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Columbia Sportswear to Sponsor Bubba Wallace and Richard Petty Motorsports Race Team

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Official Release
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Multiyear Partnership Makes Wallace Columbia’s First NASCAR Ambassador

PORTLAND, Ore.–Columbia Sportswear (Nasdaq: COLM), a leading innovator in active outdoor lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment, is proud to announce a multiyear sponsorship with NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace. The agreement enlists Wallace as Columbia’s newest brand ambassador, and includes a primary sponsorship of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet.

Columbia will leverage its first NASCAR driver and team sponsorship to promote its innovative product lines and proprietary technologies, including its PFG (Performance Fishing Gear) collection.

“There has always been a strong correlation between NASCAR and Columbia, especially with PFG,” said Joe Boyle, Columbia Brand President. “We are excited by the opportunity to work with Bubba and Richard Petty Motorsports to engage our shared fans.”

“Columbia Sportswear is a perfect fit for my lifestyle away from the track,” said Bubba Wallace. “I love spending time outdoors-boating, golfing, hiking, photography-just anything to help me decompress from a hectic racing schedule. I’m beyond excited to be a part of the Columbia family and can’t wait to work with them on some unique content and fly their colors next weekend at Dover.”

A six-time NASCAR national series winner, Wallace was recently thrust into the national spotlight when his calls for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at all events was ultimately adopted. He promotes a message of “compassion, love, understanding” with the intention of making racing more inclusive and ultimately broadening NASCAR’s reach.

“In addition to his racing talent, Bubba is a charismatic and courageous leader,” continued Boyle. “It is his internal fortitude that most aligns with the Columbia brand and our Tested Tough ethos. Bubba is a Tested Tough trailblazer and we are thrilled to be working with him.”

When he’s not racing at 200 MPH on the top tracks in the NASCAR circuit, Wallace can often be found outdoors hiking, fishing, mountain biking, playing golf, and shooting photos of amazing wilderness areas. As part of this sponsorship, Columbia will be working closely with Bubba to further the brand’s efforts to unlock the outdoors for everyone.

The Columbia No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro will debut on August 23 at the NASCAR Cup Series Drydene 311 at the Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

About Columbia
Columbia, the flagship brand of Portland, Oregon-based Columbia Sportswear Company, has been creating innovative apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment for outdoor enthusiasts since 1938. Columbia has become a leading global brand by channeling the company’s passion for the outdoors and innovative spirit into technologies and performance products that keep people warm, dry, cool and protected year-round. To learn more, please visit the company’s website at www.columbia.com.

About Bubba Wallace
Wallace, a six-time NASCAR national series winner, first made news headlines in 2013 when he became the first Black driver in nearly 50 years to win a NASCAR national series race and again in 2018 when he joined the NASCAR Cup Series full-time with RPM. Off the track, Wallace has more Instagram followers than any other active NASCAR driver and is now one of the top drivers in licensed merchandise sales.

Cindric to start on pole position for inaugural Xfinity Daytona Road Course event

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images.

In what has been a career year in his third full-time season of racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Austin Cindric will start on the pole for the inaugural UNOH 188 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Saturday, August 15.

The Daytona Road Course race marks the first race where the starting lineup was based on a new competition formula utilizing three statistical categories: the finishing results from the previous race (weighing at 50 percent), the order of owner points positioning (35 percent) and the fastest race lap from the previous race (15 percent).

Based upon the stats/measurements and averaging them, Cindric, the recent series winner at Road America and this year’s regular-season points leader, will lead the field to the start of the Daytona Road Course event. This will mark the first time where Cindric and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang will start on pole position for an upcoming Xfinity race this season.

Since May through last weekend at Road America, a random draw determined the starting lineup for an upcoming NASCAR race due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which eliminated practice and qualifying sessions throughout race weekend. When the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs commence in September at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the competitors in the Playoffs will occupy the top starting positions, according to how many remain throughout the Playoffs as four competitors will be eliminated after each round featuring three postseason races.

Chase Briscoe will start alongside Cindric followed by Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain and Justin Haley. Andy Lally, who tied his career-best result of fifth place last weekend at Road America, will start in sixth place followed by Michael Annett, Ryan Sieg, rookie Harrison Burton and A.J. Allmendinger. Brandon Jones and Brandon Brown will start 11th and 12th.

Starting in positions 13-25 are Josh Williams, rookie Riley Herbst, Preston Pardus, Alex Labbe, Justin Allgaier, Josh Bilicki, Jeremy Clements, Stephen Leicht, Mike Wallace, Tommy Joe Martins, Daniel Hemric, rookie Jesse Little and rookie Joe Graf Jr.

Starting in positions 26-38 are Kyle Weatherman, rookie Myatt Snider, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Scott Heckert, newcomer Earl Bamber, rookie Kody Vanderwal, Jade Buford, B.J. McLeod, Bayley Currey, Chad Finchum, Matt Mills, Brandon Gdovic and Harold Crooms.

The inaugural UNOH 188 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course will occur on August 15 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Filled with Interesting Storylines

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Official Release
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INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020 – Selected storylines for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Practice opens Wednesday, Aug. 12, with Race Day on Sunday, Aug. 23.

  • New era: This will be the first Indianapolis 500 under the ownership of the Penske Corporation, led by iconic businessman and race team owner Roger Penske. Ownership of the fabled facility changed hands Jan. 6 when the Hulman-George family’s sale of the Speedway, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMS Productions to Penske became final. The Hulman-George family had owned IMS since November 1945.
  • Safety revolution: This will be the first year in which the new Aeroscreen will be used in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The Aeroscreen, mandatory on all NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars starting this season, offers a revolutionary new level of driver protection and creates a sleek, jet fighter look to the open-wheel cars. The Aeroscreen’s IMS competition debut took place July 4 during the GMR Grand Prix on the IMS road course, but this will be the first time the safety device will be used in the Indy 500. The IMS oval debut of the Aeroscreen continues the Speedway’s legacy of automotive safety and technology development that started with the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911.
  • More speed, drama in qualifying: Speed and drama should be on the rise during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16 due to technical and format changes. Turbocharger boost will be increased for qualifying, adding 45 horsepower to increase speeds.
  • Fernando is back: Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso is back at IMS in a bid to become just the second driver to win the “Triple Crown” of motorsports – victories in the Monaco Grand Prix, 24 Hours of Le Mans and Indianapolis 500. Alonso, from Spain, will drive for Arrow McLaren SP while attempting to make his second start in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The motorsports world was shocked last season when Alonso was bumped from the starting field during the Last Row Shootout by driver Kyle Kaiser and upstart Juncos Racing. Can Alonso bounce back this year and make history by entering Victory Lane?
  • Team Penske three-peat?: Team Penske could make history with a third consecutive victory in this Indianapolis 500, a feat that’s only been achieved twice. Team Penske’s Will Power won in 2018 with teammate Simon Pagenaud triumphing in 2019. Team owner Lou Moore recorded three consecutive wins from 1947-49 with drivers Mauri Rose (1947-48) and Bill Holland (1949). Team Penske matched that mark from 2001-03, with Helio Castroneves (2001-02) and Gil de Ferran (2003).
  • Helio aims for No. 4: Helio Castroneves again will attempt to join one of the most exclusive clubs in global motorsports – four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 – this year in a Team Penske car. Castroneves’ third win came in 2009, and his chances to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as four-time winners are dwindling at age 45 as he edges closer toward the end of his illustrious career. Can he get win No. 4?
  • TK’s Last Lap continues: 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan will continue his final season of regular NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Aug. 23, driving for A.J. Foyt Racing. Can Kanaan punctuate his final campaign, consisting of all of the oval races on the schedule, with an emotional victory at age 45?
  • Andretti adds more strength: The spotlight will be on 2019 rookie phenom Colton Herta, who won two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races last season, as he became the fifth full-time driver in the powerful Andretti Autosport stable this season. Herta brought many officials and crew members from the upstart Harding Steinbrenner Racing team of 2019, including that former team’s 23-year-old owner, George Steinbrenner IV, the grandson of late legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. James Hinchcliffe, Indy’s pole winner in 2016, joins Andretti Autosport for the “500,” making it a six-car effort that includes 2014 “500” winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2016 “500” winner Alexander Rossi. Michael Andretti’s team has won the “500” with five different drivers since 2005.
  • Deep field: It can be argued that this is one of the deepest fields in event history as eight former “500” winners are entered, the most since 1992, when a record 10 entered. Former winners competing this year include Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017), Will Power (2018) and Simon Pagenaud (2019). Castroneves, Dixon, Kanaan and Pagenaud are among the drivers who have won poles for this race. The others are Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliffe. Power has won 58 poles in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career – second-most in series history behind Mario Andretti’s 67 – but the Aussie is seeking his first “500” pole.
  • Dixon off to a strong 2020: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won the first three NTT INDYCAR SERIES races of the season and enters the double-points-paying “500” atop the standings by 49 points over Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud. Dixon, who is bidding for his second Indy victory, has won 49 career races, which ranks third on the sport’s all-time list behind A.J. Foyt (67) and Mario Andretti (52). Dixon always seems to be in contention at IMS, winning three poles and finishing in the top six on nine occasions in 17 starts.
  • Intense rookie battle: Five rookies will compete for Rookie of the Year honors, with the past two Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires champions (Pato O’Ward and Oliver Askew) driving for the same team (Arrow McLaren SP). Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing), Alex Palou (Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh) and Dalton Kellett (A.J. Foyt Racing) are the other first-timers in this field.
  • How Swede it is: Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson are not only teammates at Chip Ganassi Racing, they represent the best chance for a Swede to reach Victory Lane at IMS since Kenny Brack won in 1999. Rosenqvist earned his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory last month at Road America. Conor Daly, who will drive for Ed Carpenter Racing, is the best chance for an Indiana-born driver to win the “500.” The last was Wilbur Shaw in 1940.
  • Cole for Conor: Race engineer Cole Pearn, who led Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing to the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship, has joined Ed Carpenter Racing to lead Conor Daly’s “500” program. The jump from stock cars to Indy cars is unusual but not without success. In 2015, Brian Campe helped Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya win the “500.”
  • Golden year for Big Al: This is the 50th anniversary of Al Unser’s first of four Indianapolis 500 victories. Unser drove the iconic Johnny Lightning Special in 1970. He later won the “500” in 1971, 1978 and 1987.
  • Live Central Indiana broadcast part of NBC effort: NBC will broadcast the “500” for the second consecutive year with its talented team led by Mike Tirico. For the second time in five years, the broadcast will air live in Central Indiana, this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sold-out 2016 race was the first “500” to air live since portions of the race were in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Chastain Up for the Challenge at Inaugural Daytona Road-Course Race

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Official Release
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Ross Chastain Notes
Best start at Daytona International Speedway (Oval) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS): 4th (2019)
Best finish at Daytona International Speedway (Oval) in the NXS: 1st (2019)

Kaulig Racing Notes
Best start at Daytona International Speedway (Oval) in the NXS: 2nd (2019)
Best finish at Daytona International Speedway (Oval) in the NXS: 1st (2019)

Race Notes
Saturday, August 15 at 3PM ET on NBCSN
Stages: 15/30/52 Laps

Ross Chastain Quote
“Daytona is this weekend. I’m pumped to get back home to Florida and run a new track. We’ll be on the road course with the new chicane off turn four that nobody has ever raced on. NASCAR has never raced on this layout at all. It will be a learning curve for the whole field. We start fourth, so that’s going to be tough for me, because I’m around a bunch of guys that are really fast on road courses and have a lot of experience. Although we kept up at road America, it’s an even bigger challenge now trying to keep up and win this weekend at Daytona. I feel up for the challenge.

We have a new sponsor on board – the Moose Fraternity, the Loyal Order of the Moose. I got to meet some of the great folks up at Mooseheart and learn more about what the Moose is all about. I got to see some kids and see what they do there on their farm. Now as we travel to Florida, maybe we will see some more Moose Lodge locations. Go to beamoose.org if you want to find out more about what they are, because a lot of people don’t know. That’s why they are sponsoring in NASCAR – they want you to know. I’ve joined, and my dad has joined. You should join too.”

About Kaulig Racing™
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016 Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started. Kaulig Racing fields two full-time entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ross Chastain and the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Justin Haley, as well as, a part-time entry – the No. 16 driven by AJ Allmendinger. Kaulig Racing™ earned two wins in 2019 and have come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

DAWSON APPRECIATES TRACK TIME AT SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY

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Official Release
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Drew Dawson climbs out of his Limited Sportsman Division car following a practice run during a test session at South Boston Speedway. Photo Courtesy South Boston Speedway

South Boston, Va……Drivers and racing teams place a lot of value on track time. Among them is Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia.

Dawson, who finished fourth in the Limited Sportsman Division point standings at South Boston Speedway last season, is one of many drivers that have taken the opportunity to test their car at South Boston Speedway this season.

“That’s all we can do until they (South Boston Speedway officials) can schedule a race,” Dawson said of testing.

“We really need to find more speed in the car, and I definitely need more seat time.”

Dawson shares the opinion of virtually every other driver when it comes to describing the importance of seat time.

“Any time you can sit in the seat and get behind the wheel of a racecar it definitely helps,” Dawson pointed out.

“You learn more every day, you’re learning more about the car, you’re learning more about the track. There is whole lot to learn in the Limited Sportsman Division.”

Last season Dawson climbed another rung on the long ladder of improvement and was able to mix it up with the division’s top drivers. When the 2019 season ended Dawson had scored 11 Top Five finishes and finished in the Top 10 in all 16 of his starts.

“It feels good to be able to run right there with Danny Willis Jr. and all of those boys,” Dawson remarked.

“We want to get a little bit faster so we can be more competitive with them.”

Dawson noted it is important to continue learning as a driver and continuing to improve the racecar because the level of the competition and the car count increase each season.

“Two or three years ago there really weren’t that many people out here,” he explained.
‘The number of competitive cars was up last season and track officials were expecting more cars to be out here this season. More cars make for better racing, and it’s definitely more competitive.”

South Boston Speedway is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide race teams an opportunity to get some track time to test their cars and prepare for racing. Teams interested in scheduling a test date should contact the speedway office at 434-572-4947.

Ryan Newman – Daytona Road Course Advance

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Official Release
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Team: No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: 231 miles, 65 laps, Stage Lengths: 15-15-35

GoBowling 235 – Sunday, Aug. 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Road Course at Daytona on the Horizon for NASCAR This Weekend

· For the first time in the sport’s history, the NASCAR Cup Series will take to the 3.57-mile road course on the infield at Daytona this weekend. The weekend date was originally held for the series’ annual trip to the Watkins Glen International road course, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced adjustments to the schedule, meaning the NCS will visit Daytona twice over the next three weeks.

· The race will be held on the same road course as the Rolex 24 at Daytona, North America’s premier race for sports cars. NASCAR also announced several key competition components at the Daytona RC, including the addition of a chicane off Turn 4 at the famed oval. Overall, the course features 14 turns.

· Additionally, as announced last week by NASCAR, the series will now use three competition-based performance metrics to determine the starting lineup and pit selection order for each race, replacing the random draw procedure that has been in place since NASCAR’s return in May.

· NASCAR will reward both season-long and single-race performance to determine the lineup and pit selection, using owner points position, the finish and fastest lap from the most recently completed race. Beginning with the NASCAR Playoffs at Darlington, playoff cars will fill the top starting positions starting from the Round of 16, all the way through to the Championship 4.

· Four weeks of NASCAR action were initially completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed before the schedule later picked back up in mid-May.

Newman Historically on Road Courses

· Newman will be one of the few drivers with a leg up and prior experience at the Daytona Road Course come Sunday, having driven the track previously in the former IROC Series.

· Newman – along with other current Cup stars Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. – made starts at Daytona in the series from 2003-06. Newman won the 2004 event after starting on the pole in the 40-lap event, and finished third in the final series event at Daytona.

· Overall, Newman has 38 road course starts in the NCS with 11 top-10s and three top fives. Newman finished runner-up in one of his first-ever road course starts back in 2002 at Watkins Glen, and followed that up with a ninth-place run a season later. Most recently he piloted Jack Roush’s No. 6 Ford to a seventh-place run last year in Sonoma, one of his eight top-10s at the track.

· Newman does have a road course win in the Xfinity Series, which came in 2005 at WGI after starting fourth.

Scott Graves Historically on Road Courses

· Graves will be atop the box for his 11th Cup road course event, having called four previously at WGI, four at Sonoma, and two at the ROVAL at CMS. His best results came at WGI, where he led Daniel Suarez to a third and fourth-place result in 2017-18.

· Graves has visited victory lane twice on road courses in the NXS, leading Carl Edwards to a victory in the No. 60 entry in 2012 at WGI, followed by a win with Buescher in the same car two years later at Mid-Ohio.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at the Daytona RC:
“I’m probably one of a few guys that has laps – even though it was back in the IROC days – at this track. The guys that have the 24-hour experience, that’s going to play to their advantage. We will definitely do some simulator work and try to get a better understanding of our car and that racetrack. It’s going to be a lot of green for a lot of people once the green flag drops come Sunday.”

Last Time Out
Newman bounced back from a 28th-place run in the first leg of last weekend’s doubleheader at Michigan to finish 13th Sunday.

Where They Rank
Newman is 26th in driver points after 19 points races in his 2020 campaign. In owners’ points, the No. 6 is 23rd.

On the Car
As announced Wednesday, Guaranteed Rate returns to Newman’s Ford this weekend in Daytona. The brand will be on board Newman’s machine for 11 of the final 14 races in 2020, as the two announced a partnership extension following their debut into the sport at Loudon.

About Guaranteed Rate

Guaranteed Rate is one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the Company has more than 5,000 employees in nearly 350 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances and funded more than $30 billion in loans in 2019 alone. The Company has cemented itself as Positively Different by introducing innovative technology, such as the world’s first Digital Mortgage, by offering low rates and by delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include: Top Lender for Online Service for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s Top Retail Mortgage Lenders 2019; Top Lender 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Chicago Agent magazine; Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years; and Best Online Mortgage Lender, Best Mortgage Lender for VA loans and Best Conventional Mortgage Lender by NerdWallet in 2019. Visit rate.com for more information.

John Hunter Nemechek Hits the Road (Course) with Death Wish Coffee

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Official Release
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Nemechek on Daytona:

“It’ll be interesting for sure to head to Daytona this week to race on the road course. Growing up watching the 24 hours, I think it’ll be really cool to finally race there as a driver. There might be some drivers who have the advantage of running there previously, but I still think it’ll be kind of a wild card for everyone in a Cup car.

“Having Death Wish Coffee back with us this weekend will give us a chance to redeem ourselves from last week in Michigan. People tell me all the time how much they like this red and black paint scheme, so we’re going to do everything we can to get into Victory Lane on Sunday.”

Toyota Racing Weekly Preview – 08.12.20

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Official Release
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2016 Logos

This Week in Motorsports: August 10-16, 2020
· NCS/NXS/NGROTS/ARCA: Daytona Int’l Speedway Road Course – August 14-16

PLANO, Texas (August 12, 2020) – The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) turns left and right for the first time this season at Daytona International Speedway, which will host a road course race for the first time in decades. The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) and ARCA Menards Series (AMS) will also compete on the Daytona Road Course this weekend.

NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS| NGROTS

Road Course Aces… Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch are among the current road course stars in the NASCAR Cup Series. Truex has won the last two races, and three overall, at Sonoma Raceway (2013, 2018, 2019), while also scoring a victory at Watkins Glen International in 2017. Busch has two wins each at Sonoma Raceway (2008, 2015) and Watkins Glen International (2008, 2013)

Nine Top Two Finishes… Denny Hamlin scored his series-leading ninth top-two finish this season on Sunday with a runner-up finish at Michigan International Speedway. Hamlin has one NCS road course victory at Watkins Glen International in 2016.

Four Races till Playoffs… With four races before the Playoffs begin, Toyota continues to have three drivers in the tentative field. Hamlin and Truex have clinched their spots due to victories this season, while Busch continues to hold a Playoff spot on his season-long point total. Erik Jones currently sits in 17th position – one spot outside of a Playoff position – while NCS rookie Christopher Bell is up to 19th in the point standings – his highest rank this season.

Xfinity Ready for Second Road Course in a Row… While the NCS is headed to its first road course race of the season, the NXS will be competing in its second consecutive road course event and third overall. Toyota NXS drivers Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton are searching for their first road course top-10 finish of the season, while continuing to hold down their NXS Playoff spots.

Eckes Ready for First… NGROTS rookie driver Christian Eckes is ready to be one spot better this weekend. In search for his first Truck Series win, the 19-year-old driver has finished second in three of the past four races on the schedule. This is Eckes’ first career road course start.

Hill Continues to Lead… Austin Hill continues to lead the overall championship point standings as the season heads to its halfway point. Hill has nine top-10 finishes in the 11 events this season and has led the standings since the second event of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hill has two previous road course starts in the NGROTS and scored top-10 runs in both events.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA

Self Headed Back to Daytona… Although we are not racing on the oval this weekend, Michael Self will have fond memories as he returns to Daytona International Speedway. He has won two of the past three events at the track including a dominating win from the pole earlier this season. After a third-place finish in Michigan, Self continues to lead the overall point standings.

McLaughlin a Road Course Winner… The last ARCA road course race featured Max McLaughlin leading throughout the event. The 20-year-old led every lap from the pole to score his first ARCA Menards Series East victory last summer at Watkins Glen International.

Stay Connected

@ToyotaRacing.com @ToyotaRacing

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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.

Harvick to start on pole position for inaugural Daytona Road Course event

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

In NASCAR’s first use of a competition-based formula to determine a lineup for a Cup Series race, Kevin Harvick will start on pole position for the inaugural Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Sunday, August 16.

The new competition-based formula used to establish the lineup for an upcoming race was based upon three statistical measurements: the results from the previous race (weighing 50 percent), the ranks of team owner points (35 percent) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15 percent).

Following the measurements based upon the three stats/measurements and averaging them together, Harvick, the regular-season points leader who is coming off his back-to-back victories from the Michigan International Speedway doubleheader races, was awarded the Busch Pole Award for the Daytona Road Course. This will mark the second time where Harvick will start on pole position this season, with his last occurring at Kansas Speedway in July.

Since May through last weekend at Michigan, NASCAR used a random draw to determine a lineup for a race amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a move that eliminated practice and qualifying sessions on race weekends. Beginning in September, when the 2020 Cup Playoffs commence, the competitors competing in the Playoffs will occupy the top starting positions, according to how many remain throughout the Playoffs as four competitors will be eliminated following each round (three races in a round) of the Playoffs.

Denny Hamlin, who finished in the runner-up spot behind Harvick in the second Michigan race, will start on the front row alongside Harvick for the inaugural Daytona Road Course race. Teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch will line up in the second row in front of Ford teammates Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon will start in the top 10 followed by Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer.

Starting in positions 13-26 are William Byron, Ryan Newman, rookie Christopher Bell, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, rookie Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Ty Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and rookie Cole Custer.

Starting in positions 27-39 are Alex Bowman, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez, J.J. Yeley, rookie Brennan Poole, Reed Sorenson, rookie Quin Houff, Garrett Smithley, Timmy Hill, James Davison and Brendan Gaughan.

The inaugural Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, which marks the 23rd race of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series schedule, will occur on August 16 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

Acronis and Hendrick Motorsports forge relationship through 2023

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Official Release
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CYBER PROTECTION LEADER TO PARTNER WITH NO. 88 TEAM IN 2020

CONCORD, N.C. (Aug. 12, 2020) – Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, has joined 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions Hendrick Motorsports to form a multi-year marketing and technology relationship that will run through June 2023.

In 2020, Acronis will be featured as a three-race primary partner of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Alex Bowman. The car will appear during the Aug. 22-23 Dover International Speedway doubleheader weekend and the Oct. 25 playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway.

As the Official Cyber Protection Partner of Hendrick Motorsports, Acronis will also become a major associate partner of the team’s full four-car stable. Its logo will appear on all Hendrick Motorsports race cars, uniforms and equipment beginning with the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Acronis’ founder and executive officer, Serguei Beloussov, believes strongly that the company’s technologies are a perfect fit for Hendrick Motorsports’ cyber protection needs.

“The risk associated with losing data grows heavier every day new data is created, and the COVID-19 pandemic introduces new problems such as managing and safeguarding remote workspaces,” he said. “Hendrick Motorsports is well aware of these risks, and we are certain that our partnership will help the team get even more #CyberFit, which will no doubt help them improve operational efficiency both on and off the track.”

Acronis leads the world in cyber protection by solving safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) challenges. Hendrick Motorsports will utilize Acronis’ leading solutions to enhance its racing operations and overall technology capabilities, including cyber protection, security, backup, anti-ransomware and disaster recovery for all data, applications and systems. One such solution is Acronis Cyber Protect, which provides AI-powered anti-malware as well as fast and reliable backup and recovery from a single, easy-to-use management console.

“In today’s environment, cyber protection is a priority for every company,” said Marshall Carlson, president of Hendrick Motorsports. “We are a technology operation in many ways, so the chance to partner with an industry leader like Acronis is a great fit. Our team looks forward to collaborating with them to promote their tremendous products and services, as well as utilizing those same offerings in our own business, which is winning NASCAR races.”

Bowman, 27, is enjoying another playoff season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Tucson, Arizona, native secured his third consecutive post-season berth with his March 1 victory at Auto Club Speedway. He is currently projected in the eighth position in playoff points and has posted a personal best in laps led through 22 of 36 races in 2020.

“I’m looking forward to representing Acronis,” Bowman said. “We’ve had a strong season so far, and Dover and Texas are very good tracks for us. We will do everything we can to keep the No. 88 Chevy up front and welcome Acronis to the Hendrick Motorsports family in the right way.”

Acronis has a powerful presence in professional sports, including team partnerships in the NFL, English Premier League, Major League Baseball and across a wide variety of auto racing series such as NASCAR, Formula 1, Formula E and IndyCar.

ABOUT ACRONIS:
Acronis sets the standard for cyber protection through its innovative backup, anti-ransomware, disaster recovery, storage, and enterprise file sync and share solutions. Enhanced by its award-winning AI-based active protection technology, blockchain-based data authentication and unique hybrid-cloud architecture, Acronis protects all data in any environment – including physical, virtual, cloud, mobile workloads and applications – all at a low and predictable cost.

Founded in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, Acronis now has more than 1,500 employees in 33 locations in 18 countries. Its solutions are trusted by more than 5.5 million consumers and 500,000 businesses, including 100% of the Fortune 1000 companies. Acronis’ products are available through 50,000 partners and service providers in over 150 countries in more than 30 languages. Learn more at acronis.com.

ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:
Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 258 points-paying race victories and a record 12 car owner championships in the premier NASCAR Cup Series. The organization fields four full-time Chevrolet teams on the Cup circuit with drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman. Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports employs more than 600 people. For more information, please visit HendrickMotorsports.com or interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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