NASCAR CUP SERIES
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2020
BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE – BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES
Ford Finishing Results
1st – Kevin Harvick
5th – Aric Almirola
6th – Clint Bowyer
8th – Chris Buescher
10th – Michael McDowell
11th – Joey Logano
13th – Ryan Blaney
19th – Matt DiBenedetto
20th – John Hunter Nemechek
23rd – Cole Custer
25th – Ryan Newman
27th – Gray Gaulding
31st – Joey Gase
33rd – Corey LaJoie
34th – Brad Keselowski

HARVICK PROPELS MUSTANG TO ROUND OF 16 SWEEP WITH 9TH WIN OF 2020

• Kevin Harvick won his ninth race of the season and 58th of his Cup career by winning tonight’s race.
• The win gives Mustang a sweep of the Round of 16 after Harvick won at Darlington and Brad Keselowski at Richmond.
• All nine of Harvick’s wins have come since NASCAR returned to action on May 17..
• The win is Mustang’s 17th of the season.
• Harvick is 9th on the all-time Cup win list with his 58 victories.
• Harvick now has 23 Ford Cup wins, which puts him into a tie for 10th on the all-time Ford list. What makes that accomplishment so impressive is Harvick has done it in only three-plus seasons.
• This marks the 29th win for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining Ford (Harvick has won 23).
• Today’s win is Ford’s 703rd all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang — VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW — “Man, I just want to say thank you to all the fans. I was so jacked up when we started this race because of you guys and Bristol Motor Speedway. I’m just really, really proud of everybody on our Busch Light Ford. Mobil 1, Hunt Brothers Pizza, everybody from Jimmy John’s, Fields. We’ll bring the sword to the go-kart tent tomorrow, so you boys better be ready to take a picture.”

WHAT ABOUT THE BATTLE WITH KYLE? “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. Everybody is tired of being at home.”

TO WIN IN FRONT OF FANS MAKES IT MORE SPECIAL. “It does. I know you guys are tired of being at home like me, so I’m glad you’re all here having a hell of a time. Thank you.”

NINE WINS IS A PERSONAL BEST FOR YOU. HOW DOES IT FEEL? “I’m just so happy to drive this Busch Light Ford. I’m so happy to see all these fans in the grandstands. I was so jacked up when I got in this race car tonight to come here and just race and to be able to do that in front of people, that’s the enthusiasm that you get is from the crowd and I’m so excited for our team. Everybody from Busch Light and Mobil 1, Ford Mustang, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Jimmy John’s, everybody who helps us at the shop. The guys are just doing a great job.”

YOU HAD A GREAT BATTLE WITH KYLE BUSCH. HOW MUCH WERE YOU LOOKING IN THE MIRROR? “I got a hole in the right-front nose and it made the car tight, so I had to take a little more risk in the middle of the corner and risk missing the middle of the corner, but I found a pretty good groove in one and two, and was able to get through those lapped cars pretty good, so it all worked out.”

IS THERE ANY WAY TO SAY HOW GOOD THIS SEASON FEELS? “There is not. It’s just been a weird a year, but it’s been an unbelievable year on the racetrack. I can’t thank everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing enough.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang — “We started off tight and then that second run we got really tight after the comp caution and lost a lot of track position. After that, we kind of were able to drive up through there. We got to fifth or sixth the one time and we were super tight again and it went really long. That just kind of made it worse and we just kind of got behind there. The track just swung really tight. I was kind of tight all night, but it just swung really tight on us and that was just the wrong direction that the track needed to be at. That stinks. I thought we got our car pretty close there in the second half of the race after the second stage, and then we were on the cycle of pitting and getting laps down and was on old stuff, so it was an unfortunate end for this 12 group, but I’m really proud of the effort this year and we’re not done. We can still go and try to win races and try to get fifth in points, so thanks to Advance Auto Parts and Menards and Ford for what they do. We’ve got seven more races. We’ll do our best.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang — “We definitely did what we needed to do. Our Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Engine Ford Mustang was pretty good tonight. We were just way too loose to run with the 4 or the 18. The cycle on the tires when we actually had that caution, had a cycle on the tires and that usually makes it tighter and that was by far our best run. We drove up through them pretty good and put ourselves in position there, but as soon as the green flag dropped right there at the end I was right back loose again. We did what we had to do. Obviously, you come here to win a race and be on top of that building over there, but proud of the guys and all their efforts. We’re moving forward and that’s all that matters right now.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Autodesk Ford Mustang — “We just struggled here. I don’t know why. I’ve always liked Bristol, it just hasn’t come together this year here. We’ve just really struggled. I just can’t thank everybody enough at SHR, everybody at HaasTooling.com, Autodesk. I just wish we had a better night. We were just a little bit off. I think we can hang our heads high on what we’ve done this year, but we still have a lot of races to win the rest of this year, so we just have to keep building.”

HOW PROUD ARE YOU OF YOUR GUYS AND THE POSITION THEY PUT YOU IN? “It’s all about the people. I think for where we started this year, where I was at, they’ve all helped me so much getting better and better, and now we can run consistently and run decent. We just missed it the last few weeks a little bit and hopefully we can keep working at it and we’ll come back better next year.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang — “If we didn’t have bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all. I don’t know. It’s just frustrating. I hate it. I want to get Menards and Dutch Boy and this team a good run like they deserve because we’ve had a rough couple weeks, and had a loose wheel, overcome it — drive through the entire field with a lot of green flag. We get to seventh, hoping for a caution, but either way we drove to the top 10 — good run — and I was screaming, ‘Debris in 1,’ three damn times and we found it. We ran it over multiple times and I cut the right-rear down and it just ruins our day.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF THE HIGHS OF MAKING IT IN AND THE LOWS OF BEING ELIMINATED? “I can’t possibly explain to people the emotional rollercoaster of doing this for a living. I am very appreciative to do it and love it and I hope I’m driving for this team next year and hope to keep on doing it. We have a lot to build off of. We’re just barely getting started, but, man, it is tough. I’m glad we made the playoffs. I’m proud of my team. Tonight shows the fight that we have as a team, rebounding like that. I just hate that we miss the next round and 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.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — “It was a frustrating night, there is no way around that. I am thankful we were able to lead some laps but that certainly was not what we were hoping for. We had a power steering pump issue. I am not sure exactly what it was. I will let the team guys get to that and chase it down. Obviously it killed out chances. I don’t know what would have happened if we didn’t have that problem but we did so we will move on to the next week and I am thankful we had the win at Richmond last week to fall back on.”

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC HEADING INTO THE NEXT ROUND? “Sure. Obviously we just can’t have mechanical failures, those are killers. And I can’t make mistakes and run into the wall and we can’t have mechanical failures. I am really thankful that we had such a strong performance at Richmond. I am still very proud of that and hopefully we will learn from Darlington and this week here in Bristol and be that much better for it.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — “We had a car that was probably top-five. It wasn’t as good as the 4 and 18 but we had something that was competitive and had that longer run with a loose right rear wheel and we tried to make it last long and it started to get pretty bad. Here, if you go too long it will ruin your chances for the day. It felt like we were late enough in the run that maybe we would start to cycle if we pit. We were so close. The caution was because of the 4 pitting and bottling everyone up. We were probably 10 or 15 laps from the cycle being complete and getting our lap back and being in contention for an even better finish. That is how it goes sometimes. We had a solid car and we have a lot of momentum still into the playoffs with three really solid runs outside of one little hiccup here. We will move on to the next round and be happy.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang — “Well, what an awesome night for our No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang. We got a top-10 at Bristol. I’m really proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. I’m so thankful to Bob Jenkins and all of my guys for giving me this opportunity. It’s the best season that I’ve ever had and another top-10 really helps to keep our momentum rolling. We also have a Ford in Victory Lane, so that’s awesome. I’m just super-excited to get a top-10 at Bristol.”

POST-RACE BUBBLE ZOOM PRESS CONFERENCE

RYAN BLANEY — WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE FOR YOU TONIGHT? “We started off tight and after the competition caution I thought the racetrack went really tight and we kind of had a longer run there for the first stage and we went right backwards. I was just super-tight on exit. I thought we made a decent swing at it the second stage and then after the second stage we got to fifth or sixth and something like that I was like, ‘Okay.’ Pretty decent running down fourth and fifth and then just like a light switch got really tight on exit again and couldn’t run the bottom. I was just super-tight on exit and where my strengths were up top they went away after maybe 80-90 laps, so that definitely stinks. We were kind of just back-and-forth on it, but it’s a shame we didn’t transfer. It was just a back-and-forth night and then we got caught up when we pitted under green and just got caught two down and that was kind of the story of it.”

HOW SURPRISED ARE YOU TO BE IN THIS POSITION BEING OUT IN THE FIRST ROUND? “I’m upset about it. I don’t want to be knocked out with seven races to go and not be able to run for a championship. I’m not very excited about that, but there’s a lot of things we could have cleaned up as a group together, myself included, and we just didn’t perform. We didn’t perform in the first round like we needed to to transfer and that’s something you’ll have. We just needed to step up and we just had too many issues, but we still have seven races left. We’ll try to win one or two of them and try to get fifth in points. We’ve still got that, so there’s still a goal that you’re trying to go to. Yeah, it sucks that you’re not able to run for it, but I’m just disappointed — not really disappointed. It’s kind of hard to put into words. I wish we all had a better three races as a team. I know this team can have great races and it’s a shame we missed that a little bit.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SPEED YOU GUYS SHOWED EARLY IN THE YEAR WHEN YOU STARTED SO WELL? “I’m not sure. I thought we still had decent speed maybe even a couple months ago. I don’t know. Things haven’t really fallen into place and maybe our speed is not quite there. I’d love to tell you if I knew what it was, we would try to fix it, but I just think it was some tough racetracks that kind of came around for us and not stepping up to the occasion as a whole group, me as a driver for sure included. I’d love to tell you. I don’t think we’ve lost all of our speed. I think at times we show a lot of speed, maybe it’s not as consistent as what it was earlier in the first half of the year, but I still think it’s there. We just have to find it here again for the last seven.”

BEFORE YOU GOT CAUGHT A COUPLE LAPS DOWN DID YOU FEEL YOU HAD A SHOT TO WIN? “Even when I thought we were our best, when we were like fifth or sixth, the 4 and the 18 just looked absolutely incredible, pretty much untouchable, so I knew it was gonna take a lot for us to try to continue to get our car better and then line up close to them to see what we could do. I never really thought of that at the time. I just tried to figure out how to get our car better and keep working our way back up through the field because we had a lot of work to do, but, no, the 4 and the 18 obviously looked pretty special.”

WHEN YOU SEE THAT WITH THE 4 AND THE 18 ARE YOU DEFLATED BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE CHANCES OF ADVANCING ARE SLIM? “I don’t think of that. I’m thinking how to make my car go faster. That’s what I think of. You notice it, but you don’t dwell on it. You try to think about your own deal.”

WERE YOU SURPRISED TO BE IN THIS POSITION? “I think I already answered this, but I feel like the speed is still there, it’s just maybe not as consistent. I’m not surprised. We work hard every week. Sometimes you have rough patches as a team, but sometimes things are really clicking really well and your car is fast and things are working out for you. We had that the first half of the year. I’d like to see us get back to that consistent speed we were showing the first half of the year, first two-thirds of the year, and I’m sure we’ll be able to find that. We’ll work really hard, Todd and myself and everybody, to find that for the last seven.”

COLE CUSTER — WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR AND DID THAT PLAY A ROLE IN YOUR STRUGGLED? “Yeah, that definitely did. That pretty much kind of did us in for the night. I think we got our lap back at that point and we were just in line with a bunch of cars and somebody got together and everybody stacked up and everybody just hit each other and we got our nose knocked in, so that’s just classic Bristol, I guess. That’s part of running back there. We had to run better. I was probably a little bit off. It’s just been hard to get the feel that I want here. I haven’t struggled this much at Bristol before, but it’s definitely been tough in the Cup car trying to figure it out.”

YOU WERE IN A CRASH THE FIRST TIME AROUND. DID NOT HAVING THOSE LAPS HURT YOU TONIGHT? “I don’t know, definitely a little bit. You want to get all the laps you can, but at the same time, I thought we were all right the spring race, but the All-Star Race and this race we just seemed to be off. I don’t know. I tried to study as much as I could coming here and trying to figure something out, but we’re just missing it somewhere. We’ll definitely keep trying and keep trying things to get it better, but definitely Bristol is not our strongest track for me right now.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR SEASON AS A WHOLE TO THIS POINT? “We’ve accomplished a lot of our goals. I mean, to go from where we started and be able to be competitive now. Obviously, tonight we were off a little bit, but for the most part we could run pretty competitively and I think that was one of our goals by the end of the year and then also to make the playoffs and to have a win by now, and to win Rookie of the Year. There are a lot of things that we can hold our head high on, but at the same time as a competitor I’m not happy about getting knocked out in the first round and really struggling tonight, but we’ll keep working at it and that’s part of it. We’ll just keep trying things and keep grinding away at it.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO — WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT, ESPECIALLY THE LAST RUN? DID YOU HAVE A RIGHT-REAR TIRE GOING DOWN? “Yeah, so we had a loose wheel early in the race and pitted under green and went three laps down. Fought back from that the whole race long and drove through the field. The team did a really good job. We recovered. We were up to seventh and were in the lucky dog position for what felt like four hours and couldn’t get it, so we were running seventh there. At the end a fast car and there was debris I think from the 95 car in turn one and I was screaming about it on the radio and we kept running it over I think a couple times and, sure enough, cut a right-rear tire and ruined our day and ended up finishing 19th. If our team didn’t have bad luck lately, we wouldn’t have any at all. It’s disappointing, kind of like Cole said, it sucks being knocked out in the first round, but you’ve got to be perfect in these playoffs. I’m glad we made them. We have a lot of things to build on it.”

HOW DO YOU LEAVE BRISTOL TONIGHT LOOKING FORWARD? “Bristol is still definitely my favorite track. I love coming here. I was really proud of our fight tonight. I mean, those things are very satisfying coming from three laps down and fighting in such a tough field in a playoff race, to come from three laps down with a ton of green flag racing — to fight all the way back to running seventh and in the lucky dog spot forever. So this place has impacted my entire career. This place was heavily responsible or partially responsible for me being able to have the privilege to drive this 21 car this year, too. So, there’s a lot that I’m really appreciative for and this place is very close to my heart. I hope to get a win here one day. I hate we couldn’t have rebounded further today. I’m glad we did a great job as a team, fought back like that, but hated to have it end that way cutting a tire down when we had a good run.”

BEFORE THE WHEEL ISSUE IN THE LUCKY DOG POSITION DID YOU THINK IF YOU GOT THAT YOU HAD A SHOT TO WIN? “I don’t think so. We were really fast on the long run, but I think in the short run it took us a little bit to take off. We were a good car, I think. I mean, we were a top five car, I’d say. It was fast. It was good. We had to work on it though. This no practice thing is a real pain in the ass, if I’m being honest. It’s just so hard because we have to make so many adjustments and things, and I feel like it hurts. We can perform better if we had practice for sure, especially being a new team working together this year. We’ve done a great job, but I don’t think we would have won the race. I think the 4 car was deserving of winning, but I think we had a top-five car. I would have been content with a seventh-place run. That would have been a solid day and an amazing recovery for us, but we’ve had some bad luck lately.”

CLINT BOWYER

Q. Clint, once you heard that Byron was out and you were kind of racing cold, did that change your dynamic?

CLINT BOWYER: You know, not really. Obviously they told me that on the radio. I saw it. That’s a shame for William. He had a good run going, and Chad has been doing a good job there with those guys.

But I mean, from there ‑‑ 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 racetrack, 100 percent every lap, especially at a place ‑‑ bullring like this. Love these short tracks. Obviously was hoping to be a little bit better, but at the end of the day we did what we came here to do, and that’s advance. Obviously you come here to win the race, but proud of Kevin Harvick and everybody at Stewart‑Haas Racing for winning the race here and taking care of business with the 10 and the 14, and we’ll move on and survive and live to see another round here in the playoffs.

Q. What’s it like when you’re running in the first stage and they tell you, well, just try to stay on the lead lap?

CLINT BOWYER: Yeah, I was struggling. Way too loose pretty much all night. The way the race played out there with the end of that last stage, we were able to stay out. It was a long kind of cycle on those tires, and that tightened me up a great bit. I think we overestimated how much that did because that was by far our best run, drove up through them and was really ripping the bottom good and making good lap times. But as soon as we put four tires back on it, it was right back to shaking the rear end loose and couldn’t keep it underneath of me and unfortunately fell back to sixth.

You hate to give up those positions there at the end, but given the scenario and how loose I was, I mean, you’re just right there using your head and doing the right things to make the next round.

Q. You had three top‑10 finishes in this round. Did this stretch of races feel like a statement from the No. 14 team a little, don’t forget about us, we’re here to stay, we’re here to compete? Did that feel like a statement at all this stretch?

CLINT BOWYER: No, I mean, I just feel comfortable we’re getting back to our consistency. I guess for a long time in my career I was kind of steady Eddie, and that’s what it takes in these playoffs, to go the rounds, you can’t make mistakes. I said that going into these playoffs. For our team, we’ve got to live up to our capabilities, and if we can do that and race to our capabilities and not make the mistakes we were making through the summer months, we can contend and move forward rounds in this playoff system, and that’s what we’re doing.

Q. How do you feel about continuing your race for champion next week at Las Vegas?

CLINT BOWYER: Yeah, looking forward to getting out to Sin City and having some fun out there. Hopefully we can double down, get some stage points and continue to march forward up through this playoff system and the points. We’re definitely starting behind again, there’s no question about that. We’ve got to get out there and swing for the fence. These are the playoffs; you don’t base hit it. Steady Eddie got us through this round, but from here on you’ve got to get up to the plate and swing for the fence every time, and every decision, and that’s in the car and out of the car, we’ve got to lay it on the line and go for it, and that’s why these playoffs are fun.

Q. I know the Round of 12 is pretty unpredictable with Talladega and the Roval, but how do you feel like the round shapes up for your team?

CLINT BOWYER: I like it. I’m ready. Talladega is a crapshoot. Roval is a lot of fun. But again, things can happen. At the end of the day I’ve had a different approach to the whole thing this year. This whole damned year has been chaotic and everything else, and you’ve just got to go out there and do the best you can do and not worry about or panic about anything else. That’s all you can do anyway. Just taking it race by race, and I’m looking forward to this round, too. These are some of my best finishes coming at these tracks right here. Vegas has been an up‑and‑down track for me to say the least, but I’m really looking forward to Talladega, believe it or not, and obviously the Roval.

BUSCH, JONES SCORE TOP-THREE FINISHES AT BRISTOL
All three Toyota Playoff drivers advance to the Round of 12

BRISTOL, Tennessee (September 19, 2020) – Kyle Busch (second) and Erik Jones (third) drove to top-three finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway to lead Toyota in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday evening for the NASCAR Cup Series. Busch had a great night, scoring the stage win in the second stage to earn a Playoff point and drove to a second-place finish to advance to the next round of the Playoffs. Denny Hamlin (21st) and Martin Truex Jr. (24th) battled damage throughout the evening and will also move on to the ‘Round of 12’.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 29 of 36 – 266.5 miles, 500 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, KYLE BUSCH
3rd, ERIK JONES
4th, Tyler Reddick*
5th, Aric Almirola*
21st, DENNY HAMLIN
24th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
26th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
28th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
37th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Why was the 18 just not able to pass the 4 car in the closing laps?

“Just didn’t have enough at the end. The guys did a great job and gave me a really great piece tonight to contend and at least be up there and be close. Unfortunately, just didn’t have enough. Lapped cars were definitely a problem. It’s part of racing. You have to try to get around them where you can and there was just no room for me to do what I needed to do with a couple of those opportunities to get past them.”

Were you concerned that you could get around Harvick?

“That was earlier in the race when he drove away by like six seconds. He (Kevin Harvick) obviously had the better car, the faster car than us tonight. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made some good adjustments on that last run in order to keep us in the ballgame and keep us close, but I think the 20 (Erik Jones) kind of stayed consistent with us too, gap-wise. I don’t know, just came up short. What do you say?”

How tough was it to chase Kevin Harvick in those closing laps?

“We had a really good Skittles Camry; it was fast and the team gave me a piece to contend with at least. We definitely weren’t the fastest car. The 4 (Kevin Harvick) was definitely the fastest car. We made some adjustments there the last run and got closer and better. Just lapped traffic. Gotta go where they ain’t and man, where they are, you want to be. We got the lead from the 4 there on the last run and just got stuck with the 22 (Joey Logano), as usual, him being a dickhead. Then the last lap, I don’t even know who the hell the black car was that just stopped on the backstretch. That’s it, we lost.”

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How was your race tonight?
“It was, I guess, a solid day. I felt like we had a good car out there in the end. We had to start in the back and that took a while to work through there and get some track position. It’s pretty challenging to pass here even though it’s a short track. A good run. The Auto Owners Camry got better all night, and honestly, the last run of the race was our best. We got up there into third and I kind of knew I couldn’t beat those guys straight up. So, I tried to stay a little bit on the front half of the run and run at the end hard and just kind of ran out of time. I had just got to those guys when I took the checkered, so a good day. It was nice to be up there in contention at the end, but close again at Bristol. Especially in this race. We’ve been close a few times, just want to close one out here soon.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 21st

Can you talk about the incident with Martin Truex Jr. in the middle of the race?

“I think he (Martin Truex Jr.) must have been on the splitter or something when he came out after he took a green flag pit stop. He just kind of went straight off of the corner. I was running the top and when he went straight, he saw he was going to hit the wall, so he slammed on the brakes and I was going, so I jammed up under him. That was unfortunate. That was bad luck for us. I think he was a couple laps down, but they were fighting their car all day. I’m sure they got in the next round, but we just had some bad luck. We drove up to fifth, and I felt pretty good. We caught the lead within three seconds – drove to them within three seconds, so I was pretty happy about where we were going to be, and then we crashed.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

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

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Race: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Date: September 19, 2020
____________________________________

No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 1st
Stage 1: 8th
Stage 2: 12th
Finish: 34th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 412/500
Laps Led: 82
Point Standings (behind first): 3rd (-32)

Notes:

A mechanical problem ruined Brad Keselowski’s chances for a good finish in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The driver of the Discount Tire Ford was running 13th when he suffered a power steering issue on lap 294. The mechanical problems sent Keselowski to the garage area for an extended stay for repairs and left him with a 34th-place finish. He enters the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs is third position, 32 points behind leader Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski started from the pole and led the first 17 laps before settling into second-place at the time of the competition caution on lap 30. He restarted third and took the lead on lap 43. As the run progressed, Keselowski said balance on his No. 2 Mustang became tight. He led until lap 107 before fading to an eighth-place finish Stage 1 concluded on lap 125. Keselowski pitted during the stage caution for four tires and adjustments and restarted sixth on lap 136.

In Stage 2, Keselowski was too tight to run with the leaders. The track bar adjustment during the previous stop was opposite of what the team had planned. Keselowski fell a lap down on lap 230 during a long green flag run but caught a break on lap 234 when the third caution of the race gave him the free pass back to the lead lap. He pitted under yellow on lap 238 for four tires and more adjustments and rallied over the final nine green flag laps to score a 12th-place finish when the stage ended on lap 250. He pitted under the stage caution for four tires and restarted 16th on lap 260.
Keselowski reported on lap 294 that he had lost power steering and went to the garage area on lap 311 for repairs. He returned to the track on lap 395 and was credited with a 34th-place finish.

Quotes: “It was a frustrating night, there is no way around that. I am thankful we were able to lead some laps in the Discount Tire Ford but that certainly was not what we were hoping for. We had a power steering pump issue. I am not sure exactly what it was. I will let the team guys get to that and chase it down. Obviously, it killed out chances. I don’t know what would have happened if we didn’t have that problem, but we did so we will move on to the next week and I am thankful we had the win at Richmond last week to fall back on.”

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No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 14th
Stage 1: 23rd
Stage 2: 11th
Finish: 13th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 498/500
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (behind first): 15th (-1009)

Notes:

Ryan Blaney finished 13th in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The driver of the Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang battled a tight car most of the race and came away with a top-15 finish. As a result, Blaney will not advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Blaney started 14th and made his way up to ninth by the competition caution on lap 30. He reported to crew chief Todd Gordon that the Advance Auto Parts Ford fired off loose and was building tight on exit. He made his first pit stop of the race on lap 35 for four tires and an air pressure adjustment. After working his way to fifth position by lap 80, the No. 12 Ford would begin to slide back through the field. Blaney said he was extremely tight on exit of the corners.
He nursed his way to the finish of Stage 1 on lap 125 and was credited with 23rd position.

Blaney would restart 26th when Stage 2 began on lap 136. He reported slight improvements to the balance of the Advance Parts Ford. A caution on lap 234 saw Blaney make a pit stop for four tires along with an air pressure and track bar adjustment. Stage 2 would finish with a nine-lap sprint to the finish and Blaney took advantage, finishing in 11th position when the stage ended on lap 250.

The final stage began with Blaney restarting in sixth position on lap 260. He would work his way up to fifth by lap 320 but 20 laps later the tight condition from earlier in the race had returned. Blaney pitted under green on lap 354 when the fuel window opened for four tires, air pressure and a wedge adjustment. The final yellow flag waved on lap 408, prior to the end of the green flag pit cycle, trapping the Advance Auto Ford two laps down to the leaders. Blaney took waive-around during the caution and battled back for a 13th-place at the end of 500 laps.
Blaney is 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings heading to Las Vegas next Sunday night.

Quotes: “We started off tight and then that second run we got really tight after the comp caution and lost a lot of track position. We got to fifth or sixth the one time and we were super tight again. The track just swung really tight. I was kind of tight all night, but it just swung really tight on us and that was just the wrong direction that the track needed to be at. It was an unfortunate end for this 12 group, but I’m really proud of the effort this year and we’re not done. We can still go and try to win races and try to get fifth in points, so thanks to Advance Auto Parts and Menards and Ford for what they do. We’ve got seven more races. We’ll do our best.”

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No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 9th
Stage 2: 4th
Finish: 11th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 498/500
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 4th (-45)

Notes:

Joey Logano started second and ran inside the top-five before a caution flag in the middle of a cycle of green flags pit stops with less than 100 laps to go derailed his chances for a good finish. The unfortunate turn of events dropped Logano to the 11th finishing position, two laps down to race winner Kevin Harvick. The driver of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford officially clinched a spot in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs after scoring two points in the opening stage of the race.

After starting second, Logano ran inside the top-five for the majority of Stage 1 before fading back to the ninth position in the closing laps of the segment. Under the caution, he reported the front tires on the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang were completely worn out and it would not turn in the center. When the team pitted, crew chief Paul Wolfe made an aggressive trackbar and air pressure change, hoping to give more-long run balance. Logano clinched his spot in the Round of 12 with a ninth-place finish in Stage 1.

With the adjustments, Logano moved back inside the top-five. He ran in fourth position for the majority of the second stage before a caution on lap 234 brought the field to pit road and set up a nine-lap dash to the finish. Logano received another trackbar adjustment for the sprint, where he finished fourth.

In the early laps of the final stage, Logano ran inside the top-five, logging competitive lap times despite the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang being a little too free in and off. A loose right-rear wheel forced Logano to pit earlier than scheduled and he was zapped by the fifth and final caution flag on lap 408, pinning him two laps down. Logano took the wave around during the caution and restarted at the tail end of the field, one lap down in 14th position when the race went green on lap 418.

Unfortunately, the race ran caution-free to the end with Logano finishing 11th, two laps down. The finish was not indicative of how well the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team performed, running much of the race inside the top-five. Logano goes to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week seeded fourth in points and is the most recent winner at the 1.5-mile speedway, having won the Pennzoil 400 this past February.

Quotes: “We had a Mustang that was probably top-five, something that was competitive. We had that longer run with a loose right-rear wheel and we tried to make it last long and it started to get pretty bad. It felt like we were late enough in the run that maybe we would start to cycle if we pit. We were so close. The caution was because of the 4 (Kevin Harvick) pitting and bottling everyone up. We were probably 10 or 15 laps from the cycle being complete and getting our lap back and being in contention for an even better finish. That is how it goes sometimes. We had a solid Shell-Pennzoil Ford and we have a lot of momentum.”

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/ TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Advance to Round of 12 in NASCAR Playoffs with Solid Showing at Bristol Motor Speedway

Finish: 12th
Start: 5th
Points: 8th

“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.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Childress Vineyards Team Show Speed En Route to Fourth-Place Finish at Bristol Motor Speedway

Finish: 4th
Start: 17th
Points: 19th

“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 was 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.” -Tyler Reddick

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway, 0.533 Mile Oval
Race: 29 of 36
Event: (266.6 miles, 500 laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang

Started: 26th
Finished: 10th

Stage One: 26th
Stage Two: 24th
Stage Three: 10th

The No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang took the green flag on Saturday night from the 26th position at Bristol Motor Speedway. On Lap 25, McDowell radioed to his team to say that his race car was “tight across the middle,” which prompted Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer to make the call for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment during the Competition Caution. The remainder of Stage 1 would stay green and the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would take the first green-and white-checkered flag from the 26th position. During the first Stage Break Caution, McDowell noted that he still needed “better turn across the middle of the corner to be able to run higher up” and would pit for 4 tires, an air pressure adjustment, a wedge adjustment and fuel.

The majority of Stage 2 was run under green, however with less than 20 laps remaining, the caution flag was displayed. Under caution, McDowell told his team, “as I ran, I thought that I was okay. It just takes too long to get going.” Blickensderfer would tell McDowell to “stay out” to take the wave-around and regain the lead lap and McDowell would go on to finish Stage 2 from the 24th position. McDowell would pit during the Stage 2 Caution for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.

In the final stage of Saturday night’s 500-lap race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would mount a strong charge towards the front. The caution flag would fly on Lap 406 to which McDowell told Blickensderfer, “I think we’re close here, Drew” and the No. 34 would pit for 4 tires and fuel. Green flag racing would resume with less than 100 laps remaining and McDowell would continue his strong Stage 3 performance as the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang would go on to take the checkered flag from the 10th position, earning McDowell a new career-best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

McDowell on Bristol:

“Well what an awesome night for our No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang. We got a Top-10 at Bristol; really proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. I’m so thankful to Bob Jenkins and all of my guys for giving me this opportunity. It’s the best season that I’ve ever had and another Top-10 really helps to keep our momentum rolling. We also have a Ford in Victory Lane, so that’s awesome. I’m just super excited to get a Top-10 at Bristol.”

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway, 0.5 Mile Oval
Race: 29 of 38
Event: Bass Pro Shops Night Race (266.5 miles, 500 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Mystik Lubricants Ford Mustang

Started: 31st
Finished: 20th

Stage One: 17th
Stage Two: 18th
Stage Three: 20th

John Hunter Nemechek started Saturday’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 31st position. At the Competition Caution, he radioed to the team that his No. 38 Mystik Lubricants Ford Mustang was “free to start… lacking a little drive” and that he “felt like it was starting to come to” as his run went on. Crew Chief Seth Barbour called him to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and track bar and packer adjustments. By the time Nemechek finished Stage 1 in 17th place, he said he “started off free; built tighter.” Expecting the track to tighten up as the race went into the evening, Nemechek would pit at the Stage Break Caution for 4 tires and fuel.

Nemechek drove his way towards the top 20 throughout most of Stage 2. When a caution came out on Lap 232, he noted that his No. 38 Mystik Lubricants machine was a “little free off, snug center… I get tight off the bottom.” After going a lap down in the previous run, he stayed out to take the wave-around and would go on to finish Stage 2 in 18th place.

Partway through the Final Stage of the night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Nemechek reported that he was picking up a slight vibration in his No. 38 Mystik Lubricants Ford Mustang. He was able to stay out on track until a caution came on Lap 406, where he noted that he was “free center, struggling with drive off.” Barbour called him to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Nemechek would go on to take the checkered flag in 20th place.

Nemechek on Bristol:

“The crew put together a solid top-15, maybe even top-10 car tonight at Bristol. Our No. 38 Mystik Lubricants Ford Mustang was decent on the long run, but we struggled a little with drive off. After the first stage, it was looking like we were going to have a decent night. We tried a couple of different adjustments on pit road tonight – some of them helped, some not as much. Overall, we wanted to be able to finish a few spots higher. Thanks to our partners at Mystik Lubricants for coming on board with us this season. We’ll debrief this week and come back ready for Las Vegas.”

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Sept. 19, 2020) – Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fastenal team rode a fast Ford Mustang to an eight-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway with a late-race charge and smart pit strategy. The strong finish netted Buescher’s seventh top-10 result of the season.

Buescher rolled off the grid 23rd and was up to 21st when the first yellow of the race came at lap 27. The team made quick work on pit road, picking up four spots while changing four tires and adding fuel to the Fastenal Mustang. Back on track in 17th, the driver was able to stay steady for a while but got shuffled back a few positions with reports of a tight handling Ford. Later in the stage, Buescher was the fastest car on track and showing promise to drive to the front of the field. Slowed by traffic, he ultimately took the green-white checkered flag 21st for stage one. 

The team visited pit road at the stage break for tape, fuel, a track bar adjustment and fresh tires. After a quick stop, Buescher got back on track to restart 20th. Buescher held his track position until the caution flag waved again at lap 232. Still battling a tight handling Mustang, the team took the opportunity to pit for four tires, fuel and more adjustments, with another quick stop allowing Buescher to restart 13th. The race went back to green for a nine-lap shootout. The stage ultimately ended under caution and the team finished stage two in 14th.

Feeding off of their momentum from the stage two finish, the team elected to stay out during the stage break and restarted 11th. Buescher was shuffled back to 14th on the restart, but held his track position for most of the stage. The Prosper, Texas native entered the top ten around lap 375 when green flag pit stops began to cycle through.

Pit strategy worked to the No. 17 team’s advantage as they waited to pit when the caution flag waved at lap 406. A quick stop for four tires and fuel enabled the driver to restart eighth, but one lap down. As the remainder of the race went caution free, Buescher was able to maintain track position and keep up lap times to take the checkered flag for the 500-lap event in eighth. The finish marks Buescher’s seventh top-10 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 27 at 7 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Network, PRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.  

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Sept. 19, 2020) – Ryan Newman battled an ill-handling machine and had to overcome a pair of mishaps in the 500-lap night race at Bristol Saturday night to finish 25th in the Guaranteed Rate Ford. The race featured just five total cautions as multiple cars finished off the pace in the final race in the round of 16 for the NASCAR Playoffs.

Newman drew the 25th starting spot for the 500-lap event. The first yellow flag would come out at lap 28 just prior to a scheduled competition caution, with Newman running 27th and reporting the handling was tight all the way through in his No. 6 machine. Following service on pit road, the South Bend, Indiana, native was caught speeding leaving pit road, putting him tail end of the field on the restart.

The track position made it difficult to move forward, leading to Newman finishing 30th and one lap down at the end of stage one. He rolled off 29th for the stage two restart, with just one yellow flag separating the stage at lap 233. He went on to take the wave around under that break, putting him back to one lap off the pace in the 25th position.

As the second stage came to a close, the No. 6 was spun from behind, ending the stage for Newman in 27th. With just one remaining yellow in the closing 200 laps, the deficit was too deep for Newman to overcome as he finished 25th.

Newman and the No. 6 team return to the track next weekend on the West Coast at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Race coverage Sunday night begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage can also be heard on PRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.