Darlington

MotorSportsNews.Net posts about the Darlington Raceway, one of the race tracks used in NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series, Gander Trucks Series racing.

DiBenedetto Team Finishes 14th at Darlington

by Mike
DiBenedetto Team Finishes 14th at Darlington

After a 10-week layoff due to the coronavirus, Matt DiBenedetto climbed back into the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang and was back at work in Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway.

In an effort to try to prevent the spread of the virus, Sunday’s race was run without practice or qualifying.

DiBenedetto said taking the green flag at the “Track Too Tough to Tame” under those circumstances wasn’t as difficult as it might seem.

“It felt great to get back in the car,” he said. “It was like riding a bike. Even Lap One was not uncomfortable.

“It was good to get back in a rhythm.”

With no practice to fine-tune the set-up of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, the team had to make its best guess as far as a combination of shocks, springs and adjustments.

DiBenedetto said they came close to getting the set-up they needed but were a bit off.

“We couldn’t get the balance right,” he said. “We worked on it, but never could get the speed we were looking for.

“At best we were a 10th– to 12th-place car and wound up 14th,” he said. “We fought hard and made the best adjustments we could, but we had to work with what we had when we unloaded.”

Sunday’s return to racing saw the Mustang of Kevin Harvick take the checkered flag, and Eddie Wood said the victory came at a great time for Ford Motor Company.

“With all that Ford has done in using its resources to address the health-care crisis facing our nation, the company and its employees deserve to have a race win to celebrate,” Wood said. “And it was more special because it was such a dominating victory.”

DiBenedetto’s 14th-place finish allowed him to remain ninth in the Cup standings heading into Wednesday night’s race, a rare mid-week Cup race which also will be run at Darlington Raceway.
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About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visitwww.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

Views: 554
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Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway

by Mike
Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report

Track:                Darlington Raceway

Race:                 The Real Heroes 400

Date:                 May 17, 2020

____________________________________

 

No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski

Start:  1st

Stage 1: 5th

Stage 2: 1st

Finish: 13th

Status:  Running

Laps Completed: 293/293

Laps Led: 80

Point Standings (behind first): 5th (-60)

Notes: 

  • Brad Keselowski did a lot of good things in The Real Heroes 400 Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR’s first race in more than 70 days during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The driver of the Discount Tire Ford Mustang led 80 laps and won Stage 2, his second stage victory of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. But towards the end of the 293-lap, 400-mile event, Keselowski fell outside the top-10, landing in 13th-position at the checkered flag. With the finish, he jumps up to fifth-place in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, a gain of five positions.
  • Keselowski drew the pole for the Darlington event and led the first 44 laps of the race. He overcame a loose-handling condition to score a fifth-place finish when Stage 1 concluded on lap 90. He pitted for four tires and air pressure adjustments during the stage caution on lap 93 and restarted sixth when the race went green.
  • Two excellent pit stops by the Discount Tire team put Keselowski in contention to win Stage 2. Keselowski was running seventh when the sixth caution flag came out on lap 156. He pitted one lap later for four tires and lightning-fast service by the 2 Crew gave him second position for the restart on lap 160. The seventh caution on lap 174 set up another round of stops and once again the team made a fast stop, this time giving Keselowski the lead on lap 176. The driver did his part on the track, holding the lead for the next 10 laps to score the stage win when the segment concluded on lap 185.
  • The final stage brought a disappointing turn of events for the team. Keselowski grabbed the lead on lap 193 and held the top spot until lap 215. But over the final 79 laps, the No. 2 Ford Mustang steadily became more of a handful for Keselowski. As the Discount Tire Ford became more loose and Keselowski lost rear grip on the car, he couldn’t maintain position inside the top-10, and he took the checkered flag in 13th place when the race concluded on lap 293.

 

Quotes: “We had an up and down day with our Discount Tire Ford and it finished on a down note after we lost the handling at the end. It was nice to be leading for quite a while. It felt like with 100 laps to go we were going to win. I came off of pit road second and I don’t know if I just lost the clean air or what it was, but it just went completely away, and we fell back. We ended up finishing 13th which was a major bummer, but it is what it is. It is nice to be back and get the opportunity to race.”

________________________________________________

 

No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 7th

Stage 1: 18th

Stage 2: 13th

Finish: 16th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 293/293

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (Behind First): 8th (-74)

  • Ryan Blaney battled an ill-handling Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang throughout The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
  • The field was set per random draw, which gave the High Point, N.C. native the seventh-place starting position. Within the first 20 laps Blaney fell outside the top-10 and, unfortunately, that’s where he would stay for most of the afternoon.
  • For much of the race, Blaney said the Menards/Duracell Ford was tight and lacked front grip. Crew chief Todd Gordon made multiple changes during the opening segment of the race, including air pressure, wedge and track bar adjustments. Blaney was credited with an 18th-place finish when the stage ended on lap 90.
  • Stage 2 saw the Menards/Duracell Ford continue to be on the tight side. The seventh caution on lap 174 and subsequent 10-lap run on fresh tires saw Blaney come home with a 13th-place finish when the stage ended on lap 185.
  • Blaney and the Menards team began to overcome their handling woes in the third and final stage – it just happened a little too late to make a run for the win. After falling back to 21st, the team improved the balance of the Menards/Duracell Ford and Blaney rallied through the field to score a 16th-place finish.
  • Blaney is now eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 74 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “It was great to be back at the track today. We struggled with the balance of our Menards/Duracell Ford. We were too tight to start and finally got the car to the loose side by the end of the race. Darlington has been a challenge in the past and we’ll regroup and get ready to go racing again on Wednesday night.”

________________________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano 

Start:  9th

Stage 1: 11th

Stage 2: 8th

Finish: 18th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 293/293

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (Behind First): 3rd (-33)

     

Notes:

  • A loose wheel cost Joey Logano and Shell-Pennzoil team valuable track position in the final stage of The Real Heroes 400 Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, robbing the team of a potential top-10 finish. Logano was credited with an 18th-place result and is now third in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 33 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.
  • Logano started ninth and struggled early during the first 30 lap run as he slipped back to the 16th position fighting an extremely tight Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Under the competition caution on lap 32, the team pitted twice, making multiple chassis adjustments to help Logano around the tricky Darlington Raceway. Logano wrestled a tight condition from then until Stage 1 ended on lap 90, as he scored a 12th-place finish. On the stop during the stage caution, the team made chassis and air pressure changes to the Shell-Pennzoil Ford, and sent Logano back to the track in ninth position.
  • Logano restarted the second stage in the bottom lane, a disadvantage that cost him a few positions. Two cautions early in the segment gave Logano and the Shell-Pennzoil team the opportunity to pit for adjustments. Logano restarted 10th but powered to the sixth position on the restart. Midway through Stage 2 Logano reported his Ford Mustang was really good in Turns 3 and 4 and he finished eighth when the stage concluded on lap 185.
  • Unfortunately, the No. 22 Ford had a loose wheel in the early laps of the third and final stage, which forced Logano to pit road – just as the ninth caution was displayed on lap 213. The sequence of events dropped Logano back to 24th position. He rallied back to the 16th before the 10th and final caution on lap 254 brought the field to pit road.
  • Good work by the Shell-Pennzoil crew on the final stop gained Logano three positions, as he moved up to 13th for the restart on lap 259. Over the final 34 laps, the track took another major swing to the tight side as Logano shuffled back to 18th position at the checkered flag.

 

Quote: “We were way off on the handling when we started. Our Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang was just too tight. Paul (Wolfe) and the guys made some really good adjustments on it and we got inside the top-10. Unfortunately, the loose wheel, not really sure what caused it, but we’ll look into it and figure it out. Towards the end of the race just lost the handling again. We’ll come back on Wednesday and start third and try to build on what we learned today. This was a big day for our sport getting back on track and thankful for all the fans who tuned in to FOX.”

Views: 499
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Today’s SpeedwayMedia Articles

by Mike

Harvick wins Darlington in NASCAR’s comeback – by Ron Fleshman
https://www.speedwaymedia.com/2020/05/17/harvick-wins-darlington-in-nascars-comeback/

Kevin Harvick tames the Lady in Black on NASCAR’s return to racing – by Gavyn Do
https://www.speedwaymedia.com/2020/05/17/kevin-harvick-tames-the-lady-in-black-on-nascars-return-to-racing/

The Final Word on the Return of NASCAR for 2020…take 2 – by Ron Thornton
https://www.speedwaymedia.com/2020/05/17/the-final-word-on-the-return-of-nascar-for-2020-take-2/

Views: 364
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Kevin Harvick The Real Heroes 400 Race Report from Darlington — HARVICK WINS!!

by Mike
Kevin Harvick The Real Heroes 400 Race Report from Darlington — HARVICK WINS!!
Harvick Scores Career Win Number 50 at Darlington

Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang Driver Leads Race High 159 Laps

Date: May 17, 2020

Event: The Real Heroes 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.336-mile oval)

Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)

Start/Finish: 6th/1st (Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)

Point Standing: (1st with 218 points, 28 points ahead of Alex Bowman)

 

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: William Bryon of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):

● Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished fourth and earned seven bonus points.

● Harvick was in second-place when the competition caution came out on lap 30. Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a half-pound out of the right-rear tire.

● After early on saying he had a vibration and the alternator possibly not working, both were no longer a problem by the first pit stop.

● Told crew chief Rodney Childers, “The car is good. We’re in the ballpark.”

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):

● Started first and finished fourth and earned seven bonus points.

● On lap 93, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.

● Harvick brought the No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang to pit road on lap 112 for four tires and fuel. Came in first and exited in first.

● On lap 126, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Came in first and left first again.

● Harvick pitted on lap 157 for four tires and fuel. Team attempted to add tape to the grill but it wouldn’t quite stick. Came in first and exited first again.

● On lap 174, Harvick pitted for four tire, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Had a small issue on the stop and lost seven spots. Will restart eighth.

 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 186-293):

● Started fourth and finished first.

● On lap 187, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Said the No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang is “Loose, loose, loose.”

● On lap 216, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Came in fourth and left first.

● Harvick pitted on lap 255 for four tires and fuel. Came in first and left first.

● On the final restart on lap 260, Harvick had a really good battle with second-place Alex Bowman, but managed to get past him after a lap and went on to win by 2.154 seconds.

 

Notes:

● Harvick’s victory in The Real Heroes 400 was his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series win and it ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list.

●  This was Harvick’s 27th NASCAR Cup Series victory since joining SHR in 2014.

●  This was Harvick’s first victory of the season and his second victory in 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.

●  Harvick’s margin of victory over second-place Alex Bowman was 2.154 seconds.

●  Harvick’s victory marked the 73rd overall win for SHR. It was the organization’s 56th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series win, its first of the season and its second at Darlington.

●  Harvick is responsible for SHR’s previous win at Darlington (2014 Southern 500).

●  This was SHR’s milestone 20th NASCAR Cup Series victory with Ford. The team won its first race with Ford when former driver Kurt Busch captured the 2017 Daytona 500.

●  This was Ford’s milestone 30th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Darlington. NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner won Ford’s first race at Darlington in 1966.

●  This was Harvick’s second straight top-two. He finished second in the series’ last race March 8 at Phoenix Raceway.

●  This was Harvick’s third straight top-five at Darlington. He finished fourth in the series’ previous visit to the track last September.

●  Harvick has never finished outside the top-10 at Darlington since joining SHR in 2014, a streak that began with a win in the 2014 Southern 500.

●  Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points and fourth in Stage 2 to earn seven more bonus points.

●  Harvick led twice for a race-high 159 laps to increase his laps-led total at Darlington to 740.

●  There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.

●  Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.

●  Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.

 

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

“I want to thank everybody from NASCAR and all the teams for letting us do what we do. I didn’t think it was going be that much different and then we won the race and it’s dead silent out here.  We miss the fans, just gotta thank everybody from Busch Light, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Mobil 1, Jimmy John’s, everybody from Ford who helps on this car. It’s a pretty big honor to win 50 races in this deal and I just have to thank all my team guys and everybody for what they’re doing. This Dr. Josh Hughes is one of my really good friends. I spend a lot of time with him and have seen how this whole pandemic has affected our front line workers in person on a weekly basis, so thank you, Josh. We’re thinking of you. I want to say hi to DeLana and my kids at home. I guess we’ll bring home the trophy.”

 

You now have 50 wins.

 

“It doesn’t seem real and I think as you look at Darlington I think as you look at the things that happened this weekend I really thought that it would definitely play into our hand just because our guys are so good at hitting the car off the truck for the most part.  We put a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of studying, a lot of meetings and just have to thank everybody at the shop who has built all these cars and just, man, I’m excited.  It is weird just because there’s nobody up there, and you can go to Busch Beer.com and maybe have your face on the car next week, up here on the hood.  I’m speechless.”

 

You race on Wednesday again. What do you have to do to go back-to-back?

 

“It’s gonna be a little bit different.  Hopefully, we have at least one more race before we come back with the XFINITY cars.  It’ll be night, so I think you definitely have to figure out what you want to do with your car.”

 

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for a 500-kilometer race. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Views: 466
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M&M’S Thank You Heroes Racing: Kyle Busch Race Recap for The Real Heroes 400 from Darlington

by Mike
M&M’S Thank You Heroes Racing: Kyle Busch Race Recap for The Real Heroes 400 from Darlington
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’S Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry

Race Recap for the The Real Heroes 400

Date: May 17, 2020

Event: The Real Heroes 400 (Round 5 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval)

Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)

Start/Finish: 4th/26th (Running, completed 292 of 293 laps)

Point Standing: 14th (122 points, 96 behind leader)

 

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):

● Kyle Busch started 4th, finished 15th

● Busch drew the fourth starting position in Thursday night’s draw. However, the No. 18 team failed pre-race inspection twice and was forced to start the race at the rear of the field, despite officially being scored as starting in fourth.

● The M&M’S Thank you Heroes Toyota Camry didn’t stay in the rear of the field for long, moving up to 32nd by lap 1 and 25th by the time the competition caution waved on lap 30.

● The 2019 Cup Series champion told Crew Chief Adam Stevens that his splitter was dragging on the track for the first 20-25 laps of the race and still touching the surface in the bumps. He suggested to Stevens that he tighten up the car on their pit stops.

● With Darlington being the first race back and no on track activity prior to the race weekend, NASCAR gave teams the opportunity to make two pit stops under yellow without losing positions under the lap 30 competition caution only.

● Busch came down pit road on lap 33 for adjustments and then back down pit road on lap 35 to take on four tires and fuel.

● Busch restarted 25th when green flag racing resumed on lap 39.

● The M&M’S Thank You Heroes driver slowly worked his way up through the field, finding himself in 20th by lap 50, 18th by lap 56 and all the way up to 15th when the stage ended on lap 90.

●Busch radioed to Stevens that he was pretty good overall, but was lacking overall grip everywhere as the stage ended.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):

● Busch started ninth and finished 16th

● Busch came to pit road on lap 93 for four tires, fuel and tires pressure adjustments. The M&M’S team gained Busch five spots on pit road and Busch moved up one more spot as a car ahead of him was penalized for speeding on pit road, and he restarted in ninth for the start of stage 2.

● The M&M’S Thank You Heroes driver came to pit road under caution on lap 111 for four tires and fuel as Busch told Stevens that his car was just a little tight landing in the corner, and Busch restarted in ninth on lap 115.

● Busch restarted ninth, but fell several positions after the restart as he told Stevens that he couldn’t get going. Busch reported his car was really loose getting into turn three during the first two laps of the green flag run. Fortunately, Busch was saved by a caution on lap 123.

● Stevens called Busch down pit road on lap 125 to take on four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment that they hoped would make Busch better on restarts.

● Busch restarted 20th on lap 129, and moved up to 17th by lap 134. However, on lap 143 Busch hit the outside SAFER barrier exiting turn 4, causing fairly significant right side damage to the M&M’S Thank You Heroes Toyota.

● Good news for Busch was the caution waved for debris on lap 155, and Busch pitted on lap 157 to fix significant damage and make sure the tires were not rubbing on the wheel well of the No. 18 Toyota.

● Even with lengthy time on pit road to fix damage, Busch did not lose a lap, but the repairs forced the M&M’S driver to start in 29th at the tail-end of the lead lap.

● Busch worked his way back into the top-20 by lap 167 and after a caution and another pit stop, Busch finished the second stage in 16th-place.

 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 186-293):

● Started 17th and finished 26th.

● Busch pitted after stage 2, and took on four tires, fuel and more adjustments as the M&M’S driver restarted 17th for the third and final stage.

● Busch moved his way back up to 13th by the time the next caution waved on lap 212. Stevens called Busch to pit road two laps later for four tires, fuel and more chassis adjustments, as the M&M’S over-the-wall crew gained two spots on pit road and Busch restarted 11th on lap 218.

● The Las Vegas native moved up into the top 10 by lap 247 and sat in ninth when the caution waved on lap 252. Busch came to pit road for four tires and fuel on lap 255, and the M&M’S pit crew gave him another phenomenal stop, getting him off pit road in the fifth position.

● Busch dropped a few positions after the restart to seventh. Just five laps into the green flag run Busch radioed to the M&M’S team to get ready, as he had an apparent problem.

● On lap 266, Busch did indeed come to pit road for four tires with an apparent loose wheel. He returned to the track in 27th-place, one lap down.

● Busch and the M&M’S Thank You Heroes team got themselves into the free pass position over the final laps, but the caution they needed never came, and the No. 18 team finished a once promising race in 26th.

 

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

 

“Really disappointing to have to start at the back when we had a fourth-place starting position. That was going to be a great day for us to just kind of be up front, ride up front, and hopefully stay up front all day and make our M&M’s Thank You Heroes Camry better. But we didn’t start where we thought we would. Instead, we had to make up the whole day. Finally we got to fifth and restarted there late in the race, but fell to eighth or ninth on a restart. Our car was so slow on restarts, but also I was too loose on that restart. Then got in the wall and had to go back to the back and worked our way back up to the front again. Then got back to fifth again for the final restart and had a loose wheel. My guys had a good pit stop, but obviously too good of a pit stop where we didn’t get all the lugnuts tight and it was a loose wheel. Ended up having to come down pit road and service the car again to make it to the end. Just didn’t get the result we wanted for the effort that was put out today.”

 

Next Up: The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for the Toyota 500k. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Views: 454
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Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Racing: Daniel Suárez The Real Heroes 400 Race Report from Darlington

by Mike
Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Racing: Daniel Suárez The Real Heroes 400 Race Report from Darlington
Suárez 25th in NASCAR’s Return at Darlington

Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry Driver Scores Second Consecutive Top-25

Date: May 17, 2020

Event: The Real Heroes 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)

Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)

Start/Finish: 37th / 25th (Running, completed 292 of 293 laps)

Point Standing: 31st with 44 points, 174 out of first

 

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):

● Started 37th, finished 30th.

● Suárez made steady forward progress during the stage with his Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry, particularly on restarts. He picked up three spots from his starting position of 37th on the opening lap, during which the caution flag appeared for a one-car accident. On the lap-six restart, he moved from 34th to 31st and was able to pick up another couple of positions to 29th before a competition caution appeared on lap 30.

● The ensuing pit stop on lap 34 enabled the team to make left-side air pressure adjustments and to add tape to the grille to help alleviate a tight condition entering turns three and four and overall grip issues in turns one and two. Suárez restarted 28th.

● A long, green run to the end of the stage saw Suárez’s Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry gradually get tighter on entry. He dropped a pair of spots and fell off the lead lap just before the end of the stage.

● Suárez pitted on lap 94 for right-rear tire pressure and track bar adjustments in an effort to free up the rear of the car. He was the beneficiary of the Lucky Dog back to the lead lap.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):

● Started 30th, finished 28.

● Made steady forward progressduring the early laps of the stage, running 28th when the caution flag flew on lap 109, then climbing to 26th before running over debris that flattened his right-rear tire approaching turn two. Suárez spun but was able to keep control of his racecar. He limped the car back to the pits for fresh tires and restarted 31st, the second car one lap down.

● Suárez was running 30th and the first car one lap down when the caution flag appeared for debris on lap 156. Again, he was the beneficiary of the Lucky Dog back to the lead lap and restarted 28th on lap 161.

● He held position to the end of the stage despite grip issues in the rear of the car. The stage break pit stop on lap 188 saw air pressure and wedge adjustments and added tape on the grill of the Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry.

 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 186-293):

● Started 27th, finished 25th.

● For the first time in the race, Suárez was unable to generate forward momentum on a restart when, after the lap-192 restart, he fell to 30th by the time the caution flag flew once again on lap 212. Even though he said his racecar was the best it had been all day, it got extremely tight in traffic.

● On the next restart, on lap 218, Suárez was able to move from 29th to 26th by lap 237.

● The caution flag flew one final time on lap 253 with Suárez up to 26th but the first car one lap down. For the third time, he was the beneficiary of the Lucky Dog back to the lead lap.

● Suárez restarted 26th on lap 259 and moved into the top-25 with 20 laps to go, on lap 273.

● He held onto that position the rest of the way to take the checkered flag in the top-25 for the second race in a row, albeit 70 days removed from the previous finish of 21st at Phoenix Raceway.

 

Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 96 Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing:

“The race was OK. At this point, something that is positive is that we are overachieving. The speed that we have really wasn’t good enough to finish (where we did), but the team did a good job making good calls. I felt like we were able to defend our positions well and fight hard on restarts. We were able to get a decent finish. We want to keep getting better, but we are a young team. We are still building in many different areas. We will keep getting better as time goes on. Tomorrow, we are going to go to the shop. The original plan is to bring this car back for Wednesday. We will have to make some adjustments to try to make it better. We will go back to the shop tomorrow and have meetings and make adjustments based on that and come back on Wednesday. Hopefully, we can come back stronger. That’s the goal. Otherwise, it’s always good when you can go back to a racetrack, especially when we’ve been out of racing for over two months. That’s definitely a good feeling. The other side – it was very weird, just to show up to a racetrack and not being able to talk to anyone, and just go race and leave. It’s a little bit different. It’s not something that we want to get used to, but that’s what we have to do, for now, to be able to stay safe and to be able to put on a show for all the fans.”

 

Race Notes:

● Kevin Harvick won Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 for his milestone 50th career victory, his first of the season and his second in 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.

● Harvick’s margin of victory over second-place Alex Bowman was 2.154 seconds.

● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.

● Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.

 

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20, for the Toyota 500k. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Views: 456
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Michael McDowell Post-Race Report: Darlington Raceway

by Mike
Michael McDowell Post-Race Report: Darlington Raceway
Michael McDowell
No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang
Started: 31st
Finished: 23rd
  • Stage One: 26th
  • Stage Two: 23rd
  • Stage Three: 23rd
  • Michael McDowell took the green flag in Sunday’s Real Heroes 400 from the 31st position at Darlington Raceway. He noted early on in Stage 1 that his CarParts.com Ford Mustang was, “tight in the center of turn three and four” which made it hard for him to run the bottom of the race track and would go on to finish Stage 1 from the 26th position.
  • Under the Stage 1 caution, the No. 34 CarParts.com Ford came to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Once racing resumed, McDowell noted that he had a bad vibration in the rear end of the race car. Over the course of a handful of cautions, the team was able to make the appropriate adjustments and resolve the issue as McDowell would go on to finish Stage 2 in the 23rd position.
  • During the Stage 2 caution, McDowell brought his CarParts.com Ford down pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment in hopes of loosening up his tight race car. As the green flag flew on the final stage of racing, McDowell noted that his racecar was still tight and lacked turn. McDowell would go on to take the checkered flag 23rd at Darlington Raceway.
McDowell on Darlington:
  • “It was fun to get back racing again today. Our CarParts.com Ford Mustang started out pretty decent, but then unfortunately we had a loose wheel and had to overcome that. A really great effort by John hunter Nemechek and everybody on the No. 38 crew. It was a great finish for Front Row Motorsports and now we have some good notes to look at for Wednesday’s race. Overall, it was a great day for our team as we learned a lot and hopefully we can get both cars in the top-10 next week. Lastly, I would like to thank CarParts.com for coming on board today. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the CarParts.com Ford Mustang on Wednesday.”
Views: 417
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John Hunter Nemechek Scores Career-Best Top-10 Finish at Darlington

by Mike
John Hunter Nemechek Scores Career-Best Top-10 Finish at Darlington
John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang
Started: 34th
Finished: 9th
  • Stage One: 21st
  • Stage Two: 20th
  • Stage Three: 9th
  • John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag in the 34th position in The Real Heroes 400 Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway. The day’s event marked the first time NASCAR has competed in over two months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nemechek, along with the rest of the field, fired off without having practiced or qualifying at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” His No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang’s balance was all over the place to start the race and the team made various adjustments during early pit stops to improve the car’s handling. Nemechek would finish Stage 1 in the 21st position.
  • Nemechek’s No. 38 Scag Power Equipment machine was free for much of Stage 2 and lacked front grip. The crew continued to make wedge adjustments and added grill tape during two pit stops. As the race went on, the handling improved and Nemechek finished Stage 2 in 20th place.
  • In the third and final stage, Nemechek spent much of his time inside the Top-15 on the leaderboard. The car’s balance continued to get better and Nemechek soon found himself battling for the 8th position. In his career-best finish and Front Row Motorsports’ best result to date at Darlington Raceway, Nemechek brought his No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang home in 9th place.
Nemechek on Darlington:
  • “We had a great day. I’m very excited that we were able to come home P9. My entire No. 38 Scag Power Equipment team and pit crew did an amazing job. Everybody executed all day with no mistakes. We made the right adjustments. Seth and the engineers did a great job getting the car ready for this race. The pit crew was flawless and I couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was great to get kicked off on the right foot for these races coming up. Hopefully, we can continue to build on this and create some momentum and continue to get our cars faster each and every week. It’s great to be back and I’m so excited to be able to race again on Wednesday. Thank you to all the fans that are out there supporting. We miss you at the race track. It’s definitely different without you guys there and I can’t wait until the day that you guys are back with us. Thank you to Scag Power Equipment and all of our partners for getting us to the race track. None of this would be possible without you guys.”
Views: 423
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22nd-Place Result for Custer at Darlington

by Mike
22nd-Place Result for Custer at Darlington

Ford Driver Completes First Cup Race at South Carolina Track

 

 

Date: May 17, 2020

Event: The Real Heroes 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)

Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)

Start/Finish: 14th/22nd (Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)

Point Standing: 24th with 88 points, 130 out of first

 

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):             

● Cole Custer started 14th and finished 21st.

● Within the first 10 laps Custer worked his way into the top-10.

● On lap 12 he reported his HaasTooling.com Mustang was tight.

● The Ford driver reached the eighth spot by lap 18.

● During the competition caution on lap 30, Custer reported his Mustang was still too tight while in the ninth position.

● He restarted on lap 39 after a pit stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

● Ended Stage 1 in the 21st spot with a tight Ford Mustang. Pitted during the break for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):

● Custer started 18th and finished 22nd.

● During the lap-110 caution Custer radioed to his crew that his HaasTooling.com Mustang was much better that run, but still a little tight. He pitted from 14th and restarted 15th on lap 116.

● During a caution on lap 125 Custer said his car was tight and pitted from 21st for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

● Restarted 17th on lap 130.

● Caution displayed on lap 156 with Custer in the 22nd position. He reported his Mustang “wasn’t bad” during that run and visited pit road for service.

● Restarted 22nd on lap 161, and was in the 19th spot on lap 165.

● Caution once again on lap 173 and Custer reported his car was decent from the 19th spot. Pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments, and restarted 21st.

● Custer came down pit road during the Stage 2 break from 22nd for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help loosen his Mustang.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 186-293):

● Custer started 22nd and finished 22nd.

● Caution on lap 211 with the California native in the 22nd position. He reported his HaasTooling.com Mustang was pretty good, but was struggling to pass.

● Restarted 22nd on lap 218 and was 23rd when the next caution was displayed on lap 250.

● Pitted on lap 254 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to loosen up his Ford Mustang. Restarted 22nd on lap 258.

● With 25 laps left, Custer was back in the top-20.

● The Cup Series rookie finished 22nd in his first series start at Darlington.

 

Notes:

● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.

● Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.

 

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Definitely wasn’t the day we wanted at Darlington. We started off the race really good. We were in the top-10 and I was pretty confident with the car, but I think I probably started out too conservative. I didn’t want get the Darlington stripe and ruin our day my first time here in a Cup car. I think I put us too far behind and it was so hard to come back from there. I’m looking forward to Wednesday. I feel like I learned a lot and we’ll be a lot stronger.”

 

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for a 500-kilometer race. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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