Author: Ashlyn Siske

For the first time since the July race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Kevin Harvick will get behind the wheel of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for “America’s Night Race” this weekend.

Harvick heads to Bristol with his head held high as he leads the series with seven points-paying wins and 40 playoff points. The Bakersfield, California native remains second in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings with 924 points, trailing leader Kyle Busch by 62 points with three races remaining in the 26-race regular season.

At the conclusion of regular-season-ending Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the points leader collects 15 playoff points while the driver who finishes second collects 10. That five-point differential between first and second in the regular-season championship could play a vital role in whether a driver makes the winner-take-all Championship 4 playoff finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In addition, with his 44th career Cup Series win Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Harvick became the first driver since Busch in 2008 to win seven of the first 23 races in a season. It also moved him into a tie with Bill Elliott for 17th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list.

With the end of the regular season in sight, each race is an opportunity to kick it up a notch. Harvick and the No. 4 Jimmy John’s team have been the freaks of the Cup Series field in 2018. They are putting up freaky numbers with a series-best 1,190 laps led, 17 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s.

Harvick has some impressive statistics on Bristol’s high banks, having led 876 laps at the short track while earning two wins, 12 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s in 35 starts. In his nine starts at Bristol for SHR, he has accumulated six top-10 finishes, including one victory.

While the No. 4 team’s stats are impressive, it’s only looking for one thing this weekend – to get its Freaky Fast Ford back to victory lane at Bristol.

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

How is the intensity at Bristol different in the fall with only a three races remaining in the regular season?

“There are a lot of different agendas as we go back to Bristol this weekend because there are only three races left before we get to the playoffs. Obviously Bristol, being a short track, has that atmosphere where you can be aggressive and make more happen than you can at Indy or Darlington. But, Darlington is one of those places where you aren’t likely to see someone win who is too far outside of the box because of how the tires wear and you have extreme falloff. The good-handling cars are going to migrate toward the front and be up front, competing for the win. At Bristol, you tend to see Ricky Stenhouse Jr. running in the top-five and you saw Bubba Wallace leading laps there in the spring race. You’ll have a guy like (Ryan) Blaney, who thought he had the best car and had a chance to win that race and wound up not winning. In the end, you’re going to have to beat Kyle Busch. He’s had the car to beat there for the last several years. If the high line gets going, a guy like Kyle Larson is going to be tough to beat and is looking for his first trip to victory lane. There are a lot of variables in terms of how the bottom groove holds and if the groove widens out. If you see Ricky Stenhouse up there with a few laps to go, he is probably going to take some risks because that is his way into the playoffs. This is the place where all those agendas collide and people take chances they wouldn’t normally take.”

What makes Bristol a place that people love for the drama and the racing under the lights?

“Before they reconfigured the racetrack, the only way to pass was to hit the guy in front of you. You knew that if he wasn’t giving you some room, or wasn’t coming down on the straightaway, that that person was there to defend his position and was basically giving you the middle finger, saying, ‘Alright, if you’ve got the balls to knock me out of the way, go ahead and knock me out of the way.’ Sure enough, every time it happened, the person who got knocked out of the way was mad and it built rivalries. That is what it was and the fans loved it. Now that they’ve brought the bottom groove back at Bristol – and it moves around throughout the night, but for the first half of that race you are on the bottom of the racetrack and it’s kind of like Bristol used to be – when you’re losing so much time to the guys who are just out of sight, you have to move someone out of the way. That’s what that bottom lane at Bristol promotes.”

This weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for “America’s Night Race.” Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) earned a solid sixth-place finish at the “Last Great Colosseum” during this year’s spring event and are looking to continue their success there Saturday night.

The stop at Bristol should provide confidence for the 34-year-old Almirola as he was the top finishing SHR driver during the spring race – one of his 10 top-10 finishes this season. In addition to gaining more confidence, Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Fusion will have Smithfield’s Anytime Favorites brand adorning the car.

Almirola has been successful this season at short tracks, in general, completing 99.8 percent of all possible laps and collecting four of his top-10 results at tracks 1.058 miles or less. His lone top-five result this season came on the mile oval at  New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where he led 42 laps before ultimately finishing third.

Before donning his helmet this weekend, Almirola will first put on his super-dad hat as he prepares his two kids, Abby and Alex, for their first day back to school. And just like he has to be fast on the track, Almirola will have to be fast preparing a protein-packed breakfast in the morning to power up his kids’ day of learning. Luckily, Smithfield has the perfect product line for Almirola to be quick in the morning – Smithfield’s Anytime Favorites. Anytime Favorites will help Almirola make the transition from those slow summer mornings to the rushed, school-day wake-up calls a breeze as all he needs to do is to open the package and add eggs to the contents for an easy family breakfast.

Almirola and Smithfield know that breakfast is important for all kids, and that’s why he and Smithfield are committed to ensuring everyone has access to this essential meal needed to perform successfully in school. Smithfield has once again partnered with No Kid Hungry, doubling its donation to 2 million meals to support the organization’s in-school breakfast programs that help ensure the 1 in 6 American children struggling with hunger can check this item off their list, too. Additionally, Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Fusion will be sporting a unique Anytime Favorites livery at Bristol to highlight the back-to-school favorite while also encouraging race fans to show their breakfast via social media using #BreakfastPower. For every breakfast photo shared with the hashtag, Smithfield will donate 10 meals to No Kid Hungry – helping more kids get access to healthy meals.

As the action heats up Saturday night, know that Almirola and his Smithfield team will also be powered by breakfast at Bristol.

Even though Smithfield is focused on school-day breakfast this weekend at Bristol, summer is still in full swing. Fans have the opportunity to continue celebrating the grilling season by entering Smithfield’s “Hero of the Grill” contest that Almirola and five-time world-champion barbecue pitmaster Tuffy Stone helped launch earlier this year. Fans are encouraged to nominate their favorite grill hero by visiting SmithfieldGetGrilling.com. One “Hero of the Grill” nominee will win $5,000. Plus, the first 10,000 nominees will have the chance to see their name featured on Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in September. =

Fans can also 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.

Bristol marks the 21^st 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.

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

What has it been like driving for a high-performance team like Stewart-Haas Racing this season?

“The performance speaks for itself and you can see it week in and week out. The Stewart-Haas Racing cars are a threat. They’re running in the top-five, leading laps and challenging for wins and we’re putting ourselves in position to win races with all four of our cars. It’s been fun. Its fun when you get on the airplane for whatever racetrack you’re going to and you feel like you’re going to have a shot to win.”

You’re working with a rookie crew chief this year, Johnny Klausmeier. He’s a wealth of information. What’s it like working with him? 

“Johnny is great. He is new at being a crew chief but he’s a very smart engineer and he’s working his way into the leadership role. As he continues to grow and gets more comfortable in that role, and as we continue to bond as a team and gel, it’s just going to get better and better. That’s one thing that has me really excited – the way we’ve performed already in the first half of the season with a relatively very young, new group all working together. The potential is very high. I don’t feel like we’ve come close to reaching our max potential and yet we’ve run really well.”

Your No. 10 car has a little bit different look this weekend at Bristol. Can you talk about it?

“I’m looking forward to Bristol. We have a really cool paint scheme – Smithfield Anytime Favorites. We use the product all of the time in our house. They’re precooked and ready to go. Breakfast is a big deal in our house and we use it to power up for the day. I love the little diced pieces of ham. I throw them in the pan with some spinach, mushrooms and eggs, and you’re ready to go for the day.”

The folks who cover and follow NASCAR are of course talking about the “Big Three.” Kevin Harvick has seven victories, Kyle Busch has six wins and Martin Truex Jr., has four checkered flags.

They make up the top-three in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points. But fourth on the list is Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Busch has 14 top-10 finishes and has been in the top-10 in points for 18 consecutive weeks, his longest such stretch since 2016. But he has yet to score a victory this year.

Fortunately for Busch, the night race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway is next on the schedule.

Busch has five wins, 10 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s at the .533-mile concrete oval and has led 1,062 laps in 35 career starts there.

He scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol in March 2002. He started 27th and led 89 laps en route to that maiden victory. It was only his third visit to the fast, high-banked oval, making him the only driver to record his first win at Bristol in fewer than four attempts.

His five career Bristol wins – March 2002 and 2003, August 2003, March 2004 and 2006 – is second best among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers at Bristol behind his younger brother Kyle Busch, who has seven wins there.

The elder Busch brother even completed a Bristol Cup Series sweep in 2003, winning both the spring and fall events. He started ninth and led 116 laps in March while starting fifth and leading 121 laps in August. In March 2004, Busch went on to record his third consecutive win at Bristol when he started 13th and led 119 laps on his way to victory lane.

He is one of four drivers to win three or more consecutive Cup Series races at Bristol. Fred Lorenzen won three in a row starting with the fall race in 1963, followed by a sweep of both 1964 events. Cale Yarborough won four in a row with sweeps in 1976 and 1977. Darrell Waltrip won seven in a row, with sweeps in 1981, 1982 and 1983, then a win at the March 1984 race.

Busch has led laps in 15 of his 35 career Cup Series starts at Bristol and he has led more than 100 laps four times, including three consecutive races – 116 in March 2003, 121 in August 2003, and 119 in March 2004. He’s hoping that Bristol will be his first win of the 2018 season with the playoffs just around the corner.

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

Talk about Bristol Motor Speedway – you’ve won there five times.

“I don’t know what it is about the track. My first couple times there, I was blown away by the speed and intensity of it. When I went back in the spring of 2002, everything slowed down and it was like I had a perfect manual on how to get around there. That was all brought to me by Jimmy Fenning (former crew chief from Roush-Fenway Racing). He really helped calm me down and told me the different points to look for. The biggest key is knowing when to run hard and when not to run hard. If you try to run hard every single lap, you’re not going to make it. There are certain points in the race when you run hard and there are certain points when you’re not necessarily cruising, but just trying to maintain the right pace. You go hard, and then you save a little bit and then you go hard again because you saved a little bit. It’s a matter of applying it at the right time.” 

And changes to Bristol since you starting running there in 2002? You have driven everything there. 

“I haven’t won since they put in the transition banking, the way it goes from the low groove to the high groove. They ground the high groove and that seemed to backfire on what they were trying to accomplish. The outside groove is now the preferred groove. When it heats up with rubber, it’s like glue. But you have to wait for it. You have to wait for that rubber to get warm and grab the tires. In the end, though, it’s still the same characteristics of Bristol. Lap times are still in the 15-second range. The races I’ve won there, we were maintaining good lap times throughout the 100-lap run. And that’s still what it takes to win at Bristol.”

What do you like about how to approach a Bristol race?

“I like how you can attack the track in certain situations. And then you have to cruise in other situations. You always have to know your surroundings at Bristol. When someone is on your rear bumper, or if you are really trying to pressure somebody hard, is there a reason to be doing that? You have to be one with the track and then just digest where the other cars are around you.”

Event:               Food City 300 (Round 22 of 33)
Date:                 August 17, 2018
Location:          Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway    
Layout:             .533-mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest:

• Friday’s Food City 300 will mark Cole Custer’s third Xfinity Series start at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
• While the Food City 300 will be Custer’s third Xfinity Series start at Bristol, it will also be his eighth overall start at the .533-mile oval in East Tennessee. Custer has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and two NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts at Bristol. Custer’s career-best Bristol finish is sixth in the 2016 Truck Series race.
• While it wasn’t his best finish, Custer’s most impressive performance at Bristol was in the 2015 Truck Series race. He started fifth and led twice for a race-high 111 laps, holding off a handful of veterans including Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Kyle Busch. But when Custer was coming up on Spencer Gallagher to put him a lap down less than 40 laps from the finish, Gallagher spun in front of Custer. With nowhere to go, Custer collided with him, all but ending his race. He finished 16th.
• In Custer’s last Xfinity Series start at Bristol, he earned his first career pole award and battled in and around the top-five throughout the race before earning his second-straight top-10 at the track.
• Custer’s best finish in the 21 Xfinity Series races run this season is second, earned in the 11^th event May 26 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
• Custer has earned four poles, seven top-five finishes, 17 top-10s, and has led 232 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• Custer’s four pole awards this season leads all Xfinity Series regulars – including his first pole award won at Bristol on April 18.
• Custer is fourth in the Xfinity Series driver standings with 752 points, 19 behind series leader Christopher Bell.
• Custer is competing for his sixth consecutive top-10 in the Food City 300.
• For the third year, a chemical compound called VHT has been added to the inside portion of the Bristol track surface to enhance the lower racing groove.
• There are only five races left until the Xfinity Series playoffs begin Sept. 21 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The winner of the regular-season points championship will earn an additional 15 playoff points – equivalent to winning three races.

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

What does it take to cross the finish line first at Bristol? 

“I think the biggest thing now is trying to make a good decision on what you think the VHT is going to do in the race and make good adjustments to your car for that. I think your line will change throughout the weekend and in the race as the VHT changes, and it will also depend on how they put it down. Usually, it seems like we start running the top in the race, though.”

How important is it to battle for the regular-season championship?

“In our case it’s very important. We either need to win a few races or win the regular-season championship to match those guys with a lot of playoffs points. We’re still happy with where we are right now, but it would put us in a great spot going into the first round of the playoffs.”

Where would you rank Bristol on your list of favorite tracks? 

“Bristol ranks high on my charts. It’s so much fun to slip and slide around a short track in the Xfinity Series and it’s something different we get to do. The fans obviously love short tracks, so it’s always great to put on a show for them.” 

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

What will be the key to earning a solid finish at Bristol? 

“Cole’s been great at short tracks his whole career. I like the idea of enhancing the bottom groove so the track has more options for passing. We’re coming back to Bristol with more notes than we had before. As long as we stay out of trouble, I think we’ll have a good shot at it.”

Every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver deals with pressure, but Clint Bowyer might be under a little more than usual Saturday night in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Since 2017, Bowyer has driven for owners Gene Haas and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart as part of  Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR.) Driving for Stewart, a future Hall of Fame driver, is one thing, but this weekend Bowyer’s Ford Fusion will also carry the logos of  Rush Truck Centers and Cummins Inc.

Cummins’global headquarters is in Columbus, Indiana – Stewart’s hometown.

“That’s a lot of pressure,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “Not only do I have to continue filling Tony’s seat, now I’ve got his hometown company’s logo on the side of my Ford. He’s going to have high expectations, I’m sure, but it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m glad Cummins has joined us.”

Cummins makes its first appearance on the No. 14 Ford Fusion Saturday night, but it is a household name to most motorsports fans.

Its lineage dates back to the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, when company founder Clessie Cummins was on the pit crew of the race-winning Marmon Wasp of driver Ray Harroun. Since its founding in 1919, the company now employs approximately 58,600 people and serves customers in about 190 countries and territories through a network of some 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 7,500 dealer locations.

While Cummins is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions, it is best known for its diesel truck engines. At Bristol, Cummins will share space on the No. 14 with Rush Truck Centers, the nation’s largest provider of premium products and services for the commercial vehicle market, with the largest truck inventory in North America.

Rush Truck Centers has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states. According to Rush Truck Centers, the trucking industry is expected to need 200,000 diesel technicians over the next 10 years to keep up with maintenance demands. Rush Truck Centers wants to make NASCAR fans aware of these opportunities.

Rush Truck Centers and Cummins are accustomed to working with each other. When a Cummins customer is in need of maintenance at a Rush Truck Centers location, RushCare Service Connect automatically provides information to Cummins, expediting and facilitating Cummins support and engagement when necessary. All correspondence is captured and can be viewed on the Service Connect portal, allowing customers and service advisors to see the entire maintenance history associated with any vehicle in the system.

Rush Truck Centers has integrated its RushCare Telematics Solution and its Service Connect platform with Cummins Connected Diagnostics to improve its service program, making maintenance decisions and service tracking easier for shared customers.

Cummins and Rush Truck Centers also help SHR get its racecars to the track each weekend. SHR’s Peterbilt Model 389 haulers are equipped with Cummins engines and RushCare Telematics and supported by the RushCare team, which monitors and reports critical fault codes, vehicle performance and driver habits. This ensures the haulers remain in peak condition while traveling thousands of miles from race to race each season.

Bowyer hopes to put both Rush and Cummins in victory lane Saturday night. Although he hasn’t won at Bristol, he’s often near the front when the checkered flag falls there. He owns seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s at Bristol and has led 137 laps in 25 starts. He finished second in this race in 2017, trailing winner Jimmie Johnson across the finish line by 1.199 seconds.

“The Bristol night race is such a party,” Bowyer said. “The fans are right on top of you. They’ve been there all day so, by the time we take the green flag Saturday night, the place is rocking,”

Bowyer arrives at Bristol after a 12th-place finish Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The finish kept Bowyer fifth in the regular-season points race. Bowyer owns the fourth-most playoff points as the season winds down with just three races remaining before the 2018 playoffs.

Playoff time certainly turns up the pressure for the Cup Series drivers. The pressure of driving for one of the businesses in Stewart’s hometown this weekend in Bristol might make for a good tune-up for Bowyer.

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

What is it like to race at Bristol?

“There is no way to describe 500 laps at Bristol. If your car is handling well, it’s manageable. If it’s loose and you are midpack and there is someone in front of you who is erratic, you are tense and not breathing. You haven’t made it 10 laps and you are out of breath. You think, ‘There’s no way in hell I’m going to make it these 500 laps.’ Next thing you know, it’s lap 450 and you’re wishing it was 600 laps.” 

What would a victory celebration at Bristol be like? 

“I want to celebrate in front of all those wild and crazy fans. There’s no better atmosphere. They’re so close to you that you feel that environment. I’m telling you, during driver intros, you’re walking down there and it’s just the feeling that comes over you before you get in that car. It’s just something you don’t feel anywhere else. It’s because of the closeness of the fans to you. They’re all breathing down on you and expecting big things out of you, and you can’t wait to go out there and get in that coliseum and go to battle.”

How do you make your car go fast at Bristol? 

“That baby’s got to turn in the middle, man. It is so hard to get your car freed up enough to turn in the center of the corner but not be too loose in, and then not smoke the tires up and off the corner. At Bristol, you have to have the total package, a lot like I did in Martinsville.”

This weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the backyard of Ford – Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) return to the 2-mile oval for the second time this season after spending last weekend turning left and right on the road course at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Before hitting the track this weekend, Almirola and his fellow Ford drivers on Thursday will reveal the 2019 Ford Mustang they’ll wheel beginning in the 2019 Cup Series season. The Ford Cup Series teams will transition to the Mustang next season after running the Fusion since 2006.

In June, Almirola scored his best Michigan finish of 11th, and it may have been even better had he not slid through his pit box during the race, causing him to lose several spots. It was the same day SHR scored its first 1-2-3 finish as an organization, and the first in the Cup Series since Roush Fenway Racing accomplished the feat in September 2008 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. In Almirola’s 12 career starts at Michigan, he’s completed 99.6 percent of all laps possible and has an average start 20.3 with an average finish of 19.4.

Almirola has two starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Michigan. He won in June 2010 after leading seven laps for his second Truck Series win that season. Additionally, the Tampa native made three starts in the Xfinity Series at Michigan with a best finish of eighth in June 2015 while piloting the No. 98 DenBeste Water Solutions Ford.

In this year’s 22 Cup Series races, Almirola has an average start of 19.1 and an average finish of 13.5 with one top-five and nine top-10s. He’s also led 113 laps this season, already a career best. Almirola rounds out the four-driver SHR contingent at 12th in the point standings.

With summer in full swing, fans have the opportunity to celebrate the grilling season by entering Smithfield’s “Hero of the Grill” contest that Almirola and five-time world-champion barbecue pitmaster Tuffy Stone helped launch earlier this year. Fans are encouraged to nominate their favorite grill hero by visiting SmithfieldGetGrilling.com. One “Hero of the Grill” nominee will win $5,000. Plus, the first 10,000 nominees will have the chance to see their name featured on Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in September.

Fans can also 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.

Michigan marks the 20th 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.

Ford has earned nine wins so far this season with Almirola’s SHR teammates earning eight of the victories for the Blue Oval – six by Kevin Harvick and two by Clint Bowyer. Harvick also captured the non-points-paying All-Star Race win at Charlotte. Bowyer led the 1-2-3 finish at Michigan in the June race to record Ford’s 36th and most recent win at the track. Bowyer can become the first Ford driver to sweep the Michigan Cup Series races for Ford since Bill Elliott did it in 1986.

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

Michigan has become one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. Corner entrance speed is 210 mph into turn one. Do you really feel that speed going into turn one?

“Absolutely. You feel every single mile an hour of that 210, 215 miles per hour. It is so fast at Michigan. Getting into the corner at that speed is just incredible. It’s fun to do that by yourself, but racing around other racecars at that speed is treacherous. That’s why you see give and take, and you see a lot of cars racing aggressively on restarts when we’re going a little bit slower and it’s a little easier to pass. But then, once we get strung out, it’s challenging to pass somebody going 215 miles per hour when you’re that dependent on aero, going that fast.”

At the speed you’re running at Michigan, how hard is it to get on pit road and get slowed down to pit-road speed?

“I don’t think Michigan is that difficult of a pit road to get onto. We go to many other racetracks that are harder to get on pit road with Dover probably being the toughest track to get on pit road. Michigan is in my opinion pretty straightforward. We are going pretty fast, around 200 miles per hour, and we have to get slowed down to 55 miles per hour, but it’s a pretty wide, sweeping corner and the access lane getting on pit road is pretty easy.”

How crazy are the restarts at Michigan and is it the best time to take advantage of someone?

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

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

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

Kurt Busch ran his first NASCAR race on Sept. 24, 2000 driving a Ford Taurus for Roush Fenway Racing.

Busch won Ford’s last championship in 2004 driving Roush Fenway’s No. 97 Ford Taurus and won Ford’s last Daytona 500 driving the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

He owns two Ford GTs and has a letter from Edsel Ford from when he won at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn in June 2003.

All of this would explain why Busch is excited to be part of the manufacturer’s unveiling of the Ford Mustang in Dearborn, Michigan, which will debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019. The Mustang follows the Thunderbird, Taurus and Fusion, which have been the only Ford models raced in the Cup Series since 1972.

Busch has driven all but the Thunderbird in competition and is looking forward to racing the Mustang next year.

He has three wins at Michigan, site of this weekend’s Consumers Energy 400, which puts him in a tie with Matt Kenseth and Kyle Larson for most among active drivers. And all three of Busch’s wins came with different teams.

He scored his first win at Michigan in June 2003 driving for Roush Fenway, then backed it up with a victory in August 2007 with Team Penske. His last Michigan win came in a rain-shorted race with SHR in June 2015.

Busch also qualified on the pole at the 2-mile oval in June 2010, 2011 and this year, and he’s scored six top-five finishes there.

This weekend, he’ll be looking to take Ford back to victory lane at Michigan, which is about an hour from the Detroit area, where Ford is based. The blue oval has a long history at Michigan, winning nearly half the races run there since the track opened in 1969. Of the 98 NASCAR Cup Series races contested at Michigan, Ford and its Mercury brand have combined for 48 wins – 36 by Ford and 12 by Mercury.

One of those is Busch’s June 2003 win at Michigan, when he snatched the lead from Jeff Gordon with 24 laps to go to claim his seventh career Cup Series win.

The Las Vegas native has six top-12 finishes, including his June 2015 win, in his last seven Michigan starts. He’s hoping to score many more victories in Ford’s backyard.

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

You won the June 2003 Michigan race for Ford almost 100 years after the company was formed. Can you talk about what you remember from that experience?

“It was really neat. In my office at my house, I have a letter form Edsel Ford congratulating our team on the race win. And it’s something I framed and put in a similar format to a letter that my grandfather got from Henry Ford when he was a Ford employee. And it was really neat to have that moment and the lineage of our family of letters from the Ford family.”

What’s been the key to your success at Michigan?

“The biggest thing about Michigan is respecting the speed. It’s a very fast racetrack.”

What do you feel like is the toughest part of Michigan? 

“The toughest part is turn three. It seems like the cars do this weird, four-wheel, light drift getting down in there. If your car is dialed in – and I’ve won there three times – it feels like turn three is the easiest corner. Turn three to me is the challenge each time I go there.”

What does it take to be fast at Michigan?

“Michigan is a tough place because of the way the cars have a certain grip level on fresh tires versus old tires. What I mean by that is, when you put on fresh tires, your tires are cold and they don’t grab the asphalt as well. A lot of guys try to stay out at Michigan with the hot tires on and they get better restarts. Restarts at Michigan are already pretty wild with how wide the track is and how many lanes there are for options. It comes down to just trying to put yourself in the best position with the best-percentage chance according to whether you’re on fresh tires, or by staying out, as you try to make up spots on restarts.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light/Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), trails Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch by 70 points heading into Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

While most of the focus continues to be on the “Big Three” of Harvick, Busch and Martin Truex Jr., including their ability to dominate with stage and race wins, the 70 points that separate Busch and Harvick is another point of emphasis just four regular-season races remaining.

At the conclusion of regular-season-ending Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the points leader collects 15 playoff points while the driver who finishes second collects 10. That five-point differential between first and second  in the regular-season championship could play a vital role in whether a driver makes the winner-take-all Championship 4 playoff finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Harvick will continue his quest for playoff points in the four races that remain in the regular season. Thus, even more pressure to start up front and, ultimately, to try to win the Busch Pole Award. Harvick ranks second with 33 playoff points heading to Michigan, just two markers behind Busch’s 35 and six ahead of Truex.

The Big Three have accounted for 16 of the 22 race wins in 2018 and nearly 65 percent of the total playoff points accumulated thus far – 95 of 147 available.

As the series heads to the Irish Hills of Michigan this weekend, Harvick also has some unfinished business from the June race there that he would like to settle. Harvick started fourth and dominated the FireKeepers Casino 400 by leading 49 of the 133 laps before rain came and ended the race prematurely. Harvick’s teammate Clint Bowyer opted for an aggressive pit strategy as the rain was approaching and held off Harvick on a restart as the rain began to fall. Bowyer was declared the winner with Harvick finishing second as the race ended under caution.

Harvick, the Bakersfield, California native, has one Cup Series win to his credit at Michigan when he finished 1.731 seconds ahead of runner-up Denny Hamlin in August 2010. While he is still searching for his second trip to victory lane there, he has finished second six times in his last 11 outings at Michigan.

The best way to score maximum playoff points in a race is to start up front, earn stage points and win races. Harvick and the No. 4 team can accomplish all of those goals with a win this weekend in the team’s final visit to Michigan in 2018.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light/Mobil 1 Ford Fusion:

What does it take to have a good finish at Michigan?

“How you finish at Michigan depends on how your day is going. If you’re having a good day, it’s not really hard to tell your guys what you need and everyone is in a good mood. If you’re having a bad day, you can get behind at Michigan really fast. Usually, when you’re hooked up at Michigan, the leaders have clean air and move through traffic pretty well. But, if you’re in the middle of the pack, you find yourself getting behind and going a lap down pretty quickly. You’re going to end up with a green-flag pit stop and a whole bunch of green-flag laps. You just have to be going from the time the green flag drops and keep yourself in position at the end.”

Do you enjoy racing at Michigan International Speedway?

“I think we’ve finished really well there over the last couple of years and scored a lot of second-place finishes and top-fives. I learned a long time ago that sometimes those things happen, so it’s better to be on a top-five streak than a 10^th-place streak. The good thing about the racetrack is that it has definitely aged and the groove has spread out over the last couple of races, so you have a lot more options than you did a few years ago when they repaved it. Every time we go back there, it gets a little more racey. When we go back this time, there should be lots of room to race and you’ll see lots of speed. As we go through the restarts and traffic and different things, we’ll have to see how it all goes, but it should be interesting.”