In a surprising finish, rookie Cole Custer stole the show from the veteran drivers on the final restart to win not only his first Cup race, but he became the first rookie to win at Kentucky. All past winners at Kentucky Speedway are Cup champions, which could speak to Custer’s future. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
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.
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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.
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:
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.
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:
● 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 Clint 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.
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:
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.
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NEW YORK, MAY 26, 2020: Busch, the beer brewed for America’s heartland and a long-time supporter of agricultural communities, announced today that it will provide funds for the nonprofit Farm Rescue to expand its operations into Kansas. Farm Rescue will begin harvest assistance operations in Kansas immediately, with Busch marking this milestone with the release of limited-edition Corn Cans across the country*. Busch is raising further awareness to the cause with NASCAR drivers Kevin Harvick and Kansas-native Clint Bowyer at the June 7 NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta. Kansas is the first new state to be added to Farm Rescue’s support network since 2017 and will be the seventh state supported overall.
The expansion into Kansas will allow Farm Rescue to provide free harvest assistance to farm families throughout the state experiencing a major illness, injury or natural disaster. Since its inception in 2005, Farm Rescue has helped nearly 700 family farms sustain operations in times of crisis. These efforts are made possible through a network of volunteers from across the United States. Busch has been a partner of Farm Rescue since early 2019 and played an instrumental role in facilitating Farm Rescue’s entry to Kansas with a mix of financial support, public affairs assistance, and more.
“Farm Rescue is an incredible organization that has not only helped, but saved, hundreds of family farms throughout the Midwest,” said Daniel Blake, VP of Value Brands at Anheuser-Busch “What originally started off as a small partnership has grown into something really special, and as unexpected injuries, illnesses and natural disasters continue to strike, we’re honored to take our partnership with Farm Rescue to the next level so they can keep providing critical assistance to more family farms across the country.”
Busch recently teased the news of this partnership with the release of their special-edition Busch Light Corn Cans, a remixed edition of the classic Busch Light can and packaging. Consumers nationwide can support Farm Rescue with every purchase of the new limited-edition Busch Light corn packs in select states**. For each pack purchased in these states between May 18 and July 5, 2020 $1 will be donated by Busch, up to $100,000 to benefit Farm Rescue’s ongoing efforts.
“We are very grateful for the unwavering support Busch has provided toward our mission of helping America’s farmers,” said Bill Gross, President of Farm Rescue. “Thanks to their generosity, we are mobilizing equipment and volunteers throughout Kansas to help farm families in times of crisis.”
Busch will raise additional awareness for Farm Rescue and farmers across America at the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta on June 7, with Busch-sponsored driver Kevin Harvick teaming up with Kansas-native Clint Bowyer to race in the same corn-themed paint scheme. Throughout the race fans will have the chance to win a suite of farm-related prizes, and can check out @BuschBeer on Twitter ahead of June 7 to find out more information.
Fans can head to ForTheFarmers.org to learn more, and stay informed as race day approaches. Fans can also check out the Busch social accounts (@BuschBeer) to shop exclusive Busch/Farm Rescue merchandise including apparel and corn hole games.
Click “Read More” to see the article links. Thanks. (more…)
After a 68 minute rain delay, the Cup drivers got back to it with few cautions until the very end when the final caution came out with Chase Elliott on his way to what appeared to be Victory Lane. (more…)
Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head back to Darlington Raceway Wednesday night for an encore performance with the Lady In Black.
DiBenedetto finished 14th in this past Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington, which marked NASCAR’s return to racing after a 10-week hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With that race in the books, DiBenedetto and the team are working to find more speed for Wednesday’s 500-kilometer race, a rare midweek prime-time TV appearance for the sport. Once again, there will be no fans in the grandstands due to the threat of spreading COVID-19.
DiBenedetto, who will be making his sixth career Cup start at the iconic South Carolina track, said he plans to review the broadcast of Sunday’s race, taped for him by his wife Taylor, to see what can be learned from it.
“I’ll watch the other guys and see what I can pick up as far as how to improve,” he said, adding that he expects crew chief Greg Erwin to make adjustments as well to the Mustang they’ll race on Wednesday. “We’ve got a little catching up to do, but we can do it.”
Wednesday’s race will be the 95th Cup appearance at Darlington for the Wood Brothers, who first competed there in the 1961 Rebel 300 with the legendary Curtis Turner, a close friend of the Woods, at the wheel of the No. 21.
Modern era fans point to the spring race at Darlington in 2003, where Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch for the win in a door-slamming battle to the checkered flag, as the best-ever finish at Darlington. But for fans of an earlier era, the ’61 Rebel 300 was the gold standard for great Darlington finishes.
Here’s how author and historian Greg Fielden described the late-race battle between the veteran Turner and the youngster Fred Lorenzen in his book, Forty Years of Stock Car Racing: “Fair-haired Fred Lorenzen and old pro Curtis Turner literally fought each other with fists of steel in Darlington Raceway’s fifth-annual Rebel 300 in a death-defying slugfest which decided perhaps the most exciting stock car race of all time.”
Fielden reported that the two “slapped considerable sheet metal” before Lorenzen finally took the lead with two laps remaining, leaving a frustrated Turner to finish second.
Turner expressed his sentiments to reporters after the race, saying: “If I could have caught [Lorenzen] before he got the checkered flag, I guarantee you he never would have finished the race.”
It was the first of seven runner-up finishes at Darlington for the Woods, who have eight victories there. Six of those victories were with David Pearson driving. Cale Yarborough and Neil Bonnett scored the other two.
In Wednesday’s race, DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will show that not all heroes drive race cars.
The team will honor Loretta Burton as a Star of Life.
Burton, a paramedic from Youngstown, Ohio, will be recognized for her actions that saved the life of a cardiac arrest patient in April of 2019.
On that day, she and her EMT partner were called to a dental clinic parking lot where they found an 81-year-old male in cardiac arrest. With the help of her partner, Burton began CPR and then continued ALS care on her own.
She was able to establish a return of spontaneous circulation, and the patient was transported to the emergency department of a local hospital. The patient was released a few days later with no neuro deficits or cardiac damage.
This save was a direct result of Burton’s dedication to the patients she serves. That dedication perhaps was demonstrated best when she was the medic on the scene of a car accident involving the man who had earlier tried to shoot her policeman husband. She treated this patient with respect, and he received the best of care.
Burton has been in EMS for 18 years. She began her career as an EMT and continued her education to become a paramedic. She attained the rank of supervisor but reduced her hours to part-time to care for her five children.
Wednesday’s 228-lap race is set to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on FOX Sports One.
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About Motorcraft:
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Omnicraft:
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visitwww.omnicraftautoparts.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.
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