NASCAR CUP SERIES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2020
FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 – MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

FORD PERFORMANCE DRIVER – POST RACE QUOTES

KEVIN HARVICK CAPS MUSTANG SWEEP SATURDAY WITH WIN AT MICHIGAN

• Kevin Harvick won his fifth race of the season and 54th of his Cup career by winning today’s race.
  All five of Harvick’s wins have come since NASCAR returned to action on May 17 (13 starts).
• The win is Mustang’s 12th of the season.
• Harvick is now tied for 11th on the all-time win list with NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty. Up next on the list is Rusty Wallace in 10th with 55.
• Harvick is now tied for 13th on the all-time Ford Cup win list with Greg Biffle and NASCAR Hall of Famer Davey Allison with 19. What makes that accomplishment so impressive is Harvick has done it in only three-plus seasons.
• This marks the 25th win for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining Ford (Harvick has won 19).
• Today’s win is Ford’s 698th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

FORD FINISHING RESULTS:
1st – Kevin Harvick
2nd – Brad Keselowski
4th – Ryan Blaney
8th – Joey Logano
15th – Matt DiBenedetto
16th – Aric Almirola
19th – Clint Bowyer
20th – Chris Buescher
22nd – Corey LaJoie
26th – JJ Yeley
28th – Ryan Newman
29th – Michael McDowell
34th – Cole Custer
36th – John Hunter Nemechek

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang — VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW

EVERYONE WE TALK TO SAID THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING FOR YOUR CAR TODAY. HOW DOMINANT AND HOW STRONG WAS YOUR MUSTANG TODAY? “Yeah, the restarts were obviously a handful but our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang was really fast today and we held on for the long run and would really go on the short run and did everything we needed it to do. I gotta thank everyone from Busch Light Apple, Mobil 1, Hunt Brothers, Jimmy Johns, Haas Automation and everyone from Ford. I know they love to win here and we are glad to bring that trophy to them.”

THE HARD RACING WITH KYLE BUSCH, HOW DID THAT UNFOLD FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “I didn’t know if I hit him or not but I saw the video and didn’t touch him. I must have packed a bunch of air on his left rear. I knew I needed to be right there. You have to take the chance when you have it and I needed that side draft down the front straightaway. I got within like an inch or so it looked like on the video. I didn’t know if I had just barely touched him but in the video I definitely didn’t touch him.”

SIXTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF THE RACES YOU HAVE FINISHED TOP FIVE AND YOUR FIFTH WIN. DOES THAT PUT YOU GUYS AS THE TEAM TO BEAT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “We are a week to week team. We talked about this years ago. We want to go to the track and worry about one week at a time. We want to be competitive and win as many races as we can and see where it falls in the end. These guys are awesome and when we come to Michigan to ride a car like that is unbelievable.”

YOU NOW ARE TIED FOR 11TH ALL-TIME WITH 54 WINS, TYING HALL OF FAMER LEE PETTY. DID YOU EVER IMAGINE THAT KIND OF SUCCESS? “No. I am honored. I have been very fortunate to work with some good teams and have some good race cars. When you start talking about names like Lee Petty and Rusty Wallace and Junior Johnson and all the names that are around us on that list is just an honor to be around them. I know that comes with a lot of responsibilities for our sport and I ask myself all the time if I have done enough or am doing enough to help make this sport go forward. It is an honor to be around those names.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — Finished 2nd

RUNNER UP AT YOUR HOME TRACK. WHAT DID YOU NEED IN THAT CLOSING LAP AGAINST THE 4? “He is just super fast in the corners and the straightaway. He was definitely the best car out here today. We put a good effort to kind of maximize our day and that is what we did, finished second. Proud of everyone on the Discount Tire Ford Mustang team. We will go back to work on it and hopefully find a little bit more for the race tomorrow.”

WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT FOR WHAT YOU NEED TOMORROW? “Just the 4 was so strong on this type of racetrack and I think he has won a bunch of these races lately and we just need some speed.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang — Finished 4th

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR STRENGTHS WERE TODAY AND WHERE DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVE FOR TOMORROW? “I thought our car was really good. I thought our Mustang was pretty good all day. We made a good call there before the competition caution to come in and pit and that cycled us up to 12th or something and we were able to drive to third before that stage and then ran second in the second stage. We took four tires there when we got in our fuel window and it was hard to get through traffic. We didn’t handle good so we came in again with maybe 18 to go and changed it up a little bit and made sure we were good on gas and were able to drive through there. I wish we would have kept third before that last caution because I would have chose the bottom and had a little better shot. I am proud of the effort. The 4 was really fast. We need to work on our stuff a little and I think we can compete a little better tomorrow.”

WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE CHOOSE RULE TODAY? “I thought it had a good impact on the race. Obviously the best car won the race but I thought it was unique seeing what everyone was going to do and trying to figure out what you wanted to do. There was one time that shocked me. It was how the 9 got the lead. He went from fifth to starting on the front row and ended up getting the lead and I couldn’t believe nobody took that opportunity to line up on the front row. You saw a lot of guys that were third today would take that chance. I lined up on the top and I chose the bottom a good bit. I chose the bottom a decent amount when I was trying to get back up there because you jump about three rows and you figure you can maintain or maybe gain. I thought it was great. I thought they did a really good job implementing it the rest of the year besides next week. I was a fan of it, for sure.”

DID YOU MAKE YOUR CHOICES BASED ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT WERE YOUR CARS STRENGTHS OR DID IT MORE DEPEND ON THE OTHER CARS THAT WOULD BE AROUND YOU? “I made it more off of how much it was going to gain me. If you are lining up 20th when we pitted again and then you ask yourself if you can get to 15th if you chose the bottom. Hell yeah I am going to choose 15th. You just try to decide where you are going to line up and how many lanes or rows you are going to jump. There were a lot of times I was sitting fourth and the third place choses to line up on the front row on the bottom and I wanted to stay sixth. I would rather have been sixth than third. That was just kind of how I chose it, but what I thought momentum would go and I think it differs when you get from the back of the pack to the front. I think your mindset changes a little bit.”

DID YOU GUYS HAVE DISCUSSIONS AMONG YOUR TEAM OF HOW YOU WOULD APPROACH THE CHOOSE RULE OR WAS IT LEFT UP TO YOU? “It was left up to the driver. We talked a little about it, Todd (Gordon) and I did before the race and Josh Williams my spotter a little bit about it. But really when it comes down to it that is just driver choice. You are going to make the right one sometimes and sometimes you will make the wrong one. That is part of the rule. It is chance. You can take an opportunity and nobody is brake checking each other off pit road to get in the lane they want, that part is nice. It can be a really big risk that can pay off maybe at some of these places where there is a preferred lane but that was just driver choice in the moment of seeing what everyone is doing and you have a split second to figure out what you want to do.”

IS THERE ANYTHING WITH IT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE TWEAKED? “I would like to see them tie a rope to an actual cone and put it on the racetrack and have someone pull it. It was getting dark here and that thing was hard to see. I like how they moved it towards turn one from the start finish line. I know they have some cones on the wall but it is tough to see. I would love to see someone wrangling that damn rope in every single time like at the dirt tracks. It was just a little tough to see when it got dark.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang — Finished 8th

“It was a good recovery. A little bit of practice this week would have been nice. That was one of the loosest and out of control race car I have had. At the start of this race. The clean air made us look better than what we were. As soon as I lost clean air I was just trying to hang on. Unfortunately I collected a lot of damage along the way on the back bumper from everyone hitting me. I don’t blame them, I was in the way. Over time, by probably the beginning of the third stage we got close. Not quite to where we needed to. Then there at the end we pitted and may have gotten to the other side of it finally. At least we know where the edge is so we can work on it for tomorrow. We got a top-10 out of it. If you had told me we were going to finish eighth after the first 50 laps of this thing I would have taken it but greed always sets in and you want a little more there at the end. We got our Mustang for tomorrow and we got to the other side of it. We should be in the ballpark.”

WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR DISCUSSIONS WITH NASCAR LIKE BEFORE THEY WENT WITH THE CHOOSE RULE AND HOW YOU MAYBE NUDGED THEM IN THAT DIRECTION? “I have been nudging for years. NASCAR has to look at all the possibilities of it going wrong. And there are a lot of opportunities for race teams to try to manipulate the system a little bit. It is also something else they need to officiate. You have to make sure you are on one side or the other of that cone and you can never go back on your choice. Things like that. It definitely adds something to the race. There is a lot to think about going to it and you see a lot of drivers really pick up a lot of spots here today by making that bet. It is a lot to study which is what I am going to do after this. There is a lot to study on how these restarts work now. A lot for everybody to learn. A lot to take advantage of and it evolved a lot through the race from what it was in the beginning to the middle and end where it was much different. It is cool. I like it. You aren’t giving up spots trying to get a certain row on pit road. You can actually have your own fate in your hands a little bit so you can make those decisions yourself. I am good with it. I like it. I am glad it went this way.”

ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SEE TWEAKED GOING FORWARD? “I didn’t see anything wrong with it, no. I thought it went perfect.”

WITH WHAT YOU STRUGGLED WITH EARLY TODAY WILL YOUR CREW BE ABLE TO MAKE CHANGES TO GET IT RIGHT FOR TOMORROW OR IS THERE CONCERN THAT IT ISN’T SOMETHING THAT CAN JUST BE CHANGED QUICKLY WITH A SETUP? “I sure hope so. I think so. I think they will be able to change a lot. We got some damage and need to fix that first but then after that from where we started to where we finished the race we got way closer. So we were able to do that with just wedge, trackbar and air pressure. Now we can kind of open up the box and do countless other things. We will look at that and try to find the right direction to go. I was talking with Paul (Wolfe) before you guys trying to figure out the direction to go. Yes, we should be able to get to the other side of it and be more competitive tomorrow. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I wish we started the race the way we finished it. I think we would have looked a lot better and could have fine tuned it. We weren’t in the fine tuning stages at all. We were in the swing for the fence and throw everything at it to get to the other side of the loose problem. Now I think we can get to where we are find tuning a little bit to get the last little bit out of it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 8, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
7th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
9th Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Victory Junction Camaro ZL1 1LE
10th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
12th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Fueling Futures Camaro ZL1 1LE
14th William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kevin Harvick (Ford)
2nd Brad Keselowski (Ford)
3rd Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota)
4th Ryan Blaney (Ford)
5th Kyle Busch (Toyota)

TUNE-IN:
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues on Sunday, August 9th at Michigan International Speedway with the Consumers Energy 400 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will air on NBCSN, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

TEAM CHEVY NOTES & QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th
“We had a strong restart there at the end of the race from the inside lane. When that next caution came out, I just didn’t see it playing out the same way twice, so I chose to go to outside lane. Our NAPA Chevrolet was just tight all day and the team worked hard to try and get it dialed in – they had a solid day on pit road. I think we learned a few things today that we can hopefully use tomorrow.”

BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
ON A COUPLE OF THOSE FINAL RESTARTS, I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A POTENTIAL WIN. WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU HAD THAT SHOT ON THE SECOND ROW, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PULL THIS OFF BECAUSE YOU MADE A BOLD MOVE TO THE MIDDLE?
“A solid day for us and our Victory Junction Chevrolet. I appreciate everybody back at the shop. I know this whole COVID-19 deal has been tough. I haven’t been able to go to the shop and show my appreciation and how much they really work and make our cars better week in, and week out. So, it’s been fun. We’re in the middle of ‘silly season’ right now, so my mind is there, it’s here. So, to come out with a solid top-10 finish is positive. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I was not happy with the car, but I think that’s the racer mentality. I don’t know if (Kevin) Harvick, (race winner) was happy about his car, either. We always strive to be better, but all in all, it was a solid day. The choose rule. Good job, NASCAR. That was fun. That was cool. It brought be back to the shootout days. I didn’t tick as many people off as I did at the shootout today, so it was all good.”

THESE RUNS ARE GREAT, RIGHT? ARE THEY EVEN BETTER WHEN HEY, YOU GET TO TURN AROUND AND DO THIS AGAIN IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS TOMORROW?
“Absolutely. The race distance is a lot of fun. It’s something to look at, too, for sure. But man, say a prayer for us. Everybody say a prayer for us. There’s a big deal on the line right now and this could only help so much. I have yet to check my phone to see the status of it, but this will send us over the top if we can get it done. So, it’s been a lot of hard work off the race track for my team and everybody involved, to make things better. And that’s what we’re trying to do. So, putting solid runs together and having awesome restarts all thing, this is only going to help the effort. So, I’m definitely smiling.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th
“With a shorter race we had a bunch of variables today, including a lot of restarts. When the spotter says, four and five-wide, and we didn’t get damage, I will take that any day. Our Monster Energy Camaro was really reliant on clean air, once we got back in traffic it was really a struggle for us, but we were able score points in the first two stages and battle back for another top-10 finish at the end. We know that we can do better, and we’ll get a chance to do that tomorrow”.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY FUELING FUTURES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th
“We had a fast Ally Chevy all day, but restarts hurt us. It was up and down all day fighting traffic and weird things happening on the restarts. We are going to talk tonight and get a better plan for tomorrow. It’s a long day for these team guys but we will be ready.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th
“It was a tough day for our No. 24 Axalta team. We worked hard to improve the handling of our Axalta Chevy as the day went on. Luckily we’ll get another chance at it tomorrow and we’ll hopefully get a better result and stay in the playoff hunt.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEVY ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
“We had some good speed in our No. 8 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro today at Michigan International Speedway, but we just seemed to get caught up in other people’s messes today. I was able to move up into the top 10 early in the race, but the No. 19 made contact with us when he had a tire go down, which gave our Chevrolet some left rear damage. It felt like we had a tire going down shortly after that, so we were forced to pit under green for fresh left-side tires. We had to fight hard to get our lap back and did, but then our right-rear tire went down and we had to pit to repair that under green as well. Somewhat luckily for us, that tire issue happened close to the end of Stage 2, so we were able to get our lap back with the wave around, stay mostly on sequence with the leaders and really get back in the game. We were making some progress after that and were up inside the top 20 when we got some additional right front damage from another on-track incident, so we had to hit pit road one more time for slight repairs but didn’t lose a lap. We were able to avoid a couple late-race accidents to pick up a few more spots but didn’t quite get to where we wanted to be today. Good news is that we get another shot at it with our No. 8 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro tomorrow.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Michigan International Speedway
Race: FireKeepers Casino 400
Date: August 8, 2020
____________________________________

No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 5th
Stage 1: 5th
Stage 2: 5th
Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 161/161
Point Standings (behind first): 2nd (-94)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski made the most of two good race restarts in the closing laps to score a second-place finish in the FireKeepers 400 Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). Keselowski racked up his ninth top-five of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and his equaled his best career finish at MIS, the home track for the Michigan native. The driver of the Discount Tire Ford Mustang remains second in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, now 94 points behind leader and Saturday’s race winner Kevin Harvick.

Keselowski started from the fifth position Saturday and reported that the No. 2 Mustang was running really loose at the start of the race. He pitted during the competition caution on lap 17 for four tires and an air pressure adjustment and he restarted the race in the 12th position. Keselowski said the car was a little tight-handling over the next run but he was able to rally for a fifth-place finish at the conclusion of the first stage on lap 40. Crew Chief Jeremy Bullins made the call to pit during the stage caution on lap 43 for four tires and fuel on the No. 2 Mustang and Keselowski restarted third when the race went green on lap 47.

Stage 2 ran caution free and Keselowski remained inside the top-five throughout the segment. He scored a fifth-place finish when the stage concluded on lap 85 and he told the team the balance on the Discount Tire Ford was free off the corners and tight coming out of the turns. Keselowski pitted during the stage caution on lap 88 as the No. 2 took on four tires and a right-rear wedge adjustment. Speedy work by the Discount Tire team moved Keselowski up to third-place for the restart on lap 91.

The final 67 laps of the race featured six caution periods followed by restarts that featured three- and sometimes four-wide racing. Keselowski made his final stop for four tires on lap 107 and he took advantage of two good restarts late in the race (laps 147 and 154, respectively). The restarts helped him rally from ninth position to third when the ninth caution on lap 155 pushed the finish of the race into NASCAR Overtime. Keselowski used the Choose Rule to line up beside Harvick, the race leader, for the final restart on lap 159. The two raced side-by-side but Keselowski was not able to make the pass for the win and took the checkered flag in second place.

Quotes: “I thought our Discount Tire Ford Mustang was really good. We made a good call there before the competition caution to come in and pit and that cycled us up to 12th or something and we were able to drive to third before that stage and then ran second in the second stage. We took four tires there when we got in our fuel window and it was hard to get through traffic. I wish we would have kept third before that last caution because I would have chosen the bottom and had a little better shot. I am proud of the effort. The 4 (Kevin Harvick) was really fast. We need to work on our stuff a little and I think we can compete a little better tomorrow.”

____________________________________

No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 11th
Stage 1: 3rd
Stage 2: 2nd
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 161/161
Laps Led: 27
Point Standings (Behind First): 4th (-128)

Notes:

Ryan Blaney started 11th and finished fourth in Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The driver of the Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang ran inside the top-five for most of the day and tied his career-best result at Michigan.

Blaney fell back to 19th in the opening laps of the race, but by lap 10 he worked his way back up to 15th in the running order. Crew chief Todd Gordon called Blaney to pit road just prior to the lap 15 competition caution as the No. 12 Ford Mustang was equipped with four new tires. Blaney remained on the lead lap and restarted ninth on lap 19. A strong restart propelled him to the fourth position by lap 30 and he drove his way to third at the conclusion of Stage 1 on lap 40.

Stage 2 began with Blaney running in the fourth position. A strong restart and push propelled Blaney around Denny Hamlin to claim the race lead on lap 50. Blaney led the next 27 laps until Kevin Harvick got by him for the race lead on lap 77 and the Team Penske driver finished Stage 2 in second place.

Blaney restarted the final stage of the race in fourth place. After initially falling back to sixth, he worked his way back up to fourth within a few laps. Fighting a loose-handling car in traffic, Blaney pitted on lap 107 and took the race restart outside of the top-10. He would make his final pit stop on lap 132 and, running on fresh tires, Blaney raced his way back to fourth after a couple of strong late-race restarts. The result marked his eighth top-five finish this season.
Blaney remains fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 128 points behind Harvick, the series leader, entering Sunday’s race at Michigan. Blaney will from the 17th position on Sunday.

Quote: “I thought our car was really good. I thought our Mustang was pretty good all day. We made a good call there before the competition caution to come in and pit and that cycled us up to 12th or something and we were able to drive to third before that stage and then ran second in the second stage. We took four tires there when we got in our fuel window and it was hard to get through traffic. We didn’t handle good so we came in again with maybe 18 to go and changed it up a little bit and made sure we were good on gas and were able to drive through there. I wish we would have kept third before that last caution because I would have chose the bottom and had a little better shot. I am proud of the effort. The 4 was really fast. We need to work on our stuff a little and I think we can compete a little better tomorrow.”

____________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 1st
Stage 1: 18th
Stage 2: 19th
Finish: 8th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 161/161
Laps Led: 18
Point Standings (Behind First): 6th (-181)

Notes:

Joey Logano started first and finished eighth in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Logano overcame handling issues on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang as his team made major chassis adjustments throughout the race and the car finally came alive in the closing stages to earn a top-10 finish.

After starting from the pole, Logano led the opening 15 laps prior to the competition caution. The Shell-Pennzoil Ford remained on the track during the first caution as Logano maintained the top position on track while the team delayed making any adjustments. Unfortunately, the handling began to deteriorate on the Shell-Pennzoil Ford and Logano dropped to 18th before the end of the first stage. During the caution period at the end of the opening stage, the No. 22 crew made wedge and air pressure adjustments to the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang.

During the second stage, Logano continued to battle the loose-handling condition that surfaced on the No. 22 Mustang late in the opening stage. Logano was unable to advance farther than the 15th position as he told the team that he needed more entry security for the remainder of the race. Logano fell to the 19th position before the end of the second stage.

Under the Stage 2 ending pit stop, the Shell-Pennzoil crew adjusted the trackbar and air pressure on the No. 22 Ford, hoping to give Logano the entry security he needed to compete with the race leaders. The adjustments allowed Logano to quickly jump forward to the 10th position on the restart before a caution flag slowed the field. Another caution at lap 106 cleared the way for Logano to return to pit road and gave the Shell-Pennzoil crew an opportunity to further refine the handling of the No. 22 Mustang.

Logano continued to run inside the top-10 as the laps wound down on the final stage. Logano pitted for four tires and an air pressure adjustment late in the race while many of the lead-lap cars remained on track. From there, Logano battled forward from the 21st position. Another caution set up a race restart with nine laps remaining and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Mustang lined up in the 20th position.

During a subsequent restart, Logano moved inside the top-10 before another caution sent the race into NASCAR Overtime. Logano continued his forward march as he brought the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang home in eighth place for his 10th top-10 result of the season.

Quote: “It was a good recovery. A little bit of practice this week would have been nice. That was one of the loosest and out of control race car I have had. At the start of this race. The clean air made us look better than what we were. As soon as I lost clean air I was just trying to hang on. Unfortunately I collected a lot of damage along the way on the back bumper from everyone hitting me. I don’t blame them, I was in the way. Over time, by probably the beginning of the third stage we got close. Not quite to where we needed to. Then there at the end we pitted and may have gotten to the other side of it finally. At least we know where the edge is so we can work on it for tomorrow. We got a top-10 out of it. If you had told me we were going to finish eighth after the first 50 laps of this thing I would have taken it but greed always sets in and you want a little more there at the end. We got our Mustang for tomorrow and we got to the other side of it. We should be in the ballpark.”

Track: Michigan International Speedway
Race: 21 of 36
Event: FireKeepers Casino 400
(312 miles, 156 laps)

Michael McDowell
No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Martin Transportation Systems Ford Mustang

Started: 21st
Finished: 29th

Stage One: 25th
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 29th

The No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | MTS (Martin Transportation Systems) Ford Mustang of Michael McDowell took the green flag from the 21st position in race one of the doubleheader weekend at Michigan International Speedway. During the Competition Caution, McDowell told his team that his Ford Mustang was tight in traffic, but loose on its own. Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer would call the No. 34 to pit road for 4 tires and a packer adjustment and McDowell would go on to finish Stage 1 from the 25th position. Under the Stage 1 caution, the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | MTS Ford Mustang would receive 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment.

Stage 2 would run caution-less as McDowell and his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | MTS Ford Mustang would not gain or lose on positions and finish the second stage, P25. Under caution, McDowell noted that his race car was still a touch loose by itself and a little tight in traffic. He would bring his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | MTS Ford Mustang to pit road for 4 tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment, pulled packer and added grille tape.

The final stage of Saturday’s 312-mile NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway would see a total of 6 cautions. On Lap 130, the 6th caution of the race would occur and McDowell radioed to tell Blickensderfer that his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | MTS Ford Mustang was getting better in traffic and “not losing as much behind other cars.” He would pit for 4 tires, an air pressure adjustment and fuel before a late-race incident would collect the No. 34, causing heavy right front damage. McDowell would pit for repairs and go on to take the checkered flag in race one of the doubleheader weekend from the 29th position.

McDowell on Michigan:

“It was a difficult day for our No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops, Martin Transportation Systems (MTS) Ford Mustang. We didn’t fire off like we had hoped, but Drew and the team did a nice job of working on the car all race long and I felt like we had a pretty decent run starting towards the end. Unfortunately we got collected in that last wreck and sustained heavy right front damage and we had to pit for repairs and ultimately brought the car home 29th. But tomorrow’s another day and that’s what we’re focused on. I’m ready to get back behind the wheel for race two of the Michigan doubleheader weekend and score Love’s Travel Stops and MTS a solid finish.”

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 NewFordTech.com Ford team came away from Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway with a 15th-place finish that allowed them to remain in contention for a Playoff berth.

DiBenedetto enters Sunday’s second half of a double-header at Michigan 15th in the Playoff standings with a 40-point cushion. The top 16 teams will start the 10-race, season-ending, championship-deciding Playoffs after five more regular season races.

DiBenedetto and the NewFordTech.com Mustang started Saturday’s 312-mile race from 15th place but struggled early with a loose handling condition.

Crew chief Greg Erwin and the No. 21 crew made adjustments on early pit stops, then had to deal with tight handling conditions.

But as the race, a relatively short one by Cup Series standards, reached the latter stages, DiBenedetto began to work his way forward, moving from outside the top 20 to 15th at the finish.

Eddie Wood said the team was able to make the most of a day that didn’t look promising at the beginning.

“They struggled with a really loose car at the start but got it better towards the end,” he said. “Track position is important at Michigan, and we never had any all day.

“But in the end, Matt, Greg and the team did a good job of competing with the drivers we’re battling for a Playoff spot.”

DiBenedetto and the NewFordTech.com team moved to within one point of Clint Bowyer, who holds the 14th spot in the Playoff standings and are 24 points ahead of William Byron, now in the 16th spot.

With the line-up for Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 set by an inversion of the top 20 finishing positions from Saturday’s race, DiBenedetto will start the race from sixth place.

The green flag is set to fly just after 4:30 p.m. with TV coverage on NBCSN.

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

Wood Brothers Racing

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

THREE CAMRYS IN THE TOP SIX AT MICHIGAN
Martin Truex Jr. drives to third consecutive top-three finish

BROOKLYN, Michigan (August 8, 2020) – Martin Truex Jr. (third), Kyle Busch (fifth) and Denny Hamlin (sixth) drove to top-six finishes to lead Toyota at the Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Michigan International Speedway
Race 21 of 36 – 312 miles, 156 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Kevin Harvick*
2nd, Brad Keselowski*
3rd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
4th, Ryan Blaney*
5th, KYLE BUSCH
6th, DENNY HAMLIN
11th, ERIK JONES
13th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
24th, DANIEL SUÁREZ
33rd, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How do you think you faired today after the cutdown tire early in the race?

“It was a good day. I just made a little mistake there and barely rubbed the 8 (Tyler Reddick) car off (turn) two there and I guess cut both of our tires down. I really don’t know how it happened. My bad on that one. I hate it for Tyler, it messed up his day early as well. We just fought back. The Auto Owners Camry was really strong. If we could ever have gotten to the front, I think we would have had something for them. Lots of restarts and they’re crazy here. A couple of them didn’t work out. The last one did. Really good car and really good job by the guys coming back like that. Just need a little bit more.”

What is your takeaway from today in terms of the race track and the ‘choose rule’?

“It’s interesting for sure. The ‘choose rule’ is cool. It gives us an option. The hard part is that you’re still at the mercy of the other guys around you. Sometimes it’s a little bit of luck whether you pick the right one or not. All in all, it didn’t really change the whole race around that much.”

How was your race today?

“Just proud of the guys for sticking with it. I obviously made a bonehead move there early on and it was weird. I barely felt like I rubbed the 8 (Tyler Reddick) car there and flattened both of our tires. It was definitely an odd situation and I feel bad for screwing up his day because he got a lap down as well. All in all, special Auto Owner’s Camry today with 1900 names on the hood. They’re such great partners of ours and I really wanted to give them a strong run at their home track. We had a top-three or four car all day. I felt like at one point we were really, really fast. Just fought track position with coming from the back and then those restarts at the end, you always hope you pick the right lane. A few times we did the right one and a few times we didn’t. All in all, just a solid day.”

What will you need to fight for the win tomorrow?
“I feel really good about our car. I think we can do a few things to make it better, but honestly, it’s really fast. If we could get a little bit faster in the straightaways without slowing the corners down, they’ll have to watch out for us tomorrow.”

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

Finishing Position: 5th

What happened with Kevin Harvick on one of the final restarts?

“I don’t know. Definitely got loose. Don’t know whether it was contact or just air. Definitely got loose and had to chase it and catch it. Thankfully, kept it out of the fence. We were able to salvage a fifth. Felt like we had a good second-place car today. The M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry was fast. Just nowhere near his (Kevin Harvick) level of fast. The 4 (Harvick) car was just driving away and I was running wide open and couldn’t even draft with him down the straightaways. We definitely didn’t have the speed we needed, but had a good balanced car, good driving car and hopefully we can work on it a little bit tonight and get it better for tomorrow. Just need to be better in traffic and be able to maneuver and be able to pass just a bit more.”

What did the drivers that chose the bottom today need on the restarts?

“It’s all about the run down the back. Every time you get to the backstretch, the outside just goes. The middle and the bottom just doesn’t and I have no idea what that is or why that is. It’s just a matter of what it is. For trucks, it’s the same way. You have to get in that line and get rolling.”

Did you feel contact with Kevin Harvick?

“I just didn’t get loose and turn up to the wall by myself so I don’t know whether he (Kevin Harvick) hit me or just air. It was close enough that it disturbed my car obviously and made me have to get out of it real bad. It was a race for second today overall. Proud of the M&M’s Fudge Brownie guys. They did a good job. We’ve been playing hard all year and this was certainly an improvement. We’ve been close for good finishes and we’ve been running well enough for good finishes, we just aren’t getting them. Today was another indication of that. We should have finished second I guess, maybe won. Top-five it is. Thanks to Interstate Batteries, Toyota Camry and Rowdy Energy, we’ll be back tomorrow.”

How eager are you to get back tomorrow knowing the car was good today?

“The car was pretty good right off the bat. There’s still some things we can tweak on, hopefully. I’m scared to mess with it to try to make it better. It was just really, really hard to deal with in traffic. Anytime there was anybody in front of me, I had to be away from them, whether lower or higher, but not follow. It would not track at all with the car in front of me. That’s kind of been our ‘MO’ actually. Overall, just work on that.”

What did you think of the ‘choose rule’?

“I thought it worked good. It gave everyone an opportunity to make their own destiny in their decisions rather than chance where they were going to be in the running order. I feel like it did what it was intended to do.”

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

Finishing Position: 6th

How was the race for you overall after looking very strong up front much of the race?

“I thought we were kind of a second-place car. Once the 4 (Kevin Harvick) was leading there, we were able to stay pretty close to him. He was just so much faster down the straightaway than we were. I’m not sure that we would have been able to do much with him. We were certainly fast in the corners and we were just kind of a second-place car with our FedEx Ground Camry. My crew chief (Chris Gabehart) was concerned about loose lug nuts there around lap 130 when the caution came out so he wanted to come and take tires and work on the car and make sure the lug nuts were tight. That set us back and put us probably 11th or 12th in line. We could only muster coming back to sixth.”

What did you think about the ‘choose rule’?

“It was good. You can decide what’s best for you. Everyone has a car that works different in different lanes and it definitely gave you an opportunity to move up and make up positions if you needed to.”

What will the team work on to make the car better for tomorrow’s race?

“We need to work on the handling a little bit. I felt that part was not bad, but need to work on it a little bit. From that point, we just have to get the car going faster down the straightaways somehow. We’ll do everything we can to make it go as fast as it can, but ultimately once we got the lead there, I was wide open and just could not hold off the guys coming behind me. We have to make it a little faster.”

# # #

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BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 8, 2020) – Ryan Newman appeared poised to claim a solid top-15 finish after battling through tire issues at Michigan International Speedway, but an unavoidable incident just in front of his No. 6 Coca-Cola Ford Mustang with just four laps to go relegated him to a 28th-place finish.

Newman drew the 13th starting spot for the race, but a pre-race penalty forced him and teammate Chris Buescher to begin the 312-mile race from the tail end of the field. Newman advanced quickly through the field at the drop of the green flag, rising to 29th by the lap 15 competition caution.

The team hit pit road for four tires and fuel, and made minor adjustments to help with the handling of the Ford. On the race restart, Newman noted that the balance of the car had improved and he worked his way to the 22nd position by the end of the first stage.

During the second stage of the race, Newman began to complain of a bouncing sensation and a vibration in his tires. The condition worsened, leading Newman to come to pit road on lap 74 for an unscheduled pit stop. He would lose a lap to the leaders, and finished the stage 34th. Newman was one of several drivers to take advantage of the wave around during the stage break to get back on the lead lap.

When a caution came out shortly after the start of the final stage, crew chief Scott Graves brought Newman down pit road for a long pit stop to replace four tires and repair a small amount of damage in the quarter panel of the Ford that caused the earlier vibration.

With the obstruction removed, Newman began to power his way up the field. He would work his way up as high as 17th with laps dwindling, when he made a move to the high side of the track and was caught up in a wreck that happened just in front. Unable to avoid damage, he was forced to pit road for repairs. With the race going to NASCAR Overtime, Newman restarted 30th and was able to work his way to 28th before the checkered flag three laps later.

Newman and the No. 6 team return to action at Michigan International Raceway tomorrow, Sunday, August 9 at 4:30 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Network, MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.

Track: Michigan International Speedway
Race: 21 of 36
Event: FireKeepers Casino 400 (312 miles, 156 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang

Started: 31st
Finished: 36th (out)

Stage One: 13th
Stage Two: 16th
Stage Three: 36th (out)

Following a random draw for starting position, John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag in the first of the Michigan International Speedway doubleheader races in 31st place. Nemechek reported possible damage and tire smoke early on after contact with the 00 on the first lap. When the Competition Caution came out on Lap 15, Nemechek noted that his No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang needed to be “freed up just a tick in the center.” Ending Stage 1 in 13th place, his feedback was the same, though he said his handling wasn’t bad. At the Stage Break Caution, he pitted for 4 tires with an air pressure adjustment, fuel, a track bar adjustment and grille tape.

Nemechek began the second stage in 17th place. He radioed on Lap 63 that his No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang was “missing a bit of front turn.” Nemechek fought to stay inside the top 20 for the majority of the stage, noting on Lap 70 that he had picked up a vibration. He would take the green- and white-checkered flag to end Stage 2 in the 16th position and said that he needed “more turn in the center… double what we did” on the previous stop. He pitted at the Stage Break Caution for 4 tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.

After a great pit stop, Nemechek took the green flag for the Final Stage in 16th place. On Lap 92, contact with the No. 17 sent his No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang into the grass, bringing out a caution. After pitting for the crew to assess damage, Crew Chief Seth Barbour told Nemechek, “overall not too much damage.” Shortly after restarting the race, Nemechek had a cut tire, causing him to spin coming off of Turn 4. Nemechek would have another tire go down on Lap 130, resulting in heavy damage and ending his day. He finished in the 36th position.

Nemechek on Michigan:

“It was a long, tough day at Michigan International Speedway for our No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford Mustang. We actually weren’t too bad to start off, just needed to be a tick freer at the beginning. Unfortunately, we had some contact with the 17, which sent us into the grass and then we had multiple tires go down, which ended our day prematurely. Appreciate all the hard work my crew has put into our cars this weekend and all the support from our partners. Thankfully, we’ll have another chance in tomorrow’s race.”

BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 8, 2020) – After sustaining damage from an incident at the final stage of racing, Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fastenal Ford team fought back to a 20th-place finish on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway.

Buescher started the first of the weekend’s two races from the rear of the field after a pre-race inspection penalty. The driver made quick work, passing 14 cars in the opening laps and driving his way up to 24th. At the competition caution, the team elected to pit for four tires and fuel. Buescher restarted 32nd and worked his way back up to 24th, reporting that his No.17 machine needed rear security. The team finished the stage in 27th.

Buescher and the team pitted during the stage break for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. The team restarted 24th and with the implementation of the choose cone rule, chose the bottom lane. The driver toggled between 23rd and 24th during the caution free stage. The team took the green-white-checkered flag for stage two in 23rd.

The Prosper, Texas native pitted for tires, fuel and a few adjustments at the stage break. The team restarted 26th, but was involved in a caution flag not long after the green flag waved. The damage bent the nose of the No. 17 Ford Mustang in and the team came down pit road at Lap 95 to assess and fix as best they could. Buescher restarted 27th, but elected to pit at a caution six laps later for fuel, tires, an air pressure adjustment and to reinforce the tape on the nose of the car. Back on track, the team stayed steady in between the 27th and 28th positions until a caution flag waved with 26 laps to go. The team went down pit road for tires, fuel and to tighten up the car’s handling. After restarting 29th with 18 to go, the driver gained two positions when another caution flag waved four laps later. The team already on their last set of tires, elected to stay out and restarted 22nd. A caution flag waved with five to go and shortly after, the red flag was displayed to clean up fluid on the track. It all came down to a three-lap shootout. When the green flag waved, Buescher restarted 26th but gained a spot when the final caution of the race came out. The driver restarted 21st and gained another position to take the checkered flag in 20th.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to action at Michigan International Raceway tomorrow, Sunday, August 9 at 4:30 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Network, MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.