Month: June 2022

SHR Post-Race Recap: Nashville

Date:  June 26, 2022
Event:  Ally 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series:  NASCAR Cup Series
Location:  Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile, concrete oval)
Format:  300 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/115 laps)
Race Winner:  Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports

SHR Race Finish:
●  Kevin Harvick — Started 8th, Finished 10th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
●  Aric Almirola  — Started 11th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
●  Cole Custer —  Started 17th, Finished 26th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
●  Chase Briscoe —  Started 28th, Finished 34th / Running, completed 269 of 300 laps)

SHR Points:
●  Kevin Harvick (11th with 452 points, 134 out of first)
●  Aric Almirola (12th with 443 points, 143 out of first)
●  Chase Briscoe (18th with 389 points, 197 out of first)
●  Cole Custer (27th with 273 points, 313 out of first)

SHR Notes:
●  Harvick earned his ninth top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Nashville.
●  This was Harvick’s second straight top-10. He finished fourth in the series’ previous race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway
●  Harvick finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and eighth in Stage 2 to earn three more bonus points.

Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Road America 250 on Sunday, July 3 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-SHR-

In the Know – Nashville

In The Know – NASHVILLE

After the season’s only off weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at Nashville Superspeedway for the Ally 400. Get up-to-speed on race info, driver stats, our weekly wraps and more below as we head to Music City.

The Details

NASCAR Cup Series Overview

● Event: Ally 400 (Round 17 of 36)
● Time/Date: 5 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 26
● Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
● Layout: 1.333-mile, concrete oval
● Laps/Miles: 300 laps/399 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 115 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS

Kevin Harvick:
 In addition to testing at Nashville Superspeedway, Harvick has also raced extensively at the track, and he has performed incredibly well. In four career Xfinity Series starts, Harvick has two wins – April 15, 2006 and April 3, 2010. He finished third on June 10, 2006 and recorded his worst finish, seventh, in his first Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on April 14, 2001. It all gave Harvick an average finish of third. He also had a lap completion rate of 100 percent, running all 900 laps available to him, and he led 123 of those laps.

In all of Havick’s starts at Nashville Superspeedway – a total of six – he has never finished outside the top-10. In fact, all but one of those finishes have been in the top-five. He finished seventh in his first Xfinity Series start at the track on April 14, 2001. To break it down even further, Harvick has three top-twos, four top-threes and five top-fives, the most recent of which came in last year’s inaugural Ally 400 when he finished fifth.

Aric Almirola:
After 16 races this season, Almirola is the only driver in the NASCAR Cup Series without a DNF (Did Not Finish). He has completed all but five laps of the 4,350 run this year – a 99.9 percent completion rate.

2021 marked the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, which was new for most everyone involved. This weekend, Almirola and the No. 10 team will head back to the 1.333-mile concrete oval with a little extra confidence. Not only did Almirola earn the inaugural Cup Series pole at Nashville a year ago, but he piloted his No. 10 machine to a fourth-place finish after a string of terrible luck to kickstart his season at its midpoint.

Chase Briscoe:
With 16 of 36 races complete, Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) is 13th in the driver championship. He currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his March 13 win at Phoenix Raceway.

While Briscoe only has one start at Nashville, the No. 14 team has shown great improvement in the last two races at intermediate tracks. The Mahindra Tractors driver finished fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on May 29, then won his career-first pole at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois near St. Louis on June 5. He led the first 27 laps before a flat left-rear tire forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop.

Cole Custer:
Coming off the lone off weekend of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, Cole Custer and the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) kick off a stretch of 20 consecutive race weekends with Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. It will be the Cup Series’ second-ever appearance on the 1.333-mile concrete oval on the outskirts of Music City after last year’s debut at the track that hosted NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series events from 2001 to 2011.

Sunday’s 300-lap race will be Custer’s 92nd Cup Series start and his second at Nashville. He qualified seventh in last year’s inaugural Cup Series race at Nashville but saw his day ruined by a flat tire and subsequent brake rotor damage that required an extended period in the garage for repairs. He finished 31st.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS

We’re bringing the heat to Nashcar with our schemes.

What Our Drivers are Saying:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4  Busch Light Apple #BuschBingo Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Talk about those days of unlimited testing, where after a three-day race weekend you’d go test for two or three days somewhere, oftentimes at Nashville.
“Really, we can go back to 2000. I did all the testing for Dale Earnhardt as we went through the year. So, we would go race and then we would go to a racetrack, whatever racetrack that would be, and I also did my own testing. We probably did four or five tests – I think at that point they could only do seven tests in the Cup Series – and then I had all my tests that you could do in the Xfinity Series. But you could also go to any racetrack that wasn’t on the schedule, and at that particular point, Kentucky wasn’t on the schedule, so we spent a lot of time at Kentucky developing stuff for Dale and the Cup program. But for the most part, we did, midweek, probably 20-25 tests a year as we went through the season, and most of them would be two-day tests. And that’s what you did. You were never home. You tested all the time. When you had a problem, you just went somewhere and tested. Whether it be Greenville-Pickens or Caraway or VIR, Milwaukee, it didn’t matter, you could go to any racetrack if it wasn’t on the schedule. Through the years they just changed that because we would spend so much time at the racetrack. We would test on different brands of tires and different series of cars, and we would do whatever it took. But, for the most part, you probably spent 20-25 two-day tests away from what you did on those three-day weekends.”

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

What is your outlook heading to a track for just the second time, and first in the NextGen car?
“Yeah I’m excited to get back to Nashville. Last year, Nashville was a big turning point for us. We went to a track that was new in the Cup Series for everyone and ended up getting the pole and a top-five. That gave us so much momentum because it was a terrible season up to that point. I have always felt good at Nashville. We’ve already shown what we can do at a new track in this NextGen car this year at St. Louis. This team is resilient and works their tails off to get the car where it needs to be when we show up at a new venue. On top of that, we’re going to get a full day of practice and qualifying, so we’ll have even more time to adjust.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Is there anything about this new car that has made you rewire how you drive a car and has challenged you in that way?
“I haven’t felt like it’s a lot different, to be honest. I feel like it’s still a racecar. It still does a lot of the same things. I felt like maybe when I got decent on the road courses is when I started maximizing the brake zones in the old car, and with this car you can do that a lot better, so I guess just how you drive with the brake pedal on the road courses would be the biggest thing that I kind of have to retrain myself on. But truthfully, with the IMSA stuff I’ve done, it’s kind of similar to that feel, so I wouldn’t say that I’ve had as much muscle memory to relearn or forget about switching from the old car. I haven’t had any issues – knock on wood – but it is different, I think, for the guys who have done it for a long time and are trying to retrain themselves with a lot of those things.”

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

You’ve had an off weekend to reset and work on your game plan for the second half of the season. How would you describe the first part of the year for the No. 41 team?
“I think it’s just been a matter of finding your package. We’ve shown speed at times this year, but you only get so many chances to get it right going into the weekend because you only get so much practice. I think we’ve gone down a little bit of the wrong path at times during the year, but now that we’re getting back, I think it’s just a matter of capitalizing on the positives. We need to accelerate the process of keeping the car underneath us, but I feel pretty good about the second half of the year.”

#BUSCHBINGO

BuschLight Apple is integrating Bingo into Sunday’s 300-lap race. Fans will have the chance to win a custom Busch Light Apple Pitboss Grill and other Busch Light Apple prizes by playing its version of Bingo on Twitter. All fans have to do is follow @BuschBeer, turn on their notifications, and play along. Whenever anything listed on the Busch Light Apple Bingo board happens, fans have the opportunity to win Busch Light Apple prizes. If three spaces connect during the stage, they have a chance to win the Pitboss Grill. Just tweet #BuschBingo #Sweepstakes when anything on the board happens and you’ll be entered for a chance to win. Bingo blocks include a “Harvick Pass”, “Caution Flag”, a “Harvick Pit Stop”, “announcer saying ‘Busch Light Apple’” and more. FYI: The first stage is 90 laps, the second stage is 95 laps, and the final stage is 115 laps. The Ally 400 starts at 5 p.m. EDT and can be seen live on NBC and, of course, those 21 and older can best enjoy it with a Busch Light Apple, a crisp, refreshing, apple-flavored lager with a touch of sweet on the front end and a clear, beer finish on the back end. It is available for a limited time only NATIONWIDE for its LAST YEAR EVER in 12-, 24- and 30-packs at a store near you.

SHR Post-Race Recap: Sonoma

Date:  June 12, 2022
Event:  Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series:  NASCAR Cup Series
Location:  Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Format:  110 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/30 laps/55 laps)
Race Winner:  Daniel Suárez of Trackhouse Racing

SHR Race Finish:
●  Kevin Harvick (Started 23rd, Finished 4th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
●  Chase Briscoe (Started 15th, Finished 13th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
●  Aric Almirola (Started 21st, Finished 14th / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)
●  Cole Custer (Started 6th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 110 of 110 laps)

SHR Points:
●  Aric Almirola (11th with 423 points, 113 out of first)
●  Kevin Harvick (12th with 416 points, 120 out of first)
●  Chase Briscoe (13th with 386 points, 150 out of first)
●  Cole Custer (27th with 262 points, 274 out of first)

SHR Notes:
●  Harvick earned his fourth top-five and eighth top-10 of the season, It was his seventh top-five and 11th top-10 in 21 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
●  Harvick finished fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.
●  Briscoe earned his eighth top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
●  Briscoe’s 13th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Sonoma – 17th, earned last June.
●  Almirola earned his ninth top-15 of the season and his fourth top-15 in 10 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
●  Almirola finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and second in Stage 2 to earn nine more bonus points.

Sound Bites:
“A few more laps and I think we would’ve had a top-10. Our long-run speed was really good today. The timing of the caution in the last stage wasn’t in our favor, so we had to battle back. Those last few laps we really had the speed. Proud of this Farmer John Ford team for putting together a really good points day. Ready for an off weekend.” – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang

“Another solid day taken away late after getting spun in turn 11. The guys brought a fast Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Mustang, but nothing to show for it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a year where so many things just don’t fall right. Ready to regroup after the off week and get it turned around.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Autodesk / HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang

Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series gets a well-deserved weekend off before returning to action on Sunday, June 26 for the Ally 400 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race starts at 5 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-SHR-

In the Know – Sonoma

In The Know – SONOMA

The race in Sonoma this weekend will mark the second of six road-course races on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Get up-to-speed on race info, driver stats, our weekly wraps and more below as we tackle the winding road in wine country.

The Details

NASCAR Cup Series Overview

●  Event:  Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
●  Time/Date:  4 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 12
●  Location:  Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway
●  Layout:  1.99-mile, 10-turn road course
●  Laps/Miles:  110 laps/218.9 miles (352.3 kilometers)
●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 30 laps / Final Stage: 55 laps
●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

THE BROADCAST

The boss is in the booth for Sonoma! Be sure to catch all the action Sunday on FS1.

SHR FAST FACTS

Kevin Harvick:
Harvick is one of six NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the Save Mart 350k who hail from California. The driver of the No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang is from Bakersfield, and the native Californians joining him on the grid at Sonoma include his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer (Ladera Ranch), reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson (Elk Grove), two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick (Corning), AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos) and Joey Hand (Sacramento).

When Harvick scored his first road-course victory at Watkins Glen in 2006, he had to beat his current team owner to do it. Tony Stewart – the “Stewart” in Stewart-Haas Racing – had won the past two NASCAR Cup Series races at the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course and was poised to capture a third straight win as he was leading Harvick with four laps to go in the 90-lap race. But Harvick, who had already led once for 24 laps, passed Stewart on lap 87 as the two drag-raced down the frontstretch and into turn one. Harvick held onto the lead despite Stewart in his rearview mirror, earning a margin of victory of .892 of a second.

Aric Almirola:
After 15 races this season, Almirola is the only driver in the NASCAR Cup Series without a DNF (Did Not Finish). He has completed all but five laps of the 4,240 run this year – a 99.9 percent completion rate.

History at Sonoma Raceway: In nine starts at Sonoma, Almirola has two top-10 finishes, and he finished on the lead lap in all but one of those nine starts. The 38-year-old earned his two top-10 finishes in his first two starts at Stewart-Haas Racing.

Last weekend at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis, Almirola ran inside the top-10 for the majority of the race, earned 11 stage points, and crossed the finish line fifth to earn his second top-five and fifth top-10 of the season.

Chase Briscoe:
Briscoe has one start at the 1.99-mile, 10-turn Sonoma road course. He started 25th and finished 17th last season. In eight Cup Series starts on road courses, Briscoe has three top-10 finishes and was just shy of earning his career first Cup Series victory on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last summer.

The 27-year-old racer from Mitchell, Indiana, picked up two Xfinity Series wins on road courses – his first career Xfinity Series victory was in the series’ inaugural race on the Charlotte Roval in 2018. He also fulfilled his childhood dream of kissing the historic Yard of Bricks when he scored his fifth win of the 2020 season on the Indianapolis road course.

Cole Custer:
Sunday’s 90-lap, 350-kilometer race will be Custer’s 91st Cup Series start, his 11th on a road course, and his second on the 2.52-mile, 12-turn Sonoma circuit. The 24-year-old native of Ladera Ranch, California, started 23rd and finished 20th in his Cup Series debut at the track last year. His best previous Cup Series finish on a road course was ninth in the October 2020 race on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval en route to that year’s Rookie of the Year honors.

In his 11 road-course outings in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2017 through 2019, Custer finished outside the top-10 just once with a best result of fourth in the 2018 race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS

We’ve got some sweet, sweet Sonoma schemes. Check out our wine country wraps below.

What Our Drivers are Saying:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4  GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

The NextGen car seems to have acclimated well to all the tracks, but does it perform best on road courses since the car carries a lot of sports-car DNA?
“It’s definitely leaning more toward handling well at the road courses just because that’s kind of the nature of how it was designed. I think for me, our first road course was a lot more comfortable in the car than what we were last year. For the braking and things that come with this particular car, it’s been good for us on the road courses, so far.”

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

You’re heading to Sonoma with momentum from your most successful race of the season. How does that translate to a road course this weekend?
“We have had top-10 cars for the last handful of races but just couldn’t catch a break. From a cut tire to an untimely caution, we just haven’t been put in the best positions to finish where we run. To have put a full weekend together with no mistakes led us to a top-five and a good bit of stage points. It’s nice to head to a road course after this because we didn’t put ourselves in a hole. Our road-course program has steadily improved over time so, heading to Sonoma, we’ll try to have another mistake-free day and see where that lands us. We know what we’re capable of and we have to just put it all together and stay out of trouble.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Last year was your first time racing at Sonoma and you were still new to Cup Series racing. How have you evolved as a driver since then and how will it help you this weekend?
“Last year was tough. Sonoma is a super technical track, and the only experience I had there was in the ARCA West race the day before, so I didn’t have a whole lot to use to prepare. I think I’ve become more confident as a driver. Last year, I was trying really hard to learn how to race in the Cup Series while not messing up other drivers and I realized I had to get over that. I learned a lot more by getting up there and racing these guys to see what I could figure out from how they drive certain tracks. This season has been good so far. We got off a little after the Phoenix win, and COTA didn’t really go the way we wanted, but I’m excited to get to another road course and see how it goes. This car is much better on road courses than what we’ve had in the past and I think this is a chance for us to get another really good finish and maybe another win to secure our spot in the playoffs a little more than it is now.”

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

Are there any things you can apply to this weekend that you learned during your previous visits to Sonoma?
“Like I said, it’s just such a technical racetrack and it’s definitely nice to have some laps around there. There’s so much (tire) fall-off and so much you have to do to try and make it around those slick corners. It’s not an easy place to get around, so having those laps definitely help, but I’m sure in the NextGen car it’s going to be a little bit different trying to figure out how you’re going to make your way through those corners and be patient. It’s going to be a lot of learning pretty fast.”

GEN-Z TERMS: SUS

Kevin Harvick, Cole Custer, Aric Almirola , Riley Herbst, and our pit crew try to decode the meaning of yet another Gen-Z term: Sus. Do you think they can get it right?

 

In the Know – St Louis

In The Know – ST Louis

The NASCAR Cup Series will make its first visit to St. Louis with the Enjoy Illinois 300 this weekend. Get up-to-speed on race info, driver stats, our weekly wraps and more below.

The Details

NASCAR Cup Series Overview

●  Event:  Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter (Round 15 of 36)
●  Time/Date:  3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 5
●  Location:  Madison, Illinois, near St. Louis
●  Layout:  1.25-mile oval
●  Laps/Miles:  240 laps/300 miles
●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 45 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps
●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS

Kevin Harvick:
Harvick first competed at what was originally known as Gateway International Raceway on Sept. 19, 1998 in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. A 22-year-old Harvick started 21st and finished 11th in his 39th career Truck Series start. Harvick returned to Gateway a year later for his second Truck Series start at the track, starting 10th and finishing 27th. But it was his third start at Gateway – this time in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car on July 29, 2000 – that proved to be Harvick’s breakthrough moment. In his 21st career Xfinity Series start – and first in an Xfinity Series car at Gateway – Harvick won to score his first Xfinity Series victory, beating Jeff Purvis by 1.338 seconds. Harvick would go on to win two more Xfinity Series races that year en route to a third-place finish in the championship standings. In his return to Gateway the following year, Harvick successfully defended his Xfinity Series win by beating Jason Keller for the victory by .165 of a second. It was his third win of a five-win season that culminated with the 2001 Xfinity Series championship. Harvick won a second Xfinity Series title in 2006 and he has 47 career Xfinity Series wins.

In all, Harvick made five Xfinity Series starts at Gateway, leading a total of 332 laps and completing all but two of the 1,000 laps available.

Harvick has three Truck Series starts at Gateway, with his third and final start on July 17, 2010 being his best. Harvick won the pole and dominated, leading 143 of the race’s 160 laps to beat Brad Keselowski by 5.241 seconds. It was the ninth of his 14 career Truck Series victories.

Aric Almirola:
While Cup series racing at Gateway will be new to Almirola, his three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts there give him plenty of confidence heading to the 1.25-mile oval. In the 2006 Truck Series race, Almirola started 22nd and finished 10th, in 2009 he started 15th and earned a solid fourth-place finish, and in 2010 he started 16th before leading 16 laps and finishing eighth.

Almirola is no stranger to performing well at inaugural Cup Series events. Last year, the Cup Series for the first time visited Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile oval similar in size to Gateway. After a string of bad luck leading into that weekend, Almirola and the No. 10 Ford team earned the pole, led a lap and finished fourth.

Chase Briscoe:
Briscoe made one Truck Series start at Gateway in 2017. He started on the pole and led twice for a race-high 88 of 160 laps to finish in the runner-up position. It was his fourth top-five finish in the first eight races of the season. Briscoe went on to win the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading to Rookie of the Year honors and the Most Popular Driver award.

The 2021 Cup Series Rookie of the Year is fresh off a fourth-place finish in the series’ longest race of the year, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Briscoe spun while battling Kyle Larson for the lead on the penultimate lap but rallied during overtime to earn his third top-five of the season.

Briscoe is 13th in the driver championship with 14 of 36 races complete. He is 140 points out of first and currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his March 13 win at Phoenix Raceway.

Cole Custer:
The driver of the No. 41 Feeding America®/Wow Wow Classic Waffles Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) had a solid three-year run at Gateway in three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series appearances from 2014 through 2016, all in the No. 00 Haas Automation entry. He qualified on the pole and finished sixth in his first outing in June 2014. He followed that up with his second of two career Truck Series wins in June 2015, when he started second and led 19 laps along the way, beating runner-up Spencer Gallagher to the checkered flag by .871 of a second. In June 2016, his most recent outing, he started eighth and finished 15th.

Sunday afternoon’s 300-mile race will be Custer’s 90th Cup Series start.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS

Check out the paint schemes we’ll be racing in as we tackle 6oo miles this weekend.

What Our Drivers are Saying:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4  #BuschLightPolite Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You made a total of five Xfinity Series starts at Gateway, winning two of them. What does it take to be good there?
“Well, it’s two drastically different ends of the racetrack. I know, for us, the thing that we always concentrate on is trying to make your car turn really well to and through the center of the corner on both ends, and being able to do that is difficult at Gateway because the two ends of the track are so different, and you wind up probably downshifting in turns one and two. With what they’ve done with the track – it’s different pavement than what I raced on a long time ago – it’ll be interesting to see if they put resin down or PJ1 down to make that top groove go. But, for the most part, you want to be right next to those curbs and carry as much speed as you can through the center of the corner, and as much partial throttle until you can get the car rotated enough to be wide open. But you have to get through the center of the corner there.”

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

What are your thoughts heading to the inaugural Cup Series race at St. Louis?
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been there in a truck. Since then the track has been repaved and has had a lot of upgrades, so it’s going to be new to me, but also new to everyone. Getting 50 minutes of practice will be helpful. I’m looking forward to it. We went to Nashville in the Cup cars last year for the first time and we qualified on the pole and ran in the top-five all day. I hope to do something very similar for our first time at Gateway. We’ve had to adapt to new scenarios all year and I know this 10 team can do it.” 

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What are a few of the things you expect to encounter on Sunday?
“A lot of shifting and probably not much passing. I think, in general, races this year have been a lot more exciting and I think that will continue, but I feel like it’s going to be really difficult to pass guys and track position will be really important.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Feeding America®/Wow Wow Classic Waffles Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

We’re headed into the summer stretch of the schedule. How would you describe where you and the No. 41 team are right now?
“I think we’ve shown we have speed, at times. At Martinsville we ran really well, at the road courses we’ve been fast. I think we’ve had potential at times, but we’ve definitely just struggled at the mile-and-a-halves, although Sunday at Charlotte all four SHR cars worked their way into contention at the end of the race. Before Charlotte, for whatever reason – aero or mechanical or whatever it is – we’ve just gone down the wrong path a little bit. The car’s been driveable, so I’m happy with that. It’s just going to be a process of trial and error without much practice to be able to really get to where we need to be on a consistent basis. You only get so many chances to get it right going into the weekend.”

THE BOSS JOINS ANOTHER HALL OF FAME

Join us in congratulating our boss Tony Stewart on being inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame this weekend.

#BUSCHLIGHTPOLITE

Dontcha just love Busch Light and its Twitter promotions? You betcha! So, with Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang coming to St. Louis for the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series race, Busch Light wanted to showcase some hometown hospitality and highlight the politeness of Midwesterners. As such, Harvick will drive the #BuschLightPolite Ford Mustang in Sunday’s race in St. Louis – the home of Anheuser-Busch and the gateway to the Midwest. When the green flag drops at 3:30 p.m. EDT, fans should kick off their tennis shoes, follow @BuschBeer and tune into FS1’s coverage of the race. Then, every time Harvick makes a pass during the race, @BuschBeer will encourage fans to tweet the hashtags #BuschLightPolite and #Sweepstakes for the chance to win a garage fridge to hold all their brewskis.

#Fordforthebuilders

Calling all builders! This weekend, Ford will adorn the No. 10 Ford Mustang at Gateway with a special campaign and paint scheme that celebrates builders as part of their “Built Ford Proud” program. Ford wants to celebrate not only those who build Ford vehicles, but also those who put in the hard work and take pride in building something special. With 182,000 employees globally, Ford believes that hard work is what builds the future. You may not know their names, but these builders wake up every day working together to move us all forward. This weekend at Gateway, you will know their names. Included on the car design will be the names of the builders of the No. 10 Ford Mustang and the names of builders at the Ford assembly and stamping plants, located in Chicago. Above the driver-side window, Stewart-Haas Racing will highlight a special “Builder of the Week”, Keith Brady. Brady, who has worked in the industry for over 30 years, is the lead car shop technician for the No. 10 team and has played a key role in the transition and assembly of the NextGen car model. Opposite of Brady’s name above the passenger side window, will be Ford’s “Builder of the Week”, Phil Pryor. Pryor is a pre-delivery team member at Ford’s Chicago assembly plant and has been a proud Ford builder for 57 years.