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Front Row Motorsports is Ready to Return to California

By
Official Release
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It has been over a year since the NASCAR Cup Series has raced in the state of California. That will finally change this weekend when the series makes its return to the Sonoma Raceway for Sunday’s 90-lap feature.

Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops team head into the weekend with five top-10 finishes on their season and looking for more. McDowell is also looking to return to the top-15 in the driver point standings. He is only four points behind Christopher Bell for 15th.

Anthony Alfredo and the No. 38 MDS Transportation team are looking to give Alfredo experience at the technical road course. Alfredo will be making his first start on the track.

Sunday’s race begins at 4:00 p.m. ET with the live broadcast on FS1.

“It’s great that we’re finally able to come back to California and Sonoma,” said McDowell. “It’s just a great area, a great track with great fans. We’ve always had a great time with our partners from Love’s Travel Stops and Speedco in the area and it’s just something our sport has missed.”

McDowell is not only looking forward to seeing the fans in California, but he’s also looking to continue his best season of his career. The Love’s Travel Stops driver has a best finish of 14th at the Sonoma Raceway, but is ready for a top-10.

“It’s probably one of the tracks where I really want to get a top-10. I love road course racing and Sonoma is a really technical track. I just love that aspect and I feel that we’ll have a good chance for a great finish.”

Finally, McDowell is still positioning himself in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and wants to maximize points this weekend.

“This is a weekend where we can score stage points and have a good points day. It’s more of a challenge for us to get points at some races, but this is a track where we can make that happen. I love the fight that we have and we’re going to put up another strong effort this Sunday.”

For Anthony Alfredo and the No. 38 MDS Transportation team, the goal at Sonoma is to gain experience on a new track for the rookie driver. That is something that Alfredo has done well at this season- especially on road courses he’s never raced. Alfredo had solid performances at the Daytona Road Course and the Circuit of the Americas earlier this season.

“Yeah, it’s funny that is how it has turned out, the road courses have been some of our best finishes of the season,” said Alfredo. “I didn’t have a lot of road course experience, but it’s been a lot of fun and we’ve had good cars, good strategy and it’s paid off with some good finishes.”

Alfredo finished 22nd at the Daytona Road Course and 18th at the Circuit of the Americas. He comes into the race with hopes of another top-20 finish at Sonoma.

“I think if we can just have a mistake-free race that we should be in a good position. We did that at Daytona and in Austin, and that’s what pays off at the end of these road course races There is usually a lot of wrecks or other things happening, and if you can have a clean and smart race, you’ll have a good day.”
ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Hemric to achieve 100th Xfinity Series start at Mid-Ohio

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images.

In his return to full-time NASCAR competition, Daniel Hemric is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Xfinity Series event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra will reach 100 career starts in the Xfinity circuit.

A native of Kannapolis, North Carolina, Hemric made his inaugural presence in the Xfinity Series in 2017. By then, he was coming off his second full-time season in the Truck Series, where he earned 11 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and a spot in the Playoffs, where he finished in sixth place in the final standings as a Brad Keselowski Racing competitor.

Two months prior to the 2016 Truck season’s conclusion, Hemric was named a full-time Xfinity competitor for Richard Childress Racing and in the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro. 

Hemric opened his rookie Xfinity season on a low note by finishing 31st after being involved in an early multi-car wreck. He rallied the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he achieved his first top-10 result in the Xfinity circuit after finishing ninth. Five races later, Hemric earned his first top-five result at Bristol Motor Speedway in April after finishing fifth, where he also led eight laps, won the second stage and claimed the Dash 4 Cash bonus in the race. His momentum continued the following week at Richmond Raceway, where he started on pole position for the first time in his career, led 26 laps and finished in third place.

Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Hemric achieved a season-best second-place result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, a total of five top-five results and 12 top-10 results before clinching his spot in the 2017 Xfinity Playoffs.

During the Playoffs, Hemric advanced from the Round of 12 to the Round of 8 following three consecutive top-10 results. He commenced the Round of 8 with an 18th-place result at Kansas Speedway followed by a 14th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway. Scored on the outside of the top-four cutline to the Championship Round entering the final Round of 8 event at Phoenix Raceway in November, Hemric prevailed over a late two-tire pit strategy and a battle with Cole Custer in the final laps to finish in fifth place, two spots ahead of Custer, and secure the fourth and final spot to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he entered the finale as the only non-JR Motorsports competitor to battle for the title. 

During the finale at Homestead, Hemric started the race strong and as the leading title contender. Everything changed during the second stage when he brought his No. 21 Chevrolet to pit road under green after reporting battery issues. While his crew repaired the issue, Hemric returned to the track multiple laps behind and out of title contention as he concluded his rookie season in fourth place in the final standings. Despite missing out on winning the title and the Rookie-of-the-Year title over William Byron, Hemric achieved a pole, seven top-five results, 16 top-10 results and a 13.2 average-finishing result throughout the 2017 season.

Following an impressive rookie season, Hemric retained his seat with RCR for the 2018 Xfinity season. He started on pole position for the season-opening event at Daytona, but finished 26th after being involved in a multi-car incident at the halfway mark. While he did not record a single victory throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Hemric and the No. 21 team were strongly consistent as they earned two runner-up results, 12 top-five results, 16 top-10 results and a spot for the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs.

Throughout the Playoffs, including the Rounds of 12 and 8, Hemric finished in the top 10 in all but one event, including an additional two runner-up results, as he returned to the Championship Round at Homestead in November with another opportunity to win his first Xfinity title. During the finale, however, Hemric finished fourth in the main event and settled in third place in the final standings. Despite enduring another winless season, Hemric earned a career-high four poles, 16 top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 440 laps led and a 9.0 average result.

After two impressive, consistent seasons in the Xfinity circuit, Hemric moved up to the Cup Series with RCR in 2019. Despite achieving the 2019 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title, Hemric was released from RCR following the 2019 season. He ended up joining JR Motorsports as a part-time Xfinity Series competitor for the 2020 season. Driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro, Hemric made his first start of a part-time schedule at Las Vegas in February, where he finished 35th after being involved in an early incident that result in a suspension failure. He returned for an additional 20 races throughout the 33-race schedule. During his stint, Hemric earned two season-best runner-up results (Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and Kansas Speedway in October), a total of seven top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average result of 16.2.

Following the 2020 season, Hemric was named a full-time Xfinity competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing and in the No. 18 Toyota Supra for the 2021 season. He commenced the season in ninth place at Daytona before earning three consecutive top-three results during the following three weeks, including a runner-up result at Las Vegas in March.

Through the first 12 Xfinity events of this season, Hemric has achieved five top-five results, eight top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 11.3. He is currently ranked in fourth place in the Xfinity Series standings.

Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Hemric has achieved five poles, 35 top-five results and 59 top-10 results, while continuing to pursue his first victory within NASCAR’s top three national touring series.

Hemric is slated to make his 100th Xfinity career start at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, June 5, at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

Toyota Racing – Weekly Preview – 06.02.21

By
Official Release
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This Week in Motorsports: June 1-7, 2021
· NCS/ARCA WEST: Sonoma Raceway – June 5-6
· NXS/ARCA: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – June 5-6

PLANO, Texas (June 2, 2021) – It’s the lone split weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series this season. Both series are taking on road courses as the Cup Series battles at Sonoma Raceway, while the Xfinity Series makes its return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The national ARCA Menards Series supports the Xfinity Series race in Ohio on Friday, while ARCA Menards Series West will prelude the Cup Series event in California on Saturday.

NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS

Milestone minded… Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Toyota have had an incredible run of success since partnering together in 2008. With a weekend sweep in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio and Sunday’s Cup Series event in Sonoma, JGR and Toyota look to celebrate 300 victories together. JGR has 132 Cup Series wins and 166 Xfinity Series victories since partnering with Toyota in 2008.

Sonoma master… Martin Truex Jr. has proven to be the master recently at Sonoma Raceway. He has driven to back-to-back victories at the two most recent Toyota/Save Mart 350 events in 2018 and 2019. Truex was dominate in 2019 – leading 59 laps (of 90) on his way to his third total victory at the California-track (2013, 2018, 2019).

Hamlin continues to lead the way… Heading into the mid-point of the 2021 Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the overall point standings by 98 points. Hamlin is still looking for his first win of the season, and his first at Sonoma Raceway. He scored a track-best second-place finish in June 2016.

Gibbs impressive once again… Ty Gibbs continued what is already an outstanding start to his NASCAR career at Charlotte Motor Speedway where he scored his second-career Xfinity Series win in just his sixth start in the series on Saturday. Gibbs is back in the No. 54 Toyota Supra this weekend for a return to road course racing at Mid-Ohio. The No. 54 Supra team has swept the Xfinity Series road course events so far this season with Gibbs and Kyle Busch behind the wheel.

Toyota looking for first Mid-Ohio win… Toyota is looking for its first win at Mid-Ohio this weekend. Current Cup Series driver Christopher Bell drove Toyota to a second-place finish at the track’s last Xfinity event in 2019. This weekend, five Supras look to give Toyota that first Mid-Ohio trophy, including Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton and Ty Gibbs and Sam Hunt Racing’s Kris Wright.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA | ARCA WEST

Gibbs continues to be dominant… For the second time this season, Ty Gibbs led every lap on his way to victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has four wins in the first six ARCA events this season. He looks to add another victory this weekend as the ARCA Menards Series makes its first-ever stop at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

National tour stars get extra road course reps… Full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brandon Jones and Truck Series driver Austin Hill are both set to get extra road course laps in the ARCA race this weekend at Mid-Ohio. Jones will be in the No. 25 Camry for Venturini Motorsports, while Hill will compete for his Truck Series team, Hattori Racing Enterprises, in the No. 1 Toyota Camry.

Love returns to try to repeat his ARCA West title… After three months away, the ARCA Menards Series West is back on track this weekend for their second race of the season. Last year’s champion – 16-year-old Jesse Love — got off to a strong start in Phoenix, scoring a top-10 finish.

Stay Connected

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

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About Toyota

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

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

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

Ford Performance NASCAR: Sonoma and Mid-Ohio Advance

By
Official Release
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FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: SONOMA/MID-OHIO ADVANCE

A pair of road courses in different parts of the country will host NASCAR events this weekend as the NASCAR XFINITY Series competes at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday and the NASCAR Cup Series runs at Sonoma Raceway one day later.

This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, June 5 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 1 p.m. ET (FS1)
Sunday, June 6 – NASCAR Cup Series, 4 p.m. ET (FS1)

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT SONOMA

  • Ford has eight all-time series wins at Sonoma by eight different drivers.
  • Kevin Harvick is the only active Ford driver with a Cup win at Sonoma.
  • All eight Ford wins have been by NASCAR Hall of Fame owners (Robert Yates, 3; Jack Roush, 2; Bud Moore, 1; Roger Penske, 1; and Tony Stewart, 1)

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT MID-OHIO

  • Ford has won 4-of-7 all-time series races at Mid-Ohio by four different drivers.
  • Austin Cindric won the last time the series visited Mid-Ohio in 2019.
  • Owner Roger Penske has three series wins at Mid-Ohio.

CINDRIC IS MID-OHIO KING OF THE ROAD

Austin Cindric has 11 career NASCAR XFINITY Series wins and four of those have come on road courses, including the last time the circuit visited Mid-Ohio in 2019. Cindric has registered his wins at Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Daytona Road Course and Road America, but has been particularly dominant at Mid-Ohio. In his two career starts, Cindric has sat on the pole both times and led a combined 105-of-150 laps. He finished second in 2018 after leading 59 laps, but his older tires couldn’t hold off Justin Allgaier, who pitted for new ones during the final caution and passed him with three laps to go. Cindric led 46 laps two years ago to win by more than three seconds.

FORD SONOMA WINNERS HAVE NASCAR HALL OF FAME TIES

As noted above, Ford has won eight times at Sonoma and the one thing all of those winners have in common is that their owners are members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Robert Yates (Class of 2018) won this event three times (Davey Allison, 1991; Ernie Irvan, 1994; and Ricky Rudd, 2002), while Jack Roush (Class of 2019) has two victories (Mark Martin, 1997 and Carl Edwards, 2014). Bud Moore (Class of 2011) won with Geoffrey Bodine in 1993 while Roger Penske (Class of 2019) won with Rusty Wallace in 1996 and Tony Stewart (Class of 2020) with Kevin Harvick in 2017.

HARVICK GETS FIRST FORD WIN

Kevin Harvick stretched his fuel over the final 40 laps to bring home his first win with Ford and first win at Sonoma when he captured this event four years ago. Harvick bested teammate Clint Bowyer and fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski in a 1-2-3 showing for the Blue Oval. The win marked the second triumph for Stewart-Haas Racing since moving to Ford prior to the start of the 2017 season. In all, five Fusions wound up in the top-10 with Kurt Busch finishing seventh and Ryan Blaney ninth as Harvick led 24-of-110 laps and cruised to a win of over eight seconds.

RUDD RUCKUS

When Ford took the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway for the first time it came in controversial fashion. That’s because Davey Allison, the man credited with winning the Banquet Frozen Foods 300 in 1991, was sent spinning by Ricky Rudd as they were approaching the white flag. Even though Rudd ended up crossing the finish line first, he received the black flag from NASCAR for rough driving and awarded Allison with the trophy. The win was Allison’s first and only one on a road course and snapped an eight-race streak that had seen either Rudd or Rusty Wallace end up in Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International or Sonoma Raceway.

MOORE IS BEST

Little did anyone know that when Geoffrey Bodine won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway in 1993 it would represent the final win for car owner Bud Moore. Bodine, driving the No. 15 Motorcraft Ford, had just purchased the assets of Alan Kulwicki’s No. 7 team earlier in the week and after taking the checkered flag proceeded to honor the late driver by doing an abbreviated Polish Victory Lap. He was able to do that after surviving a fierce three-car battle on the final lap with Ricky Rudd and Ernie Irvan in which contact between all three cars took place. Moore, a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee in 2011, won 63 series races during his career by 10 different drivers.

EDWARDS BREAKS DROUGHT

Carl Edwards snapped an 11-race winless streak for Ford when he captured the NASCAR Cup Series race in 2014 for car owner Jack Roush. Edwards held off Jeff Gordon on the final lap to post the first road win of his NCS career. He did it thanks to a two-stop strategy and a timely caution. Edwards had just pitted on lap 70 when NASCAR threw a caution for debris one lap later. While most of the field decided to pit for new tires, Edwards and fellow Ford driver Marcos Ambrose stayed out and gained the necessary track position that put both in position to win. Ambrose took the lead from Clint Bowyer on lap 81 and brought Edwards with him, but another restart with 25 to go saw Ambrose and Edwards sharing the front row. Edwards got the jump and took the lead, which he never surrendered, although a hard-charging Gordon made it interesting on the final lap.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT SONOMA
1991 – Davey Allison
1993 – Geoffrey Bodine
1994 – Ernie Irvan
1996 – Rusty Wallace
1997 – Mark Martin
2002 – Ricky Rudd
2014 – Carl Edwards
2017 – Kevin Harvick

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT MID-OHIO
2013 – AJ Allmendinger
2014 – Chris Buescher
2017 – Sam Hornish Jr.
2019 – Austin Cindric

JR Motorsports — NXS Mid-Ohio Preview

By
Official Release
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JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
RACE: B&L Transport 170 (75 laps / 169.35 miles)
DATE: Saturday, June 5, 2021

Broadcast Information – TV: 1 p.m. ET on FS1 / Radio: 12:30 p.m. ET on MRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90

Michael Annett
No. 1 Pilot Flying J Summer Is a Go Chevrolet
• In four starts at the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Michael Annett has improved his results in each event, his best coming in 2019 when the Iowa native finished 13th.
• In two road-course starts so far this season, Annett has finished 15th on the Daytona road course and 11th in the debut at Circuit of the Americas.
• Annett will carry a new scheme this weekend to kick off Pilot Flying J’s Summer Is a Go Road Trip Giveaway, which runs through Sept. 5. Three monthly winners will be chosen at random to receive a $250 Pilot Flying J gift card and one grand-prize winner will be randomly selected to win $5,000 in free Pilot Flying J fuel.

Miguel Paludo
No. 8 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Miguel Paludo will make his third and final start of 2021 for JR Motorsports in the BRANDT Professional Agriculture No. 8 this weekend at Mid-Ohio.
• In two previous starts for JRM throughout the 2021 season, Paludo has a best finish of seventh coming at the Daytona Road Course.
• In five road course starts between the NXS and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Paludo has accumulated one top five and two top 10s.
• Paludo returned to the seat of his No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Porsche last weekend at Velocitta (Brazil) where he qualified and finished first on Saturday.

Noah Gragson
No. 9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet
• Noah Gragson has been spectacular on road courses in his NXS career, posting six top-five and eight top-10 finishes in his 10 starts on such tracks.
• In his only start at Mid-Ohio in 2019, the Nevada native finished fifth and led a lap.
• Last season, Gragson finished second on the Roval at Charlotte, third at both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway road courses and sixth at Road America, which works out to an average finish of 3.5. The previous season, he averaged 5.8 in four roadPR Manager: KC Heschel course starts.

Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier has one previous victory in five NXS starts at Mid-Ohio, with the win coming in 2018.
• Overall, in 34 starts on road courses in the NXS, Allgaier has scored a total of three wins, 10 top fives and 22 top 10s.
• Two of Allgaier’s three career victories on road courses came in 2018 with JRM at Mid-Ohio and Road America. Allgaier additionally visited Victory Lane at Montreal in 2012.
• For the final time this season, Allgaier will pilot the No. 7 BRANDT Camaro featuring the white base with familiar bright red accents as teammate Miguel Paludo will be behind the wheel of the red and green BRANDT No. 8.

Driver Quotes

“Our Pilot Flying J Chevrolet was pretty good in the rain at COTA, and we were solid at Daytona on the road course, so this weekend’s race at Mid-Ohio is a good chance for our No. 1 team to post a solid finish. We have had good pace and the finishes will come. Bummy (crew chief Mike Bumgarner) and the team has been giving me really good cars. We just need to get the finishes from here on out.” – Michael Annett

“I’ve always really enjoyed racing at Mid-Ohio. It’s a challenging, but fun road course. We had a strong run just a couple weeks ago on the road course at COTA and I feel extremely confident that we will have that same kind of speed with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet on Saturday. It’s a big weekend for BRANDT with Miguel (Paludo) back in the No. 8, so hopefully we can both have a strong day and battle it out for the win in the end.”– Justin Allgaier

“I can’t wait to get to Mid-Ohio this weekend with our No. 8 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and all the guys on this team have given me great cars during our first two races and I know we will be just as fast this weekend. I can’t thank everyone at JR Motorsports enough for this opportunity and hopefully we can go out there and race for the victory with our BRANDT teammate Justin (Allgaier) on Saturday. I’m ready to go.” – Miguel Paludo

“I’m really looking forward to Mid-Ohio this weekend. We’ve always had fast cars here and this track really suits my driving style as you have to be aggressive with the car. We didn’t get a chance to race here last year but in 2019 we raced to a fifthplace finish after suffering a lot of damage part of the way through. This entire team is really putting in the work to make sure this Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro is fast enough to secure our way into the playoffs and there’s no better weekend to do it than this one.” – Noah Gragson

JRM Team Updates:
• JR Motorsports at Mid-Ohio: JR Motorsports has competed at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course a combined 22 times in the NXS. Over the course of those 22 starts, JRM has totaled two wins (2015, 2018), seven top fives, and 12 top 10s, while pacing the field for 35 circuits. The average finish for JRM at Mid-Ohio is 13.4, the fifth best average among all road courses, placing behind the Roval, Road America, Indianapolis Road Course and Watkins Glen. Additionally, the 22 starts at Mid-Ohio ranks third for JRM at road courses, trailing only Watkins Glen (37) and Road America (33).
• JRM on Road Courses: JRM has competed on road courses a total of 137 times and has totaled four wins, 33 top fives and 70 top 10s. The most recent winner for JRM on a road course was Justin Allgaier, who won at Road America during the 2018 NXS season.
• Pilot Flying J Summer is a Go!: Pilot Flying J kicked off its Summer Is a Go! campaign over the Memorial Day weekend, traditionally the time that travelers get back on the road, with its third annual National Road Trip Day on May 28. Pilot Flying J Road trippers, professional drivers and Pilot Flying J guests are encouraged to share their road trip adventures on its Facebook page or post their best trip photos on Instagram and Twitter with the #SummerIsAGoGiveaway hashtag and tagging @PilotFlyingJ. Participants who share a photo with any Pilot branded cup will receive an additional entry, provided they use the hashtag,

FedEx Racing Express Facts – Sonoma Raceway

By
Official Release
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Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Toyota Save Mart 350
Date/Time: Sunday, June 6/4:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 90 laps/226.8 miles
Track Length: 2.52 miles
Track Shape: Road Course
2020 Winner: N/A

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Charlotte Recap: Hamlin started the race in 14th and quickly learned the handling of the FedEx Freight Toyota was going to be challenging for the NASCAR Cup Series’ longest race of the season. The car responded differently depending on what line Hamlin ran and whether he was in traffic, and the day-into-night track conditions affected the handling, too. The #11 team was able to lead three laps in Stage 2, but the car wasn’t strong enough to maintain a spot up front. With track position difficult to come by, the team was able to use pit strategy and fast pit stops to move up the leaderboard at various points of the race. But it wasn’t enough to get close to Kyle Larson, who led 327 of the 400 laps and scored the victory.

Sonoma Preview: The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the road course of Sonoma Raceway after a year off (due to COVID) on Sunday, June 6. With 12 turns and 160 feet of a total elevation change on the track, Sonoma will be the third test of the FedEx team’s road racing program this season. Hamlin seeks his first career victory at Sonoma and first of the 2021 season.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Sonoma Raceway
Races: 14
Wins: 0
Top-5: 4
Top-10: 6
Laps Led: 100
Avg. Start: 17.1
Avg. Finish: 17.7

Hamlin Conversation – Sonoma:

Your team has faced adversity, especially these past few races. How does your team remain confident week in and week out?

“We have a talented squad and some things just haven’t gone our way. Looking at Charlotte, our FedEx Camry wasn’t quite handling the way we needed it to that night. But considering the challenges our team has faced, we have still remained the points leader and are continuing to learn from each race.”

How are you preparing for the road course and elevation changes at Sonoma?

“Road courses are never easy and always tough no matter where you race. But JGR has a strong road course program, and I will be preparing myself to handle the conditions so I can give our team the best chance to win.”

FedEx Express Along for the Ride at Sonoma: Amid increased safety and security risks stemming from civil unrest, dedicated team members in the Minneapolis, Minn., market spent months navigating emotional crowds, street closures and other obstacles while on the road providing service to FedEx customers. Safety and security are top priorities at FedEx Express. That is why they are pleased to recognize the extraordinary efforts of the Minneapolis employees at MSPR, AELA, BRDA, DLHA, EAUA, FBLA, JDTA, MICA, and STCA with the letters MSP on the B-post of the Toyota #11 at the Sonoma Raceway Toyota/Save Mart 350.

FedEx Office – Closest to Sonoma Raceway: 901 E Washington St, Petaluma, CA 94952, (707) 763-6553

Starrett and Roush Yates Engines Renew Partnership

By
Official Release
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MOORESVILLE, NC – June 2, 2021 – Roush Yates Engines and L.S. Starrett Co. are pleased to announce an extension of their partnership agreement.

Since 2017 Roush Yates Engines and Starrett, located in Athol, Massachusetts, have teamed up to make one of the most successful metrology partnerships. For over 140 years, Starrett has been an industry leader in metrology tools and equipment. Starrett measuring and inspection devices are vital elements in our ability to deliver championship level products to our customers.

“Starrett’s brand is iconic and known world-wide. Their support to our race programs has provided competitive advantages to win races,” said Todd English, VP Strategic Partnerships and Marketing, Roush Yates Engines. “We rely on their employee’s workmanship in their manufacturing facilities in Athol and across the globe. We look forward to expanding our valued partnership and leveraging Starrett’s metrology hand tools, force measurement, vision measurement systems, and DataSure 4.0 to acquire metrology data.”

Starrett’s craftmanship and standard of quality is world-class, their accuracy and product performance exceed international standards. It is essential to have a partner that performs to this level of excellence when machining products for the motorsports, aerospace, defense, and industrial markets, where precision is critical.

We utilize a wide array of Starrett metrology equipment from hand gages and micrometers to top of the line Vision machines (AV450, HDV 400, AVR 300). In addition, force and material testers, are critical pieces of equipment for the development and analysis of automotive and motorsports components, giving us crucial information for making time sensitive decisions.

For collecting and recording precision data measurements, the DataSure® 4.0 system has been a recent addition to our metrology toolbox. This is the industry’s latest data acquisition solution from Starrett. Measurements are directly recorded into our quality database system. This wireless based system helps to streamline our data collection and eliminate multiple step processes.

“Starrett has been a partner like no other,” commented Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “We rely on their accuracy in both of our facilities. Whether it’s a part going to the track in a FR9 engine or components for the aerospace or defense markets, it’s a necessity to have the best equipment in the metrology business.”

“Starrett is glad to work with a high demanding customer such as Roush Yates Engines, as they use precision with everything they do,” said Emerson Leme, Vice President Industrial Products North America of Starrett. “Starrett has been a long-standing premier supplier to Roush Yates Engines for many years and extending this partnership is a win for all of us.”

With a shared passion to deliver the best products to our customers, it is our honor to partner with Starrett and their experienced team to continue to build on our strong partnership we have built over the last four years.

About L.S. Starrett Co. (NYSE: SCX):
The L.S. Starrett Co. was founded in 1880, in Athol, Massachusetts. Starrett, a leader who has set the standard for fine precision tools in the industry for over 140 years, has rightfully earned the title, “World’s Greatest Toolmakers”.

Manufacturing more than 5,000 variations of precision tools, gages, measuring instruments and saw blades for industrial, professional and consumer markets worldwide. Starrett operates manufacturing locations and sales offices worldwide. For more information about L.S. Starrett visit Starrett.com

About Roush Yates Engines:
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, machining, building, and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder for the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance. To learn more, go to: RoushYates.com

ARCA Menards Series Race Advance: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

By
Official Release
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Friday, June 4
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course
Race: 7 of 20
Event: Dawn 150 (42 laps, 152.624 kilometers)

Schedule
Practice/Qualifying: 2:45 p.m. ET
Race: 6:00 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)

Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Dirteeze Ford Fusion

  • Moffitt enters his seventh race of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series season on Friday evening at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington.
  • The Ford driver is coming off of a seventh-place run at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway last Saturday night. The result marked his fifth straight top-10 of the season.
  • With his two top-five and five top-10 finishes, Moffitt sits third in the series standings, 47 points behind point leader Corey Heim and 37 points behind second place Ty Gibbs.
  • Friday will be the first career visit to the 13-turn road course for the 20-year-old. His only career road course start came last season at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Road Course where he and Derek Smith guided the No. 46 to an 11th-place finish.
  • Dirteeze will make their debut as primary partner on the No. 46 Fusion in the Dawn 150. Dirteeze provides wipe solutions to the retail, industrial, safety and janitorial markets.
  • Click here for Moffitt’s career statistics.
  • Moffitt on Mid-Ohio: “I don’t really have any experience on road courses other than Daytona last year, so I’m looking forward to gaining experience in that aspect of racing this weekend. Mid-Ohio is a completely new track for me as I’ve never even seen the place before, but we’ve had a lot of speed lately in our No. 46 Ford Fusion and we are hoping that carries over into this race.”

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

By
Jeffrey Boswell
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Photo by Ted Seminara

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole at Charlotte, led the most laps, swept all four stages and won the Coca-Cola 600.

“You can buy gear commemorating my impressive win in many places,” Larson said. “Just search the internet for ‘dominating fashion.’

“The ‘Hendrick 1-2-3-4’ almost happened again. Soon, the ‘Hendrick Broom’ could become a phrase used for more than just sweeping Hendrick scandals under the rug.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished a solid seventh at Charlotte, scoring his 11th top-10 result of the year.

“We never found the right balance for the car,” Hamlin said. “But if you can finish seventh on a bad day, then things aren’t really that bad. Actually, my status hasn’t changed, because I’m still the points leader, and I’m still the best driver never to have won a Cup championship.

“I’ve never won the Coca-Cola 600. And I’m certainly not the only NASCAR driver to ever be ‘Coked out.'”

3. Chase Elliott: Elliott ran up front all day as the four-car Hendrick Motorsports team battled for the win.

“I employed a new spotter for the Coca-Cola 600,” Elliott said. “Trey Poole is my cousin, and he replaces Eddie D’Hondt, who was indefinitely suspended. Actually, he was definitely suspended. We told Eddie to ‘give it arrest.'”

4. William Byron: Byron came home fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson won convincingly.

“Kyle has lost several races in which he led the most laps,” Byron said. “It almost happened again, but Kyle held on for the win. Clearly, Kyle doesn’t want history repeating itself just as much as he doesn’t want himself repeating itself.”

5. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 5th at Charlotte as Hendrick Motorsports took four of the top five spots.

“Jay Leno served as one of the grand marshals for the race,” Bowman said. “And fittingly, the race was won by the team that made the right adjustments to maximize car performance after the sun set. In other words, the most important part of the race was the ‘Tonight Show.'”

6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 29th at Charlotte and now has three consecutive finishes of 19th or worse.

“I had a flat tire late in the race,” Truex said. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, my pit crew had trouble removing the tire from the rim. It’s a helpless feeling sitting in your car knowing you can’t go anywhere. It must be the same feeling Quin Houff gets every week.”

7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 10th at Charlotte.

“We had to make an early pit stop due to a loose wheel,” Harvick said. “And speaking of ‘early pit stops,’ the Hunt Brothers Pizza logo was prominent on the No. 4 Chevy. And like loose wheels, Hunt Brothers Pizza is also a reason for having to make early pit stops.”

8. Kyle Busch: Busch started from the rear but quickly established himself as a frontrunner on the way to a third-place finish.

“I was solely responsible for preventing the Hendrick 1-2-3-4 sweep,” Busch said. “It may be the first time I’ve ever taken responsibility for anything.”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski posted an 11th-place finish at Charlotte.

“The Coca-Cola 600 is a long, grueling race,” Keselowski said. “To put it into perspective, 600 miles is approximately one-tenth the distance that me and Penske Racing are apart in contract negotiations.”

10. Joey Logano: Logano finished 17th at Charlotte.

“It certainly wasn’t a banner day for Penske Racing,” Logano said. “Our lack of performance has really opened my eyes to some things, like how much better Hendrick is than us, and how much work we need to do, and why Brad Keselowski might want to leave Penske.

“Trackhouse Racing co-owner and rap superstar Pit Bull was at the race. Let’s be real, though. Kyle Larson led 327 laps and won every stage. He may be the real ‘pit bull,’ because he grabbed the lead and wouldn’t let go.”

Nashville Superspeedway Announces June 18 Anthem Finalists, Opens Fan Voting for ‘NashCar Superstar’ Sweepstakes

By
Official Release
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LEBANON, Tenn. (June 1, 2021) – Nashville Superspeedway today announced the top 3 finalists in its “NashCar Superstar” Sweepstakes, which invited musicians to audition for a chance to sing the national anthem prior to the “Rackley Roofing 200” NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, June 18.

Nashville Superspeedway is now looking to the community to vote for their favorite from these finalists: Brenna Bone, Craig Wayne Boyd and Jerry Holt. Finalist videos can be viewed and voted on by visiting NashCarSuperstar.com. Voting closes Tuesday, June 8 with the winner to be announced Wednesday, June 9.

Contestants were asked to upload a video of themselves singing the national anthem via the contest site. Entry videos were live on the “NashCar Superstar” website for the public to enjoy. To narrow down the top entries, videos were vetted by the Nashville Superspeedway staff and the top 3 finalists were chosen for fan voting.

The “Rackley Roofing 200” (7 p.m. CT, FS1) on Friday, June 18 is the 12th race of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season and the first race of Nashville Superspeedway’s Father’s Day Weekend tripleheader, which also includes the sold-out inaugural “Ally 400” NASCAR Cup Series race (2:30 p.m. CT, NBCSN) on Sunday, June 20 and the “Tennessee Lottery 250” NASCAR Xfinity Series race (2:30 p.m. CT, NBCSN) on Saturday, June 19. The “Ally 400” will be the first Cup Series race in Nashville Superspeedway’s history and the first in Middle Tennessee in 37 years.

Tickets are available in the main grandstand for the “Tennessee Lottery 250” NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the “Rackley Roofing 200” NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

Fans can order tickets by visiting NashvilleSuperSpeedway.com or calling 866-RACE-TIX.

Keep track of Nashville Superspeedway’s latest news and updates at NashvilleSuperSpeedway.com via social media at Facebook.com/NashvilleSuperspeedway, on Twitter at @nashvillesupers and Instagram @nashvillesuperspeedway. For questions about media relations, employment, or other inquiries, interested parties are encouraged to email info@nashvillesuperspeedway.com.

About Dover Motorsports, Inc.

Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE: DVD) is a promoter of NASCAR sanctioned motorsports events whose subsidiaries own and operate Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del., and Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn. The company also plays host to the Firefly Music Festival, produced by AEG Presents. For more information, visit www.DoverMotorsports.com.

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