TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

Richmond Raceway
August 10-11, 2024

 With the two-week Olympic break in the rearview mirror, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) will return to competition this weekend – taking on the .75-mile, D-shaped oval of Richmond Raceway. Drivers and teams of NASCAR’s top division have already made a stop at the Virginia short-track earlier this season – an event that saw Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson lead Team Chevy with a podium finish. For the NCTS, this weekend will mark its first and only appearance at Richmond Raceway this season, with “The Action Track” set to host the final race of the series’ regular season.

Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway:

The green flag for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 will mark the NASCAR Cup Series’ 136th appearance at Richmond Raceway. Throughout the series’ rich history at the .75-mile Virginia short-track, 17 different drivers have delivered Chevrolet a combined 40 victories to lead its manufacturer competitors.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is credited for Chevrolet’s one victory in the series’ Next Gen era – recorded in the April 2023 event. The 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native is one of three active Team Chevy drivers with a win at Richmond Raceway in NASCAR’s top division, with Larson joining the likes of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, with one victory, and the track’s winningest active driver, Kyle Busch, with six wins.

Chevrolet also owns the record for the manufacturer with the longest streak of consecutive wins at the Virginia short-track. The record was set nearly 16 years ago after four different drivers earned a combined six-straight victories for Chevrolet at “The Action Track” – recorded from May 2006 to Sept. 2008. Seven-time NCS Champion Jimmie Johnson is credited with three of those victories, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer also each tallying a triumph that led to the Bowtie brand’s record-setting streak.

FOUR SPOTS REMAIN WITH FOUR-TO-GO

Richmond Raceway will mark the NASCAR Cup Series’ final four-race stretch towards the end of its regular season. There have been 12 different drivers that have already earned a victory and a playoff berth this season, with five coming from the Chevrolet camp, including all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers (Kyle Larson – four wins; William Byron – three wins; Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman – one win each) and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez. Heading into the weekend, four positions remain up for grabs to complete the series’ 16-driver playoff field. Of the four drivers that currently sit above the playoff cutline includes Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who will head to Richmond Raceway in the 16th position and seven-points above the cutline.

Among the four different tracks left in the NCS’ regular season, Chevrolet has earned at least one victory in the Next Gen era at three of those venues. In addition to Larson’s victory at Richmond Raceway in April 2023, the Next Gen Camaro ZL1 has made three trips to victory lane at both Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway – the most among its manufacturer competitors since the vehicle’s competition debut in 2022. Two of those victories came from Team Chevy drivers that currently sit in a must-win situation to solidify a playoff spot: Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (Daytona – Aug. 2022) and JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Daytona – Feb. 2023).

Rowdy at Richmond:

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch may be sitting on the outside looking in, but the series’ seasoned veteran will look to capitalize on his playoff pressure experience to secure one of the final four postseason positions. The 39-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada, native is one of only two drivers to earn multiple championship titles in the series’ elimination era. In addition, Busch holds the record for the most consecutive appearances in the Championship Four with five over the last 10 years.

Faced with a must-win scenario, Busch will have a boost of confidence as the Team Chevy driver heads to a track that has fared statistically well for him throughout his storied career. Busch is the series’ winningest active driver at Richmond Raceway with six trips to victory lane in 37 career starts. The two-time champion has earned top-10 finishes in 11 of his last 13 starts at the track – a stretch that also includes a sweep of the wins in the 2018 events and four podium finishes. Busch also leads the series’ active drivers in runner-up finishes (seven), top-fives (19) and top-10s (28).

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS’ ANNIVERSARY SEASON BOOSTING STRONG STATS

While celebrating its 40th anniversary, Hendrick Motorsports is on track to putting together one of its best seasons yet. The organization’s four drivers have earned a combined nine wins in 22 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races – a winning percentage of 41 percent on the season. Since Hendrick Motorsports’ inaugural season in 1984, the Chevrolet organization has earned the highest winning percentage in nine different seasons. Topping the list is the 2007 season when Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson collected a combined 18 wins and a winning percentage of 50%. The organization’s current driver lineup has added to this record once in 2021, with Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman securing a combined 17 victories that season.

WHITE FLAG FOR NCTS REGULAR SEASON

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ 16-race regular season will come to a close at Richmond Raceway this weekend, with Saturday’s Clean Harbor 250 determining the final three drivers that will earn a playoff berth and a shot at the championship title. Among the seven drivers that have already solidified a spot in the postseason includes five drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.

Three of Team Chevy’s full-time NCTS drivers have contributed to the manufacturer’s series-leading nine victories thus far this season, including McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes (three wins), Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez (one win) and Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth (one win). After collecting top-five finishes in the series’ last race at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Eckes’ teammate Tyler Ankrum and CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Efinger both punched a ticket into the postseason.

While entering the weekend on the outside looking in, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Daniel Dye sits just five-points below the playoff cutline. The 20-year-old DeLand, Florida, native has seen a strong improvement in his sophomore season – earning five top-10 finishes this season, including a career-best runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway earlier this summer.

Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Richmond Raceway:

Richmond Raceway has hosted 15 events for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, with Chevrolet leading the way with seven victories – a win count more than double its manufacturer competitors combined (Ford – three wins; Toyota – three wins). Among those wins includes both the series’ inaugural and most recent events at the .75-mile Virginia oval, with Terry Labonte (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) earning the Bowtie brand’s first victory at the track in Sept. 1995, and Carson Hocevar (No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet) scoring the win in July 2023.

Eckes Leads in Regular Season Battle:

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes is closing in on his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular season title, with the 23-year-old Middletown, New York, native entering the Richmond race weekend with a 50-point lead over second-place Corey Heim. Week-after-week, the Team Chevy driver has proven to be a title contender. In 15 races this season, Eckes’ three victories have been accompanied by nine top-fives and a series-leading 14 top-10s. Eckes will head to the Virginia short-track with momentum from four-straight podium finishes, including a win at Nashville Superspeedway and a pair of runner-up finishes (WWTR and IRP). Eckes also leads the series with 698 laps led in 2,281 laps completed – earning an incredible laps led percentage of 30.6 percent on the season.

BOWTIE BULLETS:

· With 58 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 51.7% with 30 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – 10 wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – 11 wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – nine wins).

· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Richmond Raceway:

Kyle Busch: six wins (2018 sweep, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009)

Kyle Larson: two wins (2023, 2017)

Alex Bowman: one win (2021)

· In 94 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 47 victories – a winning percentage of 50%.

· Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson and William Byron are the only two drivers with a double-digit win record in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Next Gen era – each recording 11 victories since the vehicle’s competition debut in 2022.

· Among the seven drivers that have already secured a playoff berth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series includes five drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations (McAnally-Hilgemann Racing – Christian Eckes and Tyler Ankrum; Rev Racing – Nick Sanchez; Spire Motorsports – Rajah Caruth; CR7 Motorsports – Grant Enfinger).

· With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 861 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 799
Toyota: 786 (-13)
Ford: 770 (-29)

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 745
Toyota: 708 (-37)
Ford: 644 (-101)

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 568
Toyota: 527 (-41)
Ford: 483 (-85)
 
TUNE-IN:

NASCAR Cup Series

Cook Out 400

Sunday, August 11, at 6 p.m. ET

(USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Clean Harbors 250

Saturday, August 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET

(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

 
QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Infinite Cool Underwear Camaro ZL1

What do you think about running the option tire at Richmond?

“It does create another option for us and we are going to have to use the 45-minute practice session on Saturday to learn these tires. It’s going to put a lot on us as race teams, but I think it will make for a more entertaining race on Sunday and that’s what we are all about.”

What did you think about how the option tire worked looking back at North Wilkesboro?

“I thought it was good. The softer tire lasted a whole lot longer than we thought. Obviously, those tires won the race. The trick is learning how long the soft tires will last. If you figure that out, you will have a leg up on everyone.”

You’ve talked about speed and grip, has something changed from last year or is it just the continued evolution of the Cup Series and the cars?

“We came out of the box strong with this car and we are continuing to push the edge and try and be the fastest in the top level of our sport. It’s tough to stay on top. What I am experiencing is it’s very challenging. We’re still putting in the work, we’re still showing up and working hard to get it back.”

What do you think about running the new Jockey paint scheme this weekend at Richmond?

“The new paint scheme is a cheeky way to showcase the incredible comfort of Jockey Infinite Cool underwear. Racing in the summer heat can be intense, and knowing I’ve got the best cooling gear on makes all the difference. I can’t wait to hit the track and see the fans’ reactions!”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1

Where does Richmond rank on your short-track favorites?

“In my opinion, Richmond Raceway is one of the best short tracks in the country. It is fast, it is a fun track, and it is also one of the most challenging for a driver to keep up with the track conditions as rubber lays down and the temperature drops throughout the day. It is very difficult to keep the car’s balance the entire time. As a race fan, it is a good place to enjoy a race, and it is fun to watch the strategy part of 400 laps play out during the race. Some guys will take multiple sets of tires during a stage, while others will only take one set of tires and try to make a full run on that one set. The racing action is slick and enjoyable.”

Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Advisor Advantage / Clear Spring Camaro ZL1

How is the option tire going to influence the competition over the course of the weekend?

“We have four opportunities to punch our ticket to the playoffs. The option tire will be a new variable and a new challenge for the teams to overcome. I’m ready to get back to work after the break and finish the year strong.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar’s Patriotic Camaro ZL1

The spring race at Richmond started on wet weather tires. What can be done to make the wet weather racing better on a short track?

“I thought NASCAR did a good job getting the race started at Richmond in the spring while being on the wet weather tires. I felt like there were some guys that went hard to start and burn their tires up and other guys who kind of came on a little bit stronger later. I would say the only thing that I didn’t like was that the run was too short for the guys that were better on the long run to shine versus those who took off and ran too hard to start.”

The start time for this race at Richmond will be in the early evening with a finish after dark. How big of a factor are those changing temperatures and track conditions?

“I think the night racing at Richmond is the best racing at Richmond. I don’t know that it’ll really make that big of a difference besides the sun going down and being a little bit blinding into turn three but once you get past that into darkness, it’s just a normal Richmond race.”

This race will have a tire strategy element similar to the All-Star race. What effect do you think that will have in the race?

“I think adding in some variable and some differences to some of our races isn’t such a bad thing. It will definitely lend itself to those that want to be aggressive and use their soft tires earlier versus later in the race. The other difference in how the night will flow will obviously be based off of how The natural cautions fall.”

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

“The short tracks have been a bit of a tall task for us figure out in this car, but everyone has been working hard to identify the areas we need to improve on. I think Richmond will be a challenge for us, but it’s one we are up for. I’m excited to be back from our two-week break and get back to normal business, which is racing every weekend from now until Phoenix.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

Bowman on racing at Richmond Raceway:

“It’s been refreshing to have the Olympic break.. but I’m certainly ready to get back racing. It’s always nice to compete at Richmond (Raceway). We got a win there (Richmond Raceway) back in 2021 and this spring Blake (Harris) and I qualified well. I think we learned a few things and hopefully we can use that knowledge to perform well this Sunday in the night race.”

Blake Harris, Crew Chief, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

Harris on the summer race at Richmond Raceway and the prime versus wet tire choice at Richmond Raceway:

“I thought we had a pretty good No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro in the spring Richmond race. We had a really good Saturday and qualified well. I’m looking forward to this weekend and fine tuning some things that we think we have found to improve since then. The option tire will certainly be interesting. There are not enough tires to the point that you would have to run them- it looks like Saturday is clearing up but we should get some practice on it and see how it runs.”

Zane Smith, No. 71 Focused Health Camaro ZL1

Second half of the season is here, how are you feeling after the two-week break, heading into Richmond?

“I enjoyed the two-week break and feel recharged heading into the second half of the season. We have had a lot of positive momentum on our side the last couple of races and continuing to build off that should set us up for some really good finishes. I am thankful for my 71 Spire Motorsports team and all the hard work they put into making the car better and better every weekend. Looking forward to getting back to Richmond this weekend!”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Delaware Life Camaro ZL1

You had a chance to reset during the break, and you are returning to a track in which you’ve visited victory lane. Do you feel ready to go this week at Richmond?

“I’m excited to go racing, especially because we ran well the last few weeks before we went on break. To be able to finally go back racing is going to be a lot of fun for our group. My last showing at Richmond wasn’t what we wanted, but the transition from trucks to Cup is a whole new level. Knowing what it takes to run solid and win at Richmond still applies. I’m hoping we can bounce back and show what we’re really capable of at this track.”

You won a micro-sprint race at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, N.C., during the two-week break. Does racing in other classes help you sharpen your skills in a Cup car?

“I see it as a positive to be able to race whenever possible. It’s fun to go race, and it helps me stay sharp during the time off. Not being in a race car for two full weeks feels super weird, so being able to compete, race and even win is beneficial for me. It gets me ready to go back to racing the rest of the season.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Choice Privileges Camaro ZL1

How was your trip to Brazil?

“It was pretty eventful. I got to marry the love of my life and celebrate with friends and family. Being able to do that was such a cool moment. As for racing, it was great, it was a lot of fun to race at Interlagos and learn a lot about the race, about the cars, about the drivers and about the rules too. Overall, it was a very positive weekend. I hope that one day I can come back and race again.”

What do you think of the new tire rule at Richmond?

“I’m a big fan of this. Because you’re going to see different options. You’re going have to play around with different tires a little bit more and I think that doesn’t make them feel even more.

Right now, it’s not a secret that it’s not easy to pass, like in the old five years ago. […] It takes more work to be able to do something like that. So, I feel like having option tires is one more thing into the equation of the stride and I am a big fan of that.”

What are your thoughts looking back on the Brickyard 400?

“My team did a great job with the strategy. Our car wasn’t horrible, we just never had the track position that we wanted to, to show the speed of the car. We needed to be faster on the straightaways. But all-in-all, I felt like we had a decent Chevy. Still have some work to do, but the team executed a great strategy, so we will take it.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Silverado RST

How have you been preparing for your first truck race on an oval?

“Richmond will be a good challenge for me. I’ve run a lot of ovals in ARCA and late models, so I feel like I’ve been preparing myself all year. We were good in the truck at COTA, but the truck will race a lot differently on an oval. I am excited to get out there.”

Is there any track you’ve raced at this year that compares to Richmond?

“It is somewhat similar to IRP, and you can draw comparisons from Pensacola. But for the most part, nothing is quite like Richmond. The biggest thing I have focused on is my preparation. I wanted to make sure when I show up on Saturday, I know what I’m getting myself into.”

What are your expectations for the weekend?

“I’ve been running well on the ovals and learning quickly. My goal for the year has been to continue to prepare myself each week for the next oval, most of which I’ve never seen before. I believe as long as I prepare, I can be just as successful as anyone else. I’ll show up Saturday ready to go, and hopefully we can put the No. 7 Silver Hare Silverado in victory lane.”

Bayley Currey, No. 41 DQS Silverado RST

What are some differences between driving a truck vs. a Xfinity car at Richmond?

“Mainly just the corner speed, there’s a lot more corner speed in a truck there compared to the Xfinity car. There’s a little less wheel spin, too. Trucks at Richmond, like a lot of these places, are momentum-based so you have to try and keep that up while not smoking the tires off. That’s a big deal here especially for us.”

Matt Mills, No. 42 J.F. Electric / Utilitra Silverado RST

What is it about Richmond that tends to fit your driving style?

“Richmond is one of those tracks that you have to be disciplined the whole race. What you do and how you drive the truck on lap one is going to affect how it drives on lap 40. So, just being aware of that and how big the tire falloff is there is important. You have to balance when it’s time to get positions and when you have to manage your tires. Honestly, it’s not a track for an aggressive driving style, and I think that mine is more calculated, so that helps. It’s a home track for me since I was born in Lynchburg, VA, so that has always added some extra motivation as well. It’s been a good rhythm track for me.”

Kaden Honeycutt, No. 45 Moore’s Venture Foods Silverado RST

Do you think having all the recent late model experience will tend to help you save tires on Saturday?

“I think for Richmond, if you’re fast at the start, you’re going to be fast for the whole race; but if you’re not, you’re just not going to be quick at all from start to finish. From what I’ve seen in the past, if you can take off quick on the short run and be able to manage your stuff throughout the whole stage, you’re going to be good. You don’t want to push it too much, especially if you spin the right rear tire. If you do that, you’re just going to make it mad, and you’ll be very free just like a late model. So, you just have to manage that throughout the night. That’s the way to go.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 71 HENDRICKCARS.COM Silverado RST

Richmond is your home track, the place you saw your first race and the site of your first national series start. How special is the venue to you?

“It’s been 10 years since the first race I ever went to. I even have the date, September 5, 2014, tattooed on me. It’s pretty surreal to look back on. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. I remember I was 12-years-old and was surprised with tickets to my first NASCAR race, the Xfinity Series race that fall. Then you look at this season, with how well things have gone and to be in the mix for a championship, it has been quite a ride. I just feel really good about this weekend at this place that is pretty special to me. Hopefully we can have some good momentum to bring into Milwaukee and the playoffs.”

The playoffs start next time out at Milwaukee. How are you getting prepared to go racing for a championship?

“I’m honestly not doing much different. I’ve been mentally getting into the mindset since Nashville. I haven’t taken much time off these last two weeks. Everything is just amplified and everyone is getting excited. I’d be a lot more stressed if we were trying to lock in, but since we got our win and are fifth in points, we are in a really good spot. I’m just ready to compete for a championship and try to be one of the final four at Phoenix.”

Chase Purdy, No. 77 Bama Buggies Silverado RST

In a must win situation, how are you going to attack the weekend?

“We have to remain focused and execute on everything we can. It is all or nothing. We have to put ourselves in position to win and make zero mistakes.”

You’ve run well at Richmond in the past, what about the track suits your driving style?

“Richmond is hard on tires, and a tough place to race, in general. It is a place I’ve had speed at. It is a great place to have an opportunity to capitalize on Saturday night.”

 
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:

Total (1949-2023): 42

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023

Drivers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 33

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021

Event Victories:

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2024 STATISTICS:

Wins: 10

Poles: 7

Laps Led: 1,649

Top-five finishes: 39

Top-10 finishes: 82

Stage wins: 12

· Chase Elliott: 1

· Kyle Larson: 8

· Ross Chastain: 1

· William Byron: 1

· Shane van Gisbergen: 1

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 861 (1949 to date)

Poles won to date: 750

Laps led to date: 250,804

Top-five finishes to date: 4,337

Top-10 finishes to date: 8,942

Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:

       General Motors: 1,195

       Chevrolet: 861

       Pontiac: 154

       Oldsmobile: 115

       Buick: 65



       Ford: 833                                                           

       Ford: 733

       Mercury: 96

       Lincoln: 4



       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467

       Dodge: 217

       Plymouth: 191

       Chrysler: 59



       Toyota: 187

 

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.

JUSTIN HALEY | RILEY HERBST
Richmond Advance

Event Overview

● Event: Cook Out 400 (Round 23 of 36)
● Time/Date: 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 11
● Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway
● Layout: .75-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 400 laps/300 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 160 laps / Final Stage: 170 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Justin Haley, Driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang Dark Horse

● Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing (RWR), will make his eighth NASCAR Cup Series start at the .75-mile Richmond (Va.) Raceway. In the series’ last outing at Richmond in March, Haley finished 32nd. He has a best finish of 21st at the short track, earned in August 2022.

● Haley also owns two runner-up finishes at Richmond in five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, earned in 2020 and 2021, and has another pair of top-10 results. He made one start at Richmond in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2015, finishing 12th in a 35-car field.

● Since the last Cup Series visit to Richmond in March, Haley has earned two top-10 finishes and seven top-20s for RWR. He’s earned the team’s best results at 10 different tracks, including setting a new team-best result with a ninth-place effort at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May.

● With 22 races completed so far, Haley is ranked sixth among all drivers in laps and miles completed. He sits 29th in the driver standings.

● Pinnacle Home Improvements, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, is a direct-to-homeowner provider of home improvement services, with a focus on roof replacement, window replacement and other exterior services for existing single-family homes. With additional offices in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as Charlotte, North Carolina, the company’s existing service footprint covers a range of attractive Southeast U.S. markets, with planned expansion into new Southeastern markets.

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang Dark Horse

● Riley Herbst returns to the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang Dark Horse for his fifth Cup Series start and first at Richmond. Herbst’s last Cup Series start for RWR was six weeks ago at Nashville Superspeedway. Overall, Herbst owns two Cup Series top-10s, including a best finish of ninth last October at the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway oval, and 10th in his Cup Series debut in the 2023 Daytona 500 with RWR.

● The 25-year-old racer from Las Vegas is the most recent winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, having collected his second career victory three weeks ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Herbst started on the front row, second to his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer, and led 30 laps on his way to victory and the right to kiss the Yard of Bricks.

● Herbst owns three Xfinity Series starts at Richmond, which resulted in two top-fives and four top-10s. He earned back-to-back top-fives at the track in 2021 and 2022.

● Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, the company supports the scene and sport. Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports partnerships, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans.

Rick Ware Racing Notes

● RWR’s Progressive American Flat Track (AFT) drivers, Briar Bauman, Kody Kopp and Shayna Texter-Bauman are gearing up for Sunday’s Arrowhead Brass Sturgis TT Presented by Rick Ware Racing and The CAT Rental Store, their second race of the week after competing Tuesday at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota. On Tuesday, AFT Singles rider Kopp earned his 11th podium in 12 races run this season. He leads the championship standings by 25 points with five wins. Mission SuperTwins rider Bauman earned his second win of the year July 28 in the SC2 Peoria TT at Peoria (Ill.) Motorcycle Club.

● Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age six when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver seat and into fulltime team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that fields two fulltime entries in the NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX), where RWR won the 2022 SX2 championship with rider Shane McElrath.

Justin Haley, Driver Q&A

This weekend at Richmond, NASCAR is making the option tire available to teams after first experimenting with them during All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Will the softer tire option provide any kind of change in the racing we see at Richmond?

“I’m not sure. I think we saw that some people could use it to their advantage at North Wilkesboro, but it was really dependent on their situation. For the most part, I think we’ll see what we always see at Richmond. Everyone will kind of stick to the same strategy until there’s a late caution and a chance to take a risk to make up some ground. But, who knows. Maybe the racing will be completely different and we’ll see the option tire play a bigger role than we anticipate.”

The No. 51 team has come a long way since the last race at Richmond, which occurred on March 31. How has that prepared you for this weekend?

“I think things have just started to come together. When we first went to Richmond, we were still a new team. The guys at RWR have put in a lot of work to improve and it’s worked out to our advantage. We had a couple of weeks off, which was great for them since they work nonstop during the week to make sure we’re ready. So, I’m excited to get back to it with a bit of a reset. I think we can pick up where we left off and keep making progress during these last 14 races of the year.”

Riley Herbst, Driver Q&A

While the NASCAR Xfinity Series is off this week, you will be hopping behind the wheel for your final Cup Series start of 2024. What have these races taught you for the future?

“These select races in the NASCAR Cup Series over the past few seasons have been a whirlwind of an experience. You know the NextGen is different from the Xfinity cars, but you never really know just how much until you’re behind the wheel of one. We’ve had some highs with top-10 finishes at Daytona and Talladega, but we’ve also had some humbling moments as I’m still learning. It’s not as easy to do well in the NASCAR Cup Series anymore, and a lot of rookies struggle because of how different the cars are. Every single race the last two seasons has been a learning experience for me. It’s been preparing me for my future and for the day that I hopefully drive in the NASCAR Cup Series fulltime. I can’t thank Rick Ware Racing and Monster Energy enough for giving me a chance to race on a few Sundays the past two seasons.”

Richmond is one of your favorite tracks in the Xfinity Series. How do you think the NextGen car will handle there?

“You know, that’s the unknown for me. I haven’t gotten any track time in the NextGen car on a short track like Richmond, so I can’t tell you how they’ll handle differently. Still, Richmond is probably my favorite track on the schedule, so I’m excited to get some seat time there in a NextGen car. As a driver, I have a lot more confidence heading into a short track because there is more that you can control. I grew up racing on short tracks, so it’s what I know best. In my past few Xfinity Series races at Richmond, I’ve run up front there and actually looked to be a favorite to win last year. Different things took us out of contention, but I’m always excited to head to this track. It’s one of the best on the NASCAR schedule, so I’m thankful to get a chance to run it in the Cup Series.”

Race Notes

Richmond Raceway
Cook Out 400
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sunday, August 11 at 6:00PM EDT
USA | MRN | SiriusXM
Team Notes

• Kaulig Racing has made 11 NCS starts at Richmond Raceway, earning a best finish of 17th.
• So far in the 2024 NCS season, Kaulig Racing has earned six top 10s, 17 top 20s and led 49 laps.

TY DILLON

“I’m really excited to be back with Kaulig Racing at Richmond. It’s going to be a fun weekend, and I’m looking forward to the new tire strategies we will have the chance to use over the course of the race. Anytime you can add variabilities to a race, it creates an opportunity to learn and hopefully perform well with this new tire package. It will be great to go back to a track for a second time with a race team this season, as we have gotten better and better each time. I can’t wait to see how this weekend goes.” – Ty Dillon on Richmond Raceway

No. 16 Chevy Accessories Camaro ZL1

• Ty Dillon has made 12 NCS starts at Richmond Raceway and has earned two top-20 finishes at the track.
• So far in the 2024 NCS season, Dillon has made three starts with Kaulig Racing, and has earned two top-20 finishes.
• Dillon will find himself behind the wheel again with Kaulig Racing at Kansas Speedway.

 
DANIEL HEMRIC

“The short tracks have been a bit of a tall task for us figure out in this car, but everyone has been working hard to identify the areas we need to improve on. I think Richmond will be a challenge for us, but it’s one we are up for. I’m excited to be back from our two-week break and get back to normal business, which is racing every weekend from now until Phoenix.” – Daniel Hemric on Richmond Raceway

No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric has made four NCS starts at Richmond Raceway, earning a best finish of 19th.
• Hemric made seven NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Richmond, earning one pole award, three top five and five top-10 finishes.
• So far in the 2024 NCS season, Hemric has earned three top 10s, nine top-20 finishes and has led 14 laps.

 

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Cook Out 400 Midweek Media Availability
Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 RFK Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is the defending winner of this weekend’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. Buescher participated in a media call earlier today to talk about going for back-to-back wins and improving his standing in the battle to make the playoffs.

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW WAS YOUR BREAK AND ARE YOU READY TO GET BACK IN ACTION? “Yeah, we are. It was definitely relaxing and enjoyable. We got to have a lot of fun with the family and got to see people on weekends that usually work during the week, so that was a little out of character for us, but it was a nice break. I got a lot of stuff done around the house, little projects I’ve been putting off and probably about 20 percent of what I thought I’d get done, but that’s about how it goes. I saved plenty of stuff up for the offseason, but we’re ready to get back into it here. We left out of Indy and really didn’t have a good day, so didn’t get to go out on a high note and tried to put that behind us rather quickly so we can reboot and be ready to come back and try to defend this race win for us.”

BEING SO CLOSE ON THE BUBBLE ARE YOU NERVOUS, FRUSTRATED, CONCERNED? WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET? “I’m not nervous about it. It’s something that we’re gonna pay a little bit more attention to as we run down into these final four here, but I’m pretty adamant about it. I don’t want to change the way we approach our races. I’ve just seen it too many times in our sport where you try and get put back on your heels and change up what you’re doing and it can end up costing you. We’ve got to race our races, put our best foot forward and that should be enough to get us where we need to go. Three of the next four races we’re heading into we were able to win last year, so that’s a pretty awesome statistic as we look at it, but last year’s results don’t equal this year’s. We’ve been very good at a lot of different styles of racetracks. We’ve been very close to locking ourselves in, but we’ve been very good. Indy was a rough day for us and ended up losing a little bit throughout the day and had a chance to recapture a lot of what we lost there on the final lap and got dinged again, so just a brutal weekend really. There wasn’t much good to come out of the race itself, but we definitely showed a lot of potential for speed on the weekend, just didn’t get a chance to pull it all out and put much points on the table. We’ve got to be aware, but it’s not something that we’re up in arms about or worried about. We’re plenty capable of progressing and winning a race here in the next four like we have been. We’ve just got to clean up and have a couple things go our way and just do a good job and control what we can from our side.”

YOU FINISHED THE REGULAR SEASON SO STRONG LAST YEAR. WHY WERE YOU ABLE TO DO THAT AND WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS YEAR? “Last year, we had been inching towards that kind of success and finally just fired on all eight when we got to Richmond. We executed that day extremely well from race strategy to on track decisions to restarts, pit road. We finally put it all together and I think that was a big confidence booster for our team as we headed into the next few. We were able to go to Michigan and do the same things, pull off a little bit of strategy there, but also just execute at the highest level, and then Daytona was very much just a team win for us, being able to work together and have Brad and myself together there at the end of the race is what made that one, but it was something that we talked about a lot. The focus this season was to hit that stretch well before now and we come out of Phoenix with a runner-up finish there. We’ve been close to winning a couple others. Obviously, we’re gonna go down in history there on the wrong side of history for a while anyway for Kansas, so we’ve been very good at a lot of these places. We just haven’t been able to seal the deal and it has gotten frustrating. The hard part is keeping everybody’s head up because it’s a hard sport and we know that, but I guess we’re just gonna have to do the same thing we did last year and come to life now and make it a show.”

HAVE YOU WATCHED THE OLYMPICS AND IS THERE ANYTHING THAT STOOD OUT ABOUT HOW STRONG THESE ATHLETES ARE MENTALLY? “That was a really good question keyed up for somebody who should have had an answer, but I did not watch any. I can’t say that have any opinion on it. We just didn’t stop moving. I’m gonna be honest. From the time that we went into break, we were working or traveling and we did not sit still. I never got a chance to sit down and turn the TV on. I think between Emma and myself, I think we may have watched one episode of a show and that was it over the course of two weeks. We really just did not sit still enough to sit down and watch.”

DAYTONA IS THE RACE BEFORE THE CUTOFF. WHAT WAS THE RACING LIKE FOR YOU A YEAR AGO WITH ALREADY HAVE A SPOT CLINCHED BUT EVERY OTHER DRIVER AROUND YOU DID NOT? “I’m sure we’ll run into the same thing. Yes, it may not be the final one, but realistically Darlington has a lot lower chance of producing a new winner. Let’s say that last year was by far the easiest Daytona race that we’ve ever had from the mental side of things knowing that if you ultimately got caught up in something that it was not gonna be a season make or break moment for us. We had already did what we needed to do, but it also enabled us to go out there and be even more aggressive and be able to win that thing. We made big moves that we may not have otherwise, but that was a very nice way to go into it. I sure would like to be in that same situation when we go back, so we’ve got an important two weeks coming up for us. When you get to that race it typically can become just a very crazy event just for the simple fact that there are a lot of people looking for that last chance. I think they are gonna approach it the same way. I think there are gonna be a vast majority of winless teams that are gonna see Daytona as their only chance or by far their best chance and are not going to feel like they can rely on Darlington for that moment. Like I said, I hope we have a win in the next two weeks and it might as well be this weekend, so that we don’t have to have that thought process. If we go into Darlington without our win yet, obviously we were very close last time and with Brad being able to pull off that win that obviously puts us in a good spot and a good mindset going into that one, so I don’t think we would put ourselves on that long list of teams that are gonna be looking at that as a last resort.”

DO YOU THINK THIS TWO WEEK BREAK WILL CHANGE THE AGGRESSION LEVEL? “I don’t think it’s gonna affect the aggression. I’d imagine we’re gonna see more mistakes than we would just coming off a single week. I think it’ll take a little bit to get everybody’s mind back right and whether that’s gonna be hitting pit road in a clean way, restarts, making mistakes, even just last race here at Richmond we had some big moments where drivers completely missed corners on restarts and really sliding up and creating really big moments. I don’t know if that’s just a mental thing that everybody’s got to get back in a rhythm of some sort, but I don’t think that I would expect the aggression to be different as we go into this one. I think you will see mistakes made that wouldn’t be very typical of our field.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE OPTION TIRE BEING USED AT RICHMOND? “I don’t have any good answers for you yet. We have a lot to learn on Saturday. I will say a prediction, just in talking with our team, is North Wilkesboro was the last time we tried this. North Wilkesboro was new asphalt and went into the evening. This is gonna be an evening race, so maybe there is gonna be some discrepancy on the option. I just call them reds and yellows. I can’t keep up. Prime I always think of as the option, so it’s just reds and yellows for me, but for the reds I’d say that if in practice we see speed but maybe blistering, keep in mind that may not be an issue just like North Wilkesboro wasn’t as we got into the race. The Richmond surface is a complete 180 of North Wilkesboro now, so I’d say that a lot of what we knew from there is not going to apply, so we’re really kind of starting fresh on this deal as we get into it. We have a 45-minute practice, so we do get the longer practice on Saturday to learn, and I promise we’ll be taking lots of notes to figure out what we think is gonna happen in the race, but again, it’s gonna be an afternoon, early evening practice in the daylight and we’re gonna be running this race into the night, so it’s not gonna be the best read on what we’re actually gonna see in the race, either.”

WHERE DO YOU NEED TO BE BETTER THAT MAKES YOU THE CLASS OF THE FIELD AT RICHMOND? “We’ve only very recently become good at Richmond, so I wish I could have answered that question a long, long time ago. For us, it’s been a matter of trying to get our corner entry good to where we can be competitive and really hustle restarts. You’re always gonna be tight-center at Richmond, so it’s just a matter of can you be tight and still feel like you’re getting some response out of the car versus just having a numb feeling, and that’s something our team has done a good job of working on and gotten a lot better. Our long run speed has been exceptional when we have tire falloff at Richmond and I think that has been a really big factor in how we’re able to be so good at the two races last year. We didn’t see nearly the falloff in the spring race and with that we weren’t as strong, so trying to figure out if we think it’s going to come back around this go, if that red tire is going to create more falloff like we think it will, like we thought it was supposed to at North Wilkesboro. There’s a balance, but our strong suit has been really long run speed and being able to stay very competitive without suffering on the front end, just being kind of average on the front and that’s been good for us. We were just talking about it. We’ve got some unanswered questions with tire options this weekend, but, for us, it’s a matter of how do we be a little bit better on the front end of a run and not give up on the tail.”

AFTER WINNING AT MICHIGAN DID IT BECOME EVEN MORE CLEAR OF HOW BIG OF A DEAL IT IS TO WIN THERE AND CONTINUE FORD’S STREAK? “I’d say the most unfortunate part about last year was the fact it was Monday because everybody had to go back to work. So many of our partners of the OEM’s for our Ford group had to go back and sell vehicles, so it was different in that sense, but, yes, the feeling, the emotions of winning at Michigan were very largely felt from the Ford Performance side, from Jack Roush and his side, from Brad and his history from Michigan as well. I think everybody I’m surrounded by has deep ties to the Michigan race there and so it was important for everyone and certainly felt the meaning behind that there. So, yes, it’s definitely a big deal. I’m excited to go back and try to defend that one. We’ve made some big gains in the Ford camp in the last several months and I’m excited to see how that can play out at another big racetrack where we know we were able to do well last year.”

DO YOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY AN ALLIANCE THAT RFK HAS WITH RICK WARE OR HAAS FOR NEXT YEAR? “I don’t know how the Haas alliance is going to shape out yet. I think I found out just barely before everybody else, just very grainy details right now, but I’d say my role is fairly limited. I talk with Justin and Kaz and kind of go through some of our setup differences – what we’re looking at for different racetracks. We’re over at the simulator kind of crossing paths, not working necessarily together over there, but kind of bouncing off of each other a little bit here and there. We just came out of the gym not too long ago. Kaz is down there getting after it as well, so we’re around each other a lot and just in casual conversations about what we have going on, but I’d imagine on the driver side that my role is probably very, very small compared to what that alliance really looks like when you get down into the weeds of what’s in it.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE MOMENTUM YOU HAVE AT RICHMOND? “I wanted to burn that place to the ground a couple of years ago, so this has been a tremendous turnaround for a facility, to be brutally honest about it, I’ve been terrible at through most of my career. From the Xfinity days, I actually made my first NASCAR start at Richmond subbing in for Trevor Bayne. That one went OK until we lost radios about halfway through the race and ended up finishing pretty bad and then something from there just stayed with me and did not click for a long time. It’s been a racetrack that I really have wanted to like, that I loved running on NASCAR Heat video games growing up. It was a fun racetrack, but just hadn’t been able to truly figure it out until the last couple of years. Honestly, from where I’m at have worked hard at it. There’s been a couple things on my side that have helped. Brad has been a big part of that. Brad runs very well there and has been able to give me a handful of pointers that have led me down a better path, and our team has stepped up in a massive way and brought some very fast race cars that ultimately just make me look better. When we bring those race cars to the track and we’re that competitive off the truck it makes my job a lot easier when I know that we’re in the ballpark. When you’re fine-tuning on a weekend versus really swinging, trying to just get close it really makes a difference on how your entire weekend plays out, and that’s where we’ve been. We’ve been unloading so much closer to where we’ve been able to fine-tune speed into it versus being more in a guessing game.”

WHY ARE YOU NOT A FAN OF POINTS RACING? “That’s a good question because it goes back a long time. It’s actually not from a big miss in my career. From the time I was 12, 13 years old we made very specific decisions that we were not going to race for points. We would be leading track championships or local regional points divisions and would intentionally miss races and go somewhere else to make sure that we didn’t find ourselves in that box. The mindset was that if you race at your same three local tracks and worked hard to win the points there, that ultimately you were racing against the same people every week. Yes, you had something to put on a resume at the end of the year, but what did that local resume accomplishment really do for you in the grand scheme of things. If we wanted to be better, we needed to be around different racers. We traveled out to the west coast. We went to Vegas. This is Legends car racing. We went to Vegas to be around different racers on different racetracks. We came out to the east coast during summer breaks in school and went up and down the coast trying to be around better drivers to purposely try to pursue a way to be better from behind the wheel, instead of being better at our local track. We stayed with that throughout my career. You move up a couple of years, you go to our ARCA championship, we were able to win that not because we points raced, but because we went out and aggressively won races and in our worst days we made sure that our worst days were not catastrophic, that we always had a mindset that in order to be better for the next week you had to finish that race as well, so, yes, it wasn’t a matter of being overly aggressive and tearing your stuff up. You didn’t get down that road and say points don’t matter, so I’m just gonna make a dumb decision. A lot of it is because I worked on my own stuff. I knew how hard it was to fix it, so we didn’t have those moments and then past that it obviously works out. When you win races the points came with it and they always did wherever we were at in situations at the highest levels, whether that was ARCA or Xfinity. Xfinity, we won a couple of races in our championship year, but we were just consistently good from most racetracks and, again, on our bad days we worked hard to make sure we weren’t giving stuff up. I don’t want to go to a racetrack and have a mindset that we’re not there to win, that we’re there to try and capture a handful of points to protect ourselves. I don’t like it. I feel like, to me, it feels like you’re going to the racetrack giving 85 percent and that’s not how I want to go about it. Points have become more and more important and talked about since the playoffs have been introduced I feel like. We really dive into it a lot deeper and it certainly feels like it means more to everybody and I know there are a lot more implications behind the scenes, so you have to play the game a little bit differently, but it’s something I just don’t want to get stuck in the wrong mindset. The one that comes to mind for me, and Bob Osborne was my crew chief my rookie season in Cup. We talk a little bit and some of the times that burn and sting a little bit and going back to the Kansas finish from this year, I was talking to Bob a little bit about that and talked about how painful that is. He reminded me very quickly that he knows how it feels to lose by a very close margin and that Tony Stewart-Carl Edwards battle comes to mind. If you get a little bit too complacent in there and you don’t actively try and go to win the race and put everything on the line, then you can find yourself getting burned on the tail end. It’s just one of the instances that I feel like I’ve seen in our sport where it can bite you if you’re not going to the racetrack and trying to race your race and ultimately to go win a trophy.”

SO YOUR FAMILY WAS DIRECTING YOU AT 12-13, OR WAS IT SOMEONE ELSE? “One of my best friends, Michael Harper, who I ended up traveling with and racing Legends cars. He’d been running Legends cars, building them and setting them up for quite a few years before I started running with him and it was just one of those mindsets that he had seen work out. He’d witnessed drivers basically get caught in a cycle that they became a track champion multiple years and were really good at one specific racetrack, but never got that next chance. They got trapped in a box and I think he’s seen drivers that didn’t have all these track championships to their names, but won races and won them in front of lots of different people that made their way up to the top of our sport. I think it was something that he had an eye for very early on and we trusted in that. It certainly helped get me to this level and not getting caught up in trying to run our two or three semi-local tracks. In Texas, nothing is local, but if we’d have gotten caught in that cycle, I’d ultimately probably be in Texas racing on our local racetracks on Saturday nights. There’s a way about it. It’s challenging. There’s no set ladder in our sport to get to this level. I have a lot of kids or parents ask me how you got to this level and all I can say is be deliberate about how you go about it and hope it works out because there is no solid way to go about it. It was the best way we knew how. I liked it that way and to this day I try not to get caught up in the point side of things too heavily to the point where you feel like you’re not giving your best effort.”