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Buescher Secures Top-Five Finish in Inaugural Road Course Race at Daytona

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Official Release
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 16, 2020) – Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fastenal team secured their second top-five finish of the season Sunday afternoon with a fifth-place run in the inaugural Cup Series road course race at Daytona International Speedway.

Buescher rolled off the grid to tackle the unfamiliar course in 21st. The first stage of racing proved to be challenging as the driver worked hard to learn how to maneuver the tricks and turns of the track. By lap six Buescher was shuffled back to 24th, where he held track position until the team pitted under green at lap 13. With reports of a tight handling Ford, the team decided to take four fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments to the track bar and air pressure. Two laps later, Buescher took the green-white checkered flag for stage one in 30th.

The team elected not to pit at the stage break and restarted 14th for stage two. As Buescher continued to clock laps, he was shuffled back to 17th by Lap 23. The adjustments from the pit stop in stage one proved to work well and five laps later the team visited pit road under green for the same adjustments as the previous stop. Without enough laps to move back through the field, the Fastenal Ford finished stage two in 23rd.

With fresh tires and fuel from the late stop in stage two, the team stayed out and Buescher restarted 13th for the final segment. With handling on the Fastenal Ford dialed in, he driver gained momentum, working his way up inside the top-10. At lap 35, Buescher was up to ninth when the caution flag waved for lightning in the area. Cars drove down pit road for a brief lightning hold.

When the hold lifted, weather cleared from the area and the green flag waved again at lap 39. Buescher restarted 10th but made quick work clocking laps on the track, driving all the way up to sixth at lap 47. The team elected to pit at Lap 48 for fresh tires and fuel to make it to the checkered flag. After the pit stop, the team got back on track 21st. Buescher wasted no time driving through the field. By lap 57, he was back inside the top-10.

When the caution flag waved with five to go, Buescher was up to ninth. Two cars pitted in front of the driver, giving him a track position advantage to restart seventh with three laps to go. Pit strategy worked to the No. 17 team’s advantage as the fresh tires allowed Buescher to drive his way to fifth in the closing laps. The team ultimately took the checkered flag in fifth, securing the driver’s second top-five of the season and first ever top-five at a road course in the Cup Series. The finish also marked Jack Roush’s first Cup Series top-five on a road course since 2014.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to action for a double-header weekend at Dover International Speedway. The first race begins on Saturday, August 22 at 4 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Network, MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

Newman Finishes 19th at Daytona Road Course

By
Official Release
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 16, 2020) – In NASCAR’s first-ever Cup race at the Daytona Road Course, Ryan Newman drove his Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang to a 19th-place finish.

After rolling off 14th based off NASCAR’s newest starting lineup procedures, Newman overcame an early issue on the 3.57-mile road course. Just five laps in Newman flat-spotted a tire, resulting in an unscheduled stop just prior to the stage end at lap 15.

The South Bend, Indiana, native pitted again under the stage break, putting him near the tail end of the field for the ensuing restart. With shortened fuel windows on the long course, Newman again hit pit road with three to go in stage two for fresh tires and a set of adjustments.

Newman would restart 25th for the final segment, which was halted three laps in due to lightning in the Daytona Beach area. The delay paused action an hour before cars hit the track again. After hitting pit road again at lap 38, Newman restarted 27th with 26 laps to go. From there, teams had one final stop to make, with crew chief Scott Graves running Newman long to the end of the pit cycle.

Newman advanced as high as seventh and ran 10th at the time he hit pit road with nine laps remaining. The yellow flag was displayed one final time with five to go, when Newman stayed out and went on to finish 19th.

Next up, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway for a doubleheader next weekend, for a pair of 311-mile races on Saturday and Sunday. Race coverage for both races begins at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Both races can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

Andretti Scores First Indianapolis 500 Pole for Fast Family since 1987

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Official Release
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INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 16, 2020) – For the first time in 33 years, an Andretti will lead the Indianapolis 500 to the green flag.

Marco Andretti, the grandson of the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti, topped eight other NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Fast Nine Shootout to claim his first NTT Pole Award of 2020 on Sunday.

RESULTS: Indianapolis 500 Qualifying

It was his family’s first Indy 500 pole since Mario Andretti won the pole in 1987 and the first pole for a car carrying the No. 98 since Parnelli Jones won the pole for the 1963 Indianapolis 500.

“I was emotional,” Marco Andretti said. “It’s funny because I was screaming after the run, so I don’t have a voice. Everybody is thinking I’m crying, but I just can’t talk right now. I was emotional. We put so much into it. This place means so much to us as a family. We’ve just been through so many ups and downs at this place. Obviously, my cousin, John is riding with me, my grandfather from home. We know family is pulling for us. We live and breathe this sport, this race in particular.”

Andretti recorded a four-lap run of 2 minutes, 35.7985 seconds (231.068 mph) in the No. 98 U.S. Concrete/Curb Honda to beat Scott Dixon’s provisional pole run by .017 mph – the third-closest margin in the race’s history by speed. The nine drivers in the Fast Nine Shootout each had one attempt in sunny but blustery conditions, with a steady north wind of 12 mph. As the fastest qualifier Saturday, Andretti was the last driver on track during the Shootout.

“Lap 1 was good,” Andretti said. “Lap 2 started giving me the hint that (Lap) 3 and 4 were going to be tough,” Andretti said. “I knew it was going to be interesting. I knew it was going to be close, too, because I was watching the speeds, knew what (Dixon) ran. The luxury of going last is you know the benchmark. Luckily we were just on the better end of that.”

Dixon set the time to beat of 2:35.8098 (231.051 mph) as the fifth car to go out in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda but settled for his fifth front-row starting position at Indianapolis.

“I was definitely watching (Marco Andretti),” Dixon said. “Sometimes you don’t want to know the results, right? We knew (Andretti) were going to be strong. Right from the get-go, I knew Hinch (James Hinchcliffe) was going to be a good sort of benchmark, and the same with (Alexander) Rossi, because it looked like he was more trimmed out than the rest of them, a little more aggressive. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough.

“There’s so many things, I think, through the run that you could definitely equate maybe to going that little bit faster. I’m sure they had similar issues on their side.”

Takuma Sato, the first car to run after sitting provisionally ninth Saturday, qualified third with a four-lap average of 230.725 mph in the No. 30 Panasonic/PeopleReady Honda, while rookie Rinus VeeKay – driving the lone Chevrolet in the Fast Nine –qualified fourth at 230.704 mph in the No. 21 SONAX entry, the best qualifying result for a teenager in Indianapolis 500 history.

The pole position is the sixth of Marco Andretti’s INDYCAR career and the 42nd INDYCAR pole by cars owned by his father Michael Andretti. Michael Andretti never won a pole for the Indy 500 as a driver, but his team did in 2005 with Tony Kanaan.

“I was joking with Dad,” Marco Andretti said. “I’m like, ‘This is probably like my third legitimate shot as far as just outright pace in 15 years.’ When I lost the ‘500’ in 2006, you saw me mad because I knew that it is possible that 15 years later I’m talking to you guys and I haven’t won one yet. That’s why I was so mad.

“It’s a tough place. Last year I had the worst race of my career. Here we are, we can win it. We’re going to take it one race at a time. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is so competitive. Drivers and the teams, everybody is so close. It’s easy to go from last to first if you just find that little bit.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified fifth at 230.648 in the No. 28 DHL Honda, with Andretti Autosport teammate James Hinchcliffe sixth at 229.870 in the No. 29 Genesys Honda.

Rookie Alex Palou of Spain ended up a solid seventh at 229.676 in the No. 55 Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda, with Graham Rahal eighth at 229.380 in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda. 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi rounded out the Fast Nine as the fourth Andretti Autosport car in the Shootout, with an average speed of 229.234 in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda.

The next day of track action will be Miller Lite Carb Day on Friday, Aug. 21, when all 33 drivers will practice for the last time before the race from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (NBCSN, INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network).

CREED TAKES FIRST NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES RACE AT STORIED DAYTONA ROAD COURSE

By
Official Release
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Outduels GMS Racing Teammate Brett Moffitt in Green-White-Checkered Finish

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 16, 2020) – History was yet again the topic of conversation Sunday early afternoon at Daytona International Raceway as the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series made its debut on the iconic DAYTONA Road Course. When the checkered flag waved, Sheldon Creed placed his name in the record book, holding off teammate GMS Racing Brett Moffitt in a two-lap dash for glory in overtime.

Creed, who picked up his second triumph of the season, late in the event built up over a six-second lead on the storied 3.61-mile, 14-turn tri-oval/road course made famous by the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, North America’s most prestigious sports car race. Within the last five laps, however, he had to hold off a furious charge by Moffitt, after two caution flags flew to win high-intensity event.

“It was nerve-wracking,” said Creed of the late-race cautions. “You never want to see those cautions, especially when you have been able to build up a big lead. One came out….and another came out again. I was confident and Brett matched me (on the restarts). Luckily, I was on the bottom going into the first turn (of the infield road course)…he is good and has a lot of experience….I owe a lot to him. He has helped me a lot in the last year and a half. To beat him is really rewarding. The $50 grand –  that is cool, too.”

The “$50 grand” Creed spoke of was part of the Triple Truck Challenge program. If he can win the next two Gander Truck Series races at Dover and World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL, he will take home a total bonus of $500,000.

Matt Crafton and Austin Hill Sunday third, followed rookie Raphael Lessard. Rounding out the top 10 were Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger, Parker Kligerman, Scott Lagasse, Jr. and Stewart Friesen.

Creed led twice for 29 laps, including the final 22. Average speed was 81.435 mph and the margin of victory was .743 seconds. There was 10 lead changes among six drivers, and five cautions for seven laps. Time of the race was two hours, two minutes and 21 seconds.

Hill remains atop the title standings and Moffitt, although still winless in ’20, sits second. Wins guarantee a spot in the season-ending NASCAR Gander Trucks Playoffs but he made gains with his finish and sits 84 on the plus side.

The historic weekend of racing on the DAYTONA Road Course concludes Sunday afternoon with the NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling 235, the first time NASCAR’s elite series are competing on a road course in Daytona since 1958. From 1949-58, the Cup Series – then called the Grand National Division – raced on the old Daytona beach-road course. A year later in ’59, Daytona International Speedway opened, and from that point on, the Cup cars competed on the high banks of the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

NASCAR returns to Daytona International Speedway in two weeks with a doubleheader weekend featuring the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola on Friday, Aug. 28 – and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, Aug. 29. It will be the final race of the regular season to set the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs.

A limited number of fans will get the opportunity to see the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Fans can get tickets, which start at $49 (both races included) for adults and $10 for kids 12 years old and younger, by visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or calling 1-800-PIT-SHOP.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.


For more information, video, photos and graphics to assist your coverage, register and visit NASCARMedia.com.

About Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of “The Great American Race” – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the “World Center of Racing,” boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS: RINNUS VEEKAY SCORES SECOND ROW START FOR CHEVY

By
Official Release
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CHEVROLET RACING NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY FAST NINE SHOOTOUT RECAP
AUGUST 16, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS: Following an exciting Fast Nine Shootout, Rinus VeeKay has placed his No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet solidy in the fourth starting position on the inside of the second row.

VeeKay was fourth in the order of the nine drivers to take their turn at a pole run, and laid down four very consistent laps delivering a four-lap average of 230.704 mph, He held on to the outside of the front row until the last driver, and pole winner Marco Andretti posted the fastest time of the day 231.068 mph.

At 19 years old, VeeKay showed the maturity a1nd calm of a veteran to secure a second row start. As a result being the fastest rookie in the 33 car field, VeeKay received a $10,000 award from American Dairy.

“I didn’t know that!” exclaimed VeeKay. “That is a great surprise! That is my first-ever dollar I’ve made in racing. Real happy with that!

“It was a great qualifying effort. I It was a good run. The wind was a llttle tough on the last lap. I stayed flat for four laps and that was my aim. I think being the only Chevy (in Fast Nine), being fourth is amazing!”

Driving for Ed Carpenter, one of the most successful drivers and team owners at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, VeeKay had the benefit of the best leadership and guidance a rookie could get, and teammate Conor Daly has a lot of Indy 500 experience to share as the three ECR drivers prepare for next Sunday’s Indianpolis 500.

Next up on the schedule is Miller Lite Carb Day, Friday, Aug. 21, final practice for the Indianapolis 500. Then “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET live on NBC.

NO. 21 RINUS VEEKAY, SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “I know we have a great race car. It is hard to say as a rookie, (winning) is my goal. But I have to be realistic. But it is the Indy 500 and anything can happen. But I try not to think about it so it doesn’t distract me. But I think we are getting close.

“Ed can teach me everything. He has so much experience here. Conor has so many starts here. It is so valuable for me. It’s so great for me to have such a team with great teammates and engineers around me that have so muh experience that they bring all of that experience over to me.”

IANAP
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.

Creed Victorious in historic Daytona Road Course Victory

By
Briar Starr
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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 16: Sheldon Creed, driver of the #2 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco 159 at Daytona International Speedway on August 16, 2020 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Sheldon Creed took home his second victory of the year Sunday afternoon after hanging on to win on the first-ever NASCAR Truck Series race on the Daytona Road Course. Creed had to fend off a hard-charging teammate Brett Moffitt for the victory in an overtime restart that came with two laps to go. The victory now puts Creed and the GMS Racing No. 2 team on top of the playoff standings, leading just by three points over Grant Enfinger.

“Nerve-wracking,” a smiling Creed said of the race after climbing out of his No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet truck.

“Brett’s [Moffitt] really good on road courses and he’s helped me so much on the Chevy simulator. I just thought about not making a mistake there. He tried crossing me up a couple of times there in [turns] three and five and I just stopped in the corners so he couldn’t get the run.”

“I’m so thankful for my guys. They’ve been working really hard. We’ve had a rough couple weeks, last weekend running up front and lost an alternator.”

“Just thankful for everyone in our corner,” Creed continued. “Thank you Brett for running me clean there. Just so excited.”

In addition to the historic event for the Truck Series, the Daytona Road Course also marked the first of three races for the Triple Truck Challenge, where a driver can win up to $500,000 should they win all three races or $50,000 for one race.

There were also three stages that saw 12-13-19, which made up the original 44 lap event. Though, due to overtime, the race was extended to 46 laps instead.

Stage 1 Lap 1 – Lap 12

Stage 1 was surprisingly calm with Moffitt dominating the stage. The stage wasn’t all easy for Moffitt however, as the Iowan barely overshot the last chicane on the frontstretch. Had he done so, Moffitt would have had to serve a penalty for a stop and go. Fortunately for Moffitt, he held on to his No. 23 Chevrolet and got the stage victory.

A caution on lap 12 for the No. 42 stopped on track was displayed. With the caution coming out on the final lap of the stage, the stage was ended under yellow. Following Moffitt were Creed, Christian Eckes, Austin Hill, Todd Gilliland, Ben Rhodes, Tyler Ankrum, Tanner Gray, Austin Wayne Self, and Derek Kraus completing the top 10.

While Stage 1 didn’t see too much action, pit road was a busy place during the stage break for several drivers.

Bobby Kennedy piloting the No. 00 Reaume Brothers entry jumped out of the truck and was replaced by team owner Josh Reaume, with Kennedy not feeling well. Meanwhile, Grant Enfinger changed a battery, and Stewart Friesen changed an alternator. The No. 02 of Tate Fogleman was also penalized for being too fast on pit road.

Stage 2 Lap 14 – Lap 25

Like Stage 1, Stage 2 saw a lot of action but there were no yellows that took place.

Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton stayed out under the stage break to assume the lead.

A few drivers went off course including Johnny Sauter in the No. 13 Truck. Sauter missed the Turn 9 and 10 chicane on the backstretch and went off into the grass. By going off the racing surface, the Wisconsin native had to stop for a brief period of time before returning on track. The leader Eckes went off as well in Turn 3 while trying to hold off Crafton. The No. 18 Safelite Tundra spun, which allowed Crafton to go by with the lead. Another driver, Jennifer Jo Cobb ended up missing a corner, and was penalized and had to serve a drive-thru.

As the laps began to wind down in the stage, Todd Gilliland and Derek Kraus came to pit road for battery changes to their machines.

Crafton while the leader missed the Turn 9 and 10 chicane as well, thus giving up the lead. Even though Crafton did not stop after cutting through the grass, the series officials did not penalize him as he lost two positions in the process.

With Crafton going off course, the incident saw Creed take the lead and go on to win the second stage. Hill, Ankrum, Smith, Kris Wright, Spencer Davis, Raphael Lessard, Alex Tagliani, Moffitt, and Ty Majeski were the top 10 finishers in Stage 2.

Stage 3 Lap 28 – Lap 46

Three cautions slowed the final stage throughout the final 18 laps.

Jordan Anderson in his No. 3 Chevrolet came to a stop in Turn 8. Derek Kraus as well came to a stop in Turn 3 for the fourth yellow of the race. The final caution flew with just three laps to go. Carson Hocevar making a Truck start for Niece Motorsports in the No. 40 truck collected damage in the first turn and could not get his truck to fire up. In doing so, the yellow was prompted and forced NASCAR Overtime restart.

Even the Overtime restart couldn’t slow Creed down, as he drove his No. 2 Chevy to victory lane for his first Daytona win when the checkered flag flew.

There were five cautions for seven laps and 10 lead changes among six drivers.

In addition, Creed picked up $50,000 due to the Triple Truck Challenge.

Official Results following Sunoco 159 at Daytona Road Course

  1. Sheldon Creed, won Stage 2, led 19 laps
  2. Brett Moffitt, won Stage 1, led 13 laps
  3. Raphael Lessard, led three laps
  4. Matt Crafton, led seven laps
  5. Austin Hill, led one lap
  6. Tyler Ankrum
  7. Grant Enfinger
  8. Parker Kligerman
  9. Scott Lagasse Jr
  10. Stewart Friesen
  11. Austin Wayne Self
  12. Christian Eckes, led three laps
  13. Zane Smith
  14. Ben Rhodes
  15. Tanner Gray
  16. Tyler Hill
  17. Spencer Boyd
  18. Bryan Collyer
  19. Tate Fogleman
  20. Natalie Decker
  21. Johnny Sauter
  22. Alex Tagliani
  23. Mike Skeen
  24. Tim Viens
  25. Kris Wright
  26. Cory Roper, 1 lap down
  27. Norm Benning, 4 laps down
  28. Carson Hocevar, OUT, Accident
  29. Codie Rohrbaugh, 5 laps down
  30. Derek Kraus, OUT, Electrical
  31. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 8 laps down
  32. Ty Majeski, OUT, Overheating
  33. Todd Gilliland, OUT, Electrical
  34. Spencer Davis, OUT, Brakes
  35. Jordan Anderson, OUT, Drivetrain
  36. Mark Smith, OUT, Brakes
  37. Bobby Kennedy-Josh Reaume, OUT, Ignition
  38. Roger Reuse, OUT, Clutch

Playoff Standings

  1. Sheldon Creed, 14 playoff points
  2. Grant Enfinger, 11 playoff points
  3. Zane Smith, 8 playoff points
  4. Austin Hill, 6 playoff points
  5. Matt Crafton, 5 playoff points
  6. Brett Moffitt, 4 playoff points
  7. Ben Rhodes, +75
  8. Christian Eckes, +74
  9. Tyler Ankrum, +5
  10. Todd Gilliland, +2

Below the cut line

11. Derek Kraus, -2
12. Tanner Gray, -45
13. Raphael Lessard, -55
14. Johnny Sauter, -67

Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series visits Dover International Speedway Friday August 21 at 5 p.m./ET live on Fox Sports 1.

Toyota Racing NGROTS Post-Race Recap — Daytona 8.16.20

By
Official Release
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RAPHAËL LESSARD DRIVES TO CAREER-BEST TO LEAD TOYOTA IN DAYTONA
Canadian Lessard scores first career top-five finish

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (Aug. 17, 2020) – Raphaël Lessard (third) led Toyota in the Sunoco 159 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Sunday afternoon. Series points leader Austin Hill (fifth), Scott Lagasse Jr. (ninth) and Stewart Friesen (10th) also drove Tundras to top-10 finishes in the Irish Hills.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Daytona International Speedway Road Course
Race 12 of 23 – 44 Laps, 158.8 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Sheldon Creed*
2nd, Brett Moffitt*
3rd, RAPHAEL LESSARD
4th, Matt Crafton*
5th, AUSTIN HILL
9th, SCOTT LAGASSE, JR.
10th, STEWART FRIESEN
12th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
22nd, ALEX TAGLIANI
30th, DEREK KRAUS
34th, SPENCER DAVIS
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

RAPHAEL LESSARD, No. 4 Mobil1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you describe your race today?

“It was an awesome day for us. My Mobil1 Toyota Tundra was awesome. Can’t thank everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports enough. That’s what we’ve been working on all year, finishes like this. It hasn’t been easy for a rookie with all that’s going on, but I made a mistake when I was leading – pushed a little too hard. We never gave up and we fought back. It’s a little hotter here than Quebec, I can tell you that.”

What was the race like today overall?

“It was awesome. First of all, I want to thank my team, Kyle Busch Motorsports and my crew chief, Mike Hillman, Jr. We sat down before the race and studied some in-car from yesterday’s Xfinity race and I think it helped a ton. I learned a lot watching videos of on-boards from yestrday. The race was awesome. It was kind of a weird situation because no one has been here before in NASCAR and I felt like that’s what it’s been like for me every race so far this year. Being a rookie with no practice, every time I get into turn one, the first lap is a first for me. I think it was an advantage going into this race for me because I’m used to it and I can’t thank TRD for allowing us to go to the TRD simulator and practice on the road course. All of that made a big difference for me.”

How difficult was it to be racing for the lead and racing on a new circuit for the series?

“It was pretty difficult. I felt like in the lead, you had to push pretty hard to keep up with the guy behind you. One time I went a little bit harder than the lap before and with the heat on the tire and the brakes, I felt like it got a lot slicker there at the end and it kind of surprised me because I thought I was going to be able to make the corner. I stopped really quick, came back and made a couple other mistakes, but we regrouped. We never gave up and just kept pushing hard at the end. Had a good strategy and that’s what it’s all about, just never giving up and keeping on working. I don’t think we could have had a shot at it at the end. The 2 (Sheldon Creed) truck was really fast. I think maybe, but I was trying to be a little bit conservative and trying to bring my Mobil1 Toyota Tundra home.”

How were you able to combat the heat during the race?

“It was really hot. During the caution I asked for a bunch of water. I was just throwing water at myself, but TRD has a gym and I can’t thank everyone, my coach, Caitlyn, we all work really hard during the week in the gym to be good in those situations. Just trying to be ready physically and mentally and that’s what I was. At the end, I think it was the hottest I’ve been in a race car. We pushed through it.”

How much momentum do you have with this team after some strong runs lately?

“I feel like we’re a little bit on a roll now. We had a pretty good week last week in Michigan. I felt like Michigan we had a winning truck there, but we had two flat tires. Came back and now I feel like we had a winning truck again and we finished third. It’s just about working hard. I’ve been wanting those results since the beginning of the season and we just keep on working. I think it’s coming. We’re going to push hard. At Dover, I think with the new rules, we’re going to start pretty close to the front so that’s going to help us and especially that I’ve been there before. Last year was my second truck race there with Kyle Busch Motorsports. I think we’re ready. I love Dover, it’s awesome and track position is super important. It’s going to be good for sure.”

Do you feel you’re close to getting a victory?

“We’re a team capable of winning for sure, I feel like I’m doing everything I can. I’m studying video, I’m asking questions – Kyle Busch is helping a lot. It’s just a matter of time. We’re pushing hard for it. At this point of the season, we’re not going for stage points, we’re going for the win. That’s what we’ve been doing the last few races and we’ve had our best finishes. We’re just going to keep on working and heading the right direction.”

What did you think of the performance by your teammate, Alex Tagliani?

“First of all, I want to apologize to him (Alex Tagliani) for the restart. It was pretty crazy. I don’t know if I spun him out, but I hit him pretty good in turn one because I got hit from behind on the one restart. I’ve been talking to him a lot and he was a good help the last few days. It was fun to speak a little bit of French because I moved to North Carolina and my family can’t come visit me at all this year so it’s been English, English, English. It’s good, it’s helping me. I think he did a good job. I was expecting to see him up front for sure because he is a super good road course racer and he’s got way more experience than me. I don’t know exactly where he finished, but good job to him.”

AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 TRD Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises

Finishing Position: 5th

How was your race overall today?

“It was a really tough race today. We were fighting the heat and the elements of this race track. Very easy to lock rear brakes up and have some wheel chatter getting into entry of the corners. Whoever could get their braking down straight before they ever entered the corner, that was the guy that was the one to beat. It took me the first full stage to kind of figure out how I wanted to position my truck on entry in each corner. That way I could keep the rears up under me and have a good turn into the corner. It seemed like I kept getting better and better at doing that. We stayed out there at the end of stage two to get some stage points. We thought we were going to have a shot at the stage win. I don’t know if the 2 (Sheldon Creed) had an issues or if he just thought it was the end of the stage. We were able to run him down and race him for that stage win. I know the 2 ended up winning on the same strategy that we were on but we just got into some prediciments that kind of pushed us back on restarts. Restarting on the outside lane getting into one was tough, just to stay there. You would wash out a bit just because of the grip wasn’t as good getting into (turn) one. I think we restarted on the outside lane a lot today. That kind of hurt us and we would fall back. Passing was actually really tough even though this track is a big race track. It was very, very tough to pass in the infield. You really have to set your truck up off of turn six to outbrake them down into the backstretch bus stop. That’s really where our best corner was all day – was getting through that bus sto. We could get through there on entry to center way faster than anyone else and still be able to carry the momentum up off of that corner, but we just had some moments where track position hurt us. We felt like we had a Tundra that could win today. We just kept getting put in predictiments where we couldn’t just quite get up front and race those guys.”

How did you prepare for this race?

“I was able to go and do some simulation with Toyota and TRD, so that was really nice to be able to do that. I learned a lot for the start of the race, so I wasn’t completely blind. When I wasn’t doing that, I was doing a lot of iRacing stuff. I was seeing how my braking could be done. I don’t really come from road racing background, but I’ve always felt like I get around road courses fairly decent. I haven’t got that win on the road courses yet, and that’s probably one biggest things that I want to accomplish, someday soon, is to be able to get that road course win, because I feel like I can do good enough around the road courses with my braking and everything else that I’ve learned over the years to have a shot at winning a road course. The preparation is just a lof of watching videos from IMSA races, and then it helped us watching the Xfinity Series race yesterday. That was a big help, just seeing how they would attack the corners. It just helped us when the race started. Also, we had a really cool retro Tundra today. Maybe next time, we can come race here again and get the W.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar ‘Racing To Beat Hunger’ Toyota Tundra, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

How were you able to make it back to the top-10 after some challenges early in the race?

“It was a lot of fun. I love it. It was a lot of fun. We had an alternator fail right from the get go. Trip (Bruce, crew chief) made a great call to come in and get it changed before too many guys were down a lap. We got our lap back, and then just tried to race the race track. Be cautious, but be aggressive. It was probably one of the most rewarding top-10’s of my life. I’m shocked, but proud of the whole Halmar Toyota team. I’m really happy to get out of there with a top-10.”

# # #

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.

Indianapolis 500 Pole Day Qualifying Results

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Official Release
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INDIANAPOLIS – Results of qualifying Sunday for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with rank, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and average speed of four-timed laps in parentheses:

1. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, 02:35.7985 (231.068 mph)
2. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 02:35.8098 (231.051)
3. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda, 02:36.0300 (230.725)
4. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 02:36.0438 (230.704)
5. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 02:36.0818 (230.648)
6. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 02:36.6103 (229.870)
7. (55) Alex Palou, Honda, 02:36.7425 (229.676)
8. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 02:36.9450 (229.380)
9. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 02:37.0446 (229.234)
10. (88) Colton Herta, Honda, 02:35.9962 (230.775)
11. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 02:36.1374 (230.566)
12. (45) Spencer Pigot, Honda, 02:36.1557 (230.539)
13. (1) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 02:36.3203 (230.296)
14. (10) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 02:36.3491 (230.254)
15. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 02:36.3769 (230.213)
16. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 02:36.3781 (230.211)
17. (26) Zach Veach, Honda, 02:36.5484 (229.961)
18. (47) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 02:36.5525 (229.955)
19. (18) Santino Ferrucci, Honda, 02:36.5736 (229.924)
20. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda, 02:36.6161 (229.861)
21. (7) Oliver Askew, Chevrolet, 02:36.6852 (229.760)
22. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 02:36.7252 (229.701)
23. (14) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 02:37.0993 (229.154)
24. (41) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 02:37.2880 (228.880)
25. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 02:37.3180 (228.836)
26. (66) Fernando Alonso, Chevrolet, 02:37.3646 (228.768)
27. (51) James Davison, Honda, 02:37.3789 (228.747)
28. (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 02:37.6368 (228.373)
29. (4) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 02:38.0625 (227.758)
30. (59) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 02:38.3789 (227.303)
31. (24) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 02:38.5210 (227.099)
32. (67) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 02:39.0518 (226.341)
33. (81) Ben Hanley, Chevrolet, 02:41.4948 (222.917)

Austin Cindric Continues Domination on Road Courses, Takes Checkered Flag in Historic UNOH 188 at Daytona International Speedway

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Official Release
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NASCAR Makes Debut on Iconic DAYTONA Road Course; Now has Won Five out of Six Races, Tying a NASCAR Record Held by Sam Ard

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 15, 2020) – History was made at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, as the first of three NASCAR national series made its debut on the iconic DAYTONA Road Course with the running of the NASCAR Xfinity Series UNOH 188.

It was only appropriate that the race winner – Austin Cindric – made history himself. In addition to claiming victory in the first Xfinity Series race on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile layout, he won for the fifth time in the last six races, joining Sam Ard (1983) as the only NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers to win five races over a six-race span.

The UNOH 188 was Cindric’s second win in-a-row, as the only time he has not recorded a victory of this six-race stretch was on July 25 at Kansas when he secured a second-place finish.  He also continues to thrive in road course racing, on which he has accounted for four of his seven career wins.  In fact, his 12 career Xfinity Series starts on road courses have resulted in nine top-10 finishes, all in the top-5.

While Cindric won Saturday’s race by more than seven seconds over second-place finisher Brandon Jones, it was far from an easy win for the driver of the No. 22 Money Lion Ford Mustang. 

“I’m not sure anyone was really happy with their race car,” Cindric said. “Unfortunately, I have a tough perspective of driving really fast, high-grip race cars at this track, but great credit to my team and everyone that puts this together. That’s five wins on the year and back-to-back now.  I’m really proud of that.  I didn’t feel like I drove my best today, but we executed there at the end where it counts and that’s what makes these races so difficult to win.”

Cindric battled Chase Briscoe for a majority of the afternoon before Briscoe was forced to exit the race after suffering severe damage to the front left side of his car in a multi-car incident shortly following a restart with seven laps remaining.  In fact, the pair combined to lead 42 of the first 44 laps of the race, including 26 by Briscoe.  Cindric led a total of 21 laps on the day.

Cindric won Stage 1 of the race by leading all 15 laps.  Briscoe then claimed Stage 2, as he led all but two of the 15 laps, and edged Cindric down the stretch as the two exchanged the top position on the final lap of the stage. 

Cindric, who leads the overall points standings with 830, now has claimed eight stages on the year, tied with Noah Gragson for the most in the Xfinity Series. He also has accumulated 33 playoff points on the year.  Briscoe, who is second with 782 points, has taken four stages on the year and amassed 29 playoff points.  They both have accounted for a series-best five wins on the year.

Cindric was obviously pleased to join Sam Ard in select company, but he is even more excited about producing valuable playoff points today in addition to his team’s prospects for the remainder of 2020.

“It’s incredible and takes great race cars and executing races,” Cindric said.  “I’m proud to be driving this 22 car and contending for wins week to week.  There’s still a lot of work to do, but this is great for the points for sure.”

Jones challenged Cindric briefly and led the two laps prior to the final restart of the day, but he did not have enough to keep pace with a hard-charging Cindric, who led the pack for the final five laps.

“I had a flashback to Kansas (1st-place finish for Jones) there when they all pushed up into turn one,” Jones said. “I hate there was a caution because I know (Austin) Cindric was lights out fast, but I think we could have at least gotten pretty close there the end to possibly winning this thing. It’s been a good day here. I did not come here thinking I was going to have a shot to win the race. I stayed in the game, never locked the wheels up, stayed on track and it paid off.”

Noah Gragson (3rd), AJ Allmendinger (4th) and Andy Lally (5th) completed the top-five.  Riley Herbst (7th) was the top finishing rookie.

Saturday’s race was originally scheduled to take place at Watkins Glen International but was realigned as a result of the pandemic and its impact on the state of New York.

The start of the race was delayed by nearly two hours due to lightning in the area, accompanied by some rain.  As a result, NASCAR declared damp conditions for the start of the race, giving the teams its choice of tires.

The historic weekend of racing on the DAYTONA Road Course will conclude on Sunday, which will feature a doubleheader, consisting of the Sunoco 159 (12:00 p.m. ET, FS1) for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, as well as the NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling 235 (3:00 p.m. ET, NBC). Like the UNOH 188, Sunday’s races will be inaugural events on the DAYTONA Road Course for both series.  

A limited number of fans will get the opportunity to see the Go Bowling 235 and Sunoco 159. Fans can get tickets, which start at $49 (both races included) for adults and $10 for kids 12 years old and younger, by visiting www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or calling 1-800-PIT-SHOP.

Cindric will get a chance to make history yet again in just two weeks as the Xfinity Series will return to the high banks of the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. The Wawa 250 is set for Friday, Aug. 28, while the Coke Zero Sugar 400 takes the green flag on Saturday, Aug. 29. It will be the final race of the regular season to set the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.

For more information, video, photos and graphics to assist your coverage, register and visit NASCARMedia.com.

About Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of “The Great American Race” – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the “World Center of Racing,” boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Cindric Wins Daytona Road Course

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Official Release
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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020
UNOH 188 – DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
1st — Austin Cindric
29th — Chase Briscoe

CINDRIC AND FORD CONTINUE TO ROLL WITH DAYTONA ROAD COURSE VICTORY

Austin Cindric registered his fifth win of the season and fifth in the last six events overall with today’s win at Daytona International Speedway.

Since returning to action on May 17 at Darlington Raceway, Ford has dominated in the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series, winning a combined 20 times in 33 starts. Ford has registered 11 wins in Cup in 18 races, which includes a current three-race winning streak, while the NXS duo of Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric have combined to win nine times in 15 events, including seven of the last eight.

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang — VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW — HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DAY? “I’m not sure anyone was really happy with their race car. Unfortunately, I have a tough perspective of driving really fast high-grip race cars at this track, but great credit to my team — the MoneyLion guys — and everyone that puts this together — Ford Performance, Roush Yates Engines, obviously everyone at Team Penske for workig hard. That’s five wins on the year and back-to-back now. I’m really proud of that. I didn’t feel like I drove my best today, but we executed there at the end where it counts and that’s what makes these races so difficult to win.”

FIFTEEN YEARS BEFORE YOU WERE BORN SAM ARD WON 5 OUT OF 6 XFINITY RACES AND NOW YOU’VE DONE THAT. “Yeah, it’s incredible and takes great race cars and executing races. I’m proud to be driving this 22 car and contending for wins week to week. There’s still a lot of work to do, but this is great for the points for sure.”

HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE DAY AND WHAT YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH? “I think we dug ourselves two holes there. Staying out got us a good stage point there. That’s important and then I probably grabbed a shovel and dug us a little bit bigger of a hole there on the restart in trying to win that second stage. That put us behind a little bit and maybe I wasn’t able to be as ahead of my adjustments, but, overall, I’m super-excited for five wins on the year so far and adding to the points. To get MoneyLion in VIctory Lane again at Daytona of all places, I wish there were fans here to see this race because it was a thriller.”

THE END OF STAGE TWO WAS PHYSICAL BETWEEN YOU AND CHASE. “Yeah, I think there was give-and-take available on both ends. I probably could have been a bit more patient judging that second stage and I think he could have been a little less aggressive on his defense, but, overall, it’s two brothers fighting and then they go yell at mom saying it was his fault. It’s easy for me to say because I was the winner of the race, but he drove a great race and obviously wasn’t able to survive that turn one carnage.”

TAKE US THROUGH GOING INTO TURN ONE ON THAT ONE RESTART? “A lot of the restarts I kind of learned by my own mistakes as far as trying to drive it in deep three-wide. There was less and less grip it seemed like there as the race went on, or maybe patience went out the window. I saw guys lock up tires and I was fortunate enough to be on the inside and not get collected and was able to get a good restart and come away with it.”

THE PASS FOR THE WIN WASN’T EASY. “I probably scared him. I got a whole ton of wheel-hop in turn six. I thought I was gonna clean us both out, but he did a great job driving smart there. It was fun. He was driving hard and came up with a good finish, so good job to those guys. Hopefully, we can have more fun in Dover.”

POST-RACE WINNER’S PRESS CONFERENCE

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang — “It was a lot of survival there at the end. That’s what makes these races as difficult as they are is to make it to the finish. We were a contender all day and tried to get our race car a little bit better. We had to fight through in that second stage to try and regain some track position, but it was just a solid day up until that point. Obviously, being on the bottom of that restart I felt like I had made enough mistakes trying to come through the field, diving three-wide to the outside knowing that there was pretty big grip limitation trying to do that, so I saw it coming, but I was surprised that I did it too, to be 100 percent honest. That was kind of the catalyst for us today and put us in a great spot to be able to execute on the restart and come up with the win.”

WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS WINNING ON THE ROAD COURSE TODAY? “I probably need to give myself a day or so to calm down. I’m not 100 percent proud of my race, so it makes me apprehensive about being super-excited. I’m pretty hard on myself and usually don’t need too many people to tell me what I’ve done wrong because I’ve probably already thought about it or at least beat myself up over it. There were plenty of things I could have cleaned up today, but if I took a step back and rewind a couple a couple months ago, I worked really hard as I do every year to try to get a ride for the Daytona 24 and it was the first time in three years I hadn’t gotten a ride for the Daytona 24. I ended up staying and spotting the race, which was a great motivator to get a ride the next year, so that was kind of a low point for me early in the year not to get that to go together. It doesn’t play your way. It’s hard to do in a series where you don’t run full-time, but that was a bummer for me. So, to be able to come to this track and be able to do that is a big check in the box for me — something that would make this year really special and my time at Daytona really special is if we were to come back here in a couple week’s time to be able to win on the superspeedway. That would be special because that would mean I would have won on the road course, the superspeedway and in a rallycross car here when they ran rallycross. I think that would be really cool for me as far as driving different things at Daytona and kind of add to my versatility, if you will. I think that’s probably what makes today special.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK BACK AT THROWING THE WATER BOTTLE AT BRISCOE BETWEEN THE TWO STAGES? “That’s a double-downer because I didn’t even make it in the window. I didn’t even execute on that. It’s tough. I got pretty heated there and I probably should have reeled myself in. That’s probably the biggest thing I’m not very happy about with myself today. I let that get to me and obviously it showed. I’m very passionate about what I do. I’m very passionate about driving and it’s been a while since I’ve had a heart on my sleeve moment like that. It’s probably a good lesson for me halfway through the year to know that I’ve still got some work to do up here and that’s where it counts, so I’ll reel that in and use it as a learning experience and hopefully the two of us can learn a little better from that end of stage two.”

IS WINNING GETTING OLD SO OFTEN LIKE THIS? “Those guys work extremely hard. I was way more excited after Kentucky than I was after today, but I feel like it’s very, very difficult in all three series to win these races. For me right now, I’m already thinking about Dover. I’m thinking about things I could have done better today. That’s what makes racing in NASCAR so exciting and so challenging is you have to prepare immediately for the next week — or at least to be the best you have to. That’s what I’m focused on. Like I said, I’m not extremely impressed with everything that I did today, but I don’t think that should take away from — we got the fastest lap of the race. We should be able to start on pole at Dover, somewhere I really love going to race, so I’m really motivated to make that a great weekend as well. Having some stats this year to be compared to Richard Petty and compared to Sam Ard, that’s pretty cool and it’s pretty cool for the guys that get to work on my cars. I wouldn’t be here without them and it makes me very motivated whenever I show up to the track that I know those guys have done their best and they know that I’m doing my best.”

ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO TALK TO YOUR CUP TEAMMATES AND GIVE THEM ADVICE ON HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS ROAD COURSE? “Yeah, I think there’s a lot to be learned as far as with the setup of the cars, learn from the things we did right today, learn from things we didn’t do right today. Hopefully, that’s able to transfer over and help those guys. I’ve been a pretty open book to whatever I can do to help that group, whether if it’s this weekend or any other weekend. I talked to Joey for a good bit last week about things that I feel about this racetrack and I feel like you see a lot of those guys doing their homework for this weekend because it is a big challenge for teams and drivers and crews alike.”

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD TELL THEM ABOUT THE TRACK AFTER EXPERIENCING IT TODAY? “I was surprised, honestly, I’ve got bad perspective because I’ve driven some really incredible race cars here as far as prototype machinery and top tier GT cars. This thing drove terrible in comparison between being able to navigate the infield. It was a lot of fun to go through the bus stop. I was fully expecting the bus stop to be the most fun portion of the racetrack for me because, talking to Noah he said his watch was on recording the race for almost three or four hours. That’s the longest stint that I’ve ever done at the Daytona 24, so your stint length is probably about the same length as what I’ve done here, but you don’t have to worry about saving brakes, saving fuel, saving your splitter, saving your equipment. You can go all-out in the bus stop and that’s somewhere where you have to be pretty conservative in the 24 hours, so that was really fun for me to do today and kind of feel the limits of that and drive these big, heavy cars and try to make them work.”

DO YOU LIKE RACING ON A COURSE LIKE THIS THAT NOT MANY GUYS HAVE EXPERIENCED BEFORE? “I definitely think it’s a challenge. There’s a little bit that you feel like you want to develop things a little better because you can get in the scenario where you can have a simple issue that completely ruins your day. That’s what makes starting these races with no practice or qualifying or really any hot laps very challenging, so it’s a big burden on the teams and, fingers crossed, my guys have done an incredible job at doing that. Most of the field really has across all three series, but it’s a fun challenge. I’ve never been a stranger to doing that. I look back, I’ve obviously run a lot of laps here, so I could say that I kind of knew what I was getting into maybe a little bit more than some of the regulars, but when I raced rallycross back in 2015, I was the points leader heading into the Detroit race and I had just come from Limerock, where I was racing Mustangs. I missed practice. I missed qualifying and they had a problem with the jump in qualifying. They had a big wooden ramp. It was all screwed up and they had to cancel qualifying, so they started on owner’s points and I was on the pole. I showed up right before my heat race and there were no sighting laps or whatever, so it’s literally just a standing start and you go. That was probably one of the most intense moments of my life, getting a standing start and just figuring the track out when you can, so I’ll always remember that about that race and it can always be more difficult. At least you get some pace laps to figure it out, but it’s a fun challenge and I think it shows the talent of the drivers in NASCAR.”

WHAT’S GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THAT BRISCOE IS DONE AND ALLMENDINGER IS DAMAGED? IS IT EASIER TO SEE THE FINISH LINE AT THAT POINT? “That was probably the first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘Man, those guys are out. This should be smooth sailing,’ but nothing is guaranteed. These races are so hard to win. You saw Brandon Jones be able to put in a great drive the last couple laps to finish second there, so you have to push 100 percent. You’ve got to remind yourself of that constantly to never underestimate your competition. You can get yourself in a real hole if you don’t respect the guys that you’re racing and I have a great deal of respect for the guys that I’ve been racing because a lot of them I’ve been racing a lot of my career and I know what they’re capable of and it’s fun to be in a series that way. I wish between the 98, the 16 and myself we would have been able to race that one out for the win because I want to beat the best. I want to beat the best because if you can beat the best, you are the best. Obviously, those guys were the best today and I felt like them getting involved in that wreck impeded probably a greater finish than what we had.”

DO YOU EVER REGRET GIVING CHASE BRISCOE SO MUCH ADVICE ON ROAD COURSES? “It’s tough because I feel like my approach as a teammate or a friend or whatever it may be — a co-driver — is that I have to have the confidence in myself that if you know everything that I know, I can still go do a better job of it. Now with saying that, I’m not gonna tell him what springs I’m running and what setup we’ve got in and so on, but you’ve got to have that confidence and I took that approach at a very early age and I think in some ways it’s paid a lot of benefits because it makes me push myself with very talented people that I’m racing against. He’s come a long way in this stuff from the first time we ran together, I believe it was 2018. He was seconds off the pace and when we came here earlier this year with the GT4 cars, he was all over the same pace that I had, so I talked to his crew chief from ARCA earlier this week and we were laughing about that because I really feel like the progression that I’ve made running the high line, running up against the wall, is equal to the same progression that he’s made in road racing and it’s been fun to push ourselves in that regard. I think that’s what we’re constantly doing. I feel like we can’t ger ourselves in the trap of ruining it for both of us, pushing ourselves that hard because there was some emotion today just for a stage win. So, I feel like that needs to be reeled in on my end and his end. I don’t think there are any innocent parties there. I said in my MRN interview it’s like getting in an argument with your brother where he got to the Playstation first or whatever and you go yell at mom and ask her to pick a side, but, at the end of the day, we both lose if we’re not moving forward. We’ve had the tie with Ford Performance for a while and I’ve really tried to use that as a friendship. We went to lunch today before the race and just watching IndyCar qualifying and he and I have a good relationship, but today was probably a bump in that road.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE MENTAL ASPECT OF ALL THIS? “It’s everything. Racing is mental. It’s very mechanical, but it’s very mental. I don’t think it really hurt my race, but I showed vulnerability and as a race car driver you can’t show that. You can’t show your weaknesses. You’ve got to execute on your strengths and go back to the shop on your weaknesses. Today, I did something I probably hadn’t done in a while which is raise my voice on the radio, so there’s some sort of pride that it’s been a while since that’s happened, but you get heated and you get excited and you want it really, really bad, and I think that played into it today and I’ll be pretty open and honest about it because I’m a pretty open and honest guy. So everything I’ve done in NASCAR has been on the surface and that’s no exception. I think it’s a good reminder for me at this middle stage of the year that you’ve got to keep locked down.”

WHAT WAS IT ABOUT TODAY THAT MADE YOU UPSET? YOU MENTIONED BLOCKING IN A BRAKING ZONE. “So blocking and blocking under brakes are two different things and I’m pretty passionate about blocking. That’s why there are blocking rules in other series is because it’s very dangerous. I haven’t seen a replay and I probably may have been a bit preemptive on my complaints because it’s something that he did a lot at Indy in the long brake zones and I really didn’t like it a lot because what you’re doing there is you’re asking the car behind you to not hit you. You’re putting yourself in harm’s way and it creates contact. That was what I felt was the instance there, but, like I said, I never saw a replay and I probably could have been a bit more passive about it, but, yeah, blocking under brakes and blocking on the straight are two different things because that’s after you’ve committed to a brake zone, that’s after you’ve committed to a line and you’ve committed to the corner. If you’re usually blocking someone under brakes it means they’re going faster than you and you’re putting yourself in harm’s way doing so. Hopefully, we can learn from it, but I don’t think that’s the best way to approach at least halfway through the race, but it’s aggressive, it’s hard racing and those playoff points mean a lot, so I’m not gonna fault him for driving aggressive, but, like I said, I think we could have given ourselves a couple favors and avoided some of the contact.”

BRIAN WILSON, Crew Chief — No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang — “That was an eventful day. Obviously, staying out there to try to win the first stage, that was not what I wanted to see, but we we’ve definitely been focused on trying to get as many playoff points as we can get, so I’m glad that worked out. Things got mixed up a little in the second stage. I don’t feel like once Briscoe got up front, I don’t feel like we had the best car. He was pretty strong today. Obviously, it was a good battle, but he was able to pull away from us, so we’ve still got some work to do, but I do think it’s a good statement from our team that we can win even on days when we don’t have the best car. I do feel like we probably had the second-best — the two of us were able to pull away over a longer run — so we’re not far off, but I feel like as a group we’ve got some work to do to make the car better for here.”

YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE 74 AND 47 STAYING OUT ON THAT ONE RESTART? “I’m all for it. I’ve been on plenty of teams where we’ve called different strategies. We obviously did it at the end of stage 1 to try to get the playoff point. Everyone’s got to weigh out what their situations are and what they’re willing to do. Obviously, those guys thought it was a good move to stay up there. In that situation, all you can do as a team is try to react to it and make your situation as good as you can. You’ve got to think that’s gonna happen at some point in the race, where you’re gonna be on a different strategy. I think that’s part of what stage racing does and the number of tires we have in this series. That adds to a lot of the strategy and I like the fact that we have those options, so I can’t really get mad when somebody else takes a different option.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE DOVER DOUBLEHEADER NEXT WEEKEND? “I’m excited about it. If my math is right, I think we should have the number one stall and should start up front. We’ve been using these doubleheaders as a way to try and learn something when we don’t have practice, so we’ll try to build off of our setup from last year for the first race, and then we’ll have a package ready to go for the second race to try to learn something to make our team better.”

HOW DO YOU WORK WITH A YOUNG DRIVER IN TRYING TO MAINTAIN THEIR EMOTIONS? “I don’t ever think that emotion is a bad thing. We’re all heavily invested in this. It’s an emotional sport and we all want to win. Right now, we’re going head-to-head with our Ford teammate week in and week out and I think that’s gonna continue through the year. Austin and Chase have raced really hard for a lot of years. Austin has called him like a brother and they raced like brothers, so it’s okay to get mad and upset like that. Austin reigned it in really quick. I think he did a good job of that. If there’s anything that as a team we need to work on we’ll talk about that behind closed doors, but I liked the fact he was able to bring it back in really quick and execute at the end of the race.”

WHAT DOES THIS TEAM NEED TO DO TO MAINTAIN ITS MOMENTUM? “It’s tough. That’s what you worry about when you go on a streak like this where we’ve been winning so much. Are the other guys gonna catch up? What do we have to do to keep the hammer down and try to keep the momentum for the playoffs. The playoff points help a lot. We’re at a point now where I feel like if we’re able to close out this regular season, we should have plenty of points to carry us through. It’s almost gonna be a race worth of points that we have going into the playoffs, so that’s gonna be huge. The biggest thing is, like I said about the Dover weekend, we’ve got to try to keep learning as much as we can with limited practice, so using those weekends to move the program forward is big for us right now.”

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