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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Harvick Finishes Eighth in Las Vegas



Harvick Finishes Eighth in Las Vegas

Busch Light Ford Mustang Driver Led Race-High 92 Laps; Now Third 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: 3rd/8th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: (3rd with 81 points, four points 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):

● Kevin Harvick started third and finished third and earned eight bonus points.

● The Busch Light Ford Mustang led twice for 59 laps but faded back at the end of the stage.

● Harvick pitted on lap 27 under caution for four tires, fuel and track bar and tire pressure adjustment, saying the car was quite loose.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Started third and finished sixth and earned five bonus points.

● The Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment on lap 83.

● On the restart, Harvick moved from third to first on the restart and held the point until he was passed by Chase Elliott.

● On lap 121, Harvick was fifth and pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Started fifth and finished eighth.

● The Busch Light Ford Mustang pitted on lap 164 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

● On lap 217, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

● With less than 40 laps to go, Harvick was in second and was stalking Joey Logano for the lead.

● A caution came out with six laps to go with Harvick in fifth place. He decided to pit for four tires and fuel, but several cars stayed out or took on two tires.

● Despite restarting outside the top-10 with two laps to go, Harvick was working his way up and making moves until a caution came out just after the white flag. Harvick finished eighth.

 

Notes:

● Harvick earned his second top-10 of the season and his 11th top-10 in 22 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas.

● This is Harvick's second straight top-10. He finished fifth in the season-opening Daytona 500 last Sunday.

● Harvick's 11 top-10s at Las Vegas are the most among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

● This is Harvick's third straight top-10 at Las Vegas. He was the runner-up in the series' most recent visit to the track last September.

● Harvick has finished in the top-10 at Las Vegas all but three times since joining SHR in 2014.

● Harvick led five times for a race-high 92 laps to increase his laps-led total at Las Vegas to 679, the most among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

● 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.

● 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.

 

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

"The caution really decided that. I think there would have been some of us that got back close to the lead by the time we got off of turn four. I don't even know where we restarted, but we were seventh or so going into turn one on the last lap with a big head of steam, and the caution came out. Our Busch Light Ford was really good on the short runs. We just kind of lost the handling as we would get deep in those runs and that kind of hurt us. It came down to what we wanted there at the end, but we just got too far back."

 

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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Custer Finishes 19th at Las Vegas



Custer Finishes 19th at Las Vegas

Ford Driver Completes First 1.5-Mile Race of Season

 

 

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: 17th/19th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 28th with 25 points, 60 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):             

● Cole Custer started 17th and ended the stage 29th.

● The Ford driver pitted on lap 26 during the competition caution for fuel, four tires and adjustments to address a loose condition.

● Custer restarted 27th and reported his Production Alliance Group/Haas Automation Mustang had tightened up.

● He ended the stage 29th, then pitted for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Custer started Stage 2 in 27th and completed it 28th.

● He made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 129 for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help his tight-handling Mustang while in the 29th position.

● Custer ended the stage 28th.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Custer began the final stage from 28th and ended the race 19th.

● Shortly after the green flag dropped on the final stage, a caution occurred on lap 169, which allowed Custer to be the beneficiary of the free pass and gain one lap back.

● When the next caution was displayed on lap 177, Custer was once again the beneficiary of the free pass, putting him back on the lead lap in 28th.

● On lap 217, he was 27th and made a scheduled green-flag stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments.

● The California native was 26th when the next caution was displayed on lap 221 and crew chief Mike Shiplett made the call to stay out.

● After returning to green, Custer was in the 23rd position on lap 228.

● With six laps remaining, the final caution of the race was displayed. The Ford driver pitted for fresh tires and restarted 20th, before ending the day in 19th.

 

Notes:

● Custer's 19th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Las Vegas – 25th, earned in March 2018.

● 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. His beat second-place Matt DiBenedetto as the race ended under 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.

 

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Production Alliance Group/Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

"It's not the result we wanted today with the Production Alliance Group/Haas Automation Mustang, but the guys worked hard on the car all day. I'm still learning a lot with the Cup car and wanted a better result. We came back from two laps down, and (crew chief) Mike Shiplett did a good job continuing to adjust on the car. I know I need to be better at restarts and some things like that, but I'm looking forward to next week and excited about working with the No. 41 team this year."

 

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.

 

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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 24.2.20 0 comments

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