Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team fought hard from start to finish of Sunday’s Cookout Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway but ended up with a 21st-place finish.

Driving a Mustang with a paint scheme based on the 1963 1/2 Galaxie Fastback that the Wood Brothers used to win the 1963 Cup Series Owners title, Benedetto took the green flag the first race of the 2020 Cup Series playoffs from ninth place.

It was evident from the start that the handling was off on his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang.

“If there ever was a place where having no practice would bite us, we found it,” DiBenedetto said. “We started the race and were out in left field, not even close, no grip.

“We had to make big adjustments on every stop.”

Throughout the first two thirds of the race, DiBenedetto ran outside the top 20 and had to drive hard to remain on the lead lap.

But he and the No. 21 team never gave up, and midway through the race’s third and final stage, he began working his way forward, moving into the top 20 on Lap 264 of 367.

DiBenedetto continued to advance through the field, but luck was not on his side. Crew chief Greg Erwin opted for a one-pit-stop strategy for the final stage and the move was within a few laps of working out in the team’s favor when a caution flag for debris spoiled that plan.

“Finally late in the third stage, we got it driving OK, and could have salvaged something out of it,” DiBenedetto said. “When we finally had a glimpse of hope, a poorly timed caution flag came out and ruined it for us.”

Forced to take the wave-around to stay on the lead lap, DiBenedetto had to try to make the most of a set of older tires on a track notorious for its tire wear.

He wound up 21st, with just two Playoff drivers behind him and leaves Darlington 15th in the Playoff standings.

On the positive side, he’s headed to Richmond Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway, the two remaining tracks in the first round of the Playoffs.

DiBenedetto is expecting much better results going forward.

“I’m bummed about the lack of points we got at Darlington, but I’m excited about the next two tracks,” he said.

About Motorcraft:

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

About Omnicraft:

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

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

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

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

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE
5th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Throwback Camaro ZL1 1LE
6th Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Camaro ZL1 1LE
8th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
14th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDelivery Camaro ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2nd Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
3rd Joey Logano (Ford)
4th Eric Jones (Toyota)
5th William Byron (Chevrolet)

UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Round 1 of 10)
POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)
1. Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
3. Joey Logano (Ford)
4. Brad Keselowski (Ford)
5. *Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
6. Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota)
7. *Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
8. *Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
9. *William Byron (Chevrolet)
10. Kyle Busch (Toyota)
11. *Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
12. Aric Almirola (Ford)
13. Clint Bowyer (Ford)
14. Cole Custer (Ford)
15. Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)
16. Ryan Blaney (Ford)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Richmond Raceway with the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage will air on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd
“Man, it would have been nice to get that win and lock ourselves into the next round, but it was a heck of a finish for our entire No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet team. I’m proud of our second-place finish, especially after dropping to the rear of the field at the start of the race and recovering from that setback. We battled. We had a really good long run car and Kevin Harvick was getting tighter and tighter. I caught him earlier in the run, but he took my low line in Turns 1 and 2 and that was where I was really good. I’m really happy that we had a great run for Junior Johnson during NASCAR Throwback Weekend. He’s one of my heroes so it was an honor to run a tribute paint scheme to him this weekend. We showed up when it mattered. A lot of people count us out, but I don’t count myself out, or this team. I feel like we’ve brought good race cars all year and have been able to progress throughout races to make good changes. Sometimes things don’t fall our way, but we got that win at Texas and it provided the momentum that we needed. We’re just going to keep doing our thing. Chevy has been awesome, along with Dow, AstraZeneca, Bass Pro Shops, RigUp and everyone else involved with RCR. I can’t thank American Ethanol enough. We’ve been running with E15 and it’s great for our engines. It’s been fun. We just have to keep plugging. Richmond Raceway is next week, and we have a good short track car for them.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/TRUCK HERO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th
“Sixth place isn’t terrible, but man we had a fast Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE tonight in Darlington. We had some issues on pit road that hurt us and we had to recover from that. I really feel like we were a car capable of winning. We just got buried there, but thankfully recovered from it. Sixth place isn’t the end of the world, but you know you had a fast car when you are bummed about sixth. This car looked amazing tonight and hopefully we can go to Richmond next weekend and do the same thing. It is a good feeling to have a good start to the Playoffs.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
“I’m happy with our run tonight with the Monster Energy Chevy. I know it’s not a win, but we got everything out of the race that we were hoping for; except maybe the alternate strategy that we were trying with one stop in the final stage. I was hopeful for the long run. I like dancing with the Lady!”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“That was not the result we wanted, we had a fast Ally Chevy until that last stage and it just kept getting tighter, but my guys just keep fighting. We will just focus on Richmond.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th
YOU WERE IN PERFECT POSITION. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RACING WITH MARTIN TRUEX, JR.?
“He (Truex) had a run on me there, off of four and he just kind of cleared himself into one. He was close, but he wasn’t all the way clear, obviously. I hate it, obviously we had a fast NAPA Camaro – fast enough to contend. We needed a little pace there to extend our lead instead of playing defense, but regardless I thought we were in a good spot. I ran the bottom in three and four to see if there was anything left down there, that’s what kind of gave him the run and then he just slid up in to my left front, I felt like and on we went.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT POWER CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 23rd
“I’ve gotten to run a lot of cool races, but the Southern 500 has always been towards the top of the list for me, so it was really special to be able to make my first start in it tonight. I love NASCAR’s Throwback weekend, and our No. 8 Cat Power Chevrolet honoring Jeff Burton’s No. 8 scheme that he accepted Rookie of the Year honors with looked great out there. We fired off really fast tonight and was just a touch loose. My team made some good adjustments early in the run to tighten me up, but then the rear security of our Camaro became really unstable, which made it tough to manage the handling through the turns on both sides of the track. During the start of Stage 3, the field got really stacked up on the restart and I received some damage to the nose of our car, right above the grill. That affected the handling a lot for the rest of the night; and kept the temps up high too. We kept digging though, made repairs when we could and tried to get every spot possible out there. It just wasn’t our night tonight, but we’ll keep after it. There are still nine more races for us to go out and challenge for a win.”

BUBBA WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 CASH APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 38th
“Coming into tonight, there was a lot of optimism. We were looking forward to running the Southern 500 in our Cash App Chevy. It just didn’t work out for us. We had some back luck on our side. I don’t really know what the main issue was that ultimately led us to not finish the race. But we started out decent. Our guys made some good adjustments on the car and then got it better, and I was really happy with it. After we had our mishap and went to the garage we came back out and I thought our car was really good. We just had to survive until it went to night time and I thought we could have put a decent race together by that time, but it didn’t work out. So, we’ll go on to Richmond and try to claw back what we lost tonight.”

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.

JONES LEADS TOYOTA WITH ANOTHER STRONG RUN AT DARLINGTON
Erik Jones extended his streak to six consecutive top-10 finishes at Darlington Raceway

DARLINGTON, South Carolina (September 6, 2020) – Erik Jones (fourth) drove to a top-five finish to lead Toyota in the Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway on Sunday evening. Kyle Busch led the Toyota Playoff contenders with a seventh-place finish after running in the top-three early in the race, while Denny Hamlin was scored in 13th after also running in the top-three with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates much of the race. Martin Truex Jr. led a race-high 196 laps (of 367) and won the first two stages but was involved in a late-race incident costing him the lead and resulting in a cut down tire. He was forced to pit and finished 22nd.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Darlington Raceway
Race 27 of 36 – 501.3 miles, 367 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, Austin Dillon*
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, ERIK JONES
5th, Bubba Wallace*
7th, KYLE BUSCH
13th, DENNY HAMLIN
22nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
25th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
34th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
35th, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How were the track conditions and how did things change for you over these 500 miles?

“It was good. It was really tough to pass. Once you got up inside the top-seven or eight, those guys were all pretty equal, and it was hard to make ground from there. We started deep, 30th, today and drove up and finished fourth. We got a couple of extra spots at the end, but this Sport Clips Camry was quick. We just never got up front. We just needed to get up front and get some clean air. That’s what we did last year. I thought we had just as good of a car as what we did last year. We just never got to the lead. That’s what held us back, I think. It’s tough. The cars are finicky. They are on edge, and it’s really hard to make ground, but decent day.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Was traffic the biggest challenge for you tonight versus the speed you had when you were running up front with your teammates?

“Traffic was definitely our detriment, there was just nothing I could do to try to find clean air in order to make up any speed back in traffic so I just got mired wherever the heck I was and that was it. Being out front in clean air, I was able to run with Martin (Truex Jr.) and had a fast M&M’s Camry and could really show how fast our car was when we drove away from the field by a couple seconds there until that caution that NASCAR flew that was not a caution.”

Are you able to pull any momentum from tonight’s race going into the next two Playoff races of this round?

“There’s a little bit of momentum. It certainly was nice to see that if we could get up towards the front that we could be fast up front, but I would have liked to have finished it out and gotten the finish that we all were working towards and our finish that we deserved as a team. Even if it wouldn’t have been a win, it would have been a second, which would have been a shot in the arm for us. We go to Richmond just trying to win Richmond.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 22nd

How strong was your Camry in tonight’s race?

“We did almost everything that we went there to do and obviously proud of the guys for bringing a strong Bass Pro Toyota and the execution that we had all night long. Everything was rolling along there, and we were in position to have a shot at winning it. Just two guys going for the same spot and that stuff happens in racing. Really proud of the effort and look forward to carrying that speed forward.”

Can you explain what happened with Chase Elliott?

“It’s Darlington and typically you don’t want to go in side-by-side. I felt like I had enough of a run and enough space there that the last foot or so he (Chase Elliott) was going to understand that if I was committed, we both weren’t going to make it. Typically, here that’s kind of how you race. If a guy gets a run on you and he’s just about got you cleared, you have to give that last little bit. Now obviously, the end of the race, probably the pass for the win, he wanted to drive it on in there and I was committed to being clear and there was no way we were both going to make the corners. Basically, when I made up my mind and I was driving it in there and then he drove in on my right-rear quarter, there was no possible way that we both weren’t crashing. That’s what happened.”

What happened in the incident between yourself and Chase Elliott battling for the lead?

“Two drivers going for the same spot. It was close obviously and I thought I had enough momentum and distance on him (Chase Elliott) that he was going to let me in there. I didn’t expect him to be on my right rear and I was committed. Once I figured he was still there, nothing I could do. Really unfortunate for our Bass Pro Toyota. Unbelievable job by the guys and a smoking fast race car. A lot to be proud of. I hate it for the 9 team. Obviously, it was nothing intentional, just two guys going for the win and not enough room for both of us there. If it was my fault, I apologize. I really felt like I had the position to get in there to one. That’s how it goes, and we’ll see what goes on from here.”

Are you still expecting a little ‘give’ at Darlington late in the race?

“Well, no, but at the same time I felt like I had enough there, and it was only a few inches. A few inches either you wreck, or you give it to the guy. I feel like I was on the right side of things, but again I’ll have to go back and look at it and see if there was something, I could have done different. Again, really proud of everyone and obviously had the car to beat and just try to work over the 9 there. Obviously track position is really important here and it looked like we were going to get the lead there and that would have been big. I don’t know, sometimes things just don’t work out and we gave it our all and came up short.”

# # #

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.

Track: Darlington Raceway
Race: Cook Out Southern 500
Date: September 6, 2020
____________________________________

No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 5th
Stage 1: 31st
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 11th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 367/367
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (behind first): 4th (-51)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski recovered from a brush with the wall early in the Cook Out Southern 500 to grab an 11th-place finish Sunday night at Darlington Raceway. The driver of the Discount Tire Ford is now fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 51 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski started fifth and ran inside the top-10 until he bounced into the Turn 3 wall while racing Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola on lap 80, bringing out the second caution and dropping him a lap down. The race went green on lap 86 and five laps later Keselowski moved into the free pass position as the first car one lap down. But leader Martin Truex Jr. lapped another car just before the stage ended on lap 115, keeping him a lap behind. Keselowski pitted during the stage caution on lap 119 for tires, adjustments and more repairs and restarted 31st when the race went green on lap 122.

The Discount Tire Ford ran lap times comparable to the leaders early in Stage 2. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins had just called his driver to pit road during a cycle of green flag stops when moments later the caution waved on lap 181. The fortunate turn of events put Keselowski back on the lead lap. He pitted under caution three laps later and restarted 19th on lap 185 and was credited with an 18th-place finish when the stage ended on lap 230. He pitted during the stage caution and good work on the pit lane by the Discount Tire crew moved him up to 15th for the restart on lap 235.

Keselowski was running 14th when the sixth caution waved on lap 245. A round of pit stops followed on lap 247 and once again the Discount Tire team gained positions on pit road, moving Keselowski up to 12th position for the restart on lap 250.

He had just made a scheduled pit stop and passed leader Chase Elliott to unlap himself when the final caution waved on lap 322. Keselowski pitted for four tires and restarted 17th on lap 326. He steadily worked his way through traffic and gained six position over the final 41 laps, capped off by a pass by Cole Custer on the final lap to grab 11th position.

Quotes: “Jeremy Bullins and everyone on the Discount Tire team did a great job tonight. I made a mistake early in the race, but we worked together and made a good recovery.”

_______________________________________________

No. 12 Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 7th (Started at the rear of the field)
Stage 1: 14th
Stage 2: 20th
Finish: 24th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 366/367
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 16th (-90)

Notes:

Ryan Blaney finished 24th in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The driver of the Menards/Maytag Ford Mustang battled a lack of track position along with an unscheduled pit stop and eventual nose damage.

Blaney would start the rear of the 39-car field after the No. 12 car was found to have improperly mounted ballast during inspection prior to the race. A five-pound bag of lead that is typically used during setup at the shop to simulate fluid weights prior to the race engine being installed was accidentally left in the car. The team was docked 10 driver and owner points and crew chief Todd Gordon was ejected from the track. Competition director Travis Geisler served as crew chief.

Blaney would quickly make his way to 21st by the lap 25 competition caution. After restarting 16th in lap 31, Blaney would fall as low as 19th. A late caution in Stage 1 on lap 82 would see Blaney restart 13th and battle Tyler Reddick for that position with Blaney coming home in the 14th-position in Stage 1.

Stage 2 began with bad luck as Blaney was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop prior to the green flag waving on lap 122 for a flat left rear tire. He would battle to stay on the tail-end of one lap down and luckily catch a caution on lap 181. This enabled him to make his pit stop and take the waive-around back on the lead lap. After restarting 23rd he would finish Stage 2 in the 20th position.

The final stage began, and unfortunately bad luck befell the Menards/Maytag crew as slow restart caused damage to the nose of Blaney’s Ford Mustang. After repairs on a lap 246 caution, Blaney soldiered home for a 24h-place finish.
Blaney now sits 16th NASCAR Playoffs 90 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “Definitely wasn’t our night for our Menards/Maytag team. We had the inspection penalty and lost points before the race started and had some bad breaks. We’ll get ready for Richmond and Bristol and try to gain ground back in the playoffs.”

___________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 13th
Stage 1: 7th
Stage 2: 17th
Finish: 3rd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 367/367
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 3rd (-46)

Notes:

Joey Logano started 13th and finished third in Sunday evening’s Cookout Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. While Logano scored his seventh top-five result of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the path to the third-place result was anything but easy. After a calm first stage, Logano suffered damage from a cut tire coming to the conclusion of the second stage, and on the restart to begin the final stage, suffered significant damage to the rear of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford. Perseverance from the No. 22 Ford team and great work in the pits positioned Logano for a run in the latter stages of the race to regain his track position and come home with a solid top-five result.

After starting 13th, Logano moved inside the top-10 to the eighth position before the lap 25 competition caution, reporting the balance of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang was good overall. Logano pitted again at lap 73 and elected to have the crew make no changes to the car as the balance was fairly good overall. By the end of the stage, Logano reported he had gone significantly to the free side as the sunset over Darlington Raceway. The team elected to make a trackbar and air pressure change at the stage ending stop.

Logano raced inside the top-five through the opening portion of the second stage, showing solid long run speed. At lap 172, the team pitted for four tires a slight air pressure adjustment and a small trackbar change. With two laps remaining in the second stage, Logano had a tire go down, and made slight wall contact with the right side, resulting in a long stage ending stop.

With the crew making repairs, Logano lined up in the 26th position for the final stage start, but suffered more damage as the field stacked up coming to the green. Logano made a forward rally, cycling back inside the top-10 after the team elected to make two stops to get to the end of the race instead of stretching the run out and risking another tire failure.

A caution flag with 48 laps remaining in the race gained the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil crew valuable track position, bringing all the lead lap competitors to pit road for a potential final stop of the race. Logano ran in the top-five late in the final stage, moving to third after the race leading Nos. 9 and 19 made contact with the wall.

Logano maintained the third position until the checkered flag, salvaging what would have been a disaster race after sustaining damage on three of the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang’s four corners. The 22 crew heads to Richmond International Raceway third in the playoff standings, 27 points above the cutline.

Quote: “We fought hard. You’ve got to do it for Bobby Allison. You’ve got the coolest paint scheme on the racetrack you’ve got to do the best you can to try to get a victory. Man, hard fought. We kind of were decent, it’s just so hard to pass with these big spoilers on the car at this racetrack. That makes it challenging. We had a right-front go down the last lap of the second stage, hit the wall and we did a good job fixing the car and then strategy worked well, so Paul did great there, and then they had an amazing pit stop the last stop, had a good restart and all of a sudden I was like, ‘Shoot, we could win this thing. To see what the left-rear looks like after that I was pretty impressed to get whatever we got. It’s funny how the team always tells you, ‘How does the damage look?’ ‘It looks great. It looks great.’ You get out and you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ Overall, that’s what we needed to do. We need to come out of these playoffs running hard and having a solid top three finish to start the playoffs with a couple stage points is a good way to start.”

Austin Dillon and the American Ethanol Chevrolet Team Battle To Strong, Second-Place Finish at Darlington Raceway
2020 NASCAR Playoffs Run Off To A Solid Start

Finish: 2nd
Start: 12th
Points: 8th

“Man, it would have been nice to get that win and lock ourselves into the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs, but it was a heck of a finish for our No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet team. I’m proud of our second-place finish, especially after dropping to the rear of the field at the start of the race and having to recover from that setback. We battled really hard all night for every single spot we could get. We had a really good long run car and towards the end of the race I knew Kevin Harvick was getting tighter each lap. I caught him earlier in the closing run, but he took my low line in Turns 1 and 2, which was where I was running the best, and stopped the momentum that I had going. I gave it everything I had though, and I’m really happy that we had a great run for Junior Johnson during NASCAR Throwback Weekend. He’s one of my heroes, so it was an honor to run a tribute paint scheme for him this weekend. We showed up when it mattered tonight. A lot of people count us out of the Playoffs, but I don’t count myself or this team out of anything. I feel like we’ve brought good race cars all year and have been able to progress throughout these races to make good changes. Sometimes things don’t fall our way, but we continually take chances and that led to the win at Texas. We’re just going to keep doing our thing. Team Chevy has been awesome this year, along with our partners at Dow, AstraZeneca, Bass Pro Shops, RigUp and everyone else involved with RCR and ECR. I can’t thank American Ethanol enough for their support either. We’ve been running with E15 for a while, and it’s great for our engines. This year has been fun. We just have to keep plugging. Richmond Raceway is next week, and we have a good short track car ready for them.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Battles Through Mid-Race Contact with Cat Power Chevrolet in First Southern 500 Start

Finish: 23rd
Start: 24th
Points: 19th

“I’ve gotten to run a lot of cool races, but the Southern 500 has always been towards the top of the list for me, so it was really special to be able to make my first start in it tonight. I love NASCAR’s Throwback weekend, and our No. 8 Cat Power Chevrolet honoring Jeff Burton’s No. 8 scheme that he accepted Rookie of the Year honors with looked great out there. We fired off really fast tonight, but our handling was just a touch loose. My team made some good adjustments early in the run to tighten me up, but then the rear security of our Camaro became really unstable, which made it tough to manage the handling through the turns on both sides of the track. During the start of Stage 3, the field got stacked up on the restart and I received some damage to the nose of our car, right above the grille. That affected the handling a lot for the rest of the night and kept the temps up high, too. We kept digging though, made repairs when we could and tried to get every spot possible out there. It just wasn’t our night tonight, but we’ll keep after it. There are still nine more races for us to go out and challenge for a win.” -Tyler Reddick

Track: Darlington Raceway, 1.36 Mile Oval
Race: 27 of 36
Event: Cook Out Southern 500 (501.322 miles, 367 laps)

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

Started: 19th
Finished: 16th

Stage One: 24th
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 16th

The No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang took the green flag in Sunday’s “Southern 500” from the 19th position at Darlington Raceway. Like most drivers, McDowell noted early on in Stage 1 that his race car was “really loose.” During the Competition Caution on Lap 25, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer would call the No. 34 to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Once green flag racing resumed, McDowell would note that his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang was still on the loose side and the would pit under green on Lap 69 for 4 tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment. The caution flag would fall on Lap 82 and the No. 34 would pit for 4 fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would go on to finish Stage 1 from the 24th position. During the Stage 1 Caution, the No. 34 would pit for 4 tires and fuel.

In Stage 2, as day turned to night and track temperatures began to drop, McDowell would continue to run comfortably inside of the Top-25. Roughly halfway through the stage, the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would pit under green for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. The caution flag would be displayed on Lap 179, to which Blickensderfer would tell McDowell to “stay out” in order to take the wave-around; putting the No. 34 back on the Lead Lap. McDowell would take the Stage 2 green-and white-checkered flag from the 25th position.

As track temperatures continued to drop, Michael McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang would begin to show more speed. On Lap 246, McDowell noted that his race car was “a little bit tight.” As the final stage of Sunday’s 500-mile race at Darlington Raceway continued, McDowell would mount a strong run as he raced his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Speedco Ford Mustang into the Top-20 and go on to take the checkered flag from the 16th position, earning McDowell a new personal-best finish at Darlington Raceway.

McDowell on Darlington:

“Well, that was a really positive end to what started out as a pretty tough day for our No. 34 team. We didn’t unload exactly how we had hoped to start the race, but Drew [Blickensderfer] and the guys did what they do best and made our race car a lot better by the time we took the green flag for the final stage. Overall, it was a pretty decent points day and another Top-20 to add to our season. I definitely wanted that Top-15, coming up just one position short; but we’ll take what we can get. I want to thank Love’s Travel Stops and Speedco for coming on board with our team tonight and I’m looking forward to having them back on the car next weekend at Richmond.”

Track: Darlington Raceway, 1.36 Mile Oval
Race: 27 of 36
Event: Cook Out Southern 500 (501.322 miles, 367 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 CITGARD Throwback Ford Mustang

Started: 18th
Finished: 36th (out)

Stage One: 27th
Stage Two: 23rd
Stage Three: 36th (out)

Driving the No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang in tribute to Elliott Sadler’s 1999 paint scheme with CITGO Petroleum Corporation, John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag in Sunday’s “Southern 500” in 18th place. By Lap 12 of the 367-lap event, Nemechek radioed that he was “snug to fire off through the center.” At the Competition Caution, he noted that his CITGARD Throwback machine was “trending freer as the run goes on,” but that he needed more overall grip. He would pit under caution for 4 tires with an air pressure adjustment, fuel and a packer adjustment. Throughout the remainder of Stage 1, the handling on Nemechek’s No. 38 CITGARD car continued to free up, but by the time he took the green- and white-checkered flag in 27th place, he radioed that he lacked speed to fire off, especially in dirty air. He would pit at the Stage Break Caution for 4 tires, fuel, track bar and packer adjustments.

Nemechek would restart the race in the 26th position. As the sun set over Darlington Raceway, he noted that his No. 38 CITGARD Ford Mustang was free and “lacking rear lateral grip center and off.” He would pit under green on Lap 172 for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. When a caution came out a few laps later, Nemechek radioed that he could still be tightened up a bit more, and pitted again for 4 tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. By the end of Stage 2, Nemechek’s No. 38 CITGARD Throwback machine was getting “really free.” He took the green- and white-checkered flag in 23rd place and pitted for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.

Shortly after the start of the Final Stage of the night at Darlington Raceway, Nemechek was involved in an incident on the frontstretch due to a miscommunication on track. His No. 38 CITGARD machine sustained heavy damage, forcing Nemechek to the garage and ending his day early.

Nemechek on Darlington:

“That definitely wasn’t the way we wanted to end our night driving Elliott Sadler’s CITGARD throwback scheme. Our No. 38 Ford Mustang fired off pretty tight but then I got looser as the run went on and the sun set. We had some really good pit stops tonight and Seth [Barbour] and the crew made some good adjustments so that we had a good balance by the end of Stage 2. Unfortunately, we had a miscommunication on track early in the Final Stage and that ended our day. I hate it for my guys because they’ve worked so hard all year and they never give up. We’ll reset this week at the shop and get ready for Richmond. Thanks to CITGARD for all of their support and for helping us put together a great car to honor Elliott Sadler.”