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O’WARD EARNS FIRST NTT INDYCAR SERIES VICTORY AT HOME TRACK OF NO LIMITS, TEXAS

By
Official Release
-
(Photo by Chris Graythen / Getty Images)

· San Antonio resident wins for first time in 26th series start

· Scott Dixon led 163 of 248 laps but settled for fourth-place finish

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 2, 2021) – A first-lap crash that collected six cars coming to the green flag and what looked for more than half the race to be another Scott Dixon runaway changed dramatically with less than 70 laps remaining and resulted in Patricio “Pato” O’Ward and his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet leading the final 25 laps of the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway to earn his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory.

O’Ward crossed the finish line 1.2443 seconds ahead of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, the 2019 NTT INDYCAR SERIES winner at Texas Motor Speedway who today led twice for 25 laps.

The win was the 21-year-old Mexico native’s first in 26 NTT INDYCAR Series starts and just his second full season of INDYCAR racing. The win makes O’Ward, who turns 22 on May 6, the youngest INDYCAR SERIES winner at The Great American Speedway at 21 years, 11 months and 26 days. The previous youngest winner was Sam Hornish Jr. at 22 years, three months and four days, exactly 100 days older.

“Finally, man,” exclaimed O’Ward. “That was a long race, but we had so much pace in this Arrow McLaren No. 5. I have to thank Vuse, Team Chevy, Mission Foods and everybody on this team who have been doing such a good job. And we bounced back from last weekend and we got a podium yesterday, we had pace and we got the job done today. I couldn’t be happier for another group of guys.”

“It’s Texas, it’s very close to my heart and I have lived here for many years. Many Mexicans are out there in the grandstands, so thank you very much. So happy, finally!

“We got the first win out of the way. This lets us focus on the rest of the championship. I get my Formula 1 test at the end of the year. We feel like we have a good shot at a championship. I love INDYCAR racing.”

The balance of the top 10 were: Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda); last night’s Genesys 300 winner Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda); Colton Herta (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda); Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet); Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda); Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet); Rinus VeeKay (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet); and Ryan Hunter-Reay (No 28 Andretti Autosport Honda).

The starting grid for the XPEL 375 was set by team entry points after Saturday night’s Genesys 300 at No Limits, Texas. That put Dixon on pole with Palou alongside and Team Penske’s Will Power and O’Ward on the second row.

As the field was coming out of turn four to take the green flag, a multicar accident happened that put Conor Daly upside down skidding through the tri-oval. Also involved and out of the race were Sebastien Bourdais, Alexander Rossi, Pietro Fittipaldi, Ed Jones, and Dalton Kellett.

When racing resumed on Lap 19, the familiar No. 9 of Dixon was out front. The six-time champion would eventually lead three times for a race-high 163 laps but his final lap at the point was 63 laps from the finish.

O’Ward, Team Penske’s Will Power, Newgarden and Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Takuma Sato swapped the top spot through Lap 201. Newgarden and his team had played what they hoped would be a winning strategy and were back out front from Laps 202 to 224.

But O’Ward was not to be denied and, after taking the lead on Lap 225, never looked back.

There were 12 lead changes among nine drivers and three cautions for 35 laps.

Next up on the Texas Motor Speedway calendar is the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend. The on-track activity begins June 12 with a doubleheader, opening with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220 (12 p.m. CT on FS1, MRN, and 95.9 The Ranch) followed at 3 p.m. CT by the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 (FS1, PRN, 95.9 The Ranch). Then, on Sunday, June 13, is the NASCAR Open (5 p.m. CT on FS1, MRN and 95.9 The Ranch) followed by the $1 million NASCAR All-Star Race (7 p.m. CT on FS1, MRN and 95.9 The Ranch).

TICKETS:
Tickets for Texas Motor Speedway’s 2021 major event season, including the June 13 NASCAR All-Star Race, are on sale now at http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com.

MORE INFO:
Keep track of all of Texas Motor Speedway’s events by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Keep up with all the latest news and information on the speedway website and TMS mobile app.

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DOUBLEHEADER RACE TWO-PATO O’WARD PUTS CHEVROLET IN VICTORY LANE AS 20 YEAR-OLD CLAIMS CAREER FIRST WIN

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
XPEL 375
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, FORT WORTH, TEXAS
RACE RECAP – PATO O’WARD WINS FOR CHEVY
MAY 2, 2021

Chevrolet finishes 1-2 in second race of Texas doubleheader
Pato O’Ward earns first victory; Josef Newgarden is runner-up

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 2, 2021) – Pato O’Ward, four days shy of his 22nd birthday, claimed his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.

O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, overtook two-time Series champion Josef Newgarden with 24 laps left in the 248-lap race on the 1.455-mile asymmetrical oval and went on to a 1.2443-second victory. Newgarden, driving the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, was runner-up for the second time in four races this season.

The victory was the 90th for Chevrolet in 153 races since returning to NTT INDYCAR SERIES manufacturer competition in 2012.

Simon Pagenaud placed sixth in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, while teammate Scott McLaughlin finished eighth and Rinus VeeKay placed ninth in the No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing. An on-track incident early on involving three Chevrolet drivers sliced the running field by six cars. No one was injured.

A day earlier in the 212-lap Genesys 300, McLaughlin registered a second-place finish in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval racing debut. O’Ward finished third.

O’Ward moved to second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings, while Newgarden gained two positions to fourth heading into two events this month at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. First up is the GMR Grand Prix on May 15 on the road course. NBC will telecast the race at 2:30 p.m. ET. On May 30 is the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

TEAM CHEVY RACE 2 FINISHERS:

  1. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
  2. Josef Newgarden, No. 2 XPEL Team Penske
  3. Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
  4. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske
  5. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek
  6. Ed Carpenter, No. 20 U.S. Air Force
  7. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
  8. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
  9. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing
  10. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing
  11. Conor Daly, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin

DRIVER QUOTES:
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, WINNER:

WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS AS YOU CROSSED THE FINISH LINE FOR YOUR FIRST INDYCAR CHECKERED FLAG?
“Finally man! That was a long race, but we had so much pace in this Arrow McLaren No. 5. I have to thank Vuse, Team Chevy, Mission Foods and everybody on this team who have been doing such a good job. And we bounced back from last weekend and we got a podium yesterday, we had pace and we got the job done today. I couldn’t be happier for another group of guys.”

DID YOU THINK YOUR FIRST INDYCAR WIN WOULD COME AT AN OVAL?
“Honestly no, but hey, I will take it. Its Texas, it’s very close to my heart and I have lived here for many years. Many Mexicans are out there in the grandstands, so thank you very much. So happy, finally!”

YOU SAID WHEN THE SEASON STARTED YOU WANTED TO CAUSE HEADACHES FOR THE GUYS THAT WIN ALL THE TIME. IS THIS WHAT YOU MEANT PATO?
“This is exactly what I meant, yes. All emotions in one. A little big of relief. We got the first win out of the way. This lets us focus on the rest of the championship. I get my formula one test at the end of the year. We feel like we have a good shot a championship. I love INDYCAR racing.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND: WHAT WERE YOU LACKING AT THE END?

“You know, I don’t know what it was. It just seemed like his Chevy was a little better than my Chevy for some reason. But at the end of the day a Chevy won the race, so I am pretty happy about that. Always have great support from Chevy, and fuel mileage. Fuel mileage was very important and reliability, and Chevrolet is always top notch for those qualities. Happy with that and to get Xpel a good second place finish, and I don’t know that we can be disappointed but we were in the catbird seat for sure. Just did not have the speed at the end, I don’t know what it was. At the middle of the race I made a comment to the guys that we were lacking speed for some reason. I don’t know what it is, but we will figure it out. We did a great job and I was really proud of the team and they stuck to it. We learned some stuff from Scott (McLaughlin) on his car, did a great job in the pits and second place is a good day for us.”

SCOTT MMCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH:
“It was an up and down day, we started P7 and got boxed around at the start. Just getting used to everything again and these veterans are very good at getting their car pace very quickly. For me it just took me a little time to get comfortable with the track conditions, but the PPG Chevy was really strong. I felt like we probably weren’t as strong as yesterday as far as car pace and looking after my tires. We were really good with fuel saving and being able to keep the pace up when fuel saving. Very hard to pass and a very one line track where you had to make your time up when there was traffic or lap traffic on restarts. Unfortunately my two restarts were terrible and I lost some positions, but its all learning. On the last one I finally got it together and passed a couple of people. Overall if you told me this weekend I would finish second and eighth, I would have laughed at you. So its nice to come away with two top 10s and finish every lap so far in the INDYCAR season to get a really strong leap forward as we head to the month of May at Indianapolis which is going to be one of the best weeks and months of my life.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 13TH:“Man, a tough two days at Texas. We got caught out by the yellow there and before that we had a pretty good shot at the top five. Then unfortunately I went three wide and got pushed onto the marbles and its just seriously a one groove track……yeah. It started on the restart where I should have gone to the inside and not the outside, just a bad decision. Still in the game and it’s not as big of a points deficit as we have had before, so yep, just motor on. Its becoming the year I thought it would be with a lot of different winners, pretty mixed up. If we can just keep hammering away here, we can have a big chance.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH: “Got a P6 in Texas. Good race. Had a car good enough to win. The Menards Chevy was behaving well today. We had some great restarts and awesome pit stops. My crew was on fire on pit lane. So happy with P6 today. We are building toward the championship and races like today will help that. Congratulations to Pato and the who McLaren Schmidt team for their win today.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: “Pretty good race. Quite happy with a P9. A lot happened. Quite a flawless race. It was haWrd to get from P12 to the front. But we capitalized, got all the points and came home with another top-10. So we are happy. Now on to Indy GP.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET, DNS -ACCIDENT BEFORE GREEN:
WHAT HAPPEND: “I’m not really sure. I think in general in IndyCar we have too many start crashes. It’ looked fine… everyone accelerated. I had the best view; I was last. Then everyone is nose to tail. Can’t throw blame. I’ve never been upside down in an IndyCar before. On our bingo card of terrible things to have happen to us, I don’t know what’s coming next. Hinch found a hole, then the 4 car caught whoever else was crashing. Then two giant cars came. It turns out you can be upside down quite easily. We will hope to be on to better things in our hometown of Indianapolis soon.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, DNS-ACCIDENT BEFORE GREEN:
WHAT DID YOU SEE? “Obviously I didn’t see anything. Clearly someone was checking up at the front of me, we should be going. It’s not an excuse. When someone checks up in front. It’s a real shame two days in a row we get drilled and taken out of the race. It’s a very expensive day for A.J. Foyt Racing and the No. 14 ROKIT Chevrolet. It’s a shame when you get wrecked, right? Even more when you have something to fight with. The guys worked til midnight to repair the car after Josef took us out, then we can’t even run now. I’m not very impressed right now. “

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

Pato O’Ward breaks through at Texas for first career win

By
Briar Starr
-
Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski

Making a move with 23 to go, Pato O’Ward passed then race leader Josef Newgarden going into Turn 3 for his first career NTT IndyCar Series victory and held off Newgarden by 1.2443 seconds. O’Ward started fourth based on championship driver standings following Saturday night’s race.

“Finally man! That was a long race, but we had so much pace in this Arrow McLaren No. 5,” O’Ward said. “I have to thank Vuse, Team Chevy, Mission Foods and everybody on this team who have been doing such a good job. And we bounced back from last weekend and we got a podium yesterday, we had pace and we got the job done today. I couldn’t be happier for another group of guys.”

However, the victory wasn’t all that easy for the Mexican driver. Saturday night’s winner, Scott Dixon, was on the pole and was looking to sweep the weekend and continue his dominance. Though, when the green flag flew for the start, there was a major crash on the frontstretch where many drivers were taken out of the field.

The accident started when the No. 51 rookie of Pietro Fittipaldi spun into the back of the No. 14 of Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais was then turned into the No. 27 of Alexander Rossi which then caused a multi-chain event that saw the No. 59 of Conor Daly hit the wall hard and flip upside down multiple times before coming to a rest in the grass. Thankfully, Daly and all drivers were okay from the Lap 1 incident.

After spending 17 laps under caution, the restart came on Lap 18. Like Saturday night’s race, the top two were controlled by Dixon and Alex Palou through the first round of stops. On Lap 71, Dixon pitted from the lead for four tires and fuel while Palou stayed out a few laps later before pitting on Lap 73.

Even though there were varying strategies, Dixon cycled back into the lead on Lap 80 and held the gap by .5708 seconds over Palou. But, the complexion of the race was changed when a caution flew on Lap 117 for the No. 60 of Jack Harvey who had smoke coming from the back of his car. After the stops, Dixon was still the leader but Will Power and Graham Rahal gained three positions moving into second and third, respectively.

On Lap 140, Rahal eventually passed the dominant Dixon to lead his first few laps since St. Petersburg of last year. Rahal would stay out front of Dixon until Lap 154 when Dixon regained the lead once more and kept Rahal at bay.

The final stop for both Dixon and Rahal came on Lap 186 and saw Rahal close up on the back of Dixon’s bumper for an advantage on the out lap. At Lap 188, O’Ward stayed out a few laps longer and then made his pit stop.

A yellow on Lap 190 for the No. 7 of Felix Rosenqvist slowed the field down, but jumbled up the running order as Sato, Newgarden, and O’Ward were the top three. Rahal was fourth while Dixon was fifth.

Following the Lap 197 restart, Sato held the lead briefly before he was passed by the No. 2 of Josef Newgarden heading into Turn 1. O’Ward followed closely behind Newgarden as he too passed Sato for second.

It was clear that the game was on at that point. Lap after lap, O’Ward was closing in on Newgarden waiting for his moment to strike. His moment came with 23 to go when O’Ward charged hard on the outside of Newgarden in Turn 3.

From there, O’Ward hit his points and was consistent and stretched the gap ever so slightly over Newgarden. When the checkered flag flew, O’Ward won his first NTT IndyCar Series race in just his 26th start and became the first Mexican driver since Adrian Fernandez in 2004 to win an IndyCar race.

“Man, I admire Adrian a lot,” O’Ward continued. “It’s very special to me to represent my country. I’m the only Mexican driver racing here. I’m a competitive being. I like to win. I like to be at the front. I like to compete. I don’t think there’s anything better than putting your flag as high as you can. I think Dixon will say that about his country, so on. I’m very proud of what we accomplished and really happy that we got this all together in a way.”

By winning at Texas, O’Ward will be able to test an F1 car at Abu Dhabi toward the end of the year. This is a result of a bet made between him and McLaren CEO Zak Brown that if O’Ward won a race this year, the two agreed there would be plans in place for a test and now O’Ward is a NTT IndyCar Series winner.

O’Ward led twice for 25 laps en route to victory.

There were three cautions for 35 laps and 12 lead changes among nine different leaders.

Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, Colton Herta, Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay, and Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the Top 10 finishers.

Official Results following the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.

  1. Pato O’Ward, led 25 laps
  2. Josef Newgarden, led 25 laps
  3. Graham Rahal, led 13 laps
  4. Scott Dixon, led 163 laps
  5. Colton Herta
  6. Simon Pagenaud
  7. Alex Palou, led three laps
  8. Scott McLaughlin
  9. Rinus VeeKay, led five laps
  10. Ryan Hunter-Reay
  11. Ed Carpenter, led one lap
  12. Marcus Ericsson
  13. Will Power, led one lap
  14. Takuma Sato, led 12 laps, 1 lap down
  15. Tony Kanaan, 2 laps down
  16. Felix Rosenqvist, 2 laps down
  17. Jack Harvey, OUT, Mechanical
  18. James Hinchcliffe, OUT, Mechanical
  19. Sebastien Bourdais, OUT, Contact
  20. Alexander Rossi, OUT, Contact
  21. Pietro Fittipaldi, OUT, Contact
  22. Ed Jones, OUT, Contact
  23. Dalton Kellett, OUT, Contact
  24. Conor Daly, OUT, Contact

Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series will head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the rest of May, where series drivers will be competing on Saturday May 15 at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Road Course live on NBC at 2:30 p.m./ET.

Kyle Busch celebrates his birthday and his first Cup Series win of the season at Kansas

By
Angie Campbell
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Photo by Ron Olds, Speedwaymedia.com

Perhaps it was fate for a driver named Busch to win the Cup Series Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway on his birthday. Or maybe it was simply a talented driver having the dominant car toward the end of the race when it matters the most.

Kyle Busch’s win at Kansas capped off a weekend sweep after claiming the Camping World Truck Series victory Saturday night. It was his 58th Cup Series win in 581 starts and his sixth top-10 finish this season.

“Just a great day to be able to put this M&Ms Camry up front,” Busch said after the race. Great to be able to get everyone back in Victory Lane again this early in the season and get those points going our way.”

Even Busch couldn’t help but see the humor of the situation, adding, “I just remembered it’s the Buschy McBusch Race and a Busch won. What do you know?”

But what he was really excited about was getting the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota back to victory lane.

“You talk about ups and downs of racing – there’s been a lot of downs of life for us. I have a great opportunity and a great job, no doubt.” Busch said.  “Just a great day to be able to put this M&M’s Mix Camry up front. Want to thank Hy-Vee, our retail partner. They did a huge promotion for us this year with M&M’s and Rowdy Energy. It’s cool to get everybody back to victory lane again this early in the season.”

Busch was the stage one winner and Kyle Larson won stage two, leading a race-high 132 laps. Larson, however, got into the wall on the final restart while trying to push Ryan Blaney to the lead, and finished 19th. Blaney had to settle for a 21st place finish.

“Hate that I screwed that up and cost us a good finish,” Larson said.

Harvick finished second and has yet to win this season but was pleased with how competitive his car was during the race and how the team effectively used pit strategy to put themselves in the best possible position.

“We had the right pit strategy once the cautions came out there. We had the pit road penalty and came in for tires and Rodney made a great call of coming back in to put tires on and that kind of put us on the offense. We were able to be really aggressive on the two restarts we had at the end and were able to make up some ground. Everybody on our Busch Light Ford Mustang did a great job today of just hanging in there. We made a few mistakes, but we made our car better throughout the whole day and were more competitive than we had been in the last couple mile-and-a-half races.”

Brad Keselowski finished third for his fifth top-five this year.

“We weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be. The Gibbs cars were real fast and Kyle Larson was screaming fast, so a very similar race for us to Vegas, kind of right there on that edge of the top five. We just need a little bit more, but we almost stole one there with pitting and the yellow came out there with 10 to go and it was just kind of the restart chaos and we all run into each other, whether it’s me running into someone or somebody else running into somebody it’s just part of it, but, all in all, not a bad day for the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang.”

Matt DiBenedetto and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five. Chase Briscoe placed 20th and was the highest-finishing rookie.

The Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway on May 9 for the Goodyear 400 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 11

Race Results for the 2nd Annual Buschy McBusch Race 400
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS – 1.5 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 267 Laps – 400.5 Miles

FinStrNoDriverTeamLapsS1PosS2PosS3PosPtsStatus
1918Kyle BuschM&M’s Mix Toyota26712059Running
244Kevin HarvickBusch Light For The Farmers Ford267710040Running
312Brad KeselowskiVerizon 5G Ford26744048Running
4521Matt DiBenedettoDickies/Menards Ford26700033Running
5179Chase ElliottUniFirst Chevrolet26765043Running
61519Martin Truex Jr.Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota26707035Running
7118Tyler ReddickChildress Vineyards Chevrolet26738041Running
81617Chris BuescherautoTempest Ford26700029Running
9224William ByronAxalta Chevrolet26750034Running
1063Austin DillonBass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet26700027Running
112199Daniel SuarezCamping World Chevrolet26700026Running
122011Denny HamlinFedEx Freight Toyota26793035Running
13334Michael McDowellCarParts.com Ford26700024Running
142442Ross ChastainClover Chevrolet26700023Running
15281Kurt BuschMonster Energy Chevrolet26700022Running
16146Ryan NewmanHy-Vee Ford26700021Running
172922Joey LoganoAAA Insurance Ford26700020Running
182548Alex BowmanAlly Chevrolet26700019Running
19325Kyle LarsonHendrickCars.com Chevrolet26721037Running
201914Chase Briscoe #HighPoint.com Ford26700017Running
21712Ryan BlaneyMenards/Moen Ford26786024Running
223833* Austin Cindric(i)MoneyLion Ford2670000Running
232238Anthony Alfredo #Dude Wipes Ford26600014Running
241041Cole CusterHaasTooling.com Ford26600013Running
252743Erik JonesBlack Entrepreneur Initiative Chevrolet26600012Running
261323Bubba WallaceDr. Pepper Zero Sugar Toyota26600011Running
27267Corey LaJoieNations Guard Chevrolet26500010Running
28820Christopher BellRheem Toyota265109012Running
291810Aric AlmirolaSmithfield/Price Chopper Ford2640008Running
303177Justin Haley(i)NASCAR TRUCKS AT KNOXVILLE Chevrolet2630000Running
313078BJ McLeod(i)Celsius Ford2600000Running
321237* Ryan PreeceNature Valley Chevrolet2590005Accident
333653Garrett Smithley(i)Smart Sanitizer Chevrolet2590000Running
342347Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Kroger/Energizer Chevrolet2580003Accident
353515Joey Gase(i)Explore Branson Chevrolet2580000Running
363351Cody Ware(i)Nurtec ODT Chevrolet2570000Running
37340Quin Houff8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet2560001Running
383955* Matt Mills(i)Siebert Electric/J.F. Electric Ford2550000Running
393752Josh BilickiRBR Aviation Ford2500001Running

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 21 Secs.
Average Speed: 129.647 MPH
Margin of Victory: .336 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 18, 5, 8, 2, 24, 9, 4, 12, 11, 20
Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 18, 11, 2, 9, 12, 19, 8, 20, 4

Caution Flags: 7 for 36 laps; Laps: 27-30 (Competition [78]); 82-87 (Stage 1 Conclusion [37]); 162-167 (Stage 2 Conclusion [17]); 231-235 (Debris Frontstretch [99]); 246-249 (#11 Incident Turn 1 [48]); 254-257 (#33, 47 Incident Backstretch [6]); 259-265 (#20, 37, 47 Incident Turn 4 [14]).

Lead Changes: 18 among 6 drivers; B. Keselowski 1-63; K. Larson 64; B. Keselowski 65-73; K. Larson 74-76; K. Busch 77-83; K. Larson 84-121; R. Stenhouse Jr. 122-144; K. Larson 145-162; K. Busch 163; K. Larson 164-167; K. Busch 168; K. Larson 169-212; C. Buescher 213-225; K. Larson 226-230; D. Hamlin 231; K. Larson 232-236; D. Hamlin 237-242; K. Larson 243-256; K. Busch 257-267.

Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Chase Briscoe, #14

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – Kansas

By
Official Release
-

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Kansas Speedway
Race: Buschy McBusch Race 400
Date: May 2, 2021

Start: 1st
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 4th
Finish: 3rd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 72
Point Standings (behind first): 6th (-115)

Notes:

  • The seventh and final caution in Sunday afternoons race at Kansas Speedway spoiled Brad Keselowski’s chances to win. The driver of the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang had fresher tires than competitors, an edge that was wiped away with the waving of the yellow flag. Keselowski survived a chaotic restart and two-lap dash to score a third-place finish, his fifth top-five effort of the season. He remains sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, moving up to sixth position, 115 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
  • Keselowski started first and led the first 632 laps of the race. But as Stage 1 moved into its closing laps, the balance on the No. 2 Verizon 5G Mustang shifted to the loose side and Keselowski was unable to stay up front but he did claim a fourth-place finish when the segment ended on lap 80. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins made the call to pit for four tires and adjustments during the stage caution. Good work by the 2 Crew gave kept Keselowski in fourth position for the restart on lap 87.
  • In Stage 2, Keselowski battled both tight and loose conditions on his No. 2 Mustang. He settled into third position early in the stage but his car’s handling characteristics were tight in the center of the corner early in the stage and then swung loose at the 80-lap segment drew to a close. Keselowski held off Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott in the closing laps of the stage to score a fourth-place finish. Bullins made another round of adjustments when Keselowski pitted during the stage caution. Another solid stop by the crew gave Keselowski fifth-place for the restart on lap 167.
  • The third and final stage saw Keselowski and Bullins work their way into contention. Keselowski was running fourth when he pitted for four tires and track bar and air pressure adjustments under yellow on lap 246. He used a great restart to move up to third but was zapped by two late-race caution and neutralized his advantage of fresher tires.

Quotes: “We weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be. The Gibbs cars were really fast and Kyle Larson was screaming fast, so a very similar race for us to Vegas, kind of right there on that edge of the top five. We just need a little bit more, but we almost stole one there with pitting and the yellow came out there with 10 to go and it was just kind of the restart chaos. We all run into each other, whether it’s me running into someone or somebody else running into somebody it’s just part of it. Not a bad day for the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang.”

No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 7th
Stage 1: 8th
Stage 2: 6th
Finish: 21st
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (behind first): 5th (-111)

Notes:

  • Ryan Blaney started seventh and ran inside the top-10 throughout the entire event with the No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang before contact on the final restart of the race shuffled the driver to the 21st finishing position. Blaney’s Ford lacked fire-off ability during several of the restarts but showed great long-run speed throughout the 400-mile event at Kansas Speedway.
  • In the opening laps, Blaney reported the No. 12 Mustang was bouncing off the track while being loose on entry and tight from the center off. On the lap 25 competition caution, crew chief Todd Gordon adjusted with tape on the nose and air pressure. Blaney continued to battle the handling on the Menards/Moen Ford through the first stage, but finished in the eighth position.
  • The handling improved for Blaney during the second stage, the team elected to pit under green at lap 120, making a significant wedge adjustment to give more entry security and help get the splitter off the track sooner in the run. Blaney finished the stage in the sixth position, asking the team to give him for front turn leading to an air pressure change on the stage ending stop.
  • At lap 212, crew chief Todd Gordon called Blaney to pit road for four tires and a stagger change with the driver reporting that he was a little tight being stuck behind the No. 4 Ford. A caution flag at lap 228 would bunch the field up and bring the No. 12 crew back to pit road, looking to fire off a little freer for the finish.
  • Late in the race, a caution would setup teams with the option to pit or remain on the track, crew chief Todd Gordon elected the latter option, keeping Blaney in position for the race win. Through another restart attempt, Blaney would move the Menards/Moen Ford into the second position.
  • On the final restart, Blaney lined up in the outside lane, but got turned sideways after a push through the center of the turn by the No. 5 of Kyle Larson, derailing a top-five day and dropping the Menards/Moen Mustang to the 21st position.

Quote: “Unfortunate end to our race on the last restart. We had a decent Menards/Moen Ford all day, especially on the long runs it was good. The pit crew did a great job executing and we were in a position to win on the last restart. Certainly a better day than where we finished.”

No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang – Joey Logano

Start: 29th
Stage 1: 20th
Stage 2: 15th
Finish: 17th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (behind first): 4th (-108)

  • Joey Logano started 29th and finished 17th in Sunday afternoon’s 400-mile race at Kansas Speedway. Logano fought the handling of the No. 22 AAA Insurance Mustang most of the race and battled with a lack of track position. Logano was in position late in the race to score a top-10 when the leaders stacked up and he was forced to lift to avoid the incident.
  • After starting deep in the 29th position, Logano was able to climb up to the 23rd position before the lap 25 competition caution, reporting he was free on entry and tight center off. Logano continued to struggle with the lack of track position during the remaining laps in the first stage.
  • During the second stage, Logano reported the AAA Insurance Mustang was better, but just needed to gain some track position. At the end of the second stage, Logano reported that he was pretty decent in clean air, just slightly tight, but the car was very erratic in traffic. At the end of the stage, the team elected to work on some damage to the nose of the AAA Insurance Mustang.
  • Logano would pit again at lap 213 for four tires and tape on the nose, as the AAA Insurance Mustang had continued to make slow progress inside the top-20. With a caution at lap 228, Logano pitted with crew chief Paul Wolfe electing to take two tires to attempt to grab track position.
  • Logano would be forced to pit at lap 253 to pull-out right-side damage from slight contact with the wall avoiding an incident. Logano would avoid another incident, jumping forward to the 11th position.
  • A stack-up on the final restart dropped Logano from the 10th place battle to the 17th position. A disappointing result after a late race surge to the front after battling track position and an ill handling AAA Insurance Ford Mustang throughout the race.

Quote: “We really struggled with track position today. The balance of our AAA Insurance Mustang didn’t seem like it was that far off it’s just really tough to pass when you start deep in the field. We had the strategy call to take two tires and that was working out okay, then made a little contact with the wall there late and pitted for four tires. Worked our way back forward and then just got shuffled there at the end when they stacked up in the front.”

No. 33 MoneyLion Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric

Start: 38th
Stage 1: 19th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 22nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 267/267
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings: N/A

Notes:

  • Austin Cindric finished 22nd on the lead lap in his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start of the 2021 season on Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway. Cindric and the No. 33 MoneyLion Ford Mustang team were on track to record a top-15 finish until a late race incident resulted in damage and lost track position. After the field was set per the NASCAR Qualifying Matrix, Cindric started 38th and fought forward throughout the 400-mile race running as high as 14th.
  • Once the race started, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion raced his way inside the top-25. During the competition caution on lap 25, crew chief Miles Stanley called his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel, and slight adjustments. Throughout the remaining laps of Stage 1, Cindric said his MoneyLion Mustang was reasonable, but the balance built a little tight. At the conclusion of the first stage, he was scored 19th. Stanley called the MoneyLion Ford to pit road once more for four tires, fuel and adjustments and Cindric restarted 20th.
  • During Stage 2, the NCS rookie continued to gain experience, communicating his No. 33 Ford was handling better but still needed more. On lap 117, Cindric made a scheduled green-flag stop from the 15th position. As the field cycled through green-flag stops, Cindric’s Ford became loose as he battled race leader, Kyle Larson to remain on the lead lap. Cindric held strong and was scored 18th, the final car on the lead lap, at the conclusion of stage 2.
  • The field restarted on lap 166 with Cindric scored in the 15th position. The Mooresville, N.C. native consistently ran his MoneyLion Mustang inside the top-20, running as high as 14th. Unfortunately, Cindric was involved in a multi-car incident with less than 10-laps remaining and forced to pit for repairs. He was able to stay on the led lap and rode out the remaining laps finishing in the 22nd position.

Quote: “Honestly, it was a really solid day. I don’t know if we were good enough to be a top 10 car, but raced our way up inside the top 20 and really held our own throughout the day, so I’m proud of that. I’m proud of being able to establish track position at a non-track position racetrack, so our MoneyLion Ford Mustang was pretty quick. I probably had a few more adjustments left to know I would be really good, but, otherwise, just late-race restarts with comers and goers. It looked like the 47 couldn’t keep his car under control and pretty much slammed us into the wall, so it’s unfortunate to come with damage, but as far as I understand it that’s our first lead lap finish, which is kind of a kick in the gut if you ask me, but past that a really solid day without the finish to show.”

DiBenedetto Continues Points Climb With Fourth-Place Run at Kansas

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Official Release
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Matt DiBenedetto steered his No. 21 Dickies Apparel/Menards Mustang through some late-race mayhem to finish fourth in Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway. It was his second-straight top-five finish and his third-consecutive top-10, and he leaves Kansas 16th in the Cup Series standings after being 37th following the second race of the season.

DiBenedetto and the Dickies Apparel/Menards Mustang started fifth in Sunday’s 400-miler, but for much of the early going he struggled to run with the leaders. He finished both Stages outside the top 10 but as the Wood Brothers crew continued to tune the No. 21 Mustang, he was able to drive his way back into the top 10 in the third segment of the race.

The first 230 laps of the race saw no caution flags for incidents on the track, but there were four in the final 37.

DiBenedetto was able to capitalize on the late restarts, even as drivers around him had four fresh tires to his two in the final 20 laps.

He saved his biggest move for the final two-lap shootout. He lined up seventh for the green flag, was sixth at the white flag then came home fourth.

The restarts at the end were insane, which is pretty normal for Kansas,” DiBenedetto said in his post-race press conference. “It’s kind of like superspeedway racing on the restarts, and it gets messy at the end.

“I’m glad we survived them. I’m glad we were on the bottom lane, which I don’t say much, but at the end it worked out because they got all jumbled up and about crashed up top there, so it worked out.

“We were in the right spots and tried to be smart all day.”

DiBenedetto, who scored his best-ever finish at Kansas and the best there for the Wood Brothers since Ryan Blaney finished third in the fall of 2017, said the Dickies Apparel/Menards team worked hard all day.

“These are the races that you’re super proud of because we didn’t have a fourth-place car,” he said. “We were really having to fight to be around that top 10 area at all, [and] execute and get the car better throughout the day.”

He said the turn-around after a disappointing start to the season is heartening.

“I knew we had the strength of the team after such a rough start to the season,” he said, adding that circumstances outside the team’s control were a problem early on. “It’s amazing to come back like this, so it just shows that momentum can go one way or another, and when it clicks and you get on a roll it can go well.

“I’m just really proud of the team. Nobody ever got down during those times when it was a rough start, and we’re really rebounding.

“I’m just super proud of the entire team.”

Next up for DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team is next Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

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.

CHEVY NCS AT KANSAS: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
BUSCHY MCBUSCH RACE 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 2, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
5th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHILDRESS VINEYARDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
10th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
11th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kyle Busch (Toyota)
2nd Kevin Harvick (Ford)
3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford)
4th Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)
5th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 9, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th
“We were solid. We weren’t anything stellar, but definitely a step in the right direction from where we’ve been over the last three or four weeks. Proud of that. Alan (Gustafson, Crew Chief) and our UniFirst team made a good call there to come get tires. I felt like that was the right move. I know it didn’t win the race, but I felt like that was the thing to do. Those restarts just get so wild and it’s really hard to predict what lane is going to do what. You just try to make the best choice that you have available at the time and hope it goes your way. Proud of the effort and hopefully we can just keep this momentum going forward. Hopefully, we’ll be where we need to be soon.”

YOU TALK ABOUT THE MOMENTUM GOING FORWARD. WE’VE GOT SOME REALLY GOOD CHASE ELLIOTT TRACKS COMING UP HERE VERY SOON; DARLINGTON, ROAD COURSE RACING. HOW EXCITED DOES THAT MAKE YOU FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS?
“I’m really just more excited about how we ran today. I felt like we got competitive there at the end, which is the first time in awhile on a 1.5-mile. I’m more excited about that than I am the schedule coming up. This is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ sport and you can change the narrative really fast. Just appreciate the effort from everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, on our No. 9 team in particular, for putting in a lot of work to try and help us get better, and I think it showed a little bit today.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHILDRESS VINEYARDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th
“We had a really strong No. 8 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today at Kansas Speedway, which we used to grab valuable stage points all throughout the day and top it all off with a seventh-place finish. I was able to run the wall really well during the early stages of the race, which really helped keep our track position and earn those stage points. Eventually my car started to build tighter and tighter throughout the runs, and that made my entry on both sides of the track into a bit of a challenge. Being looser definitely worked best for our car, and my team did a good job working on the balance of the car to get it to where it needed to be later in the race. We did have a slight miscue on pit road late in Stage 3, but luckily caught a caution quickly and got our lap back, letting us stay in the mix for remainder of the race. It was a good day for us. We earned the most stage points we have all year today and got out of there with a top-10 finish. The focus will now turn to Darlington Raceway, which is another good track for us.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
“We got a top-10 here at Kansas (Speedway). We fought all day. The first stage looked really good, but we were fighting the balance and just wasn’t very maneuverable in traffic. We were just kind of stuck to the top lane. I could run the bottom, but it just wasn’t fast enough. We kind of had a struggle of a day. I felt like we were on both sides. We got it way too tight, way too loose, and then somewhere in the middle by the end. We got it to take off ok on the restarts and picked up a top-10. We’ll take that.”

“Really proud of the effort of the No. 24 Team. It shows the strength of our team to finish top-10 when we don’t have a good car. We’ll just keep fine-tuning those balance things and try to bring a little better package when we come back to one of these 1.5-mile tracks. We’ll work on it and definitely get better for the next one.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th
“We held in there all day to earn another top-10 finish in the Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet. We started the race sixth, but it took us a while to get the handling of the No. 3 Chevrolet dialed in. We were tight, then we would get better for a while, and then we would end up tight again. At the beginning of Stage 3, we raced from 17th to 10th in one lap. There was a lot of restart chaos. With about 10 laps to go, we pancaked the outside wall hard. I was doing the best I could, but we were just too tight to make the move stick. We had to pit, and it put us all the way back to 22nd in the lineup, so I’m pretty happy with the top-10. That is exactly what this team does. We make the best of it. We do it every week.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th
YOU GUYS OVERCAME A PIT ROAD PENALTY. HOW DID YOU BRING IT BACK WITH A SOLID FINISH LIKE THAT?
“Well, the guys, they never give up. We had a good car, but we never really found the balance on the car. The car had good speed. We have had this package on some other 1.5-miles and we were fast in the Top-10. But this time, we were just all over the place. We were just talking about that; like on the splitter, tight, loose, all over the place, and we were never able to find the right balance. By the time that we were decent, it was late. I felt like we had probably a shot at a good Top-10 right at the end, but with the No. 20 (Christopher Bell) blocking and all the mess, it was like starting all over again. I feel like we were lucky a little bit in that last restart with four tires. The car was fast in the beginning and we were able to rescue a decent finish.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th
“A nice effort today by everyone on the Clover team. I felt like we had a solid day for our mile-and-a-half program. We had good speed in our car. We had ourselves in a pretty good position near the end for a top-five or top-10 finish, but with bunching the field up on the late restarts the car just got really tight. It’s all about momentum on a track like Kansas Speedway. This is a good day to build on for our team”.

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th
“That one was a battle; it was rough. Our strength is normally restarts and I couldn’t do anything. The car was swapping ends on me and I was like ‘do this, do that’, trying every different sequence we could. Man, we were just stuck. We were welded 11th to 15th. It wasn’t our best Kansas outing. We just have to figure out what trends are happening and with the way things are shaking up with the tires, I couldn’t be aggressive on restarts. The car wanted to swap ends. That’s not my normal deal – normally I’m able to plug the holes and go and grab us spots. The pit crew were the ones gaining us spots today. We’ll just keep plugging away.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“Pretty trying day for us to say the least. We had a bunch of issues going on with the car. Just really missed it all day and couldn’t get the car where we needed it. Our Ally 48 Camaro was just not great. Greg (Ives, Crew Chief) and the guys worked on it a lot. We don’t really know what happened, but we will go home and get to work and figure out why we weren’t where we needed to be.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th
KYLE, EVERYBODY WAS WATCHING YOU AND EXPECTING YOU TO BE THE ONE TO BEAT TODAY AND YOU WERE. TAKE US THROUGH THE END OF THIS RACE, CAUTION AFTER CAUTION, AND HOW THAT IMPACTED YOU GUYS.
“I had the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) behind me and he didn’t get to my bumper. I think he had to protect from the guy behind him and it just allowed the bottom to get a good jump on us and the bottom lanes cleared me. I fell back to third and I just planned on pushing (Ryan) Blaney as hard as I could. Obviously, I was just pushing too hard, got him loose and chased ourselves both up into the wall. Just was trying to help him stay side-by-side with the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) down the back to allow myself to have some sort of opportunity and, like I said, I just pushed too hard. That’s really the first time I was behind anybody on a restart. I thought I could push around the corner, but I learned for next time.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 25th
“Just a tough day for the Lonely Entrepreneur Chevy. Have some things to improve on for the mile-and-a half’s, but we know what direction to go.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

RCR Post Race Report – Kansas 400

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Official Release
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Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Team Leave Kansas Speedway With Another Top-10 Finish

Finish: 10th
Start: 6th
Points: 11th

“We held in there all day to earn another top-10 finish in the Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet. We started the race sixth, but it took us a while to get the handling of the No. 3 Chevrolet dialed in. We were tight, then we would get better for a while, and then we would end up tight again. At the beginning of Stage 3, we raced from 17th to 10th in one lap. There was a lot of restart chaos. With about 10 laps to go, we pancaked the outside wall hard. I was doing the best I could, but we were just too tight to make the move stick. We had to pit, and it put us all the way back to 22nd in the lineup, so I’m pretty happy with the top-10. That is exactly what this team does. We make the best of it. We do it every week.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and Childress Vineyards Chevy Team Capitalize on Stage Points En Route to Seventh-Place Finish at Kansas Speedway

Finish: 7th
Start: 11th
Points: 18th

“We had a really strong No. 8 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today at Kansas Speedway, which we used to grab valuable stage points all throughout the day and top it all off with a seventh-place finish. I was able to run the wall really well during the early stages of the race, which really helped keep our track position and earn those stage points. Eventually my car started to build tighter and tighter throughout the runs, and that made my entry on both sides of the track a challenge. Being looser definitely worked best for our car, and my team did a good job working on the balance of the car to get it to where it needed to be later in the race. We did have a slight miscue on pit road late in Stage 3, but luckily caught a caution quickly and got our lap back, letting us stay in the mix for remainder of the race. It was a good day for us. We earned the most stage points we have all year today and got out of there with a top-10 finish. The focus will now turn to Darlington Raceway, which is another good track for us, so I’m excited about that.” -Tyler Reddick

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION: Atlanta Post-race Recap and Quotes

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Official Release
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CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS
ATLANTA DRAGWAY, COMMERCE, GEORGIA
POST-RACE RECAP
MAY 2, 2021

Chevrolet closes out Atlanta Dragway with Pro Stock victory

• No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson picks up second win of season
• John Force is Funny Car runner-up for 106th time in career
• No. 5 qualifier Brittany Force advances to Top Fuel semifinals

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 2, 2021) – Greg Anderson, John Force and Brittany Force gave spectators a race day to remember at the final National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series event at Atlanta Dragway.

The 40th event at the dragstrip – in the 70th year of NHRA competition – was memorable for the Chevrolet drivers, too.

Anderson, driving the Denso Spark Plugs Chevrolet Camaro SS, tied his mentor, Warren Johnson, for most Pro Stock victories at Atlanta Dragway with five and moved closer to matching Johnson on the all-time class victory list. Anderson, the No. 1 qualifier for the third time in as many races this season, won for the second time.

John Force came within .003 of a second of securing his eighth Funny Car victory at the track and 152nd of his hall of fame career. The driver of the PEAK/BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS settled for his 106th career runner-up finish.

No. 5 Top Fuel qualifier Brittany Force advanced to the semifinals, where reaction time cost her a shot at the victory. Her Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster made a quicker pass down the track (3.785 seconds), but Force came up short on the Tree (.073 of a second to event winner Antron Brown’s .043) and she fell on a holeshot.

Anderson moved to one win of Johnson on the Pro Stock list with his 96th victory in 160 final rounds. He defeated No. 11 qualifier Vincent Nobile, driving an Elite Motorsports Camaro SS, in the final. Nobile won the last Pro Stock race at the track in 2018.

“My Denso Chevy was absolutely flawless all weekend long. I’ve never made four smoother, nicer runs than this on race day,” said Anderson, who slipped past reigning champion Erica Enders in the semifinals. “It’s been an awesome day. A lot of history here, I love racing here. To tie Warren (Johnson) to go out here with five wins each is special.”

John Force, the No. 11 qualifier who was making his 38th appearance at Atlanta Dragway, fell to Bob Tasca III, who won for the second consecutive race.

“Mike Neff and Jon Schaffer have had that car running on a string since Vegas and they got the win, but my guys, this PEAK / BlueDEF team, they performed good,” Force said. “There’s a lot of work for me to get back in the game, keep improving on that Christmas Tree. But I was really proud of my guys here and we moved up in the points.”

Robert Hight, the No. 12 qualifier in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, fell in the first round of Funny Car competition.

The second four-wide event of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season is the next scheduled event. Chevrolet teams and drivers will convene May 14-16 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, for the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. The four-wide events at zMAX Dragway and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL:

BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 5 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “Good weekend for this Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team. Final race in Atlanta. We wanted to get the job done but we went some rounds with a semifinal round finish. I know we moved up in points, so we’re making progress. We’re getting there. I’ve been out of the seat for a year, so we’re already off to a good start.”

FUNNY CAR:

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVORLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier; fell in first round): “It just wasn’t our weekend. There were a lot of variables out there, weather, track condition, but we had the same chances as everyone else. This Auto Club team, we’ll be ready for the next one. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham, they know what they’re doing, and we’ll get after it in Charlotte.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier; fell in final): “(Co-crew chiefs) Mike Neff and Jon Schaffer have had that (Bob Tasca III) car running on a string since Vegas and they got the win, but my guys, this PEAK / BlueDEF team, they performed good. There’s a lot of work for me to get back in the game, keep improving on that Christmas Tree. But I was really proud of my guys here and we moved up to the points. So, we’ll see how it goes at the next one in Charlotte.”

PRO STOCK:

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, DENSO SPARK PLUGS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; event winner): “Dream weekend. My Denso Chevy was absolutely flawless all weekend long. I’ve never made four smoother, nicer runs than this on race day. It’s been an awesome day. A lot of history here, I love racing here. To tie Warren (Johnson) to go out here with five wins each is special. I just need to talk to someone to open these gates back up and let me have one more crack at it. It’s been wonderful. Thanks to all my helpers, all our sponsors – Denso, Summit, Chevrolet – thank you so much.”

KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; fell in second round on red light): “We qualified good. In the second round I shallow staged, a little shallower than I wanted. It blew right through the clutch. They are super touchy; I should have collected my thoughts a little faster, but it’s easy to say now. It was another learning opportunity. KB got the win, Greg (Anderson) won, so keep it in the team. Still a good weekend.”

VINCENT NOBILE, ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier; fell in final): “I’ve missed this, for sure. It’s good to be back in the seat. Now I’m going to be addicted again; I don’t even know what to do. Thanks to Richard Freeman for letting me drive the car this weekend. What a weekend.”

Ford Performance NASCAR: Harvick Leads Ford With Runner-Up Kansas Cup Finish

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series — Buschy McBusch Race
Kansas Speedway | Sunday, May 2, 2021

Ford Finishing Results
2nd – Kevin Harvick
3rd – Brad Keselowski
4th – Matt DiBenedetto
8th – Chris Buescher
13th – Michael McDowell
16th – Ryan Newman
17th – Joey Logano
20th – Chase Briscoe
21st – Ryan Blaney
22nd – Austin Cindric
23rd – Anthony Alfredo
24th – Cole Custer
29th – Aric Almirola
31st – BJ McLeod
38th – Matt Mills
39th – Josh Bilicki

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light For the Farmers Ford Mustang (Finished 2nd)

HOW DID YOU REBOUND TO GET THIS RUNNER-UP FINISH? “We had the right pit strategy once the cautions came out there. We had the pit road penalty and came in for tires and Rodney made a great call of coming back in to put tires on and that kind of put us on the offense. We were able to be really aggressive on the two restarts we had at the end and were able to make up some ground. Everybody on our Busch Light Ford Mustang did a great job today of just hanging in there. We made a few mistakes, but we made our car better throughout the whole day and were more competitive than we had been in the last couple mile-and-a-half races.”

THE SEAS PARTED FOR YOU. “Yeah, they did. I told Rodney, ‘That’s why I drive and don’t make the calls on pit road’ because when I came out I was like, ‘Man, we’re dead in the water here,’ but our Busch Light For the Farmers Ford Mustang was on and off today. They did a good job of adjusting it and had the right strategy there at the end to have better tires than everybody else, and got pretty aggressive there at the end and were able to come up with a good finish.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang (Finished 3rd)

“We weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be. The Gibbs cars were real fast and Kyle Larson was screaming fast, so a very similar race for us to Vegas, kind of right there on that edge of the top five. We just need a little bit more, but we almost stole one there with pitting and the yellow came out there with 10 to go and it was just kind of the restart chaos and we all run into each other, whether it’s me running into someone or somebody else running into somebody it’s just part of it, but, all in all, not a bad day for the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Dickies/Menards Ford Mustang (Finished 5th)

“Holy cow, I’m mentally tired. That was wild. Every restart was insane. That’s how Kansas is because you run from the bottom to the top. I’ve got to give a lot of credit again, I know I do it a lot, but my spotter Doug Campbell does an excellent job. My team did a great job today. We started the race and I was like, ‘Oh, we’re not very good.’ We were just hanging on and we had to defend all day and then to come home with a fourth is excellent. The car looked fantastic. People love this thing. The Menards and Dickies Mustang looked awesome, bright yellow, it looks good. I’m glad we brought it home. Man, we’re on a roll — another top five.”

DIBENEDETTO POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

TAKE US THROUGH YOUR DAY. “The restarts at the end were insane, which is pretty normal for Kansas It’s kind of like superspeedway racing on the restarts and it gets messy at the end. I’m glad we survived them. I’m glad we were on the bottom lane, which I don’t say much but at the end it worked out because they got all jumbled up and about crashed up top there, so it worked out. We were in the right spots and tried to be smart all day. These are the races that you’re super proud of because we didn’t have a fourth-place car. We were really having to fight, defend to be around that top 10 area at all. To execute and get the car better throughout the day and at the end to just defend a whole bunch. My spotter, Doug Campbell, he’s so good and just really helped a lot to get us that finish.”

YOU ARE IN THE TOP 16 IN POINTS. DID YOU THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE A FEW WEEKS AGO? “I know anything can happen and I’m a positive kind of guy. I look at everything that way, but if I’m being honest I don’t know if I would have believed you — that we’d make up that many spots in points in such a short time. I knew we had the strength of the team after such a rough start to the season and just circumstances out of our control. It’s amazing to come back like this, so it just shows that momentum can go one way or another and when it clicks and you get on a roll it can go well. I’m just really proud of the team. Nobody every got down during those times when it was a rough start and we’re really rebounding and just super proud of the entire team.”

DID YOU SEE THIS RUN COMING? “I knew we had good tracks coming up and we were very strong as a team, so I knew we were very capable of doing what we’re doing, but it also takes a lot of things. Just like they didn’t work out way, it takes things working our way like today, making good calls and having good restarts and staying out of the mess and being smart, so it takes a lot and I’m glad it’s lined up for us to be on a good streak here and racking up points. I’ve put a big emphasis on racing smart because we’ve got to be there at the end when it counts.”

WERE YOU AWARE OF THE TIRE SITUATION IN THE INFIELD FOR 10 LAPS AND NASCAR WAITED UNTIL ALL THE LEAD LAP CARS PITTED UNDER GREEN BEFORE THROWING THE CAUTION? “Yeah, I was aware. My spotter, Doug, was keeping me up to date on it. I’d be curious to see what peoples’ thoughts were on it. Mine personally, in my opinion, I guess I was glad and appreciative because it wasn’t unsafe. The tire was down there out of harm’s way, so I thought personally that was pretty cool that they let it shake out and we all got our pit cycles through. It was nothing unsafe or anything, so I was totally fine with it. NASCAR does a good job of not trying to impede on the races and do anything that jumbles it up unnecessarily, so thankful for that.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 autoTempest Ford Mustang (Finished 8th)

“That was a good ending for autoTempest Ford Mustang group. It was a fight all day. We worked hard at it and everybody did a great job to get us home with a top-10. It is a respectable finish from where we started. We kept working on it and getting better. It is a fun race track. Kansas is always fun being able to move around and have options. The late race restarts were pretty wild. We came out in once piece and the car is clean and I am just glad to be able to get autoTempest their first top-10 in NASCAR.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang (Finished 17th)

“I am okay. I stayed pretty hydrated in the car so everything was fine. It was a roller coaster day for our AAA Mustang. We started in the back and couldn’t get our way up there. Then we had the opportunity to take two and it was all well and good and then we had a bad restart and hit the wall. We had damage and put tires on and got back up to 11th. When the 12 and whoever else was pushing and got all loose they stopped right in front of me on the last restart. These lanes you pick and what lane you are in on restarts is just chaos up there. I don’t want to say it is luck but one time you are better taking the top lane and worth losing two spots and then the next time I wish I had been on the bottom. The 17 took the bottom behind me and he finished eighth. Go figure. That is what these races are coming down to and if you aren’t up in the top-three or four it just becomes a mess back there.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 33 MoneyLion Ford Mustang (Finished 22nd)

“Honestly, it was a really solid day. I don’t know if we were good enough to be a top 10 car, but raced our way up inside the top 20 and really had our own throughout the day, so I’m proud of that. I’m proud of being able to establish track position at a non-track position racetrack, so our MoneyLion Ford Mustang was pretty quick. I probably had a few more adjustments left to know I would be really good, but, otherwise, just late-race restarts with comers and goers. It looked like the 47 couldn’t keep his car under control and pretty much slammed us into the wall, so it’s unfortunate to come with damage, but as far as I understand it that’s our first lead lap finish, which is kind of a kick in the gut if you ask me, but past that a really solid day without the finish to show.”

HOW BENEFICIAL DO YOU FEEL THESE CUP RACES HAVE BEEN FOR YOU? “Yeah, I definitely learn more about what I have to prepare for. Every race we’ve done so far with this 33 team we’ve had to start at the back and there’s a much bigger learning curve as far as what to handle with that, but also a higher level of competition and how you have to approach that and what you know and don’t know your weaknesses are gonna be and your challenges are gonna be throughout the day. That’s been tough for me to understand and I think this weekend we handled that better than any other weekend. The pit crew guys are stepping up and they were able to help us out today, so I’m proud of everyone who is putting in the effort because it’s not easy but it makes it worth it when we start running good.”

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