Inside Line Promotions – ELDON, Mo. (May 25, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi produced his first feature victory of the season on Sunday evening to cap a busy holiday weekend.

Scelzi led the majority of the ASCS Sooner Region and ASCS Warrior Region event during his debut at Lake Ozark Speedway, recording his first win of the year during what has been an unimaginable start to 2020.

“Rolling into this season back in February my goal was to win 10 races,” he said. “Right now I just cracked 10 races that we’ve raced. There’s no certainty of anything. To be able to get a win during a pandemic and in a time they aren’t allowing a full capacity of fans, it was very different. But it was meaningful to be able to get a win right now.”

Scelzi powered from fifth to second place during his heat race to earn a spot into the feature redraw.

“We’ve been changing some stuff around to help us out in the moisture,” he said. “We’ve struggled getting a balance when the track has grip. Earlier Sunday we changed motors and knew there were quite a few storms coming. We left late and pulled into the track at the drivers meeting. It was waiting on the weather all night wondering what was going to happen. We drew the No. 36, which started me fifth in our heat race. Halfway through the heats it started raining. I only had two heats before mine so the track had some grip for my heat. We went fifth to second, which was great.”

Scelzi pulled the No. 1 during the feature redraw to garner the pole position for the 40-lap A Main.

“I got the jump and led the first half right around the bottom,” he said. “As the bottom got slower we had to move around. The middle and top were dirty. There wasn’t a defined line. Sam (Hafertepe Jr.) got by me on Lap 24. I got my wing back and ran the middle and top in turns one and two and the bottom in turns three and four. We were able to run him back down and take the lead on Lap 30. From there on it was pretty thick traffic to the end. I was able to put a handful of cars between us. It was special to be able to pass someone like Sam, who is one of the top 360 racers out there.”

The victory tied a bow on a weekend that also featured a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series doubleheader at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. A whopping 61 competitors entered the event.

“On Friday we made good laps in qualifying, but didn’t have mile per hour; we just didn’t have speed,” he said. “With 60-plus cars that put us in a non-qualifier. It was tough to pass and we finished fourth. That put us in the C Main and we drove from 11^th to sixth. I didn’t feel like we were off car-wise; we just didn’t have the speed we needed.”

Scelzi improved his results on Saturday, qualifying eighth quickest in his group and placing fourth in a heat race to lock into the A Main.

“I felt like we were decent in qualifying and we were really good in the heat,” he said. “I raced hard for third, but couldn’t get by him. They reworked the track before the main event and we were just really tight. About midway through the race we had dropped back some and I felt like we were in a position where we didn’t want to tear up equipment so we pulled off early.”

Next up for the team is a World of Outlaws doubleheader at Lake Ozark Speedway this Friday and Saturday.

KESELOWSKI WON THE CROWN JEWEL, COCA-COLA 600    CHARLOTTE, NC – May 25, 2020 – Brad Keselowski won the crown jewel, Coca-Cola 600, last night for the first time in his career while capturing Ford’s 690th all-time win in NASCAR Cup Series competition. The win also marked the Ford Mustang’s fourth win of the season in seven starts.

“Congratulations to Roger, Brad, Jeremy, and the No. 2 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Brad and the team made a last-minute strategy call and it paid off big time. It was a long night, but our teams continued to make adjustments in order to be in position to win at the end. We are blessed to live in this country and honor all the brave men and women that are no longer with us.”

Keselowski started in the back of the field and gradually worked his way up to the front at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in a battle with Chase Elliott at the end. A late race caution came out causing the race to go into overtime. Keselowski and crew chief, Jeremy Bullins chose to gamble and stay out on older tires, as Elliott elected to pit for fresh tires. On lap 404, Keselowski lined up in front of Alex Bowman on the inside line, next to veteran Jimmy Johnson and led eight cars that stayed out on older tires. With a great push, Keselowski was able to get out front, in the clean air to surge ahead of Johnson and take the checked flag by .293 seconds.

“It means a lot to me, but I can’t help but think about the Reep family and Donovan,” Keselowski commented in a post-race interview. “I know the race ran really late, but Memorial Day is about a lot more than racing, but we’re glad to be able to do cool things like racing because of the freedom provided by those willing to make the sacrifices. It’s the Coke 600 and this leaves only one major left for me, the Daytona 500, so we’re checking them off. I know they’re really happy because Miller Lite goes with Memorial Day, but I’m happy for Ford and everybody who just works their butt off at Team Penske. The pit crew at the end, the yellow right before the last lap, had a blazing stop to get us up front and put us in position. All these things just came together, and I’m tickled to death. It’s a little overwhelming to be honest.”

Over the course of the stretched out 607.5 mile race, the Ford Mustangs led 54 out of the 405-laps, led by Stage 3 winner Joey Logano with 26 laps, followed by Team Penske teammate Keselowski with 21, Matt DiBenedetto of Wood Brother’s Racing led six, and John Hunter Nemechek from Front Row Motorsports with one.

Ford Performance finished with four Ford Mustangs in the top-10: Keselowski (P1), Ryan Blaney (P3), current driver points leader, Kevin Harvick (P5), and Chris Buescher in (P10).

To those that have served and made the ultimate sacrifice for our great country, God Bless and Thank you. In remembrance of Memorial Day, SSGT Donovan Reep, was honored on Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford Mustang, in addition all NASCAR Cup teams honored a service member.

NASCAR returns to Charlotte tonight with the Xfinity race and on Wednesday, May 27th for the Alsco Uniforms 500 Cup race. Reference the full 2020 schedule on Roushyates.com.  27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 385 WINS – 357 POLES!  *Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

About Roush Yates Engines   Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.   Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.   With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.   3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races

May 25, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/FVP team had an up-and-down day in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway before ending up 17^th at the finish.

The day started on the down side as the Menards Mustang was super loose in the first qualifying session held since the Cup Series resumed racing following a 10-week halt due to the coronavirus. DiBenedetto lost control and bounced off the wall, forcing the team to pull out a back-up Mustang.

That meant he had to start the 600-mile marathon from the rear of the pack.

The drop of the green flag was the start of an upswing for DiBenedetto and the Menards/FVP team. He made up 16 positions before the caution flag flew at Lap 20.

By Lap 30 he was up to 15^th place and was running there on Lap 49 when the race was halted for 68 minutes due to rain.

Back on the track, DiBenedetto continued to struggle with a loose handling condition and dropped to 20^th place, so when the caution flag flew just after Lap 100 for the end of Stage One, he headed to pit road for a series of adjustments to the No. 21 Mustang. 
 
He returned to the track and passed several cars, but at the end of Stage Two was running 23^rd, one lap down.
 
Throughout most of the third 100-lap Stage, DiBenedetto ran in the free-pass position and finally was able to rejoin the lead lap when the caution flag flew at Lap 277 for a spin by Matt Kenseth. 
 
Back on the move forward, he finished the third 100-lap Stage in 15^th place.
  
A call to take just two tires on the pit stop at the end of the Stage propelled DiBenedetto into the lead, and he led Laps 304-306 under the caution flag and restarted as the leader.
 
He led three more laps once the green flag flew again before the drivers who took four tires overtook him.
 
DiBenedetto ran mostly in the top 10 over the final 100 laps. He was in 11^th place when the caution flag flew with two of the scheduled 400 laps remaining for a blown tire by William Byron.
 
That sent the race into overtime.
 
DiBenedetto stayed on the track while other pitted for fresh tires, so he restarted seventh for the green-white-checkered-flag run to the finish.
 
But the final two laps didn’t work out in his favor, and he wound up 18^th at the finish. He picked up one spot when the car of apparent runner-up Jimmie Johnson was disqualified for failing a post-race inspection.
 
Eddie Wood said he was proud of his team’s efforts throughout the day on Sunday.

 “They never gave up,” he said. “We went from having to go to a back-up car to losing a lap to leading the race.

 “We were able to honor Major Lucas Gruenther as part of the 600 Miles of Remembrance, and the sport as a whole did a nice job of honoring all the servicemembers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

 “And we congratulate Brad Keselowski, Jeremy Bullins and Team Penske on their well-deserved victory.”
 
DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team, now 11^th in the Cup standings, return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday night for a 500-kilometer (312-mile) race that will be broadcast on FOX Sports One. 
 

Strong Stage Points Day for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Coca-Cola Chevrolet Team in Season’s Longest Race

“The Coca-Cola 600 is one of my favorite races of the year because Charlotte Motor Speedway is my home track, and there is nothing that compares to racing on Memorial Day weekend and honoring our military. I feel so honored to be able to race this weekend for Chief Special Warfare Operator Eric F. Shellenberger with a very patriotic Coca-Cola paint scheme. I feel really good overall, physically, which is a good thing after a 600-mile race. We ran in the top 10 all night, and earned Stage points at the conclusion of Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3. We had a really solid No. 3 Coca-Cola Chevrolet. We ran up front in the top five, and we ran some of the fastest times of the race. I’m bummed that we ran that strong all night long and then gave it away at the end. When the caution flag came out at the end of the race, we decided that if a couple of cars pitted we were going to stay out. I actually said that if all of the cars stayed out, I was going to pit. Not all of the cars stayed out, though. I thought more would stay out. In hindsight, we probably should have came in and got two tires. The No. 18 car was running one position in front of us, came and got two and ended up fifth. You just never know. If you get the outside it makes a difference. My teammate, Tyler Reddick, got the outside and ended up being able to maintain. I should have known. We were too tight at the end of the race. I drove the wheels off of it, and when the caution came out we were just a little overconfident. We wanted another good finish. It worked for us at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. All in all, we had a top 10 car. We ran eighth to ninth on average all night long. It was still a good effort, and I’m excited about having the chance to come back here for a mid-week race on Wednesday. We have good cars at RCR. We have proven that we can run up front. We just have to get those finishes.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Earns Top-10 Finish in First Coca-Cola 600 with Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Team

“Well, the longest night of racing is in the books. I’m proud of the effort our No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet team gave tonight. We fought hard all night to make our car better, and we took a gamble at the end, which almost paid off for us. The track just didn’t do quite what I hoped it would do tonight, but we still found a way to get a top 10 out of the race. We fired off really strong tonight and had a shot at the pole in qualifying. After the brief rain storm, it was tough to get the balance nailed down to where we needed it to be. I was too loose in Turns 1 and 2 but then too tight in Turns 3 and 4. We tried a lot of different adjustments and strategy calls to try to adjust the handling, and hit on something during that second to last caution of the night. Randall Burnett and my team were able to get our car loosened up just enough for me to run up through the field from 15th to 10th. From there, we decided to stay out and go for it on that green-white-checkered, and almost got a top-five finish out of it. I learned a lot tonight that I think we can take into account when we return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday to help with our long run handling and speed. This is definitely a finish we can build on. 400 laps and 600 miles are done, and we’ll be ready to come back on Wednesday night. It was an honor to have SGT. Norman L. Tollett’s name above my windshield tonight, and I hope we made his friends and family proud.”-Tyler Reddick

NASCAR CUP SERIESCHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAYCOCA-COLA 600TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTESMAY 25, 2020 
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd     JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE 3rd     CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE 9th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE15th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Brad Keselowski (Ford)2nd    Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)3rd     Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)4th      Ryan Blaney (Ford)5th     Kyle Busch (Toyota)  The NASCAR Cup Series season continues with a return visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Alsco Uniforms 500 on Wednesday, May 27, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndYOU’RE BRINGING HOME SECOND. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU SAW YOUR TEAMMATE DUCK DOWN AND GO TO PIT ROAD? “When that pit stop happened at the end, it’s so hard to know what the right thing to do is. We were talking about it too maybe for ourselves, but Cliff (Daniels) had a great sense of the right call to make. I feel for Chase (Elliott). He had such a great car on Wednesday, and to be leading here and have the caution come out with a couple to go, I feel bad for him. But I’m very proud of my team, very proud of everybody on this Ally Chevrolet. Second is OK – I’m very proud of the effort we’re putting in. But second, stinks. It’s tough being this close to victory lane, but we’re knocking on the door and we’ll get there.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 3rd“Just trying to make the best decision you can and those guys are going to do the opposite of whatever we do. That’s just part of it. You make decisions and live with them. It wasn’t the pit call – I think being on offense is fine. Like I said, those guys are going to do whatever the opposite of what you do. It’s part of it.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th“We got the pole with the GEARWRENCH Chevy and lead some laps; it was great to be up front and had good pace early. After the rain delay we just got buried in some dirty-air back in traffic. We just got to get our car a little better to maneuver in traffic. We just need the front tires front aero to be a little better in dirty-air. I know Matt McCall my guys are going to work on it; I’m gonna work on it, but a top-10 after all that, I will take it. Thanks again everybody at Ganassi, GEARWRENCH, Chevy and Monster Energy. Top-10 we will take it!” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th“Well, the longest night of racing is in the books. I’m proud of the effort our No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet team gave tonight. We fought hard all night to make our car better, and we took a gamble there at the end, which almost paid off for us. The track just didn’t do quite what I hoped it would do tonight, but we still found a way to get a top 10 out of the race. We fired off really strong tonight and had a shot at the pole in qualifying. After the brief rain storm, it was tough to get the balance nailed down to where we needed it to be. I would be too loose in Turns 1 and 2 but then too tight in Turns 3 and 4. We tried a lot of different adjustments and strategy calls to try to adjust the handling, and hit on something during that second to last caution of the night. Randall (Burnett, crew chief) and my team were able to get our car loosened up just enough for me to run up through the field from 15^th to 10^th. From there, we decided to stay out and go for it on that green-white-checkered, and almost got a top-five finish out of it. I learned a lot tonight that I think we can take into account when we return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday to help with our long run handling, but this is definitely a finish we can build on. 400 laps and 600 miles are done, and we’ll be ready to come back on Wednesday night. It was an honor to have SGT. Norman L. Tollett’s name above my windshield tonight, and I hope we made his friends and family proud.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“I feel really good, overall, physically, so that’s a good thing. We ran in the top-10 all night. We had a really solid car. We showed sometimes when we were up front in the top-five, we ran some of the fastest laps of the race at times. Bummed when you go all night long running like that and give it away at the end. Our call was if a couple pitted, we were going to stay out. I actually said if all of them stay out, I’m pitting. Not all of them stayed out; I thought more would stay out. Probably should have came and got two tires. The 18 (Kyle Busch) was running one position in front of us, came and got two, and ended up fifth. You never know – my teammate Reddick had the outside and ended up being able to maintain and run ninth. We were too tight at the end and I kind of drove the wheels off of it, and the caution came out. Just a little over-confident, I wanted to get another good finish. It worked for us at Vegas. But all-in-all, we had a top-10 car. I want to say we were eighth or ninth all night on average. I’ve got to thank Coca-Cola, all of our partners at RCR, Dow, Bass Pro Shops – 600 miles in remembrance today was really cool. Wednesday should be a good one for us. We’ll turn it around. We have good cars. We can prove that we run up front, we just need to get those finishes.”  ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/NOCO PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th“That finish does not show how great of a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE we had today in Charlotte. We won two stages, led over 160 laps and really had a solid car. We would get loose or tight in certain areas, but Greg (Ives) and the guys made some good adjustments on pit road. At the end there, it just went straight. Not much I could do with that and unfortunately don’t have a finish to show how strong we were today. We learned a lot and hopefully can come back strong on Wednesday.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st“We just shredded a left rear tire there. We had a bit of a tire rub when we went green with almost 50 to go, so I don’t know why it gave out with only a couple laps left after making it that long. I feel really bad though that it cost Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team. We had a fast Liberty Chevy up until that point.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO MILITARY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 26th“First and foremost, the Coca-Cola 600 is about so much more than ourselves and it was an honor to have SPC Richard C. Emmons III on our car. While we missed having his family at the track with us, hopefully we were able to honor them the best we could. Tonight wasn’t what we were looking for. The balance of our GEICO Military Camaro ZL1 1LE was pretty good, but unfortunately, we had to make an unscheduled pit stop under green in Stage 1 and never were able to recover. We usually don’t see a lot of cautions at Charlotte and that trend proved to be the same again. Just couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole. It’s a shame, because I thought we were going to have a good night after a solid qualifying effort. The positive is we do have a good baseline setup for Wednesday night and we will try to have a better result then.” BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by mechanical issue; Finished 39th “Well, what a bummer. Tonight wasn’t our night. We burned-up a hub, and it put us way behind. I don’t know if we had other issues going on with the car or what, but it wasn’t worth the risk. I thought we had a really good car, especially before all this stuff happened. We were running some really good lap times, so I was excited to try and get some track position and go race with our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 U.S. Air Force Camaro ZL1 1LE. But sometimes you’re the bat and sometimes you’re the ball; tonight we were the ball. I think we have a good baseline of what we need for Wednesday when we come back. I know it’s going to be a little different circumstances and conditions during the day, but all-in-all, I’m proud of the effort. It’s just one of those things that are out of our control and freak stuff happens. We’ll come right back here Wednesday – a little bit different setup to get this thing underneath us and get all the bad juju out of the way. We’ll rebound from this and go get them!” 

NASCAR CUP SERIESCHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAYCOCA-COLA 600TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTESMAY 24, 2020 
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE 2nd     JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE3rd     CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 4th      MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 5th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 6th      AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE10th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)2nd     Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)3rd     Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)4th      Matt Kenseth (Chevrolet)5th      Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet) KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Pole WinnerIT WAS A VERY FAST RACE CAR FOR KURT BUSCH – 28th CAREER POLE. JIMMIE JOHNSON DOWN HERE GIVING YOU A HARD TIME, YOU BUMPED HIM OFF THE POLE THERE. IS THIS CAR IN MORE RACE TRIM OR QUALIFYING TRIM WITH ALL THAT SPEED?“I’m just so proud of Matt McCall and all our guys and the way we have to communicate right now, and get through everything as far as those last-minute details and those fine adjustments. But, wow, what a Chevrolet brigade up front. This is pretty sweet! GEARWRENCH is on our car only a few times a year and I really want to push them up front. This is an awesome pole. I was more geared up, in my mind, towards downforce and being ready for 600 miles, so this means Matt McCall has something up his sleeve and we should be good tonight. This is a great run and happy birthday, Chip.!”  BOWTIE BULLETS·       This marks Kurt Busch’s 28th career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series and his first for Chip Ganassi Racing.·       The 2020 Coca-Cola 600 pole is the third for the Camaro ZL1 1LE this season. ·       This is Chevrolet’s 34th pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 717th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series.  FOX will telecast the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway live tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 400-lap, 600-mile race can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCECOCA-COLA 600CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAYCONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA MAY 24, 2020
BOWTIE BULLETS:·       In what was originally called the World 600, Joe Lee Johnson won the inaugural 600-mile race on June 19, 1960 in a Chevrolet Impala.  ·       Since then, Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 24 victories in the annual Coca-Cola 600, one of the NASCAR Cup Series crown jewel races. ·       Team Chevy drivers have led the field to the green 33 times at the annual Memorial Day event. The most recent pole-winner was William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Patriotic Camaro ZL1 1LE, at last year’s race in 2019. The 2019 Coca-Cola 600 pole makes him the youngest Charlotte Motor Speedway pole winner to date (21 years, 4 months, 27 days).  ·       Chevrolet has won the longest NASCAR Cup Series race on the circuit with multiple models including Monte Carlo, Lumina, Monte Carlo SS, and most recently the Chevy SS. 
LONG DISTANCE ACHIEVERS:·       To date, Darrell Waltrip has the most Coca-Cola 600 victories of all drivers with five – all in Chevrolets (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989). ·       Jeff Gordon captured his first NASCAR Cup career win at the Coca-Cola 600 in 1994. He went on to win that event two more times (1997, ’98). All three victories were in Chevrolets. ·       Career-long Chevrolet driver and seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, leads all active drivers with four Coca-Cola 600-mile race victories to his credit (2003, 2004, 2005, 2014).
MULTIPLE TEAM CHEVY WINNERS:·       Hendrick Motorsports has the most Coca-Cola 600 victories of any team with 11 in Chevrolets (1988, 1989, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003–2005, 2007, 2012, 2014). Jimmie Johnson’s most recent win of this race was in 2014. ·       Richard Childress Racing ranks second with six Coca-Cola 600 wins in Chevrolets (1986, 1992, 1993, 2011, 2013, 2017). Most recently, Austin Dillon took the checkered in 2017. TUNE-IN:FOX will telecast the 400-lap Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway live at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, May 24. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 
QUOTABLE QUOTES:ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/NOCO PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGSBOWMAN ON THE TRANSITION FROM DARLINGTON TO CHARLOTTE:“This weekend will be a little different since we are able to qualify. That will give us a little more knowledge about the car before taking the green flag. We had strong cars in Darlington, and I am confident that everyone back at Hendrick Motorsports is building dominant Chevrolets for the Charlotte events.”  BOWMAN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RACING ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND:“It is always special honoring the men and women in the Armed Forces, and we will have United States Army Staff Sgt. Scott W. Brunkhorst on our ChevyGoods.com/NOCO machine. Scott passed away in 2010 from injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an IED. It will be an honor having him on board and hopefully we can put the car in victory lane for his family and friends.”  CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGSELLIOTT ON THE TRADITION OF RACING ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND:“The 600 is a race I always look forward to. It’s great to be a small part of what NASCAR does around Memorial Day. The sport has done a great job recognizing the real heroes. The very least we can do is show appreciation for all the men and women who are serving our country. We can never say thank you to them enough. I look forward to continuing the tradition this weekend.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th IN STANDINGS“I look forward to the 600, it is always a challenge mentally and physically for the drivers and the crews. I tend to break-up the race into two sectors; daytime and nighttime, the race starts at 6pm, sunset around 8pm and finish around 10pm. With the 600 miles and the way the stages are broken into 100 lap segments, that’s the pit strategy side of things. You don’t know when a caution will come out, but the pit strategy is pretty straight forward on what you would do through those segments. You stay busy, focusing on the tire wear the fuel burn-off, gaining positions on-track and you’re always looking forward to that next pit stop to make adjustments, because the track changes throughout the run with the transition from day to night. It is a challenge all the way through.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON RACING AT CHARLOTTE AND THE NO. 24 TEAM’S MENTALITY: “The races at Charlotte are going to be critical for our team. There are a lot of points up for grabs at the 600 and we need to keep building those points to overcome misfortune from earlier in the season. It’s a home race for me as well so there’s a bit of added motivation to run up front. We ran well there last year in both the All-Star Race and the 600 so I’m excited that we’ll have back-to-back races there. I think we will definitely be in contention for the win and that’s an exciting feeling.” BYRON ON THE MEANING OF RACING ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: “Racing on Memorial Day weekend is always special. It’s a time for us to try do something small to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so we can continue to do what we love. It’s also special for me, not only because I’m racing where I grew up, but because I’m able to honor those who share connections to Liberty University. It gives me even more motivation and satisfaction to be able to run well, and I hope I’m able to make them proud again on Sunday.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGSTHIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE RACING IN THE COCA-COLA 600, ON OF NASCAR’S LONGEST RACES. HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR THAT?“I’m looking forward to my first attempt at the Coca-Cola 600 and the challenges it will bring. I’ve never experienced a race that long before, so it’s going to be a big learning experience for me, especially with how the track will change over the course of the race. Charlotte Motor Speedway is a temperature-sensitive track, so we need to be ready since the way the track is at the start of the night likely won’t be the same at the end of the night. We’ll need to be able to adjust our car for that. I’m excited to be part of the show. It’s an honor to be carrying SGT Norman L. Tollett’s name across my windshield for the race, and I hope we can make his family and friends proud.” YOU THEN TURN AROUND AND RACE CHARLOTTE AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HOW HAVE THESE MID-WEEK RACES GONE FOR YOU? “It has been really interesting and fun to have these mid-week races. They keep us on our toes, even though it’s the same track being raced so close together. Both Darlington and Charlotte are tracks affected by temperature and day versus night conditions, so it almost comes off as two different places. For this week, we should be able to pull some additional notes from the Coke 600 for Wednesday’s race since we will have a big portion of that race ran in the nighttime, as long as the temperature is close to the same on both nights.” BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGS“To be able to honor Captain Lawrence E. Dickson at the Coca-Cola 600 is remarkable. It’s truly an honor hearing his story – how he was a pioneer, a warrior, and an all-around great American hero. It is our job, and our duty at Richard Petty Motorsports to perform at the best levels that we can know how to represent him, and make his family proud for everything that he has done. We will showcase just how big he was to this country at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. I’m excited, I cannot wait!”
JERRY BAXTER, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE“After The Real Heroes 400 at the Darlington Raceway, we re-grouped – our Richard Petty Motorsports team did a better job in the Toyota 500 with the No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, did a better job driving, the pit crew was on it, and we had our best run of the year. We have a new Chevrolet going into the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Everybody’s moods are up and Bubba’s excited. Updates to follow, hope it’s good!”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 21st IN STANDINGSBIG WEEKEND FOR YOU GOING TO YOUR HOMETOWN TRACK WITH A SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME.“It is really cool to have a brand like Coca-Cola behind you at the Coke 600. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. This is special to me. It’s in my backyard. I have a lot of friends and family watching this race. A couple years back, winning the Coca-Cola 600, there was nothing like it. Being tied with Coca-Cola from the beginning of my Cup Series career and getting to represent Coca-Cola in a full paint out with a patriotic scheme, it’s special. We have an awesome looking car for the 600 that spotlights the true meaning of the holiday.” HOW HARD IS IT TO CHASE TRACK CONDITIONS IN THE COCA-COLA60? IT’S THE LONGEST RACE OF THE SEASON.“It is difficult. It’s a long day, and you’ve really got to stay up-to-date with your car and be ahead of the adjustments. Anything can happen in 600 miles, so you are always in the race. That is the good part of it. Stage racing is fun and interesting there also.” WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE ABLE TO RACE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY?“I’ve been so fortunate to be able to have come here since I was a little kid and watch races right inside turn one from my grandfather’s condo. I’ve seen so many laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway and have seen a lot of guys from RCR run well at the track. I watched Jimmie Johnson dominate for years. It’s been a good track for me and I always enjoy coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway. This year, it’s even more special to have the opportunity to race and I have to commend NASCAR for all of the steps they’ve taken to put protocols into place that get us back racing safely.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO MILITARY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 22nd IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO CHARLOTTE AND THE LONGEST RACE OF THE SEASON?“The Coke 600 is every bit of five and a half hours, starting in the daytime and ending in the nighttime. There will be a lot of changing positions, depending on if you set up your car for the day or night. I expect quite a bit of excitement on restarts and NASCAR has done a good job of adding the traction compound to help the racing. Last season in this race, my heart rate averaged 150, which is about the same as running or doing a solid workout for five plus hours. I’ve been putting in a lot of work and preparation of my body to go this many races in a row, and that is an important part of being a race car driver. The goal on Sunday for our GEICO Military team is to be consistent and continue the positive momentum we have been gaining.”
YOU WILL RUN A SPECIAL GEICO MILITARY PAINT SCHEME THIS WEEKEND, HONORING OUR COUNTRY’S SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY? “Our GEICO Military paint scheme – in a cool new desert tan color – was built to honor those men and women who serve our country. It is so much fun being part of a sport that honors those outside of ourselves. From the last two races of honoring those on the medical front lines to now honoring those in the military, it’s a privilege to highlight the real-life heroes. It is special every year to have a fallen soldier’s name on our front windshield, and this season to have another connection to our shop is special. Specialist Richie Emmons (honoree) actually served in the Army with one of our shop fabricators and while we normally have the family at the track with us for the race, we will still honor them the best we can.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS“The Coca-Cola 600 is a really special race for a lot of reasons. While we aren’t able to host families of fallen soldiers, to still be able to have PFC Barrett Austin on our No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE for 600 miles is very humbling. I’ve had a lot of success at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600 specifically and I’m looking forward to continuing that at JTG Daugherty Racing this weekend. While the Darlington races may not have felt normal to us being earlier in the season and during the day versus during at night, the 600 is a race that’s been continuously on Memorial Day Weekend throughout my whole career. We’re definitely getting back into the swing of the season and continuing so work on the speed we have on our intermediate track program. It’s been so great to get back to racing after so many weeks off and while we miss the fans, we hope we can put on a good show on Sunday afternoon.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 SCOTT PRODUCTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 32nd IN STANDINGS“We’re still searching for that rabbit’s foot, but I’m really proud of the work that everyone has put in at JTG Daugherty Racing this season. Our finishing positions may not reflect how our races have gone, but in all of our DNF’s this season, we’ve been running in the top-10 before our bad luck struck. Running third in the Daytona 500 on the second to last lap before getting wrecked, running second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before a blown engine, and running tenth after restarting 14^th when our engine failed at Darlington on Wednesday night. Our speed is there, our determination is there, and we just need a little bit of luck to show for it. I’m proud to continue with the Memorial Day Weekend Coca-Cola 600 tradition of having Cpl. Kyle Schneider on our No. 37 Scott Brand Camaro ZL1 1LE. We’ve got an awesome paint scheme to honor the weekend, and I’m ready to get back on track on Sunday afternoon for the longest race of the season with a great run.”
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 33rd IN STANDINGS“The Coke 600 is one of the toughest races we run all year. It’s usually hot and slick to start the race, and then we finish late into the night when the track usually picks up speed and grip, and you have to keep up with the handling through all those changes to be good. It’s one of those races where you have to run hard all day to keep your track position, and then be ready to keep up with the changes to still be good at the end. The second Darlington didn’t go quite as good for us, but we continued to learn some things and I’m looking forward to getting on track at Charlotte for another chance to learn as a team.”

Richard Childress Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Richard Childress has earned a total of 17 race wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including eight points-paying victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, four non-points-paying All-Star race wins and five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins. The organization’s most recent victories came in 2019 when Tyler Reddick won the Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race during his championship run, and in 2017 when Austin Dillon captured the Coca-Cola 600 over Memorial Day weekend to earn his career-first Cup Series victory. COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit  https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection.  Catch the Action … The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, May 24, beginning at 6 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  The NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live Monday, May 25, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The NASCAR Cup Series Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live Wednesday, May 27, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Austin Dillon at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Austin Dillon earned his career-first win in the NASCAR Cup Series with a victory in the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2017. A native of North Carolina, Dillon has competed in 10 NASCAR Cup Series races at his hometown track, earning two top-10 finishes. He is a two-time winner at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Dillon grew up watching races at Charlotte Motor Speedway from his grandfather’s condo, which overlooks the racetrack. Honoring Our Heroes With Coca-Cola … Every Memorial Day, Coca-Cola is proud to support America’s frontline heroes and their families, especially the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. The No. 3 Coca-Cola Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 features a poignant quote from President James Garfield’s speech in Arlington Cemetery on the first-ever Memorial Day in 1868. This quote speaks to the courage and dedication all servicemen and service women have as they protect us each and every day.  “We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”- James A. Garfield With this car design, Coca-Cola is not only paying tribute to the long-standing traditions of Memorial Day, but also shining a spotlight on the true meaning of the holiday by honoring all the military men and women who died in service for their country and the families they left behind.  The design of the car represents the strength and courage of America’s military heroes. From the red, white and blue color scheme, to the five stars around the car representing the branches of the military, to the bottle wrapped in a ribbon, to the future-President Garfield’s speech at the first Memorial Day remembrance at Arlington Cemetery, we wanted to pay homage with symbols of reverence for those service members who sacrificed their lives for our great nation. To support frontline heroes across the nation, The Coca-Cola Company is partnering with the USO and the American Red Cross by donating $500,000 to support frontline heroes battling COVID-19. While we can’t be together to celebrate Memorial Day, together we can honor America’s frontline heroes. For more information, visit https://www.coca-colacompany.com/news/coca-cola-returns-to-airwaves-to-support-nations-heroes Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology. Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit  http://www.basspro.com/. E-Z-GO …E-Z-GO is an iconic, world-renowned brand in golf cars and personal transportation vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, E-Z-GO Express™ personal utility vehicles, and the 2Five® street-legal low-speed vehicle. Known for innovation in electric-vehicle technology, E-Z-GO’s newest offerings include the ELiTE series of lithium-ion powered golf cars and PTVs, and the company’s exclusive 72-volt AC electric powertrain found in its latest Express series vehicles. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960, and today operates as part of the company’s Textron Specialized Vehicles division. Austin Dillon Teams up with GM BuyPower Card to Help Local Community … Through his collaboration with the GM BuyPower Card, Austin Dillon is coming to the aid of his local community with a contribution to Pit Stops for Hope. Pit Stops for Hope is a charitable collaboration within the racing community focused on addressing educational and nutritional needs among the youth. Funds from the contribution will provide meals and educational materials to families struggling with various hardships associated with COVID-19 in the Piedmont-Triad and Charlotte areas. To learn more about Pit Stops for Hope or to make a contribution, visit  www.pitstopsforhope.org. 600 Miles of Remembrance … Dillon and the No. 3 team will participate in 600 Miles of Remembrance on Memorial Day Weekend. Dillon’s name will be replaced on his race car windshield header with the name of a fallen military service member for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 3 team will feature Chief Special Warfare Operator Navy SEAL Eric F. Shellenberger. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Big weekend for you going to your hometown track with a special paint scheme …“It is really cool to have a brand like Coca-Cola behind you at the Coke 600. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. This is special to me. It’s in my backyard. I have a lot of friends and family watching this race. A couple years back, winning the Coca-Cola 600, there was nothing like it. Being tied with Coca-Cola from the beginning of my Cup Series career and getting to represent Coca-Cola in a full paint out with a patriotic scheme, it’s special. We have an awesome looking car for the 600 that spotlights the true meaning of the holiday.”How hard is it to chase track conditions in the Coca-Cola 600? It’s the longest race of the season …  “It is difficult. It’s a long day, and you’ve really got to stay up-to-date with your car and be ahead of the adjustments. Anything can happen in 600 miles, so you are always in the race. That is the good part of it. Stage racing is fun and interesting there also.” What does it mean to you to be able to race at Charlotte Motor Speedway?“I’ve been so fortunate to be able to have come here since I was a little kid and watch races right inside turn one from my grandfather’s condo. I’ve seen so many laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway and have seen a lot of guys from RCR run well at the track. I watched Jimmie Johnson dominate for years. It’s been a good track for me and I always enjoy coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway. This year, it’s even more special to have the opportunity to race and I have to commend NASCAR for all of the steps they’ve taken to put protocols into place that get us back racing safely.”

Tyler Reddick at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Tyler Reddick will be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway during this Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Reddick and his crew chief, Randall Burnett, found success at the 1.5-mile speedway last year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and won the June race there together. The two-time Xfinity Series champion has two additional series starts and one additional top-10 finish at the track. Reddick also has two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Charlotte, both resulting in top-five finishes. NASCAR Salutes … During this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600, Reddick and his No. 8 team will be honoring fallen Army SGT Norman L. Tollett by carrying his name across Reddick’s windshield as part of NASCAR’s salute to our nation’s military during Memorial Day weekend. Tollett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC, and died April 28, 2007, in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire during combat patrol operations. About Alsco … Alsco is a fourth-generation family owned and operated business, founded in 1889, that was recognized by the prestigious Hohenstein Institute for having invented the linen and uniform rental industry. Celebrating over 130 years of business, Alsco provides linen and workwear rental services to customers that include restaurants, healthcare, automotive industry and industrial facilities. With over 180 locations and more than 20,000 employees, Alsco provides world-class service to over 355,000 customers in 14 countries. Learn more at alsco.com. Alsco and RCR Salute … Alsco and RCR have come together to design a paint scheme to help honor and salute our nation’s fallen soldiers. Reddick’s No. 8 Alsco Chevrolet will have a special patriotic paint scheme for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 that highlights fallen soldier, Norman L. Tollett, and his chosen branch of the military, the Army. The scheme highlights the Army’s desert digital camo pattern and includes the crests of each division of the army Tollett was in. About Okuma … America Corporation Okuma America Corporation is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (computer numeric control) machine tools, founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. The company is the industry’s only single-source provider, with the CNC machine, drive, motors, encoders, and spindle all manufactured by Okuma. The company also designs their own CNC controls to integrate seamlessly with each machine tool’s functionality. In 2014 Okuma launched the Okuma App Store, the industry’s only centralized online marketplace for machine tool apps and related content. Along with its extensive distribution network (largest in the Americas), and Partners in THINC, Okuma is committed to helping users gain competitive advantage through the open possibilities of machine tools, today and into the future. For more information, visit https://www.okuma.com/ or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:This will be your first experience racing in the Coca-Cola 600, one of NASCAR’s longest races. How are you preparing for that?“I’m looking forward to my first attempt at the Coca-Cola 600 and the challenges it will bring. I’ve never experienced a race that long before, so it’s going to be a big learning experience for me, especially with how the track will change over the course of the race. Charlotte Motor Speedway is a temperature-sensitive track, so we need to be ready since the way the track is at the start of the night likely won’t be the same at the end of the night. We’ll need to be able to adjust our car for that. I’m excited to be part of the show. It’s an honor to be carrying SGT Norman L. Tollett’s name across my windshield for the race, and I hope we can make his family and friends proud.” You then turn around and race Charlotte again on Wednesday night. How have these mid-week races gone for you?“It has been really interesting and fun to have these mid-week races. They keep us on our toes, even though it’s the same track being raced so close together. Both Darlington and Charlotte are tracks affected by temperature and day versus night conditions, so it almost comes off as two different places. For this week, we should be able to pull some additional notes from the Coke 600 for Wednesday’s race since we will have a big portion of that race ran in the nighttime, as long as the temperature is close to the same on both nights.”

This Week’s No. 21 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro at Charlotte Motor Speedway … This weekend will mark Myatt Snider’s return to the No. 21 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Snider will be making his debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He has one career NASCAR Truck Series start at the track in 2018.  About TaxSlayer … TaxSlayer makes online tax filing accessible for millions of Americans, with an easy-to-use platform and unlimited support at a fraction of the cost of the competition. Trusted for over 50 years, the Augusta-based tech company successfully completed more than 10 million state and federal e-filed tax returns in 2019 and processed $12 billion in refunds. TaxSlayer achieved a 4.5/5 TrustScore on consumer review site Trustpilot, with 87% of its customers rating the tax filing platform Great or Excellent. For more information, visit www.TaxSlayer.com. Tax Day … The IRS has extended the federal tax filing deadline for 2020. Tax Day is now July 15, 2020. This extension is automatic and applies to all taxpayers. For up-to-date information and advice, check out TaxSlayer.com/blog. Save Now … When you file with TaxSlayer, the savings are around every turn. All the deductions, all the credits, and all the money you deserve comes back to you in your refund. Start for free at TaxSlayer.com. Did You Know … Myatt Snider cut his teeth racing Legend cars in the Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:This will be the first time you have raced an Xfinity Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Being from Charlotte, how special will it be racing at your home track, especially for an iconic team like Richard Childress Racing?“It will be such an honor to compete under the Richard Childress banner at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend. The Charlotte race has always been a marquee event to me. I love having a short commute to the racetrack and having my family close by. It will be a very exciting weekend all around. I’m super excited to have a strong performance for both TaxSlayer and Richard Childress Racing at my home track. It’s time to slay it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESCHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAYCOCA-COLA 600TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTMAY 22, 2020 
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 COCA-COLA CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media and discussed the return of NASCAR to racing at the two Darlington events, the fitness aspect of the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, his relationship with the GM BuyPower Card and Pit Stops for Hope, and more. Transcript:
YOU HAVE A COLLABORATION WITH THE GM BUYPOWER CARD. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING WITH THEM LATELY DURING THE TIME-OFF WE’VE HAD?“We created a relationship last year with the GM BuyPower Card from Capital One. We started off with a good year and this year, with everything that’s going on, obviously, with the coronavirus, we wanted to figure out a way to come together and partner and give back to our local community. Ray Wright, who is also on this call, is a good friend of mine. He’s our pit coach here at RCR and started Pit Stops for Hope a while back. I’ve always enjoyed working with him and seeing the work that he has done throughout our community for education and the local Piedmont Triad, and then has also been providing meals for kids. I’m getting ready to have my first kid and seeing what fatherhood is about. It’s kind of my mission to help support other children. Ray has always been really good with our racing community and bringing them together to find ways that we can give back. And so it was really cool that GM BuyPower card, Capital One, to help us out here and it’s made our relationship tie together closer and has really brought that family atmosphere to it.”
FROM A REALLY WIDE VIEW, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS PAST WEEK AND HOW NASCAR GOT BACK TO RACING? FIRST, THEY HAD TO HANDLE JUST THE RETURN ITSELF WITH ALL THE HEALTH PROTOCOLS AND SUCH. AND THEN YOU GUYS GOT GOOD RACES OUT OF IT AND HAVE SOME MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE 600. HOW DO YOU THINK THE WEEK HAS GONE?“I was sitting at home last night and I had the TV on ESPN and I saw Chase Briscoe’s amazing victory and his interview. Seeing that on ESPN, it’s been a minute since our sport has really been featured on that channel, and that just kind of made me proud of NASCAR for the efforts they went through to be the first big sport to come back. I think NASCAR, a lot of people were watching, because of the amount of people that we have to bring to the track. It’s huge for our sport. I’m really proud of all the guys and girls from NASCAR that made it happen and they’ve done a good job of bringing it back safely. I felt like it ran super smooth. Obviously, it was awkward for the first time sitting and waiting and not being able to do things leading up to the race. That was kind of tough. But, as far as going out and getting in the race car and getting back on track, it felt so good just to be in a race car again. As soon as the green flag dropped, it was a race. And you saw that. It was good racing. And yes, we do have big momentum going into the 600, one of our best races as a sport that we have. I’m looking forward to that race.”
WITH ALL THESE NEW EYES ON YOU AND PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE NEW TO NASCAR, HOW DO YOU GET THEM TO SIT THROUGH THE 600, WHICH IS NOT ALWAYS THE MOST EXCITING RACE?“Well, I think the package that we are bringing to the track now for 1.5-mile races, makes it more exciting. This weekend at Darlington, if you would have told me of those two races that we would have only gotten one green-flag stop in, over two races, that would have surprised me. I feel like it was pretty action-packed when it came to cautions and people wrecking and spinning out. Some spinning out I feel like can bring a caution out. That’s a different subject. But, I do feel like the racing will be action-packed this weekend at Charlotte. They’ll be good action on the track to be able to follow along and obviously re-starts and the stages have definitely brought more excitement throughout our races.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL PHYSICALLY? DO YOU THINK ANY DRIVERS WILL BE KIND OF FALLING OUT OF THE SEAT FOR THE 600 DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE’S NO PRACTICE? THEY’VE GOT TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE“Yeah, I’ve spent a lot of my time early in the mornings during this coronavirus pandemic working out. So, I feel like I’m in the best physical shape I’ve ever been because I’ve had time. Usually, during this timeframe, I just can’t find the time to really get on a routine and focus on working out because I have a lot more obligations than I currently do. So, I’ve been able to really focus on my physical fitness. That’s been a good thing for me. I hope some of the guys have been lazy and played video games a lot and they fall out of the seat on Sunday because I feel like I’ll be one of the guys who is in a good position to hold onto that steering wheel for all 600 miles and put myself in a good position when it comes down to it at the end. It’s a quick turnaround because each race, the lingering affects of a long race, you definitely feel the dehydration factor and you can get that back quick. But, I feel like there’s also just time that your muscles and stuff take to kind of recover. You can get the hydration back quick; but I used to run two or three races on a weekend, and I know how I’ve recovered from those. So, I think this is the same as just kind of going back in time when I was running both Xfinity and Cup and sometimes Truck. And you’ve got the guys that just know how to deal with that and how to keep themselves in good hydration that helps in the long run.”
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN AS FAR AS THIS ACCELERATED SCHEDULE AS FAR AS THE EQUIPMENT AT RCR? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE IN GOOD SHAPE FOR ALL THESE RACES IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME?“Well, as long as we don’t tear anything up. I feel like we did a good job in these first two races. It definitely can put a burden on your team if you wreck cars. Some of them lost two cars in two races. That’s not a good start, obviously, to a couple months worth of races packed-in. It just creates longer hours with a smaller group of guys who are able to work on the cars. You don’t give the road crew an ability to go help your mechanics work on the car because you’re separating them. So, you just don’t want to put your team behind by wrecking cars. And we’re in a pretty good spot right now, I feel like, at RCR, where we are able to turn both those cars around and be able to run them again.”
YOU HAVE PEOPLE FIRED UP ABOUT THE ‘CHOOSE CONE RULE’ ON TWITTER. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA AND SOMETHING THAT NASCAR NEEDS TO ADOPT?“My thoughts are that as a sport, we’re always changing. We’ve done a really good job with the 1.5-mile program and brought it back to life. I think the next thing is trying to make it better for the fans and create more drama than it already has. The ‘choose cone’ is something that is utilized throughout short tracks in America, asphalt, you name it. You see it on a weekly basis at places when I was heck, racing Legends cars at age 14, with no radios, you could figure out how to make a choose cone work. You just chose and that was your line that you had to make. This puts it in the drivers’ hands. It kind of allows us to decide our fate when it comes down to restarts. You can’t just be bummed because you got the bottom and you lost four spots on the last restart and you’re really a 10th place car or a fifth-place car, you lose spots because of your line you’ve had to choose. This makes it where you get to that choose cone, and the first three cars have chosen the outside, that guy in fourth can pull all the way up to the inside pole and try and make it work. And it’s the same throughout the back of the field. You’ll have guys that will take the outside three or four rows worth of it, and it gives that guy, all right, go see if you can make it happen and keep those spots that you think you can gain on the bottom. I think you’ll see the announcers in the booth will have something else to talk about. And after the race they’ll be questioning, man, I should have chosen a different line. I should have chosen the top or the bottom instead of I was given the bottom. And also, I was watching the Xfinity race yesterday and those guys literally were brake-checking to get off the end of pit road. It takes out pit crews’ fast stops. Your pit crew could have gained you a couple of spots there, but instead, you’re giving up two spots because you’d rather start on the outside. That’s got to stop. I think it’s going to knock somebody’s nose in at the end of pit road before too long so that’ll end a guy’s race.
“I don’t feel like it is a hard thing to do. I know that the cone with the rope is a little outdated. I just want a painted area in the restart line. A bunch of the drivers got together and talked about it. I feel like we can accomplish it as a group. We’ve been able to bring our sport back through a pandemic. I think we can make a choose rule work. It’s not that complicated in my eyes. I don’t want to be the guy up there in the booth the first time because I feel like it would be a little bit hard. But there are certain tracks like Michigan, where you’ve got a long time before you get back around to the start/finish line. I think that would be a great place to practice it for the first time. It’s also a place where the top line is dominant. You lose three or four spots by the time you get to Turn 1 because of the draft there. So, it would create a long time for them to be able to straighten it out by the time we got back around. I think, personally, the drivers can straighten it out themselves. If you choose a line, you must stay in that line after that mark. If you swap lanes, you’re automatically black-flagged and brought to the back. And if you don’t give up your position before the start, it’s a lap penalty. I think that will create a way that no one is going to mess around and change lanes. You get to that line, you’ve got to make a decision. And that’s what it is.”
DO YOU GET THE SENSE THAT NASCAR IS OPEN TO THIS AND SOMETHING THEY’LL CONSIDER?“I think they’re definitely open to it. From the discussions I’ve had, I just feel like there’s a lot going on right now, so I can’t push too hard because they have a lot on their plate. But it is something I wish they would put on the drivers’ plate to kind of handle a little bit because I kind of feel like given that responsibility, we can do a good job as a group. Have a meeting about it, like this, and talk about it as drivers and try and make it happen for our sport because I know it will be more exciting and give you that, like I said, put it back in our hands at the end of the race to be able to decide our fate.”
FOR RAY WRIGHT, CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT PIT STOPS FOR HOPE AND THE DONATION BETWEEN AUSTIN DILLON AND THE GM BUYPOWER CARD?“Basically, Pit Stops for Hope started in 2013. It started right here at RCR when we found out the North Carolina, our home state, has a major problem with children and being food insecure. One in four kids in North Carolina go to school hungry. A lot of these kids are elementary school age, middle-age school age, so a lot of kids aren’t getting the proper nutrition and they’re brains aren’t developing. So when you get more into schools, you find out that the teachers in the school system are actually putting snacks in the kid’s backpacks and trying to help them get through the day. They’re putting school supplies in their backpacks. And the teachers do not have a budget for that in our state. The teachers are amongst the lowest-paid teachers in the country. So our society is really continuing a cycle of poverty. We’re sending hundreds of kids to school and then they’re going into a classroom that’s not properly funded by a teacher that’s not properly paid. So, what we’re doing is we’re paving the way for poverty. And that’s been Pit Stops for Hope’s mission since 2013 to raise awareness for these kids and for better education. We help them find food and we help these teachers provide a better atmosphere to learn.
“I’ve known Austin since he was in high school. We’ve had a great relationship through the years. I was the minister at his wedding and he has been with Pit Stops for Hope since the day we started. He loved the idea and loved that it is a local charity because he knows the need that’s in this area. And it’s a big need. What we’re doing now with the GM BuyPower Card is something that can’t come at a better time. Kids were in trouble before this pandemic. Now schools were cancelled, so you have kids who have to do online learning in their houses, who might not have a parent at home. They definitely don’t have a Chromebook to learn online. A lot of kids went to school just to get food. So now they’re at home. They don’t have nutrition at their house and they don’t have the tools to learn online. Before the pandemic is was a problem and now, during the pandemic there is a bigger problem.
“So, this is perfect-timing. We got with local officials in our county and the counties that surround us, and you try to find out who needs Chromebooks and who needs tablets. We’ve done two food giveaways in the parking lots at these schools. We posted some of those pictures on our social media. The lines were out onto the road for people waiting to pick-up a sandwich. So, I’m always proud of Austin and who he is and how he represents himself and his home state and his hometown. And, we’re just very happy at Pit Stops for Hope that we have this money to go help the community with.”

NASCAR CUP SERIESCHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAYCOCA-COLA 600TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTMAY 22, 2020 
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE, spoke with media via teleconference to discuss the anticipation leading into this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600, what it means to race at his hometown track, and more. Full Transcript:  YOU’RE PILOTING THE NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET THIS WEEKEND. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT PAINT SCHEME THAT YOU WILL BE FEATURING IN THE COCA-COLA 600 THIS WEEKEND?“We have the patriotic paint scheme again this year, so we kind of did something a little bit different with the way that it looks. It looks really good – I think they modeled it kind of after Captain America. It looks really cool; hopefully we can get Sgt. Billings a good run and just have a great 600. Obviously, it’s the longest race of the year. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of adjustments, a lot of pit stops, things like that, so you just have to progress your way through the event.” THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE CHOOSE CONE RULE LATELY, JUST BECAUSE DARLINGTON OBVIOUSLY HAVING SUCH A DOMINATE GROOVE AFFECTED A LOT OF GUYS AND AUSTIN DILLON WAS TWEETING ABOUT IT. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON WHETHER THAT SHOULD BE A THING IN NASCAR?“I think it should be, especially with how critical restarts are with this package and just the shear track position you can gain or lose in one restart alone is pretty huge. And how close the field is, too. The top-10 to 12 cars are typically reasonably the same or close in pace to each other, so I think a choose cone would allow you to have some different options to be able to make a run. Let’s say you lost track position on a pit stop, you could have the potential to gain that back. I could see something that’s maybe for the top-20 cars and maybe the next 20 doubles up like normal so it’s not a huge confusion coming to a restart. But it would definitely be welcomed for us.” HOW ARE YOU FEELING PHYSICALLY AFTER TWO RACES IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME AND ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS GOING INTO 600-MILES ON SUNDAY?“I just got done training, so I hope I’m doing physically well (laughs). It’s been different for me. I train probably twice a week now. Given the fact if there’s two races, I kind of take the day after the race just to recover. Then, the following day is whatever training that my guys have lined up for me in terms of what they put on the app that we use. Really, I’ve just tried to stick to that schedule so far. The 600 is going to be tough just because of the humidity in North Carolina, so it’s not going to be easy.” HAVE YOU GUYS LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT PROCESSES OR HOW TO GO ABOUT THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAT YOU WOULD KEEP WHEN THINGS GO BACK TO NORMAL?“We have. We run a little different interior components, like I have a drink bag that attaches to the left side of my seat, which is different than what I’ve had in the past. I usually just run a polar water bottle, so it’s a little bit different there. I run some extra fans inside the car just to get some air flow to my upper body and everything like that. So, a little different processes there inside the car. Everybody is carrying their helmets and stuff to the car, so that’s much different. I’ve got my suit in my car right now from this past weekend, so I have to wash those. It’s unique, but I love it honestly. It kind of feels like back to the roots of what we all grew up doing – going to the race track, bringing your own stuff and going to race.” DARLINGTON WAS KIND OF A MIXED BAG FOR YOU GUYS, SO I’M JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHAT YOU TOOK OUT OF THOSE TWO RACES? “We had some issues to work through in the Wednesday race that we didn’t really figure out until after the race, so that was kind of is what it is. But the Sunday race, we had a really good car and obviously had the misfortune there with the loose wheel. Like you said, kind of a mixed bag. We weren’t as good on Wednesday, but I think we know why and we just have to work towards getting ready for the 600. We had a really good car there last year; we qualified on the pole. We just have to try to carry over what we’ve been doing speed-wise at HMS. We’ve had some really good cars this year. We just have to put together solid races and have good execution. It sounds kind of boring and simple, but it’s really what it comes down to. Hopefully we’ll get to the end of the race and have the opportunity.” HOW DOES THE STRATEGY CHANGE GOING INTO AN ENDURANCE RACE LIKE THE 600? “Charlotte has become an interesting race track because you have the PJ-1 that they put down in the second groove. So, you have a much different balance over the course of the race. As that stuff starts to come in towards the middle part of the race, it creates a much different balance. As it wears off, the car, at least for us, progressively gets tighter. You’ve got to keep up with the race track to have a good car at the end because once that stuff wears off, it seems to have rubber that sticks to it and it gets pretty slick at times. It’s just a constant battle with that stuff on the race track and trying to figure out what your car needs to do and how to setup passes because a lot of guys can maintain a lap time up there. So, it makes it twice as hard to pass or complete the pass at least. You can run side by side pretty easily. It’s just a constant evolution throughout 600 miles.” AS A CHARLOTTE-NATIVE AND THIS WEEKEND, YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE MORE EYES ON THE SPORT THAN EVER BEFORE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU?“It’s awesome – it’s great every year running the 600. Honestly, what’s cool about it is just waking up in your own bed, driving to the race track and feeling like you’re in your own space. Again, it kind of goes back to the roots of where I grew up racing, what I grew up doing, so it makes it really cool. I will say, it’s a little bit easier this year because I don’t have anyone going to the race, unfortunately. I don’t have family or anything there, so we can spend time together away from the track, but not at the track. So, it’s going to be pretty seamless there.”
NOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN BACK IN THE CAR FOR TWO RACES GOING INTO CHARLOTTE, ARE THERE GOING TO BE ANY NEW CHALLENGES CONSIDERING YOU’RE GOING TO GET QUALIFYING THIS WEEKEND OR WILL IT FEEL LIKE A REGULAR RACE AGAIN?“I think that with qualifying taking place, it’s hopefully going to be easier to have track position at the start of the race and kind of have the normal players, I guess you could say, towards the front. So, I guess that’s going to be an easier way to go about the start of the race. Hopefully, we qualify well and we’re up towards the front, and we can have a smooth start to the race. Yeah, I think that’s going to honestly be an easier process than the inverts have been and things of that nature. But still your pit selection goes back to last week, so that’s critical. I just look at the 600 as a long evolution of a race and it takes adaptation each run that goes by.” WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE’VE BEEN RUNNING UNDER AND THE FACT THAT THE 600 IS BASICALLY THE ONLY SHOW IN TOWN WITH NO MONOCO AND NO INDIANAPOLIS 500, IS THAT GOING TO BE WEIRD OR HOW UNIQUE WILL THAT BE FOR YOU GUYS TO BE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND?“Yeah, it’s different. It feels different. Usually at this time of the race weekend of the 600, you kind of know what to expect and you’ve been through practice. Typically, actually this day is a day off because they do the Thursday qualifying and Saturday practice, so it’s much different. Having not even sat in the car physically yet to know what’s going to happen, it feels much different. But in some instances, like a normal race like we’ve been having, you just kind of roll with the next one because we’ve had a series of races here every few days. So, it’s starting to get a little bit of a rhythm of just racing a lot.” WITH THE 600 RUNNING ON SUNDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S RACE, BOTH RUNNING UNDER PRETTY SIMILAR CONDITIONS, DIFFERENT THAN DARLINGTON, DO YOU EXPECT THAT THE SAME FRONT RUNNERS WE’LL SEE WEDNESDAY NIGHT COMPARED TO THE 600?“You’re going to have a different field just because of the ability everybody has, not just the driver’s ability, but the team’s ability to learn from the previous race and get better. I guarantee you’ll probably have five or six guys that run well in one race that won’t run well in the other or a new player that’s a dominant factor in each race is probably going to be different. I think you saw that at Darlington. Obviously, some of the players were the same at the front, but there were some different. So, I think that’s going to continue with these double-header type races where you have a couple of days to go back, review what happened, what went well, what didn’t go so well and make adjustments to your car or make adjustments as a driver to get better.” WHAT IS THE ROUTINE LIKE IN THE MOTORHOME SINCE YOU’RE ISOLATED FOR ALL THAT TIME?“It’s honestly not as complex as people probably think. I really just sit there, try to eat well, eat whatever meal I had planned on before the race. But you obviously can’t be with anybody else, so there’s not much going on like there would be at a normal race weekend where you have appearances, you talk to your team and all those things. In some ways, it’s kind of easier to kind of get yourself in that zone that you want to be in. I typically try to shut technology down, try to not look too much at what’s going on in the outside world and that seems to be working OK. Just try to find something that occupies by mind for a couple of hours if I can before the race.”
WITH YOU GUYS NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT LIKE YOU REFERENCED, I KNOW THAT’S A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE TYPICALLY A LOT OF THAT STUFF WAS CARRIED ON THE HAULERS OR HANDLED BY INTERIOR PEOPLE. HAVE YOU COME CLOSE TO LEAVING ANYTHING BEHIND?“Yeah, so it’s funny, I actually use my racing shoes on iRacing. I just started doing this because of the new format, but I’ll test a little bit on iRacing the night before the race typically. So, I try to run in the shoes I’m going to wear on race day. Obviously, they change every week with the sponsor changes and things of that nature. I’ve come close to leaving those a couple of times at home, so hopefully that doesn’t happen anytime soon. I try to leave them right in front of the door the night before so I don’t forget. That’s the closest I’ve come is just leaving gloves or shoes at home on my iRacing rig.”

May 22, 2020

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

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

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

DiBenedetto, driving for another team last year, had a fast car in for the Monster Energy Open that preceded the All-Star race at Charlotte, finishing fourth. He said he can build on that as well as his second-place finish earlier this year at a similar track – Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
“We were fast at the end at Las Vegas, so I feel good about that,” he said. “And Greg (Erwin, crew chief) and the people on the team feel good about the car and the set-up.”

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

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

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

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

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

He had more than 400 combat hours, including his service in Operation Enduring Freedom.
 
Major Gruenther, from Twain Harte, Calif., died Jan. 28, 2013, from injuries suffered when he ejected from his F-16 during a nighttime training flight.

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

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

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

BRISCOE WINS AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY DARLINGTON, SC – May 22, 2020 – The NASCAR Xfinity Series got back to racing in a big way last night. Chase Briscoe left everything on the track; he would not be denied his second Xfinity win of the season and first at Darlington Raceway. Briscoe also brought home the second win of the week for Stewart-Haas Racing.

“Congratulations to Chase, Richard, Tony, Gene, and the No. 98 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “I am so proud of this wheelman and pray for his family during this difficult time. This has been a special week for our sport, and we are very fortunate to have the leadership of Ford Performance, great teams, fans, and our partners.”

After a rain delay moved the restart of the Xfinity series to later in the day, developing the right game plan proved to be critical, with no practice nor qualifying, the Ford drivers strapped in for their first race in over two months. The Ford Performance teammates proved they had done their homework, competing in the top-10 for most of the race.   It all came down to the last restart of the race. Briscoe and Austin Cindric lined up in the outside lane, first and fourth, respectively. Cindric gave Briscoe a good push at the restart and after a brief battle with Justin Allgaier, Briscoe was able to clear the field and take the lead. But veteran driver, Kyle Busch would work to reel Briscoe in over the course of the last six laps. Briscoe drove with grit and true determination to defend the lead, as he and Busch traded paint on the final two laps of the race. Coming off the final corner, Briscoe squeezed his No. 98 Ford Mustang between Busch and the wall and drag raced Busch to take the checkered flag.

“This has been the hardest week I’ve ever had to deal with, and God is so good,” commented Briscoe in his victory interview. “Even when I took the lead with 50 to go, I was crying inside the race car and just emotionally I wasn’t there at all. There’s nothing else to say other than God is just so glorious. Obviously, I’m happy to get HighPoint.com and Ford Performance Racing School in victory lane, but this is more than a race win. This is the biggest day of my life after the toughest day in my life, and to be able to beat the best there is so satisfying.”

Cindric, Team Penske’s No. 22 driver, also drove a great race and finished P4. Briscoe is on top of the driver’s leader board with Cindric in third.

The Cup series capped off their two-race stint at Darlington Wednesday night with Clint Bowyer leading a race-high 71 laps while winning Stage 1 and Stage 2. Although the race was cut short due to rain, the Ford Mustangs finished strong with five Fords in the top-10: Kevin Harvick (P3), Brad Keselowski (P4), Joey Logano (P6), Aric Almirola (P7), and Matt DiBenedetto (P9).   Harvick remains the points leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second place Logano.

NASCAR heads to Charlotte, NC for the historic Coca Cola 600 on Sunday and the Xfinity series will take center stage on Memorial Day in the Alsco 300. Reference the full 2020 schedule on Roushyates.com.  27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 384 WINS – 357 POLES!

WAYNESVILLE, GA (MAY 22, 2020) – Josh Richards picked up his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2020 on Thursday Night at Golden Isles Speedway. He led most of the race, until Mason Zeigler took over the top spot, but ultimately luck was on Richards’ side when race leader Mason Zeigler got into the turn two wall with two laps remaining leaving the second-place running Richards a clear path to victory lane. Zeigler and Richards battled for the lead for nearly 28 laps, but Zeigler slipped in turn two on lap 38. He got into the wall and ended his night after he led since lap 29. Richards then pulled away from Tim McCreadie in the final circuits to pick up his 29th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory and his seventh at Golden Isles. With McCreadie’s second place finish, he takes over the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series point lead.  Jimmy Owens completed the Big River Steel podium with his third place finish. Mark Whitener grabbed the fourth spot with Devin Moran coming from the tail to finish in fifth. Moran missed the ten-minute call and had to start 24th on the grid.   Brandon Overton started from the pole after winning the PFC Brakes Pole Award and he led the first seven laps of the race until ignition problems caused him to bring out the first caution of the race. His night ended when his car slowed coming off turn number four as Richards went by him to lead lap eight. As Overton exited the race under the caution, the restart went one-two Richards on the point and McCreadie in second, followed by home state driver Steven Roberts. The car on the move after the restart was Mason Zeigler. He shot to the second spot around McCreadie on lap 11 and then set his sights on Richards. Richards and Zeigler duked it out in a two-car battle for the lead with McCreadie and Owens hot on their heels. Zeigler stalked Richards until he slid under him in turn four to take over the lead on lap 29.  Richards then stayed close to Zeigler as the two blazed a furious pace around the speedy 3/8th mile oval. With just two laps to go Zeigler got into turn one too hot and banged the turn two wall putting him out of a shot at his second win of the season. With the win, Richards became the eighth different winner in eleven Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events this season. “He [Zeigler] has come a long way. I don’t know if I could have gotten back around him. I was kind of a sitting duck; I couldn’t roll the corners good as I wanted to. I was kind of using the right rear a little bit. I was trying to find a good rhythm and once he got by me I was trying to turn the wick back up.  He made a mistake tonight and Mason slipped up a little bit and I was able to hold off McCreadie at the end.” The winner’s Clint Bowyer Racing Rocket Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by iRacing, Big River Steel, DEKALB, Integra Shocks, Crawford Outdoor, and Cometic Gasket. Completing the top ten were Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson, Tanner English, Shane Clanton, and Rick Eckert.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Optima Batteries Golden Isles Nationals – presented by Bilstein
Thursday, May 21st, 2020
Golden Isles Speedway – Waynesville, GA

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Overton / 15.220 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Tim McCreadie / 15.322 seconds 

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[5]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 4. 50-Shanon Buckingham[4]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 6. 8B-Mike Benedum[7]; 7. 22F-Chris Ferguson[3]; 8. 2W-Pearson Williams[8]; 9. 00-Russell Brown Jr[9]

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):  1. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 5. 1B-Ross Bailes[6]; 6. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[7]; 7. 25DC-Donnie Chappell[8]; 8. 0R-Ryan Scott[9]; 9. (DNS) 1S-Brandon Sheppard

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 3. 0E-Rick Eckert[4]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 5. 25-Shane Clanton[6]; 6. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 7. 6S-Blake Spencer[7]; 8. 1G-Ryan King[8]; 9. (DNS) 89-GR Smith

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 111-Steven Roberts[1]; 2. 5W-Mark Whitener[2]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[5]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 5. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 6. 7F-Jason Fitzgerald[7]; 7. 72-Michael Norris[6]; 8. (DNS) F15-Jeremy Conaway; 9. (DNS) 5T-John Tweed

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):  1. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 2. 1B-Ross Bailes[2]; 3. 8B-Mike Benedum[3]; 4. 2W-Pearson Williams[7]; 5. 22F-Chris Ferguson[5]; 6. 0R-Ryan Scott[8]; 7. (DNS) 21-Billy Moyer Jr; 8. (DNS) 25DC-Donnie Chappell; 9. (DNS) 00-Russell Brown Jr; 10. (DNS) 1S-Brandon Sheppard

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[2]; 3. 89-GR Smith[9]; 4. 1G-Ryan King[7]; 5. 6S-Blake Spencer[5]; 6. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 7. 7F-Jason Fitzgerald[4]; 8. (DNS) 72-Michael Norris; 9. (DNS) F15-Jeremy Conaway; 10. (DNS) 5T-John Tweed

14th    17th   14th

“It was a solid day for our No. 21 iRacing Chevrolet. My first lap at Darlington Raceway was when they dropped the green flag today, so that was exciting to say the least. We used the first two Stages to try and find a balance on our Chevrolet and get me comfortable in the seat. We just battled tight handling conditions throughout the day, but I felt like we were better on the long runs. I would say it was a successful day to finish in the top 15 at Darlington Raceway with the challenges we faced. Thanks to my crew chief, Andy Street, and all the guys on my No. 21 iRacing Chevrolet team for all their hard work. It felt great to be back in the race car.” -Anthony Alfred

KCR Simulators announces title sponsorship for new five-week iRacing championship

 INDIANAPOLIS (May 21, 2020)- With real world racing still on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda will take its first foray into online sim racing starting on Tuesday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Following the success of the FR Americas iRacing Invitational Championship, KCR Simulators maximized its partnership with SCCA Pro Racing to create the five-week KCR Simulators F4 U.S. Esports Championship.

KCR Simulators will work with drivers participating in the esports series to push the limits of their simulator development.

“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the F4 U.S. Esports Championship,” said KCR Simulator CEO Kyle Connery. “I look forward to the information we will collect in making a better product for our customers. Just like the drivers, teams, and series we at KCR Simulators strive to always improve. Pushing the limits of simulator development to provide an accurate platform for drivers to hone their skills.”  

The KCR Simulators F4 U.S. Esports Championship drivers will tackle some of the championship’s favorite circuits from over the last five seasons, including Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Barber Motorsports Park, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course  with one bonus North American track picked by fans.

The format for each race will include a separate practice and qualifying session, followed by a 30-minute feature. The top-three drivers will be interviewed post-race in the winner’s circle. With only 33 available spots, current, former and future F4 U.S. drivers will qualify prior to each event to set the weekly entry list.

To keep in the spirit of F4, the drivers will compete virtually against one another in the identically prepared F3 international cars with additional weight and detuned power to simulate a more real-life F4 driving experience.

The championship winner will receive a huge prize from the reigning FR Americas team champions. In effort to show the single-seater progression, Global Racing Group will host the iRacing champion for a real-life test day in the Halo-equipped Ligier JS F3 car. The championship prize package also includes an Omologato watch, Bell Helmet Accessories and a Balaclava and 50 percent discount from Sabelt America.

KCR Simulators will also award the weekly hard charger with a private one-hour coaching session with three-time champion Dakota Dickerson.

The championship will be streamed weekly by Apex Racing TV starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern live across the F4 U.S. YouTube channel and Facebook page and Apex Racing YouTube and Twitch channels with live commentary from John Fippin and Austin Knight.

Enter the Series- https://bit.ly/2TtqfBr

CORVETTE RACING CHASSIS HISTORY: 1999-2004Looking back at Corvette C5-R GT1 era

DETROIT (May 21, 2020) – Corvette Racing’s legacy in sports car racing dates back more than 20 years. The program’s decade of competition includes 107 race wins worldwide and multiple IMSA Manufacturer, Driver and Team championships since 1999. These accomplishments came in some of the most memorable and revered cars in all of road racing.  Today we offer this look back at the Corvette C5-R, Chevrolet’s first entry into modern factory racing. As the C5 did against its production-based competitors, the C5-R quickly established itself as a world-beater against some of the biggest names in endurance racing.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-001

First up in Corvette chassis history is the one that started it all – Corvette C5R-001. It placed second at Daytona in 2000 and third in 1999. Its first race was as No. 2 and not the familiar No. 3.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-002

Corvette chassis C5R-002 competed in six races and was third in class at Le Mans in 2000. Andy Pilgrim drove it in each of its six appearances.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-003

Corvette C5R-003 is possibly the most famous Corvette Racing chassis in history! It was the first race-winner (Texas 2000) and won the Rolex 24 overall in 2001. C5R-003 won 10 times in 17 races including Le Mans in 2001 and 2002. It also started a long-time partnership between Corvette legends Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-004

Three wins in 15 contests for Corvette C5R-004 including the ‘Pilgrim Pass’ at the 2000 Petit Le Mans with a repeat victory the next year. It gained worldwide notoriety when Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., drove it at the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona alongside Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins at the 2001 Rolex 24.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-005

Corvette C5R-005 was one of Corvette Racing’s most dominant cars. It won seven times in 11 races including Petit Le Mans in 2002 and the 2003 Sebring 12 Hours. It also helped program legend Ron Fellows to his first American Le Mans Series title in 2002. After life in North America, C5R-005 went on to race throughout Europe in privateer hands until 2008.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-006

Corvette C5R-006 took three wins in 11 races in the hands of Corvette Racing, including the program’s first at Road America in 2002. It went on to race in the hands of Pacific Coast Motorsports in the 2005 ALMS season with all three Corvettes finishing on the GT1 podium at Portland – a first for the brand.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-007

A Fun Fact: Corvette C5R-007 is the only Corvette chassis NOT to be fielded by Corvette Racing. It was built for Selleslagh Racing Team (SRT) in the Belgium Racing Car Championship (Belcar). It is by far the most ‘experienced’ C5-R chassis with 71 races throughout Europe but it never appeared at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It did, however, compete at the 24 Hours of Spa on multiple occasions.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-008

Corvette C5R-008 had a relatively short career but it made results count: two wins in eight races. It also was the car Oliver Gavin drove for the majority of his first full season with the team. The No. 4 Corvette in IMSA, it also wore the No. 50 at Le Mans in 2003.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-009

Corvette C5R-009 had a similarly brief career as chassis 008. It claimed three wins in 10 races and started as No. 53 at Le Mans before continuing on as No. 3 in the American Le Mans Series. It carried Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell to a second straight ALMS GTS title in a tight battle over Prodrive.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-010

The 2004 season was the final one for the Corvette C5-R in factory hands. Chassis C5R-010 marked the beginning of the Oliver Gavin/Olivier Beretta/Jan Magnussen partnership that began in 2004. Its first victory was Le Mans in 2004 – the first of three in a row in France for the trio. Gavin and Beretta won three straight races late in the season including Petit Le Mans. This chassis went on to race extensively in Europe until October 2009.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-011

Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell closed out their Corvette C5-R run with four wins in chassis C5R-011. This car’s first race was a class victory at Sebring in 2004, and it won its final factory outing at Laguna Seca. Seven additional wins followed internationally including multiple wins in FIA GT competition.

CORVETTE CHASSIS C5R-012

A bonus item in our Corvette history project. Chassis C5R-012 served as the testing and development car for the C6.R generation. It tested on-track for the first time in 2003 with Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell handling most of the testing duties. Fellows also drove this on stage to debut the C6.R at the 2005 North American International Auto Show.

Broadcasts for the Opening Rounds of MotoAmerica’s 2020 Season are Scheduled for May 30th and 31st

Corona, Calif (May 21, 2020) – MAVTV, the only cable television network in the U.S. dedicated solely to motorsports, is thrilled to announce the return of LIVE racingbeginning with coverage of the opening rounds for MotoAmerica’s Supersport series from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The LIVE broadcasts are scheduled to air at 3 pm ET on Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st. MAVTV’s LIVE broadcasts will feature one-hour programming of the rising stars competing in the hotly-contested Supersport class.  “MAVTV has a rich history with two-wheel racing and we are proud to offer America’s premier road racing series in our May broadcast schedule,” said John Duff, Head of Content, MAVTV Motorsports Network. “While racing without fans isn’t ideal, the ability to hold a live race is still a big win for the industry and its fans, and we’re excited to broadcast these live events to motorsports enthusiasts.”

May 21, 2020

Despite struggling to find the speed he hoped to have at Darlington Raceway, Matt DiBenedetto came away from two races in four days with two solid finishes, including his second top-10 finish of the season, a ninth-place effort in Wednesday night’s 500-kilometer race at the Lady in Black.

DiBenedetto and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang fired off fast in Wednesday’s race, the start of which was delayed by rain throughout the day.

He started seventh after the qualifying order was set through an inversion of the finishing order of Sunday’s Darlington race in which he finished 14^th.

He had driven up to fifth place, but made an early pit stop because he and the team were worried that there might be an issue with his car.

The decision to pit cost DiBenedetto and the team track position and caused them to use up one of the eight sets of tires each team was allotted for the race.

DiBenedetto restarted 27^th and passed 15 cars in just 10 laps.

“It was fun to fly through the field like that,” he said. “I was surprised how many cars I could just fly by.”

But as the track took on more rubber, the results weren’t as good.

“We were a lot better on the green track,” he said. “When the track rubbered up, we just weren’t where we needed to be.”

Still he was able to finish 10^th in the second 60-lap stage, earning one stage point.

As the laps wound down, DiBenedetto and his team, led by crew chief Greg Erwin and spotter Doug Campbell, used strategy to move into the top 10 when it counted.

Sensing rains would arrive before the race reached the advertised distance, the decision was made to leave DiBenedetto on the track when the caution flag flew with 32 laps remaining.

DiBenedetto moved up to second for the restart and was hanging on to ninth place when the race was called for rain 20 laps shy of the planned 228 laps.
 
“We gambled at the end and got lucky, but we’ll take it,” he said of his second top-10 finish of the season, the first a runner-up run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the second race of the season. “All of the tracks except for Darlington we have had really good speed, so I know we will take a little luck from this one and moving forward we should be fast at a lot of places and be better at Charlotte.”
  
DiBenedetto and the team remain in ninth place in the Cup standings heading into this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIESDARLINGTON RACEWAYTOYOTA 500TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTESMAY 20, 2020 
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER8th      JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 12th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 13th    TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE15th    KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 16th    BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LETOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)2nd     Kyle Busch (Toyota)3rd      Kevin Harvick (Ford)4th      Brad Keselowski (Ford)5th      Erik Jones (Toyota) The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th“It was a solid night for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. We had to start in the back because of the crash during the first race. Things were looking pretty good early, we were able to march up through there. But the competition caution, and just so many cautions honestly, affected our strategy and affected us being able to take advantage of our strong racecar and move forward. Finally, in the middle of the race, we got some longer runs in and were able to move forward. We were in a nice position and then we were caught a lap down when the caution came out when the 42 car spun from his flat tire. So, we had to start all over again. On that last restart, I think I was 14th and, fortunately, I was in the outside line, which was the place to be, and we worked our way up to 8th before the caution happened and the rain came.”“It was a good rebound from a few days before; I wish I could have that weekend back. I really felt like we had things going our way there and could have capitalized. But it’s nice to be back. Good finish in the top-10 and looking forward to going to Charlotte.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“It was a solid night for us. We really just needed a decent result. We’ve had a tough stretch of races with a multitude of things go bad that were really out of our control. Today was good just to be able to put together a solid result. Obviously having to start in the back was a detriment with a short race and short runs. Our pit stall was difficult too, having to go around the No.14 who ran really well all night and the No.42 was in front of us. So, we had a tough time on pit road there. Overall, it was solid and we got some stage points in Stage Two. We got trapped a lap down in that green-flag sequence which was tough. We rallied though and finished 12th. We’ll take it. Definitely not where we want to be but at least we could put a number up there and go into Charlotte.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th “Man, we had to fight hard for that finish, and I’m proud of my No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet team for sticking together tonight. We weren’t exactly where we needed to be to fire off tonight and just missed the handling a little bit for the first half of the race. I kept bouncing from being too tight to too loose, but mostly too tight. It honestly felt different every lap we ran, which made it tough to decide which way to keep adjusting. I made a slight rookie mistake at one point and got some damage after a brush with the wall, but my team helped get back after it. I have to hand it all my guys. They kept after it and worked really hard to make the changes we needed to pick our way back through the field. We were in a good spot for that final restart in the 11^th position, but restarting on the bottom is tough here and we slipped back a couple spots to 13^th. That’s just a product of the restarts here. The top lane is so good that it’s almost impossible to stop that momentum. We’ll take it though and move on to the Coke 600. We’re going twice the distance there, more than I’ve ever gone in a race, so minimizing mistakes will be key, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“What a tough race. Seems like nothing went our way tonight. The handling was all over the map with our Monster Energy Camaro. After finishing third on Sunday, it is tough to understand how we had such a difficult time finding the handle on the car. The guys had to make a ton of adjustments on pit road, so it was hard to make up any ground on pit stops. We will have to go back and dissect that one and figure out what we had. Ready to move on to Charlotte this weekend.” BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th “It was an interesting night at Darlington Raceway for the round two race. Position 16 – I’m excited about the finish and I’m bummed about the finish for two reasons. I wish we would have restarted, I know with the weather, but I also wish that caution wouldn’t have come out because we had a big run off of turn four. So, I believe we would have finished a couple of spots better, especially with another restart and starting on the top. I was excited about that. But, all-in-all, it was a great day for our No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet team. We pulled some strategy there, led some laps, and got a career-best finish at Darlington Raceway. So, we got a lot of positives that came out of it. I’ve already talked to Jerry (Baxter) on the way home. I’m proud of him and the guys for the efforts they put in. We’ll jump on calls in the morning on how to be better; the grind never stops. The Coca-Cola 600 is up next, I’m excited about that one. It’s a home race for us and we’ve always had speed there. We’ll build off this and continue on.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM NOCO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th “Not the day we wanted. At least not the finish we wanted. Just didn’t go our way there at the end. Definitely some differences from Sunday to now. We struggled to get the balance where we needed to get it with the car. It was much better through the bumps. Bummed out about that, but we will move on to Charlotte and be strong there.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th“My GEICO guys are awesome. They build and prepare solid Chevrolet Camaros each and every week, which gives me the confidence to dive it into turn one like I did at the beginning of the race without any practice laps. For four years now, I’ve trusted them and it just builds confidence as a driver. I appreciate all the hard work everyone at Germain Racing is putting in, especially with racing so close together right now. A pair of 19th-place finishes isn’t a bad way to get this thing restarted and it was so cool to lead laps early, especially in the GEICO Hump Day car.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW / KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th“Long race tonight, not what we wanted. We thought at the beginning we were going to be OK getting the car freed up, but just never could. It was just really tight; we just missed it pretty bad with the weather change. The cool weather, the rain, the temperatures dropping – it didn’t play into our hands. We wanted a little more heat. It just wasn’t a good night for the No. 3 team, but we’re looking forward to the Coca-Cola 600. We know we can find some speed there and I think it will be a good one for us. Thank you for tuning in, all the people out there. It’s been fun. We’ll see you Sunday, another quick turnaround!” MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 30th “It was an up and down day today. It ended on a down note, unfortunately. We had some good runs and some bad runs. I made a couple mistakes. I had a good run going and just scraped the wall a little bit off of turn two. We ran another ten laps; we didn’t really think we had any damage. We came in and got new tires, got a tire rub and cut a right rear down. So, it got us a couple of laps down and pretty much ended our night. It was a disappointing finish to the day, for sure. But I felt like we learned a lot the last five days or so, and I’m ready to give it another shot at Charlotte!” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE YOU HAD A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO KYLE BUSCH’S EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED. DOES THAT CALM THE WATERS SOMEWHAT?“No; I mean ultimately he (Kyle Busch) made a mistake and I get it. I don’t think he intentionally wrecked us, but you just get tired of coming out on the wrong end of those deals too often. I certainly feel like we were in position to win that race. Denny (Hamlin) was in trouble on old tires and we were going to clear Kyle. You get tired of getting ran over like that. His explanation I’m sure is accurate, but it doesn’t change it. All these guys work their tails off on this NAPA Chevy and they deserve to win a race.”

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Keep America Beautiful Chevrolet Team Fight Hard Through Handling Challenges at Darlington Raceway

“Wednesday night NASCAR Cup Series racing – how great is that for our industry to pull together and make that work. I hope all of the fans enjoyed tuning in. I know a lot went into it. We started off the race with a tight-handling Dow Keep America Beautiful Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and that proved to be our challenge all race long. Handling issues plagued us in Stages 1, 2 and 3. I thought for sure that we were going to be able to get our Chevy freed up, but we never could. It wasn’t for lack of effort. The team never gave up and made adjustments all race long. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.The weather was much different than it was last Sunday. Cooler weather, rain and temperatures dropping didn’t play into our hands. We wanted a little more heat in the track. Even though it turned into a long race and we didn’t get the finish we were hoping for, I know we have it in us. I think we can find some speed heading into Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. It feels good to be back racing and I want to thank everyone at Dow, Keep America Beautiful and all of the fans who tuned in.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Team Battle Through Tough-Handling Conditions for 13th-Place Finish at Darlington Raceway

“Man, we had to fight hard for that finish, and I’m proud of my No. 8 Caterpillar team for sticking together tonight. We weren’t exactly where we needed to be to fire off  and missed the handling a little bit for the first half of the race. I kept bouncing from being too tight to too loose, but mostly too tight. It honestly felt different every lap we ran, which made it tough to decide which way to keep adjusting. I made a slight rookie mistake at one point and got some damage after a brush with the wall, but my team helped get back after it. I have to hand it all my guys. They kept after it and worked really hard to make the changes we needed to pick our way back through the field. We were in a good spot for that final restart in the 11th position, but restarting on the bottom is tough here and we slipped back a couple spots to 13th. That’s just a product of the restarts here. The top lane is so good that it’s almost impossible to stop that momentum. We’ll take it though and move on to the Coca-Cola 600. We’re going twice the distance there, more than I’ve ever gone in a race, so minimizing mistakes will be key. I’m looking forward to the challenge.” -Tyler Reddick