Author: Ashlyn Siske

CLINT BOWYER – 2018 Charlotte Roval Race Report

Date: Sept. 30, 2018
Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 29 of 36)
Series: Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval (2.28-mile, 17-turn road course)
Format: 109 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/25 laps/59 laps)
Start/Finish: 7th/3rd (Running, completed 109 of 109 laps)
Point Standing: 3,015 points, seven points ahead of ninth

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner:  Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:  Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Ended at Lap 25):

● Bowyer started seventh and finished third to earn eight bonus points.
● Told crew he liked the car except it was a little loose in the backstretch chicane.
● Posted the third-quickest lap on lap three.
● Moved to sixth by lap six, then drove from fifth to third on the lap-16 restart.
● Several cars pitted before the end of the stage then stayed out during the break for a better starting spot in Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Ended at Lap 50):

● Bowyer started 24th and finished fifth to earn six bonus points.
● Raced three-wide in traffic and on several restarts.
● Returned to the top-10 on lap 41.
● Told crew his car was starting to get loose in the final laps of the stage.
● Again, several cars pitted before the end of the stage then stayed out during the break for a better starting spot in the final stage.

Stage 3 Recap (Ended at Lap 109):

● Bowyer started 24th and finished third.
● Slowly worked his way up through the field, suffering brushes with the wall and contact with other cars.
● Survived three- and four-wide restarts after full-course cautions on laps 58, 66 and 68.
● Moved to 15th by lap 80 and 13th by lap 89.
● Narrowly avoided a multicar wreck in turn one and moved to sixth in the aftermath.
● Race resumed with three laps left, and Bowyer moved to third after the two leaders crashed in the final corner.
● Bowyer was kept abreast, in the final laps, of his playoff status and knew he was safe to advance to the Round of 12.

Notes:

● This was Bowyer’s eighth top-five and 14th top-10 finish of 2018.
● Bowyer earned his 11th top-five and 16th top-10 in 27 career road-course starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series across Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.
● Bowyer captured his third top-five and sixth top-10 in 26 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte (oval and road course).
● All four SHR drivers advanced to the Round of 12.
●  Ryan Blaney won the inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 to score his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and his first of 2018. His margin of victory over second-place Jamie McMurray was .792 of a second.
●  Blaney’s triumph delivered the 104th points-paying victory for Ford’s Fusion in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It was also Ford’s 673rd all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 16 laps.
●  Twenty-six of the 40 drivers in the Bank of America Roval 400 finished on the lead lap.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Advance Auto Parts Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had a good Mobil 1/Advance Auto Parts Ford this weekend, and we practiced well, qualified well and raced well today. We did everything we had to do. That’s a testimony to this team, Stewart-Haas Racing and all of the people who support us. There have been some sleepless nights this week, but today we were in the game. It was pretty scary out there running three and four abreast on the restarts, but it was a heck of a show for the fans. I was worried about the Round of 16 because of the tracks, but in the next round we have some of our better tracks. I’m confident about the next three races.”

Playoff Standing (at the conclusion of the Round of 16):

1.       Kyle Busch (3,055 points)
2.       Kevin Harvick (3,050 points, -5)
3.       Martin Truex Jr. (3,038 points, -17)
4.       Brad Keselowski (3,025 points, -30)
5.       Clint Bowyer (3,015 points, -40)
6.       Joey Logano (3,014 points, -41)
7.       Kurt Busch (3,014 points, -41)
8.       Ryan Blaney (3,013 points, -42)
9.       Chase Elliott (3,008 points, -47)
10.      Kyle Larson (3,006 points, -49)
11.      Aric Almirola (3,001 points, -54)
12.      Alex Bowman (3,000 points, -55)

Failed to Advance to Round of 12:

13.     Jimmie Johnson (2,097 points)
14.     Austin Dillon (2,066 points)
15.     Denny Hamlin (2,053 points)
16.     Erik Jones (2,041 points)

KEVIN HARVICK – 2018 Charlotte Roval Race Report

Date: Sept. 30, 2018
Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 29 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway (2.28-mile, 17-turn road course)
Format: 109 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/25 laps/59 laps)
Start/Finish: 19th/9th (Running, completed 109 of 109 laps)
Point Standing: 2nd with 3,050 points, 42 points ahead of ninth

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-25):

● Kevin Harvick started 19th and finished 12th.
● The Jimmy John’s 9-Grain Wheat Sub driver raced into the top-15 by lap four.
● The No. 4 Ford came to pit road under caution on lap 14 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Many of the leaders stayed out, causing the No. 4 Ford to drop back to 20th.
● Harvick raced from 20th up to 12th by the end of the stage, and the team chose to stay out in favor of track position.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 26-50):

● Started fifth and finished 14th.
● Harvick advanced from the sixth position up to third on lap 36 as three of the leaders came to pit road under green-flag conditions.
● The Jimmy John’s Ford moved up to the second position on lap 39 as another of the leaders came to pit road under green.
● Harvick surrendered the second position on lap 45 to pit under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel.
● The No. 4 Ford advanced from 20th following the green-flag stop up to 14th by the end of the stage.
● Crew chief Rodney Childers chose to keep the No. 4 Ford off pit road at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 51-109):

● Started fourth and finished ninth.
● Harvick stayed out under caution on lap 60 and again on lap 65 to maintain the fourth position.
● The Jimmy John’s Ford came to pit road under caution from the fourth position on lap 70 for four tires and fuel.
● Harvick restarted 13th on lap 71 and raced back into the top-10 by lap 72 and up to seventh by lap 78.
● He began saving fuel and dropped from the seventh position back to 11th by lap 100.
● The team called Harvick to pit road under caution on lap 102 for four tires and fuel, causing him to restart 17th on lap 103.
● Harvick avoided calamity on the restart and advanced from 17th to ninth.
● The No. 4 Ford restarted ninth with three laps to go and held his position until the checkered flag.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Today actually went way better than I hoped it would. I think as you look at the way that we ran all day and where we ran all day, we were in the top-10 and up in the top-five and back and forth, and just way better than we were yesterday. It’s tough starting behind your teammate who is trying to make it in there at the end. You’ve got to be careful with what you do and not drive in there too far and do something dumb. I lost a couple spots, but in the end it was a good day for us.”

Notes:

● This was Harvick’s series leading 24rh top-10 finish of 2018.
● Harvick earned his 18th top-10 in 37 career road-course starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series across Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.
● Harvick earned his 17th top-10 in 36 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte (oval and road course).
● Ryan Blaney won the inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 to score his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and his first of 2018. His margin of victory over second-place Jamie McMurray was .792 of a second.
● Blaney’s triumph delivered the 104th points-paying victory for Ford’s Fusion in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It was also Ford’s 673rd all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 16 laps.
● Twenty-six of the 40 drivers in the Bank of America Roval 400 finished on the lead lap.

Playoff Standing (at the conclusion of the Round of 16):

1.       Kyle Busch (3,055 points)
2.       Kevin Harvick (3,050 points, -5)
3.       Martin Truex Jr. (3,038 points, -17)
4.       Brad Keselowski (3,025 points, -30)
5.       Clint Bowyer (3,015 points, -40)
6.       Joey Logano (3,014 points, -41)
7.       Kurt Busch (3,014 points, -41)
8.       Ryan Blaney (3,013 points, -42)
9.       Chase Elliott (3,008 points, -47)
10.    Kyle Larson (3,006 points, -49)
11.    Aric Almirola (3,001 points, -54)
12.    Alex Bowman (3,000 points, -55)

Failed to Advance to Round of 12:

13.    Jimmie Johnson (2,097 points)
14.    Austin Dillon (2,066 points)
15.    Denny Hamlin (2,053 points)
16.    Erik Jones (2,041 points)

CHASE BRISCOE – 2018 NXS Charlotte Roval Race Report

Date: Sept. 29, 2018
Event: Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Round 28 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway (2.28-mile, 17-turn road course)
Format: 55 laps, broken into three stages (15 laps/ 15 laps/25 laps)
Start/Finish: 9th/1st (Running, completed 55 of 55 laps)

Race Winner: Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-15):

● Briscoe started ninth and finished 22nd
● Dropped from ninth to 12th in the opening lap while battling in traffic.
● Pitted under green from 11th on lap 12 for four tires and fuel.
● The early pit stop allowed him a better starting spot for Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 16-30):

● Briscoe started third and finished ninth
● Took the lead on lap 17 just seconds after the green flag flew to start Stage 2.
● Briscoe stretched his lead to two seconds.
● Briscoe again pitted early and dropped to tenth in order to gain a better starting position for the final stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 11-55):

● Briscoe started first and finished first.
● Took the green flag to start the stage and led until the checkered flag.
● Kept the lead through two full course cautions.
● Briscoe led second-place finisher Justin Marks across the finish line by 1.478 seconds.\

Notes:                   

● Saturday’s race marked Briscoe’s first career victory in his 14th career NASCAR Xfinity Series start and his fourth start in SHR’s No. 98 Ford Mustang.
● Briscoe’s victory in the Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina marked the 55th overall win for SHR.
● Five cautions slowed the race for 10 laps with 30 of the 40 drivers finishing on the lead lap.
● Saturday’s victory marked the second win for the No. 98 team. Kevin Harvick won on Feb. 24 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
● Briscoe also won the July 18 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste:          

“I need to thank Ford Performance, Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, Fred Biagi, Bill DenBeste and everyone on the No. 98 and at SHR for the opportunity they gave me this year and this car today. I was holding back tears the last couple of laps. This year has not been by my standards anywhere near where it needs to be. We’ve wrecked a lot of race cars and I think my best finish was ninth, so I was really down on myself personally. I was just waiting for the caution to come out. I knew it was gonna come at some point and the restarts were crazy getting down into one. Luckily, the good Lord upstairs didn’t bring a caution and we were able to hold on.”

COLE CUSTER – 2018 NXS Charlotte Roval Race Report

Date: Sept. 29, 2018
Event: Drive for the Cure 200 (Round 28 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (2.28-mile, 17-turn road course)
Format: 55 laps, broken into three stages (15 laps/15 laps/25 laps)
Start/Finish: 6th/7th (Running, completed 55 of 55 laps)
Point Standing:  (4th with 2,083 points, 49 points out of first)

Race Winner: Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing w/ Biagi-DenBeste (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-15):

● Custer started sixth, finished second and earned nine bonus points.
● After a caution on lap two, the Haas Automation driver made his way to fourth place.
● Custer said he needed an adjustments to help him drive off of the corners better, but he continued to climb through the field when he made the pass for third on lap 10.
● In the closing laps the No. 22 car spun, promoting Custer to second place before the stage ended.
● At the conclusion of the stage, he pitted the No. 00 Ford for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 16-30):

● Custer started fifth, finished second and earned nine bonus points.
● Custer raced the Haas Automation Ford to second place by lap 27.
● After discussion with crew chief Jeff Meendering, he decided not to pit so he could earn maximum bonus points when the stage ended.
● He pitted when the stage concluded for four tires, fuel and more adjustments to improve his drive off the turns.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 31-55):

● Custer started 14th, finished seventh.
● Custer avoided a multi-car accident during the restart of the stage and moved into the top-10.
● He raced the Haas Automation Ford Mustang up to seventh with four laps to go and held his position before the checkered flag waved.

Notes:               

● Custer is now 14 points above the cutoff line to advance to Round 2 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.
● This marks Stewart-Haas Racing’s 55th overall win.
● This marks Custer’s 22nd top-10 of the season and fifth consecutive road-course top-10 finish.
● Custer earned 18 bonus points in the Drive for the Cure 200 at Charlotte.
● Five cautions slowed the race for 10 laps.
● Chase Briscoe won the Drive for the Cure 200 to score his first career Xfinity Series victory, first of the season and first at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Justin Marks was 1.478 seconds.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing With Biagi-DenBeste:      

“We had a good points day. We had a really fast car that I think could have competed for a win, but we just went for the points with the position that we’re in. I had a really fast Haas Automation Mustang and stayed clean. We took our strategy that we were in and it worked out.”

Playoff Standings:          

1.     Christopher Bell (2132 points) 1 win
2.     Daniel Hemric (2,099 points, -33)
3.     Tyler Reddick (2090 points, -42)
4.     Cole Custer (2,083 points, -49)
5.     Matt Tifft (2,082 points, -50)
6.     Elliott Sadler (2,080 points, -52)
7.     Justin Allgaier (2,080 points, -52)
8.     Ross Chastain (2078 points, -54)
9.     Austin Cindric (2,069 points, -63)
10.   Ryan Truex (2,054 points, -78)
11.   Ryan Reed (2,055 points, -79)
12.   Brandon Jones (2,050 points, -82)

COLE CUSTER – 2018 NXS Charlotte Roval Race Advance

Event:               Drive for the Cure 200 (Round 28 of 33)
Date:                Sept. 29, 2018
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
Layout:             2.28-mile, 17-turn road course

 

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

 

  • The Drive for the Cure 200 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway will be the second race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. The playoffs begin with 12 eligible drivers and are divided into three rounds with the first two rounds consisting of three races apiece followed by a final, single-race round at the Homestead-Miami Speedway season finale. Four drivers are eliminated after each of the first two rounds to ultimately establish four finalists at Homestead. Drivers automatically qualify for the next round with a win in the current round with the remaining spots determined by the point standings. At Homestead, the top-finishing driver among the four finalists wins the championship.
  • Custer is ninth in the 2018 Xfinity Series playoffs with 2,035 points, 55 behind leader Justin Allgaier but tied with Brandon Jones for the eighth and final position that will advance to the second round. 
  • Custer’s second-place finishes May 26 at Charlotte and Sept. 1 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway are his best in 26 races this season.
  • Custer’s average starting position of 6.1 and five pole awards in the 2018 Xfinity Series season lead all series regulars. He has earned 20 top-five starts and 25 top-10 starts this season.\
  • Custer has earned 21 top 10 finishes, 11 top-fives, five poles and has led 240 laps this season.
  • Custer owns 11 top-10 finishes, five top-fives, two poles and led 80 laps in 15 road-course starts.
  • Custer is competing for his fifth consecutive top-10 finish at a road course and second consecutive top-five road-course finish. He is the only driver to have earned a top-10 in each of the last four road-course races.
  • In Custer’s recent road-course start at Road America near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, he raced as high as second place and ran in and around the top-five for the majority of the race.

 

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

 

Is the Charlotte “roval” a complete unknown and how do you feel about having a track like this in the middle of the playoffs?

“The roval is definitely a track where no one knows exactly what to expect, but I think it’s just going to be a balance of being aggressive and not putting yourself in bad positions. Having a track like this in the playoffs is definitely risky, but can also open up a lot of opportunity.”

You’re currently ninth in the playoff standings but tied in points for the cutoff spot to advance to Round 2. Is the plan to just survive?  

“I don’t think you can go in there with the plans to just survive. You’re going to have to race hard and be aggressive. We’ve had pretty good speed at all the road courses and I feel like our team is able to learn things fast, so I’m expecting us to be a factor to win.” 

What are the challenges of running a road course?

“In road-course racing, the competition is more on the driver’s shoulders compared to your traditional oval-styled track. You’re on the edge of your seat for the entire race and even the smallest mistake could take you out of the race. I enjoy road-course racing and challenging my skills as a driver.”

 

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

 

What are the expectations of the roval from a crew chief’s perspective?

“We really don’t know what we’re looking at until we get there on Thursday. We have put together some fast road-course cars with good balance around the corners, but when you get to that oval portion you have to have a car with good speed. Our team has adapted quickly to any competition changes thrown our way, so I expect us to compete for a win so we can go to Dover stress free.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – 2018 Charlotte Roval Race Advance

Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) make the short journey from the team’s headquarters in Kannapolis, North Carolina to Charlotte Motor Speedway in nearby Concord. The Smithfield team heads into the weekend with momentum from Saturday night’s race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, where it posted a fifth-place finish.

Instead of competing solely on the traditional four-turn, 1.5-mile Charlotte oval this weekend, the Cup Series competitors will for the first time navigate a 17-turn circuit that combines the oval and an infield road course. Affectionately dubbed the Charlotte “roval,” Almirola participated in a July test on the new circuit that was adventurous for all the drivers. The new configuration presented several challenges and caused multiple cars to venture off of the racing surface. The roval is the first track of its kind to be part of the 10-race NASCAR playoffs.

This weekend’s event is the third and final road-course event of the season. In Almirola’s other two road-course starts of 2018, he was eighth at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, then 22nd at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International after suffering damage from an early on-track incident. Unlike his Sonoma and Watkins Glen weekends, Almirola won’t have the benefit of extra track time to learn the Charlotte roval as new series rules prohibit him from competing in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.

In Almirola’s previous nine starts at road courses, he has completed every lap and has an average start of 25.0 and an average finish of 19.6.

Charlotte signals the final race in the opening Round of 16 of the Cup Series playoffs. If Almirola advances on to the Round of 12, he will go farther than during his previous playoff appearance in 2014. The 34-year-old is second among his four SHR teammates in the standings with 2,079 points, 23 ahead of the top-12 cutoff.

This weekend marks Almirola’s 13th career start at Charlotte. The Tampa native captured the pole award in his first Cup Series start there in May 2012. In total, he has an average start of 15.9 and an average finish of 18.5, including four laps led there. This past May, he started ninth and brought the Smithfield Ford home 13th.

Even though the season is winding down, fans can still enter for their chance to win Smithfield’s Smoke Machine Mustang designed by team co-owner Tony Stewart with the help of drifting champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. They helped create a one-of-a-kind Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3 that will be given away to one lucky fan. Fans can register for their chance to win the suped-up Mustang and a trip to November’s Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead by visiting SmithfieldRacing.com, or by texting SMOKE to 82257.

Charlotte marks the 26th points-paying event during which the Smithfield livery has adorned Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Fusion. Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, which is based approximately five hours northeast of SHR headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, is in its seventh season with Almirola and its first with SHR. Founded in 1936, Smithfield is a leading provider of high-quality pork products, with a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts.

Through the first 28 races this season, Almirola has an average start of 17.3 and an average finish of 13.7 with two top-five finishes and 12 top-10s. He’s also led 116 laps this season, already a career best.

 

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

 

Some people have picked the No. 10 team to be the surprise in the playoffs. How do you feel about that?  

“We certainly have the pace to do it. We have speed each and every weekend and that part is honestly the hardest part to get. You can’t just go into the playoffs and find a tenth-and-a-half or two-tenths on the competition. We’ve got the speed. We just have to do all of the other things right around the fact that we have a fast racecar. I think we could surprise a lot of people in the playoffs.”

What are you expecting with the roval this weekend?

“I think the biggest challenge of the roval is the unknown. We are all going into it without any real experience there. Even though we tested there, the track continues to change where they put curbing, and the tire that Goodyear is going to bring has changed. It’s really an unknown and I think all of the drivers are a little nervous about it. The fans, on the other hand, are going to see an interesting race. The track is very narrow, low on grip, and it’s going to be sketchy, so it’s going to be a challenge to run two-wide. We are going to be beating and banging trying to battle for position in the slow, technical parts of the track in the infield, and then we’ll be flying around the oval portion of the track.”

Is the roval or Talladega more a wildcard in the playoffs?

“I think the roval is more of a wildcard than Talladega. There are just so many question marks going into the roval.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2018 Charlotte Roval Race Advance

The biggest wildcard in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season isn’t the restrictor plate race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, where multicar wrecks and wild finishes are business as usual. Instead, the newest track on the circuit, the 2.28-mile, 17-turn “roval” road course at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, is where the Cup Series holds its third and final Round of 16 playoff race Sunday with the promise of salvation or elimination for four drivers with championship hopes.

“It’s downright scary,” said No. 14 Mobil 1/Advance Auto Parts Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Clint Bowyer. “The roval has become the biggest wildcard of the season, without a doubt. It’s a way bigger unknown than Talladega, now. Nobody has any idea what to expect and, if they do expect anything, it probably isn’t good.”

Bowyer has more on the line Sunday than most. After finishing 23rd due to a late-race accident in the playoff opener Sept. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by a hard-fought 10th-place finish at Richmond (Va.) Raceway Saturday night, Bowyer arrives at Charlotte 13th in the standings, four points behind the 12th-place transfer spot into the next playoff round. If he climbs into the top 12 by the time the checkered flag falls Sunday, he’ll advance to the Round of 12 that begins Oct. 7 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Bowyer spent a day testing the roval on July 17 and it did little to ease his concern as he saw several drivers wreck while running by themselves. Nobody has raced on the new layout side-by-side.

“From the time you pull out on the track to the time you get off, it’s just sketchy,” Bowyer said. “You are just tip-toeing. There’s no room for error at all. The grip level isn’t great like in turn three. If you get to sliding a little bit getting in there and you look over at them tires, you realize there’s no room. If that thing gets out from under you, you are going to be in the fence and you are going to be in it hard. It’s not something you are going to limp away from.”

Now, for an even bigger scare for the drivers whose title bids will be on the line Sunday, Goodyear will make wet-weather tires available in the event of rain, making it even more challenging to navigate the high-speed oval portion of the track and the low-speed, twisting, left-and-right turns in the course’s infield portion. Wet-weather tires were last used in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event Aug. 4 at Watkins (N.Y.) Glen International.

But let’s think positive.

Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford will carry the Mobil 1 paint scheme this weekend. Mobil 1 plays an integral role in SHR’s success. Mobil 1’s lubricant technology helps to reduce frictional loss in his Ford engines to maximize fuel mileage, increase horsepower and turn more rpm, providing an advantage over competitors. Mobil 1 also helps reduce friction in suspension components, providing maximum tire grip as well as helping to reduce steering compliance to give its teams an edge behind the wheel. Not only does Mobil 1 help improve the on-track efficiency of SHR, but the on-track testing helps lead to new lubricant technology developments such as Mobil 1 Annual Protection, which allows drivers to travel up to 20,000 miles, or one full year, between oil changes. In its 16th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series.

Bowyer drove the Mobil 1 paint scheme Sept. 10 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he led a race-high 37 laps and finished fifth in the 400-mile regular-season finale. He’s confident he can repeat that performance and advance to the Round of 12 despite the unique challenge posed by Charlotte’s roval.

“You have to go into this weekend with a positive attitude,” Bowyer said. “You can’t beat yourself before you get there. We’ve had a lot of success on road courses at SHR and I have no doubt we can do that again this weekend.”

In fact, Bowyer has the Cup Series’ second-best average finish of 5.2 in the four road course races since he joined SHR in 2017 with three top-five finishes. Only Kyle Busch’s average finish of 5.0 is better on road courses over that time.

While Bowyer and the most of the 16 playoff drivers might be holding their breath Sunday, wondering whether the roval brings salvation or elimination, there’s one group of folks who are in for an exciting show – the race fans.

 

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Advance Auto Parts Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What is your roval strategy?

“We are just going to go there and do the best we can. I have confidence in this race team and we have the capability of going out there and winning the race and certainly we can move into the top-12.”

Not as a driver battling to advance to Round of 12, but as a race fan, what do you think of the roval?

“I’d buy a good ticket or get in front of a television and get that popcorn and whatever else out, because I expect those final laps Sunday are going to be some of the most memorable of the season. It’s probably going to be really calm for a while, but there will be a few late cautions and then it will be chaos. We’ve never seen anything like we are about to see. Nobody has any idea what to expect.”

How can I get a Mobil 1 hat?

“It’s great to have partners Mobil 1 and Advanced Auto Parts on the No. 14 this weekend. Mobil 1 is in the engine of my car and on the shelf at your local Advanced Auto Parts stores. This weekend marks the launch of a great promotion at Advanced Auto Parts stores around the country, where you can receive a free Mobil 1 ball cap when you buy five of Mobil 1. Make sure you go out and get yours.”

CHASE BRISCOE – 2018 NXS Charlotte Roval Race Advance

Event:               Drive for the Cure 200 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Round 28 of 33)
Date:                Sept. 29, 2018
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway  
Layout:             2.28-mile, 17-turn road course
Television:        3 p.m. EDT on NBCSN

 

Chase Briscoe Notes of Interest

 

  • Chase Briscoe will start his fourth race in the No. 98 Nutri Chomps/Ford Performance Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste (SHR) on Saturday at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway’s roval.
  • Saturday marks the first time Nutri Chomps joins Briscoe on the No. 98 SHR Ford. Nutri Chomps are a 100 percent rawhide-free, vitamin and mineral enriched, high-protein dog chew made of chicken and pork skin. Nutri Chomps is one of several product lines by Scott Pet, Inc. Scott Pet is headquartered in Rockville, Indiana, and is a family-owned manufacturer and distributor of quality pet products for more than 40 years. Scott Pet began a relationship with Briscoe in 2016 while he was competing in the ARCA Series.
  • As a member of the Ford Performance Driver Development Program, Briscoe also will race the SHR Mustang Oct. 20 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Briscoe has run 10 Xfinity Series races with Roush Fenway Racing in 2018, as well as several sports car races.
  • Briscoe will be joined in the Charlotte field by SHR teammate Cole Custer in the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.
  • The 98 Ford makes its 11th appearance of 2018 at Charlotte. Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and Briscoe have shared driving duties. Harvick won Feb. 24 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
  • Briscoe has made 12 starts in Xfinity Series competition this season. He has scored three top-10 finishes with his best result of ninth coming at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  • In 2017 Truck Series competition, Briscoe earned four poles and won the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Briscoe’s 10 top-fives and 14 top-10s enabled him to make the Truck Series playoffs, where he finished sixth in points and scored the series’ rookie of the year and most popular driver awards.
  • Briscoe won six races en route to the 2016 ARCA Series championship.
  • The 23-year-old Mitchell, Indiana native is a third-generation driver. His grandfather, Richard Briscoe, is a legendary sprint car team owner and his father, Kevin Briscoe, raced sprint cars for over 20 years and won more than 150 feature events.
  • Briscoe’s first time behind the wheel of a racecar came in 2001 in a quarter midget. In 37 starts driving 410 sprint cars, Briscoe racked up eight top-fives and 17 top-10s, including a win in the last race of the season, where he broke Jeff Gordon’s record as being the youngest driver (13) to win a 410 sprint car race.

 

Chase Briscoe Quotes:

 

What are your thoughts on the Charlotte road course?

“I’m glad we can bring Nutri Chomps to the track with us this weekend when we race the No. 98 Ford. Nobody knows what to expect this Saturday. It’s going to be wild. I’ve gotten some road-course experience in sports cars this year with Ford and I’ve had a lot of fun. My guess is you are going to see a pretty calm race until the end, then it’s going to turn into some of the wildest racing of the year. The fans should get their money’s worth on Saturday. I just hope our Nutri Chomps/Ford Performance Mustang is at the front when the dust settles.”

KEVIN HARVICK – 2018 Charlotte Roval Race Advance

The punk-rock band Green Day released a song titled “Wake Me Up When September Ends” as part of its 2004 album American Idiot. While the song was released in 2004, it may never be as timely or relevant as it is right now for Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Jimmy John’s new 9-Grain Wheat Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) as they head to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race – the final event in the Round of 16 and first cutoff race of the 2018 NASCAR playoffs.

The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion is the series leader with seven points-paying wins, 20 top-five finishes, 23 top-10s, and 1,274 laps led.

However, his bid for a second NASCAR Cup Series championship got off to a rough start after cutting a right-front tire in the playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that led to him retiring from the race early with a 38th-place finish. Harvick and the team rebounded strongly with a runner-up finish Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) Raceway to all but secure his advancement into the Round of 12.

He is now third in the playoff standings with 2,113 points, 57 ahead of the final transfer position and will clinch his position in the Round of 12 by just starting the race at Charlotte. That’s good news for Harvick and the No. 4 team as they enter the first elimination race of the playoffs. But there’s a huge unknown to contend with this weekend – the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course and oval hybrid known as the “roval” at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Harvick now will race at Charlotte for playoff points by way of stage wins and a race win. Fortunately, he knows his way around both road courses and 1.5-mile ovals.

The Bakersfield, California, native is one of only three active drivers to claim a NASCAR Cup Series victory at both Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. are the others to make that claim. Harvick added his first career win at Sonoma in June 2017, when he started 12th, led 24 laps and finished ahead of SHR teammate Clint Bowyer when the race ended under caution. He also won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma the day before.

Harvick’s lone Cup Series victory at Watkins Glen came in 2006, when he started seventh and led 28 of 90 laps and beat current SHR co-owner Tony Stewart to the finish line by .892 of a second.

The driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s new 9-Grain Wheat Ford Fusion has age and experience on his side.

Five of the past seven champions have been 37 years of age or older when they captured the Cup Series title and his Freaky Fast team is just fueling up for the fight to the finish as the team tries for its second championship.

While being Freaky Fast is nothing new to Jimmy John’s employees or Harvick’s Jimmy John’s crew, they are celebrating the arrival of something new – the new 9-Grain Wheat Sub. It marks the first time Jimmy John’s has added a new bread to its lineup in more than 20 years.

The new 9-Grain Wheat Sub features a delicious blend of wheat, rye, flaxseed, quinoa, millet, oats, barley, amaranth and spelt, as well as honey, coconut and molasses. It is available with any Jimmy John’s sandwich at no extra charge.

Like the traditional French bread, the new 9-Grain Wheat Sub will be freshly baked in-store every day. It is the latest in a series of products that Jimmy John’s has rolled out this year as a part of the Freak Yeah campaign, including the popular Kickin’ Ranch®, the 16-inch Giant Sandwich and a sliced version of Jimmy John’s World-Famous Pickles, all of which can be applied to the new 9-Grain Wheat Sub.

The No. 4 team will be playoff point racing at the roval – trying to win at all costs. Otherwise, it’s wake me up when September ends.

 

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What will be the best places to pass and the most treacherous parts of the new roval track at Charlotte?

“I think the treacherous part of the course is the whole course. I don’t think there is really a safe spot on the course. As far as where you are going to pass, I don’t know that answer, either. I think there are so many unknowns about the course until we actually go do it and see what happens. Obviously, everyone is a little unsure of what you need to do, where you can pass and what the strategy will be. Who knows what will happen if it rains. There are just a number of unknowns that come from the roval that I don’t have an answer for.”

Will it be nervous time for those drivers who are not locked into the Round of 12?

“I’m glad it’s in the first round. I’m glad that we had a good regular season. There are no guarantees, but having some extra points should help. You don’t want to go in having to win at the roval – I can promise you that.”

What’s it like having all four Stewart-Haas Racing cars in the NASCAR playoffs for the first time?

“That’s a great accomplishment for Stewart-Haas Racing and all the guys and girls back at the shop who put the cars together. I think it really shows the effort and the chemistry of everything that we have going on at the organization, not even two years into a manufacturer change. Aric (Almirola) being there for one year and Clint (Bowyer) being there for two years. There are new crew chiefs and a lot of things that have changed, but I think you see the evolution of things getting better and really from an organization standpoint. When you start seeing the results of all four cars, that’s when you know that the processes and the things that you’re doing are working well.”

KURT BUSCH – 2018 Charlotte Roval Race Advance

Ashton Kutcher said it best during the popular film released to widespread acclaim in December 2000 – “Dude, Where’s My Car?”

Standing with Seann William Scott, who was playing the character Chester Greenburg, they didn’t know where their car was parked. And Kutcher, who was playing Jesse Montgomery III, said simply, “Dude, where’s my car?”

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), might be saying, “Dude, where’s my oval?” as the NASCAR Monster Cup Series heads to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway this weekend.

Busch has competed in 36 point-paying races on the 1.5-mile oval at Charlotte, as well as 19 non-points races. But the 55 races he’s competed in on the 1.5-mile oval won’t help him as this week, he will drive on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn Charlotte “roval.”

And this isn’t Sonoma Raceway in northern California or Watkins Glen International in the state of New York. It’s half oval and half road course. Thus, the hybrid term roval.

Think back to the 1971 Questor Grand Prix conducted at Ontario (Calif.) Motor Speedway. It used parts of the oval and road course at the track. But don’t expect Jackie Stewart or Mario Andretti – the latter who won the Questor Grand Prix – to be in Charlotte.

Busch has tested twice on the Charlotte roval – in October 2017 and in July 2018. And like everyone else, he doesn’t know what to expect this weekend, other than to expect the unexpected.

Busch has he been good at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Busch has one pole, one win, four top-threes, seven top-fives and nine top-10s and has led a total of 198 laps in his 18 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.

His only road-course win in the Cup Series came at Sonoma in 2011 and it was a dominant victory as he led a race-high 76 laps. He passed Denny Hamlin for the lead on lap 13 and stayed out front for the next 19 circuits around the 1.99-mile track. He relinquished the lead twice for scheduled, green-flag pit stops and took over the top spot for the final time on lap 88, then led the final 23 laps.

He’s even had success at Sonoma in the NASCAR Southwest Tour Series, finishing third in 1998 after starting 19th and winning the 1999 race after starting third.

He hasn’t been bad at Watkins Glen, either, as he finished second there in the Truck Series in 2000. In his three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Watkins Glen, he started first in each, won in 2006 and 2011, and finished third in 2007. In those three races, Busch led 98 of the 250 laps available – 39.2 percent

Busch has one pole, three top-five finishes and nine top-10s at Watkins Glen in Cup competition.

But the roval is new to the series competitors. And hopefully, at the end of this race, Busch can ask, “Dude, where’s victory lane?”

 

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

Thoughts on the roval? 

“There will be a lot of anxiety, a lot of unknowns and a lot of interesting, unique things that are going to come out of the road race with it being a cutoff race. It’s a very important race to have a smooth day. And, based on testing, nobody’s had a smooth day getting around that track.”

How did your tests go on the roval?

“I’ve been there twice. They changed the track layout since the last time I was there and the tire is going to be a little bit different since the last time I tested. And, now, I’ve been doing simulation work with Ford over in the simulator and making laps and trying to be as comfortable as I can heading there.”

Is it going to be a little bit crazy?   

“That’s going to be a pretty big mix-up, shake-’em-up and we hope to survive that one, in all honesty. We just need to not make mistakes at that one and not get caught up in other people’s mistakes and that’s how we’ll get through this first round.”