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Suárez Scores Solid Top-20 at Bristol

by MikeJune 1, 2020

It’s Good To Be Genuine Toyota Survives Eventful Race with 18th-Place Run

Date: May 31, 2020

Event: Supermarket Heroes 500

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)

Start/Finish: 37th / 18th (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)

Point Standing: 31st with 91 points, 279 out of first

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Started 37th, finished 34th.

● Suárez got a good launch at the wave of the green flag, moved to 31st on the first lap and to 29th when the first caution appeared on lap seven for a single-car accident. He said the It’s Good To Be Genuine Toyota Camry was OK, that he was just getting used to the track.

● From the lap-12 restart to the first of two competition cautions on lap 20, Suárez dropped a position. After briefly debating whether to pit, crew chief Dave Winston opted to pit for just right-side tires and a slight air pressure adjustment. Suárez restarted 23rd when the race went back to green on lap 29.

● Midway to the lap-60 competition caution, Suárez reported his Toyota was getting loose on corner entry and exit and tight in the center. He fell back to 32nd by the time that caution appeared. He pitted for four tires, fuel, a return to the original right-side air pressures, and a track bar adjustment. A short time after getting back on track, Suárez was among seven drivers called for speeding on pit road and there was confusion coming to the restart about getting those seven cars to drop to the rear of the lead-lap competitors.

● Suárez restarted 32nd on lap 69 without the chance to drop to the rear, and was then instructed to serve a drive-through penalty. That dropped him off the lead lap and back to 35th place.

● The race remained green all the way to the lap-125 stage break and Suárez was not able to make any forward progress, saying his Toyota was still loose on entry and exit and tight in the center. He said the loose exit was manageable. He pitted on lap 136 for four tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment and rejoined in 34th place, two laps down.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Started 34th, finished 24th.

● From the start of the stage until its first caution on lap 198, Suárez held his ground in 34th but lost another lap to go three down. He said he still needed help with front grip through the center of the corner, and his drive off the corner. He stayed on track to take the wave-around to two laps down.

● Suárez restarted 31st, two laps down, on lap 207 and held position until the caution flag flew again for another single-car incident on lap 211.

● The green flag flew again on lap 216, moments before another yellow for a stalled car on the frontstretch. Suárez pitted, this time, for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. He remained 32nd, two laps down, when the race went back to green on lap 221.

● The caution flag flew yet again on lap 229, this time for a multicar accident on the frontstretch. Suárez had emerged into position as the beneficiary of the Lucky Dog free pass, which moved him up to just one lap down, and still in the Lucky Dog position. The race was red-flagged to clean up the multicar accident on lap 230.

● When the race went green on lap 235 after an 11-minute, 35-second stoppage, Suárez was 25th and just one lap down, and just three laps later, the caution flag flew for a single-car accident that enabled him to cash in another free pass, this time onto the lead lap. He pitted for four tires, fuel and track bar adjustments and restarted 24th on lap 244. He held that position to the caution that ended the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Started 11th, finished 18th.

● Having stayed on track during the stage break, Suárez took the green flag on lap 261 just outside the top-10.

● The caution flag flew on lap 268, by which time Suárez had slid back to 22nd place. He stayed on track and restarted 20th on lap 277 and held that relative position in the early stages of that run.

● It turned out to be 56 consecutive laps of green, during which time Suárez dropped two positions back to 22nd and fell off the lead lap. He said his racecar was still loose on the extremities – in and out of the corners. He pitted for tires, fuel, air pressure and track bar adjustments. He restarted 21st on lap 234, the first car one lap down.

● The next caution flag flew on lap 354 with Suárez 23rd and one lap down. He pitted during the caution for tires, fuel and right-side air pressure adjustments, going back on the pressure adjustments made the previous stop as Suárez said the car took longer to come to him.

● He restarted 25th on lap 361, one lap down, after dropping to the back of the cars on his lap on the restart for speeding on pit road.

● Suárez made good forward progress in the opening laps of the run, working his way to 22nd. He lost a lap to go down two before the next caution flag flew on lap 433. He stayed out to take the wave-around back to one lap down, restarting 22nd on lap 439.

● Suárez worked his way back into Lucky Dog position by the time the caution flag flew on lap 457, moving him up to the lead lap. He pitted for tires, fuel, right-side air pressure adjustments, and the removal of tape from the brake duct intakes as Suárez reported he was struggling under braking. He restarted 22nd on lap 463.

● A multicar accident brought out the caution flag just one lap into the next run, on lap 464, and Suárez said he had to slide his Toyota sideways to avoid contact. He stayed on track through the caution and restarted 18th on lap 473.

● The 17th and final caution flag of the day flew on lap 489 with Suárez running 19th. Five laps remained when the race went back to green on lap 495, and Suárez held onto 18th place across the finish line.

Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 96 It’s Good To Be Genuine Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing:

“It was an eventful race. We had a lot of stuff going on. There was some miscommunication in the beginning and we had to do a pass-through, and a pass-through at Bristol is tough to come back from. We went two laps down and it was a struggle from there. But the team never gave up. We worked very hard and we were able to recover and fight back to get our first top-20 (of the season) for the team. The car had decent speed but, obviously, it’s never enough. We have to work hard to keep getting better and hopefully we’ll be stronger next weekend in Atlanta.”

Race Notes:

● The result was the best for the No. 96 Toyota since Parker Kligerman’s 15th-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last October, and it was the best finish for the team in three outings at Bristol.

● Brad Keselowski won the Supermarket Heroes 500 to score his 32nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Bristol. His margin of victory over second-place Clint Bowyer was .471 of a second.

● There were 17 caution periods for a total of 102 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 24-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Next Up:

The next NASCAR Cup Series event for Suárez and the Gaunt Brothers Racing team is the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on Sunday, June 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Clint Bowyer 2nd in Bristol

by MikeJune 1, 2020

Late Surge Propels No. 14 ‘Built Ford Proud’ Mustang

Date: May 31, 2020

Event: Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 (Round 9 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)

Start/Finish: 23rd/2nd (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)

Point Standing: 12th with 232 points, 138 out of first

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Clint Bowyer started 23rd and finished 12th.

● The No. 14 “Built Ford Proud” Mustang held its position early in the race before stopping at the lap 20 competition caution.

● Bowyer moved from 29th to 19th before pitting during the second competition caution on lap 60.

● Bowyer began turning “crazy fast times” according to the crew driving from 17th to 12th before the end of the stage.

● During the stage break, Bowyer pitted for adjustments to help the car’s rotation in the turns.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Bowyer started 10th and finished sixth to earn five bonus points.

● The No. 14 “Built Ford Proud” Mustang faded to 16th by lap 180 with Bowyer reporting the car was “really tight.”

● Bowyer pitted for major adjustments to fix the issue during a caution on lap 200.

● The changes helped as Bowyer clawed back to 10th by lap 230 when a nine-car accident stopped the race for 11 minutes.

● Bowyer restarted the race in 10th with just 15 laps left and moved to eighth before another caution slowed the field.

● Bowyer jumped from eighth to sixth in the seven-lap green flag run to end the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Bowyer started 14th, finished second.

● The No. 14 “Built Ford Proud” Mustang moved to eighth by the caution on lap 360.

● Over the next 70 laps, tight handling issues plus cars with fresher tires shuffled Bowyer back to 15th.

● Bowyer pitted for adjustments and restarted the race in 14th with 61 laps remaining.

● Things got worse as Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman made contact sending Newman into Bowyer causing significant left-side damage to the No. 14.

● Bowyer restarted the race in 13th with 37 laps remaining. Immediately after the restart Bowyer deftly avoided a seven-car accident in front of him.

● Bowyer restarted ninth with 30 laps to go and used fresh tires to drive to fifth before the next caution flew with 10 to go.

● The race restarted with just five laps remaining and it didn’t take long for the leaders Joey Logano and Chase Elliott to start beating and banging.

● Bowyer never lifted as the pair collided and slid into the wall to claim second place.

● There weren’t enough laps to chase down Keselowski for the victory.

Notes:

● Bowyer earned his second top-five and third top-10 of the season, and his eighth top-five and 16th top-10 in 29 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol.

● This is Bowyer’s fifth straight top-10 at Bristol and his seventh top-10 in the last nine races at Bristol.

● Since joining SHR in 2017, Bowyer has only finished outside the top-10 once at Bristol.

● Keselowski won the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 to score his 32nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Bristol. His margin of victory over second-place Bowyer was .471 of a second.

● This was Ford’s series-best fifth win of the season and its 691st all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory.

● This was Ford’s 38th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol. The last Ford driver to win at Bristol was Kurt Busch in August 2018 while a member of SHR.

● There were 17 caution periods for a total of 102 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 24-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 ‘Built Ford Proud’ Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Wow what a finish. That got wild. The boys hung in there and just kept digging. The old girl said “Built Ford Proud” when she probably should have said “Built Ford Tough” because she had all four corners knocked off it. We actually struggled pretty bad with our setup. I don’t know, it was floating the nose really bad up off the corner all day long. I could gain and make some ground up in the center of the corner in, and in the middle, but if I had to pass somebody and turn underneath of them I didn’t have the real estate. The outside was no man’s land for me. I couldn’t get my front end to turn at all.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Folds of Honor 500 on Sunday, June 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Custer Finishes 35th at Bristol

by MikeJune 1, 2020

Accident Ends Rookie’s Day Prematurely

Date: May 31, 2020

Event: Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 (Round 9 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)

Start/Finish: 22nd/35th (Accident, completed 228 of 500 laps)

Point Standing: 24th with 140 points, 230 out of first

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsport (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsport (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Cole Custer started 22nd and finished 26th.

● Throughout the first two cautions, Custer remained on the track in his HaasTooling.com Mustang even though he was tight to the center and off of the turns. He restarted 13th on lap 29.

● At the lap-62 competition caution, Custer pitted from 20th for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight handling condition. He restarted 24th.

● During the Stage 1 break, the 22-year-old pitted from 26th for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight-handling HaasTooling.com Mustang.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Custer started 20th and finished 35th.

● The caution was thrown on lap 198 and the California native reported his car was improving and would like more of the previous adjustment. After visiting pit road, he restarted 21st on lap 207.

● Next caution was displayed on lap 211 with Custer in the 19th spot. He didn’t visit pit road and restarted 18th on lap 216.

● On lap 217, the caution was once again displayed with Custer in 17th.

● Custer restarted 17th on lap 221 after not pitting.

● On lap 228, Custer was collected in a multi-car accident, which ultimately ended his day and relegated him to a 35th-place finish.

Notes:

● Custer made his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series start and his first at Bristol.

● Brad Keselowski won the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 to score his 32nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Bristol. His margin of victory over second-place Bowyer was .471 of a second.

● This was Ford’s series-best fifth win of the season and its 691st all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory.

● This was Ford’s 38th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol. The last Ford driver to win at Bristol was Kurt Busch in August 2018 while a member of SHR.

● There were 17 caution periods for a total of 102 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 24-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

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

“Well, that stinks. We were getting our car a lot better and then caught up in the wreck. Just so little time to react so you get caught up in them pretty easily here at Bristol. That’s just how it is here. I thought our HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang was getting a lot better. I felt like we could’ve run in the top-10. We were a lot better than where we were running. We were going forward, but our pit stall wasn’t helping us either. We were getting blocked in about every time and that hurt us too. We’ll move on to the next one, but man, I thought we were going to have a good day here.”

Next Up:

Almirola Finishes 29th at Bristol

by MikeJune 1, 2020

Smithfield Ford Driver Races as High as Second; Involved in Lap-464 Accident

Date: May 31, 2020

Event: Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 (Round 9 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)

Start/Finish: 2nd/29th (Accident, completed 470 of 500 laps)

Point Standing: 11th (240 points, 130 out of first)

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Aric Almirola started second and finished fourth, earning seven stage points.

● The Smithfield Ford driver started on the bottom groove and fell to sixth before a caution on lap six.

● Almirola drove to fourth before the competition caution.

● He restarted fourth and drove the No. 10 Ford to second-place before the second competition caution.

● Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments to restart third.

● Starting on lap 110, Almirola tapped the No. 2 car’s bumper multiple times to ultimately make the pass. He noted tight-handling conditions during the run and held the No. 10 Ford inside the top-five.

● He pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Almirola started sixth and finished 21st.

● Almirola raced the No. 10 Ford to fourth by lap 177.

● He was scored second after a caution on lap 199. He said his car was good on the long runs and tight on the restarts.

● Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments to restart fifth.

● After a red flag on lap 229, Almirola was scored eighth. On the restart, he said he may have a tire going down and pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Almirola started 10th and finished 20th.

● Almirola advanced the Smithfield Ford six positions on the restart before a caution on lap 269.

● He raced to third before a caution on lap 329. He pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments to restart third.

● After another caution on lap 355, Almirola reported a loose wheel and pitted for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments to restart 10th.

● Almirola was contacted by the No. 2 car on the restart and dropped to 13th.

● He rejoined the top-10 on lap 393.

● Almirola pitted under caution on lap 433 from eighth-place for four tires, fuel and more chassis adjustments after noting loose-handling conditions. He came off pit road in seventh.

● Another caution was called with 43 laps to go. Almirola opted not to pit with 19 laps on his tires.

● During the restart, Almirola was involved in an accident and hit the outside wall. He was forced to pit to repair damage and returned to the track two laps down. He retired the No. 10 Smithfield Ford on lap 470 due to unrepairable damage.

Notes:

● This was Ford’s series-best fifth win of the season and its 691st all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory.

● This was Ford’s 38th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol. The last Ford driver to win at Bristol was Kurt Busch in August 2018 while a member of SHR.

● There were 17 caution periods for a total of 102 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 24-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Man. We had such a good car today. We would have had a shot at a top-three finish. That’s Bristol. I felt like I had a tire going down at one point, so we pitted and even came back to the top-10 from that pretty quickly. We had a loose-wheel later and had to pit under caution that put us 10th. We were definitely making our way back towards the front and had a promising finish if we didn’t get caught up there. It looked like the 19 got into me. The car just took off towards the wall and we were done. I hate it for this Smithfield Ford team. We’re flirting on the edge of some really good runs. The good news is we came to Bristol with a setup that can win, so we’ll have confidence coming back.”

Next Up:

Harvick Rallies to Finish 11th at Bristol

by MikeJune 1, 2020

Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang Driver Remains First in NASCAR Cup Points

Date: May 31, 2020

Event: Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 (Round 9 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)

Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps)

Start/Finish: 8th/11th (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)

Point Standing: 1st (370 points, 24 ahead of Joey Logano)

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125):

● Kevin Harvick started eighth and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

● The No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang was fine early on. Harvick said he was “just saving my tires.”

● Harvick pitted on lap 62 for four tires, fuel and a tires pressure and track bar adjustment. Came in 10th, and left seventh.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250):

● Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished third, earning eight bonus points.

● The No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang pitted on lap 129 for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He entered the pits in sixth place.

● On lap 204, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Harvick exited in fourth-place.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 251-500):

● Kevin Harvick started 14th and finished 11th.

● The No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang pitted on lap 253 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Said car was still too tight.

● On lap 330, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel. Said the cars balance was good.

● With 67 laps left, Harvick’s car got into the car driven by Erik Jones and then got into the SAFER Barrier on the outside retianing wall while in fifth place. He pitted twice for repairs and restarted 21st with 61 laps remaining.

● On lap 459, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Crew also made more repairs and Harvick restarted 19th.

● After restarting 19th, Harvick managed to work his way up to 11th place.

Notes:

● This was Ford’s series-best fifth win of the season and its 691st all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory.

● This was Ford’s 38th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol. The last Ford driver to win at Bristol was Kurt Busch in August 2018 while a member of SHR.

● There were 17 caution periods for a total of 102 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 24-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

● Harvick finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points and third in Stage 2 to earn eight more bonus points.

Next Up:

Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Racing: Daniel Suárez Toyota 500k Race Report from Darlington

by MikeMay 21, 2020

Date: May 20, 2020

Event: Toyota 500k

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)

Start/Finish: 25th / 27th (Running, completed 207 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: 30th with 54 points, 204 out of first

Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Started 25th, finished 30th.

● The opening lap saw Suárez drop a position as the green flag flew, then restart 23rd on lap seven after the day’s first caution period, then fall back to 27th when the caution flag flew again on lap 10. He said the Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry lacked overall grip even though it was turning well in the opening laps.

● Suárez restarted 34th after right-side wedge and air pressure adjustments enabled him to pick up five spots by the time a scheduled competition caution period arrived on lap 25. He restarted 30th after the competition caution and held that position to the end of the segment while reporting the car was “a little better balanced.”

● A solid four-tire pit stop, during which the No. 96 Toyota crew made just air pressure adjustments, enabled Suárez to pick up six spots and restart 24th to begin the second segment.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 60-125):

● Started 24th, finished 27.

● The segment restarted on lap 68 and the caution flag flew just six laps later. The team decided to gamble by keeping Suárez on track, and he restarted 12th on lap 76. But with most of the rest of the field having pitted for fresher tires, he dropped 16 positions over the next six laps before the caution flag flew once again.

● Suárez pitted for tires this time and restarted 25th. He dropped two positions over the next 21 laps before the next caution, reporting the Today. Tomorrow. Toyota struggled on short runs but seemed to improve on longer runs. He also said he was surprised the track grew more free as the race progressed to that point, rather than get tighter as is typical during nighttime racing at Darlington.

● He restarted 27th on lap 113 and held that position to the end of the stage. The team made a multitude of adjustments during the break – air pressure, wedge, track bar – in an effort to tighten up the car.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 126-228):

● Started 27th, finished 27th.

● Suárez held his relative position throughout the final stage, which started with the longest green-flag run of the night – 46 laps.

● He was called to the pits under green on lap 175 while working his way up to 17th as one of the last cars to cycle through green-flag stops. One lap later, the caution flag flew, and he restarted on lap 185 in 28th, one lap down.

● The yellow flag flew again on lap 195, and Suárez pitted from 28th for fresh tires and adjustments to counter those that were made during the prior segment break in an effort to free up the car.

● Suárez gained a position to 27th before rain began to fall and the red flag flew on lap 208. Officials called the race shortly thereafter, 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance.

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

“We are building, so from that standpoint, I think Dave (Winston, crew chief) and the team did a good job. Compared to Sunday, I think we brought a lot more speed with our Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry this time. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize. I was surprised from the early to the middle part of the race how the car was getting more and more free. Darlington is a track that always gets tighter and tighter as the race goes. I thought the loose car actually seemed to be working for us on the longer runs. Then we made some big changes in the middle part of the race and the car got too tight. We were kind of stuck with that because of the long run. Other than that, I feel like we’re heading in the right direction. The car had more raw speed tonight even though the balance wasn’t as good as we would like it to be. We just need to keep building.”

Race Notes:

● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series race to be held on a Wednesday in 36 years. The last time: July 4, 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200th career victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

● Denny Hamlin won the Toyota 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.

● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.

● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Toyota 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Next Up:

The next NASCAR Cup Series event for Suárez and the Gaunt Brothers Racing team is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

No. 10 Smithfield Ford Racing: Aric Almirola Darlington II Race Report

by MikeMay 21, 2020

Date: May 20, 2020

Event: Darlington 500k

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)

Start/Finish: 9th/7th (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: 7th (186 points, 72 out of first)

Note: Race called official 20 laps shorts of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Aric Almirola started ninth and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

● The No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford driver advanced to fourth place before the lap-25 competition caution.

● He took four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments under caution and restarted third.

● Almirola noted loose-handling conditions and fell to sixth.

● He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments at the conclusion of the stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):

● Almirola started ninth and finished 11th.

● The first caution was called on lap 72 with Almirola in seventh.

● He advanced to fourth on the restart.

● Another caution was called right after Almirola said “the car was really coming to me.” He pitted for four tires and fuel to restart 12th.

● Almirola rejoined the top-five on lap 97.

● The caution was called on lap 108. Almirola pitted for four tires and fuel.

● He restarted seventh on the inside line and fell just outside the top-10 by the end of the stage.

● Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-208):

● Almirola started 12th and finished seventh.

● Almirola raced the Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford to seventh on lap 137.

● Crew chief Mike Bugarewicz said Almirola turned the fastest lap on lap 160.

● The caution was called on lap 179 after Almirola pitted under green for four tires and fuel. This caution put the majority of the field a lap down due to pit cycles. Almirola took the wave around to restart seventh.

● Almirola pitted under caution on lap 193 for four tires, fuel and more adjustments to restart seventh.

● The final caution was called with 28 laps to go. Inclement weather ended the race early with Almirola in seventh to earn his first top-10 at Darlington.

Notes:

● Almirola earned his third top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in 10 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.

● Almirola’s seventh-place result bettered his previous best finish at Darlington – 11th, earned in the 2015 Southern 500.

● This is Almirola’s fourth straight finish of 12th or better. He finished eighth March 1 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, eighth March 8 at Phoenix and 12th last Sunday at Darlington.

● Almirola finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points.

● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series to be held on a Wednesday in 36 years. The last time: July 4, 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200thcareer victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.

● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.

● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I thought we had a really good car tonight. We ran up in the top-five quite a bit and had a really fast car on the long runs. Everyone else’s car would slow down a lot and my car wouldn’t slow down nearly as much on the long run. We would start beating all the leaders really good on the long run. If we could have had that race go green to the end I think it would have been interesting because we were beating the leaders pretty bad. I’m just really proud of all of the guys on our Smithfield team. We came back with some setup changes from what we ran Sunday and I felt like we made some real improvements to the car and were very competitive. We cleaned up some things on pit road, so I’m really proud of those guys. We’ll just continue to build off of that. I feel like we’re in the game.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

HaasTooling.com Racing: Cole Custer Darlington 500k Race Report

by MikeMay 21, 2020

Date: May 20, 2020

Event: Darlington 500k

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/83 laps)

Start/Finish: 22nd/31st (Running, completed 206 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: 24th with 88 points, 170 out of first

Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Cole Custer started 22nd and finished 17th.

● Custer climbed to 18th in the opening laps reporting his HaasTooling.com Mustang was a little loose.

● During the lap-25 competition caution Custer pitted his Ford for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help his tight condition. He restarted 17th on lap 31.

● The HaasTooling.com Mustang ended the stage 17th.

● A penalty for an uncontrolled tire during the stage break pit stop sent Custer to the rear of the field for the start of Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):

● Custer started 30th and finished 34th.

● The 22-year-old pitted from 28th for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight-handling Mustang at lap 72.

● Custer moved from 23rd to fifth when he stayed on the track during the lap 83 caution.

● The California native made contact with the outside wall on lap 107, bringing out a caution.

● He pitted twice to repair damage on the right side and change four tires.

● Custer restarted 32nd on lap 112, one lap down and completed the stage 34th, one lap down.

● The HaasTooling.com driver pitted during the Stage 2 break for more repairs to his Mustang.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-208):

● Custer started 34th and finished 31st.

● Custer lost a second lap during the long green flag run to open the stage.

● With the caution out on lap 179 he pitted from 33rd for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

● The rookie driver restarted 32nd on lap 186 and was 33rd at the lap 195 caution.

● The final caution was displayed for an accident on lap 201 with Custer in the 33rd spot.

● Rain ended the race on lap 208 – 20 laps short of the schedule distance.

Notes:

● Custer made his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series start and just his second at Darlington.

● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.

● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.

● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a two-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

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

“We definitely had a lot better to start tonight at Darlington in the HaasTooling.com Mustang. We just had some bad luck and damage which made for a long night. We’ll move on to the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. ”

Next Up:

Bowyer Finishes 22nd in Darlington 500k

by MikeMay 21, 2020

Date: May 20, 2020

Event: Darlington 500k

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)

Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.

Start/Finish: 4th/22nd (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: 9th with 170 points, 88 out of first

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Clint Bowyer started fourth and finished first to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point.

● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang quickly showed it was one of the fastest on the track moving to second by the lap-25 competition caution.

● Bowyer grabbed the lead on the restart logging his 3,000th lap led in the Cup Series.

● Bowyer led the next 30 laps to capture his fourth stage victory of his career.

● Before the stage, Bowyer had led 17 laps in 15 races at Darlington.

● Bowyer reported his car was a little loose, but crew made minimal changes during the stage break.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):

● Started first, finished first to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point.

● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang stayed at the front through two cautions.

● Bowyer pitted during the stage’s third caution and returned to the track in 10th on lap 85.

● The Kansas native wasted no time moving to third by lap 100.

● Bowyer was using his fresher tires to chase down SHR teammate Kevin Harvick for the lead on lap 109 when the seventh caution of the race came out. Fast pit work returned Bowyer to the lead for the lap 111 restart.

● The Ford driver stayed at the front to win the stage. It was the first time he’s ever won two stages in a race and the first time in 2020 a driver has won the first two stages of a race.

● During the stage break he told his crew: “this car is pretty fast.”

● Two cars stayed on the track on old tires hoping for rain forcing Bowyer to start the final stage in fourth.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-208):

● Started fourth, finished 22nd.

● Amid frenetic racing in the opening laps, the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang dropped to sixth.

● Bowyer climbed to fourth but handling issues for the first time in the race slowed his progress leaving him in third with 60 to go.

● The veteran driver made a routine green-flag stop with 53 laps remaining, but a caution a few laps later dropped Bowyer off the lead lap.

● Bowyer took the wave around to return to the lead lap and restarted sixth with 43 laps remaining.

● Bowyer moved to fourth after the restart despite telling the crew, “I hit the wall pretty good.”

● Bowyer cut a right rear tire after wall contact with 34 laps to go damaging the right side of the car and bringing out a caution.

● Bowyer restarted the race in 22nd with 30 laps remaining, but another car hit the No. 14 from behind as cars attempted to avoid a wreck at the front of the field.

● Heavy rain during the caution ended the race with 20 to go.

Notes:

● Bowyer led twice for a race-high 71 laps. Prior to tonight’s race, Bowyer had led only 17 laps at Darlington, 16 of which came in the 2007 Southern 500.

● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.

● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.

● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Very proud of the car the guys brought for me on a short turn around. Fast hot rod. Thing just took off behind two cars racing for lucky dog and smoked the wall and blew our night. The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford was fast. We keep doing that our day will come.”

Next Up:

Mobil 1 Racing: Kevin Harvick Darlington 500k Race Report

by MikeMay 21, 2020

Date: May 20, 2020

Event: Darlington 500k

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)

Start/Finish: 20th/3rd (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: (1st with 258 points, 34 points ahead of Joey Logano)

Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Kevin Harvick started 20th and finished 15th.

● During the competition caution, Harvick brought the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to pit road for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment and raised the track bar one round.

● The changes did not work for Harvick as the car had no rear grip.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):

● Harvick started 14th and finished fifth, earning six bonus points.

● On lap 64, Harvick brought the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to pit road for four tire, fuel a tire pressure and track bar adjustment. The crew went back on their adjustments.

● On lap 73, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

● Harvick got by leader Martin Truex Jr., for the lead on lap 98.

● On lap 109, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Said rear grip was good, but the front end needed some work.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-228):

● Harvick started fifth and finished third.

● On lap 128, Harvick, pitted for four tires and fuel. Was the first car off pit road.

● While running third on lap 159, Harvick radioed that his car was “plowing tight.”

● With 56 laps to go, Harvick had fallen from third to eighth.

● On lap 175, Harvick brought the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to pit road for four tires, fuel and two rounds up on the track bar. He was ninth when he pitted.

● Harvick pitted on lap 195 for four tires, fuel and one round up on the track bar. Was the first car off pit road.

● He restarted third, but fell to fourth and was running there when third-place Kyle Busch’s car made contact with second-place Chase Elliott. The No. 9 of Elliott made contact with the SAFER Barrier on the inside wall and then rain starting falling which ended the race with Harvick back in third place.

Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.

● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.

● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

● Harvick earned his fourth top-five and sixth top-10 of the season, and his 10th top-five and 14th top-10 in 25 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.

● Harvick is the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to have finished in the top-10 in all six races this season.

● This is Harvick’s third straight top-three. He finished second March 8 at Phoenix Raceway and won last Sunday at Darlington in The Real Heroes 400.

● This is Harvick’s fourth straight top-five and ninth straight top-10 at Darlington.

● 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 fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.

● Harvick led once for 10 laps to increase his laps-led total at Darlington to 750.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had to start 20th and battled kind of an ill-balanced car tonight. The track conditions were just a lot different. We made some adjustments going into the race. Just couldn’t get the front of the car to turn. Every time we tried to adjust the back, it would just take the back out. We never could get the front of the car to turn. Had to use a lot more throttle tonight. The things I could do with the car Sunday, I couldn’t do tonight. They kept clawing and fighting. In the end we had a great pit stop on the last pit stop, were in position to have a chance to win the race there, and it rained. The whole night we wound up restarting on the bottom of the racetrack. We’d lose three or four spots every time we’d restart. Definitely didn’t get the good end of the draw on the restarts. In the end our Mobil 1 guys did a great job of just battling. Sometimes you have great nights, sometimes you have nights you have to battle. It was a good two days in Darlington for us.”

Next Up: