CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Texas II Race Advance

Clint Bowyer would like nothing better than to hoist the winner’s trophy in victory lane Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. After narrowly missing the NASCAR playoffs, the 38-year-old Emporia, Kansas native has made winning a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race a priority in the final three races of the 2017 season.

Texas is as good a place as any for Bowyer to return to the winner’s circle, but the Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver isn’t going into battle alone Sunday.

NASCAR in the 21st Century is as much a team sport as any in the stick-and-ball arena. The driver is at the tip of the spear that includes a race team, engine builder, manufacturer, corporate partners and other entities. Without that support, getting to victory lane would be near impossible.

Bowyer said he thinks fans sometimes miss the effort it takes to field a successful Cup series entry. He said it’s the work done in the race shop that often decides races. Even before his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford Fusion unloads Friday in Texas, his crew will have figured out what it will take to go fast.

“These race teams are so good using their experience, technology and tools that it is just incredible to see them go through a race weekend,” Bowyer said. “Whether it’s new pavement or old pavement, they can find that optimal grip load in the car and ultimately make the thing fast.”

“That is the crazy thing – how close they can get these cars to 100 percent,” he added. “Mechanical grip is what I am talking about. Aero grip and things like that are some things that you can or can’t adjust but, at the end of the day, all the teams in this garage at this level are pretty good at getting this thing close to 100 percent.”

If all those factors click, then Bowyer will be a factor on Sunday. He’s enjoyed success at the 1.5-mile Texas oval posting three top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 24 races. In 2006, Bowyer won a Camping World Truck Series race at Texas. Bowyer started third in April at Texas and raced as high as fourth in the final stage before finishing 11th. “Like a lot of folks, we just couldn’t get the handling right,” he said that night.

Bowyer and the rest of the field will be a bit more familiar with the Texas track this weekend. Sunday marks the second Cup Series race on the reconfigured Texas track. Before the April race, the track and pit lane underwent a complete repave while turns one and two were re-profiled, altering the configuration of the oval.

He visits Texas a week after a third-place finish at the .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Bowyer started fifth at the short track and rallied to third after dropping as far back as 26th. It was a welcome finish for Bowyer, who’s hoping he’s ended a recent run of back luck. Accidents by other drivers collected Bowyer at Charlotte, Talladega and Kansas, ruining his chances for a good finish.

Bowyer, who is in his first season with SHR after replacing three-time champion Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Ford led by crew chief Mike Bugarewicz, has posted three second-place finishes and two third-place finishes. The team narrowly missed earning one of 16 berths in NASCAR’s playoffs – despite Bowyer’s average finish of 15.0 that is ninth-best of all full-time drivers this season.

If Bowyer can keep the Martinsville momentum going and his crew is as adept at finding the optimum setup as Bowyer describes, then it could be quite an exciting, happy and probably quite crowded victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway late Sunday afternoon in the Lone Star State. 

 

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil Delvac 1Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What are your thoughts on Texas?

“Texas is one of those big, fast, high-banked tracks. You just have to go. We’ve been close there a number of times over the years. At Texas, it’s all about having the sheer speed. On those 1.5-mile tracks, you have to have a car that unloads fast. You can be a little bit tight or a little bit loose but, if that car isn’t making grip, making downforce and having the speed on the racetrack, then you are going to struggle. Unloading a fast hot rod right off the truck is going to be so important because you are going to have to qualify well and have that track position to be a contender.”

KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Martinsville II Race Report

Event:               First Data 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series:               Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format:             500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Start/Finish:      13th/5th (Running, completed 505 of 505 laps) in overtime
Point Standing:             4th with 4,053 points, three points ahead of fifth-place in the Round of 8 

Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):

  • Kevin Harvick started 13th and finished 13th.
  • Harvick raced the Busch NA Ford Fusion into the top-10 by the competition caution on lap 35.
  • The No. 4 Ford stayed out under caution on lap 64 to maintain the ninth position.
  • Harvick came to pit road for tires and fuel on lap 90, but eight cars opted to stay out, forcing the No. 4 to restart in the 17th position.
  • The No. 4 team pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):

  • Started 10th, finished seventh and earned four bonus points.
  • Stage 2 went caution free and allowed Harvick to race the Busch NA Ford from the 10th position up to seventh.
  • The Busch NA Ford came to pit road at the conclusion of Stage 2 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 261-500):

  • Started eighth, finished fifth.
  • Harvick brought the Busch NA Ford to pit road from the eighth position under caution on lap 309 for four tires and fuel.
  • The Busch NA Ford restarted eighth on lap 320 after staying out under caution on lap 317.
  • The No. 4 Ford came to pit road under caution from the sixth position on lap 362 for four tires, fuel and fender repair but came out 15th after a mishap during the pit stop.
  • The Busch NA team came to pit road under caution from the 13th position for four tires and fuel on lap 460 and came off pit road in the 11th position.
  • Harvick stayed out during a flurry of cautions at the end of the race and advanced from ninth to fifth in the final laps.

Notes:

  • Harvick scored his 11th top-five and 20th top-10 finish of 2017.
  • This was Harvick’s fourth top-five and 15th top-10 in 33 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville.
  • Harvick finished seventh in Stage 2 for four points.
  • There were 11 caution periods for a total of 74 laps.
  • Twenty-three of the 40 drivers in the First Data finished on the lead lap.
  • Kyle Busch won the First Data 500 to score his 43rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .141 of a second.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch NA Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It’s just Martinsville. That’s what it’s all about. It’s championship time. It’s time to get physical. I’ve just got to thank everybody on my Busch Non-Alcoholic Ford, Jimmy John’s, Mobil 1, Outback, Hunt Brothers, Morton Buildings, Textron Off Road, everybody who helps this car go around the racetrack. I really want to help all of my guys at Stewart-Haas Racing. They built this car in two weeks, and we were way more competitive than we were in the spring. Bent fenders, hurt feelings. I love it.”

Playoff Standings (with two races remaining in the Round of 8):

  1. Kyle Busch (4,100 points, -17) 1 win
  2. Martin Truex Jr. (4,117 points) +67
  3. Brad Keselowski (4,079 points, -38) +29 points
  4. Kevin Harvick (4,053 points, -64) +3 points
  5. Jimmie Johnson (4,050 points, -67) -3 points
  6. Ryan Blaney (4,047 points, -70) -6 points
  7. Denny Hamlin (4,045 points, -72) -8 points
  8. Chase Elliott (4,027 points, -90) -26 points                                              

Next Up: 

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It is the eighth race of the 10-race playoffs and starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBCSN beginning at 1 p.m. PRN Radio and SiriusXM Channel 90 will be on the radio call.

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Martinsville II Race Report

Event:               First Data 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format:             500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Start/Finish:       5th/3rd (completed 505 of 505 laps)
Point Standing: 18th with 829 points
Note:                 Race ended in overtime, going five laps past its scheduled 500-lap distance

Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):

  • Clint Bowyer started fifth and finished 15th.
  • Ran in fifth in the opening laps turning very competitive lap times.
  • Pitted from sixth at the lap-40 competition caution, but an air gun malfunction during the pit stop dropped him to 17th.
  • Dropped to 26th as the crew attempted to help the car turn and cut better.
  • The changes worked, and Bowyer drove back to 15th before the stage ended.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):

  • Started 13th and finished ninth.
  • Bowyer continued his charge to the front, climbing into the top-10 by lap 192.
  • Bowyer turned in top-three lap times throughout the stage.
  • Only 12 cars raced on the lead lap at the end of the stage, which ran without caution.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 261-500):

  • Started ninth and finished third.
  • Climbed to sixth at the lap-300 mark.
  • Bowyer jumped from eighth to fifth on a lap-370 restart.
  • Bowyer raced in seventh with seven laps remaining.
  • Bowyer started overtime in third and held his position over the final three laps.

Notes:

  • Six of the top-10 finishers were Ford drivers.
  • Bowyer scored his sixth top-five and 13th top-10 finish of 2017.
  • This was Bowyer’s fifth top-five and 14th top-10 finish in 23 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville.
  • There were 11 caution periods for a total of 74 laps.
  • Kyle Busch won the First Data 500 to score his 43rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .141 of a second.
  • Busch leads the playoff standings via his win and has 4,100 points, while Truex is the points leader with 4,117.

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

“That was a really good run for us. We got down early when we had an air gun break, but nobody gave up, and we came back pretty strong. It was hard to pass today. I mean really hard. In the last few weeks we’ve had good cars and just got caught in somebody else’s problems. Today we avoided all that and showed everyone how good of a race team we are.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It is the eighth race of the 10-race playoffs and starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBCSN.

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Martinsville II Race Report

Event:               First Data 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format:             500 laps, broken into three stages (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Start/Finish:      11th/22nd (Running, completed 505 of 505 laps) in overtime
Point Standing:             15th with 2,139 points 

Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):

  • Kurt Busch started 11th and finished 12th.
  • The State Water Heaters Ford had a loose-handling condition during the opening laps of the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
  • Busch pitted under caution on lap 87 for wedge adjustments and tires. He restarted 20th after the top-nine cars opted not to pit.
  • At the end of the stage Busch pitted from the 12th position and was able to maintain his spot coming off of pit road.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):

  • Busch started 11th and finished 11th.
  • On the Stage 2 restart Busch reported that he might have received right-front damage after slight contact, but the State Water Heaters spotter noted that everything looked good, so the team did not have to make an additional stop.
  • Busch maintained his 11th-place run throughout a caution-free Stage 2.
  • Only 12 cars ended Stage 2 on the lead lap.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 261-500):

  • Busch started 11th and finished 22nd.
  • At the beginning of the final stage, Busch came in for four tires and fuel. Busch was satisfied with his State Water Heaters Ford and did not request adjustments.
  • Busch was forced to check up due to traffic on the subsequent restart, relinquishing the 11th spot to Jimmie Johnson.
  • With 200 laps remaining, the State Water Heaters driver reported that he was navigating a loose-handling condition in the beginning of the corner and a tight-handling condition in the center of the corner and told the crew he wanted the rear of the car lowered.
  • On the lap-313 restart, Busch was able to get a jump up to the 11th spot, and by the lap-316 caution period he cracked the top-10.
  • The handling on Busch’s Ford began to deteriorate over the course of the stage, dropping the driver to 16th.
  • On lap 460 the State Water Heaters team gained one spot on pit road, restarting 15th and quickly jumping to 12th.
  • In overtime Busch was caught up in a multicar incident that dropped him to a 22nd-place finish. 

Notes:

  • There were 11 caution periods for a total of 74 laps.
  • Twenty-three of the 40 drivers in the First Data 500 finished on the lead lap.
  • Kyle Busch won the First Data 500 to score his 43rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .141 of a second.
  • Busch leads the playoff standings via his win and has 4,100 points. Truex leads the points standings with 4,117.

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It is the eighth race of the 10-race playoffs and starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBCSN beginning at 1 p.m.

DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Martinsville II Race Report

Event:               First Data 500 (Round 33 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Format:             500 laps, broken into three segments (130 laps/130 laps/240 laps)
Note:                 Race ended in overtime, going five laps past its scheduled 500-lap distance
Start/Finish:      23rd/17th (Running, completed 505 of 505 laps)
Point Standing: 27th (478 points) 

Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:             Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):

  • Danica Patrick started 23rd and finished 31st.
  • The No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion team was scored in the 22nd position when Patrick made contact with the No. 47 car, which resulted in right-front damage. The team was able to pit under caution for repairs.
  • Despite the damage, the team stayed on the lead lap and finished the stage 31st. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):

  • Started 31st and finished 27th.
  • Patrick had raced her way up to 27th by lap 173 but went a lap down to the leader at lap 184.
  • The No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford team pitted for tires, fuel and chassis adjustments at the conclusion of the stage. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 261-500):

  • Started 25th and finished 17th.
  • When the caution flag waved at lap 303, crew chief Billy Scott called for Patrick to stay out and take the wave-around, putting the No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford team back on the lead lap in the 22nd position.
  • Patrick went a lap down to the leader again at lap 449. When the caution flag waved less than 10 laps later, Scott had Patrick stay out and wave around to get back on the lead lap once again.
  • In the closing laps, Patrick was able to race her way up to 17th. 

Notes:              

  • This was Patrick’s 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and her 187th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
  • Patrick earned 20 points in Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway, which puts her at 478 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 27th in the driver point standings.
  • There were 11 caution periods for a total of 74 laps.
  • A total of 23 of the 40 drivers in the First Data 500 finished on the lead lap.
  • Kyle Busch won the First Data 500 to score his 43rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Martinsville Speedway. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .141 of a second.
  • Truex leads the championship standings with 4,117 points and holds a 17-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Busch.

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Nov. 5 AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The event starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBCSN.

KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Martinsville II Race Advance

Kevin Harvick is heading to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the First Data 500 for the first of three races of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. He will have a crisp, cold new look with Busch NA on the hood of his No. 4 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Busch Beer’s non-alcoholic branding shows Busch’s commitment to promoting the responsible enjoyment of Busch products and encourages smart-drinking choices. Race fans attending Martinsville Speedway for the First Data 500 can enjoy Busch NA and other Busch family products at the midway and from select vendors throughout the track.

Harvick advanced to the Round of 8 following an eighth-place finish last Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The good news for Harvick is that his second-place qualifying effort at Kansas will carry over to Martinsville and allow the No. 4 team to claim a coveted, prime pit stall for this weekend during the enhanced, two-day format.

The .526-mile paperclip-shaped racetrack is the shortest on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit while its low banking and tight corners provide some of the closest and toughest competition on the schedule.

Due to the tight quarters, a racecar rarely finishes a race at Martinsville without a tire mark on the door or a few dents in the sheet metal.

What makes it maddening for competitors is that they can race to the front of the field and stay there throughout the majority of the event, only to get shuffled back on a late-race restart if they wind up in the outside lane.

Harvick and the No. 4 team suffered that very fate at Martinsville in April 2016, when he started 19th, raced to the front and led 72 laps before being stuck in the outside lane on consecutive late-race restarts, ultimately finishing 17th.

But the madness of Martinsville can work to a driver’s benefit, as well. Harvick found that out in April 2011, when he started ninth, led just six of 500 laps and beat runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line by .727 of a second.

Martinsville is one of only three Cup Series venues where Harvick has yet to score a top-five finish since joining SHR in 2014 – Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway in Sparta are the other two. He may be looking for his first top-five at Martinsville since joining SHR, but he has shown speed and consistency at the Virginia short track with three top-10 finishes and 265 laps led in his seven Martinsville appearances since the start of 2014.

One of the most important things to watch for this weekend at Martinsville will be stage points, which can be scored early in the race. Harvick scored 41 stage points and two playoff points in the Round of 12 to help offset a 20th-place result at Talladega.

Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing, the current points leader entering the Round of 8, holds a 52-point advantage over Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, who are tied for fifth in the standings. Kyle Busch has a 25-point cushion over the fifth position, and Brad Keselowski has a nine-point advantage.

While Harvick has raced up front and scored five stage wins this year, he is still in search of his first Cup Series race win at an oval track this season. A win this weekend at Martinsville would secure his position in the winner-take-all, Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and give him a shot at his second Cup Series championship.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch NA Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

Where do you want to be at Martinsville to help you avoid trouble on the racetrack?

“I think the best position to be in at any racetrack is in the lead. You want to be in control of the race and try to get yourself in a position to where you can have a good, clean restart and have as much clear track, especially at Martinsville, just for the fact that there is so much pushing and shoving on the restarts to get to the bottom lane that you want to try to be as far forward as possible.”

 

What do you expect to see in the transition from Talladega to Martinsville?

“Well, I think everybody is unhappy at this particular stage of the year because the intensity level is so high. You know that, whether that moment was good or bad, it could have been the moment you could win or lose the championship from. You see that intensity with a lot of guys. I think right now you just have to approach it as, whatever you have to do to get the best finish for your team, is what you have to do at this particular point. The goal is to get to Homestead and we have three races to do that.”

With rain in the forecast for Sunday, how will that change things up?

“It’s a very complicated weekend looking at all the different scenarios that you have going on, because last week in qualifying also set your pit stall selection for this weekend at Martinsville. So our qualifying from last week at Kansas has already set the pit stall selection process for this week. Now you’re going to go up there and try to qualify well, which you always try to do, especially at Martinsville. But now we are looking at the possibility of rain on Sunday morning. Usually when there is rain at Martinsville, we just figure we’ll go up there and race on Monday, but now they have lights. So, if it does get delayed, we may have to run at night. The biggest issue with that is, all of our practice will be run on Saturday. So we’ll get up there late morning on Saturday and run our first practice. Trucks will have been on the track on Friday. It’s going to be a cool weekend up there, which typically means that the track won’t have a lot of rubber on it because the track won’t take a lot of rubber if it’s cold. We tested there a few weeks ago and it was a little warmer and there was rubber everywhere. There is a lot to digest on Saturday and Martinsville is a pretty finicky racetrack when it comes to temperature and rubber on the racetrack. If it does rain on Sunday morning and you don’t get to qualify, that’s not the biggest deal. The biggest deal will be how long does it rain and are you going to race at night. We’ve all never made one lap at night. You don’t really know what to expect. There might be some guys who have run Late Models there, but they’ve never raced there at night, either. It’s very interesting that this all comes at this particular point in the year. You just have to try and take everything in and balance it all as best you can.”

 

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Martinsville II Race Advance

While the weather is cooling down as the fall season is in full swing, Kurt Busch is getting hot on track as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this weekend.

Last week at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Busch finished just 2.248 seconds behind race-winner Martin Truex Jr., to finish an impressive second. It was Busch’s sixth top-five of 2017 and his best finish since he won the Daytona 500 to start the year.

Busch now looks to Martinsville, were he will drive the No. 41 State Water Heaters Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). It’s a different look for the No. 41 Ford this week, but State has long been associated with NASCAR and SHR.

In 1946, State Water Heaters was founded by Herbert Lindahl, Sr., as a small entrepreneurial company in a garage in Nashville, Tennessee producing coal- and wood-burning stoves. By 1948, one year before Red Byron won the very first NASCAR race at Martinsville, the company produced its first water heater.

In the years that followed, State expanded and became a leader in the water heating industry through steadfast commitments to seeking new materials, new technology and innovative engineering techniques.

Busch has had success at Martinsville in the past, winning the fall race in 2002 and the spring race in 2014 for SHR.

He also won the pole positon for the fall race in 2006.

Busch is feeling hot coming off that runner-up finish at Kansas and is hoping he can keep the energy flowing with a solid run at Martinsville Speedway this Sunday.

 

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 State Water Heaters Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

You had a solid run at Kansas. Talk about your day there.

“For us, we had a really adventurous day. Actually, I brushed the wall early on, got a lap down, had to dig out of that hole all day. The early calls to stay out and then to put on scuffed tires to limp it home through one of the stages, those were gutsy decisions by Tony Gibson. I have to say hats off to Gibson for that because that put us back on the same sequence with the leaders and the tires. That gave us the same amount of (tire) sets of stickers that we could use toward the end of the race.” 

What is the toughest part about racing at Martinsville?

“To me, the toughest part about Martinsville is you just never have a moment to breathe. You have to be on your game nonstop for 500 laps because somebody’s on you, or you are on top of somebody the whole time, and there’s just no room for error.” 

How much does pit strategy become a factor at Martinsville? 

“It’s definitely something that comes into play. You may gamble early to pick up some positions on the track, especially if you’ve had trouble in qualifying. It’s just one of those things, though, where you always hope you’re on the right one (strategy) and, if you get caught on the wrong one, then you’re kicking yourself the whole time.” 

How much more important is track position at a place like Martinsville? 

“Track position is everything, everywhere, but at Martinsville it is just so easy to lose it. It doesn’t take much to find yourself going backward, whether it’s a situation with someone bumping you out of the way or you get too high on the track and up in the marbles. Then, deal with what that does to the tires and, boom, next thing you know, you may have had a 10th-place car and now you are 18th. It’s a goal all day to work your way forward and then just to have smooth pit stops to carry you through those midpoints of the race. Then, at the end, when everything is on the line, you have to be aggressive and you can’t be afraid to use the fenders on people to get that solid finish.”

DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Martinsville II Race Advance

As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for Sunday’s First Data 500, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will be looking to rekindle their performance at the .526-mile oval.

In March 2015, Patrick etched her name in the record books at Martinsville by earning a seventh-place finish in the STP 500. The effort ended with her first top-10 finishes of the season and the fifth top-10 of her NASCAR Cup Series career. It also tied Patrick with Janet Guthrie for the most top-10 NASCAR Cup Series finishes by a female driver, a record that Patrick now holds outright with seven top-10s in Cup Series competition.

For Patrick, that spring race wasn’t the first time she’d made history at Martinsville. In April 2013, she became the first female driver to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race at the track, which first opened in 1949.

Her first Martinsville start surprised many NASCAR observers as she earned a solid 12th-place result – made more impressive by the fact she started 43rd after an engine change before the race. Patrick looked like a veteran on the shortest track on the circuit. All-told, in nine NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville, she’s earned one top-10 finish and four top-20s.

As Patrick and the No. 10 team enter Sunday’s race, they look forward to reviving their performance after having their day cut short by accidents the past three weekends. Three weeks ago at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Patrick’s race was cut short with less than 75 laps to go when her No. 10 Ford Warriors In Pink Ford was collected by another car as it spun down the track. Her car sustained significant damage and she was relegated to a 38th-place finish when the team was unable to make repairs. Two weeks ago at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Patrick ran inside the top-10 but was scored just outside the top-20 when a multicar accident on lap 172 caused significant damage to both the right front and the right rear of the No. 10 Ford. The team pitted multiple times for repairs but was unable to properly address the issues within the NASCAR-mandated five-minute time limit, thus ending Patrick’s day and relegating the team to a 21st-place finish. Last week at Kanas Speedway in Kansas City, Patrick was collected in a late-race, 14-car accident that left the team unable to continue. She had to settle for a 38th-place finish.

Once again this weekend, Patrick’s No. 10 Ford will feature the Warriors in Pink livery in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The special paint scheme marks Ford’s decades-long commitment to raising awareness and funds in the fight against the disease. The Ford Warriors in Pink program has worked for 23 years to help breast cancer patients and their families. To date, Ford has dedicated more than $133 million to research, education and patient resources.

Patrick’s No. 10 racecar displays the warrior symbol to honor the powerful, courageous women and men engaged in the fight against breast cancer. Symbols are a key part of the inspirational message Ford Warriors in Pink represents – serving to uplift those who exhibit strength and courage in the face of their greatest battle.

After three-straight DNFs, Patrick and the No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford team are ready to channel that warrior spirit as they look to rekindle their success at the iconic Martinsville short track and bring home another top-10 finish and greater awareness for the Warriors in Pink initiative.

 

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What do you like about racing at Martinsville?

“At Martinsville, I enjoy that if you have a good car, you can pass. I always say that Martinsville is one of those tracks that you’re either looking out your windshield or you’re looking in your rearview mirror. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of in-between there, at least for me. Luckily, I’ve had more weekends where I was looking out the windshield.”

Short track racing is where NASCAR started and it’s where NASCAR drivers typically get their start. How intense is it to race when you have an entire field crammed onto a half-mile oval?

“I think short-track racing, where we apex the bottom of the track, like Martinsville, can be fun because you can use your bumper and get them a little bit out of the way and out of shape.”

What’s the toughest thing to figure out about Martinsville?

“At Martinsville, like any short track, you want to make sure you turn the center, but you have to have drive on exit. They go hand-in-hand, too. If you can’t turn the center, it doesn’t matter what kind of power-down you have. If you have all that wheel in it when you’re trying to get off the corner and put the power down, it puts a lot of load on those back tires to try and get you off the corner because you’re using the power to try and turn. It’s about achieving a good balance with the car and I feel like our team has really always done a pretty good job with that. I’ve only had one Martinsville that was bad and the rest of them were all pretty decent.”

What is the key to success at Martinsville?

“I came from a road-course-racing background and, at Martinsville, I feel like you have to set up passes a little bit like that. I think it’s also a track where you have to exercise a lot of discipline. It’s easy to make mistakes. It’s easy to overdrive and try and get a little bit more when you’re passing somebody and make mistakes. Those are the two things I keep in mind when I’m there. I also think you really need a good car there, and Stewart-Haas Racing has always had good cars there.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Martinsville II Race Advance

Throughout his career, Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), admits to having a love-hate relationship with Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races on Sunday. The flat, concrete, half-mile track was far from one of the Emporia, Kansas driver’s favorites when he started his Cup career.

“When I first went there the first couple of seasons in the sport, that was the one racetrack that I couldn’t wait to leave – I was terrible, I hated it, every aspect of it,” Bowyer said. “Everything in your natural tendencies as a racecar driver doesn’t hold true there. Alright, I have to pass this guy in front of me. Well, I have to get in the corner deeper than him, I have to pick up the gas sooner than him, and both of those things took me about 27 times there before I ever figured it out.”

But he did.

“Believe it or not, Martinsville has become a place I look forward to,” Bowyer said. “We’ve focused hard on Martinsville, studied it, tested a lot of tracks in preparation for Martinsville, and worked on really getting a good setup underneath us. We’ve taken that and have been solid ever since.”

He’s even come close to bringing home a grandfather clock Martinsville presents the race winner, but he’s yet to add one to his trophy case. He led 154 laps during the fall 2012 race amid a string of five consecutive top-10s at Martinsville. He owns four top-five finishes and 13 top-10s and has led 356 laps at the southern Virginia track.

“I’ve run really well at Martinsville and there have been several times when I thought we were the fastest car, especially in 2012 and 2013,” Bowyer said. “I look forward to it every year and it’s one track I feel like I can win at, especially if the equipment is underneath me and we make good calls and I make good decisions and take care of the car on the racetrack. I want to bring one of those clocks home.”

Sunday’s race marks the second time Bowyer visits Martinsville driving a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. In April, Bowyer started eighth and climbed as high as fourth in the closing laps before finishing seventh. Martinsville is a historically good track for the Kannapolis, North Carolina-based team. SHR owns three victories – Ryan Newman in April 2012, Tony Stewart in October 2011 and Kurt Busch in March 2014 – six top-five finishes and 18 top-10s in 50 starts at Martinsville, and SHR cars have led 504 laps there.

Bowyer could use a little luck after the last three weeks. Accidents by other drivers collected Bowyer at Charlotte, Talladega and Kansas, ruining his chances for a good finish. Last week in his return to his home state, Bowyer raced in the top-five late in the race before a multicar accident wounded the No. 14 and left him with a 19th-place finish.

It hasn’t been all bad luck in 2017 for Bowyer, who is in his first season with SHR after replacing three-time champion Tony Stewart in the No. 14, led by crew chief Mike Bugarewicz. The team has posted three second-place finishes and two third-place finishes but narrowly missed earning one of 16 berths in NASCAR’s playoffs. Bowyer’s average finish of 15.4 is 10th best of the fulltime drivers this season.

Despite the success, Bowyer says the goal this year is a return trip to victory lane. With only four races remaining in the 2017 season, Bowyer is running out of chances to visit victory lane with his new team. 

“We’re hungry and we’re trying,” Bowyer said. “That’s the frustrating thing about looking back on the year. We’re getting close to the end and it’s just been that way all season long. When you look back and I look back at my history, consistency has always been what got me and kept me in the running. And this year has been a really solid run. A second (place) or something followed up by two steps back. It seems like you get on a roll – I think the biggest roll we got on was like three or four races. Back in the day, we could click off maybe as many as 10 and really march up through the points and gain that confidence and everything that goes with it.”

Nothing would increase that confidence more than bringing home a grandfather clock from Martinsville after Sunday’s race.

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

 

What are your thoughts on Martinsville?

“I love going to Martinsville. It’s a great racetrack with a lot of history. Martinsville has been hosting races for half a century and all the greats have raced there over the years. It really is a throwback in a lot of ways. It’s a flat short track like most of us grew up racing on. It’s tight, flat and fenders definitely get used. It always puts on an exciting show for the fans and there isn’t a bad seat in the house. As a fan of the sport, I don’t know how you can’t like Martinsville. And, in a lot of ways, it’s almost turned into the new go-to track for action and excitement. It doesn’t have the high banks like Bristol, but the racing, bumping, banging and all the fun stuff the fans look for has been every bit as good as anywhere we’ve gone the past few years.”   

Martinsville seems to be the most difficult track for drivers to figure out. Why is that?

“It’s a short track, but it’s not like any other short track you’ve ever been to. It goes against everything your tendencies tell you to do. You have to back the corner up and let the car roll way around the corner before you get back on the gas. Your tendencies are to get in the corner as deep as you can and get back on the throttle as fast as possible. Those are two things that are catastrophic there, so you’ve got to discipline yourself and stay disciplined throughout the race.”

Stewart-Haas Racing Bolsters NASCAR XFINITY Series Effort by Partnering with Biagi-DenBeste Racing

XFINITY Series Team To Be Known as Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste

 

Stewart-Haas Racing has bolstered its effort in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by partnering with Biagi-DenBeste Racing. The XFINITY Series operation will be known as Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste beginning with the 2018 season. The name change only applies to the company’s XFINITY Series program.

With the new partnership, Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste will continue to field the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for current rookie-of-the-year contender Cole Custer. The outfit’s No. 41 team, which ran a limited XFINITY Series schedule with Kevin Harvick in 2017, will change to the No. 98. Sponsors Hunt Brothers Pizza and FIELDS will remain with Harvick as he drives the No. 98 Ford Mustang in another part-time schedule in 2018.

“We’re always looking to improve our performance and find ways to make our teams more efficient,” said Tony Stewart, who co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “While we’ve been in NASCAR for nine years, this was our first year in the XFINITY Series. Partnering with Biagi-DenBeste Racing gives our XFINITY Series program added depth as we prepare for next season.”

Biagi-DenBeste Racing traces its roots back to 2001 when it competed in what used to be known as the NASCAR Busch Series. It has won three races, with its most recent victory coming earlier this year when Aric Almirola won the May 6 XFINITY Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

“Racing is our passion and to ensure our presence in this sport for years to come, it made sense to partner with an established team that also fields entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series,” said Fred Biagi, co-owner of Biagi-DenBeste Racing with Bill and Lori DenBeste. “We look forward to competing for wins and defending our victory at Talladega.”

The 2018 schedule for the No. 98 team of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste will be announced at a later date. 

-SHR- 

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The organization fields four entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series – the No. 4 Ford Fusion for Kevin Harvick, the No. 10 Ford Fusion for Danica Patrick, the No. 14 Ford Fusion for Clint Bowyer and the No. 41 Ford Fusion for Kurt Busch. The team also competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by fielding a full time entry – the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Cole Custer – and one part-time entry – the No. 41 Ford Mustang. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 200,000-square-foot facility with more than 300 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at  www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.