Month: October 2019

Daniel Suárez and the No. 41 ARRIS Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) venture to Kansas Speedway in Kansas for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400. Suárez will pilot the orange-and-black ARRIS colors for this weekend’s event, the final race of the season with ARRIS as the primary livery.

ARRIS has been involved with NASCAR since 2014 and is responsible for the most comprehensive Wi-Fi deployment in series history at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The company announced the first CBRS Private LTE network deployment at the newly renovated ISM Raceway near Phoenix. ARRIS also powers the communication between NASCAR drivers and their teams through its SURFboard SB6183® modem and E600® Converged Edge Router with integration and support from its global services team.

Suárez goes to Kansas after finishing 32nd Monday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The rain-delayed event was completed Monday after it was halted Sunday with only one stage complete. Suárez was able to dodge all accidents until late in the race. Unfortunately, his day ended prematurely after damage to the No. 41 machine forced him to pull into the garage with 20 laps remaining.

The Mexico native has five Cup Series starts at Kansas with a best finish of seventh earned in his first start – May 2017. He has an average start of 15.2 and an average finish of 21.8 at the 1.5-mile track. In this year’s May race at Kansas, the 27-year-old ended up with a 14th-place result.

In addition to his Cup Series starts, the Ford driver has two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with top-10 finishes in both. He’s also made one NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start in May 2015 and earned a sixth-place finish along with leading one lap. Finally, he made an ARCA Racing Series start from the pole position in October 2015 and led 15 laps before an accident ended his day prematurely.

A new addition on Suárez’s No. 41 Mustang for this weekend is Hy-Vee as an associate sponsor. Hy-Vee is an employee-owned company that operates more than 260 retail stores across eight Midwestern states. The supermarket chain is known for its quality, variety, convenience, culinary expertise and superior customer service. The company’s more than 83,000 employees will be pulling for Suárez as he chases his first Cup Series win Sunday.

At Kansas, SHR has three wins with Kevin Harvick earning two – May 2018 and October 2016 –  and team co-owner Tony Stewart winning in October 2009.

The ARRIS driver is 18th in the driver standings with 744 points and has three top-fives and 10 top-10s this season, along with 135 laps led. He has an average start of 14.7 and an average finish of 16.0. He earned his second career Cup Series pole, first with the No. 41 team, in July at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

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

How has your adjustment been so far this year? You’ve been behind the wheel of the Mustang for almost the whole season now.

“It has been very good, but it has definitely been a transition. So many things changed – engineers, crew chief.  We’ve had some very good races and a couple of not-so-good races. We have very high expectations, though. I feel like the team is working very hard to bring very fast cars to the track, but we have to keep pushing. We still have to work extremely hard to try and make things happen.”

Do you have any thoughts on the Next Gen car?

“I don’t, yet. I saw that Austin Dillon tested it last week. I have so much to focus on here with the current Cup Series car and finishing the season out strong that I haven’t put much thought into the new car.”

There are 36 points-paying races on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series calendar, and there are four that are heavy on importance – the fall races at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway roval, Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, ISM Raceway near Phoenix, and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

There first three are the cutoff races as the NASCAR playoffs go from 16 drivers down to 12, then to eight and finally four at Homestead.

Currently, there are 12 drivers left in playoffs contention and, this week, the series hits Kansas Speedway for the second cutoff race where, at its conclusion, only eight drivers will still be in the playoffs. Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney are locked into the final eight via their wins at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway the past two weekends.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s 3 Dollar Little John Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is sixth in points with 3,094 markers, 36 ahead of the eighth-place cutoff. All that said, Harvick would prefer just to win Kansas to lock himself in and give the team a little momentum. And he is good at Kansas.

In the spring of 2018, Harvick started on the pole, led 79 laps and went on to win the 400-mile race. He has a series-high five poles, three wins, three second-place finishes, eight top-threes, 14 top-10s and has led a total of 855 laps in his 27 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas.

His lap of 27.304 seconds at 197.773 mph on Oct. 3, 2014 during qualifying for the Hollywood Casino 400 set the Kansas track record that has yet to be broken. In fact, it was his own track record he broke at the 1.5-mile oval that day, bettering his previous mark of 27.799 seconds at 194.658 mph set on May 9, 2014.

He’ll also have the support of longtime sponsor Jimmy John’s, one of America’s fastest-growing sandwich franchises, which has introduced the Little John – a skinny mini version of any of its seven Original sandwiches, including the Vito®, the Turkey Tom®, and the J.J.B.L.T.® – for just $3.

The $3 Little John is an unrivaled value option and is made the same Freaky Fresh® way as all Jimmy John’s sandwiches, with all-natural meats, hand-sliced veggies, and fresh-baked bread, just a little “littler.” Its price, quality, and size make it the perfect sandwich for just about anything, from feeding a car full of hungry kids to a lighter work lunch, to a mid-afternoon snack, or even fueling a late-night gaming session.

The $3 Little John is available at participating Jimmy John’s locations across the country and for delivery by a Jimmy John’s delivery driver or rider and will be supported by a national advertising campaign featuring Grammy-winning recording artist, Lil Jon – for obvious reasons.

Harvick is hoping he can take the 3 Dollar Little John to victory lane – and also lock himself into the Round of 8.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s 3 Dollar Little John Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and you are the only drivers to start all 27 races at Kansas Speedway. You’ve been racing there since 2001. Can you talk about the track as it approaches its 20-year anniversary?

“It makes you feel old (laughs). I did one of the first PR days at Kansas Speedway when it first opened and there was not one single thing around that racetrack other than the highway. So to see what’s been built has been neat to see and how it’s all developed and how it’s all changed. It’s a fun racetrack because there is just so much to do around the racetrack and it’s been a successful racetrack for us.”

Why have you been so successful there recently?

“I don’t really know. It’s a racetrack where I’ve won a couple races at and for whatever reason it just kind of fits my style and what we do with the cars. We’ve had a lot of good racecars there to capitalize on the good characteristics that fall into my driving style and we’ve been able to have some good results with it.”

Take us on a lap around Kansas.

“It’s definitely a little bit different just for the fact the (corner) entries are a little different than at most places. Turns three and four remind me of turns three and four at Chicagoland Speedway, but there’s a lot more grip and fresher asphalt than what Chicagoland has nowadays. It’s a very high-speed racetrack. You run the middle to the bottom of the racetrack. But I’m sure, as time goes on, that the groove will move back up. But, for right now, it’s very fast and very sensitive to your line and, with all the speed and how tricky the entrance is into turn one, you can miss your line easily. So, you have to be very specific about where you put your car and pay attention to what you’re doing.”

Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield/Hy-Vee Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) make their way to the Midwest for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

After being knocked out of the playoffs at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “roval,” Almirola heads to Kansas with the mindset of focusing on solid running speed and acquiring notes for the 2020 season.

“It’s important that we get as many notes as possible at the remaining tracks this season because, come next year, these are the tracks we’ll need to excel at,” Almirola said. “We’re in a unique position right now because we don’t have to strategize to stay in the playoffs. We can go out and try to find the best speed and the best way to run up front. Hopefully, we can do that and bring it back when it matters most next year.”

Almirola started the beginning of the 2019 season with three consecutive top-10 finishes and a pole at 1.5-mile tracks. Now, he looks ahead to getting back to the speed he and the team found early in the year.

Last weekend at Talladega, Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Racin’ for Bacon Ford team made a great run by avoiding multiple accidents and bringing home their second top-five of the season.

“Man, it was nice to get a fourth-place finish at Talladega and having a shot at a win,” he said. “It’s been a while since we have been in contention to win. I’m not sure what move I could have made there at the end to win without wrecking, but we brought it home clean and we have momentum heading to Kansas, now. We were so close to giving away a million slices of bacon with Smithfield. Hopefully we’ll get a shot at that again.”

After 31 races this season, Almirola has one pole, two top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and has led 118 laps. That adds to a career total of two wins, two poles, 17 top-five finishes, 60 top-10s and 475 laps led in 310 starts.

Kansas City is an important market for Smithfield, whose Fresh division is based approximately 20 miles from the racetrack. Fittingly, Almirola’s diet consists of Smithfield’s premium line of all-natural fresh pork, which is packed with protein to keep him in the best physical condition possible for race weekends, including Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

In addition to Smithfield’s support on the No. 10 car, Hy-Vee, with sales of $10 billion annually and ranking among the top 25 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States, will showcase its red-and-white imagery on the rear quarterpanels of the No. 10 Ford Mustang. Its more than 245 stores are located in eight Midwestern states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Distribution centers are in the Iowa cities of Chariton and Cherokee with a third perishable operation in Ankeny. Hy-Vee’s corporate office is located in West Des Moines.

Almirola has 15 career starts at Kansas and has earned six top-10 finishes there. Additionally, he’s led 69 laps at the 1.5-mile oval – the second-most laps he’s led at a single venue. He also has three starts there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a best finish of 12th in October 2011, and two starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, with a best finish of seventh in May 2010. SHR has three wins at Kansas – Tony Stewart in October 2009 and Kevin Harvick in October 2016 and May 2018 – to go with 11 top-fives and 21 top-10s in 58 starts. Ford has earned eight Cup Series wins at Kansas.

As the season winds down, fans can get VIP, behind-the-scenes access in following “Aric ‘Beyond the 10’” by subscribing to his YouTube channel. Episodes showcase never-before-seen footage of Almirola at the racetrack, on family trips, and “A Day in the Life” during the week, as well as all that goes into a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s season. Tune in this weekend for full access to Almirola’s playoff media day, NASCAR Burnout Boulevard and the Vegas race weekend. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.

Sunday’s 400-mile race at Kansas marks the 28th points-paying event during which the Smithfield livery has adorned Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Mustang this year. Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, based in Smithfield, Virginia, is in its eighth season with Almirola and its second 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.

ARIC ALMIROLA, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/Hy-Vee Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

It’s been two years since your accident at Kansas. How does it feel to go back again?

“I’m looking forward to going back to Kansas. I’ve had two recent top-10s there, so that was kind of sweet revenge of going back to that track and having a good run and kind of putting the accident behind me. That was just an unfortunate event that took place. The circumstances just happened perfectly and I was in a crash and broke my back, but I can’t think about that and worry about that. I’m looking forward to going to Kansas and putting ourselves in position to go win.”

What do you like about Kansas? 

“I love going to Kansas. I’ve got friends who live there and it’s just a really nice area all around the racetrack. There are lots of things to do. As the new pavement has aged and worn out, we’ve really been moving all around the racetrack and it’s really put on some great races.”

If fan support is any advantage, then No. 14 DEKALB Mustang Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Clint Bowyer has a strong chance to be one of the eight drivers to advance to the next round of the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs after Sunday’s 400-mile race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

Bowyer is a native of Emporia, Kansas, a town of 25,000 people about 110 miles from Kansas Speedway. He rightly calls the 1.5-mile oval his home track. Many in the stands will cheer for the SHR driver.

“This is where is all began for me,” said Bowyer, who made his 500th Cup Series start in Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last Sunday. “These people in the stands are the people who saw me race at Lakeside and I-70 Speedways growing up. A lot of them were the ones who helped me get my start. Back then, I was out there with them at Kansas Speedway watching the NASCAR race.”

Between family, friends and sponsor commitments, Bowyer has his typically full agenda when he returns to Kansas this weekend.

“It’s always fun to go home,” he said. “It’s always busy to go home. Going back to Kansas Speedway, you have so many people who have made a difference and got you to where you are, you owe it to them, just like you did when they were helping you on that racecar, to go see them. To see how they’re doing, see their kids, now. Things have changed a lot since I’ve moved away and moved to North Carolina and got into this Cup racing. But, to be able to go back and see family, friends, peers, people I used to race with, businesses that used to sponsor you, it’s important to me to go back and see all of those.”

Bowyer has work to do this weekend after winning Stage 2 and finishing 23rd Monday at Talladega. The performance put Bowyer in 11th place, just 24 points behind the eighth and final cutoff position for those drivers advancing out of the Round of 12 that ends Sunday in Kansas.

“We know what we have to do this weekend,” he said. “We need to get stage points, a great finish and maybe even a win. We finished fifth here in May, we just have to do a few spots better this weekend.”

Like last year, Bowyer will drive the No. 14 DEKALB Ford in Kansas. DEKALB has been helping farmers ensure a future of performance with industry-leading corn seed products for more than 100 years.

Bowyer and DEKALB® brand corn are teaming up to help students cross their “finish line” with the new Left Turns for Learning agricultural scholarship. The scholarship amount will be determined by the number of laps Bowyer completes in the No. 14 DEKALB Ford. The Left Turns for Learning Scholarship was created by DEKALB and Asgrow to help students achieve their goals and advance the agriculture industry by focusing on performance. And while driving a purpose-built racecar that puts out more than 850 horsepower is his day job, Bowyer is also a farmer in North Carolina who understands the importance of agriculture in America.

“There’s nothing better than taking the No. 14 DEKALB Ford Mustang to the track to directly benefit ag students,” Bowyer said. “DEKALB is a consistently high-performing brand, so it’s an honor to work with category leaders dedicated to performance, technology and helping current and future farmers succeed.”

Eligible FFA high school seniors and college freshmen, sophomores or juniors pursuing an ag-related degree can apply for the scholarship November 1, 2019 through January 15, 2020 by visiting the National FFA website at FFA.org/scholarships. The scholarship winner will be notified by FFA in April 2020. Visit DEKALBAsgrow.com/LeftTurns for more info and follow the conversation with #LeftTurns4Learning #GoClintGo.

Bowyer wouldn’t mind a good showing in front of the home folks in Kansas that boosts himself into the Round of 8, as well as adding to the coffers of a worthy scholarship fund.

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

It seems like you have been on the bubble for 10 weeks. How do you keep it from becoming overwhelming?

“Everybody has strong suits and I know that. I know that’s one good thing I have – you can keep it serious and keep it down to business and stay focused, but you’ve got to make sure you keep it light-hearted and make sure the people around you are having fun and not freaking out because nobody can make sound decisions, whether it’s in the car or on the box or in the pit stall changing those tires as fast as those guys have to do it. Nobody can work under that pressure if they’re mentally not in a good place and on the positive side of that.”

Do you enjoy the playoffs?

“I like this time of year. It comes at a good time for me, not that I’m burned out, but I’m just tired of chasing that same old rabbit. The rabbit is damn near dead. We need a new rabbit and, when the playoffs start, you’ve got a new rabbit and it’s shiny and healthy and runs like hell.”

Do people avoid you when you are on the bubble?

“If you’re out, they do. If you’re out, it’s funny. When you suck, nobody wants to hang out with you. When you run better, everybody wants to hang out with you. That is life.”

Do you enjoy weekends when everything is on the line? 

“I don’t know. I think everybody’s personality is different. I actually work better under that because I focus more and not that you don’t otherwise, but it just keeps you sharp, it keeps you honed it. I like that adrenaline rush. I like knowing that it’s all on the line. It’s do-or-die time. It’s fun to get up in the morning.”

Did you think you would ever make 500 starts in NASCAR?

“No. I didn’t even know. You read that and you’re like, “Hmmm, I’ll be damned.’ Five hundred starts, that’s a lot of them, and then you read, like I think Kevin (Havick) just had his 600th or something, so it’s not that bad. It’s a long time, though – a lot of races, and it’s something to be proud of, to stay relevant enough and to stay in equipment for that long for 500 races is something that any driver or any individual who’s in a sport for that long. Compared to about any other sport, that’s a long time to be in a professional sport.”

Race Name: Kansas Lottery 300 (Race 30 of 33)
Venue: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas
Television: 3:00 p.m. EDT on NBC
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 2nd; trails points leader by 12 points; 36 points above cutoff line
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 49 points; 4 points below cutoff line

• Chase Briscoe’s career-best finish at Kansas Speedway is a fifth place outing during his 2017 Gander Outdoors Truck Series campaign.
• Through 29 races in 2019, Briscoe has 11 top-fives, 23 top-10’s and an average finish of 8.1.
• Spotter Tim Fedewa has three career starts at Kansas Speedway with a best finish of 18th coming in 2003.
• Click here for Briscoe’s career stats.
• Click here for Briscoe’s stats at Kansas.
• Click here for photos of Chase.

Ford’s racing program is part of the Ford Performance organization based in Dearborn, Mich. It is responsible for major racing operations globally, including NASCAR, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA World Rally Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars, Formula Drift, and NHRA Funny Car and sportsman drag racing. In addition, the organization also oversees the development of Ford’s racing engines, as well as the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts. For more information regarding Ford racing’s activities, please visit www.fordperformance.com, www.facebook.com/FordPerformance, Ford Performance on Instagram and @FordPerformance on Twitter.

This weekend marks the first appearance of the year at Kansas for the Xfinity Series and the beginning of the Round of 8. What is your outlook heading into the weekend?

“We’ve been running pretty well recently and have really shown a lot of speed, so hopefully we are fast right out of the box when we get to Kansas. We have had two straight poles (Charlotte and Dover) and probably should have had two wins in those races. It’s all about sealing the deal now and capitalizing on the speed that we have shown these last few weeks. I feel like Kansas and Texas are my two best tracks in this round and we’ll look to have a couple great runs, ideally a win, and get ourselves in solid position for the championship round.”

Race Name: Kansas Lottery 300 (Race 30 of 33)
Venue: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas
Television: 3:00 p.m. EDT on NBC
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 2nd; trails points leader by 12 points; 36 points above cutoff line
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 49 points; 4 points below cutoff line

• This will mark Custer’s fourth appearance at Kansas Speedway. He looks to turnaround his luck at the 1.5-mile tri-oval where he has a best finish of 19th.
• Through 29 races, Custer has seven wins, 15 top-fives, 21 top-10’s and has led 818 laps.
• Crew chief Mike Shiplett has five starts at Kansas Speedway with one win coming at this race in 2018.
• Click here for Custer’s career stats.
• Click here for Custer’s stats at Kansas.
• Click here for photos of Cole.

Production Alliance Group is a premium live-event and creative development company. Passion for our craft has allowed us to work with top names and brands in both corporate and entertainment industries. We bring creative excellence and relevant execution to every opportunity, big or small. We engage and collaborate with our customers and industry partners…and together create experiences that move and impressions that last.

You’re coming off a win at Dover to a track that hasn’t treated you so well. What kind of mentality do you have going into this weekend after a strong run the last time you were on track?

“I think we need to go in the same way we have all year and that mentality is that we will have one of the cars to beat when we unload. All year we have had speed off the truck and that has shown in practice speeds along with our seven wins. If we keep our heads up at these tracks that haven’t been kind to us in the past, then our luck is sure to turn around at some point and our goal is for that to happen this weekend in Kansas. (Crew Chief) Mike Shiplett has a great track record here in the last three races as he won this race last year, along with finishing fifth (2016) and second (2017), so that will help our mindset as we head into this weekend.”