Jordan Missig earns a top 10 finish in his INDY NXT oval debut
MADISON, Ill. (August 17, 2024) – Fielding its largest race outing with four entries this weekend, ABEL Motorsports put two drivers on the podium in Saturday’s INDY NXT by Firestone OUTFRONT Showdown at World Wide Technology Raceway, with three of the team’s four drivers finishing in the top 10.
Jacob Abel, currently second in the championship title race, brought the No. 51 ABEL Construction Dallara home in second position, with Yuven Sundaramoorthy (No. 22 S Team Motorsports/ABEL Motorsports) in third. Jordan Missig (No. 21 ABEL Motorsports) earned an impressive 10th place finish in his series oval debut, while Taylor Ferns (No. 55 Bradford Allen/ABEL Motorsports) gained a position to finish 15th in her second race in the series.
The field took the green flag with Abel starting sixth, Sundaramoorthy eighth, Missig 15th and Ferns 16th – but the race didn’t stay green for long, as a car spun on the backstretch, bringing out a full course caution. Once back to green, Abel wasted no time making a move into fifth, as Sundaramoorthy captured seventh, with Missig 14th and Ferns 26th.
But two laps later, two cars ahead of Abel came together on the front straight, bringing out a second yellow. Back to green on lap 17, Abel glued himself to the race leader while Sundaramoorthy made the outside pass for fourth – gaining a front row seat for the battle for second ahead, with Abel finally claiming the clear advantage on lap 22.
Missig began his own charge, sliding into P11 on lap 25 as the field settled into a single file run – except for Sundaramoorthy, who made a move on the back straight to capture third position. Unfortunately, Ferns began to experience an issue, ultimately pulling into pit lane on lap 32.
With 23 laps remaining, a car tagged the Turn 4 wall, bringing out another caution – and bunching up the field. The green flew with 15 laps remaining as Missig took ninth with a pass on the inside with 14 laps to go. Three laps later, it was a move on the outside that briefly earned Missig P8, with the battle for position going back and forth each lap.
At the checkered flag, Abel had scored a second-place finish for his seventh podium in 11 races. Sundaramoorthy captured his first series podium in third, with Missig bringing it home in ninth and Ferns 15th.
“I did what I wanted to do on the start,” said Abel. “I basically sent it around the outside but with the yellow, I ended up having to do it again. But we were strong, the car was good, and we got as much as the car had in it today. It was a good day for us and a really good day for the team. We delivered some good race cars for sure; I just need to start a little bit higher next time so we can really get after it.”
“This feels really good, to finally get this podium,” said Sundaramoorthy. “It’s been a long time coming – and hopefully it’s the first of many. It was an incredible race, I love this track. The ABEL team gave me a great car, the 22 was on rails. I was able to make some good moves early around the high side and then at the end of the race, I think we were probably the fastest car in turns one and two, but it was just a little loose in three and four. I’m glad we had the high line, I was expecting to run that line from the start.”
“I think we learned a lot out here,” said Missig. “We definitely got the confidence up, definitely got the experience we were looking for. I felt very racy, very comfortable in the car the entire time. So that was obviously the step one we wanted to get out of the day. But the car was great, the handling was really good. Everything came in when we wanted it to, right when other cars were falling off. If we had to change one more thing, it probably would have been a little bit of gear on our end. We seem to kind of run out a little bit there at the end, trying to make some passes, though obviously, momentum and downforce helped us with some of the passes but to keep those passes, just a bit more gear on the top end would have really helped – so definitely something to note for the future. But I’m really happy with the way my first oval went.”
ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports, Quest Global and OMP for their continued support.
Next up for ABEL Motorsports and the INDY NXT by Firestone will be the Grand Prix of Portland, Sunday, August 25 at 1:10 p.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.
About ABEL Motorsports: Team principal Bill Abel began racing motocross in 1972, earning numerous championship titles as he continued the family racing tradition. In 2015, ABEL Motorsports was launched, starting in the USF2000 series and building up the junior open wheel ladder. The team captured the inaugural Formula Regional Americas Championship with driver Kyle Kirkwood in 2018.
ABEL Motorsports currently competes in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, led by third-generation driver Jacob Abel. The team made its INDYCAR debut in 2023 with driver RC Enerson in the Indianapolis 500. For more information visit the official team website at abelmotorsports.com.
About Abel Construction Company: ABEL Construction is one of the largest general contractors in Kentucky, holding licenses in thirteen states. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana, with the corporate office in Louisville. Their expertise spans many areas, including general contracting, construction management, design-build, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and facilities maintenance.
Abel Construction has helped build some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Their projects cover diverse sectors, including automotive, healthcare, post-secondary education, commercial, food/beverage, tech, and industrial/manufacturing. They prioritize client satisfaction, focusing on efficient project delivery regardless of size or cost. The company’s skilled professionals utilize cutting-edge technology and software to ensure successful outcomes. abelconstruct.com/.
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Photo by Stephanie McLaughlin for SpeedwayMedia.com.
After 12 previous attempts, Justin Allgaier made his 13th attempt of winning at Michigan International Speedway pay off to perfection as he utilized pit strategy to withstand an overtime shootout and win the rain-delayed Cabo Wabo 250 on Saturday, August 17.
The 38-year-old Allgaier from Riverton, Illinois, led three times for a race-high 37 of 128 over-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in 16th place, but managed to methodically carve his way to the front as he nearly won the first stage period on Lap 30 before settling in fourth place amid the draft. Then through a flurry of pit strategies, on-track chaos and a fight against time with Mother Nature, Allgaier, who pitted several laps later than most of his front-runners including teammate Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed and John Hunter Nemechek cycled his way into the lead for the third and final time with 16 laps remaining.
Despite having his progress to the victory halted as the caution flag flew with 10 laps remaining due to a late incident involving Kyle Weatherman and having to wait on pit road for more than 23 minutes due to a second red flag period for inclement weather, Allgaier managed to muscle ahead of teammate Sammy Smith at the start of an overtime shootout. He then proceeded to drive away from Creed, Nemechek and the field before claiming the checkered flag and the victory under caution amid a harrowing multi-car wreck on the final lap that resulted in Kyle Sieg going airborne, flipping and sliding on his roof through the backstretch’s infield.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, August 16, Sheldon Creed notched his second Xfinity pole position of 2024 and the third of his career with a pole-winning lap at 171.645 mph in 41.947 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Riley Herbst, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 171.233 mph in 42.048 seconds.
Prior to the event, Ryan Ellis and Joey Gase dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst dueled for the lead in front of Taylor Gray, Cole Custer and the rest of the field through the first two turns. Then as the field fanned out through the backstretch amid the draft, this being due to the field running superspeedway restricted engines with intermediate aerodynamics, Gray attempted to execute a three-wide pass on Creed and Herbst for the lead, but Creed managed to muscle his No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota Supra ahead from the outside lane through Turns 3 and 4 as he just managed to lead the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Creed retained a narrow advantage over Herbst as Custer, Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg followed suit in the top five. Behind, Carson Kvapil occupied sixth place in front of Noah Gragson, Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier while Gray, who dropped back as far as 11th in the opening laps due to losing the draft from the leaders, was fending off teammate Chandler Smith for 10th place. With the majority of the front-runners running in a single file line towards the outside wall, Creed continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Herbst.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Creed stabilized his advantage to a tenth of a second over Herbst followed by Custer, Jones and Ryan Sieg as Kvapil, Sammy Smith, Gray, Noah Gragson and Chandler Smith were racing in the top 10. Behind, Justin Allgaier occupied 11th place ahead of John Hunter Nemechek, rookie Jesse Love, Parker Kligerman and Austin Hill while AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Dye, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton and Parker Retzlaff occupied the top 20 ahead of Sam Mayer, Kyle Weatherman, Lawless Alan, rookie Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Sieg.
Three laps later, the event’s first caution period flew when Gray, who was battling Sammy Smith for seventh place, got loose underneath Smith and slid his No. 19 Operations 300 Toyota Supra sideways towards the apron between Turns 1 and 2 before he steered and looped his car in a 360 spin below the track as he then proceeded without sustaining any significant damage.
During the event’s first caution period and with early pit strategy amid weather concerns commencing, some led by Carson Kvapil and including Jesse Love, Austin Hill, AJ Allmendinger, Sam Mayer, Daniel Dye, Noah Gragson, Shane van Gisbergen, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Jeremy Clements, Jeb Burton and Gray pitted while the rest led by Creed and including top-five contenders Herbst, Custer, Jones and Ryan Sieg remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 18, Creed muscled ahead from the outside lane as he retained the lead through the first two turns while the rest of the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes. In the midst of the three-wide battle, Sammy Smith fell off the pace due to sustaining a flat right-rear tire to his No. 8 Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet Camaro through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the race remaining under green flag conditions as Smith limped his car to pit road without damaging it and eventually lost a lap due to pitting, Creed retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Herbst by the Lap 20 mark as Jones, Chandler Smith and Allgaier followed suit in the top five.
Then on Lap 23, the caution flew when the leader Creed got aero loose off the front nose of Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang, slipped sideways and spun towards the outside wall in Turn 4, where he then proceeded to straighten his car and drive through pit road. With Creed spinning and plummeting below the leaderboard, Herbst inherited the lead as Jones, Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Parker Kligerman and Ryan Sieg followed suit in the top six.
During the caution period, select names including Custer, Nemechek, Parker Retzlaff, Sam Mayer, Brennan Poole, Leland Honeyman, Jeremy Clements, Blaine Perkins, Kyle Weatherman and Creed pitted while the rest led by Herbst remained on the track.
With the race restarting under green with three laps remaining in the first stage period, Herbst launched ahead from the outside lane to retain the lead before Allgaier muscled ahead from the inside lane amid the draft as he led for the first time. With Allgaier leading, Ryan Sieg would follow suit in second while Herbst was battling Chandler Smith, Jones and Kyle Sieg to retain third place as the field behind battled within close quarters and fanned out through all corners and straightaways.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Ryan Sieg, who received a draft from Chandler Smith and Brandon Jones to overtake Allgaier through the backstretch on Lap 29, proceeded to claim his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Jones followed suit in second and Chandler Smith edged Allgaier for third place while Lawless Alan, Austin Hill, Herbst, Kyle Sieg, Allmendinger and Kligerman were scored in the top 10.
Immediately after the first stage period concluded, rain started to hit the track. Soon after, the field, led by Ryan Sieg, was directed to pit road, halted and placed in a red flag period due to the damp conditions, beginning on Lap 33.
More than nine minutes later, the red flag lifted as the track was deemed dry from the wet weather and the field led by Ryan Sieg returned to the track under a cautious pace. During the caution period, some led by Chandler Smith and including Lawless Alan, Kyle Sieg, Kligerman and Matt DiBenedetto pitted while the rest led by Ryan Sieg remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 36 as Ryan Sieg and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Sieg and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then as the field fanned out, Austin Hill, who was trying to execute a three-wide move on Allgaier and Sieg in his bid for the lead, turned across the right-front fender of Kvapil and spun his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro below the track and through the infield grass before he came back up across the track and was dodged by the field just past the backstretch and in Turn 3. In the process, Allgaier managed to move into the lead over Sieg as Herbst, Allmendinger and Kvapil were scored in the top five.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 41 featured Allgaier and Allmendinger, the latter of which moved up to start on the front row during the choose lane option the lap prior, dueling for the lead entering the first two turns as the field fanned out. With Allgaier receiving a shove from Ryan Sieg from the outside lane, he continued to battle Allmendinger before he muscled ahead and retained the lead for the following lap Behind, Allmendinger slipped to third as Sieg moved back into second while Kvapil would overtake Herbst for fourth place.
Herbst would then be overtaken by Love, Nemechek and Jones for the following lap as he slipped out of the top five as a flurry of battles ensued behind him. With a majority of the front-runners running in a single-file line amid the draft towards the outside wall, Allgaier continued to lead by a tenth of a second ahead of Ryan Sieg, Kvapil, Love and Nemechek, respectively, as Herbst, Jones and Gray followed suit by the Lap 45 mark.
Then on Lap 47, the caution returned when Herbst, who was battling Sieg for fourth place, veered right and got turned off the left-front fender of Sieg as Herbst went head-on into the outside wall in Turn 3 while Jones slid his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro as he was trying to dodge Herbst’s carnage. With Herbst left with a wrecked No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, Jones, who was dodged by most of the field through Turns 3 and 4, was then hit on the driver’s side by teammate Sam Mayer, which sent Jones’ car back up the track as he received a shunt in the rear by Cole Custer’s No. 00 Autodesk Ford Mustang. Amid the carnage, Herbst, Jones and Mayer were knocked out of contention while Custer continued with a patched-up nose.
During the caution period, the leader Allgaier along with Kvapil, Ryan Sieg and Gragson pitted while the rest led by new leader John Hunter Nemechek remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 54, the field jostled for spots amid two tight-laned packs as Nemechek and Allmendinger dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. For the following lap, Nemechek would prevail from the outside lane and retain the lead. Behind, Jesse Love would retain second over Allmendinger while Gray, Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith and Gray battled for fourth place. With more battles ensuing around the track just past the Lap 55 mark, Nemechek remained as the leader ahead of Love and Allmendinger.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Nemechek captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season after he fended off Love by three-tenths of a second. Love settled in second ahead of Allmendinger, Gray and Sammy Smith while Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Creed, Jeb Burton and Anthony Alfredo were scored in the top 10 amid a flurry of on-track battles.
During the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Nemechek pitted for service while a select few led by Kvapil and including Clements and Josh Williams remained on the track. With mixed strategies ensuing, Nemechek exited pit road first with only two fresh tires ahead of Gragson and Allgaier while Chandler Smith, Austin Hill and Parker Retzlaff followed suit.
With 61 laps remaining and the sun brightly overshadowing the Michigan circuit, the final stage commenced as Kvapil and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek received a draft from Allgaier that moved Nemechek’s No. 20 Pye Barker Toyota Supra into the lead through the first two turns. With the field fanning out through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch, Nemechek retained the lead ahead of Allgaier as Kvapil, Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith were in the top five.
A lap later, however, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck that started when Lawless Alan got loose and clipped both Jeb Burton and Daniel Dye. The contact sent the former spinning below the track’s infield grass while the latter backed his No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet Camaro into the outside wall and was hit by Alan, all of which occurred in Turn 2 and which knocked both Dye and Alan out of contention. During the recent caution period, some including runner-up Allgaier, Clements, Williams, Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg and van Gisbergen pitted while the rest led by Nemechek remained on the track.
The start of the next restart period with 54 laps remaining featured another duel for the lead, this time between Nemechek and Sammy Smith, while the rest of the field behind began to fan out through the first two turns. With the field still fanned out through the frontstretch and jostling for late positions, Nemechek maintained the lead and he would proceed to lead with 50 laps remaining by a tenth of a second over Kvapil while Sammy Smith, Gragson and Chandler Smith followed suit in the top five. By then, van Gisbergen was penalized for a restart violation while Custer lost multiple laps due to pitting under green.
With 40 laps remaining, Nemechek continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Kvapil while third-place Sammy Smith trailed by half a second. Meanwhile, fourth-place Gragson trailed the lead by a second as he was trying to fend off Chandler Smith for the spot while Creed, Gray, Hill, Love and Allgaier were scored in the top 10 ahead of Kligerman, Allmendinger, Alfredo, Kyle Sieg, Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Sieg.
Shortly after, Kvapil overtook Nemechek through the backstretch to lead the proceeding lap with 39 laps remaining. Kvapil’s overtake on Nemechek allowed Sammy Smith, Gragson, Chandler Smith, Creed and Gray to all close in on runner-up Nemechek amid the draft. In the process, Chandler Smith overtook both Gragson and Sammy Smith for third place. In addition, Creed would move back up into the top five and Gragson slipped to sixth. With Allgaier overtaking Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Love for eighth place, Kvapil extended his advantage to more than a second over Nemechek with less than 35 laps remaining.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Kvapil continued to stretch his advantage as he was leading by more than two seconds over Nemechek as Creed trailed Nemechek by less than two-tenths of a second. With JR Motorsports’ Allgaier and Sammy Smith mired in the top five, Chandler Smith followed suit in sixth along with Gragson and Gray, all of whom trailed the lead by more than four seconds, while Hill and Love rounded out the top 10.
Five laps later, Kvapil stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Nemechek as teammate Creed, Allgaier and Sammy Smith battled for third place. With the top-five competitors separated by two seconds, sixth-place Chandler Smith trailed by five seconds along with Gray, Gragson and Hill while Love and 11th-place Allmendinger trailed by eight seconds.
Another three laps later and with a cloud overcast hovering around Turns 3 and 4, Kvapil, who tried extending his dry fuel tank as far as possible, surrendered the lead to pit his No. 88 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet Camaro for fuel. Meanwhile, Allgaier, who powered past Creed and Nemechek over the last few laps, cycled his No. 7 Hellmann’s/Meijer Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. With Love also pitting his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro under green, Nemechek and Creed moved up to second and third behind Allgaier while Sammy Smith and Gragson were scored in the top five. Allgaier would proceed to lead by half a second over Nemechek as Creed followed closely behind with 15 laps remaining.
Then with 10 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Kyle Weatherman blowing a right-front tire and hitting the Turn 2 outside wall hard. At the time of caution, Allgaier was leading by four-tenths of a second over Creed as Sammy Smith, Nemechek, Gray and Gragson were running in the top six. During the caution period, select names including Chandler Smith, Ryan Sieg, Kligerman, Retzlaff and Leland Honeyman pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.
Amid the caution period as the laps dwindled, a drizzle started to fall and soon began to increase into a steady rain. With the light rain continuing to fall, however, the field led by Allgaier was directed to pit road and placed in a second red flag period for more than 23 minutes and with two laps remaining of the event’s scheduled distance.
When the red flag was lifted, the field led by Allgaier returned to track under a cautious pace as the event was sent into overtime.
The start of the first overtime attempt featured Sammy Smith, who opted to start alongside teammate Allgaier on the front row and attempted to slide up in front of Allgaier through the first two turns. Allgaier, however, managed to duel and overtake Smith through the backstretch as the field fanned out to multiple lanes. With Smith losing ground as he got shuffled out of the draft while being pinned in the middle lane and being overtaken by a bevy of competitors, Creed muscled his way up to second followed by Nemechek and Gragson as Alfredo charged his way into the top five, all of which occurred through Turns 3 and 4.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained as the leader by six-tenths of a second over Creed and a flurry of competitors jostling for positions. Then as Allgaier kept his No. 7 Meijer/Hellmann’s Chevrolet out in front through the first two turns and the backstretch, the event concluded under caution when Caesar Bacarella made contact and turned Kvapil into the backstretch’s outside wall. This ignited a chain reaction wreck as Chandler Smith and Kyle Sieg were sent spinning towards the inside wall, with Sieg then getting airborne and rolling over onto his roof, where his No. 28 Bailey Excavating Ford Mustang slid through the infield backstretch and into the grass before the car rolled back over and came to rest on all four wheels.
With the event concluding under caution, Allgaier was able to coast his car back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag for his second Xfinity race victory of the 2024 season.
With the victory, Allgaier notched his 25th career win in the Xfinity Series, which moved him into sole possession on 10th place on the all-time wins list after he was initially tied with his team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tommy Houston for the mark. The Michigan victory was also the Illinois veteran’s first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May as he became the fifth multi-race winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season. Allgaier’s Xfinity victory was also the fourth for JR Motorsports and the 12th for the Chevrolet nameplate through 21 scheduled events in 2024.
Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[I] Just cannot say thank you enough to this team, all these [No. 7] guys standing right here,” Allgaier said on USA Network. “The effort that’s been put in is incredible. We did not show up to Indianapolis two, three weeks ago like we wanted to and these guys have worked tirelessly through this break. It’s truly special and to win here at Michigan, manufacturer’s backyard, these fans. I can hear them all chanting whenever we were sitting in the car under the red flag. I hope whoever got turned over over here’s OK and we’ll go on and celebrate this one for a while.”
Amid his flip and slide on his roof on the final lap, Kyle Sieg, who ended up in 28th place, the first competitor scored a lap down, emerged uninjured.
With Allgaier winning, Sheldon Creed, the pole winner who led 23 laps and was announced to be driving for Haas Factory Team in 2025 earlier in the day, ended up in second place, where he has now accumulated the most runner-up results in the Xfinity Series as a winless competitor for the 11th time.
This [runner-up finish] frustrates me the most just because I was saving fuel there behind [Nemechek], we were, maybe, three to four laps short there, so I was just trying to buy some time,” Creed said. “I knew [Allgaier] wasn’t going to have to [save fuel] as much. [I] Kind of let him go and yeah, a caution at the wrong time that hurt us. Once I went and got around [Nemechek] and was running [Allgaier] down, I felt like I had a car just as fast as Xfinity Internet and could’ve passed him. That one stings a little bit, but I’m super proud of everyone. Starting today at 13 races left, I really think we’re turning into a team that can make a really good fight for this championship.
Teammate John Hunter Nemechek had enough fuel, like teammate Creed, to settle in third place after he led 31 laps while Anthony Alfredo and Sammy Smith finished in the top five. The rally for Smith to achieve the top-five result ended up being crucial as he launched himself back into the top-12 cutline to make the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs and holds sole possession of the final transfer spot by a single point over 13th-place finisher Ryan Sieg with five regular-season events remaining on the schedule.
Noah Gragson, Matt DiBenedetto, Taylor Gray, Caesar Bacarella and AJ Allmendinger completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were 10 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 39 laps. In addition, 27 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 21st event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Cole Custer continues to lead the regular-season standings by 12 points over Justin Allgaier, 70 over Austin Hill and 84 over Chandler Smith.
Results.
1. Justin Allgaier, 37 laps led
2. Sheldon Creed, 23 laps led
3. John Hunter Nemechek, 31 laps led, Stage 2 winner
4. Anthony Alfredo
5. Sammy Smith
6. Noah Gragson
7. Matt DiBenedetto
8. Taylor Gray
9. Caesar Bacarella
10. AJ Allmendinger
11. Parker Kligerman
12. Leland Honeyman
13. Ryan Sieg, seven laps led, Stage 1 winner
14. Ryan Ellis
15. Jeremy Clements
16. Jeb Burton
17. Shane van Gisbergen
18. Austin Hill
19. Josh Williams
20. Parker Retzlaff
21. Jeffrey Earnhardt
22. Patrick Emerling
23. Blaine Perkins
24. Josh Bilicki
25. Logan Bearden
26. Carson Kvapil, 25 laps led
27. Chandler Smith
28. Kyle Sieg, one lap down
29. Jesse Love, one lap down, one lap led
30. Cole Custer – OUT, Suspension
31. Joey Gase – OUT, Fuel Pump
32. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident
33. Brennan Poole – OUT, Oil Pump
34. Daniel Dye – OUT, Accident
35. Lawless Alan – OUT, Accident
36. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident
37. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident
38. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident, four laps led
Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Daytona International Speedway for the Wawa 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, August 23, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
AJ ALLMENDINGER No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro
AJ Allmendinger qualified 13th for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
On the initial start, the top lane took off better and Allmendinger fell back to 18th on the bottom lane. By lap six, Allmendinger was up to 16th and reporting his Campers Inn RV Chevy was loose. When the first caution came on lap 16, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel, air pressure and track bar adjustments. On lap 19, the No. 16 restarted in 27th place, and by lap 25, when the caution came out, Allmendinger was scored in 12th. The team stayed out under the caution and Allmendinger went on to finish the first stage in ninth.
After the green-white-checkered, the field was brought to pit road for weather. When the race restarted, the No. 16 stayed on track to restart in sixth place on lap 37. When the caution came out one lap later, Allmendinger was in third place. The No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy restarted on the bottom of the front row on lap 42 and was scored in third when the caution came on lap 50. Allmendinger stayed out and restarted on the front row of the bottom lane on lap 55. Allmendinger finished the second stage in third place.
During the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires and fuel. He restarted in 10th place for the final stage. Two laps into the stage, the caution came out and Allmendinger returned to pit road for fuel and a track bar adjustment and restarted in 17th on lap 72. Allmendinger continued to move forward, driving up to 11th by lap 90. When the caution came out on lap 117, the No. 16 was in ninth. On lap 123, the field was again brought to pit road for weather. Allmendinger restarted in eighth place for overtime and finished in 10th.
“I felt like overall we had a really solid day. Just a challenge with the motor and air package that we ran. Kind of got behind in the third stage with strategy a little bit. I thought if the caution hadn’t come out, we were on a really good strategy to finish top three. Solid day, earned stage points and a top-10 finish. Happy to have a clean race car and head to Daytona.” – AJ Allmendinger
SHANE van GISBERGEN No. 97 Safety Culture Chevrolet Camaro
Shane van Gisbergen qualified 23rd for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
The No. 97 battled hard to maintain position until 15 laps into the event. A caution came out, and the No. 97 team opted to pit for four fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage 29th. Another yellow flag flew with five laps remaining in the stage, and the No. 97 team opted to stay out, restarting the stage 21st. Van Gisbergen broke into the top 20 in the final laps of the stage, finishing Stage 1 in the 22nd position.
The No. 97 SafetyCulture team started Stage 2 in 16th. Van Gisbergen battled a very tight-handling race car throughout the entire stage. Another caution flag flew with nine laps remaining in the stage and the No. 97 opted to stay out and finish the stage instead of coming in for adjustments. Van Gisbergen restarted eighth, breaking into the top 10 for the first time. Van Gisbergen took the green-and-white checkered flag, 13th, to end the stage.
The No. 97 team came to pit road for adjustments, four new tires and fuel. The left rear tire was slow to come off, lining Van Gisbergen up to start 25th. A caution came out on the first lap of Stage 3, and the No. 97 came to pit road for fuel, restarting the stage in 24th. NASCAR issued a penalty to the No. 97 team for pulling out of line before the start-finish line on the restart, making Van Gisbergen do a pass through on pit road and cycle to the back of the field. Van Gisbergen continued to battle a tight car throughout the remainder of the race. Another caution flew with eight laps remaining in the race. The No. 97 SafetyCulture team chose to come to pit road for adjustments and fuel, restarting 28th. The event went into overtime and Van Gisbergen ultimately took the checkered flag 17th.
“I enjoyed this track, but unfortunately we just didn’t have any speed. It’s hard, we were flat the whole way around so people would just drive away from us. I made an error there on a restart and got a penalty, misjudged that, but still had fun and I’m continuing to learn! On to Daytona next weekend.” – Shane van Gisbergen
JOSH WILLIAMS No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro
Josh Williams qualified 29th for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
Williams dropped four spots in the first two laps while getting up to speed with the pack. Once up to speed, he advanced to 28th by the time the race’s first caution came out on lap 16. No. 11 crew chief Eddie Pardue called Williams in for tires and fuel, and Williams restarted from 32nd on lap 19. After making up seven more spots to take 25th, the race’s second natural caution came out on lap 25. Refiring from 18th for a three-lap dash to the Stage 1 finish, Williams took the yellow flag running 19th.
Rain began falling during the stage break, and the race went under red flag conditions on lap 34 for 15 minutes. Upon rolling, Williams pitted for tires and fuel and took the Stage 2 green flag from 13th on lap 37, but the yellow came out on the restart lap. Williams restarted in 14th on lap 41 and fell back to 24th by lap 50, when a wreck at the front of the field brought out the caution. Williams pitted under yellow for two right-side tires and fuel and restarted in 29th with six laps to go in Stage 2. He finished in 29th.
Williams took the green for the final stage as the third car in the outside lane. A mid-pack wreck brought out the caution on lap 67, and Williams pitted to top off on fuel. Restarting from 22nd with 55 to go, Williams coasted in 20th until leaders began pitting for fuel under green with 16 to go. On lap 117, a crash brought out the yellow with Williams running in 19th. He pitted for tires and fuel, but rain once again brought out the red flag. The race restarted with two laps remaining and Williams running in 22nd. He took the checkered flag in 19th.
“We really did all we could to keep up, but whenever you tried making a move and didn’t get it done, you’d lose tons of time. Restarts were tough today. We made the most out of what we had.” – Josh Williams
DANIEL DYE No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet Camaro
Daniel Dye qualified 23rd for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
Dye ran in line with teammate AJ Allmendinger for the opening laps. The first caution of the day occurred on lap 16. Not having any complaints about the handling of the car, Dye pitted for four tires and fuel. He continued to run consistently and finished Stage 1 in the 15th position.
Dye started Stage 2 content with the handling of his car. As the stage progressed, he struggled through the middle and late laps of Stage 2 to keep the power down. Relaying that he was plowing tight and snapping loose on exit, Dye pitted for four tires and a left-rear spring adjustment at the stage conclusion.
Early in Stage 3, on lap 66, Dye was on the outside of two cars when he was involved in a wreck that caused significant damage to the rear of the No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet. Dye finished 34th.
“We had a pretty good Kaulig Racing Race to Stop Suicide Chevy in the first two stages today at Michigan. Unfortunately, we just got caught up in a mess that ended our day. We’ll be ready to get after it at Kansas in September.” – Daniel Dye
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
NASCAR Cup Series to Compete in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for First Time Since 1971; The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium will be Broadcast Live on FOX
NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports Films Documentary, “The Madhouse: NASCAR’s Return to Bowman Gray Stadium” to Debut on FS1
WINSTON SALEM, N.C. (Aug. 17, 2024) – Today, NASCAR announced The Clash will come to historic Bowman Gray Stadium for the first-time as the opening exhibition event for the 2025 season on Feb. 2. The announcement was made by Ben Kennedy as part of pre-race for tonight’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series event at the racetrack. This will mark the first NASCAR Cup Series event at the racetrack in 54 years. The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium will be broadcast live on FOX.
“Bowman Gray Stadium has a storied history in motorsports, so we look forward to bringing the Cup Series back to this revered racetrack for the first time since 1971,” said Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer, NASCAR. “As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place as the original home to grassroots racing. With a history of intense competition, we are proud to host The Clash at the ‘The Madhouse.’”
To commemorate the return to Bowman Gray, NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports Films are producing a one-hour documentary entitled The Madhouse: NASCAR’s Return to Bowman Gray Stadium that will premiere on FS1. The film will explore the rich and rollicking history of the Winston-Salem venue while weaving a narrative that focuses on preparations for The Clash in 2025. It’s a story that intersects two unique worlds: the biggest motorsports series in North America, and the grassroots charm of small-town America at Bowman Gray Stadium. More details on the documentary, including when fans will be able to watch on FS1, will be released at a later date.
“The city of Winston-Salem is very excited and grateful to NASCAR for selecting Bowman Gray Stadium as the site for The Clash in 2025,” said City of Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “This further solidifies our city’s relationship with NASCAR and the many fans in the region as we welcome the NASCAR Cup Series back to Bowman Gray Stadium.”
Built in 1937, Bowman Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile short track, holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly racetrack. In 1949, Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two founding fathers of NASCAR, brought motorsports to the facility as the first weekly racetrack and first paved racetrack that NASCAR competed on. Earlier this year, NASCAR took over the long-term management of racing operations at Bowman Gray Stadium in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The racetrack hosted 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. Bowman Gray Stadium has hosted many NASCAR legends including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, Jerry Cook, and others. Petty won his 100th NASCAR Grand National race in the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 at the racetrack.
More recently, Bowman Gray Stadium hosted several East Series races from 2011 to 2015. Ben Kennedy, great grandson of Bill France Sr., won an East Series race there in 2013. Other winners include two-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes and Cup Series drivers Ryan Preece and Corey LaJoie.
Current NASCAR Cup Series drivers Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, and Bubba Wallace have all competed in their professional careers at Bowman Gray Stadium.
For more information and to get on the list to purchase tickets for The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, visit NASCARClash.com. To learn more about the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season with weekly modified, sportsman, street stock and stadium stock competition, visit bowmangrayracing.com.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Snapchat.
STEWART-HAAS RACING Cabo Wabo 250 Date: August 17, 2024 Event: Cabo Wabo 250 (Round 21 of 33) Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval) Format: 125 laps, broken into three stages (30 laps/30 laps/65 laps) Note: Race extended three laps past its scheduled 125-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Sieg of RSS Racing (Ford) Stage 2 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
● Cole Custer (1st with 768 points) ● Riley Herbst (6th with 623 points, 145 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Herbst finished seventh in Stage 1 to earn four bonus points. ● Herbst led once for four laps increasing his laps led at Michigan to five.
Race Notes:
● Justin Allgaier won the Cabo Wabo 250 under caution to score his 25th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Michigan. ● There were nine caution periods for a total of 39 laps. ● Twenty-eight of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap. ● Custer remains the championship leader after Michigan with a 12-point advantage over second-place Justin Allgaier.
Sound Bites:
“Days like these are tough. We had a fast No. 00 Autodesk/Haas Automation Ford Mustang, but the damage from that wreck took us out of any contention for a decent finish. We kept cutting tires and didn’t want to risk any wrecks in the final laps, so we just brought it to the garage. It’s not fun when you have days like these after so many good weeks, but we’ll keep our heads up and regroup. Daytona is next week, so we have to be prepared for that.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Autodesk/Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“We had a really fast race No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse. I thought we had a shot at it there. I was picking them off on the restarts and working my way back up. I thought it was coming to us. I thought we were better than a lot of people in front of us. We had a huge run on the 39 off of Turn 2, and I went to his inside and thought I was clear. Obviously, I wasn’t clear. It’s a bummer deal. We’ll bounce back at Daytona and try to get another win. We’re locked into the playoffs and have really fast race cars. I was trying to put myself into the position to try to win the second stage because who knows if that was going to be the end of the race or not with the rain coming. I just fought and fought. I don’t know. We’ll watch the film and see what I can learn, and we’ll go to Daytona.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Wawa 250 on Friday, Aug. 23 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The race begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 NXS Post Race Quotes | Michigan International Speedway Saturday, August 17, 2024
FORD UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS 6th – Noah Gragson 7th – Matt DiBenedetto 13th – Ryan Sieg 28th – Kyle Sieg 24th – Blaine Perkins 25th – Logan Bearden 30th – Cole Custer 35th – Lawless Alan 38th – Riley Herbst
NOAH GRAGSON, No. 30 Ford Performance Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 6th)
HOW ABOUT THAT FINISH? “I was just a little too tight today, but I just want to say thank you so much to Terry and Lisa Jones, Matthew, Casey and Mark Rette and all the Rette Jones Racing guys. It was a lot of fun to drive this Ford Performance Ford Mustang Dark Horse out there. I really wanted to get the win for Ford at their home track here in Michigan and take home those bragging rights but I was just a little too tight, a little too draggy all weekend. We qualified 12th and made good moves all day and hung on for a fifth. We need to go to work for Darlington in this car next time, but overall I am just so grateful to be out here and for the fans sticking it out. I can’t say enough about these fans. We will try again tomorrow.”
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THIS PACKAGE THAT MADE THE RACING SO SKETCHY? “I don’t know if it was sketchy. I managed to build tight all day. My front tires wouldn’t turn and they would get worse and turn less and less so I would have to start lifting lap after lap there. It was kind of that way all weekend, even the Cup car. Some guys were complaining loose but I have been too tight. Overall, just super grateful. It is a little bit of a handful. Man, I want to be wide open but I know I have to crack the throttle just so keep some life on the right front tire. We will move on. We will learn and keep getting better.”
WHAT ME THROUGH THAT FINAL OVERTIME FINISH: “The 8 probably could have won the race. I wound up third there right away and then kind of lost it there. I think if the 8 would have gotten up we could have maybe gotten side by side with help on the back, I don’t know. But he didn’t get up and we were kind of tight in three and four coming to the white flag. But congrats to JRM and Justin Allgaier. I know a lot of those guys over at that organization but I really wanted to bring one home for Ford.”
RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
(Retired early due to damage in an accident on lap 48)
“We had a really fast race car. I thought we had a shot at it there. I was picking them off on the restarts and working my way back up. I thought it was coming to us. I thought we were better than a lot of people in front of us. We had a huge run on the 39 off of Turn 2 and I went to his inside and thought I was clear. Obviously I wasn’t clear. It is a bummer deal. We will bounce back at Daytona and try to get another win.”
DOES THE INDIANAPOLIS WIN MAKE THIS EASIER TO SWALLOW? “Yeah, for sure. We are locked into the playoffs and have really fast race cars. I was trying to put myself into the position to try to win the second stage because who knows if that was going to be the end of the race or not with the rain coming. I just fought and fought. I don’t know. We will watch the film and see what I can learn and we will go to Daytona.”
CREED, NEMECHEK EARN PODIUM FINISHES IN MICHIGAN Three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supras in the top-10 finishers
BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 17, 2024) – Sheldon Creed (second), John Hunter Nemechek (third) and Taylor Gray (eighth) led Toyota with top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday evening.
Creed earned his record-setting 11th runner-up finish, as the California-native is still looking for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series triumph.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series Michigan International Speedway Race 21 of 33 – 250 Miles, 125 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, Justin Allgaier* 2nd, SHELDON CREED 3rd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK 4th, Anthony Alfredo* 5th, Sammy Smith* 8th, TAYLOR GRAY 21st, JEFFREY EARNHARDT 27th, CHANDLER SMITH *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Another second-place finish, Sheldon. Is this a good second-place finish or a frustrating second-place?
“This one might have frustrated me the most out of all of them so far. I had a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra as fast as Xfinity internet today, and led the beginning, got spun there and rallied back. I was probably too conservative behind the 20 (John Hunter Nemechek) trying to save fuel. I was a couple, few laps short on fuel there and the 7 (Justin Allgaier) was in a little bit better spot, and once the 7 got around both of us, and the 88 (Carson Kvapil), I know I needed to go. I probably set behind the 20 another two laps and then charged and was running the 7 down. Just had a really good car, but that caution for rain came at a bad time for us.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What more did you need today?
“That long green flag run and saving fuel. We saved some fuel, and I just burned the right front off of it before we got that red flag and couldn’t get through the corner, but huge shoutout to Pye Barker, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Our Toyota GR Supra was really fast today. As fast as Xfinity internet. Just needed a little more there. I think if we could have stayed in front of the 7 (Justin Allgaier) before we had that red flag, we probably could have won the race. We had the speed to do it, just needed to execute a little bit better on my part and I should have asked for something different, I guess.”
TAYLOR GRAY, No. 19 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
Battled back from an early race spin and scored a strong top-10 finish. How was your day?
“Up and down day for us at the miniature Daytona. The spin early hurt us, and we had to kind of claw our way back through the field. It is really hard to pass. You really had to be smart about taking runs, and then pulling out of line and stuff like that. Just gave up my right rear on the green-white-checkered, and just kind of sacrificed a top-five doing that.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 29 electrified options.
Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
BROOKLYN, Mich (August 17, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Is there any possibility that your incident with Austin Dillon was a matter of circumstance?
“No, because Austin (Dillon) made a left-hand turn. After he made contact with the 22 (Joey Logano), he made a left hand turn to correct his course, straightened his course, and then turned left again, so there was two. If you can read the graph, there is a big left, straight, big left again.”
What do you think he’s trying to do?
“I think he’s trying to make contact. I can’t see him, because I have a big right-side headrest, but I know he is kind of coming down. He is able to see me because of the visibility of the window net. You can see when a car is passing you. More than likely, when he is getting told to come down, he is doing what he is told and then when he sees me, he’s probably just trying to make contact, but at that point, I nearly had him cleared. The right rear is just a vulnerable spot and can put you in a bad wreck position.”
How do you fix the system and is it fixed now with this penalty?
“I certainly hope so. I certainly would love to see it called in real time, going forward. I think there is going to be an opportunity, in a few weeks, for NASCAR to perhaps use the bottom series to start to set precedence for us and let people know that they are not going to put up with intentional wrecking for wins. I think there is some incidents that have happened in the past, that if this is a new precedence it could fall under those, I think for instance when I spun out Chase Elliott in 2017. I would deem that as well I know I didn’t intentionally wreck him, I tried to move him out of the way, I intentionally made contact with him. The result does matter, so I think – I watched a CARS Tour race and three times a car got put in the back for spinning. It just is an easy call. It really is an easy call, but you have to give the people in the tower the liberty to do it, and hopefully, we have created a new precedence where if you spin out the leader, and in such an egregious manner, you get to put to the last car on the lead lap or whatever it is going to be. I don’t think it will detour – we don’t really want to stop the contact – you are not going to. We are still going to push the edge to try to get the guy out of the groove to win the race. We are still going to make contact, but it is certainly going to give us pause in those situations where you saw like last weekend where it is not going to be worth it to clear somebody out that was deservingly going to win the race. Which is the fair part of sport of this. I think there is a balance of entertainment and sport that can be had here. It is just a matter of where this is really one that you need to put your foot down and we have to police the sporting aspect of this.”
Are you satisfied with NASCAR’s decision?
“I am. In the moment, you wish – well, if you just take the win, then everything fixes itself then kind of having this split decision, but as I understand it there is some iffy language in the rule book on if can you really go back and take a win at this point. I think in the future you just send whoever it is to the back, and it all fixes itself. You don’t have to worry about Playoff eligibility and stuff like that. Given how much time it took, it was probably the right call.”
So, you are comfortable if they need to add language where they can take wins away in the future?
“Yes. Well, yeah. You are just sending people to the back for rough driving. We have that ruling in the rule book, but you just actually implement the rough driving.”
Did you play basketball with Austin this week or have you spoke?
“He didn’t come. I have not.”
Do you need to?
“I just think – I don’t have anything negative to say about this with Austin (Dillon). I really don’t have anything negative to say about his character. I really stuck up for him quite about earlier in this year, when he was going through some pretty tough finishes and things like that, and talking about how I really respected his character, and I still do. He just was put in a really tough spot, where you have to make a split-second decision, and he made one that was not in the, in my opinion, best interest of the sport. People make mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves second chances.”
How is your shoulder?
“It was just more my whole right side. When you look at how these Next Gen cars take crashes, really the flat side impact is kind of the worst thing you can have because there is no crush there. There is not crush to have there. I would have been better off to nose it head on or back it in, because we have the softer bumpers now. It just happened to work that the total right side – it was very similar to how it felt from the Daytona rain crash, where I was in the lead, tank slapped it and hit it flat on the right side and it hurt my right side in that one as well. It was just a really weird circumstance, and just going 100 mph still can result in a really hard hit.”
Do you think the injury will affect your chance to win the championship?
“No, because I had some internal stuff that needed to be repaired, and now it is repaired, but even though it has been nine months since surgery, rotator cuff can take forever, and I’m not as young as I used to be, so I don’t recover quite as quick as I used to. It is one of those things where last year, I just kept making the injury worse and worse and worse, by continuing to race, this year, it is getting better each week, but weeks like last just take a little bit of week off.”
Did you go to the competition meeting this morning?
“It was not. We ran out of time.”
What do you think about Bristol being a cutoff race and do you think there is a potential for something like this to happen?
“Well, it is always possible, but I think – I’ve said this for quite some time, but if NASCAR just puts their foot down it will really scare us from doing these things in the future. When the Clash kind of got out of hand over time, at the end people were just cleaning each other out, it just takes one call – one black flag call – to, trust me, it will reset all of us to say, hmm, I can’t be as egregious as I was before. Certainly, those things could happen, people could be in a desperate situation, but they are going to have live with the result because the precedence has been set that there is a chance that will not count.”
Is the line anymore defined?
“I think that – yeah, I feel like I saw something that I’ve never seen before last week, and we saw an unprecedented penalty for it, so sometimes when you see something unprecedented, you have to respond in an unprecedented matter. I believe so. I believe that hard racing is still okay. I think if two cars are battling side-by-side and one of them hits the wall because of close racing that is going to be deemed okay. I think if you come from a long way back – you were not going to win the race until you decided to wreck someone, I think that is clear line in the sand, but sometimes balls and strikes aren’t totally clear. There is one right on the edge and you have to call it, but it is up to us to make the decision. Do we want to put ourselves in that position where it could be called one way or the other? I think that you just have to live with the result. I think if NASCAR policies it and intentional wrecks for the win going forward, there is going to be some close calls, but you put yourself in that spot, so you are going to live with the result and the ruling on it.”
Did you have any issue when NASCAR turned on the caution light?
“I don’t think so. We talked a little about it today. They are going to try to get us to the finish line as much as they can in a safe manner. If it happened right when Joey (Logano) hit the wall, then certainly, we would have been ahead. I don’t know if it would have changed what happened with the 3 (Austin Dillon). I think he was still going to be in an erratic situation. I don’t know. They are always going to try to get us to the finish line, and probably what the deemed was the 22 was up out of the groove, and not an immediate threat, and we were so close to the finish line that they were going to try to let us go as long as they did. In my mind, they did throw the caution on the secondary – when I hit the wall at a heavy rate, they threw the caution kind of right when I hit it, so they didn’t just let it go all the way to the finish line, which was good.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 29 electrified options.
Toyota Racing – Bubba Wallace NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
BROOKLYN, Mich (August 17, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Were you relieved when you heard the penalty because of where you are in the Playoff battle?
“Yes. It definitely helps us out. We are still only in by three, but there are still four spots left instead of the three. Definitely a relief there, but it is still going to be a dogfight. I said that after the race – it is going to be a dogfight for the next three races. We are still not safe but there is an extra spot open now.”
What do you feel like has led to the recent consistent run for your team?
“Taking a step back, taking a deep breath and working through the problems. Accepting if it is not your day, handle it – and when it is not your day, it’s not that bad of a day. When it is a good day, we are executing on those days as well. We’ve shown up with a lot of speed the last few weeks. We’ve shown up with our heads in the game, and we’ve been close a couple of times. I said that at the beginning of the year – you have to put your name in the hat, and we went a long time not even having right size of hat on. Definitely showing up and being in the game, from the start of practice to the end of the race. It is so hard to do. Every weekend that is our main goal – just to be in the game, and you don’t know when you are not in it until the green flag falls. It could be stage one or stage two or the last stage – you never know. You just have to fight so hard with today’s car, and how the races play out – it is just so damn hard. You have one mistake, and you are killed. Passing is nearly impossible, so you want to maintain track position as much as you can, and I’ve done a lot of things to give up track position. We haven’t executed to keep track position. I think now we’ve been vibing. We’ve been jelling and moving the needle. You can’t ever get complacent. It doesn’t matter how your last five was – it doesn’t mean your next five are going to be the same. It is a new set of downs. It is a new week, and it all starts today.”
Are you comfortable on knowing where the line is during these races? How would the rest of the season have played out if this line hadn’t been done?
“I think just growing up – it takes me back to the summer shootout, and (Steve) Post is back there. Post knows how many fights I’ve been in and whatnot and wrecking people and learning from that. You learn that is not right, and you try to turn over a clean slate, and you try to race with a lot of respect. I know that homeboy is probably tired of getting talked about, but I got wrecked twice in two weeks in Legend Cars and I told him, hey, we don’t race like that. I know that I haven’t been here in five years, but we don’t do that, and he’s like the whole field does that, so learn how to do it. I’m like, holy shit that is not the right answer. And then you see stuff like that on Sundays. I know it’s like – y’all do it there, and you’ve got a point. I knew where I was at – fourth or fifth. My emotions coming off of (turn) two heading to the checkered, I was like – he may get him, but thank God Joey (Logano) is leading. I’m thinking about points here – cool, Joey is leading. Don’t know if he is safe. Oh shit, he hit him. Ok sweet, Denny (Hamlin) is going to win. Wow. That is where we are. That was my range of emotions. At the bottom line, I think you grow up racing, going through your wrecks, finally stop wrecking, start winning, start running competitive, earn respect. I said it after the race. People are going to say what does Bubba Wallace have to say about respect? And they are going to bring up shit from two years ago, because they live in the past. When you feel like you are wronged in the sport, and it is so hard, and you fight your ass off each and every race, and every minute, every hour of the race and someone just feels like they don’t respect it, you retaliate. The officials upstairs will say every incident is different. No, it is not. It is retaliation. That is all it is. Retaliation. You feel like you are wronged, and it is a knee jerk reaction. I’m not saying that is what is right. That’s just what happens. Something is ripped away from you, so you are going to rip it away from them. You want to fight, then here we go. It comes down to retaliation, and I don’t know. I didn’t read the article – but Denny’s hit was the hardest in the Next Gen car. Is that correct? (information provided) That is what it is. From those moments you grow, and you mature, and you know the line, and for me, would I have made that move? I would have tried my hardest to get to the 22 (Joey Logano) without spinning him, but then that was it. I lost. Throw in the towel, that is it.”
Did you feel like a suspension was warranted?
“Retaliation is retaliation, so if we are going to set the line there, then yeah, but myself and Chase (Elliott) were in the middle of the race. This one was different. In the same category as retaliation, so I think not being a Playoff eligible win – we go through the points and money stuff – that somewhat nets out the same. Kinda.”
Does this go back to the ‘win, and you are in?’
“It starts at media day in Daytona and what will you do to win a race?”
Who’s fault is that?
“The system’s fault. They created this system where you put it on the line, but at the same time, we always say will you wreck your mother to win? Of course, yeah. (laughter) No, you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. You do everything in your power under the respectful line to win the race. Now people want to relate (Joey) Logano and (Martin) Truex at Martinsville the same as what happened to Richmond. Who are these people? He moved him out of the way, knocked him out of the groove, and they drag raced to the line. Yeah, he may have plowed him, but he didn’t spin him out, wreck him and didn’t give him a chance to finish. He finished second. Where Truex messed up is he shouldn’t have let him get to his back bumper. Kept him on the outside. It is nuts how we can relate that to this and this to that. I don’t know. You just have to remember where you came from and what it took to get here and what you had to go through and earn respect of people. I remember getting to the Truck level and you would race harder because you are a rookie. Things change. You start to gain the respect of your peers. You move up to Xfinity. The cycle resets. Then you get to Cup, and it resets again. You have to earn and respect your way in the Cup level, because at the end of the day it is a self-policing field. If the officials don’t take care of you, we know how to take care of you.”
Is there enough time to make a decision in the last 350 feet?
“You can never walk in someone else’s shoes and relive that moment, but I would assume he went in there and obviously, he checked up to see where he was going, and his spotter is just screaming at him to hook him and wreck him. It’s like you almost forgot about the 11 (Denny Hamlin) – you are out there on an island, got him out of the way, and oh shit, I messed up, and take out the 11. It is a little bit of knowing where your surroundings are, forgetting about the car behind and reacting to that. I think that is possible.”
Do you feel good about the last three races of the regular season?
“Yeah, for sure. The last five races, I had a top-three average finish. Definitely the mojo is there, but that is the past. It’s like Chase (Elliott) said it the best a few years ago, the past success doesn’t mean future success. It is a new opportunity. It’s nice to know that we are not heading into three road course races. Although, I’m enjoying the time on road courses. It is nice to know there is three good tracks coming up. It helps the vibe, and it helps the momentum for us, but it does not slow up the work process. The workload just gets heavier for us, and we have enough great people on this team to dig all through it and capitalize on it.”
Do you think you can have another successful race weekend here in Michigan like you did a couple of years ago?
“I hope so. I remember that day vividly. I remember the car and how it drove, the temperature outside, everything about it. Hoping to replicate that – that would be awesome – one spot better. I know what I did on the last restart to give the win away, but yeah, it is a great day. It is a great start to the day. Sorry, I overslept a little bit, I was trying to catch up on the pre-baby sleep, but it is a good day. Hopefully, shaping up to be a good weekend. We always circle this place as a place that we want to come up and dominate. Last year, we did not do that. Two years ago, we were close, so it is time to reset the downs and do it again today and tomorrow.”
About Toyota
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NASCAR CUP SERIES MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 17, 2024
Ross Chastain, Driver of the No. 1 Busch Light Peach Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
If NASCAR did not penalize Austin Dillon, would you be willing to do what he did to make the playoffs?
“I don’t know.. I think it’s a case-by-case. I never thought I would drive into the wall in fifth gear at Martinsville (Speedway), until I did it. I think that no one knows what’s going through Austin’s (Dillon) head for that scenario. So I don’t know.. I don’t have a predetermined decision on what I’m going to do. It’s just racing at the end of these races.”
With how tight the bubble is, how are you approaching the next three races and how do you feel like they set up for the No. 1 team?
“Hopefully just getting faster. I mean you look at Christopher (Buescher) and I, we’re tied in points. We have the same average finishing position. It’s funny.. I don’t feel like we’ve raced around each other a ton. Yeah, I don’t look at anything other than trying to go fast. Coming out of the break, obviously you go to Richmond (Raceway) and run up inside the top-10; drive up there from the 20s and into 11th-ish. And then to race and go on and finish fifth, that’s better than we have been for several months. So that’s the only thing we’re focused on.. executing. I missed pit road at Richmond in Stage Two on the second green flag stop. That cost us spots when we were ahead of the No. 3 at that time. I came out several seconds behind him, the No. 23 and somebody else, and I never passed them again. So minimizing those kind of mistakes.. obviously it’s a lot bigger penalty here if you miss pit road. Or if you speed.. that’s more often going to be the case here. At Richmond, I just couldn’t even turn down.. I mean I couldn’t hit the orange box, let alone get below it. So yeah, that’s the only goal for this No. 1 team and Trackhouse.. just to go faster. That’s going to solve a lot of our problems.”
Your COTA win was hard racing contact and now people are say, ‘well wait a minute, is the line murkier now’. Are you confident that even after this decision that what happened at COTA would be allowable and viewed as ‘OK’ to win a race, or are you concerned now that if you’re in that situation again and I make contact, that I might get it taken from me? Do you know where the line is?
“Obviously I feel like COTA was fine. I got moved; I covered the bottom in (turn) 16 and AJ (Allmendinger) moved me off of that line. I think the biggest mistake there was that he didn’t move me far enough. He didn’t move me up into the rocks and into the tires. So he gave me a chance to move him back and, in my opinion, if the No. 48 isn’t there, the No. 16 just goes wide in (turn) 19 and he’s a couple car lengths back coming to the checkered and we run one-two or he finishes third. Yeah, I feel like they look at all that. We’re not in those meetings. We’re not the ones deciding, but they’re human. NASCAR is a bunch of humans making decisions and they’re looking at the total body of work.”
I don’t think you have any beef with Joey (Logano) too much that I’ve seen. Obviously you and Denny (Hamlin) have had issues in the past. This system that is setup, it has rewarded this type of activity.. rough driving is part of this system to make the playoffs. You’ll do whatever. How do you fix that, and is it fixed with this ‘line’ supposedly?
“Yeah, I think it’s good to remember that the line is not written down. There’s no words; there’s no pictures and drawings of a line. For some to say that it’s clear, it’s a total body of work. It’s a culmination of decisions that we all make, and we’re all watching each other; watching and listening to the tower and they’re watching and listening to us. We’re watching our competitors. I’m going back and watching myself after an event and I continue to evolve. Yeah, it’s not clear, but I am constantly aware of what I feel like everyone is thinking. You just can’t be too far against the grain, is my opinion.”
You’ve heard people say that whenever a driver makes a move, they’re showing it as retaliation or some sort of move more directed towards one person. The rest of the garage sees it. The rest of the garage understands it and maybe then starts to judge how they view that person. When we see something like what the No. 3 car did, do you feel like there’s an effect throughout the garage, that people start to look at you differently in certain? Is that part of the fallout, I guess, of the situation?
“I think mine and Austin’s (Dillon) are different because he’s established and has been in the sport for longer than me. When my stuff, I guess in Cup, got loud I’ll call it; I was still the new guy to be competitive in Cup. I feel like the guys that were nice to me in conversation or just passing in the garage or maybe, in my opinion, just were OK with me being a Xfinity or back-in-pack Cup, maybe win a few Truck races, maybe win a few Xfinity races; but I was never going to be direct competition. When I became competition, they suddenly had extra reasons to have a problem with me. That’s my opinion, is that they were OK with me when I was just ‘Ross the watermelon farmer’.. they didn’t have to worry too much about him. Consistently I was up there and then I made some mistakes and they did too, so it was easy for them to pile on. I think Austin is way more established; obviously with the family history, he’s been raised in the sport so they knew him long before he drove. I was still the ‘new’ guy to Cup. It wasn’t a clear path for me to get here. So I just feel like we’re too different to really compare.”
With your position in points, five of the last seven Daytona races have been won by drivers who had to win to secure a playoff spot. What are the opportunities or challenges going into Daytona needing to secure a playoff position?
“It’s home for me, so the summertime race (at Daytona) is just a bright spot in my memories of going over fourth of July weekend. Being able to win a Xfinity race there in 2019 was just a bucket list, life achievement after watching those late Busch Series races back then and Cup races Saturday night. So I just have those memories. I know right where I sat in the grandstands before Daytona rising at pit-out. I just have so many memories with friends and family there; camping outside of turn one before it was a nice campground. Yeah, it doesn’t make it easier though. I know the last two years going down there, I’ve just been able to enjoy family and the experience of racing at Daytona. A lot like the 500, where I’ve learned to just enjoy it for what it is. There’s just no way around it. If we leave here and don’t have it secured, then it’s math.. you just have to know that if you finish bad, you get less points, and if you finish good in the stags and the race, then you get more points. It’s just simple math. But we’re really excited about the next three races and changing some of those stats for who’s been winning here at Michigan.”
The simple math says that there will be one more driver in on points than before NASCAR’s decision, so were you pleased with NASCAR’s decision on Austin Dillon?
“When I read it, I didn’t really have much thoughts on like the – we’re watching it all unfold. We’re listening to people; hearing who’s loud and who’s the squeaky wheel. It looks like they got some grease there, so I feel like for me – I mean yeah, it affects us, so you look at that. You look at how it resets; kind of just note it and move on. There’s still an appeal next week, so we’ll see how that plays out. It doesn’t change how I drive here because like the math says, it doesn’t really change for us much. All of us just slid one spot. If we gain a handful of points, we’ll be ahead of all of them.”
About Chevrolet
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