CLINT BOWYER – 2020 Phoenix II Race Report

Event: Season Finale 500 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
Format: 312 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/115 laps/122 laps)
Start/Finish: 9th/14th (Running, completed 311 of 312 laps)
Point Standing: 12th with 2,254 points

Champion:           Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Race Winner:      Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner:  Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

Clint Bowyer started ninth and finished eighth to earn three bonus points.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford Mustang held the ninth spot by the lap-30 competition caution.
● Bowyer moved to fifth during the pit stop and remained in the top-10 for the rest of the stage.
● During the break the crew made adjustments to help Bowyer’s car turn in the middle of the corners.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):

Bowyer started fifth and finished 12th.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford Mustang climbed to fourth at the start of the stage.
● Bowyer pitted under green for routine service on lap 143 but 20 laps later a caution trapped him midfield.
● Bowyer pitted under caution on lap 163 and restarted 15th. He climbed to 12th before the stage’s end.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 191-312):

Bowyer started 10th and finished 14th.
● He said the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford Mustang couldn’t make the grip needed to race with the leaders.
● Bowyer remained in the top-10 making what appeared to be a routine stop under green with 55 laps remaining.
● The jack broke slowing the pit stop which dropped Bowyer to 16th.
● Bowyer fell off the lead lap with 13 to go.

Notes:

● Sunday marked Bowyer’s final race in his career. He’ll serve as a television commentator for Fox next season.
● Bowyer ends his career with 10 wins, 82 top-five and 226 top-10s in 541 races.
● Chase Elliott won the Season Finale 500 to score his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his first at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.740 seconds.
● Elliott earned the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix by virtue of his win. He is the 34th different driver to win the series title.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 27 laps.
● Only 12 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Ford clinched its 17th manufacturers’ championship with a series-leading 18 victories in 2020, 10 of which were scored by SHR. This is the second time in the last three seasons Ford has won the manufacturers’ title. Its 18 wins rank as its third-highest total in the modern era (1972-present). Ford won 19 races in 2018 and 1997, one less than its modern-era record of 20 in 1994.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I appreciate all the texts and well wishes, but I was ready for the green flag this morning. That was kind of emotional. Seriously, that was a fun day. I want to thank everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing as well as the partners who have made the last four years so special. I have had a lot of people help me in my career and certainly wouldn’t be here without them. I don’t know if this has sunk in yet, but I think this will all hit me when we get to Daytona next season.”

Next Up:

The 2021 season kicks off with the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 14 with live coverage from FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

COLE CUSTER – 2020 Phoenix II Race Report

Event: Season Finale 500 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
Format: 312 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/115 laps/122 laps)
Start/Finish: 15th/28th (Running, completed 310 of 312 laps)
Point Standing: 16th with 2,202 points

Champion: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):             

● Cole Custer started 15th and finished 14th.
● On lap 13, Custer reported his Mustang was a little too free while running 13th.
● During the lap-30 competition caution, Custer pitted from 12th for service and restarted 12th in the HaasTooling.com Mustang.
● On lap 53, the rookie driver reported his Mustang was loose on landing while in the 15th spot.
● Custer pitted from 14th during the stage break for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):

● Custer started 14th and finished 13th.
● On lap 100, Custer was in the 18th spot and worked his way back up to 15th by lap 125.
● On lap 130, the Ford driver relayed to the crew that his Mustang was not handling well while continuing to run 15th.
● Custer made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 137 from the 15th spot.
● Under caution on lap 161 Custer pitted from 17th for adjustments to help with his exit. He restarted 15th.
● In the closing laps of Stage 2, Custer gained two spots to end it in 13th before pitting for service.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 191-312):

● Custer started 20th, finished 28th.
● Custer made an unscheduled pit stop on lap 206 for a loose wheel and returned to the track one lap down.
● The young driver made his final stop on lap 271 for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
● On lap 290, Custer was in the 28th spot and ultimately finished in the same position.

Notes:

● When the checkered flag dropped on the Season Finale 500, Custer was officially named the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old racer from Ladera Ranch, California, sealed this accolade when he made a last-lap pass for the win July 12 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. Custer was the only rookie to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs and the first rookie to win a NASCAR Cup Series race since Chris Buescher in 2016.
● This was Custer’s 39th career NASCAR Cup Series start and his second at Phoenix.
● Chase Elliott won the Season Finale 500 to score his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his first at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.740 seconds.
● Elliott earned the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix by virtue of his win. He is the 34th different driver to win the series title.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 27 laps.
● Only 12 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Ford clinched its 17th manufacturers’ championship with a series-leading 18 victories in 2020, 10 of which were scored by SHR. This is the second time in the last three seasons Ford has won the manufacturers’ title. Its 18 wins rank as its third-highest total in the modern era (1972-present). Ford won 19 races in 2018 and 1997, one less than its modern-era record of 20 in 1994.

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

“Not the finish we wanted at Phoenix today, but I have to thank the crew and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing, HaasTooling.com and Ford Performance for standing behind me this year. They worked with me and helped me get better this season. I think we have a lot to look forward to next year and we have a lot to build on. It was definitely a rookie season with a lot of peaks and valleys. It was a really interesting season to be a rookie with no practice, no testing or qualifying, so it was a lot of just learning on the fly, but I think we all managed it very well. We had a really good rookie class of me, Tyler (Reddick), Christopher (Bell) and John Hunter (Nemechek). I think we all had really good runs throughout the year and it definitely means a lot to win the Cup Series Rookie of the Year.”

Next Up:

The 2021 season kicks off with the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 14 with live coverage from FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2020 Phoenix II Race Report

Event: Season Finale 500 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
Format: 312 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/115 laps/122 laps)
Start/Finish: 10th/13th (Running, completed 311 of 312 laps)
Point Standing: 15th with 2,235 points

Champion: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

● Aric Almirola started 20th and finished 29th.
● Almirola raced in and around the top-10 before the lap-32 competition caution.
● He pitted the Smithfield Ford for four tires, fuel and adjustments to correct loose-handling conditions.
● Almirola had damage on the right side of his No. 10 Ford after making contact with the wall and pitted at the end of the stage for four fresh tires, fuel and damage repair.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):

● Almirola started 29th and finished 15th.
● He said the No. 10 Ford was tight early in the stage.
● Almirola pitted under caution on lap 163 from sixth place for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
● He restarted eighth and fell back due to handling issues.
● Almirola pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and more air pressure adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 191-311):

● Almirola started 15th and finished 13th.
● Almirola pitted under green on lap 258 for four tires and fuel from 13th.
● The No. 10 Ford driver went a lap down by the leader with 11 laps to go.
● He was able to hold his 13th place position before the checkered flag waved.

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

“What a year. What a season. This Smithfield Ford team battled hard all year and we had a phenomenal year with a lot of room for improvement. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward in the future.”

Notes:

● Almirola led once for seven laps to increase his laps-led total at Phoenix to 33.
● Almirola enjoyed a career year in 2020 with his six top-fives and 18 top-10s and 305 laps led all being season highs.
● Chase Elliott won the Season Finale 500 to score his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his first at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.740 seconds.
● Elliott earned the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix by virtue of his win. He is the 34th different driver to win the series title.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 27 laps.
● Only 12 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Ford clinched its 17th manufacturers’ championship with a series-leading 18 victories in 2020, 10 of which were scored by SHR. This is the second time in the last three seasons Ford has won the manufacturers’ title. Its 18 wins rank as its third-highest total in the modern era (1972-present). Ford won 19 races in 2018 and 1997, one less than its modern-era record of 20 in 1994.

Next Up: 

The 2021 season kicks off with the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 14 with live coverage from FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

KEVIN HARVICK – 2020 Phoenix II Race Report

Event: Season Finale 500 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
Format: 312 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/115 laps/122 laps)
Start/Finish: 11th/7th (Running, completed 312 of 312 laps)
Point Standing:  (5th with 2,410 points)

Champion: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

●  Kevin Harvick started fourth and finished 13th.
●  The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted on lap 32 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure and chassis adjustment. Harvick, who was 11th, said the car was not handling well.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):

●  Kevin Harvick started 16th and finished 11th.
●  The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted on lap 78 for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. The car was not handling to Harvick’s liking.
●  On lap 138, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Harvick, who was 10th, said the car was handling better.
●  Harvick pitted on lap 163 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He said the car still hard to handle and he was 10th.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 191-312):

●  Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished seventh.
●  The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted on lap 196 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He was 11th.
●  On lap 257, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He was eighth.

Notes:

●  Chase Elliott won the Season Finale 500 to score his 11th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his first at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.740 seconds.
●  Elliott earned the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix by virtue of his win. He is the 34th different driver to win the series title.
●  The Elliotts join the Pettys (Lee: 1954, 1958, 1959 and Richard: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979), and the Jarretts (Ned: 1961, 1965 and Dale: 1999) as just the third father-son combo to win NASCAR Cup Series titles. Elliott’s father, Bill, won the 1988 Cup Series championship.
●  There were four caution periods for a total of 27 laps.
●  Only 12 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap
●  Harvick earned his series-leading 27th top-10 of the season and his league-best 25th top-10 in 36 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix.
●  Harvick ends the year with the most wins (nine), the most top-fives (20), the most top-10s (27) and the most laps led (1,531).
●  Harvick’s 7.3 average finish in 2020 is the best among active drivers. Denny Hamlin is next best with a 9.3 average finish.
●  Harvick has not finished outside the top-10 at Phoenix since March 2013. It is a 15-race streak that includes six wins, two runner-up finishes and 12 top-fives.
●  Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has only finished outside the top-five twice at Phoenix. He has never finished outside the top-10.
●  By completing lap 27, Harvick surpassed NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 13th on the all-time laps completed list. Harvick has now finished 205,104 laps in his NASCAR Cup Series career.
●  Ford clinched its 17th manufacturers’ championship with a series-leading 18 victories in 2020, 10 of which were scored by SHR. This is the second time in the last three seasons Ford has won the manufacturers’ title. Its 18 wins rank as its third-highest total in the modern era (1972-present). Ford won 19 races in 2018 and 1997, one less than its modern-era record of 20 in 1994.
●  The Season Finale 500 marked the final NASCAR Cup Series race for Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time champion ends his career with 686 starts across 19 seasons that in addition to his record-tying seven titles, includes 83 wins, 36 poles, 232 top-fives, 374 top-10s and 18,941 laps led. While he is retiring from NASCAR, Johnson is not retiring from motorsports. He has a 13-race IndyCar Series schedule planned for 2021.
●  Also retiring from the NASCAR Cup Series is Matt Kenseth. He won the championship in 2003, and in a career spanning 22 seasons with 697 starts, Kenseth scored 39 wins, 20 poles, 182 top-fives, 331 top-10s and led a total of 11,769 laps.

Next Up:

The 2021 season kicks off with the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 14 with live coverage from FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

CHASE BRISCOE – 2020 NXS Phoenix II Race Report

Event:  Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 (Round 33 of 33)
Series:  NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location:  Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
Format:  200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/116 laps)
Start/Finish:  2nd/9th (Running, completed 206 of 206 laps)
Point Standing:  4th (4,028 points, 12 out of first)
Note:  Race extended six laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner:  Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner:  Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Overview:
Chase Briscoe’s impressive nine-win NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign in 2020 ended with a ninth-place finish Saturday night in the season-ending Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Briscoe was among the Championship 4 drivers competing for the series title, and the driver of the No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang started the 200-lap contest around the 1-mile, desert oval from a position of strength. He lined up second and promptly took the lead from fellow Championship 4 contender Justin Allgaier on lap seven and then held it for the next 27 circuits. Allgaier briefly reassumed the point on lap 34, only to have Briscoe take the top spot back a lap later and hold it through the end of the stage. But in the second stage, Briscoe’s No. 98 machine was too loose for him to be as aggressive as he wanted. While he stayed amongst the top-10, running up front with the leaders proved elusive. This was exemplified on lap 199 when Briscoe spun in turn four, setting up a green-white-checkered finish that extended the race six laps past its originally-schedule 200-lap distance. The spin sent Briscoe to pit road for four new tires and fuel, and after lining up in 11th as the last car on the lead lap, he rallied his way back into the top-10 to pick up his 22nd top-10 of the season. And despite not earning the coveted Xfinity Series championship trophy, Briscoe’s 2020 season remains stout, as his nine wins and 1,032 laps led are the most of any Xfinity Series driver this season. Briscoe will enjoy a short respite before advancing to the elite NASCAR Cup Series in 2021 where he will pilot the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang.

 

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“It was just a frustrating day. Phoenix is, by far, not my best racetrack. We started the race and just leading laps here I was like, ‘Wow, this is different.’ I was so loose at the beginning of the race, and as the night came, I was just getting freer and freer. I don’t know how many times I about wrecked into turn one and would end up hitting the wall. I’ve got to do a lot better job here. There’s something about this place that I just really struggle at, so I’ve got a lot of homework to do.
“It’s definitely frustrating to finish fourth in the championship after the year we had. But to win nine races, it’s been a phenomenal year. I’m happy that we were able to just make the final four with our HighPoint.com Ford Mustang. I’m just thankful to be driving in NASCAR, honestly.
“I’m obviously looking forward to next year, but this one hurts. Anytime you can win nine races and finish fourth in the championship – it isn’t what you wanted. But we’ll keep our heads high because I’m just proud of the whole team. To be able to work with me these last two-and-a-half years from where we started to where we are now has made a huge difference. So, I’m just thankful to be driving for Stewart-Haas Racing and to be coming back next year with them in the NASCAR Cup Series.”
Notes:
● Briscoe finished the season with nine wins, 16 top-fives and 22 top-10s. He has a total of 11 wins, 30 top-fives and 52 top-10 finishes in 83 career Xfinity Series starts.
● Briscoe won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. He finished the season with a series-best 13 stage wins.
● Austin Cindric won the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 to score the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. It was his eighth career Xfinity Series victory, his sixth of the season and his first at the Phoenix.
● Cindric’s margin of victory over second-place Noah Gragson was .162 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 47 laps.
● Only 11 of the 37 drivers in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 finished on the lead lap.

COLE CUSTER – 2020 Phoenix II Race Advance

Cole Custer will make his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series start in his No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) during Sunday’s Season Finale 500k at Phoenix Raceway. This weekend marks Custer’s final race of his rookie season. Next year, Custer will pilot the No. 41 without the yellow stripe across his back bumper signifying he’s a rookie.

“I think what I’ll remember most about my rookie season are all of the different things we went through, the challenges, from no practice or qualifying and also no testing,” Custer said. “Having a completely different car from the Xfinity Series and having to figure that out was challenging. There were so many challenges during this season that I’ll remember for a while, how unorthodox the season was and how we were able to persevere through that and figure out ways to get through that as a rookie.”

Last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Custer started 15th and the No. 41 team adjusted his Mustang throughout the 500-lap event. He ended the day 13th in just his second Cup Series start at the half-mile Virginia track. The result gave the rookie driver his fourth straight top-15 finish – ninth on Oct. 11 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval, 14th on Oct. 18 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and 14th in the series’ previous race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

Custer’s first Cup Series start at Phoenix came in March, when he scored a ninth-place finish after starting 16th at the mile oval. The result was his first top-10 of this season. “The flat, short tracks like Phoenix, New Hampshire and Richmond have been good tracks for us this year,” he said. “We’ve run solid at those places, so I’m really looking forward to going back to Phoenix. It’s a place where we got our first top-10 this year, and it’s a place I circle on my calendar to go back there and have a good run. I’m looking forward to it. We’ve made our cars better since the first race and it’s one of the tracks with the PJ1 (traction compound) that makes the track constantly change. Your line is going to change and how you get into the corner with the PJ1, so it’s nice for a driver to have that much versatility.”

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Phoenix, the California native has six starts and, with the exception of the March 2017 race, Custer started and finished in the top-10 each time. In last year’s November start, he finished second to Justin Allgaier. Custer has an average Phoenix Xfinity Series starting position of 3.8 and an average finishing position of 8.3.

In the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Phoenix, Custer has three starts with a best finish of third, earned in 2014. In NASCAR’s developmental K&N Pro Series West, Custer has three starts at Phoenix with two pole awards, one of which in spring 2014 ended in victory by a .376-of-a-second margin of victory while driving for Bill McAnally Racing. In total at Phoenix, Custer has an average K&N Series starting position of 2.0 and an average finish of 3.3.

In his last eight Cup Series starts at tracks 1 mile or less, Custer has two top-10s – Phoenix and Dover (Del.) International Speedway – with an average starting position of 17.0 and an average finishing position of 18.0.

Even though Custer is out of contention for this year’s Cup Series championship, he still has one more opportunity to capture his second win of the season. This weekend, a limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the Phoenix event while following social distancing guidelines.

So far this season, Ford has won 18 races, and Custer and his SHR teammate Kevin Harvick have both earned wins for the Blue Oval – one for Custer and nine for Harvick. Ford’s milestone 700th win in the Cup Series came at the hands of Harvick on Aug. 23 at Dover. Ford captured its first victory on June 25, 1950. Ford drivers made up 50 percent of this year’s starting playoff field.

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

SHR has 74 starts at Phoenix with six wins – Ryan Newman in April 2010 and Harvick with five wins in March and November 2014, and March 2015, 2016 and 2018. SHR has two pole awards with 23 top-fives and 37 top-10s at the Arizona track, with an average starting position of 16.2 and an average finishing position of 14.2, along with 1,571 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.

Custer, who had a trio of starts in the Cup Series in 2018, clinched 2020 Rookie of the Year honors. Competing against fellow rookie notables Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, he was the only rookie to clinch a playoff spot this season.

 

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

 

Once Phoenix wraps up, you will be the Rookie of the Year. What does it mean to you to lock up that title? This was one of the toughest rookie classes in several years.

“To win the Rookie of the Year battle means a ton because of the people you’re racing against for it and they’re people that you respect. Looking down the road, five or 10 years from now, it’s going to be a cool thing to look back on being able to win the rookie of the year battle against people you respect and guys who will probably go on and win a lot of races.”

This weekend is Clint Bowyer’s last race with SHR and Jimmie Johnson is retiring. Do you think there will be a little bit different feeling at Phoenix this weekend, given all of the different scenarios going on this weekend?

“There will definitely be a little bit different feel, I would say. You have Clint (Bowyer) and Jimmie (Johnson), and maybe even Matt (Kenseth) retiring. Seeing guys like that who have meant so much to the sport and that I’ve looked up to since I was a little kid and being able to race against them in what’s probably their final race is pretty surreal. I think a lot of people will cherish those final few laps with them at Phoenix. I think we’ll remember that moment for a long time.”

What do you think made you and (crew chief) Mike Shiplett successful this year? Is there something about his style and/or personality that you really like that gels well with your personality?

“I think for us, it’s a matter of me and Mike just taking it one step at a time. Mike is really good at looking at the big picture and figuring out what is important and what is not. I think we’ve steadily improved this year and worked on things I need to do to be better, and what we need in the car to make me better. It’s a matter of taking it one step at a time. I think we would’ve seen some improvement faster if we would’ve had practice. I think it’s just about us being methodical and how we make changes to the car and the things I need to work on. He’s really good at digging into the root cause of things and what I need to do to get better. I think Mike is really good at figuring those things out and what I need to do to get better, or what we need to do to make the car better.”

Is there anything that you had in your mind when the season started on how you thought it might be, and now at the end of the season you think, “man, I was mistaken on how I thought that would go?”

“I think at the start of the season it was a lot of overthinking, honestly. You don’t know exactly what you’re getting into with the cars because they’re so much different than the Xfinity cars. You start to overthink what you need to be doing and how you need to attack the corners, and how you need to race people. When it comes to when you’re halfway through the season and you have the feel for it, everything really starts to make sense. These guys that you’ve looked up to as a kid, they’re just another person out there, another car out there. When you go into your rookie season, I think you might overthink things a little bit and I think that’s something I experienced. There were so many new things going on and you don’t know how to address them.”

Do you have any plans for the offseason? Or what will you do to prepare for next season?

“For next season, we obviously won’t have practice again, so it will be a lot of going through notes from this year and methodically making a plan for next year. What areas do we need to be better, what tracks we need to be better at, how can I be better with my driving style and things like that we can perfect? I feel like we’re to the point on our team that we can run with the guys up front and compete for race wins when we hit everything right, but we need to be more consistent.”

Do you have any goals in mind for next season, yet?

“For next season, I want to win more races. I want to run in the top-10 more and get more stage points. This year was probably a lot about learning, but I think next year is the year we go into more of a kill mode and make ourselves a force to be reckoned with for the whole season. We’ve been to all of the tracks one or two times, now, so we need to hit it right coming off of the truck, and I need to focus on which driving style is right for that particular track.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2020 Phoenix II Race Advance

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has had a career-best season as he heads to the NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway this weekend.

His six top-five finishes this year surpass his previous best of four in a season in 2018. In addition, his 298 laps led is a career high for a season, and his 18 top-10 finishes surpasses his season best.

Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield team recorded five consecutive top-fives start with his fifth-place run at Homestead-Miami Speedway, then continued with a third-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, third and fifth the doubleheader at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, and third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He went on to earn four more consecutive top-10 finishes to bring his career-best top-10 streak to nine in a row.

Almirola’s third-place finish June 22 at Talladega marked his eighth straight top-10 there and tied the track record for most consecutive top-10s – a mark set by Dale Earnhardt Jr., from April 2001 to October 2004.

The native of Tampa, Florida also qualified for the Cup Series playoffs for the third time in three years since joining SHR. It was his fourth playoff appearance, and he advanced to the Round of 12 for the second time.

“What a crazy year, but a good year,” Almirola said. “Luckily, NASCAR was able to get us back on track after the pandemic hit and we adapted better than some teams for a while. We started this year with no expectations with our new crew chief Mike Bugarewicz and a new crew. We accomplished our regular-season goals outside of a win and just came up short in the playoffs after leading at Talladega. No one knew what to expect this year and I’ll say our performance on the track was great when we adapted together.”

Almirola has earned six top-10s, two top-fives and has led 26 laps in 19 career starts at Phoenix. He has finished outside of the top-10 just once since joining SHR.

“We have one more shot at a win or a decent finish this weekend at Phoenix,” Almirola said. “We’ve been good there in the past. Kevin (Harvick) is really good there, too. I know there are four cars out there battling for a championship, but if we’ve got the speed, we’re going to give it all we’ve got to put Smithfield and this team in victory lane.”

Smithfield Foods, Inc., which sponsored Almirola’s No. 10 Mustang for a majority of the races this season and will again in 2021, 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 and has donated hundreds of millions of food servings to neighbors in need. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn, and Instagram.

Almirola is wrapping up season two of his documentary series Beyond the 10, where fans can get VIP, behind-the-scenes access 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. He plans to continue providing exclusive content in 2021. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.

Almirola is currently 15th in the driver standings with 2,211 points.

 

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

 

What do you think about the 2021 schedule? 

“I think it’s great. NASCAR has done a great job at making the schedule exciting for the fans. Look how the playoffs turned out. There was always something on the line and I think you’re going to see a really diverse group of winners next year. I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Who do we have to thank for a successful season amid this COVID-19 pandemic?

“So many people. The frontline heroes who put their lives at risk to make sure our country could keep going, the team for working insanely hard all year to bring competitive cars, their families for staying strong while they’re gone, NASCAR for making the right calls and keeping everyone safe, the thousands of Smithfield employees who have helped keep food on our tables all year, and so many more. We couldn’t do it without them.”

What makes Phoenix so unique?

“Phoenix is just a fast short track. Ever since the repave, it races like a mile-and-a-half, which is different from a Richmond-, Martinsville- or Bristol-type of short track. It’s a fun race and I always look forward to heading out West to Phoenix.”

What’s the most important thing to be successful at Phoenix?

“You have to have everything at Phoenix. You have to have downforce, grip in your car and good brakes. You have to make sure your car turns well through the center of turns one and two, which is a sharp, banked corner. And then you have turns three and four, which are really fast and sweeping and flat. You’ve got to have a car that’s versatile and is a good compromise for both corners.”

CHASE BRISCOE – 2020 NXS Phoenix II Race Advance

Event:  Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 (Round 33 of 33)
Date:  Nov. 7, 2020
Location:  Phoenix Raceway
Layout:  1-mile oval

Chase Briscoe Notes of Interest

•  Chase Briscoe, a nine-time winner already this season, looks to add two more trophies to his collection before 2020 comes to a close with the NASCAR Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing has had a career-defining year that culminates on Saturday with his first Championship 4 appearance. Briscoe is looking to win the battle and the war by scoring his 10th race victory and the Xfinity Series title. Three other drivers share the same vision – Austin Cindric, Justin Haley and Justin Allgaier – as they join Briscoe in the winner-take-all title chase.

•  While this is Briscoe’s first time in the Championship 4, it’s not his first championship. He already has one title to his name – the 2016 ARCA Racing Series championship where he won six races and the title by a whopping 535 points.

•  Despite his nine wins, Briscoe enters Phoenix on equal footing. Each Championship 4 driver starts the finale with 4,000 points and the title contender who finishes in the highest position at the end of the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 will be crowned the 2020 Xfinity Series champion. While a win isn’t the only way a driver can claim the title, another victory to clinch the championship would make Briscoe just the third driver in series history to earn 10 or more wins in a single season.

•  In addition to racking up a series-leading nine wins, Briscoe has also led 991 laps, the most of any Xfinity Series driver and 794 more laps than he led all last season. The 25-year-old racer from Mitchell, Indiana, has also scored 16 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes while completing 5,354 of the 5,383 laps available (99.5 percent).

•  Phoenix hasn’t been one of Briscoe’s strongest tracks, but track history hasn’t stood in the way of his performance this season. All of Briscoe’s nine wins have come at tracks where he hadn’t won prior to the start of the 2020 season. In fact, Briscoe’s first two wins of the season were at tracks where he hadn’t even scored a top-five. When he won his first race of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February, his best prior finish was eighth. And when he won at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May, his best prior result was sixth.

•  Briscoe has three career Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix and each has resulted in top-10 finishes. His best Xfinity Series result at the 1-mile oval is sixth – scored twice (March 2019 and March 2020). And in the series’ visit to Phoenix last November, Briscoe started third and led 14 laps before finishing eighth.

•  Briscoe also has a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series start at Phoenix. In November 2017, Briscoe started eighth and finished fourth in his Ford F-150, securing his 13th career top-10. The result served as a prelude to Briscoe’s talent, as he won his first career Truck Series race the very next week in the Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

•  Prior to his only Truck Series start at Phoenix, Briscoe ran a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at the track in November 2013.

CHASE BRISCOE, Driver of the No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang:

You have the most wins in the Xfinity Series this year and your nearest pursuer has only five, but Phoenix is one of the tracks where you have yet to win. Does that give you any concern leading into Saturday’s race?

“Phoenix hasn’t been our worst track, but it certainly hasn’t been our best, and the three drivers we’re competing against are there for a reason. They’ve been some of the toughest guys to compete against all season and we know that we’ve got to be on our game. That doesn’t worry me anymore than it should, though. The No. 98 team has improved so much not just from 2019 to 2020, but from the start of the year until now. We’re bringing our best car – one we’ve won with three times this year – and I have all the faith in the world that this group of guys has given everything they can to make sure our HighPoint.com Ford Mustang is ready.”

What would it mean to cap off the year with a championship?

“This has been an incredible season for many reasons, but it would mean a lot to win the championship. It’s not just a reward for me as a driver. The guys at the track and at the shop have worked harder than anyone for this. HighPoint.com, Ford Performance Racing School and all of our other partners deserve it. It wouldn’t be a disappointment if we didn’t win it because we have accomplished so much this year, but it would add a lot more meaning if we could add the title to that list.”

KEVIN HARVICK – 2020 Phoenix II Race Advance

Kevin Harvick isn’t eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. But he can still make history if he wins by becoming just the 11th driver to win 10 races in a season in the modern era.

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has won a career-high nine races in 2020, the wins coming at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where he won twice, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a sweep of the doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

If he wins at Phoenix Sunday, he will join Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip as a member of the 10-win club.

And Harvick would not be the first driver to win 10 races and not win the championship. It’s happened several times before.

10:

Bobby Allison 1972
Richard Petty 1974 (won championship)
Cale Yarborough 1974
David Pearson 1976
Cale Yarborough 1978 (won championship)
Rusty Wallace 1993
Jeff Gordon 1996
Jeff Gordon 1997 (won championship)
Jimmie Johnson 2007 (won championship)

11:

David Pearson 1973
Bill Elliott 1985
Dale Earnhardt 1987 (won championship)

12:

Darrell Waltrip 1981 (won championship)
Darrell Waltrip 1982 (won championship)

13:

Richard Petty 1975 (won championship)
Jeff Gordon 1998 (won championship)

The points system was different in prior years, but 10 would be a nice number to achieve and hasn’t been accomplished since 2007, when Jimmie Johnson won 10 races.

It’s been a solid year for Harvick as his nine wins, 20 top-fives, 26 top-10s and 1,531 laps led are all series-bests in 2020. He can also keep climbing the record books. Harvick is 14th all-time in laps completed with 204,792 after Sunday’s race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and is the leader among active drivers. He could pass 1989 Cup Series champion Wallace, who is 13th with 204,818, at Phoenix by getting to lap 27. If he gets to lap 208, he will surpass 205,000 completed.

Phoenix has always been good to Harvick as he has a series-high nine career Cup Series wins at Phoenix, including five with SHR, topping a list that shows Johnson next-best with four, Kyle Busch with three, and Davey Allison, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano with two each.

Harvick has won seven of the last 16 Cup Series races at Phoenix. He is the only driver to win four in a row as he won the November 2013 race, swept the 2014 races and won in March 2015 before ending his streak with a runner-up finish in November 2015. Johnson is the only other driver with a three-race streak at Phoenix, when he won the November 2007 race and swept the 2008 races. Only five drivers have won consecutive Cup Series races at Phoenix and Harvick is the only driver to win consecutive races twice, having also swept both races in 2006.

He’s scored a perfect 150.0 driver rating at Phoenix on three occasions. His first was in November 2006, when he started second, led 252 of 312 laps and reached victory lane. His second was during his November 2014 win, when he started third and led 264 of 312 laps. His third came during his March 2015 win, when he started first and led 224 of 312 laps.

Harvick has finished outside the top-10 only once at Phoenix since March 2013, and has only three finishes of 11th or worse since April 2010.

While a championship is not possible, Harvick would still love to set a couple more records to close out the 2020 season.

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

Are you still OK with this system? You have nine wins and don’t make it to the Championship 4.

“We had a great year. Like I’ve said, they aren’t won the same way that Earnhardt and Petty did. You have to put together a few weeks and we didn’t put together these last few weeks like we needed to and just came up short.”

Is this up there as one of the worst gut punches you’ve had to take?

“No, I’ve been punched in the gut a lot harder. We won nine races, had a great year, and, like I said, the championship is kind of a bonus. It would be great to win it, obviously, but I’d rather go through the year and win races and do the things that we did and just came up short.”

How do you justify that you won’t be racing for the championship when you are clearly on one of the top four teams this year?

“That’s the system we work in and it’s obviously skewed more toward entertainment than the whole year, so it’s exciting to watch and has that format that goes with it and you take them as they come and we race within the system they give us and do our best. It just didn’t work out for us. The last three weeks didn’t go exactly how we needed them to and you’ve got to be right when you get to the Round of 8.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2020 Phoenix II Race Advance

Clint Bowyer will climb in a NASCAR Cup Series car for the final time Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway – a venue that hosted some of Bowyer’s most memorable moments in his career, including his Cup Series debut on April 23, 2005.

“It’s funny, the way the schedule has worked out, Phoenix will be the place of my first and last start,” said Bowyer, who drove for Bill McAnally and Richard Childress on that day he started 25th and finished 22nd, one lap behind race-winner Kurt Busch. “It’s come full circle and it’s been an amazing run with everything in between.”

The Emporia, Kansas native grew up racing motorcycles in the Midwest never dreaming he’d make his living in NASCAR. But he’s entered 540 races, earned 10 Cup Series victories, 82 top-five finishes and 226 top-10s. He finished in the top-five in the season standings three times and is one of the few drivers to enjoy trips to victory lane driving Fords, Toyotas and Chevrolets.

“Hell no, I never thought I would have this success,” said Bowyer, who won an Xfinity Series title in 2008. “I honestly was hoping to make a living racing. I can say that, and I think that’s a fair goal, but did I ever in a million years think that it would lead to all this? No way. Here is how I look at it – for the last few years, I have been representing Ford Motor Company, for crying out loud. For most of my career growing up, I couldn’t afford a Ford engine. I have made some incredible friendships along the way that will last my entire lifetime.”

It’s not just his career that has come full circle. Bowyer was single that day in 2005 at Phoenix when he made his debut. Sunday, he’ll have his wife Lorra and young children Cash and Presley, along with his parents and family on hand for the final race. At most of those 540 races over the years, there has always been family at the track.

“You bring your friends and family to the track because that’s who you want to be around,” he said. “My mom and dad and brothers have always been around my racing. Lorra and the kids used to come every weekend before COVID and, if this year has taught me anything, it is how much fun it is to have all those people around. It’s been lonely and boring sitting in the motorhome without all those people.”

Sunday isn’t just about retirement. Bowyer arrives at Phoenix 12th in points, just 30 behind 10th place, and is very much a threat to win the race. Last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Bowyer finished eighth and, in the previous race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, he led 89 laps before an extra fuel stop ruined his chance for victory with 25 laps to go.

So why walk away while still competitive? Bowyer said it was all about the opportunity to join FOX television in the booth in 2021. Bowyer served as a commentator during FOX’s coverage of iRacing events during the earlier days of the pandemic while the Cup Series was on hiatus.

“That was a ton of fun for me and it opened my eyes up in a big way and it was just something that nobody expected that opened the door for this opportunity we took,” he said. “So, FOX means more time with your family and still being a big part of this sport. I love being a part of this sport. I mean, that was so important for me. I didn’t want to just retire. If this opportunity with FOX didn’t come to the table, I was going to be in a car somewhere, somehow. I wasn’t going to just quit and run off into the sunset because I like this sport and I wanted to find my way and a future within it, and luckily this happened.”

New FOX colleague Jeff Gordon played a major role in one of Bowyer’s more memorable career moments at – Phoenix, of course. Bowyer and Gordon tangled in the closing laps of the 2012 race while battling for a championship. The clash led to one of the more famous altercations between race teams in NASCAR history that’s sure to air on television every time the Cup Series returns to Phoenix.

Bowyer and Gordon are now fast friends and laugh when the highlights are replayed. Bowyer said that moment is long forgotten but hopes it won’t be his and Gordon’s last disagreements – albeit good-natured. Instead of NASCAR officials, it will be lead announcer Mike Joy’s job to referee.

“Here’s one of the funniest things about our rivalry, or lack thereof,” Bowyer said. “People really think there’s more there than there ever was. We had a couple run-ins in a year where it sucked, but I can tell you that we were always having fun off the racetrack at the year-end events at the playoff banquets and things like that. He and I would always kind of naturally just flock to one another and want to go out and have fun, and Jeff is a fun person.

“It’s a neat situation to overcome everything that we have, and lining up right against one another again in that booth is going to be something that’s pretty special. I think we saw it already. We both got to experience it a little bit. We got our feet wet with the iRacing that we did, and I think that we’re going to enjoy it that much more when we can call these races from our experiences and our perspectives. Jeff does a great job of that. Mike Joy, oh my gosh, he’s going to have his hands full. Can you imagine being up there trying to be a ringleader, trying to keep Jeff and I arguing the whole race because there’s no way in hell he can be right and there’s no way in hell that I can be right all the time, so it’s going to be fun to call these races.”

Bowyer’s No. 14 Mustang will carry the logos of Rush Truck Centers and Haas Automation for the final time this weekend. Rush 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. The Texas-based company has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states.

Rush Truck Centers will honor Bowyer with a thank you note on the hood of the No. 14 Sunday that includes: “Thank You, Clint! Always A Man Of The People.”

Haas Automation, owned by SHR co-owner and California native Gene Haas, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. Founded by 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.

Bowyer’s retirement is another indication of the changing of the guard in NASCAR. Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers who were in the field for Bowyer’s debut in 2005 who will race Sunday at Phoenix. Johnson is also making his final start Sunday.

“Things always change and there’s a new bunch of kids who will come in and take up our places,” Bowyer said. “ We’ve had a great run, now it’s time to turn it over to someone else.”

 

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

 

Would you have retired if the FOX opportunity hadn’t presented itself?

“Was I ready? I was getting ready. I was getting close to being ready. Was I ready after this pandemic and this COVID year of no fans and a weird way to go out? No, and I don’t think probably Jimmie Johnson was, either, but was I looking for that what’s next moment or opportunity? And that answer is absolutely yes. When FOX – and let’s go back to the pandemic – there are always opportunities and crazy things and it’s usually those wild and crazy things in life that open that opportunity. This pandemic led to that opportunity to get in the studio with Jeff and Mike and have a ton of fun doing those iRacing races that really kind of kept us on the map with our sport and kept our sponsors propped up, kept the business moving, kept it going around in circles.”