Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Race: Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: August 29, 2020
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No. 2 PIRTEK Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 4th
Stage 1: 15th
Stage 2: 6th
Finish: 10th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 164/164
Laps Led: 1
Point Standings (behind first): 3rd (-28)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski used a different strategy Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway and was rewarded with a 10th-place finish. The driver of the PIRTEK Ford claimed his 19th top-10 finish of the 2020 season in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Keselowski finished the NASCAR regular season third in points and will begin the Cup Series Playoffs as the third seed, 28 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski started fourth but was shuffled out of line on lap 16, four laps before the competition caution on lap 20. He was 13th when he pitted on lap 22 for four tires and restarted 16th when the race went green on lap 24. Keselowski didn’t have any luck making his way to the front, so he patiently stayed in line near the tail end of the lead draft. He made a late recovery to finish 15th when Stage 1 ended on lap 50. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins made the call to pit one lap before the race went green, on lap 54, for four tires and a right-rear wedge adjustment – a move designed to help Keselowski make it to the end of the next stage. The driver of the PIRTEK Ford restarted in 30th position when the race went green on lap 55.

The Chevrolet drivers pitted as group on lap 65, moving Keselowski was up to 22nd. For the next 25 laps he patiently ran single-file in the draft. On lap 90, Keselowski was safely inside his window to finish the stage on fuel, so he surged to the front, moving from 14th to fourth on lap 91. With one lap to go in the stage, Keselowski survived a frantic scramble for position at the front of the lead draft to score a sixth-place finish. He pitted during the stage caution on lap 102 for four tires and air pressure adjustments and restarted sixth when the race went green on lap 105.
For much of the final stage of the race, Keselowski stayed near the back of the lead pack, a move designed to keep him out of trouble. The strategy worked as Keselowski avoided multi-car accidents on laps 152 and 159, the latter which forced the race to finish in NASCAR Overtime. Keselowski restarted 14th on lap 162 and rallied back over the final lap to claim his top-10.

Quotes: “We used a different strategy tonight and it worked. We stayed out of trouble and scored a top-10 finish with our PIRTEK Ford. The playoffs start next week and we’re ready.”

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No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 9th
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 9th
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 164/164
Laps Led: 1
Point Standings (Behind First): 7th (-44)

Notes:

Ryan Blaney started ninth and finished sixth in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the BODYARMOR Ford Mustang managed a couple late race restarts to bring home his 11th top-10 finish of 2020.

Blaney would fall back from his ninth starting position to 16th when the competition caution waived on lap 20. Blaney would pit on lap 22 for right side tires and fuel. After restarting 22nd he would work with teammate Joey Logano, driving his way up to fourth when Stage 1 concluded on lap 50.

Blaney would restart 20th after routine service and topping off for fuel. He and his fellow Fords would then go into fuel conservation mode to run the entire stage without pitting. After running as high second, he would finish Stage 2 in the ninth position

The final stage began with Blaney restarting 29th after routine service and topping off for fuel. He would drive his way back into the top-five by lap 125. He would pit on lap 131 for fuel only and managed to avoid multiple wrecks in the closing lap to come home with a sixth-place finish.
Blaney will begin the NASCAR Playoffs as the seventh seed beginning next Sunday night at Darlington Raceway.

Quote: “It was a solid night for our Strawberry/Banana BODYARMOR Ford Mustang team. We managed to stay out of trouble all night and bring home a solid finish. Proud of everybody on this team and now we will set our sights on the NASCAR playoffs.”

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No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 3rd
Stage 1: 1st – Fifth stage win of 2020
Stage 2: 1st – Sixth stage win of 2020
Finish: 27th
Status: Accident
Laps Completed: 158/164
Laps Led: 36
Point Standings (Behind First): 4th (-35)

Notes:

Joey Logano started third and won the opening two stages of Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, before a late race cut-tire ended the day for the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Logano led the race on six different occasions for 36 laps, ultimately finishing 27th.

After starting third, Logano faded back in the field, battling an extremely loose Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. At the competition caution, crew chief Paul Wolfe adjusted the No. 22 Ford with two rounds of trackbar. The adjustments proved successful as Logano drove to the race lead with drafting help from teammate Ryan Blaney. Logano maintained the lead for 15 laps and scored his fifth stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season.

Logano spent the opening portion of the second stage in a fuel conservation mode with the rest of the Ford Performance competitors. However, with 11 laps remaining in the stage, crew chief Paul Wolfe gave the go-ahead to spotter TJ Majors, prompting Logano to pull out of line and drive straight to the lead. Logano drove off to win the second stage, claiming his sixth stage win of the season.

In the final stage, Logano claimed the lead and maintained until lap 131 when the Ford Performance contingent hit pit road for a fuel only stop. In the late stages, Logano was in position, taking the lead with two laps remaining, before contact cut the right rear tire and triggered a multi-vehicle incident in turn 1.
Logano enters the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as the fourth seed having accumulated 22 playoff points through the regular season.

Quote: “We had a really fast Shell-Pennzoil Mustang tonight. Guys were great on pit road and we did what we needed to do. We scored two stage wins for playoff points. At the end there it was just super speedway racing, Denny (Hamlin) caught me just a little off-center and that sent me up into the 43 car and then the right rear got cut.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2020
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 – DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
6th — Ryan Blaney
9th — Chris Buescher
10th — Brad Keselowski
12th — Matt DiBenedetto
14th — Michael McDowell
18th — Aric Almirola
19th — Clint Bowyer
20th — Kevin Harvick
21st — Corey LaJoie
27th — Joey Logano
30th — Cole Custer
31st — Joey Gase
36th — Ryan Newman

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (August 29, 2020) – Clint Bowyer and Matt DiBenedetto clinched two of the final playoff spots in the regular season finale at Daytona as Ford put three Mustangs inside the top-10 Saturday night.

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang — “It was too eventful. I’m mentally worn out. I’m gonna sleep great tonight, but there was so much going on there at the end. First off, I’m so happy for this team and Menards, Dutch Boy, the whole Menard family, Motorcraft/Quick Lane and the Wood Brothers, Ford, our alliance with Team Penske. You name it. This means so much to get this for them, but in the race there if I could I hedged toward being on the bottom because, man, just when you’re in the bottom and the top it’s nearly a sure thing when you get that you get crashed, so I’m glad we were able to take it home because I wasn’t happy with the finish, but I came in here saying all that mattered I just wanted to make these playoffs and the finishing position didn’t matter too much.”

WHAT DO THIS MEAN TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? “I promise you my wife, Taylor, is at home crying right now. I can bet you anything. My parents are here in the stands. They drove all the way down from North Carolina. My brother in the military, him and his girlfriend were able to make it here, so this is really special to make it in the playoffs. My career has been one I had to fight, claw, scratch for everything and it makes me so appreciative. I say the little things, but this is a big one making the playoffs for the Wood Brothers. This is very big, really special and I’m glad we’ll be able to get to work and do the best we can the rest of the season and we have a lot of really good tracks and short tracks coming.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 PIRTEK Ford Mustang — “It’s good to be in a good spot for the playoffs. We have a lot of bonus points and obviously we wanted more than what we have, but we’re allowed to be greedy. All in all, a good finish for us. It was not the most fun night, but we’ll take it with our PIRTEK Ford and move on to Darlington and hopefully have great runs in the playoffs and get that second championship.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — “It’s just superspeedway racing. It gets so intense at the end and everyone is pushing so hard. It’s one of those situations you’re so close to the front you’ve got to stay in it and keep going for it and try to get the lead. I got a good run off the top side. We had the 43 pushing enough to clear the 11 and I knew I could do that, which we did. I was hoping I could get back up in front of the 43, which we did and then the 11 got me just off-centered a little bit. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just superspeedway racing. It’s hard pushing and it got me in the right-rear and turned me to the right and ran me into Bubba and that cut down my right-rear tire by the time I got to turn one and you can’t control it and spun out in front of the whole field. Thanks to NASCAR we have safe cars and Team Penske for building something safe. I’m okay. The good news is we’re ready for the playoffs. We did what we needed to do today. We ran up front. We got two stage wins, a couple playoff points, which is great. Not the best starting position for us next week after this, but, overall proud of the effort of the team and feel like we’re ready to go.”

RYAN NEWMAN, No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang — “The 8 car obviously just ran out of talent. It seems like you can win a couple of XFINITY championships and still stick your head where the sun don’t shine when the time comes right. I’m just disappointed. It was kind of an average race sitting there waiting with our Guaranteed Rate Ford and never got a chance to show how good a car we had.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE RACING OUT THERE TONIGHT COMPARED TO FEBRUARY? “I was happy that everybody stayed calm for a long time, but we proved all it takes is one goofball to make a mistake.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford Mustang — YOU AND JOEY WORKED WELL TOGETHER. IF HE DIDN’T HAVE HIS PROBLEM COULD YOU HAVE MADE A RUN FOR THE WIN? “I don’t know. We worked pretty well together, he and I, the first couple stages there and then we kind of got shuffled back once or twice, and then we were kind of mired in the back and everyone was three-wide, you can’t go anywhere, and then my job was just not getting in a wreck. I missed a couple of them and then had a decent run at the end. We had some good momentum going on the last couple laps and some big blocks and we kind of got stacked up and never kept our momentum going, but, overall, not a bad night for our strawberry banana BodyArmor Ford Mustang. It was bright, but came home clean. We got DiBenedetto in the playoffs, which is good for that group, and looking forward to the next 10 weeks. It should be a lot of fun.”

DID YOU FEEL THE INTENSITY LEVEL AMPED UP TONIGHT? “Yeah, it amped up. The first part of the race was pretty calm. Everyone wanted to make it to the end, for sure. The guys not in the playoffs or even in the playoffs wanted to make it to the end, but it got to that 10-15 to go and people were trying to win. That’s just what you get when you come to speedways, especially in these circumstances with people having to win to get in and make bold moves, so it was exciting. I hope the fans liked it. I’m really happy a lot of them came out and the weather held off, but it was chaotic. Luckily, we have our car in one piece.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

WHAT IS YOUR OVERRIDING EMOTION RIGHT NOW? “Man, I don’t even know to be honest with you. That was so stressful. Man, it is just so much appreciation to a level that it is hard to describe. You guys all know my career path and you just appreciate what I would call usually the little things but this one is a big one. I appreciate it so much. When you are driving for the Wood Brothers and having all these great people around you it just means so much to be able to do it here with this team. To answer your question better I just got off FaceTime with my wife and she was crying non-stop. She couldn’t stop crying because of the excitement obviously and knowing how much this means to us and not only making the playoffs but knowing we can really contend as a team.”

YOU HAVE HAD SOME HIGHS AND LOWS, HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO WHEN YOU FINISHED 6TH AT BRISTOL AND HOW BIG A MOMENT THAT WAS. HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO ANY OTHER MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER? “I think I put them all in a pretty similar ballpark. Each step of the way I feel like is kind of proven myself and my worth in the sport and scratching and clawing to do the best job I can for the team. I am so lucky to have each one of these opportunities. Making the playoffs and doing it for the Wood Brothers is huge. This goes at the top. Definitely along the top of the list of accomplishments and probably my biggest – definitely my biggest accomplishment in my Cup career. Doing it for the Wood Brothers is really special. It means a lot. Like I said, we can contend and I feel like we can really do a good job.”

YOU MENTIONED THIS WAS THE MOST STRESSFUL SITUATION YOU HAVE BEEN IN DRIVING A RACE CAR. HOW DID YOU FEEL HAVING A SUPERSPEEDWAY AS THE REGULAR SEASON FINALE AND RELYING ON THIS BEING YOUR FINAL SHOT? “Man, that was a high level of stress inside the race car. You couldn’t have scripted it any crazier. We had a decent points cushion and we were really getting in a groove and then the last few weeks were rough on us and that is part of it. The whole season is all collectively one. Coming into here that is by far the most stressful situation I have dealt with behind the wheel and coming into this week. But I have to thank my career path and the opportunities I have gotten before this – last year at this time I didn’t know if I would drive a Cup car again in my life. I am appreciative of the stressful situations I have been through because it has made me extremely mentally tough and be a good leader with my guys on my team and not let it get to me and always do my normal deal and not change how I drive under pressure.”

CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH HOW YOU GOT THROUGH THE INCIDENT BEFORE THE OVERTIME RESTART? “Man, that was a close call. Really, it was kind of a hope and pray type situation. The 22 had trouble and I ran into him and had to make an evasive maneuver to get around him and you kind of go with your instinct. I thought I could get around him on the outside. You don’t have time to look in your mirror and see if you are clear high so I went up around him and prayed that we could sneak through him. It was really tight and close and we got bounced around a little but thank goodness we got through that and ultimately that is what allowed us to make the playoffs.”

THE IDEA THAT YOU COULD BE A CHAMPION 10 WEEKS FROM NOW: “Unbelievable. I knew at the start of the season that we had work to do as a team and this year, 2020, is crazy. We kept getting better and better and through the mid part of the stretch I feel like we hit our stride as a team and were running up front weekly. We hit a few tracks that were a struggle but overall we are as ready as ever to contend for a championship, especially when we are at our best, working together as a team. It is perfect timing for us. That is why it was so important for us to make the playoffs because we knew that if we made them that we deserved every bit to be in them as a team and that we can really compete and make a heck of a splash and contend down the end. Especially since everyone knows there are a lot of short tracks and 750 horsepower tracks which are right up our alley and this team performs really well at.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GOT IN THROUGH LUCK OR WAS IT MORE THAN THAT TONIGHT? “It definitely involved luck. I think it was just trying to make decent decisions and be smart all day and not be the cause of the crash. That was my goal, to not make silly moves. I missed a couple opportunities to jump out and get out to the front a couple of times. There are some things to learn from and get better at. Ultimately I wouldn’t change them at this point because it led us to avoid that crash. There are always going to be some luck involved in these things and on top of that you have to be a smart racer and not do anything too crazy. We came out clean and that is all that mattered.”

DID YOU THINK YOU WERE THROWING IT AWAY IN THE SECOND STAGE WITH THE STRATEGY YOU GUYS HAD? “No. I think we had the right strategy for sure. I think if we did everything over the same I wouldn’t change anything at this point. I made a couple decisions I could have done better through the race. Our strategy was fine. Saving fuel on the second stage which was crazy, that and then the guys that pit for fuel ending up bunching up with one to go. You couldn’t have scripted this race with the stages and the finish and the whole thing, you couldn’t have staged it any crazier for our playoff battle between me and the 24 and 48.”

THIS IS YOUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THE PLAYOFFS AS A DRIVER. HOW WILL BEING CONNECTED TO PENSKE AND THE WOOD BROTHERS HELP YOU? “It is huge. It is so awesome driving for the Wood Brothers and the support we get from Ford is unreal. Obviously the support from Team Penske is really what makes this team so strong and allows us to be able to continue to build this team better and better each week and hopefully for a long time to come together. It is great to be aligned with such strong forces for us to go into these playoffs and have that confidence knowing that we have incredible equipment underneath me. The best I have had in my career. Great guys around us. That is definitely the exact way you want to go into this, into these playoffs with all that support.”

YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT COMING INTO THE FINAL WEEKS OF THE REGULAR SEASON YOU WERE HITTING YOUR STRIDE. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE CLOSE TO YOUR FIRST VICTORY? “Oh yeah. I think early in the season we had to work on some execution and were a new group working together and the pandemic hit and no practice and all that. Then we really started to hit our stride mid-point of the year. Going into the playoffs it is the perfect time to feel we are at our best as a team. Especially since starting the year we were a new group working together. I don’t put too much emphasis on flat out winning. I focus on doing the best we can as a team and hope the win falls our way. But I think we are most ready and capable to win now coming into the playoffs which is the perfect time and knowing that we have a lot of good racetracks coming up. We have improvements to make at Darlington. It wasn’t a strong one for us but a lot of these short tracks are really great race tracks for us coming up in the playoffs so that is really encouraging.”

WHAT DOES MAKING THE PLAYOFFS DO TO SOLIDIFY YOUR PLANS FOR 2021? “It is definitely a big deal for all of us as a team. When I came over here to the Wood Brothers and to this team and our alliance with Team Penske and all, it was really encouraging that they heavily expressed that my contract was a multi-year opportunity with them and they wanted it to be a relationship that we build for a long time to come and build this team and continue to improve and get it to where we are winning and consistently running up front. That was really encouraging. A lot of my situations have been one year type deals and really make or break. You always have to perform. I am really proud of the team and wanted it bad for all of them. We honestly haven’t even talked the tiniest bit about next year or moving forward or anything. We, and I included, were so focused on just getting through Daytona and making the playoffs. I never even brought it up. I just wanted to get through this moment. I am happy we did and happy we made the playoffs. It is huge for my career and for this team.”

YOU ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS AND HAVE A THREE RACE STRETCH COMING UP. BRISTOL IS THE CUT-OFF FOR THAT FIRST ROUND. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE GOING INTO THESE THREE RACES? “I am super pumped about the fact that we made the playoffs and the part I am most excited about is knowing that we have some great tracks coming up. I love any of the short tracks we go to. Bristol is one of my favorite tracks we go to all year. I think we have a lot of strengths coming up as a team. It is neat that a lot of people know that and have taken notice of our strength as a team as the season has gone on and we have become more of a contender at the perfect time and know that those tracks are right up or alley. I think we can go and have some consistent races and make it into the next round and make the next round after that and keep on fighting like we always do.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
COKE ZERO SUGAR 400
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
AUGUST 29, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
2nd CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
5th BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st William Byron (Chevrolet)
2nd Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
3rd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4th Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
5th Bubba Wallace (Chevrolet)

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:
POS. DRIVER
5th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
9th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
10th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW VORASURF CAMARO ZL1 1LE
15th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE

16 UNOFFICIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2nd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford)
4th Joey Logano (Ford)
5th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
6th Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)
7th Ryan Blaney (Ford)
8th Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
9th William Byron (Chevrolet)
10th Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)
11th Cole Custer (Ford)
12th Aric Almirola (Ford)
13th Clint Bowyer (Ford)
14th Kyle Busch (Toyota)
15th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
16th Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)

The NASCAR Cup Series seasons continues at Darlington Raceway with the Southern 500 on Sunday, September 6,, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner
WHAT A DAY TO GET YOUR FIRST NASCAR CUP SERIES CAREER WIN! YOU PITTED FOR FOUR TIRES, GOT BACK IN TRAFFIC. AT THAT MOMENT, DID YOU THINK A WIN WAS EVEN POSSIBLE?
“Oh, yeah! I had confidence in (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and the guys that we could get four tires and make the most of it. So, I’m just extremely blessed, and this is incredible. It’s been a hard couple of years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and gel with this team. These guys did an awesome job today and got us in the Playoffs and it’s amazing.”

HOW INTENSE WAS THE RACING TONIGHT AND RACING YOUR TEAMMATE, JIMMIE JOHNSON, KNOWING IT WAS A POINT OR TWO, IT COULD SWING EITHER WAY? WHAT WAS THAT LIKE IN THE PACK ALL NIGHT LONG?
“This is probably the hardest track to points-race. We had a great Stage 2 and kind of got back in the pack and got shuffled when everyone went single file. I thought my hopes were up there. And we were racing around the No. 21 (Matt DiBenedetto) and the No. 48 (Johnson) in the final stage and I was like man, I’ve got to really make something happen. Luckily, I was able to push the No. 43 (Bubba Wallace) and he and the No. 22 (Joey Logano) made some contact and opened up a hole for me, and I wasn’t going to lift. It was awesome. Thanks to Liberty University, Chevrolet, and it’s amazing.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RACING TONIGHT, CHASE?
“It was pretty wild from my seat. I was surprised it took us as long as it did to wreck, for sure. But I’m really proud of our Hooters team. I feel like we had faster Chevrolet’s than we’ve had in the last couple of trips, which was good. It didn’t drive as good as I think it probably should have, but I do think we were better by a pretty large margin, so that was nice. Congratulations to William (Byron) – getting your first win is something he’ll never forget and that’s a really special moment for him. He’s worked really hard for that. I’m happy for him, Chad (Knaus) and all of the 24 team. They’ve done a good job.”

WAS THAT YOUR FOCUS, TO JUST STICK WITH WILLIAM AND MAKE SURE HE STAYS UP FRONT?
“To a point, yes. If I had a run to do something on my own, I certainly would have like anybody else. But I just never had an opportunity that wasn’t going to hurt both of us. I feel like if it could have ever just been he and I one-on-one or put myself in a position to get around him, it would have been good and nothing wrong with that. But just the way it all kind of worked out, my best option for my best finish was to push him. I certainly would rather push him than some others, for sure.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th
“Super pumped for William (Byron) and the entire No. 24 team. Really cool to see them get the win. Bummed for Jimmie at the same time. It is a big mix of emotions there for Jimmie to miss it. Overall, not a bad day for the No. 88 team. Had a really fast car, didn’t drive really well though. I have no clue how we didn’t crash some of those times. We got really lucky there at the end and ended up with a solid top-10 finish.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
“The Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet Camaro had a heck of a run tonight. We saw pay dirt there at the end – third place coming out of turn four. The 19 car just side drafted us and pulled us back. I didn’t have any help behind me but what a night. I just have to say thank you so much to the Beard family, Darren Shaw (crew chief) and Ron Lewis, my spotter. I also want to say thank you to Richard Childress and ECR motors for all they do for us. Two top-10s this year at Daytona – what a way to go out. It was so much fun. We will see everyone in Talladega and we’ll actually be able to take the same racecar because it’s in one piece.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17th
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE DAY?
“First and foremost, congratulations to my teammate getting his first Cup win like that. This setting and the drama to go with it – that’s a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron. I’m really happy for those guys. I really felt like we had a way to transfer, to win, or point our way in the way it went in the first two stages. Things just got ugly down in turn one. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing.”

YOU SEEM LIKE YOU HAD THE SPEED TODAY. THE 48 CAR LOOKED LIKE IT WAS A POTENTIAL RACE WINNER, AT LEAST A TOP-FIVE CAR.
“Yeah, we had a really good car. The last couple of months, we’ve been really getting our act together and running well. Definitely disappointed to not be in the Playoffs – that was the number one goal to start the year. But when I look back at the disqualification at Charlotte and then missing the Brickyard 400 due to my COVID-19 positive test and only miss it by six points – we did all that we could this year. I’m so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had there, the relationship with Ally and their continued support for this race team. Cliff Daniels and these guys on my team – they pour their guts out for me. There’s 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there.”

YOU MENTIONED CLIFF – I KNOW HE SAID NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS WOULDN’T DEFINE YOUR SEASON AND IT CERTAINLY WOULDN’T DEFINE YOUR CAREER. IS THAT ACCURATE?
“Yeah, it’s not fair to put on it. The last three years have been tough – we all know that. I think we’ve shown some bright spots and Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) has done a really good job of leading this team and taking this team in the right direction. I think we can show that and close out the year.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW VORASURF CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 25th
“Pulling into Daytona International Speedway for the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 400 tonight and seeing fans really pumped me up. It was great to have them at the track, and I think they were treated to quite the show. We had a fast Dow VORASURF Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Even though we had to start at the back of the field, we were able to work our way into the top-five and we had speed and handling. Things were getting exciting with less than 15 laps to go. I thought there was going to be a big run and I was going to be in the clear but it didn’t work out that way. I was on the high line and had nowhere to go when everyone started crashing in front of me. I should have known better. If you stay on the bottom you have an out. We ended up with a lot of damage to our Chevy and survived several additional end-of-race wrecks to nurse it home to a 25th-place finish. Obviously, not what we were hoping for but it’s just the situation. It’s the last race before the NASCAR Playoffs and we knew the action would be wild. I’m thankful we are locked into the Playoffs and I’m looking forward to running for a championship for everyone at RCR and ECR and all of our partners.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KCMG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 158; Finished 29th
“Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet team came out today with one goal, and that was to win. We gave it our all and came close to making the NASCAR Playoffs during my rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast tonight and handled really well too. I have to thank RCR and ECR for always bringing such great engines and cars to the superspeedway races. My spotter, Derek Kneeland, and crew chief, Randall Burnett did a great job calling a race that got me up towards the front with 10 laps to go. I tried to make a move for the lead with about eight laps to go, and it didn’t work out like I planned. It unfortunately hurt our car and chance to win. I was clear for about a second when I went to make it, but it’s Daytona and things change quickly. There weren’t a lot laps left at that time, and you have to do what you can to try to win to make the Playoffs. I can’t thank KCMG, Caterpillar, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Alsco, Chevrolet and all our partners at RCR and ECR enough for their support during my rookie season. I promise we’re still going to be fighting hard every week for the next 10 weeks to get our first win in the Cup Series.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 151; Finished 32nd
YOU WERE HANGING IN THE BACK MOST OF THIS RACE AND YOU DECIDED TO GO TO THE FRONT AND THE AGGRESSION PICKED UP. DID YOU HAVE THE SPEED TO STAY UP THERE AND DO YOU THINK IT GOT A LITTLE IT AGGRESSIVE?
“No, I think the race kind of played out similar to what we thought it was going to. Starting in the back, we decided we would just kind of cruise in our Kroger Camaro. It was nice running the bottom there in that final stage with the 9 (Chase Elliott) and the 88 (Alex Bowman) behind us. I felt like we were making headway, got up beside the 18 (Kyle Busch) for the lead and it was tough with the 18 and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) together. But I thought with us, the 9 and the 88, I thought that we could keep our momentum up. Something happened behind them and they got shuffled and separated from me. Then there at the end, we were just running the top lane. It looked like the 8 (Tyler Reddick) tried to pull a slider, didn’t quite have him cleared and we all just kind of bunched up. Our Kroger Camaro was fast again. I had a lot of fun, but it sucks not to get the finish out of it.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 151; Finished 34th
“We were just digging on the bottom – I thought that was the best spot to be. Our Monster Energy Chevy was fast and we were all in the right spot, I thought, for what we needed to get done. Just got clipped from behind and our day is done. But, all-in-all, we’ve been coming together as a team – we just haven’t had the results to show it. I like the clarity and focus that we have on the No. 1 car heading into the Playoffs. It’s been a consistent season all the way until these last few, but now it’s time. Now we have to lay down everything we’ve got with Darlington, Richmond and Bristol coming up.”

“Thanks to Monster Energy, Chevrolet, GEARWRENCH. Sorry Ganassi guys – I didn’t bring it on home, but we were racing hard with nothing to lose. I thought the bottom was the safest spot, we just got clipped from behind.”

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.

HAMLIN, TRUEX CONTINUES STRONG PERFORMANCE AT DAYTONA
Reigning Daytona 500 winner Hamlin scores top-three finish

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (August 29, 2020) – Denny Hamlin (third) and Martin Truex Jr. (fourth) drove to top-five finishes to lead Toyota in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday evening.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Daytona International Speedway
Race 26 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, William Bryon*
2nd, Chase Elliott*
3rd, DENNY HAMLIN
4th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
5th, Bubba Wallace*
13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
24th, TIMMY HILL
28th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
33rd, KYLE BUSCH
35th, ERIK JONES
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Finishing Position: 3rd

What happened in those final laps of the race in overtime?

“Just disappointed. I didn’t do a good job. Lack of focus or whatever it is. Not executing. If you have control of a green-white-checkered on a speedway, most of the time the win is going to come from the front row and you have to just make sure you make the right moves and I just didn’t after I took the green. I don’t know what I was doing and I didn’t have a push from the 21 (Matt DiBenedetto) and I was clear of the 24 (William Byron) and just didn’t pull down. I don’t know what I was doing. Disappointing, but I guess we escaped some mayhem, we were in some mayhem. Just a crazy race. Just everyone kind of out there for themselves and all the pushing and shoving and body-slamming and what not. Decent finish, but I hate having control and not finishing.”

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

Finishing Position: 4th

What were the final laps like tonight?

“We got ourselves in position there at the white flag and made a run through the tri-oval and got to the outside of the leader there. The 14 (Clint Bowyer) and those guys that were behind me, they were my pushers and they crashed. As soon as they wrecked behind me, I realized that I lost all my help and it was going to be tough from there on out. Then the 9 (Chase Elliott) just pushed the 24 (William Byron) back by us and ended up barely hanging onto fourth. Overall, it was a really good night. Our Bass Pro Toyota had a lot of speed and we passed a lot of cars at the end. We had to pit twice there at the end on those two cautions because we flat-spotted our tires and ran over all kinds of debris. To be able to come through the field in a short amount of laps was a lot of fun. Always nice when you leave here in one piece.”

Do you like where your team is heading into the Playoffs?

“I love where we’re at right now. I think we’re hitting on all eight cylinders, making good decisions. The pit crew is really doing a great job. We’re doing all the little things right and I think if we just keep carrying on this momentum, we’re going to be tough to handle. I think everybody has forgotten about us and that’s a cool spot to be in for us. We look forward to that.”

How do you feel heading into the Playoffs?

“I feel good about our team and where we’re at and what the guys are doing and the race cars they’re bringing me to the race track. I feel like we’ve been right there. I know we should probably have a couple more wins, but just running in the top-three, four, five every week, that’s what it takes to make it to the final four and then have a shot at the championship. That’s what we’ve been doing. Just hope we can keep it going and make everyone on our team proud. Thanks to Auto Owners, Bass Pro and just all our partners that make it happen. Toyota, TRD – hopefully we make them all proud the next 10 races.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 33rd

What happened that caused the accident and the big wreck?

“Slide job gone bad. I just hate it for these Interstate Batteries guys. We had a good Camry all night long and made our way to the front multiple times and we were leading a lot of laps there. Just waiting for the end, for business to pick-up and I guess business was starting to pick-up, but just not clear. I saw him coming and even checked up and we still ran into each other.”

What happened in the wreck from your vantage point?

“Just a slide job gone bad. (Tyler) Reddick threw it off into three and might have been clear, but wasn’t clear by much and started coming up the track and was losing momentum. I even had to check-up because I saw him coming and it wasn’t enough check-up and wrecked the field. I hate it for all my Interstate Batteries guys. They’ve worked so hard this year and done a great job. We put ourselves in a great spot again tonight and had a fast race car, a good driving race car and was just hoping we could maintain that position for the rest of the day and get a win, that’s what we’re trying to look for. Thought we had a shot to do that. Still 2020.”

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

Finishing Position: 35th

You were very displeased with Tyler Reddick in the car for that move. What do you think he did wrong?

“I mean, he (Tyler Reddick) wasn’t clear. Kyle (Busch) let him in, number one, to not cause a wreck and then he ran into the wall and wrecked everybody behind him. It’s frustrating. He had way too much speed to try to make that move up the hill with the grip that is left in the tires. We had a lot of laps on them. It’s unfortunate. He wrecked us a Pocono, and then to have this happen, you know, two times making racing moves that were not going to work out. Unfortunately, it was to the determent of us today. The Auto Owners Camry was pretty fast. We were up front. I think we were running third when we got wrecked, so we had a shot. We needed to win — we were there, we just didn’t get it done.”

# # #

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: Daytona International Speedway
Race: 26 of 36
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (400 miles, 160 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Fire Alarm Services, Inc. Ford Mustang

Started: 24th
Finished: 11th

Stage One: 11th
Stage Two: 16th
Stage Three: 11th

John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag in the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season on Saturday night in 24th place. After the first 20 laps, Nemechek said his No. 38 Fire Alarm Services, Inc. (FAS) Ford Mustang was a little free on exit, but the balance wasn’t bad. At the Competition Caution, he came to pit road for fuel only and a piece of grille tape. Restarting P8, Nemechek battled within the top 15 for the remainder of the stage, taking the green- and white-checkered flag in the 11th position. Under caution for the Stage 1 Break, Nemechek radioed that he started losing front grip and probably needed to be a little tighter. He would pit for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.

Nemechek restarted the race for Stage 2 in the 8th place. His No. 38 FAS Ford Mustang ran inside the top 10 for much of the all-green segment, running as high as 3rd before dropping back to save fuel towards the end. Nemechek would finish Stage 2 in the 16th position. Under caution, he noted that he was “a little free on the bottom, a little snug up top… might need to tighten me up a little more.” Crew Chief Seth Barbour made the call for Nemechek to take 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment at the Stage Break Caution.

Nemechek would start the Final Stage of the night in 15th place. On Lap 124, he radioed to the crew that it felt like the previous pit stop adjustment might have made the balance worse on his No. 38 FAS Ford Mustang. He made a quick trip to pit road for fuel only with 30 laps to go, and when a caution came out with less than 20 laps to go, Nemechek pitted again for 4 tires, fuel and a packer adjustment. After a wild wreck that took out several cars with less than 10 laps remaining, Nemechek restarted P16. Not long after taking the green flag, Nemechek was involved in another wreck and sustained heavy right rear damage. After pitting for repairs, Nemechek would restart at the tail end of the field and battle his way up to an 11th-place finish, earning Sunoco “Rookie of the Race” honors.

Nemechek on Daytona:

“I’ll take P11 for our No. 38 FAS Ford Mustang after all that. It was a wild end to the day, but I’m super proud of my guys for all of their effort and hard work. We had a pretty decent setup and made a few adjustments during the night that helped get us in a position to have a good result. We got caught up at the end in a wreck with some heavy right side damage, but my guys on pit road rallied and we were able to keep rolling to get a good finish for our partners at FAS. Overall it was a good points day for us, so we’ll take what notes we can and move on to the next one.”

Track: Daytona International Speedway
Race: 26 of 36
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400
(400 miles, 160 laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang

Started: 26th
Finished: 14th

Stage One: 8th
Stage Two: 22nd
Stage Three: 14th

Michael McDowell and his No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang took the green flag from the 26th position on Saturday night, under the lights of Daytona International Speedway. After a 20-lap stint, the Competition Caution would occur and McDowell noted that his race car “sucked up good in the draft” and would pit for fuel only. The remainder of Stage 1 would run caution-less and the No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang would go on to take the first green- and white-checkered flag from the 8th position. During the Stage Break, McDowell noted that his Ford Mustang was “a little bit free on the way into the corner,” which prompted Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer to make the call for 4 tires and a trackbar adjustment.

Stage 2 remained green from start to finish as McDowell was told to save fuel for the majority of the stage and would run comfortably in the mid-teens. Nearing the end of Stage 2, McDowell would attempt to make a run for the front, however with multiple pit strategies taking place, the field would get shuffled and the No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang would finish the second stage in 22nd. Under the caution, McDowell would pit for 4 tires, fuel and added grille tape after noting that his balance was “pretty good”.

During the final stage of Saturday night’s 400-mile race, Michael McDowell and the No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang would continue to have a strong run. Fords would be the last of the manufacturers to pit for fuel and McDowell would run in the 3rd position for a handful of laps before pitting. McDowell was running inside of the Top-15 as the first of the “big ones” would occur, collecting the No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang. Thankfully, the No. 34 team was able to make repairs on pit road to keep McDowell on track and the No. 34 CarParts.com | CARDONE Ford Mustang would take the checkered flag in 14th; earning McDowell his ninth Top-15 finish of the 2020 season.

McDowell on Daytona:

“Not the result that we wanted tonight, but our CarParts.com Ford Mustang was really fast. It sucked up really good in the draft and I was able to get up in the Top-10 and stay there pretty easily, but just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know, that’s Daytona and it happens, but I’m just really proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. It wasn’t the finish that we had hoped for, but we still got a Top-15 finish with a crashed car. The speed that we had was some of the best that we’ve had on a superspeedway in a really long time, so I’m just really proud of everybody. Thank you to CarParts.com and CARDONE Industries for coming on board.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 29, 2020) – Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank team battled feverishly to the checkered flag in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Buescher patiently bided his time for much of the 400-mile race, before making a powerful run to the front of the field during the waning laps. He placed his Ford in position to win late, reaching as high as third position with a handful of laps remaining.

Buescher survived close calls in a pair of multiple car accidents in the final eight laps and restarted third with just five laps left in regulation. After being shuffled back on the final restart, Buescher regrouped, maneuvered through heavy traffic and made one final charge before the checkered flag fell on the 160-lap event; ultimately bringing his Ford home in the ninth position.

Buescher started the race 17th and settled into the mid-20’s for much of the race’s early laps, ending Stage 1 in 24th position. By the end of Stage 2 he had worked his Fifth Third Bank machine up to 14th. Running 17th when the field went green after caution ln lap 147, Buescher mounted his run to the front and had reached third when the first the two ‘big’ wrecks occurred on lap 152. After getting shuffled, he was running 16th when the final caution occurred on lap 158 and powered back to the top-10 finish during a frenzied green-white-checkered overtime finish.

Buescher and the Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway next weekend. The race next Sunday night is set for 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The race can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 29, 2020) – In his return to the Daytona Oval, Ryan Newman had just began the charge forward with less than 10 laps to go, when a multi-car incident occurred ahead, collecting his Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang. He went on to finish 36th.

The 160-lap race ran caution-free up until late in the final stage, when the Superspeedway chaos ramped up. With eight laps to go, a block was made from the lead, resulting in a wreck behind, which collected the 2008 Daytona 500 Champion.

Newman rolled off 22nd on the grid, and played his usual strategy on Superspeedways, hanging towards the rear for much of the opening laps. He was 23rd at the time of the competition caution at lap 20, and after a quick stop for service, went on to finish 21st in the first stage.

Stage two brought varying strategy calls, as some cars were forced to split the stage and pit for fuel, but Newman was able to run green to lap 100, ultimately finishing 18th in the second segment.

After rolling off 15th at lap 105, Newman settled into mid-pack, before green-flag stops began around lap 120. He and his fellow Ford Performance teammates long-pitted for fuel only at lap 131, setting them up for the finish on fuel mileage.

The first non-stage break yellow came out at lap 143 for a spin near the tail end of the field, when Newman hit pit road for fresh tires. After restarting 22nd, Newman began his battle towards the front, when the incident took place, ending his night.

With the regular season in the books, The Cup Series heads to Darlington for the #NASCARThrowback next weekend. The race next Sunday night is set for 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The race can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.