Aric Almirola is 40/1 to win 2022 Busch Light Clash

 

Aric Almirola Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 ● Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ● Layout: Quarter-mile oval ● Format: 150-lap Feature with a 23-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ● Note: Heats and LCQ are broadcast live from 3-5 p.m. EST. Feature airs live at 6 p.m. EST.

Notes of Interest

●  One More Time: On Jan. 10, Aric Almirola released a video on his YouTube channel announcing his retirement from fulltime NASCAR Cup Series racing after the 2022 season to spend more time with his family. This year marks Almirola’s 11th fulltime Cup Series season. The official press release can be viewed here.   ●  NextGen: Before Almirola enters his next chapter, the 37-year-old native of Tampa, Florida will get a taste of the next chapter of NASCAR during the 2022 season with the NextGen car debuting this weekend at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The NextGen is the seventh iteration of the stock car NASCAR introduced in 1949. Each version has been an improvement from its previous form with a goal that is morein line with what manufacturers sell and consumers want. Design and spec changes include a sequential shifter, 670-horsepower engines, a single center-lock wheel nut akin to Indy cars and sports cars, and car numbers just behind the front wheels. Diving deeper, there are carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body panels, a carbon-fiber floor that covers the entire underneath portion of the car, and a rear-end diffuser – all of which are in place to reduce dirty air. Also, rack-and-pinion steering replaces the archaic recirculating ball, and an independent rear suspension is a drastic upgrade from the full floating axle.    ●  The Busch Light Clash is the traditional non-points, season-opening race. This year’s edition marks the first time since 1981 that a Cup Series season has been kicked off at a track other than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. While NASCAR is introducing the NextGen car to its legions of fans, the industry also wasted no time introducing a glimpse of what could be the future of stock car racing by constructing a quarter-mile track in the confines of the historic Los Angeles Coliseum – well known for hosting two summer Olympics, numerous Super Bowls, and college football’s University of Southern California Trojans. While this is a new concept in the modern era of stock car racing, similar configurations have been run. The series raced on quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from 1958 to 1971. This year’s Clash field is open to 40 racers, with each driver vying for one of 23 spots in Sunday’s feature race.    ●  Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum format: After Saturday’s practice and the initial single-car qualifying session, drivers will be placed into heat races based on their best-posted qualifying speed. Every car entered into the Clash automatically advances to one of the heat races, giving them a chance to move on to the main event. On Sunday, drivers compete in one of four 25-lap heat races with up to 10 cars in each race. The fields will be filled out in a manner consistent with their initial qualifying speed. Fastest will start on pole in the first heat race, second-fastest starts on pole in the second heat race, and so on (one, five, nine, etc., line up in Heat 1). The top four finishers in each heat race will automatically advance to the main event, totaling 16 drivers with a ticket to Sunday’s feature. Drivers who do not advance from their qualifying race will be placed into one of two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) races. The top three from each LCQ advance to the Sunday feature. The final spot in the 23-man main event is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or LCQ. ●  Busch Light Clash History: In Almirola’s five previous Clash appearances, he has finished in the top-10 three times with a best finish of sixth.    ●  Appearances: On Saturday, Almirola will join “The Cars Garage” hosts to test his driving skills on a custom, radio-controlled obstacle course at the PIXAR Cars activation just outside the Coliseum from 12:30 to 1 p.m. PST. Later, he’ll join his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates for a Q&A at the Fan Fest stage from 4 to 4:15 p.m.    ●  Almirola’s career: In 388 NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has earned three wins, 26 top-five finishes, 84 top-10s, three poles, and has led 893 laps.    ●  2021 Recap: Almirola’s 2021 season was full of ups and downs. He started the season by winning his Duel qualifying race at Daytona before a string of bad luck and unfortunate finishes plagued the No. 10 Smithfield team. On June 13, Almirola’s luck turned when he raced his way into the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and the following weekend he earned the pole award for the Cup Series’ inaugural race at Nashville Superspeedway before earning his first top-five finish of the season. Four weeks later, on July 18, Almirola and the No. 10 team visited victory lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon after leading 46 laps at the 1.058-mile flat oval to earn his third NASCAR Cup Series win and catapulting the No. 10 team into the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Almirola did not advance past the Round of 16 and finished 15th in the playoff point standings.   ●  Smithfield Foods rejoins Almirola and the No. 10 Ford team as the anchor sponsor for his final fulltime NASCAR season. Smithfield has been a sponsor of Almirola’s for the entirety of his fulltime NASCAR Cup Series career – making it one of the longest-lasting partnerships in NASCAR.    ●  The No. 10 Farmer John scheme will be Almirola’s first NASCAR NextGen paint scheme to hit the track for the 2022 season. Pioneering a revolution in the supply of locally flavored meats, Farmer John has been a Southern California staple since 1931. This will be the fourth time Farmer John has been a primary sponsor on the No. 10 Ford and the first time this particular red, white and blue livery has adorned Almirola’s car. Fans can keep up with the California brand’s NASCAR experience, which includes a prerace Fan Zone for all fans and special appearances by Farmer John himself, by following on Instagram (@FarmerJohnLA), Twitter (@FarmerJohnLA), and Facebook (@FarmerJohn) and using the hashtags #SoFarmerJohn and #FJLABlitz   ●  Pristine Auction, an online auction site, specializing in autographed memorabilia, sports cards, coins, art, and collectibles, has joined Stewart-Haas Racing as an associate sponsor of the No. 10 and No. 4 cars for the 2022 season. Since the inception of the family-owned company in 2010, Pristine Auctions has grown from a spare bedroom to two facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, totaling over 60,000 square feet and a staff of over 150 team members. Pristine Auction works with top authentication companies to ensure that all items offered are 100 percent authentic, making them a top destination for collectors and sellers globally.   ●  Beyond the 10 YouTube Series:In 2022, Almirola will continue to share his life beyond the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with season four 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.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What do you think about the NextGen debut this year?   “Everything is different. The approach is different. The way the car handles, steers, and drives is different. The way the crew guys work on the cars. The way they set them up. Everything we do is a hard reset. When I look at this season, it really gets me excited for all of the changes and the land of the unknown. There is so much opportunity out there for everybody and to be the ones to try and figure it out first is exciting. The entire year is going to be about resetting each weekend, starting at the Clash. Even the data from the first few tests is irrelevant because the rules that applied then are already different, so we’re heavily relying on the guys and girls at the shop to constantly adapt to change and I’ll have to do my part.”   Are you excited about racing inside of the Coliseum?   “Having the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum is such a unique opportunity for our sport. All of the history this venue has is one thing, but it’s another to make history debuting the NextGen car at the same time. No one really knows what to anticipate during the race, but it’s definitely going to put on a show for the fans in attendance and those fans at home watching. The one really cool thing is that I’ll be able to tell my kids and grandkids that I raced inside the Coliseum. My son got really excited when I showed him pictures. He said ‘Dad that’s where the Cars movie was filmed,’ so that was funny.”   You announced you will retire from fulltime racing at the end of the 2022 season. Tell us about that.   “I truly enjoy driving racecars and I’m excited to race my heart out in 2022 for Smithfield and Stewart-Haas Racing. But to be the best in this business, you’ve got to be selfish and, for the last 37 years, my life has always revolved around me and what I needed to do. I want to be present. I want to be the best husband and father, and that to me means more than being a racecar driver. So, it’s one more year where I’m all in on racing, where we’ll do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level. But when the season is over, I’ll be ready to wave goodbye. I’ve loved every minute of it, but it’s time for the next chapter of my life.

Chase Briscoe is 60/1 to win 2022 Busch Light Clash at L.A. Coliseum

 

CHASE BRISCOE Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 ● Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ● Layout: Quarter-mile oval ● Format: 150-lap Feature with a 23-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ● Note: Heats and LCQ are broadcast live from 3-5 p.m. EST. Feature airs live at 6 p.m. EST.

Notes of Interest

● After a 13-week offseason, the NASCAR Cup Series is gearing up for the first race of 2022. It’s a season that will begin in a new location, on a new track, with a new car. The non-points Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum kicks off the season Saturday and Sunday at a track other than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the first time since 1981. On a purpose-built, quarter-mile, asphalt oval inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Cup Series will debut the new NextGen car, the seventh variation of the NASCAR stock car first introduced in 1949. And, Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will be showing up with a new look.   ● The famed No. 14 Ford Mustang will roll into the Coliseum sporting the red-and-black colors embraced by fans when the car was piloted by team co-owner and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. Briscoe’s new livery includes subtle detailing around the hood vents and shadowed behind the iconic number that represents a new partnership with Mahindra Tractors, a brand of Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America. Part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, Mahindra Ag North America is the No. 1 selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners, and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Steel-framed Mahindra Tractors and side-by-sides are ideal for customers who demand performance, reliability and comfort at a great value. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.   ● While Briscoe will be behind the wheel of the No. 14 for the first race of the year, Stewart will be keeping a close eye on his team from the FOX Sports broadcast booth and will have a front row seat for the debut of the Mahindra Tractors national television campaign featuring the SHR duo. The first in a series of spots features the mentor and mentee relationship between the Indiana natives and sets out to settle the debate of who is tougher. The national spot airing during the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum signifies a continuation of Mahindra’s longstanding relationship with the FOX family of networks, which in 2022 expands to include in-race branding and additional in-car coverage of Briscoe and the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Mustang. Race fans will see plenty of the Mahindra red in tv spots during race broadcasts, picture-in-picture race coverage and during weekly FS1 broadcasts like RaceHub.   ● Briscoe, the 2021 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, cut his teeth on the bullrings of the Midwest, learning to navigate the tight corners of quarter-mile tracks and avoiding destruction nearly every lap to make it to the finish. Though the track built inside the Coliseum won’t be covered in the dirt that Briscoe is so accustomed to, the format of the event provides some much-desired familiarity for the seasoned dirt-track racer. ● On Saturday, NASCAR Cup Series competitors will take to the track for practice prior to single-car qualifying runs to determine the starting order for four heat races. The field will be open to 40 entrants. On Sunday, on-track action will begin with four, 25-lap heat races consisting of 10 cars each. Below is a breakdown of how the heat races will be filled out: ● The top-four fastest qualifiers from Saturday’s single-car qualifying session will be on the pole for each heat race, while cars that qualified fifth through eighth will make up the other half of the front row in each heat. ● The remainder of each field will be filled out using this methodology: Heat one will be made up of cars with qualifying positions of one, five, nine, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37. ● The top-four finishers (16 total cars) from each heat race automatically advance through to the Busch Light Clash, with the winner of heat one winning the pole and the heat two winner earning the outside pole. ● The winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, with the remaining order of those 16 cars being determined in the same manner. ● The remaining six finishing positions from each heat (24 total cars) that did not advance will continue through to one of two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying (LCQ) races. Below is a breakdown on how the LCQ will be filled out: ● The starting order for these two events will be determined based on finishing positions in the heat races. ● Those who did not advance from heats one and three will make up the first LCQ race. The second race will be made of up those from heats two and four. ● The fifth-place finishers from heats one and two will be on the pole in their respective LCQ races. The fifth-place finishers from heats three and four will be on the outside pole. ● This pattern will continue to fill out 12 cars in each event. ● The top-three finishers (six total cars) from both LCQ races will advance to the Busch Light Clash, filling out positions 17-22 of the 23 available positions. ● The final spot in the Busch Light Clash will be reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or LCQ races. ● All other drivers will be eliminated from competition for the remainder of the event weekend.    ● Put simply, every driver will have to race their way into the feature. While this is Briscoe’s first time participating in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, the 27-year-old has already raced his way through heat races in 2022 with Mahindra Tractors by his side. Three weeks ago, Briscoe competed in the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals in a Mahindra Tractors-sponsored Midget. During his qualifying night, he finished second in his heat race and won his qualifier to start fifth in the Monday-night A-main. An 11th-place finish secured him a seventh-place starting spot for the C-Main on Championship Saturday. Good fortune did not follow Briscoe into the C-Main, however, as first-lap contact damaged the No. 5 Chase Briscoe Racing entry and he finished sixth, just one spot short of the transfer and ending his hopes of competing for a Golden Driller. This weekend, he’ll look to rebound with the help of his years of dirt racing experience against NASCAR’s elite Cup Series competitors.

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

You’ve already raced a few times this year, so how has the season started and what do you expect during your first Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum? “I think it’s gone OK, so far. It was nice to have a chance to start the season off with Mahindra Tractors at the Chili Bowl. I wish it had gone better but we have a whole season of Cup racing to get the results we want. It’s been exciting to have them on board and supporting everything we do as a team and some of the racing I do on my own, but I’m really looking forward to getting to L.A. and having them at the first race of the NASCAR season. I’m not sure what to expect, honestly. With a quarter-mile track, I think we can expect a lot of beating and banging and maybe even some tempers by the end. That’s typically what we get at these short tracks. I’d like to say it’s the first race, so everyone will take it easy but, after heat races and everything, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few guys had their feelings hurt. We’re all racers and we want to win, so it’ll for sure be a good show for everyone watching.”   You mentioned Mahindra Tractors being on your Chili Bowl car and the support they’ve shown the team as you prepare for the start of the season. Does this partnership feel like a natural fit? “It really does. They’ve done a lot in just the few months we’ve been together to show that they are all in and that’s huge for a sponsor that is new to the sport in this way. The announcement in Indianapolis was really cool and it meant a lot to be able to start the next chapter at a place that means so much to me. They’ve even had a couple of team lunches for the guys in the shop and I think it’s good for those guys to see it’s not just about me. It’s about the confidence they have in all of us. We’re a team and we’re all here for each other. It takes a lot of work and dedication to do what we do and to have a sponsor that is heavily invested in every part of it is a big deal. It means a lot and is a great reflection of who they are as a company. There’s a family feel to how this is all coming together and I just want to make them proud of this partnership.”   What was the biggest thing you learned during your rookie year in the Cup Series?  “The biggest thing I learned my rookie year was that it takes a lot of things in the Cup Series to have a good result. At the end of the day, every little detail matters, whether it’s getting off and on pit road under green, having a good pit stop, and every pit stop with no penalties, and good restarts. It literally takes every single thing to even be in the hunt at the end of the day. There are days where you can do everything perfect and you’re still not in the hunt, so just trying to capitalize on those days where you have a good car and good speed and not make mistakes. Last year, I made a lot of mistakes, whether it was penalties or just not maximizing pit road and things like that. So, I’m going to try improve on that this year and learn from those things and be able to capitalize when we do have a good car.”   How are you better as a driver in January 2022 compared to January 2021, after one season in the Cup Series, and what specific areas of your skill set are you most wanting to work on over the course of this season?  “Everybody at the Cup Series level has been a winner their entire career. They’ve won at many different levels. Even the guys running 25th have won their entire career so, for me, the Cup side really opened up my eyes. In the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series, you’re only racing against seven, eight, nine, 10 really competitive drivers and you can make mistakes and get away with it and still win. You can even make multiple mistakes and still win where, on the Cup side, you can literally do everything perfect and still run 15th. So, just trying to figure out how to minimize those mistakes was probably the hardest thing for me. I was just looking the other day and there was a stat that I think I had more penalties on pit road than anybody in the whole field, so just trying to do less of that. Those guys are so good. They’ve all been racing 15-20 years. They’ve been running 500 miles every weekend for 15-20 years. They’re just good. They have so much racecraft. They know where to put their car to make it hard for you to pass. They’ve seen every situation, so getting that experience of racing around guys that are much, much better, much more experienced than me was huge, I felt like, the first year. Hopefully, I can use that to my advantage this coming year. But then I would say the biggest area where I would like to improve is on the short tracks. I feel like I’m probably the only guy in the entire field in the Cup Series that has never short-track raced my entire life. I never ran a Late Model. I never ran anything. The first time I ever ran a short track was in the Truck Series at Martinsville. I really struggle when we go to places that have that short-track feel – a Martinsville, Richmond, New Hampshire. Those have always been statistically my worst racetracks and, just how you have to drive the car at those places, I really struggle.”

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Cole Custer is 150/1 to win Busch Light Clash

 

COLE CUSTER Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 ● Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ● Layout: Quarter-mile oval ● Format: 150-lap Feature with a 23-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ● Note: Heats and LCQ are broadcast live from 3-5 p.m. EST. Feature airs live at 6 p.m. EST.

Notes of Interest

● It’ll be a Southern California homecoming like no other for Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), when he and his fellow NASCAR Cup Series competitors kick off the 2022 season with this weekend’s exhibition Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. The recently turned 24-year-old from Ladera Ranch, California, will help usher in a new era of American stock-car racing’s premier division by debuting an all-new racecar on a new track. The long-anticipated NextGen car will see its first racing action Saturday and Sunday on a purpose-built, quarter-mile, asphalt oval inside the confines of the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It will be the first time the series has kicked off a season at a track other than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway since 1981, when the schedule opened on a road course at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles. Riverside was demolished in 1989, the Moreno Valley Mall now standing in its place.   ● The NextGen is the seventh version of the stock car NASCAR introduced in 1949. Its most notable features include a sequential shifter, 670-horsepower engines, a single center-lock wheel nut akin to Indy cars and sports cars, and car numbers just behind the front wheels, as well as carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body panels, a carbon-fiber floor that covers the entire underneath portion of the car, and a rear-end diffuser – all of which are in place to reduce dirty air. Its rack-and-pinion steering replaces the archaic recirculating ball used in its predecessors, and an independent rear suspension is a drastic upgrade from the full-floating axle first championed by 1950s-era Detroit products. Most importantly, the NextGen car is much more in line with what manufacturers sell and consumers want to see.   ● Custer earned a spot in last year’s season-opening Busch Clash non-points event held for the first time on the road course at Daytona by virtue of his first career Cup Series victory at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta the previous July. If he is to race in the main event for the second time in his career this weekend, the 2020 Cup Series Rookie of the Year will need to race his way in. Here's how it will work: ● On Saturday, NASCAR Cup Series competitors will take to the track for practice prior to single-car qualifying runs to determine the starting order for four heat races. The field will be open to 40 entrants. On Sunday, on-track action will begin with four, 25-lap heat races consisting of 10 cars each. Below is a breakdown on how the heat races will be filled out: ● The top-four fastest qualifiers from Saturday’s single-car qualifying session will be on the pole for each heat race, while cars that qualified fifth through eighth will make up the other half of the front row in each heat. ● The remainder of each field will be filled out using this methodology: Heat one will be made up of cars with qualifying positions of one, five, nine, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37. ● The top-four finishers (16 total cars) from each heat race automatically advance through to the Busch Light Clash, with the winner of heat one winning the pole and the heat two winner earning the outside pole. ● The winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, with the remaining order of those 16 cars being determined in the same manner. ● The remaining six finishing positions from each heat (24 total cars) that did not advance will continue through to one of two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying (LCQ) races. Below is a breakdown on how the LCQ will be filled out: ● The starting order for these two events will be determined based on finishing positions in the heat races. ● Those who did not advance from heats one and three will make up the first LCQ race. The second race will be made of up those from heats two and four. ● The fifth-place finishers from heats one and two will be on the pole in their respective LCQ races. The fifth-place finishers from heats three and four will be on the outside pole. ● This pattern will continue to fill out 12 cars in each event. ● The top-three finishers (six total cars) from both LCQ races will advance to the Busch Light Clash, filling out positions 17-22 of the 23 available positions. ● The final spot in the Busch Light Clash will be reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or LCQ races. ● All other drivers will be eliminated from competition for the remainder of the event weekend.    ● The quarter-mile oval at the Coliseum is the shortest track the Cup Series will race on this year. Custer has shown flashes of brilliance on short tracks during his steady rise to the fulltime Cup Series ranks in 2020. Since turning heads as a 13-year-old with a solid fourth-place finish in a June 2011 Langer’s Juice S-2 Sportsman Series race at nearby Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, Custer has scored four wins, 17 top-fives, 30 top-10s and has led 1,138 laps on short tracks.   ● Returning to Custer’s No. 41 Ford Mustang for his third fulltime Cup Series season is team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, which was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Your thoughts about embarking on your third fulltime NASCAR Cup Series season with a brand-new racecar and racing in your old stomping grounds? “First of all, I just love racing at home. And secondly, racing at a new location – at such an iconic location like the L.A. Coliseum – will hopefully bring a lot of new fans into our sport. There are so many unknowns going into this race, I don’t think anybody knows what to make of it. Looking at the racetrack, I think it’s pretty much a promise that somebody’s going to be in a fight on the frontstretch. It’s a really tight racetrack, it’s going to be a lot of beating and banging, it’s going to be fighting over space and trying to get to the front any way possible so you can transfer through to the next race. A lot of it can come down to qualifying or the pill draw, whether you can get the track position you need. But it’s going to be one of the most interesting races of the year because I don’t think anybody knows what to expect.”   What is it going to be like for a driver to be in that Coliseum environment, and how do your prepare for that? “Nobody really knows what to expect with this being the first race with the new car and also a track we’ve never run before. Like I said, with how small the track is, there’s going to be a lot of beating and banging and it’s probably going to be the craziest race of the year. You get on a simulator to figure out little things – just getting prepared, getting the visuals right for the racetrack, getting a little bit of a feel for it. But really, it’s going to be a lot of adapting. You’re going to go out there for the first lap of practice and you’re going to try and soak it up and adapt as fast as you can.”   Do you have any expectations after what you’ve experienced so far while testing and working with the NextGen car? “We’ve had a few tests – Dover, Daytona, Charlotte. With this new car, you’re definitely trying to get as much seat time as you can. It should level out the playing field a lot just because it’s new for everybody. It’s something that everybody has to learn, everybody has to figure out how far they can push the car. This is the biggest change NASCAR has had in the last probably 50 years from season to season, so it’s going to be an interesting year and a lot of equalizing.”   A lot of your fellow competitors head to the Coliseum after having competed in some exciting short-track and dirt-racing events during the offseason, like last month’s Chili Bowl. Is that something you would like to do someday? “I would love to. I ran a little bit of Midget stuff when I was younger. I wouldn’t say as a professional but I was younger and wanted to learn the basics of major racing. I think every single time I watch a race like the Chili Bowl, I want to be a part of it. It’s one of those races that’s so awesome to see how excited every single person is to be there. And how many cars they get, how competitive it is, it’s just one of the greatest grassroots short-track races of the year. I think open-wheel dirt racing is some of the most fun you can have as a driver, also, so I’d love to try and get a little more experience this year and try to get to run at the Chili Bowl. But it takes that right opportunity – you don’t want to be the guy who goes out there cold turkey and flips the car down the frontstretch.”

Busch Light Clash at L.A. Coliseum race format

 

Harrison Burton is 60/1 to win Busch Light Clash at L.A. Coliseum

Back in the day, NASCAR promoters could pack the grandstands for stock car races inside football stadiums.

Races on the quarter-mile oval inside Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., were popular in days gone by and still wildly successful today.

NASCAR officials are hoping to capture some of that bullring magic with this weekend’s Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum.

Harrison Burton will make his debut in the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang on the quarter-mile asphalt oval track that has been constructed inside the historic Coliseum.

Although he raced often on short tracks as he worked his way up racing’s ladder Burton has little experience on a track as tight as the one inside the Coliseum.

“I ran some three-eights and some quarter miles in Legends cars, but none in a stock car,” he said. “It’s going to be an adjustment period for sure. There’s not much of a notebook for that.

“Preparing for the race and understanding the track will be a challenge.”

Burton said he’s relying on iRacing and on the simulation tools provided by Ford Performance to learn all he can prior to the opening practice session on Saturday morning.

“There are ways to get it done,” he said. “I’ve used iRacing and simulation in the past to prepare for road courses and new tracks, and this one is definitely a new one.”

Historically speaking, he has big shoes to fill at his Wood Brothers team when it comes to Cup-level success on stadium tracks. Team founder Glenn Wood won four Cup races at Bowman Gray Stadium, and Marvin Panch added a fifth. Wood led every lap in three of his Stadium wins as did Panch in his.

Saturday’s practice session will be shown on FOX Sports 2 at 12:30 PM ET. Qualifying will be at 8:30 PM ET on Fox Sports 1. The 25-lap Heat races and 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying races will be televised on FOX beginning at 3:00 PM ET on Sunday. Coverage of the 150-lap, non-points Clash follows at 6:00 PM ET on FOX.


About Motorcraft
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

Kyle Busch is 8/1 to win 2022 Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum

 

KYLE BUSCH ‘Clash’ of the Titans   HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (Feb. 1, 2022) – As the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season quickly approaches, it’s shaping up to feature many new and unique twists than fans have seen in quite some time.    The traditional season-opening exhibition race, now called the Busch Light Clash, was held for 43 years at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Debuting in 1979, the non-points event was held on the 2.5-mile oval for the first 42 years, then moved to the Daytona road course for the 2021 edition. For this year, the event has been reimagined in a big way, moving to a purpose-built, quarter-mile, asphalt oval inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.   The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum kicks off the 2022 season at a track other than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the first time since 1981, when the series opened its season on a road course at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles.   Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), is the defending winner of the Busch Light Clash, albeit with a thrilling, last-corner victory on the Daytona road course last February as Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney collided in front of him, allowing the Las Vegas native to slip past both drivers to bring home the checkered flag. The win was Busch’s second in the season-opening exhibition race to go with his thrilling comeback in 2012, when he inched past Tony Stewart at the line to bring home the win on the Daytona oval.   While starting the season on a purpose-built track inside the Los Angeles Coliseum qualifies as new and unique, it’s not nearly the only new thing NASCAR fans will need to get used to in 2022. The Clash also serves as the debut of the NextGen car in NASCAR’s top series.   The NextGen car is the seventh-generation stock car introduced since NASCAR began sanctioning what is now called the Cup Series in 1949. While the car has a sleek, new look more in line with the street versions of each of its manufacturers. Highlights of the NextGen car include a sequential shifter, 670-horsepower engines, single center-lock wheel nuts akin to what is used on Formula One cars, Indy cars and sports cars, and car numbers shifting forward, just behind the front wheel well. In addition to those notables, the NextGen car also features carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body panels, a carbon-fiber floor that covers the entire underneath portion of the car, and a rear-end diffuser to reduce dirty air. Also, rack-and-pinion steering replaces the archaic recirculating ball, and an independent rear suspension is a drastic upgrade from the full floating axle.   As for the Clash race format, Busch will be one of an expected 36 entries who will vie for 23 starting spots in the 150-lap feature on the quarter-mile Coliseum oval. The race weekend starts with practice and qualifying Saturday and continues with heat races and last-chance qualifiers Sunday. The feature race begins at 3 p.m. EST and will be televised live on FOX.   So as Busch and his fellow Cup Series competitors head out West to compete in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, he’s hoping he can bring home a win with his M&M’S Camry in this “Clash” of the Titans of NASCAR’s top series in the City of Angels.   KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M'S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:    What does it mean to be able to race at a place like the Los Angeles Coliseum?   “It’s really cool. Obviously, the history of the Coliseum is really, really neat. It’s going to be tight corners for us, there’s not a lot of space there. We’ll put on the best show we possibly can. Being it’s such a historic venue, we hope we can get a good crowd out there and enjoy the show, and hopefully have a few new eyeballs come out there and tune in on TV, and keep some of those people to watch our other races during the remainder of the year.”   How do you think the racing is going to be like at the Coliseum?   “I have no idea what it’s going to be like. Top speed is probably going to be around 60 mph and the low speed in the corners may be 20 mph. It’s going to be action-packed. We aren’t going to be able to spread out and get away from each other. We are going to be all over the top of each other’s bumpers and doors. Double-file restarts are going to be really tight, and there’s going to be a lot of fenders bent and probably feelings hurt.”   What is your anticipation level for the Clash?   “My anticipation level is probably a lot like everyone else’s, just not exactly knowing what we are going to see. I’ve raced on tracks that small before, but it was in Legends cars. We’ll have to see how this track fits these big, heavy stock cars. We’ll see how it goes. I’d like to do nothing more than take our M&M’S Camry to victory lane the very first time we get to run at a new venue like the Coliseum.”   What’s it going to be like being in Los Angeles to start the season with a unique, first-time event like the Clash at the Coliseum?   “Being in Los Angeles is cool. But when it comes time to race, it’s time to get down to business. We have objectives in mind to be able to go out there and win. It’s a performance-based business, so with that in mind, you want to go out there and do well whether it’s a points-paying race or not for your team and for your sponsors. It’s the first race with the new car so there’s a lot on the line there. You’re going to be close to the fans, it will remind us a lot of Martinsville and Bristol, lining up on pit road before the race just 20 to 30 feet away from the fans right across the way at the fence line.” Event Overview:   ● Event: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 ● Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ● Layout: Quarter-mile oval ● Format: 150-lap Feature with a 23-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ● Note: Heats and LCQ are broadcast live from 3-5 p.m. EST. Feature airs live at 6 p.m. EST.

Notes of Interest:    ● The Format: The L.A. Coliseum track is only a quarter-mile in length – the shortest track the NASCAR Cup Series will compete on in 2022. Only 23 cars can compete in the 150-lap main event. Full format details are below:   On Saturday, Feb. 5, NASCAR Cup Series competitors will take to the track for practice prior to single-car qualifying runs to determine the starting order for four heat races. The field will be open to 40 entrants. On Sunday, Feb. 6, on-track action will begin with four, 25-lap heat races consisting of 10 cars each. Below is a breakdown on how the heat races will be filled out: The top-four fastest qualifiers from Saturday’s single-car qualifying session will be on the pole for each heat race, while cars that qualified fifth through eighth will make up the other half of the front row in each heat. The remainder of each field will be filled out using this methodology: Heat one will be made up of cars with qualifying positions of one, five, nine, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37. The top-four finishers (16 total cars) from each heat race automatically advance through to the Busch Light Clash, with the winner of heat one winning the pole and the heat two winner earning the outside pole. The winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, with the remaining order of those 16 cars being determined in the same manner. The remaining six finishing positions from each heat (24 total cars) that did not advance will continue through to one of two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying (LCQ) races. Below is a breakdown on how the LCQ will be filled out: The starting order for these two events will be determined based on finishing positions in the heat races. Those who did not advance from heats one and three will make up the first LCQ race. The second race will be made of up those from heats two and four. The fifth-place finishers from heats one and two will be on the pole in their respective LCQ races. The fifth-place finishers from heats three and four will be on the outside pole. This pattern will continue to fill out 12 cars in each event. The top-three finishers (six total cars) from both LCQ races will advance to the Busch Light Clash, filling out positions 17-22 of the 23 available positions. The final spot in the Busch Light Clash will be reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or LCQ races. All other drivers will be eliminated from competition for the remainder of the event weekend.    ● ‘Busch’ Clash history: The Busch Light Clash will mark Busch’s 16th appearance in the non-points event, with his 14 races competing on the 2.5-mile oval and last year’s Clash victory coming on the Daytona road course. He brought home his first of two Clash victories in 2012. In that race, Busch passed three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart coming to the finish line on the final lap. Busch won by .013 of a second, the closest finish in Clash history. Busch has led 61 total laps in his 16 previous Clash starts.

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Odds to win 2022 Daytona 500

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NASCAR CUP SERIES

ODDS TO WIN 2022 DAYTONA 500

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022

Denny HAMLIN 8/1
Joey LOGANO 12/1
Ryan BLANEY 12/1
Chase ELLIOTT 12/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 14/1
William BYRON 14/1
Kyle LARSON 14/1
Aric ALMIROLA 16/1
Alex BOWMAN 18/1
Kevin HARVICK 14/1
Kyle BUSCH 16/1
Ross CHASTAIN 40/1
Kurt BUSCH 30/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 20/1
Martin TRUEX JR 16/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 12/1
Austin DILLON 20/1
Christopher BELL 20/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 40/1
Chris BUESCHER 60/1
Cole CUSTER 80/1
Tyler REDDICK 60/1
Chase BRISCOE 80/1
Erik JONES 80/1
Michael McDOWELL 80/1
Ryan NEWMAN 40/1
Corey LAJOIE 100/1
Daniel SUAREZ 80/1
Quin HOUFF 1000/1
Cody WARE 1000/1
Josh BILICKI 1000/1
Joey GASE 1000/1
BJ McLEOD 1000/1
GARRETT SMITHLEY 1000/1
Ryan PREECE 100/1
Kaz GRALA 200/1
David RAGAN 100/1
Anthony ALFREDO 300/1
Noah GRAGSON 200/1
Jamie McMURRAY 40/1
Austin CINDRIC 60/1
Derrike COPE 2000/1


DAYTONA 500 DRIVER VS DRIVER MATCHUPS

Denny HAMLIN - 130
Joey LOGANO +110

Denny HAMLIN - 130
Ryan BLANEY +110

Denny HAMLIN - 130
Chase ELLIOTT +110

Joey LOGANO - 110
Ryan BLANEY - 110

Joey LOGANO - 110
Chase ELLIOTT - 110

Ryan BLANEY - 110
Chase ELLIOTT - 110

Brad KESELOWSKI - 110
William BYRON - 110

Brad KESELOWSKI - 110
Kevin HARVICK - 110

Brad KESELOWSKI - 125
Alex BOWMAN +105

William BYRON - 110
Kevin HARVICK - 110

William BYRON - 125
Alex BOWMAN +105

Kevin HARVICK -125
Alex BOWMAN +105

Kyle LARSON - 125
Kyle BUSCH +105

Kyle LARSON - 110
Aric ALMIROLA - 110

Kyle BUSCH +105
Aric ALMIROLA - 125

Ross CHASTAIN EVEN
Kurt BUSCH - 120

Ross CHASTAIN +120
Matin TRUEX JR - 140

Kurt BUSCH +110
Martin TRUEX JR - 130

Darrell WALLACE JR - 140
Ricky STENHOUSE JR +120

Austin DILLON - 125
Matt DIBENEDETTO +105

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Odds to win 2022 NASCAR Cup Championship

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ODDS TO WIN 2022 NASCAR CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

KYLE LARSON 7/2
CHASE ELLIOTT 5/1
DENNY HAMLIN 8/1
KYLE BUSCH 8/1
RYAN BLANEY 10/1
WILLIAM BYRON 10/1
MARTIN TRUEX JR 10/1
JOEY LOGANO 14/1
KEVIN HARVICK 14/1
ALEX BOWMAN 20/1
CHRISTOPHER BELL 20/1
KURT BUSCH 30/1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 30/1
TYLER REDDICK 60/1
ROSS CHASTAIN 100/1
DANIEL SUAREZ 100/1
AUSTIN CINDRIC 100/1
CHASE BRISCOE 200/1
AUSTIN DILLON 300/1
ARIC ALMIROLA 300/1
BUBBA WALLACE 300/1
CHRIS BUESCHER 500/1
JUSTIN HALEY 500/1
COLE CUSTER 500/1
ERIK JONES 500/1
HARRISON BURTON 500/1
TY DILLON 500/1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 500/1
COREY LAJOIE 2000/1
MICHAEL McDOWELL 2000/1

Odds on Jan. 10 the same as openers from Nov 29

Beard Motorsports Back with Gragson for Daytona 500

 

Twenty-Three-Year-Old Las Vegas Native Ready to Earn Spot in 64th Running of The Great American Race

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (Nov. 16, 2021) – Beard Motorsports has selected Noah Gragson to drive its No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro in the 64th running of the Daytona 500 Feb. 20 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.   It marks Gragson’s return to Beard Motorsports, as the generational race team founded by the late Mark Beard Sr., and now run by his wife, Linda Beard, tabbed Gragson for last year’s Daytona 500. Unfortunately, Gragson was collected in a multicar accident just four laps short of the finish in his 150-mile qualifying race, which prevented him from advancing to the Daytona 500.   As a non-chartered team, Beard Motorsports has no guaranteed starting spot in the Daytona 500, meaning it has to race its way into The Great American Race.   “To say that we can’t wait to get back to Daytona is a massive understatement,” said Amie Beard, executive vice president, Beard Motorsports. “From the moment my father founded this race team, we all took a tremendous amount of pride in showing up and performing right alongside the established teams in the sport. Last year didn’t go the way we wanted, but that’s just made us more motivated to return.”   That motivation is echoed by Mark Beard Jr., who helps his sister, Amie, manage the race team.   “We have a NextGen car, we have Noah, and we still have our alliance with Richard Childress Racing,” he said. “Some folks might be ready for the offseason, but we’re definitely on for Daytona.”   Gragson has a similar mindset. With qualifying unavailable at the other superspeedway races in 2021, Beard Motorsports didn’t have the chance to race again. The 2022 Daytona 500 provides that long-sought opportunity for Beard Motorsports to get back to the track and Gragson to get that first career NASCAR Cup Series start.   “I’m so happy to have this opportunity to return to Daytona with Beard Motorsports,” said the 23-year-old Gragson. “It was good to get a taste of Cup racing in last year’s Duel, but it left us all wanting more. We’ve got some unfinished business down there.”   Helping take care of that unfinished business is Brendan Gaughan. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver who finished his racing career with Beard Motorsports is now its vice president of racing operations.   “All of us look forward to having Brendan up on the pit box with us,” said Linda Beard. “He has been with us since the beginning and become a part of our family. His personality and his relationships in this sport are essential to our race team. In a season where seemingly everything is new, his presence provides stability. It’s great to have him next to me as we continue this journey.”   Beard Motorsports has proven to be the little team that could, a modern-day David competing against the Goliaths of the NASCAR Cup Series. The team employs just one fulltime person – crew chief Darren Shaw – and has since its debut in the 2017 Daytona 500 when Gaughan finished 11th.   Beard Motorsports makes it all work by taking a strategic approach to its racing endeavors. Its alliance with Richard Childress Racing and singular focus on the superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway have yielded solid results, most recently a pair of top-10 finishes at Daytona in 2020 – seventh in the Daytona 500 and eighth in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 – both at the hands of Gaughan.   “Beard Motorsports has proven that it can run with the big teams there at Daytona, and I’m just really looking forward to getting another crack at it,” Gragson said. “We know we have to race our way into the Daytona 500, and I’m very appreciative of the faith the Beard Family has in me.”   Gragson is a five-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the first of which came in the 2020 season opener at Daytona. His recently completed 2021 season netted three wins and a spot in the Championship 4, where the Las Vegas-native ultimately finished a career-high third in points. The 2022 season will be Gragson’s fourth full year in the Xfinity Series and he returns to the familiar No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.   -BeardMotorsports-

Hendrick Motorsports driver quotes heading into Phoenix

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his mindset heading to Phoenix Raceway: “It’s definitely the most important race ever in my career. I’m fortunate that it’s at Phoenix. It’s a track I haven’t won at before, but I’ve had some really good runs there, and earlier this year we had a really, really good race car. I just made two mistakes and sped on pit road two different times. If I can clean up those mistakes, I think we’ll have a great shot to win as well as the other three guys who I’m sure I’ll be going up against. It’ll be tough, but I’m looking forward to a chance to race for a championship.”


Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on using notes from the spring Phoenix race: “The best experience that we have to go off of is the spring race that we had there. Our car was really fast. We had a couple of mistakes of Kyle speeding on pit road, and some of that was on us too just for getting the timing marks down. But we've learned from that and we have good notes from that race. Of course, great notes from Alan (Gustafson) and Chase (Elliott) winning the championship and winning the race there last year. So, those two recent data points of ourselves and our teammates are just great to have and great to go off of and build from.”




Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on if there are lessons from last year’s championship run that he will carry with him this season: “I think a little bit of everything. We will look at obviously our car side of things from how we raced the last few years, not just that particular race last year. Then, obviously, the spring race in Phoenix – we have some things to look back at. So, I think we will definitely dive through every bit of that information that we have. I think from the mental side, having that experience of going and experiencing the emotions of the week and leading up to it and all those things, it is kind of nice to have been through that before. It didn't really seem to matter last year so I don't know that it really matters; I don’t know whether it really affects your performance or not, but there were things and experiences that I learned last year that I'll try to carry forward to better myself and to better our team and that's all you can do with that information.”

Elliott on being locked into the Championship 4: “Getting in that final four is really the goal every year. The goal is to go win the championship, so it’s just nice to have another shot. It wasn't the exciting transfer walk-off type like it was last year but nonetheless, to have a shot to go race for to the championship is really all that matters to us right now. I would love to have won at Martinsville, but I feel like our teams in a good place, performing well over the last couple weeks so I am excited for the opportunity. That's all I can ask for this time of year.”

Elliott on the No. 9 team dynamic: “I feel like we have a great team. I feel like our approach is very similar; I let him do his job and he lets me do my job. We don't question it and I feel like it ends up being a really nice working relationship. Our team has grown and has changed a little bit over the course of my six years. I think that as you go, you evolve and you get to know people better, you start doing better. You start finding that little bit in each person that helps performance each week and it all adds up. So, we have a great group people. I am proud to have them and I am excited go to work this weekend.”

Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on competing for a championship against No. 5 team: “It makes it a lot of fun. It’s certainly more enjoyable for me and it gives you a little bit of comfort knowing that you have teammates who are going to be pushing the front and pushing forward to prove their cars, their pit crews, all of the above. It’s a fun time here and we are proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and what they have been able to do in all phases of this organization. They are operating at a super high level. It’s a fun time and we certainly enjoy it.”

Gustafson on looking back at the 2020 championship nearly one year later: “To me, it’s much more about 2021 than 2020. I’ve just been focused on trying to get in a position where we can do that again. I really haven’t had a chance to reflect on last year much or really even think about it. We are just focused on this season and trying to get ourselves and our team in the best position we can for this weekend. Certainly, there’s some things we learned going through last year and this season so far that we can apply, but as far as anything else, it’s just been keeping our eyes forward. We are looking forward to getting to Phoenix.”




William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what to expect returning to Phoenix Raceway this season: “When we went to Phoenix earlier this season, it was a good experimental race for us. It was still early on in the year, and we were still getting Rudy (Fugle) up to speed in the Cup Series. I think we learned a lot that race, but unfortunately not a ton will apply when we go back this weekend. With everything we’ve learned throughout the year, the car will be set up completely different and the track will handle differently, as well. The good thing is we will have practice this time around. With this being the final race, you know everyone will bring their best equipment, but we will have the time to really dial it in before the race. You just don’t want to cross the fine line of dialing yourself in or dialing yourself out.”

Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what the team has accomplished this season: “It’s crazy to think that this is the last race of the season and that my ‘rookie’ year is coming to a close. I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished as a team this year. I had a lot to learn coming in and everyone helped to get me up to speed. We won a race so early on and showed consistency throughout the rest of the year. This team as a whole, William included, has grown so much in just a short time to have a career-best year. There will be more to come; our chance will come. We would love to be heading to Phoenix in the hunt for a championship but we’re glad to have two teammates in the hunt representing Hendrick Motorsports, as well. We’ll all four be strong Sunday.”



Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on if he’s satisfied with his breakout season: “Yes and no. It's so frustrating to have this playoff run go how it has gone. Last year, we had a great playoff run. We didn't go into it with a lot of playoff points, but we were extremely consist - finished pretty well in the points and had a good playoffs. This year, we've just had everything go wrong that could possibly go wrong. So, it was really special to at least get pointed in the right direction to try to end the season on a high note and get a win after how the last couple of months have gone. Obviously, we'd rather be in the final four. I think it's pretty obvious; that's what everybody wants. We just haven't had the consistency that we needed to make that happen. It's unfortunate, but that's just the way it went. So, we will work hard at trying to understand why that is. We've been trying to understand why that is for quite a while, so if we can get that dialed in, we've proven we can win races. Anytime we have a shot at it, we tend to finish the job. So, (we will) just keep trying to continue to put ourselves in positions to win races.”

Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the approach to Sunday’s race in Phoenix: “Really similar. Obviously, they always talk about racing the playoff guys with respect and I don't think we race anybody with disrespect. So, whether you're in playoffs or not, I don't think it should matter. Obviously, you know, things happen on the racetrack and intentional or not intentional, we will be truthful about it. There was a time in the last few years Alex made a move and it was intentional and he owned up to it, so track record should speak for that. Phoenix, we have two teammates in in there, we have a guy we just had some controversy with, so I don't expect us to race Denny any differently, as well as our teammates any differently, than we have all year. For a position to win the race, it really comes down to whoever wants to go for second, right? In the end, we're never going to put ourselves in a situation to ruin those guys’ opportunity to win a championship because we know at some point we’ll be in that same scenario and (will) want to get raced exactly how they would. So, in in the end, we're just going to go out there have a nice, calm, clean race, hopefully a fast car, and let the driving and the speed dictate itself.”