DANIEL SUÁREZ – 2019 Pocono I Race Advance

Daniel Suárez climbs behind the wheel of the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) with the familiar black-and-red Haas Automation colors displayed for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400. The Haas driver will make his fifth Cup Series start at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway – aka the “Tricky Triangle – where he earned a runner-up finish in the last year’s July event, just 1.788 seconds shy of his first Cup Series victory.

Suárez is the most recent pole winner at the three-turn track, which also happened to be his first Cup Series pole. He earned the premiere starting spot with a lap time of 50.851 seconds and a speed of 176.988 mph. He was the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup Series pole award and he captured it in only his 57th start.

In the 27-year-old’s four Cup Series starts at the 2.5-mile track, he has another top-10 in addition to last year’s runner-up finish, with 30 laps led and a perfect lap completion rate of  644 laps possible. He has an average Pocono starting position of 10.2 and an average finishing position of 12.0.

Suárez has two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Pocono with one top-five and two top-10s for an average starting position of 5.0 and an average finishing position of 7.0. He completed all possible laps in his Xfinity starts and led one lap in June 2017.

The Haas driver is currently 13th in the point standings to round out the four-car SHR contingent. The top 16 drivers after the 26 regular-season races will earn a spot in the NASCAR playoffs. If Suárez captures a playoff position, it will be the first of his Cup Series career. Last year, all four SHR entries secured a playoff spot.

SHR has two victories at Pocono – team co-owner Tony Stewart earned a victory in June 2009 and former SHR driver Kurt Busch captured a victory in June 2016.

Meanwhile, Ford has 23 all-time Cup Series victories at Pocono. The last two Ford winners at Pocono have been first-time victors in the Cup Series. If Suárez crosses the finish line first, it would make him the third first-time series winner at Pocono behind the wheel of a Ford.

For the second time this season, the No. 41 machine will have Haas Automation’s Demo Day displayed on the hood of Suárez’s Ford Mustang. The design is a reminder that Haas Automation’s Demo Day is quickly approaching, and Haas Automation wants everyone to get automated. It’s in the company’s name. It’s in the company’s DNA. Haas Automation has been helping machine shops around the world automate their processes and boost their productivity since 1983, when it introduced the machine tool industry’s first fully programmable 5C collet indexer – the innovative Haas HA5C.

The tradition of innovation continues today and, on June 12, Haas Automation will present its latest automation solutions worldwide during a “Get Automated” demo day event at local Haas Factory Outlets (HFOs).

Demo Day 2019 at HFOs around the world will feature Haas Automation’s newest innovations for automating part production and machining, including the new Automatic Parts Loader for lathes; Pallet Pool systems for the EC-400 HMC and UMC-1000 Universal Machining Center; and robotic integrations on a wide variety of Haas machines. There will be free food and refreshments, limited-edition Haas T-shirts, and a chance to register to win a race weekend getaway. The machine tool industry is welcome to visit Haas Demo Day 2019 at any local Haas Factory Outlet and “Get Automated” – taking production to the next level. Demonstrations will vary by location. Contact a local HFO for details.

 

DANIEL SUÁREZ,  Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Demo Day Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

You’re returning to Pocono, where you had a lot of success last year. How do you feel going into this weekend?

“It was cool to get the pole there last year. Of course, it always helps to have a good starting spot. You really have to capitalize on a good starting position like that and we were able to do that and finish second. I can’t make mistakes and we can’t have mistakes on pit road. Everyone has to do their part to execute perfectly. I really feel like with the 41 team we keep making progress each weekend. Sometimes the results may not exactly show it, but my guys are doing a great job and they never give up.”

What is it like to have Clint Bowyer as a teammate?

“Clint is pretty funny and I call him the country boy. I would say that, last year and the years before, we were friends but we didn’t really talk a lot. Now we have become really good friends and it’s fun because we can make fun of each other. Once we are on the racetrack, we are competitors, but it has been a lot of fun working with Clint, and Kevin (Harvick) and Aric (Almirola), too.”

CHASE BRISCOE – 2019 NXS Pocono I Race Advance

Race Name: Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons (Race 12 of 33)
Venue: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
Television: 1:00 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 3rd; trails points leader by 103 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 151 points

Nutri Chomps has taken the lead delivering 100 percent rawhide-free dog chews that are the healthiest choice for dogs. Our rawhide alternative dog chews are fully digestible and veterinarian recommended. Nutri Chomps are vitamin and mineral enriched, high in protein and fiber, and low in carbs. Dog-Approved Nutri Chomps can be found at a retailer near you: www.NutriChomps.com.

Pocono is know as the “Tricky Triangle”. What is it about this track that makes it so tricky to get around?

“Your car is never going to handle perfectly because all three corners are so different from one another. You can make it comfortable in one turn but you’re going to be uncomfortable in the next one coming up, so it’s just trying to find the right balance between the three.”

COLE CUSTER – 2019 NXS Pocono Race Advance

Race Name: Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons (Race 12 of 33)
Venue: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
Television: 1:00 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 3rd; trails points leader by 103 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 151 points

  • Custer will make his fourth NASCAR appearance at the “Tricky Triangle”. He has two previous starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one start in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
  • Custer has two wins, six top-fives and seven top-10’s while leading 406 laps throughout the 2019 season.
  • Crew chief Mike Shiplett has 11 starts on top of the pit box at Pocono with one win, two top-five’s, 3 top-10’s and an average finish of 3.7 in the Xfinity Series at Pocono.
  • Click here for Custer’s career stats.
  • Click here for Custer’s stats at Pocono Raceway.
  • Click here for photos of Cole.

Through well thought-out equipment upgrade and investment, as well as a sharp focus on the highest level of customer service, FIMS Manufacturing continues to thrive and grow as a third generation machine shop. FIMS is a world leader in machining and machine solutions.  Mike Facchini is the current President and one of the owners of FIMS. The company was started in 1962 by his grandfather and father and like most shops, had humble beginnings with a few key machines in a small area.

Pocono is different than everywhere we go, what turn do you try to set the car up for and what is it about the tunnel turn that makes it so difficult?

“It’s tough because you have to manage all three corners and you’ll fight something different through each one. I don’t think there’s one corner that you try to set the car up more than another. The tunnel turn is one of the most difficult corners because it’s so fast, bumpy and extremely narrow.”

KEVIN HARVICK – 2019 Pocono I Race Advance

Kevin Harvick has 45 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories, including the four most iconic events – the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500.

He won the championship in 2014 and has won almost everywhere. Save for Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

This week, for the 37th consecutive time, he’ll attempt to get his first win at Pocono in the Cup Series. But, oh has he been close.

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has four second-place finishes, 12 top-fives, 17 top-10s and has led a total of 187 laps in his 36 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono. His average start there is 16.2, his average finish is 12.5, and he has a lap-completion rate of 95.1 percent – 6,130 of the 6,449 laps available.

The combination of Harvick competing at Pocono in SHR equipment is also very impressive. In his last 10 Cup Series starts there, all for SHR, he has the four runner-up finishes and only one finish worse than 14th – 42nd in August 2015. And of the 187 total laps Harvick has led at Pocono dating back to his rookie year in 2001, 182 (97 percent) have come with SHR despite only 10 (27.7 percent) of his 36 Pocono starts being with SHR.

Harvick led a total of 119 laps in Pocono’s two 2018 races en route to a pair of fourth-place finishes.

His childhood hero, Rick Mears, who like Harvick is from Bakersfield, California, won at Pocono three times in IndyCar racing, taking the checkered flag in 1982, 1985 and 1987. But Pocono is a track unlike any other, made up of just three distinct turns.

The triangular layout was designed by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Rodger Ward, who modeled each of its three turns after a different track.

Turn one, which is banked at 14 degrees, is modeled after the legendary Trenton (N.J.) Speedway. Turn two, banked at eight degrees, is a nod to the turns at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And turn three, banked at six degrees, is modeled after the corners at The Milwaukee Mile.

At the end of the day, Harvick would just like to order up a win this weekend to get closer to victory at every track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit.

That’s because seemingly all the legends – Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Dale Earnhardt to IndyCar stars like Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti – have won there.

And Harvick would like to add his name to that list.

 

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

 

What are your thoughts on heading to Pocono this week?

“As we go to Pocono, we obviously want to win there, especially since it’s one of the two tracks we haven’t won at. I know that Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the organization itself have put a lot of effort into that particular weekend, trying to get to victory lane and take that race off the list. It’s a place I enjoy going – not so much the place I enjoyed going in my previous life before I came to Stewart-Haas Racing. It was never a track we ran very well at, but we’ve come to find out that if you have the cars where they need to be and the people around you, things are much different. So, Pocono is a place that I’ve learned to enjoy more than I did in my previous life at RCR (Richard Childress Racing).”

The group at Pocono has done so much to improve the infrastructure and fan experience. What does that mean for the racetrack?

“Well, people see effort. When you go to Pocono, you see effort from the time you turn into the tunnel and see the waterfall – going through the tunnel to the guardrails all the way to the campgrounds. Everything there has been in a transition. You feel like you’re having more fun when you go to Pocono now than you did, say, six or seven years ago.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2019 Pocono I Race Advance

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend and Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Valley Tech Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) are ready to rebuild their momentum heading into the middle stretch of the 36-race season.

Last weekend at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Almirola looked strong by qualifying second, but by the time the checkered flag waved, the No. 10 team ran outside of the top-10 for a majority of the race and pulled it together at the end for an 11th-place finish. The Valley Tech team started the season with six consecutive top-10s, but bad luck hampered its efforts after Almirola was wrecked on lap two at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last month. After his 11th-place finish at Charlotte Sunday night, he looks to reset his streak starting this weekend at Pocono.

“We just couldn’t get going on restarts at Charlotte, but we were able to make up a lot of ground on the long runs,” Almirola said. “Our team worked extremely hard to try and get us better, but we just didn’t have it. After starting the season so strong and falling off for a while – some things not of our own fault and some of our own doing – I’m hoping to get going again this weekend at Pocono in the middle of our season as we prepare for the playoffs.”

The 35-year-old will make his 14th 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 June 13, 2018 was his first there. The Valley Tech driver has led two laps at the Pennsylvania track.

Almirola’s crew chief Johnny Klausmeier is in his second season as the leader of a Cup Series crew. However, he has earned a 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.

Valley Tech joins SHR for the first of two races this season in hopes of riding Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Mustang to victory lane this weekend. Valley Tech Learning partners with companies, educational institutions, and municipalities to provide always- on, on-demand interactive instruction for the most in-demand technical skills for today’s marketplace. Through a unique, highly accessible platform designed to more effectively upskill current employees and future workforce members, Valley Tech enables communities to become more competitive and serve all who aspire to learn and succeed in today’s knowledge economy.

Almirola has always valued the importance of an education, even as he worked his way toward the pinnacle of North American motorsports. As Almirola graduated from competing in the World Karting Association to open-wheel Modifieds to Late Model stock cars, he attended the University of Central Florida, where he studied for a degree in mechanical engineering. But after two years there, Almirola earned an opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing that ultimately led him to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“My parents and grandparents instilled in me the value of an education,” he said. “In order to go racing, I had to perform in school, and that included college. I continue to use what I learned in high school and at UCF to this day. Racing is a detail industry where knowledge is power. I can’t thank all of my teachers and professors enough. Between them and my family, they gave me the tools to succeed.”

In 13 Cup Series starts this year, Almirola has accrued an average start of 11.9 and an average finish of 14.1. He has also earned one pole, a top-five finish, seven top-10s and has led 99 laps this season in his bid for the Cup Series championship.

He is currently 12th in the championship standings, 168 points behind first-place Kyle Busch and 10 points behind his 11th-place SHR teammate Clint Bowyer.

 

ARIC ALMIROLA, Driver of the No. 10 Valley Tech Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What do you expect from the racing at Pocono this weekend?

“Pocono is such a challenging track with three different turns. With this new package, you have to go into the weekend with an open mind. That’s what I did last year with a new team and I was able to bring home my first top-10 at Pocono. I really don’t know what to expect from what the cars are going to do. Our No. 10 Ford team has been great at adapting to new challenges in the past. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2019 Pocono I Race Advance

Like he did during last year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400 weekend, Mike Bugarewicz will take about a half hour before practice Friday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway to talk to Lehighton (Pa.) High School students and their teacher Gary Potts about the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The 37-year-old crew chief for driver Clint Bowyer is in his fourth year as crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing’s (SHR) No. 14 Ford Mustang. His talk to the students is as much about hope as it is career choices. He relates to the students in a special way – he used to be a student in Mr. Potts’ Earth Science class at Lehighton.

“He can tell my current students firsthand how he was able to reach his goal of working in NASCAR by having goals and working really hard to achieve those goals,” Potts said. “And, yes, a Lehighton student has the same chance as anyone of achieving his or her goals.”

Potts said he had a student last year tell him, “I didn’t believe it was possible to become famous or successful by growing up in Lehighton until I met Mike Bugarewicz! He has inspired me!”

Bugarewicz admits it doesn’t seem that long ago that he was one of those students.

“I went to Lehighton High School, and Pocono is home for me,” Bugarewicz said. “I was one of those kids once, so it’s kind of cool to be able to tell them I know a little of what they are feeling being in high school and trying to figure out what they want to do in their lives.”

Bugarewicz knows what he wants to do in his life and that’s win races. He admits Pocono would be a special place to notch his fourth career Cup Series victory.

“I grew up about 20 minutes from the racetrack,” he said. “I’ve raced up in the Northeast and attended many of the races at Pocono. I used to go to qualifying all the time there. Pocono means a lot to me. It would really mean a lot to me to have a win there at some point in my career. I haven’t been successful with that, yet, but I hope to change that shortly.”

Bugarewicz grew up competing on the high school football, wrestling and track and field teams. He also spent a lot of time watching his father race at Mahoning Valley (Pa.) Speedway and working on cars at his father’s business long before he even owned a driver’s license. He studied mechanical engineering and performed research for the U.S. Navy through Applied Research Laboratories in graduate school at Penn State University before heading to North Carolina to embark on a NASCAR career that has peaked at SHR.

He won a championship serving as the lead engineer on SHR’s No. 4 car with driver Kevin Harvick in 2014. He took over the No. 14 crew chief duties in 2016 for driver Tony Stewart’s final year of NASCAR competition. Bugarewicz’s decision to pit Stewart with 25 laps remaining in the race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway led to a last-lap pass for Stewart’s 49th and final Cup Series victory.

The victory propelled Stewart into the playoffs with Bugarewicz the only rookie crew chief among the 16 participants. The arrival of Bowyer in 2017 didn’t slow the success. The No. 14 won two races in 2018 with “Buga’s” race strategy pivotal in each.

This year, Bowyer arrives at Pocono ninth in the points with four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. The No. 14 finished 24th Sunday in the 600-mile race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway after surviving two accidents. Bowyer should be much better Sunday on the three-turn Pocono track where he owns two top-fives and 10 top-10s in 26 starts.

Bowyer goes to battle at Pocono carrying the black-and-red paint scheme of Haas Automation, Inc. Haas Automation 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 1.1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.

“It’s time for us to win one of these things,” Bowyer said. We’ve run well lately but we need to capitalize. Pocono would be a great place. I can’t imagine what Buga would be like if we win this weekend in front of all his friends and family. We might get a smile out of him, but it would be cool to find out.”

 

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

 

Describe your crew chief Mike Bugarewicz.

“The work ethic is what you care about and I think that is what he cares about with me, as long as I show up for my meetings and take my work seriously. You literally have to tell him to go home, go eat dinner with your family, take your wife out to dinner, do something to get your mind off this. He will call you and 9 or 10 o’clock at night and he is still working. That work ethic is instilled in pretty much everybody at Stewart-Haas, and Mike is no exception. We are very fortunate to have him.”

What do you expect at Pocono this weekend?

“Everything this so tight in our sport right now with this rules package. In qualifying at Charlotte last week, third-place through 16th-place qualifiers all ran 182 mph. In the race, the guy leading would get back a few minutes later and struggle in 20th. It’s just really, really tight right now and you can’t make any errors.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2019 Charlotte I Race Report

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 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/100/100 laps)
Start/Finish: 8th/24th (Running, completed 397 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (370 points, 149 out of first)

Race Winner:      Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 3 Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

Clint Bowyerstarted eighth, finished 25th.
Bowyer told his crew his car was pushing in the opening laps.
He reported other cars were just driving off from him and speculated he might have an engine or aerodynamic issue.
● On lap 90 Daniel Hemric drove into Bowyer off turn two, spinning his car and damaging the front of the No. 14.
● Bowyer made several pit stops to make repairs and fell to the back of the field.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

Bowyer started 30th, finished 13th.
● He climbed to 15th with new tires but told the crew his car still felt like it was “dragging a parachute.”
● Bowyer received a pit road speeding penalty when he stopped for repairs to the car from the earlier contact.
● He moved from 13th to eighth when he stayed on the track during a caution with 10 laps remaining in the stage.
● Bowyer couldn’t hang on to the points-paying positions on the older tires in the final laps and finished 13th.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

Bowyerstarted 14th, finished 12th.
He told his crew his car wouldn’t turn in the corners as needed.
Dropped to 18th halfway through the stage but climbed to 11th by lap 266.
● Bowyer returned to the top-10 on lap 273.
● Problems with tight handling dropped him back to 12th.

Stage 4 Recap (Laps 301-400):

Bowyer started 12th, finished 24th.
He told his crew he might have a flat tire as the field started the stage, but he moved from 12th to eighth in two laps before a caution.
He restarted the race in seventh – his best position of the race.
● As he battled on the lap-316 restart, a near-accident in front of him forced drivers to take evasive measures.
● Despite avoiding the cars in front, Bowyer was hit by Kyle Larson, triggering a multicar accident.
● Bowyer’s car suffered heavy damage, but he was able to keep minimum speed.
● He lost three laps to the leaders, but he brought his wounded car to the finish in 24th.

Notes:

● Martin Truex Jr. won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Kyle Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Kevin Harvick.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“That was a long night. We struggled with everything at some point. But you know, close at the end we were seventh, and it was looking like it was going to turn out OK. I think we were going to get a top-10. Two times tonight we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got wrecked.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

DANIEL SUÁREZ – 2019 Charlotte I Race Report

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 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: 6th/18th (Running, completed 399 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 13th (334 points, 185 out of first)

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 3 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Daniel Suárez started Stage 1 from the sixth position and ended the stage 11th.
● Suárez made his first pit stop from sixth on lap 23 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition. He restarted eighth.
● The second caution came out on lap 48, and the Coca-Cola driver reported his Mustang remained tight. He pitted from sixth for fuel, four tires and more adjustments and restarted fifth on lap 54.
● The third caution of the evening was displayed on lap 73, and the Ford driver pitted from seventh for service to his Mustang. He restarted 13th on lap 78 after varying pit strategies.
● Suárez stayed out through two more cautions and ended the stage 11th. He pitted during the Stage 1 break for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help his ill-handling Mustang.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● The No. 41 driver started Stage 2 in 17th and completed it 28th.
● The next caution was displayed on lap 127, and Suárez stayed out in an effort to preserve a set of fresh Goodyear tires after the team used a set earlier than expected during Stage 1.
● Suárez restarted fifth. As the run continued his Mustang remained tight, and he dropped back to 20th.
● On lap 157, Suárez made a scheduled green-flag pit stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments. An ill-timed caution on lap 161 caught Suárez two laps down.
● Suárez stayed out and took the wave-around to gain one lap back and restarted 32nd.
● When the next caution came out on lap 188, Suárez remained one lap down in 30th. He pitted for fuel and four tires and to allow the crew to address a little body damage.
● After the restart Suárez worked his way into the free-pass position, of which he was the beneficiary at the end of Stage 2 to put him back on the lead lap.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Suárez began the stage 28th and concluded it in 21st.
● The 11th caution was displayed on lap 250, and Suárez visited pit road from 17th to receive service from the No. 41 pit crew. He restarted 15th on lap 257.
● He slipped back to 21st, where he ended the stage.
● During the Stage 3 break, the Coca-Cola driver pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):

● Suárez began the final stage in 17th and concluded it in 18th.
● The Mexico native made his first pit stop of the final stage on lap 319 under caution for fuel and more adjustments for his tight-handling machine. He restarted in the top-20.
● When the caution was once again displayed on lap 359, Suárez pitted from 14th for fuel, four tires and adjustments, and restarted 11th.
● Suárez was in the top-15 when the final caution of the race displayed with 10 laps to go. He pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments but received a penalty for pitting outside of the box. The penalty put him one lap down in the 18th position where he ended the evening.

Notes:

● Martin Truex Jr., won the Coca Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Kyle Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Harvick.

Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 41 Coca-Cola Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Our Coca-Cola Ford Mustang was tight most of the night, but my guys kept working on it. We came back from being two laps down, and they just never gave up on adjusting the car. Unfortunately, on the last pit stop we had a penalty and that put us one lap down to end the night 18th.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

KEVIN HARVICK – 2019 Charlotte I Race Report

Event:  Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 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:  5th/10th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point standings:  3rd (478 points, 41 out of first)

Race Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 3 Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished fifth, collecting six bonus points.
● Drove his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang up to third by lap six and into second on lap 11 after passing Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Aric Almirola.
● Fell to second on lap 21 as Kyle Busch took the position. “Little too loose right now, down to the center of the corner, both ends,” said Harvick.
● Pitted under caution on lap 24 for four tires and fuel. Only adjustment was to right-rear tire pressure.
● Restarted in fourth on lap 28 and quickly moved to second where Harvick battled for the lead with Busch.
● Caution on lap 48 allowed Harvick to pit again for four tires and fuel. Quick pit work got Harvick off pit road in first place.
● Led laps 51-54 until Busch reassumed lead, but Harvick retook lead from laps 59-62 until Martin Truex Jr., grabbed the lead.
● Truex cut a tire on lap 74, bringing out the caution and putting Harvick back into the lead.
● Pitted under caution on lap 75 for four tires and fuel and a slight tire pressure adjustment. Seven cars stayed out.
● Lined up eighth for the lap-79 restart and drove back up to second when the caution came out again on lap 87.
● Harvick stayed out during this caution and grabbed the lead from Brad Keselowski on lap 91.
● Another caution on lap 93 halted the racing action, and when the race restarted on lap 96, Harvick was stuck on the outside.
● Harvick dropped to fifth in the final laps of the stage.
● Crew chief Rodney Childers kept the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang on the racetrack to conserve tires for later in the race.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

Harvick started fourth and finished sixth, collecting five bonus points.
● While he started the stage fourth, he was second after the first lap of green-flag racing.
● Harvick maintained second place through a caution on lap 126. “Too tight first third of corner and on exit,” he said.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 127. Lined up eighth for lap-132 restart.
● Vaulted to fourth by lap 133 and then took third from Busch on lap 137 before getting second from Ryan Blaney on lap 139.
● Just before a caution on lap 162, Harvick said his Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was “starting to push bad.”
● Pitted on lap 163 for four tires and fuel with a right-rear wedge adjustment.
● Was third for lap-167 restart, but dropped to eighth after getting caught in middle amongst a bunch of drivers jockeying for position.
● “Won’t turn!” said Harvick on the radio on lap 169. Dropped to ninth by lap 173.
● “Plowing tight!” said Harvick as he fell to 10th on lap 181.
● Took advantage of caution and pitted for four tires and fuel and reversed right-rear wedge adjustment from previous stop.
● The top-10 cars stayed out on the track during this caution period from laps 190-193, placing Harvick 17th for the restart.
● Harvick re-entered the top-10 on lap 198 and kept on rallying to finish the stage in sixth.
● Childers kept the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang on the racetrack to conserve tires for later in the race.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

Harvick started third and finished 19th
● “Plowing tight,” said Harvick on lap 214. “Chattering the tires up off the corner on both ends.”
● After being fifth at lap 220, Harvick was ninth five laps later.
● After falling to 14th, Harvick made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 251 for four tires, fuel and a left-rear wedge adjustment.
● Just as Harvick left his pit box, the caution flag waved, trapping Harvick a lap down in 30th position.
● Harvick took the “wave-around” by staying out during the caution, earning his lap back. He restarted 23rd on lap 258.
● Despite climbing back up to 18th by lap 277, Harvick said he was “sliding the front tires like crazy.”
● Fell one spot to 19th at the end of the stage.
● Childers called for massive changes to the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang at the conclusion of the stage. In addition to four tires and fuel, packers were removed from both front suspensions, eight rounds of left-rear wedge were taken out, and two rounds went into the track bar.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):

Harvick started 20th and finished 10th.
● Shortly after the race returned to green on lap 308, Harvick keyed his mic and said, “I can’t drive it this loose.”
● With another caution on lap 317 for a multicar crash on the backstretch, Childers brought Harvick back to the pits and reversed the track bar adjustment from the previous stop and also put two rounds of wedge back into the left rear.
● Lined up 10th for the lap-324 restart and was up to sixth the next time around the 1.5-mile oval.
● Keselowski took sixth from Harvick on lap 326, and then Denny Hamlin took seventh on lap 330, jettisoning Harvick to eighth.
● Ryan Newman dropped Harvick to ninth on lap 333 and then Busch got by on lap 345 to put Harvick 10th.
● Made scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 357 for four tires and fuel, and in a case of déjà vu, caution came out a lap later and put Harvick one lap down.
● Harvick took the “wave-around” by staying out during the caution, earning his lap back. He restarted 17th on lap 366.
● Harvick rallied to ninth before the race’s final caution flag waved on lap 390. He pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 392.
● In ninth for the lap-396 restart, Harvick momentarily dropped out of the top-10 before grabbing 10th on the final lap.

Notes:

● Harvick earned his ninth top-10 of the season and his 17th top-10 in 36 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte.
● Harvick has finished outside the top-10 at Charlotte just twice since joining SHR in 2014.
● Harvick led four times for 14 laps to increase his laps-led total at Charlotte to 542.
● Truex won the Coca Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Harvick.

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

“For us, we lost the handle on the car. We had some different shift codes in the tires that we had to run because that’s what we had. As soon as we put all those shift codes on, the car just went to absolute junk.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2019 Charlotte I Race Report

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 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: 2nd/11th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point standings: 12th (360 points, 159 out of first)

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing(Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske(Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske(Ford)
Stage 3 Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing(Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Started second, finished 19th.
● Aric Almirola drove the Smithfield Ford Mustang inside the top-five at the beginning of the stage, but he said the car wouldn’t turn in the corner as well as he needed it to in turns three and four.
● On lap 50 during a caution, Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments, but he was handed a penalty for an uncontrolled tire on pit road. He drove back through the pits for chassis adjustments and restarted in the rear of the field.
● He noted that the No. 10 Ford was very loose in traffic and drove to 23rd before a lap-73 caution. He stayed out of the pits and restarted sixth.
● Due to strategy, crew chief Johnny Klausmeier did not call Almirola to the pits in order to save fresh tires for the end of the race, so the No. 10 Ford Mustang fell back with older tires.
● At the conclusion of the stage, he pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● Started eighth, finished 17th.
● Almirola held the Smithfield Ford Mustang inside the top-10 despite loose-handling conditions.
● During a caution on lap 127, he pitted for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.
● Almirola said he could not pass in traffic during the restart and fell to 21st. He drove back to 14th place by lap 139.
● After a lap-161 caution, Almirola noted that the No. 10 Ford was still loose but drove better on the exit than before. He was scored  inside the top-10 when racing resumed.
● Another caution was called on lap 188, and Almirola pitted for four scuffed tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
● He maintained his Ford Mustang inside the top-20 and pitted at the end of the stage for four more tires, fuel and adjustments.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Started 17th, finished 16th.
● Almirola made long-run gains in Stage 3 and raced just outside the top-10 before a lap-250 caution.
● He pitted for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments to restart 11th.
● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford continued to battle loose-handling conditions for the entirety of the stage, resulting in Almirola falling outside of the top-15.
● He pitted for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments to tighten the No. 10 Ford Mustang in preparation for the final stage.

Stage 4 Recap (Laps 301-400):

● Started 15th, finished 11th.
● Almirola nearly missed a wreck on lap 317 and decided to stay out of the pits.
● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang continued to have trouble on restarts, demoting Almirola to the 18th position.
● When the caution was called on lap 360, Almirola pitted for four fresh tires, fuel, and the team assessed mild damage he endured during the previous restart.
● During the final caution on lap 390, Almirola pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
● When racing resumed, Almirola overcame previous restart issues, briefly entered the top-10, and held the Smithfield Ford Mustang in the 11th position.

Notes:

● Almirola earned his ninth top-12 of the season and his fourth top-12 in 13 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Kyle Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Kevin Harvick.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We just couldn’t get going on restarts. Our Smithfield Ford team worked so hard to keep us in position, but we just didn’t have it this weekend. We have some work to do, but now it’s time to focus on next weekend in Pocono.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.