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DiBenedetto Heads to Bristol with REESE and Draw-Tite

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Last fall at Bristol Motor Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto, having learned just days before that he would be a free agent in 2020, turned in a performance that won the hearts of fans both at the track and across the NASCAR nation.

Although he relinquished the lead after holding the top spot for 93 laps late in the race and wound up in second place, the crowd cheered loud and long as he was interviewed for the TV and radio broadcasts.

In those interviews, DiBenedetto, who finished second, vowed to remain in the Cup Series and said he had faith that some top-tier team would hire him and be glad to get him.

“I just want to stick around and keep doing this for a long time to come,” DiBenedetto said on that hot August night. “I love it. I love the opportunity. I’m not done yet.”

“Something will come open. It’s going to happen. I’m here to win. Something’s going to come open.”

Turns out he was right. The Wood Brothers hired him to drive their iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang.

“That Bristol race was the turning point in Matt’s career,” Eddie Wood said. “I remember how well he ran and how the fans were supporting him. When Paul [Menard] decided to retire and we talked with him about who would take over the car, Matt’s name was the first one that came up for us and Paul.”

Now DiBenedetto, who already has matched his Bristol finishing position with a second-place run at Las Vegas earlier this year, is returning to Bristol with a No. 21 REESE/Draw-Tite Mustang that is expected to be capable of once again contending for a win on the half-mile concrete oval.

Wood said he’s optimistic about the team’s prospects this weekend.

“Bristol is Matt’s best track,” he said. “And we’ve had some fast cars up there lately.”

“The biggest thing is getting to the end of the race without getting involved in someone else’s mess or your own mess.

“It’s the hardest race we run to survive to the finish. It’s so fast and the cars run so close. Things happen fast.”

Wood also said he and his family team are excited to have the No. 21 Mustang carry the universally known REESE and Draw-Tite brands, which have been providing heavy-duty and custom hitches and towing equipment since their inceptions in 1952 and 1946.

“We had REESE and Draw-Tite on the car for the iRacing event at Bristol a few weeks ago, and we were proud of that, but it’s a much bigger deal to represent them in a real Cup race,” he said. “We always enjoy working with companies like ours that have long histories.”

Sunday’s Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500, for which there will be no practice or qualifying, is set to start just after 3:30 p.m. with TV coverage on FOX Sports One.
Horizon Global
Headquartered in Plymouth, MI, Horizon Global is the #1 designer, manufacturer and distributor of a wide variety of high-quality, custom-engineered towing, trailering, cargo management and other related accessory products in North America and Europe. The Company serves OEMs, retailers, dealer networks and the end consumer as the category leader in the automotive, leisure and agricultural market segments. Horizon provides its customers with outstanding products and services that reflect the Company’s commitment to market leadership, innovation and operational excellence. The Company’s mission is to utilize forward-thinking technology to develop and deliver best-in-class products for our customers, engage with our employees and realize value creation for our shareholders.

Horizon Global is home to some of the world’s most recognized brands in the towing and trailering industry, including: Draw-Tite, Reese, Westfalia, BULLDOG, Fulton and Tekonsha. Horizon Global has approximately 3,600 employees. For more information, please visit www.horizonglobal.com .

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. WoodBrothers 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.

Kevin Harvick Alsco Uniforms 500k Advance and Team Report

by MikeMay 26, 2020

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (May 26, 2020) – Kevin Harvick has started seven NASCAR Cup Series races in 2020 and has one win, five top-fives and has finished in the top-10 at every one.

It took a late caution and a heck of a drive by the veteran to keep that streak alive in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), was off all night and was running between 12th and 16th during much of the race.

But on lap 399, William Byron spun and brought out a caution while Harvick was running 14th. He came to pit road, where crew chief Rodney Childers called for four ties and fuel, and Harvick restarted 13th.

In two laps, Harvick moved from 13th to sixth. After the race, Jimmie Johnson’s car was disqualified, moving Harvick up to fifth.

A lot of teams would have given up, but Harvick, Childers and the 4 team have been together for seven years and expect to win. The fifth-place result is nice, but this team expects to win every race.

So Childers and Harvick will come up with a plan for Wednesday night’s 310-mile race at Charlotte. And if Harvick leads 64 laps, he will have led 10,000 laps at SHR.

He’s led 14,362 in his career and trails 10th-place Kyle Busch, who has led 17,445, and Jimmie Johnson, who is ninth with 18,862 laps led, on the all-time list.

It’s Wednesday night under the light at Charlotte. And a victory would make it even sweeter.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Talk about Sunday’s race.

“We just missed the handling and had to battle all night trying to make it better. We left with a top-five somehow and we will be better on Wednesday.”

Another Wednesday-night race and the fourth race in 12 days. Can you talk about that?

“For me, it’s just gonna purely be the interaction, with not being able to have the interaction with the people, and communication will just be drastically different – how much you’re around people, how close you are to people and things of that nature. I’ve started races with no practice. We went through 9/11 and had a race cancelled and had things different, but this is just so drastically different that you just have to approach it drastically different with an open mind to know that there are gonna be things – before you even get there you have to know that there are going to be things drastically different than the way it was before, and just not be frustrated with things that don’t go right, things that are different.”

Busch Light Racing Team Report

Round 8 of 36 – Alsco Uniforms 500k – Charlotte

Car No.: 4 – Busch Light Ford Mustang

PR Contact: Joe Crowley, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 808 or Joe.Crowley@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kevin Harvick

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert Smith

Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines

Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina

Engine Specialist: Robert Brandt

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Spotter: Tim Fedewa

Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Mike “Shrek” Morneau

Hometown: Oxford, Maine

Gas Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Jackman: Stan Dolittle

Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Windshield: Shawn Hopkins (also serves as interior mechanic)

Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia

Charlotte Notes of Interest:

· Dynamic Duo: While this is Harvick’s 20th year in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s his seventh with crew chief Rodney Childers, which is the longest pairing of any current driver-crew chief combination. Since joining forces at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick and Childers have combined to produce 27 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 25 Busch poles, 111 top-five finishes and 160 top-10s while leading 9,939 laps. They won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

· Harvick has career totals of 50 wins, 31 poles, 211 top-fives, 369 top-10s and 14,362 laps led in 688 starts.

· His most recent Cup Series win came on Sunday, May 17 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

· His most recent Busch Pole came in November 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

· Harvick’s 50 career NASCAR Cup Series victories puts him in a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. He is third on the active driver list behind Jimmie Johnson and Busch. Harvick is four wins behind Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time wins list.

· At the Homestead season finale in 2019, Harvick became just the 11th driver to have led 14,000 laps in his NASCAR career. He’s led 14,362 and trails 10th-place Busch, who has led 17,445, and Johnson, who is ninth with 18,862 laps led. Harvick has led 9,936 lap as an SHR driver.

· Points Position: Harvick arrives at Charlotte first in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 291 points, 23 markers ahead of second-place Joey Logano.

· Charlotte Numerology – Harvick has two poles, three wins, four second-place finishes, eight top-threes, 18 top-10s and has led a total of 542 laps in his 37 career NASCAR Cup Series points-paying starts on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway oval. His average start is 15.9, his average finish is 15.1 and he has a lap-completion rate of 94.6 percent, completing 12,668 of the 13,398 laps available.

· Xfinity at Charlotte – Harvick has made 28 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte. He has three poles (May 2001 and 2003, and October 2003), eight top-fives and 18 top-10s with a total of 351 laps led.

· Trucks at Charlotte: Harvick has competed in three NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races with two top-fives. He has not driven a truck race since 2007.

· 111 and Counting – Harvick scored his 100th career win in NASCAR’s top three series with his March 2018 Las Vegas win. He now has 111 total victories – 50 in the Cup Series, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have passed 100 wins in NASCAR’s top three series: Richard Petty, David Pearson and Busch.

M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing: Kyle Busch Alsco Uniforms 500k at Charlotte Advance and Team Report

by MikeMay 26, 2020

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (May 25, 2020) – Until last Wednesday night’s event at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the last time the NASCAR Cup Series ran a race on a Wednesday was almost 36 years ago – the Firecracker 400 on July 4, 1984. Back then, no matter on what day July 4 fell, NASCAR’s top series raced at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. That 1984 Firecracker 400 also happened to be one of the more memorable races in NASCAR history, as Richard Petty brought home the 200th win of his Cup Series career.

While the race last week at Darlington marked the first Wednesday Cup Series race in more than three decades, the next midweek event is set for just seven days later. The series heads back to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for Wednesday night’s Alsco Uniforms 500k as NASCAR continues to make up races lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected events of every kind, not only in the United States but all over the world.

This Wednesday night, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), will look to improve on his most recent outing, which resulted in a fourth-place finish in Sunday night’s traditional Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Busch ran up front for most of the first portion of the race, but a pit road speeding penalty sent him to the rear of the field. However, he and the M&M’S team were able to rally back to bring home his fourth top-five finish in seven races this season. Wednesday night’s 500-kilometer race replaces the cancelled race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway originally scheduled for June. With a second-place finish last Wednesday at Darlington and the fourth-place run Sunday night at Charlotte, Busch is hoping the Sonoma replacement race nets him his third top-five in a row and first win of the season.

Busch has managed to enjoy plenty of success at the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval. He now has 14 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s in his 31 previous Cup Series starts there over the past 14-plus seasons. In addition to solid Cup Series finishes, Busch has captured eight NASCAR Xfinity Series wins at Charlotte – May 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010, October 2008 and 2009, and both May and October 2013. He also has eight NASCAR Truck Series wins at the track – 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019.

While he had gone to Charlotte’s victory lane at early and often in the Xfinity and Truck Series, Busch only recently broke through in the Cup Series there. His 2017 win in the non-points All-Star Race was his first Cup Series win of any kind at the track. The following year, in 2018, Busch was able to win there again, this time in the points-paying Coca-Cola 600 to add another crown jewel to his already impressive resume.

So as the Cup Series continues its busy run of eight races in less than a month, Busch and his M&M’S Fudge Brownie team hope they can break through for the first of many wins under the Wednesday night lights at Charlotte. He’ll hope to keep the momentum he’s built over the last two races as the season is finally able to kick into full gear for the summer.

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

With track position being so important, how will you approach Wednesday night with the inversion of the top-20 grid positions?

“It’s definitely going to be more of a sprint race with our M&M’S Fudge Brownie Camry. Thankfully, my guys are really, really, really good on pit road and they probably passed the most cars Sunday night on pit road – more than I did. It’s definitely beneficial when you can come down pit road 15th, 10th, eighth, seventh, whatever it is, and those guys are going to get you five or six spots. I’m not too upset about where we have to start. We certainly saw that track position was a big deal on Sunday night, so we want to work our way to the front and stay there if we can. I know I’m up for it and the guys on pit road are up for the task, too, with how well they performed on Sunday night.”

It seemed you had some pretty big swings in handling on Sunday night. Will you go back and try and figure out why that was the case and make some changes for Wednesday night?

“The only thing I can really attribute it to is tires. That’s the only thing that makes sense. When you go and you have two runs that are really, really good and you have tires on and you don’t make any changes, and then you make one slight air pressure adjustment with the next set of tires and it goes haywire, you have to think it’s the tires. You didn’t put a wedge wrench in the thing, you didn’t change anything too crazy. Also, track position sometimes, too, is a factor. When you’re further up toward the front, the cars drive way, way better. We had the speeding penalty there and it put it toward the back and it certainly handled differently back there than up at the front of the field. When you get back in the seventh to ninth to 11th range, you are just out of control and have no grip. So I know Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and I will go back and talk about how to make our car better this week and we’ll see what happens.”

Do you feel you’re in race shape now that you’ve run three Cup Series races since the shutdown?

“I felt good after all of these races. We had the race last Sunday at Darlington and it was a little warmer out and I saw a couple of guys get out of the car and kind of sit next to their car and they were pretty wet and kind of hot and overheated maybe a little bit. I felt fine. Then, no issues the last couple of races, certainly a bit easier when they are at night and cooler outside. I’ve got enough cooling and things like that where I feel pretty good and ready to go.”

M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing

Race 8 of 36 – Alsco Uniforms 500k – Charlotte

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 Alsco Uniforms 500k will mark Kyle Busch’s 542nd career NASCAR Cup Series start and his 32nd NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Busch has career totals of 56 wins, 32 poles, 204 top-five finishes, 300 top-10s and 17,446 laps led in 541 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, 14 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s and has led a total of 1,449 laps in 31 Cup Series starts at Charlotte. Busch’s average Charlotte finish is 14.2.

Finally: Busch’s combined record in NASCAR Xfinity Series and Truck Series races is quite impressive at Charlotte, where the Las Vegas native has eight wins apiece on the 1.5-mile oval for a total of 16 victories. While he found victory lane early and often at Charlotte in those series, Busch was unable to find similar success in NASCAR’s top series. That all changed starting in 2017, when he brought home the win in the NASCAR All-Star Race, the first Cup Series win of his career at Charlotte, albeit a non-points event. But a little more than a year later, in 2018, Busch was able to bring home his first Cup Series points paying win at Charlotte as he led a whopping 377 laps of the Coca-Cola 600 en route to the crown jewel win.

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 Monday night’s Xfinity Series race at Charlotte 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.

M&M’S Red, White, and Blue Racing: Kyle Busch Race Recap for the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte

by MikeMay 25, 2020

Date: May 24, 2020

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 7 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)

Start/Finish: 11th/5th (Running, completed 405 of 405 laps)

Point Standing: 9th (207 points, 82 behind leader)

Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford) in overtime

Stage 1 Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 3 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Kyle Busch started 11th and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

● The M&M’S Red, White and Blue driver qualified in 11th, but soon after the green flag flew, found he had a very loose racecar.

● Good news for Busch was a competition yellow on lap 20, as he came to pit road for tires and adjustments on lap 22. The M&M’S over-the-wall team did quick work, moving Busch up from 12th to 10th on the ensuing restart.

● Busch held his 10th position when green flag racing resumed, but on lap 48, rain made it to the track and the race was red flagged for over an hour while the track was dried.

● When the race restarted, crew chief Adam Stevens called Busch to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustment as a strong stop by the M&M’S team vaulted him up to seventh exiting pit road.

● The race restarted on lap 57, and Busch moved up to sixth by lap 79. Busch radioed to Stevens that his M&M’S Red, White, and Blue Camry was a little free on entry and tight off the corner. Busch held the sixth spot and finished stage one in that spot.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● Busch started second and finished third, earning eight bonus points.

● Following the end of the stage, Busch came to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Yet again, the M&M’S Red, White, and Blue pit crew had a phenomenal pit stops, gaining four spots on pit road to restart stage 2 in the runner-up spot.

● The Las Vegas native settled into third-place and hung there for most of stage 2, as Busch radioed to Stevens that his car starts the run a little bit free but trends to the tighter side as the run goes on.

● Busch came to pit road to take on four tires, fuel, and adjustments on lap 157.

● The M&M’S Red, White, and Blue driver cycled out in third and ended the stage in that same spot.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Busch started 19th and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

● Busch came to pit road following the end of the stage, taking on four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, gaining one spot on pit road to second. However, Busch was penalized exiting pit road for speeding, sending him to the back of the lead lap in 19th on the lap 208 restart.

● The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion moved up to 15th by lap 275, as he came down pit road on lap 277 for four tires, fuel, and an adjustment to loosen up the M&M’S Red, White, and Blue Camry and restarted 13th on lap 282.

● Busch moved up quickly following the restart, as he made it into the top-10 by lap 285 and all the way up to sixth at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-405):

● Busch started fifth and finished fifth.

● Busch came to pit road on lap 303, taking on four tires and fuel, as he gained one spot to restart in the top-five for the restart of the fourth and final stage.

● The M&M’S Red, White, and Blue driver dropped after the restart, as Busch reported that he couldn’t get back to the gas, but he couldn’t quote figure out what happened to the handling of his car, as he dropped to 11th by lap 337.

● When the caution waved on lap 348, Busch came to pit road on lap 350 for four tires and an air pressure adjustment back out from the previous stop. The M&M’S over-the-wall crew is one of the best on pit road, and they showed it yet again, gaining an incredible five spots on pit road to restart sixth on lap 353.

● On the next restart, Busch continued to struggle with the handling of his M&M’S Toyota, falling to eighth by lap 364 as it appeared he was going to end up in eighth as the laps wound down.

● However, a caution waved with two laps to go for a spin by William Byron. Stevens decided to bring Busch to pit road for two tires.

● Busch restarted in ninth, and over the course of the final two laps, gained four spots to secure what looked like an unlikely top-five finish.

Notes:

● Busch’s fifth-place finish was his fourth top-five finish of the season in seven starts.

● The top-five finish was Busch’s 14th top-five at Charlotte in 31 career starts at the 1.5-mile oval.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Red, White and Blue Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“During the middle stages of the race, I thought we were really fast. I feel like we had a great M&M’S Red, White, and Blue Camry and ran up front and got back up front from having to go to the back. But we put tires on it and it was never the same after that from about lap 280 or 290 when we put tires on it and it wasn’t the same as it was before that. We were lucky to steal a fifth-place finish out of it today and we’ll have to go back to work and figure out some things to make our stuff better for when we come back on Wednesday and get back after it. I certainly want to give a huge shout out and a huge thanks to all the men and women who have served for our country her on Memorial Day weekend, we appreciate you. Everyone be safe tomorrow and have fun.”

Next Up: The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Alsco Uniforms 500k on Wednesday, May 27 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Christian Eckes – No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra Gander Trucks Charlotte Preview

by MikeMay 22, 2020

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Overview:

Event: N.C. Education Lottery 200, Race 3 of 23, 134 Laps – 30/30/74; 201 Miles

Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile quad-oval)

Date/Broadcast: May 26, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

What You Need to Know:

Nineteen-year-old Christian Eckes will make his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in Tuesday night’s N.C. Education Lottery 200. While he has no prior Gander Trucks experience at Charlotte, Eckes started fifth and finished seventh in last year’s ARCA Menards Series event at the 1.5-mile quad-oval.

Eckes has proven to be fast in the first two events of the 2020 season, but accidents in the final stage at both Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway have relegated him to an average finish of 22.5. While the first two events haven’t ended the way Eckes would like, the talented teenager has posted an average finish of 5.0 across the opening two stages of the first two events, including runner-up finishes to KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch in the first two stages at Las Vegas.

As part of being able to collect stage points in three of the six stages of the opening two events, Eckes currently sits eighth in the Gander Trucks driver point standings despite not having strong finishes. He currently sits second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, two points behind Zane Smith.

Across 14 career Gander Trucks starts, the New York native has produced three poles, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.1. Eckes earned a career-best third-place finish twice last season, at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in Sept. and again at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in Nov., where he clinched KBM’s record-extending seventh owner’s championship.

The talented teenager captured the 2019 ARCA Menards Series championship after recording four wins, two poles, 400 laps led, 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, resulting in an average finish of 4.8 across 19 starts. Across 46 career ARCA Menards Series starts overall, Eckes has collected seven wins, four poles, 1094 laps led, 23 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 6.9.

Eckes is paired with champion crew chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle. Fugle has guided his team to five owner’s championships (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019) as a crew chief at KBM, including combined owner’s/driver’s championships with Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017. The New York native’s drivers have combined for 28 wins, 24 poles, 71 top-five and 107 top-10 finishes across his 138 races calling the shots for the organization.

Fugle’s drivers have two wins, one pole, four top-five and six top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 5.4 at Charlotte. Owner-driver Kyle Busch led a race-high 102 laps en route to victory in last year’s event and was also victorious with Fugle calling the shots in 2013. The 2013 victory was Fugle’s first of 28 career victories as a Gander Trucks crew chief.

Safelite AutoGlass, the nation’s largest provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services, will adorn the hood of Eckes’ No. 18 Tundra for all 23 events on NASCAR Gander RV& Outdoors schedule in 2020.

Christian Eckes, Driver Q&A

Christian Eckes Charlotte Q&A

Are you preparing Charlotte any differently knowing that there will be no practice and no qualifying?

“Honestly not too much. Most of these races that we go to in the Truck Series I haven’t been to in a truck, so I’m always preparing to be better and get ready for that race track. We’ve done a lot of time in the simulator now that it’s opened back up. I think we’ve done a good job with that and that we should be prepared when we unload at Charlotte.”

What have you done to stay busy since the last NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race?

“It’s definitely been different, but luckily we’ve had a lot of race preparation. Me and Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), have been on zoom conference calls pretty much every week. We’ve done a great job of getting ahead and kind of preparing for whatever comes next. I’d definitely say we are prepared. That’s what I’ve done over this little break.”

Will it be different racing without fans? Once you get in your truck, do you notice the fans?

“It will definitely be different without fans. Our Safelite supporters that come out mean a lot to me and in the meantime not having them there it’s definitely going to be different. The great fans throughout auto racing that come to the race track – it’s going to be different. I’ve kind of grown up racing and always having fans in the stands. It’s definitely different for sure, but hopefully we put on a good show for the fans watching on the couch instead of at the race track.”

Christian Eckes Career Highlights:

Across 14 career Truck Series starts has produced three poles, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.1. Earned a career-best third-place finish twice last season, at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in Sept. and again at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in Nov., where he clinched KBM’s record-extending seventh owner’s championship.
Captured the 2019 ARCA Menards Series championship after recording four wins, two poles, 400 laps led, 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, resulting in an average finish of 4.8 across 19 starts. Has seven career ARCA Racing Series victories across 46 starts to go along with four poles, 1094 laps led, 23 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes.
Eckes put his name on the motorsports map when he won the prestigious Snowball Derby Super Late Model race in 2016 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. The then 15-year-old battled side-by-side with John Hunter Nemechek for the final two laps before narrowly edging him to the finish line.

Christian Eckes’ No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra:

KBM-58: The Safelite AutoGlass team will unload KBM-58 for Tuesday’s N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte. The Tundra has five previous starts, including a win with owner-driver Kyle Busch last May at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Eckes led 10 laps and finished second in both stages of this year’s Las Vegas event before being forced into the wall early in the third stage and limping home to a 23^rd-place finish.

KBM-58 Performance Profile:

Starts	Wins	Average Start	Average Finish	Laps Led
5	1	6.6	6.6	152

KBM Notes of Interest:

Across 27 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, KBM drivers have earned six wins, three poles, six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 8.6 and an average finish of 8.8.
Owner-driver Kyle Busch has collected all six of his organization’s wins (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018).
KBM holds the NGROTS records for most career wins (76) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
The No. 18, the number which was on the first Tundra that went to victory lane for KBM in 2010, has 21 career victories.

No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Tundra 2020 Box Score:

Date	Site	Driver	Start	Finish	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Driver Pts. /Pos.
14-Feb	Daytona	Eckes	3	22	106/107	0	Running	23/16th
21-Feb	Las Vegas	Eckes	4	23	130/134	10	Running	55/8th
25-May	Charlotte	Eckes
6-June	Atlanta	Eckes
13-June	Homestead	Eckes

Raphael Lessard – No. 4 CANAC Tundra Gander Trucks Atlanta Advance

by MikeMay 22, 2020

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Overview

Event: N.C. Education Lottery 200, Race 3 of 23, 134 Laps – 30/30/74; 201 miles

Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile quad-oval)

Date/Broadcast: May 26, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

Racing with Raphael

As the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series resumes action, Raphael Lessard will debut a new primary sponsor, Canac, a Quebec-based group specializing in the distribution and retail sale of building products and hardware. Lessard, a 19-year-old Canadian driver, has one career start on a 1.5-mile oval, earlier this season at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. There he started eighth but finished 30th after a late-race incident. He is in his first full-time season in the Gander Trucks and is competing for Rookie of the Year honors with veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.

So far in 2020, Lessard has two starts, with an average starting position of 8.0 and an average running position of 12.8, but due to bad luck near the end of both races has been relegated to an average finish of 25.0 despite running well. He is currently ranked 18th in the Gander Trucks driver points standings and fifth in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.

Lessard made five Gander Trucks starts in 2019, three of those with Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). Across his five starts he posted two top-10 finishes while recording an average starting position of 10.4 and average finish of 11.1.Lessard’s strongest run came in his final start of the season when he was running inside the top five with under 30 laps remaining before getting spun and relegated to a 12th-place finish. While Lessard may be a newcomer to the Gander Trucks, Hillman Jr. has plenty of experience. The veteran crew chief has 302 Gander Truck Series starts under his belt, with 22 wins, 115 top-five and 170 top-10 finishes with drivers including Todd Bodine, Jeb Burton, Kyle Busch and last season, Harrison Burton. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hillman has 13 Gander Trucks starts and his drivers have earned one pole, four top-five and four top-10 finishes, with an average start of 10.5 and an average finish of 13.7. His best result was a runner-up finish twice; in 2010 with Bodine and in 2018 with KBM owner-driver Busch.

Due to Lessard’s presence in the series, all 23 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series races this season will be broadcast throughout Canada on RDS and RDS DIRECT.

CANAC is the first independent hardware and building materials store chain to open in Quebec City. Its expertise of over 145 years of experience allows CANAC to perpetuate the spirit of the hardware stores of yesteryear in a modern environment, with qualified personnel trained by its continuing education centre accredited by Emploi-Québec. CANAC serves both individual customers and contractors and offers aggressive prices that defy all competition. Since its acquisition by Groupe Laberge in 1985, the company’s expansion has focused on opening new modern hardware stores and on renovating existing branches to better adapt them to the needs and expectations of consumers. Today, CANAC has 30 branches and employs more than 3,400 part-time and full-time workers.

Raphael Lessard, Driver Q&A

Raphael Lessard Charlotte Q&A

What have you done to stay busy since the last NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race?

“During these crazy times I just worked out as much as I could to be ready for the season and I also watched a lot of film –studied some videos of races in the past. Also, I played some iRacing — iRacing helped a lot, I think it’s the best tool we can use right now. Also, the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) sim once it opened up. I just spent a lot of time there — they have an awesome simulator and I think it is going to help me a lot for the Charlotte race.”

Are you preparing Charlotte any differently knowing that there will be no practice and no qualifying?

“I haven’t been prepping any different. It’s another new race track and another race that I’ve been studying a lot. I’ve just been watching film and asking questions. I have one of the best crew chiefs in the series, Mike Hillman Jr., he’s got a lot of experience, so I’m sure he’s going to bring me a really good CANAC Toyota Tundra for the race. It’s going to be on me, getting used to the race track and the line. I’m going to be able to pace myself to the guys around me for the first few laps and they were are going to tray and just go for it after that. I’m sure we are going to be really fast.”

Will it be different racing without fans? Once you get in your truck, do you notice the fans?

“Not having the fans in the stands is going to be very weird. The atmosphere is going to be different and the place is going to feel empty. Once we get in our trucks, we don’t really see the fans because we are so focused on what we are doing on the race track and trying to win the race. I would say normally we see them during the cautions, for sure. What’s going to feel weird is not having my family with me. I moved down to North Carolina at the beginning of the year, full time, and my parents I see them at every race usually, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them and they won’t be at Charlotte. It’s going to feel a little bit weird, but it’s the same for everyone. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of having CANAC onboard with us for the first time as a primary sponsor. The truck is beautiful and I think we are going to have a very good day at Charlotte.”

Raphael Lessard Career Highlights

Across seven career Truck Series starts, he has produced two top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.1.
In 2019, Lessard posted 83 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes across three ARCA Menards Series starts and one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. His Pinty’s Series victory came at his hometown track, Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec, on June 29 when he led a race-high 153 laps en route to the sentimental win.
Won two marquee events driving KBM’s famed No. 51 Super Late Model in 2018; the Short Track U.S. Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway in May and the Red Bud 400 ARCA/CRA Super Series race at Anderson Speedway in July.
Overall in 16 starts for KBM in 2018 split across the CARS Super Late Model Tour, the Southern Super Series and the ARCA/CRA Super Series, posted two wins, three poles, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 2018.
Started seventh and led 68 laps in the prestigious Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., in 2018
Captured the 2016 CARS Super Late Model Tour championship after recording four wins, one pole, 157 laps led, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes across 10 races.

Raphael Lessard’s No. 4 CANAC Tundra:

KBM-066: The No. 4 CANACteam will unload chassis number KBM-066, a brand new Tundra.

KBM Notes of Interest

Across 27 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, KBM drivers have earned six wins, three poles, six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 8.6 and an average finish of 8.8.
KBM holds the NGROTS records for most career wins (76) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).

Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota Tundra 2020 NGOTS Box Score:

Date	Site	Driver	Start	Finish	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Driver Pts./Pos.
2/14	Daytona	Raphael Lessard	8	20	105/106	0	Running	24/14^th
2/21	Las Vegas	Raphael Lessard	8	30	90/134	0	Accident	39/18^th
5/26	Charlotte	Raphael Lessard
6/6	Atlanta	Raphael Lessard
6/13	Homestead-Miami	Raphael Lessard

Wood Brothers Racing: A Memorial Day Weekend Tradition

by MikeMay 22, 2020

Fresh off a ninth-place finish at Darlington Raceway on Wednesday night, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/FVP team head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Cup circuit’s annual Memorial Day weekend tradition – the Coca-Cola 600.

DiBenedetto, who enters the weekend ninth in the Cup standings, said he’s expecting to run well in his first start there in the iconic No. 21 Mustang.

“It’s a fun place to race,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

DiBenedetto, driving for another team last year, had a fast car in for the Monster Energy Open that preceded the All-Star race at Charlotte, finishing fourth. He said he can build on that as well as his second-place finish earlier this year at a similar track – Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We were fast at the end at Las Vegas, so I feel good about that,” he said. “And Greg (Erwin, crew chief) and the people on the team feel good about the car and the set-up.”

The Wood Brothers will be making their 117^th start at Charlotte, where they have six wins, 24 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes. They also have 19 poles, including 13 in a row from 1973-1979.

As part of NASCAR’s and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s annual 600 Miles of Remembrance, each car in the Coca-Cola 600 will carry the name of a service member who died serving their country.

This year, the Menards/FVP Mustang will carry the name of Air Force Major Lucas F. Gruenther, who was an F-16 Flight Lead and the Chief of Flight Safety for the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base in Italy.

As Chief of Flight Safety, he developed and executed all aspects of the wing commander’s flight safety mishap prevention and response program. He was responsible for conducting mishap investigations and safety inspections. Additionally, Major Gruenther directed various working groups, wrote and maintained the wing Mishap Response Plan, and coordinated safety concerns on all matters relating to airfield construction and maintenance.

Major Gruenther earned his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 2003, where he was a Distinguished Graduate and member of the Parachute Team, the “Wings of Blue.”

He had more than 400 combat hours, including his service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Major Gruenther, from Twain Harte, Calif., died Jan. 28, 2013, from injuries suffered when he ejected from his F-16 during a nighttime training flight.

He is survived by his daughter Serene Gruenther, who was born on February 7, 2013, just after he died, and his wife of seven years, Cassy Gruenther. He also is survived by his mother Romel Mathias, and numerous other relatives and friends.

Qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at 2:05 p.m., and the race is set to start just after 6 p.m., also on Sunday, with TV coverage on FOX.

There will be no practice, and fans will not be allowed at the track.
###

Menards

A family owned company started in 1958, Menards is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. Menards has more than 300 retail stores located throughout the Midwest in the states of IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI and WY. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader. It’s famous slogan “Save Big Money at Menards” is widely known and easy to remember. For more information, visit Menards.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

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.

KEVIN HARVICK 50 is Nice….Let’s Go For 51

by MikeMay 19, 2020

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (May 18, 2020) –Kevin Harvick scored his 50th win Sunday in NASCAR’s comeback race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

It was one of the most historic victories for Harvick in the series, ranking right up there with his very first win in March 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway three weeks after Dale Earnhardt’s death.

As historic as Sunday’s win was, Harvick wants more, including number 51, which could come in Wednesday night’s Darlington 500k at Darlington.

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will bring back the same car he won with on Sunday. He dominated the race with 159 laps led and won by 2.154 seconds over Alex Bowman.

Wednesday’s race will be a bit different than Sunday’s as it will be only 500 kilometers – 311.4 miles – and will be run at night, as opposed to Sunday’s race that was conducted during the day.

Harvick will have the No. 1 pit stall for Wednesday’s race but will start 20th as the top 20 cars invert to create the front half of the grid. But if his pit crew is as good as it was Sunday, Harvick could once again be in contention for the win.

He’ll also have Mobil 1 on board as a sponsor and partner.

Mobil 1 isn’t just the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, it also provides the entire SHR team with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all SHR Mustangs have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. In its 18th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series.

Harvick will also have Christopher Bucciarelli’s name on his Mobil 1 Ford Mustang during the Darlington 500k in continuation of NASCAR’s support of The Real Heroes initiative. Bucciarelli works in imaging at the Novant Health Matthews Medical Center and is from Monroe, North Carolina. He spent 11 years as a United States Navy corpsman and had three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a corpsman for the United State Marine Corps.

Bucciarelli joined Novant in 2018 and is regarded as dependable, loyal and always willing to go above and beyond for his patients and team members. He volunteered to work at the field hospital that was planned during the COVID-19 crisis. He realized his passion for emergency care during his time working with Med Center 1 in 2018 after Hurricane Florence. Bucciarelli’s son Keegan, who is 6, are avid NASCAR fans, and his favorite driver is Harvick.

Here’s hoping Mobil 1, along with Bucciarelli, can help Harvick score win number 51, which would put him only three behind Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time NASCAR wins list.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You have 50 wins. Can you talk about that accomplishment?

“When you say those two names (Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, also with 50 career wins), obviously they’re a huge part of what built this sport. Obviously Hall of Famers. What a huge honor it is to have my name sitting next to theirs. I’ve been fortunate, especially since I’ve come to Stewart-Haas Racing. This was 27 wins together with this group of guys. I think that experience going into our seventh year here really paid off Sunday, getting our car right, making adjustments on our car, rebounding from the adversity of a bad pit stop, all the things that came with turned into a race win. That says a lot about the experience of our team, the depth we have with everything that Gene (Haas) and Tony (Stewart) give us. It’s been a lot of fun to drive fast racecars. To have your name next to those guys goes to show you how fortunate I am to be able to ride in those fast racecars. We’ve been able to capitalize on a few.”

Drivers describe Darlington as one of the more physically demanding tracks. Normally, you have a full week to recover. You’re going back there to race Wednesday. Does that change how you recover from a race? What do you normally do to recover from a NASCAR race?

“We have been off for 10 weeks. We should be pretty fresh from the physical standpoint. For me, I’ve been working hard to make sure I was in as good a shape as I’ve been in in a long time coming back, not even knowing what the schedule was, but just wanted to be better.I think as you look at that, really the biggest thing is 300 miles for us is a short race. I think as you look at the weather, being at night, it’s going to be fairly cool. The 600 miles (at Charlotte) the next weekend will be the one that you really have to pay attention to as far as what you do.Hydration is the key for me. For the most part, it’s really about making sure that you put enough fluids back in your body.”

Why do your prefer Mobil 1 synthetic?

“I’m a synthetic guy because, in 1993 when we were sitting in the engine shop, we dumped Mobil 1 synthetic in and that’s all we did and gained seven horsepower. From that day on, we would actually save our money and then go to the local auto parts store because, at that time, it was like $5.50 a quart and the conventional and other oils were like $3.50. At the big races, we would put the Mobil 1 in the car and the regular races would put the regular oil in there. You know I’m going to say synthetic.”

Mobil 1 Racing Team Report

Round 6 of 36 – Darlington 500k – Darlington

Car No.: 4 – Mobil 1 Ford Mustang

PR Contact: Joe Crowley, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 808 or Joe.Crowley@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kevin Harvick

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers

Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert Smith

Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines

Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina

Engine Specialist: Robert Brandt

Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Spotter: Tim Fedewa

Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Mike “Shrek” Morneau

Hometown: Oxford, Maine

Gas Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Jackman: Stan Dolittle

Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Windshield: Shawn Hopkins (also serves as interior mechanic)

Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia

Darlington Notes of Interest:

· Dynamic Duo: While this is Harvick’s 20th year in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s his seventh with crew chief Rodney Childers, which is the longest pairing of any current driver-crew chief combination. Since joining forces at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick and Childers have combined to produce 27 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 25 Busch poles, 109 top-five finishes and 158 top-10s while leading 9,929 laps. They won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

· Harvick has career totals of 50 wins, 31 poles, 209 top-fives, 367 top-10s and 14,352 laps led in 687 starts.

· His most recent Cup Series win came on Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

· His most recent Busch Pole came in November 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

· Harvick’s 50 career NASCAR Cup Series victories puts him in a tie with NASCAR Hall of

Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 13th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. He is third on the active driver list behind Jimmie Johnson and Busch. Harvick’s is four wins behind Lee Petty for 12th on the all-time wins list.

· At the Homestead season finale in 2019, Harvick became just the 11th driver to have led 14,000 laps in his NASCAR career. He’s led 14,352 and trails 10th-place Busch, who has led 17,445, and Johnson, who is ninth with 18,856 laps led.

· Points Position: Harvick arrives at Darlington first in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 218 points, 28 markers ahead of second-place Alex Bowman.

· Darlington Numerology – Harvick has two wins, three poles, nine top-five finishes, 12 top-10s and has led a total of 740 laps in his 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington. His average start is 14.0, his average finish is 13.8 and he has a lap-completion rate of 96.2 percent, 8,135 of the 8,452 laps available.

· Harvick at Darlington since 2014 – The combination of Harvick competing at Darlington in SHR equipment is impressive. In his last seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington – all of which have come with SHR, he has finished inside of the top-10 in each, with two wins and four other top-fives. He has an average finish of 3.9 during that span. And of the 740 laps Harvick has led at Darlington dating back to his rookie year in 2001, a total of 677 (more than 91 percent) have come with SHR despite only seven (29 percent) of his 24 Darlington starts being with SHR.

· Xfinity and Trucks at Darlington: Harvick has competed in 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series races with three top-fives and nine top-10s with one pole position (August 2003). He has driven in two NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series events with a best finish of fourth in March 2002.

· 111 and Counting – Harvick scored his 100th career win in NASCAR’s top three series with his March 2018 Las Vegas win. He now has 111 total victories – 50 in the Cup Series, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have passed 100 wins in NASCAR’s top three series: Richard Petty, David Pearson and Busch.

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

by MikeMay 18, 2020

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.

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Darlington

by MikeMay 15, 2020

Racing is back this weekend at Darlington Raceway for the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races in four days. Following Sunday’s return to racing – the first time on track since March 8 at the end of the West Coast swing – the NCS will again visit ‘The Lady in Black’ for a primetime event under the lights Wednesday night. Roush Fenway Racing has five Cup Series wins all-time at Darlington and has finished in the top-ten in nearly half the events it has raced it.

Darlington Raceway
The Real Heroes 400

Sunday, May 17, 2020 | 3:30 p.m. ET

FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang
Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

NASCAR Returns to Action

NASCAR makes its return to racing this weekend with a NASCAR Cup Series race that will serve as the first of seven national series races over an 11-day span at two different tracks throughout May.
The race at the historic South Carolina track will be held without fans in attendance and is slated to be NASCAR’s first on-track action in more than two months as the sport and world have been on pause during COVID-19.
Following the initial race back on Sunday, the NCS will again visit Darlington for a midweek race under the lights three days later. The May schedule also includes the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600 in its traditional Memorial Day Weekend home for the 60^th consecutive season, plus other midweek races in prime time.
Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the outbreak before races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville were later postponed.

Newman Returns to the Seat Following Daytona 500

Newman makes his return to the No. 6 car this weekend following a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 in which he was leading coming to the checkered flag. After recovering from the injuries sustained in the crash, Newman was cleared for racing activity on April 28 and granted a playoff waiver from NASCAR after missing three races (Las Vegas, Fontana, Phoenix).

Darlington Two-Step

Roush Fenway has twice won consecutive NCS races at Darlington, including a season sweep in 1999 with former driver and current NBC commentator Jeff Burton. Roush Fenway also earned victories in consecutive seasons at the egg-shaped oval in 2005 and 2006 with Biffle.

Tale of the Tape

In 244 all-time NASCAR starts at ‘The Lady in Black,’ Jack Roush’s Fords have 20 wins, 69 top-five and 116 top-10 finishes, along with 20 poles. Over the years RFR has led 4500+ laps across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, with more than 84,000 miles logged at the 1.366-mile track. In NCS action alone, RFR has finished top-10 in 44 percent (69-of-158) of the races with 35 top-five results and five wins.

Kickin’ It Old School

Legendary Roush Fenway drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are responsible for the five Cup wins for Jack Roush at Darlington. Martin earned Roush’s first Cup win back in 1993 after leading 178 laps. Burton swept the 1999 events as the dominant car, and Biffle earned the two most recent victories in 2005 and 2006.

Most All-Time

It’s no secret that when Roush has dominated in the Xfinity Series at Darlington. In 79 starts, the organization has 15 wins, 33 top-five and 44 top-10s. Mark Martin is responsible for eight of the victories, second-most for him among any track, after winning five of the first seven races at the track for Roush from 1993-96. He also went on to win in 1999, and swept again in 2000. Jeff Burton got in on the fun with wins in 1997, 2001 and 2002, while Biffle earned a win in 2004. Most recently, Kenseth drove to victory lane in 2005 and 2009.

The Real Heroes Project Debuts at Darlington

NASCAR is collaborating with other professional sports properties across the country to embark on The Real Heroes Project. The goal is to motivate and inspire healthcare workers as sports only can, by turning its greatest heroes (the athletes) into their greatest fans. To that end, the name of a COVID-19 frontline worker will be displayed above the driver’s side door on each entry this weekend at Darlington.

For the first race back on May 17, NASCAR worked in partnership with FOX and their tune-in priority market affiliate program to select the COVID-19 worker being recognized. FOX affiliates from around the country were asked to nominate a local hero from their community to be recognized during the return.

Roush Fenway Darlington Wins

1993-2 Martin Cup

1999-1 Burton Cup

1999-2 Burton Cup

2005 Biffle Cup

2006 Biffle Cup

1993-2 Martin NXS

1994-1 Martin NXS

1994-2 Martin NXS

1995-2 Martin NXS

1996-1 Martin NXS

1997-2 Burton NXS

1999-2 Martin NXS

2000-1 Martin NXS

2000-2 Martin NXS

2001-2 Burton NXS

2002-1 Burton NXS

2002-2 Burton NXS

2004-1 Biffle NXS

2005 Kenseth NXS

2009 Kenseth NXS

By the Numbers at Darlington Raceway

Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles

158 5 35 69 7 50552 2718 16.6 16.0 69054.0

79 15 33 44 12 10616 1856 9.9 12.9 14501.4

7 0 1 3 1 944 9 16.0 15.9 1289.50

244 20 69 116 20 62112 4583 14.4 15.0 84844.9