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For the first time in 65 races, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. triumphantly drove his way to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series division after he edged Brad Keselowski in a photo finish during an overtime shootout to win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 6.
The 2023 Daytona 500 champion from Olive Branch, Mississippi, led five times for 19 of 195 over-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified 32nd and used the draft to muscle his way to second place after the first stage period. After avoiding carnage after the second stage period that knocked out the reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Stenhouse spent the majority of the final stage period mixing up the competition with his fellow competitors and Playoff contenders amid a series of three and four-wide action as the competitors raced in tight formation and aggressively at the front.
After barely dodging a track-record 28-car wreck on the backstretch with five laps remaining, where he got hit in the driver’s side by a spinning Austin Cindric but escaped with the lead, Stenhouse then outdueled and edged Brad Keselowski by 0.006 seconds amid an overtime shootout to claim his first elusive Cup Series victory of this year and become the third non-Playoff competitor to win throughout the 2024 Playoffs.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 5, Michael McDowell won his sixth Cup pole position this season and his career after he posted a pole-winning lap at 183.063 mph in 52.310 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Austin Cindric, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 182.424 mph in 52.493 seconds.
Before the event, Playoff contender Daniel Suarez dropped to the rear of the field and was assessed a drive-through penalty after taking the green flag due to an unapproved adjustment made to the roof area of Suarez’s No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet entry during the event’s pre-race inspection process. While no additional penalties were warranted, Suarez’s car chief was ejected from Sunday’s event.
Playoff contender Christopher Bell also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry, but he was assessed no drive-through penalty.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Michael McDowell and Austin Cindric dueled for the lead in front of two stacks of competitors running in two drafted lanes. Through the first two turns, McDowell muscled ahead from the inside lane with drafting help from teammate Todd Gilliland, but Cindric fought back through the backstretch and on the outside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch. As Suarez served his drive-through penalty while the field fanned out entering the frontstretch, McDowell led the first lap over Cindric and Gilliland.
Over the next four laps, the field fanned out to as wide as four lanes through every straightaway and corner before settling to three stacked lanes. At the front, McDowell, who transitioned from the inside to the outside lane, maintained the lead over Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher while Cindric and Ryan Preece followed suit ahead of Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Playoff contender Joey Logano, Todd Gilliland and Martin Truex Jr. By then, the top-39 competitors were separated by nearly two seconds while Suarez trailed the lead pack by 35 seconds. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Denny Hamlin, who started in the top 10 before he was shuffled out of the draft earlier, was mired in 37th place.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, the top-six spots were occupied by Ford competitors as McDowell retained the lead ahead of Keselowski, Gilliland, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney, Cindric and Buescher while Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Preece and Harrison Burton were racing in the top 10. Behind, Noah Gragson, Logano, Playoff contender Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Playoff contender Kyle Larson were scored in the top 15 as Shane van Gisbergen, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Playoff contender Tyler Reddick, Corey LaJoie and Playoff contender Chase Briscoe were mired in the top 20. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron were back in the top-25 mark while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell and Hamlin were scored in 33rd and 37th, respectively as Suarez, who was still mired in 40th place, trailed by 49 seconds.
A lap later, the event’s first caution flew when Suarez, who was lapped by the leaders through the first two turns but opted to blend in with the lead and the draft, made contact with BJ McLeod while trying to move up in front of McLeod through the backstretch. The contact sent both into the outside wall before Suarez spun his No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 below the track and came to a rest with flat-spotted tires towards the Turns 3 and 4 apron as Byron barely dodged Suarez.
During the first caution period, where Suarez limped his damaged car to pit road, a majority of the lead lap field led by McDowell pitted while the rest led by McLeod and including Bell and Hamlin remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Keselowski exited pit road first ahead of McDowell and Cindric while Austin Dillon, Gragson, Buescher, Blaney, Truex, Stenhouse and Preece were scored in the top 10. The remaining competitors who did not pit during the first cycle led by McLeod pitted before the restart, which handed the lead back to Keselowski.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 16, Keselowski and McDowell dueled for the lead through the first two turns and in front of two stacked lanes. The field started to fan out through the backstretch as McDowell had Cindric drafting him on the outside lane while Keselowski had Austin Dillon drafting him on the inside lane. Through the frontstretch, McDowell reassumed the lead and he quickly transitioned his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse in front of Keselowski’s No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse to gain a draft from him while Cindric was trying to regain momentum with drafting help from Buescher. This forced McDowell to go on defense through two lanes while Kyle Busch was charging from a third drafting lane toward the outside lane.
At the Lap 20 mark, the top 39 competitors were running within one second of one another and fanned out to three stacked lanes as McDowell held a slight advantage over Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Preece and Austin Dillon while Cindric, Gilliland, Gragson, Buescher and Justin Haley were racing in the top 10.
Two laps later, McDowell nearly lost the lead to Preece through the frontstretch, but teammate Gilliland shoved McDowell back out front of the pack from the middle lane, where both Front Row Motorsports competitors went on defense to fend off Kyle Busch on the outside lane and Preece on the inside lane. As McDowell proceeded to lead the Lap 25 mark ahead of Gilliland and Kyle Busch, the trio of Cindric, Bowman and Blaney were the only Playoff contenders scored in the top 10 on the track.
By Lap 30, the top 39 competitors were separated by one-and-a-half seconds as McDowell continued to lead while fending off teammate Gilliland, Cindric, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley and a bevy of competitors running in a stack of three drafted lanes. With Playoff contenders Cindric, Bowman and Blaney racing in the top 10, Hamlin, Logano, Larson and Reddick were mired inside the top-20 mark while Briscoe followed suit in 21st place. Meanwhile, Elliott and Bell were mired back in 25th and 28th, respectively, while Byron dropped to 33rd place.
Nearing the Lap 40 mark, the field started to aggressively fan out to four tight lanes through every corner and straightaway as McDowell was being challenged by Haley for the lead. Haley assumed the top spot on Lap 38 while Cindric and Ross Chastain challenged him for the top spot amid a tight stack of three lanes. By then, McDowell had Haley racing in front of him amid the draft while Larson drafted Chastain to the lead at the Lap 40 mark towards the outside wall.
Three laps later, a tight four-wide formation for the lead occurred as Chastain, Larson, Alex Bowman and Daniel Hemric all challenged one another for the lead in front of a bevy of competitors running in close-quarters racing amid the draft. Chastain would then muscle his No. 1 Busch Light Camo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead to lead at the Lap 45 mark while the rest of the field behind continued to duel against one another through four tight lanes. By then, 11 of 12 Playoff contenders were racing within the top-25 mark while five, including Larson, Bowman, Cindric, Bell and Hamlin were racing within the top-10 mark.
At the Lap 50 mark, Chastain retained a narrow lead over a hard-charging Hemric, who had Hamlin drafting him, as a majority of the front-runners remained in a tight four-wide formation for the lead. Chastain along with Ty Gibbs and Larson would then break away from the pack by four-tenths of a second during the following lap before the field caught back up through the backstretch. Hemric would then get shuffled out of the draft through Turns 3 and 4 as Larson assumed the lead from teammate Bowman and Chastain during the next lap period.
With the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes, Chastain led the Lap 53 mark before Ty Gibbs aggressively made his move to the lead. With Chastain rocketing back ahead, Hamlin would then get briefly shuffled out of the lead draft as Larson, Bowman, Haley, Ty Gibbs, Cindric and others followed suit behind Chastain. By Lap 55, the aggressiveness of the front-runners intensified amid three lanes as Chastain remained on defense to fend off Larson, Cindric and Bowman at the front.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Chris Buescher muscled his No. 17 Nexletol Ford Mustang Dark Horse to the front and fended off Stenhouse to claim his third Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Stenhouse followed suit in second as Byron, Larson, Bell, Reddick, Chastain, Briscoe, Cindric and Blaney were scored in the top 10 while the top 25 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. With seven of 12 Playoff contenders accumulating a first round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Bowman, Logano, Elliott, Hamlin and Suarez ended up 11th, 17th, 19th, 23rd and 40th, respectively, with the latter pinned two laps behind.
Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Buescher returned to pit road for service while select names including Shane van Gisbergen, Keselowski, rookie Zane Smith, Austin Dillon and Justin Haley remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Byron exited pit road first, followed by Buescher, Bell, Reddick, Stenhouse, Briscoe, Blaney, Cindric, Chastain and Ty Gibbs. Amid the pit stops, Gilliland was hit by Bubba Wallace and sent sliding towards his pit box while nearly dodging Byron in the process while Larson endured a slow pit stop after he had to reverse to exit his entry out of his pit box.
During the following lap, van Gisbergen, Keselowski, Zane Smith and Austin Dillon would pit their respective entries while Haley remained on the track to inherit the lead. A bevy of names led by Haley and Hemric would then pit to top off on fuel a lap prior to the second stage’s start.
The second stage period started on Lap 66 as Buescher and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Buescher and Reddick dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes running tightly as Chase Elliott was shoved out of the draft. With rookie Josh Berry trying to start a third drafting lane towards the outside wall, Reddick led the following lap by a hair over Buescher as both continued to duel for the top spot in front of Stenhouse, Bell, Briscoe and Blaney.
Just past the Lap 70 mark and with the field returning to three-wide formation Buescher was leading both the race and a lane running towards the outside wall while McDowell led the middle lane. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie led the inside lane as Buescher had drafting help from Bell to remain ahead of McDowell for the following lap.
At the Lap 75 mark, LaJoie made his presence at the front known as he led ahead of John Hunter Nemechek, Buescher, Cody Ware and Bell while McDowell, Hamlin, Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Erik Jones were scored in the top 10 ahead of Cindric, Reddick, Logano, Stenhouse, Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Preece, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger and rookie Carson Hocevar. With all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors mired back within the top-30 mark, McDowell, who reassumed the lead a lap earlier, dueled with Buescher for the lead as Burton, LaJoie, Briscoe and Bell followed suit while the top 26 competitors were separated under a second of one another.
Two laps later, seven Ford competitors, including all four Stewart-Haas Racing competitors and McDowell, pitted under green for fuel. Amid the pit stops, Blaney was leading ahead of van Gisbergen, Cindric, Logano and Chastain while Keselowski and Gilliland, both of whom missed their marks while trying to pit with the Ford competitors and were forced to cycle around the superspeedway venue an extra lap, pitted during the following lap. By Lap 86, however, nine Ford competitors led by Buescher, all of whom pitted, trailed the lead by nearly 36 seconds as Blaney retained the lead.
Within the Lap 90 mark, van Gisbergen, who assumed the lead two laps earlier, was leading as he was trying to fend off Blaney and Chastain through two stacked lanes while the top 27 competitors were separated within a second of one another.
At the halfway mark on Lap 94, the lead pack aggressively lapped Keselowski, Cody Ware and Gilliland through the backstretch as van Gisbergen assumed the lead from Blaney, who was getting stalled by his fellow Ford competitors and caused the field to scatter and fan out. Just then, Truex spun his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE as he locked up the brakes while he was trying to enter pit road along with his Toyota teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing, 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club. The race, however, remained under green flag conditions as the Toyota competitors pitted primarily for fuel. Soon after, Truex was lapped as van Gisbergen retained the lead ahead of Chastain, Blaney, Elliott, Byron and Cindric.
By Lap 100, van Gisbergen led the top-13 competitors to pit road for service under green as Hemric nearly ran into the rear of Kyle Busch while trying to reduce the speed of his car while Austin Dillon nearly missed his pit stall while pitting A lap earlier, more names including Chevrolet competitors Chastain, Byron, Bowman, Larson, Stenhouse and Suarez had pitted under green as Cindric cycled into the lead ahead of Elliott, van Gisbergen and Blaney. With the rest of the field, all of whom had pitted, slowly closing back in on the leaders amid the draft, the competitors within the field also started to scatter and fan out as Cindric retained the lead.
Within the Lap 105 mark, the top 30 competitors were separated by more than a second as the field started to fan out to two drafted lanes. In the process, Cindric retained the lead, where he blocked teammate Blaney exiting the backstretch as Blaney had Kyle Busch drafting him while Elliott led the inside lane ahead of van Gisbergen, Byron, Bubba Wallace and Hemric. The aggressiveness of the draft amongst the front-runners intensified shortly after as Cindric and Elliott dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes through every corner and straightaway.
On Lap 110, Cindric and Elliott continued to duel tightly against one another for the lead in front of two stacked lanes as the top-29 competitors were separated by two seconds. By then, five of 12 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 10, with 10 contenders racing within the top-20 mark.
Seven laps later, McDowell, who was running towards the rear of the lead pack, pitted under green for fuel. By then, AJ Allmendinger was lapped while both Cindric and Elliott fiercely dueled for the lead in front of the pack.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Playoff contender Austin Cindric fended off the pack to score his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season while teammate Blaney was bumped by Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the frontstretch. The contact resulted in Blaney getting loose and veering his No. 12 Pennzoil/Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse back across the path of Chastain, where both collided against one another and towards the outside wall while teammate Logano, Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Reddick and LaJoie also sustained damage to their respective entries. Despite ending up eighth and 10th, respectively, Blaney and Chastain were knocked out of further contention, with the former concluding his event with a total of four stage points.
Amid the carnage, Elliott settled in second place ahead of Kyle Busch, van Gisbergen and Byron while Bowman, Wallace and Larson occupied the remaining top 10 spots on the track. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders including Reddick, Hamlin, Briscoe, Logano, Bell and Suarez did not rack up any points during the second stage’s conclusion while Allmendinger claimed the free pass spot by being the first competitor scored a lap down ahead of Suarez and Anthony Alfredo.
Under the stage break, a majority of the lead lap field led by Cindric returned to pit road, primarily for fuel, while others led by Reddick remained on the track. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Kyle Busch exited pit road first ahead of Cindric, Wallace, Elliott and Byron while Larson, van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Bowman and Hemric followed suit in the top 10, with Bowman being penalized for removing equipment out of his pit box. Not long after, the remaining competitors who remained on the track led by Reddick pitted, which handed the lead to Busch.
With 61 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Kyle Busch and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, Busch received a strong shove from Cindric from the outside lane, where he maintained a steady lead through the first two turns and managed to break ahead through the backstretch. Wallace, however, fought back from the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4, but Busch would lead the following lap by a hair over Wallace. By then, the field fanned out to three drafted lanes as Buescher tried to ignite a charge toward the outside lane. Meanwhile, Wallace had drafting help from Byron on the inside lane while Busch, who led the next lap, had Cindric drafting him on the outside lane.
Over the next four laps, Wallace managed to lead ahead of Busch as the front-runners returned to a three-wide formation. With 55 laps remaining, however, Buescher and Briscoe briefly rocketed away from the field through Turns 3 and 4 before the field caught back up through the frontstretch. As the field settled in by the following lap, a three-wide formation for the lead ensued as Allmendinger led both the race and the drafting lane toward the outside lane. With Allmendinger going on defense, he had Buescher, Briscoe and Cody Ware all closing in on him with Wallace, Kyle Busch, Gilliland, Byron, Logano and Cindric following suit.
With 50 laps remaining, Logano, who suffered front nose damage to the front of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse after he got collected in the second stage’s wreck that involved teammate Blaney, emerged with the lead in front of a stack of three-wide competition from the field, with Allmendinger, Cody Ware, Kyle Busch and Briscoe scored in the top five. By then, six of the remaining 11 Playoff contenders on the track were racing within the top-10 mark while the remaining four that included Reddick, Byron, Bell and Hamlin were mired within the top-30 mark.
Ten laps later, Allmendinger, who spent the previous 10 laps trailing Logano before he overtook him amid the draft two laps earlier, was leading ahead of Logano, Briscoe, Gilliland and Buescher while Cindric, Stenhouse, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Elliott were scored in the top 10 as the top-34 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. By then, the field was locked in a three-wide formation at the front while Allmendinger had drafting help from Briscoe from the inside lane that enabled him to remain ahead of Logano and Cindric. The field then fanned out to four drafting lanes four laps later as both Logano and Cindric muscled ahead of Allmendinger.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, a three-wide battle for the lead between Allmendinger, Logano and Cindric continued to ensue in front of three stacked lanes as the top-35 competitors were separated by more than a second. By then, Logano, Cindric and Briscoe were the only Playoff contenders racing in the top-10 mark while seven additional contenders were racing within the top-25 mark. Meanwhile, Suarez was still mired a lap down in 36th place.
Nine laps later, select names including Allmendinger, Hemric, van Gisbergen and Anthony Alfredo peeled off the track to pit for fuel under green. Back on the track, Cindric led with 20 laps remaining over Austin Dillon before Buescher, Wallace and Erik Jones pitted under green, with the former getting sideways and locking up his front tires while trying to reduce his pace before entering pit road.
With 17 laps remaining, nine competitors led by Stenhouse and including Byron, Elliott, Larson and Suarez all pitted under green before a bevy of competitors led by Gilliland pitted under green during the following lap. By then, Gilliland was penalized for speeding while entering pit road as he locked up the front tires of his No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang Dark Horse as more names led by McDowell pitted.
Back on the track and with a majority of the field, including those who pitted, settling in back within the racing groove, Cindric was leading ahead of Keselowski and Logano as the top 21 competitors were separated by less than two seconds with 15 laps remaining. In the ensuing laps, Cindric had Keselowski shoving him from the inside lane while Stenhouse launched a side-by-side duel from the outside lane with drafting help from Elliott.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the top 29 competitors were separated by more than a second as both Cindric and Stenhouse continued to duel for the lead in front of two stacked lanes as Cindric and Stenhouse also continued to have drafting help from Keselowski and Stenhouse, respectively.
Five laps later, Cindric continued to lead ahead of Stenhouse, Keselowski and a bevy of competitors racing in two-wide formation while Austin Dillon, who was mired in 29th place, tried to ignite a third drafting lane towards the outside wall.
Shortly after, the caution flew when Keselowski gave the leader Cindric a huge bump in the rear, which got Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse loose and ramming into the left driver’s side of Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger/Palmolive Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 before he spun in the middle of the pack and scrambled the field, with nearly every competitor racing in the lead pack spinning and crashing into one another and towards the walls through the backstretch. Among those who were involved included Playoff contenders Elliott, Briscoe, Logano, Bowman, Bell and Reddick as pole-sitter McDowell was also left with a wrecked race car.
The incident that collected a track-record 28 competitors was enough for the event to be sent into overtime as Stenhouse, who was hit in the driver’s side, escaped with the lead followed by Keselowski, Byron, Larson and Kyle Busch. It also placed the event in a red flag period for more than eight minutes before the scattered field led by Stenhouse resumed under a cautious pace. By then, Briscoe and Elliott, both of whom had their respective cars towed back to their pit stalls and were given clearance by NASCAR to have their cars repaired, managed to continue despite dropping out of the lead lap category while teammates Logano and Cindric were ruled out of the race.
When the race returned under green flag conditions, the start of the first overtime attempt featured Stenhouse and Keselowski dueling for the lead while Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron and Larson followed suit ahead of Bell, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones. Stenhouse and Keselowski continued to battle dead even in front of two stacked lanes exiting the backstretch before they returned to Turns 3 and 4.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Stenhouse and Keselowski remained deadlocked against one another for the lead and in front of the field. Through Turns 1 and 2, Kyle Busch was shoved out of the draft by Erik Jones, which resulted in Busch drifting towards the rear of the field as both Stenhouse and Keselowski continued to duel while being drafted by Byron and Larson, respectively.
Then through Turns 3 and 4, Keselowski muscled ahead and had both lanes under his control. Stenhouse, however, came storming back to draw even with Keselowski with drafting help from Byron’s No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entering the frontstretch while Keselowski had no drafting help from Larson and Bell. As the field fanned out approaching the start/finish line, Stenhouse edged Keselowski by 0.006 seconds to claim the checkered flag and be awarded his first Cup Series victory of the 2024 season.
With the victory, Stenhouse, whose margin of victory (0.006 seconds) marks the sixth-closest finish recorded in the history of the Cup Series, snapped a 65-race winless drought dating back to his previous victory in the 2023 Daytona 500 as he scored his fourth career win in the Cup Series, all occurring between Talladega Superspeedway or Daytona International Speedway. The victory was the 14th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the third ever for JTG-Daugherty Racing. Stenhouse also became the second competitor to win the Playoff event at Talladega as a non-Playoff contender since the inception of the current Playoff elimination-style format in 2014.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in,” Stenhouse, who dedicated his victory to those affected by Hurricane Helene, said on NBC. “Obviously, we haven’t won since the [Daytona] 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season. It was a lot of hard work this season, just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew this track is one of ours to come get. This means a lot winning here. Man, what a day. Just proud of this group. I’m looking forward to seeing [co-owner Brad Daugherty]. This win’s really, really special.”
Brad Keselowski, who led two laps and just fell short of winning at Talladega in April earlier this season, settled in second place for the fourth time in 2024.
“[Larson] gave me a good push down the frontstretch, but [Byron] was able to really stick with [Stenhouse],” Keselowski said. “[I] Needed a tiny bit there, but good finish for us. We’ve been knocking on the door on these plate tracks. [I] Hate that we didn’t bust through with the win, but happy to be right there in contention.”
Meanwhile, Playoff competitors and teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson accomplished their goals of notching strong results at Talladega by finishing third and fourth, respectively. The third-place result was enough for Byron to clinch his spot into the Playoff’s Round of 8 based on points while Larson is scored 52 points above the top-eight cutline.
“Just proud of my team,” Byron said. “[They] Brought a good car here. Thanks to my spotter Branden [Lines]. He did a great job all day. We missed a couple wrecks early on that were sketchy, just when we were saving fuel and things like that. Really happy to advance on points [in the Playoffs]. We’ll be on attack [mode] going in the Round of 8 and next week. Next week’s my home track, so I look forward to that place. Hopefully, get a win there.”
“[This is my] Second top five of my career in general on speedways, so I’ll take that,” Larson added. “It’s really cool. Obviously, there’s a lot of luck that plays into just finishing these races. I feel like we do a great job and today just showed that. It’s cool to finally go into the [Charlotte] Roval with a 52-point gap. That race is stressful. It’s way more stressful to me than Talladega, so glad to not have to worry about it too much.”
Erik Jones logged in the first top-five result of the season for both himself and Legacy Motor Club by finishing fifth while Playoff contender Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Playoff contender Denny Hamlin completed the top 10 in the final running order.
With four of 12 Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney ended up 16th, 20th, 26th, 29th, 30th, 32nd, 33rd and 39th, respectively.
With the results, the four Playoff contenders who enter next weekend’s Round of 8 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course below the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings are Logano, Suarez, Cindric and Briscoe. Meanwhile, Reddick and Elliott occupy the final two transfer spots by 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Ryan Blaney escapes with a 25-point advantage from the cutline amid his Stage 2 accident that resulted in him finishing in the next-to-last position in the leaderboard.
There were 66 lead changes for 24 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 24 laps. In addition, 22 of 40 starters finished on the lead lap.
The Round of 12 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to conclude next Sunday, October 13, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in Concord, North Carolina, for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 and where the second of three elimination processes will occur. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
Shane van Gisbergen qualified 17th for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
On lap 12 of the race, the first caution came out, and the No. 16 opted to come to pit road for fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage in 31st. After drafting with the pack for multiple laps, the No. 16 team opted to drop to the back of the field to open up their playbook for the rest of the stage. With 22 laps remaining, Van Gisbergen chose the top lane, entering the top 25, as he drafted with a four-wide pack. Van Gisbergen chose to drop to the back of the pack with six laps remaining in the stage, taking the stage flag in 28th.
The No. 16 came to pit road during the stage break for adjustments, fuel and fresh tires. Van Gisbergen started the second stage from 21st and entered the top 20 seven laps later. Halfway through the stage, the No. 16 WeatherTech Chevrolet raced to the front of the pack and led the field for 10 laps. While in the lead, the No. 16 Team opted to come to pit road for fuel, re-entering the field in fourth with 20 laps remaining in the stage. Van Gisbergen battled in the top five for the duration and completed the second stage in the fourth position.
The No. 16 team came to pit road at the stage break for fuel and four fresh tires. Van Gisbergen started the final stage in seventh place. He raced in the top five for 10 laps, before bailing to mid-pack. Van Gisbergen battled with the pack for multiple laps, before coming to pit road for fuel with 22 laps remaining in the race. The No. 16 Chevy re-entered the field in 35th and battled with his Kaulig Racing teammates to gain momentum in the top lane. A massive accident involving over the half of the field occurred with four laps remaining in the race, bringing out the red flag. The No. 16 sustained minimal damage and came to pit road for fresh tires. Van Gisbergen restarted the final stage in 12th. At the first attempt at overtime, Van Gisbergen took the checkered flag in 15th.
“That was a wild race! Had a lot of fun battling up front and leading some laps. Our WeatherTech Chevy Camaro showed a lot of speed and it was awesome to race in the pack and continue to learn every lap. Glad we missed the big wreck there at the end and were able to have a solid finish. Proud of my No. 16 Kaulig Racing team and looking forward to racing the Cup car at the Charlotte Roval.” – Shane van Gisbergen
AJ ALLMENDINGER No. 13 Strive Camaro ZL1
AJ Allmendinger qualified 25th for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
When the first caution came out on lap 12, Allmendinger was scored in 28th, reporting his No. 13 Strive Chevy was a little rough in the rear. Under caution, the team came to pit road for fuel only. Allmendinger came back to pit road prior to going green to top off with fuel. On lap 17, Allmendinger restarted in 36th and took 34th on the restart. Running the top lane, Allmendinger drove up to 25th by lap 25. Preparing for a wreck, the No. 13 dropped back and finished the opening stage in 26th.
Under the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to help with rear security. Allmendinger restarted in 36th on lap 67 after pitting a second time to top off with fuel. By lap 75, Allmendinger was scored in 19th, the highest he had been so far in the race, while running the top lane. When the Fords came to pit road, Allmendinger received damage on the nose of the car and lost the draft. The team came to pit road on lap 110 for fuel only and went a lap down. The No. 13 team was the free pass on lap 121 when the caution came out, ending the stage. Allmendinger was scored in 36th.
After pitting for four tires, fuel and an adjustment, Allmendinger restarted the final stage in 23rd. Running third back on the top lane, Allmendinger drove up to 13th by lap 132. He continued to climb, taking the lead on lap 135. Allmendinger maintained position in the top five, leading a total of 10 laps before pitting under green on lap 166 for right-side tires and fuel. On lap 184, the No. 13 was involved in a large wreck, bringing out the caution. He nursed the No. 13 to a 28th-place finish.
“We played it safe there to start off and got in a bad spot when cars started pit. After we caught a break, it was fun having the No. 13 Strive Chevy up front there for a while. Definitely disappointing end to our day getting caught up in that wreck, but I’m really proud of the effort out of this team and the showing we had today.” – AJ Allmendinger
DANIEL HEMRIC No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
Daniel Hemric qualified 10th for the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, his best qualifying effort of the 2024 season.
Hemric fell out of the top 10 during the opening laps, unable to get help on the top lane. The first caution flag of the day came out on lap 12, and Hemric made a quick trip down pit road for fuel. The field went back to green on lap 16, and Hemric worked his way back into the top 10. As the pack ran four wide, Hemric led one lap on the top lane, before bailing out of the pack with eight to go in the stage. He went on to finish the opening stage in 32nd.
During the stage break, Hemric ran out of fuel and received a push to pit road for tires and fuel. He came back down pit road to top off, before starting the second stage from 27th place. As the manufacturers pitted together, Hemric made a fuel-only stop on lap 99. As multiple cars wrecked coming to the stage flag, Hemric crossed the line in 11th place.
During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel, before starting the final stage from eighth place. As the stage remained green on lap 160, spotter, Frank Deiny, began helping Hemric get to the bottom lane to prepare for a green-flag pit stop. He made his final fuel-only stop on lap 166, alongside teammates (AJ) Allmendinger and (Shane) van Gisbergen. With five laps remaining, the “big one” ensued, collecting Hemric in the process. He was relegated to a 38th place finish.
“Unfortunate end to a really solid day. I’m proud of everyone on this No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. We had a really fast qualifying effort to put us in the top 10 to start. Unfortunate that it turned out the way it did. I thought I had a hole and just ripped around the top, but the two slid back up. I hate that for the team, but I’m super proud of these guys. We have five more opportunities to do something special as a team.” – Daniel Hemric
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.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team Earn Strong Top-10 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway
Finish: 8th Start: 7th Points: 28th
“Good job by everyone on our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet team today at Talladega Superspeedway. We showed speed early and ran in the top 10 for most of Stage 1. It was fun to lead a few laps and the balance of our Chevrolet was good all day. We played the strategy game all race long and our pit crew was solid under the green flag pit stops. We missed the big wreck on the backstretch, putting us in a solid position for the overtime restart. We didn’t get the big push we needed on the final lap and ended up finishing eighth. Our Richard Childress Racing team brought a fast car and ECR engines were up front most of the day. Proud of the effort.” -Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch Leads Laps, Scores Stage Points En Route to 19th-Place Finish in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway
Finish: 19th Start: 4th Points: 20th
“I’m really proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for their hard work leading into Talladega Superspeedway. Our Lucas Oil Chevrolet was strong all weekend. We qualified fourth and were strong all day despite being conservative with our fuel mileage strategy. Our guys were solid on pit road today. We were able to dodge a couple of the big accidents and crew chief Randall Burnett made adjustments to improve our car’s balance. Late in the race we were in position to score a top-five finish. On the last lap I made a move that, unfortunately, didn’t work and we got shuffled back in the pack. It’s frustrating because we ran better than where we finished. We’ll bounce back next week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.” -Kyle Busch
NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY ROUND OF 12: RACE TWO TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT OCT. 6, 2024
Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet Prevails in Overtime Finish at Talladega Superspeedway
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10: POS. DRIVER 1st – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2nd – William Byron 3rd – Kyle Larson 7th – Justin Haley 8th – Austin Dillon
WITH 32 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE: Wins: 14 Poles: 9 Top-five Finishes: 60 Top-10 Finishes: 124 Stage Wins: 21
UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course next weekend, with the Bank of America ROVAL 400 marking the elimination race for the Round of 12. Coverage of the 109-lap event can be found on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
· In yet another overtime finish, it was Chevrolet that prevailed with JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The victory – his fourth in NASCAR’s top division – marked Chevrolet’s 14th NASCAR Cup Series win this season, with Stenhouse Jr. becoming the eighth different driver to contribute to the manufacturer’s series-leading win count.
· Stenhouse Jr. capped off Chevrolet’s fourth tripleheader sweep of the 2024 season, with JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith earning a spot in the Xfinity Series’ Round of 8 with his win in Saturday’s United Rentals 250, and CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger becoming the first driver to advance to the Craftsman Truck Series’ Championship 4 with his win in Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225. Chevrolet continues to be the only manufacturer to drive to a tripleheader sweep this season – also accomplishing the feat at Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
· Among the four playoff contenders that earned points in both stages included Team Chevy’s William Byron and Kyle Larson. Escaping the big, late-race accident unscaved, the pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates went on to collect top-five results. Byron’s podium finish was enough to clinch a spot into the Round of 8. Larson earned his career-best Talladega Superspeedway finish of fourth-place finish, with the 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native now sitting third in the playoff standings and 52 points above the elimination line.
· An unapproved adjustment forced Team Chevy playoff driver, Daniel Suarez, to drop to the rear and serve a pass-through penalty on the opening lap. After already having an early uphill battle, the No. 99 Tootsie Orchid Lounge Chevrolet team sustained damage in an accident after attempting to blend back into the pack. Unable to get back onto the lead lap, the race continued to unravel when the 32-year-old Monterrey, Mexico, driver was caught up in the massive wreck with just four laps remaining. Ultimately collecting a 26th-place result, the Trackhouse Racing title contender will head into the Round of 12 elimination race 10th the playoff standings with a 20-point deficit to the elimination line.
“It felt really good. We had our Chevy teammates behind us, and I was hoping Kyle (Larson) wasn’t going to push the 6 that hard. I knew the 24 was probably going to try and get to the line there.
But, man, this team has put a lot of hard work in. Obviously we haven’t won since the 500 in ’23. It’s been an up-and-down season. It was a lot of hard work this season just trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew that this track is one of ours to come get. So for all of our Southern Mississippi people, appreciate you all coming. This means a lot, winning here.
Got to say we’re thinking about everybody in Western North Carolina. Brad Dougherty, his family right where he grew up there in Black Mountain, a lot of people are struggling.
I wish my wife and son, Stetson, were here. They didn’t come this weekend. I’ll see you all at home, and man, what I day.
Just proud of this group. The whole Kroger, Palmolive, NOS Energy Drink. There are so many people. SunnyD. There are so many people that helped this. You know, Campers Inn. Man, there’s just so many great product partners in this Kroger program. Glad to give them another win.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 BUSCH LIGHT CAMO CAMARO ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident at the end of Stage Two.
Finished: 40th
WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE CONTACT THAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF STAGE TWO?
“I’m not sure what happened there with those guys down there in the middle line. Coming into the tri-oval, I followed the No. 8 Chevy (Kyle Busch) and pushed him in the third lane; fanned out to push a Chevy. And yeah, somebody got shucked up. Seeing Ryan (Blaney) in there, I’m guessing he was the yellow blur that I saw.
For our No. 1 Busch Light Camo Chevy team, to kickoff hunting season with the camo can, I wish we were more invisible like we will be in the woods with that can than we were there coming to the end. Big hit, but these Next Gen cars are super safe. It kept me safe and they got the fire put out. We’ll go on to next week and get ready for Charlotte.”
Did you feel like you had anything for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. there at the end? Talk about your decision with your lane choice on that last restart?
“I have to choose the closest to the front, so I was going to go wherever the No. 24 (William Byron) didn’t go. I was happy to be on the bottom. If I could have chose outside or inside, even if I was in third-place to chose, I would have chosen the bottom. It was working. I got the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski) clear of the No. 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), which is what I wanted to do. I was anticipating the No. 47 having a run back, and I was hoping that Brad would take that and I could kind of be leading the bottom lane. But yeah, he stayed down low. I’m happy to finish in the top-five. We’ll take it.”
This track hasn’t been kind to you. To get your second top-five finish here in your career, what does that say about your day?
“It’s my second top-five on a superspeedway in my career, in general, so I’ll take that. It’s really cool. Obviously there’s a lot of luck that plays into just finishing these races. I’m not going to blame my whole superspeedway career on bad luck because I know that’s not the case when we finish as bad as we do, as often as we do, on these. I feel like we do a great job and today just showed that. We came from the back of the first stage and had a shot to win the stage. The second stage, we executed as good as we could and got some points. And then there at the end, got lucky on the backstretch finally and got a good finish. I’m proud of the effort from all of Chevrolet, all the key partners and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. We had a great Chevy and great power. It’s cool to finally go into the Charlotte ROVAL with a 52-point gap. That race is so stretch. It’s way more stressful to me than Talladega Superspeedway, so glad to not have to worry about it as much.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 29th
“I thought Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and I had a really good system going there. I was really pleased with my spot. I thought I had a lot of what was going to transpire, was in my hands, which is what I want at the end of these things. Unfortunately what was in my hands ended up biting us. I don’t really know what you do about that. We were in a good position. The No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevy team executed a good second-half of the race. We were right there when it counted.
I’m not sure how I got clipped. I thought I had it missed. Somebody just barely clipped me and it sent me spinning.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 3rd
Byron on the overtime finish that resulted in a third-place finish for the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet team:
“I didn’t have a chance to get the lead myself on the last lap, so that was the thought process. I just couldn’t quite get him clear into (turn) three, or he didn’t take it into three. And then, I just kind of had to be diligent to push him the rest of the way. I felt like it all worked out. I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and everyone at Chevrolet. They deserve it. Ricky is a really good drafter.”
DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 CIRKUL CAMARO ZL1
Sidelined by damage sustained in the accident with four laps to go.
Finished: 38th
What was your view of this massive wreck on the backstretch?
“Unfortunate end to a really solid day. I’m proud of everyone on this No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. We had a really fast qualifying effort to put us in the top 10 to start. Unfortunate that it turned out the way it did. I thought I had a hole and just ripped around the top, but the two slid back up. I hate that for the team, but I’m super proud of these guys. We have five more opportunities to do something special as a team.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 16th
“We had kind of gotten pretty far back in track position obviously; got stuck in the fourth lane and that just killed us. Just overall kind of disappointed in myself. I made the wrong move a lot, and I crashed the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney with just a crappy push. Obviously just trying to push him to try and help our lane for the Stage and just hit him in the wrong spot. I hate that I did that. I hate that I made the wrong decisions that I did, and I didn’t do a very good job today. Frustrated because we had a really good Ally Camaro today. The team did a really good job, and we obviously had moments where we were really good. But just execution-wise, I made too many mistakes and put us in too many bad spots. Obviously hate that I ruined some other guys’ days too.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1
Finished : 26th
“It was a very difficult day for the No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevy team. We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole with the pass-through penalty. We had a plan and I was expecting everyone to be saving fuel, and I was going to be able to block the lanes and stay in the pack. I just made a mistake. I tried to block when they were coming, but they were just coming too fast. That was on me. We put ourselves in a hole, and unfortunately we weren’t able to recover. And then in the last wreck, obviously that finished killing our chances.”
What’s your strategy for next weekend?
“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to talk about it.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
FOUR CAMRY XSES FINISH INSIDE THE TOP-10 AT TALLADEGA Bell, Hamlin and Reddick find themselves above cutline heading to Round of 12 cutoff
TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 6, 2024) – In another chaotic Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, four Toyota Camry XSEs notched top-10 finishes on Sunday with Erik Jones (fifth), Christopher Bell (sixth), Bubba Wallace (ninth) and Denny Hamlin (10th). Additionally, just outside the top-10, were Martin Truex Jr. in 11th and Ty Gibbs in 13th. Tyler Reddick, the third Toyota Playoff driver with Bell and Hamlin, finished 20th.
The pace was frantic from the beginning around the 2.66-mile superspeedway, as cars were three, and sometimes, four-wide lap-after-lap. Driving his way through the field after starting at the rear for a pre-race penalty, Bell was able to make his way to the top-five by the end of Stage 1 to gather valuable stage points. Reddick joined him inside the top-10 by placing sixth.
Chaos truly began in Stage 2 with a multi-car incident at the stage’s end, to which Hamlin collected minor damage to the hood of his No. 11 Camry XSE. The team kept him out to avoid losing valuable track position while sacrificing some performance of the machine. Mayhem struck again with five laps to go as “The Big One” happened, collecting more than 20 cars, that included damage to Jones and Reddick, while Bell and Hamlin were of the few that made it through unscathed. This set up another overtime finish at Talladega, where the above listed Team Toyota drivers were able to complete their solid finishes.
The top-five finish today for Jones is his first of the 2024 season, as well as marking his seventh top-10 in the last 10 Talladega races. For Bell, the sixth-place result is his third consecutive top-10 on a drafting track after finishing fourth at Atlanta in September and third at Daytona in August.
Heading to next weekend’s Round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the three Camry XSE Playoff drivers sit above the points cutline – Bell +57, Hamlin +30 and Reddick +14. Coverage of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 can be seen next Sunday, October 13, on NBC at 2 p.m. EST, as well as be heard on PRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Talladega Superspeedway Race 31 of 36 – 188 Laps, 500.08 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* 2nd, Brad Keselowski* 3rd, William Byron* 4th, Kyle Larson* 5th, ERIK JONES 6th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 9th, BUBBA WALLACE 10th, DENNY HAMLIN 11th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 13th, TY GIBBS 20th, TYLER REDDICK 31st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK *non-Toyota driver
How were you able to finish where you did amid that chaos today?
“Yeah, we had an okay car. We lacked in speed, but it drove good. Kind of lucked out in that last wreck there. Felt like the damage wasn’t bad enough that we needed to come in (to the pits). Happy to get the Dollar Tree Camry a good run. We’ve just had a rough year and struggled last two weeks, so it’s nice to finish up front.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Take us through that wild race today from your vantage point.
“Yeah, I’m excited about the points standings. We came out of here as good as we ever have, so that’s awesome. Hopefully, we can have a (good) day next week at the ROVAL. I think we’re going to have pace, and we can open up the strategy a little to hopefully race for the win.”
This is your third consecutive top-10 on a drafting track. What’s been the secret to the recent success?
“We’re just getting fortunate, and you know, we’re making it through the wrecks when they happen and that’s leading to good finishes.”
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 9th
Take us through your day today.
“Just an average day here at Talladega. Obviously, wish we could’ve been in victory lane, but just didn’t have the speed in our U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry, so we just kind of tried to dodge all the wrecks – didn’t manage to do that some. Got caught up in the big one which hurt our chances at the end, but a good rebound by the team to get a top-10. Onto the ROVAL.”
Was your strategy similar to what you did in Atlanta a few weeks ago or did your car just not have the speed today?
“I just got big damage here (on the hood). It happened on that (Ryan) Blaney wreck. We just figured the best option was to race and not fix it. Just, you know, I didn’t have the speed after that wreck I needed to contend.”
Michael Jordan came up to you after the race and talked about how he was glad to see you finish.
“Yeah, me too. If you would’ve asked me about a top-10 before (the race), I would’ve taken it just because of how this round is. But, either way, we need to go to the ROVAL and have a solid effort.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Nasty Beast Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 20th
How was your race today and what are you looking forward to heading to next weekend’s cutoff race?
“Yeah, you know, it was a really solid points day, considering all of the carnage. Yeah, to gain points on the cut (line), considering the damage and the 20th-place finish, I’ll take that every single time. It was a hard race, I thought we had a lot of potential for points. Things just didn’t work out on the final lap, a few times.”
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.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 | Talladega Superspeedway Sunday, October 6, 2024
Unofficial Ford Performance Results:
2nd – Brad Keselowski 12th – Cody Ware 17th – Chris Buescher 18th – Corey LaJoie 23rd – Todd Gilliland 25th – Noah Gragson 30th – Chase Briscoe 32nd – Austin Cindric 33rd – Joey Logano 34th – Harrison Burton 35th – Ryan Preece 36th – Josh Berry 37th – Michael McDowell 39th – Ryan Blaney
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – IT LOOKED LIKE THE GUYS BEHIND YOU HAD A BIG RUN. ANYTHING AS THE LEAD CAR YOU CAN DO BESIDES JUST BRACE AND HOLD ON? “In that position the best thing you can do is be as predictable as possible, keep your car as straight as possible. The front of the pack got shuffled up from the 38 basically splitting the whole field, which definitely caused some congestion with guys getting out of lanes and obviously an off-center push from the 6 and that’s it for our race. We had an exceptionally fast race car. It was A-plus execution by everyone on the 2 car, so I’m proud of the effort but definitely a bummer to be that close to punching our ticket.”
WHAT HAPPENED? “I just got turned at the front of the field. Unfortunately, that’s how Daytona ended for us and I think what that says is we’ve got really fast race cars and great execution. As the leader, I was trying to be as predictable as possible as far as taking pushes and it’s just a real shame. I don’t really feel like doing a whole lot of complaining about what happened or whose fault it is, it doesn’t really matter. It puts us in a must-win situation for the Charlotte Road Course. We’ve brought some exceptionally fast race cars every single race of the playoffs and I cannot understate how proud I am of my race team and we’ll have to bring another one next week.”
ANY INDICATION IT WOULD GET THAT HECTIC AT THE END? “It usually does.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED DOWN THE STRETCH? “He (Larson) gave me a good push down the frontstrech, but the 24 was able to really stick with the 47 there and just needed a tiny bit. It’s a good finish for us. We’ve been knocking on the door of these plate tracks. I hate that we didn’t bust through with a win, but I’m happy to be right there in contention.”
DID YOU THINK ABOUT GOING TO THE TOP WHEN YOU CLEARED THE 47 OFF TURN FOUR? “No, I knew they were gonna have a really big run and that the 24 was really tight to him and I was just gonna get split, so I felt like I made the right move, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re outnumbered.”
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BACKSTRETCH ACCIDENT? “It was just an interesting sequence of events. The 38 car came. He was a slow car for whatever reason, I don’t know, and he stayed on the bottom and we had the Ford train pulling the bottom and when he did that it broke us all up and when we rubberbanded back together it just snapped. It’s a tough deal. I was getting pushed from behind and I ran into the 2 car and he spun out. It just wasn’t a good sequence of events for all of us.”
WHAT ABOUT THE FINAL RESTART? “I just needed a half a foot, I guess. I got a really good push from the 5 down the frontstretch, but just wasn’t quite enough.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It’s not the day we wanted, just with the way everything went. I don’t know what the points are, but I’m sure it’s not good. This is one of those races where if you didn’t run top five or whatever, you’re probably gonna be in a must-win either way, so that probably makes it a little more clear now and puts it where it’s not on that bubble of, ‘well, should we go for points or should we just try to win the race.’ At least now I feel it’s pretty obvious, so a frustrating day. It felt like there at the end we were in position and then I don’t know what happened. We had all the Fords in line and thought we were gonna be really good and then the wreck happened.”
YOU WERE FIFTH IN THAT FORD TRAIN. WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THE WRECK? “I don’t know. I was just shoving the 21 and I knew we were in the middle of the back straightaway and then it felt like everybody stopped. Surprisingly, we didn’t hit each other super hard and it felt like everybody was gonna be fine and we were gonna keep going straight and then all of a sudden they all started wrecking from each way. I haven’t seen it, but we’ll just go on to the next one.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU WERE GETTING PUSHED. HOW TOUGH IS IT TO GAUGE THE STRENGTH AND INTENSITY OF A RUN LIKE THAT AT THE END OF THESE RACES? “Everyone was just shoving each other. It’s what you expect coming down to the end of the race. It kind of felt like we were in such a good spot though with the 6, the 2, myself, the 21. I was not in the position to win the race where I was, but I felt like I was in a good enough spot to where I could get a top-five and if they started crossing each other up coming to the checkered I was on the bottom and things were gonna work fairly well for us. I actually thought the bottom was the safest place to be, but the 2 got sideways and there I was.”
WHAT WAS THE DAMAGE ON YOUR CAR? “There was plenty of damage there. I hit the inside wall pretty hard.”
WAS THAT JUST A PUSH GONE WRONG? “Yeah. I mean, I guess. Everyone just gets more aggressive at the end of the races. The 2 got out there a little bit more than what he had been and the 21 gave me a shove and transferred that to the 6. You can’t see what’s in front of you from there and he got to the 2 with a fair amount of steam there. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s not Brad’s fault. It’s not anybody’s fault. It’s just the product of the racing that we’ve got. Everyone is getting more and more aggressive as the laps wind down and it happens. It happens a lot.”
IT’S FUN UNTIL IT’S NOT? “I didn’t even have fun today. You can’t even do anything here. You just get stuck. You’re running four-wide and it looks cool, but you’re running half-throttle and then when you want to go and it’s time to go, everyone is just stuck two-wide, so there’s just not many moves you can make. You just keep trying to re-learn how to run on these superspeedways as it evolves, but the car’s got so much drag on it that you can’t make moves and make runs happen and cross people up. You’re committed to where you are in that line.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WAS IT JUST A SIMPLE MATTER OF A BAD PUSH AT THE WRONG TIME? “Yeah. I don’t know if he ever lifted and just drilled me from like three car lengths back. The worst possible spot you could do it, so it’s pretty dumb on his part and it figures that he gets away scot free per usual. That’s the end of the day.”
HOW DO YOU VIEW THE ROVAL NOW? “We’ll just see where we are at the end of the race on points and go from there.”
WHAT HAPPENED? “I thought Austin and I worked well together. I had a feeling that the 8 would pull out and help Chevy. He wasn’t gonna help me, obviously, so we got in the middle. I didn’t think it was terrible. We were probably still gonna run fifth or sixth, and then the 48 just drove straight through me in the tri-oval. He just wrecked the #$*W out of me. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
YOU HAD A 28-POINT CUSHION. DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BE ENOUGH TO HAVE SOME LEEWAY AT THE ROVAL? “I have no idea. I don’t have good hope right now, to be honest with you. We didn’t get very good stage points and obviously we’re last, so we’ll just see where it is at the end of it.”
COULD YOU SEE THE 48 BEHIND YOU? WERE YOU THINKING HE WAS GOING TO HAVE SLOW DOWN BEFORE HE GOT TO YOU? “Yeah. I thought he would have more sense than that, but obviously he didn’t. Yeah, I see him coming and I see him hauling ass towards me and you kind of have to lift a little bit. You can’t just run wide-open through somebody in the tri-oval, but he did.”
DID YOU FEEL ANYTHING DIFFERENT IN THE CAR WITH THIS PACKAGE? “I don’t know. It still hurt when I wrecked.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHERE WERE YOU IN ALL OF THAT? “I was just driving into it blind a little bit. I think we were sitting probably 12th or 13th, something like that, when it went down, so by the time I got there the road was already blocked. There wasn’t a lot of lanes available. It’s just unfortunate. We had a really fast Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang. We led a lot of laps and definitely had the speed in the car, it’s just that last pit cycle didn’t work out for us. You need to come out in that top five to protect yourself from this. I’m not sure where the wreck started, but you want to be somewhere near the top five to avoid it and we just weren’t. We were running right in the middle of the hornet’s nest when it happened.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 41 Wonder Bread Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I think we knew something was gonna happen when we were catching the 38 and him staying on the bottom that it was gonna shuffle things up and it certainly did. It’s frustrating because I think all of us that were in the top 10 or so were in great position for the end of that race and giving Wonder Bread and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing a great finish and ultimately it wasn’t our day, but certainly still frustrating.”
JOSH BERRY, No. 4 SunnyD Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WERE YOU TRYING TO LINK UP WITH THE FORD TRAIN? “Yeah, I thought we all worked together really well today. We pitted early there in that stage and it just didn’t work out. All of our teammates, I think we worked really well together today. Unfortunately, none of us made it through that wreck.”
Jake Drew Scores Fourth Podium of 2024; Boris Said Jr. Finishes Seventh; Connor Zilisch Comes Home 12th After Foiled Victory Bid from Last on the Grid
Overview:
Date: Oct. 5, 2024 Event: VIR SpeedTour (Round 11 of 12) Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Division: Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series Location: Virginia International Raceway in Alton Layout: 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course Format: 31 laps or 75 minutes Weather: Sunny, upper-70s TA2 Winner: Thomas Annunziata
Silver Hare Racing:
● Jake Drew – Started 2nd, Finished 3rd (Running, completed 31/31 laps) ● Boris Said Jr. – Started 11th, Finished 7th (Running, completed 31/31 laps) ● Connor Zilisch – Started 30th, Finished 12th (Running, completed 31/31 laps)
Noteworthy:
● Drew earned his fourth podium finish in 10 races this season. ● Drew was awarded the Cool Boxx Coolest Move award for the second time this season.
Jake Drew, Driver, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing/Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro:
“It feels amazing to have so many great people on board this car – Cube 3 Architecture, Franklin Road and, of course, Silver Hare Racing with Maurice and Laura (Hull), they’ve made my dreams come true. And, it’s super cool to be on the podium here at VIR my first time here. It was a tough race, for sure. Started having some issues there at the end, but just super thankful to have friends and family here and supporters of Maurice and Laura and this whole team. Just really happy to be here right now.”
Boris Said Jr., Driver, No. 75 HendrickCars.com/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:
“We battled our way up there in our HendrickCars.com Camaro, it was good and it got better and better. It started tight, then it got good. And I had a good race with Austin (Green) at the end. The Silver Hare team did a great job. So, overall, it was a good weekend at VIR. Especially considering we had just a handful of green-flag laps in practice and qualifying.”
Connor Zilisch, driver, No. 57 Bankers Insurance/Guy M. Turner/Clark Outdoor/Chevrolet Driver Development Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:
“It was a fun day getting back in the TA2 car with Silver Hare Racing. Obviously, it’s not the result we wanted, but we had a good run going there until an incident in Oak Tree kind of derailed our day. But I’m just glad that I was able to come back here and get to run with Silver Hare. I knew it was going to be tough starting at the back, but we worked our way inside the top-five until that incident. So it felt good to be back here and have speed and kind of come back where we left off and just enjoy the day, get to see all these guys again, and get to go through the motions with all of them and see all my old friends. It was unfortunate how it ended, but still had fun today and enjoyed the experience. And, hopefully, I’ll be able to come back and do this again.”
Laura Hull, Co-Owner, Team Manager, Silver Hare Racing:
“The old saying is, ‘Home is where the heart is,’ and my heart couldn’t be more full. We just couldn’t be happier with the finishes that we had today. Completely proud of the entire Silver Hare Racing crew. They brought wonderful cars to race this weekend. Jake Drew, just wow, he just continues to amaze us. His talent, his demeanor, just his whole skill, his craft. We’re extremely proud. And for him to finish third, that was just such a gift for us right here at home in our own backyard. He worked really hard for it. It’s extremely hard against the veteran drivers who have had a lot of experience here. Having Connor Zillich come back, what a treat that was. He’s a part of our family, and it was just such a pleasure to have him and his mom and dad, Jan and Jim here with us. And he put on quite a show. To have to start from the very back, he made it all the way up to fourth at one point until the incident. And Boris Said Jr., wow. He just continues to keep moving on up with his finishes and showing consistency. We’re very proud of him, his efforts. He and his dad, Boris Sr., work together really well, and they’re just a joy to have around and be around. Now we’re going to dust off all our cars, clean them up, get them prepped, and go on to COTA and get back on the podium.”
Next Up:
The 2024 Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series season comes to a close Nov. 1-3 with the COTA SpeedTour at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Round 12 of the 12-race campaign kicks off with a pair of TA2 test sessions on Friday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. CDT. Official TA2 practice is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, followed by qualifying at 5:35 p.m. Start time Sunday, Nov. 3, for the 30-lap, 75-minute TA2 race around the 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course is 10:35 a.m. with live television provided by series partner MAVTV, augmented by a live video stream on the Trans Am channel on YouTube.
About Silver Hare Racing:
Silver Hare Racing is a fulltime competitor in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series. The multicar team has won the TA2 Masters class championship three times (2018, 2019 and 2020) with driver and team co-owner Maurice Hull. Under the leadership of Hull’s wife, co-owner and team manager Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing provides a variety of services that includes private testing and arrive-and-drive programs. The team offers six professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing and operates from a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. For more information, call 336-870-5151, or visit SilverHareRacing.com.
Barry Boes Earns Seventh Pro-Am Win, 14-Year-Old Tristan McKee Fourth in TA2 Debut, Fellow Teenager Julian DaCosta Eighth, Abrupt End for Thomas Ellis
Overview:
Date: Oct. 5, 2024 Event: VIR SpeedTour (Round 11 of 12) Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli Division: Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series Location: Virginia International Raceway in Alton Layout: 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course Format: 31 laps or 75 minutes Weather: Sunny, upper-70s TA2 Winner: Thomas Annunziata of Nitro Motorsports
TeamSLR:
● Tristan McKee – Started 6th, Finished 4th (Running, completed 31/31 laps) ● Julian DaCosta – Started 12th, Finished 8th (Running, completed 31/31 laps) ● Barry Boes – Started 13th, Finished 11th (Running, completed 31/31 laps) ● Thomas Ellis – Started 15th, Finished 27th (Accident, completed 10/31 laps)
Noteworthy:
● Boes scored his seventh Pro-Am Challenge-class victory in 11 races this season and fifth in the last six races. He entered the weekend with a 129-point lead in the championship within a championship. If he arrives at the season finale at Circuit of the Americas with a lead of 110 points or more, he will have clinched the class championship.
● This was the first career TA2 start for McKee, who became eligible to drive in the series when he turned 14 on Aug. 3.
● The 16-year-old DaCosta’s eighth-place finish was his third top-10 in as many TA2 Series starts this season. He made his series debut with a 10th-place finish April 14 at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana, and finished eighth Aug. 31 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.
● Other top M1 Racecars finishers included Austin Green of Peterson Motorsports, who came home sixth today.
Tristan Mckee, Driver, No. 28 SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:
“It was a good day. We started off sixth and worked our way up to fourth, which was good. We had a caution and Connor Zilisch got by me, and then Rafa Matos got by me, as well. And then we were all running that way until the last part of the race. I started picking up the leaders, our car was getting pretty good there at the end and they were falling off a little bit. I got Rafa on the last lap for fourth, so that is a good first day. We had good speed, so I think we’ll just keep working on it and get better for the next one.”
Julian DaCosta, Driver No. 17 Powered by Hixon/Austin Hatcher Foundation/SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:
“The most difficult part of the weekend was we weren’t getting any track time. I think we got probably two or three (green-flag) laps each session, which makes it pretty difficult on everybody, it makes it difficult on the team. But TeamSLR did a great job and they kept the car really quick. I knew I had a few things to work on going into the race. I definitely think we improved on a lot and I know what I still need to work on going forward. But, otherwise, it was a really good race, and overall the team did a great job. I have to thank Hixon Motorsports, they definitely helped me out, they’re the whole reason I’m here. And the Austin Hatcher Foundation, I’m really proud to support them, and we’re we’re looking forward to what we can do in the future and hopefully get everybody on the podium soon.”
Barry Boes, Driver No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Racecars Ford Mustang:
“We had a had a really good start, we got a couple of positions moving forward. The car was loose on me up the esses. It was perfect in qualifying. I asked them to make no changes, so I’m not sure what happened., a new set of tires or something different, but that’s OK. So I was just loose up the esses and I kept losing time. One time, I said I’ve just got to make this work, and I tried a little bit harder, and it wasn’t going to work for me and I went for a ride and dropped to the back. Then I just had to fight my way back forward again, made it to the front of Pro-Am and was running them down maybe by a 10th (of a second) or two a lap. I was really excited, thinking I might be able to get up to them and do a little racing, but I just ran out of time. All in all a good day. We’re looking good in the Pro-Am championship.”
Thomas Ellis, Driver, No. 8 SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro:
“It was a tough weekend, and I’m not happy about getting taken out by an amateur driver. That’s all I can really say. I feel like we had something at the beginning of the race. We worked on the car all weekend to find rear-end grip and we finally had a package that seemed like was going to work. In the race, we had good pace, but unfortunately got dumped. Better luck next time, I guess.”
Next Up:
TeamSLR, proud to be racing on behalf of partners Franklin Road Apparel and Cube 3 Architecture, heads to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the 2024 season finale Nov. 1-3. The COTA SpeedTour, round 12 of the 12-race campaign, kicks off with a pair of TA2 test sessions on Friday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. CDT. Official TA2 practice is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, followed by qualifying at 5:35 p.m. Start time Sunday, Nov. 3, for the 30-lap, 75-minute TA2 race around the 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course is 10:35 a.m. with live television provided by series partner MAVTV, augmented by a live video stream on the Trans Am channel on YouTube.
About TeamSLR:
TeamSLR (Scott Lagasse Racing) competes fulltime in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series in a multifaceted effort that includes dedicated entries in the TA2 division, customer programs, driver coaching and car construction. Its history dates back to 1985 and covers a wide spectrum of motorsports, including NASCAR, IMSA, SCCA, ARCA and ASA. TeamSLR is a family-owned organization run by Scott Lagasse Sr., and Scott Lagasse Jr., The father-and-son duo have combined to win more than 120 races and seven championships across a variety of series and styles of racecars, from paved ovals to road courses to dirt tracks. For more information, please visit us online at www.TeamSLR.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on LinkedIn.
By being consistent throughout the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season, Andres Perez wrapped up the championship ahead of Saturday’s Owens Corning 200 at Toledo Speedway. (Photo: Zack Silver/ARCA Racing)
TOLEDO, Oh. (Oct. 5, 2024) – History was made on Saturday as Andres Perez (No. 2 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) became the first foreign-born champion in the 72-season history of the ARCA Menards Series. Perez, from Mexico City, won the title with an incredibly consistent season, scoring ten top-five finishes, including a trio of runner-up finishes, and 17 top-ten finishes in 20 starts.
He officially locked up the title when he took the green flag in the Owens Corning 200 Presented by CGS Imaging; he finished the final race of the season in sixth.
Additionally, his Rev Racing teammate Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) finished second in the final standings, earning the series’ Bounty Rookie of the Year award. It marks the first time a Black driver earned the top rookie award and the first time two members of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program swept the top two positions in the final ARCA Menards Series standings.
Perez is a second-generation champion, following in the footsteps of his father Ricardo, who earned a multitude of championships in the Super Copa Seat Leon (2011-2013), Ferrari Challenge North America (2014), and Tractocaminoes Freightliner (2015) series.
His championship is the second ARCA Menards Series drivers title for Rev Racing in the last three years. He also joins former NASCAR Cup Series champion and current playoff contender Kyle Larson and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Nick Sanchez as drivers to earn a title while driving for Rev Racing; Larson earned the championship in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East in 2012 and Sanchez was the ARCA Menards Series champ in 2022.
“We are thrilled to see Rev Racing and Andres win the 2024 Drivers Championship,” said Max Siegel, Rev Racing owner. “As an organization that continues to focus on development and results, it is clear that what we are striving for is working. Two drivers championships in three years is both something we are proud of and will continue to work toward each season. We are thankful to our partners, staff and drivers who stay committed to excellence.”
Perez kicked his championship run into overdrive with a hot mid-summer stretch that saw him rack up five consecutive top-five finishes, including three runner-up finishes at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Salem Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway in addition to a pair of fifth-place finishes at Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway.
“I have grown and learned so much from competing in the ARCA Menards Series these past two years. The racing in Mexico is different than the racing in the US and being able to hone my skills and grow with Rev Racing has been extremely impactful to my development. Being the first AMS Champion from Mexico is an honor and I take pride in representing my country on the track. I’m extremely thankful to Rev Racing, NASCAR Drive for Diversity, Max Siegel, and the entire No. 2 Chevrolet team for this opportunity and for their support.”
Scott had an equally strong season as his teammate, but a slow start hampered his championship hopes. Scott’s season also heated up with the summer temperatures as he scored a pair of runner-up finishes at Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway.
The Elko race was bittersweet, however, as he led 99 of the final 102 laps; he was passed by eventual race winner William Sawalich with three to go but ran side-by-side not wanting to give up a shot at his first career series win. He nosed ahead down the backstretch and into turn three, but Sawalich got back around off the final turn to win by just 0.011 seconds, the second-closest finish in the ARCA Menards Series since the advent of electronic timing.
Scott completed his first full season in the ARCA Menards Series with a fifth-place run at Toledo Speedway.
“My debut season in the ARCA Menards Series has been full of lessons on and off the track. Rev Racing’s success this season is a testament to the program and its mission of bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and contending for wins and championships. Being the first Black driver to earn the Bounty Rookie of The Year Award is an honor and while I am the first I know that with programs like Rev Racing, I won’t be the last. A huge thank you to the entire No. 6 team for their hard work this season and for pushing me to always try my hardest and finish the best we can.”
“We are very proud of the accomplishments both Andres and Lavar achieved on the racetrack in 2024,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “They both competed at an extremely high level throughout the course of the season and have proven themselves to be worthy of being the ARCA Menards Series champion and rookie of the year.
“On top of their accomplishments on the track, they have conducted themselves like champions off the track. They are exactly the type of young driver we like to see in the ARCA Menards Series platform, and we look forward to seeing what they do on the track in 2025 and beyond.”
Perez and Scott will be honored as ARCA Menards Series Champion and Bounty Rookie Challenge Rookie of the Year at the NASCAR Regional Awards Ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte on Thursday, November 21.
The 2025 ARCA Menards Series season kicks off with the 62nd annual Daytona ARCA 200 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 15. The race will be broadcast live on FOX at 1 pm ET and will be carried on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network. For up-to-the-minute news and updates, follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly Twitter).
About ARCA The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).
About Menards A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!
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Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.
