Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team were fast early in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway but after being involved in some chain-reaction crashes wound up with a 22nd-place finish.

Sunday’s 109-lap race started in rainy conditions, but the sun soon began to break through. Sensing the rain was ending, crew chief Greg Erwin was among the first to bring his driver in for regular, treadless racing tires.

As the track began to dry, DiBenedetto, who started 20th, was able to motor by his competitors still running grooved rain tires and take third place in the first 25-lap Stage.

At the start of Stage Two, DiBenedetto continued to race among the leaders until Lap 34, when he had to stop to avoid contact with Brad Keselowski, his Ford teammate who spun around backwards ahead of him.

That evasive move cost him 12 positions and set the pattern for the remainder of the race.

One incident damaged the right front of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang. The crew made repairs and got DiBenedetto up to speed only to see the left front damaged in another incident.

DiBenedetto was able to briefly rejoin the top 10 in the third segment of the race, but the incidents on restarts caused him to lose track position he was never able to regain.

“We had about everything go wrong,” DiBenedetto said. “We just couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole we were in. It was just a long, rough day.”

Eddie Wood, who joined his son Jon and brother Len in watching their first race in person since attendance was strictly limited due to the coronavirus, said it was good to be back at a race track.

“I wish we’d had a better day,” he said. “We did get some stage points, and Greg made good calls all day, but racing on the Roval is tough.”

DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are 15th in the Cup Series points standings heading into the next race, at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

###

About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visitwww.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

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.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Race: Bank of America ROVAL 400
Date: October 11, 2020
____________________________________
No. 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 3rd
Stage 1: 12th
Stage 2: 10th
Finish: 18th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 109/109
Laps Led: 7
Point Standings (behind first): 3rd (-32)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski advanced to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs Sunday afternoon in the Bank of American ROVAL 400 on the strength of an 18th-place finish. The driver of the No. 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford locked down the third seed in the standings, 32 behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski started third and passed Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin to grab the lead on the first lap of the race and held the top spot for the first seven laps. The team chose not to pit during the competition caution on lap 10. The race then went green on lap 12, but a rapidly-drying track eventually forced Keselowski to pit for slick tires under green on lap 20. A caution on lap 22 set up a one-lap dash to the end of the Stage 1 and Keselowski took advantage, picking up three positions to finish 12th. He stayed out during the stage caution and restarted ninth when the race went back to green on lap 28.

He was up to fifth place when he spun on lap 33 and dropped to 16th in the running order. Keselowski pitted during the fourth caution for four tires and air pressure adjustments. He restarted 18th on lap 48 and muscled his way up to 10th position when the stage ended two laps later. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins made the call the stay on the track and Keselowski restarted third on lap 53.

Keselowski settled into third during the early laps of the final stage but unfortunately wasn’t able to maintain that position. He was running 12th when the seventh caution waved and had to pit because he appeared to have locked up one of the front tires going through the frontstretch chicane. The driver of the Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford restarted 18th when the race went green on lap 72. He was running 11th when the ninth caution set up a final round of pit stops one lap later. Keselowski restarted 21st on lap 99 and fought his way up to 18th over the final 10 laps.

Quote: “Our Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford started off real strong in the rain and there’s part of me that wishes it would have just stayed raining, believe it or not, but once it got dry I just kept falling off too much on the long run. I’d fire off really good and fall off and couldn’t keep pace, so I’m thankful that’s over. It’s a testament to the four wins we have earlier in the year. It gives us those bonus points and made this a lot easier day than it looked like it was going to be, and we’ll move on to hopefully four good race weeks for us.”

__________________________________________

No. 12 Menards/Cardell Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 24th
Stage 1: 7th
Stage 2: 1st (Fourth Stage Win of 2020)
Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 109/109
Laps Led: 14
Point Standings (behind first): 11th (-1907)

Notes:

An eventful day for Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Cardell Ford Mustang team ended with a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Blaney overcame a spin and pit road penalty to score his ninth top-five finish of 2020.

Under wet conditions, Blaney started 24th and made his way up to 20th by the competition caution on lap 10. He restarted 26th and made his way to 18th before pitting under green for slick tires. A caution on lap 24 would see a one-lap run to the stage conclusion with Blaney coming home in the seventh position.

Blaney restarted in fifth position when Stage 2 began on lap 28. He would be second by lap 34 and take the lead from William Byron on lap 40. Blaney would hold off Chase Elliott to win Stage 2, his fourth stage win of 2020.
The final stage would see Blaney restart in the 21st position. By lap 72, Blaney worked his Menards/Cardell Ford Mustang back to the lead. Unfortunately, he would spin from the lead on lap 74 and subsequently make his last pit stop of the day. Bad luck would bite the No. 12 team as Blaney sped on pit road leading to a drive-thru penalty.

Rejoining in 34th-place, Blaney would catch a caution on lap 87. Gordon would elect to the keep the Ford Mustang on track to regain as much of the track position lost. The move paid off as Blaney was able to hold on to a fifth-place finish.

Blaney is 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings heading to Kansas Speedway next Sunday.

Quote: “We had a really fast Menards/Cardell Ford Mustang. The pit cycles and strategy seemed to work good for us today. Unfortunately, I spun leading the race and had a pit penalty that set us back. Thankfully, a caution came out and we made up a lot of the track position lost. Big thank you Todd Gordon and the crew for sticking with me and we’ll look to build on this heading to Kansas next week.”

_________________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford Mustang – Joey Logano

Start: 8th
Stage 1: 8th
Stage 2: 5th
Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 109/109
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 5th (-45)

Notes:

Joey Logano started eight and finished second in Sunday afternoon’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, earning enough points to advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs. The Shell-Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford team executed a conservative strategy throughout much of the race, being the only playoff team to score stage points in the opening two stages. Consistently running lap times on-pace with the race leader, Logano kept four tires on the asphalt all afternoon and brought home his career-best finish at the track.

Logano moved from his eighth starting position to the top-five in the opening lap, using calculated aggression in the wet conditions. Under the competition caution, the Shell-Pennzoil/Autotrader team elected to remain on the track on wet weather tires as the track was still extremely damp through the infield section. At lap 18, Logano brought the No. 22 Ford Mustang to pit road for slicks as the track had become too dry for the rain tires to last to the conclusion of the stage. Logano used the fresh tires on a one-lap-shootout to end the first stage and rally for an eighth-place finish.
At the start of the second stage, Logano moved inside the top-five, settling into the third position by lap 32 as the track continued to gain speed. A late caution in the stage would force the Shell-Pennzoil/Autotrader team to again remain on the track in a position to claim stage points, with Logano ultimately finishing fifth in the second stage, the only playoff competitor to score points in both stages.

Under the Stage 2 caution, the No. 22 Ford crew came to pit road for four tires and an air pressure adjustment to work on drive off over the long run in the final stage. Logano restarted the final stage in the 23rd position. With 42 laps remaining, Logano re-entered the top-10 following a pit stop for four tires and an air pressure adjustment and tape on the nose.

For the majority of the final stage, Logano maintained inside the top-five, turning competitive lap times and remaining above the cutline to advance to the Round of 8. The Shell-Pennzoil/Autotrader Mustang lined up fourth for a restart with 10 laps remaining in the event. Logano used the outside lane to power to the second position where he’d remain until the checkered flag.

Logano’s performance on Sunday locked the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford Mustang into the Round of 8 for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.

Quote: “Yeah, we won our league (laughing) because no one was beating that other car — the Chase Elliott and Alan and that whole 9 team. They’re light years ahead of us when it comes to the road course, I mean everybody even their teammates. I can’t really put my finger on it. I got a good look of what it was and watched him cruise around not even trying and he would keep on driving away from me. Overall, I’m proud of what our Shell/Pennzoil team did today. We had to come in here and execute. Obviously, there were plenty of crazy things that could have happened starting in the rain, going to slicks, stage points, trying to get ourselves in position. Obviously, there were times that the 18 was in the spot and we were racing the 88 with only a couple points between us, so it was close, it was stressful, but I feel a lot better now and will be able to sleep well tonight and then fire away to try and get into that Championship 4.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE
BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 11, 2020

CHASE ELLIOTT, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE SCORES VICTORY AT CHARLOTTE
Team Chevy Takes Four of Top-10

CONCORD, NC (October 11, 2020) – Chase Elliott became a back-to-back Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course winner, taking his No. 9 NAPA Auto Part Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane at the 61st annual Bank of America ROVAL 400, his third points-paying victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2020. The win, his ninth career victory in 182 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, secured Elliott’s spot into the Round of Eight of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Elliott’s impressive road course streak continues, as the victory made the Hendrick Motorsports’ driver just the 2nd driver in NASCAR history to win four road course races in a row. The victory at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile North Carolina circuit is Chevrolet’s seventh triumph of the season and the manufacturer’s 793rd all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The win is the 20th road course victory and 261st all-time win for Hendrick Motorsports, which was also celebrated by Elliott’s teammates William Byron, who finished sixth in his No. 24 Hendrickcars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE, and Alex Bowman, who crossed the line in the eighth position in his No. 88 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 1LE. Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, took the checkered flag in the fourth position, giving Team Chevy four of the top-10 finishers in the race.

Joey Logano (Ford) was second, Erik Jones (Toyota) was third, and Ryan Blaney (Ford) rounded out the top-five finishers of the race.

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 18, at 2:30 PM ET, kicking off the Round of Eight for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our race winner, Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet.
Chase, we’ll start with questions for you.

Q. Do you enter these road courses just knowing that you’re going to have a great car? Do you enter these now with some sort of swagger? Does this success even surprise you? Because it’s so rare to rattle off this many road course wins.
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, no, we definitely don’t show up just expecting to be good. We show up trying to be better than we were last time. I thought we did that today.
I thought our car was better than it was here last year. I thought I was better than I was last year. Didn’t pile drive the barriers this time. That was good. Was able to finish it off the right way, which is always encouraging.
Looking forward to this next round, trying to make some noise.

Q. I think you were 12th at Texas and Kansas. Do you feel like you have improved on your program enough to be able to make some noise?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I hope so. 12th certainly isn’t going to cut it. We’ve been working tirelessly to try to improve. Kansas has historically been a decent track for us. We struggled there the first race this year. We know we got to be better. Looking forward to the challenge.

Q. Two years in a row that you’ve had some type of issue about the halfway point of the Roval. Is this going to be a trend having to come from 28th or back to win?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Hey, as long as the result stays the same, I don’t really care (laughter). It worked out. We’ll take it for sure. Those bonus points are big, can be a difference maker.
Like I said, just excited to have some momentum going into the next round. Wins are huge. Too hard to get to get picky with them. Looking forward to the opportunity, trying to make some noise and move on.

Q. With the road courses, tying Jeff Gordon, that result, have you talked to Jeff about the road course success? How do you feel in that portion of history with road courses?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, to be honest, we haven’t talked all about it. I know he had a great run. I think we all respect his career beyond just that. Yeah, just trying to get better.
Jeff is a four‑time champion. We don’t remember him for his four road course victories in a row, although it was great. Being a champion and trying to have the next level of success that he had is certainly a goal. Just trying to improve.

Q. You came down with the loose wheel, you came out 38th or something, pretty far down there. At what point did you feel like you were still going to have a shot to win? Was it immediately you were picking through cars?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, you never know, to be honest. I was just focused on trying to move forward. Felt like our car was driving well. Certainly a setback. Got a caution I thought at a really good time, kind of bunched us back up. We had made our way through there some. That kind of allowed us to reset.
I felt like at that point we were in a position that we were kind of back to where we were or close to it with the way the strategy was working out. I felt like we just needed to be smart, try to keep our eyes forward and make the next right call, whatever that was. Putting on tires at the caution or not.
Alan made a great call, called a good race. I had a fast car. Things went our way. That’s all we could ask for.

Q. What is the level of frustration inside the car? You put the blame on yourself last year. This year, not your fault. What happens inside the car that you can rebound from that?
CHASE ELLIOTT: It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. The end result is the setback. That’s really the bottom line. Blaming or being upset, as much as sometimes you might want to be, it’s really unproductive.
Looking ahead, those guys weren’t cussing me when I ran through the barrier. I wasn’t going to cuss them for a mistake either. I think we just needed to keep our eyes forward, heads down, focus on trying to get back up front and have a shot to win.

Q. Would you compare your dominance on road courses to Kirby Smart’s defense?
CHASE ELLIOTT: They’ve had a nice run, for sure. Yeah, I don’t know. Hard to compare I suppose. Yeah, hope they can have a good game next week.

Q. (Question about the Braves and the Dodgers.)
CHASE ELLIOTT: I can’t hardly hear you. Something about the Braves and the Dodgers.
Looking forward to watching for sure. I think they’re going to have to definitely be on their A game. I’m excited to watch.

Q. In the lead‑up to road course events, mentally is your preparation any different than other weeks considering your track record at them or is it the same?
CHASE ELLIOTT: It’s honestly not. I feel like we approach every week the same, to be honest. There’s certainly areas that we want to try to improve on all the time. Like I said a minute ago, I don’t think you can just come to these places and be the same as you were last time and expect to have the same results.
I thought our car was better today than last year. I thought I did a better job today than I did last year. I think that’s why we were able to get a good result.

Q. Do you wish there were more road courses in the Playoffs?
CHASE ELLIOTT: No, I don’t. I would just like to be good at all the tracks.

Q. You’ve got Texas, Kansas and Martinsville in the next round. Your thoughts on how you are going to perform, make it to the Round of 4?
CHASE ELLIOTT: You never know. That’s why we go race, is to find out who wins and who loses. Just excited to have the opportunity. I think it’s going to be a really big challenge for us to move on, as I think it is for everybody in this round, unless you just have a bunch of wins.
I think today’s win is big. Getting those extra five points can be the difference. We just have to bring our A game, push ahead, really try to execute three solid weeks.

Q. What were the conditions like? Did watching what happened yesterday in the Xfinity race put you on edge for what might have come today?
CHASE ELLIOTT: For sure. I mean, I was shocked it didn’t rain really at all. Feel like we got really lucky that that didn’t happen in a lot of ways.
Yeah, I tried to be as prepared as I could be for that if it happened. I felt like the biggest challenge today was that transition period when the track was wet, as it was drying out, understanding which areas were still damp and which areas weren’t.
The track kind of has like a sealer to it, when you see a fresh driveway or a big parking lot resealed. It’s kind of like it has that all the time, which makes it dark and kind of hard to differentiate what’s dry and what’s not. That was the biggest challenge, was just understanding where to be, where not to be, trying to stay on the road.

Q. A lot of drivers learn how to go racing schools to be a better road course racer or driving instructors like Boris Said. Where did you learn to drive on road courses?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I feel like I’ve done all those things. I remember going to Bondurant out there as a kid, driving Corvettes. I remember going to Spring Mountain and spending a lot of time with Ron Fellows. Boris Said is a friend. I feel like dad was a really good road racer, too. I felt like there’s small things that he’s talked about over the years that have helped me, too.
I don’t know. I feel like I’ve had an opportunity to be around some guys who have really good knowledge. If you can just pick things from everybody, try to take small little tidbits there, small little tidbits there, put it into one effort I think it’s helpful.
I have been fortunate to have some good people to look up to. Still a lot of room for improvement I think on my end, but definitely a good day today. Want to enjoy it.

Q. It can be a bit premature to look ahead to 2021, but how thrilled are you to take on a brand‑new unknown with the Circuit of the Americas?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Great question, man. To be honest, I’m so focused on this year right now, whatnot, I haven’t spent a lot of time going through the schedule for next year.
I think it’s a good addition. It’s a nice course out there. I feel like it’s been quite the spectacle from the F1 side. Obviously that’s a whole different ballgame.
Looking forward to going. I think it’s going to bring new challenges and things none of us have ever seen before. I look forward to it, see what happens.

Q. Given the race form that’s been implemented, how have you and crew chief embraced this challenge to keep elevating your performance and now be rewarded with the Round of 8?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Just trying to get better. We’ve been fortunate to get to the Round of 8 the last couple years. That’s kind of been our stopping point. For us, we’re just eyes ahead trying to assert ourselves amongst that next group.
We tend to see the same guys make the Final 4 every year, the same group fighting for those spots. I think for us, we’re very capable of asserting ourselves amongst them. We just have to be a little better, a little more consistent, eliminate those bad racetracks, and I think we can run with whoever when we’re at our best. I’ve said that before. I really believe it. I’m looking forward to the opportunity and ready to move on.

Q. You’ve talked about the people that you’re around, good road racers that you’ve learned from, the schools. You’ve always been very smooth on the road courses. Has that been a natural for you? Did you ever struggle with the road courses when you first began?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I honestly don’t know. I didn’t feel like we did very spectacular on the Xfinity side when I ran over there. I feel like my first year in Cup, we didn’t run all that good on road courses. It wasn’t like it hasn’t been a work in progress. We’ve just been trying to chip away at it, get better. I think we have a package that works at some of these racetracks pretty good. We just try to improve that.
Like I said, I’m not sure that you can just do the same thing every time and get the same results. I think we improved today from where we were last year. I try to make my craft a little better, minimize mistakes. We were fortunate that things were in our favor today.

Q. Through today’s victory and being strong in the Playoffs, is there anything you feel you need to improve on as you inch closer to the Championship 4? What do you think your chances are of being in the Championship 4?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Like I said, we made the Round of 8 the last couple years. That’s a great thing. That’s a great achievement. But we always want more. Like I said a minute ago, too, we see the same people make the Final 4 every year. We’ve been very close to asserting ourselves amongst that group. I think we’re very capable of it. I think when we’re at our best, we run with those guys. I think we’ve proved that in the past.
We just have to be a little more consistent, eliminate those bad racetracks, I think we can make some noise.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Chase. Congratulations on the win today and good luck with the Round of 8 starting next week in Kansas.
CHASE ELLIOTT: Cool, thanks.

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet.
We’ll get started with questions.

Q. Do you have something for road courses? Is there something you do that Chase takes advantage of that isn’t able to be replicated now by anybody, including your teammates?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think it’s him. I think we have Chase Elliott. That’s the difference. He’s really, really good. Yeah, I don’t know what else to say.
I think his performances speak for themselves.

Q. You were 12th at both Texas and Kansas earlier this year. Do you feel like you’ve gotten better? How much better will you need to be to have a shot at Martinsville to advance without a must‑win situation?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, both races were disappointing for us. I think we were slightly better than that at Texas, if you look at kind of average run, speed, whatever. We didn’t get great finishes either place. We just weren’t very good at Kansas which was extremely disappointing because that’s historically a pretty good track for us, a track that we enjoy going to race at, have had success in the past.
I think we have to be top five every stage and every finish. That’s the only way you’re going to get through that, or win. It just comes down to the number 4, right? You need to be really, really close to that or on that every time points are offered.

Q. This is the fourth year that the 9 car made it to the Round of 8. You guys have been good, but you haven’t gotten to the final step yet. What does it take to get you through this round? Where do you think this team ranks with the last three, four years?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I feel like there’s always ifs and buts. I feel like there’s certainly a couple times that I think we could have advanced. Last year was pretty disastrous for us with the Martinsville parts failures and the issue with the tire failure at Phoenix.
Phoenix has been tough on us. That fall race for whatever reason, we were in a position to win it a few years back, spin on pit road. Had some trials and tribulations there.
Yeah, we got to find a way to get through. Certainly, winning one of these three, or as I mentioned before, running at the sharp end of the spear, is going to be what it takes. I think we can do it.
We’ve progressively gotten better and better and better. I think we were much better than our results showed last year, our performance in the Round of 8 showed last year. We just had really, really bad rounds.
Yeah, I think we can do it. We’re going to work really hard to do it. We have great support behind us. Everybody at HMS is doing a great job. Greg and Alex did a great job getting through. We have two with a shot to make it through. Certainly, we’d like to get them both through.

Q. Are you a Final 4 team?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think so.

Q. After watching yesterday’s Xfinity race, seeing the rain, what was going through your mind as far as planning for today’s race? Do you feel your car would have been just as good in the rain if it would have continued all day?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Man, it’s tough. That’s a tough one. I watched that race yesterday. I saw everybody making some error at some point in time that was detrimental to their finish. A.J. spun, Briscoe spun. Everybody who ran at the front had some type of issue. The 9 spun, the 7 spun. Everybody did.
If we were racing in that sort of downpour, the way the water can puddle, the way things can happen, it’s just really random.
No, I can’t tell you with any confidence that we could have performed the same way in those conditions. I don’t know that anybody can, to be honest with you. I think it’s just super tough circumstances I felt. I felt for those guys yesterday, for sure.

Q. Where do you feel the team’s weaknesses are right now that you need to improve on going into this next round?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it’s just always the same things. You have to have faster cars, bring faster cars to the track, have faster pit stops, execute the race better. All the above. You just always are continuously trying to improve those areas. Certainly, never satisfied.
I don’t feel like there’s a glaring weakness in our team. I don’t feel like we have something that we can’t overcome. You just have to continuously improve. We have to have our four best races these last four races. That’s kind of what it comes down to. We have to operate at our maximum potential. Certainly, we’ll try to improve and do the best we can.
Right now, it’s probably about getting 100% of what you’ve got. The teams are going to be in a position that I think it’s going to be more about execution than developing something or coming up with some more performance.

Q. It wasn’t the smoothest of days, as you had the loose wheel. What was going through your mind at that point?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: It certainly wasn’t good. We couldn’t take a chance on it. We had to protect our position in the Playoffs first and foremost. That weighed pretty heavy on us all day long. I think some of our early performance was, or lack of performance, based on us trying to protect that position.
We need a little better situational awareness in that case and shouldn’t have had that happen. That goes back to something that we’ve got to execute on and improve.
I was just trying to get video of it to know if I had to come back down. I should have just come right away. It took too long. You don’t get too many opportunities, the caution laps are so long, you get one shot to pit and then you’re coming to the green. That was a little bit of a rough patch, but everybody kept their wits about them and overcame it.

Q. You won a protest last week that gained you a lot of spots. How surprised were you to win a protest? How much did that impact any of your strategy or preparation for today?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, yes, yes on all accounts. I was disappointed we got penalized, for sure. I feel like if you watch that race over, that Chase threw the least amount of blocks and impeded anybody’s progress the least of any car on the track. Never once threw a block when he was leading, never once put anybody in a dangerous situation. Then when we get the penalty, I was kind of dumbfounded.
The 17 made a pretty aggressive move to the bottom. Certainly, yeah, we can probably slam on the brakes or crash him. I don’t feel like it’s good to put the drivers in a position where they have to decide if they want to take a penalty or they want to send a fellow competitor through the infield.
I was disappointed in the penalty. I was very appreciative of the way that NASCAR was willing to review it, the fact that they overturned it. Everybody has their opinions and their sides of the story. I feel like it was pretty obvious once you watched enough replays to see how that all transpired. We certainly didn’t deserve to lose all those points.
Yeah, as far as does it impact the way we come here? Certainly. That was a lot. I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was 16 points or something. Yes, it definitely impacted the way we came here.

Q. Does the Hendrick Motorsport track attack program help the organization on road courses at all or are they completely unrelated to what you do?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: I’m not really sure what they do, so I can’t answer that question really.

Q. Does anything feel different this year about Chase specifically as a driver? Do you sense any more confidence from him?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think the experience, the trials and tribulations, the successes and failures, they all cumulatively add up.
He’s a great driver. He’s a really, really intelligent person. The more opportunity he has to race and go through these situations, compete and win, yeah, he’s just going to get better and better. I think with that brings some confidence.
There’s nothing quite like living through the different circumstances and the pressure of having to race your way in or having to protect a lead to get in. All that stuff’s really unique and really tough to manage. I think the more you go through it, the better you get.

Q. How does one go about an at‑track appeal? How do you make that happen at Talladega?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, that’s interesting. The way it transpired, I knew from Dustin Shoulders, my race engineer back at the shop, I asked him where we started. He typically calculates the starting positions for us. He told me he couldn’t give me the exact starting position because the results were under review, which I understood, as chaotic as it was.
I saw on the front straightaway we were very close to the line. I couldn’t see from my perspective if we crossed the line.
Long story short, I never heard anything, didn’t know. We were waiting on pit road to go through inspection. I was watching the Jumbotron. It had us only 20 something points above the cut line. I was like, there’s no way, there’s some bad math, but that’s really bad math.
I went to TV and they told me we were last on the lead lap. At that point in time I told Jeff Andrews, started calling everybody I knew saying, Man, we got to do something with this because that’s not right.
Jeff did a great job of knowing who to see, what to do. That’s all him. He took care of it from there.
THE MODERATOR: Alan, thanks for joining us. Good luck as the Round of 8 starts next week.
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Thank you, appreciate it.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE
BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
OCTOBER 11, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
4th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
12th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
2nd Joey Logano (Ford)
3rd Erik Jones (Toyota)
4th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
5th Ryan Blaney (Ford)

UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Race 6 of 10 / Entering into the Round of 8)
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)
1. Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
3. Brad Keselowski (Ford)
4. * Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
5. Joey Logano (Ford)
6. Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
7. * Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
8. * Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series seasons continues at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 18,, at 2:30 p.m. ET to kick off the Round of 8 for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner
THERE ARE 37 DRIVERS AND CREW CHIEFS SHAKING THEIR HEADS OVER THERE GOING MAN, HOW DID HE DO IT TO US AGAIN? HOW DID YOU WIN AGAIN TODAY ON A ROAD COURSE?
“Well, I just had another really fast NAPA Camaro and really appreciate the effort. I feel like road courses have been fortunate to us the last few trips, but I feel like we just try to get a little better every time and tweak on the small things. I feel like I tweaked on some small things and got a little better than what I was here last year, which was good. And, I’m just really proud of the effort. I appreciate everybody at Hendrick, Chevrolet, Mountain Dew, Kelley Blue Book, UniFirst, and Hooters and all of our partners that make this deal go. And, it’s always special to win here at Charlotte with the shop being right across the street. I appreciate all the effort there. The best way to get into the next round is to win and so, hopefully we can do something with it.”

YOU TIED JEFF GORDON FOR FOUR ROAD COURSE RACE WINS IN A ROW. HOW GOOD WAS IT FOR YOU AND THIS TEAM TO ADVANCE WITH A WIN AND NOT JUST ON POINTS?
“That’s always the goal. I feel like you start playing the points game and you can get yourself in trouble worrying about things that are just out of your hands. As much as you want to think about those things and want to worry about them, you just really have to focus on you. And, I feel like we did a really good job of that today. The pit stops were great. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) called a good race and got tires at the right time and luckily things worked out and we’ll take it. Like I’ve always said, they’re way too hard to get to get picky about when and where and how. So, I’m just glad to be here. And like I said, hopefully we can do something with this next round.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th
“It was a great improvement for our road course program. I’m really proud of everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing; looking at issues and working on what we need to do improve. Whether we were locked-in or not, we came here to go for it. I’m really proud of how our race unfolded. We just seemed to cook the rear tires after about 15 laps into a run, but we had really good braking, so I had to use my strength. I was ready for (Martin) Truex to bonsai it in there, I was like ha,ha, I got you bro! He (Truex) axle-hopped, hit us and I was able to recover quicker than him. Really good day for our Monster Energy team, just wasn’t as fast as the No. 9 car (Elliott). I’m glad he is on to the next round along with Alex Bowman, we got as many Chevy’s as we could pushed-thru to the round of eight”.

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th
“Yeah today was a tough one. I’m really frustrated with the speeding penalty. I felt like I was to the good and I obviously wasn’t so I’ll have to go back and look at it. Overall, today was a good day though. We led a lot of laps and felt like our car was capable of running up front with the No.9. I would have liked to see what we could have done there at the end and battled with him. Either way it was a good day for us and we’ll go on to Kansas and try get a win.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE SIMPLIFIED CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
AT ONE POINT, YOU CAME ACROSS THE RADIO AND SAID YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE ABOUT TO THROW UP. WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?
“Ah, I guess my nerves were getting to me a little bit. It means a lot to this race team to make the Round of 8. It’s something that we’ve fallen short of doing the previous two years. So, thanks to Valvoline and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I think a lot of people slept on us coming into the Playoffs a little bit so it’s a lot of validation for us to make that round. And when you’re racing champions of the sport, to be able to advance, you’re never comfortable, right? And especially Kyle Busch. My nerves were getting to me a little bit but I’m glad we had a solid day. We weren’t very good. We were really tight and then I would end up snapping the rears and burning the rear tires off the thing really bad. But we did all we could and I’m glad we advanced.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“Every time I come to a road course, I grow as a driver. We had a great No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet today, and I want to thank my team for working with me all day long. It wasn’t an easy day, but we all kept with it and improved throughout the race. It took a little bit of Stage 1 to re-familiarize myself with the course, so I spent a lot of that stage being careful to not overstep and wreck. After a pit stop and adjustment during the second stage, I was able to rotate a lot better all throughout the track, which helped me gain a lot of traction on the field. We had a couple cautions fall later during the race that helped us with some track position a little bit, overall, it was a really good effort by my No. 8 team today. They kept with it and remained patient with me throughout the day, while relaying information on areas of the track to continue to work on. I definitely learned more about this track today and will put that in the notebook for next year.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 MAXWELL HOUSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th
“It was a solid day all around for our Maxwell House Chevrolet. We were really good on the long run, and were able to play the strategy and lead laps for the first time this season. Ultimately, the tires wore out and it affected our handling and we weren’t able to hang on to the lead, but I’m really proud of the work everyone at JTG Daugherty Racing put into our road course cars this season and give me something that we could work on during the race and continue improving all race. We finally have had a really good string of races, and we’re going to keep on building off of that for these final four weeks.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17th
“Road course racing traditionally has not been my favorite, but we’ve been able to put together a few strong road course runs this season in our Kroger Chevrolet. We had a really special paint scheme this weekend honoring Breast Cancer Awareness month and names of JTG Daugherty Racing family members that have been affected by breast cancer. I’m honored to have our public relations director Jennifer Chapple on the car as she just fought a battle of her own to beat breast cancer. We had a restart where I thought we could really put ourselves in a good position to lead and stay at the front, but had contact that spun us and lost that position. Fortunately, we still had time to get back in the top-20 and still have a strong day for both myself and my teammate.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th
YOU HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE PLAYOFFS TODAY. IT JUST SEEMED LIKE YOU GUYS GOT BEHIND EARLY AND THEN TRACK POSITION IS JUST SO HARD TO COME BY HERE
“Yeah, we were looking pretty good in Stage 1. We had taken tires again and got to fifth in the Stage and that unlucky caution happened. We knew we were kind of dead meat at that point because we didn’t have dry tires on. So, we pitted at the end of Stage 1 and then we had to go to the tail because pit road wasn’t open. Just a lot of stuff. And again, a caution fell late in Stage 2 when we were running 12th and just no help from cautions. The race just didn’t play our way. I’m actually pretty happy with that as far as my road course racing has been. I raced hard all day. We finished 19th and that shows some progress and I think if we would have been up there, track-position-wise, we would have maintained it.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 23rd
“Well, we got another stage win – our third as a team – which is a huge accomplishment. I’m so very proud of our GEICO team. Today was another fun day and I had a blast behind the wheel. We didn’t finish exactly where we wanted, but we made a bold call there at the end right before that last caution came out to try and make it to pit road before it closed. That ended up costing us some track position, but to finish 23rd with a stage win feels like finishing 13th. It feels fun to win anything. I’m so thankful for everyone at Germain Racing and we will keep chugging along to finish strong.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: Alex Bowman was the last driver to drive into the Round of 8 on points, driver of the No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet.

Alex, why don’t you talk quickly about what it means to race your way into the Round of 8.

ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, it means a lot to me, but also to my race team. These guys work really hard all year. I feel like sometimes my team at least doesn’t get the respect they deserve. I feel like it kind of like validates all their hard work.
Obviously we have a long way to go to try to make the Round of 4 at Phoenix. These guys work so hard, do such a good job, give me such great racecars. I’m really happy for them.
I wish I could have been a little better today. We struggled with our race car quite a bit. Still ended up with a solid top 10, had what we needed there for points.

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

Q. You called yourself Anxious Alex, feeling sick in the car. Has your lunch calmed down yet now that you made it to the next round?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, welcome to being me. That’s just part of my life, I guess. I don’t know. I feel like there’s plenty of people that can relate to that. It’s just something I go through.
Didn’t feel too well. My nerves got to me more than I would have liked. I think it’s one of those deals under green you’re fine, but when it’s like caution after caution after caution, sitting there under caution just wasn’t feeling so good.
I’m all good now. Definitely was nervous, though.

Q. Everything stayed down, right?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, yeah. I have this bright white fire suit, literally all white with a Valvoline logo. You guys would be able to tell if it didn’t (smiling).

Q. Last time we were at Kansas you came home eighth in that, had fifth at the last mile‑and‑a‑half, Las Vegas. How do you feel the Round of 8 rolls out for you? Is Martinsville a concern?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, yeah, it is. We’ve had some okay days at Martinsville. We’ve greatly improved our short track program this year. We went to Richmond where we finished 26th last year or something like that, and we finished top 10, ran top 10 all day.
Definitely not as nervous about Martinsville as I would have been a couple years ago. Yeah, I mean, I think that’s probably our weakest racetrack that we go to. The mile‑and‑a‑half’s, through the summer we really struggled, but at the beginning of the year and lately we’ve been really strong at.
Kansas in particular, we’ve almost won there before. I feel like we can go be phenomenal there. Kansas and Texas are two opportunities for us to win. Every week going to the racetrack with Hendrick Motorsports is an opportunity to win. Kansas and Texas are going to be our best shots at it for sure.
It’s probably going to take a win to make the Round of 4. Just going to go all in and do everything we can to make that happen.

Q. Why is Chase so good at road courses?
ALEX BOWMAN: I can go faster than him in the simulator. Does that count (laughter)?
I don’t know. If I knew, I would do it and be as good as him. We obviously can see everything that that team does. The four teams at Hendrick Motorsport are transparent, share all their info, work so well together. Chase is an open book. I could ask him.
I don’t know what he does so differently. I spent a lot of time in the simulator this week running both setups and trying to understand the differences between what we’ve been successful with here and what he’s been successful with here. They drive completely different. Obviously he’s had a little better end result than we have, but we’ve still had good results with ours.
I don’t know. We went more their direction today. I probably struggled with the race car more than I ever have today. I feel like you could plug me in the 9 car and it wouldn’t go as fast as Chase makes it. He’s got it dialed in when it comes to the road courses right now.

Q. On a serious note, I don’t know if I don’t listen to your radio closely enough each week. Is your anxiety something that actually happens to you during races in the race car weekly or kind of a rare occurrence?
ALEX BOWMAN: I feel like it’s not super common in the race car. Before races and high‑pressure situations you’ll have that, I guess. I feel like I was just really stressed out. It means a lot to me to make the Round of 8. Was really something I felt like with the points situation we were in we had to do. With the race team that Mr. H has given me and put me with, all the resources we have, I feel like it was pretty necessary to make the Round of 8.
I don’t know. It means a lot to me and I put a lot of pressure on myself to make that happen.

Q. Did it make any difference having the 48 news out in the open this week or did it not really matter?
ALEX BOWMAN: To be honest with you, that probably helped distract me through the majority of the week. Just being able to talk about something else, not being so caught up in a points situation.
It’s just tough, man. You come to the Roval, stressful. It’s a cutoff week, stressful. You’re surrounded in points by champions of the sport, extra stressful. You’re trying to beat Kyle Busch, and it’s going to rain. It’s like how many stressful elements can you add to one thing?
Being able to talk about something else was definitely helpful this week, I feel like.

Q. It seems like you and your team are starting to find the speed that’s made you such a threat early in the year. What have been some of the keys to the team’s turnaround during the Playoffs?
ALEX BOWMAN: Yes, I don’t feel like we’re back to where we were early in the year still. We were dominating every week, it felt like. We gave a lot of races away, but we led a ton of laps there from I guess Fontana all the way through, like, second Charlotte. We were on it every single week. Race car capable of winning every single week.
We’re not all the way back there. We’ve made a ton of gains and we’re close, but we’re not all the way there. I think the biggest thing that has helped us get pointed back in the right direction after the rough summer is each and every individual on the 88 team, and at Hendrick Motorsport, but specifically on the 88 team, staying positive, working hard and working well together.
We’ve had some new faces on the team. It’s really easy to get along when things are going well like the beginning of the year. When things start going wrong, like they did through the summer, it’s so easy for a team to fall apart.
I never once saw, heard, had to deal with any team‑falling‑apart‑ism. They just worked hard and stuck together and kept learning, kept improving. It’s got us back on track.

Q. Given the fact they’ve been able to reconcile some of the growing pains, which tracks do you feel are your best chance given it’s the show up and race format lately?
ALEX BOWMAN: Kind of like I said before, Kansas and Texas. I feel like our cars are really strong at Martinsville. There’s something as a race car driver that I am missing a little bit of. I feel like I’ve been able to gain on it. We were better this time around. Came from a lot of studying, leaning on the guy that’s sitting in the media center. Kind of like trying to catch him on a road course, catch him at Martinsville. I feel like those first two are our best shots. We’re plenty capable of getting it done.

THE MODERATOR: Alex, thanks for joining us today. Good luck as the Round of 8 starts next week.

ALEX BOWMAN: Thanks, guys.

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

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 TRACKER Off Road/Bass Pro Shops/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Fight Their Way to Top-20 Finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL But Come Up Just Short of Advancing in the NASCAR Playoffs

Finish: 19th
Start: 6th
Points: 9th

“We tried our hardest, but nothing fell our way today on this No. 3 TRACKER Off Road/Bass Pro Shops/E-Z-GO Chevrolet team. We were looking pretty good at the end of Stage 1. We took tires and got to fifth by the end of the stage, but an unlucky caution happened and that cycled us. We knew we were dead meat at that point because we didn’t have dry tires on, so we pitted at the end of Stage 1 to try and jump some people. That backfired on us because we had to go to the tail end of the line since pit road wasn’t open. We just had a lot of stuff happen to us today. Again, a caution fell late in Stage 2 while we were running 12th. We had no help from cautions. The race just didn’t play our way. I’m actually pretty happy with our performance as far as my road course racing has been. I feel like I’ve improved. I raced hard all day. We finished 19th, and that shows some progress. I think if we would have been up further in the field and had track position, we would have maintained just fine. I’m proud of this team, and even though we are no longer in the NASCAR Playoffs, we still have several races to go in the season and will do our best to get another win. We’re already looking forward to next season.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Team Earn Hard-Fought 12th-Place Finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL

Finish: 12th
Start: 16th
Points: 19th

“Every time I come to a road course, I grow as a driver. We had a great No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet today, and I want to thank my team for working with me all day long. It wasn’t an easy day, but we all kept with it and improved throughout the race. It took a little bit of Stage 1 to re-familiarize myself with the course, so I spent a lot of that stage being careful to not overstep and wreck. After a pit stop and adjustment during the second stage, I was able to rotate a lot better all throughout the track, which helped me gain a lot of traction on the field. We had a couple cautions fall later during the race that helped us with some track position a little bit, overall, it was a really good effort by my No. 8 team today. They kept with it and remained patient with me throughout the day, while relaying information on areas of the track to continue to work on. I definitely learned more about this track today and will put that in the notebook for next year.” -Tyler Reddick

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, 2.28 Mile Road Oval
Race: 32 of 36
Event: Bank of America ROVAL 400 (252.88 miles, 109 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang

Started: 19th
Finished: 36th

Stage One: 38th
Stage Two: 38th
Stage Three: 36th

John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag in Sunday’s highly anticipated NASCAR Cup Series race at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 19th position. With track conditions starting off wet, all drivers were required to use “wet” tires at the beginning of the race. At the Competition Caution, Nemechek said that his No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang was lacking front grip and he needed to turn better, but “drive off isn’t bad.” He would stay out under caution but came to pit road on Lap 18 to change to “slick” tires and take fuel under green. On Lap 23, Nemechek would spin and hit the wall in Turn 6, bringing out a caution and damaging the right side of the car. He would finish Stage 1 in 38th place.

While on pit road for the crew to work on the right-side damage, Nemechek would have too many pit crew members over the wall under NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy. He would have to return to pit road, where his No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang would be held for a two-lap penalty, ultimately putting him three laps behind the leader. Nemechek soldiered on to take the green- and white-checkered flag to finish Stage 2 in 38th place.

Nemechek would continue to persevere throughout Stage 3 in his No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang. On Lap 54, he picked up some additional damage in the scuffle following a spin by the No. 11. He would pit a few laps later under green for the crew to work on the car. A tire rub discovered shortly after returning to the track would force him to pit road under green once again on Lap 63. Nemechek would go on to take the checkered flag in 36th place, four laps down.

Nemechek on the Charlotte ROVAL:

“The ROVAL was not our friend today, unfortunately. Our No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang fired off pretty decent, but the rear end just stepped out on me in the first half of the race and I couldn’t save it. We pitted for damage repair and received a penalty that put us two more laps down and we couldn’t really recover from there. Sometimes mistakes just hurt. Hopefully it was still a good show for the fans. It was great that we were able to have them with us in in person at home. We’ll add what we can to our notebook for next time and get ready for Kansas.”