NASCAR Unveils 2022 Next-Gen Car

 

Next Gen Car Looks

• The Next Gen car has given manufacturers greater latitude to incorporate features into the race car body that better replicate the look and feel of the street car.
• A sleek new design has lowered the greenhouse, shortened the deck lid and widened the track width of the car giving it more of a coupe look.
• The body is fully symmetrical which will reduce aerodynamic forces and put an emphasis back on race car setup and driver control. The new composite material is more durable and will allow more beating and banging without loss of performance.
• New 18" forged aluminum wheels and wider Goodyear tires better replicate what is found on passenger cars and will allow for softer tire compounds.

 

 

Next Gen Car Components

• Upgraded specs to match modern passenger vehicle technology including independent rear suspension, rack and pinion steering and larger brakes.
• A new transaxle combines the transmission and rear gears into one package with an eye on the future - the ability to incorporate electrification.
• The bottom of the car is sealed with an underwing and rear diffuser which will help with handling in traffic and reduce "dirty air."
• Hood louvers will allow teams to maximize engine performance independent of aerodynamics.
• A redesigned chassis features new front and rear bumpers for increased safety. Both the front and rear clips bolt on to the center section for easier serviceability and damage repair.
• Upgraded car connectivity will allow for an in-car camera in every vehicle, with the ability to bring fans more real-time data in the future.

 

 

Next Gen Car Specs

 

Length:                                         193.4”

Width:                                          78.6”

Height:                                         50.4”

Wheelbase:                                 110”

Weight:                                        ~ 3,300 lbs

Spoiler:                                         TBD*

Body:                                            Composite symmetric body featuring integral flap systems, camera mounts and OEM-specific design elements

Underwing:                                 Full carbon undertray w/center stepped splitter and rear diffuser

Chassis:                                        Steel tubing w/bolt-on front and rear clips and front/rear bumpers

Transaxle:                                    5-speed manual sequential with ramp and plate differential

Suspension (Front and rear):  Double wishbone billet aluminum control arms w/adjustable coil over shock absorbers

Steering:                                      Rack and pinion

Wheels:                                        18” x 12” forged aluminum

Tires:                                             Goodyear Eagle

Brakes:                                         Six piston monobloc front calipers / four piston monobloc rear calipers – heavy duty and light duty disc packages

Front Brake Rotors:                   15”

Rear Brake Rotors:                    14”

Engine displacement:               358 cu in

Induction system:                     Naturally aspirated

Fuel system:                               Fuel injection

Oil system:                                  Dry sump

Horsepower:                               TBD*

Engine cooling:                           Air exits radiator through hood louvers

Exhaust:                                       Split-side exit exhaust

Fuel cell:                                      ~20 gallons (Sunoco Green E15)

 

* Race package elements to be finalized based on track type and size

 

 

Next Gen Car Vendors

 

Aero Tec Laboratories, Inc.                                 Fuel cell bladder

AP Racing Limited                                                 Brake systems

Bald Spot Sports                                                    Energy management solutions (bumper and door foam)

BBS of America, Inc.                                             Wheels

Dallara                                                                      Radiator ducts

Fibreworks Composites, LLC                               Deck lid, hood, rockerbox cooling ducts, underwing

Five Star Race Car Bodies                                    Doors, fenders, front/rear bumper covers, fuel adapter, quarter panels, rear door crush panel, rear wheel tubs, windows

Goodyear                                                                Tires

Hyperco                                                                   Springs

Kirkey Racing Fabrication                                    Bumpers

Lentus Composites Limited                                 Propshaft

McLaren                                                                  Digital dash, ECU

Ohlins USA, Inc.                                                     Dampers

Pro-Fabrication, Inc.                                             Tailpipes

PWR North America                                             Oil cooler, radiator

RCR Manufacturing Solutions, LLC                    Wheel nut

Roush Advanced Composites                            Greenhouse, brake ducts (upright / rotor), front door crush panels, front wheel exhaust cover, package tray, roof hatch, roof flaps, spoiler base

Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions             Anti-roll bars, shifter, transaxle mounts, uprights / wheel hubs

Schultz Engineered Products                             Fuel adaptor / coupler

Sunoco                                                                     Fuel

Technique Chassis, LLC                                        Chassis: front / center / rear, body mounts

Thermal Control Products                                  Fixed window net / driver window net / assemblies

Tilton Engineering, Inc.                                        Bell housing

Visser Precision, LLC                                             Control arms (front / rear)

Woodward Machine Corporation                     Steering rack, steering shaft

Xtrac Inc.                                                                 Clutch shaft, driveshafts, transaxle

Hendrick Motorsports driver quotes for Darlington

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Darlington Throwback scheme: “Every year when the throwback race comes around, you try to think of past NASCAR paint schemes, so it was really cool that Hendrick Motorsports and Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) allowed me to throwback to my first go-kart. My dad picked out the paint scheme when I was racing and, as a kid, I always wanted something different. Now as I have gotten older, I appreciate that he kept our cars looking consistent with the orange and the white until we got new sponsors. So, it’s cool to have the orange and white with the faded blues for Darlington.”

Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on rules package for Darlington: “There’s some notes from last year we’re going to try to pull from, but it’s so different with the aero and horsepower package. All three races last year were the high drag, high downforce and low horsepower package. Coming back this weekend with no practice and the low downforce-high horsepower package is a completely different ballgame. There’s a fine balance between the drivability and turn you look for at Darlington that we’re hoping to achieve. We’ve dug into some historical notes and the trends from 2018, which is the last time we raced there with this aero and power package. It’s such a long race that we’ll just have to tune on the car as we progress through it.”


Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Darlington: “I enjoy Darlington. I am a performance guy so if it goes well, I probably liked it that trip and if it didn’t, then I probably don’t. Last year, I feel like we had a solid run and had a shot at it there at the end. Martin (Truex Jr.) and I ended up wrecking coming to the closing 10 laps for the lead. I was definitely playing defense, he was on me and was making a good run. So there’s room for improvement, obviously. You want to be fast enough where that guy behind you is nowhere close. That’s where I want to be and that’s how you want to position yourself at the end of those races, if you can. We can definitely be better, but I was pleased with our speed last year. We had some really good runs and were certainly solid, so we have something good to build off of.”

Elliott on coming to Darlington for Throwback weekend: “I think it’s such a great event. I’ve enjoyed the vibe around it and the throwback schemes are all pretty cool. We are looking forward to running the Alan Kulwicki Hooters paint scheme this year. I know Hooters has been excited to do this scheme for a while so it’s great to see it come to life.”


William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the difficulties of racing at Darlington: “Darlington is a track that is known for its old, worn-out surface and how hard it is on tires. You’re always elbows up at that place, but you also have to know when to press forward and when to manage your equipment so you’re not over taxing your tires. I’ve tried to manage that as best as I can, but that’s what makes Darlington such a tough track. It’s not an easy task while, at the same time, it’s easy to lose focus for a moment and that’s all it takes to end your day. Hopefully, this weekend we’ll have the setup we need, and then it’s up to me to get the most I can out of the Valvoline Chevy while making sure we’re around in the end of it.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what to expect at Darlington: “Darlington is a track that you race the race track more than anything. The track has an older surface, so it changes quite a bit throughout a run. It’s a place that you expect to be making changes to your setup almost constantly. Even if you feel like you have your car handling ideally at the time, you have to think and plan two steps ahead to keep up with the trends of the track and the race. That makes it difficult as a crew chief, though, because you don’t want to over adjust and get yourself behind early on. William has ran well in most of the races he’s been in at Darlington; we just need to work on putting him in position to be there at the end. Sunday is going to be a long race and we need to focus on running our race in the situation we’re in more than anything.”


Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his throwback scheme at Darlington: “Ally being open to doing whatever throwback I wanted to do this year was really cool. Being able to honor (crew chief) Greg (Ives) this weekend in Darlington is going to be really special. It was really fun being able to surprise him a few weeks ago and to have his family from back home involved was the icing on top. The seafoam Chevrolet will look good on track and even better up front on Sunday.”

Bowman on what makes Darlington a difficult track: “Darlington is one of those tracks where you can’t get caught up in racing the other guys. This is a place where you have to race the track and adjust your car to what you need on track. We ran well there last year and I think we have a good notebook to carry on to this weekend’s race. Tire management is key in Darlington and will be something to look after on Sunday.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing strategy at Darlington: “Going to 400 miles for this race at Darlington doesn’t really change any strategy. It maybe just changes how many laps are in the stage and how many laps you are going to run on tires. It is definitely grueling on the drivers, as well, with the heat that is expected down there in Darlington. It is definitely a fun racetrack, and I don’t know many drivers who don’t like racing down there. You end up racing the racetrack instead of racing the drivers at that place. Green-flag ;passes are going to be difficult with just how hard the racing is there. We are looking to getting down there with our throwback scheme. I know Alex (Bowman), Ally and everyone on the team is looking forward to Darlington.”

Chase Briscoe is 500/1 to win at Darlington Raceway

 

CHASE BRISCOE Darlington Advance No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Goodyear 400 (Round 12 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 9 ● Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway ● Layout: 1.366-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 293 laps/400.2 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 108 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Chase Briscoe is fresh off his fifth top-20 finish of the season as the HighPoint.com team heads to Darlington (S.C) Raceway for NASCAR Throwback Weekend. The No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang sheds its traditional blue-and-white livery to sport a tribute to legendary racer A.J. Foyt and the Copenhagen scheme from his 1986 NASCAR Cup Series season.   ● Like Briscoe, Texas-native Foyt began his career in the open-wheel racing world, making his first USAC Midgets start in Indiana in 1956. He quickly progressed to sprint cars and, in 1958, made his Indianapolis 500 debut. Foyt then competed in sportscar races, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans for Carroll Shelby’s team. His first taste of stock car racing came in the USAC Stock Car division, and after less than 10 years of professional racing under his belt, Foyt made his NASCAR debut. He claimed his first NASCAR win after just 10 starts, besting Bobby Isaac on the final lap of the 1964 Firecracker 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.   ● Foyt’s racing accomplishments stretch far and wide and include milestone achievements across several series and racing disciplines: 35 consecutive Indianapolis 500 starts; the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), a record that was since matched by Al Unser and Rick Mears. Seven USAC-sanctioned Indy car championships and 67 race wins. Seven NASCAR wins and 41 USAC stock car victories. The only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. ● Though still early into his racing career, 26-year-old Briscoe hasn’t been shy about making a name for himself. He became the youngest driver to win a 410 Sprint car race at age 13, surpassing a record set by Jeff Gordon. And just last May, in a Thursday-night NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington, Briscoe captured the attention of the sports world as he bested Kyle Busch in the first NASCAR event after a 10-week hiatus due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.   ● Coming off the 10-week hiatus, the NASCAR season was set to resume with the Xfinity Series race at Darlington on Tuesday, May 19, but a full day of rain forced the event to be postponed to Thursday. During the delay on Tuesday, Briscoe learned that his wife had suffered a miscarriage, and the driver returned to the track Thursday with the support of the industry and fans as he raced with a heavy heart. He started 11th for the 200-lap race around the 1.366-mile oval and ran consistently among the top-10 through the first 90 laps. A quick pit stop on lap 91 for four tires and fuel allowed Briscoe to restart in second place on lap 96. The driver from Mitchell, Indiana, promptly took the lead, pacing the field for the next 34 laps. A caution on lap 133 allowed Briscoe to pit one final time for fresh tires and fuel, and another lightning-fast stop put Briscoe in the lead for the lap-138 restart. This set up a battle between Briscoe and Busch, the winningest driver in Xfinity Series history with 96 career victories. Briscoe would not be denied, crossing the finish line first in a fender-scraping, tire-rubbing duel where the margin of victory was just .086 of a second. The win’s significance was amplified when Briscoe climbed from the car and dropped to his knees in prayer before giving a tear-filled interview.   ● When the Xfinity Series returned to Darlington in the fall, Briscoe started second and led six times for a race-high 55 laps before a spin on lap 118 forced him to the pits. He clawed his way back to finish 11th. It was just his third start at Darlington, his first coming in 2019, resulting in a sixth-place finish.   ● Briscoe leads the Cup Series Rookie of the Year standings by 58 points over Anthony Alfredo after 11 races. With Rookie of the Year honors in the Truck Series (2017) and Xfinity Series (2019), Briscoe is looking to join Erik Jones and William Byron as only the third driver in history to claim the title in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

It’s clear to see there has been some improvement with the No. 14 team over the last few weeks. As the person in the driver’s seat, do you agree? “We’ve been making baby steps. We have to crawl, then walk, then run. No practice while trying to learn each other and learn the car is taking some time. Each race we’ve been able to look back and see improvements we’ve made throughout the race that have led to top-10 speed at the end, but by that point we only have 50 to 100 laps to try to get back to the front. As I get more experience and learn what I need in the car, hopefully we can continue to make progress and shorten that learning curve each week. We aren’t where we want to be, but we’re trending in the right direction, so we’ll keep working with our teammates to see what we can learn. We’re constantly the second- or third-best car out of the four SHR teams, so we’ll try to keep that up.”   Has there been one thing that you can pinpoint as the key to that improvement? “The biggest thing is the experience and seat time. You can talk to teammates all you want and watch video but, until you get out there and do the real thing, it’s tough to know what you need to be doing or what you need the team to give you in the car. As I get more experience, I’ll get more comfortable with knowing what I need and that’s where the improvement will come from.”   For this weekend’s NASCAR Throwback race, your HighPoint.com Ford Mustang will carry a tribute to A.J. Foyt. What kind of impact did A.J. have on you as a young dirt racer seeking a path in the stock car world? “A.J. is obviously one of the most iconic names in racing. When you think of racing heroes, he is definitely on top of the list. I think he’s someone that most, if not all, drivers looked up to growing up. We all know I was always a diehard Tony Stewart fan and that was because he was willing to race anything, anywhere. And Tony looked up to A.J. for that same reason. He was one of the first guys to go run Indy, NASCAR, Sprint cars and Midgets. He just wanted to race and he was always competitive. For me, that was one thing I always admired and wanted to emulate.”   When people talk about A.J., they typically associate him with a specific track, which is Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s safe to say that’s the case when people talk about you, but the track most consistently mentioned is Darlington. Where does Darlington fit on your personal list of accomplishments? “Darlington will always be special to me. As far as recognition, that Darlington (NASCAR Xfinity Series) win (last May) has gotten me more recognition than any win I’ll ever have in my career – except for a Daytona 500, should that ever happen. That race changed my career path, but it isn’t my best track, by any means. There isn’t a feeling of knowing I’m going to run up front when I get there, but I enjoy it and I know it holds a lot of meaning for a lot of guys. It was certainly a big win for me and, to be able to say I raced Kyle Busch for a win to get that trophy, is something that I will never take for granted. Kyle is one of the best drivers to have come through NASCAR and I will always view that as an important win in my career.”

Kevin Harvick is +550 to win 2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington

 

Kevin Harvick won two of three Darlington races in 2020.

KEVIN HARVICK Darlington Advance No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

●  Event:  Goodyear 400 (Round 12 of 36) ●  Time/Date:  3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 9 ●  Location:  Darlington (S.C.) Raceway ●  Layout:  1.366-mile oval ●  Laps/Miles:  293 laps/400.2 miles ●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 108 laps ●  TV/Radio:  FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

●  Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, comes into the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway fresh off a second-place drive in the series’ last race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. Harvick stormed from seventh to second in a two-lap shootout to the finish to record his best result so far this season. It was his second straight top-five, as Harvick finished fourth in the prior race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He now has four top-fives and eight top-10s in the 11 races run thus far in 2021.   ●  Darlington is known as “The Track Too Tough To Tame” but Harvick has tamed the venerable 1.366-mile oval three times. The 44-year-old racer from Bakersfield, California, owns two Southern 500 victories (2014 and 2020) and one win in the track’s 400-mile race. In fact, Harvick enters Darlington with an impressive record – he hasn’t finished outside the top-five since 2017 and he hasn’t finished outside the top-10 since 2012. How long ago was that? “Gangnam Style” and its music video by South Korean singer Psy went viral in 2012, four years before the social media app TikTok became reality.   ●  That’s a long time, but not nearly as long as Darlington has been around. The 2021 season marks the track’s 71st anniversary, with the egg-shaped oval having hosted 119 NASCAR Cup Series races. The first came on Sept. 4, 1950 and it was the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt. Johnny Mantz drove his Plymouth to the win with an average speed of 75.250 mph and the race took 6 hours, 38 minutes and 40 seconds to complete. Juxtapose that with Harvick’s win in last September’s Southern 500. His Ford Mustang had an average speed of 132.256 mph and the race finished in 3 hours, 47 minutes and 26 seconds.   ●  COVID-19 stopped racing in its tracks last spring. After the checkered flag dropped March 8 at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR went on a 10-week hiatus as the world grappled with the scale of a pandemic not seen since the Spanish Flu of 1918-1919. NASCAR had to navigate a brave new world, and the sport was one of the first to return to action when racing resumed May 17 at Darlington. It was a welcome surprise, as one version of NASCAR’s hypothetical return featured a start date of Oct. 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a stretch of 30 races in 64 days that would wrap with three straight races at Phoenix… on Jan. 1-3 of 2021. In a time of great uncertainty, seeing sports’ return with NASCAR pacing the field proved both prideful and poignant. Harvick never let off the gas even as the season ground to a halt. He focused on all the little details that goes into wheeling a 3,400-pound racecar around tracks faster than 39 of his competitors. The result? After finishing second March 8 at Phoenix, Harvick one-upped that result by winning in NASCAR’s return to racing May 17 at Darlington. Eight more wins followed – a series-best and career-best for Harvick, all in his 20th year of NASCAR Cup Series racing.   ●  That win last May at Darlington was Harvick’s milestone 50th career NASCAR Cup Series victory. Harvick led 159 of the race’s 293 laps to secure his 11th straight season as a Cup Series winner. His career win total now stands at 59, tied with Kyle Busch for ninth on the all-time Cup Series win list. Next on the all-time win list is NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt with 76 victories.   ●  The Mobil 1 branding on Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Mustang goes more than skin deep, as the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand gives Harvick an added advantage. Mobil 1 products are used throughout his racecar and they extend beyond just engine oil. Power steering fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil and driveline lubricants from Mobil 1 give Harvick a technical advantage over his counterparts by reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance. Mobil 1 is a sponsor whose technology makes Harvick’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang faster.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang

Of the series-best nine races you won last year, which one resonated with you the most? “I would say the first race back at Darlington, just to be able to have that something back in your life that was somewhat normal after you literally just had the rug yanked out from underneath you. It was, OK, you can’t race anymore, and you don’t know when you’re going to race again. Being able to go back to the racetrack and go back to victory lane and get back to work was pretty much a relief. I think that was true for pretty much everybody. It showed the world that you could put on an event and it really kind of set the tone for a ton of sports as they moved forward.”   You touched on it a little bit – how important was it to be able to come back to a racetrack and put on a show and provide some entertainment and enjoyment for people who desperately needed it? “When you look at that particular race, everybody wanted to see what was happening. Everybody from Joe Girardi (former manager of the New York Yankees and current manager of the Philadelphia Phillies) – he was one of the people who texted me afterward, and he was really excited after the race and said that Major League Baseball was looking forward to seeing what happened and the process that went into it. They had some hope about getting back on the field. I know that a lot of folks at the White House were looking on and sent notes after the race saying, ‘You don’t know what that meant for our country and the sports world. To have something that wasn’t a Michael Jordan rerun or documentary that we could watch on TV that had something to do with sports that wasn’t a rerun from 1987 or this game from 1995.’ It was an actual live sports event that everybody could tune into and watch. It meant a lot, not only to the sports world, but to people who had been sitting at home for a long time that actually had something else to watch. It was an opportunity to showcase who we really are as a sport to people who may have never watched before.”   You had a strong start to last season. Four top-10s in the season’s first four races. You finished second in the fourth race at Phoenix and then COVID-19 shut the sport down for 10 weeks. How were you able to pick up right where you left off? “There’s a lot to be learned from that break, right? I think as you went to approach things, there were two ways to approach it. You could go, ‘Man, this sucks’ or ‘Man, I could get better.’ I think once we got through the first couple of weeks, the mentality of the whole situation was, ‘How could we get better?’ and I felt like when I got back in the racecar, I was better than I was when I got out of it originally in week four. So, I think our team and our company at Stewart-Haas Racing kind of took that same approach and it took a couple of weeks, but it was OK. We knew we were going to have a race season. It was a matter of how are we going to capitalize on this to be better than everyone else because of the situation? I think 2020 forever changed the sport and it definitely changed the way that I approach things, the way that I think about things, the way that our company thinks about things, the way the schedule looks, how many days we go to the racetrack. I mean, there’s just an endless amount of things that had to be done and that we had to try within our industry that will forever cement themselves in some way, shape or form in how we go forward.”   You have three wins at Darlington and 782 laps led in 26 career starts. How satisfying it to have that kind of success at a track that’s so notoriously difficult its nickname is “The Track Too Tough To Tame”? “It’s been a lot of fun to have been able to win there a few times now. As you look at the last race there, winning the Southern 500 and being able to go back to victory lane and celebrate in front of some fans was different from the first time of dead silence. Darlington is one of those historic racetracks that everybody loves going to because of the fact that it’s forever tied to the guys that used to race there with the same shape of the racetrack. It may be a different surface, but it’s the same racetrack that they raced on in the 1950s. It’s a unique place to go race and a place that has so much history in our sport.”   Is there a particular key to your success at Darlington? “Yeah, don’t hit the wall!” Micah Roberts Finish Prediction: 10th - #4 Kevin Harvick (11/2) - He won two of the three races at Darlington last season and his three career wins are tied for the most among active drivers. But his odds are way out of whack. He should be in the 15-to-1 range because his team is not in the same situation as last season when he won nine races. His wins at Darington last season came with the 550 HP package. In five races this season driving the 750 HP package he doesn’t have any top-fives. His Stewart-Haas Racing team is not the same as last season. Did I mention he has no wins on the season?

Aric Almirola is 75/1 to win 2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington

Aric Almirola Darlington Race Advance Smithfield/Winn-Dixie Mark Martin Throwback Ford Mustang  for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Goodyear 400 (Round 11 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday May 9 ● Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway ● Layout: 1.366-mile oval ● Laps/Miles: 293 laps/400.2 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 108 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

●  No. 10 Smithfield/Winn-Dixie Mark Martin Tribute: Almirola will pay tribute to Mark Martin this weekend with a special paint scheme honoring Martin’s iconic red, yellow and orange flamed Busch Series Ford with Winn-Dixie on the rear quarter-panels. This iconic Winn-Dixie scheme hit the track just once, for the April 2000 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Martin started second in that race and led 38 laps before driving to victory lane.    ●  Almirola began his NASCAR Cup Series career with mentorship from Martin. Early in his career, Almirola was at a point where his future in the sport was uncertain. One day, Almirola got the call that Martin was looking to split a ride at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) as he contemplated retirement. Almirola was tasked to fill in for five races in 2007 and 12 races in 2008, which not only gave him experience on the track, but gave him the opportunity to study Martin’s race-day routines. Almirola earned a best finish of eighth at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and led 56 laps in his time filling in for Martin. Almirola attributes much of his early learning and success to Martin’s mentorship and willingness to take him under his wing at an early stage in his career. He went on to race two more part-time seasons until he began fulltime Cup Series racing in 2012 with longtime partner Smithfield Foods.    ●  Tony Gibson, Almirola and Martin’s crew chief during that 2008 season, is a former crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). Gibson was atop the pitbox for six SHR wins – most notably the 2017 Daytona 500 with Kurt Busch. While Gibson is no longer a crew chief at SHR, he still plays a pivotal, behind-the-scenes role in SHR’s success.   ●  Almirola and Martin had a recent Zoom conversation about the throwback paint scheme and to reminisce about the mentorship during that 2008 season. That content can be found on Almirola’s YouTube channel and SHR’s social media channels.    ●  History at Darlington: In 11 starts at the 1.33-mile egg-shaped oval, Almirola has earned two top-10 finishes, which came in his last two starts there on May 20 and Sept. 6, 2020.    ●  Career Stats: Almirola has career totals of two wins, two poles, 24 top-five finishes, 80 top-10s and 842 laps led in 363 NASCAR Cup Series starts.   ●  Smithfield Foods celebrates 10 years of partnership with Almirola this season with a special campaign called Taste Victory. As one of the most active partners in NASCAR, Smithfield plans to engage fans all year long by hosting a microsite that provides the opportunity to win when Almirola wins or finishes inside the top-10. When Almirola wins, one fan wins $10,000, and 10 fans win a gift card for each top-10 finish. The microsite also doubles as an Aric Almirola fan page and entertainment source where fans can get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with a custom racing game, and learn more about Almirola with fast facts, favorite recipes and custom content about his life on and off the track. Visit www.tastevictory.com to learn more. Thanks to Almirola’s Feb. 11 win in his Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500, one lucky fan has already won $10,000.    ●  Beyond the 10 YouTube Series: In 2021, Almirola continues to share his life beyond the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with season three of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and it gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.    ●  The Smithfield Ford team sits 28th in the championship standings with 167 points, 314 behind leader Denny Hamlin. Almirola is 83 points behind 16th-place Matt Dibenedetto for the final playoff spot.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/Winn-Dixie Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How much did Mark Martin mean to you early in your career?    “Mark has meant so much to me and my career. I was at a point early in my career that I didn’t know what I was going to do. We sat down and talked about Mark going to semiretirement, but he still wanted to race some and he wanted someone to share the car with. So they came to me and we talked about coming to DEI. I was able to be a part of the team and watch the way Mark went about his race weekend and how he studied and how he paid attention to every detail. It was just a really cool opportunity for me. I’ll forever be grateful to Mark for reaching out and choosing me to kind of be his teammate while he settled into semiretirement. Then he came out of retirement and went fulltime again and became a competitor of mine.”   This has to be one of the coolest stories when you put all of the pieces together.    “Yeah. The stars all align on this throwback. Winn-Dixie is on the car with Smithfield on the hood, which provides a true partnership and really lets us replicate the paint scheme. The fact that Mark was a mentor to me early in my career and to honor him for all he did is awesome. When you dig deeper, you realize that Tony Gibson is still a part of my career, just like he was for me in 2008 when Mark and I split the ride for DEI. To top it all off, we need some luck on our side this season. This car was run once at Texas and won and we’re only running this car once at Darlington, so we need some of that good luck  Micah Roberts Finish Prediction: 18th #10 Aric Almirola (75/1) - He had his only top-10 finishes at Darlington last season (7th and 9th). His worst finish in five races with SHR was 17th in 2018. The reason you might bet him this week is that his best finish of the season (6th) came at Richmond three weeks ago. It was the last time the 750 HP package ran.

Kyle Busch is +650 to win 2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington

 

KYLE BUSCH Standing the Test of Time   HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (May 5, 2021) – M&M’S were first introduced in 1941 by Forrest Mars, Sr., who got the idea for the candy after observing soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell during the Spanish Civil War. The candy was made with a hard shell so the soldiers could carry it during warm weather, the hard shell making it more difficult for the chocolate to melt.   Some 80 years later, the M&M’S brand has stood the test of time, and the popular candy has branched out in recent years with many successful flavors such as M&M’S Caramel, M&M’S Fudge Brownie, and countless other favorites. Most recently. M&M’S introduced M&M’S MIX, which combines three different flavors of M&M’S in one bag as the brand celebrates its eight decades of existence in 2021.   When it comes to active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Kyle Busch has also stood the test of time. In fact, with his win this past Sunday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City with the M&M’S MIX colors riding along on his No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), the two-time Cup Series champion extended an impressive streak of 17 straight seasons scoring at least one victory in NASCAR’s top series. Even more impressive is that Busch’s streak tied NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson at second on the all-time consecutive years with a win list, and puts him just one behind the all-time record of 18 consecutive years with a win set by another Hall of Famer, Richard Petty. Busch will have a chance to tie Petty’s record with a win in 2022.   Before he thinks about being able to sit alongside “The King” in the record books, the Las Vegas native has plenty of work to do this season. His attention will now turn to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for Sunday’s Cup Series Goodyear 400. He’ll look to make it back-to-back wins in his No. 18 M&M’S 80th Anniversary paint scheme during the historic South Carolina track’s annual NASCAR Throwback Weekend.   Busch, who now has 58 career wins in NASCAR’s top series, has won consecutive races six times in his 17 fulltime seasons. The M&M’S driver won back-to-back in 2008 at Daytona and Chicagoland, in 2015 at Kentucky and New Hampshire, in 2016 at Martinsville and Texas, in 2017 at New Hampshire and Dover, in 2018 at Texas, Bristol and Richmond, and in 2019 at Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway.   As Busch and the M&M’S 80th Anniversary team head back Darlington, they return to a place where they’ve won before and Busch has enjoyed recent success. The Las Vegas native has conquered “The Track Too Tough To Tame” with a Cup Series win in May 2008. It earned him the distinction of being the youngest Cup Series winner – at 23 years of age – in the track’s storied history. Busch also has two Xfinity Series wins at Darlington, coming in May 2011 and 2013.   Last year, the Cup Series competed three times at Darlington after the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a revamped 2020 schedule, and Busch brought home best runs of second place in the Wednesday-night race in May, and a seventh-place run in Labor Day Weekend’s Southern 500.   So as Busch heads back to the track known as the “Lady in Black” this weekend, he’ll look to add another Darlington win to his resume his seventh set of back-to-back wins during a career that has no doubt stood the test of time.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M'S 80th Anniversary Throwback Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

What do you think you need to do at Darlington in order to bring home back-to-back wins this weekend?   “It’s the 750-horsepower package, so we have run the low downforce at Darlington, which we haven’t done in a while. I think it was 2018 the last time, and back then I think we had the movable track bars, so it’s definitely going to be a different race. I feel like running the Xfinity race there last year was the best test for me to know and experience what it’s going to be like this time around in the Cup cars. I tell you what, those cars are a handful. You take the downforce off them and put them on a worn, slick racing surface and you are going to be slipping and sliding all over the place. You’ll be wanting tires after about seven laps, and you darn well will have to go 40 or 45 laps before you can actually get tires. We’ll see what happens, but we are really looking forward to our M&M’S throwback paint scheme. It’s the throwback celebrating 80 years of the M&M’S brand. Looking forward to carrying those colors and trying to get back to victory lane in back-to-back weeks.”   Would you say this is an important stretch for the series as you are in the midst of a lot of tracks that are also playoff venues?   “It’s an important stretch for us. We have to run well and we certainly did that at Kansas last weekend. You’ve had Richmond, Martinsville, Talladega, Kansas, and Darlington this weekend, all in the playoffs, so you want to run well and set yourself up to run well at these places in the fall. You don’t have practice, so you are showing up to these races how you think you need to show up. The biggest thing you would learn at these places is how the races go and picking those things out in the racecar that you work on for the next time you come back to make sure you are even better. Next time you come back, you won’t have practice, either, so you want to make sure you are ready when the race starts.”   Now that you have a win, does that make you more aggressive trying to earn stage and playoff points?   “Now that we have a win I would certainly put my neck out on the line a bit more and do whatever we’ve got to do to try and get another win and more playoff points. Because you have a win, it gives you a little bit – not a lot – of cushion. There are still 10 of us who have one win that also have the five bonus points – we only have that one extra stage win that gives us that sixth bonus point. You’re not super far ahead and we need to work our way up in points when the regular season comes to an end, and you are rewarded with those points as far as where you start the playoffs at. That’s next on the docket. You still have to be consistent and try not to crash out and get as many points as possible, but it gives us a bit more leeway than we had going into Kansas.”   Darlington was repaved prior to 2008 and it’s back to a surface that’s worn and chews up tires. How much does the surface there change from year to year?   “Darlington gets worn out a lot more every year we race there. We’ve gone back there the last couple of years and it’s really slickened up and fallen off. The pace falls off a ton over the course of the run and really chews up the tires for the first little bit of the race. As the rubber gets down on the track, it starts to level off a little bit, but still the day races there are treacherous and slick and hard to hang on. Especially coming back this year, we’ll have the lower-downforce, higher-horsepower package, which will be a lot more to have to hold onto.”   At Darlington, do you wait to get toward the front as it gets later in the race when the sun is starts going down? How does the track change as it goes from afternoon to early evening there?   “You start the race off there and you just don’t want to hit the wall. We know how easy it is get into the wall and get a Darlington ‘stripe.’ You don’t want to hit the wall and take yourself out of a chance to win the race. The early stages of the race, you are biding your time and racing the racetrack and you are trying not to put yourself in a bad spot, and you aren’t worrying about competition, and you aren’t trying to take too many chances. As it gets deeper into the race and closer to the checkered flag, you are definitely going to be going for it and, if you can find even a half-inch of grip by getting a half-inch closer to the wall because that’s where the speed is at, you’ve just got to do it.”

Event Overview:

● Event: Goodyear 400 (Round 12 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 9 ● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City ● Layout: 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval ● Laps/Miles: 293 laps/400.2 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 108 laps ● TV/Radio: FS1 / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Micah Roberts Predicted Finish: 8th - #18 Kyle Busch (13/2) - His lone Cup win at Darlington came in 2008, but he’s been fast there ever since with near wins, a couple runner-ups. A huge win last week to be the ninth different driver to win through 11 races, but that was the 550 HP package. No top-fives with the 750 HP package and never a threat to win in any of the five races using it.

Odds to win 2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway

Denny Hamlin is a 3-time winner at Darlington

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NASCAR CUP SERIES

ODDS TO WIN 2021 GOODYEAR 400

DARLINGTON RACEWAY

MAY 9, 2021 - 3:45 PM ET

Kyle LARSON 7/2
Denny HAMLIN 4/1
Martin TRUEX JR 6/1
Kyle BUSCH 7/1
Kevin HARVICK 8/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 10/1
Chase ELLIOTT 10/1
Joey LOGANO 18/1
William BYRON 20/1
Alex BOWMAN 20/1
Christopher BELL 20/1
Ryan BLANEY 25/1
Tyler REDDICK 40/1
Kurt BUSCH 40/1
Austin DILLON 50/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 60/1
Aric ALMIROLA 100/1
Erik JONES 200/1
Ryan NEWMAN 200/1
Daniel SUAREZ 200/1
Bubba WALLACE 300/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 300/1
Ross CHASTAIN 300/1
Chris BUESCHER 300/1
Cole CUSTER 500/1
Michael McDOWELL 500/1
Chase BRISCOE 500/1
Ryan PREECE 1000/1
Anthony ALFREDO 5000/1
Justin HALEY 10000/1
Corey LAJOIE 10000/1
BJ McLEOD 10000/1
JJ YELEY 10000/1
Josh BILICKI 10000/1
Cody WARE 10000/1
James DAVIDSON 10000/1
Quin HOUFF 10000/1

Kyle Busch pays out 12/1 after winning Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas

 

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M'S MIX Toyota Camry Race Recap for the Buschy McBusch Race 400

Date: May 2, 2021 Event: Buschy McBusch Race 400 (Round 11 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval) Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps) Start/Finish: 9th/1st (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps) Point Standing: 10th (330 points, 151 behind leader)   Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)   Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80): ● Kyle Busch started ninth and finished first, earning 10 bonus points and one playoff point. ● The M&M’S MIX driver quietly went to work from the drop of the green flag. He was in fifth place by lap 10 and fourth by lap 20. He reported that other than a slightly tight condition at the exit of the turns, the car was well balanced. ● Busch was in fourth place when the competition caution was displayed on lap 25. He reported that the tight-handling issue at the exits of the turns continued to be an issue. The team elected to make a chassis adjustment, change four tires and add fuel. He restarted the race in sixth place. ● The tight-handling issue on the No. 18 M&M’S MIX Toyota Camry persisted as the first stage continued. Busch was in fifth place on lap 50 when he noted that the car was too tight, which prevented him from being able to pull up to the car in front of him. ● As the first stage came to a close, Busch started to make some aggressive moves. He was up to second place by lap 75, and two laps later he took over the top spot. ● Busch maintained the lead to secure the stage win. ● The team elected to make a minor air pressure adjustment, change four tires and add fuel during the caution.   Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160): ● Busch started third and finished second, earning nine bonus points. ● After starting third Busch quickly jumped to second place. He stalked the race leader during the next several laps. ● Busch noted on lap 100 that the M&M’S MIX Toyota had started to lose overall grip. ● Green-flag pit stops started taking place on lap 120, with Busch making his own trip to pit road on lap 122 for an air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel. ● The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was in sixth place on lap 139 when he reported that the car was handling a little on the free side to start the latest run, but that it continued to get tight as the race continued. ● Busch finished the second stage in second place. The team made chassis and air pressure adjustments, changed four tires and added fuel during the break.   Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267): ● Busch started second and finished first, earning five playoff points. ● The Las Vegas native was in third place on lap 200 when he reported that the balance on the M&M’S MIX Toyota Camry was pretty good. The car was a bit snug in the front of the car, but overall, the handling was positive. ● Green-flag pit stops started taking place on lap 210. The No. 18 team surrendered third place to make a stop on lap 212 for four tires and fuel. ● Caution was displayed on lap 229 for debris. Busch was running third when he reported that he needed something to get the car off the splitter. The team elected to make a series of adjustments in the hopes of being able to contend for the win – adjusting the track bar and air pressure, changing four tires and adding fuel. ● Busch lined up third for the restart on lap 236. ● Caution was displayed on lap 244 with Busch in second place. He reported that the balance was better but he could use another adjustment. Approximately seven drivers, including Busch, elected to stay out during the caution while the rest of the field made stops for fresh tires. Busch lined up second for the restart with less than 20 laps to go. ● Busch was in second when caution was displayed on lap 252 for a single-car accident. With so few laps to go, the team elected to stay out, placing Busch in second place for the restart with 10 laps to go. ● A push from the car behind enabled Busch to take over the top spot as an accident unfolded farther back in the running order. This forced the seventh caution on lap 257. ● The field lined up behind Busch for the restart with three laps to go. A big push from teammate Martin Truex Jr. enabled Busch to jump out on the first lap. He maintained the position to the checkered flag.   Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S MIX Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:   What does it mean to get back to victory lane with the ups and downs you’ve faced both personally and professionally in recent months?   “You talk about ups and downs of racing – there have been a lot of downs of life for us. I have a great opportunity and a great job, no doubt. But struggling with the infertility and stuff like that with Samantha (Busch, wife). Hey to Samantha and Brexton (son) back home. It was just a great day to be able to put this M&M’s MIX Camry up front. I want to thank Hy-Vee, our retail partner. They did a huge promotion for us this year with M&M’S and Rowdy Energy. It’s cool to get everybody back to victory lane again this early in the season. To be able to get some of those points going our way now and hopefully – heck, I just remembered, the Buschy McBusch race. The Busch won it, what do you know, right on.”   How do you remain focused when you’re dealing with struggles outside of the racecar?   “It’s hard sometimes. When you go through the lows, you go through the disappointment, you go through the dejection and the non-understanding of just whether or not you can still do it. There’s a sense of doubt there, for sure. You just have to keep persevering, keep digging and putting your focus forward to be able to come out here and win this thing. Thanks to all of the fans here at Kansas Speedway. It’s awesome to have people back and you guys coming out and supporting us for what we can do with the rules right now. Thanks to my team, everybody at Toyota, TRD – the M&M’S Camry was awesome today. Ben Beshore, it’s his first win as a crew chief. Happy for him, happy for my guys – let’s celebrate.”   Notes: ● Busch’s victory in the Buschy McBusch 400 is his 58th career NASCAR Cup Series win, his first of the season and second at Kansas. The win moves him into a tie for ninth place with fellow driver Kevin Harvick on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list. ● This is Busch’s 17th straight season with at least one win. He’s tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson for second on the all-time list. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty holds the record with 18. ● Busch has one win, three top-fives and six top-10 finishes through 11 races run in 2021. He’s led a total of 34 laps. ● This was Busch’s second career win, 15th top-five and 21st top-10 finish in 37 starts at Kansas. ● Busch earned 10 bonus points and a playoff point by winning the first stage. He picked up an additional nine bonus points with his second-place finish in the second stage and five playoff points for the win. ● Busch celebrated his 36th birthday today. This is the second time he has won on his birthday, having won at Richmond International Raceway in 2009. He joins NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough as the second Cup driver to win multiple times on their birthday. ● Busch led four times for 20 laps.   Next Up: The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 9, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.