Month: August 2020

Kevin Harvick may not remember the 1980s Michigan television commercials that ended with the tagline “Yes, Michigan!”

But as the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into historic Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, he is thinking “Yes, Michigan!”

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has three wins, seven second-place finishes, 13 top-fives, 19 top-10s, one pole, and he’s led a total of 517 laps in his 38 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan.

A closer look reveals his time at Michigan in SHR equipment since 2014 has been really impressive.

In his last 12 Cup Series starts at Michigan – all of which have come with SHR – Harvick has two wins and four runner-up finishes and only one finish worse than 14th – 29th in June 2015. And of the 517 total laps Harvick has led at Michigan dating back to his rookie year in 2001, 369, or 71.3 percent, have come with SHR despite only 12, or 31.5 percent, of his 38 Michigan starts being with SHR.

He’ll have two chances to add to those totals with a Michigan doubleheader weekend, starting with Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 and concluding with Sunday’s Consumer Energy 400. They are twin 156-lap 312-mile races at the 2-mile oval.

Harvick is closing in on 15,000 laps led in his Cup career. At the Homestead-Miami Speedway season finale in 2019, Harvick became just the 11th driver to have led 14,000 laps. He’s know been in front for 14,740 laps and trails 10th-place Kyle Busch, who has led 17,633, and Jimmie Johnson, who is ninth with 18,933 laps led. Harvick has led 10,314 laps as an SHR driver, surpassing the 10,000-lap milestone with the team when he took the lead on lap 37 of the June 7 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He’ll race again with Busch Light Apple on his car, as he did in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Busch Light Apple is a refreshing, light lager, which combines the crispness of Busch with the light sweetness of apple flavor. It’s like the sound of refreshment meets the taste of the orchard, and is the first flavor innovation in the history of the Busch Light brand.

Harvick is hoping to score his fourth career Michigan victory Saturday. And perhaps he’ll score number five on Sunday. For as the late, great Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs once said, “Let’s Play Two.”

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

You and the team have seven consecutive top-five finishes with two wins. Can you describe this season coming out of lasts Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon?

“We’re just kind of grinding away. We kind of got behind at New Hampshire and were able to make up a lot of ground. Our team is doing a great job and we’re doing what we need to do each week, and we’ve been fortunate to win a few races and we’re ready to get through the final few races before the playoffs start.”

Talk about what it will take to be successful this weekend at Michigan in the doubleheader?

“Well a fast car is the biggest key. Our organization has run really well at Michigan. The Roush Yates folks from the engine side and Doug Yates love going to Michigan. Ford, from a manufacturer’s side, loves having the manufacturing trophy sitting in its facility. So there is a lot of motivation going into Michigan. For us, being at a racetrack we have run well at and won at, the expectations are in the same category. We want to get to victory lane and have two solid races. The races are a little bit shorter so there will be some strategy that will come into play, and putting yourself in a position to get up front and stay up front and do the things you need to do to win the races. That side will be a bit different, but we’re looking forward to hopefully running well.”

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Heroes Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will race for his 10th and 11th consecutive top-10 finishes during this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

“The consistency from this team is incredible,” Almirola said. “If we continue to run up front like this, we’re bound to put ourselves in position to win. It would be great to make the gap even larger between us and the playoff cutoff line, but a win is what we’re after in Michigan.”

The last time Almirola raced a doubleheader weekend June 27 and 28 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, he posted solid finishes of third and fifth, respectively.

“Racing doubleheader weekends is obviously tough on the race team because they have to bring a setup they believe will perform twice, but these weekends are also tough on the driver’s physical and mental abilities,” he said. “Typically, we have an entire week to recover before getting back in the car, and now we only have the night to sleep it off. If you finish well, you feel confident about the next day, but if you didn’t have the day you wanted, you have to let it go and come back the next day ready to improve. I’m hoping my physical preparation will pay off again this weekend in Michigan.”

Almirola is on a string of nine consecutive top-10 finishes, and it is the longest top-10 streak of his career. He finished fifth June 14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, third June 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, third June 27 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, fifth June 28 at Pocono, third July 5 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, eighth July 12 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, 10th July 19 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, sixth July 23 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and seventh last sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

In Almirola’s 15 previous starts at the 2-mile Michigan oval, he has one top-10 and three laps led. He has two starts in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Michigan, winning in June 2010 after leading seven laps for his second win in the series that season. Additionally, the Tampa native made three Michigan starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a best finish of eighth in June 2015 while piloting the No. 98 DenBeste Water Solutions Ford.

The No. 10 Ford driver sits eighth in the driver standings for his career-best points position after 20 races. In his first two seasons at SHR in 2018 and 2019, Almirola was ninth and 11th in the standings, respectively, after 20 races.

Almirola has career totals of two wins, two poles, 23 top-five finishes, 73 top-10s and 792 laps led in 336 starts. He has led a total of 255 laps this year at seven different venues.

Almirola continues to provide fans with content from his documentary series Beyond the 10, where they can get VIP, behind-the-scenes access by subscribing to his YouTube channel. Episodes showcase never-before-seen footage of the Smithfield driver 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. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.

Almirola and his longtime partner Smithfield Foods have collaborated to honor frontline hometown heroes by showcasing a special paint scheme on the No. 10 Ford this weekend. Smithfield looks to honor those who are putting their own health and safety at risk in a selfless act to protect and nourish others around them. The Smithfield “Hometown Original Heroes” program provides the opportunity for fans to share the stories of their own “Hometown Hero.” Be it a nurse, doctor, food worker, public servant or anyone who is on the frontlines each and every day, Smithfield and Almirola want to hear their stories and give.

To nominate a hometown hero, visit www.SmithfieldHometownHeroes.com and submit a one-minute video nominating the “Hometown Hero.” Ten heroes will be chosen to have their stories told and will have their names riding onboard the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang at a race during the NASCAR playoffs this fall. The heroes will also receive a VIP race day experience and full-year supply of Smithfield “Hometown Original” bacon.

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

Do you feel confident heading to Michigan?

“Michigan is a weird place for me because, in my mind, I feel like I run well there. I won a Truck race there years ago and, from that point forward, I just always loved going to Michigan. My wife’s family is from Michigan, so I go to Michigan with such a great attitude. I felt like in our first race there last year we had a lot of speed. I felt we had a top-five car there at Michigan and didn’t execute and things didn’t go our way with the restarts and I didn’t get the result. I’m excited about going back. Going to Michigan, there’s always a lot of pride for the manufacturers. I’d love to go there and keep the trophy in Ford’s backyard.”

How crazy are the restarts at Michigan, and are they the best times to take advantage of someone?

“We’re seeing restarts get crazier and crazier at tracks that we go to. There’s no one track that they’re crazier at than the other anymore because that is the most opportune time to pass cars, besides on pit road. Pit road is the easiest place to pass but, once you line up for the restart, there’s opportunity to gain three, four, five spots in a lap, and there’s no other opportunity to do something like that throughout the run. I feel like restarts are definitely the time to gain or lose track position, so you have to be on offense and defense at the same time. Michigan is very wide and you want to be aggressive and go take spots away, but you can easily give up four or five spots that are really hard to get back once we get single file.”

Some tracks are very line-sensitive on restarts. Is Michigan one of them? 

“Yes, Michigan is very line-sensitive on restarts. The outside lane is usually the dominant lane. The inside lane – the cars on the inside usually lose sideforce, they lose the air on the side of their car and they are very loose down there in turns one and two on the restart. The outside lane usually has the momentum and is the preferred lane going through (turns) one and two on the restarts.”

This weekend, Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Jacob Construction Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) and his fellow NASCAR Cup Series competitors head to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn for a doubleheader at the 2-mile track. The world’s best stock car drivers are scheduled to complete over 600 miles combined Saturday and Sunday in the backyard of manufacturer Ford, which is located approximately 65 miles northeast of the track in Dearborn.

HaasTooling.com will share the No. 41 machine this weekend with Jacob Construction. Jacob adorned Custer’s Ford Mustang earlier this season at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jacob is a multifaceted firm with a focus on construction, development, design and technology services. Jacob provides clients with a wide range of services in the design build and construction management sectors of the construction industry. In conjunction with these services, Jacob self performs structural concrete, architectural and structural precast erection.

So far this season, the Mustang has earned 11 wins for Ford. Custer and his SHR teammate Kevin Harvick have both earned wins for the Blue Oval this season. A win this weekend would be huge for Ford and SHR. Not only because it’s close to Ford headquarters, but this weekend’s events have a unique trophy. The Michigan Heritage Trophy was created in 2013 and is awarded to the winning manufacturer of each race.

Custer heads into this weekend coming off of an eighth-place finish in last Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Custer was able to work through a tight-handling Mustang and race his way up through the field. The top-10 finish marked his fourth top-10 in his last five starts. He was also the highest finishing rookie in the race.

The Ford driver has three starts in the Xfinity Series at Michigan. All three resulted in finishes of 12th or better, with a best of third earned in June 2018. In total, he has an average Michigan Xfinity starting position of 5.7 and an average finish of 8.3, along with 35 laps led.

In the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Custer has one start at the Brooklyn track. In August of 2016, Custer started 18th and finished 22nd.

With Custer’s Cup Series July 12 win at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, he became one of 10 drivers who have won in each of NASCAR’s top three national series, as well as in ARCA and NASCAR’s developmental K&N Pro Series.

Team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas’ cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. Beginning July 1, HaasTooling.com products became available nationally. The cutting tools available for purchase at HaasTooling.com are even more important during the current COVID-19 pandemic as CNC machines have become vital to producing personal protective equipment.

There are six races left in the regular season before the playoffs start Sept. 6 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Custer’s win at Kentucky earned him one of the coveted playoff spots. Harvick also owns a playoff spot after multiple wins this season.

In 70 starts at the Brooklyn track, SHR has four victories – Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer each with one win, and Harvick with two. In total at Michigan, SHR has 17 top-fives, 28 top-10s and 512 laps led.

Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.

Even though Custer had a trio of starts in the Cup Series in 2018, 2020 officially marks his Rookie of the Year campaign in NASCAR’s most prestigious series. He’s competing for rookie honors with notables Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick. The three have battled against each other in the Xfinity Series and are making the full-time transition to the Cup Series together. Custer is the first of the 2020 rookie class to earn a win this season.

Cole Custer: Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com/Jacob Construction Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How has your relationship with your crew chief Mike Shiplett progressed?

“This is our second year working together. We worked together last year in the Xfinity Series and we moved up together this year in the Cup Series. It has been great. Mike has a lot of experience and a lot of success. He is really level-headed and keeps us guided in the right direction. I think that’s one of his biggest strong suits. We also brought our lead engineer Davin (Restivo) with us from the Xfinity Series.”

When you go to a track you haven’t been to before in the Cup Series, what is the process you do to get ready?

“I think I have a good rhythm down for going to a track I haven’t been to before. You really have to work into it. That first run up until the competition caution is really important. You have to make sure you put yourself in a good spot and don’t put your car at risk. Once you get to the competition caution, then you really go racing. You try and adapt as fast as you can and make sure you’re paying attention to what is working and what is not. In my opinion, the race starts right after the competition caution.”

With a win that locked you into the playoffs, is your rookie season a success at this point?

“For a rookie season, I look at it as a success with a win. I feel like we are getting to the point where we are consistently running competitively. At the same time, I’m not going to be satisfied if we get to the playoffs and we get knocked out in the first round and don’t run well. I want to go in the playoffs and make a run at it, not just be part of it. If the end of the season doesn’t work out, I don’t think I’ll be satisfied.”

It’s 65 miles from Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn to the Ford Motor Company’s worldwide headquarters in Dearborn. Clint Bowyer would walk every mile if he could hand deliver the speedway’s Heritage Trophy to Ford executives after sweeping Saturday’s and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series races at the 2-mile oval.

“I know how important winning in their own backyard is to Ford because we’ve done it before at Michigan,” Bowyer said. “I’d love to hand that trophy to Mark Rushbrook (Ford Performance Motorsports’ global director) again this weekend, especially since it’s Michigan’s first doubleheader weekend.”

The Michigan Heritage Trophy, created in August 2013, is awarded to the winning manufacturer of each Michigan Cup race. Each manufacturer and the track donates $10,000 to a youth-related, STEM-related charity in Michigan. Since its inception, Ford and Chevrolet own six Michigan victories each while Toyota has one. The trophy will be awarded on a points system if different manufacturers win Saturday and Sunday.

The trophy, inspired by the NHL’s Stanley Cup trophy, is 3 feet tall, weighs about 30 pounds and features an original sculpture similar to the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. The original bronze artwork sits atop a wooden base, like the architecture of Detroit landmarks such as the Fisher Building and Guardian Building.

“I’ve been able to drive for every manufacturer in the Cup Series and know how much each one of them means to our sport,” said Bowyer, whose 10 career victories include two in Fords, three in Toyotas and five in Chevrolets. “We don’t race without our manufacturers and I know how much each takes pride in their results on the track, especially at Michigan.”

Bowyer fondly remembers winning the Heritage Trophy for Ford on June 10, 2018.

His No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion had just taken the lead during the break before the final stage of the race. Rain clouds out of the northeast drew closer, spitting a fine mist with most of the 39-car field suspecting the race wouldn’t last much longer.

Bowyer held the lead but only because his then-crew chief Mike Bugarewicz elected to take two tires while most of the field took four. It was up to Bowyer to hold the position just ahead of his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Kevin Harvick, who had led 49 laps, more than any other driver.

“I looked in the mirror – everybody behind me is on four tires,” Bowyer said. “(I’m thinking that) I don’t know what you’re looking at, but there’s an army of people on pit road who saw the same forecast, same radar, they took four.”

The green flag waved and Bowyer drove as hard as he could for three-and-a-half laps. He edged just ahead of Harvick before the rain fell hard enough for NASCAR to end the race with 67 laps remaining, giving Bowyer his 10th career victory and second of the 2018 season. Then-teammate Kurt Busch’s was third to give SHR its first 1-2-3 finish.

Ford has swept all three races since Bowyer’s victory at Michigan.

He hopes for a repeat this weekend as he pilots the No. 14 DEKALB Ford in Michigan. DEKALB has been helping farmers ensure a future of performance with industry-leading corn seed products for more than 100 years.

“I grew up in farm country and saw firsthand the hard work that goes into growing crops and taking care of livestock,” said Bowyer. “Farming takes time, energy and incredible attention to detail. DEKALB understands all of that, and they know what farmers need to take care of their crops. It really is an honor to represent DEKALB.”

Bowyer operates a 650-acre farm in North Carolina and points out the similarities between farming and racing.

“Winning is more than a goal, it’s a state of mind,” he said. “Just ask any farmer or NASCAR driver pushing themselves. You are always trying to improve performance each and every season. Once you get a taste of success and winning, that mindset takes hold, it drives everything you do, shaping families and defining who you are. Winning has roots.”

Bowyer could use a victory Saturday or Sunday at Michigan. He arrives 12th in the season’s point standing after an 18th-place finish Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. He earned nine bonus points by finishing seventh and sixth in the first two stages before handling issues plagued his final stage.

Bowyer is 14th in the playoff standings with a 43-point cushion over the final transfer spot into the 16-driver playoff field. A win in either Michigan races secures a spot in NASCAR’s postseason, but a good run helps in padding his points cushion.

It will be a busy weekend with late-afternoon races both Saturday and Sunday in Michigan. And for Bowyer, if he wins both, a long hike to Dearborn on Monday.

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

How excited are you for this weekend’s doubleheader in Michigan?

“Definitely looking forward to Michigan. Fast racetrack and, when you talk about a fast racetrack you need fast hot rods, and our Ford Mustangs have been extremely fast up there. You know that Roush-Yates horsepower is second to none when you’re talking about up-on-the-pipe, baby, and that track keeps it up there. You are sailing around that place and I look for that track to be a track that we can contend for a win at and get back in the right swing of things for these stage points.”

What is the strategy at Michigan?

“At the end of the day, Michigan is about track position. If you lose that track position, it’s a fight to try and get back up there. You look at the restarts, they are wild. We are four-wide, gouging, trying to get every spot you can. If you’re going to gain spots, that’s where you’re going to gain the majority of them. Throughout the fuel run, you might gain one or two. Keeping the track position, I think, is key all day long.”

What is it like to drive for Ford?

“You know, every business says it operates as a family but, when you drive for Ford, you really are driving for the family. Before the race, you look over and Edsel Ford is standing there. That means a ton. Think about it, since the very first race there was a Ford in it. They treat everyone like family and we appreciate that. The thing I’ve noticed in my years at Ford is how often you are talking to the head honchos. Whether it’s a meeting at the shop or going over to Ford Performance, the top guys are the ones you talk with, making sure you have what you need to be successful at the racetrack. That means a lot to a racecar driver.”

What is the secret to Ford’s success?

“It is all about people. I am at home here with Ford. It is a family atmosphere. It literally is a family with the Ford family. It is all about people. The Ford Performance organization and program are a ton of fun to work with. They are all in. You want to be with the ones who are investing the most and pushing the hardest to get the results, and I don’t think anyone is doing more than Ford these days.”

Event:  Henry 180 (Round 18 of 33)
Date:  Aug. 8, 2020
Location:  Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Layout:  4.048-mile, 14-turn road course

Chase Briscoe Notes of Interest 

• Briscoe enters the Henry 180 at Road America as the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ most recent road-course winner. The 25-year-old racer from Mitchell, Indiana, won July 4 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to score his series-leading fifth win of the season and the seventh of his career. It was also Briscoe’s second road-course win, as his first career Xfinity Series victory came at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval in 2018.

• Briscoe’s No. 98 Ford Mustang carries the colors of Henry Repeating Arms in the Henry 180. Henry Repeating Arms is one of the leading rifle and shotgun manufacturers in the United States and a world leader in the lever-action category. The company’s motto is “Made in America, or not made at all,” and its firearms come with a lifetime guarantee backed by award-winning customer service. Henry Repeating Arms employs 535 people and has 250,000 square-feet of manufacturing space in its Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and Bayonne, New Jersey, facilities. The company is named in honor of Benjamin Tyler Henry, who invented and patented the Henry rifle in 1860 – the first repeating rifle, the lever-action rifle, which is America’s unique contribution to international firearms design and is one of the most legendary, respected and sought-after rifles in the history of firearms.

• Henry Repeating Arms has offered free general admission for the first 360 military veterans, frontline healthcare workers and first responders who pre-register with approved credentials through its website, www.henryusa.com/thankyou. The company is also inviting more than 100 employees from its manufacturing facilities, the largest of which is just a few hours west of Road America in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Road America encompasses 640 acres, allowing amazing viewing opportunities in a socially-distanced environment.

• The Henry 180 will mark Briscoe’s second career Xfinity Series start at Road America. His first visit to the iconic road course came in last year’s race when he started 10th and led two laps before finishing seventh.

• While the Xfinity Series was off last weekend, Briscoe was not. He took advantage of the down time in order to gear up for the Henry 180. Briscoe competed in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race last Saturday at Road America, partnering with series regular James Pesek in a Ford Mustang GT4 prepared by PF Racing. The duo finished 13th in the two-hour race.

• While the IMSA race was a good way for Briscoe to polish his road-racing skills, it’s Briscoe’s dirt-track background that has seemingly provided the most help. When Briscoe notched his first career win at the Charlotte Roval, he explained how he did it: “It drove like a dirt track instead of a road course, and it felt like I was in a sprint car. I just tried to make sure the rear tires never spun. I had to give up a little time coming off the corner, but I’d make it back up down the straightaway, and that’s why I was always better at the end of the run.”

• Briscoe has finished among the top-10 in all but one of the seven road-course races in which he has competed in the Xfinity Series. And in his lone NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series start on a road course – 2017 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – Briscoe finished seventh in a Ford F-150.

• The No. 98 team eyes the Henry 180 as its opportunity to regain the top spot in the championships standings. Following a 14th-place finish two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Briscoe slipped to second in the standings, just four points behind follow Ford driver Austin Cindric. However, with just seven races remaining in the regular season, Briscoe leads the Xfinity Series in wins with five (next best has three wins) and playoff points with 28 (next best has 22).

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 98 Henry Repeating Arms Ford Mustang

You spent your off-weekend running the IMSA race at Road America. Were you able to learn anything that you can apply to Saturday’s Henry 180?

“I feel like just seeing the track and getting laps last weekend will help me be up to speed on what I need to do to keep our Henry Repeating Arms Ford Mustang up front. There are a lot of differences between the IMSA cars and the Xfinity cars, so it was more about getting back to Road America and getting familiar with the track again. The Xfinity cars aren’t built for turning left and right quickly, or stopping quickly, and one of my biggest concerns is that there’s about a 300-foot difference in braking points. That’s really my biggest worry.”

What will the start of the Henry 180 look like with most of the field having made no laps at Road America prior to the green flag?

“Road America is going to be good practice for next week at Daytona. The majority of the field has laps at Road America, but I think only three or four guys have any laps at Daytona. It’s going to be a good warmup. Turn one will be relatively easy, but you go into turn three or turn five in these heavy braking zones when we’re up to speed – it’s going to be pretty chaotic, especially when you throw in the random draw for starting position. You can have two or three guys up front who have never seen the place before and you have guys with experience starting in eighth or ninth on back. That is the most difficult part – the random draw and how it can turn out and put guys that don’t even know the racetrack on the front row and the experienced guys in the back. Oval racing has been pretty exciting with no practice and seeing guys come and go throughout the field. When you do that at a road course, it’s going to be even more extreme. If you go back to the Indy race this year when we had practice, there were some guys who were four and five seconds off the pace in practice. Obviously, as the weekend goes on they get better and better, but now those first laps of practice are the first laps of the race, and if they’re four or five seconds off, it’s definitely going to be pretty crazy.”

What is your favorite part about Road America?

“First off, Road America – I can’t say it enough – it’s such a nice facility. It’s like you go to a state park and there’s a racetrack there. It’s just so beautiful. The fans are always awesome every time we go. From the racetrack standpoint, it’s really one of the best road courses in the country, just because it has so many different elements. It has the long straightaways, the heavy braking zones, it has 90-degree corners, it has sweeping corners. It’s fast, it’s slow, it has elevation. It really has everything that you look for in a road course, and then on top of that, it has a lot of tire fall-off, which makes for great racing. I would say my favorite corner there is probably the carousel – the really long sweeping right-hander, just because you’re kind of dirt-tracking it over there. You’re sideways. It’s just a fun corner. My least favorite – if your car is not handling well – is probably the kink, just because you’re so on edge through there. If your car isn’t very good, it can really make it a long day, and it’s pretty hairy going through there just in general, even if your car is good.”

The Xfinity Series championship battle has really started to take shape over the last month. Do you have any concerns leading up to the playoffs?

“I think the biggest thing for us is these last three weeks have not been super characteristic of our team. We just haven’t necessarily had the speed. A perfect example is the last race at Kansas. We were going to win the race there last year and got wrecked by a lapped car with 10 or 12 to go and then this year we have a hard time running in the top-10 with practically the same setup. We’ve just been off for whatever reason. We had about a 30-point lead in the regular-season championship and that all went away. Now we’re down four points. Trying to win the regular-season championship is a huge deal and now Cindric is in the lead and we’re going to all these road course where he’s probably the favorite, but I feel like we can still beat him. At Indy, I don’t think anybody expected us to win and we were able to go there and win. Road America is going to be a little bit different with how the pit stops are going to be, and I think the strategy is going to be a little different. Then we go to the Daytona road course the following week. Cindric has been really, really fast there in the IMSA car, so I expect he’s going to be hard to beat. I think we just have to get back to how we were at the beginning of the year as far as just having speed in the racecars.”