KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Dover I Race Advance

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is looking to break into the win column for the first time in 2017 when the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover (Del.) International Speedway Sunday afternoon. Luckily, Harvick likes to emulate his sponsor, Jimmy John’s, who is known for being “Freaky Fast.”

In terms of pure speed, Harvick has been one of the fastest at Dover since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, scoring one win, one pole and two top-five finishes. What is more impressive is that he has led 810 of 2,405 laps in six races there – nearly 33.7 percent of the total laps raced since the beginning of 2014. Jimmie Johnson ranks second during that span with 389 laps led – 421 laps fewer than Harvick.

Harvick’s most impressive Monster Mile performance came in October 2015, when the No. 4 team arrived at Dover ranked 15th in the playoff standings and trailing Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 23 points for the final transfer position into the Round of 12. A solid finish wouldn’t do – Harvick needed a win to advance. With everything on the line, he delivered the most dominant race of his NASCAR Cup Series career. He started 15th after rain cancelled qualifying Friday afternoon, but he quickly raced his way to the front and led 355 of 400 laps to beat runner-up Kyle Busch to the finish line by 2.639 seconds.

According to NASCAR Stats and Information, he registered a 149.7 driver rating out of a possible 150.0, narrowly missing his fourth perfect driver rating in a NASCAR Cup Series race. He previously registered perfect 150.0 driver ratings at Phoenix International Raceway on three occasions – November 2006 and 2014, and March 2015.

However, luck has not always been on the side of the No. 4 team at Dover.

In June 2014, Harvick started eighth, led 24 laps, but finished 17th as the first car one lap down after he had a valve stem issue during a pit stop that caused a tire to go down on the following restart.

He won the pole at Dover in September 2014, when he turned a lap of 22.095 seconds at 162.933 mph in the second round of qualifying. On race day, he stayed at the front of the field for 223 laps but had to settle for a 13th-place finish after another valve stem issue led to a flat tire following a pit stop and caused him to fall a lap down to the leaders.

Harvick started from the pole after qualifying was rained out in May 2016. He led 117 laps early in the race before he was caught in an 18-car accident and finished one lap down in 15th.

The 2014 Cup Series champion has been the class of the field when it comes to Cup Series qualifying in 2017, scoring three poles through the first 12 races. No other driver has scored multiple poles this season.

While Harvick has raced up front and scored 388 points to rank fourth in the Cup Series standings with three stage wins to his credit, he is still in search of his first Cup Series race win of the season. He would like to add his second career Dover win to go with his October 2015 victory. If he succeeds, he will secure his spot in the 2017 NASCAR playoffs.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Why is Dover one of the more challenging racetracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule?

“I think as you look at Dover, if you look at our history, when I was at RCR (Richard Childress Racing), it was probably one of our worst racetracks. It’s been one of our best since I came to SHR in 2014. For me, the thing I love about Dover is just the fact it’s hammer down and you’re up on top of the wheel for 400 laps there. It’s violent. Everything about Dover is violent. It’s fast. You can just be aggressive with the car and you have to get in there and wrestle that thing all day because it’s bumpy, slings you up out of the corners, dumps you down in the corners, and there’s just a lot going on. The car is bouncing around a lot and, with as rough as the cars have been just as the ride goes, we are in for a rough ride when we get to Dover this weekend. It’s one of my favorite racetracks to go and race on.” 

Describe what it’s like to take a lap around Dover.

“Dover is the racetrack where you feel the sensation of speed more than anything. It’s a place where you drop off into the corner and slam into a lot of banking and then, as you come out of the corner, it’s kind of like jumping out of a hole and up onto the straightaway. It’s a really fun place to race. You feel that sensation of speed and you can be really aggressive.”

DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Dover I Race Advance

After weeks of poor finishes, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) travel to Dover (Del.) International Speedway hoping to have luck on their side for Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism race.

The track, completed in 1969, is a mile in length and features 24 degrees of banking in the corners and 9 degrees of banking on the straightaways. Known for being tough on both drivers and equipment, Dover was nicknamed the “Monster Mile” in the mid-1970s. And in 1995, Dover was resurfaced with concrete, making it one of just two completely concrete tracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit, with Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway being the other.

Patrick and the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford team enter the weekend at Dover on the heels of a string of poor finishes that have been out of their control. In the April event at Bristol, Patrick was sidelined after contact from another driver sent her car into the outside wall two-thirds of the way through the race and left her with a 36th-place finish. Two weeks later, Patrick was collected in an 18-car accident at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway that put her 38th in the final results. The following week, the No. 10 Ford was involved in a fiery accident at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City as a part failure on the No. 22 car resulted in contact with Patrick that sent her spinning into the wall. She went home with a 36th-place finish. Then, last weekend at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Patrick ended up 25th after running over debris early in the race and suffering two cut, right-front tires in the later stages of the event.

After surviving all of that bad luck, Patrick heads to Dover, a track where she has nine NASCAR Cup Series starts under her belt. In that time, she’s earned two top-20 finishes, including a 13th-place result the team scored last May. That effort marked Patrick’s career-best finish at Dover.

In addition to her NASCAR Cup Series experience at Dover, Patrick has made three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, finishing a career-best 16th in the September 2012 race. Patrick also earned a sixth-place result in the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Dover.

With a solid performance last spring, Patrick and the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford team will be looking to turn their luck around in hopes of scoring yet another good result Sunday at the “Monster Mile.”

 

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

How tough is Dover to drive?

“It can be a real challenge. It’s quite quick and, when you come off turns two and four, it drops you down like a roller coaster. You just have to have a good setup and make sure everything is working right or it can be a long day. It’s actually a pretty long race, so you have to be prepared. But it’s a fun track and I’m looking forward to it.”

What are your thoughts about Dover?

“I always like going to Dover. The track is pretty fun. I remember everyone telling me how unique and challenging Dover was prior to my first race. At the time, I didn’t have a whole lot to compare that track to. They said it was like a larger version of Bristol, but I hadn’t raced at Bristol yet, either. Dover is fun. It’s fast and it can make for a really long day of racing. I think that’s part of the appeal of it – how demanding it can be. We definitely want to stay out of trouble, which is easier said than done at these types of tracks.”

 

COLE CUSTER – 2017 Dover I NXS Race Advance

Event:                OneMain Financial 200 (Round 11 of 33)
Date:                 June 3, 2017
Location:          Dover (Del.) International Speedway
Layout:             Concrete mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest 

 

  • The OneMain Financial 200 will mark Cole Custer’s 16th career NASCAR XFINITY Series start and his first XFINITY Series start at Dover International Speedway.
  • While the OneMain Financial 200 will be Custer’s first XFINITY Series start at Dover, it will be his sixth overall start at the concrete mile oval. Custer has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and two NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts at Dover. Custer’s best finish at Dover is fifth in the 2016 Truck Series race.
  • In the 2015 Truck Series race at Dover, Custer led 67 laps and ran in and around the top-five until lap 138 when a fueling issue pushed him off the lead lap and into the 13th position, where he would ultimately finish the race.
  • In 15 XFINITY Series starts, 42 Camping World Truck Series starts and 29 K&N Pro Series starts since 2015, Custer has five wins, six poles, 13 top-five finishes, 22 top-10s and 919 laps led at tracks that are a mile in length or shorter.
  • Custer’s best finish in the 10 XFINITY Series races run this season is fifth, earned in the sixth event April 8 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It was his second career top-five finish in the XFINITY Series.
  • Custer’s best qualifying effort in the 10 XFINITY Series races run this season is third, earned in the seventh race of the season April 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Custer has six top-10 starts and two top-five starts this season.
  • Last weekend at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Custer was the highest-finishing XFINITY Series regular driver and rookie in all three stages (third, fifth and seventh, respectively). It was the second consecutive time Custer was the highest-finishing rookie and XFINITY Series regular at Charlotte.
  • Custer is third in the XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year standings, 21 points behind leader William Byron and 16 points behind second-place Daniel Hemric. Custer has earned three Rookie of the Race awards this season, all at 1.5-mile tracks (fifth at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and seventh at Charlotte).
  • Custer is 11th in the XFINITY Series driver standings, 123 points behind series leader Elliot Sadler.
  • The OneMain Financial 200 is the last of four Dash 4 Cash races on the 2017 XFINITY Series schedule. This means drivers will race for a $100,000 cash bonus. Each of the top two full-time XFINITY Series drivers from Stage 1 and Stage 2 will become Dash 4 Cash eligible in the final stage.
  • As a Dash 4 Cash race, no full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers with five or more years of experience is entered in the OneMain Financial 200 in order to give regular XFINITY Series drivers a better chance to win. This means the only NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the OneMain Financial 200 are Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.

 

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

 

How do you like racing at Dover?

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s one of the coolest tracks we go to. Dover is a concrete track and we had a great run at Bristol. I think we’ll unload another great car and, with the momentum we’re bringing from Charlotte, I think we’ll have a good shot.”

This is the last Dash 4 Cash race of the 2017 season. Is there any pressure to bring home the grand prize?

“We’ll race as hard as we can to get in those Dash 4 Cash spots, but we don’t want to put ourselves in a bad position to jeopardize a solid points-paying finish.”

You’ve been successful in your career at mile tracks. What are your expectations for this weekend at Dover?

“I’m fairly confident going into the weekend. Dover is somewhere I’ve always run well at, but I’ve never really gotten the finishes I would like to have there. It seems like we’ve always been in the fight for a win there. I’m looking forward to getting back there in our Haas Automation Ford Mustang and logging another solid finish.”

 

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

 

What are your thoughts on racing at Dover?

“Dover is one of the more challenging tracks we run at. It’s very difficult to get a good balance with the big transitions in and out of the corners. Cole has had good runs in other series at that track. After a good run in Charlotte, we come into the weekend with a lot of confidence.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Dover I Race Advance

No. 14 Haas Automation Ford driver Clint Bowyer will pay extra attention to FOX Sports 1’s coverage of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Dover (Del.) Speedway.

Bowyer would typically watch the Xfinity Series race to learn lessons he plans to apply Sunday when he races the No. 14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Dover’s concrete, mile oval. He’ll do that again Saturday in Delaware, but he’ll also be watching the broadcast knowing, the following week at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, the entire Xfinity race broadcast will fall on the shoulders of he and several Cup drivers.

Eight drivers will make up the entire on-air team during the Pocono Xfinity Series race, although the network’s regular broadcasters will be standing by for assistance. SHR teammate Kevin Harvick will be the play-by-play announcer, and he will be joined in the main broadcast booth by Joey Logano and Bowyer. Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be pit reporters, and Denny Hamlin and fellow SHR driver Danica Patrick will work in the network’s “Hollywood Hotel” mobile studio.

“I think it is going to be a heck of a lot of fun and, yes, I am excited,” said Bowyer, who estimates he, Harvick and Logano will have the easiest jobs. “But, we are going to mess this up.

“For us in the booth, it’s going to be pretty easy to talk about the race because that’s what we do whether we’re in the booth, in the garage or in our motorhomes. We’re always talking about racing. All of that will come pretty easy. We’re just going to have to do our homework.”

Bowyer, who served as the Xfinity Series analyst for FOX at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway last weekend, said he already has an inkling of how his boothmates will perform during the broadcast.

“I think Harvick will be good because he’ll put in the research, time and energy,” Bowyer said. “I will probably be terrible and Joey (Logano) will be somewhere in-between.”

FOX said it will be the first time a national broadcast of a live sporting event will exclusively feature a broadcast crew made up of active athletes who compete in the same sport.

Bowyer predicts the most entertaining moments of the broadcast will come from Jones, Blaney and Stenhouse, who’ll man pit road and the garage in charge of reporting on race strategy and interviewing drivers who exit the race.

“I can’t imagine having to go interview a driver after he just crashed because I know how pissed you are – it really is a touchy situation,” said Bowyer, who couldn’t resist a zinger at his friend Stenhouse. “Usually, they (television networks) send a cute girl to try to get you to talk about the incident. So when you see a guy like Ricky show up with a microphone, I’m sure none of those guys are really going to want to talk to him.”

While Saturday will be fun, Sunday will be all business for Bowyer, who enters his 23rd race at Dover. He’s enjoyed success on the Monster Mile, posting two top-five finishes and 12 top-10s. After 12 races, the No. 14 team is ninth in points in Bowyer’s first season replacing three-time champion Tony Stewart, who retired from NASCAR racing at the end of the 2016 season.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to some of these tracks a second time,” Bowyer said. “We’ll have notes on what worked and didn’t work and have a base of information. Right now we’re going to these tracks for the first time as a group. I think we’ve done OK, but all of us expect even better performances in the second half of the season.”

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What are your thoughts on Dover Speedway?

“Dover is always a cool track that I think every driver looks forward to because it’s a driver’s track. You’ve got to man up, get on top of that wheel and make things happen. There’s just so many things going on there on that concrete surface and high banks. It’s a lot of fun. If you win there, you’ve earned it.”

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Dover I Race Advance

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will approach this weekend’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism with two agendas. While his immediate focus will be on the task at hand, getting as good a finish as possible, he’ll also approach the race as a test session for when the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to the concrete mile oval in October.

The June race at Dover is the 13th event of 26 that make up the regular season of NASCAR’s 2017 schedule. While this race pays the same amount of points as the rest of those races, it carries with it some additional importance for Busch. Having already won a race this year, the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Busch knows that his presence in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is all but guaranteed.

That’s why Busch will approach the weekend thinking about October and Dover’s significance in the 10-race playoff. As the third race in the opening round, Dover serves as the first elimination event. If Busch has solid outings in the first two playoff races at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, he can head to Dover with a little less pressure. Should he need a solid finish when he comes back to Dover, a racetrack that has given him struggles over the years, he’ll hope that some of the notebook he and his Tony Gibson-led team build this weekend can give them what they need to find success.

Dover is a high-banked, concrete, mile oval with a penchant for chewing up racecars and veteran drivers alike. It can be one of the more taxing racetracks on drivers and equipment with its abrasive surface and high banking. The “Monster Mile,” as it is affectionately known, is an appropriate nickname considering the speeds carried through its high banks and short straightaways that allow little to no room for error.

Busch has conquered Dover just once in his career, in October 2011. He pulled away from Jimmie Johnson on a pair of late-race restarts to earn his 24th NASCAR Cup Series victory. Otherwise, it’s been a struggle. He’s earned just one top-five finish since then – in this race last year when he was able to overcome a tough day of obstacles to record his seventh top-five at the concrete oval.

Busch also owns nine top-10 finishes in 33 starts. While he’ll look to earn both his second career Dover victory and second of 2017 Sunday, it would not be a disappointment to simply survive at one of the most difficult racetracks on the circuit and get a strong baseline for October. But he knows that scoring the win would also give him and his No. 41 team another five valuable bonus points for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

 

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What is it about Dover that makes it such a challenging racetrack, and what do you have to do be successful there?

“The tough thing about Dover is things happen so quickly. At any moment at any time, somebody can spin in front of you or you can lose control off the corners and you are going to wreck. There is no real forgiveness about Dover. That is what makes it tough. To be good there, you have to be good on corner exit. The track really rubbers in so you can see the concrete change to black as the weekend progresses. On corner exit, you get really tight or really loose. The time I won there, I could almost hold it wide open on corner exit. That is what you’ve got to have.”

Do you feel it has earned its nickname?

“It’s called the Monster Mile for a reason – the track can chew up cars and spit them out. It’s because of those tough transitions into the corners with the high banking and even the high-banked straightaways. It’s tough to do that sharp of a turn on a mile racetrack. It’s like you literally jump down into the corner and then jump back up out of the corner onto the straightaway, and so those points of the track are the toughest part – the transition from straightaway to corner. It’s a fun track to drive.” 

How physically demanding of a racetrack is Dover? 

“You’re just on edge there and, the speed that you have to carry on corner exit, you’re right there at the wall every corner exit and you do it 800 times with 400 laps and two corner exits. That makes it tough. This race will wear you out, for sure, and you have to pace yourself.”

What’s it like heading off into turn one at Dover? Do you focus more on corner entry to exit there?

“The drop into turn one is definitely tough. It’s one of the biggest ones we encounter on the circuit. You have to have the car nice and soft when it lands, but then the suspension has to be rigid enough to not allow the car to hit too hard. It’s a nice balance that you have to find at Dover to be successful. Most importantly, though, it is getting that corner exit when the track rubbers in because you can’t get on the tight side.”

Things seem to happen very fast at Dover. Do you approach it like a short track or more like a superspeedway? 

“It is more like a mile-and-a-half track. It’s an intermediate-style track even though the lap times are quick and things happen very quickly like they do at short tracks. It has a mile-and-a-half tendency where you get in that rhythm and then you have the aero that you are battling there, as well.”

DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Charlotte I Race Report

Event:               Coca-Cola 600 (Round 12 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             400 laps, broken into four segments (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish:      15th/25th (Running, completed 396 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 32nd (127 points, 364 out of first) 
Race Winner:    Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Ended on lap 100):

  • Danica Patrick started 15th and finished 26th.
  • Patrick was running solidly inside the top-20 when the caution flag waved at lap 20 for an accident on the frontstretch. The right front of the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion hit a piece of debris, which caused considerable damage to the car. The team pitted twice under the caution to assess the situation and make repairs, but they were not able to fully address the damage before the field went back to green.
  • Patrick restarted in the 33rd position at lap 27 and worked her way up to the 25th spot before teams started making green-flap pit stops. In hopes of catching a caution to make further repairs to the car, crew chief Billy Scott had Patrick remain on track as long as possible. She took the lead at lap 69 and led seven laps before pitting at lap 76 for tires and fuel.
  • Due to the damage sustained, the team had trouble jacking the racecar up during the stop, which left Patrick a lap down to the leader when Stage 1 ended at lap 100. 

Stage 2 Recap (Ended on lap 200):         

  • Patrick started 27th and finished 27th.
  • The caution flag waved due to the threat of severe weather at lap 142, and the event was red flagged for more than 90 minutes during a downpour and as NASCAR officials worked to dry the track after the storm cleared out.
  • Patrick was running in the 25th position when the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford sustained significant right-side damage after contact with the wall in turn three. The team’s initial inspection found the tire was cut, which led to contact with the wall. The team pitted multiple times for repairs, and Patrick went down a second lap to the leader before restarting in the 29th position at lap 178.
  • She was able to gain two spots in the closing laps of the stage, and the team pitted for tires, fuel and air pressure and wedge adjustments. 

Stage 3 Recap (Ended on lap 300):         

  • Patrick started 29th and finished 23rd.
  • She noted the car was a “four out of five unstable” during the first half of the stage, and the No. 10 team pitted for wedge and air pressure adjustments at lap 249.
  • Patrick continued to battle a loose-handling condition in the second half of the stage, so the team made a significant wedge adjustment when they pitted again at lap 295. 

Final Stage Recap (Ended on lap 400):

  • Patrick started 23rd and finished 25th.
  • Less than 30 laps into the final stage, Patrick once again cut a right-front tire and made contact with the wall in turn three. The team pitted twice for tires and to make repairs to the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion. Patrick restarted in the 24th position, three laps down to the leader, when the field went back to green at lap 333.
  • Patrick soldiered along for the remainder of the race and took the checkered flag in the 25th position. 

Notes:              

  • Patrick earned 12 points in Sunday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which puts her at 127 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 32nd in the driver point standings.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I’m not sure where to even begin with tonight’s race. I mean, damage from debris and two cut tires – it was just a rough night all around for the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford team. We struggled with the handling for a good bit of the night, but it was actually a lot better the last few runs. Unfortunately, we weren’t in a position to gain much at the end, but I have to give credit to my team for working hard all night and not ever giving up.”

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday, June 4 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The event starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.

 

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Charlotte I Race Report

Event:               Coca-Cola 600 (Round 12 of 36) 
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) 
Format:             400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish:      12th/6th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps) 
Point Standing: 14th (290 points, 201 out of first) 
Race Winner:    Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

  • Kurt Busch started 12th, finished ninth.
  • Battled a tight-handling condition on corner exit.
  • With his ninth-place finish in Stage 1, Busch earned two bonus points.
  • Visited pit road at the end of Stage 1 to take four tires, fuel and air pressure and wedge adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

  • Started 10th, finished fifth.
  • As the sun began to set, Busch struggled with a loose-handling condition.
  • Was running seventh when inclement weather forced NASCAR to red flag the race.
  • Pitted when the race restarted for four tires, fuel and air pressure and wedge adjustments.
  • With his fifth-place finish in Stage 2, Busch earned five bonus points.
  • Visited pit road at the end of Stage 2 to take four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

  • Started seventh, finished sixth.
  • Battled a loose-handling condition on entry and was tight off the corners for much of the stage.
  • Visited pit road on lap 294 to take four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
  • With his sixth-place finish in Stage 3, Busch earned four bonus points. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):

  • Started sixth, finished sixth.
  • Struggled with a tight-handling condition on the short run and a loose-handling condition on the long run.
  • Was credited with leading a lap during a cycle of green-flag pit stops on lap 368.
  • Finished sixth to earn his sixth top-10 finish of the 2017 season. 

Notes:

  • Busch’s sixth-place finish was his fourth top-10 in his last six races and his 12th top-10 in 34 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte.
  • Busch led once for one lap.
  • Busch earned points in each stage of the race, marking the first time this season he has done so.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We did well. We battled and battled and had fun throughout. The balance of our car was too tight to start and too loose on the long run. We saw a little bit of that in the All-Star Race, so we tried to compensate. The track came to us with the rain delay. I thought we were a stronger car in the later half of the race. The short-run speed we were tight, the long-run speed we were loose, but we tried and tried and tried. Thanks to Haas Automation, Monster Energy and Ford. I’ve got a great group of guys. Tonight was a good run. We finished sixth, but some guys stayed out on fuel, and we really gave it our heart tonight.”

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday, June 4 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Charlotte I Race Report

Event:               Coca-Cola 600 (Round 12 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish:      9th/14th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (343 points, 148 out of first)
Race Winner:    Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Ended at Lap 100):

  • Started ninth and finished eighth to earn three race points.
  • Battled a tight-handling car throughout the stage.
  • Made adjustments during pit stops, but handling didn’t improve.

Stage 2 Recap (Ended at Lap 200):

  • Started eighth and finished 14th.
  • Reported car was still “plowing” in the corners.
  • Rain stopped action on lap 143 and delayed race by an hour and 40 minutes.

Stage 3 Recap (Ended at Lap 300):

  • Started 14th and finished 14th.
  • Crew continued to try major changes to help the front end of the No. 14 turn.
  • Bowyer reported handling improvement late in the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Ended at Lap 400):

  • Started 13th and finished 14th.
  • Climbed as high as 12th.
  • Pitted under green with 33 laps remaining and dropped to 19th.
  • Several cars stretched fuel mileage in the final run and finished ahead of Bowyer.

Notes:              

  • Throughout the race weekend the No. 14 honored Army Staff Sgt. Terry D. Wagoner, 28, of Pelzer, South Carolina, who along with two others died in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2007 from wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. Wagoner’s family met with Bowyer before the race and on the grid.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

“We just couldn’t get our Ford to turn tonight. We tried everything we knew to help the front end, but we never got it to where we could race with the leaders.” 

Next Up:          

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday, June 4 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.

KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Charlotte I Race Report

Event:               Coca-Cola 600 (Round 12 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish:      1st/8th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 4th (388 points, 103 points out of first)
Race Winner:    Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)
Stage 3 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Ended on Lap 100):

  • Kevin Harvick started first, finished third and earned eight bonus points.
  • Fell back to second at the start but gained a position on pit road during the competition caution to regain the lead.
  • Gave up the lead to come to pit road under green-flag conditions on lap 66 for four tires, fuel and several adjustments.
  • Led twice for 41 laps in Stage 1.
  • Pitted for four tires, fuel and multiple adjustments following Stage 1 and won the race off pit road to retake the lead. 

Stage 2 Recap (Ended on Lap 200):

  • Started first, finished 13th.
  • Gave up the third position to come to pit road under green-flag conditions after reporting a loose wheel on lap 124.
  • Lost a lap to the leaders and dropped to the 23rd position due to the unscheduled pit stop for the loose wheel.
  • Severe weather led to a red flag on lap 144 lasting one hour and 48 minutes.
  • Returned to the lead lap under caution on lap 150 by way of a free pass immediately following the weather delay.
  • Restarted 22nd on lap 154 and raced up to 13th by the end of Stage 2.
  • Pitted for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments following Stage 2 and gained five positions on pit road. 

Stage 3 Recap (Ended on Lap 300):

  • Started eighth, finished seventh and earned four bonus points.
  • Slid through oil on lap 147 and nearly spun while racing in the 10th position, but saved it without making contact with the wall.
  • Pitted under caution on lap 249 for four tires, fuel and air pressure and wedge adjustments.
  • Restarted 14th on lap 253 and raced his way to the 11th position by the caution on lap 294.
  • Raced his way up to seventh in the final three laps of the stage and stayed out following the stage. 

Final Stage Recap (Ended on Lap 400):

  • Started seventh, finished eighth.
  • Pitted from the seventh position for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments under caution on lap 330.
  • Restarted sixth on lap 333 and raced into the top-five by lap 334.
  • Surrendered the second position for a four-tire pit stop under green on lap 369.
  • Several cars gambled on fuel strategy that paid off, and Harvick raced to an eighth-place finish in the closing laps. 

Notes:

  • Harvick won the pole position for the Coca-Cola 600 on Thursday night with a lap of 27.918 seconds at 193.424 mph.
  • Harvick scored his 15th top-10 finish in 33 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte and his seventh top-10 finish of 2017.
  • Harvick scored 12 stage points and led three times for 45 laps.
  • Austin Dillon scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Next Up:                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday, June 4 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.

COLE CUSTER – 2017 Charlotte I XFINITY Race Report

Cole Custer Finishes Seventh at Charlotte

Haas Automation Driver Claims Rookie of the Race Honors

Date: May 27, 2017
Event: Hisense 4K TV 300 (Round 10 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: Sixth/Seventh (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 11th (209 points, 123 out of first)

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):

  •  Started sixth, finished third to earn eight stage points.
  • Custer ran the majority of Stage 1 in the top-five.
  • He noted his Haas Automation Mustang was tight in the center and free on entry throughout the stage.
  • At the conclusion of Stage 1, Custer took four fresh tires and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):       

  •  Started fifth, finished fifth to earn six stage points.
  • Adjustments improved the handling of Custer’s Ford Mustang at the beginning of the stage, but the handling became loose on landing as the stage went on.
  • Custer took his second set of fresh tires and air pressure adjustments at the conclusion of Stage 2.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):

  •  Started fifth, finished seventh.
  • Custer ran in and around the top-five for the majority of the final stage.
  • On lap 160, Custer pitted under caution for four tires and adjustments. He gained one position and restarted fourth.
  • After the final caution, Custer restarted 10th and battled his Ford Mustang up three positions before the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

  • Custer was the highest-finishing rookie and NASCAR XFINITY Series regular in all three stages.
  • This marks Custer’s fifth top-10 finish in 15 career XFINITY Series starts, his third top-10 of the 2017 season and his second consecutive top-10 finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Custer earned the most stage points of any XFINITY Series regular driver with 14 stage points.
  • This marks Custer’s second consecutive Charlotte Motor Speedway finish as the highest-finishing XFINITY Series driver.
  • There were a total of 12 cautions for 52 laps.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How did you feel about the race today at Charlotte?

“We had an awesome Haas Automation Mustang. I had one bad restart there at the end, but all of my other restarts were decent and had us in the top-five. I just can’t thank everybody enough. We had an awesome day today and it’s all about my team, I’m just steering the wheel. Ford Performance has been a big help this year. We’ve used a lot of their tools to come here with and I think we’ll have a great car to come back with.”