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KEVIN HARVICK – Clash Race Report from Daytona

Event: Advance Auto Parts Clash (non-points race)

Series: Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series

Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)

Format: 75 laps, broken into two segments of 25 laps and 50 laps

Start/Finish: 7th/5th (Running, completed 75 of 75 laps)

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

 

SHR Finish:        

  • Danica Patrick (Started 12th, Finished 4th / Running, completed 75 of 75 laps)
  • Kevin Harvick (Started 7th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 75 of 75 laps)
  • Kurt Busch (Started 10th, Finished 17th / Accident, completed 16 of 75 laps)

 

Notes:                   

  • Harvick started seventh and raced as high as second in the opening 25-lap segment.
  • The No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Fusion dropped to the rear after a four-tire stop to close out the first segment.
  • Harvick overcame a loose-handling condition throughout the event.
  • The No. 4 Busch Beer team pitted for four-tires and fuel with 10 laps remaining in the race.
  • Harvick skillfully avoided a multicar accident involving the leaders on the final lap to record a fifth-place finish.
  • This was Harvick’s seventh top-five finish in the Clash. Harvick won the Clash in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
  • Field was comprised of 2016 pole winners, former Clash winners, former Daytona 500 pole winners and 2016 playoff participants.

 

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What did you learn today? “The confidence is high just because of how fast our Ford is today. I think once we got the balance and have an idea now of where the balance needs to be, we can get the handling right. Speed is not an issue.”

 

You decided to take four tires at the end of the race. How did that work out for you? “It went really well. For us, we were very fortunate that the race wound up in the day – a lot like the 500 is going to be – just because we didn’t really know what we needed and where our balance was going to be. We were really loose to start the first 25 laps and were able to get that fixed. Speed is not an issue.  Circumstances just needed to work out a little bit differently, but all in all, I’m excited for the week.”

 

Next Up:

Daytona 500 pole qualifying, where Harvick, Patrick, Busch and Clint Bowyer will be among 42 drivers going for the pole for the 59th annual Daytona 500. Qualifying is set to get underway at 3:10 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19, with live coverage provided by FOX. The Can-Am Duel – twin 150-mile races which will set the rest of the Daytona 500 field – take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23 with live coverage on FS1. Speedweeks at Daytona then culminates with the Daytona 500 at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.

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KURT BUSCH – Clash Race Report from Daytona

Event: Advance Auto Parts Clash (non-points race)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 75 laps, broken into two segments of 25 laps and 50 laps
​Start/Finish: 10th/17th (Status, completed 16 of 75 laps)
Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
SHR Finish:
●  Danica Patrick (Started 12th, Finished 4th / Running, completed 75 of 75 laps)
●  Kevin Harvick (Started 7th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 75 of 75 laps)
●  Kurt Busch (Started 10th, Finished 17th / Accident, completed 16 of 75 laps)

Notes:                   

● Busch was turned into the turn-four wall after Jimmie Johnson got loose and collected the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion on lap 17. Busch was unable to continue.
● Busch was running 12th at the time of the accident.
● Logano won the first 25-lap segment.
● The race started Sunday at 11:30 a.m. EST Sunday after rain postponed Saturday night’s schedule start.
● Clash field was comprised of 2016 pole winners, former Clash winners, former Daytona 500 pole winners and 2016 playoff participants.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I was just minding my own business in the low groove and we got tagged in the right rear. It’s kind of a shame. All of the hard work and the effort everybody puts into the offseason, Doug Yates and his engines, everybody from Ford and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, all the effort put towards building a car and we didn’t even make it to the first pit stop, so it’s kind of a bummer.”

Next Up:
Daytona 500 pole qualifying, where Patrick, Harvick, Busch and Clint Bowyer will be among 42 drivers going for the pole for the 59th annual Daytona 500. Qualifying is set to get underway at 3:10 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19, with live coverage provided by FOX. The Can-Am Duel – twin 150-mile races which will set the rest of the Daytona 500 field – take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23 with live coverage on FS1. Speedweeks at Daytona then culminates with the Daytona 500 at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.

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DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Daytona Speedweeks Race Advance

As the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season gets underway with the 59th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) return to Daytona with a smile, refreshed and ready to kick off a new year.

Before festivities get underway for the Daytona 500, the No. 10 team will first focus on Saturday’s Advance Auto Parts Clash. With the 2017 tax filing season underway, TaxAct, long known for being the best deal during tax season, will serve as primary sponsor of Patrick’s No. 10 Ford Fusion in Saturday night’s non-points race. The event marks the first of four events in which TaxAct, the official tax preparation software partner of SHR and Patrick, will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 10 Ford Fusion this year.

Once the Clash is complete, focus will shift to the “Great American Race,” with qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 19. Four years ago, Patrick made history on qualifying day by becoming the first woman to win a NASCAR Cup Series pole when she set the fastest time in qualifying for the Daytona 500.

She followed up that effort with a history-making run in the 55th running of the Daytona 500, when she led five laps to become the first woman to lead a NASCAR race under green. Patrick finished the race in eighth place, the highest finishing position ever for a woman in the iconic event.

All told in Cup Series competition at Daytona, Patrick has led seven laps and earned two top-10 finishes and three top-20s. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona, she’s led 34 laps and scored one top-10 and three top-20s. And in her lone ARCA Racing Series start at Daytona, Patrick netted a sixth-place finish.

As Patrick returns to Daytona for her sixth start in the Daytona 500, her No. 10 Ford Fusion will feature the blue-and-white branding of Aspen Dental. It was announced earlier this week that the company, one of the largest and fastest-growing brands in the United States, has expanded its partnership with SHR to become the lead sponsor of Patrick and the No. 10 team during the 2017 season.

There are nearly 600 Aspen Dental practices across 35 states and each practice offers patients a safe, welcoming and judgment-free environment to address their dental challenges. Every Aspen Dental practice offers a full range of dental and denture services – including comprehensive exams, cleanings, extractions, fillings, periodontal treatment, whitening, oral surgery, crown and bridge work – allowing patients to have the peace of mind that they are taken care of and protected, so they can focus on getting the healthy mouth they deserve. In 2016, Aspen Dental practices recorded more than 4.1 million patient visits and welcomed nearly 900,000 new patients.

Patrick has shined a spotlight on oral health across a multitude of channels with Aspen Dental since 2014 and will continue to do so throughout the 2017 season, starting with the biggest race of the year – the Daytona 500.

One year ago, Patrick kicked off the year with new crew chief Billy Scott. This week, Patrick and Scott return to Daytona set to build and improve on the relationship they forged throughout the 2016 season, and there would be no better way to start off the year than by the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team leaving Daytona with a smile.

 

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

When I say Daytona 500, what comes to mind?

“At the beginning of the season, there’s always so much talk about how you do those first five races of the season and, you know, it’s like if you get an F on your paper at the start of the year, you spend all year just trying to get back to an A or a B, and I feel like that’s obviously how it works in our series, too. If you start the year off not so great and at a place like Daytona, where it’s speedway racing and there’s a lot of wrecks, I mean, it’s very possible to finish 40th that day, or 30-something, and that’s obviously a bad start to the season. But, you know, just those first handful of races are so important and so it’s really nice when you can start off with one of the more challenging ones to get that great finish. And, on top of that, for it to also be Daytona, it’s a cool way to kick off the season for us, as a sport, to have our biggest race of the season be first, and it draws a lot of eyes and I hope that we put on a good show.”

 

What are your goals and expectations for 2017?

“The goal is to do better all the time and hopefully some of the things that have changed within in our team, the big one being the changeover to Ford, will open up some opportunities and possibilities and just some pure potential for the team and we can improve. Hopefully, there is more room to improve now, so that’s kind of exciting to me. I’m optimistic and hopefully it will be something that makes a difference. I think if you’re in the top-15 every weekend, then you do a little bit better and then you’re in the top-10 and then, once you’re in the top-10 with good pit stops, good strategy and all the things that play into it – some of the new formats for the races can play into segment wins – so I think it’s important to be realistic. So, to tell you to go out and win races and segments is not something I necessarily think is going to happen right away, but we’ll assess. We’ll assess how strong we are as a team. A few years back, we were really strong and I felt like that’s where I was running by the end of the year, was up in the top-15 and getting into the top-10, so hopefully we can get back to that and work from there.” 

 

Do you think the new race format NASCAR has implemented will be beneficial?

“I think that the new structure for the races is cool. I think that winning is something that, for a fan, it’s easy to understand and, for a really casual fan, it’s even easier to understand. I think that having a lot more winners every week and throughout the year is a cool thing, but what I have said is I feel like this is definitely going to be a big chore for the crew chiefs. If I were them, I would already be nervous or trying to think of scenarios. I’d probably be going to bed and waking up thinking, ‘If this happened and then we were running here, but we were fast…’ You’re running through all these scenarios in your head with ‘what would you do?’ I feel like it’s going to be challenging because, as far as a driver goes, I do try and drive the fastest laps I can every single lap. I’m doing my best unless there’s a reason to slow down, like fuel or tires are going off or something like that, or you want to maintain your tire life – something like that. So, I think it’s going be exciting as long as the information of the format can be translated to the fan or average fan in a simple, understandable way. I think it will be cool.”

 

What is it about Daytona International Speedway that you like?

“I think I’ve always had the good fortune of driving for good teams that have good cars. I also think that my IndyCar background is very similar to the style of racing that the superspeedways bring to NASCAR. That was full-speed, flat-out, don’t-lift-if-you-don’t-have-to racing where you have to keep your momentum up and lots of big-pack racing. For me, that was a big comfort zone when I came over to NASCAR, that it was a lot like the IndyCar days of driving on mile-and-a-half speedways. It’s all about having an awareness of what’s around you, making good decisions and trying to stay out of trouble until the end.”

 

Describe the intensity of restrictor-plate racing.  

“It’s super easy to drive around the track flat-out by yourself. It’s not hard at all. When you put all of the other cars around you, it’s not necessarily about how the car feels on the track, although that can be an issue, for sure, at times. It’s more about what everyone else is doing around you. You’re constantly looking at what’s happening in front of you. You’re also looking at what’s behind you. Probably more important than what’s happening in front of you is what’s happening behind you – who’s coming, who’s following you, who’s helping you move forward. There have been plenty of times that I’ve gone to the bottom and complained, ‘Where’s my help?’ It seems like I’ll slot in on the bottom line and then everyone behind me disappears. You really have to have people behind you, pushing you. The race is constantly evolving and you and your spotter have to be on it. It’s a big race for spotters, so having a really good one that you trust is very important.”

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CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Daytona Speedweeks Race Advance

Let us re-introduce you to Clint Bowyer.

You might remember him. He finished second in the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship and third in the 2007 title chase. He has eight NASCAR Cup Series victories and won the 2008 NASCAR Xfinity Series title after leaving his hometown of Emporia, Kansas for racing glory in 2004.

He’s NASCAR’s everyman, whose collar is as blue as his Kansas City Royals hat and his smile as wide as a wheat field.

He’s been quiet the last two seasons, but that only proves how much of a team sport NASCAR is these days. Midway through 2015, his two-car Michael Waltrip Racing team announced it was going out of business at the end of the season. In 2016, Bowyer, needing a temporary home before joining Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2017, drove for an HScott Motorsports team that was still early in its development.

Out of sight usually means out of mind in NASCAR, but Bowyer will be front and center in 2017. He’ll climb into a car worthy of his skill as he replaces the retired and future Hall of Famer Tony Stewart in SHR’s No. 14 Ford Fusion under the leadership of second-year crew chief Mike “Buga” Bugarewicz. After engineering a playoff appearance with Stewart in 2016, expectations of pairing Bowyer with “Buga” – the only rookie crew chief in the 2016 playoffs – are sky high in 2017.

Bowyer will make his SHR debut Feb. 26 driving the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion in NASCAR’s most prestigious event – the 59th running of the Daytona 500.

“This is the best opportunity I’ve ever had,” Bowyer said. “Everybody knows that. Getting in the No. 14 Ford isn’t easy. It’s going to be a challenge. The first thing you think about is Tony’s fan base. There are a whole lot of people I don’t want to let down. I want to make all those people proud of the No. 14 this year, proud of me being in that No. 14, and proud of Tony’s decision to put me in it this year. The pressure is probably there but, to be honest with you, from where I’ve come to looking forward to this opportunity for more than a year, there’s more excitement than pressure.”

Bowyer won’t be the only new addition to SHR in 2017. Since its inception in 2009, SHR has posted 36 victories and two championships with Stewart and Kevin Harvick, so it came as a bit of a shock to the motorsports world when it was announced in February 2016 that SHR would welcome Ford Performance as the four-car team’s manufacturer beginning in 2017. The move should provide a boost under the hood and in aerodynamics, as well as in the SHR engineering meetings with the global motorsports company bringing its expertise to its Kannapolis, North Carolina, operation. As the sport grows, the long-term alliance of SHR and Ford Performance could lead to the next wave of dominance that Bowyer expects to surf for the next several years.

If the SHR-Ford-Bowyer combination bears the fruit many expect, then Bowyer’s return to prominence will be a boon to NASCAR. The former dirt racer can boast success on every type of track the series visits. Four of his eight career NASCAR Cup Series victories have come on short tracks, two on restrictor-plate tracks, one on an ultra-fast 1.5-mile track and one on a road course. He’s won everywhere and he’s won in everything. Three times he’s finished in the top-five in the standings and earned eight victories in the Xfinity Series and three in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Chasing checkered flags is what has driven Bowyer since racing dirt bikes in Kansas. He proved proficient at collecting trophies as he transitioned from two wheels to four, from dirt to asphalt, from Xfinity to Cup. Another trophy and another checkered flag is what drives Bowyer, and from the cockpit of his No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion, he’s in the best position to secure those highly-sought items.

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

What does the Daytona 500 mean to you?

“This is the biggest race of the year. It’s the race everyone wants to win. You know we have spent a lot of time talking about the stages and new format this offseason but, for this race, throw all that out the window. I’m here to win this Daytona 500. I can’t wait. I have a new opportunity with a new race team. It’s a new everything for me so I’m going down there to work hard in every practice session and get myself prepared to win this baby. I’m hungry and I want to go out there and get established right off the bat as a frontrunner with our team. And I think, ‘Hey, I think I can win the Daytona 500.’ I’ve come close many times.”

How predictable is the Daytona 500?

“It’s one of those things where you can be leading coming to the white flag and finish 15th to 20th. I’ve done that. I’ve also been way back in the pack, then somehow picked my way through it on the last lap and got a good, solid finish. It’s a rollercoaster, just like it has been with everybody. I mean, that’s what the Daytona 500 is. You go from thinking, ‘I got ’em!’ to ‘Oh, no! How have we done so wrong?’ I mean, it’s just one of those emotional rollercoaster races where you just never know what’s going to happen. I had the thing won in 2010, and they literally used the Bondo out of the haulers to fix the track. I didn’t win that year but, before that happened, I just knew I had it won. Whether it’s a track surface, somebody hitting a jet dryer and blowing up, or coming down to a green-and-white checkered at the end, you just never know the recipe and what it’s going to take to win that ultra-special race.”

What are your thoughts on SHR?

“These are the best teammates I’ve ever had, the best equipment I’ve ever had, the best ownership and a fantastic lineup of sponsors. Everything is here. That’s what will breed all of the success. When Tony Stewart and Gene Haas hire you and put you in a car that Tony drove to a championship, that gives you a great deal of confidence. It was a huge confidence booster and it’s what I needed.”

Why do you say you feel more excitement than pressure in 2017?

“You know, you walk into SHR and you see everyone busting their rear ends to make this transition to Ford. Doug Yates (President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines) was at the shop the other day and I laughed because I’ve had my butt whupped by his horsepower for a lot of years, especially on restrictor-plate tracks. I always took notes on how well those Roush Yates engines ran. I’m really looking forward to getting that horsepower under the hood. You see how much success (Ford drivers) Brad (Keselowski) and Joey (Logano) have had with these aero packages. You go back to having teammates – particularly teammates like the ones I now have at SHR. Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick, who each bring a lot to the table. I think they will help me be a better racecar driver and ultimately more successful. That’s all exciting.”

Is joining SHR the year it moves to Ford good timing?

“If you are going to change, you might as well change everything. If there was ever a culture that was a great fit for me, it’s SHR. It seems like everybody at SHR is someone I’ve either worked with before or I’m already friends with. It’s just a perfect fit. The culture is me. They take care of business and have a lot of fun doing it. That’s what I love that about SHR. I think I’ll fit in well. With the transition to Ford, the thing I’ve noticed right off the bat is you are talking to the head honchos. Raj Nair (Executive Vice President of Global Product Development and Chief Technical Officer) is the guy who brought Ford Performance to what it is today. Whether it’s a meeting at the shop or going over to Ford Performance, he and his counterparts are the ones you talk with, making sure you have what you need to be successful at the racetrack. That means a lot to a racecar driver.”

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KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Daytona Speedweeks Race Advance

In a new season that will feature a new race format, points system and manufacturer for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), there is comfort in the consistency displayed by the colors adorning their new Ford Fusion for Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

While the make and model of the No. 4 may have changed as SHR collaborated with Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Company starting in 2017, the familiar black-and-red livery of Jimmy John’s will return for its second season as the primary sponsor for the Daytona 500. Jimmy John’s, based in Champaign, Illinois and famous for its freaky fast delivery, made its Daytona 500 debut in 2016, when Harvick and the No. 4 team started ninth and finished fourth to start the season in “The Great American Race.”

While Jimmy John’s is on the hood for the Daytona 500, for the second consecutive year Busch Beer returns to Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Fusion for the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona – the 75-lap, bonus-points-paying race that kicks off the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season Feb. 18. Busch is back on the hood, but the No. 4 Busch Beer Ford is updated with a fresh new look, giving a nod to new packaging the brand will debut in April.

Busch debuted its new packaging and advertising campaign featuring the return of the “BUSCHHHHH” can-crack sound with its first-ever Super Bowl commercial that aired during the FOX broadcast of the game Feb. 5.

Busch’s rich racing history began in 1978 when the brand sponsored the award presented to the pole winners of what was known then as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Busch went on to be the “Official Beer of NASCAR” from 1988 through 1997 and was the title sponsor of the stepping-stone division to the NASCAR Cup Series – currently known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series – from 1984 through 2007. The last Busch-sponsored driver prior to the company’s return in 2016 was Cale Yarborough and his iconic No. 11 car during the 1980 season.

Both Jimmy John’s and Busch have reason to be optimistic as Harvick and the No. 4 team head to Daytona.

As Harvick enters his 17th NASCAR Cup Series season and his fourth at SHR with crew chief Rodney Childers at the helm, he is looking to score his second win in the Daytona 500. He won the famed Harley J. Earl trophy in 2007, when he beat Mark Martin to the Daytona 500 finish line by .020 of a second on the final green-white-checkered restart. It was the closest Daytona 500 finish since the start of computer scoring in 2003.

Harvick also has three wins in the Clash at Daytona – 2009, 2010 and 2013 – tying him for second-most with his team owner Tony Stewart and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett.

In the 2009 Clash at Daytona, Harvick survived an incident-filled race that saw a record eight caution periods and less than half the starting field make it to the checkered flag.

The following year, he joined Neil Bonnett, Ken Schrader and Stewart as the fourth driver in event history to win consecutive races, and he did so driving a backup car he was never able to practice, passing Greg Biffle with two laps remaining in a green-white-checkered finish. NASCAR declared Harvick the winner when a multicar incident ended the race under caution.

In his 2013 win, Harvick led 40 of 75 laps, dominating the second and third segments en route to his third Clash at Daytona victory in five years.

If Harvick can add his name for a second time to the Harley J. Earl trophy Feb. 26 in the season-opening Daytona 500 at “The World Center of Racing,” he would be the 11th driver in NASCAR history to win the iconic event more than once. It would also put the No. 4 team in prime position to secure a berth in the 2017 playoffs as it attempts to win a second NASCAR Cup Series championship in four years.

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

What does it mean to have a Harley J. Earl Trophy?

“The Daytona 500 is the biggest race that we run every year – it’s the biggest one-week prize you can grab. It is probably the most prestigious list you can probably put your name on for any one trophy. You always hear about people who say winning the Daytona 500 isn’t like winning any other race – and it’s not – it’s the Daytona 500. After you win it and you see all the things that come with it and the things you have to do, you learn very quickly that the Daytona 500 is special. It means a lot to this sport and it’s an honor to have won it and put my name on that trophy with the greats who are on it. I hope we can put it on there again before the end of my career.

Explain the new points system in simple terms to a race fan. What do you tell them?

“I would tell them to just watch the race. I think as you look at the points system and things, that doesn’t really necessarily matter until the end of the day. You tally it all up and show it on the television screen. As long as we are having good races, it’s exciting to watch and the competitors are going as hard as they can every lap to gain or hold every position. You’ll see strategy on TV from the crew chiefs knowing that a segment is coming up. There are a lot of carrots out there. The segment bonus points going toward the playoffs twice in one race. Then you have the race win at the end of the race, so there are many things to think about. There are a lot of things to watch and keep your interest. That’s really what we all needed because, in the end, as competitors we needed to be enthused about having something to go out there and grab. When you see those points up on the table – sure the point total will be higher – but it still won’t be as high as it used to be with the old points system. But I would worry less about how the points work and more about just watching the race, and you’ll naturally just get it.”

From the driver’s seat, how does the new points system change your approach to a race?

“For us, that’s the good thing. For us, Rodney (Childers, crew chief) has always been pretty pressing on going out there and trying to get everything you can out of the car in practice, qualifying and at the beginning of the race to try and position yourself for the end as early in the race as possible. That opens up a lot of windows. You know where your car is and we’ve tried to race that way for the last three years. When you go back and look at the history, the regular-season points, the segment wins and those types of things have been very good for us and hopefully that trend continues as we move forward.”

What will the new format mean for the pit crews with the new stages?

“I don’t think it will change anything. No more than what it used to be because it’s basically a live pit stop when you come down pit road at the end of a segment. You’ll change tires and try to get out first, so in the end the goal is still to be first in everything that we do, whether it’s practice, qualifying, pit stops or the race – whatever it is that’s still the No. 4 team’s goal.”

What will it mean to get points for the Duels at Daytona this year?

“There’s points in everything we do, so you need to go and try and get the most points that are possible because, basically, what you’re doing is racing every moment and every race leading up to Homestead to gather as many points as you can to start to try to build yourself a cushion for when those days happen. You hope those moments don’t happen in the playoffs. For us, they happened in the Chase last year and, luckily, our performance was good enough to be able to win. We had a phenomenal first 26 races and, if we would have had that points cushion, we would have had the ability to have some hiccups and still be able to move on. It rewards performance throughout the year where you won’t have a William Byron-type situation that we had in the Truck Series, where the kid goes out, wins seven or eight races, leads a bunch of laps, has one engine failure in the Chase, and gets eliminated from winning the championship. I like the fact that it rewards running well, running consistently, so it has the mix between traditional and new world NASCAR.”

In the past, you might have laid back at the beginning to better position yourself for the end of the race. Are those days over now with the new format?

“I think there is still balance. You still have to try to go after all the bonus points in the segments that you can in order to pile up as many points as you can if your car is capable of it. However, you still have to balance trying to put yourself in a position to win the race, finish the race and gain the big prize at the end of the day. You still want to get all the points that you can, but you still have to be smart about it as you go through the day.”

Aspen Dental Expands Partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing and Driver Danica Patrick

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Aspen Dental, one of the largest and fastest-growing brands in the United States, has expanded its partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to become the lead sponsor of Danica Patrick and the No. 10 team during the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion will debut in the season-opening Daytona 500 Feb. 26 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Aspen Dental has been a partner of SHR since 2012 and aligned with Patrick since 2014. As the brand enters its sixth year with SHR and fourth with Patrick, it will serve as the primary sponsor of Patrick’s No. 10 Ford Fusion for a double-digit slate of races in 2017.

“Our commitment to Danica Patrick goes back almost four years and our relationship with SHR even further,” said Bob Fontana, chairman and CEO of Aspen Dental Management, Inc. “She is a strong advocate for the Aspen Dental brand and a wonderful ambassador for programs like the Healthy Mouth Movement. Danica and Stewart-Haas Racing have encouraged fans to get started on the road to better oral health care while showcasing how Aspen Dental practices make it easy for them. We look forward to our enhanced partnership.”

Patrick has shined a spotlight on oral health across a multitude of channels. As part of the promotion of the Healthy Mouth Movement – a community-giving initiative which has delivered more than $7.5 million in donated dentistry for veterans since its inception – Patrick’s No. 10 car displayed a special paint scheme during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in September 2015 that featured the names of 2,200 veterans who had been honored by their friends and family. Patrick also appeared in “A Taste of the Future” – a hidden-camera video campaign designed to raise awareness about the long-term consequences of delaying dental care.

“From the first time I visited Aspen Dental’s headquarters in 2013, I was struck by their commitment to helping people and changing lives,” Patrick said. “I love working with organizations that care about people, and teaming up with a group that has such an important mission – breaking down barriers and helping patients get the dental care they need – is very rewarding.

“In the years since I first partnered with Aspen Dental, it’s been fun to work on some unique projects with their team. From the ‘Taste of the Future’ video to launching the MouthMobile and then having the ‘Turbocharged Tooth Fairy Squad’ at Talladega last spring, we’ve worked together on some pretty impactful programs. It’s incredible to see firsthand how many people they’ve helped. I’m looking forward to delivering the company’s message at even more races this year.”

There are nearly 600 Aspen Dental practices across 35 states and each practice offers patients a safe, welcoming and judgment-free environment to address their dental challenges. Every Aspen Dental practice offers a full range of dental and denture services – including comprehensive exams, cleanings, extractions, fillings, periodontal treatment, whitening, oral surgery, crown and bridge work – allowing patients to have the peace of mind that they are taken care of and protected, so they can focus on getting the healthy mouth they deserve. In 2016, Aspen Dental practices recorded more than 4.1 million patient visits and welcomed nearly 900,000 new patients.

“Aspen Dental has been a great partner for Stewart-Haas Racing for many years,” said Tony Stewart, who co-owns SHR with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “We’ve both grown with this sponsorship and we know we can achieve even more thanks to their increased role with Danica and our No. 10 team.”

 

About Aspen Dental Offices:
Aspen Dental practices are independently owned and operated by licensed dentists. The dentists and staff at Aspen Dental practices are all about making sure patients have easy access to quality, affordable oral health care. With nearly 600 offices in 35 states, Aspen Dental-branded practices offer patients a safe, welcoming and judgment-free environment to get the full range of dental care they need along with the convenience and speed of onsite denture labs. That’s why the Aspen Dental network of independent dental care providers is one of the largest and fastest growing in the U.S. and saw more than 4.1 million patients in 2016. To find out more about how Aspen Dental practices make it simply easier for each of their patients to get the healthy mouth they deserve, go to www.AspenDental.com.

About Aspen Dental Management Inc.
Aspen Dental Management Inc. (ADMI) is a dental support organization that provides non-clinical business support services to independently owned and operated dental practices in 35 states. This can include services and recommendations related to finding the right location, leasing, equipment, accounting and marketing. This model leaves independent, licensed practitioners free to concentrate on patient care. For more information about the relationship between Aspen Dental Management, Inc. and the branded dental practices please visit www.AspenDental.com/about. To learn more about careers at ADMI and Aspen Dental practices, visit www.AspenDentalJobs.com.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The organization fields four entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series – the No. 4 Ford Fusion for Kevin Harvick, the No. 10 Ford Fusion for Danica Patrick, the No. 14 Ford Fusion for Clint Bowyer and the No. 41 Ford Fusion for Kurt Busch. The team also competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by fielding a full time entry – the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Cole Custer – and one part-time entry – the No. 41 Ford Mustang. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 200,000-square-foot facility with more than 300 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at  www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Daytona Speedweeks Race Advance

As Kurt Busch embarks on his 17th full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and his fourth with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), he has a good reason to feel right at home as the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion, as the 2017 marks a homecoming for Busch to Ford Motor Company, the manufacturer with whom he won the 2004 Cup Series championship.

It was Busch’s first Cup Series title and Ford’s most recent. Now reunited, the goal is to once again hoist the trophy during the season-ending Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch will attempt to surpass NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte’s record for time between championships –12 seasons separated Labonte’s two titles in 1984 and 1996 – and do it with the Dearborn, Michigan-based manufacturer with whom his NASCAR Cup Series career began.

The story of Busch’s start in NASCAR is well documented. While racing in the Southwest Tour Series, his skill attracted the attention of team owner Jack Roush, who decided to host driver auditions for a team he fielded in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The auditions were informally known as “The Gong Show” and Roush invited Busch to participate. In a pivotal moment in Busch’s life, he won the audition and started competing in Ford F-150s for Roush in 2000. Since then, both Busch and Ford have gone on to experience much success. But, there’s more to be had, and to be had together.

That all starts with the 59th Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Three times a runner-up in the season-opening event, Busch is still seeking his first Harley J. Earl trophy. In fact, while he’s found victory lane at Daytona before, in 2011’s Advance Auto Parts Clash and Can-Am Duel, he’s yet to score a win in a points-paying race at either Daytona or its sister racetrack, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. While he hasn’t found victory, he’s almost always found a way to be in contention at the end. And that, in a race that is known for unpredictable racing with the high likelihood of large, multicar accidents at any moment, is an impressive feat that cannot be overlooked.

Busch has been listed as running at the end of 30 of 31 career points-paying Cup Series starts at Daytona. While he’s seemingly mastered the art of finishing Daytona races, it’s the finishing first part he’s yet to figure out. In fact, a superspeedway win is the only kind that has eluded him during his 18-year Cup Series career. With a victory in the Daytona 500, Busch would join an elite list of drivers who have won at every type of track on the circuit: superspeedway, speedway, intermediate, short track and road course.

So, as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Daytona to kick off the 2017 season, Busch hopes being reunited with Ford can help him not only to finally find his way to victory in the Daytona 500, but also to improve upon his successes of the last four seasons with SHR. While he’s made the playoffs each year with the Kannapolis, North Carolina-based team, he’s fallen short of contending for the championship late in the playoffs.

With the 16-driver Cup Series championship format, all it takes is just one win to lock a driver and team into the playoffs. Busch would like nothing more than to score that win in the 59th Daytona 500, marking his first victory in the prestigious event and placing him well on his way to reaching his season-long goal of winning his second Cup Series title.

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

You’re the most recent Ford NASCAR Cup Series champion. How special would it be to be able to win another for the company?

“It is a special homecoming feeling to head back to work with Ford and to have them with our power and our bodies at Stewart-Haas Racing. It really feels neat to come back to a place where I’ve seen the faces before and the way that the structure has been polished up on and the way that there’s more depth with Ford Performance. Edsel (Ford) has done an incredible job over the last decade to continue to improve. Guys like Raj Nair, Dave Pericak – the whole gang is ready and willing to help in all areas and directions and the best thing that I’ve seen already come out of things with the engineering staff at Stewart-Haas. It’s like they just opened up a whole new book of things to look at and to advance our program further from where we were.”

 You can’t test like you once were able to in January. So how do you, as a driver, adjust to a change like the one that has been made at Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2017 season?

“It’s because the teams have more depth. There is more simulation. The engineering staff has gone through things at a much higher level, whereas it used to be the driver and the crew chief who would go to the track and then come back with a notebook of things. Now the notebook has been gone through by the lead engineers and they’ve prepared it as best as possible before we show up. Limited track time saves money but, at the same time, you end up spending it on personnel and hiring the key guys to make the cars safer, faster, stronger, and I know we’ve done a great job to transition with Ford because I’ve seen some of the drawings and the way that Doug Yates has the engine set up. We had to change a few of our suspension settings to adapt to the way he had his engine set up, so there might be a couple bugs here or there, but I’m not too worried about it. We’ve got really good, quality people at Stewart-Haas with Yates engines.”

Hunt Brothers® Pizza Expands Partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing

– Harvick To Pilot No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang in NASCAR XFINITY Series

– Hunt Brothers Pizza Will Serve as an Associate Sponsor of Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Fusion in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Cole Custer’s No. 00 Ford Mustang in XFINITY Series –

– Hunt Brothers Pizza is the Official Pizza of Stewart-Haas Racing

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Jan. 5, 2017) – Hunt Brothers Pizza, the No. 1 made-to-order pizza brand in convenience stores across the United States, is expanding its partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) to include a four-race sponsorship of Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Hunt Brothers Pizza has been involved with SHR since 2014, serving as an associate sponsor of Harvick and the No. 4 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team while also being the official pizza of SHR.

As SHR expands its operation into the XFINITY Series for the first time in 2017, Hunt Brothers Pizza will be the primary sponsor of Harvick’s No. 41 Ford Mustang April 8 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, May 27 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, July 7 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta and Sept. 2 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Hunt Brothers Pizza will also serve as an associate sponsor of SHR’s No. 00 Ford Mustang driven by XFINITY Series rookie-of-the-year contender Cole Custer.

“NASCAR has been a strong platform for Hunt Brothers Pizza thanks to the roles Kevin Harvick and Stewart-Haas Racing have played in representing our brand,” said Keith Solsvig, vice president of marketing, Hunt Brothers Pizza. “NASCAR fans love to travel and visit convenience stores. We want to continue to show our appreciation to our store partners and their consumers. Having our own Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang on the racetrack with a partner like Kevin is a great way to showcase how we constantly strive for excellence.”

Prior to winning the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship, Harvick won two XFINITY Series titles in 2001 and 2006. The 41-year-old from Bakersfield, California, has 46 XFINITY Series wins to augment his 35 NASCAR Cup Series victories.

“I’ve always enjoyed competing in the XFINITY Series,” Harvick said. “With Stewart-Haas Racing starting a new program, I’m excited to be a part of the building process because it will make us stronger going forward as a company. I’m proud to continue working with Hunt Brothers Pizza and seeing their colors on my Ford Mustang.”

Hunt Brothers Pizza became involved in NASCAR as a team partner in 2008 where the company sponsored Haas CNC Racing, the precursor of SHR. Hunt Brothers Pizza aligned with Harvick in 2011, and 2017 marks its seventh year with the veteran driver.

For more information about Hunt Brothers Pizza or to locate a store near you, visit HuntBrothersPizza.com. Follow Hunt Brothers Pizza on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for news and current promotions.

About Hunt Brothers Pizza:
With more than 7,300 locations in 28 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza is the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry. Prefect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle, Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin crust pizzas with All Toppings No Extra Charge®, breakfast pizzas, cheesebread and marinara dipping sauce, plus Hunt Brothers Pizza Wings and WingBites®. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hunt Brothers Pizza is family-owned and operated and for more than 25 years has offered all of the food products, marketing programs, equipment and training convenience stores need to operate their own turnkey pizza program.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:
Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The organization fields four entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series – the No. 4 Ford Fusion for Kevin Harvick, the No. 10 Ford Fusion for Danica Patrick, the No. 14 Ford Fusion for Clint Bowyer and the No. 41 Ford Fusion for Kurt Busch. The team also competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by fielding a full time entry – the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Cole Custer – and one part-time entry – the No. 41 Ford Mustang. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 200,000-square-foot facility with more than 300 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at  www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.

Motorsports Industry Honors Tony Stewart with Sizeable Charitable Donation On His Behalf to EB Research Partnership

LAS VEGAS – To honor three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart as he retires from his 20-year NASCAR driving career, the motorsports industry came together in unprecedented fashion at the season-ending NASCAR Awards Banquet by making a $1.8 million contribution on Stewart’s behalf to the EB Research Partnership, the largest global non-profit dedicating to curing EB.

EB, or Epidermolysis Bullosa, is a devastating skin disorder. Those with EB lack critical proteins that bind the layers of skin together. Without these proteins, the skin can tear apart, blister and sheer off, leading to severe pain, disfigurement and wounds that never heal. EB can also affect the body internally, causing blisters in the eyes, mouth, esophagus and the fusing together of fingers and toes. EB affects one in every 50,000 births and is not specific to any ethnicity or gender, but because it only affects an estimated 25-30,000 people in the United States, advancing research to combat this disease relies on the generosity of individuals and corporations.

The industry initially targeted a $1.4 million donation to the EB Research Partnership as a subtle nod to Stewart’s No. 14 car number, which he drove to his third Sprint Cup title in 2011 and chose in honor of his hero and friend, the iconic A.J. Foyt who raced the No. 14 throughout his versatile career. However, widespread support for this initiative quickly gained momentum and the original $1.4 million target was easily surpassed.

“Tony wanted to have a very low-key sendoff during his final NASCAR season and he was pretty emphatic about it. He certainly earned a lot of recognition for all that he accomplished, and as an industry we felt it was important to honor him,” said Mike Helton, vice chairman, NASCAR. “People know how passionate he is about motorsports, but he’s equally passionate about helping others. On behalf of the entire motorsports industry, we felt this collective donation in Tony’s name was a fitting tribute to all that he’s accomplished during his NASCAR career.”

Well known for his accolades on the racetrack, which includes 12 driving championships and victories in nearly every American-based racing series, Stewart is also known for his philanthropy.

In 2003, he formed his own charitable foundation. Known simply as the Tony Stewart Foundation, the 501(c)(3) organization’s goal is to raise funds primarily distributed to serving three specific groups – chronically ill and physically disabled children, animals that are endangered or at-risk, and drivers injured in the sport of motor racing. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $6.5 million to assist charitable initiatives for more than 150 well-qualified organizations throughout the United States.

Stewart’s work on behalf of the foundation crossed paths with his love for music earlier this year when he met Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. The two discussed their work in racing and in music, respectively, before the conversation dovetailed into their mutual commitment to charity. It was here where Stewart learned about EB from an impassioned Vedder, who co-founded the EB Research Partnership.

“When I first heard about it, it was quite hard to grasp the intensity of the condition,” Vedder said. “It’s about the most insane skin disorder you could imagine. And when you realize it also affects the internal organs, you see it as diabolical. It’s very hard to describe until you meet the young folks with it, and they make you realize how much you take for granted. You also realize that these are some of the strongest, coolest, most admirable people on the face of the Earth.”

The tenacious and sometimes cantankerous demeanor Stewart carries at the racetrack vanishes when he is off the track and in the presence of children, especially those who face physical and mental challenges. Children fighting EB have a perseverance and strength that is unworldly, and it has resonated with Stewart.

“The pain these kids face is constant, and yet they still find ways to stay upbeat,” Stewart said. “You quickly realize that your idea of a bad day is nothing. It puts your life and the things you take for granted in perspective. But it also makes you mad, because this is a devastating disorder that no one should have to endure. Yet it exists, and after seeing it, you want to do anything you can to make it go away.”

Stewart’s $1.8 million donation to the EB Research Partnership will accelerate life-changing research and reduce the timeframe of getting results for children with EB, while ensuring treatments go to those in need as swiftly as possible.

This donation on Stewart’s behalf is an embodiment of all the philanthropic work Stewart has performed as a NASCAR driver. He never sought accolades for his work, but his charitable efforts have been noticed nonetheless.

Stewart was named “Most Caring Athlete” by USA Weekend in 2004 and in that same year was selected by The Sporting News as “NASCAR’s ‘Good Guy’” and received the NASCAR USG Person of the Year award. In 2008, NASCAR Illustrated bestowed upon Stewart its Person of the Year award, as Stewart’s Prelude To The Dream all-star dirt Late Model race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, raised more than $4 million for charity during its eight-year run. In 2009, Stewart was nominated for the National Motorsports Press Association’s (NMPA) Humanitarian and Spirit awards, each of which recognizes philanthropy. In 2010, Stewart again was a finalist for the NMPA Humanitarian award, becoming the only person to ever be nominated in back-to-back years. Making the 2010 selection even more noteworthy was that Stewart won and earned $100,000 for his Foundation. And in 2013, Stewart earned the prestigious NMPA Myers Brothers award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing.

“Tony’s legacy on the track is known and respected, but his efforts off the track should be known as well, even though he’ll never be the one talking about them,” Helton said. “Tony Stewart is a true humanitarian, and this sport is better off thanks to him and all of his contributions. It’s only appropriate that we, as an industry, can contribute to Tony’s philanthropic endeavors.”

To learn more about the EB Research Partnership, please visit www.EBResearch.org or www.Facebook.com/EBResearch. And to learn more about the Tony Stewart Foundation, please visit www.TonyStewartFoundation.org or www.facebook.com/14TSF.