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Indy 500 Releases Updated Estimate of Fan Attendance for This Year’s Race

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Official Release
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25 Percent Attendance Anticipated; Masks To Be Mandatory

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, July 21, 2020) – Based on policies and procedures put into effect by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IMS officials announced today that attendance for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, Aug. 23 will be approximately 25 percent of capacity. Face coverings will be required for all attendees.

Ticket sales will not be permitted after Friday, July 24, further limiting the number of people who will attend the annual spectacle at the world’s largest outdoor sports facility.

IMS has prepared a detailed, nearly 100-page plan that provides guidelines and protocols for how the race will be run this year. The plan will be released publicly Wednesday, July 22 ahead of a conference call with Speedway officials. A media advisory with details surrounding the conference call will follow shortly.

“In June, we announced the race was on and that attendance would be limited to no more than 50 percent of capacity,” said Penske Entertainment Corp. President & CEO Mark Miles. “We also made clear we intended to do things differently this year. By offering credits to fans who had previously purchased tickets, encouraging those over 65 to stay at home, limiting attendance in the infield, reducing tickets in our suites and promising fans their decision to not attend would not impact their seniority or right to renew tickets for 2021, we now anticipate attendance at approximately 25 percent of capacity. We will welcome fans back, and we have an aggressive plan in place, which has been developed through collaboration with national, state and local health experts.”

Indy officials have made clear this year’s race will include numerous safety precautions, including the reassignment of seats to provide for greater distancing; the issuance and required use of masks, distribution of hand sanitizer to all who enter; temperature checks in order to enter; and changes throughout the facility to minimize lines and gathering spots, including limiting options from concession stands to mostly pre-packaged foods. Numerous other changes will also be in place.

“We look forward to welcoming fans back to the 500 in person. Our outdoor facility is mammoth, and with attendance of about 25 percent, it will certainly look different this year,” said Miles. “We want to demonstrate that even under current circumstances, people can gather with carefully planned procedures in place so we don’t have to go back to shutting down our country and our community.”

IMS will fulfill all ticket requests that have been received from existing customers. Those tickets will be distributed beginning the first week of August.

Nutrien Ag Solutions Bleeds through to Reveal Another New Partner

By
Official Release
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Chastain to Pilot the No. 10 Dyna-Gro Seed Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway

LEXINGTON, N.C. (July 21, 2020) – For the second week in a row, Ross Chastain will sport a fresh paint scheme, as Dyna-Gro Seed, a product available through Nutrien Ag Solutions, will be on board the No. 10 Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway.

Dyna-Gro uses the latest technologies to develop custom seeds, providing the grower with the ultimate options for crop hybrids and varieties that work best on their local acres. To celebrate 30 years in business, Dyna-Gro Seed unveiled a new brand identity in June of 2020, featured this weekend on the No. 10 Chevrolet.

“This year, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dyna-Gro Seed with a refreshed brand,” said Brent Smith, VP of Marketing, Innovation + Sustainability for Nutrien Ag Solutions. “We’re excited to debut this new look on track at Kansas, close to many of our growers. Dyna-Gro drives performance on a local level, giving growers a home field advantage when it comes to plant strength and yield potential. And this aligns well with the potential and performance Ross brings to the track. We’re ready to see Ross leading the field in the No. 10 Dyna-Gro car.”

Together, Nutrien Ag Solutions and Dyna-Gro work hard to meet the ever-changing and challenging needs of farmers. Dyna-Gro’s focus on industry-leading results has made them one of the top-10 seed companies in the United States.

“Adding another brand under the Nutrien Ag Solutions banner to the No. 10 program is really exciting for us at Kaulig Racing”, says Team President Chris Rice. “Doing so further cements our dedication to one another and gives valuable exposure to us both”.

So far in 2020, Chastain and Kaulig Racing have recorded six top-five finishes and 14 top-10 finishes, including nine top-10 finishes in a row. Chastain looks to build on his best finish of 10th at Kansas Speedway this weekend for the Kansas Lottery 250 on Saturday, July 25. In addition to this weekend’s race, the Dyna-Gro scheme will be featured on the No. 10 Chevrolet during the first round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) playoffs at the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, as well as the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway during the round of eight of the NXS playoffs.

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.

About Dyna-Gro Seed
Dyna-Gro Seed, has a 30-year history of delivering quality seed with industry-leading performance and cutting-edge science. Marketing a broad selection of eight crops in 44 states, Dyna-Gro is focused on local success with regional seed solutions and retailers.

About Nutrien Ag Solutions™
Nutrien Ag Solutions™ is the retail division of Nutrien™ Ltd. It combines global innovation with local expertise to provide full-acre solutions through a network of trusted crop consultants at retail locations around the world. Nutrien Ag Solutions strives to help growers achieve the highest yields with the most sustainable solutions possible, offering a wide selection of products, including our proprietary brands: Loveland Products, Inc.®, Proven® Seed and Dyna-Gro® Seed.

Ryan Newman – Kansas Advance

By
Official Release
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Team: No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: 400 miles, 267 laps, Stage Lengths: 80-80-107
Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts – Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Thursday Night Race on Deck in Kansas

· Just four days after a 500-mile race in Texas, the NASCAR Cup Series stays west for a rare Thursday night event for 400 miles under the lights at Kansas Speedway.

· The first Kansas race was originally scheduled for late May in its typical spring slot, but was moved to summer following scheduling implications from COVID-19. The NCS race will be the first of five races at the 1.5-mile track across the weekend, with the Truck Series set for a doubleheader, and the Xfinity and ARCA Series also on tap.

· The lineup for Sunday’s race will again be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points. Newman and the No. 6 team are 21st in points and will draw for a starting spot in the 13-24 group.

· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.

Newman Historically at Kansas Speedway

· Newman will make his 29th Cup start at Kansas on Thursday. In 28 prior starts, Newman has an average finish of 19.5 with one win, three top fives and seven top 10s.

· Newman’s win at the 1.5-mile track came back in 2003, a year in which he won eight races. In that race he started 11th and led the final 28 laps, holding off Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield for the victory.

· Prior to the victory in 2003, Newman finished runner-up in each of his first two Cup races at the track (2001, 2002). He also finished inside the top-10 in 2010 (ninth), 2014 (sixth), 2015 (10th) and 2016 (seventh).

· Newman has an average starting position of 13.8 with nine starts inside the top-10.

· He also has one start in the truck series, finishing second after starting fourth in 2015.

Scott Graves at Kansas Speedway

· Graves will call his eighth NCS race at Kansas on Thursday, where he has one top-10 that came in 2017 (seventh). He also finished 11th in his first-ever Cup event at the 1.5-mile track in 2013.

· Graves also called three Xfinity events atop the box, finishing third in 2016 and sixth with Chris Buescher in 2015.

QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Kansas:
“We’ve been making changes to our 1.5-mile cars recently, and Sunday at Texas we noticed some differences for the better. We’re hoping to continue that trend Thursday night at Kansas, a track that carries a lot of speed and typically creates some high-energy action. A Thursday night points event is rare for us, but looking forward to it and putting on a strong run in the Wyndham Rewards Ford.”

Last Time Out
Newman hung tough through a flurry of late-race cautions, and overcame some early adversity to finish 13th Sunday at Texas.

Where They Rank
Newman is 26th in driver points after 15 points races in his 2020 campaign. In owners’ points, the No. 6 is 21st.

On the Car
Wyndham Rewards returns to the No. 6 for the second consecutive race at Kansas, the brand’s fourth event overall of 2020 as the primary, and third with Newman. Wyndham Rewards is in its third season with the team after joining the fold with Matt Kenseth in 2018, and a 10-race program in 2019 with Newman.

About Wyndham Rewards

Recently named the number one hotel rewards program by readers of USA TODAY, Wyndham Rewards® is the world’s most generous rewards program with more than 30,000 hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals worldwide. Designed for the everyday traveler, members earn a guaranteed 1,000 points with every qualified stay and may redeem points for a wide-range of rewards, including free nights at any of approximately 9,300 hotels or tens of thousands of vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally through partnership with Wyndham Destinations (NYSE: WYND) and others. Wyndham Rewards has approximately 81 million enrolled members around the globe. Join for free today at www.wyndhamrewards.com. You’ve earned this.®

Chris Buescher – Kansas Advance

By
Official Release
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Team: No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 400 miles, 267 laps, Stage Lengths: 80-80-107
Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O-Reilly Auto Parts – Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

ADVANCE NOTES

Thursday Night Race on Deck in Kansas

· Just four days after a 500-mile race in Texas, the NASCAR Cup Series stays west for a rare Thursday night event for 400 miles under the lights at Kansas Speedway.

· The first Kansas race was originally scheduled for late May in its typical spring slot, but was moved to summer following scheduling implications from COVID-19. The NCS race will be the first of five races at the 1.5-mile track across the weekend, with the Truck Series set for a doubleheader, and the Xfinity and ARCA Series also on tap.

· The lineup for Sunday’s race will again be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points. Buescher and the No. 17 team are 22nd in points and will draw for a starting spot in the 13-24 group.

· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.

Buescher Historically at Kansas Speedway

· Buescher makes his ninth Cup start at Kansas on Thursday, a track where he has an average finish of 17.8 with two top-10 results.

· Buescher’s best result of sixth came back in the 2017 fall race. Most recently, he crossed the line 10th last spring and followed that with a 13th-place run in the fall.

· He also has three Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile track, with a best finish of sixth in 2015 in the No. 60 entry for Jack Roush.

Luke Lambert at Kansas Speedway

· Lambert will call his 15th Cup race at Kansas on Thursday, where he has an average finish of 18.9 with two top 10s.

· Both top-10 results came with Ryan Newman in 2014 (sixth) and 2016 (seventh), in a stretch where Newman finished no worse than 12th in six-straight events from 2013-16.

· Most recently, Lambert let Daniel Hemric to the pole in last fall’s event, adding to his impressive 14.6 average starting position.

· Lambert also called one Xfinity event with Elliott Sadler in 2012, finishing fourth after starting seventh.

QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Kansas:
“We’re looking for a big rebound Thursday after a promising start to our day in Texas. Our goal has been to continue to build each week, and we have shown that in spots, so we are looking forward to putting it all together come Thursday. Kansas is a really fast track that I’ve run better at in the past couple events, so looking forward to the challenge in our Fifth Third Ford.”

Last Time Out
Buescher was on pace for a solid finish in Sunday’s race at Texas, earning stage points in the first segment, before becoming the victim of a multi-car incident. Despite the damage, Buescher and the No. 17 team fought in the closing laps to finish 19th.

Where They Rank
Buescher is 20th in driver points through 18 events.

On the Car
Fifth Third Bank makes its fourth appearance aboard Buescher’s No. 17 Ford Thursday in Kansas.

About Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association, a federally chartered institution. As of March 31, 2020, Fifth Third had $185 billion in assets and operated 1,123 full-service banking centers and 2,464 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with access to approximately 53,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2020, had $374 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $42 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Deposit and Credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

Menards/Dutch Boy Team Ready For Midweek Run At Kansas

By
Official Release
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Kansas Thursday 7:30 ET on NBCSN

July 21, 2020

After strong back-to-back runs on intermediate-length tracks at Kentucky and Texas, Matt DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team are headed to another mile-and-a-half track looking to capitalize again on the speed of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Mustang.

DiBenedetto finished third at Kentucky and was poised for another top-five finish at Texas only to be collected in a late-race incident. Next up is Thursday night’s Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway.

“I like Kansas better than the other intermediate tracks,” DiBenedetto said. “You can move around more. There’s not really a preferred lane, even though the top can be better at times.

“You can go to any groove, and that makes the racing better.”

DiBenedetto said the pavement at Kansas has aged well since it was redone in 2012.

“That pavement makes the racing better,” he said. “The surface is a little slicker, and the lap times fall off during a run, which makes it more enjoyable.”

Still, he said, it’s important to be up front as much as possible, to capitalize on the aerodynamic advantage that comes with racing in clean air.

With just eight races remaining before the start of the Cup Series playoffs, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team are currently in 12th place in points and among the 16 teams that will start the 10-race, season-ending run to the championship.

But recent events have made a Playoff berth more of a challenge.

Two drivers who were below DiBenedetto in the Playoff standings, Cole Custer and Austin Dillon, won the past two races and took two of the guaranteed berths.

“Those guys winning bumped us back and put us in a little more uncomfortable position,” he said. “But our Menards/ Dutch Boy team deserves to be in the Playoffs. We’ve had fast cars consistently run in the top five and top 10.

“If we can keep than up the rest will take care of itself.”

There will be no practice or qualifying for Thursday night’s 400-mile race, which is set to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBCSN.

Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI.  Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY.  Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader.  It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember.  For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

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.

NGROTS Advance: Tanner Gray – Kansas Speedway

By
Official Release
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No. 15 Ford Performance F-150, Tanner Gray

Track: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Race: 9 & 10 of 23
Event: NGROTS 200 (201 miles, 134 laps)

Schedule:
Friday, July 24
7:00 p.m…………..Race (FS1)

Saturday, July 25
1:30 p.m…..……..Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150
Tanner Gray will be making his first and second NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on Friday and Saturday. The doubleheader weekend for the Truck Series is actually a triple-header weekend for Gray, as he will be competing in the ARCA Menards Series race Friday night after the truck race as well.

Gray has one prior start at Kansas in last year’s ARCA Series season finale where he finished sixth. He is hoping the extra seat time in the ARCA race Friday night will help his performance in the truck for the second race on Saturday afternoon.

For what Gray lacks in experience at Kansas, his crew chief Shane Wilson makes up for it. Wilson has 18 combined starts as a crew chief at Kansas between Cup, Xfinity and Trucks with one win (Kevin Harvick in Xfinity in 2006), two top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

The DGR-Crosley team is taking the same No. 15 Ford Performance F-150 to Kansas that Gray raced at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway last month where he finished 12th.

The NGROTS 200 doubleheader from Kansas Speedway will be run on Friday, July 24 at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday, July 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on FS1. The 134-lap races will be broken into three segments with stage-ending cautions on laps 30 and 60.

Gray on Kansas: “I’ve only raced at Kansas once, but I really had fun. It’s a cool track, but I don’t recall anything especially unique about it. I’m looking forward to running three races there this weekend. The more I can race and the more experience I can get the better. Hopefully we can have two solid truck races to make up for some of the bad luck we’ve had this season.”

Ford Performance NASCAR: Cindric and Ford Look to Extend NXS WIn Streak at Kansas

By
Official Release
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FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: KANSAS ADVANCE

NASCAR will have another busy week as all three of its top series will be competing at Kansas Speedway, beginning with the NASCAR Cup Series race on Thursday night.  That will be followed by back-to-back NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoor Truck events on Friday night and Saturday afternoon with the NASCAR XFINITY Series capping off the weekend on Saturday evening.

FORD LEADS THE WAY

Going into this week’s action at Kansas Speedway, Ford finds itself on top of the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series in a number of departments, including:

·         Most Wins (Cup): 10
·         Most Wins (NXS): 8
·         Cup Points Leader: Kevin Harvick
·         NXS Points Leader: Chase Briscoe
·         Manufacturer Points Leader: Cup (+47) and NXS (+16)
·         15 combined wins in 26 starts since NASCAR returned to action on May 17: 8 Cup (14 starts) and 7 NXS (12 starts).

CINDRIC JOINS SELECT COMPANY

Austin Cindric is only the second Ford driver to ever win three consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series races since the manufacturer won its first event in 1987.  Mark Martin is the only other man to achieve that feat after he won consecutive races at Rockingham, Richmond and Atlanta in 1997.

FORD GOING FOR SIX STRAIGHT NXS WINS

Ford leads the NASCAR XFINITY Series in victories with eight and sits atop the manufacturers’ standings after Austin Cindric’s win at Texas.  That marked the manufacturer’s fifth straight victory and a win this weekend at Kansas would equal the six consecutive triumphs Ford earned in 2002.  Jason Keller led that streak with three wins while Scott Riggs won twice and Bobby Hamliton Jr. once.

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT KANSAS

·         Ford has eight all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins at Kansas.
·         Brad Keselowski is the defending winner of this week’s event.
·         Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Keselowski all have at least one Kansas win.

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT KANSAS

·         Ford has three NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at Kansas.
·         Jeff Green won the inaugural series race in 2001 while Jeff Burton won the following year.
·         Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has Ford’s last series win at the track (2012).

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT KANSAS

·         Ford has four series victories at Kansas.
·         Jon Wood won Ford’s first series race at the track.
·         Matt Crafton has two series wins at Kansas.

KESELOWSKI GOING FOR KANSAS REPEAT

Brad Keselowski registered his third win of the season when he prevailed in overtime during the first visit to Kansas Speedway last season.  Keselowski led only 12 of the 271 laps, which was extended four laps past the scheduled distance, but he was able to outduel Alex Bowman by passing him under green on Lap 261 and then holding him off with fresher tires in overtime.

HARVICK NETS FIRST KANSAS FORD WIN

Kevin Harvick passed Martin Truex Jr. coming to the white flag and held on to capture his fifth victory of the season after winning this event in 2018.  Harvick, who started on the pole, had a competitive car all night as he led five times for 79 laps and finished second the first two stages.  A series of late-race cautions set the stage for Harvick to rally after a red flag with 14 laps remaining reset the field.  Even though Truex built a good-sized lead, Harvick was able to close the gap with three laps to go before making the decisive pass.  The win gave Harvick back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series wins for the second time in 2018, a year that saw him win eight times overall.

KANSAS BACK-TO-BACK

Joey Logano became the first driver to automatically advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase in 2014 as he took the lead from Ryan Newman with 29 laps to go and held off Kyle Larson to get his career-best fifth win of the season.  In 2015, Logano ended up dueling with Matt Kenseth in a well-documented battle that resulted in contact as the two entered turn one with five laps to go.  That controversial finish marked Logano’s second straight win in the Chase and led to a sweep of the Contender Round as he took the checkered flag the following week at Talladega Superspeedway.

UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

A couple of rain delays and impending darkness couldn’t keep Greg Biffle from winning a shortened Lifelock 400 on Sept. 30, 2007.  The race was delayed for more than three hours and NASCAR decided to shorten the distance from 267 laps to 210 laps when it became evident there wouldn’t be enough daylight to finish the event.  Biffle passed Kevin Harvick on lap 274, but when Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire to bring out the caution with four laps to go it appeared he would have to survive a green-white-checker finish in order to win.  NASCAR, however, decided to end the race under caution due to darkness.  The win was Biffle’s first of the season and snapped a 32-race winless drought.

ON THE MARK

Ford went to victory for the first time at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9, 2005 when Mark Martin took the checkered flag in what was a Roush Fenway Racing runaway with teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards finishing second and third, respectively.  Martin led a race-high 139 laps, including 81 of the final 83 circuits, to win by one-half second.  It marked the second time in as many months that RFR swept the top three spots, a feat it did two more times during that season.  In addition, the victory ended up being Martin’s last with Ford.  His 35 series wins with the manufacturer ranks third all-time behind leader Ned Jarrett (43) and second-place Bill Elliott (40).

FORD NASCAR CUP WINNERS AT KANSAS
2005 – Mark Martin
2007 – Greg Biffle
2010 – Greg Biffle
2012 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2014 – Joey Logano (2)
2015 – Joey Logano (2)
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)
2019 – Brad Keselowski (1)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT KANSAS
2001 – Jeff Green
2002 – Jeff Burton
2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

FORD NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOOR SERIES WINNERS AT KANSAS
2003 – Jon Wood
2004 – Carl Edwards
2006 – Terry Cook
2007 – Erik Darnell

NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings-Texas

By
Briar Starr
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During the NASCAR Xfinity Series Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on July 18, 2020. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series came to Texas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon for the 16th race of the season.

The all-time wins list leader Kyle Busch was back in the field and as expected, he originally won the My Bariatric Solutions 300. Unfortunately, he failed post-race tech inspection due to the ride height rule and had his win taken away. Instead, the win was given to the second-place finisher Austin Cindric, who picked up his third consecutive win of the year. Even though Cindric was given the win, the victory shouldn’t come as a surprise to race fans as he led 44 laps in pursuit of victory.

While Cindric continued to enjoy some late-season momentum, Noah Gragson had his work cut out for him after he made contact with competitor Riley Herbst. The contact sent Herbst out of the race and he was credited with a 36th place position. Gragson would continue on for a few more laps, but coming out of the care center, Herbst noted ‘he (Gragson) has one coming to him.’ When the Playoffs start, Gragson will have to work harder to make it to the Championship 4 since previous drivers he has had run-ins with could make it that much more difficult on him. Gragson’s day would eventually come to end early on Lap 118 when he crashed in Turn 3.

Despite Gragson’s misfortune, we’ll take a look at drivers in this week’s Power Rankings and analyze if any of them capitalized on the race.

  1. Austin Cindric – Another week, another win, for Cindric who became the eventual race winner. The Team Penske driver has been on fire as of late after securing his first oval wins at Kentucky Speedway the week before. In Saturday’s event, Cindric led 44 laps and finished third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. After the running, Cindric picked up 57 points overall, which could come in handy when the chase for the championship rolls around.

    Previous Week Ranking – First
  2. Chase Briscoe – Briscoe scored a second-place finish after 300 miles. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver finished fourth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2. He did manage to lead 15 laps before having to pit during a green flag pit cycle and gave up track position. But Briscoe caught a lucky break with a late-race caution and had another opportunity to earn a better finish. Ultimately, the top-five finish was Briscoe’s 10th of the year.

    Previous Week Ranking – Second
  3. Justin Allgaier – Allgaier stays in the third spot again this week after bringing the No. 7 JR Motorsports machine to a third-place finish. The Illinois native led 98 laps (a race high) and won both of the stages. While Allgaier couldn’t get the win, Saturday’s outing is an example of what will get you through to the Playoffs, being up front, leading laps and winning the stages. It was a great points day for Allgaier.

    Previous Week Ranking – Third
  4. Harrison Burton – Burton shined a couple of times before settling in the fourth position. The finish was much needed after Kentucky the week prior to Texas. Burton led 17 laps and earned stage finishes of fifth and sixth, respectively. By placing in the top five, Burton grabbed his eighth top-five of the year. He currently sits seventh in the championship points standings.

    Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
  5. Noah Gragson – Before Gragson’s day got cut short, he did have a respectable run and finished sixth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. Though Gragson is not making too many friends out on the track, as it appears he’s having a run in with someone every week. If Gragson can focus on the Playoffs and winning the championship without the contact on track, he could be a threat for the championship. But drivers like Myatt Snider, Riley Herbst, or Harrison Burton could make that tough on him as the season wears on.

    Previous Week Ranking – Third

Fell Out

  1. Anthony Alfredo – He had a 27th place outing after hitting the wall and bringing out the seventh caution of the day. Before that point, Alfredo was running solidly in the top 10 and even finished ninth in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. It seemed as though the Richard Childress Racing driver would have another strong finish. But Alfredo will have to wait another week to rebound for a good finish.

    Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

NGROTS Advance: Todd Gilliland – Kansas Speedway

By
Official Release
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No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150, Todd Gilliland
‌
Track: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Race: 9 and 10 of 23
Event: NGROTS 200 (200 miles, 134 laps)

Schedule:
Friday, July 24
7:00 p.m………….Race (FS1)

Saturday, July 25
1:30 p.m…..……Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150
Todd Gilliland is hoping to put a tough night at Texas Motor Speedway behind him and focus on not one, but two NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) races this weekend at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. This will be the first doubleheader weekend for the trucks racing on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Gilliland has one prior NGROTS start at the intermediate track. Last year he started fifth and finished third. He was not able to compete at Kansas in 2018 since the race was held just before his 18th birthday.

The Front Row Motorsports team will be taking the same Speedco Ford F-150 it raced at Kentucky Speedway where Gilliland finished 10th and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he finished fourth.

Speedco, part of the Love’s family of companies, will be back on Gilliland’s No. 38 Ford F-150 at Kansas. Love’s provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase gasoline, diesel fuel, fresh coffee, restaurant offerings and more. Love’s has more than 380 truck service centers, which include on-site and stand-alone Speedco and Love’s Truck Care locations. Love’s and Speedco combined is the largest oil change, preventive maintenance and total truck care nationwide network. Love’s is committed to providing customers with “Clean Places, Friendly Faces” at every stop. To learn more, visit loves.com.

The NGROTS 200 doubleheader from Kansas Speedway will be run on Friday, July 24 at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday, July 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on FS1. The 134-lap races will be broken into three segments with stage-ending cautions on laps 30 and 60.

Quick Facts:
Number of Starts at Kansas: 1 (2019)
Best Start: 5th
Best Finish: 3rd
2020 Driver Point Standings: 9th

Gilliland on Kansas: “I really enjoyed racing at Kansas last year, so I’m excited to get to race there twice this weekend. After wrecking at Texas last week I’m ready to put that behind me and focus on having two good races to make up some of the points we lost. It’s hard to believe we aren’t that far away from the playoffs starting, so every point counts. My Front Row Motorsports team has been working late at the shop this week to get ready for the doubleheader so we are ready to go when we unload the Speedco Ford.”

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

By
Jeffrey Boswell
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FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JULY 19: Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fifth at Texas, posting his 11th top five of the season.

“That was my 700th career Cup start,” Harvick said. “That means I’ve been around…..and around, and around.”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took ninth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Texas Motor Speedway was the site of my famous confrontation with Jeff Gordon in 2014,” Keselowski said. “That may have been when Kevin Harvick earned the nickname ‘Closer,’ because when he shoved me, I moved ‘closer’ to Jeff Gordon, who grabbed me by the collar. Good times.”

3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney swept the first two stages at Texas and eventually finished seventh at Texas.

“I had the best car,” Blaney said, “but not the best luck. I wanted this victory bad. I’ve always wanted the satisfaction of blasting those two celebratory six-shooters awarded to the Texas victor. Amazingly, this race doesn’t even need NRA sponsorship to be ‘trigger-happy.'”

4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 20th at Texas after a late spin dropped him down the order. He is sixth in the points standings,143 behind Kevin Harvick.

“It was a grueling day at Texas Motor Speedway,” Hamlin said. “Temperatures inside our cars reached 140 degrees. Just to be clear, the ‘F’ stands for ‘Fahrenheit.’ If the inside of my car was a city and a state, it would be ‘Hot, AF.'”

5. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 12th at Texas and is now fifth in the points standings.

“I won the All-Star Race at Bristol last Wednesday,” Elliott said. “And I picked up a cool million. And I would gladly give it all to never hear Darrell Waltrip say ‘Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!’ ever again.”

6. Joey Logano: Logano finished third at Texas, joining Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski in the top 10.

“It’s great to see fans in the stands,” Logano said. “Of course, they have to observe social distancing guidelines. Now, if we could just get ‘spaced-out’ fans back in the infield campgrounds, all would be right with NASCAR.”

7. Aric Almirola: Almirola overcame an early blend-line penalty to score a 10th-place finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

“If you’re unclear what a ‘blend-line penalty’ is,” Almirola said, “join the club. Apparently, it’s not an infraction in the process of making a margarita.”

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was a victim in a chain-reaction wreck started when Ryan Blaney got loose early in the final stage at Texas. Truex’s No. 19 Toyota was turned into the wall, causing severe damage. He finished 29th.

“They say everything’s bigger in Texas,” Truex said. “And that includes the ‘One,’ because there was a ‘Big One.’ And the ‘one’ I’m talking about is Blaney, because he’s the ‘one’ that caused this accident.”

9. Austin Dillon: Dillon managed three late restarts and held off Richard Childress Racing teammate Tyler Reddick to win at Texas, his third career Cup win and first since Daytona in February 2018.

“First, rookie Cole Custer wins at Kentucky,” Dillon said, “then I get an unlikely win at Texas. That’s two surprise interlopers in the championship field. That’s bad news for drivers not already in the Chase, and good news for those drivers already in. Why? Because with Cole and I, that’s two less drivers the legitimate Cup contenders have to worry about.”

10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fourth at Texas, posting his first top-five finish since a fifth in the first Pocono race.

“I won the Xfinity race on Saturday,” Busch said, “but was disqualified. Then I won the Trucks race later Saturday, and it stood. So, it appears the only ones that can ‘catch’ me are NASCAR inspectors.”

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