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CORVETTE RACING AT MID-OHIO: No. 3 Corvette Zoom Media Conference Transcript

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Official Release
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IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE
PRE-RACE MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor (No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R) met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Monday to discuss the upcoming Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio. Topics included the pairing’s championship lead in GT Le Mans, expectations for Mid-Ohio, preparation for the next two events on the IMSA calendar and other items. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU’RE COMING OFF A RUN OF FOUR STRAIGHT TOP-TWO FINISHES AND BACK-TO-BACK WINS AT ROAD AMERICA AND VIR, BUT THINGS DIDN’T GO THE SAME WAY AT ROAD ATLANTA. HOW CAN YOU REGAIN THAT MOMENTUM YOU HAD EARLIER IN THE SUMMER?
“Obviously go faster. That’s the biggest thing. In the last race, we were lacking a little bit of pace. We saw in qualifying that all the cars were separated by only a tenth-of-a-second or two, and that really hurt if you don’t have track position. We led the race for quite a few laps but being back in the pack with about two hours to go wasn’t going to be an easy task to go by the rest of the GTLM cars. Plus on top of that, we had a puncture. When that final yellow came, I thought maybe we had a chance to flip things around but it ended up being a green-white-checker finish anyway. It’s a shame that I wasn’t really in a good position and there were many GTD cars between us and the back of our field. That’s how things go. A few races will go your way and a few others don’t. We have to forget what happened at Road Atlanta, although Corvette Racing did finish second with a strong race from the No. 4 car. We need to carry on while focusing on that while keeping up the fight.”

DOES A SUBSTANTIAL LEAD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IMPACT YOUR APPROACH TO THIS RACE?
“It’s a mistake to start thinking about the championship this early. We just went to halfway. If someone scores the same amount of points as we did in the previous five or six races, then they will end up winning, mostly likely. We need to carry on and focus race-by-race while still being aggressive. If you plan things a little too conservative, other teams will notice that and take advantage. You end up being that much more vulnerable. You need to carry on and fight for it and let everyone know you are fighting for wins and not just a good position.”

THERE HAS BEEN NO BoP CHANGE FOR THIS WEEK. DO YOU FIND IT FRUSTRATING WHEN YOU’RE BEHIND A CAR THAT HAS A LOT MORE STRAIGHTAWAY SPEED BUT YOU’RE BETTER IN OTHER PARTS OF THE TRACK?
“Road Atlanta showed that it was difficult to either defend from the BMWs or be aggressive and pass them. Mid-Ohio is not any different. There will be a ton of acceleration zones. I don’t know if we will have time enough to place ourselves going into Turn Three or Turn Four. It’s not easy to balance out different cars to a laptime. As you saw, between BMW and our Corvette, we achieve our laptime in different ways. That also creates very good fights with everyone very close. Let’s see if we are all close as we were at Atlanta; a good lap or a bad lap was a difference of two-tenths. We will see if tire degradation is a little more effective and we can make a tiny bit more difference against our competition.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE POINTS, YOU HAVE A 14-POINT LEAD BUT EVERYONE ELSE IS SO TIGHT. IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER AVERAGE WEEKEND, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE 10 DRIVERS WITHIN SIX POINTS. HOW DO YOU VIEW THE CHAMPIONSHIP GOING FORWARD?
“We are still in the position where we are leading. If someone else wants to take risks, it’s not on us. For sure we need to remain aggressive enough to carry on with what we have been doing. We aren’t even close to the last race of the year. Someone could score the same amount of points as we did in the first half of the season. So far we have three wins but I wouldn’t mind one or two more. That would make things way easier.”

DOES WORK ON THE SIMULATOR GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE COMFORT IN GOING INTO A TRACK LIKE CHARLOTTE WHERE I PRESUME YOU HARDLY HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE OTHER THAN THE TEST?
“It was really good to be able to test there. As Jordan said, the track felt a little like Long Beach for the first five to 10 laps. It was a little stressful with how fast you can go around there and how many walls you could fly by and come very, very close. Once you get into a rhythm, it’s just another racetrack. With traffic, it will be very tricky. I anticipate there will be a ton of mistakes and probably more yellows than usual. There is no room for error at certain points. Tire degradation probably is another key thing there. We also are running into the night, and we were able to run at night during the test, and it wasn’t easy. The infield was almost completely dark and wasn’t easy. It will be a question mark for everyone. I hope the preparation we did during that day and after that is enough to be competitive.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO HAVE A RACE LIKE THIS INSERTED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP STRETCH RUN?
“You just need to carry on as it is. It’s like having a 12-hour race as the last race. Sebring won’t be like a usual Sebring 12 Hours where it’s just the second race of the year. This year, some races have taken place at different dates. We just need to adapt and race according to that.”

WITH THE SEASON BEING HALFWAY, WHERE CAN YOU IMPROVE DESPITE THE SUCCESS OF EARLIER THIS SUMMER?
“I think I always have areas to improve on during the season, like being on cold tires in this new car. As drivers at Corvette Racing, we always try to improve. There is always a big point to analyze all the data we have available each time we finish a race to try to improve. Even if you win a lot as we did this year, you can still do things better and that’s the focus of the upcoming races. We need to be as prepared as possible because the rest of the field will be doing the same.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU HAVE A PRETTY SIZABLE LEAD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP BUT QUITE A NUMBER OF RACES TO GO. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ATTACK THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON STARTING THIS WEEKEND AT MID-OHIO?
“So far, so good. The points gap is decently big, but it’s never big enough. Our season has 11 races, and we’re just past the halfway point. There are five races to go, and lot can happen – good and bad. We will go at it the same way we have been going at it all year, and that’s race-by-race and maximizing our efforts at each event. If you look at races like VIR or Road America, we didn’t have the quickest car and were racing for podium positions. We stuck to our program and those led to wins. We’re taking those as they come, and that will be the way we look at it the rest of the season. It’s been a great year so far with the Corvette C8.R in its first year. We’re going to go to some new tracks where it hasn’t tested, so it will be interesting.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE KEY TO SUCCESS AT MID-OHIO?
“Well I haven’t won there yet, so I’m not too sure! It is a tough track to pass on, so track position is a big deal. It’s been awhile since I’ve raced there in a GT car, but traffic is always a big part of it there, especially when you get to the back side of the track. I’ve been watching a lot of last year’s race and the year before that. It looks tricky in a GTLM car. If you’re stuck behind a GTD car off the backstraight, you could be stuck there all the way to the frontstretch. Strategy-wise, staying out front is going to be a big part of it. Tire wear isn’t usually a huge thing there, but tire warm-up is usually pretty key. So there are lots of little details, but staying out of trouble is a big one. Hopefully we can start out the weekend strong in qualifying to start out with good track position and go from there.”

PORSCHE HAS BEEN AWFULLY STRONG AT MID-OHIO. THEIR CAR CHANGES DIRECTION REALLY WELL AND WORKS REALLY WELL THROUGH THE TWISTY PARTS. WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN WITH THE C8.R IN TERMS OF THOSE TYPES OF CORNERS AND HOW YOU CAN COMPETE WITH THEM THERE?
“. In talking with our guys about the strengths and weaknesses of the old car, we know how much more user-friendly the C8.R is in especially battling other cars, and the raceability of it when you get into traffic and when you have a long run on the tires. Overall the C8.R a much better package at a lot of tracks so far. Porsche obviously has been strong at Mid-Ohio in the past. It’s always been interesting weather-wise at Mid-Ohio; there’s always rain at some point on the weekend. It should be good. We did some good testing at the sim last week for two days, so I think that gives us a good lea-in to the weekend.”

LOOKING AT THE TRACKS LEFT ON THE SCHEDULE, YOU TESTED AT CHARLOTTE. HAVE YOU TESTED AT MID-OHIO OR LAGUNA SECA?
“I have not, and the car hasn’t been tested there either. We did do the day at the Charlotte Roval. Laguna and the Roval will be interesting. The Charlotte track was pretty unique and surprising to a lot of guys with the characteristics of the track. It’ll definitely be interesting when we go back with a full field of GT cars. By the end of the day, it was a fun track to drive on so I think it will be a fun weekend.”

CAN YOU PASS THERE?
“It will be tough. It’s a lot narrower than it seems on TV. We had a couple other cars that were there for the test. When you were around someone else, it seemed like those cars took up a lot of the track. It could be tough to pass, but at least we will have another class there to mix it up.”

WITH THE SERIES SLOWING DOWN THE GTD CARS AND CREATE SOME SEPARATION BETWEEN GTLM AND GTD POWER-WISE, DID YOU NOTICE IF THERE WAS ENOUGH ROOM TO SQUIRT BY IN SOME OF THE AREAS?
“I didn’t notice. Coming from prototype, it still needs to be a lot more (of a separation) just to make it easier. I remember racing around them in a prototype and thinking about how much of handful it looked like to pass a GTD car. It’s proving to be that way this year. It can be frustrating when you come up on one of the pro drivers in one who can drive well through the corners and has ABS. It makes it pretty difficult to pass.”

FOLLOWING UP ON THE CHARLOTTE TEST, WHAT SURPRISED YOU AND WHAT WERE YOU IMPRESSED BY?
“I had tested there in 2017 when we were doing our endurance testing for the Cadillac prototype. Back then, it was more like a makeshift infield. Since then, the track has obviously upped it to what the Roval is now for NASCAR. It definitely was different than what I remembered, and the flow was different. A lot of it on the infield feels like a street course with a lot of walls and not a lot of room for error. That’s a lot different compared to Daytona where you have some grass and exit curbs, whereas at Charlotte some of the apexes and exit curbs are concrete walls. Learning the track was pretty stressful because there are some bumps in odd places and the flow feels a bit funny. The chicanes with the big blue curbs… we can’t really touch those. One of the other cars there in testing crashed twice just from clipping the blue curbs. Definitely there will be some attrition.”

IN A SEASON WITHOUT STREET COURSES, IS THIS THE CLOSEST THING YOU’LL HAVE TO ONE?
“Maybe. It’s definitely going to be one of the tougher races. We were lucky to test there, and I’m sure a lot of other teams won’t be able to. We’ll have some of the GTD amateurs trying to learn the track on a race weekend with a tight schedule. There could definitely be some yellows. Coming up a lapping some of those guys who may not know the track as well could make it pretty interesting.”

RACERS ARE USUALLY CREATURES OF HABIT. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO HAVE A ONE-OFF INSERTED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP STRETCH RUN?
“I think it’s cool. It definitely keeps everyone on their toes. It suits the team well. Corvette Racing operates at a pretty high level and can prepare for something like this pretty quickly. We tested there on Wednesday, and our guys from the Chevrolet simulator were there that day. They took pictures of the first chicane where there was a change made from a couple years ago on the NASCAR track. The next day, they had already updated the track in the simulator for the changes to the exit curbs. It was really impressive to see that happen overnight. That’s a big strength of Corvette Racing and Chevrolet where they have these tools we can use to help prepare us better than a lot of the other teams.”

WITH THE SEASON BEING HALFWAY, WHERE CAN YOU IMPROVE DESPITE THE SUCCESS OF EARLIER THIS SUMMER, ESPECIALLY TRANSITIONING FROM PROTOTYPES TO THE NEW CORVETTE?
“There’s definitely a lot to learn and improve on. Atlanta wasn’t easy. Each track you go to will have a different level of difficulty. If this was last year, you would have twice as much practice. This year is pretty limited. Understanding all that and maximizing the new tire and how to make it last over a stint… there isn’t a lot of time to practice that at each event. Each track has different variables. Some don’t have any tire degradation, some wear the front tires more and some wear the rears more. It’s definitely tricky. But having good guys like Antonio and the rest of Corvette Racing to bounce questions off of and learn from has been a big help. Each track we go to is a new experience. When we come back around to Atlanta and Sebring, it will be nice to go back to those places with some experience.”
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.

Dylan Lupton Returns to DGR-Crosley Starting at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Official Release
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MOORESVILLE, N.C.: DGR-Crosley announced today that Wilton, Calif., native Dylan Lupton (@LuptonDylan) will return to the team for a minimum of three NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) races this season beginning with Friday night’s World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.

In addition to Las Vegas, Lupton will drive the No. 17 Ford F-150 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sun., Oct. 25 and the season finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway on Fri., Nov. 6.

Ten-time NGROTS veteran winning crew chief Marcus Richmond will lead Lupton’s efforts.

Additionally, Lupton will return to the ARCA Menards Series and compete in its season finale at Kansas Speedway for DGR-Crosley on Fri., Oct. 16.

“I am excited to return to DGR-Crosley for a few races this season,” said Lupton. “We had success together last season and I’m confident that we can build on that starting at Las Vegas and hopefully contend for wins throughout my schedule.”

DGR-Crosley co-owner David Gilliland is looking forward to Lupton’s return.

“We are happy to have Dylan back with us at DGR-Crosley for a few NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races this year,” offered Gilliland. “We had some good races with him last year, especially at the mile-and-a-half tracks, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do with Marcus (Richmond, crew chief). I think they will be a solid combination and have great potential.”
Lupton is no stranger to NASCAR.

A NASCAR Next alumnus, Lupton has experience in all three of NASCAR’s national series levels, including four starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Californian also has 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts under his belt.

A two-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series West division, Lupton had a six-race Truck Series opportunity with DGR-Crosley last year and earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes, including a career-best fifth at Kentucky Speedway and additional top-10 efforts at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway and Las Vegas.

His sixth race of the season at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway last November was cut short after inclement weather canceled qualifying and left Lupton on the sidelines despite practicing inside the top five.

“I feel like we still have some unfinished business from Homestead last year,” added Lupton. “DGR-Crosley brought me a fast truck, but unfortunately rain kept us from making the race. Hopefully, we can go to Las Vegas and finish what we started and have a successful race.”

While juggling an aggressive racing schedule, Lupton, 26, also graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

A partnership announcement for Lupton at Las Vegas is forthcoming.

Dylan Lupton on social media:

Facebook: Facebook.com/luptonracing

Instagram: @LuptonDylan

Twitter: @LuptonDylan

Website: LuptonRacing.com

About DGR-Crosley:

DGR-Crosley is a race team owned by NASCAR veteran David Gilliland and Crosley Brands CEO, Bo LeMastus. The team specializes in driver development, competing full-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, multiple ARCA Menards Series divisions and CARS Tour with factory support from Ford Performance.

In its first three years of operation, DGR-Crosley has achieved success in each series tallying up multiple wins and championships. The team operates out of three buildings totaling 60,000 square feet in Mooresville, N.C.

NASCAR CUP SERIES REACHES ROUND OF 12 IN 2020 PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

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Official Release
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  • Harvick wins two of first three while Blaney, Byron, Custer and DiBenedetto eliminated from playoffs
  • Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will be eighth of 10-race run to crown season champion

FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 21, 2020) – Kevin Harvick scored victories in two of the first three races of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs to strengthen his bid for a second title while four drivers were eliminated from playoff competition heading into the Round of 12.

Harvick, who on Oct. 25 will be going for his fourth consecutive victory in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, earned victories in the playoffs opener at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and again Sept. 19 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski punched his ticket to the Round of 12 with a Sept. 12 win at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

The full list of drivers moving on to the Round of 12 are:

Kevin Harvick / No. 4 Stewart-Haas Ford / 3,067 points
Denny Hamlin / No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota / 3,048
Brad Keselowski / No. 2 Team Penske Ford / 3,035
Joey Logano / No. 22 Team Penske Ford / 3,022
Chase Elliott / No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet / 3,021
Martin Truex, Jr. / No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota / 3,016
Alex Bowman / No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet / 3,009
Austin Dillon / No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet / 3,005
Aric Almirola / No. 10 Stewart-Haas Ford / 3,005
Kyle Busch / No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet / 3,004
Clint Bowyer / No. 14 Stewart-Haas Ford / 3,004
Kurt Busch / No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet / 3,001

The four drivers who eliminated from the playoffs were Cole Custer (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Ford), William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford) and Matt DiBenedetto (No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford).

The balance of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule is:
Sept. 27 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway Round of 12
Oct. 4 – Talladega Superspeedway Round of 12
Oct. 11 – Charlotte Motor Speedway Round of 12 (elimination)
Oct. 18 – Kansas Speedway Round of 8
Oct. 25 – Texas Motor Speedway Round of 8
Nov. 1 – Martinsville Speedway Round of 8 (elimination)
Nov. 8 – Phoenix Raceway Championship 4

NASCAR race fans return to Texas Motor Speedway Oct. 25 with the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 weekend. The doubleheader Sunday begins at 11 a.m. CT with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 400 (FS1, PRN, KFWR 95.5 The Ranch). It gives way to the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (2:30 p.m. CT on NBCSN, PRN and KFWR 95.5 The Ranch).

The Oct. 24 NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (3:30 p.m. CT on NBCSN, PRN, KFWR 95.5 The Ranch) will be run as a non-spectator event.

Tickets for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500/SpeedCash.com 400 doubleheader are available starting at $48 at . One ticket will be good for both races and kids 12 and under are just $10.

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.

Chip Ganassi Racing Taps Ross Chastain to Drive the No. 42 Chevrolet

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Official Release
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Chastain Joins CGR and the No. 42 Team for 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Season

CONCORD, N.C. (Sep. 21, 2020) – Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) announced today that Ross Chastain will pilot the organization’s No. 42 entry in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) beginning in the 2021 season. Chastain, a CGR development driver since 2018, is currently competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), where he qualified for the playoffs for a second time following a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway over the weekend.

For the driver known by many as “The People’s Champion” because of hard driving on the track and his humble manner and likability off the track, this will be his first time racing for CGR in the NCS, but not his first time competing as a member of the organization. Chastain first competed for CGR in 2018, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet in the NXS. In the three races Chastain ran for the team that year, he earned the pole award at Darlington, a win at Las Vegas, and a runner-up finish at Richmond, which helped him earn a spot in the NXS playoffs. Chastain was set to race full-time for CGR in the NXS in 2019, before unforeseen circumstances kept the team from competition. Undeterred by the setback, Chastain raced a stellar full season with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoor Truck Series (NGROTS) in 2019, winning three races and finishing the year runner-up in the driver standings. Additionally, Chastain competed in the 2020 Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 with technical assistance from CGR.

Chastain began his racing career at the age of 12 at Punta Gorda Speedway in his home state of Florida, racing in both late model stock cars and Fastruck Series events. During his short-track racing career he scored over 50 wins in feature events, including the 2011 World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway, winning three of eight events in the series.

Chastain will be the sixth driver to compete full-time for CGR in the No. 42 car and joins a crew that has four playoff appearances in the last five seasons.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

Series’ Regular – While he has eased his weekend racing schedule this season, Chastain has been one of the busiest drivers across NASCAR’s national series since making his first start in the NGROTS in 2011. Following three seasons of racing in the NGROTS, Chastain continued to make starts in that series while he began racing in the NXS in 2014. In 2017, Chastain added NCS duties to his busy weekends, running nearly a full season in both 2018 and 2019 while also competing in the NXS. He also raced full-time in the NGROTS in 2019, where he won three races and finished second in the points standings. In total, Chastain has 352 starts in NASCAR’s three top series, with three wins in the NGROTS and two wins in the NXS. Since 2017, he has continued to make starts in all three national series.

Melon Man – Chastain, a native of Alva, Fla., earned the Melon Man nickname for his family history in the watermelon farming business. For eight generations his family has been involved in watermelon farming, and Chastain continues to work on the family’s land when his schedule allows. True to his nickname, Chastain’s signature move after a race win is to spike a watermelon at the finish line.

QUOTEBOARD:

Chip Ganassi, Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing: “Ross has been a part of this organization for a few years now, and I am happy to announce him as our driver for the No. 42 team. In three races with our organization in 2018 and watching ever since, he showed me and everyone else that he is a tenacious driver who wants to win. We believe that Ross will give our team the opportunity to be competitive each week and our sponsors someone to build a program around. Additionally, his racing background has him well-suited to make the move to the Cup Series.”

Ross Chastain, Driver, No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro: “I can’t thank Chip enough for this opportunity. The faith he and the organization showed me back in 2018 was a real turning point in my career, and I am extremely happy for the chance to join the team again especially with all the great guys they have on the 42 and to be able to team with a champion like Kurt Busch. Racing in the Cup Series with a serious contender has always been my goal, and I’m looking forward to joining what is a very strong team. I know I have my work cut out for me, but I’m ready to get to work and help bring more success to the organization.”

About Chip Ganassi Racing:

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include three cars in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and two cars in the NASCAR Cup Series. Overall his teams have 19 championships and over 225 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, eight Rolex 24 At Daytonas, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh.

For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com

HARVICK AND BRISCOE WIN AT THE LAST GREAT COLOSSEUM

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Official Release
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BRISTOL, TN – September 21, 2020 – Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines win both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick from Stewart-Haas Racing had their work cut out for them throughout the race and during the final laps at “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile”, both battling elite competition for the win.

“What a weekend in Bristol! Congratulations to Kevin, Chase, Tony, Gene, and the entire Stewart-Haas Racing Organization for the weekend sweep. These teams were well prepared and worked their strategies for the race wins,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Our team at Roush Yates Engines is looking forward to the Round of 12 in the Cup Series playoffs and the start of the Xfinity Series playoffs this weekend at Las Vegas.”

Brad Keselowski led the field to green in the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race and led a total of 82 laps before a power steering issue sent him to the garage. Team Penske racing teammate, Joey Logano, had a strong run finishing in the top ten in both stages while spending most of the night inside the top five. A loose wheel forced Logano to pit early and trapped him laps down, ultimately finishing P11.

The final laps at Bristol Motor Speedway surely did not disappoint, with two stock car racing champions, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, in a fierce battle for the win. Harvick and Busch swapped the lead multiple times before Harvick took the lead with 31 laps to go and crossed the finish line .310 seconds over Busch earning his ninth win of the 2020 season.

When asked about his battle with Busch, Harvick commented, “To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of got myself in a little bit of a ringer there. I hit a lapped car and got a hole in the right-front nose, but just kept fighting. We don’t have anything else to lose. We were here to try to win a race. I know how much Rodney really enjoys coming here and, hell, how can you not enjoy coming here with all this enthusiasm.”

Five Ford Mustangs finished in the top-10. Following Harvick was Stewart-Haas teammates Aric Almirola in P5 and Clint Bowyer in P6. Roush Fenway’s Chris Buescher had a great run finishing P8 as well as Michael McDowell from Front Row Motorsports finishing P10.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series race was just as exciting this past weekend at Bristol. Both Ford Performance drivers, Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe, finished inside the top five in both stages in the Food City 300. The final stage saw Austin Cindric take a comfortable lead at lap 253, until a power steering issue surfaced just 17 laps later. Cindric did a great job of hanging onto the lead until six laps to go when Briscoe made the winning pass.

This was Briscoe’s seventh time in victory lane in 2020, but winning at Bristol was special due to the fact that there were a limited number of fans back in the stands. Briscoe commented, “I am so thankful that we are back with the race fans. You guys are the best. It’s not the same without you guys. We can’t wait to get you back all the time, but, man what a race.”

The NASCAR Playoffs head out West to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Round of 12 kickoff for both series. In the Cup series there are five Ford drivers still in the hunt for the championship (Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, and Clint Bowyer). In the Xfinity series both Ford drivers, Briscoe and Cindric, will be competing for the championship over these next seven weeks. Reference the full 2020 schedule on Roushyates.com.

27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 408 WINS – 364 POLES!

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

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

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

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

3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races

NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Bristol II

By
Briar Starr
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Chase Briscoe leads the field during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 18, 2020. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images.

The Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway marked just one race to go until the 2020 Xfinity Series Playoffs begin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Saturday. 

Many eyes were on Justin Allgaier who previously swept both of the Richmond races, while Chase Briscoe uncharacteristically struggled and was looking for a rebound at Bristol. 

Early on in the race, it looked like it was going to be the Allgaier Show again as the JR Motorsports driver won both stages and led the most laps of 126. However, after the second stage, Allgaier never contended for the win as his car stabilized behind the leaders and new contenders emerged such as Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain. Ultimately, it was Briscoe who grabbed the checkered flag after moving race leader Cindric out of the way cleanly with just six laps to go. 

While Briscoe is looking like the championship favorite in the Xfinity Series, a few other drivers had notable nights and we’ll detail that in this week’s Xfinity Series Power Rankings. 

  1. Justin Allgaier – Allgaier won both of the stages and led the most laps before coming home with a disappointing fifth-place finish. He has been on fire as of late and if he can keep the momentum going into Las Vegas this week, the JR Motorsports driver might be an easy favorite for the race victory as it appears he is peaking at the right time.

    Previous Week Ranking – First
  2. Ross Chastain – Another top-five finish for Chastain who came oh so close to his first Xfinity Series victory of the season. The Floridian almost made the bump and run to pass Cindric in the remaining laps but was unsuccessful in his attempt. As Chastain couldn’t pass then race leader Cindric, this allowed Chase Briscoe to not only go by Chastain for second but ultimately take the race win by passing Cindric. Chastain finished second, led 117 laps, finished fifth and fourth in both stages respectively, and now will be seeded eighth in the Playoffs.

    Previous Week Ranking – Third
  3. Chase Briscoe – After a disappointing finish the week prior at Richmond, Briscoe rebounded nicely to score his seventh victory of the 2020 season after passing Cindric with only a few laps remaining. Previous to winning the race, the Indiana native was successful in Stage 1 and 2, finishing third in each segment. Briscoe is now one win away from eight, the goal he set out to achieve at the beginning of the season.
  4. Austin Cindric – Before Cindric finished third in the running order, he led 42 laps and was out front late in the going before being passed by eventual race winner Briscoe. In addition, Cindric placed fourth and third in both stages after a solid night at Bristol. Certainly, a great turnaround for Cindric who crashed out in the spring race at Bristol earlier this season.

    Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
  5. Harrison Burton – Even though he led no laps in Friday’s race, Burton, like Briscoe, rebounded to score a much needed fourth-place finish prior to the Playoffs starting this upcoming weekend at Las Vegas. Burton ended up 10th in Stage 1 and seventh in the second stage. It was a great points night for Burton and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

    Previous Week Ranking – Fifth 

Fell Out 

  1. Justin Haley – Haley had a great Stage 1 finish of second but it all went south in Stage 2 when right-front problems plagued the No. 11 Chevrolet. Haley continued to fight these conditions, before finishing 16th in the running order, one lap down.

Previous Week Ranking – First

Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer claim final transfer spots to the Round of 12

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

The 2020 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19, was the site of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff’s Round of 16 finale. Following an eventful 500-mile battle under the lights at Thunder Valley, with a number of competitors vying for transfer spots to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs, four competitors had their title hopes for this season eliminated. While some were left disappointed, others were left with relief feelings of transferring to the second round. Among those left satisfied included Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer, all of whom were three of 12 competitors who will continue to battle for the title entering the second round of the Playoffs.

For Almirola, he came into Saturday night’s race at Bristol with a four-point cushion above the top-12 cutline after finishing ninth and eighth during the first two races of this year’s Playoffs at Darlington Raceway and at Richmond Raceway, respectively.

Starting in 10th place in his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang, Almirola dealt with early loose-handling conditions. Under caution past the Lap 30 mark, he pitted for fresh tires and adjustments and was able to drive up to as high as sixth place on the ensuing restart. During a long green flag run, Almirola fell back to the top 15 and went on to conclude the first stage on Lap 125 in 18th place.

Restarting in 17th place for the second stage, Almirola was able to fight his way back inside the top 10, where he spent throughout the stage. Racing in ninth place by Lap 236 and gaining a spot on pit road, he went on to conclude the second stage in seventh place as he earned a handful of stage points.

Restarting in seventh place for the final stage, he made his way into the top five with less than 100 laps remaining. With approximately 92 laps remaining, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck and Almirola was one of six competitors left on the lead lap. Hitting pit road for the final time under caution, Almirola restarted in sixth place and was able to drive his way up to fifth place with 50 laps remaining. For the remainder of the race, Almirola retained fifth place on the track as his top-five result was more than enough for him to transfer into the second round of the Playoffs.

Almirola’s career-high sixth top-five result at Thunder Valley not only extended his momentum and surge in competing for the title, but it also extended the Floridian’s consistent stretch since June as he claimed his 14th top-10 result since June at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Yes, we’re moving on to round two in the Playoffs and keeping our championship hopes alive,” Almirola said in a post-race statement on Twitter. “We had a top five tonight at Bristol, which was a great run for us. We missed it a bit to start. [Crew chief Mike] Buga [Bugarewicz] and the guys just kept fighting and kept adjusting. I was scrapping in the car to get everything I could get. We drove back into the top 10 after falling behind and then, was able to make some more adjustments and drive up into the top five and finish fifth. Really proud of everybody on this race team. Excited to be going on to round two in the Playoffs. Thank you to Smithfield, Ford,…everybody that makes this deal go round. It felt so good to have 30,000 fans back in the stands tonight. That was really nice tonight. Looking forward to Vegas, kicking off round two in the Playoffs and seeing if we can’t go get some more.”

Since this year’s Playoffs began at Darlington Raceway, Kurt Busch came into the postseason with a game plan and a competitive approach to contend for this year’s championship since he won his first and only title in 2004. After finishing eighth and 13th during the first two Playoff races, Busch and his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team were also four points above the top-12 cutline.

Lining up in 13th place, the Las Vegas, Nevada, native dropped back inside the top 20 during the early portions of the race. He was scored in 17th place by Lap 30 and under caution. Restarting in 16th place on the ensuing restart and after pitting while addressing loose-handling conditions to his race car, Busch methodically made his way towards the front and was able to crack the top 10 as the long run under green progressed. By the time the first time concluded on Lap 125, Busch was scored in sixth place as he collected valuable stage points.

Restarting inside the top 10 for the second stage, Busch was able to carve his way into the top five despite battling loose-handling conditions to his car. He kept himself well inside the top five throughout the stage and he brought the No. 1 car home in fifth place when the second stage concluded, thus collecting more stage points.

Lined up in fifth place for the final stage, Busch quickly fell back to 10th place while reporting a vibration to his No. 1 car. He surrendered his track position to make an unscheduled pit stop with approximately 175 laps remaining. Nearly twenty-five laps later and by the time he returned to the track, he was scored in 26th place, three laps behind the leaders and on the bubble zone in vying for a transfer spot to the Playoffs. For the remainder of the race, Busch gained one of his laps back, but he was unable to make up the lost time and positions from the vibration issues. When the checkered flag flew, Busch finished in 15th place, two laps behind the leaders. His result, nonetheless, was enough for him to transfer into the second round of the Playoffs.

Though Kurt Busch has yet to score his first victory of this season, his 15th-place result marked his third consecutive top-15 result to start the Playoffs as he sets his focus on the second round of the Playoffs, beginning next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track.

Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“It was a good day, we had a loose wheel and we battled after that, but our stage points are what really helped the Monster Energy Chevy tonight.” Busch said. “That gave us the cushion we needed to absorb the problem that we had. All-in-all we advanced and that’s what we expected to do and that is what we have to continue to do. We will do it through teamwork and execution. The next round we have a mile-and-a-half [Talladega] Superspeedway and then the [Charlotte] Roval. We’ve just got to be on our toes, keep adjusting and adapt to all the things that are coming our way in the next round.”

For Bowyer, his results during the first two races of this year’s Playoffs have been like his 26-race regular-season stretch, where they have been consistent. Having finished 10th at Darlington and Richmond, the Emporia, Kansas, native started the night at Bristol holding sole possession of the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12 by a mere three points over William Byron.

Starting in 11th place in his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang, Bowyer was scored in 10th place through the first 30 laps of the race while under caution. Throughout the stage and under a long green flag run, the handling of Bowyer’s car went away as he was fighting loose conditions. Losing spots on the track, he went on to conclude the stage in 19th place. 

Restarting in 16th place for the second stage, Bowyer kept himself inside the top 20 throughout the stage. By then, however, he was scored outside of the top-12 cutline and was in jeopardy of not advancing to the second round of the Playoffs. Then, in the closing laps of the stage, good fortune came for Bowyer and his No. 14 team when William Byron, whom Bowyer was battling for a transfer spot in the Playoff standings, wrecked. Pitting under caution and finishing in eighth place in the second stage while also collecting a handful of stage points, Bowyer moved back inside the top-12 cutline.

Scored in eighth place for the final stage, Bowyer began to make his way into the top five. With approximately 80 laps remaining, he was one of six competitors scored on the lead lap following an on-track incident. Restarting in second place on the ensuing restart, Bowyer dropped back to sixth place as he battled with teammate Aric Almirola for position. Knowing he needed to race cautiously for the remainder of the event, Bowyer brought the No. 14 car home in sixth place and was able to race his way into the second round of the Playoffs.

Bowyer’s accomplishment allowed three of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four-car lineup to transfer into the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. For Bowyer, notching three consecutive top-10 results to start the Playoffs gave him an extra sense of boost to conclude this season on a high note with his racing plans for next still currently undetermined.

“I was struggling, way too loose pretty much all night,” Bowyer said in a post-race conference on Zoom. “I saw [Byron’s wreck]. That’s a shame for William. He had a good run going. It’s short track racing. You don’t have time to think about points and all that stuff. There’s nothing you can do. You attack the race track one hundred percent every lap, especially at a bull ring like this. I love these short tracks. Obviously, [I] was hoping to be a little bit better, but at the end of the day, we did what we came here to do. That was to advance. You come here to win the race, but proud of [teammate] Kevin Harvick and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for winning the race here, taking care of business with the Nos. 10 and 14. We’ll move on and live to see another round here in the Playoffs.”

With their accomplishments, Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer join Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch as the 12 competitors who will continue to compete for this year’s Cup title in the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.

Almirola, Kurt Busch and Bowyer, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next scheduled NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

DiBenedetto’s Playoff Run Ends with 19th-Place Finish at Bristol

By
Official Release
-

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team had some good luck and some bad in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but in the end, not enough good fortune to advance to the Round of 12 in the Cup Series Playoffs.

DiBenedetto started Saturday’s 500-lapper, the final race in the first Playoff round, from 16th place. He moved up to 12th place then took the lead by taking just two tires during a caution period at Lap 30. He ran among the top five for more than 60 laps, but the caution flag he needed for the two-tire strategy to work never flew. At a disadvantage tire-wise, he ended the Stage in 12th place.

DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team again experienced equal doses of good and bad luck in the second Stage. On the 61st lap of the second Stage, DiBenedetto had to make a green-flag pit stop because of a loose wheel.

He rejoined the race in 29th place, three laps down, but good luck was riding with him. His fresher tires allowed him to regain one of the laps under the green flag, then he regained another lap by taking the wave-around when fellow Playoff driver William Byron wrecked in the closing laps of that Stage. Then when the caution flag flew to end the stage, DiBenedetto was in the free pass position and was able to return to the lead lap for the start of the final segment of the race.

A penalty for speeding on pit road sent him to the rear of the field for the restart, but he worked his way forward and was running seventh, a lap down, with less than 100 laps to go.

Still, the win he needed to advance in the Playoffs remained a long shot. DiBenedetto held his position until the bad luck returned in the form of a cut tire with just under 10 laps remaining.

A green-flag pit stop put him back three laps and left him with a 19th-place finish and elimination from the Playoffs.

DiBenedetto said after the race that the team’s perseverance at Bristol gives him hope for a strong finish to the 2020 season.

“Tonight shows the fight that we have as a team, rebounding like that,” he said. “I just hate that we miss the next round.

“We had some not-so-good races, bad luck tonight, you name it, but we’ve got a lot of season left. We still have a lot of positions in points to fight for, and we have fast race cars like you see tonight, so we still have a lot of stuff left and hopefully a lot of good things to come.”

Eddie Wood said it just wasn’t in the cards for his family team to advance in the Playoffs.

“It was a long shot going into Bristol,” he said. “We ran pretty good. The car was tight early in the race, but adjustments got it better.

“We needed some luck on our side and got some at times in the race. But luck goes both ways and we saw that with a cut tire at the end.

“We’ll move on and make the most of these next seven races.”

DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team now head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where they finished second earlier this season.

Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader. It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember. For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

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.

NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Bristol

By
Briar Starr
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Christian Eckes leads the field during the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17, 2020. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty. Images)

Bristol Motor Speedway hosted race No. 17 for the 2020 Truck Series season for the first race of the Playoffs. 

Just 10 drivers are entered in the Playoffs this year including Brett Moffitt, Grant Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum, Todd Gilliland, Matt Crafton, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith. 

While those 10 drivers had high hopes of winning Thursday night’s race at Bristol, none of that fell their way. Instead, part-time Truck Series and newly announced Xfinity Series driver, Sam Mayer, stole the show and claimed the checkered flag. Moffitt was the highest ranked playoff driver, finishing second after leading the most laps of 117. 

With Mayer finding victory in his early career, many of the playoff drivers were left puzzled about their finishing result following the 200 lap event. 

Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the UNOH 200. 

  1. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt had the best Truck for the middle portions of the race and led from Lap 114 to 170, 57-laps in total. He was on his way to his first checkered flag of the season but his Truck started to fade a little bit as the laps wore down. Once Mayer caught and passed Moffitt, all the Iowan could do was watch and maintain his second-place finish. Despite finishing second, Moffitt won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2 and came home with the playoff points lead with a 36 point buffer.

    Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
  2. Grant Enfinger – Enfinger made his 100th Truck Series career start last Thursday night, which is hard to believe since his first Truck Series race came 10 years ago in 2010. The Alabaman had an up and down night with his Truck shutting off and on due to a potential electrical issue. The ThorSport driver managed a Stage 1 finish of fifth before earning his 63rd Top 10 of his career, his 10th of the season.

    Previous Week Ranking – Third
  3. Tyler Ankrum – Ankrum earned his first career stage win by winning the second stage, and in addition, he finished second in Stage 1. However, most of his race somewhat went south when there was a miscommunication between the crew chief and driver during the stage break caution. Ankrum missed the pit stall the first time around before eventually pitting the second time. While Bristol is what could have been for Ankrum, he finished seventh, gaining his eighth Top 10 finish of the year.

    Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
  4. Matt Crafton – Crafton had a respectable finish of 10th after Trevor Bayne, who originally finished fifth, was disqualified, which Crafton moved up in the finishing order. The finish was Crafton’s 10th top-10 of the year. As for the stages, he finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

    Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
  5. Ben Rhodes – A ho-hum night for Ben Rhodes who came home in the 13th position after winning the Darlington race the week prior to Bristol. Rhodes couldn’t gain a top-10 in either stage, unfortunately. It was certainly a disappointing and forgettable Bristol outing for Rhodes and company.

    Previous Week Ranking – First 

Fell Out 

  1. Austin Hill – A frustrating night for the 2020 Regular Truck Series Champion Austin Hill, who finished 25th, five laps down. The Georgian’s night got off to a rough start when he got collected in an incident on Lap 8 with the No. 52 of Stewart Friesen. Hill received right-rear bumper damage from the contact. Throughout the night, Hill maintained as much as he could but continued to fight an ill-handling Truck due to brake issues. More problems arose on Lap 156 when Hill was involved with an accident involving the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self. The final incident pretty much put a damper on Hill’s first race of the playoffs.

    Previous Week Ranking – Second
  2. Todd Gilliland – 14th place finish for playoff contender Todd Gilliland, who is now eight points below the cut line after fighting a loose handling Truck for much of the night.

    Previous Week Ranking – Fifth 

CHEVY NCS AT BRISTOL 2: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
4th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHILDRESS VINEYARDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
12th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
14th MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2nd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
3rd Erik Jones (Toyota)
4th Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)
5th Aric Almirola (Ford)

UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Round 3 of 10 / Entering into the Round of 12)
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford) – 3,067 points
2nd Denny Hamlin (Toyota) – 3,048 points
3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford) – 3,035 points
4th Joey Logano (Ford) – 3,022 points
5th *Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) – 3,021 points
6th Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) – 3,016 points
7th * Alex Bowman (Chevrolet) – 3,009 points
8th * Austin Dillon (Chevrolet) – 3,005 points
9th Aric Almirola (Ford) – 3,005 points
10th Kyle Busch (Toyota) – 3,004 points
11th Clint Bowyer (Ford) – 3,004 points
12th * Kurt Busch (Chevrolet) – 3,001 points

The NASCAR Cup Series seasons continues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the South Point 400 on Sunday, September 27th,, at 7:00 p.m. ET to kick off the Round of 12 for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, the NBC Sports Gold app, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHILDRESS VINEYARDS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th
“Our No. 8 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro was a fast one tonight, and we had a great finish to show for it at Bristol Motor Speedway. It took a couple adjustments to get our car to where I needed it to be, but our communication as a team on what adjustments to make has been a big focus for us over the past few weeks and that paid off during tonight’s race. I fired off a little loose on the bottom and tight on the top, so our team had a decision to make on what to focus on. I felt that the top the better groove for our car, so we chose to work on loosening up our Chevrolet a little bit throughout the night and got it in a really good spot for the final stage. Those adjustments made it so I was able to cut through traffic during that last stage and race our way into the top five for the last 100 laps or so. I think I may have pushed my front tires a little bit too much on that final run, but this was a really good night for our team. We’re chasing wins in these remaining races while also working on building a strong notebook for next year, and this is a solid step in the right direction for both of those goals.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th
“Definitely excited to move on in the playoffs. I thought the NAPA team had a solid race tonight. It’s unfortunate the way the pit cycle went there, but I felt like we were close. Not sure if we were as good as the 4 and 18, but I thought we were close to them. I am proud of the effort and I hope this next round is good for us. It’s definitely not going to get any easier as it goes. Nice to get the stage point and stage win and we will try again in Vegas.”

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
“That was a really fun night at Bristol Motor Speedway. This year has obviously had its challenges for us, and we’ve worked so hard to try and make the strategy play in our favor and get JTG Daugherty Racing the finish we deserve and it feels really good to be able to put it all together. Our BUSH’S Beans Chevrolet was really good on the long run, and Trent and the guys did some great work on pit road to get our handling where we needed it to be to maintain those fast laps at the end of the long run. The cautions finally fell our way and we were able to capitalize on it. Every week for the rest of the season is so important to keep focusing on the positives and get as many good finishes as we can and to be able to get BUSH’S Beans as top-10 finish at their home track is something we’re all proud of.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“We did what we had to do tonight in our Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/ E-Z-GO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We advanced to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs. We started off really strong, but our Chevy ended up getting extremely tight in Stage 2. We recovered from that and were running in the top 10 when Harvick slowed on the track to make a green-flag pit stop. I got on my brakes as hard as I could to avoid hitting him, but a lapped car was in the middle of the track and I had nowhere to go. My RCR team did a great job making repairs, but we were never able to catch the break we needed to get back into the top five. Our car was fast overall tonight, though, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish during the remainder of the season. We’ll go to Las Vegas next week and try to get a win.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th
“It was a good day, we had a loose wheel and we battled after that, but our stage points are what really helped the Monster Energy Chevy tonight. That gave us the cushion we needed to absorb the problem that we had. All-in-all we advanced and that’s what we expected to do and that is what we have to continue to do. We will do it through teamwork and execution. The next round we have a mile-and-a-half Superspeedway and then the Roval. We’ve just got to be on our toes, keep adjusting and adapt to all the things that are coming our way in the next round.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th
“That was pretty eventful. We had a really good car all night. Our Axalta Camaro was really fast. Probably going to end up somewhere in the top five, at least the top 10. We just had a tire issue under green there in the last stage and had to pit. Unfortunately, we were not in our window to pit. Once the caution did come out, we weren’t able to take the wave around. We were just kind of trapped there and unfortunately couldn’t recover from that. I think we finished 16th. So awesome to advance to the next round. Proud of my team. This is the strongest we have been going into the Round of 12. I feel like we have some great tracks for us coming up. This is the most consistent we have been as a race team. I am bummed we lost our streak of top-10 finishes, but we have plenty more opportunities throughout the year to have great cars and contend for wins. Wish we would have ended up a little better, but we are ready for Vegas.”

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“Our Germain Racing team battled all night long. It was a really good night for our GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE. Everyone on our team executed throughout the entire race, from Matt (Borland) making good calls, the pit crew having great stops and Chris (Monez) on the spotter stand helping me navigate traffic. We all worked hard and it paid off. The car was its best at the end of the race, which is all you can ask for as a driver. I’m proud of our effort and we will keep digging to finish strong.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 CASH APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 22nd
“We had a pretty fast No. 43 Cash App Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE tonight – probably the best car we’ve ever brought to Bristol (Motor Speedway), so that was a positive. We got a stage point in the Stage 1. I thought the guys were doing a really good job throughout the night. Our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was on the tight-side a little bit. We didn’t really seem to help it, but we didn’t really hurt it all either – kind of just stayed the same balance from the start of the race to the finish. A little frustrating, but super frustrated that we just can’t seem to get some luck on the strategy side. Unfortunate that we got trapped three-laps down, or whatever it was, and you’re just stuck, especially that late in the race. We’ll go onto the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and see if we can turn it around.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 232; Finished 38th
ABSOLUTE HEARTBREAK FOR WILLIAM BYRON, WHO WILL NOT ADVANCE TO THE ROUND OF 12. HE’S OUT OF THE CAR. THEY’RE TRYING TO ASSESS EXACTLY ALL THE DAMAGE ON THE NO. 24 CAR, BUT IT IS GOING TO END HIS EVENING. WHAT HAPPENED, WILLIAM, ON THE TRACK? EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
“I think the No. 51 car (Joey Gase) checked up in the middle of the straightaway. As fast as we were running the top, I was right behind the No. 95 (Christopher Bell) and I had literally nowhere to go. You can’t stop in the middle of the straightaway when everybody is so committed to the top like that. Just ridiculous that that’s what takes us out. I thought honestly we had a shot to run top-five or seven. The car was really, really good. We just needed a couple good pitstops. We were running probably ninth or tenth there. Just super disappointing – I’ve got to go back and watch that because that was kind of ridiculous.”

GIVE US A LOOK AT THE INCIDENT THROUGH YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
“Yeah, we were running tenth, I believe, and trying to get a couple of stage points. We had gotten a few in the first stage. Our car was really good, just needed a little bit of track position I feel like. Probably went the wrong way on the last adjustment – tried to get myself turning a little better and it got too free. (inaudible) Really the incident, the No. 51 (Joey Gase), I think it was green and black car, was coming off the corner and the No. 95 (Christopher Bell) and I were both running the top. The No. 51 just checked up in the middle of the straightaway and had nowhere to go. And the No. 95 slammed on the brakes to try to not hit him and I slammed into him because I was on his bumper. So, just a terrible situation, but not really sure why that happened or what really transpired for him to stop like that. But, go back on SMT like we can now and look at what happened and move on.”

DESCRIBE THE EMOTIONS OF WHAT YOU’VE GONE THROUGH THE LAST MONTH WITH THE WIN AND THE WAY YOU FALL OUT TONIGHT.
“I think they’re two separate things. It would have been worse if we just completely ran horrible this first round, but I think outside of Richmond, we were going to have two top-seven finishes. I feel like we were well capable of finishing in the top-five tonight. It was only halfway through the race and we were going to finish top-10 in both stages, probably, and move on from there. So, yeah I don’t really know – things like that, I don’t know, you’ve just got to be more aware I guess than that to check up like that. But I don’t know – I don’t know what happened that would cause that really.”

HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THIS SEASON? OBVIOUSLY, YOU GOT YOUR FIRST-CAREER WIN AND THERE’S STILL SEVEN RACES LEFT THIS YEAR. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THIS SEASON, EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE OUT IN THIS FIRST ROUND?
“Yeah, I think it’s been a great season. I think that we’ve performed well. I think we would have liked to perform better, based on how we ended last year. But we got a win and I feel like really the last five or six weeks, we’ve had all top-10 runs, besides Richmond, which is our worst track. I don’t know – hopefully continue being fast the next few weeks.”
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