COLE CUSTER – 2018 NXS Watkins Glen Race Advance

Event:               Zippo 200 (Round 20 of 33)
Date:                 August 4, 2018
Location:          Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International
Layout:             2.45-mile road course

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

 

  • The Zippo 200 will mark Custer’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
  • While the Zippo 200 will be Custer’s second Xfinity Series start at Watkins Glen, it will be his fifth overall start at the 2.45-mile road course. In Custer’s three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts at The Glen, he earned a pole, two top-five finishes and led 17 laps. He finished 12th in his Watkins Glen Xfinity Series debut in 2017.
  • Custer has three overall road course starts in the Xfinity Series. His best Xfinity Series finish at a road course is eighth – earned Aug. 27, 2017 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
  • Custer’s four pole awards this season leads all Xfinity Series regulars.
  • Custer’s best finish in the 19 Xfinity Series races run this season is second, earned in the 11th event May 26 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
  • Custer has earned four poles, seven top-five finishes, 15 top-10s, and has led 232 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
  • Custer has qualified inside the top-five at eight of the last nine races this season. He has earned 14 top-five starts and 15 top-10 starts in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
  • Custer is third in the Xfinity Series driver standings, 18 points behind series leader Daniel Hemric.
  • Last weekend at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Custer led a season-high 104 laps, earned his first stage win of the season and secured the Haas Automation Ford team’s 15th top-10 of the season.
  • He is joined at The Glen by Stewart-Haas Racing w/ Biagi-DenBeste teammate Aric Almirola in the No. 98 Go Bowling Ford Mustang.

 

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

 

With three of the next six races being road-course events, how important is it to run well at Watkins Glen?

“This is definitely one of the most unique stretches of races we have all year – three road courses, a short track, Darlington and Indianapolis. We have to start strong in this stretch because it doesn’t get any easier – especially when you have guys fighting hard to make it into the playoffs. We aren’t going to run conservatively, though. We’re in this to win and we haven’t gotten one, yet. We had a decent race last year at Watkins Glen and ran up front for a while. It’s extremely important that we take notes and learn from this race heading into Mid-Ohio and Road America.” 

Do you enjoy road-course racing?

“I never really grew up road racing or anything but, when I started doing it, I thought it was one of the more fun things we do here throughout the season. I feel like it was something I started getting better at and there was a different level of competition in road-course racing. I’m really looking forward to all of the road courses coming up this season.”

What will it take to run a successful race at Watkins Glen?  

“First, you have to be good as a driver. However, Watkins Glen is one of the tracks where the car comes into play more than most road courses. It’s definitely a fast track and one of the more fun places we go to.”

 

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

 

What car are you bringing to Watkins Glen and how important is it to succeed at road courses this season?

“We’re bring a brand new car to Watkins Glen this weekend. We’re excited to start with a fresh car and really dial in our road-course program. It’s extremely important to start out on the right foot at the road-course races because we have Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Charlotte Roval road course.”

KURT BUSCH – 2018 Watkins Glen Race Advance

Jim Clark and Graham Hill have won at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. So have Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt.

All these drivers won driving Formula One cars when the F1 calendar included The Glen from 1961 to 1980. Kurt Busch is looking to join these legend drivers as winners at The Glen this weekend, but he’s not going to do it behind the wheel of a Haas F1 Team, rather as driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Busch’s road-course career started in 2000 as a young driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He finished second at Watkin Glen and 11th at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway. In his three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Watkins Glen, he started first in each, won in 2006 and 2011, and finished third in 2007. In these three races, Busch led 98 of the 250 laps available – 39.2 percent.

In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Busch swept the poles for both road-course races in 2006. He won his fifth career Cup Series pole at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June and sixth at Watkins Glen in August, marking the only Cup Series poles Busch has earned on road courses.

He scored his first Cup Series road-course victory at Sonoma in 2011, leading a race-high 76 laps. Busch passed Denny Hamlin for the lead on lap 13 and stayed out front for the next 19 circuits around the 1.99-mile track. He relinquished the lead twice for scheduled, green-flag pit stops and took over the top spot for the final time on lap 88, leading the final 23 laps.

Busch is hoping the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion is up to the challenge at Watkins Glen. He has finished in the top-11 the last five years at The Glen, highlighted by a third-place drive in 2014.

Busch is hoping he can be a force on the road course at The Glen and join the legendary drivers who have seen victory lane.

 

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

 

You’ve won a Cup Series race at Sonoma and won Xfinity races at Watkins Glen. What does it take to be successful on the road courses?

“I think the biggest thing, as a driver, is maintaining the pace throughout the race. I’ve struggled a little bit in the races at Watkins Glen with braking power and I was too hard on the brakes, early in the race. It’s weird, though, the Xfinity races I’ve run there and won, the brakes stayed consistent for me in that car. So I’ve just got to find the right combination with the Monster Energy Cup car because, at Sonoma, we never really had any brake issue. So I think that is the key. If we find that right balance, that will help us stay consistent, and then you have the lap times at the end of the race where you can be competitive for a win.”

Should NASCAR run the “Boot” at Watkins Glen?

“It would be interesting to see how it would play out. Are the corners in the boot too slow compared to the rest of the corners? And then I’ve heard that if we ran the boot, then the number of laps would be fewer because the track is longer. And then the fans only get to see the cars come by them X amount of times and that’s why I’ve heard we don’t run the boot.”

Is there a road course in the world that you would like to run that you haven’t? Is there a “bucket list” track for you?

“Oh yeah – to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or Monaco. I’ve never been to Laguna Seca. I’ve always raced in Sonoma and been to Northern California many times, but I’ve never even gone to the property of Laguna Seca. I’ve just seen it on TV and video games. I would love to go there.”

Is road-course racing a little more intense than it was in years past?

“It just seems like the gentlemen’s agreement or the etiquette of how road-course races were run in years past is less and less each year. Everybody’s really bumping and grinding a lot harder. They’re not afraid to throw in the front bumper when it’s not supposed to be in that position. That’s why I think the road courses have become the fan favorites because of the energy level and the amount of contact that is available at the road courses. You can feel it, you can sense it in the car, you know when you go to Sonoma or Watkins Glen that the contact is going to be there and guys aren’t afraid to mix it up anymore. It will be pretty wild to have a road-course race during the playoffs this year at Charlotte. We’ll see how that plays out. What I like is that there is a road course that will be in the playoffs and that’s going to require the drivers to be more versatile.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2018 Watkins Glen Race Advance

Clint Bowyer might seem a little crazy, but he’s certainly no dummy.

When retired Buffalo Bills special teams ace Steve Tasker tried to autograph a football for Bowyer two weeks ago, the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford driver quickly saw a sure-fire way to make his home life lot easier. Bowyer agreed with the idea to have Tasker sign the football to his wife Lorra, a lifelong Bills fan.

The Emporia, Kansas native brought the football home to his wife a few days later.

“On Sunday mornings in the offseason, we go out to breakfast and I’m decked out in my Kansas City Chiefs shirt and Lorra’s got on her Buffalo Bills sweatpants,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “So, I think she’ll be happy with a signed football from Steve Tasker.”

Lorra Bowyer is a native of Pen Yann, New York – a town of 5,000 about 120 miles east of Buffalo. More importantly this week, Pen Yan is about 30 miles from Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, where her husband and the rest of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field will race Sunday in the GoBowling at The Glen.

Bowyer met Tasker and Bills general manager Brandon Beane when he visited the Bills stadium and training facility July 19 to promote this weekend’s race. While his football loyalty is more toward the Chiefs, the Upstate New York area has a special place in Bowyer’s heart after spending time with the in-laws over the years.

“I love this place,” he said. “There are so many lakes and the area is so beautiful. Not sure I want to spend winters here but, when we visit, we have a good time.”

Bowyer hopes he’ll also have a good time Sunday in the GoBowling at the Glen. It’s the second of three road-course races on the 2018 Cup Series schedule. Bowyer warns there’s very little comparison between the high speeds of the Watkins Glen track and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, where Bowyer finished third on June 24.

He said the key to success at Watkins Glen is getting his rhythm and timing to account for the high speeds.

“There is such a sensation of speed at Watkins Glen,” said Bowyer, who has posted top-five finishes in all three road-course races he’s entered since joining Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2017. “It is a wild racetrack and you have to be on your toes. If you slip up the least little bit, you are not only going to crash, you are going to crash hard. I think of it like this – Sonoma is like a short track and Watkins Glen is like a superfast, 1.5-mile track. That’s the speed difference.”

Bowyer played a fuel-mileage strategy last year to earn a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen. He hopes for similar success Sunday when his No. 14 Ford will carry the Rush Truck Centers paint scheme. Rush Truck Centers has been the primary partner on the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 and has been with the organization since 2010.

The Texas-based company has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states. According to Rush Truck Centers, the trucking industry is expected to need 200,000 diesel technicians over the next 10 years to keep up with maintenance demands. Rush Truck Centers wants to make NASCAR fans aware of these opportunities and knows that, with Bowyer’s background, he is the right guy to help get the message out.

Bowyer arrives at Watkins Glen after finishing 11th at Pocono last weekend. The Rush Truck Centers team is fifth in the standings with two victories, six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s with just five races left in the regular season. Bowyer owns the fourth-most playoff points behind leader Kyle Busch, SHR teammate Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. As the playoffs approach, Bowyer said every point matters.

“We just need to be consistent and run well,” he said. “Our road-racing program is really strong at SHR and I expect it will be again this weekend in Watkins Glen. We’ve run better than we’ve finished of late, and we need to get back to finishing like we should. I hope that’s what happens this weekend.”

If Bowyer can continue his recent road-course prowess Sunday in the GoBowling at The Glen, then maybe his autograph will be just as popular as Tasker’s in Upstate New York.

Even if his wife prefers her Bills memorabilia.

 

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What is the key to a fast lap at Watkins Glen?

“The Glen is so tricky. It’s such a momentum racetrack and a very fast racetrack. For me, the part you have to get right if you want a good lap is going up through the esses. You have to hold that loud pedal down as much as possible and go wide open through the esses and on in to that ‘Bus Stop.’ That Bus Stop is where you can find a lot of speed. You have to roll through there, not upset the car or bounce off those curbs too hard and make your car loose.”

What is the difference between Sonoma and Watkins Glen?

“You are way more at ease at Sonoma. It’s a finesse, rear-grip, take-care-of-your-tires type of track. I think it is a much more technical track. When you go to Watkins Glen, it’s a ton of fun but it’s a whole different beast. It’s wide open. It’s balls to the wall. You have to be extremely good on braking and have a fast racecar. Both of them are a ton of fun and so unique. That is the thing. We race and chase each other in circles non-stop. It is refreshing to have a break like this when we come to these road courses.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2018 Pocono II Race Report

Event:               Gander Mountain 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish:      34th/25th(Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
Point Standing:11th(587 points, 304 out of first)

Race Winner:   Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner:Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

  • Aric Almirola started 34thand finished Stage 1 in the 11thposition.
  • The Tampa native made a scheduled green-flag pit stop from the 16thposition on lap 23 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with the No. 10 Ford Fusion’s front turn.
  • After scheduled green-flag pit stops cycled through, and with improved handling, Almirola worked his way up to just one spot shy of the top-10.
  • He pitted at the conclusion of the stage for four tires, fuel and adjustments. With varying pit strategies Almirola came down pit road 11thand went out in the 15th spot.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

  • Almirolastarted Stage 2 in 15thand completed it in 23rd.
  • Shortly after the restart Almirola reported the Smithfield Ford Fusion was struggling in traffic, but he continued to work his way forward during the run.
  • On lap 76 Almirola came down pit road from the 12thrunning position for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
  • The first caution of the race came out on lap 83 while Almirola was in the 18thspot. Crew chief Johnny Klausmeier made the call for Almirola to stay out.
  • He restarted 10thon lap 86 and made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 96 for fuel, four tires and adjustments. Visiting pit road just before the stage ended allowed Almirola to stay out during the break and gain track position.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-164):

  • Almirola started the final stage in the sixth position and ended it 25th.
  • On lap 121 Almirola made a pit stop under caution for fuel, four tires and adjustments while running in the ninth spot. When exiting his pit stall, Almirola made contact with teammate Kevin Harvick, resulting in Almirola having to come back down pit road for repairs.
  • Fortunately, the next caution came out after just a brief green-flag period, and Almirola’s team was able to work on the car again.
  • Almirola started from the 29thspot on lap 132 and did his best to gain track position with a damaged Smithfield Ford Fusion.
  • The red flag was displayed for just over 10 minutes after an incident on lap 155. Almirola once again took the opportunity to come down pit road for service.
  • Just before the race reached its scheduled distance, Almirola spun on the track, bringing out the final caution and sending the event into overtime.
  • The Ford driver ultimately finished 25th in his damaged No. 10 machine.

Notes:

  • Kyle Busch won the Gander Outdoors 400 in overtime to score his 49thcareer Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his second at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Daniel Suarez was 1.788 seconds.
  • There were seven caution periods for a total of 29 laps.
  • Twenty-eight of the 40 drivers in the Gander Outdoors 400 finished on the lead lap.

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC. Prerace coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NBCSN.

CLINT BOWYER – 2018 Pocono II Race Report

Event:               Gander Outdoors 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series:               Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Pocono (Pa.) Raceway(2.5-mile triangle)
Format:            160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Note:                Race extended four laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish
Start/Finish:      31st/11th (Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
Point Standing:5th(677 points, 214 out of first)

Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner:Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Ended at Lap 50):

  • Clint Bowyer started Stage 1 in the 31stposition at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, and completed it in sixth to earn five bonus points.
  • On lap 22 Bowyer made a scheduled green-flag pit stop from the 13thspot, getting fuel and four tires for his Haas Automation VF-1 Ford Fusion.
  • After pit stops cycled through, Bowyer was in the ninth position. He reported on lap 35 that his racecar was still loose in traffic and was getting on splitter from center off.
  • In the closing laps of the stage, Bowyer maneuvered into the sixth position.

Stage 2 Recap (Ended at Lap 100):

  • Bowyer started 11thand finished third in Stage 2 to earn eight bonus points.
  • Before the start of Stage 2, Bowyer came down pit road for four tires, fuel and minor adjustments. He began the second stage in the 11thposition.
  • Bowyer relinquished the seventh spot on lap 77 to make a green-flag stop for fuel and tires.
  • When a caution came out on lap 83, he elected to stay out, reporting the rear grip on his Haas Automation VF-1 Ford Fusion was getting better. He advanced two spots on the restart to move up to sixth and patiently worked his way inside the top-five during the next eight laps.

Stage 3 Recap (Ended at Lap 164):

  • Bowyer started 10thand finished 11th.
  • Prior to starting the final stage, Bowyer pitted for four tires and fuel but no adjustments.
  • He returned to pit road following a caution on lap 121. After the stop he was penalized for speeding on pit road and was forced to restart at the tail of the field.
  • Bowyer climbed back to 15thon lap 135 and continued his charge back to the front as he had in Stage 1. He restarted 10thwith three laps remaining and then again during the final restart in overtime, ultimately finishing 11th.

Notes:

  • This was Bowyer’s 11thtop-11 finish in 26 career Pocono Raceway starts.
  • Bowyer finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points and third in Stage 2 to earn an additional eight bonus points.
  • Kyle Busch won the Gander Outdoors 400 in overtime to score his 49thcareer Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his second at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Daniel Suarez was 1.788 seconds.
  • There were seven caution periods for a total of 29 laps.
  • Twenty-eight of the 40 drivers in the Gander Outdoors 400 finished on the lead lap.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation VF-1Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We lost some points today. It could have been a lot worse. There was some positive in that we were able to come from the back and get points in the first stage and then finish third in Stage 2. We set ourselves up for a shot at a top-five finish in that final stage. The Haas Automation VF-1 Ford Fusion was pretty consistent all day, and we were hoping to just keep getting it better. We did, but a penalty on pit road put us to the back again, and we had to fight our way back. We probably didn’t need those last two restarts, but we’ll take what we got today and head on down the road to Watkins Glen next week.” 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC. Prerace coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NBCSN.

KEVIN HARVICK – 2018 Pocono II Race Report

Event:               Gander Outdoors 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Note:                Race extended four laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish

Start/Finish:      29th/4th (Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
Point Standing:  2nd(843points, 48out of first) 
Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner:Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50): 

  • Kevin Harvick started 29th after his first-place qualifying time was disallowed in post-qualifying inspection. He finished second in the stage to earn nine bonus points.
  • The Mobil 1 driver raced up to the eighth position by lap 20.
  • Harvick was the first car to come to pit road on lap 21 under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel.
  • He rejoined the field in 32ndand raced up to the second position by the end of the stage.
  • The No. 4 Ford came to pit road for four tires, fuel and a small adjustment at the end of the stage. Two cars came to pit road before the end of the stage, and another took two tires, forcing Harvick to restart sixth.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100): 

  • Started sixth and finished first, earning 10 bonus points and a playoff point.
  • Harvick raced to the lead on lap 65.
  • The Mobil 1 Ford surrendered the lead to come to pit road for four tires and fuel under green on lap 77.
  • The No. 4 Ford raced back up to the sixth position before a caution on lap 82 and opted to stay out under the caution.
  • Harvick restarted as the leader on lap 87 as the top-five came to pit road for service under the caution.
  • He was able to maintain the lead for the remainder of the stage.
  • The Mobil 1 team pitted at the completion of Stage 2 for four tires, fuel and tape, although several teams had opted to pit prior to Stage 2 ending. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160): 

  • Started ninth and finished fourth.
  • The Bakersfield, California, native briefly fell back to the 13th spot at the start of the final stage.
  • Harvick re-entered the top-10 by lap 112, and by lap 120 the Mobil 1 driver was in fifth.
  • During the lap-122 caution period, Harvick noted a tight-handling condition to start, and the Mobil 1 crew went to work to service Harvick’s Ford with tires, fuel and tape. Unfortunately, upon exiting pit road, Harvick and the No. 10 made contact, forcing crew chief Rodney Childers to call Harvick back to pit road for repairs.
  • Luckily, immediately following the lap-122 caution there was another yellow flag displayed, which allowed Harvick to catch the field.
  • Harvick restarted on lap 132 in 27th, by lap 135 he was inside the top-20, and by the time the caution was displayed again on lap 154 the Mobil 1 driver was in eighth.
  • The Mobil 1 team opted to stay out during the lap-154 red flag and ultimately finished the race fourth. 

Notes:

  • This was Harvick’s 16thtop-five finish of 2018 and his 12thtop-five and 17thtop-10 in 36 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono.
  • Harvick finished second in Stage 1 to earn nine bonus points and won Stage 2 to earn an additional 10 bonus points and one playoff point.
  • Harvick led twice for 30 laps to increase his laps-led total at Pocono to 187.
  • Harvick has 10 stage wins and 33 playoff points accumulated thus far in the 2018 season.
  • Kyle Busch won the Gander Outdoors 400 in overtime to score his 49thcareer Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his second at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Daniel Suarez was 1.788 seconds.
  • There were seven caution periods for a total of 29 laps.
  • Twenty-eight of the 40 drivers in the Gander Outdoors 400 finished on the lead lap.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

“It was eventful. I think we went to the back twice and made our way back to the front each time. We made a good race out of it, but it is hard to swallow on a day like that when our Mobil 1 Ford was the class of the field. You never know what is going to happen on these days. It is hard to put them together, and you win some and lose some.” 

Next Up: 

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC. Prerace coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NBCSN.

KURT BUSCH – 2018 Pocono II Race Report

Event:               Gander Outdoors 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish:      7th/9th(Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
Point Standing:  6th(677points, 214out of first) 

Race Winner:    Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner:Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:Kevin Harvick or Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50): 

  • Kurt Buschstarted seventh and finished eighth, earning three bonus points.
  • The Haas Automation driver said the car was loose in and tight off on lap 14. He was running seventh.
  • Busch pitted on lap 34 for four tires and fuel. He was leading when he pitted and came out 12th.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100): 

  • Started third and finished 12th.
  • On lap 54 Busch pitted and took right-side tires and fuel.
  • The No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion pitted on lap 67 for four tires and fuel.
  • Busch pitted on lap 84 for four scuffed tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. He said the car was just too tight.
  • The car returned to pit road on lap 86, as there was an issue on the previous stop with the front air gun. The team used a different air gun to make sure the lugnuts were tight, and Busch restarted 24th. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160): 

  • Started 24thand finished ninth.
  • Busch pitted for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
  • On lap 112 a left-front tire was cut, which forced Busch to pit road for four tires and fuel. He came out in 31stplace, one lap down.
  • Busch pitted on lap 128 for four tires, fuel and some minor damage repair. He restarted in 30th.
  • Busch worked is way up into the top-10 by lap 155 and finished ninth. 

Notes:

  • Busch finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points.
  • Busch led once for 11 laps to increase his laps-led total at Pocono to 549.
  • This was Busch’s 12thtop-10 of 2018 and his 20thtop-10 in 35 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono.
  • Kyle Busch won the Gander Outdoors 400 in overtime to score his 49thcareer Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his second at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Daniel Suarez was 1.788 seconds.
  • There were seven caution periods for a total of 29 laps.
  • Twenty-eight of the 40 drivers in the Gander Outdoors 400 finished on the lead lap.

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

“We have nothing much to show for the effort, but we do have a lot to show for it at the same time by going through all that adversity. I didn’t think we would get a top-10 out of today with the damage on the splitter. The left-front tire was weird. It blew out halfway down the front straightaway, and I was able to keep it off the wall and keep most of the damage to a minimum. The guys were able to fix me up, and we just kind of battled through and took advantage of other people’s mistakes. Thanks to Haas Automation, Monster Energy and Ford.” 

Next Up: 

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 5 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC. Pre-race coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NBCSN.

COLE CUSTER – 2018 NXS Iowa II Race Report

Cole Custer Finishes Ninth at Iowa

Haas Automation Driver Earns 15th Top-10 of Season

 

Date:                 July 28, 2018
Event:               U.S. Cellular 250 (Round 19 of 33)
Series:               NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location:          Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Format:             250 laps, broken into three stages 60 laps/60 laps/130 laps)
Start/Finish:      2nd/9th (Running, completed 257 of 257 laps)
Point Standing: 3rd with 684 points

Race Winner:    Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

  • Custer started second, finished first and earned 10 bonus points.
  • After a lap-19 caution, Custer took the lead.
  • He held the Haas Automation Ford in the lead until the stage concluded.
  • He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments at the end of the stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):

  • Custer started first, finished second and earned nine bonus points.
  • Custer lost the lead in the opening laps, but made the pass to the front of the field on lap 82.
  • He held the lead until the closing laps of Stage 2 and just missed his second stage win of the race.
  • He pitted at the end of the stage for four fresh tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-257):

  • Custer started first, finished ninth.
  • Custer piloted the Haas Automation Ford in the lead until lap 154.
  • After pitting under green on lap 198, Custer made contact with the No. 55 car but steered his car back to second place.
  • Custer pitted during a lap-240 caution for four fresh tires and fuel. He fell back to 11th place.
  • During a final restart after a red-flag caution, Custer held the Haas Automation Ford inside the top-10.

Notes:              

  • This marks Custer’s 15th top-10 of the season and third at Iowa.
  • Custer earned 19 bonus points in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa.
  • Custer led three times for a total of 104 laps.
  • Six cautions slowed the race for 41 laps.
  • Only 12 of the 40 drivers finished on the lead lap.
  • Christopher Bell won the U.S. Cellular 250 to score his fifth career Xfinity Series victory, fourth of the season and first at Iowa. His margin of victory over second-place Justin Allgaier was 1.398 of a second.

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

“Stewart-Haas Racing gave us a car to compete today and I just couldn’t get it done at the end. Thanks to everyone at Ford and Haas Automation for giving us a fast car again. We lead a ton of laps, but didn’t come home with the win.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2018 Pocono II Race Advance

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend and Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) are riding some solid momentum after leading 42 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and finishing the 301-lap event in third.

With the NASCAR playoffs fast approaching, Almirola’s ability to maintain a position above the 16-driver cutline is vital. The good news is this weekend marks the Cup Series’ second trip to Pocono this season, and the young No. 10 Smithfield team is bringing a notebook to work from that was gathered during Almirola’s strong seventh-place finish there in June. “We’re going to be a contender,” Almirola said. “We’re going to be tough to beat. That’s what I keep telling everybody. We’re so new and so young. We’re 20 races into working together. We’re good, we’re not great. We have potential to be great because I don’t feel like we’ve reached our max potential just because everything is so new and we’re still learning each other, learning what I like in the racecars and all of those things.”

In Almirola’s six starts this season at tracks 2 miles or longer, he hasn’t finished outside the top-12, with the exception of the July event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where he was involved in an accident.

The 34-year-old will make his 13th Cup Series start at Pocono’s “Tricky Triangle.” Almirola has competed in the Cup Series at the three-turn track since 2012. His top-10 finish in June was his first there. The Smithfield driver has led two laps at the Pennsylvania track and has completed 1,495 of 1,836 possible laps.

While Almirola is having his best year ever in the Cup Series, his personal expectations continue to rise with his performance. “You would think I would be excited to finish in the top-five, but I’m not, I’m competitive and want more,” he said. “I play Candy Land with my kids and I don’t like to lose to my kids playing a game. I’m just competitive by nature and I want to win, especially for everybody who believes in me – Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, Smithfield – everybody who has just put so much into believing in me and giving me the opportunity to drive at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Almirola’s crew chief Johnny Klausmeier is in his freshman season as the leader of a Cup Series crew. However, he has earned one career Cup Series victory, coming in June 2016 at Pocono while Klausmeier, then lead engineer on SHR’s No. 41 Ford Fusion driven by Kurt Busch, substituted for crew chief Tony Gibson.

In 20 Cup Series starts this year, Almirola has accrued an average start of 18.9 and an average finish of 12.6, with one top-five finish and eight top-10s. He’s also led 113 laps this season, already a career best. Almirola rounds out the four-driver SHR contingent at 11th in the point standings.

With summer in full swing, fans have the opportunity to celebrate the grilling season by entering Smithfield’s “Hero of the Grill” contest that Almirola and five-time world-champion barbecue pitmaster Tuffy Stone helped launch earlier this year. Fans are encouraged to nominate their favorite grill hero by visiting SmithfieldGetGrilling.com. One “Hero of the Grill” nominee will win $5,000. Plus, the first 10,000 nominees will have the chance to see their name featured on Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in September.

Fans can also enter for their chance to win Smithfield’s Smoke Machine Mustang designed by team co-owner Tony Stewart with the help of drifting champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. They helped create a one-of-a-kind Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3 that will be given away to one lucky fan. Fans can register for their chance to win the suped-up Mustang and a trip to November’s Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead by visiting SmithfieldRacing.com, or by texting SMOKE to 82257.

Pocono Raceway marks the 19th points-paying event during which the Smithfield livery has adorned Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Fusion. Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, which is based approximately five hours northeast of SHR headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, is in its seventh season with Almirola and its first with SHR. Founded in 1936, Smithfield is a leading provider of high-quality pork products, with a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts.

Ford has earned nine wins so far this season with Almirola’s SHR teammates earning eight of the victories for the Blue Oval – six by Kevin Harvick and two by Clint Bowyer. Harvick also captured the non-points-paying All-Star Race win at Charlotte. Ford has 23 all-time series wins at Pocono and the manufacturer won one of the two events there each in 2016 and 2017.

 

ARIC ALMIROLA, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

You mentioned wanting to win for all the people who have been supportive of you getting this opportunity. What you’ve been able to accomplish already this season, for you personally, does it serve as some justification for yourself that this is what you wanted to do?

“Yeah, absolutely it does. It makes me sleep better at night. I think, had my career ended at the end of last year and I never got another opportunity, for the rest of my life I would go to sleep at night and wonder how good I was as a racecar driver. I feel like it’s fair to say I’ve not had good enough equipment as an excuse. Well, now I have this opportunity here at Stewart-Haas Racing and equipment is not an excuse. We have the best of everything. We have everything we need to go out and compete for wins. It’s up to me and my team. So, yeah, I do feel like there is justification running up front and racing with Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch – all those guys who run up front on a regular basis. It makes me feel like I’m capable and I can do it. That does make me feel better. At least I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that, given the right opportunity, I could perform at that level. Now we’ve just got to figure out how to win.”

As you make a second trip to some of these tracks, are you going to be able to make that next step and start getting those wins?

“I think so, I really do. I feel like going back to some of these tracks that we’ll now have notes at – a lot of these tracks all year long we’ve shown up kind of blind. We have no real notebook. We’ve shown up and just kind of guessed at where we needed to unload, then throughout the weekend made a lot of changes to dial our car in and get it better. Now we’re going to go back to these races where we have a notebook. We changed these things in practice, we’ll start already with that in our car. We’ll be able to fine-tune on that and make that better. We’ve learned what not to do. We’ve gone to some racetracks earlier this year, made some changes and it was the wrong way. We know now not to venture down that path. It’s as much learning what to do as it is what not to do. It’s just building a foundation and a notebook. When you look at the teams that are very successful, the big three (Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr.) that everyone talks about, they’ve all been working together for three, four, five, six years, now. They’ve got a foundation. That’s what has me excited about my relationship with Johnny Klausmeier, my engineers, this whole 10 team, is that we’re young. We’re all a young group of guys all in our early 30s. We’re learning each other, we’re new. We’re already starting to compete with these guys in 20 races working together. I feel like we have so much potential to continue to get better.”

Daytona, Chicago, etc., you’ve had all these races where you’re right there. How do you keep positive, looking at the potential instead of wondering what’s going to go wrong next?

“It just has me more motivated, really. I just have more fire in my belly and more motivation. I have more confidence just knowing that we’re close, we’re right there. We’ve just got to keep pounding. We’ve got to keep grinding and keep after it. We’re going to win. We’re running too good. We’re too competitive to not win, it’s just a matter of when. ‘When’ are we going to win? I firmly believe that. I think that is the mentality that we all have on this team. That’s what has us fired up and we keep working hard every week. We don’t worry about anybody else. We’re just focused on our team, our car, doing the things we need to do to make our car go fast. We’re on the brink of getting there. Hopefully it happens soon. If not, I’ll take it in the first round of the playoffs, too.”

Cole Custer Pays Tribute to A.J. Foyt with Throwback Paint Scheme for Darlington

On Jan. 17, 1965, the No. 00 Vel’s Ford Galaxie of A.J. Foyt became synonymous with true grit and perseverance. And come Sept. 1 in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Cole Custer will pay tribute to Foyt as his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang from Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste (SHR) emulates the paint scheme Foyt carried 53 years ago at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway.

It was the NASCAR Grand National Series’ 1965 kickoff at the 2.7-mile road course. Foyt was considered a favorite, as he often was throughout his illustrious racing career. He started strong by leading 12 laps in his white and blue No. 00 Ford and battled Dan Gurney and Parnelli Jones at the front of the field. Late in the race, Foyt lost his brakes, and with no way to stop, he steered his machine off the track in an effort to avoid a collision with fellow competitor Junior Johnson. His car veered down a steep embankment and went airborne. Upon landing, it flipped several times, kicking up a cloud of dirt so thick it obscured the car after finally coming to a rest.

Foyt was knocked unconscious and when the first doctor arrived on the scene, he pronounced Foyt dead. But Jones, who had fallen out of the race, noticed movement from Foyt and removed a clod of mud from his mouth, allowing Foyt to breathe again.

Two months removed from this near-death experience, Foyt won the pole for the season-opening USAC Champ Car Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. It was the first of 10 poles Foyt would score in 1965, including the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with a new track record. And six months after his crash at Riverside, Foyt was back in victory lane, having won the Firecracker 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in a Ford, the second of his seven NASCAR Cup Series victories.

It was a heck of a comeback, and it proved to be one of many comebacks the tenacious Foyt would make in a motorsports career that is still ongoing as a team owner in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Foyt remembers that day at Riverside well, particularly the car number.

“I said after that wreck that I’d never run a number that reads the same way when it’s upside down. I only ran it a couple times, but after Riverside, that was it,” Foyt said. “Cole seems to have had a lot more luck in the No. 00 than me, or at least more starts where all four wheels stayed on the ground. But I do appreciate the tribute. I remember all my racecars, and I remember that No. 00 Ford being fast before the crash.”

Foyt’s dogged determination is well known, and it is emulated by Tony Stewart, the co-owner of SHR with Haas Automation founder, Gene Haas. Stewart’s career mirrored Foyt’s, with both drivers proving adept at racing all kinds of vehicles on dirt and asphalt.

“A.J. is my hero, and a great friend who I’ve known for a long time,” said Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, 1997 IndyCar Series champion and four-time USAC champion. “It didn’t matter what it was, but if it had four wheels and went fast, A.J. would drive it. NASCAR stock cars, USAC stock cars, sprints and midgets, Indy cars, IMSA sports cars – A.J. won in all of them. We both kind of came up through the racing ranks in the same way. He just did it in a different era.

“I think it’s pretty cool that Cole is paying tribute to A.J. with this throwback paint scheme at Darlington. It obviously has some history behind it, and it’s probably the best example of how tough and resilient A.J. is.”

Custer is in his second full season of Xfinity Series competition with SHR. The 20-year-old from Ladera Ranch, California, is currently fourth in the championship standings and well on his way to making his second straight appearance in the NASCAR Playoffs.

“A.J. Foyt is one of the toughest guys in the history of racing,” Custer said. “I’ve always been inspired by his career because he never gave up, no matter the circumstances. That wreck he had at Riverside was vicious, but he bounced back and just kept on winning.

“A.J. and this paint scheme remind me that no matter how hard things get on the racetrack or in life, you never stop fighting. His will and determination set the bar. It’s an honor to run this throwback scheme at Darlington in tribute to everything that A.J. stands for.”

Foyt’s blue and white “mooneyes” scheme made its debut at Riverside. It also retired at Riverside. The No. 00 Vel’s Ford never made it to victory lane, but come Sept. 1 at Darlington in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Custer plans to put this throwback scheme where it is meant to be – victory lane.

 

About Haas Automation:

Haas Automation, Inc., is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. Founded by Gene Haas in 1983, Haas Automation manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are built in the company’s 102,000 square-meter (1.1 million square-foot) manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets that provides the industry’s best sales, service and support while offering unparalleled cost-to-performance value. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.HaasCNC.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HaasAutomationInc, on Twitter @Haas_Automation and on Instagram @Haas_Automation.

 

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 Aric Almirola, 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. 98 Ford Mustang. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 200,000-square-foot facility with approximately 380 employees. For more information, please visit us online atwww.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.

 

About Darlington Raceway:
Darlington Raceway’s award-winning throwback campaign is theThe Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, featuringthe Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500®on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200will race on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. Tickets are on sale now by calling 866-459-7223 or visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com.You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRacewayand on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame. Fans are encouraged to post their Bojangles’ Southern 500 stories and memories at #TraditionContinues, #BojanglesSo500 and #SportClips200.