Category: Post-Race Reports

Race Name: LTi Printing 250 (Race 13 of 33)
Venue: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race Winner:Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Results: Chase Briscoe: 7th | Cole Custer: 12th
Point Standings:
– Cole Custer: 3rd with 510 points; trails points leader by 117 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th with 440 points; trails points leader by 187 points

Cole Custer / Jacob Companies Ford Mustang Recap:

– Custer started from the sixth position and moved up to the fourth position by lap five. Custer would fall to eighth, where he would finish Stage 1, earning three bonus points.
– The No. 00 Ford started Stage 2 in the second position after only taking two tires at the stage end. Custer would finish second in Stage 2, picking up nine bonus points.
– The No. 00 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang started the final stage in second and would run there for the majority of the time.
– A late yellow flag flew with 50 laps remaining and the No. 00 team decided to stay out. Custer restarted second.
– Custer would take the lead by lap 95 and would lead the remaining of the laps before pitting on lap 115.
– The No. 00 Ford would fall to 12th where they would ultimately finish the race.

Next Up: Circuit City 2500 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on June 16th at 5:30 p.m. EDT broadcast by Fox Sports 1.

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

“We had the best car we ever have here at Michigan. The car was absolutely perfect and I felt like we had the best car all day but dirty air slowed us down at the beginning. Later in the race we were able to drive by the 20 and drive away from the field but we had to make a late stop for fuel which caused us to drop to 12th. I really wanted to win this one because we’re in Ford’s backyard, but we will learn from this and come back even better next time.”

Event: Pocono 400 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 3rd/5th (Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 10th (402 points, 166 out of first)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larsen of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larsen of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Clint Bowyer started third, finished 34th.
● Bowyer pitted from fourth during the lap-20 competition caution. Several cars only took two new tires, and Bowyer fell to 11th.
● Bowyer had climbed back to 10th when the crew called him back to pit road with two laps left in the stage in order to gain better track position for Stage 2.
● Bowyer finished 34th but moved to sixth during the stage break when the rest of the field pitted.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Bowyer started sixth and finished 16th.
● The No. 14 stayed at the front of the field through several cautions brought out by back markers.
● Bowyer led laps 73 and 74.
● After attempting to save fuel to make it to the end of the stage, the crew told Bowyer to drive hard and keep his second-place position.
● Bowyer pitted on lap 93 for tires and fuel and ended the stage in 16th. He moved to fourth to start the final stage when cars pitted during the stage break.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):
● Bowyer started fourth and finished fifth.
● He climbed to fourth with 40 laps remaining.
● Bowyer pitted under green with 37 laps remaining, dropping him to 17th as he waited on others to stop.
● Bowyer returned to third with 20 laps remaining.
● It appeared he would finish third, but a caution forced the race to restart with nine laps remaining.
● Bowyer restarted third but was shuffled to sixth before he moved to fifth.
● He ran there the remainder of the race and finished in fifth.

Notes:

●  Bowyer earned his fifth top-five and eighth top-10 of the season and his third top-five and 11th top-10 in 27 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono.
●  Bowyer led once for two laps to increase his laps-led total at Pocono to 98.
●  Kyle Busch won the Pocono 400 to score his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season and his third at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.224 seconds.
●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 28 laps.
●  Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the Pocono 400 finished on the lead lap.
●  Busch leaves Pocono as the sole championship leader with a four-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano. The duo came into the Pocono 400 tied atop the championship standings.

Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation Mobil 1 Ford Mustang:

“We had a pretty good car. We had a third to fifth place car. That is about what we had and we did a good job finishing with what we had. We are just giving up way too many stage points. We have to figure out how to get some stage points. That is all we had today.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 9 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Pocono 400 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 9th/8th (Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 13th (368 points, 200 out of first)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

● Daniel Suárez started Stage 1 from the ninth position and ended the stage seventh to earn four stage points.
● Suárez was in the ninth spot when the competition caution came out on lap 20.
● The 27-year-old reported his Mustang was freer on landing in all three corners. Crew chief Billy Scott made the call for Suárez to pit for two right-side tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, and he restarted fourth on lap 24.
● The second caution came out on lap 29 while Suárez was in the third position. He stayed out on the track and completed the stage in seventh.
● During the Stage 1 break Suárez pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments. However, he received a pit road speeding penalty and was sent to the rear of the field to start for Stage 2.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-100):

● The No. 41 driver started Stage 2 in 24th and completed it in 10th to earn one stage point.
● The next caution came out on lap 57 and Suárez brought his Haas Automation Mustang down pit road to top off with fuel and make a chassis adjustment. He restarted in the 23rd position.
● Throughout the next three cautions, the No. 41 machine stayed out on the track and saved fuel in an effort to go the remaining distance of the stage.
● Suárez was able to finish the stage in 10th after stretching the fuel mileage. He pitted during the Stage 2 break for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):

● Suárez began the final stage in 19th and concluded it eighth.
● By lap 107, the Mexico native was in the 12th position.
● On lap 125 Suárez took over the race lead before pitting on lap 133 for two right-side tires and fuel. He returned to the track in the 11th position.
● With 16 laps to go, the Haas driver took over the eighth spot and remained in the position until the next caution was displayed on lap 147.
● Suárez stayed out under the caution and restarted eighth with nine laps remaining, ultimately finishing in the same position.

Notes:

●  Suárez finished seventh in Stage 1 to earn four bonus points and 10th in Stage 2 to earn an additional bonus point.
●  Suárez led once for nine laps to increase his laps-led total at Pocono to 39.
●  Kyle Busch won the Pocono 400 to score his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season and his third at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.224 seconds.
●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 28 laps.
●  Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the Pocono 400 finished on the lead lap.
●  Busch leaves Pocono as the sole championship leader with a four-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano. The duo came into the Pocono 400 tied atop the championship standings.

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

“We had a little bit more speed than an eighth-place car, but we struggled in the race at one point in traffic. We got the balance back by the end but it wasn’t easy. I feel like a top-10 is what we deserved today in the Haas Automation Mustang, but we will have to keep working on it.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 9 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Pocono 400 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 11th/22nd (Running, completed 159 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 5th with 500 points, 68 behind first

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Kevin Harvick started 11th, finished fourth and collected seven bonus points.
● Harvick dropped two spots early on, but was back up to 11th by the eighth lap.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion was reported to be tight by Harvick on lap 10.
● Harvick pitted on lap 20 for four tires only. He could not take fuel due to the competition caution coming out.
● On lap 22, Harvick pitted for fuel only.
● Harvick restarted ninth and was up to sixth by lap 24.
● On lap 37, Harvick reported the car was still too tight.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Harvick started 10th, finished 15th.
● On lap 52, he pitted for four tires and fuel.
● Harvick was third on lap 93, 7.7 seconds behind leader Kyle Busch.
● On lap 94, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 101-160):

● Harvick started second and finished 22nd.
● On lap 113, Harvick said his car was tight. He was in second place.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion pitted for two tires and fuel on lap 124 while in second-place behind Busch. Unfortunately, he was penalized with a drive-through penalty for having an uncontrolled tire.
● Things became worse as Harvick lost power steering in his car, and he finished a disappointing 22nd.

Notes:

●  Kyle Busch won the Pocono 400 to score his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season and his third at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.224 seconds.
●  There were eight caution periods for a total of 28 laps.
●  Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the Pocono 400 finished on the lead lap.
●  Busch leaves Pocono as the sole championship leader with a four-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano. The duo came into the Pocono 400 tied atop the championship standings.
●  Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points.
●  This is only the third time Harvick has finished outside the top-10 at Pocono since joining SHR in 2014.

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 9 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Pocono 400 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 13th/10th (Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
Point standings: 12th (393 points, 175 out of first)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

● Aric Almirola started 13th, finished fifth and earned six bonus points.
● Almirola fought tight conditions early on in the Valley Tech Ford Mustang, dropping to 14th by lap eight.
● The competition caution flew on lap 20, and Almirola brought the No. 10 down pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment.
● Almirola cracked the top-10 by lap 26, where he stayed for the remainder of Stage 1.
● The Valley Tech Ford Mustang finished the first stage in the fifth position, and Almirola reported that the car was “overall better, needs more turn.”
● At the conclusion of the stage, he pitted the No. 10 Ford for four tires and fuel.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

● Started 14th, finished 22nd.
● Almirola battled his way up to 12th after two cautions in the first 10 laps of the second stage.
● The No. 10 Ford Mustang jumped back up to 10th by lap 66.
● After hitting the outside wall while running 10th on lap 80, Almirola brought the Valley Tech Ford Mustang down pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel.
● Almirola returned to the track in the 30th position, one lap down.
● He finished Stage 2 in the 22nd position, back on the lead lap. At the end of Stage 2 he pitted for four tires, fuel and fixed damage to the right rear.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 100-160):

● Started 21st, finished 10th.
● Almirola maneuvered the No. 10 Valley Teach Ford Mustang up to 13th after restarting the final stage 21st.
● On lap 122, Almirola made his way back to the top-10 during green-flag pit stops before bringing the No. 10 Ford Mustang down pit road for two tires and fuel.
● A late-race caution on lap 145 brought Almirola back down pit road for four tires and fuel before he headed back out to the track 16th. He quickly battled back to get into the top-10 on lap 156.
● Almirola piloted the No. 10 Valley Tech Ford Mustang to a 10th-place finish.

Notes:

● Almirola earned his eighth top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in 14 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono.
● Almirola finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points.
● Kyle Busch won the Pocono 400 to score his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season and his third at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.224 seconds.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 28 laps.
● Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the Pocono 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Busch leaves Pocono as the sole championship leader with a four-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano. The duo came into the Pocono 400 tied atop the championship standings.

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

“Our car was decent and we were pretty competitive, we just fought track position. I got up to fifth or sixth there and just barely brushed the wall off turn three and had bad tire smoke and had to come pit so that I didn’t blow a right rear tire and end our day. I erred on the side of caution there, and then we just fought to recover from that the rest of the day. We were buried in traffic and had to be aggressive on restarts to try to get back up through the field.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 9 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Date: June 1, 2019
Race Name: Pocono Green 250 (Race 12 of 33)
Venue: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi (FORD)
Results: Cole Custer: 1st | Chase Briscoe: 3rd
Point Standings:
– Cole Custer: 3rd with 473 points; trails points leader by -99 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th with 410 points; trails points leader by -162 points

Cole Custer / FIMS Manufacturing Ford Mustang Recap:

– Custer started from the pole position for the third time in 2019 and led every lap of Stage 1 to pick up 10 bonus points and a playoff point.
– The No. 00 Ford started Stage 2 in the eight position as several cars utilized an alternative pit strategy.
– Custer raced his way back to the fifth position at the end of Stage 2 to pick up six additional bonus points.
– The No. 00 FIMS Ford Mustang started the final stage in sixth and raced his way to the lead by lap 65.
– The No. 00 came to pit road for the final time on lap 80 for four tires and fuel.
– He rejoined the field in the fifth position and raced his way back to the lead by lap 86.
– A late-race caution allowed Custer to lead the field to an overtime finish. He battled with Tyler Reddick in the closing laps for a dramatic last-turn pass for the win.
– Custer led four times for 58 laps and scored his third Xfinity Series win of 2019 and the fifth of his Xfinity Series career.
– Custer now has seven top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes with 464 laps led in 2019.

Next Up: LTi Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on June 8 at 1:30 p.m. EDT broadcast by Fox Sports 1.

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

“The No. 2 car gave us a great push on that final restart and ended up getting around us, but our FIMS Manufacturing Mustang was good all day and we were able to stay right with him. I think he knew I was going to send it into Turn 3 to try to pack air and get him a little loose and drive underneath him; he over drove the turn and gave me the bottom and we were able to drag race him back to the line and get the win. I just can’t thank Gene Haas and everyone at Haas Automation, Ford Motor Company, Fred Biagi, FIMS, Jacob Companies, Thompson Pipe Group, Xfinity and all our partners and fans for making days like this possible.”

Date: June 1, 2019
Race Name: Pocono Green 250 (Race 12 of 33)
Venue: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi (FORD)
Results: Cole Custer: 1st | Chase Briscoe: 3rd
Point Standings:
– Cole Custer: 3rd with 473 points; trails points leader by -99 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th with 410 points; trails points leader by -162 points

Chase Briscoe / Nutri Chomps Ford Mustang Recap:

– Briscoe started 12th and raced as high as eighth before a caution on lap 17. He came to pit road twice under caution for adjustments and restarted 32nd, but raced his way back to finish 12th in Stage 1.
– The Nutri Chomps Ford stayed out at the end of Stage 1 to started Stage 2 in third.
– Briscoe finished Stage 2 in fourth, earning an seven stage points.
– The No. 98 Ford started seventh in the final stage.
– Briscoe pitted for fuel only on lap 65 and raced up to the fifth position by the end of the pit cycle with 17 laps remaining.
– He continued his march toward the front and was racing in the third position when he stayed out under caution with seven laps remaining.
– The team restarted fourth and pushed Custer to the lead on the restart, but a late caution forced the race to overtime.
– The No. 98 Ford started the overtime on the front row, but ultimately crossed the finish line in the third position.
– Briscoe and the No. 98 team’s third-place result is their best of the season.
– Briscoe now has six top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes through the first 12 Xfinity starts of 2019.

Next Up: LTi Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on June 8 at 1:30 p.m. EDT broadcast by Fox Sports 1.

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

“We started there side-by-side on the last restart and I honestly thought that I beat him on the restart. Tyler Reddick is normally one of the best pushers in the series. (Christopher) Bell is normally really good at pushing too, but I don’t think he got the restart that the rest of us got, so I just didn’t quite have the push. I was just too tight honestly at the end. Even if I had the lead I would have been too tight to hold those guys off. Overall a really good day for Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi with Cole scoring the win and us running third. It was another weekend where we rebounded after a rough stretch of practice for our Nutri Chomps Ford. Now we go to Michigan and hope to get a little bit better. We’ve had speed and have been running top-five and top-three a lot, but we just haven’t quite figured out the last couple tenths we need to pick up the win, so hopefully we can find it here soon. Now we go to Michigan in Ford’s back yard looking for a win.”

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100/100 laps)
Start/Finish: 8th/24th (Running, completed 397 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (370 points, 149 out of first)

Race Winner:      Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 3 Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Clint Bowyerstarted eighth, finished 25th.
● Bowyer told his crew his car was pushing in the opening laps.
● He reported other cars were just driving off from him and speculated he might have an engine or aerodynamic issue.
● On lap 90 Daniel Hemric drove into Bowyer off turn two, spinning his car and damaging the front of the No. 14.
● Bowyer made several pit stops to make repairs and fell to the back of the field.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● Bowyer started 30th, finished 13th.
● He climbed to 15th with new tires but told the crew his car still felt like it was “dragging a parachute.”
● Bowyer received a pit road speeding penalty when he stopped for repairs to the car from the earlier contact.
● He moved from 13th to eighth when he stayed on the track during a caution with 10 laps remaining in the stage.
● Bowyer couldn’t hang on to the points-paying positions on the older tires in the final laps and finished 13th.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Bowyerstarted 14th, finished 12th.
● He told his crew his car wouldn’t turn in the corners as needed.
● Dropped to 18th halfway through the stage but climbed to 11th by lap 266.
● Bowyer returned to the top-10 on lap 273.
● Problems with tight handling dropped him back to 12th.

Stage 4 Recap (Laps 301-400):

● Bowyer started 12th, finished 24th.
● He told his crew he might have a flat tire as the field started the stage, but he moved from 12th to eighth in two laps before a caution.
● He restarted the race in seventh – his best position of the race.
● As he battled on the lap-316 restart, a near-accident in front of him forced drivers to take evasive measures.
● Despite avoiding the cars in front, Bowyer was hit by Kyle Larson, triggering a multicar accident.
● Bowyer’s car suffered heavy damage, but he was able to keep minimum speed.
● He lost three laps to the leaders, but he brought his wounded car to the finish in 24th.

Notes:

● Martin Truex Jr. won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Kyle Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Kevin Harvick.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“That was a long night. We struggled with everything at some point. But you know, close at the end we were seventh, and it was looking like it was going to turn out OK. I think we were going to get a top-10. Two times tonight we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got wrecked.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish: 6th/18th (Running, completed 399 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 13th (334 points, 185 out of first)

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 3 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Daniel Suárez started Stage 1 from the sixth position and ended the stage 11th.
● Suárez made his first pit stop from sixth on lap 23 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition. He restarted eighth.
● The second caution came out on lap 48, and the Coca-Cola driver reported his Mustang remained tight. He pitted from sixth for fuel, four tires and more adjustments and restarted fifth on lap 54.
● The third caution of the evening was displayed on lap 73, and the Ford driver pitted from seventh for service to his Mustang. He restarted 13th on lap 78 after varying pit strategies.
● Suárez stayed out through two more cautions and ended the stage 11th. He pitted during the Stage 1 break for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help his ill-handling Mustang.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● The No. 41 driver started Stage 2 in 17th and completed it 28th.
● The next caution was displayed on lap 127, and Suárez stayed out in an effort to preserve a set of fresh Goodyear tires after the team used a set earlier than expected during Stage 1.
● Suárez restarted fifth. As the run continued his Mustang remained tight, and he dropped back to 20th.
● On lap 157, Suárez made a scheduled green-flag pit stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments. An ill-timed caution on lap 161 caught Suárez two laps down.
● Suárez stayed out and took the wave-around to gain one lap back and restarted 32nd.
● When the next caution came out on lap 188, Suárez remained one lap down in 30th. He pitted for fuel and four tires and to allow the crew to address a little body damage.
● After the restart Suárez worked his way into the free-pass position, of which he was the beneficiary at the end of Stage 2 to put him back on the lead lap.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Suárez began the stage 28th and concluded it in 21st.
● The 11th caution was displayed on lap 250, and Suárez visited pit road from 17th to receive service from the No. 41 pit crew. He restarted 15th on lap 257.
● He slipped back to 21st, where he ended the stage.
● During the Stage 3 break, the Coca-Cola driver pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight condition.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):

● Suárez began the final stage in 17th and concluded it in 18th.
● The Mexico native made his first pit stop of the final stage on lap 319 under caution for fuel and more adjustments for his tight-handling machine. He restarted in the top-20.
● When the caution was once again displayed on lap 359, Suárez pitted from 14th for fuel, four tires and adjustments, and restarted 11th.
● Suárez was in the top-15 when the final caution of the race displayed with 10 laps to go. He pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments but received a penalty for pitting outside of the box. The penalty put him one lap down in the 18th position where he ended the evening.

Notes:

● Martin Truex Jr., won the Coca Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Kyle Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Harvick.

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

“Our Coca-Cola Ford Mustang was tight most of the night, but my guys kept working on it. We came back from being two laps down, and they just never gave up on adjusting the car. Unfortunately, on the last pit stop we had a penalty and that put us one lap down to end the night 18th.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Event:  Coca-Cola 600 (Round 13 of 36)
Series:  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:  Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:  400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish:  5th/10th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point standings:  3rd (478 points, 41 out of first)

Race Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 3 Winner:  Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished fifth, collecting six bonus points.
● Drove his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang up to third by lap six and into second on lap 11 after passing Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Aric Almirola.
● Fell to second on lap 21 as Kyle Busch took the position. “Little too loose right now, down to the center of the corner, both ends,” said Harvick.
● Pitted under caution on lap 24 for four tires and fuel. Only adjustment was to right-rear tire pressure.
● Restarted in fourth on lap 28 and quickly moved to second where Harvick battled for the lead with Busch.
● Caution on lap 48 allowed Harvick to pit again for four tires and fuel. Quick pit work got Harvick off pit road in first place.
● Led laps 51-54 until Busch reassumed lead, but Harvick retook lead from laps 59-62 until Martin Truex Jr., grabbed the lead.
● Truex cut a tire on lap 74, bringing out the caution and putting Harvick back into the lead.
● Pitted under caution on lap 75 for four tires and fuel and a slight tire pressure adjustment. Seven cars stayed out.
● Lined up eighth for the lap-79 restart and drove back up to second when the caution came out again on lap 87.
● Harvick stayed out during this caution and grabbed the lead from Brad Keselowski on lap 91.
● Another caution on lap 93 halted the racing action, and when the race restarted on lap 96, Harvick was stuck on the outside.
● Harvick dropped to fifth in the final laps of the stage.
● Crew chief Rodney Childers kept the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang on the racetrack to conserve tires for later in the race.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● Harvick started fourth and finished sixth, collecting five bonus points.
● While he started the stage fourth, he was second after the first lap of green-flag racing.
● Harvick maintained second place through a caution on lap 126. “Too tight first third of corner and on exit,” he said.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 127. Lined up eighth for lap-132 restart.
● Vaulted to fourth by lap 133 and then took third from Busch on lap 137 before getting second from Ryan Blaney on lap 139.
● Just before a caution on lap 162, Harvick said his Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was “starting to push bad.”
● Pitted on lap 163 for four tires and fuel with a right-rear wedge adjustment.
● Was third for lap-167 restart, but dropped to eighth after getting caught in middle amongst a bunch of drivers jockeying for position.
● “Won’t turn!” said Harvick on the radio on lap 169. Dropped to ninth by lap 173.
● “Plowing tight!” said Harvick as he fell to 10th on lap 181.
● Took advantage of caution and pitted for four tires and fuel and reversed right-rear wedge adjustment from previous stop.
● The top-10 cars stayed out on the track during this caution period from laps 190-193, placing Harvick 17th for the restart.
● Harvick re-entered the top-10 on lap 198 and kept on rallying to finish the stage in sixth.
● Childers kept the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang on the racetrack to conserve tires for later in the race.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Harvick started third and finished 19th
● “Plowing tight,” said Harvick on lap 214. “Chattering the tires up off the corner on both ends.”
● After being fifth at lap 220, Harvick was ninth five laps later.
● After falling to 14th, Harvick made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 251 for four tires, fuel and a left-rear wedge adjustment.
● Just as Harvick left his pit box, the caution flag waved, trapping Harvick a lap down in 30th position.
● Harvick took the “wave-around” by staying out during the caution, earning his lap back. He restarted 23rd on lap 258.
● Despite climbing back up to 18th by lap 277, Harvick said he was “sliding the front tires like crazy.”
● Fell one spot to 19th at the end of the stage.
● Childers called for massive changes to the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang at the conclusion of the stage. In addition to four tires and fuel, packers were removed from both front suspensions, eight rounds of left-rear wedge were taken out, and two rounds went into the track bar.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):

● Harvick started 20th and finished 10th.
● Shortly after the race returned to green on lap 308, Harvick keyed his mic and said, “I can’t drive it this loose.”
● With another caution on lap 317 for a multicar crash on the backstretch, Childers brought Harvick back to the pits and reversed the track bar adjustment from the previous stop and also put two rounds of wedge back into the left rear.
● Lined up 10th for the lap-324 restart and was up to sixth the next time around the 1.5-mile oval.
● Keselowski took sixth from Harvick on lap 326, and then Denny Hamlin took seventh on lap 330, jettisoning Harvick to eighth.
● Ryan Newman dropped Harvick to ninth on lap 333 and then Busch got by on lap 345 to put Harvick 10th.
● Made scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 357 for four tires and fuel, and in a case of déjà vu, caution came out a lap later and put Harvick one lap down.
● Harvick took the “wave-around” by staying out during the caution, earning his lap back. He restarted 17th on lap 366.
● Harvick rallied to ninth before the race’s final caution flag waved on lap 390. He pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 392.
● In ninth for the lap-396 restart, Harvick momentarily dropped out of the top-10 before grabbing 10th on the final lap.

Notes:

● Harvick earned his ninth top-10 of the season and his 17th top-10 in 36 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte.
● Harvick has finished outside the top-10 at Charlotte just twice since joining SHR in 2014.
● Harvick led four times for 14 laps to increase his laps-led total at Charlotte to 542.
● Truex won the Coca Cola 600 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his third at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .330 of a second.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 80 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.
● Logano and Busch leave Charlotte tied for the championship lead with a 41-point advantage over third-place Harvick.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“For us, we lost the handle on the car. We had some different shift codes in the tires that we had to run because that’s what we had. As soon as we put all those shift codes on, the car just went to absolute junk.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pocono 400 on Sunday, June 2 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.