Archive for September, 2024

CHASE BRISCOE WINS SOUTHERN 500 AND CLINCHES FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT

Posted on: September 3rd, 2024
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DARLINGTON, SC – September 3, 2024 – Chase Briscoe won Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, clinching the final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Ford will enter the playoffs with six drivers and four different organizations in the 16-driver playoffs, the most of any manufacturer.

“Congratulations to Tony, Gene, Richard, Chase, and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing on the race win at Darlington,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Richard and Chase were fast in qualifying and maintained that speed throughout the race. Chase and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing earned this one, what an incredible final restart for the #14 car.”

“Man, everybody knows I’m a diehard Tony Stewart fan and to get this 14 car back in Victory Lane and for all 320-something employees, to be able to race for a championship in their final year, it’s unbelievable. God is just so good. It’s like deja vu again with Kyle with the Xfinity race here in 2020. Obviously, I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to do it, but I just can’t thank HighPoint.com enough, Mahindra Tractors, Rush Truck Centers, Renai, everybody that makes this deal go around. We’ll go to Atlanta and try to steal another one,” commented Briscoe.

Three Ford Performance drivers started Sunday night’s race from the top-10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in P3, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P7, and Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing’s Chris Buescher in P10. After an accident on lap 2, the race remained caution-free until the end of Stage 1. Chase Briscoe held onto his third-place position to finish the first stage and finished Stage 2 in 2nd. The end of the race came down to a battle between Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson. A multi-car wreck on lap 344 brought out the final caution of the race. On the restart, Chase Briscoe was first on the outside, Kyle Larson was second inside, and Kyle Busch was the first car with new tires inside on the fourth row. After a strong restart, Chase Briscoe pulled away from the field with Kyle Busch behind him. Briscoe held off Kyle Busch on the final lap, finishing .361-seconds in front of second place.

Two Ford Performance drivers finished in the top 10 along with Briscoe: RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in P6 and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P8.

Chase Briscoe advances to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with this weekend’s win along with five other Ford drivers: RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (Darlington 1), Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (WWTR), Team Penske’s Joey Logano (Nashville), Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (Iowa and Pocono), and Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton (Daytona 2).

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Darlington on Saturday. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer finished in P2.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, GA. This weekend marks three races remaining in the regular Xfinity Series season and the start of the Cup Series playoffs.

39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 468 WINS – 434 POLES

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

JOEY LOGANO WINS AT ATLANTA AND ADVANCES TO ROUND OF 12

Posted on: September 9th, 2024
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HAMPTON, GA – September 9, 2024 – Joey Logano won Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, advancing to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 12. The victory marks Ford’s third straight victory and Logano’s second of the season, not including his All-Star race win.

“Congratulations to Roger, Tim, Paul, Joey and everyone at Team Penske on the race win at Atlanta,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “All three of Team Penske’s cars were fast and raced well together throughout the race to secure valuable playoff points and Logano’s win.”

“We didn’t (advance out of the first round) last year and it hurt a lot, but they just give me really fast cars on superspeedways and we always find ourselves towards the front of them, we just end up wrecking more times than not. So, to be able to finally capitalize on a fast race car and win here in Atlanta again, I lived right over there in condo 805 for a long time, waking up dreaming of just racing on this racetrack, so pulling into Victory Lane here is always a special one. We had such a really good team here today,” commented Logano.

Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell started Sunday’s race from the pole position, completing an Atlanta sweep after winning the pole earlier in the season. Ford has now won the last four NASCAR Cup Series poles at Atlanta (Logano, Almirola, and McDowell twice), and had at least seven drivers qualify in the top-10 in each of the last four Atlanta races. Along with McDowell, six other Ford Performance drivers started in the top-10: Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P2, Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland in P3, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry in P4, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P5, Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P7, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in P10.

The first caution of the race came at the end of stage 1, and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney won under caution. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric led most of the second stage to take the stage win with teammate Ryan Blaney in P2. The end of the race came down to a battle between playoff drivers. As the drivers were approaching the start/finish line to take the white flag, a caution came out extending the race into overtime. During the overtime restart, Joey Logano picked the inside and Daniel Suarez decided on the outside, while both of their teammates restarted behind them. As the drivers came to the start/finish line to take the checkered flag after the two-lap shootout, several cars wrecked behind them, causing a multi-car accident. Joey Logano had the lead by over a car-length when NASCAR called the caution, winning the race and advancing to the playoffs Round of 12.

All three Team Penske cars finished in the top-10: Joey Logano in P1, Ryan Blaney in P3, and Austin Cindric in P10.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. AM Racing’s Lawless Alan finished P13 in his second Xfinity Series start.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.

39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 469 WINS – 435 POLES

*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images

Watkins Glen Paint Schemes

Posted on: September 13th, 2024
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CHRIS BUESCHER CAPTURES WIN AT WATKINS GLEN, MARKING 4-IN-A-ROW FOR FORD PERFORMANCE

Posted on: September 16th, 2024
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WATKINS GLEN, NY – September 16, 2024 – Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher won Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, completing a 4-in-a-row streak for Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines. This weekend’s win marked Buescher’s first win of the season, 143rd NASCAR Cup win for car owner Jack Roush, and sixth since the forming of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

“Congratulations to Jack, Brad, Scott, Chris, and everyone at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing on the race win at Watkins Glen,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “What an incredible drive and finish by Chris Buescher. The No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team worked their way to the front of the field for the win at the Glen.”

“That’s such a good BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang. This team is so great. Our long run speed was just phenomenal. I thought we lost it there on that last one and to stay right there with him. That was the spot he was better than us and he missed it, so I tried a crossover. He went to cut and just hard racing there. It’s just such an awesome finish. To be that good for so much at the end of the race, all race, to get a win is good. We came here to be a spoiler and we’re gonna do that,” commented Buescher.

Sunday’s race marked the first time that Watkins Glen International has hosted a playoff race. Four Ford Performance drivers started from the top-10: Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P5, Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P7, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson in P9, and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell in P10.

The action-packed race started with a crash just past the bus stop on lap 1, involving multiple playoff drivers. Several cars pitted before the end of the first stage, shaking up the finishing order. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe finished the stage in P3 along with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P5. An accident on lap 38 of 40 in the second stage caused it to end under caution with four Ford Performance drivers finishing in the top-10: Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P3, Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton in P6, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece in P7 and P9.

The final stage of the race was filled with action. With under 20 laps remaining, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher passed Joey Logano after turn one to take the lead. Shortly after, the caution flag came out for debris left on the track following an incident. With 7 laps remaining, a crash in turn 4 brought out a caution. With three laps to go, another caution was thrown after two cars collided just before the esses, causing the race to go into overtime. During the overtime restart, Shane Van Gisbergen passed Chris Buescher for the lead but became loose on entry to the bus stop chicane allowing Chris Buescher to close in on him with his No. 17 RFK Racing Ford. The two drivers made contact in the carousel, but Buescher surged ahead to make the race-winning pass, crossing the finish line 0.979 seconds ahead of Van Gisbergen.

Five Ford Performance drivers finished in the top-10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in P6, Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell in P7, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece in P9, and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P10.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Watkins Glen International on Saturday. Joey Logano, driving for AM Racing, finished in P9.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.