Kevin Harvick started and finished third.
The No. 4 Busch Light #TheCrew Ford Mustang held its relative position in the top-three from the drop of the green flag. (more…)
Shelby 427
Chris Buescher’s Rally Halted by Late Incident in Daytona Clash
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2021) – Chris Buescher drove all the way up to fourth with just a handful of laps remaining in Tuesday night’s Busch Clash race, but his promising run was cut short when he was collected by an incident in the final turns of Daytona’s road course. With damage to his Fastenal Ford Mustang, Buescher was forced to settled for a 17th-place finish in the chaotic exhibition event. (more…)
Kevin Harvick Finishes 15th in Busch Clash
Race Recap:
● Kevin Harvick started 17th and was racing against Chase Elliott and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in the opening laps.
● On just the third lap, Harvick spun at the exit of the Bus Stop (turns 9-10) after running through some dirt that had been kicked onto the racetrack. This dropped him to 21st. (more…)
Suárez Scores Solid Top-20 at Bristol
| It’s Good To Be Genuine Toyota Survives Eventful Race with 18th-Place Run |
| Date: May 31, 2020 Event: Supermarket Heroes 500 Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval) Format: 500 laps, broken into three stages (125 laps/125 laps/250 laps) Start/Finish: 37th / 18th (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps) Point Standing: 31st with 91 points, 279 out of first
Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-125): ● Started 37th, finished 34th. ● Suárez got a good launch at the wave of the green flag, moved to 31st on the first lap and to 29th when the first caution appeared on lap seven for a single-car accident. He said the It’s Good To Be Genuine Toyota Camry was OK, that he was just getting used to the track. ● From the lap-12 restart to the first of two competition cautions on lap 20, Suárez dropped a position. After briefly debating whether to pit, crew chief Dave Winston opted to pit for just right-side tires and a slight air pressure adjustment. Suárez restarted 23rd when the race went back to green on lap 29. ● Midway to the lap-60 competition caution, Suárez reported his Toyota was getting loose on corner entry and exit and tight in the center. He fell back to 32nd by the time that caution appeared. He pitted for four tires, fuel, a return to the original right-side air pressures, and a track bar adjustment. A short time after getting back on track, Suárez was among seven drivers called for speeding on pit road and there was confusion coming to the restart about getting those seven cars to drop to the rear of the lead-lap competitors. ● Suárez restarted 32nd on lap 69 without the chance to drop to the rear, and was then instructed to serve a drive-through penalty. That dropped him off the lead lap and back to 35th place. ● The race remained green all the way to the lap-125 stage break and Suárez was not able to make any forward progress, saying his Toyota was still loose on entry and exit and tight in the center. He said the loose exit was manageable. He pitted on lap 136 for four tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment and rejoined in 34th place, two laps down.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 126-250): ● Started 34th, finished 24th. ● From the start of the stage until its first caution on lap 198, Suárez held his ground in 34th but lost another lap to go three down. He said he still needed help with front grip through the center of the corner, and his drive off the corner. He stayed on track to take the wave-around to two laps down. ● Suárez restarted 31st, two laps down, on lap 207 and held position until the caution flag flew again for another single-car incident on lap 211. ● The green flag flew again on lap 216, moments before another yellow for a stalled car on the frontstretch. Suárez pitted, this time, for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. He remained 32nd, two laps down, when the race went back to green on lap 221. ● The caution flag flew yet again on lap 229, this time for a multicar accident on the frontstretch. Suárez had emerged into position as the beneficiary of the Lucky Dog free pass, which moved him up to just one lap down, and still in the Lucky Dog position. The race was red-flagged to clean up the multicar accident on lap 230. ● When the race went green on lap 235 after an 11-minute, 35-second stoppage, Suárez was 25th and just one lap down, and just three laps later, the caution flag flew for a single-car accident that enabled him to cash in another free pass, this time onto the lead lap. He pitted for four tires, fuel and track bar adjustments and restarted 24th on lap 244. He held that position to the caution that ended the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 251-500): ● Started 11th, finished 18th. ● Having stayed on track during the stage break, Suárez took the green flag on lap 261 just outside the top-10. ● The caution flag flew on lap 268, by which time Suárez had slid back to 22nd place. He stayed on track and restarted 20th on lap 277 and held that relative position in the early stages of that run. ● It turned out to be 56 consecutive laps of green, during which time Suárez dropped two positions back to 22nd and fell off the lead lap. He said his racecar was still loose on the extremities – in and out of the corners. He pitted for tires, fuel, air pressure and track bar adjustments. He restarted 21st on lap 234, the first car one lap down. ● The next caution flag flew on lap 354 with Suárez 23rd and one lap down. He pitted during the caution for tires, fuel and right-side air pressure adjustments, going back on the pressure adjustments made the previous stop as Suárez said the car took longer to come to him. ● He restarted 25th on lap 361, one lap down, after dropping to the back of the cars on his lap on the restart for speeding on pit road. ● Suárez made good forward progress in the opening laps of the run, working his way to 22nd. He lost a lap to go down two before the next caution flag flew on lap 433. He stayed out to take the wave-around back to one lap down, restarting 22nd on lap 439. ● Suárez worked his way back into Lucky Dog position by the time the caution flag flew on lap 457, moving him up to the lead lap. He pitted for tires, fuel, right-side air pressure adjustments, and the removal of tape from the brake duct intakes as Suárez reported he was struggling under braking. He restarted 22nd on lap 463. ● A multicar accident brought out the caution flag just one lap into the next run, on lap 464, and Suárez said he had to slide his Toyota sideways to avoid contact. He stayed on track through the caution and restarted 18th on lap 473. ● The 17th and final caution flag of the day flew on lap 489 with Suárez running 19th. Five laps remained when the race went back to green on lap 495, and Suárez held onto 18th place across the finish line.
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 96 It’s Good To Be Genuine Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing: “It was an eventful race. We had a lot of stuff going on. There was some miscommunication in the beginning and we had to do a pass-through, and a pass-through at Bristol is tough to come back from. We went two laps down and it was a struggle from there. But the team never gave up. We worked very hard and we were able to recover and fight back to get our first top-20 (of the season) for the team. The car had decent speed but, obviously, it’s never enough. We have to work hard to keep getting better and hopefully we’ll be stronger next weekend in Atlanta.”
Race Notes: ● The result was the best for the No. 96 Toyota since Parker Kligerman’s 15th-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last October, and it was the best finish for the team in three outings at Bristol. ● Brad Keselowski won the Supermarket Heroes 500 to score his 32nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Bristol. His margin of victory over second-place Clint Bowyer was .471 of a second. ● There were 17 caution periods for a total of 102 laps. ● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap. ● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Bristol with a 24-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Next Up: The next NASCAR Cup Series event for Suárez and the Gaunt Brothers Racing team is the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on Sunday, June 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. |
Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Racing: Daniel Suárez Alsco Uniforms 500k Race Report from Charlotte
| Suárez Soldiers to 28th Place at Charlotte Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Battles Tight Condition in Alsco Uniforms 500k |
| Date: May 28, 2020 Event: Alsco Uniforms 500k 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: 28th / 28th (Running, completed 207 of 208 laps) Point Standing: 31st with 72 points, 259 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): ● Started 28th, finished 28th. ● Suárez gained a couple of positions to 26th before the caution flag appeared as the front of the field approached the start-finish line on the opening lap. ● He restarted 25th on lap 9 but dropped back to 30th by the time a competition caution flag appeared on lap 20, reporting that his Today.Tomorrow.Toyota Camry was better over the bumps than it was during Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 but had “no grip.” ● Air pressure adjustments on the right-front and both left-side tires was the call from crew chief Dave Winston when Suárez pitted from 30th on lap 22. ● He restarted 32nd on lap 24 and again made forward progress, climbing to 25th on the opening lap of the run, then up to 23rd before dropping to 24th by the time the caution flag appeared for another accident on lap 29. Suárez said the grip issues continued and the car felt much different than it did Sunday night. ● One lap into the caution, lightning in the area forced officials to red-flag the race with 30 laps complete. Engines were refired one hour, 14 minutes later after lightning holds had expired and track drying was complete. Suárez pitted on lap 31 for tires, fuel, and a pressure adjustment in the right-rear tire. ● The race restarted on lap 34 with Suárez in 24th place, and he dropped four positions by the time the caution flag flew to end the stage. He said his Toyota Camry started out a little free but it came to him after about seven laps. He said he was still lacking grip, but the car felt much, much more comfortable through the bumps in turns three and four than it did Sunday night. ● Suárez pitted on lap 58 during the stage break caution for four tires, fuel and another track bar adjustment and rejoined 26th.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-115): ● Started 26th, finished 28th. ● Suárez grabbed a couple of position to 24th on the opening lap of the stage, but then dropped back to his original position of 26th, where he held his ground until the caution flag appeared on lap 72 for another single-car accident. He reported that the splitter of his Today.Tomorrow.Toyota Camry was beginning to make contact with the bumps in turns three and four. ● He stayed on track during that caution period and restarted 13th when the green flag flew on lap 78. Over the next five laps, he dropped back to 29th as most of the field behind him benefited from fresher tires. ● Suárez picked up one position shortly thereafter and held onto it all the way to the stage break. He reported his Toyota Camry was loose on entry and still contacting the bumps. Winston called for tires, fuel and slight pressure adjustments to alleviate the two problem areas.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 116-208): ● Started 22nd, finished 28th. ● This run started with Suárez’s Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry good in turns one and two but too tight in turns three and four. He dropped back to 29th by lap 130. ● Suárez picked up one position shortly thereafter and held onto 28th until the caution flag appeared on lap 143. He said his Toyota was getting “way to tight” in turns three and four as the run progressed. Track bar and pressure adjustments in the right-front tire came on the pit stop during the caution. ● He rejoined in 25th after that stop but had to come down pit road one more time before the restart to add a missing lug nut. He restarted 27th on lap 148. ● Suárez held that relative position through the rest of the final stage, which stayed green all the way to the checkered flag. He dropped one position in the closing laps and crossed the finish line 28th, one lap down.
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 96 Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing: “You know, another 28th – I’m getting a little tired of those 28ths. But we have to keep working. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed about this one because I thought we were going to bring a better car than last Sunday. We made adjustments hoping for that, but obviously it didn’t work out for us. I know what I signed up for and I trust in this team and I trust everyone involved – Toyota, Coca-Cola and CommScope, everyone who is making this happen. We have to keep pushing and the results will come. I really want to thank everyone for the amazing support. Let’s see what we can do Sunday in Bristol.”
Race 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. ● Harvick remains the championship leader after Charlotte with a 14-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Next Up: The next NASCAR Cup Series event for Suárez and the Gaunt Brothers Racing team is the 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. |
No. 14 PEAK Coolant and Antifreeze Racing: Clint Bowyer Charlotte 500k Race Report
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.
M&M’S Red, White, and Blue Racing: Kyle Busch Race Recap for the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte
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.
Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Racing: Daniel Suárez Toyota 500k Race Report from Darlington
Date: May 20, 2020
Event: Toyota 500k
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)
Start/Finish: 25th / 27th (Running, completed 207 of 208 laps)
Point Standing: 30th with 54 points, 204 out of first
Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):
● Started 25th, finished 30th.
● The opening lap saw Suárez drop a position as the green flag flew, then restart 23rd on lap seven after the day’s first caution period, then fall back to 27th when the caution flag flew again on lap 10. He said the Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry lacked overall grip even though it was turning well in the opening laps.
● Suárez restarted 34th after right-side wedge and air pressure adjustments enabled him to pick up five spots by the time a scheduled competition caution period arrived on lap 25. He restarted 30th after the competition caution and held that position to the end of the segment while reporting the car was “a little better balanced.”
● A solid four-tire pit stop, during which the No. 96 Toyota crew made just air pressure adjustments, enabled Suárez to pick up six spots and restart 24th to begin the second segment.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 60-125):
● Started 24th, finished 27.
● The segment restarted on lap 68 and the caution flag flew just six laps later. The team decided to gamble by keeping Suárez on track, and he restarted 12th on lap 76. But with most of the rest of the field having pitted for fresher tires, he dropped 16 positions over the next six laps before the caution flag flew once again.
● Suárez pitted for tires this time and restarted 25th. He dropped two positions over the next 21 laps before the next caution, reporting the Today. Tomorrow. Toyota struggled on short runs but seemed to improve on longer runs. He also said he was surprised the track grew more free as the race progressed to that point, rather than get tighter as is typical during nighttime racing at Darlington.
● He restarted 27th on lap 113 and held that position to the end of the stage. The team made a multitude of adjustments during the break – air pressure, wedge, track bar – in an effort to tighten up the car.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 126-228):
● Started 27th, finished 27th.
● Suárez held his relative position throughout the final stage, which started with the longest green-flag run of the night – 46 laps.
● He was called to the pits under green on lap 175 while working his way up to 17th as one of the last cars to cycle through green-flag stops. One lap later, the caution flag flew, and he restarted on lap 185 in 28th, one lap down.
● The yellow flag flew again on lap 195, and Suárez pitted from 28th for fresh tires and adjustments to counter those that were made during the prior segment break in an effort to free up the car.
● Suárez gained a position to 27th before rain began to fall and the red flag flew on lap 208. Officials called the race shortly thereafter, 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance.
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 96 Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing:
“We are building, so from that standpoint, I think Dave (Winston, crew chief) and the team did a good job. Compared to Sunday, I think we brought a lot more speed with our Today. Tomorrow. Toyota Camry this time. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize. I was surprised from the early to the middle part of the race how the car was getting more and more free. Darlington is a track that always gets tighter and tighter as the race goes. I thought the loose car actually seemed to be working for us on the longer runs. Then we made some big changes in the middle part of the race and the car got too tight. We were kind of stuck with that because of the long run. Other than that, I feel like we’re heading in the right direction. The car had more raw speed tonight even though the balance wasn’t as good as we would like it to be. We just need to keep building.”
Race Notes:
● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series race to be held on a Wednesday in 36 years. The last time: July 4, 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200th career victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
● Denny Hamlin won the Toyota 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.
● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Toyota 500k finished on the lead lap.
● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Next Up:
The next NASCAR Cup Series event for Suárez and the Gaunt Brothers Racing team is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Bowyer Finishes 22nd in Darlington 500k
Date: May 20, 2020
Event: Darlington 500k
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)
Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.
Start/Finish: 4th/22nd (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)
Point Standing: 9th with 170 points, 88 out of first
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):
● Clint Bowyer started fourth and finished first to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang quickly showed it was one of the fastest on the track moving to second by the lap-25 competition caution.
● Bowyer grabbed the lead on the restart logging his 3,000th lap led in the Cup Series.
● Bowyer led the next 30 laps to capture his fourth stage victory of his career.
● Before the stage, Bowyer had led 17 laps in 15 races at Darlington.
● Bowyer reported his car was a little loose, but crew made minimal changes during the stage break.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):
● Started first, finished first to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang stayed at the front through two cautions.
● Bowyer pitted during the stage’s third caution and returned to the track in 10th on lap 85.
● The Kansas native wasted no time moving to third by lap 100.
● Bowyer was using his fresher tires to chase down SHR teammate Kevin Harvick for the lead on lap 109 when the seventh caution of the race came out. Fast pit work returned Bowyer to the lead for the lap 111 restart.
● The Ford driver stayed at the front to win the stage. It was the first time he’s ever won two stages in a race and the first time in 2020 a driver has won the first two stages of a race.
● During the stage break he told his crew: “this car is pretty fast.”
● Two cars stayed on the track on old tires hoping for rain forcing Bowyer to start the final stage in fourth.
.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-208):
● Started fourth, finished 22nd.
● Amid frenetic racing in the opening laps, the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang dropped to sixth.
● Bowyer climbed to fourth but handling issues for the first time in the race slowed his progress leaving him in third with 60 to go.
● The veteran driver made a routine green-flag stop with 53 laps remaining, but a caution a few laps later dropped Bowyer off the lead lap.
● Bowyer took the wave around to return to the lead lap and restarted sixth with 43 laps remaining.
● Bowyer moved to fourth after the restart despite telling the crew, “I hit the wall pretty good.”
● Bowyer cut a right rear tire after wall contact with 34 laps to go damaging the right side of the car and bringing out a caution.
● Bowyer restarted the race in 22nd with 30 laps remaining, but another car hit the No. 14 from behind as cars attempted to avoid a wreck at the front of the field.
● Heavy rain during the caution ended the race with 20 to go.
Notes:
● Bowyer led twice for a race-high 71 laps. Prior to tonight’s race, Bowyer had led only 17 laps at Darlington, 16 of which came in the 2007 Southern 500.
● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series race to be held on a Wednesday in 36 years. The last time: July 4, 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200th career victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.
● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Very proud of the car the guys brought for me on a short turn around. Fast hot rod. Thing just took off behind two cars racing for lucky dog and smoked the wall and blew our night. The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford was fast. We keep doing that our day will come.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
M&M’S Thank You Heroes Racing: Kyle Busch Race Recap for The Real Heroes 400 from Darlington
| Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’S Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry Race Recap for the The Real Heroes 400 |
| Date: May 17, 2020 Event: The Real Heroes 400 (Round 5 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval) Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps) Start/Finish: 4th/26th (Running, completed 292 of 293 laps) Point Standing: 14th (122 points, 96 behind leader)
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford) Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90): ● Kyle Busch started 4th, finished 15th ● Busch drew the fourth starting position in Thursday night’s draw. However, the No. 18 team failed pre-race inspection twice and was forced to start the race at the rear of the field, despite officially being scored as starting in fourth. ● The M&M’S Thank you Heroes Toyota Camry didn’t stay in the rear of the field for long, moving up to 32nd by lap 1 and 25th by the time the competition caution waved on lap 30. ● The 2019 Cup Series champion told Crew Chief Adam Stevens that his splitter was dragging on the track for the first 20-25 laps of the race and still touching the surface in the bumps. He suggested to Stevens that he tighten up the car on their pit stops. ● With Darlington being the first race back and no on track activity prior to the race weekend, NASCAR gave teams the opportunity to make two pit stops under yellow without losing positions under the lap 30 competition caution only. ● Busch came down pit road on lap 33 for adjustments and then back down pit road on lap 35 to take on four tires and fuel. ● Busch restarted 25th when green flag racing resumed on lap 39. ● The M&M’S Thank You Heroes driver slowly worked his way up through the field, finding himself in 20th by lap 50, 18th by lap 56 and all the way up to 15th when the stage ended on lap 90. ●Busch radioed to Stevens that he was pretty good overall, but was lacking overall grip everywhere as the stage ended.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185): ● Busch started ninth and finished 16th ● Busch came to pit road on lap 93 for four tires, fuel and tires pressure adjustments. The M&M’S team gained Busch five spots on pit road and Busch moved up one more spot as a car ahead of him was penalized for speeding on pit road, and he restarted in ninth for the start of stage 2. ● The M&M’S Thank You Heroes driver came to pit road under caution on lap 111 for four tires and fuel as Busch told Stevens that his car was just a little tight landing in the corner, and Busch restarted in ninth on lap 115. ● Busch restarted ninth, but fell several positions after the restart as he told Stevens that he couldn’t get going. Busch reported his car was really loose getting into turn three during the first two laps of the green flag run. Fortunately, Busch was saved by a caution on lap 123. ● Stevens called Busch down pit road on lap 125 to take on four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment that they hoped would make Busch better on restarts. ● Busch restarted 20th on lap 129, and moved up to 17th by lap 134. However, on lap 143 Busch hit the outside SAFER barrier exiting turn 4, causing fairly significant right side damage to the M&M’S Thank You Heroes Toyota. ● Good news for Busch was the caution waved for debris on lap 155, and Busch pitted on lap 157 to fix significant damage and make sure the tires were not rubbing on the wheel well of the No. 18 Toyota. ● Even with lengthy time on pit road to fix damage, Busch did not lose a lap, but the repairs forced the M&M’S driver to start in 29th at the tail-end of the lead lap. ● Busch worked his way back into the top-20 by lap 167 and after a caution and another pit stop, Busch finished the second stage in 16th-place.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 186-293): ● Started 17th and finished 26th. ● Busch pitted after stage 2, and took on four tires, fuel and more adjustments as the M&M’S driver restarted 17th for the third and final stage. ● Busch moved his way back up to 13th by the time the next caution waved on lap 212. Stevens called Busch to pit road two laps later for four tires, fuel and more chassis adjustments, as the M&M’S over-the-wall crew gained two spots on pit road and Busch restarted 11th on lap 218. ● The Las Vegas native moved up into the top 10 by lap 247 and sat in ninth when the caution waved on lap 252. Busch came to pit road for four tires and fuel on lap 255, and the M&M’S pit crew gave him another phenomenal stop, getting him off pit road in the fifth position. ● Busch dropped a few positions after the restart to seventh. Just five laps into the green flag run Busch radioed to the M&M’S team to get ready, as he had an apparent problem. ● On lap 266, Busch did indeed come to pit road for four tires with an apparent loose wheel. He returned to the track in 27th-place, one lap down. ● Busch and the M&M’S Thank You Heroes team got themselves into the free pass position over the final laps, but the caution they needed never came, and the No. 18 team finished a once promising race in 26th.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Thank You Heroes Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:
“Really disappointing to have to start at the back when we had a fourth-place starting position. That was going to be a great day for us to just kind of be up front, ride up front, and hopefully stay up front all day and make our M&M’s Thank You Heroes Camry better. But we didn’t start where we thought we would. Instead, we had to make up the whole day. Finally we got to fifth and restarted there late in the race, but fell to eighth or ninth on a restart. Our car was so slow on restarts, but also I was too loose on that restart. Then got in the wall and had to go back to the back and worked our way back up to the front again. Then got back to fifth again for the final restart and had a loose wheel. My guys had a good pit stop, but obviously too good of a pit stop where we didn’t get all the lugnuts tight and it was a loose wheel. Ended up having to come down pit road and service the car again to make it to the end. Just didn’t get the result we wanted for the effort that was put out today.”
Next Up: The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for the Toyota 500k. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. |