joe gibbs

Martin Truex Jr. ­– No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry Preview – Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

by Mike
Martin Truex Jr. ­– No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry Preview – Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry News and Notes

  • TRUEX AT CHARLOTTE: Martin Truex Jr. has three wins in 27 career NASCAR Cup Series starts on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval layout. The Mayetta, New Jersey native has posted seven top-five results in the past eight races on the track’s 1.5-mile configuration, including four consecutive finishes of third or better. He has led more than 100 laps in three of the past four Coca-Cola 600s, including last season when he led 116 laps and won the race after overcoming an early tire issue and having to make a daring four-wide pass in the closing laps.
  • ELITE COMPANY: Truex is one of only three active drivers with multiple Coca-Cola 600 wins. After securing his second victory in the crown jewel event last May, he joined Jimmie Johnson (four wins) and Kevin Harvick (two wins) as the only active drivers to accomplish the fete more than once.
  • NASCAR’S RETURN TO RACING: The No. 19 team picked up their first two top-10 finishes of the season as the NASCAR Cup Series returned to action Sunday and Wednesday at Darlington Raceway. He claimed top-three stage finishes in three of the four stages and finished sixth and 10th in the races, respectively.
  • STAGE SUCCESS: Truex leads all NASCAR Cup Series drivers in stage points earned through the season’s first six races. After earning 17 stage points Wednesday night at Darlington Raceway, Truex has now accumulated 67 stage points this season. Those points account for 37.4% of his 179 total points scored so far.
  • TSGT JOHN A CHAPMAN: Truex and the No. 19 team will honor Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman this Memorial Day weekend. Sergeant Chapman, a native of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, was a highly decorated combat controller who served in the United States Air Force. In 2018, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Takur Ghar during the War in Afghanistan. He is the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War and the first Air Force combat controller to earn the Air Force Cross in any war in history. His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Air Force Commendation Medal with one device, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two devices, Air Force Good Conduct Medal with four devices, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award with three devices, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Military Education ribbon, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship ribbon, and the Air Force Training ribbon.
  • BASS PRO SHOPS: A longtime supporter of Truex and NASCAR, Bass Pro Shops will be featured as primary sponsor of the No. 19 Camry for the Coca-Cola 600. Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. Today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more.
  • RED, WHITE AND BLUE: Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Camry will feature a red, white and blue design for this weekend’s race to honor the United States military and Bass Pro Shops’ relationship with the United Service Organizations (USO).
  • JGR AT CHARLOTTE: Joe Gibbs Racing has earned seven victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including the past two Coca-Cola 600s. Overall, the organization has tallied 51 top-five finishes, 78 top-10s, 10 pole awards and 3,673 laps led at the 1.5-mile quad-oval. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart join Truex on the list of drivers to take JGR to victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • TUNE IN: Coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway begins Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

 

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry

After two races back, what do you expect going into the 600 this weekend?

“The 600 is always a special race and an important weekend for our sport around Memorial Day weekend. Obviously, the circumstances are a lot different this year with everything that’s going on, but that doesn’t change the challenge the race presents going from day to night and 600 miles. It is difficult to keep up with the changes the track goes through as the sun goes down, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s an honor to have won this race twice now and we’re excited to get to the track Sunday for another chance to get it done.”

Truex NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oval)

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
273711197216.814.1

Truex 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
600203116.219.0

Truex NASCAR Cup Series Career Stats

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
51926102207198,93714.415.8

About Bass Pro Shops®

Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.”

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

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

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.

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Bowyer Finishes 22nd in Darlington 500k

by Mike
Bowyer Finishes 22nd in Darlington 500k

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.

● 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 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:

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.

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KYLE BUSCH M&M’S Fudge Brownie Debut

by Mike
KYLE BUSCH M&M’S Fudge Brownie Debut
HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (May 18, 2020) – Following a 10 week-hiatus, the NASCAR Cup Series completed a successful return Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway as a national television audience on FOX witnessed one of the first major sporting events since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

For Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), his up-and-down race on Sunday was more successful than indicated by his final finishing position of 26th place. The day was filled with adversity from the very beginning, as Busch was forced to start at the rear of the field because of prerace inspection issues.

 

But one thing fans have witnessed over the last several years is the defending Cup Series champion and his team don’t back down from adversity, and Sunday was no different for Busch and the M&M’S team. Just 93 laps into Sunday’s 400-mile race, Busch made his way into the top-10 for the first time. But it was not smooth sailing from there as adversity struck again on lap 143, with Busch hitting the outside wall, causing damage to the right side of his M&M’S Toyota. However, a caution gave Busch and his team time to repair his car. Again, Busch worked his way back up through the field from 29th inside the top-10 by lap 247. Just as it looked like Busch would salvage at least a top-10 finish, he was forced to come to pit road under green with 29 laps remaining, resulting in a disappointing finish.

 

The good news for Busch is a rare second chance at the same track in less than a weeks time as the Cup Series returns to Darlington for the Toyota 500k on Wednesday night. Not only does Busch and his No. 18 get another shot at a Darlington win, they will be doing it with the colors of the new M&M’S Fudge Brownie product. The sharp, new look highlights the newest permanent addition to the M&M’S lineup. M&M’S Fudge Brownie are in stores now and feature the fresh-out-the-oven brownie taste without the hassle of baking.

 

In addition to competing in Wednesday’s Cup Series Toyota 500k, Busch is also scheduled to compete in Tuesday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington. Like he did on his Cup Series car Sunday, Busch will again sport the M&M’S Thank You Heroes scheme on his No. 54 Toyota Supra. The race is Busch’s second of five Xfinity Series starts scheduled for 2020, with Tuesday’s Darlington race replacing the Chicagoland Speedway stop on the tour that was previously scheduled for June.

 

So, while “The Lady in Black” didn’t treat Busch well the first time around in 2020, he and the M&M’S Fudge Brownie team get another shot at the track “Too Tough to Tame” on Wednesday night. The No. 18 team will no doubt regroup and have a shot at victory lane with some new colors on board.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing: 
 

What are you able to take to Wednesday night’s Cup Series race from Sunday’s race at Darlington?

 

“Going back and trying to figure out what we need to do to get better. We’ve got problems unloading off the hauler and being good. It takes a lot of work between Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and myself and the engineers to get the car tuned in and dialed into the racetracks. We fought the same thing last year at Indy. We ran terrible last year at Indy with no practice, and it’s a race we had won twice in a row in previous years. It’s something we definitely have to work on, but I have the confidence we can do that. We have M&M’S Fudge Brownie on the car this week for the first time. It would be great to have a good run and showcase them since we get another shot at Darlington here in a few days.”

 

Out of necessity, you’ll be running some midweek races for the first time ever. What are your thoughts on midweek races?

 

“To me, a race is a race. Whether I’m in a Cup car, Xfinity, Truck, or a Super Late Model, I’m not sure racing on a Wednesday is going to be all that different for me. Over the years with everything that I’ve raced, I’ve raced during the week all the time, so that part shouldn’t be a problem. As far as going forward, whatever NASCAR decides in the future on when they’ll have races, I’ll be there. It’s really whatever they think is best for the future of the sport and something our fans will like. If they tell me the races are on any day of the week, I’ll be there to race. Doesn’t make much difference to me what day of the week it is.”

 

What did you think of the safety procedures in place throughout the day on Sunday?

 

“It seemed to go really smoothly and really easy. Just being able to walk around the track from your bus to the car and just be there to do a job and a duty and less chaos kind of going around, the day seemed to make it a bit easier. Other than that, you kind of miss just being with or around your guys.”

 

What do drivers mean when they say you have to “race the track” at Darlington?

 

“It’s tough to pass there, for sure. It’s so difficult. So you run your laps until you get to a pit stop and try to get your guys to have a good stop for you so you can jump a couple of guys. Pit stops become really important there, as is track position and trying to stay up front.”

 

What makes Darlington a track that is too tough to tame?

 

“It’s a very narrow and challenging racetrack, especially for the speeds that we carry around there, now. We’re looking forward to getting another shot at Darlington with our M&M’S Fudge Brownie Camry on Wednesday night. You’ve really got to be able to get as close as you can to the wall in order to carry your momentum through the corners because you’ve got to make the straightaways as long as you can. The track is very narrow on entries and exits, so you’re always trying to round the place as much as you can. It’s very one-groovish. You can’t really run side-by-side there. Any time you get alongside somebody, you basically have to let them go. It’s a very big give-and-take type of track. It’s really aero-sensitive now, to where it used to be more about mechanical grip and getting your car to handle well and handle over the bumps well and keep the tires on it. Now you’re restricted off the car in front of you and are trying to find some air, basically.”

 

M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing

Race 6 of 36 – Toyota 500k – Darlington

Car No.: 18 – M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry

 

Teammates:  Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Toyota Camry; Martin Truex Jr. – No. 19 Toyota Camry; Erik Jones – No. 20 Toyota Camry.

 

At-Track PR Contact: Bill Janitz, True Speed Communication (704-875-3388 ext. 803 or Bill.Janitz@TrueSpeedCommunication.com).

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch

Hometown: Las Vegas

 

Crew Chief: Adam Stevens

Hometown: Portsmouth, Ohio

 

Car Chief: Nate Bellows

Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

 

Spotter: Tony Hirschman

Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

 

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Front Tire Changer: Cam Waugh

Hometown: Johnstown, Colorado

 

Jackman: T.J. Ford

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

 

Tire Carrier: Joe Crossen

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

 

Rear Tire Changer: Jeff Cordero

Hometown: Salem, Connecticut

 

Notes of Interest:
  • The Toyota 500k will mark Kyle Busch’s 540th career NASCAR Cup Series start and his 17th NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
  • Busch has career totals of 56 wins, 32 poles, 202 top-five finishes, 298 top-10s and 17,446 laps led in 539 career Cup Series races. His most recent Cup Series win came in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway, resulting in his second Cup Series championship. Busch’s most recent pole, the 32nd of his career, came in November at Phoenix Raceway.
  • Busch has one win, four top-five finishes and 10 top-10s and has led a total of 716 laps in 16 Cup Series starts at Darlington. Busch’s average Darlington finish is 12.0.
  • 2019 Darlington:When NASCAR’s top series raced at Darlington in September, Busch led once for a race-high 118 laps. Busch’s lead was late in the race, but he lost it to JGR teammate and eventual race-winner Erik Jones during a round of yellow-flag pit stops on lap 277. He restarted third on lap 281, and later moved himself up to second behind Jones. However, with less than five laps to go, Busch scraped the wall trying to catch Jones and he dropped to third when the checkered flag fell.
  • 56 Career Cup Series Wins: With his Cup Series win at Homestead in November, the 56th points-paying win of his career, Busch passed NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s top series. Next up for Busch on the list is eighth-place Dale Earnhardt, who had 76 wins during his Hall of Fame career. With his 40th Cup Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August 2017, Busch became the fourth-youngest driver to reach 40 Cup Series wins at 32 years, 109 days, behind only Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and Herb Thomas.
  • All-Time JGR Wins Leader: With his Brickyard 400 win in July 2016, Busch passed Tony Stewart for most all-time Cup Series wins for JGR. Busch now has 52 wins for JGR to Stewart’s 33 following his most recent win at Homestead last year.
  • 209 and Counting: Busch enters Wednesday night’s race at Darlington with 209 career wins among NASCAR’s top three divisions – Cup (56), Xfinity (96) and Truck (57) – following his Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in February.
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Erik Jones / No. 20 STANLEY Toyota Camry Preview Toyota 500(k) at Darlington Raceway

by Mike
Erik Jones / No. 20 STANLEY Toyota Camry Preview Toyota 500(k) at Darlington Raceway

No. 20 STANLEY Toyota Camry News and Notes:

  • JONES AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Erik Jones will make his fifth start in the Cup Series at Darlington Raceway when NASCAR races under the lights Wednesday night. NASCAR returned to action at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17, after a two month hiatus, where Jones scored an eighth-place finish. Jones captured his first Southern 500 victory on September 1, 2019 and in his other two starts at the track, he recorded a fifth-place and an eighth-place finish. In addition to his Cup Series starts, Jones has two starts at the South Carolina track in the Xfinity Series where he earned a sixth-place and fourth-place finish.
  • JGR AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 92 total starts at Darlington Raceway in Cup Series competition. In those starts, the team has earned seven wins, 25 top-five finishes, 55 top-10 finishes and two pole starting positions. The team has led 1,595 laps, completed 30,906 of 31,637 attempted laps (97.7%) and earned an average start of 14.3 and an average finish of 11.7. Denny Hamlin leads the team with two wins followed by Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Jones with one win each.
  • THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 CAMRY: This weekend STANLEY will be on the No. 20 Toyota Camry for the first time this season as one of four Stanley Black and Decker brands represented on the car during the 2020 season. STANLEY was scheduled for their first race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway before NASCAR halted the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • HONORING THE REAL HEROES: Continuing The Real Heroes campaign, Jones will carry Jennifer LaRue Bussanich on the No. 20 Camry for the Toyota 500(k). Bussanich works at Atrium Health Pineville in the Medical ICU and is a part of the COVID-19 Critical Care Unit. She has been a registered nurse for 14 years.
  • STARTING LINEUP: For the Toyota 500(k) at Darlington Raceway, Jones will start the race from the 13th position. The top 20 finishers from The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17, 2020, were inverted to set the top 20 starting positions for the Toyota 500(k). By virtue of his eighth-place finish, Jones earned the 13th starting position.
  • POINTS UPDATE: With his eighth-place finish in The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway, Jones gained four positions in the point standings to secure the 17th position.
  • DARLINGTON –THE REAL HEROES 400 RECAP: For the first race back following a two-month hiatus, Jones and the No. 20 team started The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway from the 20th position. Making moves throughout the day, Jones was able to run the majority of the race in the top 15 and as high as fifth before a loose wheel late in the race slowed him down. Jones crossed the finish line in the eighth position.  
  • RACE INFO: The Toyota 500(k) at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

 

Jones Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Darlington Raceway:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
412407913.05.5

 

Jones 2020 Season NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
50020018.017.4

 

Jones Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
11622451258213.416.0

 

From the Driver’s Seat:

Erik Jones: “I’m looking forward to getting back to Darlington on Wednesday. On Sunday we continued to get the car better each stop. We continued to get our Camry faster and the last run of the race was the best the car was all day. We had the car how we needed it. We just had the loose wheel issue. I think that gives us at least a good baseline to start Wednesday night’s race. The race ended around 7:15-7:20, so a little bit closer to dark and a little bit closer to what we will be racing on Wednesday at the start of the race. Hopefully, we can start at that point and be close and make a few adjustments from there and be up in the top five most of the race and contend for the win.”

 

About STANLEY:

STANLEY has set the precedent for quality tools and engineered solutions for professionals around the globe for more than 175 years. With a legacy of reliability, STANLEY is the No. 1 tapes manufacturer in the world and continues to drive the industry forward with innovations including the STANLEY FATMAX® product line as well as hand tools and accessories that make like easier. For more information visit www.STANLEYtools.com or follow STANLEY on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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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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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.

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NASCAR Honors Healthcare Workers in First Race Back with The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway

by Mike
NASCAR Honors Healthcare Workers in First Race Back with The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 14, 2020) – As NASCAR returns to the racetrack for the first time in more than two months, the sport will honor frontline healthcare workers in The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

The special NASCAR Cup Series race entitlement at Darlington Raceway follows the launch of The Real Heroes Project, a collaborative initiative by 14 sports leagues including NASCAR to recognize and pay tribute to medical professionals serving on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19.

“As the coronavirus challenges our country in unprecedented ways, the frontline healthcare workers – the nurses, paramedics, emergency physicians and many others – continue to inspire us with their strength and bravery in caring for their fellow Americans,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing and content officer. “These men and women are the real heroes and the NASCAR industry is incredibly proud to honor their selflessness and service as we return to racing on Sunday.”

Through a collaboration with NASCAR, FOX Sports and the race teams, each driver’s name will be replaced above the driver-side window with the name of an individual healthcare worker currently battling the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, The Real Heroes Project logo will be displayed on the side panel of each racecar.

The healthcare workers honored on the cars, selected in part by local FOX affiliates from cities across the country, will serve as grand marshals for The Real Heroes 400 and appear in an on-air mosaic to simultaneously give the command for drivers to start their engines for the race.

“Real heroes” from the state of South Carolina include healthcare workers from St. Francis Downtown hospital in Greenville S.C., and McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, S.C., located just south of Darlington Raceway.

The sports leagues behind the Real Heroes Project launched a public service announcement on May 6 that featured some of the biggest names in sports including a pair of NASCAR Cup Series champions in Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick. The PSA features more than 30 athletes sharing personal thank-you messages with their healthcare heroes and replacing the names on their own jerseys and uniforms with the names of individual medical professionals.

The campaign encourages sports fans to pay tribute to the frontline healthcare workers in their lives on social media using #TheRealHeroes.

As NASCAR resumes the 2020 race season on Sunday, The Real Heroes 400 will be the first of three national series races at Darlington Raceway in the span of four days – all taking place without fans in attendance. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return to action on Tuesday, May 19 (8 p.m. ET on FS1), followed by the second NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

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Erik Jones / No. 20 DEWALT ATOMIC Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry Preview Darlington 400 at Darlington Raceway

by Mike
Erik Jones / No. 20 DEWALT ATOMIC Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry Preview Darlington 400 at Darlington Raceway

No. 20 DEWALT ATOMIC Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry News and Notes:

  • JONES AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Erik Jones will make his fourth start in the Cup Series at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 17, when NASCAR returns to the track. In his most recent trip to “The Lady in Black,” Jones captured his first Southern 500 victory and his second Cup Series victory in just his 100th Cup Series start. In his other two starts at the track, Jones recorded a fifth-place and an eighth-place finish. In addition to his Cup Series starts, Jones has two starts at the South Carolina track in the Xfinity Series where he earned a sixth-place and fourth-place finish.
  • JGR AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 88 total starts at Darlington Raceway in Cup Series competition. In those starts, the team has earned seven wins, 24 top-five finishes, 52 top-10 finishes and two pole starting positions. The team has led 1,595 laps, completed 29,735 of 30,465 attempted laps (97.6%) and earned an average start of 14.4 and an average finish of 11.7. Denny Hamlin leads the team with two wins followed by Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Jones with one win each.
  • THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 CAMRY: For the return to racing this weekend, the No. 20 Toyota Camry will carry the familiar black and yellow DEWALT paint scheme featuring DEWALT ATOMIC. The No. 20 Camry will also feature a “Thank You Heroes” message on the car to honor those what have been fighting and continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic around the United States and the world.
  • DEWALT ATOMIC:
    • The ATOMIC Compact Series ™ is an addition to the 20V MAX* system, which is DEWALT’s largest cordless platform with 200+ products.
    • Where Size Meets Power, the ATOMIC™ Compact Series combines performance and durability in a compact format for a variety of applications.
  • RACE INFO: The Darlington 400 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 2020. Coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

 

Jones Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Darlington Raceway:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
312307910.74.7

 

Jones 2020 Season NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
40010017.519.8

 

Jones Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
11522450258213.416.1

 

From the Driver’s Seat:

Erik Jones: “I’m looking forward to Darlington. It’s been a really good track to me in the past, over the last few years and especially last year getting the win there in the Southern 500. Hopefully I have another shot at a good run this weekend. It’s going to be a unique weekend with no practice or qualifying. We’re really going to have to hit it right off the truck and hopefully our car is where it needs to be when we start the race. I’m just excited to get back to the race track in general. The iRacing has been fun, but it’s nothing like really being in the car, really being at the track and working with your guys and having that team effort. It’s always a good feeling of everyone working toward one goal, it’s pretty cool. I’m just excited. Darlington has been a great track for me. It’s going to be a unique race and kind of knocking the rust off at first, and then hopefully getting in to a groove and being able to run up front and contend for a win. Really looking forward to it and getting back in the seat.

 

About DEWALT

DEWALT is obsessed with how users work in the real world and is relentlessly pursuing total jobsite solutions. By incorporating its latest technology and industry innovations, DEWALT is leading the charge for the jobsite of the future. DEWALT products. GUARANTEED TOUGH®. For more information, visit www.dewalt.com or follow DEWALT on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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