the driver points standings with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson following the 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway – the highest ranking of his Cup career.

READY, PLAYER 24: After its inception last year during the pandemic, the iRacing NASCAR Pro Invitational Series resumes Wednesday night for the fifth race of 10 in 2021 at the virtual Chicago Street Course with the Next Gen car. Picking up where he left off last season, Byron raced to the win in the first Pro Invitational Series event this year on March 24 at the virtual Bristol dirt track. In his 10 total Pro Invitational Series starts, Byron leads the field with four wins and is the only driver to win consecutive races. He has paced the field in eight of his 10 starts, leading a total of 477 out of 1,210 laps – the most of all drivers.

ROAD RESULTS: This Sunday will mark the third points-paying road course race of the 2021 season and Byron has stepped up his road course racing skills in the last two years, finishing in the top 10 in three of the last five races. While in the last seven road course events, he has led at least 20 laps in three of those races, including leading the most laps during last year’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL. In fact, Byron led the second-most laps on road courses during the 2020 season.

SONOMA STATS: With a pause in racing action at Sonoma Raceway last year due to the pandemic, Byron will return to the 2.52-mile road course for the third time in his Cup Series career. In those two starts, Byron’s best showing came in 2019 when he qualified second and raced up front for most of the event, collecting as many stage points as possible, including his first Cup Series stage win. However, with a differing strategy, Byron was credited with a 19th-place result. Aside from his two Cup Series starts, Byron has two previous starts at the road course both coming in the ARCA Menards Series West (formerly known as the K&N Series West). In fact, Byron’s first road course race in a stock car came at Sonoma Raceway in 2015 in the ARCA Menards Series West event where he qualified second and raced to a fifth-place finish. Byron returned to Sonoma for the ARCA Menards Series West race in 2018, tying his best qualifying effort of second, but crossed the finish line two spots better than his 2015 showing, in the third position.

FIRST FOR FUGLE: Already in 2021 Fugle and Byron have three road course starts together, two at the DAYTONA Road Course and most recently at the Circuit of The Americas. For the Clash exhibition race, the No. 24 raced to a solid fifth-place result but bad luck struck the team for their return trip less than two weeks later, resulting in a 33rd-place finish after Byron suffered a flat tire and with two laps to go. Two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, Byron was running within the top five when damage sustained from a competitor forced the No. 24 team to rally from behind, resulting in an 11th-place result. However, aside from those three road course starts in the Cup Series, Fugle has seven other road course races under his belt all coming in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In those seven starts, the Livonia, New York, native has one win (Erik Jones, 2015), three top-five finishes, and five top-10s. One of those seven truck starts was also with Byron where the duo raced to a 10th-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2016.

ALL ABOUT AXALTA: When the Cup Series returns to Sonoma for the first time since 2019, Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE as he takes on the 2.52-mile road course. Now in its 29th year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta will return as primary partner on Byron’s No. 24 for 14 races in 2021. For a better look at Byron’s new No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, click here.

48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 12th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be available to members of the media via video conference on Thursday, June 3 at 11:15 a.m. ET. Visit NASCARmedia.com for details.

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be available to members of the media via video conference on Friday, June 4 at 11 a.m. ET. Visit NASCARmedia.com for details.

TOP FIVE IN CHARLOTTE: During the 600-mile event on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman brought home a fifth-place finish at the end of the day. The No. 48 Ally team captured stage points in all three stages, finishing 10th, seventh and fifth, respectively. After a two-tire call under caution on Lap 174, Bowman was the first car off pit road and led the field to green on lap 177. This fifth-place finish is Bowman’s first top-five result at the 1.5-mile speedway. The Ally driver is tied for third for the longest active top-10 streak among active drivers in the series.

BOWMAN IN SONOMA VALLEY: The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet will make his fifth start at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Bowman’s first and only top-10 at the track came back in 2018 after he finished ninth at the conclusion of the 110-lap event. Out of 420 total laps within these four races, Bowman has completed 99.8% of the total laps. In 2018, Bowman made one start at the California-based venue in the ARCA Menards Series West (formally known as the K&N Series West) event where he qualified seventh.

ROAD COURSE HISTORY: The 28-year-old driver has 14 previous starts on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series. With two top-five finishes and six top-10 results at road course venues, Bowman’s best results have come at the Charlotte ROVAL. The Ally driver currently has two top-five results, three top-10s, including one runner-up result in the 2019 event, and has an average finish of 4.6 at the track. Bowman is one of four drivers to capture top-10 results in both road course events this season. In his road course starts with Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman has finished inside the top 15 in all 10 events and has placed in the top 10 in six of the last 10 events. Bowman has an average finish of 9.56 on these tracks while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

IVES AT SONOMA: Crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots five times at Sonoma Raceway for Hendrick Motorsports. The Michigan native has three top-10 results at the track and finished 14th with Bowman in their latest run at the facility in 2019. Ives’ drivers have completed 100% of the total laps during these five events. The crew chief’s best finish at the track came in 2017 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team and captured five top-10 finishes, including one win in 2010 after the team led 55 laps.

LOOKING BACK: With 15 events complete this season, Bowman has two wins (Richmond, Dover), four top-five finishes, seven top-10s and one pole award (DAYTONA 500). The No. 48 Ally team has spent 2,072 laps running inside the top 10, which ranks 11th out of all active drivers. Out of those laps, 1,045 have been inside the top five. Bowman has led 117 laps in 2021 across five different venues. He currently sits 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings and is eighth in the playoff standings.

LIGHTNING FAST: With two wins in 15 events this season, the No. 48 pit crew continues to be the fastest in the Cup Series based on average four-tire stop times. The five-man over-the-wall crew has an average four-tire stop time of 13.64 seconds. The team includes fueler Jacob Conley, tire carrier Allen Stallings, jackman Dustin Lineback and tire changers Scott Brzozowski and Devin DelRicco.

IT’S 269 … AND COUNTING: Kyle Larson’s dominant win Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the record-breaking 269th in the NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR Hall of Fame car owner Rick Hendrick. The team is now the winningest in the history of NASCAR’s top-tier series after passing the legendary Petty Enterprises, which recorded 268 across six decades. The Petty organization held the Cup Series record for points-paying victories for more than 60 years before Hendrick Motorsports tied the mark May 23 at Circuit of The Americas and broke it at Charlotte.

FOR A CAUSE: After Chase Elliott won at COTA to tie the Petty Enterprises record, the autographed door panel of his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE went up for auction to benefit Victory Junction. When the auction closed Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, the winning bid stood at $28,700. Car owner Hendrick matched it with a separate donation, bringing the total impact to $57,400.

ONE-TWO-THREE: Hendrick Motorsports has won three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races, finishing at least first and second in all of them. The team recorded an incredible 1-2-3-4 result at Dover International Speedway, finished first and second at COTA, and then 1-2-4-5 at Charlotte. In the last three events, the team has three wins, 10 top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. Its worst finish during the stretch was 11th place. Hendrick Motorsports has won at least three straight races on 16 different occasions, the most of all teams in NASCAR history.

THREE WINS, THREE DRIVERS: The three consecutive wins by Hendrick Motorsports have come via three different drivers: Alex Bowman at Dover, Elliott at COTA and Larson at Charlotte. The last time Hendrick Motorsports won three straight with different drivers was 2015 with Jeff Gordon at Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson at Texas and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Phoenix. No team has ever won four consecutive races with four different drivers.

WIN COUNTRY: Going into Sunday’s road-course event at Sonoma Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports is the track’s all-time leader in wins (six), pole positions (nine), runner-up finishes (six), top-five results (31), top-10s (54) and laps led (674).

ROAD RUNNERS: Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in NASCAR Cup Series road-course wins with 21, which is eight more than any other team. It has won road races with six different drivers and has more stage wins on road courses (eight) than anyone else.

GREAT AS OF LATE: On road courses over the last three NASCAR Cup Series seasons (2019-2021), Hendrick Motorsports has won six of nine races, including five of the last six. The team has won two of four pole positions, six of 14 stages and led 308 of 587 laps raced (52%).

QUOTABLE /

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the driving style at Sonoma: “Sonoma is a finesse track, but you still have to be aggressive. I’ve had a lot of success there with three poles but I seemed to struggle during the race, so I’m really looking forward to going there in Hendrick Motorsports equipment. Hendrick Motorsports’ road course program is really good, especially the 9 team. It seems like Chase Elliott has won every road course race the last four years.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Sonoma with no previous crew chief experience at track: “It’s definitely a challenge for us in that regard – from not having my own crew chief notes, and even our past notes at Hendrick Motorsports we have not been where we needed to be the last few trips there. Luckily, we have a great road course foundation from the 9 car (driven by Chase Elliott) with their wins on road courses and what that package looks like. The magic is translating that to Sonoma. We have a new aero package since the last trip there, and we have a new tire this weekend so we have a lot of challenges, but our company has momentum right now and hopefully we can close the gap.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Sonoma: “Sonoma has been a place that I haven’t done a very good job at in the past. It’s been a pretty big challenge for me. It’s been a couple years since we’ve been there, so it’s been a while. When we were there in 2019, I felt like we were doing a great job and in a good position before we had our mechanical issue, so I’m looking forward to getting back and having another shot at it.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Sonoma: “Sonoma is so unique and hard to master until you have run there for a while. I feel like we were really close in 2019, probably the best we have been at Sonoma. It is such a tough track to get around and the drivers struggle to see around the apex. The surface is also pretty worn out around the track. The closest track surface we probably see is the DAYTONA Road Course. I do think we were really close the to win in ’19, though. Hopefully, we will rectify that finish this weekend.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on how Sonoma races differently than other road courses: “Sonoma is probably the most different out of all the road courses we go to on the circuit. It has more of a short track feel almost because there’s no big braking zones; you’re moreso always turning. It’s all about how you turn and navigate the apex of the corners and get a good run off the corner. It’s not as much about braking and high speed, it’s more about finesse and exiting the low speed corners. It’s just a different challenge and you set up your car differently because of it. I’m excited for it, though. I think we have a good package this year and I feel like I’ve really done my homework for this weekend.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on having less experience at Sonoma: “Sonoma is a racetrack that I haven’t been to in my career, not just in the Cup Series, but in any series. That doesn’t really concern me, though. I’ve been watching a lot of video of past races and we have a good notebook here at Hendrick Motorsports. From what I can tell, if you get buried in traffic, it’s hard to make up positions, even with pit strategy. Sonoma is a track where you either have to go for the win or go for maximum points. It doesn’t seem to be like most road courses where you can go for stage points in one stage and give up the points in another. You have to pick one strategy or the other, which is a challenge. I’m almost happy that we don’t have practice this weekend for that reason. That means we show up and race. I can’t overthink things. I just have to make a decision and go with it.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on being a part of Hendrick Motorsports history: “Being a part of Hendrick Motorsports’ 269 milestone is so cool. To be a small part in this historic record-breaking number means so much to me. Mr. Hendrick and everyone at the shop deserves this honor and as much as I wish it was the No. 48 to take the win in Charlotte, we are so pumped for Kyle (Larson) and the No. 5 team.”

Bowman on road course preparation: “Over the last few years, I feel like our road course program on the No. 48 team is getting stronger. Having a teammate like Chase (Elliott) to lean on for some road course advice has been extremely helpful. We didn’t go to Sonoma last season, so this week is going to consist of watching old races and simulator work. Hopefully, we can go out this weekend and keep our streak of top 10s and continue moving up in the point standings.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on breaking the all-time win record: “Mr. H always says it is always about the people. He treats the people first, one with respect and two they all matter to his success. We went through a hard time last year going through quarantine last year and he was a rock. We came up a little short on being the ones to break that record for Mr. Hendrick last weekend, but I couldn’t be more proud of what Cliff (Daniels) and Kyle (Larson) have done this year. Everyone’s wins add up to a great year so far and the record-breaking night on Sunday was really special to be a part of.”

Ives on returning to Sonoma: “We haven’t been to Sonoma in a while. We have a lot of high expectations for us. Alex (Bowman) is continuously growing confidence on road courses. Coming out of COTA with an eighth-place finish, he really doesn’t give himself a lot of pats on the back for how well he does at road courses. He loves the challenge and will rise up when needed, which will show at the end of Sonoma. We are looking forward to it.”

The last time Matt DiBenedetto raced at his home track, Sonoma Raceway, he scored the first-ever top-five finish of his Cup Series career.

He finished fourth in the 2019 while driving for Leavine Family Racing, but hasn’t raced at Sonoma since then because the race was moved in 2020 as NASCAR adjusted its schedule to deal with the pandemic.

Now, DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Knauf Insulation team is headed back to Sonoma for Sunday’s 350-kilometer run over the original 12-turn, 2.52-mile course, which was brought back in 2019 after NASCAR used a shorter route from 1998-2018.

NASCAR rules for the race mandate the 750-horsepower engine package combined with a low-downforce aero set-up.

DiBenedetto, who will start from 17th place after NASCAR set the starting line-up using a formula based on recent performance, said he’s anxious to pick up where he left off at Sonoma two years ago.

“I finished fourth the last time I was there,” he said. “It’s a fun road course.”

“It’s completely opposite of Watkins Glen. It’s technical, worn out, low speed, etc.”

And he gets to race in front of some home folks as the track is about two hours southwest of his home town of Grass Valley. He also has relatives that live even closer to the track.

“A home-state race is fun,” DiBenedetto said. “Some of my family usually comes to that race since they live not far from there in Lincoln.”

“So this race is a special one.”

There will be no practice prior to the start of Sunday’s 90-lap Toyota/Save Mart 350, which is set to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (4 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.

Stage breaks are set for Laps 20 and 40.

Menards

A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Sonoma

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its longest trip of the season out west to Sonoma for the first time since the 2019 season. Sunday’s race marks the third road course event of seven this season, at a track where Jack Roush has three wins all-time, including two in the NCS in 1997 and 2014.

Save Mart 350
Sunday, June 6 | 4 p.m. ET
FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

• Ryan Newman, No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang
• Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

Charlotte Recap, Sonoma Preview

• Buescher earned his third straight top-10 in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday, driving to an eighth-place finish and earning stage points for the fourth-straight race.
• Newman was in position for a solid run before cutting a tire with just over 100 laps remaining to finish 27th.
• Fastenal returns to Buescher’s No. 17 Ford in California.
• Guaranteed Rate will don the side of Newman’s No. 6 Mustang in Sonoma.

Looking for the Hat Trick in the ‘Golden State’
In 104 NCS starts at Sonoma, Roush Fenway has recorded two wins, 14 top-five finishes, 34 top-10 finishes and has led 274 laps. Former Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards earned the organization’s most recent victory at the road course in 2014.

Hasta La Vista Baby

Roush Fenway has left the California road course victorious on two occasions in the NCS with former drivers Mark Martin and Carl Edwards. Martin earned the victory in 1997 after starting from the pole and leading 69 laps, while Edwards started fourth and led 26 laps in the 2014 running of this event.

Road Racing Success

As an organization, Roush Fenway has made 360 starts on road courses across NASCAR’s major touring series and has recorded 15 wins, 69 top-fives, 134 top-10s, 11 poles and 879 laps led. Roush Fenway has earned the most road course victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (six) followed by five in the NCS and four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

California Dreamin’

In 231 NCS starts in the state of California, Roush Fenway has scored nine wins, 44 top-fives, 87 top-10s and has led 1,715 laps at the tracks of Sonoma, Auto Club Speedway and Riverside International Raceway.

Roush Fenway Sonoma Wins
1997 Martin Cup
1997 Ruttman Truck
2014 Edwards Cup

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ford Zoom Media Availability | Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing is a California native returning to his home state for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway. This will mark Custer’s first time on the road course after last year’s scheduled event was postponed. He spoke about expectations for this weekend as part of this week’s Ford Zoom call with members of the media.

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360 Ford Mustang — YOU HAVE A NEW SPONSOR THIS WEEKEND AND IT’S YOUR FIRST TIME AT SONOMA. THOUGHTS? “I’m really looking forward to it. I think the road courses have been something that’s always kind of a wild card and it’s always kind of an equalizer for the field. For us, it’s a great opportunity to have a solid run and hopefully find ourselves with a chance to win by the end of it. It’s a really technical place that I enjoy at Sonoma. It’s a place I haven’t ran in the Cup Series yet, so it’s gonna be a little bit of learning, but it’s just one of those places you have so much elevation change and that carousel. It’s just a fun racetrack to run and we have Autodesk on the car this week. It’s really cool. We had them on the car at Texas a few years ago. I ran an XFINITY race and we won with them and from there it’s just been a great relationship and it’s been awesome having them on the car. We use their software a ton at the race shop to be able to design parts and do different things, so they’re a huge part of what we do.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SONOMA? “It’s still about 10 hours from my home because Northern California is so far from Southern California, but whenever you go back to California it’s always special. You’re always trying to see family and it’s always a homecoming. You always get to have the In-N-Out, so I look forward to that, but going to Sonoma I’ve run a few K&N races there and I’ve always loved it. It’s just one of those places that it’s fun to kind of slip and slide around and be able to go up and down the hills and hit the curbs. It’s just one of those places that I think every driver loves to go to.”

WHAT’S THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE TRACK AND HOW HAVE YOU PREPARED? “I would say with how they’ve changed the course, one of the toughest turns now is that carousel. I think it’s just a really awkward corner and it doesn’t feel like a corner a race car should be going through. It’s really tight, really downhill, off camber. It’s just a really tough corner and it’s something that you never go through there and feel like you did it right. It never feels natural, so it’s one of those things you just kind of have to hit your marks and make sure you don’t overdo it through there.”

YOU’VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE ON THAT TRACK. WHAT TAKEAWAYS DO YOU HAVE FROM THAT? “Like I said, it’s just such a technical racetrack and it’s definitely nice to have some laps around there. There’s so much fall off and so much you have to do to try and make it around those slick corners. It’s not an easy place to get around, so having those laps will definitely help, but I’m sure in the Cup car it’s gonna be a little bit different trying to figure out just a lot more horsepower, trying to figure out how you’re gonna work it through those corners and be more patient probably, so I’m sure it’s gonna be a lot of learning pretty fast.”

WILL EXPERIENCE ON THE CAROUSEL BE AN ADVANTAGE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RACED THERE BEFORE? “Yeah, for sure — a little bit. Being able to kind of know what I’m looking for going through that corner and it leads into a great passing zone, so I definitely think it opens up some things. If you can get through the carousel pretty good, it opens up a lot of opportunities to pass. There are those cheap corners you’re always looking for to try and make sure you can pass good, and I think the carousel is definitely one of them.”

YOU’VE HAD GOOD RUNS ON ROAD COURSES IN THE PAST. HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THAT GIVE YOU? “I’ve always loved the road course races and I feel like I’ve actually been pretty close to winning a few and I still haven’t won one. That’s probably the one thing in my career up to now that I really want to try and check off is have a road course win because I feel like every single one I’ve been to we’ve run pretty solid and I’ve been happy with it. There are so many things that have to go right to win a road course race with the strategy and people are running off course and running into you and spinning out. It’s just the races are so crazy that you have to have a lot of things go right, so I definitely want to try and check off that road course win. That would be huge.”

IS THERE A WAY TO DESCRIBE WHAT THE CLOSING RATE IS LIKE AT CHARLOTTE WHEN YOU COME UP ON SLOWER CARS? HOW DO YOU MANAGE THAT? “The biggest thing is it’s just a little bit frustrating because you’re coming by them so many times and every single time it’s a way of how are you gonna manage to get by him. How are you gonna time it right and it’s hard to time something right when they’re going so much slower and then you lose spots, you lose momentum and it just costs you positions. For a race car driver that’s the last thing you want to have happen, so it just gets frustrating when it happens over and over and over again, but it’s part of it and we’ll work with it.”

DO YOU FEEL SHR HAS DONE ANYTHING TO COMBAT THE SLOW START TO THE SEASON? “It’s tough. There are so many different things to look at and there’s things we can kind of cypher through and try and figure out what’s worked and what hasn’t, but at the end of the day also every single track is different, so you can go and try and figure something out at Kansas and it’s completely different when you go to Charlotte. It’s always kind of a little bit of a guessing game with the no practice right now. You can go to the simulator and definitely work through some things and get some big picture ideas, but it’s tough to really correlate what’s gonna happen when you hit the racetrack with the certain conditions that you have and how every single one is different.”

HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE THE SHR ROAD COURSE PROGRAM? “I would say for us as an organization we’ve been solid on the road course races. We’ve definitely wanted to be better, but I feel like we’ve been in the mix at least. I feel like we can run top 10 and from there it’s just a matter of one adjustment and one thing going right on pit road and you’re in the top five and looking for a win, so I think it’s just a matter of fine-tuning it a little bit, but I’ve been pretty happy with our road course cars, but it’s just a matter of having the whole race play out right.”

WHAT IS THE MOST UNIQUE TROPHY YOU HAVE IN YOUR COLLECTION AND WHICH ONE WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD? “For me, probably the most unique trophy I have is the Miles the Monster trophy and not only because it was that, but because it was the 50th year when I won, so I got a gold trophy out of it. That was the year I think everybody wanted to win. Everybody wants to win at Dover anyways because of the Monster Mile trophy, but that year was pretty special and we were lucky enough to win that race. One that I really want, I think everybody would probably say Daytona. I mean, that’s the coolest trophy you can have in your collection, but that would be a really cool one to add to the house.”

HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL YOU’RE CONTRIBUTING TO HELPING SHR IMPROVE IN YOUR SECOND YEAR AT THE CUP LEVEL? “Nobody is happy right now is the thing. We’re all trying to find different things to try and make our cars better and it’s just, like I said before, there’s no good way to really go about it right now when you don’t have any practice. That’s the plain and simple point. When you don’t have any practice you’re kind of guessing and you’re thinking through things and trying things at the simulator and you think they’re better, but if you’re not able to do it at that certain racetrack that certain weekend, you really don’t know how it’s gonna work out when you don’t have any practice time. In the Cup Series the competition is so stiff that if you’re off for that first run, it ruins your whole day. It’s just a matter of keep working through things and eventually we’re gonna hit on it. We have some really smart people at SHR that are working really hard, so it’s just a matter of cyphering through it. That’s the biggest thing.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT CHARLOTTE WITH PRACTICE COMPARED TO THE OTHER RACES THIS YEAR? “It points more to what your real problems are, I guess is what it helps you with. Are you gonna find the fix in a 50-minute practice session? Probably not, but it gives you an idea of those things that you did try — did they help you or did they not really make a difference. We tried a lot of different things and some things helped a little and some things didn’t, so now we can focus more in the directions we need to get better and from there it’s just fine-tuning it.”

THE 600 IS VIEWED AS A GOOD BENCHMARK. CAN YOU GIVE US ANY INSIGHT ON HOW SHR BREAKS DOWN THE SEASON? HAVE YOU SEGMENTED WHERE YOU WANT TO BE OR IDENTIFIED CERTAIN RACES WHERE YOU RE-EVALUATE THINGS? “I think during the summertime you just kind of have to dig in and grind it out. We’re racing for a long time in the summertime. It gets hot and I think it’s just one of those things you kind of have to stay focused on what your goal is and that’s making the playoffs, so, for us points-wise, the last few weeks haven’t been too good for us, so we’re gonna have to try and probably think out of the box and look for more wins, find out how to win a race here in the summertime and from there it’s just trying to grind it out. Every single race matters for us right now, so we have to make sure we’re bringing everything we’ve got.”

DOES IT HELP HAVING MIKE SHIPLETT TO KEEP YOU PUMPED UP? “Yeah, for sure. The thing is at this level everybody has had success before and you have to remind yourself at times that you were having those good days and that kind of keeps you going, but I think it’s just one of those things you just have to keep grinding and it’s not easy. Nobody likes to go through the dry spells and everything like that, but it happens and you just have to figure out a way to keep working at it and work with your team and having good people around you that want to keep working at it and keep pushing to be better, that’s what you need.”

WE’RE STARTING TO SEE SOME SPEED OUT OF ROUSH FENWAY, SO BEING ABLE TO SEE SOME BRIGHT GLIMMER OF HOPE OUT OF THEM WITH BUESCHER IS IT JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SHR TURNS THINGS AROUND? “Yeah, honestly it’s just the little things. I mean, I know at times it really sucks to run 20th or 25th, but if you can get yourself just a tenth or two better, you’re running around 10th. It’s just a matter of getting those little things better and the more and more you work at it, the more you fine-tune it and you figure out which direction you need to go in, you’re gonna be in the ballpark.”

THE CHANGE IN AERO PACKAGES FROM A COUPLE YEARS AGO. WHAT ARE YOU STUDYING FOR THIS RACE AT SONOMA? “That’s a tough one. I’ll probably go back to 2018 when it was the low downforce package and I’ll watch some of that for sure, but obviously you’re gonna miss a few corners with that, so in those corners that you don’t have you’re gonna kind of guesstimate to be honest, and you’re gonna use your simulator at Ford Performance, and we’re gonna get an idea of where we need to be braking and where we need to be doing things in those few corners where the carousel is and I think it’s turn seven after the carousel. It’s a matter of I think the Ford Performance simulator is gonna be a big part of being able to know where your lift point is gonna be and figuring out how you’re gonna attack those corners going into the weekend.”