Event:               Zippo 200 (Round 20 of 33)
Date:                 August 4, 2018
Location:          Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International
Layout:             2.45-mile road course

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

• The Zippo 200 will mark Custer’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
• While the Zippo 200 will be Custer’s second Xfinity Series start at Watkins Glen, it will be his fifth overall start at the 2.45-mile road course. In Custer’s three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts at The Glen, he earned a pole, two top-five finishes and led 17 laps. He finished 12^th in his Watkins Glen Xfinity Series debut in 2017.
• Custer has three overall road course starts in the Xfinity Series. His best Xfinity Series finish at a road course is eighth – earned Aug. 27, 2017 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
• Custer’s four pole awards this season leads all Xfinity Series regulars.
• Custer’s best finish in the 19 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, 15 top-10s, and has led 232 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• Custer has qualified inside the top-five at eight of the last nine races this season. He has earned 14 top-five starts and 15 top-10 starts in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• Custer is third in the Xfinity Series driver standings, 18 points behind series leader Daniel Hemric.
• Last weekend at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Custer led a season-high 104 laps, earned his first stage win of the season and secured the Haas Automation Ford team’s 15^th top-10 of the season.
• He is joined at The Glen by Stewart-Haas Racing w/ Biagi-DenBeste teammate Aric Almirola in the No. 98 Go Bowling Ford Mustang.

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

With three of the next six races being road-course events, how important is it to run well at Watkins Glen?

“This is definitely one of the most unique stretches of races we have all year – three road courses, a short track, Darlington and Indianapolis. We have to start strong in this stretch because it doesn’t get any easier – especially when you have guys fighting hard to make it into the playoffs. We aren’t going to run conservatively, though. We’re in this to win and we haven’t gotten one, yet. We had a decent race last year at Watkins Glen and ran up front for a while. It’s extremely important that we take notes and learn from this race heading into Mid-Ohio and Road America.” 

Do you enjoy road-course racing?

“I never really grew up road racing or anything but, when I started doing it, I thought it was one of the more fun things we do here throughout the season. I feel like it was something I started getting better at and there was a different level of competition in road-course racing. I’m really looking forward to all of the road courses coming up this season.”

What will it take to run a successful race at Watkins Glen?  

“First, you have to be good as a driver. However, Watkins Glen is one of the tracks where the car comes into play more than most road courses. It’s definitely a fast track and one of the more fun places we go to.”

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

What car are you bringing to Watkins Glen and how important is it to succeed at road courses this season?

“We’re bring a brand new car to Watkins Glen this weekend. We’re excited to start with a fresh car and really dial in our road-course program. It’s extremely important to start out on the right foot at the road-course races because we have Mid-Ohio, Road America and the Charlotte Roval road course.”

Jim Clark and Graham Hill have won at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. So have Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt.

All these drivers won driving Formula One cars when the F1 calendar included The Glen from 1961 to 1980. Kurt Busch is looking to join these legend drivers as winners at The Glen this weekend, but he’s not going to do it behind the wheel of a Haas F1 Team, rather as driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Busch’s road-course career started in 2000 as a young driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He finished second at Watkin Glen and 11th at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway. 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 these three races, Busch led 98 of the 250 laps available – 39.2 percent.

In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Busch swept the poles for both road-course races in 2006. He won his fifth career Cup Series pole at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June and sixth at Watkins Glen in August, marking the only Cup Series poles Busch has earned on road courses.

He scored his first Cup Series road-course victory at Sonoma in 2011, leading a race-high 76 laps. Busch 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, leading the final 23 laps.

Busch is hoping the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion is up to the challenge at Watkins Glen. He has finished in the top-11 the last five years at The Glen, highlighted by a third-place drive in 2014.

Busch is hoping he can be a force on the road course at The Glen and join the legendary drivers who have seen victory lane.

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

You’ve won a Cup Series race at Sonoma and won Xfinity races at Watkins Glen. What does it take to be successful on the road courses?

“I think the biggest thing, as a driver, is maintaining the pace throughout the race. I’ve struggled a little bit in the races at Watkins Glen with braking power and I was too hard on the brakes, early in the race. It’s weird, though, the Xfinity races I’ve run there and won, the brakes stayed consistent for me in that car. So I’ve just got to find the right combination with the Monster Energy Cup car because, at Sonoma, we never really had any brake issue. So I think that is the key. If we find that right balance, that will help us stay consistent, and then you have the lap times at the end of the race where you can be competitive for a win.”

Should NASCAR run the “Boot” at Watkins Glen?

“It would be interesting to see how it would play out. Are the corners in the boot too slow compared to the rest of the corners? And then I’ve heard that if we ran the boot, then the number of laps would be fewer because the track is longer. And then the fans only get to see the cars come by them X amount of times and that’s why I’ve heard we don’t run the boot.”

Is there a road course in the world that you would like to run that you haven’t? Is there a “bucket list” track for you?

“Oh yeah – to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or Monaco. I’ve never been to Laguna Seca. I’ve always raced in Sonoma and been to Northern California many times, but I’ve never even gone to the property of Laguna Seca. I’ve just seen it on TV and video games. I would love to go there.”

Is road-course racing a little more intense than it was in years past?

“It just seems like the gentlemen’s agreement or the etiquette of how road-course races were run in years past is less and less each year. Everybody’s really bumping and grinding a lot harder. They’re not afraid to throw in the front bumper when it’s not supposed to be in that position. That’s why I think the road courses have become the fan favorites because of the energy level and the amount of contact that is available at the road courses. You can feel it, you can sense it in the car, you know when you go to Sonoma or Watkins Glen that the contact is going to be there and guys aren’t afraid to mix it up anymore. It will be pretty wild to have a road-course race during the playoffs this year at Charlotte. We’ll see how that plays out. What I like is that there is a road course that will be in the playoffs and that’s going to require the drivers to be more versatile.”

Clint Bowyer might seem a little crazy, but he’s certainly no dummy.

When retired Buffalo Bills special teams ace Steve Tasker tried to autograph a football for Bowyer two weeks ago, the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford driver quickly saw a sure-fire way to make his home life lot easier. Bowyer agreed with the idea to have Tasker sign the football to his wife Lorra, a lifelong Bills fan.

The Emporia, Kansas native brought the football home to his wife a few days later.

“On Sunday mornings in the offseason, we go out to breakfast and I’m decked out in my Kansas City Chiefs shirt and Lorra’s got on her Buffalo Bills sweatpants,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “So, I think she’ll be happy with a signed football from Steve Tasker.”

Lorra Bowyer is a native of Pen Yann, New York – a town of 5,000 about 120 miles east of Buffalo. More importantly this week, Pen Yan is about 30 miles from Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, where her husband and the rest of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field will race Sunday in the GoBowling at The Glen.

Bowyer met Tasker and Bills general manager Brandon Beane when he visited the Bills stadium and training facility July 19 to promote this weekend’s race. While his football loyalty is more toward the Chiefs, the Upstate New York area has a special place in Bowyer’s heart after spending time with the in-laws over the years.

“I love this place,” he said. “There are so many lakes and the area is so beautiful. Not sure I want to spend winters here but, when we visit, we have a good time.”

Bowyer hopes he’ll also have a good time Sunday in the GoBowling at the Glen. It’s the second of three road-course races on the 2018 Cup Series schedule. Bowyer warns there’s very little comparison between the high speeds of the Watkins Glen track and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, where Bowyer finished third on June 24.

He said the key to success at Watkins Glen is getting his rhythm and timing to account for the high speeds.

“There is such a sensation of speed at Watkins Glen,” said Bowyer, who has posted top-five finishes in all three road-course races he’s entered since joining Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2017. “It is a wild racetrack and you have to be on your toes. If you slip up the least little bit, you are not only going to crash, you are going to crash hard. I think of it like this – Sonoma is like a short track and Watkins Glen is like a superfast, 1.5-mile track. That’s the speed difference.”

Bowyer played a fuel-mileage strategy last year to earn a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen. He hopes for similar success Sunday when his No. 14 Ford will carry the Rush Truck Centers paint scheme. Rush Truck Centers has been the primary partner on the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 and has been with the organization since 2010.

The Texas-based company has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states. 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 and knows that, with Bowyer’s background, he is the right guy to help get the message out.

Bowyer arrives at Watkins Glen after finishing 11th at Pocono last weekend. The Rush Truck Centers team is fifth in the standings with two victories, six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s with just five races left in the regular season. Bowyer owns the fourth-most playoff points behind leader Kyle Busch, SHR teammate Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. As the playoffs approach, Bowyer said every point matters.

“We just need to be consistent and run well,” he said. “Our road-racing program is really strong at SHR and I expect it will be again this weekend in Watkins Glen. We’ve run better than we’ve finished of late, and we need to get back to finishing like we should. I hope that’s what happens this weekend.”

If Bowyer can continue his recent road-course prowess Sunday in the GoBowling at The Glen, then maybe his autograph will be just as popular as Tasker’s in Upstate New York.

Even if his wife prefers her Bills memorabilia.

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

What is the key to a fast lap at Watkins Glen?

“The Glen is so tricky. It’s such a momentum racetrack and a very fast racetrack. For me, the part you have to get right if you want a good lap is going up through the esses. You have to hold that loud pedal down as much as possible and go wide open through the esses and on in to that ‘Bus Stop.’ That Bus Stop is where you can find a lot of speed. You have to roll through there, not upset the car or bounce off those curbs too hard and make your car loose.”

What is the difference between Sonoma and Watkins Glen?

“You are way more at ease at Sonoma. It’s a finesse, rear-grip, take-care-of-your-tires type of track. I think it is a much more technical track. When you go to Watkins Glen, it’s a ton of fun but it’s a whole different beast. It’s wide open. It’s balls to the wall. You have to be extremely good on braking and have a fast racecar. Both of them are a ton of fun and so unique. That is the thing. We race and chase each other in circles non-stop. It is refreshing to have a break like this when we come to these road courses.”

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend and Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) are riding some solid momentum after leading 42 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and finishing the 301-lap event in third.

With the NASCAR playoffs fast approaching, Almirola’s ability to maintain a position above the 16-driver cutline is vital. The good news is this weekend marks the Cup Series’ second trip to Pocono this season, and the young No. 10 Smithfield team is bringing a notebook to work from that was gathered during Almirola’s strong seventh-place finish there in June. “We’re going to be a contender,” Almirola said. “We’re going to be tough to beat. That’s what I keep telling everybody. We’re so new and so young. We’re 20 races into working together. We’re good, we’re not great. We have potential to be great because I don’t feel like we’ve reached our max potential just because everything is so new and we’re still learning each other, learning what I like in the racecars and all of those things.”

In Almirola’s six starts this season at tracks 2 miles or longer, he hasn’t finished outside the top-12, with the exception of the July event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where he was involved in an accident.

The 34-year-old will make his 13th Cup Series start at Pocono’s “Tricky Triangle.” Almirola has competed in the Cup Series at the three-turn track since 2012. His top-10 finish in June was his first there. The Smithfield driver has led two laps at the Pennsylvania track and has completed 1,495 of 1,836 possible laps.

While Almirola is having his best year ever in the Cup Series, his personal expectations continue to rise with his performance. “You would think I would be excited to finish in the top-five, but I’m not, I’m competitive and want more,” he said. “I play Candy Land with my kids and I don’t like to lose to my kids playing a game. I’m just competitive by nature and I want to win, especially for everybody who believes in me – Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, Smithfield – everybody who has just put so much into believing in me and giving me the opportunity to drive at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Almirola’s crew chief Johnny Klausmeier is in his freshman season as the leader of a Cup Series crew. However, he has earned one career Cup Series victory, coming in June 2016 at Pocono while Klausmeier, then lead engineer on SHR’s No. 41 Ford Fusion driven by Kurt Busch, substituted for crew chief Tony Gibson.

In 20 Cup Series starts this year, Almirola has accrued an average start of 18.9 and an average finish of 12.6, with one top-five finish and eight top-10s. He’s also led 113 laps this season, already a career best. Almirola rounds out the four-driver SHR contingent at 11th 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.

Pocono Raceway marks the 19th 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. Ford has 23 all-time series wins at Pocono and the manufacturer won one of the two events there each in 2016 and 2017.

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

You mentioned wanting to win for all the people who have been supportive of you getting this opportunity. What you’ve been able to accomplish already this season, for you personally, does it serve as some justification for yourself that this is what you wanted to do?

“Yeah, absolutely it does. It makes me sleep better at night. I think, had my career ended at the end of last year and I never got another opportunity, for the rest of my life I would go to sleep at night and wonder how good I was as a racecar driver. I feel like it’s fair to say I’ve not had good enough equipment as an excuse. Well, now I have this opportunity here at Stewart-Haas Racing and equipment is not an excuse. We have the best of everything. We have everything we need to go out and compete for wins. It’s up to me and my team. So, yeah, I do feel like there is justification running up front and racing with Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch – all those guys who run up front on a regular basis. It makes me feel like I’m capable and I can do it. That does make me feel better. At least I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that, given the right opportunity, I could perform at that level. Now we’ve just got to figure out how to win.”

As you make a second trip to some of these tracks, are you going to be able to make that next step and start getting those wins?

“I think so, I really do. I feel like going back to some of these tracks that we’ll now have notes at – a lot of these tracks all year long we’ve shown up kind of blind. We have no real notebook. We’ve shown up and just kind of guessed at where we needed to unload, then throughout the weekend made a lot of changes to dial our car in and get it better. Now we’re going to go back to these races where we have a notebook. We changed these things in practice, we’ll start already with that in our car. We’ll be able to fine-tune on that and make that better. We’ve learned what not to do. We’ve gone to some racetracks earlier this year, made some changes and it was the wrong way. We know now not to venture down that path. It’s as much learning what to do as it is what not to do. It’s just building a foundation and a notebook. When you look at the teams that are very successful, the big three (Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr.) that everyone talks about, they’ve all been working together for three, four, five, six years, now. They’ve got a foundation. That’s what has me excited about my relationship with Johnny Klausmeier, my engineers, this whole 10 team, is that we’re young. We’re all a young group of guys all in our early 30s. We’re learning each other, we’re new. We’re already starting to compete with these guys in 20 races working together. I feel like we have so much potential to continue to get better.”

Daytona, Chicago, etc., you’ve had all these races where you’re right there. How do you keep positive, looking at the potential instead of wondering what’s going to go wrong next?

“It just has me more motivated, really. I just have more fire in my belly and more motivation. I have more confidence just knowing that we’re close, we’re right there. We’ve just got to keep pounding. We’ve got to keep grinding and keep after it. We’re going to win. We’re running too good. We’re too competitive to not win, it’s just a matter of when. ‘When’ are we going to win? I firmly believe that. I think that is the mentality that we all have on this team. That’s what has us fired up and we keep working hard every week. We don’t worry about anybody else. We’re just focused on our team, our car, doing the things we need to do to make our car go fast. We’re on the brink of getting there. Hopefully it happens soon. If not, I’ll take it in the first round of the playoffs, too.”

The Triangle Offense.

How do you stop the triangle offense? Well, no one stopped it when Phil Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles, then followed that up with five more championships as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Triangle Offense was formed by Sam Barry, who coached at the University of Southern California in the 1940s. One of his players was a young Tex Winter, who further developed the offense. Once Winter started coaching with Jackson, they went on to win 11 NBA titles.

The system is the best way to spread the five players on the floor and produces a great chance at victory.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), hopes to use the triangle offense in this week’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway – aka “The Tricky Triangle.”

Busch is fifth in points and all but guaranteed to be in the 16-driver playoffs with just six regular-season races remaining. The only thing that has eluded him in 2018 is a victory. Perhaps Pocono is the place to score that win.

He first won at Pocono in July 2005, driving for Roush Fenway Racing, when he led 131 of 203 laps after starting second. Busch then dominated in August 2007, driving for Roger Penske. He started second again but led 175 of 200 laps en route to victory at the 2.5-mile triangular racetrack. Both races were 500 miles in length.

In June 2016, driving for SHR, he started ninth and led 32 of 160 laps of the now 400-mile race to score his third career Pocono victory.

Perhaps Busch’s success is tied to the track’s unique design. The three-cornered layout was designed by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Rodger Ward and remains unlike any other track in the world, with a trio of unique turns each modeled after a different track.

Turn one, which is banked at 14 degrees, is modeled after the legendary Trenton (N.J.) Speedway. Turn two, banked at eight degrees, is a nod to the turns at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And turn three, banked at six degrees, is modeled after the corners at The Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile.

Busch’s first-ever NASCAR victory came on July 1, 2000 at Milwaukee, when he started on the pole and led 156 of 200 laps to win the Camping World Truck Series race. Former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Greg Biffle was third, while a young Jamie McMurray finished 31^st. Joe Ruttman, who is the brother of Troy Ruttman, the 1952 Indianapolis 500 winner, finished 24^th. Troy Ruttman competed against Ward 10 times in the Indianapolis 500 during the 1950s and 1960s.

The No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion will be led by crew chief Billy Scott. Both Busch and Scott hope they can use the triangle offense and score the kind of success Barry, Winter and Jackson did for so many years.

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

You’ve won three times at Pocono, but the 2007 win was so dominant. Can you describe that race?

“The win in 2007 with Penske Racing – that was the fastest car that I’ve ever driven. That car would turn, stick, drive down the straightaway – that car did everything. It didn’t have a single flaw. I knew how good that car was on the first lap of the race. I remember telling myself, ‘Don’t screw this up.’ I ran the rest of the race more nervous than I had in years prior. I’ve never dominated a race like that. We led 175 of 200 laps. That was, by far, the best car I have ever driven. It was a great race to show the balance of that team and the strength of where we were at that point. I think the 25 laps that we didn’t lead were from a bad pit stop at one point. My first win at Pocono in 2005 was pretty great, too. It’s fun to win at a racetrack that is so unique because of how different that track is compared to all the other oval tracks. Pocono is a little bit like Darlington in that all the corners are different, so you have to manage them the best that you can and not be perfect in one corner versus another.”

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you go to Pocono?

“How unique the place is. You drive in through the Tunnel Turn and that corner to me is one of the most unique corners of all the tracks that we go to. When you go to Pocono, the first thing you really think of is compromise – you have to juggle all three corners being different. It’s called the Tricky Triangle for a reason.”

Of the three turns, which is the most important to you and why? 

“It’s weird, I’ve had winning cars there a few different times and turn two always feels the best when my car has a chance to go to victory lane. But, I think turn three, if you are able to pass cars and maneuver around them, you’ve got to get a good run off turn three to be ready to pass them in turn one. All of them are important. You can’t exclude one from another.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is going into the Gander Outdoors 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race looking to master Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

A trip to the “Tricky Triangle” has always proven challenging for Harvick. In fact, it is one of only two racetracks where Harvick has yet to record a NASCAR Cup Series win. Kentucky Speedway in Sparta is the only other Cup Series track where Harvick has yet to reach victory lane in the premier series.

Pocono Raceway’s unique three-turn design presents many challenges for race teams in setting up the car. The track, which was designed by two-time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward, features very distinct turns each modeled after famous tracks from the past and present. Turn one was modeled after Trenton (N.J.) Speedway, turn two is like Indianapolis Motor Speedway and turn three is similar to the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile.

Thankfully, Harvick has an impressive partner in Mobil 1, an entity known for standing up to the toughest challenges.

Mobil 1 is the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR” and the Mobil brand of lubricant products are the “Official Lubricants of NASCAR.” Mobil 1 engine oils have long been the lubricant of choice for race teams competing in the most demanding and popular motorsports series around the globe.

The history of Mobil 1 in motorsports dates back to rally competition during the early 1970s. However, its involvement in racing became more official in 1978 through sponsorship of the Williams Formula One team and the 1987 sponsorship of Rusty Wallace’s No. 27 car in NASCAR.

From that time, the presence of Mobil 1 on racetracks and circuits has grown by global proportions. Today, Mobil 1 is relied upon for its ability to deliver exceptional engine performance and protection even under some of the most extreme conditions. Automotive technicians, racecar drivers, team owners and the world’s leading automotive manufacturers can all testify to the advanced technology delivered by Mobil 1 lubricants.

Harvick’s performance in recent years, with Mobil 1 under the hood, could be an indication that the time has come to finally cross Pocono off the list. The driver of the No. 4 Ford Fusion has finished in the top-five in his last three Cup Series starts at Pocono, including two runner-up finishes, and he has four runner-up finishes in his nine starts at the 2.5-mile triangle since joining SHR.

What is most important for Harvick coming into this weekend at Pocono and the five races that follow is the accumulation of playoff points that are so critical at this point in the season. Thus, even more pressure to start up front and, ultimately, to try to win the Busch Pole Award. Harvick’s series-best 32 playoff points heading to Pocono is just two makers ahead of Kyle Busch’s 30 and six points ahead of Martin Truex Jr.

The “Big Three” of Harvick, Busch and Truex has accounted for 15 of the 20 race wins in 2018 and 66 percent of the total playoff points accumulated – 88 of 133 available through 20 races.

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 Pocono in 2018.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What are your thoughts on heading to Pocono this week?

“As we go to Pocono, we obviously want to win there, especially since its one of the two tracks we haven’t won at. I know that Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the organization itself has put a lot of effort into this particular weekend trying to get to victory lane and take that race off the list. It’s a place I enjoy going – not so much the place I enjoyed going in my previous life before I came to Stewart-Haas Racing. It was never a track we ran very well at, but we’ve come to find out that if you have the cars where they need to be and the people around you, things are much different. So, Pocono is a place that I’ve learned to enjoy more than I did in my previous life at RCR.” 

The group at Pocono has done so much to improve the infrastructure and fan experience. What does that mean for the racetrack?

“Well, people see effort. When you go to Pocono, you see effort from the time you turn into the tunnel and see the waterfall – going through the tunnel to the guardrails all the way to the campgrounds. Everything there has been in a transition. You feel like you’re having more fun when you go to Pocono now than you did, say, six or seven years ago.”

If ever an example is needed to illustrate the highs and lows of a racecar driver’s life, then look no further than the last time No. 14 Haas Automation VF-1 for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Clint Bowyer raced at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and the days that followed.

Bowyer qualified ninth for the June 3 race at Pocono and ran in the top-five much of the day. In the closing laps, it appeared Bowyer was in line to battle for the victory, but a missed shift with five laps remaining dropped him to the back of the pack and left him with a 20th-place finish.

“I’m sick to my stomach,” said Bowyer after he left the racetrack mulling his misfortune. “I let my team down today.”

He beat himself up for the next several days as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series headed to the next race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Seven days after the Pocono disappointment, a late, two-tire stop for track position, combined with some of the best driving of his racing career at the high-speed Michigan oval enabled Bowyer to edge SHR teammate and always tough competitor Kevin Harvick. Rain ended the race early, putting Bowyer in victory lane for the second time in 2018.

It was a race that saw SHR sweep the top three spots for the first time in its 10 years of Cup Series racing, and Ford claim seven of the top eight spots. It was in the final laps that Bowyer earned the victory.

“When we went out there on two tires, I looked in the mirror and I was so far ahead of everybody else I was like, ‘Oh man, we are in trouble,’ Bowyer said. “The rain came just in time. I was trying to hold (Harvick) off. I was cutting him off and taking his line away pretty bad. If it wasn’t for a win, you wouldn’t be doing that.”

It capped a pretty emotional week of disappointment and success, but that’s part of the sport.

“This sport can beat you down and I’ve certainly been beat down at times in my career,” Bowyer said. “But that’s what makes the highs so high. That’s why you celebrate the way you do.”

Bowyer arrives at Pocono after a disappointing run in New Hampshire, where a late-race accident left him with a 35th-place finish. Like he did at Michigan, he hopes to rebound this weekend when the Cup Series returns to the 2.5-mile Pocono triangle. Bowyer’s No. 14 Haas Automation Ford should be one of the fastest on the track and battling for victory.

He hopes the battle for victory comes down to the last few laps of the race like it did at Michigan. He said his favorite part of the sport is when everything is on the line.

“That’s when the pay window’s open, the money’s on the line, it’s go time,” he said. “Let’s see what we’re made out of. Let’s line these things up and get after it.”

He hopes that attitude pays off in the NASCAR playoffs that begin in just seven races.

“For me, I love that aspect,” Bowyer said. “A lot of guys, it makes them nervous. I’ve always looked to the playoffs as an opportunity. I’ve always liked the racetracks in the playoffs, but it’s just that feel, that competitiveness. It doesn’t matter what your regular season did. You get it there and your cars are running well, your communication, your boys are all – you got the swagger and what it takes, you’ve got to be set on ‘kill.’ You’re out of time, you’re out of Mulligans, it’s time to go.”

Bowyer arrives at Pocono sixth in points with two victories, six top-five finishes and 10-top 10s in 2018. Only Bowyer, Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch own multiple victories in 2018. Bowyer has played a key role in SHR’s team success in 2018.  Harvick’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon last weekend marked SHR’s series-leading eighth points-paying victory 20 races into the 2018 season. SHR also won the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. New Hampshire was SHR’s 11^th Cup Series victory with Ford.

Bowyer has proven that, in NASCAR, disappointment one week can quickly turn to success the next week. He hopes that’s true Sunday at Pocono.

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation VF-1 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Do you like returning to Pocono just 56 days after your last race there?

“As we go through these races, the thing I love the most about the season is we start going back to these races for the second time – especially in the playoffs. That notebook is even bigger for us because our cars have been unloading fast. Now, it’s just fine-tuning.”

What are your thoughts on the track at Pocono?

“Pocono is a really tough track with three different turns. I want to make sure we qualify well so we can get a good starting position and pit stall. Winning in Pennsylvania with (Lehighton, Pennsylvania native and No. 14 crew chief) Mike (Bugarewicz) would be cool. He’d be thrilled. Heck, so would all of us.”

MIKE BUGAREWICZ, Crew Chief of the No. 14 Haas Automation VF-1 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What does Pocono mean to you?

“There’s a simple, one-word description I have of Pocono, and it’s ‘home.’ I grew up about 20 minutes from the racetrack. I’ve raced up in the Northeast and attended many of the races at Pocono. I used to go to qualifying all the time there. Pocono means a lot to me. It would really mean a lot to me to have a win there at some point in my career. I haven’t been successful with that, yet, but I hope to change that shortly.”

Event:               U.S. Cellular 250 presented by the Rasmussen Group (Round 19 of 33)
Date:                 July 28, 2018
Location:          Iowa Speedway in Newton
Layout:             .875-mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

• The U.S. Cellular 250 presented by the Rasmussen Group will mark Cole Custer’s fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
• Custer’s four pole awards this season is most among all Xfinity Series regulars. 
• While the S. Cellular 250 will be Custer’s fourth Xfinity Series start at the .875-mile oval, it will be his 11^th overall start there. Custer also has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and four NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts at Iowa.
• Custer scored his first career Pro Series victory Aug. 2, 2013 at Iowa from the pole. At 15 years, six months and 10 days, he became the youngest winner in Pro Series history. In addition to breaking Dylan Kwasniewski’s record for youngest race winner by nearly six months, Custer also became the first driver to lead every lap (150) in the combination East/West race.
• Custer’s best Truck Series finish at Iowa is second, earned in 2016. Custer finished .431 of a second behind race-winner William Byron.
• Custer has earned a win, a pole, six top-five finishes, eight top-10s and has led 243 laps in his 10 career starts at Iowa.
• Custer’s best finish in the 18 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, 14 top-10s, and has led 128 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• Custer has qualified inside the top-five at seven of the last eight races this season. He has earned 13 top-five starts and 14 top-10 starts in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• In 56 Xfinity Series starts, 42 Camping World Truck Series starts and 29 K&N Pro Series starts since 2015, Custer has five wins, eight poles, 16 top-five finishes, 32 top-10s and 969 laps led at tracks currently on the NASCAR circuit that are approximately a mile in length or shorter.
• Custer is the only full-time Xfinity Series driver to earn top-five finishes in each of his last two starts at Iowa.
• Custer is fourth in the Xfinity Series driver standings, 13 points behind series leader Daniel Hemric.
• Last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, Custer raced as high as second place and earned his 14^th top-10 of the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• No Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are entered in the U.S. Cellular 250.

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

With one last shot at Iowa this season and no Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver entered, do you feel this is your race to take home the win?  

“It definitely should be by now. We’ve actually run really well in the Xfinity Series, lately. We hit on a great set-up last time at Iowa, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We have four poles this year and have such fast Haas Automation Fords. When it comes to the race, we fall off in some areas and excel in others. Our time is coming. We’re bound to put together a perfect race sooner or later. We did it at Homestead last year.”

What was it like to get your first win and pole at Iowa Speedway then leading all 150 laps to become the youngest winner in Pro Series history? 

“It was definitely a day I’ll remember. I can’t explain how amazing it felt. Iowa is a special place for our Haas Automation race team. I feel like that win gave me a lot of confidence because it was my first in the K&N Series and I always look forward to coming back. I just love the track. The fans are awesome and it was always one of my favorite tracks growing up. I can’t believe I got to go there and go to victory lane.”

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

Does Cole’s previous success at Iowa transfer over to the success in the Xfinity Series?

“It helps that Cole has a great track record at Iowa, so he can talk about the handling of the car better for us to improve on. He obviously knows how to wheel his way around Iowa. It just comes down to our team making the best adjustments to fit Cole’s style. We’re almost there. This might be the one.”