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Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report – Charlotte II
Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race: Alsco Uniforms 500
Date: May 28, 2020
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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. |
RCR Post Race Report – Alsco Uniforms 500
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 |
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“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 |
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Tyler Reddick Forges to 14th-Place Finish with Okuma Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway |
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“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 |
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Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Racing: Cole Custer Alsco 500k Race Report
Ford Driver Earns Top-20 at 1.5-Mile Track
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: 9th/18th (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)
Point Standing:22nd with 138 points, 193 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):
● Cole Custer started ninth and finished 30th.
● Early in the stage, Custer reported his Autodesk Fusion 360/ HaasTooling.com Mustang was loose.
● At the competition caution on lap 25 he pitted from 19th for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his loose condition. Restarted 22nd.
● Race was red flagged for weather for approximately 75 minutes. Once it resumed, Custer once again pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help his loose-handling Mustang. Restarted 31st.
● During the Stage 1 break the 22-year-old pitted from 30th for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-115):
● Custer started 27th and finished 21st.
● Caution on lap 75 and crew chief Mike Shiplett made the call for Custer to stay out and restart 14th.
● Reached top-10 on lap 80.
● The rookie remained in the top-15 until lap 99, and remained in the top-20 through the end of Stage 2.
● Custer pitted from 20th during the Stage 2 break for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his loose-handling Mustang.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 116-208):
● Custer started 18th and finished 18th.
● Custer made a yellow flag pit stop on lap 146 from 19th for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
● The event remained under the green-flag for the rest of the race and Custer maintained a top-20 position, and ultimately finished 18th.
Notes:
● Custer made his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series start and his second at Charlotte’s oval.
● 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.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Autodesk Fusion 360/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Thank you guys. It didn’t start the way we wanted to tonight, but we kept chipping away at it. I think we have some stuff we can take to other tracks. We definitely learned a lot.”
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.
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.
Kevin Harvick Alsco Uniforms 500k Race Report from Charlotte
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Harvick & Bowyer to Sport Dual Paint Schemes #ForTheFarmers At Atlanta Race
NEW YORK, MAY 26, 2020: Busch, the beer brewed for America’s heartland and a long-time supporter of agricultural communities, announced today that it will provide funds for the nonprofit Farm Rescue to expand its operations into Kansas. Farm Rescue will begin harvest assistance operations in Kansas immediately, with Busch marking this milestone with the release of limited-edition Corn Cans across the country*. Busch is raising further awareness to the cause with NASCAR drivers Kevin Harvick and Kansas-native Clint Bowyer at the June 7 NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta. Kansas is the first new state to be added to Farm Rescue’s support network since 2017 and will be the seventh state supported overall.
The expansion into Kansas will allow Farm Rescue to provide free harvest assistance to farm families throughout the state experiencing a major illness, injury or natural disaster. Since its inception in 2005, Farm Rescue has helped nearly 700 family farms sustain operations in times of crisis. These efforts are made possible through a network of volunteers from across the United States. Busch has been a partner of Farm Rescue since early 2019 and played an instrumental role in facilitating Farm Rescue’s entry to Kansas with a mix of financial support, public affairs assistance, and more.
“Farm Rescue is an incredible organization that has not only helped, but saved, hundreds of family farms throughout the Midwest,” said Daniel Blake, VP of Value Brands at Anheuser-Busch “What originally started off as a small partnership has grown into something really special, and as unexpected injuries, illnesses and natural disasters continue to strike, we’re honored to take our partnership with Farm Rescue to the next level so they can keep providing critical assistance to more family farms across the country.”
Busch recently teased the news of this partnership with the release of their special-edition Busch Light Corn Cans, a remixed edition of the classic Busch Light can and packaging. Consumers nationwide can support Farm Rescue with every purchase of the new limited-edition Busch Light corn packs in select states**. For each pack purchased in these states between May 18 and July 5, 2020 $1 will be donated by Busch, up to $100,000 to benefit Farm Rescue’s ongoing efforts.
“We are very grateful for the unwavering support Busch has provided toward our mission of helping America’s farmers,” said Bill Gross, President of Farm Rescue. “Thanks to their generosity, we are mobilizing equipment and volunteers throughout Kansas to help farm families in times of crisis.”
Busch will raise additional awareness for Farm Rescue and farmers across America at the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta on June 7, with Busch-sponsored driver Kevin Harvick teaming up with Kansas-native Clint Bowyer to race in the same corn-themed paint scheme. Throughout the race fans will have the chance to win a suite of farm-related prizes, and can check out @BuschBeer on Twitter ahead of June 7 to find out more information.
Fans can head to ForTheFarmers.org to learn more, and stay informed as race day approaches. Fans can also check out the Busch social accounts (@BuschBeer) to shop exclusive Busch/Farm Rescue merchandise including apparel and corn hole games.
Wood Bros. Racing: Wednesday Night Racing at Charlotte
After the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Richmond team are ready for a fresh start back at Charlotte in Wednesday night’s 500-kilometer race.
“I feel good going into Wednesday,” DiBenedetto said. “We’re starting fourth, and racing the primary car, so that’s good.”
The line-up for Wednesday’s race was set by inverting the finish of the Coca-Cola 600, where DiBenedetto finished 17th. The top 20 finishing positions from Sunday were inverted, and the remainder of the field will start Wednesday’s race from where they finished the 600.
On Sunday at Charlotte, DiBenedetto bounced off the wall in qualifying and had to race a back-up Ford Mustang in the 600. “It was a messy race,” he said. “The car was way looser than expected in qualifying. We took the back-up and had to work on it a lot, but we fought from really struggling to an easy top-10 car.”
He said he expects Wednesday to go much smoother for him and the Menards/Richmond team. “The car has plenty of speed, so I feel much better about the race,” he said.
DiBenedetto said racing again after just two off days, and running four races in 11 days, has caused him to modify his weekly routine.
“I’m backing off my training a good bit,” he said, explaining that he’s giving his body time to recover between races. “Racing puts a lot of strain on you, but I’m still working out three or four days a week.”
There will be no practice or qualifying for the 312-mile Alsco 500k, and the green flag is set to fly just after 8 p.m. on Wednesday with TV coverage on Fox Sport One.