Category: Pre-Race Reports

If anyone’s named his or her car or talked to it regularly – or even felt guilty driving another one – he or she is not alone. American car owners see their vehicles as family members, with 60 percent considering their cars to be part of the family, according to new research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Toco Warranty.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Toco Warranty Ford Mustang for Stewart Haas Racing (SHR) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, admits he hasn’t named many of his racecars since joining NASCAR, but he has a favorite dirt car from the 2003 season when he was racing around the Midwest.

“I once had a dirt car we called Brown Eyed Girl,” he said. “We named her that because we were dirt racing at the time and she won just about every race she entered that year. I haven’t named many of the racecars since then. But the old Brown Eyed Girl is the one that sticks in my memory.”

About 56 percent of American car owners go as far as naming their cars, according to the survey. With a bond so deep, what goes into the naming process? Results found that 42 percent of named cars get their names from a prominent feature, like color, the sound it makes, etc. Other name inspirations – 20 percent – come from movies, TV shows, and songs, and another 17 percent of names are triggered by famous cars or celebrities. The survey unveiled just how close people are to their cars. Two in five of the 2,000 motorists studied said they regularly talk to their vehicle.

Given that Americans speak to their cars approximately 13 times a week, with 18 percent of owners speaking to them every single trip, one might wonder what they talk about. For 63 percent of owners, car conversations are primarily encouraging the car to go faster or make it up a hill. What other quirky habits do Americans have with their cars? It should come as no surprise that many identify their cars with personality traits. In fact, half of American car owners describe their car as having a “trustworthy” personality. More than one in three say their car’s personality is fun, and 28 percent say their vehicle is adventurous. Twenty-two percent believe their car is charming.

Bowyer doesn’t care as much about his Mustang’s charm as he does its performance on the track.

“I just want my hot rod to be fast,” he said with a laugh. “If she’s fast, I’ll put up with anything.”

Bowyer will carry the Toco Warranty paint scheme on his No. 14 Ford Mustang at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Bowyer arrives at Chicago after finishing 11th on the road course at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway last weekend. He’s 12th in points with just 10 races remaining before the NASCAR playoffs begin Sept. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“Maybe if we win this weekend in Chicagoland, we’ll start naming all of our cars,” Bowyer said. “We’ll do anything if it helps us lock down a playoff spot.”

Sunday’s race in Chicagoland marks Toco Warranty’s third appearance as the primary sponsor on Bowyer’s No. 14 Mustang. In its first season as a partner at SHR, Toco has initiated several racing programs, including the Toco All-Star Sweepstakes in which one lucky winner and his or her guest will attend the season finales of both the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The winner will be hosted by Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) for the World of Outlaws World Finals Nov. 8 to 9 at The Dirt Track near Charlotte, North Carolina, before jetting off to South Florida to see the NASCAR season finale Nov. 16 to 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). Toco Warranty will provide VIP access that includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a rental car and event tickets. Tony Stewart, the owner of TSR and the co-owner of SHR, will be at both events, where the winner will see the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion in action as an owner, facilitating meet-and-greets with 10-time and reigning World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz at Charlotte and Bowyer in Homestead.

To register, fans simply need to go to www.TocoWarranty.com. A winner will be drawn by Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. EDT.

“Toco Warranty has long realized that Americans view their cars as four-wheeled family members. Whether you are driving to little league, on a road trip or heading out on your daily commute, we know that every mile counts,” said Nota Berger, CEO of Toco Warranty. “Keeping cars reliable and on the road is Toco’s mission. Straightforward coverage plans to help hard-working Americans keep their cars for longer is the Toco promise.”

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Toco Warranty Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What are your thoughts on Chicagoland Speedway?

“Chicago has always been a cool racetrack. It is a sister track to my home track in Kansas and that fan base up there is that Midwestern fan base I feel most comfortable with, and I enjoy going to that racetrack and interacting with them in the infield and everything else. Again, we are fortunate to be able to race all over the country and see different people in different ways of life.”

What are your thoughts on your 2019 season?

“Success is measured by winning – that’s goal number one. We still haven’t accomplished that, so that’s our priority. Whether that’s this weekend in Chicago or the final race at Homestead, we have got to get a race win this season and, if we don’t, I’ll be disappointed.”

Kevin Harvick finished sixth last week at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in what could be considered his home race as Sonoma is located in the same state in which Harvick grew up.

This week, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. And the speedway is located just 164 miles from Charleston, Illinois, where Jimmy John’s was founded in 1983 by Jimmy John Liautaud.

So, for Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang, this is an important weekend. Harvick and Jimmy John’s won the 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland, but a Chicago Cup Series victory for Jimmy John’s would make for a happy sponsor and driver.

Harvick and his crew chief Rodney Childers have been successful in 2019 as they are third in the standings despite being without a victory thus far.

But Harvick has been victorious at Chicagoland several times before. He has two wins, 10 top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and has led a total of 471 laps in his 18 career NASCAR Cup Series starts there, with an average start of 15.3, an average finish of 11.2 and a lap-completion rate of 98.4 percent – 4,736 of the 4,812 laps available.

Since he joined SHR in 2014, Harvick has never started lower than 12th and he has three top-five finishes. Harvick also has three wins in 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Chicagoland to go with six top-fives and eight top-10s at the 1.5-mile oval.

He even has competed in one NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Chicagoland. On September 16, 2011, Harvick drove Truck No. 2 and started second and finished second in the Fast Five 225.

By the time Harvick won his second consecutive race at Chicagoland in 2002, Jimmy John’s had grown to 160 stores. If Harvick can win at Chicagoland this weekend, those 160 stores will celebrate as will more than 2,800 stores that are now open across 43 states.

It would be a great hometown victory for Jimmy John’s and for Harvick, Childers and the No. 4 team.

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

Are you frustrated by not having been to victory lane this year?

“I am beyond all the frustration. To me it is now a challenge just because I feel like this is very similar to 2014 and 2017. I can see the progression in the speed of the cars and the things we have done and honestly we just chose the wrong direction to start the year. Our cars weren’t where they needed to be and everyone realizes that as a company. We had some situations where we were in position to win some races and had some things go wrong, whether it was my team or the 14 (Clint Bowyer). In the end, our cars just weren’t fast enough. I think everybody has kept his head down and is looking at it as a challenge now. Aside from the second half of the Charlotte race, I think over the last month or so the cars are headed in the right direction. Aric (Almirola) had a great test at Indianapolis and that is really the benefit of having quality teammates and people who communicate and an organization like we have with Gene (Haas) and Tony (Stewart) letting the racers go race. Sometimes that overrules the engineering. Not saying that our engineering guys did anything wrong, but it was just the direction wasn’t right to be able to do the things we are doing on the racetrack in the cars in real-life scenarios that are being covered with what we are doing on the track. That is what really tells the tale. We are all pulling the rope in the right direction now and feel like we have made some good gains. This is part of that challenge that is a cycle. I have talked about this for years – you have to build, you have to rebuild, build and rebuild. You are on the good side of it and the bad side of it and it all has a funny way of cycling itself through. We have had a number of challenges since I have been here with Tony in and out of the car and drivers changing. It is a resilient group of people who continue to set aside the frustrations and look forward. We were all frustrated at Pocono because we were in a position to win the race. It is hard to put your thumb on everything and know when steering boxes are going to break. I know we had a pit-road penalty but they had a phenomenal day on pit road. There were just a number of things that piled onto one stop there. At this point, in these types of situations for me, they are almost more fun than winning all the time because you get to talk about things and live that frustration and go through those scenarios and, in the end sometimes, it makes you stronger at the end of those seasons to be where you need to be as we saw with the 22 (Joey Logano) last year. They were nowhere in sight at the beginning of the year and they finished as the champs. Winning is easy because it means everything is right. You get to get gritty when it is not 100-percent going your way.”

You’ve worked with Jimmy John’s for a few years. What makes Jimmy John’s unique?

“I’ve known Jimmy since 2009 and I’ve personally seen how driven he is and how his work ethic is embraced by everyone who works at Jimmy John’s. They’re freaks about the details just like he is and want to be the best, period. And he’ll outwork everyone to be the best. That’s the same mindset we have in racing.”

Daniel Suárez and the No. 41 Ruckus Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head all the way out to Northern California for this Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. The event located in the heart of Wine Country marks the 16th this season. For the third time in 2019, the Mexico native will pilot the Ruckus-themed Mustang.

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In the Cup Series’ most recent event two weekends ago, Suárez earned a fourth-place finish in the rain-delayed race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The 27-year-old enjoyed the off week back home in Mexico visiting family and friends, toying with restored vintage cars at his dad’s restoration shop, and getting behind the wheel of a go-kart for a little fun. The Ford driver took advantage of the chance to relax before the Cup Series begins its summer stretch, which continues each weekend until the final off weekend at the end of August.

Suárez will make his third Cup Series start at Sonoma this weekend and, for the first time there, the Ford driver will not also run in a NASCAR companion series during the weekend. He’s earned Cup Series finishes of 16th and 15th, with an average starting position of 13.5 and has completed all 220 possible laps. He’s made two K&N Pro Series West starts at the California road course with finishes of 11th and fourth. The Sonoma track is the first road-course event of the season, the next slated for Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in August.

For this first time since 1998, the Cup Series will utilize Sonoma’s series of turns called “The Carousel,” which will extend a lap from 1.99 miles to 2.52 miles. Suárez sees the course change as an advantage for him, given his lack of experience at Sonoma compared to his SHR teammates. “I have less experience than my teammates and a lot of the drivers in the Cup Series,” the Ruckus driver said. “So, for me, as many changes that you can do to a car, or as many changes that you can do to a racetrack, for me, is better because it’s like resetting everything a little bit.”

Suárez is 13th in the Cup Series standings with 401 points to round out the four-car SHR contingent in the standings. The top 16 drivers after the 26 regular-season races will earn a spot in the NASCAR playoffs. Through 15 points-paying events last year, Suárez was 21st in the standings with one top-five and four top-10s.

In total this season, the Ruckus driver has earned two top-five finishes and six top-10s and has led 52 laps behind the wheel of the No. 41 Ford Mustang. Team co-owner Tony Stewart earned SHR’s first win at Sonoma in 2016 and Suárez’s teammate Kevin Harvick captured the victory in 2017.

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

How do you think you have acclimated to being part of the team at SHR from the beginning of the year until now?

“I think it has been very good. I feel like everyone has been extremely good to me and we work very well together. I have great teammates with Clint (Bowyer), Kevin (Harvick) and Aric (Almirola). We have a great group and I am very happy to be part of it. I wish we were winning races, all four of us. We aren’t there, yet. I know we are going to get there. That is something I know. I know it is going to happen. We just have to be patient and keep working hard.”

Based on what you have experienced in your time in the sport, what advice would you give to your younger self – both in life lessons and career lessons?

“Just to be good with everyone because you never know where the opportunity will come from. And to work extremely hard because this is a tough sport. There are just 40 seats in the Cup Series and there are thousands and thousands of drivers in the United States and even more in Latin America. There are a lot of young drivers coming up and good talent coming up, so you have to be on top of your game. It’s not just driving the racecar, it is mental, as well, and other things outside of the racetrack. So, I always say that it’s important to be a good package, not just to drive the racecar.”

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), heads to the first road-course race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season looking to better his career-best finish of eighth place last year at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

The Northern California track proved to be a challenging one for Almirola in his first six cup starts there with a best finish of 14th. But, after cracking the top-10 for the first time there last year, he heads to this weekend’s SaveMart 350k with more confidence than ever. That same weekend last year, Almirola turned laps in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race, in which he started fifth and finished second.

For the first time since 1997, Sonoma’s full, 12-turn layout, which was unveiled when the facility opened in 1968, will be used for Sunday’s Cup Series race. It includes the raceway’s signature sweeping downhill series of corners known as “The Carousel.” It plunges from turn four, down through turns five and six, and navigates a more than 200-degree-radius turn before dropping onto the longest straightaway through the turn-seven hairpin.

“Sonoma is going to be tricky,” now,” Almirola said. “A lot of drivers get in a rhythm and a routine and you can visualize the track before you even make your first lap of practice. You have an idea where you’re going to run on the track and where your braking points are going to be. Now, going back to Sonoma, it’s going to be drastically different. We’re going to crest the hill at turn 3A and we’re not going to drive all the way down that straightaway into the old turn four and bounce off that curb. We’re going to have to immediately slow down and turn right onto the small straightaway, then into The Carousel, and that drastically changes your mindset for the whole lap and the flow that you’re used to.”

Physical and mental preparation are key to Almirola’s success on and off the track. He spent the entire Tuesday afternoon with his team at the Ford Performance simulator to log laps on Sonoma’s full road-course configuration.

This week, Almirola announced that fans can now get VIP, behind-the-scenes access in following “Aric ‘Beyond the 10’” by subscribing to his YouTube channel and following episodes on Facebook and Instagram TV. Episodes will showcase never-before-seen footage of Almirola at the racetrack, on family trips, and “A Day in the Life” during the week, as well as all that goes into a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s season. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.

“NASCAR fans get better access to professional athletes and drivers than any other sport,” Almirola said. “I’m excited to take the fans a step further into the hard work, preparation and ups and downs that happen during a race season, as well as real life with my family. We want to show current and non-sports fans how demanding and exciting racing in NASCAR’s top series really is.”

Sonoma marks the 13th weekend the iconic black-and-white Smithfield livery will adorn Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Mustang. Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, which is based approximately five hours northeast of SHR headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, is in its eighth season with Almirola and its second 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.

The 35-year-old Ford driver has earned one pole award, one top-five, eight top-10s and has led 100 laps through 15 races this season. His qualifying efforts have also been strong with five front-row starts and eight top-five starts this season.

Almirola sits 11th in the driver standings with 426 points, 188 behind leader and fellow Ford driver Joey Logano.

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

What will be the most difficult part of learning Sonoma’s new configuration?

“I’ve been going to Sonoma since 2012 with the same exact setup and trying to perfect my technique. It’s going to be challenging. That whole section of The Carousel and that long straightaway that leads up to the old turn seven is now a passing zone. It’s going to be difficult to try and figure out the braking zones and on the restarts to figure out when the best opportunity to pass is.”

What do you need at Sonoma to be successful?

“Patience and grip. Sonoma is really low on grip, and it’s really slow and technical compared to Watkin Glen.”

From 1989 to 1997, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California used its full, 12-turn road course, which featured a sweeping sequence of turns called “The Carousel.”

The Carousel, part of the full Sonoma layout originally unveiled when the track opened in 1968, plunges from turn four down through turns five and six and navigates a more than 200-degree radius turn before dropping onto Sonoma’s longest straightaway from the turn-seven hairpin.

NASCAR first utilized the full 12-turn road course during its first Pacific Coast Late Model Division race at what was then called Sears Point Raceway in 1969 and on through numerous Cup Series, West Series, Southwest Series and Truck Series events until 1997. Since 1998, NASCAR had competed on a shorter, 1.99-mile configuration that bypassed The Carousel by connecting turns four and seven and calling it “The Chute.”

The full track is back for 2019 and only three active NASCAR drivers have experienced The Carousel at Sonoma Raceway.

Kyle Busch drove a Legends car there in 1998 and Jimmie Johnson drove it once in a driving school.

But Kevin Harvick may have the most “experience.”

Harvick started 31st and finished 35th, completing only 18 of the 50 laps in the 1995 Budweiser 200 NASCAR Southwest Tour Series race. He was driving the No. 55 Foster’s Freeze Chevrolet, which had engine problems early in the race.

The event was conducted on May 6, 1995 and it’s interesting to note where everyone was 24 years ago. Harvick’s team co-owner Gene Haas was continuing to build Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America but hadn’t formed a NASCAR team, yet.

Harvick’s other team co-owner Tony Stewart just started his successful quest to the win the United States Auto Club triple-crown, which meant winning the title in the sanctioning body’s Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget divisions.

Crew chief Rodney Childers was highly successful in karting, driving for a factory team with which he would win two national championships and three state championships.

Who knew that all four would come together years later to form a championship team?

Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) at this weekend’s SaveMart 350k at Sonoma, and he’ll do so with Mobil 1 technology on board as a sponsor and technical partner.

Mobil 1 isn’t just the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, it also provides the entire SHR organization with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all SHR Mustangs have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. In its 17th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series.

It’s been a long time since May 6, 1995. “This is how we do it,” by Montell Jordan was the No. 1 song, gas was $1.14 a gallon and Seinfeld was No. 1 on television.

But no one knew on May 6, 1995, that Haas, Stewart, Harvick and Childers would form one of the great teams in the long history of the NASCAR Cup Series.

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

Why do you prefer Mobil 1 synthetic?

“I’m a synthetic guy because, in 1993, when we were sitting in the engine shop, we dumped Mobil 1 synthetic in and that’s all we did and gained seven horsepower. From that day on, we would actually save our money and then go to the local auto parts store because, at that time, it was like $5.50 a quart and the conventional and other oils were like $3.50. At the big races, we would put the Mobil 1 in the car, and for the regular races we would put the regular oil in there. You know I’m going to say synthetic.”

Does your strategy change at Sonoma with the additional of The Carousel?

“I was in the simulator last week and got lost a couple of times – forgot where to turn. It is a lot different than I remember it from 1995. I told some of the guys in our organization that the last time I was there and ran this particular course, the course we have been running wasn’t even there. There was a mountain in the middle of the racetrack. A lot has changed. Running that portion of the racetrack, the lap time is longer and there are some different corners to deal with and, from (turn) 3B all the way through four, through The Carousel and the exit of it and what is a different turn seven than the one we have been racing, which was actually turn five. It depends how you count the corners. I love the fact, and honestly this was a conversation that Marcus Smith and I had at lunch one day and I asked why we don’t just run The Carousel and how cool it would be to throw it back. An hour later, he told me he talked to his guys and they were looking into it. Next thing you know we are running The Carousel. I love the fact they are changing it up. I think Watkins Glen could do the same thing. It seems like SMI is more aggressive in these types of situations with changing things up and trying new things and doing things more on the edge of not knowing what the outcome is going to be. As we have seen with the Roval (at Charlotte) and with the changes at Sonoma, to my knowledge I have never seen ISC do anything to their racetracks like SMI has done to several of their racetracks to try and improve the racing. I don’t think they are as worried about the life of their asphalt as they are the quality of the race. We have just seen them make a lot more aggressive changes in the things they have done on the SMI side.”

Clint Bowyer thought Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway was already a perfect fit for his driving style, so he’s admittedly leery about the addition of the “The Carousel” to the circuit’s historic 12-turn, 2.52-mile road-course layout for the Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Save Mart 350k.

“I’m a little bit torn on this,” Bowyer said. “I was surprised they added The Carousel back to the layout. I’m kind of old-fashioned and thought, you know, if it isn’t broke, why fix it, why touch it? And I didn’t think that track was broke at all. I think the tire and stuff has gotten a little bit too good for a track like that, but I always have thought it’s been a great product for our sport. Who knows, maybe, it’ll make it better and it’s certainly going to make it a longer race.”

The full track layout that will be used this weekend when the NASCAR Cup Series races the Save Mart 350k Sunday was originally unveiled when the facility opened in 1968. It includes the raceway’s signature sweeping downhill corner known as “The Carousel.” It plunges from turn four, down through turns five and six, and navigates a more than 200-degree-radius turn before dropping onto the longest straightaway into the turn-seven hairpin.

Since 1998, NASCAR has competed on a shorter, 1.99-mile configuration, which utilized a bypass connecting turns four and seven known as “The Chute.” Bowyer can make a good case for the old configuration. In 13 career races at the track just north of San Francisco, he owns a victory, eight top-five finishes and 10 top 10s.

The former body shop repairman who grew up amid the wheat fields of Kansas, nowhere near a road course, claims not to know why he runs well at Sonoma. But he can easily tick off what a driver must do to be competitive at Sonoma.

“You have to get yourself right,” he said. “That’s the most important thing to get right. Mental attitude is everything. You have to manage that racetrack, that racecar, and manage traffic, make no mistakes, hit your marks, go easy on your throttle and brake pedals. You really have to take care of those four Goodyear tires because those are what will take you to victory lane if you take care of them.”

Bowyer’s best moment at Sonoma came in June 2012, when he held off Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart, the latter of who now co-owns Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford with Gene Haas. Bowyer dominated the race by leading 70 of the 112 laps. Defending race-winner Busch was all over the bumper of Bowyer’s car late and got a final shot in a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish. Bowyer raced side-by-side with Busch at the green flag, then cleared Busch and pulled away for the win. Bowyer had to walk to victory lane to celebrate with his crew after his car ran out of gas during the cool-down lap. Stewart passed Busch on the final lap to claim second.

Bowyer’s No. 14 team knows a little bit about Sonoma, as well. In addition to second- and third-place finishes with Bowyer in 2017 and 2018, the crew chief Mike Bugarewicz-led unit won the race with Stewart in 2016 in what turned out to be the last of Stewart’s 49 Cup Series wins.

Bowyer believes that, in addition to his on-track success, the race weekend in California has also become a highlight of the season for everyone in the industry.

“I love that weekend,” he said. “It’s a vacation for everybody involved. It’s a challenging racetrack. I’m good at it. You always look forward to going to tracks you’re good at. We’ve gotten this wave of confidence going at the moment. Hopefully, we can ride off to Sonoma and enjoy some success there, as well.”

Bowyer will drive the Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang in Sunday’s race. Rush Truck Centers has been the primary partner with the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived in 2017 and has been with the SHR organization since 2010. The San Antonio-based company, with more than 120 locations and 7,000 employees, 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.

Bowyer arrives in Sonoma after a 35th-place finish June 10 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where a lap-130 accident in the 200-lap race ruined what was shaping up to be a top-five or top-10 finish. Bowyer has tallied five-top-fives and eight top-10s in 2019. He’s 12th in points with 11 races remaining before the start of the 2019 NASCAR playoffs Sept. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It’s that time of year when you start looking at the standings and seeing where you need to be to make the playoffs,” Bowyer said. “Plus, you really want to be on a roll when the playoffs start in September. It all begins Sunday in Sonoma.”

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

How do you think race strategy will change with the addition of The Carousel?

“I honestly don’t know. I think everybody has been working hard on it and I have been trying to figure out The Carousel. It is going to be a game changer, no question. I don’t know what to think about it. For the last several years, I have looked at that track to be the go-to track. Since the Car of Tomorrow, it really woke up certain tracks, and Sonoma and these road courses have been some of our best products of racing. I think that is a fact. It is an opinion but it is pretty damn close to factual.”

What is Sonoma race weekend like?

“It’s a fun weekend for everyone in the garage area. It’s almost like vacation, it really is for everybody — the wives, the girlfriends – they all go on wine tours, we get done with practice and have our hands full with a complete mess. Nonetheless, everybody is having a lot of fun.”

How important is this summer stretch to success in 2019?

“The summer stretch is everything and, looking back at our season last year, we’ve got to get better at it. Everybody asks, ‘How are you going to improve from last year?’ And I say it’s that late-summer stretch. We started off great last year and then tapered off in the summer. We have to avoid that this year. You have to get on a roll, especially leading off into the playoffs.”

Race Name: CircuitCity.com 250 presented by Tamron (Race 14 of 33)
Venue: Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa
Television: 5:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 3rd; trails points leader by 117 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 187 points

• This will mark Chase Briscoe’s third start at Iowa Speedway. He has one previous start in the Xfinity Series and one in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
• Both of Briscoe’s previous appearances at Iowa have resulted in a top-10 finish including a seventh in the Truck Series and a 10th one year ago in the Xfinity Series.
• During the 2019 season, Briscoe has six top-fives, ten top-10’s and an average finish of 7.7. He has finished in the top-10 in 10 out of the last 11 races heading into this weekend.
• The #ChaseThe98 campaign continues this weekend with Chase’s own dog, “Ricky” the French Bulldog.
• Click here for Briscoe’s career stats.
• Click here for Briscoe’s stats at Iowa Speedway.
• Click here for photos of Chase.

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You have been looking forward to Iowa Speedway all year. What is it about Iowa that has you optimistic for this weekend?

“There is just something about Iowa that I have always loved. It is a place that just instantly clicked with me the very first time I went there. You can really move around on the track, throw slidejobs, and there are bumps that keep you on your toes – it’s a true driver’s track. I can’t wait to hit the track this weekend and chase our first win of the season.”

Race Name: CircuitCity.com 250 presented by Tamron (Race 14 of 33)
Venue: Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa
Television: 5:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 3rd; trails points leader by 117 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 187 points

• Custer will make his eighth NASCAR appearance at Iowa Speedway. He has four previous starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and three starts in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
• He has two top-five finishes in his four Xfinity Series starts at Iowa with his best finish of fourth coming in June of 2018.
• Crew chief Mike Shiplett has 9 starts with a best finish of third coming in June of 2017.
• Click here for Custer’s career stats.
• Click here for Custer’s stats at Iowa Speedway
• Click here for photos of Cole.

FIELDS, one of the Sports Fields Inc. companies, is the preeminent builder of fields and sports parks in the country. At FIELDS, we are committed to Building Sports Parks of Distinction. Our fields facilitate peak team performance, are constructed using the industry’s best resources, and embody the essence of durability, precision, technological innovation, service and quality. By combining the premium quality of our fields with the best in customer care, we create sports parks of distinction that wow teams, coaches and guests. We are truly setting the standard in today’s field construction and sports park construction business.

You’ve been vocal that Iowa is one of your favorite tracks on the schedule. What is it about this track that makes it so popular among drivers?

“Iowa is always a favorite for the drivers because it’s so wore out and rough, so you are constantly trying to find grip. You start around the bottom of the track, but eventually you end up around the top and that makes it fun for the fans and drivers. It creates multiple lanes and exciting racing.”

Race Name: LTi Printing 250 (Race 13 of 33)
Venue: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan
Television: 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 3rd; trails points leader by 99 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 162 points

• This will mark Chase Briscoe’s second start at Michigan International Speedway. He has one previous start in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series finishing ninth.
• During the 2019 season, Briscoe has six top-five finishes in the last eight races with an average finish of 7.8.
• The #ChaseThe98 campaign continues this weekend with the late “Geely” the Border Collie from New Hampshire.
• Click here for Briscoe’s career stats.
• Click here for Briscoe’s stats at Michigan
• Click here for photos of Chase.

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You’re making your first Xfinity Series start at Michigan this weekend. What will you be doing this week to make sure you are prepared for the two-mile oval?

“I watch a lot of video heading into race weekends and we also use the Ford simulator each and every week, which is a huge help. I am really looking forward to hitting the track this weekend and seeing where we stack up. We have had a really strong Nutri Chomps Ford Mustang the last few weeks – we just need a little luck on our side now.”

Race Name: LTi Printing 250 (Race 13 of 33)
Venue: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan
Television: 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1
Point Standings: 
– Cole Custer: 3rd; trails points leader by 99 points
– Chase Briscoe: 6th; trails points leader by 162 points

• Custer will make his fourth NASCAR appearance at the two-mile oval. He has two previous starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one start in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
• Custer has three wins, seven top-fives and eight top-10’s while leading 464 laps throughout the 2019 season.
• Crew chief Mike Shiplett has six starts on top of the pit box at Michigan with one top-five and one top-10. His best finish of third came in June of 2015.
• Click here for Custer’s career stats.
• Click here for Custer’s stats at Michigan.
• Click here for photos of Cole.

Jacob Companies, Inc. (Jacob), is a multifaceted construction firm with a focus on construction, development, design and technology services. Jacob provides clients with a wide range of services in the Design Build and Construction Management sectors of the construction industry. In conjunction with these services, Jacob self performs structural concrete, architectural and structural precast erection.

Michigan is the fastest track you will go to all year. How do you think the racing will play out with these high speeds?

“With the high speeds we will run at Michigan, clean air and track position will play a huge role, so you will see some different strategies being used by the teams. If we can keep our car in that clean air, I think we will see the Jacob Companies Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”