Category: Post-Race Reports

Race Name: Camping World 300 (Race 15 of 33)
Venue: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Results: Cole Custer: 1st | Chase Briscoe: 16th
Point Standings:
– Cole Custer: 3rd with 621 points; trails points leader by 70 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th with 493 points; trails points leader by 198 points

Chase Briscoe / Ford Performance Ford Mustang Recap:

– Briscoe qualified 11th, but was forced to start at the rear of the field for an unapproved adjustment. 
–  The Ford Performance Mustang made it into the top-10 with 12 laps remaining in Stage 1 and finished ninth to earn two stage points.
– The team would pit for four tires, fuel and track bar adjustments before restarting the second stage in eighth.
– A caution with 12 laps remaining in the stage allowed the team to pit from the seventh position and restart 12th.
– Briscoe spun out running 10th coming to the checkered flag in Stage 2. He was credited with 25th and lost one lap.
– He restarted the final stage in 25th and was running in 12th still one lap down during pit stop cycles when caution flew with 28 laps remaining.
– Briscoe pitted for tires and fuel and restarted in 16th. He would finish ultimately finish the race in 16th as the first car one lap down.

Next Up: Circle K Firecracker 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida on July 5th at 7:30 p.m. ET broadcast by NBCSN.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Ford Mustang:                                             

“Man, I’m just frustrated because after yesterday I felt this was the best car we have had heading into the race. We were able to get towards the front pretty quickly after starting at the rear. I pushed it too hard at the end of stage two fighting for a stage point and it cost us. We just couldn’t catch a break and get a caution when we needed it there at the end. Our Ford Performance Mustang was much better than a 16th place car.”

Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (2.52-mile, 12-turn road course)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Start/Finish: 5th/17th (Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
Point Standing: 13th (421 points, 222 out of first)

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):

● Daniel Suárez earned the fifth qualifying spot but was forced to start in the rear after an engine change was performed as a precautionary measure. He ended Stage 1 in 30th.
● After starting in the rear, Suárez had worked his way up to 25th when he came down pit road on lap 17 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition.
● The Ruckus driver completed Stage 1 in the 30th spot.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):

● The No. 41 driver started Stage 2 in 12th and completed it in 16th.
● Suárez did not pit during the Stage 1 break and began Stage 2 in the 12th position.
● By lap 25, the Ford driver was in the top-10 and had moved into eighth when he made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 36 for fuel, four tires and adjustments.
● Suárez ended Stage 2 in 16th.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 41-90):

● The Ruckus driver began the final stage in the top-10 and concluded it in 17th.
● Suárez did not pit before the start of Stage 2 and quickly went to work once the green flag dropped on the stage.
● On lap 45, the Mexico native took over the fifth position, which he held until he made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 63.
● During the pit stop, Suárez exceeded the pit box boundary line and was forced to back up in order for the No. 41 pit crew to perform service. Unfortunately, after the pit stop the No. 41 team was assessed an uncontrolled tire penalty, which forced Suárez to pass through pit road while under green.
● Suárez returned to the track in the 25th position.
● Throughout the remainder of the event, Suárez continued to pass cars, and he ended the day 17th.

Notes:

● Although Suárez qualified fifth, he was forced to the rear of the field for the start of the race after an engine change on Friday following final practice. He gained 18 positions in the race.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the Save Mart 350k to score his 23rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season, his third at Sonoma and his second straight at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.861 seconds.
● There were only two caution periods for a total of six laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Save Mart 350k finished on the lead lap.
● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after Sonoma with just a one-point advantage over second-place Busch.

Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had a good Ruckus Mustang today even though we had to start in the back. My crew did great with the calls, and we were able to get track position and show that we had a good car. Unfortunately, mistakes on the last pit stop bit us and we couldn’t recover from it so late in the race.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Camping World 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (2.52-mile, 12-turn road course)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Point standing: 11th (460 points, 183 out of first)

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):

● Aric Almirola started 13th, finished fifth and earned six bonus points.
● Almirola drove the Smithfield Ford Mustang to the top-10 by lap 15.
● Crew chief Johnny Klausmeier decided to keep the No. 10 Ford out of the pits while multiple cars pitted under green-flag conditions.
● Almirola reported the car was tight into the turns, but Klausmeier said the car was one of the fastest on the track.
● At the end of the stage, Almirola pitted for four tires and fuel. He exited pit road 22nd behind cars that pitted before the stage ended.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):

● Started 22nd, finished 36th.
● Almirola fell back to 24th, but raced to 19th by lap 28.
● On lap 30, Almirola spun in turn 3A without taking damage. No caution was thrown, and he returned on track in 35th.
● He pitted on lap 35 for four tires, fuel and adjustments under green-flag conditions and stayed out at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 41-90):

● Started 21st, finished ninth.
● Almirola battled the Smithfield Ford Mustang to 16th place by lap 54.
● He pitted on lap 61 under green for four tires, fuel and adjustments to correct tight-handling conditions.
● The No. 10 Mustang driver raced back to 13th place by lap 71.
● In the closing laps, Almirola made his way back to the top-10 and passed teammate Clint Bowyer for ninth place to earn his second-consecutive top-10 at the 2.52-mile road-course.

Notes:

● Almirola earned his ninth top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in eight career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
● Almirola’s ninth-place result was just shy of his previous best finish at Sonoma – eighth in the series’ most recent visit to the track last June.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the Save Mart 350k to score his 23rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season, his third at Sonoma and his second straight at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.861 seconds.
● There were only two caution periods for a total of six laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Save Mart 350k finished on the lead lap.
● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after Sonoma with just a one-point advantage over second-place Busch.

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

“I made a mistake there at the top of turn 3A and spun out and we fell to the rear. After that, I just had to work my butt off to recover. We passed a lot of cars today. My Smithfield Ford Mustang was good today.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Camping World 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Ca.) Raceway (2.52-mile, 12-turn road course)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Start/Finish: 23rd/6th (Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
Point standing: 3rd (573 points, 70 out of first)

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):

● Kevin Harvick started 23rd, finished eighth and collected three bonus points.
● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was 17th on the 10th lap, 15.612 seconds behind leader William Byron.
● On lap 16, Harvick said his car was getting tighter and that it wouldn’t turn late in the run.
● Several cars pitted late in the stage, so Harvick finished eighth, 26.414 seconds behind stage winner Byron.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):

● Harvick started 20th, finished 23rd.
● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang pitted on lap 22 for four tires, fuel and tire pressure and wedge adjustments.
● On lap 37, while Harvick was 15th, he pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 41-90):

● Harvick started 10th, finished sixth.
● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was 10th on lap 55 and 15.461 seconds behind leader Martin Truex Jr.
● On lap 63, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. He was in eighth place.
● After all the pit stops, Harvick was fourth on lap 68, trailing Truex, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney.
● Harvick was in fourth place until late in the race when he was passed by Matt DiBenedetto and Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion finished sixth.

Notes:

● Harvick earned his 11th top-10 of the season and his 10th top-10 in 19 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
● This is Harvick’s second straight top-10. He finished seventh in the series’ previous race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
● Harvick has finished sixth or better in the last five races at Sonoma. He has only finished outside the top-10 at Sonoma once since joining SHR in 2014.
● Harvick finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the Save Mart 350k to score his 23rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season, his third at Sonoma and his second straight at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.861 seconds.
● There were only two caution periods for a total of six laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Save Mart 350k finished on the lead lap.
● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after Sonoma with just a one-point advantage over second-place Busch.

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

“I am really proud of everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford. We did grind one out. We didn’t have a great car this weekend. We aborted everything that we were doing and put the 14 (Clint Bowyer) stuff in, and we still weren’t very good. We wound up grinding the right-front tire off at the end and was just hanging on for dear life. That is a gritty performance. That is what we have done all year. We need to figure out how to be closer at the beginning of the weekend. We will. We have been scrapping pretty hard for 16 weeks.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Camping World 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (2.52-mile, 12-turn road course)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Start/Finish: 14th/11th (Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
Point Standing: 12th (430 points, 213 out of first)

Race Winner:      Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner:  William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):

● Clint Bowyer started 14th, finished 22nd.
● Bowyer reported the front end of the car wasn’t turning as well as needed and “pogoing” in the corners.
● Bowyer raced up to the 11th position under green.
● Bowyer pitted on lap 18 for tires and fuel in order to get a good starting position for Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):

● Bowyer started fifth, finished 33rd.
● Bowyer raced in fifth until he dropped to 37th when he pitted because of a loose right-rear wheel on lap 28. The team later determined the problem was due to an air gun issue.
● After the stop Bowyer turned very fast laps, climbing to 29th under green.
● Like he did in the first stage, Bowyer pitted in the closing laps of the second stage for better track position for the final stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 41-90):

● Bowyer started 18th, finished 11th.
● Bowyer showed his muscle in the final stage, driving from 18th to as high as seventh.
● The No. 14 was often one of the three fastest cars on the track.
● Bowyer appeared to have a shot at the top-five, but late in the race he reported his car wouldn’t turn as needed.
● Hampered by the handling issue he dropped through the field, losing 10th place to Kyle Larson on the final lap.

Notes:

● Bowyer earned his 10th top-11 of the season and his 11th top-11 in 14 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the Save Mart 350k to score his 23rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season, his third at Sonoma and his second straight at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.861 seconds.
● There were only two caution periods for a total of six laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Save Mart 350k finished on the lead lap.
● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after Sonoma with just a one-point advantage over second-place Busch.

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang:

“That was disappointing, for sure. We had a bad break with the air gun and that put us on a strategy that kind of killed our chances at getting stage points. It looked like we were going to have a shot at the top-five, but we just couldn’t get our car to turn there at the end and gave up a lot of positions. We had a good Rush Truck Centers Mustang all weekend and expected a lot better finish.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Camping World 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Race Name: CircuitCity.com 250 Presented by Tamron (Race 14 of 33)
Venue: Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Results: Cole Custer: 2nd | Chase Briscoe: 7th
Point Standings:
– Cole Custer: 3rd with 563 points; trails points leader by 86 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th with 470 points; trails points leader by 179 points

Chase Briscoe / Nutri Chomps Ford Mustang Recap:

– Briscoe started ninth and raced in 11th for most of Stage 1. He would finish the stage in 12th position after pitting on lap 48..
–  The Nutri Chomps ford started Stage 2 in 12th and advanced one position to finish 11th.
– The team would pit for four tires, fuel, air pressure, and track bar adjustments before restarting the final stage in ninth.
– Briscoe advanced to eighth before a caution on lap 178. He would pit once again for tires and fuel and restart sixth.
– After the restart, he would ride in seventh before another caution on lap 216 bunched the field back up and allowed Chase to advance to sixth.
– The final caution flew with 16 laps to go. Briscoe would restart sixth and ultimately finish the race in the seventh position.

Next Up: Camping World 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois on June 29th at 3:30 p.m. ET broadcast by NBCSN.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Nutri Chomps Ford Mustang:

“Today wasn’t the day we wanted at all. Iowa is usually one of my best tracks and we struggled all day long. We just never really found the right balance all race, but fortunately we were still able to come away with a top-10 finish. I have to keep better and we have to keep getting better. We’ll get back to work and see what we can do at Chicago in two weeks.”

Race Name: CircuitCity.com 250 Presented by Tamron (Race 14 of 33)
Venue: Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Results: Cole Custer: 2nd | Chase Briscoe: 7th
Point Standings:
– Cole Custer: 3rd with 563 points; trails points leader by 86 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th with 470 points; trails points leader by 179 points

Cole Custer / FIELDS Ford Mustang Recap:

– Custer started from the pole position and led every lap of Stage 1 until a caution on lap 45. Custer would pit for tires and would restart sixth. He would gain four spots and finish in the second position, earning nine stage points.
– The No. 00 Ford started Stage 2 in the second position after not pitting at the conclusion of Stage 1. Custer would finish the stage in second, earning nine more stage points.
– The No. 00 FIELDS Sports Ford Mustang started the final stage in second and would run there for the majority of the time.
– A late yellow flag flew with 34 laps remaining and the No. 00 team pit for tires and fuel. Custer restarted first.
– Custer would fall to second-place with 28 laps remaining and would stay there for the remainder of the race, finishing second.

Next Up: Camping World 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois on June 29th at 3:30 p.m. ET broadcast by NBCSN.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 FIELDS Ford Mustang:

“We had the second best car all day but we caught up a lot to the No. 20 car, who has been dominant at Iowa the last couple of years. We will take what we learned here and apply it to the Iowa race coming up in a month or so to see if we can ultimately catch the 20 car and surpass him for the win. The guys gave me a car I could battle with and my pit crew guys were able to get me out ahead of him with less than 40 to go, but no one was going to keep that 20 behind them.”

Event:               FireKeepers Casino 400(Round 15 of 36)
Series:               Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Format:            200 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/80 laps)
Note:                Race extended three laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Start/Finish:      3^rd/7^th(Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
Point standing:  4^th(539 points, 75 out of first)

Race Winner:    Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner:Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:Austin Dillion of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60): 

• Kevin Harvickstarted third, finished 33^rd.
• The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang fell to seventh at the start of the race but was up to second by lap seven.
• On lap 15, Harvick said he was a bit loose. He was running second.
• Harvick pitted on lap 22 for right-side tires and fuel. He came in second and went out in 10^th.
• On lap 53, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel after complaining of possibly having a loose wheel. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):

• Harvickstarted 36^th, finished second and earned nine bonus points.
• The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted on lap 65 for four tires and fuel.
• On lap 66 Harvick pitted again to tighten the lug nuts. He pitted again on lap 73 to tighten the rear lug nuts and for fuel only. The No. 4 team could not figure out the cause of the vibration.
• By lap 87, Harvick was up to 12^thand said the vibration was gone.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-203):

• Harvickstarted fourth, finished seventh.
• The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted on lap 124 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.
• Harvick started fourth and was in the lead by turn three.
• Joey Logano and Harvick traded the lead past the 130-lap mark.
• On lap 175, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel. He was running second.
• Several cars took only two tires, and even with a green-white-checkered restart, Harvick finished seventh.

Notes:

• Harvick earned his 10^thtop-10 of the season and his 18^thtop-10 in 37 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan.
• Harvick’s 18 top-10s at Michigan are the most among active drivers. Next best is Jimmie Johnson with 13 top-10s.
• This is Harvick’s third straight top-10 at Michigan.
• Harvick has finished outside the top-10 at Michigan just three times since joining SHR in 2014.
• This is Harvick’s fifth straight finish of 11^thor better, a streak that began with a sixth-place drive in May at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
• Harvick finished second in Stage 2 to earn nine bonus points.
• He led three times for 15 laps to increase his laps-led total at Michigan to 495.
• Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 to score his 23^rdcareer Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Michigan. His margin of victory over second-place Kurt Busch was .147 of a second.
• There were seven caution periods for a total of 35 laps.
• Twenty-five of the 36 drivers in the FireKeepers Casino 400 finished on the lead lap.
• Logano leaves Michigan as the new championship leader with a nine-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

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

“We had a really fast Busch Light Ford and just made a lot of mistakes today.”

Next Up:                                                                       

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Save Mart 350 on Sunday, June 23 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event:               FireKeepers Casino 400(Round 15 of 36)
Series:               Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2.0-mile oval)
Format:            200 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/80 laps)
Start/Finish:      9th/4th (Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
Point Standing:13th (401 points, 213 out of first)
Note:                Race extended three laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. 

Race Winner:    Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

• Daniel Suárez started Stage 1 from the ninth position and ended the stage 16^th.
• Suárez was in the 20th position when the competition caution came out on lap 20.
• He reported his Mustang was free on entry. Crew chief Billy Scott brought Suárez to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment on lap 22.
• Suárez restarted 21^stand fell back on the restart to 25^th, but as his handling began to improve with 15 laps left in Stage 1, he moved up to the 16^thposition.
• During the Stage 1 break Suárez pitted for four tires and fuel with no adjustments, as he was happy with the handling of the Haas Automation Mustang. He lined up 17^thfor the start of Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):

• The No. 41 driver started Stage 2 in 17^thand completed it in 12^th.
• The third caution of the race occurred on lap 70, with Suárez saying the No. 41 Mustang fired off good on the restart. He came to pit road for fuel only on lap 71.
• Suárez restarted 12^thon lap 75 and quickly moved into the top-10.
• On lap 91, Suárez made a pass for the eighth position but lost his momentum in the bottom groove and dropped back to 14^th.
• With 20 laps remaining in Stage 2, Suárez reported from the 15^thposition that the Haas Automation Mustang was tight on exit.
• Suárez completed the stage in 12^thafter the leaders were forced to pit for fuel. He pitted during the Stage 2 break for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-203):

• Suárez began the final stage in 22^ndand concluded it fourth.
• Suárez restarted 22^ndas a result of several cars in the top-10 pitting for right-side tires, and he was able to move up to the 10^thposition before the caution came out on lap 131.
• Following another caution and a restart on lap 141, Suárez moved from the 10^thposition into fourth.
• Suárez took over the lead on lap 175 and pitted on lap 176 under green for right-side tires and fuel.
• The final caution of the race occurred on lap 197, and Suárez lined up sixth for the lap-201 restart.
• Working with teammate Kevin Harvick, Suárez was able to advance to the fourth position for the conclusion of the FireKeepers 400.

Notes:

• Suárez earned his second top-five and sixth top-10 of the season.
• Suárez’s fourth-place result bettered his previous best finish at Michigan – 11^thin the series’ previous visit to the track last August. This was his fifth career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Michigan.
• Suárez has finished inside the top-10 for two straight weeks. He was eighth last week at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
• Suárez led a single lap to increase his laps-led total at Michigan to four.
• Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 to score his 23^rdcareer Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Michigan. His margin of victory over second-place Kurt Busch was .147 of a second.
• There were seven caution periods for a total of 35 laps.
• Twenty-five of the 36 drivers in the FireKeepers Casino 400 finished on the lead lap.
• Logano leaves Michigan as the new championship leader with a nine-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Demo Day Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

“The car was pretty strong the entire weekend and then again today. We just struggled for whatever reasons on the long runs in the first half of the race. We were able to make some adjustments and come back, and I am proud of my guys. We still have some work to do, but we are slowly heading into the right direction.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Save Mart 350k on Sunday, June 23 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event:               FireKeepers Casino 400(Round 15 of 36)
Series:               Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Format:            200 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/80 laps)
Start/Finish:      5^th/35^th (Accident, completed 130 of 203 laps)
Point Standing:  12^th(404 points, 210 out of first)
Note:                Race extended three laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish. 

Race Winner:    Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner:Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

• Clint Bowyer started fifth, finished 13th.
• Bowyer dropped from fifth to 12th in the opening laps, telling the crew his car was very loose.
• The No. 14 pitted for two tires and handling adjustments on lap 22 during the competition caution.
• Bowyer told his team the car was loose in the corner and tight off the turns following the adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):

• Bowyer started eighth, finished 27th.
• Bowyer moved to third in the opening lap and ran at the front of the field for most of the stage.
• The crew told Bowyer in the closing laps he didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the end.
• Bowyer pitted on lap 114 for two tires and a splash of fuel, dropping back to 27th.
• A two-tire stop during the stage break enabled Bowyer to start the final stage in seventh.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-200):

• Bowyer started seventh, finished 35th.
• Bowyer raced in the top-10 in the opening laps of the final stage, but his No. 14 and the No. 20 of Erik Jones made contact in turn two on lap 129, sending the No. 14 into the wall.
• Bowyer’s damaged car limped back to the pits but was unable to continue the race, so he finished the race 35^th. 

Notes:

●  Bowyer led a single lap to increase his laps-led total at Michigan to 37.
●  Bowyer crashed on lap 130. It is only his second DNF (Did Not Finish) in 27 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan.
●  Bowyer came into the FireKeepers Casino 400 as the defending race winner.
●  Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 to score his 23rd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Michigan. His margin of victory over second-place Kurt Busch was .147 of a second.
●  There were seven caution periods for a total of 35 laps.
●  Twenty-five of the 36 drivers in the FireKeepers Casino 400 finished on the lead lap.
●  Logano leaves Michigan as the new championship leader with a nine-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation/ITsavvy Ford Mustang:

“(Erik Jones) got loose and I tried to basically make an evasive move to get under him. (Austin Dillon) was there and got loose under him, and then I got into him and ran out of real estate. It was a pretty frustrating day. Pretty frustrating out there.”

Next Up: 

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Save Mart 350k on Sunday, June 23 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.