Ford Performance NASCAR: John Hunter Nemechek Reflects On Career-Best Cup Finish

John Hunter Nemechek is coming off a career-best ninth-place finish in yesterday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway.  Nemechek answered questions as part of a teleconference on Monday to talk about his run.

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 38 Scag Power Equipment Ford Mustang – WHAT DID IT MEAN TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 AND GET BACK TO THE TRACK?  “It definitely means a lot to our team.  I feel like we’ve kind of had speed all year and we’ve made our cars better during the off-season transitioning to Front Row Motorsports.  Yesterday, we came in with no expectations.  We just kind of had the mindset to run every lap and learn the most that we possibly could, and while doing that we made the right adjustments all day.  We stayed on top of the race track and we kind of ran our own race and it led to us running top 15 most of the day, which is a really great accomplishment for myself and Front Row Motorsports for my first time being at Darlington in a Cup car and just trying to learn.  It’s definitely a hard race track, but, overall, the pit crew did amazing.  Seth and myself did great at communicating.  The engineers were awesome.  It was a full team effort and we stayed on top of it, so it was definitely a great day and something to be proud of for us.  I think that’s Front Row’s first top 10 finish on a non-superspeedway in almost four years, so it’s pretty amazing to have that accomplishment and hopefully we can continue to have the momentum roll our way, but it came down to the final restart and we had our car tuned up for the end.  I was hoping we were gonna have a couple more laps.  I think we could have got Reddick and Erik Jones, but, overall, a solid day.  I’m looking forward to going back to Darlington on Wednesday.”

CAN YOU COMPARE THE EXPERIENCE OF COMPETING IN THIS RACE VS. WHAT YOU DID LAST YEAR IN THE XFINITY SERIES?  “We weren’t very good at Darlington last year in the XFINITY Series, so for myself to kind of go there with an open mindset, a lot of preparation was done, a lot of video was watched, talked to quite a few Cup drivers during the quarantine about Darlington when we knew that we were going back there and just tried to be a sponge and just soak everything up.  I would say Darlington last year I didn’t really like it.  I didn’t really like the place.  It definitely was a struggle for myself and for our team last year.  We weren’t that great, so coming into Darlington this year it was completely different than the XFINITY car, just trying to make the most of the situation and with no practice I definitely like it almost gave our team a little bit of a better opportunity to run good as we didn’t have time to either mess up our car or our adjustments and set up through practice, but it didn’t really allow others to make major gains through practice, where we might not be able to do the same, so it was a lot of fun being able to tame the Lady in Black, and I had a blast.  It’s a place I really like now, not really from last year, but being able to slide around and tire wear, being able to run multiple grooves, it was overall just a really fun race yesterday and really great just to be back in the seat.”

HOW TOUGH WAS THIS RACE COMPARED TO WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING GOING IN, AND WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE GOING INTO WEDNESDAY?  “I think from a confidence standpoint it definitely makes me feel really good to be able to go back there.  We have some notes that I think we can get better from, from yesterday, some things that I wish the car would have done a little bit differently.  It’s an opportunity for us to have a really good notebook.  I mean, coming into yesterday our kind of plan as a team to run every lap and learn the most that we possibly could and we were really planning on the second Darlington race being our best race, so to come home with a ninth in the first Darlington and hopefully we can build momentum and continue to roll on that.”

WAS THE RACE TOUGHER OR EASIER ON YOU THAN EXPECTED?  “I don’t think that it was terrible from a physical demand standpoint or anything like that.  I definitely think from being out of the race car and coming back into the race car from so much time off, I explained it as a really long rain delay even though it was almost the amount of time that our off-season is, so it was definitely very good to be back in the seat.  I definitely think that it shows who has been training and who hasn’t, and who has been preparing for coming back to racing.  I’m just glad that from a physical standpoint it wasn’t as demanding as I thought it would, but I was tired afterwards.  I left everything out there on the race track, that’s for sure.”

WILL YOU TAKE THE SAME CAR BACK ON WEDNESDAY?  DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE WITH THE BIGGER TEAMS WITH TWO DAYS IN BETWEEN?  “I definitely feel like from the advantage standpoint, I don’t necessarily know if the bigger teams will have more of the advantage or if we’re gonna have the advantage.  With not having practice or anything, it’s definitely, I feel like it gives us a little bit of a chance.  With Front Row Motorsports and us having two cars we can learn off of each other, but when you’re racing against big teams that have four cars, you can almost come to the race track with four different setups and see which one works best, and then all the cars can kind of trend to that setup, whereas with two it’s hard to learn and hard to gain that many notes during the whole time, so I feel like going back some of the bigger teams are probably gonna step their game up.  We just have to do the same and we just have to stay focused on the task at hand and we’re gonna go back with the same mindset of running all the laps and just try to put us in position to have a good finish. 

ARE YOU BRINGING THE SAME CAR BACK?  “We’re not bringing the same car back Wednesday.  Darlington is really rough on equipment as far as with the sand and everything in the race track being so abrasive, so we’re definitely gonna have to tune it up.  Even though the car was clean, it didn’t have any scratches on it, it was very well pitted out from all the sand and what-not.”

HOW DOES THREE RACES IN A SHORT PERIOD AFFECT YOUR TRAINING, ESPECIALLY WITH A 600-MILER AT THE END OF THE WEEK?  “It’s definitely something I have to get used to.  The longest race I’ve been a part of has been 500 miles, and I think I’ve run two of those races so far, so it’s definitely something that I have to train my body for, but as far as physical shape and mental shape during the whole quarantine process with COVID, I upped my training quite a bit.  I probably doubled or tripled what I was doing on a weekly basis already, so I feel really good about my physical shape and my mental shape right now.  As far as the recovery process, I actually got home and took an ice bath last night, so it’s definitely something that you have to kind of train for and I’ll be on a bike later today spinning and trying to recover a little bit, but everything that we’re doing during these times with three races in pretty much seven days is all recovery stuff, just trying to flush out the body and trying to flush out the legs, rather than putting in very high, physical demand process and letting all of our energy and what-not kind of recover before we get back in the race car.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE ON THE GRID YESTERDAY WITH NO FAMILY, FRIENDS AND PROBABLY NO MRO TO DO A PRE-RACE PRAYER?  “It was definitely different.  I know I think MRO had virtual chapel yesterday.  I did not get to attend, sadly.  We were actually debriefing and getting ready for the race with our team, but I did have some texts and some chat back and forth with another pastor that we’ve been able to talk with during this time and trying to create that mentality as well.  As far as on the grid it was definitely a different feeling, something that we’re not used to and something that we hopefully don’t have to get used to as far as not having friends and family there.  The whole atmosphere was different without fans and it’s not something that you kind of look forward to going back to, knowing that there aren’t gonna be fans there, but I am glad that we’re back in the seat and that we are back racing.  Hopefully, we can get fans back soon because it’s definitely not the same.”

WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOUR ROLE IS IN THIS ROOKIE CLASS?  CUSTER, BELL AND REDDICK HAVE GOTTEN ALL THE ATTENTION, SO HOW DO YOU FEEL?  “I definitely think from a success standpoint it’s coming back to I guess putting all your effort into trying to make the most of the opportunity, but it goes back to communication with my crew chief and my whole team, and making the right decisions at the right time.  I definitely feel like all the talk was about the big three.  It was like the big three and me, like what about me over here?  So, definitely trying to make a name for myself as far as part of the rookie class, and I feel like we’ve been able to do some of that and we just have to continue to try to do that, but the big three definitely aren’t going away.  They’re hard to compete with and they’re all really good.  To be able to continue to compete with them and to race them week in, week out with the circumstances that we have at Front Row, it definitely makes myself feel good and makes our team feel good.  I hope to continue to build momentum through the runs that we’ve had.  Like I said earlier, we’ve had speed all year, we just haven’t had finishes that we need to show.  We’ve always gotten collected in somebody else’s stuff at the end of a race and that part definitely stinks, but we want to continue to run strong and finish strong and continue to show the speed that we have.”

CAN YOU LOOK AHEAD TO THE 600 AND QUALIFYING FOR THAT RACE?  “It’s definitely gonna be interesting.  I definitely feel like going back qualifying with no practice, I mean go out there and hold it wide-open and hope she sticks, but, all in all, it’s gonna be interesting to see who comes out with more of their race setup or who comes out with more of their qualifying setup to qualify good or whatever it may be.  The 600 is gonna be a long race.  It’s gonna be the longest race I’ve ever been in, so it’s a matter of taking your time and making the most of the opportunity and not getting tired, not getting mentally tired, staying focused throughout the whole thing.  I think yesterday definitely shows that we started 34^th and ended up ninth, and we continued to make passes.  It may be a little bit different at Charlotte, but I don’t think it really matters where you qualify at this point, so to continue to try and build on that and just focus on the race, I think, is gonna be our No. 1 priority.”

DO YOU FEEL YOUR STRENGTH IS OUTWORKING THE COMPETITION OFF THE TRACK?  “I wouldn’t say that I outwork the competition.  I definitely think that everyone puts in effort and time into studying and what-not, but I think it’s utilizing your resources to the max.  I definitely feel like I work hard in that aspect of trying to utilize all your resources from video to data to asking questions to try and be a sponge and soak everything up.  I definitely feel like through my years of racing I’ve kind of had to learn some things the hard way and sometimes that’s the best way to learn things, so just trying to learn, trying to be the best sponge I can be, but, all in all, I definitely feel like the whole atmosphere in the garage of all of us rookies trying to be the best that we can be is working hard, so I wouldn’t say that I outwork everyone, but I definitely do put in a lot of time and effort and I am dedicated to this.”

WHO IS YOUR SPOTTER AND HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?  “I have Chris Osborne as my spotter.  He’s a veteran spotter.  He’s been a great help and a great influence to me this year.  He’s definitely given me all the information that I could ask for and he’s been around for a while, so he’s seen different trends through the years and he can continue to relay information that there are certain things I don’t necessarily think about from yesterday during the race or before we even raced, getting on a call with him and just being able to talk about his experiences at the race track.  He can throw out pointers for me and I definitely kind of know my trends as a driver when certain things happen or when I kind of focus on not necessarily the wrong things, but not the fully correct things while we’re running laps.  He can kind of see those trends and push me to be better and tell me to focus, so he keeps me on my toes and he keeps me focused, but at the same time he gives me a lot of information.  Spotters are key right now with no practice and no qualifying, and especially for my first time being at Darlington in a Cup car, being able to learn some of the things from these guys that have so much experience at Darlington and are race winners and champions in this sport, he can definitely give me information on them and just trying to be smart about everything that we do.  He definitely keeps me on my toes with that aspect.”

CHEVY NCS: Matt Kenseth Post-Darlington Teleconference Transcript

 

 

NASCAR CUP SERIES

DARLINGTON RACEWAY

THE REAL HEROES 400

MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his Top-10 finish in The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. Full Transcript:   

 

WALK US THROUGH YOUR RACE, YOUR FIRST RACE BACK WITH NO PRACTICE AND NO QUALIFYING. IT SEEMS LIKE YOU DIDN’T MISS A STEP.

“I don’t know about that. It ended up being a great finish. I had a lot of fun in the car and working with those guys. There were certainly some things that I need to be sharper on and brush up on. But yeah, overall, it was a great day. The CGR cars run really well there at Darlington (Raceway), so I was glad we were able to get a good finish and work our way back up toward the front there at the end.”

 

HOW WOULD RATE THAT AS FAR AS THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS YOU’VE DONE IN RACING? WAS IT ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT? WAS IT NOT ALL THAT DIFFICULT? WHERE WOULD YOU RATE IT?

“It’s never really easy. I would say to get prepared and get the mental mindset and everything ready to start the race was very difficult. I was definitely anxious when they were getting ready to throw the green, firing off there in the first corner, and everything being new and different with having an extended period of time off. But really once we got into that second restart and ran three or four laps, I really felt pretty comfortable. There are a lot of things when you’re out for awhile that you just aren’t as sharp on as when you left; just all the little detail stuff like getting in your pit box clean, pit road stuff, just a lot of different little stuff. But I really felt pretty comfortable in the car. They did a great job of getting everything ready. I felt really good physically. There were really no issues there, just trying to get rolling again. So, I mean they were all difficult, but I certainly think it helped that typically their cars run really well at Darlington. Certainly, this package makes the cars easier to drive than what they were when I left. When you have less power and more drag, everything is happening just a little bit slower and that helps with the adjustment as well.”

 

WE THOUGHT VETERANS WOULD ACCEL AT DARLINGTON. IT’S PRETTY AMAZING WHAT YOU DID. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT GOING BACK AND DO YOU THINK THE VETERANS WILL BE THE ONES THAT WILL BE THE ONES TO DO BETTER WHEN WE GO BACK WEDNESDAY? HOW DO YOU LOOK AT PREPARING FOR THE RETURN?

“I don’t know, I haven’t really gotten to review any film yet or anything. I don’t really know what everybody looked like, except for the cars that I raced around. It’s just hard to predict who’s going to do better than everybody else on Wednesday, although it is a quick turnaround. I wouldn’t expect the guy that won the race is going to run really bad or vice versa necessarily. I just hope to improve a little bit on everything we did. But, at the same time, that’s what everybody is trying to do. It’s not like you’re going to go out there and be like ‘we finished tenth, I need to do this better and that better, and we’re going to go there and automatically do that much better’ because that’s what everybody’s goal is. Everybody went in there, nobody had any practice, all the drivers have been out of their cars for 60 or 70 days or whatever it was. I think everybody is going to get better. I have to try to figure out how to be better, we’ve got to get the car a little better. It’s definitely going to be different conditions, most likely, than what we had this weekend. So, there are a lot of variables.”

 

HOW ODD WAS IT YESTERDAY WITH  ALL THE PROTOCALS AND NO FANS FOR YOUR FIRST RACE BACK? TODAY, THIS MORNING, HOW HAS YOUR BODY RESPONDED TO BE READY TO GO BY WEDNESDAY?

“I feel fine, I could probably use a little bit more sleep. It was pretty busy around here getting everybody going with the kids, getting all the race notes done and then throwing in some of this stuff. So, it’s a little busy; need a little bit of time probably to get caught up on everything. But I feel good, I feel really good. I haven’t really had any issues, which I’m thankful for. Everything fit pretty good and I feel good.”

 

“It kind of felt like you were going to a test, so yeah it was different not having all the fans there. I would say once they threw the green flag, you didn’t really notice it as much. But certainly, pre-race and post-race it definitely felt different, for sure. Once the race started, I thought the racing was good. With nobody having practice, I think that typically makes for better races because some people kind of hit it and some people kind of miss it. You didn’t really notice the environment from the driver’s seat being different once we started the race.”

 

SINCE YOU HAVEN’T DRIVEN THIS PACKAGE BEFORE, WHAT WAS IT LIKE AND WHAT KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE TO YOUR DRIVING STYLE? LISTENING TO THE RADIO A LITTLE BIT, CHAD (JOHNSTON) WAS GIVING YOU A LOT OF INFORMATION, LIKE WHAT THE LEADER OR OTHERS WERE DOING WITH THE THROTTLE IN THE CORNERS. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE GETTING MORE OF TO HELP YOU WITH THIS PACKAGE?

“It’s always good to get information; I would rather have too much information than not enough. So, I think that’s the approach we take. If you can use it to your advantage, you can get better and adjust to something faster. A lot of it is dictated on how your car is driving, the traffic your in and all that stuff. As far as the package, I certainly think it made the adjustment a little bit easier to get going again. It’s definitely different. Even Darlington for as worn out that it is and all the tire fall off, you have to be much more strategic, especially on restarts. The first three or four laps there were, I hate to say luck, but being on the right line on restarts. I can imagine that will be a lot more important when we get to places like Charlotte where you have a lot of grip and can run closer to wide-open, if not wide-open. But yeah, you had to be more patient. There were times where if it was the old package, you would catch somebody on a restart, you would turn under them and try to pass them and you could usually make that pass. I caught myself doing that a few times; you’d get along side of him and then four cars would pass you down the straightaway on the top. So, you certainly had to be more patient, I think. You had to get whatever you could get on restarts, but you also had to be careful to not get yourself in a position where you would get your car bogged down, get stacked up down the straightaway and go back by you. So, certainly a little more strategy involved, particularly when the cars were bunched up, than there used to be.”

 

YOU SPOKE GOING INTO THIS RACE HOW YOU WERE A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS AND YOU JUST USED THE WORD ‘ANXIOUS’. WAS THERE A POINT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RACE WHERE YOU FELT LIKE ‘I GOT THIS’?

“You never feel like you got this until you’re coming off four and leading; that’s the only time you really feel like that. I would say about the second or third lap, I felt pretty good. I felt pretty comfortable and I felt pretty aware of my surroundings. I was able to race a lot of the cars around me and even in that first segment, make a few passes on some competitive cars. It really felt pretty good, so just the part about being on the race track it didn’t take me long to feel comfortable or at home, or I haven’t really had any time off. That part didn’t really take very long. A big part of that, like I said, was having a good-driving race car. I really wasn’t uncomfortable at all by the time we got done with the second restart.”

 

A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, KEVIN HARVICK WENT OUT OF HIS WAY ON HIS RADIO SHOW TO PRAISE YOU AND HE WAS GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK. HARVICK SAID IT AGAIN LAST NIGHT AND HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WAS TO HAVE YOU BACK. HAVE YOU HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE SAID THEY ARE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU BACK?

“I’ve heard from a lot of people. That’s really nice of him to say, especially when he’s out there winning those races. Certainly, it feels good to be back. I’ve had a lot of fun the last two or three weeks working with Chad (Johnston) and my new team, and getting back on the race track and being competitive. You just don’t know, I wasn’t real competitive the last season that I raced and, certainly, the year before that really didn’t go the way I thought it should go or wanted it to go necessarily. It feels good to be back, to be wanted, to be part of that team and to get a good start. It’s only one race; I have a lot of racing to do and I realize I have a lot of improving to do. But it has been fun so far, for sure.”

 

KURT BUSCH TOLD US LAST NIGHT THAT HE WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO CALLING YOU ON THE WAY HOME. I WAS WONDERING, DID YOU GUYS HAVE A CONVERSATION AND HOW THAT WENT TALKING TO KURT?

“I actually called him, I didn’t know he was calling me (laughs). I called and talked to him a little bit on the way home. Actually, as soon as we hang up here, we have a call scheduled. It was good, Kurt had a really good day. He finished really well and I’m looking forward to reading more of his stuff, and hearing more about his race. Hopefully, I can learn something from that and apply it for Wednesday.”

 

HOW DOES YOUR FINISH COMPARE TO HOW YOUR EXPECTATIONS WERE GOING INTO THE RACE? ALSO, SINCE YOU DID SO WELL IN THAT RACE, ARE YOU ALREADY LOOKING POTENTIALLY AHEAD AT A PLAYOFF BID FOR CHIP GANASSI RACING?

“We’re only one race in and have a lot of work to do and racing to do to have a shot at making the Playoffs. Obviously, a win would get you there, but I don’t know about any of that. Expectations are a tricky thing. I expect to be competitive. I didn’t know how long that would take for me to be at my best, necessarily. You never know how you’re going to run week to week. It was super, super random and I never usually make predications. But my kids were talking to me last week and Kaylin was kind of grilling me on where I thought we were going to finish and how we were going to run. I don’t know why, but I just had 12th in my head. She had two other people last week when they were talking about it, everybody had 12th. I would have been pretty happy with being 12th my first day, so finishing 10th I thought was really good. Top-10’s are not easy to come by, so to get one on our first day and for Kurt to go out there and run third, I thought that was a big success for the whole organization.”

 

I KNOW YESTERDAY YOU WERE RUNNING AROUND TYLER REDDICK A BIT; I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU RAN AROUND JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK AT ALL. BUT SEEING THOSE TWO ROOKIES COME HOME WITH TOP-10’S, DID YOU SEE ANYTHING THAT JUMPED OUT ABOUT THEM THAT MAY HAVE SURPRISED YOU?

“I watched the championship race for Xfinity at Homestead last year. I don’t know him at all, but I watched that race with my dad and it was just incredible driving. He went and won that race, and he was the difference maker in that. A lot of times, everybody is pretty good when you get to this level, and you feel like it’s more about the car, positioning, and a lot of different stuff. But when I watched that race at Homestead, he’s just incredibly talented. Especially at those tracks where you have to run high and get all that extra out of it, and just laying it on that line without making a mistake. A lot of people can lay it on that line, but typically or eventually make a mistake. He really impressed me watching that race, so I can’t say it really surprised me when I saw how fast he can run. Yesterday, particularly when he had nobody in his way in that top grove, he really got that working well.”

“John Hunter (Nemechek) I haven’t really raced against a lot. I’ve watched him race; he’s obviously got a lot of talent. It’s not a knock at all on the team, but especially when you see him in that car in the top-10, that was a really impressive run.”

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report - The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway

Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series Race Report

Track:                Darlington Raceway  

Race:                 The Real Heroes 400    

Date:                 May 17, 2020

____________________________________

No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski

Start:  1st

Stage 1: 5th

Stage 2: 1st

Finish: 13th

Status:  Running

Laps Completed: 293/293

Laps Led: 80

Point Standings (behind first): 5th (-60)

Notes: 

• Brad Keselowski did a lot of good things in The Real Heroes 400 Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR’s first race in more than 70 days during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The driver of the Discount Tire Ford Mustang led 80 laps and won Stage 2, his second stage victory of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. But towards the end of the 293-lap, 400-mile event, Keselowski fell outside the top-10, landing in 13th-position at the checkered flag. With the finish, he jumps up to fifth-place in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, a gain of five positions.   
• Keselowski drew the pole for the Darlington event and led the first 44 laps of the race. He overcame a loose-handling condition to score a fifth-place finish when Stage 1 concluded on lap 90. He pitted for four tires and air pressure adjustments during the stage caution on lap 93 and restarted sixth when the race went green.
• Two excellent pit stops by the Discount Tire team put Keselowski in contention to win Stage 2. Keselowski was running seventh when the sixth caution flag came out on lap 156. He pitted one lap later for four tires and lightning-fast service by the 2 Crew gave him second position for the restart on lap 160. The seventh caution on lap 174 set up another round of stops and once again the team made a fast stop, this time giving Keselowski the lead on lap 176. The driver did his part on the track, holding the lead for the next 10 laps to score the stage win when the segment concluded on lap 185.
• The final stage brought a disappointing turn of events for the team. Keselowski grabbed the lead on lap 193 and held the top spot until lap 215. But over the final 79 laps, the No. 2 Ford Mustang steadily became more of a handful for Keselowski. As the Discount Tire Ford became more loose and Keselowski lost rear grip on the car, he couldn’t maintain position inside the top-10, and he took the checkered flag in 13th place when the race concluded on lap 293. 

Quotes: “We had an up and down day with our Discount Tire Ford and it finished on a down note after we lost the handling at the end. It was nice to be leading for quite a while. It felt like with 100 laps to go we were going to win. I came off of pit road second and I don't know if I just lost the clean air or what it was, but it just went completely away, and we fell back. We ended up finishing 13th which was a major bummer, but it is what it is. It is nice to be back and get the opportunity to race.”

________________________________________________

No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 7th

Stage 1: 18th

Stage 2: 13th

Finish: 16th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 293/293

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (Behind First): 8th (-74)

• Ryan Blaney battled an ill-handling Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang throughout The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
• The field was set per random draw, which gave the High Point, N.C. native the seventh-place starting position. Within the first 20 laps Blaney fell outside the top-10 and, unfortunately, that’s where he would stay for most of the afternoon.
• For much of the race, Blaney said the Menards/Duracell Ford was tight and lacked front grip. Crew chief Todd Gordon made multiple changes during the opening segment of the race, including air pressure, wedge and track bar adjustments. Blaney was credited with an 18th-place finish when the stage ended on lap 90.
• Stage 2 saw the Menards/Duracell Ford continue to be on the tight side. The seventh caution on lap 174 and subsequent 10-lap run on fresh tires saw Blaney come home with a 13th-place finish when the stage ended on lap 185.
• Blaney and the Menards team began to overcome their handling woes in the third and final stage – it just happened a little too late to make a run for the win. After falling back to 21st, the team improved the balance of the Menards/Duracell Ford and Blaney rallied through the field to score a 16th-place finish.
• Blaney is now eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 74 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Quote: “It was great to be back at the track today. We struggled with the balance of our Menards/Duracell Ford. We were too tight to start and finally got the car to the loose side by the end of the race. Darlington has been a challenge in the past and we’ll regroup and get ready to go racing again on Wednesday night.”

________________________________________________

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano 

Start:  9th

Stage 1: 11th

Stage 2: 8th

Finish: 18th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 293/293

Laps Led: 0

Point Standings (Behind First): 3rd (-33)

      

Notes:

• A loose wheel cost Joey Logano and Shell-Pennzoil team valuable track position in the final stage of The Real Heroes 400 Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, robbing the team of a potential top-10 finish. Logano was credited with an 18th-place result and is now third in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 33 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.      
• Logano started ninth and struggled early during the first 30 lap run as he slipped back to the 16th position fighting an extremely tight Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Under the competition caution on lap 32, the team pitted twice, making multiple chassis adjustments to help Logano around the tricky Darlington Raceway. Logano wrestled a tight condition from then until Stage 1 ended on lap 90, as he scored a 12th-place finish. On the stop during the stage caution, the team made chassis and air pressure changes to the Shell-Pennzoil Ford, and sent Logano back to the track in ninth position.
• Logano restarted the second stage in the bottom lane, a disadvantage that cost him a few positions. Two cautions early in the segment gave Logano and the Shell-Pennzoil team the opportunity to pit for adjustments. Logano restarted 10th but powered to the sixth position on the restart. Midway through Stage 2 Logano reported his Ford Mustang was really good in Turns 3 and 4 and he finished eighth when the stage concluded on lap 185.
• Unfortunately, the No. 22 Ford had a loose wheel in the early laps of the third and final stage, which forced Logano to pit road – just as the ninth caution was displayed on lap 213. The sequence of events dropped Logano back to 24th position. He rallied back to the 16th before the 10th and final caution on lap 254 brought the field to pit road.
• Good work by the Shell-Pennzoil crew on the final stop gained Logano three positions, as he moved up to 13th for the restart on lap 259. Over the final 34 laps, the track took another major swing to the tight side as Logano shuffled back to 18th position at the checkered flag.  

Quote: “We were way off on the handling when we started. Our Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang was just too tight. Paul (Wolfe) and the guys made some really good adjustments on it and we got inside the top-10. Unfortunately, the loose wheel, not really sure what caused it, but we’ll look into it and figure it out. Towards the end of the race just lost the handling again. We’ll come back on Wednesday and start third and try to build on what we learned today. This was a big day for our sport getting back on track and thankful for all the fans who tuned in to FOX.”

CHEVY NCS AT DARLINGTON 1: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

NASCAR CUP SERIES

DARLINGTON RACEWAY

THE REAL HEROES 400

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:

POS.   DRIVER

2nd     ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / NOCO CAMARO ZL1 1LE

3rd     KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE

4th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE

7th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE

10th    MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE

 

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:

POS.  DRIVER

1st      Kevin Harvick (Ford)

2nd     Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)

3rd     Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)

4th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)

5th     Denny Hamlin (Toyota)

 

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues with a return visit to Darlington Raceway on Wednesday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / NOCO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd

YOU AND KEVIN (HARVICK) HAD A BATTLE ON THAT FINAL RESTART, JUST NOT QUITE ENOUGH TO PULL IT OFF. MAN, THAT WAS FUN TO WATCH YOU GUYS RACING THAT HARD.

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun to get to race a guy like Kevin (Harvick) at a place like Darlington (Raceway). Man, I’m pumped for ChevyGoods.com and NOCO. Hendrick Motorsports had four really fast race cars. It sucks to finish second, but it’s really good to restart the season this way with a strong car off the truck. We just needed a little bit more. I don’t really know what it was. At times we were tight, at times we were free. Neither times were we faster than the 4 on the long runs. So, I thought if I could get him there on the restart, we’d have a shot at it, but just came up a little bit short.”

 

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 3rd

I HEARD YOU SAY AT ONE STAGE IN THE RACE THAT ‘WE HAVE A GOOD CAR AFTER TEN LAPS’, SO IT JUST TOOK A LITTLE BIT TO GET THAT THING GOING.

“We were a little bit tight here, a little bit loose there. But, man, what a great team. Thank you to Chip Ganassi, Rob Kauffman, Felix Sabates. I’m the happiest guy in the world. I got to drive 200 mph today, pass some cars, felt the energy of the race car, and just to be out here and have a job. Thank you to Monster Energy and Chevrolet. I miss you race fans. We didn’t have you here, but I felt you through the camera. Thank you to FOX and NASCAR for making this happen.”

 

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th

“Had a slow start for sure, it was nice to get our NAPA Chevy back driving decent there at the end. Hate that we were so far in left field to start the race, but really proud of the effort. Pit stops were fantastic and the adjustments were really good. The track kept changing and we were able to kind of keep up with things and finally get caught back up to a decent place at the end. Hopefully we have something really good to build off of on Wednesday. Heard that was our best run at Darlington, so that’s good! Hopefully Wednesday is a few spots better.”

 

“Thought NASCAR did a great job of executing today in a safe manner. It was a good atmosphere, in my opinion. The lack of people is certainly a weird vibe, but I think from execution and them (NASCAR) doing a really good job of keeping everybody safe and trying to execute the first race back was very well done. Looking forward to Wednesday, like I said, just excited to be back racing. It was a fun day, it was a fun vibe. I loved the atmosphere and the fact that we didn’t practice, I thought it was really cool. I think it had zero percent effect on the race winner today. Hopefully we can kind of make this a trend and get back to our roots. It reminded me a lot of short track racing, which I think is a lot of fun. Looking forward to Wednesday.”

 

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th

“Well, we’re officially back to racing, and it felt great. Our first day back in the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet was a little rough around the edges at times, but starting out in the 29^th spot and racing our way into the top five in about the first 125 laps was just an outstanding kick off our race. It felt like we were bouncing right back from our good momentum that we had at Phoenix Raceway before this break. It was a hot, slick track for sure today, which I love, but we also saw the track change quite a bit. Our No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet was really good and took off so well at the start of the race, that it was tough to adjust on it throughout the day. We really needed to though as the track changed, so that’s something I think we can look to improve on for Wednesday’s race, since we know how much the lanes could change during a race now. It was a wild day for us though. We had that piece of debris come off the wall and stick our splitter, which slowed one of our stops as we tried to get it all off. That caused a slight pit road miscue with a tire, which sent us to the tail of the line and forced us to fight back from 29^th one more time. We never gave up, and all in all, it was a great day. A seventh-place finish is a great way to come back, and we’ll look to build momentum from here. Good news is, we get to come back Wednesday night and try to finish seven spots better.”

 

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 SYMBICORT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th

“First off, I want to start off by saying good job NASCAR. That was awesome to be able to pull off a race like that here in Darlington. This place is awesome, I love this track. It can be so frustrating and so fun at the same time. Position 11; we had a really fast car there at the end. We ran the 42 (Matt Kenseth) down from way back. We didn’t have enough time, messed around there too much early in that last run.”

 

“Man, that was fun. The 8 car was amazing; really fast today also. So, I think we can look at both of our setups and learn something, and kind of mix between the two. Thank you to everyone from Symbicort and all our partners. Once again, thank you NASCAR for coming back and being successful. This was cool. I miss the fans, for sure. I was worried it wasn’t going to feel like a race, but when you put the helmet on and get in the car, it was a race. It was nice to be out there racing against all those guys. It was a good one. Thank you to everyone that helped put this on.”

 

TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 19th

"My Germain Racing guys did a good job today and prepared a solid race car to bring here to Darlington. It's not easy to just unload and have your first lap on the track, be the first lap of the race, but it is a pure testament to their hard work at the shop. Our GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE was way too tight for two-thirds of the race, but Matt (Borland) and I kept working on it to make the handling pretty good by the end. We as a team worked through the frustration in the beginning and kept building on it. I'm happy to get a top-20 finish to kick off this stretch and now we will look forward to Wednesday night."

 

RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th

“Overall, it was a solid day for our Cottonelle Chevy. We’ve been in a little bit of a hole to start out the season for reasons we weren’t able to control, but this is a positive step forward. We were able to get some stage points and run towards the front, just had a few pit stops that didn’t go our way. We’re a team and we’re moving forward together. We know we have the speed, just need to put everything together. Starting on the pole this Wednesday is going to be really fun. I’m very grateful for all of our frontline workers, everyone at the shop, and our NASCAR industry as a whole for rallying together to be able to safely get us back on the racetrack. We definitely miss the fans but hope that having our sport live on TV fills the gap until we can safely have everyone back at the racetrack.

 

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA ‘COLOR OF THE YEAR’ CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 35th

“We had such a fast car today. We just had a vibration that kept getting worse and the wheel finally came loose. I really appreciate me team sticking with it today and for all the hard work they have put in to unload with such a fast Axalta Chevy. Good thing we can rally and do it all again on Wednesday. We’ll be ready.”

 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined in crash on lap 89; Finished 38th

YOU HAD A LIGHTNING-FAST 48 CAR TODAY. WAS THERE ANYTHING DIFFERENT OFF OF TURN TWO THAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE OVER THERE?

“Gosh, what I would do to get that corner back to do it over again. Coming to the end of the stage, I was just trying to make sure I got a good run off of turn two. I felt like I was going to be able to exit the corner side-by-side with him, things just went horribly wrong there. What a great car, I feel terrible for my team and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I’m very thankful for Ally and all of their support. We have great race cars and things are coming in the right direction, just unfortunate that things didn’t really turn out there off of turn two.”

 

“Man, that hurts, what a bummer. There’s a race in a few days and we’ll be back. Stuff happens, it’s racing. The good news is that the 48 is fast, my team is on it, and my Camaro is fast. We have great support from Ally and great support from my fans. This will sting a little on the drive home, there’s no doubt. But I will use this and learn from it. I will be back Wednesday and then it’s on.”

 

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined in crash on lap 1; Finished 40th

“Not really sure what to say there about our first lap, first corner. Pretty embarrassing for myself, our team. My crew guys, I feel awful for them. They put a lot of hard work into getting our cars ready and coming all the way down here to Darlington. I put myself in a bad spot there. The 32 (Corey LaJoie) looked like he had to check up and I put myself on the inside of him. Just put ourselves in a bad spot and ended our race before it ever started. I’m looking forward to getting back here on Wednesday to try and put a better run together, and put this behind us.”