Month: February 2020

Forgive No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Ford Mustang driver Clint Bowyer if he indulges in a little nostalgia before the start of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The 40-year-old driver hopes he and his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammates, as well as their Ford Performance partners, return to the form they exhibited during the 2018 season, when Bowyer won two races, SHR captured 13 victories and Ford Performance earned its 16th manufacturer’s championship by posting 19 wins.

Despite advancing to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR playoffs, Bowyer didn’t visit victory lane in 2019 while SHR posted four victories and Ford Performance added 10 races to its victory tally. Good, but not the success enjoyed in 2018.

“I hope we’ll better all those numbers in 2020,” said Bowyer, who begins his 15th fulltime season at the 62nd annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 16.

“We had a lot of good runs but we didn’t have a lot of great runs in 2019,” he continued. “We didn’t punch our ticket to get into victory lane and that’s what we are in this business to do. We had a lot to overcome between rule changes and everything else. It was a tough year for the Fords, especially coming off a spectacular, best year ever for the Fords in 2018. Hopefully 2020 will be back to like it was in 2018. Time will tell. You just have to keep perfecting the little things and control what you can control.”

Part of controlling what can be controlled is the new crew lineups Bowyer and teammate Aric Almirola bring to the 2020 season. Bowyer will work with crew chief Johnny Klausmeier and his crew while Mike Bugarewicz and his crew, who worked with Bowyer since the driver’s arrival at SHR in 2017, are now paired with Almirola at SHR’s No. 10 Ford.

Bowyer said the adjustments to new crew chiefs and road crew isn’t as dramatic as it might seem.

“I’ve worked with Johnny every week, no different than Aric has worked with Mike since he’s been at SHR,” Bowyer said. “We literally work alongside them in meetings at the racetrack all weekend, 38 times a year. Every Tuesday morning at the shop, you are sitting alongside them in meetings.”

While there will be new faces on the No. 14 in 2020, a majority of the car’s longtime corporate partners return to provide the paint schemes in the new year.

Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford begins the season carrying the Rush Truck Centers and Mobil 1 paint schemes at Daytona. Rush Truck Centers has been the primary partner for the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 and has been with the organization since 2010. With Bowyer’s background working in his dad’s towing service in Emporia Kansas, he understands the importance of keeping trucks up and running. That is why Rush is proud to partner with Bowyer and support the trucks that haul the race cars as well as customers across the country with its total service management package, RushCare Complete. This all-inclusive solution provides dedicated concierge service, vehicle telematics, mobile service, express routine maintenance, real-time service updates and a comprehensive source for all-makes parts. ​

Mobil 1 isn’t just the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, it also provides the entire SHR team with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all SHR Mustangs have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. In its 17th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series.

In addition to Rush Truck Centers, Mobil 1 and Haas Automation, PEAK colors will join Bowyer for several races in 2020 along with those of One Cure, DEKALB and others.

Las Vegas odds – 20:1 – already make Bowyer one of the 10 favorites to win the sport’s most prestigious race at Daytona. His Roush-Yates-powered Mustang, combined with Ford Performance expertise and ultrafast SHR pit crew should keep him at the front of all the events during 2020 Speedweeks.

Bowyer’s Speedweeks kicks off Sunday, when he drives the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang in the 75-lap Busch Clash.  The field is limited to 2019 Busch Pole Award winners, past Busch Clash winners who competed full-time in 2019, former Daytona 500 champions who competed full-time in 2019, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time in 2019, and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers.

“All year long, you focus on points and the playoffs but you don’t even think about that in Daytona,” he said. “All you are thinking about when you are practicing, qualifying, running the Busch Clash is what are you going to learn or what are you going to do to win the Daytona 500. That’s the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’ and the one race each of us wants to win. As those laps wind down and that trophy gets closer and closer, winning is the only thing that matters. We’ll worry about points at the next races.”

It’s been a busy and successful offseason for Bowyer.

FOX NASCAR announced Bowyer will expand his on-air contributions in 2020, adding more Xfinity Series races to his schedule in the television booth. He’ll also appear on the network’s Race Day and Race Hub programs throughout the season. In January, Bowyer watched his Kansas City Chiefs win in the NFL playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri and, on Feb. 2, he attended the Super Bowl in Miami, where the Chiefs won their first title in 50 years.

Bowyer hopes that football success translates to his racing. A successful Daytona 500 would go a long way toward making the 2020 season look a lot like 2018.

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

Are you ready for the 2020 season?

“I’m so ready. We have a great year ahead. We’ve got to get back to work and no better place to go than the Daytona 500. Wouldn’t we look good in victory lane? It’s the only race where you sit back and visualize yourself in victory lane. I don’t even know what I would do. I can’t comprehend winning it.”

How cool was the Chiefs Super Bowl victory?

“I remember when I was a kid watching the Chiefs on television, so to get to go to Arrowhead for the playoff game this year and then get to go to the Super Bowl in Miami and watch them win was one of the greatest moments of my life. It was a great game. I’ve thought it was their year all year. What’s the old saying, ‘You have to lose one to win one?’ They lost a heartbreaker last year to New England and this year they put that lesson to good use and won one for themselves. It was a great moment for everyone back home. Whenever I have been around championship teams, they all have that 100-percent confidence in what they are doing. I hope that translates to us this year.”

How important is the support you get from corporate partners on the No. 14?

“The amount of support you need these days to run well is huge. I know you hear drivers talk about the importance of corporate partners all the time and that’s true, but at SHR, they are a key to our success on the track. ExxonMobil knows our sport and our engines inside out. Andy Moran and his Mobil 1 lubricant engineering team help to develop new formulations at points throughout the year, which constantly exceed our very high expectations and provide the vital improvements we need. Rush Truck Centers helps us get to the track, and that isn’t easy. SHR has four primary Cup haulers, (as well as) Xfinity (Series) and several test haulers. It’s a logistical challenge traveling all over the country, but the Rush Truck Centers folks oversee everything for us. Without either one, SHR wouldn’t enjoy the success we have enjoyed.”

When Kevin Harvick entered the 2002 Daytona 500, he had competed in 35 previous points paying races and won two, but was a “rookie” for that year’s edition of the “Great American Race.” He started second and finished 36th after an accident on lap 148.

He competed against veterans like Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader. And the guys with very little experience were Harvick, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson, each making hist first Daytona 500 start. Kurt Busch was making his second career Daytona 500 start.

Fast-forward to 2020 and now Harvick, Newman, Johnson and Busch are the veterans and each is getting ready to make his 19th career Daytona 500 start. Time moves fast. And so do pit stops.

At the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s biggest race, fans watch their favorite driver’s every turn, pass, and pit stop more closely than usual, but in 2020 fans of Harvick’s No. 4 car will have yet another reason to keep their eyes glued to the track.

Introducing #Pit4Busch: the fastest sweepstakes in NASCAR history, with Busch Beer giving away multiple Ford Mustangs during this year’s race, offering fans across the U.S. the chance to take home a sportscar of their own.

Each time Harvick pits during the Daytona 500, fans will have however long the pit stop takes to tweet #Pit4Busch and #Sweepstakes to enter for a chance to win a new sportscar of their own. Bonus: this car comes fully wrapped with the classic Busch Light No. 4 paint scheme. With each pit stop acting as its own individual sweepstakes, Busch will be giving away a new car to multiple winners throughout the race.

Spectators watching this year’s race won’t have to look far in order to know what to do, because Harvick’s No. 4 car will be fitted with a one-of-a-kind #Pit4Busch paint scheme. The FOX broadcast of the Daytona 500 will also spotlight Harvick each time he heads into pit lane, reminding all NASCAR fans to get their Tweets ready for a chance to win.

While Harvick is hoping his fans will win in Daytona, he’s also hoping to score his second Daytona 500 victory. He scored a win in 2007 and would be just the 13th driver to win it twice. It would also be 13 years since his last Daytona 500 win, which would be a record between victories at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Harvick is used to making history as his 16 years between Brickyard 400 wins is a record in any series that races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rodney Childers returns for his seventh year as crew chief and the core of the No. 4 team returns for 2020. The team has combined to produce 26 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 25 poles, 106 top-five finishes and 153 top-10s while leading 9,611 laps. It won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Despite winning 26 times in their seven years, including the Southern 500 and Brickyard 400, the No. 4 team has yet to win the Daytona 500.

And that is the ultimate goal – to find victory lane in the biggest race of the season.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light #PIT4BUSCH Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

How has superspeedway racing evolved over the years? Last year in the Daytona 500, we could still call it restrictor-plate racing. It’s not the case anymore. We don’t call it tapered spacer racing. But what’s it like now? Is it the same, even if the rules are just a tick different?

“It’s basically the same. It’s still a restrictor plate, in my eyes. You’re still restricting the air that comes into the engine with a taper instead of a plate. I think as you go to Daytona, and we raced there in July (2019) with this particular package, it’s still basically the same restrictor-plate package, in theory. The way the cars pull up and the things that happen are a lot different than the previous package we raced on the superspeedway, so there are some changes as a driver because of the speed of those runs and the way the cars react and the things that happen.  But in the end, it’s just adjusting those thought processes and things to the current package to make sure you’re up to speed on this particular package.”

What is the most iconic Daytona 500 moment for you?

“Yeah, this is one I’m going to be selfish with, just because it’s the Daytona 500, it’s the biggest race you can win in our sport. And so for me, winning the Daytona 500 in 2007 against Mark Martin is something that you’ll never forget and, heck, you may never do it again. These weekends of the Daytona 500 are hard to win and, as you look at some of the greats – our boss (Tony Stewart) included – come through this sport and never accomplish winning the Daytona 500. So it’s just a difficult weekend to put everything together and have everything go your way. And so for me, that’s definitely the best moment I’ve had at Daytona during the 500.

Who will be the first Ford driver to win in 2020?

“Well, I hope it’s us. Obviously, our goal is to do to everything first. We want to be the first Ford driver to win, we want to win the Daytona 500. That would be a great accomplishment to be the first to win by winning the Daytona 500.”

Which Ford driver will have the most wins in 2020?

“I hope it’s us. As you look at our seventh year going in and everything we overcame last year and having a great year in 2018. (The year) 2018 was the best year we’ve had at Stewart-Haas Racing as a company – seeing a lot of those rules come back, hopefully that really lights up what I think was our biggest weakness last year, which was the short tracks. With the old rules package coming back, hopefully that lights a fire under our short-track program.”

This is Jimmie Johnson’s final year in the NASCAR Cup  Series. What’s your favorite Jimmie Johnson story?

“I think, I can’t remember the year, but they made the comeback in the Chase, because that’s what it was called back then, the Chase, just the way they came back to win it was impressive. When you look at this sport and what a grind it is, just to be able to compete and win those championships seven times is something that’s hard to do. The motivation to come to the racetrack has to come from different spots every year. To compete on that level on a yearly basis, and to be able to come back each year to win those championships, is really hard to do. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing, so I’m just going to pinpoint winning the championship and to stay motivated.”

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series kicks off at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, and Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will contend for Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors in his first fulltime season behind the wheel of a stock car in NASCAR’s top-tier series.

The 22-year-old Custer, who hails from Ladera Ranch, California, moved up to the premiere series this year after completing three full seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for SHR, having notched a total of nine wins, 12 poles and twice finishing runner-up in the championship standings. Additionally, he earned the Xfinity Series owners championship for SHR in 2018.

While most of the No. 41 team remains intact from the 2019 season, the biggest change to the team is veteran crew chief Mike Shiplett, who has more than 300 races under his belt in the Xfinity and Cup Series as a team leader. Shiplett led Custer to a career-high seven wins in 2019 Xfinity Series competition – second-most in the series. It was Custer and Shiplett’s first season working together, and they turned out to be a productive duo. In total, the crew chief from Amherst, Ohio added six poles with Custer, 17 top-five finishes and 24 top-10s, and 922 laps led in 2019.

Custer will contend for the Rookie of the Year title as part of one of the toughest classes in recent history. He’ll compete with notables Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, all of whom have battled against each other in the Xfinity Series and are making the fulltime transition to the Cup Series together.

Custer will enjoy an added measure of excitement during Daytona Speedweeks, taking part in training and a flight with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds before Daytona 500 media day festivities Feb. 12. It will be a first-time experience for the California native.

Haas Automation, America’s leading builder of CNC machines and owned by SHR team co-owner Gene Haas, will adorn Custer’s racecar throughout Speedweeks. In addition to Haas Automation, the No. 41 Ford Mustang will also feature Autodesk and Production Alliance Group this season.

While the 2020 season marks Custer’s first fulltime Cup Series season, he’s made three previous starts in NASCAR’s top series. All three were in 2018 in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing entry at Las Vegas, Pocono and Richmond with a best finish of 25th.

Custer has six Xfinity Series starts at Daytona. He’s led eight laps in total during those outings, but finishing races at the 2.5-mile superspeedway has been a challenge with three accidents in the record books in those six races. The Ford driver also has one Daytona start in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. In February 2016, he started 10th, but his day ended prematurely after an accident, which resulted in a 25th-place finish.

That latest addition to SHR’s four-car contingent in the Cup Series joins veterans Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Custer is looking forward to his first Daytona 500 as an integral part of the two-time championship-winning organization.

“It’s pretty surreal to think that I’m going to race in my first Daytona 500,” he said. “The Daytona 500 is the biggest race in our sport and I’ve watched it since I was a kid. And I’ve been around it a decent amount, so it’s going to be pretty crazy being part of it. The whole event, walking to the car before the race and the crowd, it’s just going to be surreal.”

COLE CUSTER, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What do you think it would be like to win the Daytona 500?

“Winning the Daytona 500 would be surreal. It’s a race that I’ve watched since I was a kid and it’s a dream come true to race in it. If we win, there will be a huge party. When I think about the 500, I think about all of the close finishes and all of the guys who have won it. It’s a race that everyone wants to win and it’s very prestigious.”

What is the most memorable Daytona 500 to you?

“For me, I would have to say it’s the one in 2007 with Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick with the extremely close finish at the start-finish line. That’s the one that sticks out in my mind.”

What is it like moving up to the Cup Series after having a couple of successful seasons in the Xfinity Series?

“I’m ready for it. I feel like I’ve done a lot to prepare for it over the offseason. It doesn’t get any bigger and better than this. Obviously, starting with our biggest race of the season means there’s a lot of pressure. It’ll be different for me to experience the Duel (qualifying races) and the various different practices. I want to be consistent this season and build some good finishes to start and, hopefully, not wreck a bunch of cars. Once we build strong finishes, we can look forward to the playoffs.”

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang, is more motivated than ever to kick off a new NASCAR Cup series season at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and he begins his 2020 campaign with a new crew chief and a new team.

Last Dec. 4, SHR announced the crew chief of the No. 10 team Johnny Klausmeier and crew chief of the No. 14 team Mike Bugarewicz would swap car numbers and their corresponding drivers.

Bugarewicz has led the No. 14 team since 2016, when he was Tony Stewart’s crew chief for his last NASCAR season before Clint Bowyer took over the driving duties in 2017. Bugarewicz helped Stewart secure his 49th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and continued winning with Bowyer, who scored 2018 victories at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Bugarewicz and Bowyer garnered 47 top-10s and two appearances in the NASCAR playoffs during their three-year run together.

“I think it goes back to trying to make the whole organization better,” Almirola said. “Everyone at SHR is trying to make everyone better. I’m really fired up about Mike Bugarewicz and that whole team and getting a chance to work with those guys. I’ve had the chance to work side-by-side with those guys for years now and I’ve seen how methodical and how good ‘Buga’ is. I’ve seen their team and I’ve worked next to them in the garage and the shop. I’m familiar with their team and their work ethic. They are a very talented group of guys and I’m very excited to get to work with them.”

Almirola and the fresh No. 10 team will get to showcase their talents beginning Sunday, when they hit the track for the usually action-packed Busch Clash at Daytona. This will be Almirola’s fifth running of the 75-lap exhibition race, in which he’s scored two top-10s and a best finish of sixth. The field is limited to 2019 Busch Pole Award winners, past Busch Clash winners who competed full-time in 2019, former Daytona 500 champions who competed full-time in 2019, former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time in 2019, and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers.

For the first-time ever, Almirola will be sporting the colors of the newest plant-based protein brand, Pure Farmland, on his No. 10 Ford Mustang for the Clash. The Almirola family expanded their options with a twist on “Taco Tuesday” using the plant-based product, and team co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Tony Stewart had fun with the new meatless option on Stewart-Haas Racing’s social media channels. For more information on Pure Farmland Plant-Based Protein, visit pure-farmland.com.

On Feb. 16, Almirola and his new team will compete in their first Daytona 500 together in hopes of replicating the success the No. 10 Smithfield Ford team has found in the past by visiting victory lane.

In the 2018 Daytona 500, Almirola was a half lap away from becoming a Daytona 500 champion. As he came to the checkered flag, he made an aggressive block on the No. 3 car of Austin Dillon before he was turned into the outside wall, ultimately ending his day. In last year’s Daytona 500, Almirola showed strength by running at the front of the field on occasion, but his day ended when he was caught in a multicar accident on lap 190 – the inevitable “big one.” Almirola gave the field a run for its money in last year’s July race at Daytona while finishing seventh after rain shortened the event on lap 127 of a scheduled 160.

“Racing there is exciting,” he said. “It’s very fast. We do a lot of drafting. We run in these huge, tight packs. You have 40 racecars all going 200 mph and we’re all an inch apart. Front to rear and on each side – its nerve racking for the driver and the fans. They’re cheering for their guy and the unexpected is always evident there. One little bobble or mistake is a 20-car pileup. While this is exciting for the fans with that uncertainty, it stresses the drivers out. Daytona and Talladega are the most stressful tracks we go because the stakes are so high, but that’s what make a victory there so sweet.”

The Tampa, Florida native has found his way to victory lane at Daytona before, scoring his first career Cup Series win in the rain-shortened July 2014 race, when he led 14 laps. He tasted restrictor-plate-racing success again four years later during his first season with SHR, when he was victorious at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It put him in the 2018 Cup Series playoffs, where he advance to the semifinal round, and proved the No. 10 driver has potential to bring home another superspeedway win any time he races on one.

This year’s Daytona 500 marks Almirola’s 17th points-paying Cup Series start at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. He also has 10 starts in the Xfinity Series at the track located along Florida’s Central Coast. In fact, Almirola started on the pole in his first Xfinity Series outing in July 2007, and he captured an Xfinity Series win there while piloting the No. 98 Biagi-Den Beste Ford Mustang in July 2016. Almirola has three Daytona starts in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with a best finish of 12th.

To support Almirola and the No. 10 team’s 2020 season and, for the ninth consecutive year, Smithfield Foods will sponsor the majority of its races this season. Headquartered since 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Its 40,000 U.S. employees are dedicated to producing “Good food. Responsibly®” and have made it one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. It has pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including many industry firsts, such as an ambitious commitment to cut carbon impact by 25 percent by 2025. The company believes in the power of protein to end food insecurity has donated hundreds of millions of food servings to neighbors in need. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Ford Performance has won nine Busch Clash races and owns 37 overall wins at Daytona – five of those over the last 11 races. SHR won the 2017 Daytona 500 with Kurt Busch behind the wheel of a Ford machine.

Between Almirola’s new team, his July 2014 win at Daytona, his near-Daytona 500 win in 2018, and his confidence after two overall wins at superspeedway’s, the 35-year-old heads to Daytona with one goal in mind – hoisting the Harley J. Earl trophy above his head with a Daytona 500 title to kick off a promising year.

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

Why is the Daytona 500 such an iconic and much anticipated race for you? 

“First off, Daytona is always exciting for me. It’s my home racetrack growing up just two hours away in Tampa. I have a lot of childhood memories from going there with my family. To top it off, I’ve won there both in Xfinity and Cup cars. I just have a tremendous amount of fond memories spectating at Daytona, even all the way back to my beginning days. I would go back and go-kart in Daytona. It’s always exciting because it brings back all those great memories. Not to mention, it’s the world center of racing. It’s the greatest place on earth to go race at. It’s the biggest race of the year, the one everyone wants to win. Your name is forever etched in history. There’s just no other race like it.”

Talk about your 2019 season. 

“Last year, we had our fair share of cars that were capable of finishing top-10 and top-five. I could have done a better job with finishing where the car was capable of finishing. Sometimes we had a 10th-place car and we finished 10th and sometimes we had a 10th place car and I finished 15th because I pushed it too hard. While switching teams can be beneficial for our organization, it’s up to me to grow, do my homework, and step up to do a better job myself. It was obviously disappointing to not make it to victory lane last year. As humans, we all strive for greatness and winning. As racecar drivers, we’re all extremely competitive and we want to win every race. It’s nothing to hang our heads on, though. We grew as a team and organization and went through adversity together. Sometimes that builds a lot of character, and I had my fair share of character building last year.”

Walk us through the final lap of the 2018 Daytona 500 when you were a half lap away from being crowned a Daytona 500 champion. 

“I felt so confident. I knew that if I hit all of my gears perfectly, I would have a shot at it and I did. I looked in my mirror and saw everyone racing side by side and figured that I was in control of the race and, if I made the right move, I was going to be the winner of the Daytona 500. About halfway down the back straightaway, they were coming with a run and I pulled over to block it. In your head, you know it’s the Daytona 500 and you’re a mile and a half away from winning, so you’re going to do everything you know to try and win that race. I pulled over to block and put a pretty aggressive block on the No. 3. I knew that if I blocked high, he was going to go low. As soon as I blocked high, I knew I was going to have to immediately block low. When I blocked low, he turned against my back bumper and (I went) into the outside wall. I wrecked a mile away from winning the Daytona 500. I don’t necessarily fault him for what he did but, given the same opportunity this year, you can bet your bottom dollar I would return the favor. You’re going to do whatever it takes.”

How was your offseason? 

“We had a great holiday season. I honestly checked out for most of it and tried to relax as much as possible. We took the family to Park City, Utah to do some skiing in January. The rest is nice, but right about now is when the angst to get back in the racecar kicks in.”

How was it to win the July 2014 race at Daytona?

“The end goal is not just to make it to the top and be there. The end goal is to be successful at the highest level. To win at Daytona stamped a little bit of validation on the fact that I made it to the top and I won at the highest level of stock car racing in the United States. That win was a career highlight and I hope to add another win.”