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

facebook.com/ToyotaRacing Camera With Flash on Apple iOS 11.3 ToyotaRacingMedia.com

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/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

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

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

Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 226.8 miles, 90 laps, Stage Lengths: 20-20-50
Save Mart 350 – Sunday, June 6 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Buescher at Sonoma Raceway

• Buescher makes his fifth Cup start at Sonoma on Sunday. He has an average finish of 19.3 in four prior starts, including a best finish of 12th in the 2018 race.
• Most recently he ran 16th in 2019 after starting 10th. This will be Buescher’s first race at Sonoma with the No. 17 team after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the event last season.
• So far in road course races in 2021, Buescher has finishes of 11th (Daytona Road Course) and 13th (COTA).

Luke Lambert at Sonoma Raceway

• Lambert will call the shots for his seventh Cup race at Sonoma this weekend, where he carries a 17.3 average finish.
• Lambert’s best run came back in 2016 when he and Ryan Newman ran eighth. The two also finished 11th the year prior, and most recently Lambert led Daniel Hemric to a 15th-place finish in 2019.

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Sonoma:
“It’s been a while since we’ve been out west to Sonoma, but we feel good about our chances given our focus and success on road courses as of late. It’s another chance for us to make up a lot of ground in the points standings, and the later we go into the summer obviously the more important that conversation becomes. We’re looking forward to another good day in the Fastenal Ford, and can’t wait to turn left and right again this weekend.”

Last Time Out
Buescher continued his momentum in NASCAR’s longest race of the season this past weekend at the Coke 600, securing his third-straight top-10 in the event. He finished eighth in the Fifth Third Ford and picked up stage points along the way, aiding his playoff push.

Where They Rank
Buescher is 14th in points through 15 races, and in a tight battle for the 13th spot as just six points separate he and the No. 8, while a 20-point gap separates Buescher from 15th.

On the Car
Fastenal is in its 11th season with Roush Fenway, having first joined the fold in 2010 as the primary partner on the No. 60 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team and driver Carl Edwards. That team went on to win the owners championship with Edwards in 2011. Fastenal later served as a primary on Buescher’s No. 60 Ford that captured the NXS Championship in 2015.

Fastenal will feature top suppliers KCP, MCR, Weiler and Brennan Industries on Buescher’s Mustang as he competes this weekend. For more information on these suppliers, visit Fastenal.com, and stay up-do-date on social @FastenalRacing, @Fastenal.

About Fastenal
Fastenal helps its business partners strengthen their supply chains, remove unnecessary costs, and focus more resources on what they do best. The company’s distribution system centers on 3,200+ in-market locations, each providing tailored inventory, flexible service, and custom solutions to support the unique local needs of our customers. This customer-centric service network is supported by 15 regional distribution centers, a captive logistics fleet, multiple teams of industry specialists, a suite of e-business and automated supply technology solutions, and robust sourcing, quality, and manufacturing structures – all focused on helping customers reduce costs, capture time, and achieve their business goals.

Team: No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: 226.8 miles, 90 laps, Stage Lengths: 20-20-50
Save Mart 350 – Sunday, June 6 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Newman at Sonoma Raceway

• Newman will make his 19th start at Sonoma on Sunday, a track where he has an impressive average finish of 12.8, his best among road courses and second-best mark across all active tracks.
• Newman has eight top-10s and two top fives at Sonoma all-time, including three top-10s in the last five events at the 12-turn road course. Newman’s best finish came in the 2006 race when he placed second to Jeff Gordon.
• Newman most recently finished seventh in 2019 as the NASCAR Cup Series did not visit wine country in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Newman has an average starting position of 13.6 with seven starts inside the top-10, the best of which came in 2006 where he lined up fourth.

Scott Graves at Sonoma Raceway

· Graves will be on the box for his fifth Cup start at Sonoma. In four prior races, he has a 16.3 average result, with a best finish of seventh with Newman in 2019.

· Two of his other three races came with Daniel Suarez in 2017-18 with a best finish of 15th, and his first Cup race at Sonoma came in 2013 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in the No. 17 for Jack Roush.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Sonoma:
“Obviously road course racing is a key focus within our series this year, and something we’ve been hard at work on. Last time we ran Sonoma we put together a pretty good day, I remember it was really hot but we fought through it and came away with a top-10. Strategy and attrition will come into play Sunday for sure, and we’ll give it our best shot in the Guaranteed Rate Ford.”

Last Time Out
Newman was in good position for a solid run in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, sitting inside the top-15 for a majority of the first 200 laps, before a cut tire with just over 100 to go spoiled his night, relegating him to a 27th-place finish.

Where They Rank
Newman is 20th in points through 15 events.

On the Car

Guaranteed Rate returns to Newman’s machine for its fifth points race of 2021.

About Guaranteed Rate

The Guaranteed Rate Companies, which includes Guaranteed Rate, Inc., Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC, and Proper Rate, LLC, has more than 9,000 employees in over 750 offices across the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, Guaranteed Rate Companies is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States, funding over $73 billion in 2020. Founded in 2000 and located in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Guaranteed Rate Companies has helped homeowners nationwide with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has established itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates and delivering unparalleled customer service. 2017 marked the launch of Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC, a mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in residential real estate franchising and brokerage. In 2020, the company launched Proper Rate, LLC, a mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and @properties, one of the nation’s largest residential brokerage firms. Collectively, the Guaranteed Rate Companies have earned honors and awards including: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; Best Mortgage Lender for Online Loans and Best Mortgage Lender for Refinancing by NerdWallet for 2021; HousingWire’s 2020 Tech100 award for the company’s industry-leading FlashCloseSM technology; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2019; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for five consecutive years; Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years. Visit rate.com for more information.