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Brandon Jones – No. 19 Menards/Pelonis Toyota Supra Race Advance – Bristol Motor Speedway (NXS)

by MikeMay 29, 2020

No. 19 Menards / PELONIS Toyota Supra News and Notes:

NASCAR UPDATE: Due to travel and setup challenges, NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway has been moved to Monday, June 1 at 7 p.m. ET.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jones and the 19 Menards/Pelonis team head to the last great colosseum, Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be Jones’ 10^th NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) career-start on the 0.533-mile high-banked concrete oval. Jones is locked into the playoffs. He is coming off a strong run at Charlotte and Bristol is one of his strongest tracks. The team has had a couple of tough finishes in the first two races after the 10 week hiatus, but they have had a very strong Toyota Supra and they are focused on getting back to their early season form and are very motivated, confident and are focused on getting back in victory lane. Bristol is the perfect track to make it happen.

XFINITY TO SALUTE EMPLOYEE HEROS: On Monday, June 1 during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Xfinity will salute a variety of military veteran frontline employees for their efforts in response to the crisis, including 23 employees across the company that are actively serving on the frontlines in the National Guard and reserve to keep communities safe and connected. These employee names will replace the Xfinity logo that typically adorns the windshield headers of each race car and be featured in a special patriotic red, white and blue design that showcases the support Xfinity provides to military veteran employees that are holding true to the company’s core service values.

“Our 19 team is honored to have Freddy Canales riding along with us at Bristol,” stated Brandon Jones. “He works for Xfinity and is actively serving in response to the pandemic through the Army National Guard.”

JGR AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: JGR has 99 total starts at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS, earning 13 wins, 32 top-five finishes, 47 top-10 finishes and 10 pole-starting positions. The team has led 3,177 laps and earned an average start of 11.2 and an average finish of 14.5.

RACE INFO: Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile) begins at 7:00 p.m.ET on Monday, June 1, 2020. The race will be broadcast live on FS1, SiriusXM Channel 90 and PRN Radio.

Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
9	0	0	2	0	136	10.1	14.8

Jones’ 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
6	1	2	3	1	97	5.7	14.7

Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
143	2	11	53	3	437	12.6	15.8

From the Cockpit:

Brandon Jones: “We had a very strong Toyota at Charlotte Motor Speedway this past Monday. We certainly had a winning car but unfortunately were presented with a few challenges that prevented us from having the strong finish we were capable of having. Now it’s time to respond with a strong showing this weekend at Bristol. I am really looking forward to racing on one of my favorite tracks. It’s a unique short track with a concrete surface and very steep banking that can reach high speeds. Bristol is one of my best tracks where I have a lot of confidence and have led several laps there, with multiple close wins. I have had this race circled on my calendar all year. As drivers we are constantly weaving in and out to avoid lap traffic and competitors which I know makes for a good race to watch for fans. The track is constantly changing as rubber builds up. Lines will be alternating and trying to be the first to figure out which lane is the fastest will be a challenge; but a challenge we are highly capable of. Our team keeps bringing fast cars and everyone on the team is working extremely hard. There is no better track to be going to this weekend and our Menards team is very motivated.

TRD has done a great job recreating the track on their simulator all the way down to the traction compound that gets put down on the surface. This week I put in another great amount of work and effort between the simulator, training and getting myself prepared for Bristol. Our No. 19 team will have Menards and Pelonis back on our Supra. We are focused on giving it a fight and getting our team back in victory lane to give Menards the strong finish that they deserve.”

About 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.

Mane ‘n Tail Celebrates Its Golden Year With 50 Years of Blue Horse-Power!

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Mane ‘n Tail celebrates its 50th Anniversary with NASCAR premiering its legendary blue & gold paint scheme, highlighting the blue horses.

Tradition with heritage gives the car a dynamic look and a creative spin for the StarCom Racing team, as Quin Houff whips around the track with the “00” car!

Mane ‘n Tail is proud to be a continued StarCom Racing sponsor, participating in several 2020 events, kicking off on May 31 at 3:30PM at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Supermarket Heroes 500 presented by Food City.

DiBenedetto Finishes 15th at Charlotte

by MikeMay 29, 2020

After a promising start to Thursday’s Alsco Uniforms 500-kilometer Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Richmond team struggled with a loose handing condition for the remainder of the race and wound up with a 15^th-place finish.

DiBenedetto started fourth when the line-up was set using a modified inversion of the finish of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, where he finished 17^th.

On the start of Thursday’s 208-lap race, he pushed pole-sitter William Byron into the lead going into Turns One and Two then passed him for the lead down the backstretch.

He led the next nine laps then retook the top spot on the 11^th lap for a total of 10 laps led. It was the second-straight race he’s been out front, the first being the six circuits he led in the Coca-Cola 600.

After losing the top spot DiBenedetto continued to keep pace with the front-runners and ended the first 55-lap Stage in third place, collecting eight Stage points.

But from then on to the finish, the loose handling conditions persisted, hampering his progress in a race that ended with a 59-lap green-flag run to the finish.

“The car got really loose, and with it being a short race we never really got a handle on it,” DiBenedetto said. “We worked on the car, but it just wasn’t responding to the adjustments we made.

“But it was good to lead the race, and the Stage points helped make our day not too bad. They saved us a little.”

DiBenedetto remains 11^th in the Cup Series standings as and the No. 21 team head to Bristol Motor Speedway, one of his best tracks and where he finished second last fall driving for another team.

“I’m ready to go to a short track and get away from these mile-and-a-half tracks for a weekend,” he said.

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.
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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.

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – Charlotte II

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway

Race: Alsco Uniforms 500

Date: May 28, 2020

____________________________________

No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski

Start: 20th

Stage 1: 25th

Stage 2: 27th

Finish: 7th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 208/208

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (behind first): 5th (-66)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski overcame early right-front damage to the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang resulting from a cut tire to score a “Keselowski-esque” seventh-place finish in Thursday night’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
By virtue of winning the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday, Keselowski was rewarded with the 20th starting position following the series invert. While in the middle of the pack at the start of the race, the 2012 Cup Series champion made contact with another competitor that resulted in a cut tire and contact with the outside wall just before a red flag was displayed for inclement weather at lap 30.
After making repairs and restarting from his lowest-running position of 36th, Keselowski and crew chief Jeremy Bullins methodically worked their way through the field, eventually entering the top 10 by electing to stay out under a lap-74 caution period in Stage 2.
Unfortunately, the handling deteriorated during the second stage and Keselowski fell back through the field to the 27th position at stage end. He radioed to Bullins that more repairs were needed to the right side of his Discount Tire Ford.
With the repairs made prior to the start of the final stage, Keselowski was prepared to gash his way through the field. Few cars had better speed in the final stage, and thanks to a great pit stop by the No. 2 crew on a lap 44 caution, Keselowski made it back inside the top 10 by lap 150. He would remain there the rest of the way, eventually crossing the finish line in the seventh position for his sixth top-10 finish of the 2020 season. He remains fifth in the Championship point standings, 66 points behind the leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “Compared to Sunday’s race, the feeling I have after this one is like I played only half of a game instead of the full game. I also like this format a lot. We should have longer races on the weekend and shorter races – minus the weather delay – during the week. No practice and no qualifying, inverting the field from the week before provides some compelling storylines. I think NASCAR has struck gold with this format and I hope they keep it for years to come.”

____________________________________

No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 18th

Stage 1: 2nd

Stage 2: 2nd

Finish: 3rd

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 208/208

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (Behind First): 6th (-67)

Ryan Blaney capped off a strong night with a third-place finish in Thursday night’s 500k NASCAR Cup Series event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in No. 12 BODYARMOR Ford Mustang. This was the High Point, NC native’s second-consecutive third-place finish, including last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
Blaney started 18th and within the first 20 laps of the race worked his way up to 11th. During a lap-20 competition caution, Blaney and crew chief Todd Gordon opted to stay out for track position. Following a short delay for inclement weather, Blaney would fall back to third but managed to work his way back to second before the conclusion of Stage 1.
From there, Blaney would be a constant fixture inside the top-five. After briefly falling back, Blaney would work his way around teammate Joey Logano for second position on lap 90 and hold on to second when Stage 2 came to a close. Under the stage break, Blaney pitted for four tires and a slight air pressure adjustment.
The No. 12 team would begin the final stage from the fifth position following another round of pit stops. Blaney made short work to the front and drove the BODARMOR Ford up to second by lap 140.
After restarting fourth, he would work his way to the runner-up position behind leader and eventual race winner, Chase Elliott. Try as he might, Blaney was not able to catch Elliott and lost the second spot on the final lap to come home in the third position. Blaney is now sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 67 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “We got to second and the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) was really fast getting going and the No. 9 got by me. I kind of thought I was equal with him when we were both running the No. 4 down and I just got tight. I was a little bit free all night and we tightened it up just a touch for that last run, and it was the longest run we had, and we just kind of burned the right-front tire off of it and couldn’t stay with the No. 9 there late in the run, and then the 11 (Denny Hamlin) got by me. Overall, not a bad day for our BODYARMOR Ford Mustang. We had two solid races here at Charlotte. We just need to find a little bit more speed, but we are right there. I’m really proud of this team.”

____________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano

Start: 8th

Stage 1: 1st – Second stage win of 2020

Stage 2: 3rd

Finish: 6th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 208/208

Laps Led: 42

Point Standings (Behind First): 2nd (-14)

Notes:

Joey Logano started eighth and finished sixth in Thursday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was a strong effort for Logano, who led 42 laps on the night and won Stage 1, his second stage win of the season. Logano maintained position inside the top-10 throughout the race with considerable time spent in the top-five, ultimately battling a tight handling Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang in the closing laps and finishing sixth.
On the initial start of the race, Logano charged to fourth before the caution flag was displayed on the opening lap. When the race resumed, Logano reported the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was slightly tight in the top-groove. With teams electing to pit at the competition caution, crew chief Paul Wolfe elected to leave Logano on the track to claim the lead. After a 75-minute stoppage due to rain, Logano maintained the lead as the race resumed and went on to win his second stage in the last two races.
Logano would lead the field to green to begin Stage 2, but fell to third before a lap-73 caution flag. Logano reported he was a little tight and only needed a small adjustment, but was lacking overall straightaway speed. Logano maintained the third position until the completion of Stage 2 while battling a vibration he described as a “five out of 10.”
At the beginning of the final stage, Logano settled into the fifth position before moving up to fourth when the No. 88 had to make an unscheduled stop. Logano remained too tight over the long run to the checkered flag, ultimately bringing the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang home in the sixth position.

Quote: “We had a good-to-okay day. We were able to get some track position early and win the stage. A couple of restarts really set me back some and then it was pretty tough to pass once we got running. The track wasn’t really wide enough to be able to make a lot of gains on the long run, unless another car was really falling off drastically.”

RCR Post Race Report – Alsco Uniforms 500

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Austin Dillon and The No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Cap Off Strong Charlotte Motor Speedway Run with Top-10 Finish

	8th
	7th
	15th

“We finished eighth in the Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet. A top-10 finish is what we deserved in both this race, and in the Coca-Cola 600 this past Sunday. It’s crazy. We’ve run 900 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the past few days and we were an eighth-place car for all of it. We had spurts where we were really fast – top five at times. Justin Alexander, the pit crew, my spotter Brandon, everybody did a great job. It was fun. I had fun on the restarts, and we were able to pick up some Stage points. We were just a little too free tonight. It was good on the long runs because it was free, but during the first 10 laps if you didn’t get going you would lose a couple of spots. We needed a little better take off speed. We’ll keep working. Bristol Motor Speedway is next. I’m loving it. A lot of miles in a short period of time.”

-Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Forges to 14th-Place Finish with Okuma Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway

	14th
	13th
	17th

“Man, what an up and down night for our No. 8 Okuma Chevrolet team. We worked hard and we were able to grab a top-15 finish. The biggest challenge was managing the balance tonight. For the first two stages of the race, we were too tight on entry and exit of the turns and way too loose in the middle. It made it really hard to trust the car as we went into the corners of the track. The adjustment my Richard Childress Racing team made during the final stop of the race was the best one of the night and allowed me to race up through the field and into the top 15. We just lacked some long run speed tonight to stay up there and battle within the top 10. That’s something we’ll go back and look at to improve on for future intermediate tracks. It’s been fun racing in our backyard of Charlotte over the past week, but I’m looking forward to moving on to Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.”

-Tyler Reddick

No. 14 PEAK Coolant and Antifreeze Racing: Clint Bowyer Charlotte 500k Race Report

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Penalties Slow No. 14 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Mustang

Date: May 28, 2020

Event: Alsco Uniforms 500k (Round 8 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 208 laps, broken into three stages (55 laps/60 laps/93 laps)

Start/Finish: 39th/16th (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)

Point Standing:14th with 192 points, 139 out of first

Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

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

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):

● Clint Bowyer started 39th and finished 26th.

● The No. 14 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang moved from 39th to 29th by the lap 20 competition caution.

● A pit road speeding penalty forced Bowyer to pit twice during the caution and restart 37th on lap 25.

● Bowyer raced in 32nd-place when lightning and rain stopped the race on lap 31 for 75 minutes.

● Bowyer pitted before the restart, but too many crew members over the wall forced the No. 14 to the back of the field.

● Despite reporting he had “no rear grip,” Bowyer worked his way to 26th by the end of the stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-115):

● Started 23rd, finished 11th.

● The No. 14 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang suffered minor damage after contact with another car during the opening laps of the stage.

● Bowyer stayed on the track during the lap 74 caution and restarted the race in 12th on lap 78.

● Bowyer quickly moved to ninth before the cars with newer tires dropped him to 11th by the end of the stage.

● Another pit road speeding penalty dropped him from ninth to 30th before the start of the final stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 116-208):

● Started 30th, finished 16th.

● The No. 14 PEAK Coolant and Antifreeze Ford Mustang climbed to 24th with 70 to go.

● Bowyer pitted during the lap 145 caution and restarted 21st with 60 laps remaining.

● Bowyer moved to 18th with 40 laps to go and 16th with 30 to go.

● Bowyer held his position for the final laps of the race to finish 16th.

Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the Alsco Uniforms 500k to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Charlotte’s oval. His margin of victory over second-place Denny Hamlin was 2.208 seconds.

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 37 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the Alsco Uniforms 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Charlotte with a 14-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We need to figure something out for this place. We just had too many penalties tonight. We can’t make those kinds of mistakes.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Supermarket Heroes 500 on Sunday, May 31 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Kevin Harvick Alsco Uniforms 500k Race Report from Charlotte

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Busch Light Ford Mustang Driver Still First in NASCAR Cup Point Standings

Date: May 28, 2020

Event: Alsco Uniforms 500k (Round 8 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

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

Format: 208 laps, broken into three stages (55 laps/60 laps/93 laps)

Start/Finish: 16th/10th (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: 1st (331 points, 14 ahead of Joey Logano)

Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

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

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):

● Kevin Harvick started 16th and finished fourth, earning seven bonus points.

● The Busch Light Ford Mustang driver said the car wasn’t bad. Moved up to sixth-place before he pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment and tape on the grill. Restarted 14th as several drivers took two tires or stayed out.

● By lap 31, Harvick was up to ninth when a rain delay stopped the race for almost 75 minutes.

● On lap 43, Harvick cracked the top-five.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-115):

● Kevin Harvick started third and finished fifth, earning six bonus points.

● The Busch Light Ford Mustang driver pits for four tires and fuel on lap 59. Says No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang is a little tight, but good otherwise. Came in fourth, left third.

● On lap 75 under caution, Harvick gave up the lead and pitted for four tires and fuel. Came out 16th.

● By lap 89, Harvick was back in the top-10 and by lap 97 was in the top-five.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 116-208):

● Kevin Harvick started third and finished 10th.

● The No. 4 Busch Light Ford pitted on lap 117 for four tires, fuel and no changes.

● Harvick pitted for the final time on lap 146 for four tires, fuel and no changes. Came in first place and left in first place.

● The No. 4 car led until lap 181, but was passed by eventual winner Chase Elliott. Harvick’s car faded and he finished 10th.

Notes:

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 37 laps and 22 of the 40 drivers in the Alsco Uniforms 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Charlotte with a 14-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

● Harvick earned his eighth top-10 of the season and his 19th top-10 in 38 career NASCAR Cup Series starts on the oval at Charlotte.

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

● Harvick has finished among the top-10 in 13 straight NASCAR Cup Series races, a streak that began on Oct. 20, 2019 when he finished ninth in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

● This was Harvick’s third straight top-10 at Charlotte’s oval. He finished sixth last Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600.

● Harvick has finished outside the top-10 at Charlotte’s oval just twice since joining SHR in 2014.

● Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points and fifth in Stage 2 to earn six more bonus points.

● Harvick led three times for a race-high 63 laps to increase his laps-led total at Charlotte’s oval to 605.

● Harvick has now led 9,999 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 14,425 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.

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

“It just falls off after lap 30 and we knew that’s what we had with our Busch Light Ford and it went straight 60 some laps. They did a really good job turning the car around. It was the total opposite of what we ran last Sunday, so it was a good test session for us. We just didn’t need a long run.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 on Sunday, May 31 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

John Hunter Nemechek Earns “Rookie of the Race” Title at Charlotte

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 1.5 Mile Oval

Race: 8 of 38

Event: Alsco Uniforms 500 (312 miles, 208 laps)

John Hunter Nemechek

No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang

Started: 5th

Finished: 13th

Stage One: 24th
Stage Two: 8th
Stage Three: 13th

A top-20 finish in Sunday’s race and an invert to start Thursday’s event saw John Hunter Nemechek take the green flag in 5th place for the “Alsco Uniforms 500.” Not long after, he radioed an issue with a part coming loose on his No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang. He pitted during the Competition Caution on Lap 20 to take 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment, in addition to having the crew fix the loose part. Lightning was reported in the area shortly afterwards and the race came to a red flag pause for just over an hour. Once the cars refired, Nemechek indicated his car’s handling was still tight, finishing Stage 1 in the 24th position.

Stage 2 started off tight for Nemechek’s Scag Power Equipment machine. The crew made some adjustments to the track bar and Nemechek fought his way up into the top 10 towards the end of the stage. He would pass fellow Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year Contender Christopher Bell to finish P8 in Stage 2, earning stage points for the first time this season.

An issue on pit road took Nemechek out of the top 10 to start the final stage. He noted over the radio that the track had gotten freer as the night progressed and his No. 38 Ford needed to tighten up a tick. The Scag Power Equipment crew made some slight air pressure adjustments in later pit stops, and Nemechek continued to find speed on track. He would cross the finish line in 13th place and earn the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award.

Nemechek on Charlotte:

“Overall, it was a solid night for our No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang. I’m worn out… It was a hard-fought night. We had to overcome a couple of mistakes and we weren’t great in traffic, but we never gave up. Seth [Barbour] and the crew did a really good job of tuning her up and making improvements so we could find some speed. We were able to bring home another top-15 finish for our Front Row Motorsports team. Thank you to our partners at Scag for your support and coming on board with us. I’m looking forward to heading to Bristol on Sunday.”

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.

Christopher Bell – No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry Preview – Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

by MikeMay 26, 2020

No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry News and Notes:

Bell at Charlotte: Christopher Bell, a rookie contender in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), will make his second Cup start at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) Wednesday evening. Bell made his first NCS start at CMS on Sunday earning a ninth-place finish.
NXS at Charlotte: Bell has three NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at CMS earning two top-five and two top-10 finishes. Last year at CMS Bell dominated early in the race, earning the pole position and leading 33 of 45 laps in the opening stage before a flat tire ended his day early in stage two.
Starting Lineup: The top 20 finishers from the Coca-Cola 600 will be inverted to set the top 20 starting positions and by virtue of his ninth-place finish, Bell will start 12^th in the Alsco 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday evening.
Coca-Cola 600 Recap: With no practice or previous laps in a Cup car at CMS, Bell qualified his No. 95 Toyota Camry 15^th for the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season. Bell was consistent throughout the 400 laps, even recovering from a partial spin after contact from behind. A late race caution set the field up for an overtime finish. Bell was running 12^th and came down pit road for four fresh tires to take the final restart. Bell restarted 16^th and maneuvered his way to a top-10 finish, capitalizing on the fresh tires.
Procore: Procore, a leading provider of construction management software, first appeared on the hood of the No. 95 in 2017 and has continued to build on their program as they enter their fourth season with LFR. For more information visit: https://www.procore.com/
RACE INFO: The Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. The race will be broadcast live on FS1, Sirius XM 90, and PRN Radio.

Bell’s Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Starts		Wins		Top 5		Top 10		Poles		Laps Led		Avg. Start		Avg. Finish
1		0		0		1		0		0		15.0		9.0

Bell’s 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts		Wins		Top 5		Top 10		Poles		Laps Led		Avg. Start		Avg. Finish
7		0		0		1		0		0		20.4		22.9

Bell’s Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:

Starts		Wins		Top 5		Top 10		Poles		Laps Led		Avg. Start		Avg. Finish
74		16		41		46		12		2920		6.4		10.2

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “I’m excited to try and build off what we had the first race at Charlotte. We were pretty competitive on Sunday and we learned a few things to make us even better for the Wednesday night race at Charlotte.”

About Procore

Procore is a leading provider of construction management software. Their platform connects every project stakeholder to solutions we’ve built specifically for the construction industry—for the owner, the general contractor, and the specialty contractor. Procore’s App Marketplace has a multitude of partner solutions that integrate seamlessly with our platform, giving construction professionals the freedom to connect with what works best for them. Headquartered in Carpinteria, California, Procore has offices around the globe. Learn more at procore.com.

About Leavine Family Racing

Leavine Family Racing is an organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series focused on growing competitively and providing results-driven partnerships for its sponsors. The single-car team was founded in 2011 by Bob and Sharon Leavine, two individuals who are passionate about NASCAR and started the team to make a positive impact on the sport and community. Christopher Bell will pilot the No. 95 Toyota Camry for the team starting with the 2020 season. In alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing Development, the team operates out of their Concord, N.C.-based race shop with a veteran group of racing personnel driven by their desire for progress. For more information, please visit www.LFR95.com.