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Cole Custer Looks Ahead to Atlanta

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Atlanta Midweek Media Availability | Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Haas Factory Team in the NASCAR Cup Series, was battling for the win in Sunday’s Daytona 500 before getting involved in an accident coming to the checkered flag. The result was a 21st-place finish, which he spoke about to the media this afternoon.

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GOING FROM ONE SPEEDWAY RACE IN DAYTONA TO ANOTHER ONE THIS WEEKEND IN ATLANTA? “It was a great start for our team at Haas Factory racing. It was a great way to start off the year having both Xfinity cars have a shot at the win and having a Cup car have a shot at the win. It doesn’t get much better than that. I can’t say enough about our people and how hard they’ve worked over the offseason and to see them get rewarded and have a shot to win races is a great way to start. Hopefully, we can just keep it going and have another shot at it at Atlanta.”

HAVE YOU HEARD ANY COMMENTS FROM DENNY HAMLIN’S PODCAST? “I have not. I’ve been trying this year to totally stay off social media for the most part, so I have not listened to Denny’s podcast. I’ve heard some rumors, I guess you could say about it, but I haven’t actually heard it.”

TO PARAPHRASE, HE FELT YOU COULD HAVE WAITED LONGER TO MAKE THE MOVE. LOOKING BACK, DO YOU HAVE ANY DIFFERENT THOUGHTS THAN YOUR INITIAL REACTION? “Even when we got out of the car and I saw Denny right after, I told him, ‘Yeah, I feel like I should have waited for the frontstretch.’ There were definitely things that made me want to take that run on the backstretch because I got such a big run from the 19 pushing me, and I was probably a couple car lengths back of Denny at the time. I just tried to take the run. It was the last lap. I tried to take it. I knew I probably should have waited for the frontstretch, but it’s one of those things that you learn for the next time, and then also having the 35 spin out on the frontstretch, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, man. These guys are all wrecking. You’ve got to get to the lead now.’ So, you just didn’t feel like you had a second to waste, but, looking back at it, I definitely would agree that I wish I had waited for the frontstretch to give myself a little better shot at it. With the wreck, I think at the end of the day it’s three or four guys trying to go for the same place at the same time. Us and the 11 sidedrafting and then the 19 ended up hitting me in the left-rear and turning me into Denny, but I don’t really fault anybody for that. I feel like everybody is just trying to side draft and push and trying to win the Daytona 500. I was happy we had a shot to win and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

DO YOU FEEL YOU EARNED SOME RESPECT WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500? “At the end of the day we’re all competitors. We’re gonna go out there and race as hard as we can and these superspeedway races come down to pushing and shoving and side drafting, so I think you see wrecks every single speedway race and usually they’re on the last lap. At the end of the day, it’s everybody trying to go for the same spot at the same time. I wish I made the move on the frontstretch, but I’m not gonna regret anything.”

DO YOU THINK YOU EXPRESSED YOURSELF WELL WITH DENNY AND IT’S FINE? “Yeah, he was a little bit frustrated when he first came up, but I just told him I needed to see a replay. There are so many people that are hitting each other on those last laps and how it all comes together, so I made sure I saw a replay before I really had a great opinion on anything, but, yeah, I felt like we were both calm about it. I think we were both frustrated we didn’t win, but it was a calm conversation after.”

HOW DO YOU WALK OUT OF DAYTONA AND HEAD TO ATLANTA? WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET? “Hopefully have another shot at it. I feel like our team did a great job adjusting on our car throughout the day and communicating to try and make things better and that put us in a situation to have a shot to win at the end, so we just have to go there with the same mindset and try and be there at the front.”

DID YOU LOOK AT THE CHRISTOPHER BELL INCIDENT? “I looked back at that one, too, and Christopher actually texted me on Monday and he was like, ‘Yeah, my car just couldn’t really take a push that great all day.’ So, there weren’t really any hard feelings it seems like there. I mean, if I was gonna do it again, I wish I got just a tick more square on him. Maybe that would have helped it, but it sounded like he was kind of chasing his car a little bit all day, so it just wasn’t the best situation. When it’s five to go, you’re gonna have to push and shove. It is what it is. You try and help the guy as much as you can out front and there are definitely things I can learn from that to try and make it better, but I hated it because, honestly, I think that was the first time I ever wrecked anybody on a superspeedway off my bumper. I felt horrible after it happened, but when you look back at it, it sounds like he was kind of chasing his car a little bit.”

HOW HAS THE APPROACH CHANGED NOT HAVING TEAMMATES OUT THERE ANYMORE? “I think at the end of the day on the superspeedways the Fords work really well together, so that’s always been a plus for us, and then also having an alliance with RFK has been huge. It’s been great working with them, so I think just building off that and at the end of the day you just try and have a good handling car at Atlanta and try and have a car that you can be aggressive with and have some speed. Hopefully we can just get up there and try to control lanes.”

HOW HARD HAS IT BEEN TO ACCLIMATE BACK TO THE CUP CAR? “There’s definitely little things like trying to get used to the mirrors and just your whole surroundings in general, but it’s been pretty solid so far and nothing too crazy. I have a great team around me and just have to keep building it.”

HAVE YOU SEEN RACING AT DAYTONA OR SUPERSPEEDWAY RACING IN GENERAL CHANGE BETWEEN THE OLDER VERSION OF THE CAR AND THE NEXT GEN CAR TODAY? “For sure. Yeah. The second the Next Gen car came out it seemed like there was a lot more pushing, a lot more shoving. It’s very hard to get the third lane to work, so that leaves you with two lanes and everybody pushing and shoving in those two lanes because they can’t go anywhere else. It’s created more chaos, I would say, just from the pushing standpoint. I would say that’s the biggest thing.”

WHEN IT COMES TO SUCCESS AT DAYTONA, IS IT MORE LUCK BASED, PERFORMANCE BASED OR A COMBINATION? “It’s kind of a 50/50 if I was to guess a number. You have to be at the right place at the right time. You look at the 24 and he ended up winning the race and he wasn’t in the first two rows on that last lap, so you have to be at the right place at the right time, but, at the same time, you have to do everything right as the driver and as a team on your pit stops, how you work the draft, when to take risk and when to kind of save your car, so there’s a lot that goes into it, but being at the right place at the right time has a lot to do with it also.”

WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN CHANGE WITH THE TEAM AND WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO GET USED TO AGAIN WITH THE TEAM AS A WHOLE GOING FROM XFINITY TO CUP? “I think the biggest thing for me is how much I’ve changed in the last couple of years, just knowing how much better to work with your team to try and fix problems and things like that because usually race weekends do not go perfect. Usually, there’s always something you’ve got to fix, something you’ve got to make better and the teams that can go in the right direction and fix those things tend to be better. The driver is a huge part of that and how they communicate with their team, so I think that’s one of the biggest things, and just having the confidence to know you can go out there and compete with the best of them.”

YOU HAVE BEEN IN RACES WHERE CAUTION HAS BEEN THROWN ON THE LAST LAP AND WHEN IT HASN’T. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT SCENARIO AS A COMPETITOR? “If I was to give my opinion, usually what they’ve said in the past is if there’s heavy impacts, they’re gonna throw the caution. Like Riley’s, when he kind of just spun or slid to the inside, I understand that not being a caution, but probably with how big that wreck was on the backstretch I would expect a caution because you never know if somebody is gonna get hurt or what’s gonna happen. Unfortunately, it’s kind of the world we live in on superspeedways that they’re probably more so gonna end under caution than anything because the pushing and shoving is so extreme, but at the end of the day you have to think about the safety first. When people make that big of an impact, the caution should probably come out.”

HOW BIG OF AN IMPACT WAS IT? “It was fairly big. When the 11, I think, came up the track and then maybe it was the 51 that came back up the track too. We all hit each other and you’re in the wall. It’s definitely a somewhat heavy impact and you just never know, so I think, at the end of the day, if you see guys hitting the wall and having pretty big impacts, yeah, I mean the caution should come out and you also don’t want people barreling through that wreck, too. When guys are just sliding across the track you could t-bone somebody or something, so that’s just my point of view from a driver.”

HOW IS IT WORKING WITH A CREW CHIEF YOU HAVEN’T WORKED BEFORE AT THESE TWO TRACKS? IS IT EASIER ON A NEW DRIVER/CREW CHIEF RELATIONSHIP OR HARDER? “I think it’s honestly a good way to ease into that kind of relationship just because you have a little bit bigger window on hitting your balance and how it all plays out with the handling of the cars. I think Aaron has done a great job and obviously giving me a shot to go win a race at the end of the Daytona 500. I can’t really ask for much more and they worked so hard this week. It was incredible the amount of work they did on that car because after the Duels, pretty much every single body panel had to be replaced, and the floor and the splitter. We had to take the engine out. It was a lot of work and for them to still give me a car that could go compete definitely shows what we can do.”

IS THE WAY YOU ADVANCE AT ATLANTA AND MANEUVER IN THE TRAFFIC DIFFERENT THAN DAYTONA OR NOT? “Yes and no. It seems like it can get that way, where you kind of just run double file and it’s hard to pass, but, at the same time, there’s a lot more handling involved in Atlanta, so one guy can be handling good and then you get a lot of pressure on them and you’re trying to make moves around them, so just the handling side of that really changes the racing at Atlanta a lot of the time, but it is still drafting. You’re gonna try and draft and try and make moves on other guys.”

DOES IT MAKE YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR A SECOND WHEN YOU SEE A WRECK LIKE PREECE’S AT DAYTONA? DO YOU THINK MORE ABOUT IT? “I don’t know if you think about it as a driver, I guess, but it catches your attention for sure. After the race I didn’t even know he flipped until after when I saw it. I was like, ‘Oh, man. That was big. I hope he’s OK.’ Nobody wants to see cars flip over as a driver.”

AirMedCare Network To Serve as Primary Partner for Corey LaJoie at Atlanta

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Official Release
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America’s Largest Air Ambulance Membership Network Joins Rick Ware Racing

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 18, 2025) – AirMedCare Network, a division of Global Medical Response and America’s largest air ambulance membership network, has joined Rick Ware Racing (RWR) for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The company will serve as the primary partner for driver Corey LaJoie and the No. 01 team in the Ambetter Health 400.

LaJoie and the No. 01 AirMedCare Network Ford Mustang Dark Horse will take to the track for the first time on Saturday when qualifying begins at 11 a.m. EST. After a fast lap around Atlanta’s 1.54-mile oval, LaJoie will slot in for Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400, which goes green at 3 p.m. with live coverage on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“We’ve been a partner of Corey’s for several years now, and we’re looking forward to seeing him carry the colors of AirMedCare Network this weekend at Atlanta,” said Matt Muse, vice president of membership sales, AirMedCare Network. “Corey has been a great advocate for AMCN’s air ambulance membership program, and this opportunity at Atlanta provides an excellent platform for us to tell our story and explain the membership benefits of AirMedCare Network.”

AirMedCare Network membership brings financial peace of mind. For $99 per year, an entire household can be protected. In the event of a serious medical emergency, AirMedCare Network’s air ambulance providers transport everyone in need of care, regardless of membership status or ability to pay. Members have the added benefit of no out-of-pocket costs associated with their transport when flown by a network provider. Another benefit of an air ambulance membership with AirMedCare Network is its expansive reach, with more than 320 locations across 38 states. To learn more about AirMedCare Network, please visit www.AirMedCareNetwork.com.

“AirMedCare Network has been a NASCAR partner for several years and we’ve been working with them to help grow their membership,” LaJoie said. “Atlanta marks AirMedCare Network’s first race as a primary partner, and we’re proud to be a part of their expanded marketing efforts in NASCAR.”

LaJoie has proven to be a good bet at Atlanta. The 33-year-old racer from Charlotte, North Carolina, has regularly placed himself among the leaders at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured ahead of the 2022 season. In the six races on the new layout, LaJoie has scored four top-15 finishes. Among them are two top-fives, including a fourth-place drive in the 2023 Ambetter Health 400 that earned LaJoie his career-best NASCAR Cup Series result.

“Atlanta is probably one of the most mentally and physically exhausting races because the track’s banked a lot, you’re pulling a lot of G’s in the middle of the corner, and it’s a chess match trying to position yourself in the right spot at the right time,” LaJoie said. “And the physical load on your body is one of the highest on the schedule, so it’s definitely a test of your mental and physical acuity.”

About AirMedCare Network:

AirMedCare Network is an alliance among Air Evac Lifeteam, Guardian Flight, Med-Trans Corporation and REACH Air Medical Services, creating America’s largest air ambulance membership network. Since 1985, AirMedCare has been selling memberships, with over 3 million members today. AirMedCare’s affiliate providers operate more than 350 aircraft (fixed wing and rotor) in over 320 locations in 38 states across the country. For more information about AirMedCare Network, please visit www.AirMedCareNetwork.com.

About Rick Ware Racing:

Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age 6 when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver’s seat and into fulltime team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that competes fulltime in the elite NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).

Zane Smith and the No. 38 City of Refuge Ford Mustang Dark Horse Team Atlanta Competition Notes

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Zane Smith and the No. 38 City of Refuge Ford Mustang Dark Horse Team
Atlanta Motor Speedway Competition Notes

Ambetter Health 400
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025
Event: Race 3 of 38
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.5-miles)
#of Laps: 260
Time/TV/Radio: 3:00 PM ET on FOX/PRN/SiriusXM channel 90

Zane Smith Notes

Zane Smith and the No. 38 team head to Hampton, Georgia for 260 laps at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Smith has one pole and three top-10’s at the 1.5-mile speedway, finishing fifth in both 2020 and 2022.

City of Refuge will join Smith as the primary partner of the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team for the event. Additionally, City of Refuge will serve as a full season associate of Smith and the No. 38 team.

Since 1997, City of Refuge has worked with the goal in mind to transform the lives of individuals and communities in Atlanta and beyond. City of Refuge has become a leader in social transformation and continuously works to empower and equip individuals with the tools to succeed with several programs designed to impact housing, youth development, health & wellness, and vocation in the 30314 neighborhood, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the nation.

“As Zane Smith works tirelessly to push the boundaries of his racing performance, we are equally committed to helping individuals break through their challenges and create lives filled with purpose and independence,” said Bruce Deel, Founder and CEO of City of Refuge. “Our goal is to bring lasting transformation and hope to those in crisis, and we’re excited to have the chance to amplify that mission with a broader audience through our partnership with Zane.”

Smith and Crew Chief Ryan Bergenty will make an appearance at the City of Refuge in Atlanta this Friday, February 18th from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM eastern standard time.

“I have always enjoyed racing at Atlanta,” said Smith. “We showed speed in Daytona, and I think with my past success in the Truck Series, we can leave Atlanta with a good result. Ryan (Bergenty) and the team have been fine tuning our Ford Mustang Dark Horse, so I expect to run upfront. It’s an honor to carry City of Refuge this weekend. They do so much for the Atlanta communities through their programs and it means a lot that they partnered with me to spread the word on their mission and brand. Hopefully, I can repay them with a trip to Victory Lane on Sunday.”

Road Crew

Driver: Zane Smith
Hometown: Huntington Beach, California

Crew Chief: Ryan Bergenty
Hometown: Plainville, Connecticut

Car Chief: Will Norris
Hometown: Bells, Tennessee

Engineer: Jacob Clamme
Hometown: Hartford City, Indiana

Engineer: Chris Yerges
Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin

Mechanic: Steve Godfrey
Hometown: West Haven, Connecticut

Mechanic / Engine Tuner: Tyler Podlaski
Hometown: Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Ryan Blanchard
Hometown: Bethlehem, Connecticut

Transport Co-Driver: Ernest Mullins
Hometown: Fayetteville, North Carolina

Transport Co-Driver: Rick Grissom
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Pit Crew

Front Tire Changer: Keiston France
Hometown: Amelia, Virginia

Rear Tire Changer: Austin Chrismon
Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Drew Baum
Hometown: Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Jackman: Kapil Fletcher
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fueler: Chris Webb
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

ABOUT CITY OF REFUGE

City of Refuge was founded in 1997 with the mission to transform the lives of individuals and

communities in Atlanta and beyond. Today the organization resides in a warehouse that was graciously donated in the 30314 neighborhood, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the nation. Since inhabiting the warehouse, City of Refuge has served over 35,000. The organization has created several programs designed to impact housing, youth development, health & wellness, and vocation. City of Refuge is a leader in social transformation and continuously works to empower and equip individuals with the tools to succeed.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 Craftsman Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 4, No. 34, and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 34 and No. 38 Craftsman Truck Series teams from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

Spire Motorsports Ambetter Health 400 Race Advance

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Official Release
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  • In 20 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS), Spire Motorsports has logged two top-five and two top-10 finishes. Corey LaJoie earned consecutive top fives in the spiring edition (2022-2023) of the Cup Series annual visits to AMS in the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the NCS with Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
  • The Ambetter Health 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, Feb. 23, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The second of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 Cup Series schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

  • Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400.
  • The Winamac, Ind., racer has recorded eight Cup Series starts at AMS and owns two top 10s at the circuit.
  • In six appearances in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at AMS, Haley did not finish outside of the top 10, and recorded a trio of top-five finishes.
  • Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Ind. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.io or follow and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
  • In 26 appearances on drafting tracks, Haley has completed 5,135 of the 5,197 laps contested, which converts to 98.807 percent of laps completed.
  • Last September, Haley made his return to Spire Motorsports and participated in the final seven events of the year aboard the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet, earning a season-best finish of seventh at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
  • The four-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner is a veteran of 145 Cup Series starts and has notched one win, five top fives, 16 top 10s and led 103 laps in NASCAR’s premier division.
  • In total, Haley has made 42 Cup Series starts for Spire Motorsports, with the bulk of races coming during the 2021 season behind the wheel of the team’s No. 77 machine. He made his first Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway on his 20th birthday.

Justin Haley Quote
How has Atlanta’s track surface changed, and how important is handling with multiple grooves now?
“I enjoy Atlanta. The track is really starting to wear, and I feel like now there are three distinct grooves. You really have to put an emphasis on making sure your car is handling good. After getting our first race out of the way, we can only get better. I like where the No. 7 team is at, and we are ready to get back out on the track.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Rodney Childers

Crew chief Rodney Childers comes to Spire Motorsports after spending the past 11 seasons at Stewart-Haas Racing, leading the organization’s No. 4 team. The first 10 of those campaigns were with 2014 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick.
Childers has called 28 Cup Series events at Atlanta, including two wins, five top-fives and nine top 10s. He led Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team to victories at the Hampton, Ga., oval in 2018 and 2020.
The veteran crew chief has participated in 678 NASCAR Cup Series races where he’s earned 34 poles, 40 wins, 178 top-five and 298 top-10 finishes. He also earned 2014 championship honors with Harvick.
Childers’ 40 wins at NASCAR’s premier level are second-most amongst all active crew chiefs in the Cup Series garage.

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

  • Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Group 1001 Chevrolet ZL1 in the Ambetter Health 400.
  • The 40-year-old driver will pull double duty on the weekend, competing in Saturday’s Fr8 208 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race. McDowell will drive the No. 07 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado with crew chief Allen Hart atop the pit box. He will be making his fourth-career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start, and second in as many weeks.
  • Group 1001 Insurance is a collective that empowers companies to create positive growth. Our insurance and annuities are easy to understand and accessible to all. Our online investing platform gives individuals control over their savings. Our technology and innovation help companies succeed. And our strategic partnerships bring people together through education and sports. As of September 30, 2024, Group 1001 Insurance had more than 1,500 employees and combined assets under management of $66.8 billion and provides over 496,000 active annuity contracts and life insurance policies. It comprises the following brands: Delaware Life, Gainbridge®, Clear Spring Life and Annuity Company, Clear Spring Property and Casualty Group, Clear Spring Health, and the RVI Group, among others.
  • McDowell owns 18 Cup Series starts at AMS, highlighted by one top five and two top 10s. He earned back-to-back Busch Light Pole Awards at the track last season.
  • In last week’s season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the No. 71 team navigated a late-race melee to secure a solid 11th-place finish. The Go Bowling Chevrolet clocked the fastest lap of the race at 45.169 seconds (199.252 MPH), earning a championship bonus point via the Xfinity Fastest Lap.
  • The veteran, now in his 18th Cup Series season, aims for his third career playoff appearance (2021, 2023). After the 67th running of the Daytona 500, McDowell sits 14th in the driver standings.
  • Across his first five qualifying attempts during the 2024 season, McDowell held an average starting position of 6.2, which included two front-row starting positions, second at Daytona and a pole position at Atlanta. McDowell’s lowest starting position in his first five races last season was a 12th-place qualifying effort at Las Vegas.
  • McDowell marked his 500th career start at Martinsville Speedway last fall, a milestone he celebrated at the site of his first Cup Series start in 2008. Now 40-years-old and a father of five, McDowell is set to complete his 17th season competing in NASCAR’s premier division. To date, he has 502 career Cup Series starts on his resume.

Michael McDowell Quotes
How does the aging of the surface change each stop the series makes at Atlanta? Furthermore, how will running the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race on Saturday help you on Sunday.
“Atlanta will be a similar style to Daytona, but handling will still be a big part of it, especially in how you take those runs. I will have a good opportunity to learn the track this weekend in the Truck race on Saturday afternoon, so I’ll have some data and video to review. I’m going to be studying up and getting ready for Atlanta throughout the week at the shop. This is a big opportunity for us. Last year in the Cup race, it was my first career pole, and we sat on both poles at Atlanta. It was a really solid race for us. So, I am hoping to build on that and carry some momentum into the weekend to try and get both the truck and the No. 71 into Victory Lane.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

  • Crew chief Travis Peterson joins Spire Motorsports after spending the past two seasons at Front Row Motorsports. He made the move alongside driver Michael McDowell.
  • The 33-year-old led McDowell to a pair of Busch Light Pole Awards at Atlanta Motor Speedway last season.
  • Peterson and McDowell combined for five pole positions at the six events contested at drafting tracks during last season. Two of those poles came at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Additionally, McDowell led the field to the green flag at World Wide Technology Raceway (Ill.) in June, giving the team six total Busch Light Pole Awards on the season – the most of any team last season.
  • Peterson contributed to several victories during his tenure at RFK Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports, highlighted by clinching the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in 2014 and racking up three Cup Series wins with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and the No. 88 team in 2015.
  • Peterson is a mechanical engineering graduate of the Williams States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The West Bend, Wis., native earned his degree in 2012.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

  • Delaware Life returns to Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1 for the Ambetter Health 400 at AMS.
  • Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings, LLC (“Group 1001 Insurance”), our focus is to deliver a seamless experience for advisors. We understand how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation, and every individual need. We’re passionate about equipping you with annuities that give your customers peace of mind and a successful future—allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next.
  • In two Cup Series starts at Atlanta, Hocevar has finished no worse than 19th. The 25-year-old racer finished 16th in the series’ most recent visit to the 1.54-mile drafting track last September.
  • Hocevar also owns three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Atlanta with a best finish of 16th coming in 2021, before the track was reconfigured to produce superspeedway-style racing.
  • Last Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series kicked off the 2025 season with the 67th running of the Daytona 500. Hocevar qualified 33rd but was dealt a tough hand early on with fuel pump issues on Lap 5. The No. 77 team adjusted strategy and fought to stay in the race, but Hocevar’s race ended with just five laps remaining, leaving him 30th in the final rundown.

Carson Hocevar Quotes
What is the craziness factor going from somewhere like Daytona to Atlanta the following week?
“I think Daytona is more unpredictable in my mind because the wrecks don’t happen from bad blocks anymore, they happen from bad pushes. At Atlanta, it’s more chaotic, and you can see the wrecks happening or that aggression starting to build up, so you can try to move around a little and avoid it. At Daytona you are just sitting a sitting duck. At Atlanta, you can kind of see things starting to form even if things are still happening quickly in the draft.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

  • Luke Lambert has served in the crew chief role for 15 races at Atlanta. He led his driver to a top-10 finish three times – twice with Ryan Newman in 2014 and 2015 and once with Chris Buescher in March 2021.
  • Lambert has collected 413 starts as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series with a total of 28 top-five and 92 top-10 finishes, highlighted by a win with Ryan Newman at Phoenix in 2017.
  • Lambert also led Newman to a second-place finish in the 2014 Championship standings on the strength of five top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team will also field the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.

PRN Becomes Exclusive Streaming Home for Trackside Live with Kenny Wallace, John Roberts, and Jose Castillo

By
Official Release
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CONCORD, N.C. (Feb. 18, 2025) – The Performance Racing Network (PRN) is thrilled to announce that it will be the exclusive streaming home of Trackside Live, the high-energy show featuring racing legend Kenny Wallace, and long-time hosting favorites John Roberts and Jose Castillo. Known for its electric atmosphere, Trackside Live brings fans closer to the action with engaging driver and celebrity interviews, interactive games, contests, and nonstop fun and laughter.

As a long-time fan-favorite, Trackside Live offers an inside look at the world of motorsports like never before. Whether it’s candid conversations with top drivers or unexpected moments that only Wallace, Roberts, and Castillo can deliver, the show is a must-watch for racing enthusiasts.

“I am so excited about this partnership and that we will have a consistent streaming home for race fans to find these awesome shows. PRN is the perfect partner for the electric atmosphere of Trackside Live.” said former NASCAR Cup Series Driver and dirt racing legend, co-host Kenny Wallace.

Through this new partnership, PRN continues to expand its content offerings, giving fans more access to premium motorsports entertainment through its social streaming platforms.

Fans can catch Trackside Live exclusively on PRN’s streaming channels, Facebook, X, and YouTube (channels listed below), ensuring they never miss a moment of excitement.

Trackside Live’s 2025 debut will stream on Feb. 23, starting at 12 PM E.T., from Atlanta Motor Speedway, ahead of the Ambetter Health 400. Stay tuned for more details on streaming schedules and special event broadcasts.

PRN Social Streaming Channels:

Facebook: com/PerformanceRacingNetwork/
X: com/prnlive
YouTube: com/@GoPRNLive

PRN will kick off its 2025 race broadcast season during the Ambetter Health 400 weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Feb. 22-23. Visit GoPRN.com to see our full broadcast schedule and find a station near you.

For more information, visit GoPRN.com or follow PRN on social media for the latest updates.

ABOUT PRN

Performance Racing Network (PRN), a Speedway Motorsports, LLC subsidiary, is one of two NASCAR-licensed multi-broadcast radio networks that markets, produces, and distributes motorsports programming 365 days a year. PRN broadcasts 14 NASCAR Cup Series races and 13 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and co-produces the NASCAR races from the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. PRN races can be heard nationwide on over 385 affiliate radio stations, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90, and streamed on GoPRN.com, the PRN mobile app, NASCAR.com, and TuneIn. In addition to live race coverage, the network also offers a complete lineup of nationally syndicated studio programming, including: “Fast Talk presented by Toyota,” “Pit Reporters,” “Garage Pass,” “Kyle Petty’s Back Then Again Country Countdown with Charlie and Debbie,” and “At the Track.” Visit GoPRN.com for more information.

Spire Motorsports Fr8 208 Race Advance

By
Official Release
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  • In three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS), Spire Motorsports has collected one win and two top-10 finishes. Kyle Busch, driver of the team’s No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado, is the defending winner of the Fr8 208. The Mooresville, N.C., organization fields the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The No. 07 and 7 entries will see a rotating roster of all-star caliber drivers throughout the season, while Rajah Caruth and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Andres Perez de Lara will pilot the Nos. 71 and 77, respectively, for the full slate of races.
  • The Fr8 208 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live on FS1 Saturday, Feb. 22 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The second of 25 races on the 2025 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

  • Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 07 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Last weekend, McDowell competed in his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event in 16 years. After starting 31st, the driver worked his way to the front and led Lap 72. He remained in the top half of the field before his No. 07 Go Bowling Chevrolet was involved in a multi-truck incident. The team was credited with a 31st-place finish.
  • The 2021 Daytona 500 champion will pull double duty this weekend, driving the No. 71 Group 1001 Chevrolet ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400.
  • Prior to last weekend’s event in Daytona, the Arizona native had two previous CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts to his credit. His most recent of the two came in 2009 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he earned a career/series-best 14th-place finish with ThorSport Racing.
  • Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings, LLC (“Group 1001 Insurance”), our focus is to deliver a seamless experience for advisors. We understand how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation, and every individual need. We’re passionate about equipping you with annuities that give your customers peace of mind and a successful future-allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next.
  • McDowell owns 18 Cup Series starts at AMS, highlighted by one top five and two top 10s. He earned back-to-back Busch Light Pole Awards at the track last season.
  • The Delaware Life colors will wrap Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-073. The truck was most recently on track last November at Phoenix Raceway with Chase Purdy behind the wheel. Purdy also raced the truck to its best finish in 2023 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Michael McDowell Quotes
You have been outspoken about wanting a win in all three series, how can you pick up your first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win at Atlanta?
“We’re back at it again in Atlanta, this time in the Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado. I had so much fun at Daytona. The race didn’t end how we wanted it to, but I learned a lot. Every race, it feels like, for me at least, it’s like my rookie season. I haven’t sat in a truck in so long, and I never had on a superspeedway so, I am learning the pace and what needs to happen, how to make moves and how the runs come. You know, Atlanta will be a similar style to Daytona, but handling will still be a big part of it, how you make those runs. But luckily, I got Kyle Busch this weekend as a teammate, which, you know, he won there last year.”

Atop the No. 07 Box – Crew Chief Allen Hart

Allen Hart will call the shots for the No. 07 team, an entry that will see a rotating roster of drivers throughout the 2025 campaign.
Prior to arriving at Spire Motorsports, Hart spent two seasons calling the shots for Sam Hunt Racing’s No. 26 entry. Before Sam Hunt Racing he was a lead race engineer with JR Motorsports’ No. 7 team for eight seasons.
Hart is a mechanical engineering graduate of Saginaw Valley State University, earning his degree in 2005. While studying at SVSU, he contributed to the school’s Formula SAE program.

Kyle Busch – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

  • Kyle Busch will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • In the 2024 Fr8 208 at AMS, Busch took the No. 7 Group 1001 Silverado to Victory Lane at the high-speed 1.54-mile quad-oval, leading 33 laps along the way.
  • The 39-year-old has made 58 starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. In 28 races in Cup Series competition, the father of two has logged two wins,10 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. His resume includes three Xfinity Series wins in 14 starts, 10 top fives and 11 top 10s. In 14 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at the iconic Hampton, Ga., venue, Busch has compiled two poles, seven wins, 10 top-five and 11 top-10 showings.
  • Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Ind. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.io or follow and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
  • Billy Ballew Motorsports will serve as an associate sponsor on the No. 7 Saturday at Atlanta. You can find the lowest prices on used Cars, Trucks and SUV’s at www.BillyBallewMotorsports.com. Busch claimed his first career Truck Series victory driving the No. 51 Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May of 2005 and coined the nickname “Rowdy” as a tribute to Rowdy Burns in the film Days of Thunder while driving under the Billy Ballew Motorsports banner from 2005-2009.
  • The Las Vegas native holds the record for most CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins (66) and highest average finish in series history (6.5), while he ranks second on the series’ all-time laps led list (8,050).
  • In five starts last season with Spire Motorsports, Busch racked up two wins (Atlanta and Texas Motor Speedway), three top fives and paced the field for 263 circuits.
  • Busch’s pair of races with crew chief Brian Pattie and the No. 7 team will conclude at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 23), while he will see time behind the wheel of the Spire’s No. 07 Chevy at North Wilkesboro Speedway (May 17), Nashville Superspeedway (May 30) and Watkins Glen International (August 8).
  • “Rowdy” will be behind the wheel of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-081 on Friday. He parked the truck in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway last April, and the chassis was last on track in November at Phoenix Raceway with Connor Mosack at the controls.

Kyle Busch Quotes
On his return to Spire Motorsports’ CRAFTSMAN Truck Series operation…
“With my long-standing relationship with Jeff (Dickerson) and having a lot of my former employees still working on the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams at Spire Motorsports, it’s cool to be able to hop back in their Chevy Silverados five times and work towards filling those trophy cases. I still really enjoy being a part of the process of evaluating their equipment and being a mentor to the young drivers in Spire’s lineup. It’s fun trying to help speed up their learning curve by passing on a few pointers here and there.”

You’ve won a lot of CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Atlanta. What is the key to being able to bring home a victory there?
“With the new speedway-style racing at Atlanta it takes a lot of teamwork to win the race. You can’t just go out and single-handedly drive to the front and stay there. So, it’ll be a benefit to have three other Spire Silverados to work with in Saturday’s race. We had a really fast truck at Atlanta last year that we led a lot of laps early in the race and then in the closing laps had to make some moves to get the lead back and bring home the win. Hopefully, we can put our Gainbridge Chevy in Victory Lane again this year. I’m looking forward to the chance to bring home another trophy and another golf cart from Fr8 Auctions. We’ve got Billy Ballew Motorsports onboard with us again as an associate sponsor — we’ve won a lot of races with Billy over the years and he seems to be a good luck charm for us at Atlanta.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Brian Pattie

  • Brian Pattie returns to the top of the No. 7 pit box, an entry that will see a plethora of all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2025 season.
  • In his first season at Spire Motorsports in 2024, Pattie led the No. 7 team to two victories across the first seven events of the season, both with Kyle Busch (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway). The duo also won twice across five races in 2023 with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
  • The Zephyrhills, Fla., native visited Atlanta’s Victory Lane with Joe Nemechek in the 2001 Aaron’s 312 in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition.
  • Pattie is a 24-year veteran of the sport, 14 of which came in the NASCAR Cup Series. As a crew chief, he has earned six wins in Cup Series competition and 11 in the Xfinity Series.

Rajah Caruth – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

  • Rajah Caruth will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Last season, Caruth qualified 12th and finished eighth at Atlanta, his career-best on the 1.5-mile circuit. During the event, he logged the most green flag passes (122) and fourth-most quality passes (76).
  • Born in Atlanta, the 22-year-old deems Atlanta Motor Speedway as one of his home tracks. He first raced on the Georgia oval in the 2023 CRAFSMAN Truck Series race during his time at GMS Racing. Despite a 22nd-place starting position, the then-rookie driver found himself in the second row on a late-race restart. He finished 25th after he was taken three-wide and dropped to the back of the pack with a significant loss of momentum.
  • The 2024 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Most Popular Driver has collected two top fives, three top 10s, and four top 15s in seven CRAFTSMAN Truck Series events on drafting tracks.
  • HENDRICKCARS.COM is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop more than 30,000 new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protection programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
  • Last week, Caruth qualified 13th for the Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Contact from a competitor sent him spinning toward the inside retaining wall and caused terminal damage to the No. 71 Silverado. After he was checked and released from the infield care center, the team was credited with a 30th-place finish.
  • The 2024 season marked a career year for Caruth. He tallied one win, a pair of Cometic Gasket Pole Awards and five top-five finishes, all of which were the first of his young career. The 12 top-10 finishes on the season tripled Caruth’s total of four in 2023, while his average starting position of 10.7 was four positions higher than 2023 and his 11.6 average finish was an impressive seven positions higher.
  • Caruth and the No. 71 team qualified for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs in 2024, the first such appearance for the former Washington, D.C., resident. Despite reaching the Round of 8, a mechanical malady stalled his championship bid in the season’s penultimate event at Martinsville Speedway.
  • With his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win and pole position last season, Caruth became the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race.
  • Caruth will be behind the wheel of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-078. The truck last saw action with Nick Sanchez at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last September. Sanchez also parked the chassis in Victory Lane at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
As a driver born in Atlanta, what will it be like to race in front of so many friends and family members this weekend?
“It will be nice. We definitely have quite a few coming out, and I really appreciate them coming to support me. It is a great market for myself and my family, so it is super great to go back. At the end of the day, it is business as usual, but we will have more familiar faces that we can celebrate with in Victory Lane.

You have had the opportunity to work with Michael McDowell, Justin Haley and Kyle Busch in the first two weeks of the season. How do they help you prepare for the weekend, and what do you take away from those experiences?
“It was great to work with Kyle (Busch) last year, especially in the simulator before Darlington and Texas, and it has been great to work with him in preparation for Saturday. Working with these guys is invaluable. Every ounce of knowledge you can gain from pre-race prep, to small talk around the shop and at the race track, to looking at data and discussing the balance of our Silverados, is incredibly valuable for my development. They have already been through where I am right now, so it is great to lean on them and gain additional insight that can help me not only this weekend, but in my pathway to the Cup Series.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion

  • Veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion will call the shots for Rajah Caruth and the No. 71 team in 2025.
  • The 52-year-old has led Zane Smith (2020) and Nick Sanchez (2024) to top-five finishes in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • As a crew chief, the Boylston, Mass., native has racked up six Cup Series victories (including the 2010 Daytona 500), 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series triumphs and 11 CRAFTSMAN Truck series wins.
  • Manion, a 31-year veteran of the sport, founded Spire Motorsports’ CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program alongside Mike Greci in 2022. The team won that season in their second outing with William Byron behind the wheel at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
  • In 2023, Manion became one of few to call a race in all three of NASCAR’s national series in a single season, all of which came under the Spire Motorsports banner. He led the part-time effort on the No. 7 Silverado in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, helped in limited starts for Carson Hocevar in the Xfinity Series and took the reigns during the second half of the Cup Series season for Ty Dillon and the No. 77 team.

Andres Perez de Lara – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

  • Andres Perez de Lara will pilot the No. 77 Telcel Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports in the Fr8 208.
  • Last time out in the Fresh from Florida 250, Perez de Lara finished 14th after he was tagged in a late-race incident. The No. 77 team was able to pick up a pair of stage points in Stage 1, helping the Mexico City native to 14th in points after one week of competition.
  • The 19-year-old will make his first start at the 1.54-mile Georgia oval this weekend. Perez de Lara has made six starts on 1.5-mile speedways in the ARCA Menards Series, collecting one top-five and three top-10 finishes, while claiming the pole position in the 2023 event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Telcel is Mexico’s leading telecommunications company, providing nationwide coverage, cutting-edge mobile connectivity, and high-speed internet services to millions of users. With over 30 years of experience, Telcel continues to innovate in digital communication, offering solutions that keep people connected anytime, anywhere.
  • Beyond technology, Telcel is committed to supporting excellence in sports, particularly in motorsports. As a proud and long time sponsor of Pérez de Lara, Telcel fuels the passion for speed, precision and performance, driving success both on and off the track. Telcel will be a season-long associate with Perez de Lara and the No. 77 team.
  • Perez de Lara will chase Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2025. One race into the seasons, he sits second in the standings, 24 points behind Gio Ruggiero. Atlanta will mark his fourth career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start.
  • The 2024 ARCA champion juggled his full-time duties while competing full time in the NASCAR Mexico Series. In 2023, he earned the Rookie of the Year award while finishing fourth in the division’s points and reaching the series’ version of the NASCAR playoffs. He returned one year later to secure his first checkered flag in the series, visiting Victory Lane at Ovalo Aguascalientes Mexico.
  • Perez de Lara will pilot Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-082 on Saturday. Rajah Caruth piloted the truck in its previous three appearances, collecting a pair of top 10s, most recently a seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway last September.

Andres Perez de Lara Quotes
You are making your first ever start at Atlanta Motor Speedway, what is it going to take to have a successful weekend?
“Really excited to go to Atlanta this weekend being that I have never been there before. There will be a lot of things that I will have to learn quickly, especially going straight into qualifying without any practice this weekend. Having no practice this weekend will be the toughest challenge for sure, but I have faith in my team. We will do our best to run a clean race and be there at the front contending for the win at the end.”

How are you going to keep building momentum after a solid finish at Daytona?
“For me, it is all about feeling more comfortable in the car. Each time I am in the truck I feel more and more comfortable. I am getting in more of a rhythm of how these trucks drive and how I can go faster on track. Me and my team are learning how to work and communicate with each other, as well. Really excited to gain more experience week in and week out. Each new race I go to the goal will be to learn as much as I can and get the best result I can.

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Chad Walter

  • Crew chief Chad Walter will be atop the box for Andres Perez de Lara and the No. 77 team in 2025.
  • Walter has called four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series events at Atlanta Motor Speedway, highlighted by an eighth-place finish with Rajah Caruth in the 2024 event.
  • He owns one top-five in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, a fifth-place result with Casey Mears in 2007.
  • The 53-year-old, a veteran race engineer of 20-plus years, picked up a pair of Daytona 500 victories (2001 & 2003) while on the crew for Michael Waltrip during his time at Dale Earnhardt Inc.
  • Walter guided Caruth to his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory on March 1, 2024 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • The Albion, N.Y., native earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Cornell University College of Engineering. During his time at Cornell, he played defensive end for the Big Red football team.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team will also field the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.

Clopay and Meyer Shank Racing Extend Partnership with Multi-Year Deal

By
Official Release
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Both partners look ahead to future successes and shared innovation

Pataskala, Ohio (18 February 2025) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) is pleased to announce the renewal of its partnership with Clopay through a multi-year agreement. Clopay, the largest manufacturer and marketer of garage doors and rolling steel doors in North America will continue to be an important part of MSR as the team continues its dual competition programs in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and NTT DATA INDYCAR SERIES.

First joining the team in 2022, Clopay and MSR have built a solid foundation based on shared values, including a commitment to performance, quality, and innovation. Clopay’s high-quality products remain a visible element in the team’s operations, including at MSR’s state-of-the-art 50,000 square foot facility in Pataskala, Ohio.

“Renewing our partnership with Clopay is something as a team that we are really proud of,” said Mike Shank, MSR Co-owner. “I’m very passionate about supporting local and with Clopay located just outside of Cincinnati, we have a really close relationship not only professionally but personally as well. We’re excited to have them continue to have a presence on our Indy cars and we’re hoping we can produce some more results for them this year.”

This multi-year deal reinforces the mutual commitment of Clopay and Meyer Shank Racing to pushing the boundaries of performance both on and off the track. As the team continues to evolve, this partnership will remain a key component of MSR’s identity and success.

“Watching the Meyer Shank team become a powerhouse in racing and knowing that Clopay has been a partner in that fills me with immense pride,” said Clopay Corporation President Victor Weldon. “Our partnership is built on the core values of collaboration and commitment to excellence. By leveraging our brands, we are able to deliver a similar superior experience to our customers.”

Clopay will once again be featured on both the No. 60 Honda driven by Felix Rosenqvist and the No. 66 Honda driven by Marcus Armstrong as the NTT INDYCAR season kicks off on March 2nd with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

About Clopay

Founded in 1964, Clopay Corporation (“Clopay”) is the largest manufacturer and marketer of garage doors and rolling steel doors in North America. The company sells residential and commercial overhead sectional doors through leading home center retail chains and a network of over 3,000 independent professional dealers under the brands Clopay®, Ideal Door®, and Holmes Garage Door Company®. Rolling steel doors and grilles for commercial, industrial, institutional, and retail use are sold under the Cornell® and Cookson® brands.

Clopay is headquartered in Mason, Ohio, and operates 4 manufacturing facilities and 56 distribution centers. For more information, visit www.clopaydoor.com

Ford Looking to Continue Atlanta Qualifying Dominance

By
Official Release
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ATLANTA 1

Saturday, February 22 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 1:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, February 22 — NASCAR Xfinity Series, 5 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, February 23 — NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (NBC)

After kicking off the season last week at Daytona International Speedway, all three NASCAR touring series will descend on Atlanta Motor Speedway for three races in two days. A doubleheader featuring the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and NASCAR Xfinity Series headlines Saturday’s action while the NASCAR Cup Series drivers take to the track on Sunday.

QUALIFYING DOMINANCE

When it comes to qualifying in recent years, no manufacturer has been more dominant than Ford, which has captured the NASCAR Cup Series pole four straight times. The Blue Oval hasn’t only won the pole, but it has swept the front row in each of those qualifying sessions. Team Penske has led the way during this two-year stretch as all three drivers – Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric – have qualified in the top 10 for each race. The organization has also had at least one driver start on the front row three of the last four times. Here’s a list of Ford’s qualifying success since 2023.

FORD POLE STREAK AT AMS

  • Ford has won the last four NASCAR Cup Series poles at AMS (Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell twice).
  • Ford has swept the front row in four straight AMS qualifying sessions (McDowell/Blaney (2024-2), McDowell/Logano (2024-1), Almirola-Blaney (2023-2), Logano/Cindric (2023-1).
  • Team Penske has had at least one driver start on the front row in each of the last four races (Blaney, 2024-2; Logano, 2024-1; Blaney, 2023-2; Logano and Cindric, 2023-1)
  • Ford swept the top eight spots in the 2023 spring race.
  • Ford swept the top six spots in the 2023 summer race.
  • Ford swept the top five spots in the 2024 summer race.

LOGANO GOING FOR TWO STRAIGHT

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano will be going for his second straight Atlanta win after capturing last year’s playoff opener. Logano used a restart shove from his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, to score the overtime win and automatically advance to the Round of 12. That marked Logano’s second victory in the last four Atlanta races after he won the Ambetter Health 400 in 2023. The last driver to win back-to-back Cup events at the mile-and-a-half track is Jimmie Johnson (2015-2 and 2016-1).

BLANEY ON TOP

It’s only been one week, but 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney finds himself on top of the point standings after Daytona. The Team Penske driver had a solid week, scoring three points after an eighth-place result in his Duel qualifying race last Thursday, and then registering third and first place finishes in the first two stages on Sunday (18 points). Blaney ended up being the top Ford as he came across the line seventh, giving him a total of 51 points. That capped a strong overall week for Team Penske that saw Blaney and teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric combine to lead 125-of-201 laps. Cindric, who started on the outside front row, led the most circuits with 59 while Logano, who captured the first stage, was second with 43.

AUSTIN CINDRIC: “I think every Atlanta race we’ve done since the repave has looked different each time, so I can’t sit here and confidently tell you that I know exactly what the race is gonna look like. From a generalization, yeah, it’s gonna be a drafting style race, no doubt, and handling is gonna be somewhat important, but to the levels of which and how it changes the racing, I think it’s been an unknown each time, which has been fun to kind of react and adapt on the fly and understand what your car is gonna need as the race goes on, and hopefully you have enough time to work on it and do those things and have that opportunity, but it’s been an exciting race, no doubt. I think the only one I didn’t leave either with a smile on my face or wanting to go back and do it again was the first one. Past that, they’ve been pretty exciting events for me.”

KESELOWSKI GETS FIRST CUP WIN FOR MUSTANG

Brad Keselowski gave Mustang its first NASCAR Cup Series victory as he held off Martin Truex Jr. at the finish line to win the Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2019. Keselowski, who was battling an illness all weekend and had Austin Cindric standing by in case he needed relief, led the final 33 laps to post his 28th career victory. In all, Ford led 177 of the 325 laps and won for the third straight year at the 1.5-mile track.

TOP FIVE DEBUT FOR HAAS FACTORY TEAM

The new Haas Factory Team duo of Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed got off to a good start last week as they finished second and third, respectively, in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Creed, who led three times for seven laps, leads the point standings after one week thanks in large part to finishing second and third in the first two stages while Mayer is fifth overall.

MUNIZ POSTS FIRST CAREER TOP 10 FINISH

Frankie Muniz made his full-time NASCAR debut last week at Daytona International Speedway with Reaume Brothers Racing and promptly registered a 10th-place finish. That marked his first career top-10 run in a limited career that, to this point, has seen him compete in only two NASCAR Xfinity races and five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events. The only other full-time season Muniz has completed in his racing career came in 2023 when he finished fourth in the ARCA Menards Series final standings.

FORD’S ATLANTA CUP SERIES WINNERS

1961 – Fred Lorenzen

1962 – Fred Lorenzen

1963 – Fred Lorenzen

1964 – Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett

1965 – Marvin Panch (Sweep)

1967 – Cale Yarborough and Dick Hutcherson

1968 – LeeRoy Yarbrough

1969 – LeeRoy Yarbrough

1975 – Buddy Baker

1978 – Bobby Allison

1981 – Neil Bonnett

1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)

1987 – Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott

1990 – Morgan Shepherd

1991 – Mark Martin

1992 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)

1993 – Morgan Shepherd

1994 – Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin

1997 – Dale Jarrett

2002 – Kurt Busch

2005 – Carl Edwards (Sweep)

2008 – Carl Edwards

2017 – Brad Keselowski

2018 – Kevin Harvick

2019 – Brad Keselowski

2020 – Kevin Harvick

2021 – Ryan Blaney (1)

2023 – Joey Logano (1)

2024 – Joey Logano (2)

FORD’S ATLANTA XFINITY SERIES WINNERS

1992 – Jeff Gordon

1997 – Mark Martin

1998 – Mark Martin

2000 – Mark Martin

2004 – Matt Kenseth

2005 – Carl Edwards

2008 – Matt Kenseth

2011 – Carl Edwards

2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2018 – Kevin Harvick

FORD’S ATLANTA CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS

2020 – Grant Enfinger

New FOX Sports Era To Showcase Another History-Making INDYCAR Season

By
Official Release
-

Competition Updates Begin on Streets of St. Petersburg for NTT INDYCAR SERIES, INDY NXT by Firestone

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025) – A late-winter thaw is well underway for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as anticipation heats up for next week’s start to the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone seasons. Championship campaigns begin in the Florida sunshine with a two-day group test Feb. 17-18 at Sebring International Raceway ahead of the Sunday, March 2 season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding is expected to set the stage for what will be another thrilling season on track and on television.

FOX Sports launches its inaugural season of INDYCAR coverage with the season’s first practice in St. Pete on Friday, Feb. 28 on FS1. All 17 races for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season will air on FOX, with two additional days during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying May 17-18 ahead of the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge creating a series-record 19 network windows. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the only premier motorsport series in North America with all races broadcasting on network television.

All INDYCAR programming also streams live on the FOX Sports app.

“This will be a season of unrivaled exposure for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” said INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles. “With phenomenal support of our sport across multiple massive platforms – including Super Bowl LIX – FOX Sports has proven to be a superb partner and promoter. With the season approaching, we know their unique style of engaging and innovative broadcasts will continue to raise the bar and drive an unparallelled growth opportunity for INDYCAR.”

With an eye on the fierce and intense competition of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, several updates will be featured in 2025:

More Time, More Action

To maximize the thrilling, wheel-to-wheel racing action for fans during the record number of FOX race broadcast windows, lap counts at several NTT INDYCAR SERIES races have been extended in 2025, creating added dynamics for race teams. Race distances have been updated for:

  • Streets of Long Beach – 90 laps (+5 laps)
  • Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – 90 laps (+10)
  • Iowa Speedway doubleheader – 275 laps (+25)
  • Streets of Toronto – 90 laps (+5)
  • Nashville Superspeedway – 225 laps (+19)

Hybrid Highlighted

2025 will feature the first full-season integration of the hybrid power unit, including the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for the first time. Hybrid assist – developed specifically for INDYCAR through a first-of-its-kind collaborative effort by Chevrolet and Honda – provides an added boost of 120 horsepower when used with traditional Push to Pass on road and street circuits. Used in tandem, a total of 800 horsepower is available to drivers for the first time in two decades.

New this season, use of the hybrid power unit will be allowed to start or restart the 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines on pit lane. As in 2024, hybrid assist will be allowed to restart a stalled race car on the racetrack on non-ovals.

After meticulous development, the INDYCAR hybrid power unit made its successful race debut July 7, 2024, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. From its full-field integration at the Milwaukee Mile Open Test on June 11 through the end of the 2024 season, 94,244 miles were completed with the system. Overall use and influence of hybrid assist increased race-over-race on road and street circuits and ovals. Twelve of the 14 on-track passing records broken during the 2024 season came after the introduction of the hybrid power unit.

Practice Makes Perfect

Some NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions will have an updated look in 2025.

At select road and street circuits (Streets of St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Detroit and Toronto and Barber Motorsports Park, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Portland International Raceway), weekend tire allotments this season will include:

One additional set of Firestone Firehawk alternates (five total)
One less set of Firestone Firehawk primaries (five total)
Race teams will be allowed the freedom to use their weekend allotments as they see fit, reserving one set of new alternates, per the rulebook, for use during the race. Tire allotments for event weekends at The Thermal Club and Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course remain unchanged from last year.

Also on road and street circuits, split group practice sessions in Practice 1 will expand to all tracks except for Road America and its lengthy 4.014-mile layout. All cars will receive an initial 45-minute practice session before the start of two 10-minute segments, with groups split by odd and even numbered pit boxes. As in qualifying, the clock in Segments One and Two will stop for the first red flag condition of each practice segment.

Popular high-line practice sessions will continue on all short ovals in 2025. The additional track time allows for drivers and teams to work in the upper groove of the racetrack, providing more grip ahead of the race.

Race Ready

An annual INDYCAR review also has led to adjustments to procedures and rules for the upcoming NTT INDYCAR SERIES season:

  • Ahead of a race start on ovals, there will be a mandatory “pair up” location with “one to go” to reduce the chance of incident and the need for waved-off starts.
  • Where feasible for oval restarts, INDYCAR will extend the beginning of the restart zone to give the leader wider discretion on the choice to accelerate. The ending location of oval restart zones will remain the same as in previous seasons.
  • A multistage pit lane speed limiter, as utilized at pit in at Road America and at pit out at World Wide Technology Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway, will be expanded to pit lane entry at WWT Raceway, Iowa Speedway and Nashville. The update prevents cars from overextending from the apron onto the racetrack after the pit-in commitment point.
  • The 2024 road and street circuit restart line, where drivers must remain in single file and are prohibited from passing until reaching the designated line in the last corner, remains intact for 2025.
  • Additional EM Motorsport light panels, first used in 2022, will be used at all circuits. The additional lights will enhance the forewarning of conditions, particularly around blind corners.
  • Also for safety, drivers will be alerted of local yellow conditions by a notification on driver cockpit dashes in addition to the light panels and traditional cloth flag notifications at marshal posts around each circuit.

Also noteworthy, alternate tires at Nashville Superspeedway again will be available for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Last season, the breathtaking championship race featured 653 on-track passes – the most on record for the series at the track.

“From the mid-year integration of the hybrid power unit to the on-track passing records and another championship decided at the final race, 2024 was truly a phenomenal year for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” INDYCAR Senior Vice President, Competition and Operations Mark Sibla said. “This is a testament to the hard work by the teams, drivers and naturally our partners Chevrolet, Honda, Firestone and Shell. As our attention turns toward 2025, we will continue the series’ energy, momentum and incredibly close competition on the track. We are excited to get the new season started.”

Talented, Packed Field, Live Television Highlight INDY NXT by Firestone

For the first time, an entire INDY NXT by Firestone season will be featured on live television. Announced in December, 12 INDY NXT races will appear live on FOX Sports’ FS1, with two airing on FS2. Additionally, all practice and qualifying sessions for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ development series will air on a combination of FS1 and FS2.

Which driver will receive the most attention from FOX’s cameras is anyone’s guess. After last season averaged the most starters (19.5) since 2009, the 2025 season is expected to match or exceed that number – in a field featuring drivers from 10 countries.

Chip Ganassi Racing will add even more intrigue to the championship as it fields cars in INDY NXT for the first time since 2007.

Building on the series’ continued momentum, 2024 featured on-track passing records at four circuits, with qualifying records broken at six. Sixteen of the 33 starters in last year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge were graduates of INDY NXT.

After the launch of a reimagined look in 2023, this is the fourth season that INDYCAR’s development series will feature continued integration with INDYCAR as the sanctioning body. In 2025, INDY NXT chassis will showcase updated and stylized rear wing end plates featuring LED rain lights, matching the safety component available in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

The pathway to North America’s premier open-wheel series once again features a total purse of $1.4 million. The series champion will receive $850,000 to be applied to a rookie oval test, the Indy 500 Open Test and Rookie Orientation Program, an entry for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and an entry for an additional 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES event. The 2025 championship team will receive a prize of $35,000.

“This will be a season of incredible and unprecedented exposure for INDY NXT by Firestone,” series director Richard Buck said. “The continued integration of this series with INDYCAR has clearly raised the quantity and quality of INDY NXT. The championship has never been more fierce and difficult to win, but it will prove to be all the more gratifying for the driver advancing to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.”

Coverage of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season debut Sunday, March 2 begins at noon ET on FOX. A Spanish-language version will be available on FOX Deportes.

INDY NXT by Firestone’s season opener begins earlier that day at 10 a.m. on FS1.

The award-winning INDYCAR Radio Network will provide coverage of both races with audio available on SiriusXM channel 218 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

By
Jeffrey Boswell
-
Photo by Mike Biskupski for SpeedwayMedia.com

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. William Byron: Byron was running ninth on the final lap before a crash up front cleared the way for the Hendrick driver to win his second straight Daytona 500.

“It’s called ‘Being in the right place at the right time,'” Byron said. “Or, more specifically, ‘Being in the ninth place at the right time.”

2. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished second after a chaotic finish at the Daytona 500.

“What a race,” Reddick said. “Daytona is easily the most exciting part of the NASCAR season. You could take one lap of the Daytona 500, and that single lap would feature more excitement than the entirety of the NASCAR playoffs. And I’m talking about a caution lap.”

3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson avoided the chaos at Daytona and finished third in the Daytona 500.

“When you talk about Daytona,” Johnson said, “you have to talk about getting help from other cars. That’s called ‘pushing’ in this business. And nobody knows more about ‘pushing’ that me, because I’m pushing 50.”

4. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe finished fourth in the Daytona 500.

“Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves competed in the Daytona 500,” Briscoe said, “driving for Trackhouse Racing. He was knocked out of the race when he was collected by Ross Chastain in a pile-up during a lap 131 restart. Helio can officially call himself a NASCAR driver now, because he was wrecked by Chastain.”

5. John Hunter Nemechek: Nemechek finished fifth in the Daytona 500.

“It appears Kyle Busch is cursed to never win the Daytona 500,” Nemechek said. “And it appeared that wasn’t the extent of the cursing: Kyle had some choice words for Joey Logano. I think that’s great. The Cup series could certainly use a Busch-Logano feud. Heck, the Cup series could use any feud.”

6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led on the final lap before a scrap for the lead left Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Cole Custer spinning, allowing William Byron to steal the win. Hamlin finished 24th.

“My No. 11 Toyota has a new sponsor in National Debt Relief,” Hamlin said. “I think it’s a smart move for us, and for National Debt Relief, because it’s safe to say that 95% of NASCAR fans are in debt. And incidentally, 95% is the interest rate you’ll pay with National Debt Relief.”

7. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished sixth in the Daytona 500.

“Joey Logano experienced some engine trouble when a piece of debris found its way into the car’s throttle body. But his crew was able to remove it and Joey was able to continue. It may be the most notable piece of trash removal from a car since Jeremy Mayfield lost his ride for doing meth.”

8. Austin Cindric: Cindric led 59 laps and was battling for the lead on the final lap before a crash up front dashed his victory chances. Cindric finished eighth.

“It’s really important at Daytona to save fuel,” Cindric said. “So, for a lot of the race, we’re not running at full throttle. So, you could say I made a ‘half-gassed’ attempt to win the 500.”

9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney bounced back from involvement in a lap 185 crash triggered by Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. to finish seventh in the Daytona 500.

“Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. really screwed the race for a lot of drivers,” Blaney said. “I’m not sure what he was thinking trying to block Joey Logano. It was a dumb decision on Ricky’s part, but not nearly his dumbest—–he voluntarily dated Danica Patrick.”

10. Joey Logano: Logano was strong early at Daytona, and later overcame an engine issue, but saw his victory hopes dashed after contact with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. knocked him out of the race. Logano finished 35th.

“When it was operating at full strength,” Logano said, “my No. 22 Shell/Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang was incredibly fast. How fast? Faster than the time between eating Hunt Brothers Pizza and the need to run to the bathroom.”

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