Archive for June, 2020

KESELOWSKI WINS AT BRISTOL WITH A NEVER-GIVE UP EFFORT

Posted on: June 2nd, 2020
Location: post

BRISTOL, TN – June 2, 2020 – Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 crew, with their never give up effort, won Sunday’s Food City Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. This marked the fifth win of the NASCAR Cup season for Ford Performance and Team Penske’s 75th all-time Cup win with Ford.
“Congratulations to Brad, Jeremy, Roger, and the entire Team Penske organization,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “What an exciting finish. Once again, the teams put themselves in position to win and the Ford Mustang’s came away with a 1-2 finish with Brad and Clint {Bowyer}. Congratulations to Roger and his team on 75 wins with Ford. It’s great to be back to racing and delivering exciting finishes for the fans.”
It looked like the wild, wild west at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. With 2-laps remaining, race leaders Joey Logano and Chase Elliott made contact and collided with the outside wall, leaving an opening at the bottom of the track for a well-positioned No. 2 Ford Mustang to take advantage of the track position and take the lead. Keselowski was followed by the No. 14 of Bowyer from Stewart-Haas Racing to make it a 1-2 finish for Ford Performance.
Keselowski now has 32 all-time points Cup Series career wins and is tied with fellow Team Penske teammate Logano and former Roush Fenway Racing driver, Carl Edwards with 23 NASCAR Cup Series wins since joining Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines.

“An incredible day. I’m so happy for the team,” commented Keselowski. “This was a never-give-up effort. That’s what we’re becoming as a team. We kind of got a Christmas present here in Bristol. We’ll take it. We’re in position and able to strike when it counted with the Discount Tire Ford Mustang. We were just in position to strike and here we are in victory lane.”
Keselowski started from the pole position to lead a total of 115 laps of the 500-lap race and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney led 60 laps until retiring after an incident with Ty Dillon. In addition, Matt DiBenedetto from Wood Brother’s Racing led four laps and Logano led two laps.
With the 1-2, Keselowski – Bowyer finish, Ford continues to lead the Manufacturer Standings by 25 points. In addition, Stewart-Haas Racing (370 points) and Team Penske (346 points) continue to lead the Owner Standings.
Monday night, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Cheddar’s 300, it all came down to a green-white-checkered finish for Chase Briscoe. He raced Noah Gragson hard off the restart, but ultimately finished the night second. In addition, Briscoe secured a position to run for an extra $100,000 in Atlanta this upcoming weekend.

Briscoe and Stewart-Haas Racing continue to lead the Driver Standings and Owner Standings in points.
NASCAR will head to Atlanta, Georgia later on this week, where the Xfinity Series will run the EchoPark 250 on Saturday and the Cup Series will run the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500.

27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 386 WINS – 357 POLES!

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines 
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races

HARVICK WINS AND SECURES FORD’S FOURTH WIN IN A ROW AT ATLANTA

Posted on: June 8th, 2020
Location: post

HAMPTON, GA – June 8, 2020 – Kevin Harvick delivered a special birthday present to crew chief Rodney Childers by winning Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. This was Ford’s fourth win in a row at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“Four in a row at Atlanta! What an accomplishment for everyone at Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines. Congratulations to Kevin, Rodney, Tony, Gene and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “No practice nor qualifying has definitely been an adjustment for all of us, and to see Stewart-Haas and other Ford Performance teams run well is a testament to all the hard work of the entire team.”
This abrasive track paired with hot and humid weather made for a great race Sunday afternoon. Tires were crucial to all the competitors on track, putting pressure on the pit crews to get their drivers off pit road first. “We had a great pit stop (during the last caution), then we had a restart on the bottom, and it got my car to take off,” said Harvick. “I was able to get track position and then once I could get through those first 10 laps and my car was freed up enough to where I could get into rhythm and really started hitting my marks.”
Atlanta has always been a special place for Harvick, as he scored his very first NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2001. Harvick has led a total of 1,348 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the most among active drivers. Throughout Sunday’s race, Fox Sports broadcasters’ mentioned “Harvicking”, referencing Kevin’s unique driving style around this challenging track.

Harvick paid tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. by holding three fingers out the window after crossing the finish line. “This is just a racetrack that I’ve taken a liking to, and you always come back and have those memories and now you want to celebrate everything that Dale Earnhardt did for this sport,” commented Harvick.
Harvick started from P9 and led a race-high 151 of the 325 laps. All three Team Penske Mustangs finished inside the top-10. Ryan Blaney finished in P4, Brad Keselowski in P9, and Joey Logano in P10. Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang also led three times for 58 laps but pitted late in the race and finished outside the top-10.
With Harvick’s second win of the season, he retains the top spot in the driver points standings and maintains the owner standings lead for Stewart-Haas Racing. Logano currently sits second just 48 points out and Keselowski is forth, 75 points out of the lead. Ford leads all manufactures with six wins this season, four of those races since NASCAR returned to action May 17th.
The Xfinity series also took on Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. Austin Cindric jumped out to an early lead and finished Stage 1 nearly nine seconds ahead of Ross Chastain. Stage 2 was all about the Mustangs, Cindric took Stage 2 checkered flag with Chase Briscoe in P2. During the final stage late race pit stop, both Briscoe and Cindric were penalized for speeding on pit road. Both Ford drivers came up through the field with purpose, Briscoe finishing P9 and Cindric P16.

Briscoe in the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing machine maintained the top spot in driver points and Cindric in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford is sixth, just 55 points behind.
The NASCAR Cup Series will make a quick turnaround for Wednesday night racing at Martinsville Speedway, then down to Homestead-Miami Speedway for some Sunday afternoon action. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run the first double-header of 2020 this upcoming weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway with two races in two days, running the same car and engine.

27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 387 WINS – 357 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines 
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races

BRISCOE WINS AT HOMESTEAD

Posted on: June 15th, 2020
Location: post

Homestead, FL – June 15, 2020 – Chase Briscoe persevered to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, recording his third win of the 2020 season, and marking Doug Yates’ 450th career race win as an engine builder.
“Congratulations to Chase, Greg, Tony, Gene, and the No. 98 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Chase showed his maturity and skill as a driver. His patience and persistence paid off at the end of the race. It’s great to see these young drivers competing for race wins.”
After finishing in seventh place on Saturday, in the Hooters 250, Briscoe had something to prove on Sunday afternoon. Briscoe and substitute crew chief Greg Zipadelli kept refining their strategy throughout the race, putting themselves in position to win during the last few laps of the race, as the No. 98 cut into race leader Noah Gragson’s lead.

With just a few laps to go, a late race caution came out and Briscoe followed Gragson into the pits for fresh tires. The No. 98 crew made a ‘money stop’ to give Briscoe the lead out of the pits, over Gragson. Briscoe controlled the restart, but a crash on the first lap caused a second caution and the race went into double over-time. The No. 98 had a killer second restart to take the lead and defend a hard-charging Brandon Jones to the checkered flag, crossing the finish-line .072-seconds in front of Jones.
“It is a testament to all the guys at Stewart-Haas Racing” Briscoe commented. “Happy to get Ford Performance Racing School back in victory lane. HighPoint.com all of our partners. We have a good run going so far and we are looking to win a bunch more.”
Ford Performance teammate, Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang also had a great weekend, finishing P2 on Saturday and P10 at the conclusion of Sunday’s race.
The NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 was delayed multiple times for weather on Sunday afternoon. The Ford Mustangs led a total of 98 laps. Ryan Blaney led the Fords with a total of 70-laps and finished P3, Ford Performance teammate Aric Almirola finished P5, and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski finished P10.
NASCAR heads to Talladega SuperSpeedway for Father’s Day weekend. The Xfinity series will race Saturday night, June 20th and the Cup series will take to the track Sunday afternoon, June 21st.

27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 388 WINS – 357 POLES!

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines 
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races

BLANEY WINS BACK-TO-BACK RACES AT TALLADEGA

Posted on: June 23rd, 2020
Location: post

Lincoln, AL – June 23, 2020 – Ryan Blaney wins the Geico 500 by 0.007 of a second in a thrilling overtime finish at Talladega Superspeedway! This win marks Ford’s and Roush Yates Engines’ ninth win out of the last ten races and Blaney’s second win in a row at NASCAR’s largest track.
“What a finish! Winning at Talladega is always special to my family and the entire Roush Yates organization,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Congratulations to Ryan, Todd, Roger and the entire No. 12 team. To have all three Team Penske drivers win a race and to be in playoff position is a great accomplishment. It’s a testament to all their hard work.”
Rain showers pushed back the Geico 500 to a Monday afternoon shootout, but just 57 laps in, the rain halted the race. After nearly an hour rain delay, the drivers were called back to their cars. The green flag waved and all three Team Penske Ford Mustangs and its Wood Brothers affiliate dominated the middle portion of the race and remained in control entering the final stage.

With laps winding down in the final stage, many drivers were asked to save fuel to make it to the end, until there was a late race caution that gave some teams the break they needed to make it to the checkered flag. Ryan Blaney lined up first with Kevin Harvick in second and Chris Buescher third. Blaney described the moment as “just biding your time and hoping you saved enough.”
The last two laps were filled with lane changes, bumps and runs! Harvick took the white flag with Buescher and Blaney on his rear bumper. Coming into turn three, there was a multiple car wreck mid-pack, but the leaders were still racing to the finish. Blaney dove down into turn four and got the lead while the field behind him was three-wide. Blaney used the entire width of the racetrack to maintain the top spot. The No. 12 Ford Mustang crossed the line first, ahead of a hard charging Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“I’m really proud of this whole Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang team,” commented Blaney. “It’s been a cool year so far and I’m really excited to get our first win of the year at a cool place.”
Five Fords finished inside the top ten with Aric Almirola spinning across the finish line in P3, Buescher P6, John Hunter Nemechek in P8, and Kevin Harvick in P10. Fast Fords led a race high of 104 of the 191 laps and maintain the manufacture points lead with seven wins in the 2020 season.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series also took on the high banks of Talladega this past weekend for the Unhinged 300. Austin Cindric drove a clean, impressive race and finished P4. Chase Briscoe won stage two, but unfortunately suffered crash damage and finished P18. Briscoe sits second and Cindric sits third in driver points standings.

NASCAR heads to Pocono Raceway for a triple-header this weekend. The Cup series will race Saturday afternoon, June 27th and return to the track on Sunday, June 28th with the Xfinity Series for back-to-back races.

27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 389 WINS – 357 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines 
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races

What You Need To Know About Pocono _ Let’s Do It Again

Posted on: June 25th, 2020
Location: post

LONG POND, PA – June 25, 2020 – A doubleheader is on tap for the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend at Pocono Raceway with a 325-mile race scheduled for Saturday and a 350-mile event on Sunday.  In addition, the NASCAR RV & Gander Outdoors Truck Series (Saturday) and NASCAR XFINITY Series (Sunday) will also be in action.  Here’s a look at some of  the highlights heading into Pocono.

FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT POCONO

  • Ford has 23 all-time series wins at Pocono.
  • The last two Ford wins at Pocono have been by first-time series winners – Chris Buescher (2016) and Ryan Blaney (2017).
  • Bill Elliott got Ford’s first series win at Pocono in 1985 (season sweep).

FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT POCONO

  • Ford is the first manufacturer with multiple Pocono wins in the series.
  • Ford has 2 victories in 4 all-time series starts.
  • Those victories have been by Brad Keselowski (2017) and Cole Custer (2019).

FORD IN THE GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT POCONO

  • Ford has 1 series win at Pocono (Ryan Blaney, 2013).
  • Ben Rhodes has one series pole (2017).
  • This will mark the 11th series race at the track.

SEVEN AND COUNTING…
Ryan Blaney’s Cup victory yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway continued Ford’s dominance at the track and increased its win total to a manufacturer-best seven this season.  Ford, which has won 9 of the last 10 NCS races at Talladega, has now seen all three Team Penske drivers win at least once as the series heads to Pocono Raceway.  Ford also holds down the top three spots in the point standings as Kevin Harvick holds a 23-point lead over second-place Joey Logano and 25 points over Blaney in third.  Ford also extended its lead in the manufacturer standings to 32 points after 13 races this season.

BLANEY GETS FIRST CUP VICTORY
Ryan Blaney earned his first NASCAR Cup Series two years ago at Pocono Raceway, giving the Wood Brothers their 99th all-time series win.  Blaney held off Kevin Harvick over the final seven laps to win the Pocono 400 after overcoming a loose wheel only 19 laps into the event.  He found himself in position to win after the caution came out with 19 laps to go.  Kyle Busch opted to stay out while all of the other contenders behind him pitted, including Blaney who got four fresh tires and restarted fourth.  A major battle between Busch and Blaney resulted, but the newer tires proved to be too much as Blaney eventually got by with nine laps to go.  He couldn’t breathe easily, however, as Harvick started to reel him in, but could never pull alongside to challenge.

ELLIOTT SWEEPS IN 1985
Ford reached victory lane at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time on June 9, 1985 when Bill Elliott beat Harry Gant to win the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500.  Elliott was able to pass Gant with 11 laps remaining, shortly after a restart, to claim Ford’s first win at the facility.  Elliott, who also started on the pole, was helped by four cautions over the final 25 laps and won for the sixth time as he led 32 of the 200 circuits.  It marked the front end of what would eventually be a season sweep for Elliott at Pocono as he won a few weeks later on July 21.

KULWICKI’S FINAL WIN
Nobody knew it at the time, but when Alan Kulwicki won the Champion Spark Plug 500 on June 14, 1992 it marked the final victory of his career.  Kulwicki, who was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last week, passed Bill Elliott with 11 laps remaining to cap a day that saw 15 cars drop out before the checkered flag flew, including 11 engine failures.  In a precursor to what happened a few months later at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kulwicki and Elliott battled down the stretch as they exchanged the lead multiple times over the final 25 laps.  Kulwicki passed Elliott for the top spot on lap 181, but traffic slowed him down to the point that five laps later the two swapped positions.  Mark Martin made it a three-way battle, but Kulwicki ultimately prevailed as he got by both drivers on lap 190 and never looked back.  Kulwicki, who won five series races overall, went on to win the championship later that year over fellow Ford drivers Elliott and Davey Allison.

WALLACE HOT STREAK
Rusty Wallace was in his first season with Ford after car owner Roger Penske decided to switch from Pontiac for the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series season.  That decision paid immediate dividends as Wallace went on to win eight times that year, including the UAW-GM Teamwork 500 at Pocono on June 12.  The victory, his second straight in a streak that eventually grew to three with another triumph at Michigan a few days later, was a dramatic one as he passed Dale Earnhardt on the final lap.   The two waged a major battle as Earnhardt grabbed the lead with five laps to go, only to see Wallace fight back after the white flag flew to win by 0.28 seconds.

BIFFLE SNAPS DROUGHT
When Greg Biffle won the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2010 it snapped a 65-race winless drought and gave Ford its first win of the season.  Biffle found himself next to Sam Hornish Jr. on the front row of a restart with 20 laps to go and after he was able to gain the lead through the tunnel turn, he never looked back and ended up beating Tony Stewart to the finish line by more than three seconds.  The win was the first of two for Biffle that season as he also took the checkered flag at Kansas two months later.

FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1988 – Bill Elliott (2)
1989 – Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott
1990 – Geoffrey Bodine (2)
1992 – Alan Kulwicki (1)
1994 – Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
1995 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1996 – Rusty Wallace (2)
1997 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1998 – Jeremy Mayfield (1)
2000 – Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace
2001 – Ricky Rudd (1)
2002 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2005 – Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2010 – Greg Biffle (2)
2016 – Chris Buescher (2)
2017 – Ryan Blaney (1)

FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
2017 – Brad Keselowski
2019 – Cole Custer

FORD GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
2013 – Ryan Blaney

*Courtesy Ford Performance

HARVICK and BRISCOE WIN AT POCONO

Posted on: June 29th, 2020
Location: post

Long Pond, PA – June 29, 2020 – Kevin Harvick won the Pocono Organics 325 on Saturday, earning his third race win of the season and first career win at Pocono Raceway. Stewart-Haas Racing recorded their 22nd Cup win since rejoining Ford Motor Co. while Harvick leads the organization with 17 Ford wins. Stewart-Haas teammate Chase Briscoe also scored a victory, winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 race Sunday afternoon.
“Pocono is a special place for Roush Yates Engines,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It’s the track we had our first win with the Ford FR9 engine, back in 2010 with Greg Biffle and now Kevin, Rodney and the No. 4 team have delivered its 208th overall win. Congratulations to Tony, Gene and the Stewart-Haas teams on a great weekend, winning two races with Kevin and Chase is a testament to all the teams’ determination and focus.”
The NASCAR Cup race came down to a gutsy pit strategy call on lap 94 by Rodney Childers. Harvick followed Stewart-Haas teammate Aric Almirola down pit road as Childers made the call for two tires verses the four that Almirola needed with a splash of fuel. This allowed Harvick to exit the pits in front of Almirola. After all the pit stops cycled through, Harvick became the race leader. Harvick was then faced with holding off a hard charging Denny Hamlin to take the checkered flag .761 ahead of the No. 11 Hamlin.
“I knew when we came out of the pits and they told me how big of a lead we had. I saw the 11 come out of the pits and he was in second,” commented Harvick. “I knew that the tire gap was going to be a little less. He caught us a little in traffic, but I knew I could be pretty patient with the gap we had. Just a great call by Rodney Childers and all the guys on the pit box for having the right strategy and getting us to victory lane.”
It was a day dominated by the Ford blue oval with six Ford Mustangs finishing in the top-10 and leading a combined 106-laps out of the 130-lap race.

The Stage two winner, Almirola drove a great race leading a race high 62 laps and finishing P3, Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Clint Bowyer finished P7, Front Row Motorsports’, Michael McDowell finished P8 while Team Penske’s, Brad Keselowski finished P9 and Roush Fenway Racing’s, Chris Buescher rounded out the top-10 in P10.
In day two of the first ever NASCAR Cup doubleheader at Pocono Raceway, Harvick came up just short of pulling off back-to-back wins, coming in second to Hamlin. Four Ford Mustangs finished in the top-10 and led 49 of 140-lap race. Harvick P2 followed by Almirola P5, Matt DiBenedetto P6 and Bowyer P8.
Ford leads all manufacturers with a total of eight wins out of 15 races. Three Ford drivers are on top of the driver points leader board. Harvick leads the way with Team Penske teammates, Ryan Blaney in second and Keselowski in third.
Chase Briscoe followed in Harvick’s footsteps, putting the second Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang in victory lane, winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 with crew chief Greg Zipadelli. Briscoe scored his fourth win of the season and now leads the driver points standings with a three-point lead over Noah Gragson.
Briscoe was leading the race when his left rear tire went down. With an incredible recovery, he saved it and took the No. 98 back to the pits for four fresh tires. Briscoe drove to the front to take the lead on lap 83 only to have the 9th caution of the day come out. Briscoe would line up on the outside of Ross Chastain in a two-lap overtime finish. Chastain got the jump on the restart, but Briscoe would not be denied and drove to the left rear of Chastain in Turn 2 to make his move and pass Chastain on the inside to take the lead. The No. 98 Ford Mustang checked out and had a 1.015 gap to Chastain at the finish.
“We were really not that good at the beginning,” commented Briscoe. “We kind of struggled and didn’t have the speed I really anticipated us to have here, and then Zippy and the guys just kept working on it and kept getting it better and better. We had the lead there after I sped on pit road and I was a little worried, but, fortunately, a lot of the good cars got tore up, so that made it a little bit easier to get back through the field. And then me and Ross, it was pretty fun. He’s always one of the hardest guys to race against and pass, and just really cool to get HighPoint.com here in Victory Lane. This is their home track. We’re halfway to eight, so hopefully we can keep going.”
Stage 1 winner, Austin Cindric also drove a great race until an accident in Stage 3 took him out of the race, finishing P29 overall.
NASCAR heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend. The Xfinity series will start everything off on July 4th with the first-ever NASCAR road course event at Indy and then the Cup series will cap things off with the 27th running of the Brickyard 400 on July 5th.

 

27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 391 WINS – 357 POLES!

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines 
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.

Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and Ford Mustang 5.2L V8 engine, used in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.

3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races