Ally 400: Nashville Superspeedway
Lebanon, TN – June 30, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

START: 10TH STAGE ONE: 17TH STAGE TWO: 25TH FINISH: 15TH POINTS: 20TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric survived a dramatic Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, overcoming various setbacks and a plethora of late-race cautions to register a 15th-place finish. He fired off from the 10th position and made his first visit to pit road on Lap 38 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to aid the stability of the car. The Discount Tire Ford Mustang finished Stage 1 in the 17th position and returned to pit road for service. Cindric restarted 20th when the second segment got underway on Lap 98, and just 18 laps in, Cindric informed his team that the handling had improved across the center and on exit. On Lap 136, inclement weather moved in, bringing out the red flag for well over an hour. Once the race resumed, Cindric was forced to restart at the tail of the field due to a penalty. Despite the loss of track position, the former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion climbed back to 25th by the conclusion of Stage 2. Following a four-tire stop, Cindric lined up 23rd for the restart on Lap 193. The Team Penske driver was slowly but steadily moving forward until contact from the No. 71 caused Cindric to fall deep in the field. Fortunately, the Discount Tire Ford was able to withstand a series of late-race cautions to rally to a 15th-place finish.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, a bit of a frustrating day. We had to go to the back, lost a lot of spots early in the race, and passed a lot of cars today. I thought we had a decent Discount Tire Ford Mustang, we just never held on to any track position that we ever had, whether if it was execution errors or just getting run over there at the end of the race. So, yeah, I’m happy we came home with a decent finish and really happy for everyone on the 22 car — those guys have had a tough go and certainly deserve a win and to be in the playoffs. I’m proud that all three of us will be fighting for a championship later this season.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/IDEAL DOOR GARAGE DOORS FORD MUSTANG

START: 18TH STAGE ONE: 14TH STAGE TWO: 8TH FINISH: 6TH POINTS: 8TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney rallied for a sixth-place finish Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway, marking his third top-10 result in the last four races. The 12-team worked to dial in the balance over the course of the opening 90-lap stage as Blaney battled his way towards the top-10 in the early going before ultimately settling for a 14th-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments at the stage break, Blaney charged to 11th in the running order before the race was red flagged on lap 135 for heavy rainfall in the area. After drivers returned to their cars once track drying was complete, the field took the green with 46 laps remaining in Stage 2 when Blaney raced into the top-10 early in the run. Despite a loose-handling condition that set in late in the run, Blaney managed to come away with an eighth-place result in the second segment. The 12 team gained a pair of positions on pit road under yellow, allowing Blaney to take the green for the final stage from the inside of row three. Blaney powered his way to fourth on the opening lap of the restart before a caution on lap 218 saw varying pit strategies with the fuel window closing in. The 12-team opted to keep Blaney on the track under yellow and assume the lead as he was one of five lead lap cars to stay out with the field lining up to take the green with 75 laps to go. A pair of cautions shortly after forced Blaney to stay out in order to avoid falling to the back of the field, resulting in a scheduled green flag stop on lap 268 that trapped him a lap down. A caution with two laps to go awarded Blaney the free pass to rejoin the lead lap before a Cup Series record five overtime restarts followed – the second of which had Blaney involved in a multi-car incident on the backstretch where he avoided damage despite sliding through the grass. By the time of the fifth and final restart, Blaney lined up 12th to take the green and continued to power forward before ultimately taking the checkered flag sixth.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Really proud of this 12-team for staying with it all day. The strategy we had lined up didn’t fall the way we hoped but this turned into a race where if you can be there at the end, you’ll have a shot and fortunately we were able to gain back a lot of the track position we lost with all the restarts at the end. Happy for all the guys on the 22-team and proud of the effort to get all three Penske cars locked in to run for a championship.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 26TH STAGE ONE: 21ST STAGE TWO: 21ST FINISH: 1ST POINTS: 14TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano prevailed to take the checkered flag Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway after a Cup Series-record five overtime restarts, marking his 33rd-career victory and 20th different track he’s won at on the Cup Series circuit. With the win, Logano has now won at least one Cup Series race in 13-consecutive seasons while also snapping a 49-race winless streak to clinch a playoff spot for the 11th time in the last 16 seasons. Despite finishes of 21st in the opening two stages and a lengthy rain delay in the middle of Stage 2, Logano and the 22-team altered their strategy when the caution flag flew on lap 205 as the fuel window began to close in as crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for right sides tires and fuel to vault to eighth in the running order for the ensuing restart. Logano raced his way into the top-five before a caution on lap 227 brought the field back together but on the following restart, he was shoved up the track in turn one and ultimately settled into 14th as the laps ticked off. The yellow came out once again with two laps to go and Logano stayed out, allowing him to move up to eighth for the first overtime restart as several of the leaders had concerns about having enough fuel to make it to the end. Logano evaded a pair of multi-car wrecks before the caution on the third overtime saw a few of the leaders make the trip to pit road for fuel, allowing the Shell-Pennzoil Ford to assume the lead for the fourth overtime restart. Logano was able to clear the No. 14 as he was coming to take the white flag, but the yellow was displayed just before he crossed the line to set up a fifth – and ultimately final – overtime restart as the 22-team was committed to stretching the fuel run as far as it would go. From the inside of row one, Logano was able to clear the field coming out of turn two as the No. 45 closed in to challenge for the win coming to the checkered and successfully blocked the run to the high side in turns three and four before edging out the No. 71 at the line to come away with the win in the fuel mileage thriller.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It’s been a hard season and being on that cut line, I tell you it sucks. It’s just not fun. It’s hard and you just want a little bit of relief of the pressure and with seven weeks to go until the playoffs it gives us a chance to breathe for a second and start just kind of working on our car a little bit differently and just sleep better, to be honest with you. I’m proud of this team and proud to be here in Victory Lane, for sure. You have to give a lot of credit to our fueler, Nick Hensley, our engine department with Roush Yates building obviously some engines that could also manage fuel really well, and some guts – a lot of cajones made it happen.”

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the streets of Chicago for the second-ever street race on Sunday, July 7. Coverage of the Grant Park 165 begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

RICK WARE RACING
Ally 400
Date: June 30, 2024
Event: Ally 400 (Round 19 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages 90 laps/95 laps/115 laps)
Note: Race extended 31 laps past its scheduled 300-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Race Finish:

● Justin Haley (Started 33rd, Finished 13th/ Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 30th, Finished 37th/ Accident, completed 201 of 331 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (31st with 266 points)
● Note: Herbst is a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and is not eligible for points in the NASCAR Cup Series.

RWR Notes:

● Haley earned his sixth top-20 of the season and second top-15 finish in the last four races.
● This was Haley’s best finish in four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville. His previous best was 23rd, earned twice in 2022 and 2023.
● This was Herbst’s seventh NASCAR Cup Series start, third of the season and first at Nashville.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Ally 400 to score his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Nashville. His margin of victory over second-place Zane Smith was .068 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 732nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its fourth of the season.
● This was Ford’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Nashville.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 79 laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 20-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“I’m really proud of the team to overcome the setbacks we faced early in the race. I had my hands full on the first run, and we were still able to stick to our strategy and come back from being two laps down to be on the lead lap at the end of the first stage. We don’t give up and I think that showed today. We’re leaving bummed over a 13th-place finish, which says a lot about how far we’ve come since Daytona.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It just felt like he was kind of over-racing me, but I had fun. It was a fun day. It was cool. I learned a lot. The Cup Series is a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 7 on the streets of downtown Chicago. The race begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Keselowski Earns Stage Points in Opening Stages Before Being Spun Late, Then Finishes 25t

LEBANON, Tenn. (June 30, 2024) – Sunday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway was, in a word, chaos. Inclement weather and a flurry of cautions – 15 in total – dominated the headlines as Chris Buescher ended his day on a high note with a fifth-place finish. Brad Keselowski finished fifth in each of the first two stages and was running inside the top five much of the day, but was spun with under 100 to go to ultimately finish 25th.

The closing laps alone saw five NASCAR Overtime attempts, a new record, as the race in total was extended to 331 laps from the original distance of 300. Lightning – and later rain – put the race on halt for nearly 90 minutes just under halfway through the scheduled distance.

For Buescher, it’s his third top five in the last four races, and fifth overall on the season.

6 Recap
Keselowski started fifth following his best-career qualifying effort at the Tennessee track. Despite the numerous cautions late, the opening laps ran caution-free as the conclusion of stage one signified the first yellow flag of the afternoon.

The No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford pitted from third at lap 39 under green then later went on to finish fifth in the opening stage of 90 laps. A 2-tire call under yellow at lap 117 put Keselowski P2 on the restart with teammate Buescher in third. Then, less than 20 laps later, thunderstorms moved into the Lebanon area as lightning put a delay on the race.

Following the delay of more than an hour, Keselowski restarted fourth and went on to finish fifth in the stage. He began stage three in fourth, and maintained a top-6 position for the next 30 laps. Under yellow at lap 218, Keselowski would pit for four tires which put him 18th on the ensuing restart. Then, at lap 244, Keselowski went to pass the No. 3 on the outside, and the two made contact into turn 1, sending the No. 6 into the outside wall.

After lengthy repairs – including replacing the steering wheel – Keselowski restarted three laps down at lap 247. He ran 34th at the time, but used the final five cautions to gain track position and ultimately advance nine spots to 25th.

17 Recap
Much like his teammate, Buescher spent most of the early race inside the top-10, and later top five. After starting ninth – also his best effort at the track – Buescher finished the opening stage in eighth.

The same strategy call (as the 6) just 20 laps into the second stage put Buescher inside the top three for a handful of laps, before he was later scored seventh at the time of the red flag. He went on to finish ninth in stage two after the restart of the remaining 44 laps in the segment.

A pit road issue in the stage break set the No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford back in terms of track position as he restarted 17th at lap 193. That track position later flipped at lap 218 when Buescher pitted for fuel only, putting him 13th on the ensuing restart. This time, Buescher hustled six positions in just a two-lap span to seventh.

He was ninth coming to the white flag before the flurry of five cautions flew, extending the race by a full 31 laps. Crew chief Scott Graves called the No. 17 to pit road for right-side tires at lap 301, putting him 20th on the next restart. From there, attrition was the name of the game as multiple cars wrecked out or ran out of fuel. Buescher ultimately restarted seventh for the final time and powered past two cars for the P5 finish.

“I’m proud of everybody on this BuildSubmarines.com Mustang and working hard to get back after it,” Buescher said. “It was definitely an up and down day and ended up with a decent finish, but we just had a strategy to have the fuel we needed there and it was caution after caution, so I’m definitely frustrated by all of that.

“We had the ability to run in the top-10 all night and got stage points and got a decent finish out of it. I’m still just frustrated. It was just chaos there at the end. I have to go back and watch what happened with everything obviously, but we just didn’t get a chance to race very much. We were in a good spot there. We had good speed after the sun went down and had tires, so just really wanted some laps.”

Up Next
NASCAR heads to the streets of Chicago next week for just the second time. Race coverage next Sunday is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Ally 400

Date: June 30, 2024
Event: Ally 400 (Round 19 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/115 laps)
Note: Race extended 31 laps past its scheduled 300-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Ryan Preece (Started 22nd, Finished 4th / Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 16th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 19th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 331 of 331 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 2nd, Finished 26th / Accident, completed 327 of 331 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (16th with 421 points, 243 out of first)
● Josh Berry (19th with 368 points, 296 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (24th with 325 points, 339 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (25th with 308 points, 356 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Preece earned his first top-five and second top-10 of the season. It was also his first top-10 in three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville.
● This was Preece’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was ninth, earned April 7 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
● This was Preece’s second straight finish of 11th or better. He finished 11th last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
● Gragson earned his sixth top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville.
● Gragson finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Ally 400 to score his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Nashville. His margin of victory over second-place Zane Smith was .068 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 732nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its fourth of the season.
● This was Ford’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Nashville.
● There were 15 caution periods for a total of 79 laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 20-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.

Sound Bites:

“We just kept moving forward and we had fresher tires. Just really happy with how these guys kept fighting all day. Didn’t look like it was going to be very pretty, but another chaotic 10 or 15 laps there at the end and we salvaged a good day. Thanks to Stewart-Haas, Ford Performance and all my supporters – Morton Buildings, HaasTooling.com, United Rentals, RaceChoice.com, Mohawk Northeast – it helps a lot on a day like today.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We just saved a ton of fuel to end up 10th. 110 laps on a tank of fuel. We pushed it to the absolute max and got another top-10. Proud of the work everyone puts into this racecar.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was kind of a worst-case scenario from a strategy standpoint how it played out. We just had to go all the way back to 30th or something just because of how the strategy played out and how the cautions fell. We were able to drive back from 30th to 15th or so. And there at the end, you don’t expect to have three or four green-white-checkereds. Ran out of fuel taking the white flag. That definitely stinks whenever you’re in contention there. I think on that second-to-last one we had a good shot to potentially win the race. Frustrating, but part of it, and we go on.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Yeah, today was a tough day. Just started off really tight and couldn’t figure out the balance, but my team worked hard to get me the car I needed and we finally found it after the rain delay. We got a bunch of spots back and had a much more competitive No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It was just chaos there at the end and trying to navigate that many restarts and eventually I just got caught up in it. It was a bummer that we didn’t finish that well this week. Nashville is my home race, but we learned a lot. Thank you to Overstock.com for continuing to support our race team. We will regroup and head to Chicago next week fully prepared to compete for a win.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 7 on the streets of downtown Chicago. The race begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 37th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
• Hemric gained four spots on the initial start and was told he would be running long in the No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1. He made it as high as fourth during the green-flag pit stops and made his stop on lap 70 for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The opening stage remained green, and Hemric finished 32nd.
• During the first stage break, Hemric was able to take the wave around, placing him back on the lead lap to start the second stage from 28th place. The first caution of the day came out on lap 117, as Hemric sat 30th. He pitted for tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment, before restarting 26th on lap 122. The next caution came out just five laps later, and Hemric elected to stay out. Once the green flag came out on lap 131, lightning brought out the red flag on lap 137. When the pits reopened, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel and a front adjustment, before restarting 33rd on lap 140. Struggling with front grip, Hemric finished the second stage in 35th.
• During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to free up the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. A caution on lap 203 allowed Hemric to pit once again for tires, fuel and more adjustments. The field went back to green on lap 209, before another caution came out on the restart. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call for Hemric to pit for fuel only, before he restarted 34th with 87 laps remaining. The eighth caution of the day came out on lap 219, and Hemric made another fuel-only stop in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy, before restarting 21st with 70 to go. Hemric avoided a spin in front of him on the restart, putting the field back under caution. The team elected to stay out before restarting 20th with 66 to go. The next caution came out for a wreck with 58 laps to go. Owens made the call to put four tires on, and Hemric restarted 26th with 52 laps remaining. Running faster laps than the next seven cars ahead of him with 10 laps to go, Hemric had made it up to 18th when an overtime-inducing caution came out with two laps remaining. Owens made a strategy call to stay out under caution, putting Hemric 11th coming to the first overtime attempt. Unable to avoid a wreck on the restart, Hemric sustained minor damage, forcing him to pit for tires. After pitting too early, Hemric restarted at the rear for the second overtime attempt. The field was unable to make it to the white flag, and went on to make five-overtime attempts before finally seeing the checkered flag. Hemric finished ninth, his third top-10 of the season.

“Today was just another example of our season; it’s been a roller coaster ride. We struggled with short-run speed all weekend on the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. After the rain delay and a couple of good adjustments, I thought if we could get track position, we would be OK. We finally got it and got caught in a crash. I thought every corner was knocked off the car. Somehow, some way, the seas kept parting. We were able to have a couple of good restarts at the end and cross the line in ninth. What a weekend, but I’ll take it” – Daniel Hemric  

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified 28th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
• After reporting early the No. 16 Celsius Chevy was free, Allmendinger came to pit under green on lap 39. Crew chief, Travis Mack, called for air pressure and wedge adjustment to help with the handling of the car. Allmendinger went on to finish 30th on the opening stage.
• Allmendinger restarted the second stage in 32nd. When the caution came out on lap 117, the No. 16 came to pit road for wedge and air pressure adjustments to assist with handling. On lap 137, a caution was displayed for weather. When the race resumed, Allmendinger stayed out to restart in 24th on lap 141. Allmendinger went on to finish the second stage in 22nd place.
• The No. 16 pit under the stage break and restarted in 24th. When the caution came out on lap 210, Allmendinger came to pit road for right sides only and restarted in 21st on lap 213. By lap 219 when the next caution was displayed, Allmendinger was in 18th place and reported his No. 16 Chevy was good, but he needed clean air. The team stayed out and restarted on the front row in second place on lap 226. Allmendinger maintained second place until lap 240 when he fell to 3rd, where he was running when the next caution came on lap 244. The No. 16 stayed out under this caution to restart in 3rd on lap 249. The No. 16 slowly faded back to 11th place by lap 276. On lap 292, Allmendinger came to pit road under green for four tires and fuel. The caution fell two laps later and Allmendinger restarted in 31st for overtime. The caution came back out after the restart, Allmendinger received the lucky dog and came to pit road for sticker tires. After five overtime restarts, Allmendinger finished in 11th.

“Long, hard fought day. I felt like as the race went on, we improved the race car. We weren’t able to get the track position there til the end. Unfortunately, that strategy didn’t work out. We were able to miss all the wrecks, get our lap back and make the most out of our day. Overall, something we can learn fun. Good finish for both cars. Good day for the race team.” – AJ Allmendinger  

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.

REDDICK SCORES TOP-FIVE IN FRANTIC RACE IN NASHVILLE
23XI Racing teammate, Bubba Wallace, joins him inside the top-10

NASHVILLE (June 30, 2024) – In a race that had just about everything, Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing came up just short of his second win in 2024, finishing third in Nashville on Sunday. Reddick was in contention for the lead throughout the first two stages, but as cautions began to pile up towards the end of the race, he had to bring his No. 45 Camry XSE to pitlane for tires and fuel.

On the final green-white-checkered restart, starting fifth, Reddick passed multiple cars and nearly overtook the race winner, Joey Logano. Reddick finished side-by-side with Zane Smith to come home third. It’s Reddick’s seventh top-five of the season and his 12th top-10, the most in the Cup Series so far this season.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin seemed to be in the catbird seat to claim his fourth win of 2024, until those cautions began to fly, forcing the No. 11 team to also pit late for fuel. Hamlin was able to salvage a 12th-place finish. His teammate, Christopher Bell, was the dominant car, winning both stages and leading the most laps. Electing to pit under a Stage 3 caution, Bell was put back in the mid-pack and spun out on a restart, ending his day early for a 36th-place finish. The stage points earned by Bell today now gives him the most in Playoff points standings with 24.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the streets of Chicago next Sunday, with coverage live on NBC at 4:30 p.m. EST.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Nashville Superspeedway
Race 19 of 36 – 399 miles, 300 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Joey Logano*
2nd, Zane Smith*
3rd, TYLER REDDICK
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Chris Buescher*
7th, BUBBA WALLACE
12th, DENNY HAMLIN
23rd, TY GIBBS
24th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
29th, COREY HEIM
31st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
34th, ERIK JONES
36th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

You had one heck of a restart at the end. How were you able to pull that off for a third-place finish?

“I don’t know, the last set of tires didn’t give our Monster Energy Camry the balance it had all day long that allowed it to contend for the lead with Christopher Bell there. We just (pause) had a bad restart, I fell back and I could tell there in the closing laps we were wounded bad. The tires were chorded. When the caution came out, we were in a really bad spot. We were going to lose all our track position, but we had to put tires on as I don’t think we were going to be able to hold on during a restart, but it became the very thing that gave us an opportunity to win the race. It was a great call, a gutsy call by the crew chief, Billy Scott. I was upset about the position we were in, but just kept being aggressive on the restarts and I mean we got ourselves all the way there. It’s tough. Had just about everything go right into the last lap, I just didn’t get the job done.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 12th

Was there any thought of staying out further and risking running out of fuel?

“Well, we did. We ran out under caution. He (Chris Gabehart, crew chief) was monitoring fuel pressure. I let him know what the fuel pressure was. We were fine, just running out of gas and we did under caution. It was the right call. I was going down pitlane there out of gas. I’m surprised we lasted that many green-white-checkers honestly. Certainly, stinks being 15 seconds from a win at the end and then 10 seconds from a win, and then to finish 12th. It’s just part of it.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Concrete Solutions Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 36th

What happened there in your accident?

“I just put myself in a pretty bad spot going into turn one. I got bottled up there and just lost my cool to make something happen and I put myself in a bad spot and spun out.”

How do you assess the day with such a good car but with this result?

“I mean it’s disappointing, but there’s a lot to be positive about. We won two stages, so we got more Playoff points which is really good. Yeah, and the performance of our team is doing really well, so hopefully we can keep the ball rolling and I think we can win a lot more races.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th 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 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
ALLY 400
POST-RACE REPORT
JUNE 30, 2024

•  Smith Leads Chevrolet With Career-Best Runner-Up Finish at Nashville Superspeedway
•  In a race against fuel shortage, NASCAR Cup Series rookie, Zane Smith, battled through five overtime finishes to lead Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a runner-up finish in his No. 71 Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan Camaro ZL1. The result marked the Team Chevy driver’s career best finish in NASCAR’s top division.
• Kyle Larson, the winner of the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural appearance at Nashville Superspeedway, led the Bowtie brand to the green-flag for the 300-lap event from the fourth position.
• The 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native showed early speed in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 – running steadily in the top-five through the first two stages of the race. Following a podium finish in Stage Two, issues on the right-rear during a pit stop at the stage break resulted in a loss of track position – putting the team in the 12th position for the start of the 115-lap final stage. Despite the pit road mishap and one of the many that fell short on fuel in the series of overtime finishes, Larson crossed the line in the eighth position.
• Three Chevrolet organizations were represented in the top-10 of the final running order, with Spire Motorsports’ Zane Smith leading Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in the eighth position and Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric in the ninth position.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at the Chicago Street Course with the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 7, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS
POS. DRIVER
2nd Zane Smith, No. 71 Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan Camaro ZL1
8th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
9th Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Country Camaro ZL1

Finished: 33rd

Tell us what happened there from your vantage point.

“The Busch Light Country Chevy had a chance to win. It’s so cool to come back here to Nashville, the birthplace of Trackhouse, where Justin Marks moved his family and started this idea of this Cup team. And to come back and have another shot to win is absolutely incredible for the Busch Light Country scheme and all of our partners at World Wide Express, Kubota, Moose and Jockey.”

Do you think that overtime restart was fair racing?

“I’m just driving down into turn one and I knew if I hung on the 11’s right rear, I would have a shot to win.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1

Finished: 8th

Describe all that unfolded here at Nashville Superspeedway from your perspective.

“Yeah, just a lot of craziness there at the end. There were a lot of cars short on fuel and we were one of them. Just a lot of mess. On the first restart, I was just trying to get Denny (Hamlin) washed off the bottom so that I could get some clean air and give myself an opportunity to win. I felt like from the second position, I wouldn’t have a chance. I just tried to run in with him and got myself really tight and into Ross (Chastain), so caused that crash. And then on the next restart, I just got out of shape and almost caused a crash there. On the third one, we ran out of fuel taking off. We just had a couple of good restarts right there at the end. Happy to get a top-10, but a little bit bummed how it transpired.”

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 9th

“Really today was just another example of our season. It’s been a roller coaster ride. We struggled with short-run speed all weekend on the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. After the rain delay and a couple of good adjustments, I thought if we could get track position, we would be OK. We finally got it and got caught in a crash. I thought every corner was knocked off the car. Somehow, some way, the seas kept parting. We were able to have a couple of good restarts at the end and cross the line in ninth. What a weekend, but I’ll take it.”

Zane Smith, No. 71 Jockey Outdoors by Luke Byran Camaro ZL1

Finished: 2nd

If you told me one word that described your emotion, what was that?

“Pissed. I mean, obviously so happy with the result. But when you hear for like 10 laps that ‘he is supposed to run out, he is supposed to run out’, and then you see him shaking the car across the line and you just finished second, that hurts. The winning side of it hurts, but just appreciate everyone at Spire Motorsports and appreciate the strategy there. I appreciate Jockey Outdoors and Luke Bryan; having them on board here in Nashville, along with all of our other partners. It’s been a rough, rough year, but this is a great momentum booster, confidence booster, all of the above. So, hopefully we can carry this on, but it was awesome to sniff your first Cup win.”

Did you have to race any differently on that last restart thinking that Joey Logano could run out of gas?

“No, I mean you don’t ever know if you are going to have another shot at another Cup win, so you just try to execute the best you can. Nashville is so notorious for those kinds of restarts. Everyone floats up, so I just kept using the bottom there with our strategy and it kept working out. It just goes to show that everyone is just so good in the Cup Series, and if you have the track position, you can compete.”

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.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ally 400 | Sunday, June 30, 2024

JOEY LOGANO WINS FIVE OVERTIME SHOOTOUT IN NASHVILLE TO CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH

• Joey Logano won his first race of the season with today’s victory.
• The win today is the 33rd of his Cup Series career and 31st with Ford.
• Those 31 wins put him 4th on the all-time Ford win list.
• Today’s win is Ford’s 731st all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
• It also marks Team Penske’s 96th series win with Ford.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – HOW DID YOU GET 110 LAPS ON ONE TANK OF FUEL? “A lot of teamwork there. You have to give a lot of credit to our fueler, Nick Hensley, our engine department with Roush Yates building obviously some engines that could also manage fuel really well, and some guts – a lot of cajones made it happen.”

HOW EXCITED WERE YOU IN WINNING TODAY? “It’s been a hard season and being on that cut line, I tell you it sucks. It’s just not fun. It’s hard and you just want a little bit of relief of the pressure and with seven weeks to go until the playoffs it gives us a chance to breathe for a second and start just kind of working on our car a little bit differently and just sleep better, to be honest with you. I’m proud of this team and proud to be here in Victory Lane, for sure.”

YOU HAVE THE GUITAR. ARE ONE OF THE KIDS GOING TO START TAKING LESSONS? “I don’t think anyone in our family is musically inclined, but we’ve got a few cool guitars and that’s what it’s all about.”

JOSH BERRY, No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Today was a tough day. We just started off really tight and couldn’t figure out the balance, but my team worked hard to get me the car I needed and we finally found it after the rain delay. We got a bunch of spots back and had a much more competitive No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It was just chaos there at the end. We tried to navigate all of those restarts and eventually just got caught up in it. It was a bummer that we didn’t finish that well this week in Nashville, my home race, but we learned a lot. Thank you Overstock for continuing to support our race team. We will retain and head to Chicago next week fully prepared to compete for a win.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I was kind of the worst-case scenario the last 70 laps or so from a strategy standpoint with how it played out. We had to go back to 30th or something because of how the strategy panned out and the cautions fell and was able to drive back to 15th or so. There at the end, you don’t really expect to have three or four green-white-checkers, so we ran out of fuel taking the white flag. It definitely stinks whenever you’re in contention there. I thought on the second-to-last one I had a good shot to potentially win the race and we finished 21st or something like that. It’s frustrating but that’s part of it.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I’m proud of everybody on this BuildSubmarines.com Mustang and working hard to get back after it. It was definitely an up and down day and ended up with a decent finish, but we just had a strategy to have the fuel we needed there and it was caution after caution, so I’m definitely frustrated by all of that.”

YOU HAD A GOOD CAR. “We definitely did. We had the ability to run in the top 10 all night and got stage points and got a decent finish out of it. I’m still just frustrated. It was just chaos there at the end. I have to go back and watch what happened with everything obviously, but we just didn’t get a chance to race very much. We were in a good spot there. We had good speed after the sun went down and had tires, so just really wanted some laps.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It wasn’t very pretty, but another chaotic 10 or 15 laps there at the end and we salvaged a good day, so thank you to Stewart-Haas, Ford Performance and all of my supporters – Morton Buildings, Haas Tooling, United Rentals, RaceChoice.com, just everybody and Al Hankey Mohawk Northeast, just everybody. A day like today certainly helps a lot.”

YOU HAD A FAST CAR AND FINALLY GOT TRACK POSITION AT THE END. “I’ll take it. It wasn’t pretty. Track position was a tough thing and we seemed to always be on the other side of it, but for once when it mattered we happened to be in the right spot.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s/Fleetguard Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I just came off of turn four and I thought maybe something had broke in the driveshaft or something like that, but it was actually in the transaxle. Something broke and shot a hole through the side of the case. That’s not what we wanted. We were salvaging a pretty decent day, so that was unfortunate.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 15 Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang Dark Horse – IT LOOKED LIKE YOU AND LAJOIE WERE SIDE-BY-SIDE. WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR VIEW? “I don’t know. It just felt like he was kind of over-racing me, but I had fun. It was a fun day. It was cool. I learned a lot.” HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER RUNNING A FULL RACE YESTERDAY AND NOW TODAY? “I’m tired, but I’m OK. It’s all right. It was fun. The Cup Series is a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.”