Category: Pre-Race Reports

Event:               Overton’s 300 (Round 15 of 33)
Date:                 June 30, 2018
Location:          Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois
Layout:             1.5-mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

• The Overton’s 300 will mark Cole Custer’s second career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
• Custer is striving to earn this season’s fifth consecutive top-five in the Overton’s 300. He comes into Chicagoland fresh off a fourth-place finish Sunday at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
• Custer has earned three poles, five top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and has led 106 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• Custer is second in the Xfinity Series driver standings, four points behind leader Elliott Sadler.
• In 18 career Xfinity Series starts and nine NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at 1.5-mile ovals, Custer has one win, seven top-five finishes and 16 top-10s.
• In Custer’s first and only Xfinity Series start at Chicagoland, he led 41 laps but was shuffled to the middle of the pack before rallying for a seventh-place finish.
• Custer’s best finish in the 14 Xfinity Series races this season is second on May 26 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
• Custer has qualified inside the top-five in 10 of the 14 races run this season.
• Custer will be joined by SHR teammate Kevin Harvick in the No. 98 Hunt Brothers Ford Mustang.
• In 2017, Custer led the Xfinity Series with 422 points at 1.5-mile tracks.
• Two weekends ago at Iowa, Custer ran as high as third place and raced inside the top-five for the majority of the race.

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

Are you content with the team’s top-five consistency, or do you feel you’ve had the car to win every weekend?

“We go to the track to win every weekend, so I wouldn’t say we’re satisfied. We are second in the standings, though, and are happy to have some consistency lately with some top-five finishes. Consistency is key, but every driver out there wants to win every weekend.”

Would a win take some weight off your shoulders going forward in the season?

“A win would be huge for our team. I feel like we’re really close right now and it would give us some confidence for the rest of the year. It was a huge weight off of our shoulders last year at Homestead, but we feel that we should already have a few and counting.”

What is racing around Chicagoland like?

“Chicago is one of the best tracks we go to. It’s worn out, rough, and you can run all over the track. I think a lot of us look forward to going to Chicagoland because of the challenge it brings.”

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

The Haas Automation team has been dominant at 1.5-mile tracks. How important is it to succeed at mile-and-a-half tracks, knowing  Homestead is the winner-take-all championship race? 

“As you can see from last year, we focused heavily on our 1.5-mile program and carried the momentum and race notes to Homestead. Every time we go to a mile-and-a-half track, it is so important to run well and take every note we can because there is a championship on the line in November.”

It’s well known that Kurt Busch is a massive Chicago Cubs fan. Despite growing up in Las Vegas, he caught many Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV in the 1980s and 1990s.

He has connections to Chicago as his parents were born in the metro area and his grandfather lived in downtown Chicago. And his grandfather was a huge Cubs fan.

In 1984, when Busch was just 6 years old, the late Steve Goodman wrote the famous song, “Go Cubs Go,” which is played at Wrigley Field after Cubs victories.

Busch is hoping he can play “Go Kurt Go,” as he hopes to win his first-ever Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. He has two top-five finishes and nine top-10s in 17 races at the 1.5-mile oval just southwest of Chicago, but he’s yet to find victory lane.

Busch’s best finish at Chicagoland came in 2015, when he came home third. He overcame a flat tire on lap 86 and a green-flag pit stop that put him a lap down to still contend for the win. However, a late-race caution took away what appeared to be a sure win and an automatic advance into the next round of the playoffs for Busch and the No. 41 team.

The prospects for a career-best Chicagoland finish this weekend for Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), look good as he’s been fast on 1.5-mile ovals this season.

His average starting positon on the intermediate tracks has been 7.0, including a pole at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. He’s qualified in the top-eight in four of five races at 1.5-mile ovals.

Busch has also finished in the top-eight in four of the five races at 1.5-mile ovals.

While he may not be singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on lap 200 of Sunday’s 267-lap race, Busch is hoping that, in the words of the late Cubs broadcasters Harry Carey and Jack Brickhouse, he hears either “Busch Wins!” or “Hey Hey!” once the checkered flag falls.

And then his fans can launch into a heartfelt rendition of “Go Kurt Go.”

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

You have a lot of connections to Chicago. Talk about that.

“Both my mom and dad were born in the Chicagoland area. My grandfather lived downtown and was a big Chicago Cubs fan. I remember growing up and going to his house and seeing all of his Cubs stuff. And then in Vegas, where I grew up, we had WGN-TV and it was cool to be connected to the Cubs at an early age. I still have aunts and uncles in the Chicago area. The Busches moved out to Vegas in the early ’70’s. And that’s where Kyle and I were born and raised.”    

Do you look at Chicago as another hometown race? 

“It’s fun just with my affinity for Chicago. I love the town, the Chicago Cubs, the Bears. Over the years, I’ve met a lot of good people throughout the Illinois area. It does feel like a second home.”

The 1.5-mile ovals all look the same but are completely different. How is Chicagoland?

“They’re all very different. It’s all about the asphalt and grip level. It’d be very interesting to get to choose what sets of tires we all wanted to race on for grip levels. Chicago is very similar to Homestead and it’s similar to Atlanta that we run earlier in the year. Very worn-out mile-and-a-half that chews up tires, and you have to be nice to your tires.”

What have your previous races at Chicago been like for you?

 “Chicago is a fast, mile-and-a-half track I have always enjoyed racing on since I started racing there in my rookie season. The track isn’t as smooth as it used to be – it has some bumps in it – but it’s a place I like. It’s another one of those tracks, though, where I just haven’t had the best of luck. An example is the 2002 race. We had a really fast car for that race but, for some reason after the last pit stop, the car just wasn’t handling the same as it had been. We were just way too tight and really couldn’t figure out why. When we got back to the shop and started going over the car, we realized that the radiator pan had come off and that’s like 100 pounds of front downforce. We were going so fast that the car bottomed out and dragged the radiator pan out. It’s just weird stuff like that.”

Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will have a different look when he arrives at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 400.

This weekend, it will be the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Kickin’ Ranch Ford Fusion and features a brand-new advertising campaign from the Illinois-based sandwich shop. Long known for being “Freaky Fast” and “Freaky Fresh,” Jimmy John’s is now expanding that message to celebrate the freaks who work for Jimmy John’s and their obsession with making the perfect sandwich for their customers. In fact, it’s the first time Jimmy John’s has ever changed its paint scheme in the middle of the season.

To reach Harvick’s level of success in 2018 – winning a series-best five points-paying races – it takes a freakish commitment. Harvick and the No. 4 team are freaks about winning, which makes the partnership with Jimmy John’s a perfect fit.

In addition to the new paint scheme, Jimmy John’s also just unveiled some new products for its customers, including a Kickin’ Ranch dip and a 16-inch Giant sandwich.

The Kickin’ Ranch paint scheme is part of Jimmy John’s new ad campaign, the theme of which illustrates that the company cares about things normal people do not and that is what makes its sandwiches consistently fresh, fast and healthy. It is actually the first time the new advertising campaign peels back the curtain on some of the practices that make the brand the freakiest, and best, in the business. These include: cutting lettuce into exactly 3/32-of-an-inch slices; only using fresh bread and not serving any bread that is more than four hours out of the oven; using meats that contain no added hormones, artificial ingredients or preservatives; slicing all vegetables, cheeses and meats every day in every Jimmy John’s location; and using only three ingredients for the signature Jimmy Chips – potatoes, peanut oil and salt.

The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Kickin’ Ranch Ford Fusion will feature the 16-inch Giant sandwich on the hood with the words “Freak Yeah!” above the sandwich and the words “Freaky Fast” and “Freaky Fresh” below. The rear quarterpanels will also feature Jimmy John’s, instead of its standard “Freaky Fast,” and the new Kickin’ Ranch logo.

The celebration of the new Jimmy John’s campaign starts at its home track. Jimmy John’s was founded in 1983 by then-19-year-old Jimmy John Liautaud approximately 163 miles from Chicagoland Speedway in Charleston, Illinois.

It’s also a track where Harvick and his team have had been freaky fast throughout his career. In fact, Harvick won the first two Cup Series races in Chicagoland history – scoring back-to-back wins in 2001 and 2002. In 17 Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Harvick has nine top-five finishes and 10 top-10s to go with his two wins and 432 laps led.

Safe to say Harvick and the No. 4 Jimmy John’s team have been the freaks of the Cup Series field in 2018. They lead all competitors with five points-paying wins, 12 top-five finishes, 13 top-10s, 993 laps led and 26 playoff points.

A win for Harvick and the Jimmy John’s team at Chicagoland in Sunday’s Overton’s 400 would add to those freaky statistics and put the team in an even better position as the NASCAR playoffs approach.

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

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.”

You’ve won four of the last seven races on 1.5 mile racetracks. Do you feel your team has become the favorite at 1.5-mile tracks since the start of the year?

“I think Atlanta is its own beast, but I think we answered a lot of those questions for ourselves. And now it’s about navigating the rest of it, and how do you push yourself forward, what do you need to work on, even though things are going well. Sometimes you have to trick yourself and everybody else into thinking, ‘OK, well, everything is going well. Well, I can promise you that the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.), the 18 (Kyle Busch), the 2 (Brad Keselowski), the 22 (Joey Logano) – everybody – is going to work, and they’re going to get better.’ I mean, we did that last year. We’ve been in this position before and you have to keep pushing forward to try to keep your advantage of things that are working well for you, but you also have to find out what your weaknesses are. So, we have to figure out how to motivate everybody to keep pushing forward to not sit idle in the things we’re doing and become complacent in the things we’re doing that are good enough right now because they won’t be when the playoffs start.

When you think Clint Bowyer, you think unfiltered personality. Yet this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, Bowyer will proudly wear a filter as his No. 14 Ford Fusion from Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) carries the colors of WIX® Filters in the Overton’s 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Fans have seen plenty of Bowyer and his gregarious personality this year as the Emporia, Kansas-native has scored two wins along with five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. In those post-race interviews – particularly the ones from victory lane – an unfiltered Bowyer has showcased his fun-loving nature, and in the days and weeks that followed, authentic, smile-inducing media interviews and social media posts have made Bowyer one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR.

Want proof? In the days before NASCAR Cup Series teams traveled to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway for last weekend’s road-course race, television commentator Jeff Burton came up with an interesting take during a debate about which four drivers will comprise the Championship 4 in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Not surprisingly, most of the expert panel predicted SHR’s Kevin Harvick, along with Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., as three of the four drivers who will battle for the championship. After all, the trio has won 12 of the 16 races so far this year.

But the surprise of the debate came when Burton, himself a 21-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, predicted the fourth driver in the title battle.

“Who’s that guy? I think it’s Clint Bowyer,” Burton said on NBC Sports. “I think about consistency. He isn’t a guy who might win six races a year, but he is always going to grind out finishes. Consistency is what he is good at. I think you are also seeing, at this point in his career, Bowyer adding a little more speed. He’s happy with his team and he and his crew chief get along. He’s having fun, enjoying what he is doing, and I think he is going to be that fourth guy.”

For his part, Bowyer isn’t ready to say he and his team are a lock for the Championship 4, but he did say the combination of SHR, Ford and Roush Yates Engines puts the No. 14 WIX Filters team in contention.

“It is a lethal package right now,” said Bowyer, who after finishing third at Sonoma sits sixth in the championship standings. “This is a humbling sport and I have been all over the place with it – high, low and everywhere in between. It just makes you appreciate the ride you are on right now and the group that I am around. We are hitting on all eight cylinders and getting the most out of our weekends and starting to get the consistency back that we were kind of lacking last year. The capability is there within the team. It is a team effort.”

Burton’s comments stirred debate on social media, but looking at Bowyer’s career record, is it really a surprise to include him in predictions for who will comprise the Championship 4?

Before arriving at SHR in 2017, Bowyer had finished in the top-five in the championship four times for two different organizations. In 2007, he finished third in points driving for Richard Childress Racing and, in 2012, he finished second in points driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. Before arriving in the Cup Series, Bowyer won the 2008 NASCAR Xfinity Series title.

It was easy to sleep on Bowyer in recent years when he drove for a team going out of business and then with a small team without a history of success. Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 to replace the recently retired and three-time series champion Tony Stewart. Bowyer and his new team turned in a solid year, posting the 11^th-best average finish, but they were unable to capture that elusive victory and fell just one spot short of making the playoffs.

Fast forward to 2018 where Bowyer and his No. 14 WIX Filters team are being tabbed as championship contenders. It’s a status Bowyer credits to SHR’s corporate partners like WIX Filters, which provides the parts and expertise that yields an advantage. WIX Filters engineers work side-by-side with its teams, applying their research in the ultra-competitive world of auto racing to the everyday demands of light- and heavy-duty consumer and commercial usage.

“WIX Filters has made racing filters for more 50 years for a lot of champions all over the world,” said Bowyer. “I’ve used them in the racecars I drive as well as the dirt cars we run at Clint Bowyer Racing. It’s the best filter in racing and that’s why you’ll find them on every SHR Ford this season. WIX Filters have already contributed to SHR’s success this year, and I expect that will continue this weekend in Chicagoland.”

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 WIX Filters Ford 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. We’ll show them our new WIX Filters paint scheme this weekend and I hope they get as big a kick out of it as we do.”

What will it take to be a championship contender?

“To be able to compete at that level, you have to be able to unload week in, week out with cars capable of getting the job done. Most of that is the work that’s put in before the week even starts. It’s working months ahead, preparing that car for any given weekend. Then it’s the communication leading into the race. Then it’s communication through Friday, through qualifying, through Saturday’s practice sessions, and collectively putting that all together for Sunday. You have to knock on that door week in and week out. You have to build that notebook so you can start the playoffs and run in the top-five every single week. That will put you at the end.”

Are you and the No. 14 WIX Filters team at that level?

“We’re starting to do that. We’re starting that notebook that we all talk about. It’s finally starting to resonate to where you can look at it. Like, I can go back and look at last year. All right, I remember that. We’re not going to do that. We’ll be better there. We have to learn from that mistake, so on and so forth. Those are the things we’re starting to pick up on.”

Are you optimistic?

“This No. 14 WIX Filters team is getting better. The thing I love the most about the season is we start going back to these races for the second time in the playoffs. That notebook is even bigger for us because our cars have been unloading fast. Now, it’s just fine-tuning. It’s not that massive, overall change of setups you have to do going into one of those playoff races.”

How helpful is to have a partner in WIX Filters that also contributes to the performance of your Ford Fusions?

“We’ve been bringing some fast hot rods to the racetrack each weekend and I know that WIX Filters has played an important role in that. In this sport, every detail matters, and a lot can be gained by having the best filters on our racecars. Efficiency equals horsepower, and you can never have enough horsepower.”

Kevin Harvick completed the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway sweep in 2017 by winning the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday before following it up with a dominant performance on Sunday in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Harvick wheeled his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing across the finish line first ahead of teammate Clint Bowyer after leading twice for 24 laps.

Harvick is aiming for a second straight NASCAR Cup Series win at Sonoma when he returns for this weekend’s Save Mart 350k on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course nestled in California wine country.

The demands on both man and machine throughout a road-course race can test even the most talented drivers and sophisticated mechanical equipment. Thankfully, Harvick has an equally impressive partner in Mobil 1, an entity known for standing up to the toughest challenges.

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

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

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

In addition to its high performance on the racetrack, ExxonMobil will highlight its newest synthetic motor oil, Mobil 1 Annual Protection, which allows drivers to go one full year – or up to 20,000 miles (whichever comes first) – between oil changes for all vehicle types. Guaranteed.

On Friday, June 22, Harvick and comedian Casey Webb of Man vs. Food, both stars of the latest Mobil 1 television commercials, are teaming up for the Mobil 1 Annual Protection “20K Road Trip” event at the first 5,000 mile “pit stop” at Sonoma Raceway, which marks the first of four legs of the cross-country journey.

The Mobil 1 20K Road Trip features two cars, including a 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium, which will drive 20,000 miles across 48 states experiencing a variety of climates, altitudes, elevations and driving styles over the next four months. The first pit stop at Sonoma marks the end of the road trip’s first 5,000 miles.

Harvick will be available to speak about the 20K Road Trip, the motor oil testing involved in this endeavor, and his NASCAR season. In addition, some lucky onsite fans will be selected to have their vehicle’s motor oil changed with Mobil 1 Annual Protection, completed by Harvick and Webb with help from ExxonMobil partner, Yoshi.

Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion who is currently ranked second in points, knows how to stand up to the demands of road-course racing. His win last year came from 12^th in the 38-car field, and it enabled Harvick to become one of only three active Cup Series drivers who have won at both, purpose-built road courses on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule – Sonoma and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. are the other two drivers.

A second Sonoma victory would be on top of Harvick’s series-leading five wins already this season, which has allowed him to earn 26 playoff points in his quest for a second NASCAR Cup Series title. As Mobil 1 kicks off its 20K Road Trip, Harvick will kick it into gear, literally and figuratively, on the twists and turns of Sonoma.

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

What is the first thing that comes to mind of when you think of Sonoma? 

“The first thing I think of when we are going to Sonoma is that we are going road racing. It’s definitely the first road race of the year and Sonoma is a very technical, slower-type road course. I’ve been fortunate to race there for a long time and look forward to going there every year.”

Sonoma is widely regarded as the more technical of the two road courses that have been mainstays on the Cup Series schedule. What are the big differences between Sonoma and Watkins Glen?   

“I think the biggest difference between Sonoma and Watkins Glen is that the speeds are drastically different. Sonoma is a much tighter course with sharper corners and a lot less speed, where you don’t really even use fourth gear, unless you’re saving gas. It’s a much slower track than Watkins Glen and the tires fall off a lot more than they do at The Glen. So, you’ve got to get your car to technically be very good as it turns the corner, but also keep track of the forward grip as you go through a run.”

You have an added advantage with Mobil 1 as a sponsor. It’s more than a sponsor, with its technology directly benefiting how you perform on the racetrack. How advantageous has this relationship with Mobil 1 been since you joined SHR in 2014?

“It was really mind-blowing when I first came to Stewart-Haas Racing. Every time we went to qualify, we really didn’t do anything different from the driver’s seat, but we’d always pick up a tenth-and-a-half or two-tenths of a second, and it literally came down to the oils in the engine, the oil in the transmission, the oil in the rear gear and the things they did from a lubricant standpoint – those were the biggest changes we made to the car before we would go and qualify. So, when you see that level of technology and commitment to the things that go in your car, every piece of it adds up to a pretty big chunk of speed. It’s pretty remarkable.”

Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) venture to California for this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The series was on hiatus last weekend but, heading into the off weekend, Almirola scored an 11^th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Sonoma marks the first of two road-course events this season. Nestled in Northern California’s Wine Country, its 1.99-mile, 12-turn circuit has proved to be trying for Almirola. Given the challenge the road course poses to the Tampa native, he’s looking to gain more practice by participating in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race Saturday afternoon with an entry fielded by SHR. It’s not uncommon for NASCAR Cup Series drivers to participate in the Saturday event. In fact, Almirola’s SHR teammate Kevin Harvick captured the victory in the 2017 K&N race there.

The Smithfield driver has six Cup Series starts at Sonoma with a best finish of 14^th in June 2015 and a 99.7 lap completion percentage in his six starts. SHR drivers have won the last two Sonoma races – Tony Stewart in 2016 and Harvick in 2017. Almirola looks to greatly improve his performance at Sonoma, in particular, just as he’s done throughout this season. After 15 starts this year, he’s accrued an average start of 19.9, an average finish of 12.0, and he rounds out the SHR four-car contingent with an 11^th spot in the point standings.

While Almirola’s main purpose this weekend in Sonoma is to pilot the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion, he and his wife Janice headed out to the area earlier this week to enjoy a few days away from the racetrack. “I love going to Sonoma with my wife and enjoying Wine Country,” he said. “We have great friends who live in the Santa Rosa and Windsor areas and we get to visit with them. I just really like going out there a couple of days early to enjoy the great food and wine. We definitely make more out of it besides a work trip.”

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

Fans can also enter for their chance to win Smithfield’s Smoke Machine Mustang designed by team co-owner Stewart with the help of drifting champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. They helped create a one-of-a-kind Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3 that will be given away to one lucky fan. Fans can register for their chance to win the suped-up Mustang and a trip to November’s Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead by visiting SmithfieldRacing.com, or by texting SMOKE to 82257.

Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Fusion had a different look for last month’s non-points-paying NASCAR All-Star Race. Waffle House appeared on the car to help kick off its first-ever “Who’s Your All-Star?” sweepstakes in conjunction with Smithfield Foods. Fans can enter the sweepstakes by snapping a photo with their favorite Waffle House associate and sharing via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #WhosYourAllStar. The top-10 associates and the customers who nominated them will receive special recognition and a Waffle House gift card. One grand-prize customer and associate winner will each receive a VIP experience to the NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

This weekend’s Save Mart 350k at Sonoma marks the 14^th points-paying event during which the Smithfield livery has adorned Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Fusion. Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, which is based approximately five hours northeast of SHR headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, is in its seventh season with Almirola and its first with SHR. Founded in 1936, Smithfield is a leading provider of high-quality pork products, with a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts.

Ford has earned eight wins so far this season with Almirola’s SHR teammates earning a majority of the victories for the blue oval – Harvick with five and Clint Bowyer with two. Harvick also captured the All-Star Race win at Charlotte.

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

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.”

Road Courses are unique tracks in the Cup Series, what do you focus on this weekend?

“My focus in the past with the road courses has been, ‘Let’s go here and let’s not get a DNF, let’s not run off course and let’s be smart. Let’s get out of there with a top-15 or top-20 finish,’ and, a lot of times, we were actually able to do that. I feel like this year is a lot different for me. I don’t want anything to be a weak link and road courses are for me as a driver but, for SHR, its their strong suit with (Kevin) Harvick winning Sonoma last year, and Tony (Stewart) winning the year before at Sonoma. And Clint (Bowyer) and Kurt (Busch) are both past winners at Sonoma. Part of the reason why I’m running the K&N race is to help me improve as a driver on the road course. I’m going to have every opportunity to be more successful road-course racing this year than I’ve ever have before.”

Kurt Busch has found victory lane on nearly every type of circuit the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series offers.

From the shortest racetrack – Martinsville (Va.) Speedway – to the road course at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) had won at almost every type of track. He’s won on racetracks ranging in length from .526 of a mile, .533 of a mile, .75 of a mile, 1 mile, 1.5 miles, 1.99 miles, 2 miles and 2.5-miles. He’d celebrated in victory lane at the high-banked ovals and flat tracks.

He’s found his way to victory lane at 15 of 23 active racetracks and one of those 15 is Sonoma, site of Sunday’s Save Mart 350k.

And has he been good at Sonoma. Busch has one pole, one win, four top-threes, seven top-fives, eight top-10s and has led a total of 197 laps in his 17 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma. His average start is 9.4, his average finish is 14.1 and he has a lap-completion rate of 99.1 percent, completing 1,862 of the 1,879 laps available.

Busch’s seven top-fives at Sonoma puts him in a tie with his SHR teammate Clint Bowyer for the most of all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

Busch’s only road-course win in the Cup Series came at Sonoma in 2011 and it was a dominant victory as he led a race-high 76 laps. He passed Denny Hamlin for the lead on lap 13 and stayed out front for the next 19 circuits around the 1.99-mile track. He relinquished the lead twice for scheduled, green-flag pit stops and took over the top spot for the final time on lap 88, then led the final 23 laps.

He’s even had success at Sonoma in the NASCAR Southwest Tour Series, finishing third in 1998 after starting 19th and winning the 1999 race after starting third.

Busch is coming off a historic 1-2-3 finish for SHR two weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Bowyer won the event with Kevin Harvick second and Busch third.

Busch is hoping he can score his first victory of 2018 this week at Sonoma.

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

We used to see supposed road-course ringers show up at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, but that’s pretty rare now. Why do you think that is?

“If you’re a good driver and you want to be in the top tier of NASCAR, you’ve got to drive well everywhere. The road courses were a bit more of a specialty back in the day and you used to be able to take advantage of the guys who didn’t put forth the full effort in the road courses, but not anymore.”

You’ve proven to be a pretty good road-course driver. Was it something you took to right away or did you really have to work at it to enjoy the success you’ve had?

“I really enjoyed it right off the bat. I thought it was fun and different and I worked at it to develop the skills that I have in Legends car races and Late Model races. I even went to the Bob Bondurant Driving School. My first professional type of road-course race was in the Truck Series. I jumped right in there. (Greg) Biffle won that day and I beat Ron Fellows.”

You mentioned that racing Legends cars was how you were first introduced to road-course racing. Where did you race?

“Legends racing was big in the mid-90s in the Desert Southwest and they would let us run on the infield road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as well as the exterior road course there. We also ran road-course races at Buttonwillow (Raceway Park) and they had a street-course race in Los Angeles and they raced up in Sonoma. I was just kind of thrown into the fire with road-course racing, but I loved it from the first time I jumped on track.”

You won the 1999 NASCAR Southwest Tour race at Sonoma. Was that your first road-course win in a stock car? Was it a pivotal victory considering NASCAR teams were there and you were able to showcase your talents to Cup Series car owners and crew chiefs?

“That was my first win in a stock car at a road course. I’ve always believed that Saturday race was the most important stage to stand on because there wasn’t a Truck Series race or an Xfinity Series race. Back in the day, the Southwest Tour race was the support race, and my race was live on ESPN. I’ve always thought Sonoma helped springboard me into the spotlight, and I’m very thankful for that chance.”

How important is it to have a positive mindset when you come into a road-course race?

“I love road racing and I think it’s fun. It’s important to have a positive mindset everywhere, but it’s not problem for me at the road courses.”

What do you like best about road-course racing?

“I just like the rhythm. I like how you use one corner to help you in the next corner. You have to be thinking three corners ahead.”

Is there more opportunity on a road course because mistakes are magnified and because the race is more in the driver’s hands?

“Everything seems to have a larger consequence because track position is so important. So, as soon as you have a flat tire or a fender rub or you go off track, it’s very difficult to get back the track position you once had.”

It’s going to be difficult for Clint Bowyer and his three Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammates to top last Sunday’s performance at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn . Bowyer won his second Monster Energy Cup Series race of 2018 and, for the first time in its history, SHR swept the top three finishing spots – the first 1-2-3 sweep in the Cup Series since Roush-Fenway Racing did it at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sept. 21, 2008.

The June 24 Save Mart 350k at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway is next on the schedule after the Cup Series takes this weekend off to celebrate Father’s Day. Bowyer said it isn’t out of the question for his No. 14 One Cure Ford Fusion and his SHR teammates to put on a repeat performance similar to Michigan at the first of the Cup Series’ two road-course races in 2018.

“I don’t want to jinx myself, but Sonoma is my favorite racetrack,” said Bowyer, who has scored six top-five finishes in the last 10 races in California Wine Country. That’s two more top-five finishes than the next-closest driver Kurt Busch, his SHR teammate, who owns four.

“I love that weekend,” Bowyer continued. “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 said he was aware how well he and his teammates were racing at Michigan and throughout the season. All four SHR Fords were in the top-five on the opening lap at Michigan. SHR’s four Fords have led 1,530 of 4,595 laps – 33.2 percent – in 2018 on their way to winning seven Cup Series points races plus the NASCAR All-Star Race. Each driver would be in the NASCAR playoffs were they to start now.

“That’s the coolest thing about it,” Bowyer said. “You’re up there looking in the mirror, even when I was running second, I said to myself, ‘Gosh, this is a moment.’ We’re running 1-2-3 at a track that is an aero track, that’s a horsepower track, it’s a demanding racetrack on your equipment.

“Then, to be able to get there and give each other hugs, be happy, truly, genuinely happy for one another, that’s what it takes. That’s what it takes to push you to another level – working together, the communication, pushing each other each week. It’s not just the drivers. It’s our teams, our crew chiefs, our pit crews, everybody who raises the bar for everybody involved. It’s cool to see.”

But now, SHR’s focus is on Sonoma, where Bowyer finished just .754 seconds behind SHR’s Kevin Harvick in 2017, making it a 1-2 sweep for the team. Busch,  the 2011 race winner at Sonoma, and SHR newcomer Aric Almirola are likely to  join the Harvick-Bowyer party at the front of the field on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile track.

Bowyer, 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 are going to 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 Busch and Tony Stewart, who with Gene Haas co-owns Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford. 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 last year’s runner-up finish with Bowyer in 2017, 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.

Obviously, Bowyer and the No. 14 team arrive at Sonoma with momentum. Bowyer’s aggressive driving at Michigan and a two-tire stop just laps before rain halted the race after 133 of a scheduled 200 laps gave the team its second victory of the season. The win moved Bowyer to fifth in the season standings and allowed him to join Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. as the only multiple race winners this season.

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 One Cure Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing:

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.”

What is the secret to Ford’s success?

“It is all about people. I am at home here with Ford. It is a family atmosphere. It literally is a family with the Ford family. It is all about people. The Ford Performance organization and program are a ton of fun to work with. They are all in. You want to be with the ones who are investing the most and pushing the hardest to get the results, and I don’t think anyone is doing more than Ford these days.”

Mike Bugarewicz, Crew Chief of the No. 14 One Cure Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What is the secret to SHR’s success in 2018?

“Not enough can be said about SHR. Obviously, one through three finishes, all four cars at one point during the race in the top-five, obviously the qualifying effort (Harvick pole) speaks for itself. Man, everybody back at the shop, every person who touches these cars has done such a tremendous job.”

Event:               Iowa 250 presented by Enogen (Round 14 of 33)
Date:                 June 17, 2018
Location:          Iowa Speedway in Newton
Layout:             .875-mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

• The Iowa 250 presented by Enogen will mark Cole Custer’s second career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Iowa Speedway in Newton. 
• Custer is striving to earn his fourth consecutive top-five in the Iowa 250. He comes into Iowa fresh off a third-place finish Saturday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
• Custer is second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, 41 points behind series leader Elliot Sadler. 
• While the Iowa 250 will be Custer’s second Xfinity Series start at the .875-mile oval, it will be his ninth overall start there. Custer also has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and four NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts at Iowa.
• Custer scored his first career Pro Series East victory Aug. 2, 2013 at Iowa from the pole. At 15 years, six months and 10 days, he became the youngest winner in Pro Series history. In addition to breaking Dylan Kwasniewski’s record for youngest race winner by nearly six months, Custer also became the first driver to lead every lap (150) in the combination East/West race.
• Custer’s best Truck Series finish at Iowa is second, earned in 2016. Custer finished .431 of a second behind race-winner William Byron.
• Custer has earned a win, a pole, five top-five finishes, six top-10s and has led 237 laps in his eight career starts at Iowa. He was only one position away in the 2014 Pro Series East race from earning a top-10 in all eight finishes.
• Custer’s best finish in the 13 Xfinity Series races run this season is second, earned in the 11^th event May 26 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
• Custer has earned three poles, four top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and has led 100 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
• Custer has qualified inside the top-five nine out of 13 races run this season.
• In 51 Xfinity Series starts, 42 Camping World Truck Series starts and 29 K&N Pro Series starts since 2015, Custer has five wins, eight poles, 15 top-five finishes, 30 top-10s and 963 laps led at tracks currently on the NASCAR circuit that are approximately a mile in length or shorter.
• Custer will wear the FOX Visor Cam during the Iowa 250, giving television viewers a behind-the-wheel perspective of the Haas Automation Ford Mustang.
• No Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are entered in the Iowa 250.

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

Is it nice to return to a track where no Cup Series drivers are entered?

“Iowa should be a really good track for us this weekend. Our short-track program has consistently improved every time we visit. We’ll be able to take some of our notes from Richmond and apply it there. The fact that there aren’t Cup guys entered in the race gives us that much better of an opportunity to win. Iowa is one track where I have a lot of confidence. We went there last year and finished fifth, so we have a lot of factors in our favor.”

Do you have to re-learn the original race package after running the different aero package at Pocono and Michigan?

“It might feel off going into the weekend but it should click pretty fast. It will take a few laps to get used to the normal feel of the Haas Automation Mustang and get used to letting off the gas again.”

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

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

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

How do you feel about heading back to Iowa and which car are you bringing? 

“We are bringing Chassis No. 1093. We ran this car at Richmond and led some laps. At Iowa last year, we tried two totally different packages at both races. We didn’t run well in the first race but, in the second race, we had a great setup. I think we’re going to unload a lot better this year than we did last year and we’ll be able to just tweak at it instead of starting from scratch.”

Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn for this weekend’s event at the fast, 2-mile oval. Almirola enters this weekend with momentum coming off of his seventh-place finish at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

Michigan is the second time this season that Almirola has driven the No. 10 Ford Fusion with the Mobil 1 livery. The 34-year-old piloted the Mobil 1 Ford earlier this year at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and garnered a 14^th-place finish. Mobil 1 plays an integral role in SHR’s success. Mobil 1’s lubricant technology helps to reduce frictional loss in its Ford engines to maximize fuel mileage, increase horsepower and turn more rpm, providing an advantage over its competitors. Mobil 1 also helps reduce friction in suspension components, providing maximum tire grip as well as helping to reduce steering compliance to give its teams an edge behind the wheel.

Recently, Almirola visited Mobil 1’s Paulsboro, New Jersey facility for the first time with several SHR attendees. “We visited their New Jersey office and had our minds blown – information overload,” Almirola said. “To see how much detail they go into, all of the way down to microscopic detail, is amazing. To know that they put a lot of that technology and development into our racecars before it even sees a passenger car is amazing. It’s really neat to be the proving grounds because we operate under such extreme conditions and require and demand so much from our cars. It was fun to learn so much about Mobil 1.”

Not only does Mobil 1 help improve the on-track efficiency of SHR, but the on-track testing helps lead to new lubricant technology developments such as Mobil 1 Annual Protection, which allows drivers to travel up to 20,000 miles, or one full year between oil changes.

Almirola has 11 starts at Michigan with a best finish of 12^th earned in August of last year. He’s led three laps at the track nestled in Michigan’s Irish Hills region, and he has an average starting position of 21.6 and an average finishing position of 20.2. Almirola and the No. 10 team completed a one-day Goodyear tire test at Michigan in April.

Just as Mobil 1 is vital to the success of SHR and its multicar operation, so is Ford. This weekend’s event is in Ford’s backyard, with the speedway located just over an hour west of its Dearborn, Michigan headquarters.

In its 16^th 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. Almirola has earned three Mobil 1 Performance Awards this season, with his most recent coming after last weekend’s race at Pocono.

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

Ford has earned seven wins so far this season with Almirola’s SHR teammates earning a majority of the victories for the blue oval – Kevin Harvick with five and Clint Bowyer with one. Harvick also captured the non-points-paying All-Star Race win at Charlotte. Ford has 36 all-time series wins at Michigan, second only to its 37 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the manufacturer.

ARIC ALMIROLA, Driver of the No. 10 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How is Mobil 1’s relationship with Stewart-Haas Racing? 

“Mobil 1 is an integral part of Stewart-Haas Racing and the success we have on the racetrack. They do so much to add value beyond just their name being on the racecars. It’s truly a partnership and everyone at SHR is grateful to have them as part of our team. They put a ton of time and resources into doing their part to making the cars go fast on the track.”

What do you think has made the difference for Stewart-Haas Racing this year? Why have you guys been so dominant?

“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t been there for its entire 10 years of existence. I’m new to the organization but, seeing the way they go about things and their approach and, really, how all 380 employees totally bought in, the commitment to excellence is very obvious when walking through the shop floor and talking to everybody. I think that’s been the most rewarding and eye-opening for me – knowing that all of the employees are focused on winning each week.”