Pa 410 Sprint Speedweek Next for Grandview, Sportsman Firecracker 40 Highlights Saturday Program, Kressley and Hoch Are Point Leaders
Grandview Speedway will host another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series program this Saturday night, continuing the 60th season of auto racing celebration.
It will be a busy week at the 60-year-old one-third-mile high banked clay oval, as the PA 410 Sprint Car Speedweek kicks things off on Tuesday night, June 28, followed by the 52nd annual running of the Firecracker 40 for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman on Saturday night.
This Tuesday, June 28 will see the next NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series event, as the Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car Speedweek Series will be coming to Grandview to present event number five of the ten race Speedweek series.
The Thunder on the Hill Racing Series will pay tribute to the late Greg Hodnett, as the 410 Sprint Car race is once again titled the Hodnett Cup, with a special trophy to be used for Victory Lane celebrations that was made from a trophy that Hodnett had won at one point in his career. The winner of the Speedweek race will receive a $10,000 payoff for 35-laps on the Grandview high-banks. Joining the 410 Sprints on the program will be the 358 Modifieds chasing a $3000 payday starting at 7:30 pm.
On Tuesday, June 28, adult grandstand admission is $30, children ages 6-11 are $10 and children ages 5 and under are free of charge. Pit admission is $40, and a license is not required.
This will be the only 410 Sprint Car race of the season at Grandview and will be featuring the top drivers of the Pennsylvania Posse along with a few invaders. The last two seasons, NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson has been the winner of the Speedweek event at Grandview. PA Posse drivers expected to be in action on Tuesday include Anthony Macri, Freddie Rahmer, Danny Dietrich, Lucas Wolfe, Ryan Smith and Ryan Taylor to name a few.
The 358 Modified portion of the program will see the track regulars battling against some invaders, as is always the case at a Thunder on the Hill program. The two events presented so far this season have seen all-time track feature winner Craig Von Dohren score the feature wins. There will be an extra bonus on the line from Pioneer Pole Buildings of $2000 if the winner of the Modified event is a first time Thunder winner, making the competition even more intense in the 30-lap main event.
For the Independence Day Holiday weekend, Saturday, July 2, the T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman will be competing in the 52nd annual Firecracker 40 championship race starting at 7:30 pm. The program will also include the T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds plus qualifying events leading to the 40-lap T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman championship paying $2000 to win and the 30-lap T.P. Trailer Modified feature.
Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. and warm-ups starting at 6:30 pm. Adult grandstand admission is $22, while children ages 6-11 are $10, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
This is the 52nd annual running of the Firecracker 40, however, it was run for the Late Model division from the inception of the race in 1971 until the Late Model class was discontinued after the 2018 season.
The last three seasons the race has been run for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman division. Winning the event during this time were Brad Brightbill in 2019, Brad Arnold in 2020, and Brian Hirthler took the win last year in 2021.
Point leader Dylan Hoch will be a top contender to score a win in the Championship event on Saturday. Hoch rebounded last Saturday night to finish seventh to maintain the top spot in the point standings. Brian Hirthler scored a solid third place effort last Saturday to place second in points, while Kyle Smith scored a fourth-place feature outing and sits third in points. Jimmy Leiby rallied back from a mishap to score a ninth and maintains fourth place in points entering Saturday’s 40-lapper.
The T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman top ten-points standings are 1. Dylan Hoch -1729, 2. Brian Hirthler – 1691, 3. Kyle Smith – 1668, 4. Jimmy Leiby – 1478, 5. Cole Stangle – 1157, 6. Dakota Kohler – 1063, 7. Mike Schneck Jr. – 1033, 8. Parker Guldin – 1003, 9. Decker Swinehart – 891, 10. Cody Manmiller – 881.
The T.P. Trailer Modifieds saw Brett Kressley pick up his third feature win of the season Saturday night to add to his lead in the point standings. Craig Von Dohren had a second-place feature finish and sits second in points behind Kressley, while Doug Manmiller placed third in Saturday’s feature race and currently sits third in points. Tim Buckwalter (6th) and Duane Howard (4th) each scored top finishes in this past week’s main event to maintain positions four and five in the points race.
The current T.P. Trailer Modified top ten-point standings are 1. Brett Kressley – 2319, 2. Craig Von Dohren – 2270, 3. Doug Manmiller – 2227, 4. Tim Buckwalter – 2099, 5. Duane Hioward – 2028, 6. Jeff Strunk – 1877, 7. Mike Lisowski – 1304, 8. Cory Merkel – 1291, 9. Jared Umbenhauer – 1261, 10. Craig Whitmoyer – 1154.
Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through September, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.
Information is always available at www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Tuesday, June 28 – NAPA Auto Parts THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES – Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car Speedweek Series Hodnett Cup $10,000 to win, 358 Modifieds – 7:30 pm.
Saturday, July 2 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, 52nd annual FIRECRACKER 40 for T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman $2000 to win – 7:30 pm.
Friday, July 8 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage – 7 pm
Saturday, July 9 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm.
Saturday, July 16 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman plus URC 360 Sprint Cars – 7:30 pm.
Grandview Speedway PR
9th place finish for Bergeron in Newfoundland and Labrador
There’s no denying that Jean-Philippe “Bergy” Bergeron put on an endurance event during the Pro-Line 225 on the 3/8-mile oval at Eastbound International Speedway in Avondale. The first ever NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that was scheduled for Saturday was postponed to Sunday due to poor weather conditions. Although the NASCAR organization tried to outsmart Mother Nature by combining practice and qualifying and moving up the start time of the race on Saturday, they were forced to cancel the event and postpone the rest of the activities to the following day due to the persistent rain. So it was with a 15th-best time in practice/qualifying the day before that Bergeron started in the middle of the pack on Sunday.
Hard-Won Positions
Out of a total of 21 cars on the track, Bergeron gained positions, one car at a time, to move up to sixth place, shortly after the first half of the race. “We definitely had a car fast enough to make a top 5. Unfortunately, on the last restart, I was at a disadvantage starting from 6th on the outside on the slowest line. That’s when I lost precious places. I didn’t have enough time to make up for the lost positions,” underlines the driver who gave his all during the 225 laps of the race. Shortly before, Bergeron was the victim of a collision involving a latecomer and the #74 car of Lacroix. During the impact, the hood of the # 1 car literally bent. As a result, the driver’s field of vision was greatly obstructed. That’s when the work of his spotter, Dave Jacombs for the occasion, became crucial until the very end. “I could hardly see anything in front of me. It was hard to know if I was going to hit the cars I was following or not,” added the driver who had to settle for ninth place.
Teamwork
“This weekend we saw a spectacular team effort. Everyone gave 100%. We are very satisfied with the way things turned out,” said Martin D’Anjou of Festidrag Development. This race gave back confidence to the team and its driver, who had not had much luck since the beginning of the season. “We know we have the manpower to fight against the best. I’m looking forward to the next races in Western Canada. I will have a brand-new Ford Mustang car that I will have the opportunity to test soon,” adds the driver.
Next Stop: Toronto
Team #1 Prolon Controls | Circuit téléguidé Saint-Roch | Groupe Olivier | Rousseau Métal will be back on the track on July 15th on the urban circuit of Toronto for the Honda Indy activities. “It will be my first experience in an urban environment. I am extremely excited! It will certainly be an enriching experience,” concludes the driver from Saint-Donat.
JP Bergron PR
Burton Finishes 25th at Nashville
After a long day – and night – of racing at Nashville Superspeedway Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang crossed the finish line of the lightning- and rain-delayed Ally 400 in 25th place.
Burton lined up 26th for the start of the 300-lap, 400-mile race on the 1.3-mile concrete oval. He was running 27th when a lightning strike brought the cars to pit road on Lap 41.
When racing resumed, he ran as high as 21st before ending the first 90-lap Stage in 23rd place.
Back under green, Burton broke into the top 20 just past the 100-lap mark and was running 19th when the caution flag flew for rain at Lap 119.
The skies cleared briefly, and Burton was running 22nd when lightning and then rain led to a caution flag at Lap 140 and eventually a red flag.
When other drivers ahead of him made pit stops just before racing resumed, Burton stayed on the track and moved to 10th for the restart.
He was able to hold most of the ground he gained by the team’s strategy move and ended the second Stage in 14th place.
For a time in the third segment of the race Burton ran among the top 15. As a round of green-flag pit stops kicked off at Lap 248, the DEX Imaging team elected to run long. Burton moved up to ninth place as other ahead of him made stops, but the caution flag that the team needed to make the strategy work flew one lap too late.
Just as Burton was making his stop, the caution flag flew for a loose wheel on the track and he was relegated to 26th place with 30 laps to go.
He was unable to recover from the setback and finished 25th.
Burton and the No. 21 team will return to Road America for the Kwik Trip 250 on July 3.
WBR PR
Buescher Finishes 30th after Late Mishap in Nashville
A top-10 was in sight for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway, but a lost wheel relegated him to a 30th-place finish in the Fastenal Ford.
The 300-lap race was dominated by weather delays, as spotty thunderstorms in the area forced delays of combined three-plus hours. It began on time, just after 5 p.m. ET, but did not see the checkered flag drop until nearly midnight ET.
After a qualifying effort of 15th, Buescher put his Mustang just outside and ultimately in the top-10 early. The first weather delay would come with 41 laps complete, when lightning in the distance paused all action for roughly an hour.
Buescher ran 10th at the time of that delay, and maintained the position in the top-10 for a few laps. He went on to end the first stage in 14th, and would restart the second from the same position. Then, lightning and rain moved in again, this time soaking the racing surface, at lap 124.
The race again resumed just past 9 p.m. CT and from there ran to the end, with track conditions vastly different from the near 100-degree heat the race started in. Buescher took the restart in eighth at lap 150 and would end the stage in 11th.
He began the final segment in 10th, then after some pit strategy stayed on track under a yellow just past lap 200, putting him seventh on the ensuing restart. From there, a lengthy green-flag run played out with the No. 17 team being one of the first to pit road at lap 250 from the ninth spot. But, just laps after stopping for service, Buescher’s right rear came off, bringing out the yellow and forcing him to pit road.
The mishap ultimately put the Fastenal machine two laps off the pace, a deficit too tall to overcome with limited laps remaining. He went on to finish 30th.
The Cup Series returns to action next weekend at Road America with coverage set for 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
RFK PR
Late Race Incident Dampers Keselowski’s Finish in Nashville
The No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford saw its share of ups and downs during a lengthy Sunday afternoon and evening at Nashville Superspeedway.
Keselowski found himself starting in the 27th position for the 400-mile event. At the drop of the green, the No. 6 gained seven positions before the first of two red flags for weather.
A pit stop would put him back in 28th before the race would get back underway, as the King’s Hawaiian Ford would dodge a couple near-miss incidents on track to round out stage one in 20th.
Starting inside the top-20 for stage two, Matt McCall and Brad Keselowski would use some strategy to put the No. 6 in 13th, just before another red flag for weather would occur just shy of halfway. After a lengthy red flag, the skies cleared for the final time, rounding out a combined three hours in delays.
Brad would restart 13th, falling back just slightly to 16th to round out stage two. Stage three would see a long run and a cycle of green flag pit stops, only to be interrupted by a caution on track. Playing into the No. 6 team’s favor, Brad restarted 12th, and maintained within a few positions until the caution flew with nine laps to go.
On the final restart of the night, 4-wide racing and contact sent Keselowski into the outside wall with just four laps left. The field took the checkered flag, while Keselowski limped around for a 29th-place finish.
Next up on the schedule is Road America, as Sunday’s action is set for 3 p.m. ET on USA. Race coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
RFK PR
RCR NCS Post Race Report: Nashville
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RCR PR
Stewart-Haas Racing: Ally 400 from Nashville
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
● Kevin Harvick (Started 8th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 11th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 17th, Finished 26th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 28th, Finished 34th / Running, completed 269 of 300 laps)
SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (11th with 452 points, 134 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (12th with 443 points, 143 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (18th with 389 points, 197 out of first)
● Cole Custer (27th with 273 points, 313 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Harvick earned his ninth top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville.
● This was Harvick’s second straight top-10. He finished fourth in the series’ previous race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
● Harvick finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and eighth in Stage 2 to earn three more bonus points.
Race Notes:
● Chase Elliott won the Ally 400 to score his 15th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Nashville. His margin over second-place Kurt Busch was .551 of a second.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.
● Twenty-six of the 36 drivers in the Ally 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Chase Elliott remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 30-point advantage over second-place Ross Chastain.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Road America 250 on Sunday, July 3 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
TSC PR
CHEVROLET NCS AT NASHVILLE: Post-Race Notes and Quotes
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
4th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
5th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1
11th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
14th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1
15th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
2nd Kurt Busch (Toyota)
3rd Ryan Blaney (Ford)
4th Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
5th Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next Sunday, July 3, at Road America with the Kwik Trip 250 presented by JOCKEY Made in America at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on USA Network, the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN THAT LAST CAUTION CAME OUT?
“I was figuring that it was coming, but was hoping not. Ryan (Blaney) gave me a great shove and I appreciate him doing me a solid there in getting us out front. Just so proud of our team because we kind of had a setback there about halfway and we were able to get our NAPA Chevy dialed back in and get back in the mix.
It was a long day, a fun day. Thank you guys so much for hanging out. Just so proud of our team. We have had a pretty rough month and month-and-a-half, so just nice to get going back in the right direction. Getting a win is always huge, but to do it in a really cool city like Nashville is even better. Looking forward to that guitar.”
HOW DID THIS CAR COME TO LIFE AFTER THE RAIN DELAY?
“We were able to work on it a little bit after the penalty and got it going a little better. My team just stuck with it. Thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They have been working really hard over the winter and through the spring to keep up. The engines have been running great and obviously great support from Chevrolet. I look forward to getting home and seeing my family; seeing mom and dad and hopefully enjoy it this week. These things are hard to come by and you have to enjoy them. You never know when or if ever you will get another one. So, super thankful and looking forward to next week.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th
EARLIER IN THE RACE YOU DIDN’T SOUND LIKE YOU HAD A LOT OF SPEED IN IT. WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO TO IT? THAT WAS AMAZING.
“It was definitely better once the sun went down. I don’t know whatever changes they made to it, so proud of my guys for working hard and persevering. Didn’t have a lot of things work out for us there as we got caught a lap down and we had to take the wave around and drove from twenty-something to 10th there before the last caution. We stayed out and netted out a top-five. So proud of my No. 5 HendrickCars.com team and proud of Chase Elliott too. That’s great for Hendrick Motorsports and everybody there. Everybody has been working hard and trying to figure out how to go faster and they were definitely the best of the four of us all weekend. Cool to see that he closed it out.”
THIS WEEK YOU HAD TO WORK REMOTELY WITH CLIFF (DANIELS). DID THAT WORK OUT WELL OR WERE THERE ANY HICCUPS WITH THAT AND DID YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH HIM DURING THE DELAY?
“Yeah, all of us were virtually on together in the hauler and tapped into where he was, and we can talk. Adam and Kevin did a great job this weekend in leading this team. As far as Cliff, it really shows you how well he has prepared our team to face moments like we will these next four weeks. Everything I think ran really smooth. I am not sure how it went behind the wall with the crew and stuff, but from my seat it seemed like it went pretty smooth. I am sure there will be things we will tweak on and make even smoother, but I was overall pleased for the first time in my Cup career without my primary crew chief.”
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th
YOU CAME DOWN AND GOT SOME TIRES AND YOU CAME BACK TO THE SAME SPOT YOU WERE WHEN YOU HIT PIT ROAD. TAKE US THROUGH YOUR NIGHT.
“An incredible night for the No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro. Trackhouse Racing brought two incredibly fast cars and that was the right call to pit, but we just didn’t know that 10 people were going to stay out. If a few less stay out, we have got a shot. We got through traffic the best of all of us that pitted, so proud of that and proud of the effort. Incredible job on pit road tonight by our pit crew in picking up spots each and every stop all night. We just needed a little more to run with those top four, but we were definitely a top-five car. In the Cup Series, that is all I can ask for.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 11th
“We definitely had our ups and downs today, but nice to rebound and get an 11th-place finish. We fought the handling of our FOCUSfactor Chevy early in the race and I felt like we were making the right adjustments to have a good day before the rain delay. Once we restarted, after 10-15 laps, the handling would go away and it was just hard to drive. We’ll keep learning and working to get better. Overall, a good finish that we’ll take with us in to next week at Road America.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 14th
“We got in a deficit early today at Nashville Superspeedway but this Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road team climbed our way out of it. We were too loose to start the race, and that got us behind early. We went a lap down but earned our lap back. From there, crew chief Justin Alexander made some great strategy moves to gain track position. Unfortunately, by the time we got track position our Chevy was too tight in the same places on the track that we were too loose earlier in the race. On a restart with four laps remaining, we knew that there would be a high likelihood of crashing. I just hugged the bottom of the track and dug. We raced from 18th to 14th. We were still just too tight at the end to make anything else happen. It’s not what we wanted, but we dug hard.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY MUSIC CITY CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 51; Finished 36th
“It’s frustrating to not be able to finish the Ally 400. Greg (Ives, Crew Chief) and everyone on the No. 48 team works so hard on these race cars and it’s unfortunate I wasn’t able to go compete for a win. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time today. Greg threw the kitchen sink at the car and then we made two laps before getting wrecked, so it was tough to not be able to see if we would have found something on that stop.
Huge thank you to everyone at Ally for putting on a great event this weekend. Ally goes all in on what they do and I’m glad they are all in on the No. 48 team.”
TEAM CHEVY QUICK NOTES
Stage One:
· 42 laps into the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, the race went under red flag conditions due to a lightning hold.
· Following resumption of the race, a caution flew on lap 51 for an accident involving Alex Bowman. The No. 48 Ally Music City Chevrolet team brought their Camaro ZL1 to the garage for repairs, but expiration of the DVP clock forced Bowman to be done for the day.
· Under that same caution, William Byron brought his No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 to the garage with steering issues. The No. 24 Chevrolet team was able to make repairs to his Camaro ZL1 and return to competition.
· The 90-lap stage one saw two Chevrolet drivers score stage points in the top-10:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 (6th)
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 (8th)
Stage Two:
· Precipitation brought the caution out on lap 119, with pit strategy coming into play throughout pit road. In that round of pit stops, the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet pit crew gained Tyler Reddick four spots on pit road, the most of the top-10.
· Another lightning hold and rainfall brought the race to its second red flag at lap 138. The race was under red flag conditions for two hours, eight minutes and 35 seconds. The 300-lap race restarted at the halfway point with 150 laps to go.
· Team Chevy Stage Two Top-10:
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1
Post-Race Notes:
· The win is Elliott’s 15th-career victory in 238 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
· It also marks the sixth win of 2022 for Hendrick Motorsports; and the organization’s 286th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series.
· Elliott is now the fifth driver this season to become a repeat winner.
· Elliott’s triumph is the ninth of the season for the Camaro ZL1, more than double its manufacturer competitors.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 823 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.
GM PR
Kurt Busch claimed the runner-up result at Nashville Superspeedway in Sunday night’s rain-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race after a late-race caution forced the leading Toyota Camrys of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. to make a call to pit road for fresh tires. But when much of the field stayed on the track, including race-winner Chase Elliott, the Camry TRD group had to settle for finishes outside the top-five.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Nashville Superspeedway
Race 17 of 36 – 399 miles, 300 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chase Elliott*
2nd, KURT BUSCH
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Ross Chastain*
6th, DENNY HAMLIN
8th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
21st, KYLE BUSCH
22nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
KURT BUSCH, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What more did you need to beat Chase Elliott on the final restart?
“I got soft on him. I should have been throwing some fenders and moving some momentum around. I didn’t stick with our strength. We didn’t have many strengths tonight. We just executed really well. The restarts were so-so and long run speed was good. I just needed to stick with our strength and I messed up. I want to thank all my guys at 23XI. We have a great group of guys and girls. The way that we’re running, a second is cool, but we’re here for wins with the Playoff situation. Thanks to Monster Energy, Toyota and all of our associate sponsors. This Camry and all the TRD Camrys were awesome. I just hate it when we don’t get into victory lane and I was right there.”
What did you want to do differently on the restart?
“I wanted to throw some fenders, but I didn’t get the job done. Everybody will be smiling, but I let them down. I should have come up with a better plan.”
Were you always staying out on the final caution?
“We were going to stay out no matter what and I needed to start throwing fenders to move people around. I didn’t get after it and I made too many mistakes and didn’t stick with our strength. I’m not going to say what our strength was, but we did a lot of things good. We didn’t have one exceptional item. We’re second with our Toyota Camry. I want to do it over, but you don’t get those at this elite level and Chase (Elliott) got the job done.”
TRD PR
Ford Performance NASCAR: Nashville Post-Race Cup Quotes
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
3rd – Ryan Blaney
7th – Austin Cindric
9th – Joey Logano
10th – Kevin Harvick
13th – Michael McDowell
17th – Aric Almirola
24th – Todd Gilliland
25th – Harrison Burton
26th – Cole Custer
27th – Cody Ware
28th – JJ Yeley
29th – Brad Keselowski
30th – Chris Buescher
32nd – BJ McLeod
34th – Chase Briscoe
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang – “I’m not sure as the race kind of kept progressing later into the night I thought we lost some ground between some of the other cars. I thought hot and slick during the day we were pretty competitive and then something went down and I didn’t think we were as good. I had to go to the back and then spun out trying too hard. Jonathan made a good call to stay out the last stop. Why not, running ninth and was able to run third, so that was a good call by him. Overall, I wish it was in the hot and slick of the day because I thought we were a little bit more competitive, but not a bad finish.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “It’s an ugly top 10, but it was a top 10 nonetheless. It was a battle. I had some false hope by qualifying second, thinking we might be better than what we were, but as soon as the race started we realized we weren’t. We just kind of fought everything.”
HOW WERE YOU AFTER THE BREAK? BLANEY SAID HE PREFERRED THE DAY PORTION. “He was better than me. I don’t know where we deserved to finish, but I feel like we probably overachieved for what we had.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Duracell/Menards Ford Mustang – “I’ll take it, I guess. That was a long way to get there for sure. Obviously, getting the lucky dog halfway through the third stage and getting our Duracell/Menards Ford Mustang into the top five. I got passed by a few guys on tires there at the end, but obviously had speed in the car. We just needed the track position. Jeremy made a great call to run long and we got probably 10 spots out of that and probably got about six or eight more on the restart there and was able to have a representative day.”
ALL THREE PENSKE CARS FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 DESPITE ALL OF YOU HAVE SOME ADVERSITY THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. “Good cars and never giving up.”
Ford Performance PR