2020-02-28

NASCAR and Blue-Emu Announce Multi-Year Official Partnership

NASCAR and Blue-Emu Announce Multi-Year Official Partnership
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 To Debut Under the Lights at Martinsville Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2020) – NASCAR and Blue-Emu have announced a multi-year agreement designating the company as an Official Partner of NASCAR, Martinsville Speedway and Motor Racing Network (MRN). As part of the agreement, Blue-Emu will serve as the entitlement sponsor of NASCAR Cup Series™ spring events at Martinsville Speedway, with the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 debuting under the lights on Saturday, May 9.

"Blue-Emu's integrated NASCAR approach will take center stage at Martinsville Speedway under the lights," said Frank Kelleher, senior vice president and chief sales officer, NASCAR. "Combining the massive reach of NASCAR with fan sponsor loyalty provides partners an attractive platform to grow their brands."

In addition to the Martinsville Speedway race entitlement, Blue-Emu will actively engage fans at NASCAR tracks across the country by providing product sampling opportunities. The pain relief company is no stranger to NASCAR. They currently work with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and have sponsored multiple teams dating back to 2014.

"NFI Consumer Products has been a fan and friend of NASCAR for a number of years, so this sponsorship is a natural expansion of that partnership. The NASCAR fan base has been a strong and loyal customer of Blue-Emu and we believe they will help us continue to grow as a national brand," said Susan Gregory, CEO, Blue-Emu. "The highly anticipated Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, debuting under the lights, will highlight our track partnership and provide a new opportunity to showcase our products and engage with consumers."

The Blue-Emu product line is the No.1 selling emu oil brand in the United States and recently announced a multi-year partnership with the MLB, which included exclusive deals with 13 of its clubs. As part of the NASCAR agreement, Blue-Emu's Original Super Strength will serve as an Official Partner of NASCAR, Blue-Emu's Maximum Pain Relief Cream is the "Official Pain Relief Cream of NASCAR®", Blue-Emu's Continuous Spray is the "Official Pain Relief Spray of NASCAR®," and Blue-Emu's Patch is the "Official Pain Patch of NASCAR®".

The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 will be held on Saturday, May 9 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM. Tickets for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 as well as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at NASCAR.com/tickets.

The NASCAR Cup Series season will continue at Auto Club Speedway this weekend for the Auto Club 400 on March 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation's major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), three regional series, one local grassroots series, three international series and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat ('NASCAR').

 

About NFI Consumer Products, Blue Emu®

Nutrition & Fitness, Inc. (NFI Consumer Products) is an innovative consumer products company that manufactures, markets, and distributes the Blue-Emu® line of products for muscle, joint and skin conditions. Blue-Emu® products are made with real emu oil. In January of 2014, Gregory Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc. purchased NFI Consumer Products and quickly capitalized on the Blue-Emu® following amongst consumers and expanded their advertising efforts to further accelerate the growth of the Blue-Emu® product line. In June 2014, Original Blue-Emu® Super Strength cream was recognized as the #1 selling over-the-counter muscle and joint cream in the United States. Under the leadership of CEO, Susan Gregory and guidance from EVP of Marketing, Benjamin Blessing, NFI has expanded the Blue-Emu® product line to include Blue-Emu® Continuous Pain Relief Spray, Blue-Emu® Maximum Arthritis Pain Relief Cream, and Lidocare and Blue-Emu® Pain Relief Patches. Today, NFI Consumer Products distributes the emu oil-based Blue-Emu® products throughout the United States, primarily through mass merchandisers, supermarkets and drug stores. The company currently distributes the Blue-Emu® product line through various retailers representing over 50,000 retail outlets. For more about Blue-Emu® by NFI, please visit www.blue-emu.com


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 28.2.20 0 comments

2020-02-27

NASCAR, Elgin Sweeper Renew NASCAR Green Partnership

NASCAR, Elgin Sweeper Renew NASCAR Green Partnership
Unfavorable Weather No Match for 'Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green'

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2020) – NASCAR and Elgin Sweeper announced today a multi-year partnership renewal, continuing the designation of the leading manufacturer of street sweepers, special industrial, and airport applications as the "Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green®."

"Considering our dealers' dedication to – and passion for – NASCAR Green's goal of protecting the environment through sustainable practices, and our own involvement in the NASCAR culture for more than a decade, it was a logical progression to renew our partnership," said Mike Higgins, vice president and general manager, Elgin Sweeper. "We are immensely proud of the fact that NASCAR continues to rely on Elgin Sweeper to be present at the tracks every race season to shorten rain delays and cautionary events."

As the "Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green," Elgin Sweeper administers a team of 17 trained, NASCAR-certified driver operators throughout the 36-week race season to help support the NASCAR Toyota Tundra Track Drying Team in drying rain-soaked tracks while saving jet fuel and reducing the sport's overall carbon footprint.

In addition to its drying efforts, the revolutionary Crosswind Specialty Track Sweeper assists in maintaining safe racing surfaces for competitors. Designed by Elgin Sweeper exclusively for steep-banked racetracks in need of routine maintenance, race event sweeping and emergency response cleaning, the Crosswind Specialty Track Sweeper has passed the most rigorous tilt tests required. Used for high-speed sweeping during NASCAR races across the country, the machine effectively removes track debris and oil absorbent material and assists in drying wet track areas.

"Throughout our partnership, Elgin Sweeper has consistently proven to be reliable, dependable, and uniquely capable of maintaining green flag racing conditions," said Scott Miller, senior vice president, competition, NASCAR. "Elgin Sweeper has assisted our sport in putting on numerous events after unfavorable odds and we're happy to have them remain a part of our weekend stable."

Elgin Sweeper's exclusively designed Shared Power technology, the EcoInfused platform, diverts the formerly wasted energy from the sweeper's chassis engine back to the power of the sweeper itself, which helps reduce the carbon footprint during NASCAR Cup Series™ race weekends.

The Elgin Sweeper made its NASCAR debut in 2001 at Kansas Speedway. The sweeper picks up 50 gallons of water per minute while saving roughly one gallon of diesel fuel per hour. The sweeper's 10-foot sweep path covers the width of 1.5 race cars, helping officials get cars back on the track in record time.

For more information on the Elgin Crosswind Specialty Track Sweeper, or on Elgin Sweeper's entire line of street sweepers, please visit www.elginsweeper.com. NASCAR fans can follow along with the Track Sweeper throughout the 2020 NASCAR season by visiting Elgin Sweeper's Facebook page.

Fans can catch the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 from Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation's major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), three regional series, one local grassroots series, three international series and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat ('NASCAR').

 

About Elgin Sweeper

Sold and serviced through a network of more than 100 dealer locations worldwide, Elgin Sweeper products are the sweepers of choice for a variety of general street maintenance, special industrial and airport applications. With more than 100 years of experience, Elgin Sweeper offers municipalities, contractors and industries the most sweeper options in the country, using the latest sweeping technologies – mechanical, pure vacuum, regenerative air, alternative fuel and waterless dust control. Elgin Sweeper is a subsidiary of Federal Signal Corporation's Environmental Solutions Group. For more information, visit www.elginsweeper.com.

 


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 27.2.20 1 comments

NASCAR annonce des bourses record en série Pinty’s

NASCAR annonce des bourses record en série Pinty's

Les gagnants de chaque course recevront un minimum de 10 000 $

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Floride, le 25 février 2020 – Gagner rapporte de plus en plus !

 

Les pilotes victorieux en 2020 remporteront plus d'argent que jamais dans l'histoire de la série NASCAR Pinty's.

 

Mieux encore, puisque le gagnant du Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R) se méritera une bourse de 11 000 $. Pour sa part, l'Autodrome Ohsweken offrira, en collaboration avec Pinty's, le partenaire de la série, une bourse de 25 000 $ au gagnant pour souligner le 25e anniversaire de la piste.

 

« Le prestige de la série NASCAR Pinty's augmente, et les enjeux suivent de façon logique cette courbe ascendante », a déclaré Brandon Thompson, directeur général de la série NASCAR Touring. « La série attire les meilleurs pilotes et équipes au Canada et l'augmentation de la bourse pour le gagnant relèvera davantage le niveau de compétition. »

 

« Nous reconnaissons la collaboration essentielle de nos pistes partenaires et nous nous attendons à voir encore plus de courses serrées et de finales passionnantes, à l'instar de ce qui est offerts à nos amateurs depuis plusieurs années. »

 

De plus, et toujours afin d'ajouter au spectacle, NASCAR et le GP3R ont annoncé en 2019 que cette course classique passerait de 50 à 60 tours à partir de 2020. Les 10 tours supplémentaires forceront les équipes à ajouter du carburant et offriront plus de choix stratégiques aux équipes.

 

La visite sur l'anneau du Ohsweken Speedway prévue pour le 18 août marquera la première course sur terre battue de l'histoire de la série Pinty's. Deux vedettes de la terre battue, Kenny Wallace et Stewart Friesen, ont déjà annoncé leur intention de participer à cette course. Le gars du coin, Stewart Friesen, originaire de Niagara-on-the-Lake, a remporté en 2015 une victoire en série World Of Outlaws, le plus haut niveau en Sprint Car sur terre battue en Amérique.

 

« Plus de 25 % des Canadiens considèrent la course comme un de leurs sports favoris, » a déclaré Tony Spiteri, vice-président marketing de Pinty's Delicious Foods. « Il va sans dire que ces amateurs ressemblent à bien des égards aux fidèles supporteurs de notre série. Investir pour rendre ce sport encore plus populaire est tout simplement une bonne affaire pour nous, et surtout un grand plaisir. Comme nous le disons tout le temps, « Pinty's : rend la nourriture amusante. »

 

Le programme 2020 de la série Pinty's compte 13 courses sur 10 pistes dans quatre provinces (Ontario, Québec, Alberta et Saskatchewan). La saison débute le week-end de la Fête de la Reine au Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) et prend fin le 26 septembre au Jukasa Motor Speedway.

 


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 27.2.20 0 comments

Record Winner’s Purses Set for NASCAR Pinty’s Series

Record Winner's Purses Set for NASCAR Pinty's Series

Each event winner will earn a minimum of $10,000

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2020) – It pays to win.

 

And in 2020, winners will be paid more than at any time in NASCAR Pinty's Series history.

 

NASCAR today announced an increase in the winner's purse, paying a minimum of $10,000 to each event winner. The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R) winner will earn $11,000. Ohsweken Speedway, in conjunction with series entitlement partner Pinty's, will feature a winner's purse of $25,000 to honour the track's 25th anniversary.

 

"As the NASCAR Pinty's Series prestige grows, the stakes continue to rise," said Brandon Thompson, NASCAR Managing Director of Touring Series. "The series attracts the top drivers and teams in Canada, and the winner's purse increase will further strengthen the level of competition.

 

"We're grateful for the collaboration with our track partners and expect to see even more of the side-by-side racing and close, exciting finishes that the Pinty's Series has consistently delivered to our fans."

 

The Ohsweken Speedway race on Tuesday, Aug. 18 will be the first dirt race in series history. Dirt track stars Kenny Wallace and Niagara-on-the-Lake native Stewart Friesen, who won a World of Outlaws Sprint Car race there in 2015, have already announced their intentions to compete.

 

"Motorsports is seen by 26% of Canadians as one of their favourite sports," said Tony Spiteri, Pinty's Delicious Foods Vice President of Marketing. "It goes without saying that these fans are similar in many ways to the loyal following of Pintys. Investments in making the sport even bigger is simply good business, and great fun. As we say all the time, 'Pintys: Making Great Food Fun'."

 

The 2020 Pinty's Series schedule features 13 races at 10 tracks in four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan). The season opens Victoria Day weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) and finishes at Jukasa Motor Speedway on Sept. 26.

 

Last year, NASCAR and GP3R announced that race would extend from 50 laps to 60 beginning in 2020. The 10 extra laps will force teams to add fuel and provide more strategy opportunities.

 

 


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 27.2.20 0 comments

2020-02-24

Kraus Left To Battle Back After Early Incident



Kraus Left To Battle Back After Early Incident

·   NASCAR Truck Series Action In Vegas

 

LAS VEGAS (Feb. 21, 2020) – An early-race incident left Derek Kraus battling to work his way from the back of the pack in the Strat 200 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night.

 

The series rookie, who started 16th on the grid in the No. 19 ENEOS Toyota Tundra, rebounded half way through the field – but ended up finishing 22nd after pitting for a flat right rear tire with less than 10 laps to go.

 

That marked the second of two unscheduled pit stops he made in the 134-lap event. The first followed an incident on Lap 2 when his Tundra got sideways and brushed the wall going into Turn 3. Kraus restarted at the tail end of the field, but still on the lead lap.

 

He steadily worked his way forward and was in the 19th spot on a restart, with 39 laps remaining. He battled mid-pack through the remaining laps, until slowing with tire trouble late in the event.

 

Derek Kraus – Thoughts about Las Vegas

Talking about early-race incident

"I made a mistake and just lost it. I'm not really sure what happened. We will take what we learned here in Vegas and move on to Atlanta."

 

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Event:

Race: Strat 200 (134 Laps) (Race 2 of 23) Feb. 21, 2020

Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas (1.5-mile oval)

Format: Three Stages; Lap 30 / Lap 60 / Lap 134

 

Derek Kraus

No. 19 ENEOS / NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Tundra

Age: 18

Hometown: Stratford, Wisc.

Practice: 15th

Qualified: 16th

Stage 1: 23rd

Stage 2: 24th

Finished: 22nd (Running, completed 131 of 134 laps)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

 

Next Race:

Georgia 200, March 14, 2020, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga. (1.54-mile oval)


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 24.2.20 0 comments

KYLE BUSCH PICKS UP FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON IN THE NO. 51 CESSNA TUNDRA AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY



Date:         Feb. 21, 2020

Event:         Strat 200 (Race 2 of 23)

Series:        NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

Location:   Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval)

Format: Three Segments; 30 laps/30 laps/74 laps

Start/Finish: 3rd / 1st (running, completed 134 of 134 laps)

Winner:      Kyle Busch of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)

Kyle Busch and the No. 51 Cessna/Beechcraft team put on a dominating performance and led 108 of 134 laps en route to victory in the Strat 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 51 team posted the 14th-fastest time in one practice on Friday morning, and then Busch qualified his Tundra in the third position in one round of single-vehicle qualifying.

After the green flag fell, Busch wasted no time making his way to the front of the field once the green flag fell. He took the lead on lap 12, with teammate Christian Eckes close behind, then won the first and second stages, only giving the lead up after pit stops. Busch would go on to lead seven times for 108 of 134 laps to earn his 209th career NASCAR National Series win and his 57th victory in 151 Gander Trucks races. Busch has four more scheduled NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races this season.

Stage One Recap:

  • Qualifying for the event consisted of one round of single truck qualifying, and Busch earned the third starting position.
  • Busch took the lead on lap 12, and led the rest of the laps until the stage caution on lap 30.
  • At the stage conclusion, crew chief Danny Stockman brought Busch to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and a tank full of Sunoco fuel.

Stage Two Recap:

  • Busch began the second stage in second place and battled with teammate Christian Eckes for the lead, eventually taking it on lap 45 and winning the second stage.
  • During the second stage, Busch reported that the handling of his Tundra was one number loose.
  • Stockman called him to pit road following the end of the stage for four more Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel.

Stage Three Recap:

  • The 34-year-old owner-driver began the final stage at the front of the field and battled back and forth with the No. 2 truck, but eventually would lead the final 37 laps.
  • With 43 laps to go, the caution flag flew and Stockman brought Busch to pit road for the final time for four tires and fuel.
  • Busch earned his third victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Gander Trucks Series and his first victory of 2020 in the Strat 200. This is his 57th overall Gander Trucks win and his 209th National Series win.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Cessna Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:

What happened on the restarts?

"I don't know why we just couldn't fire off on the restarts. We just didn't have any speed. Once we got about 10 laps in, we started to check away from everybody. This Cessna Tundra was awesome. It had really good long run speed. The guys did a fantastic job. It's the first win for Danny Stockman with KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), so that's cool to have him on board. For us to have good stuff with Rowdy Manufacturing. All my guys, they just worked their butts off. When we unloaded we weren't really that close. Worked on it a lot with this tire and we got it a lot better. Kind of showed that with the long run. Overall, thanks to Toyota, TRD, Rowdy Energy keeping us powered here lately, Black Clover, Gander RV & Outdoors, appreciate their support of the series and being here with us. Of course all the fans – pretty cool to have a homecoming win in Vegas like this."

Does winning the Truck races seem as easy to you as the numbers show with your laps led?

"We certainly work really, really hard. It wasn't like we unloaded and knew we had a great piece and that we were going to go out there and dominate like that. We work for it, these guys do. All the preparation at the shop comes a long way with Danny (Stockman, crew chief), with Rudy (Fugle, No. 18 crew chief), with Mike Hillman Jr. (No. 4 crew chief). It's just been really cool to get the equipment going that we have now. Obviously, the talent that we have now. Our groups of guys, the core of them have been together now for a long time. It's nice to keep some familiarity around KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) with the faces that are there and bring in some experience to help facilitate growing the 51 team to a top-notch team."

Strat 200 Recap:

  •  Kyle Busch won the race by 5.958 seconds followed by Johnny Sauter, Austin Hill, Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top-five finishers.
  • The race featured five cautions for 25 laps and 15 lead changes among five drivers.

How Busch's KBM Teammates Fared:

Raphael Lessard, driver of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra, finished 30th

Christian Eckes, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, finished 23rd

Gander Trucks Owner Championship Standings:

The No. 51 team leaves the second race of the season ranked first in the Truck Series Owner's Championship Standings, 19 markers ahead of second-place.

Next Race:

Owner-driver Kyle Busch will be back behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tundra when the Truck Series returns to actionSaturday, March 14 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the Georgia 200 begins at 1:30 p.m. EST on FS1.


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 24.2.20 0 comments

RAPHAEL LESSARD RELEGATED TO 30TH-PLACE FINISH AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY WITH NO. 4 MOBIL 1 TEAM


Date:         Feb. 21, 2020

Event:         Strat 200 (Race 2 of 23)

Series:        NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

Location:   Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval)

Format: Three Segments; 30 laps/30 laps/74 laps

Start/Finish: 8th / 30th (Accident, completed 90 of 134 laps)

Winner:      Kyle Busch of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)

Raphael Lessard was relegated to a 30th-place finish in the Strat 200 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in his first start on a 1.5-mile speedway. The young driver qualified eighth in one round of single-vehicle qualifying, and then was running in the top-10 before a pit stop miscue cost him track position. The Canadian teenager was able to climb back into the top-10, but then lost control of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra and hit the wall, ending his evening.

Stage One Recap:

Lessard earned the eighth starting spot in one lap of single vehicle qualifying on Friday afternoon.
In the opening laps, Lessard reported that his truck was loose, but he was able to maintain position in the top-10.
Lessard finished the first stage in sixth.
Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. called the talented teenager to pit road for four tires and fuel during the stage break.

Stage Two Recap:

Lessard started the second stage in fifth.
Lessard worked his way up to third, but then was hung out of the draft and shuffled back to tenth.
The young driver was able to finish the second stage in eighth.
Following the conclusion of Stage 2, Hillman Jr. brought the Canadian driver to pit road for four Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel, but the pit crew did not tighten enough lug nuts on one wheel and Hillman called the No. 4 back down pit road to fix it.

Stage Three Recap:

Lessard began the final stage in 20th position, but quickly began to move toward the front of the pack.
By lap 84, Lessard managed to return to the top-10.
Only six laps later while riding in the top-10, Lessard lost control of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra and hit the wall, causing him to retire the machine and resulting in a 30th-place finish.

Raphael Lessard, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:

How was your night?

"We had a really good run going, but we just had a couple of mistakes that caused us to get back in traffic and then we ended up in the wall and we just couldn't continue. It's not the result we were looking for, but I want to thank Kyle Busch Motorsports, my crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., Mobil 1 and Toyota for all of their support. We're still learning and getting better every time we go to the track, so in a few weeks, we'll get back at it at Atlanta."

Strat 200 Recap:

 Kyle Busch won the race by 5.958 seconds followed by Johnny Sauter, Austin Hill, Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top-five finishers.
The race featured five cautions for 25 laps and 15 lead changes among five drivers.

How Lessard's KBM Teammates Fared:

Christian Eckes, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, finished 23rd

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra, finished first

Gander Trucks Championship Standings:

Raphael Lessard is ranked 18th in NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series standings with two races in the books.

Next Race:

Raphael Lessard and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team will return to action when the Truck Series returns Saturday, March 14 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the Georgia 200 begins at 1:30 p.m. EST on FS1.


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 24.2.20 0 comments

Chase Briscoe Wins at Las Vegas


Chase Briscoe Wins at Las Vegas

Ford Performance Racing School Driver Scores

Third Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Victory;

Leaves Las Vegas as Championship Point Leader

Date:  Feb. 22-23, 2020 

Event:  Boyd Gaming 300 (Round 2 of 33)

Series:  NASCAR Xfinity Series

Location:  Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format:  200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)

Start/Finish:  2nd/1st (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Point Standing:  1st (92 points, 7 ahead of second place)

Note:  Rain 50 laps into the Boyd Gaming 300 postponed the remainder of the race to Sunday afternoon.

 

Race Winner:  Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner:  Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner:  Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

 

Key Moment:

Briscoe's No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang was dominant in the Saturday portion of the Boyd Gaming 300, leading twice for 26 laps and taking the Stage 1 win. It proved to be a slightly different racecar in the Sunday edition of the race, for after rain postponed the remainder of the contest to after the NASCAR Cup Series race, track conditions changed significantly, seemingly to the betterment of others. Briscoe and crew chief Richard Boswell were undeterred, continually adjusting the handling of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang. Their work, combined with a quick pit stop on lap 165, put Briscoe back into the lead for the lap-170 restart. Briscoe bested fellow Ford driver Austin Cindric when the green flag dropped, opening up a significant margin that, despite Cindric's best efforts in the final 15 laps, could not be overcome. Briscoe collected his first victory of 2020 and the third Xfinity Series win of his career. The triumph, combined with Briscoe's fifth-place result in the season-opener last weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, makes the 25-year-old driver from Mitchell, Indiana, the championship leader with a seven-point advantage over next best Noah Gragson.

 

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

"It's nice to get a win early. Obviously, we were hoping that we could get a win at some point in the year – we expected to – but to get it in our Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang before Phoenix is definitely nice just because we can go there and kind of try some stuff because I feel like that's one place I need to get way better at. That being said, it's nice to take the point lead. It doesn't mean as much this early in the season, but it's a good confidence booster and it goes a long way when you're in that first garage stall with your guys.

 

"If we do our job every week, I feel like we can contend at any racetrack. This shows that we're capable of winning, and that's something that internally I feel like we all knew, but you never know until you do it. It makes a little bit of a statement, but not a definite statement that this is who you've got to go through to win the championship, by any means. There are still a lot of guys that are going to be really good and, truthfully, we've got to get a lot better too to be that definite guy.

 

"The race was really weird. I feel like every time I come to Vegas, you can run up to the wall or even run the middle really well, and the bottom kind of goes away after seven or eight laps. The beginning of the race I felt like I was really, really good, and I had clean air, but when we lost the lead my car completely changed. It took a total 180 and it was hard to tell if it was really just dirty air doing that or the sun going down. Cindric ran away with it there for a while, and then when I was able to get the lead and I kind of ran away with it, and it seemed like tonight was the fastest I've ever felt like I've gone around Vegas, just because we had so much grip and so much speed around the bottom. It was almost like driving a truck in terms of how hard you could drive the thing, so clean air was crucial just because it was so hard to make a pass. I probably gave up a ton of time trying to make the top work, and even trying to make the middle work and pass guys. I just had to try to stay disciplined to run the bottom and, obviously, it would prevail."

 

Notes:                   

● Prior to Briscoe's win in the Boyd Gaming 300, his previous best finish at Las Vegas was eighth, earned in last year's Boyd Gaming 300.

● Briscoe led five times for a race-high 89 laps to bring his laps led total at Las Vegas to 90.

● Briscoe earned his third victory, 16th top-five and 32nd top-10 in 52 career Xfinity Series starts. This was his fourth Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas.

● Briscoe won Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point. He finished third in Stage 2 to earn eight more bonus points.

● Briscoe's margin of victory over second-place Cindric was 2.874 seconds.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 28 laps.

● Only 11 of the 36 drivers in the Boyd Gaming 300 finished on the lead lap.

 

Next Up:               

The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Production Alliance Group 300 on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The race starts at 4 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

-SHR-


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Top-30 Finish for Suárez at Las Vegas



Top-30 Finish for Suárez at Las Vegas

Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Team Weathers First-Lap Glitch

Date: Feb. 23, 2020

Event: Pennzoil 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)

Start/Finish: 35th / 30th (Running, completed 263 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 34th with seven points, 78 out of first

 

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Daniel Suárez started 35th, finished 33rd.

● With five cars ahead of him on the grid having to go to the rear, Suárez took the green flag from 30th. Less than halfway through the first lap, he reported the No. 96 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Camry lost power. He came to a stop on the apron just short of turn three, bringing out the caution flag.

● Safety crews pushed Suárez back to his pit box during the caution. There the team was able to reset the electronics and successfully refire the engine. Suárez rejoined the race in 38th place, two laps down.

● A competition caution waved on lap 25, and Suárez pitted from 37th for four tires, fuel, and track bar and air pressure adjustments to help fight a loose condition.

● Suárez finished the segment 33rd, three laps down. He pitted for four tires, fuel, tape on the grill, and further air pressure and track bar adjustments. He resumed in 32nd, three laps down.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Started 32nd, three laps down, and finished 32nd, four laps down.

● Suárez held position throughout the stage, which began for him with a long, 60-lap fuel-and-tire run. He pitted from 32nd on lap 140 for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments to both front tires. He resumed in 32nd, four laps down.

● The team opted to have Suárez stay out on track during the stage break. He took the wave-around, gaining one position and one of the four laps he trailed to the leaders. The team planned to make it to the end of the race on just one more stop.

 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Started 31st, three laps down, finished 30th, four laps down.

● The caution flag flew on lap 168, sending Suárez to the pits for four tires and fuel on lap 170. He continued in 31st, three laps down, on the lap-171 restart.

● Suárez reported the rear end of the car felt different – "darty" – in the opening laps of the ensuing restart. The caution then flew again on lap 175 and gave Suárez the opportunity to attend to the rear-end issue. He pitted from 31st on lap 178 to top off the car with gas and make rear-end adjustments. He resumed in 31st.

● The final fuel-and-tire stop for the native of Monterrey, Mexico, came under green on lap 245, when the team also made slight air pressure adjustments again to both front tires. He dropped from 29th to 30th and held position the rest of the way.

 

Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 96 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing:

"Obviously, this is just a learning process. We had an issue with the ECU box in the beginning. We couldn't figure out what was going on, but it put us into a hole and it was difficult to get out of the hole. I feel like we could have finished somewhere in the top-25, maybe even better than that. We had to fight hard. We learned a lot of different things that we can improve for next week. It feels good to get that first race in. We now know what we have to work on. We just have to go out there and keep digging."

 

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the Las Vegas 400 to score his 24th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Las Vegas. He beat second-place Matt DiBenedetto as the race ended under caution.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 37 laps.

● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Las Vegas 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Ryan Blaney leaves Las Vegas as the championship leader with a three-point advantage over second-place Logano.

 

Next Up:

The next event for Suárez and Gaunt Brothers Racing is the Auto Club 400 on Sunday, March 1, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 3 p.m.

 

-GBR-


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Bowyer Finishes 12th in Las Vegas



Bowyer Finishes 12th in Las Vegas

No. 14 BlueDEF Ford Mustang 13th in Points

 

Date: Feb. 23, 2020

Event: Las Vegas 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)

Start/Finish: 9th/12th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 13th with 56 points, 29 out of first

 

Race Winner:      Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner:  Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner:  Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Clint Bowyer started ninth, finished 18th.

● The No. 14 BlueDEF Ford Mustang started ninth after rain cancelled Saturday practice and qualifying.

● Bowyer immediately reported his car wouldn't turn as he needed it and it was tight in traffic.

● During a lap-25 competition caution the No. 14 crew made tire pressure air adjustments to improve the handling.

● Bowyer restarted seventh, but as the race wore on the problems worsened, and Bowyer dropped to 18th by the end of the first stage.

● The crew took a bigger swing to correct the issues, making a wedge adjustment during the stage break.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Started 16th, finished 16th.

● Bowyer still struggled with handling through the first green-flag run of the stage before pitting for tires and fuel on lap 122.

● Bowyer remained in 16th throughout the stage, telling the team that the "front end is just really numb."

● No. 14 BlueDEF Ford Mustang crew made more adjustments during the stage break, and a quick stop jumped Bowyer from 16th to 11th.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Started 11th, finished 12th.

● The No. 14 BlueDEF Ford Mustang took advantage of early cautions in the stage to pit for tires and fuel.

● With 87 laps to go, Bowyer restarted the race in 17th.

● He worked his way up to 14th during the stage before drifting backward.

● His final green-flag stop came with 50 to go, but seconds later a caution dropped Bowyer and all except the top-five cars off the lead lap.

● Bowyer took the wave-around to return to the lead lap in 18th with 42 laps remaining.

● A shootout just before the white flag waved saw Bowyer jump from 18th to 12th.

 

Notes:

● This is Bowyer's second straight top-15. He finished sixth in the Daytona 500.

● Joey Logano won the Las Vegas 400 to score his 24th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Las Vegas. He beat second-place Matt DiBenedetto as the race ended under a last-lap caution.

● This was Ford's series-leading 13th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas and its 687th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 37 laps.

● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Las Vegas 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Ryan Blaney leaves Las Vegas as the championship leader with a three-point advantage over second-place Logano.

 

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 BlueDEF Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

"That was a long day for us. We just couldn't get our front end to work like we wanted it to work. Our car did not want to roll the middle today. We'll be better in Fontana next week."

 

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Auto Club 400 on Sunday, March 1, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

-TSC-


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