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Riley Herbst / No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra Preview Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway

by Mike
Riley Herbst / No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra Preview Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway

No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra News and Notes:

  • HERBST AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Four races in to his rookie season, Riley Herbst will visit Darlington Raceway for the first time in his young career when the Xfinity Series returns to the track on Tuesday, May 19.
  • STARTING LINEUP: With the starting lineup for Tuesday’s race selected by a random draw, Herbst and the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra team will roll off from the fifth position for the Toyota 200.
  • JGR AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 58 total starts at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In those starts, the team has earned 10 wins, 29 top-five finishes, 39 top-10 finishes and seven pole starting positions. The team has led 1,114 laps, completed 8,001 of 8,482 attempted laps (94.3%) and earned an average start of 12.6 and an average finish of 10.6. Denny Hamlin leads the team with five wins followed by Kyle Busch with two wins and Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano each earning one win at the famed South Carolina track.
  • PHOENIX RECAP: In the last race before NASCAR action was halted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Riley Herbst and the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra team started the race at Phoenix Raceway from the 11th position. Herbst struggled with handling most of the race before crossing the finish line in the 10th position. The finish marked Herbst third top-10 finish in just four starts in the 2020 season.
  • POINTS STANDINGS: After four races in the 2020 season, Herbst sits 11th in the Xfinity Series point standings, 67 points out of first place.
  • THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 18 SUPRA: This week, Monster Energy will serve as the primary partner for the No. 18 Toyota Supra team.
  • RACE INFO: The Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Coverage will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, MRN Radio and SIRIUS XM Channel 90.

 

Herbst Career Xfinity Series Stats at Darlington Raceway:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
0000000.00.0

 

Herbst 2020 Season NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
4013008.813.2

 

Herbst Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
140170110.215.1

 

From the Driver’s Seat:

Riley Herbst: “I’m really looking forward to getting to Darlington Raceway. It’ll be kind of interesting because I’ve never been there before. With no practice or qualifying, we just fire off and drop the green flag. It’ll be pretty interesting, but I’m looking forward to it. All of us on the No. 18 team are really prepared. I’ve been watching a lot of race film, working on the simulator and asking my super smart crew chief Dave (Rogers) a bunch of questions. I think we’ve done all of our homework and we’re ready to go out there and prove it at Darlington.”

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Harrison Burton/ No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra Preview Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway

by Mike
Harrison Burton/ No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra Preview Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway

No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota Supra News and Notes:

  • Back to Racing: After a two-month stoppage in racing action due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harrison Burton and his DEX Imaging team return to the track Tuesday night for the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway. Based on a random draw Sunday afternoon, Burton will start in the 12th position in his Toyota Supra. Tuesday night will be Burton’s first -career start at the historic NASCAR facility.
  • Hot Streak to Start the Season:  Before the stoppage in racing action in March, Burton and his team were off to a historic start to his rookie campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Through the first four races of the season, Burton became the only Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender to have four-consecutive top-five finishes in as many races. In fact, this feat has only been accomplished just seven times by six drivers all-time: Carl Edwards (2009, 2010), Elliott Sadler (2012), Harrison Burton (2020), Kevin Harvick (2005), Kyle Busch (2014) and Sam Ard (1984).
  • Points Update: Heading into Darlington on Tuesday night, Burton leads the Xfinity Series Driver Championship points standings, holding a three-point lead over Chase Briscoe. Burton also heads to Darlington with a commanding 67-point lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
  • JGR at Darlington: In 58 combined Xfinity Series starts at Darlington Raceway, JGR has earned 10 wins, 29 top-five finishes, 39 top-10s and seven pole starting positions. The team has led 1,114 laps, with an average start of 12.6 and an average finish of 10.6.
  • DEX IMAGING: DEX Imaging returns as a full-time sponsor of Burton and the No. 20 team this season. DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions in the industry, such as Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and HP. What makes DEX unique is its people, whose combined knowledge of cutting-edge business technologies and depth of service experience is unmatched. DEX Imaging’s success is directly tied to its mission: to help customers of all sizes drive down document-related expenses while improving productivity.
  • RACE INFO: The Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19th, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Watch and listen live on FoxSports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

 

Burton’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Darlington Raceway:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
––––––––

 

Burton’s 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
41440494.02.5

 

Burton’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
131590497.512.4

 

From the Cockpit:

Harrison Burton:

 “I’m really looking forward to getting back to racing and behind the wheel of my DEX Imaging Supra on Tuesday night. I’m truly thankful to NASCAR and everyone who has worked tirelessly to get us back to racing. My team and I had some great momentum going before we stopped racing back in March, so hopefully we can continue to build on that in the upcoming weeks. Tuesday will be a challenge, no doubt about it, but I know my team and I are up for it. I’m looking forward to getting back to racing and putting on a show for everyone tuning in on Tuesday night.”

About DEX IMAGING:

DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions in the industry, such as Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and HP. What makes DEX unique is its people, whose combined knowledge of cutting-edge business technologies and depth of service experience is unmatched. DEX Imaging’s success is directly tied to its mission: to help customers of all sizes drive down document-related expenses while improving productivity.

Views: 591
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DALE EARNHARDT JR., JEFF BURTON AND STEVE LETARTE DISCUSS NASCAR’S RETURN AT DARLINGTON ON NASCAR AMERICA AT HOME

by Mike
DALE EARNHARDT JR., JEFF BURTON AND STEVE LETARTE DISCUSS NASCAR’S RETURN AT DARLINGTON ON NASCAR AMERICA AT HOME

“I feel like his leadership was really on display today.” – Earnhardt Jr. on Kevin Harvick’s victory

“When you get a star that’s in a slump, they almost try too hard. That was Jimmie Johnson trying too hard.” – Letarte on Jimmie Johnson’s wreck at end of Stage One

“If he can clean up those mental mistakes, he’ll not only win races, but have a real opportunity to play a role in the Playoffs later in the season.” – Earnhardt Jr. on Jimmie Johnson

“It really makes me question, how much practice do we really need?” – Burton on quality of racing at Darlington

Kevin Harvick Joins Mike Tirico on Lunch Talk Live Today at Noon ET on NBCSN

Weekday Episodes and Post-Race Analysis on NBCSports.com and Motorsports on NBC YouTube Page

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 18, 2020 – NBC Sports NASCAR analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte discussed the major storylines and takeaways from NASCAR’s return at Darlington Raceway on the latest edition NASCAR America At Home on NBCSports.com and the Motorsports on NBC YouTube page.

Topics from Sunday night’s NASCAR America At Home included:

  • Kevin Harvick’s performance en route to his 50th Cup Series win
  • Dale Jr. and Letarte on Jimmie Johnson’s performance and prospects for this season
  • Letarte and Burton on future of practices
  • Top 10 finishes by rookies Tyler Reddick and John Hunter Nemecheck

The trio also interviewed Tyler Reddick to discuss his Top 10 performance. Click here to watch the interview.

Harvick will join Mike Tirico on Lunch Talk Live today at noon discuss his win at Darlington and NASCAR’s return. Following are excerpts from Sunday night’s edition of NASCAR America at Home:

Earnhardt Jr. on NASCAR’s return and Harvick’s win: “Rodney Childers and the no. 4 team prepared an incredible car…I feel like his leadership was really on display today…no way to lean on the driver to give him feedback on what direction to go with the car. It was an opportunity for him or any crew chief to step up, and that’s what (the No. 4 team) did.”

Burton on Jimmie Johnson: “This was a big race in the history of NASCAR … Jimmie Johnson ran really well. I know he’s heartbroken tonight. He had the lead with one to go at the end of the stage and just made a mistake in my eyes…it was good at the very least to see the no. 48 out front.”

Letarte on Johnson: “When you get a star that’s in a slump, they almost try too hard…that was Jimmie Johnson, trying too hard with one lap to go in a stage. He’s only won a handful of stages since stage racing has begun…Jimmie was the guy when we chased him that never made mistakes. You had to beat him. He didn’t beat himself. What Jimmie Johnson did was eliminate his chances in the first stage. That’s not very Jimmie Johnson-esque. What I saw up until that mistake is a team and a driver that can win a race. The question has been, can he win a race in this final year? From what I saw, it would be yes.”

Earnhardt Jr. on Johnson: “If he can clean up those mental mistakes, dial it back a little bit, have faith in his car for the duration for the race and put races together, he’ll not only win races but have a real opportunity to play a role in the Playoffs later in the season.”

Letarte on impact of less practice: “I’m always on team ‘no practice’ or ‘less practice.’ I realize we’re going to have some practice at some point this season…but can we all agree we don’t need two or three hours (of practice)? This was zero practice in 71 days and other than Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s mistake on the first lap, not only was the racing great, but there were some different names, different moves, different guys throughout the race.”

Burton on impact of less practice: “Even though there were so many things done differently to make this race happen, it didn’t show up…it really makes me question, how much practice do we really need? This has given NASCAR and the teams and opportunity to look at different ways to do different things and how can the sport be better for it…John Hunter Nemecheck is a great example. He got a Top 10 finish and that’s like a win for that team. If every team out there would have practice, could they have made that happen? I don’t know.”

Earnhardt Jr. on John Hunter Nemecheck and impact of iRacing: “I feel like what we did during the break where we were racing online with iRacing may have given some guys a little bit of confidence to be able to go out there and compete and run up front. I know that’s a crazy idea, but someone like John Hunter Nemecheck that has been honing his skills, doing well in the iRacing in the last couple of months…I think that carried over.”

Earnhardt Jr. on Tyler Reddick: “He continues to amaze me…he’s not making these rookie mistakes that are taking him out of the running, especially at a place like Darlington where it’s easy…he’s got the confidence. He doesn’t know any better. He’s just driving that thing as hard as he can go.”

Letarte on William Byron: “One flat tire – William Byron was going to show the world that he was going to go to victory lane…I think William Byron will be one to watch. Bad luck got him at Darlington, not a mistake.”

New post-race episodes of NASCAR America At Home will be posted following the checkered flag of each NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series as NASCAR makes its return, and new weekday editions of NASCAR America At Home will be posted during the week.

Views: 605
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Brandon Jones / No. 19 Toyota Service Centers Toyota Supra Preview

by Mike
Brandon Jones / No. 19 Toyota Service Centers Toyota Supra Preview

No. 19 Toyota Service Centers Toyota Supra News and Notes:

  • NASCAR IS BACK:  The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) goes back racing at Darlington Raceway this Tuesday after an unprecedented hiatus. The race is usually a classic on Labor Day Weekend, but because of the historic current world conditions it will be the first Xfinity Series race since Brandon Jones’ huge win 10 weeks ago at Phoenix.  It will be a single day event with no fans in the stands, no practice or qualifying. Drivers will go straight to their cars and run the 147-lap event on a green track. NASCAR will have a competition caution on lap 15. The Lady in Black is one of the toughest tracks on the circuit and it will be a much anticipated and extremely exciting return to television for the sport, teams, sponsors and fans on Fox Sports 1 (FS1)  This unique egg-shaped oval always provides great racing with an element of the unknown.

  • IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jones and the No. 19 team will proudly display the Toyota Service Centers logos on their Toyota Supra as they head to “The Track Too Tough to Tame” for the Toyota 200.  Jones and the 19 team started the 2020 season on fire with their win at Phoenix. They also have accumulated three top-10s and a pole in just four races.  It has been 10 long weeks since they have been at the track, but their goal is to keep up the momentum and become a front runner for the Xfinity Series Championship and put their Toyota Supra in back-to-back victory lanes.

  • JGR AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 58 total starts at Darlington Raceway in NXS competition earning 10 wins, 29 top-five finishes, 39 top-10 finishes and nine pole starting positions. The team has led 1,114 laps, completed 8,001 of 8,482 attempted laps (94.3%) and earned an average start of 12.6 and an average finish of 10.6.

  • RACE INFO:  Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile) begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 19th. The race will be broadcast live on FS1, SiriusXM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

 

Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Darlington Raceway:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
40020021.212.8

 

Jones’ 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
41231976.010.2

 

Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
14121153343712.715.7

 

From the Cockpit:

Brandon Jones: “I am very excited about returning to the track and getting back to racing again.  Even though it has been ten long weeks since we raced at Phoenix, I have still been hitting the workouts every day and making sure I am ready when the time comes. I have taken this time to really push myself with at home workouts and healthy eating. Our 19 team is looking forward to getting back to the track and keeping the momentum going that we kicked off the season with.  We are having our strongest start with a huge win at Phoenix, a pole in Fontana and three top-10 finishes.

     We are headed into the race with no fans and very limited workers. NASCAR is making sure to put safety first as we get back to racing. Darlington Raceway is a great way to kick off the season again. The Lady in Black will be more of a challenge this time, especially since there will be no practice or qualifying.  That means it could be very exciting for the fans to watch on TV since someone is bound to get their Darlington stripe on lap one. This week we will have Toyota Service Centers on our Supra and it would be very rewarding to put them in victory lane for the Toyota 200 at Darlington Raceway.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we’ve built more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

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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: 589
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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: 440
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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: 565
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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: 539
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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: 517
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