Month: May 2023

In The Know – Charlotte

NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  Coca-Cola 600 (Round 14 of 36)

●  Time/Date:  6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 28

●  Location:  Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway

●  Layout:  1.5-mile oval

●  Laps/Miles:  400 laps/600 miles

●  Stage Lengths  Stage 1: 100 laps / Stage 2: 100 laps / Stage 3: 100 laps / Final Stage: 100 laps

●  TV/Radio:  FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick: 

Kevin Harvick is a two-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600. He took the trophy in 2011 and 2013. Harvick beat David Ragan by .703 of a second in 2011 and he beat Kasey Kahne by 1.490 seconds in 2013. Harvick led only two laps in 2011 and just 28 laps in 2013, but each of those tallies contained the only lap that mattered most – the last one

Aric Almirola: 

Almirola will be just as busy on the track as he will be off of it this week. Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET, Almirola will appear on FS1’s “NASCAR Race Hub.” Friday, Almirola will be the guest analyst in the booth for the ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte, live on FS1 at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday, he’ll join Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Brad Keselowski in the FOX studio for the all-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series race broadcast.

Chase Briscoe: 

Briscoe will make his third Coca-Cola 600 start Sunday at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Best of his two previous starts in the season’s longest race was his fourth-place effort earned last May. It was a solid, top-five result, but it came after Briscoe spun while battling Kyle Larson for the lead on the penultimate lap.

Ryan Preece: 

In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte, Preece has a best start of third and best finish of fifth, both of which occurred last May while driving for B.J. McLeod Motorsports in the No. 5 Ford. Preece’s lone NASCAR Truck Series start at Charlotte also came last May, when he started eighth and finished 11th for David Gilliland Racing.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang:

Much is made about the Coca-Cola 600 being the series’ longest race. Because the race is so long, can it be a good thing where if you’re not where you want to be, you have time to make things right? Or is the other side of the coin being that it’s too long of a race to not be good?

“There’s just not a lot of room for error because somebody’s going to be good and you’ve got to put yourself in a position to stay on the lead lap. There are so many different areas of transition that you go through in that race because of the fact that the sun goes down after it starts hot and slick. Then as you transition into the night, you have to have something completely different in your car compared to what you had at the beginning of the race. So there’s a sacrifice you have to make at the beginning of the race to just basically try to keep yourself in a good position. Don’t make any mistakes, stay on the lead lap, and try and put yourself in a good position for the night because that’s when it really counts.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

Why is the Coke 600 such a crown jewel race?

“It’s a hundred miles longer than any other race we run, which provides a challenge in and of itself. On top of that, there is an extra stage, which gives us the opportunity to earn more points. The cars have less grip when the sun is out and they tend to slip and slide a lot more. As the sun goes down, the track gets more grip and we start going faster. That’s one of the very unique things about this race. What you have from a drivability and balance standpoint from the racecar at the beginning of the race is not what you have at the end. You’re trying to figure out what it takes to get your car to win at the end and you have to be good at all facets because there are a lot of points to be made.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang:

If you had the chance to run the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 again, would you do anything differently?

“I’d do some things differently. You know, I had (Kyle) Larson cleared with four or five laps to go and I didn’t take the spot. I probably could’ve been more aggressive there and maybe would’ve ended up winning the race.”

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41  HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang:

What’s your mindset heading into this weekend’s race?

“It’s just trying to figure out where your car needs to be in the beginning in order to have it good at the end. We all talk about that because the track goes through temperature changes throughout the race with how long it is. Charlotte is one of the most temperamental racetracks that we go to, I feel like, from day to night, from track temperature and cooling off. It’s going to be extremely important to keep up with the racetrack and with communication on what you need, how much you need and at what point in the race it makes the most sense to make those adjustments. Mindset will be important, too, because when you’re at the end of Stage 1, you’re already 100 laps into the race but you’ve still got 300 more to go and, by the end of the second stage, you feel like you’ve completed an entire race, already. It’s just keeping your head in it, remaining patient and, as always, staying out of the messes so you can be up front and in position for the win at the end. We’ve seen a lot of Charlotte wins come during the last few laps, so you’ve got to be ready.”

Post Race Report – North Wilkesboro

Date: May 21, 2023
Event: NASCAR All-Star Race and All-Star Open (non-points events)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway (.625-mile oval)

NASCAR All-Star Race: 200 laps, with a competition break at or around lap 100 (125 miles)
● Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports
Note: The NASCAR All-Star Race was comprised of drivers who won a points-paying race in 2022 or 2023, fulltime drivers who have previously won the All-Star Race, fulltime drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series championship, and drivers who advanced from the All-Star Open.

SHR Finish in NASCAR All-Star Race:
● Chase Briscoe (Started 5th, Finished 4th / Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
● Kevin Harvick (Started 15th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 198 of 200 laps)

All-Star Open: 100 laps, with a competition break at or around lap 40 (62.5 miles)
● Race Winner: Josh Berry of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
● Second Place: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
● Fan Vote Winner: Noah Gragson of Legacy Motor Club (Chevrolet)
Note:The All-Star Open was the undercard event to the NASCAR All-Star Race, where non-qualified drivers attempted to race their way into the All-Star Race by winning the Open, finishing second in the Open, or by winning the fan vote.

SHR Finish in All-Star Open:
● Aric Almirola (Started 9th, Finished 3rd / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 8th, Finished 4th / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)

SHR Notes:
● This was Briscoe’s second All-Star Race. He finished 18th last year.
● Harvick has competed in every single NASCAR All-Star Race in his 23-year career, the most of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver.

Race Notes:
● Kyle Larson won the All-Star Race with a 4.537-second margin over runner-up Bubba Wallace. It was his third win in the All-Star Race.
● The All-Star Race featured just three lead changes between two different drivers – Larson and Daniel Suárez. Twenty-four drivers comprised the field.

Sound Bites:
“We were really, really fast at the end. I felt like if I could’ve ever just gotten the lead, I would’ve been hard to beat, but I’m sure a lot of other guys would say that too. It was definitely frustrating. We kind of got beat around there on that one restart. I went from running fourth to seventh or eighth, and had to drive back up to fourth. I felt like we were one of the few cars that could pass. I’m proud of that effort, but I would’ve obviously loved to win a million dollars. Truthfully, with how our last couple of weeks have been, just to get a good run and prove that we can run with these guys is nice.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang

Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to points-paying racing on Sunday, May 28 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

In The Know – North Wilkesboro

 NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points race)

●  Time/Date:  8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 21

●  Location:  North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway

●  Layout:  .625-mile oval

●  Laps/Miles:  200 laps/125 miles

●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick: 

Harvick has always been an all-star. Since his 2001 NASCAR Cup Series debut, Harvick has been a part of every All-Star Race – the only active driver to do so. The driver of the No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang first earned entry into the All-Star Race by winning in just his third career Cup Series start on March 11, 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway marks the 39th anniversary of the All-Star Race and it will be Harvick’s 23rd straight appearance in the race – the most of any active driver.

Aric Almirola: 

Almirola grew up watching his racing heroes compete at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway and dreamed of one-day taking laps himself on the iconic .625-mile oval. This weekend, his dream will come true. Not only is he looking forward to racing on the track’s original asphalt surface, but also for the chance to compete for $1 million and a trip to victory lane. While the season has been rocky for the 39-year-old veteran, the No. 10 team’s short-track program has shown significant speed. Almirola kicked off the year by winning his heat in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and leading the field to green in the feature race. The Smithfield driver continued to show top-five speed on the mile oval at Phoenix Raceway and the .75-mile Richmond (Va.) Raceway oval, and had a car capable of winning at on the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway oval.

Chase Briscoe: 

Before taking to the .625-mile North Wilkesboro oval in the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, Briscoe will competed in Wednesday night’s CARS Late Model Stock Tour event in a Chad Bryant-owned entry. Briscoe and Bryant previously worked together during the racer’s stint in the ARCA Menards Series, when he captured six wins enroute to the 2016 championship.

Ryan Preece: 

While North Wilkesboro Speedway was essentially dormant since NASCAR last raced at the .625-mile oval in 1996, its revival featured a soft reopening last year with the Racetrack Revival Modified events Aug. 2-3, featuring the Bootleg Bash in which Preece participated. Preece finished fourth in both races.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 29 Busch Light Ford Mustang:

How special is it to be back behind the wheel of the No. 29 one final time?

“Everything that started in my Cup career started at RCR. It wasn’t supposed to start in the 29, but it wound up being my first in the 29 after Dale’s death. And to be able to put that car back out on the racetrack is something that we all thought would not ever happen again. But with Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing working together and making my crazy idea work out, and being able to see the first win paint scheme in the 29 and to have it on the racetrack at North Wilkesboro is something I think we’re all excited about. I know the fans are excited, but for us it’s an honor and a privilege to drive it one last time. It will be a fun night for all of us.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

What are you looking forward to the most in your debut at the iconic North Wilkesboro Speedway?

“Just racing on that iconic racetrack. I think back to when I was a kid watching Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip when I was 6 or 7 years old and I was a fan of the sport. I’ve driven past it so many times on my way to Bristol and always dreamed of how cool it would be to race at North Wilkesboro, and now we get to do it.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang:

Did you ever think that you’d have the opportunity to race at North Wilkesboro?

“No, and this has been something I’ve really been looking forward to. I’m still such a big fan of NASCAR and it’s been really cool to see a lot of the NASCAR 75 stuff, and now we’re going back to North Wilkesboro. That’s big for the sport. Guys like Dale (Earnhardt) Jr., have worked hard to get us back there and I’m excited to see the Truck Series and Cup cars out there, and to be a part of it. I know it’ll be an exciting race. The All-Star Race is one that a lot of guys want to win, already, and now it’s on a track that is so important to NASCAR’s history. It’s a good combination that should put on a good show.”

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang:

What’s going to be the biggest thing that drivers and teams have to focus on to succeed this weekend?

“Tires. The asphalt is so old and it’s really worn out, and that’s the kind of track I enjoy because you’ve got to be smart with your tires and manage them the right way. It’s going to be really fun for the drivers. Well, at least it’s going to be really fun for me. This track is right up my alley, honestly, and tire management is going to be huge. Every driver is going to have to be so smart when it comes to their tires and the strategy so that we can be in position at the end of the thing. If you watch races at North Wilkesboro from the past, they’re so exciting and that’s because of the decisions the drivers and teams have to make and the way the track races. I can’t wait.”

Post Race Report – Darlington

Date: May 14, 2023
Event: Goodyear 400 (Round 13 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)
Note: Race extended two laps past its scheduled 293-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports

Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing

Stage 2 Winner: Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing

SHR Race Finish:
● Kevin Harvick (Started 20th, Finished 2nd / Running, completed 295 of 295 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 32nd, Finished 15th / Running, completed 295 of 295 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 31st, Finished 17th / Running, completed 295 of 295 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 17th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 295 of 295 laps)

SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (3rd with 400 points, 29 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (16th with 275 points, 154 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (26th with 221 points, 208 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (29th with 201 points, 228 out of first)

SHR Notes:
● This was Harvick’s best result so far this season. His previous best was a trio of fifth-place finishes – Feb. 26 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, March 12 at Phoenix Raceway and April 2 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
● Harvick earned his fourth top-five and his sixth top-10 of the season. It was also his 14th top-five and 19th top-10 in 31 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.
● Harvick’s 14 top-fives and 19 top-10s at Darlington are the most among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers. (Denny Hamlin is next best with 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s.)
● Harvick finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points and seventh in Stage 2 to earn four more bonus points.
● Harvick led twice for five laps to increase his laps-led total at Darlington to a series-leading 818. (Hamlin is next best with 801 laps led at Darlington.)
● Harvick has now led 11,565 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 15,980 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.

Race Notes:
● William Byron won the Goodyear 400 to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Darlington. His margin over Harvick was .781 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 47 laps.
● Twenty-two of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Ross Chastain remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 27-point advantage over second-place Christopher Bell.

Sound Bites:

“We had a good car all day. We just could never get up toward the front. Our Sunny Delight Ford Mustang struggled in traffic today, but we were really good at the second half of the run and just struggled at the beginning of the run. We had good track position and then had a bad pit stop under green, but had everything work out at the end. I didn’t have anything for William (Byron). The front is tore up pretty good, but they did a great job and just kind of kept ourselves in the game and you never know what’s gonna happen.

“I think if you would’ve dropped us in first or second place we probably could’ve run there. The Fords struggle in traffic with this particular aero package and it’s hard to make up ground, and then we lost a bunch of ground on pit road under the green flag pit stop. Then we got toward the end and missed all the wrecks. Well, we came out the other side of the wrecks. We were in the wrecks, but just didn’t have any damage to the wheels and tires, just structural damage. William ended up being the only car that didn’t have damage and he just drove off, so still a good day for our Sunny Delight Ford Mustang and we’ll just keep plugging away.”

– Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 SUNNYD Ford Mustang

Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 21 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the undercard NASCAR All-Star Open.

In The Know – Darlington

NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  Goodyear 400 (Round 13 of 36)

●  Time/Date:  3 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 14

●  Location:  Darlington (S.C.) Raceway

●  Layout:  1.366-mile oval

●  Laps/Miles:  293 laps/400.2 miles

●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 108 laps

●  TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick: 

Darlington is known as “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” but Harvick has tamed the venerable 1.366-mile oval three times, the second-most of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver. The 47-year-old racer from Bakersfield, California, owns two Southern 500 victories (2014 and 2020) and one win in the track’s 400-mile race.

Aric Almirola: 

 Just like racing, Almirola’s love for baseball started young with the majority of his family playing baseball and softball. Fast forward to today and the 39-year-old Almirola is passing down the stick-and-ball sport to his 10-year-old son Alex, who is playing his third season of baseball. Most weeknights during baseball season, Almirola can be found on a field as an assistant coach. On Tuesday of last week (May 2), Almirola got to share the field with Alex and his racecar at the minor league Kannapolis (N.C.) Cannon Ballers’ stadium to unveil the No. 10 SHR Ford throwback scheme and to throw the ceremonial first pitch for that night’s game. In true Almirola fashion, father and son both threw strikes from the pitcher’s mound.

Chase Briscoe: 

Race fans often choose their favorite drivers based on a paint scheme, a number or a hometown. As a child growing up in an Indiana dirt-racing family, Chase Briscoe spent weekends watching his favorite Hoosier race on the dirt tracks against his father and in the NASCAR Cup Series. He went on to start his own racing career in dirt racing, following in the footsteps of his father and his hero, and is now in his third season driving the No. 14 Ford Mustang that was piloted to 16 wins and a Cup Series championship by Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart.

Ryan Preece: 

Through the first third of the season, Preece has shown improvement and consistency each weekend and has appeared to be coming into his own. He had a career weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April, earning his first Cup Series pole and leading a career-high 135 laps. Since then, although the results don’t show it, Preece has shown strength at various racetracks on the circuit.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 SUNNYD Ford Mustang:

Running that line up against the wall is not the line you typically run. The “Kevin Harvick Line” is along the bottom. Which line is most advantageous, and when?

“With this particular car, you’ve just got to be careful with how much you abuse the tires because it drives off the right-rear tire so much that you have to think about that a little bit differently. It didn’t seem like that was 100 percent the preferred way to do it through (turns) three and four the last time. You’ve just got to be as easy as possible on the right-rear tire.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

Does this paint scheme mean even more now with your shared love of baseball with your son Alex? 

“Absolutely. Having that bond with Alex over a shared passion for baseball certainly does mean more. Alex loves baseball. We’ve dabbled in all these sports, and he’s done a little bit of go-kart racing, as well, but his passion for baseball is superior to everything else, and I love it as well. To see Alex light up going to watch a baseball game, or the fact that a 10-year-old boy can sit on the couch and watch a whole nine-inning baseball game that most adults can’t do, and to share that interest with him is really special. Then you know, for me, to have this opportunity to run a baseball-themed racecar and to have that common bond with him certainly means more.” 

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang:

What kind of emotion do you go through when you win on one of the most historic tracks on the NASCAR circuit?

“To win at a place like Darlington is a bit of rollercoaster, at least for me it was. It was already a big win for me, personally, with everything Marissa and I were going through. I don’t know that it really sunk in that it was Darlington and how big of a deal that was, or even the battle with Kyle (Busch). But looking back now, I think about how tough of a track Darlington really is and how cool it is to have a win at a place that is so iconic. I hope I get the opportunity to add a Darlington Cup win to my accomplishments, but I think any time you can say that you’ve raced and won at a place with so much history, it’s special.”

Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang:

What does this opportunity to honor your dad over NASCAR Throwback Weekend with this paint scheme mean to you?

“He sacrificed so much for me growing up – I know he has. He didn’t have the opportunities, but he gave me every opportunity to succeed as a racer. So, I feel like this is an opportunity to really say thank you and have his car on the racetrack. This experience right here is probably the coolest one that we’ve had yet. My dad comes to a lot of the races, he tries to be at all of them. It’s special that he’s at the track every weekend now, and it’s even more special that this weekend he gets the recognition he deserves.”

 

Post Race Report – Kansas

Date:  May 7, 2023

Event:  AdventHealth 400 (Round 12 of 36)

Series:  NASCAR Cup Series

Location:  Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)

Format:  267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)

Race Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing

Stage 1 Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing

Stage 2 Winner:  Joey Logano of Team Penske

SHR Race Finish:            

●  Kevin Harvick (Started 13th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

●  Aric Almirola (Started 18th, Finished 13th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

●  Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 27th / Running, completed 266 of 267 laps)

●  Chase Briscoe (Started 31st, Finished 32nd / Running, completed 260 of 267 laps)

SHR Points:

●  Kevin Harvick (5th with 358 points, 46 out of first)

●  Chase Briscoe (17th with 255 points, 149 out of first)

●  Aric Almirola (25th with 205 points, 199 out of first)

●  Ryan Preece (28th with 179 points, 225 out of first)

Race Notes:       

●  Kevin Harvick is the only driver who has competed in every NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas, a run of 35 races dating back to the inaugural race on Sept. 30, 2001.

●  Denny Hamlin won the AdventHealth 400 to score his 49th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his fourth at Kansas. His margin over second-place Kyle Larson was 1.307 seconds.

●  Hamlin was the ninth different winner in the 12 NASCAR Cup Series races run this season.

●  There were 11 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.

●  Twenty-two of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

●  Ross Chastain remains the championship leader after Kansas with a 31-point advantage over second-place Christopher Bell.

Sound Bites:

“We had an OK day. We got up there and I thought we were going to run top-10, and then out of nowhere, spun off of turn two. Our cars are really knife-edge right now. We’re having a lot of trouble getting our cars balanced where we need it to be. There is such a small window to get the balance where we need it to be, that it just makes it really difficult to race. We can be really tight, we can be really loose, but we can’t get it in the window where we need it to be – consistent. So, we’ll just keep working.” – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 14 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

In The Know – Kansas

NASCAR CUP SERIES OVERVIEW:

●  Event:  AdventHealth 400 (Round 12 of 36)

●  Time/Date:  3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 7

●  Location:  Kansas Speedway in Kansas City

●  Layout:  1.5-mile oval

●  Laps/Miles:  267 laps/400.5 miles

●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps

●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS:

Kevin Harvick: 

Dorothy was right. There’s no place like home. And for Harvick, home is an intermediate racetrack. With apologies to those in Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield, California, the veteran racer has made the intermediate tracks that comprise the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule his home. Of Harvick’s 60 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, 24 have come at intermediate-style racetracks. Kansas Speedway – a sweeping, D-shaped oval that has produced high speeds and daring, side-by-side racing since its debut in 2001 – is where Harvick has earned three of those victories. Harvick has competed at the track for every one of its Cup Series races – the only driver to do so – and has amassed quite the history in his 34 career starts. In addition to his three wins, Harvick has five second-place finishes, 11 top-threes, 12 top-fives, 19 top-10s and has led 949 laps, making the driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang one of the most successful drivers in Kansas’ relatively young history. His average start is 13.4, his average finish is 9.9 and he has a lap completion rate of 96.2 percent.

Aric Almirola: 

 While the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang team’s short-track package has proven to be competitive this year, all eyes are set on improving at the intermediate tracks that comprise a majority of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule starting this weekend on the 1.5-mile oval at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Aric Almirola drove into the top-15 but was involved in an accident not of his own doing. A week later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Almirola drove in and around the top-15 before bringing home a 16th-place finish. This weekend marks the first of two races at Kansas this season.

Chase Briscoe: 

Among his four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Kansas, Briscoe has a pair of top-three finishes, including a win in the opening race of the Round of 8 during the 2020 playoffs. He also placed fifth in his first of two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Kansas in May 2017.

Ryan Preece:

Following the “Yellow Brick Road” to Kansas Speedway for this weekend’s AdventHealth 400, Ryan Preece will be making his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile oval. Preece made his first start at the track in 2019 and his most recent start in 2021 for JTG-Daugherty Racing. He has a best finish of 12th in the October 2019 race there. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Preece has two Kansas starts – one in October 2016 and the other in October 2018. In the latter event, he started seventh in and finished 21st in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Preece has made one career NASCAR Truck Series start at the track, which came last season for David Gilliland Racing. He started seventh and finished third

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:

WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:

Kevin Harvick Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light #ForTheFarmers Ford Mustang

Your history at intermediate tracks has been really strong, particularly at Kansas. Can you pull anything from past years to where if you have to play defense, you can because you know every nook and cranny of the racetrack?:

“There aren’t a lot of things that you can relate to with the car, but there are a lot of things you can relate to with the racetrack. There are a lot of races that I’ve gone back and watched from 2010, 2011 where the cars had different characteristics, and things that happen because the way you drive it and where you would drive it on the racetrack are a little bit different with this car than it was with the older cars. But you keep that playbook as open as possible in order to have some options because you can’t just say it won’t work, you can only drive it on one spot on the racetrack, especially at a place like Kansas, where you have options. So you have to be ready to create some options if you need them.”

Aric Almirola Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang:

Why is it so important to get this package right?

“Well Kansas, Texas, and Miami are all in the playoffs, and in order to be a playoff contender, you have to get this right. All of these tracks are different in their own way and we’ve seen more success at different 1.5-mile tracks throughout the years, but it starts this weekend in Kansas, to find speed and build notes for the future. More importantly, we need to have solid days to move up in the standings. We have to qualify well to put us in a position to earn stage points and put together another clean day like we had at Martinsville.”

Chase Briscoe Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang:

During your time in ARCA, Trucks and Xfinity, You performed well at Kansas during your time in the Xfinity, Truck and ARCA series. What about the track fits your driving style?

“It’s worn out and you get tire fall-off that really changes how things go throughout the run. You’re going to have to work for it a little bit if you want to be good, and you’ve got to have an idea of what the track is going to do as those things happen to stay ahead of what you need in the car. You’re going to find speed in the top two lanes and that’s really the kind of track where I do best. You can do things a little differently with the balance of the car when you’re able to run in the higher lanes, but I guess the tradeoff is really that, if something happens, you’re likely getting into the wall. There’s really no way to avoid it when you’re right at it, so you’ve got to have a lot of patience and focus.”

Ryan Preece Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang:

What are the biggest challenges when racing at Kansas Speedway?

“Usually, Kansas is a track where you fight loose. The wind can be totally different going into one corner versus the other, so you’ve got to have a good balance between the two. And, once again, track position. That’s going to be the big thing.”

Post Race Report – Dover

Date:  May 1, 2023

Event:  Würth 400 (Round 11 of 36)

Series:  NASCAR Cup Series

Location:  Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)

Format:  400 laps, broken into three stages (120 laps/130 laps/250 laps)

Race Winner:  Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing

Stage 1 Winner:  William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports

Stage 2 Winner:  Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing

SHR Race Finish:            

●  Ryan Preece (Started 30th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 399 of 400 laps)

●  Kevin Harvick (Started 12th, Finished 19th / Running, completed 399 of 400 laps)

●  Aric Almirola (Started 19th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 397 of 400 laps)

●  Chase Briscoe (Started 6th, Finished 30th / Running, completed 378 of 400 laps)

SHR Points:

●  Kevin Harvick (3rd with 332 points, 38 out of first)

●  Chase Briscoe (16th with 250 points, 120 out of first)

●  Aric Almirola (25th with 181 points, 189 out of first)

●  Ryan Preece (28th with 169 points, 201 out of first)

SHR Notes:        

●  Preece’s 17th-place finish bettered his previous best result at Dover – 18th, earned in 2021.

●  This was Harvick’s 43rd career NASCAR Cup Series start at Dover, the most among active drivers. The all-time leader in Cup Series starts at Dover is Ricky Rudd with 56. Rudd made his Cup debut at Dover on May 16, 1976, and his last start at the track came on June 4, 2007, a span of 31 years.

●  Harvick finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points.

●  This was the first time Harvick has finished outside of the top-10 at Dover since a 17th-place result in October 2017.

●  Briscoe’s 30th-place result ended a three-race streak of top-fives. He finished fifth April 9 on the dirt at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, fifth April 16 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and fourth last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Race Notes:       

●  Martin Truex Jr., won the Würth 400 to score his 32nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his fourth at Dover. His margin over second-place Ross Chastain was .505 of a second.

●  Truex was the eighth different winner in the 11 NASCAR Cup Series races run this season.

●  There were seven caution periods for a total of 46 laps.

●  Only 12 of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

●  Chastain leaves Dover as the new championship leader with a three-point advantage over second-place Christopher Bell.

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 7 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.