Tag: Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville win ‘huge’ for Trackhouse – Marks

A dominant performance at Nashville Superspeedway en route to his first NASCAR Cup Series win in over a year had Justin Marks singing the praises of his driver Ross Chastain. “I think Ross showed today that he’s really in rare air in this series, at …

A dominant performance at Nashville Superspeedway en route to his first NASCAR Cup Series win in over a year had Justin Marks singing the praises of his driver Ross Chastain.

“I think Ross showed today that he’s really in rare air in this series, at this level,” Marks said Sunday night. “He’s learning, he’s maturing. It’s an incredible moment for us.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Nashville is the birthplace of Trackhouse Racing, which helped make the victory sweeter. But for Chastain, it helped quiet the criticism he’s faced in recent months about his driving style, doing so in a race where he had the best car

Chastain started from the pole and led a race-high 99 of 300 laps. In the first stage, Chastain finished second to Tyler Reddick, and he finished third in the second stage to Denny Hamlin. Throughout the race, Chastain’s average running position was 10.6.

Given his history with Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., Chastain admitted there was satisfaction in having to pass those two drivers for the victory. A victory that was his first on a true oval after wins at the Circuit of the Americas road course and Talladega Superspeedway.

But for Marks, the win was about capitalizing on an opportunity. Chastain was the subject of criticism at Darlington Raceway for crashing with Kyle Larson while battling for the lead late in the going. It appeared to be a turning point as Marks publicly said there were things to clean up and discuss.

“There was not really a moment, a sit-down moment, with Ross,” said Marks. “It wasn’t like, ‘Do this,’ or ‘Do that.’ I have been going through this experience as a Cup owner alongside Ross as a Cup driver for the first time. He’s made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes. We’re learning together.

“I think after Darlington, there was such an opportunity to have such a moment for our team that I think we just sat down and go, ‘How do we make sure that we don’t miss these opportunities?’ When we’ve got opportunities to make statements and win races, with the speed we have in our race cars, how good everybody is, let’s make sure we’re making decisions to put ourselves in a position to capitalize and have nights like we did tonight.”

Chastain has had to learn to compete at the Cup Series level. In the process, his aggressive style ruffled feathers. Entering the weekend, Chastain admitted he’s still evolving as a driver.

“You look at a race like tonight, he just did everything right, everything perfectly,” said Marks. “He had a super-fast car. The conditions changed from day to night. They ran three wide for three laps, which was incredible. He did everything right.

“I think it’s a huge win for us because I think it’s a big moment for him and this team personally because it says that we have an opportunity to win so many races and compete and win for championships in this series. Such a bright future ahead of us. We’re all, like, super motivated and inspired for the future.”

With the victory, Chastain clinched a return trip to the playoffs, where he came within one spot of winning the championship last season.

Truex ‘just needed a little bit’ to overhaul Chastain in Nashville

Martin Truex Jr. was pushing hard in the final run at Nashville Superspeedway trying to catch Ross Chastain, but there were too many wrong circumstances for it to matter. A second-place finish is what Truex left the Ally 400 with, feeling he needed …

Martin Truex Jr. was pushing hard in the final run at Nashville Superspeedway trying to catch Ross Chastain, but there were too many wrong circumstances for it to matter.

A second-place finish is what Truex left the Ally 400 with, feeling he needed to be the leader in the run to the finish to have a shot at winning. But once Truex had lost the top spot midway through the race, it changed the complexion of his race.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

“Once we lost (the lead), I probably made a bad move taking the bottom on a restart,” Truex said. “Just too loose in the long runs. I could hang with whoever was leading, just could never get off the corner good enough to get a move. Just lacking side bite. Overall, just burning the rear tires off too much.

By jumping the leaders on the final round of pit stops, Truex was able to move from third to second place. But Chastain was able to manage his gap and air block, even though lapped traffic. And even though Truex could see Chastain was battling his car, too, the No. 1 Chevrolet still drove away.

“Just really loose at the end of the race there as well,” Truex said. “Just needed a little bit. Got lots of speed. Just could never get the balance where it needed to be. Without having clean air, it was difficult, so overall, good night for our Bass Pro Tracker Toyota Camry. Guys are doing a great job. Just that close again.

“If we keep doing this, we’ll be in good shape.”

Truex led 50 laps Sunday night. He also picked up 16 stage points, and remains the championship point leader.

“If we extended it, it’s always good,” Truex said. “A lot of points at the end of the regular season to get that (championship), a lot of bonus points. We’ll take all we can/

“I was disappointed not to get the stage win there. We had it wrapped up until the tire got away on the 45 (Tyler Reddick). That’s how these things play out. We weren’t quite good enough to take the lead. That was our issue. Burning the tires off too much, getting too loose in the long runs.”

Jones back on form after testing couple of months

Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway was the first race in a while that Erik Jones felt his No. 43 team was in the ballpark, and he turned it into a top-10 finish. Jones finished eighth in the Ally 400, his best finish on a non-superspeedway type …

Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway was the first race in a while that Erik Jones felt his No. 43 team was in the ballpark, and he turned it into a top-10 finish.

Jones finished eighth in the Ally 400, his best finish on a non-superspeedway type track this season. It was also the first top-10 finish for Jones and his Legacy Motor Club team in two months.

It was “for sure” a needed run for the group.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

“When you’re struggling, you get kind of in a rut, and it seems like you’re never going to get out of it,” said Jones. “But we kept working, and I knew we were going to get our stuff better, it was just a matter of getting the pieces together.

“We’ve been trying some stuff the last month; felt like Gateway was going to be a good day for us and obviously, had the incident on pit road, and today I think we put everything together. Proud of that. Obviously, a huge step forward and hopefully more for the rest of the season.”

Jones started the race 23rd, which he feared would happen with an early qualifying draw. But knowing he had a top-10 car kept Jones focused on the climb toward the front.

“Just a good car; good car off the trailer on Friday, fast in practice,” Jones said of what went right at Nashville. “We didn’t qualify good, but I felt like we could race good and we did that. Just keep bringing good cars, that’s what it’s all about.

“I know we’re going to do that more. The second half of the year always seems better for me. I don’t know – the tracks or whatever. But hopefully, we can keep bringing good cars.”

It’s going to be an uphill climb for Jones and Legacy Motor Club. The organization has admittedly taken a step backward from last season, and that fight now includes an upcoming transition period to a new manufacturer next season, changing the dynamics when it comes to available resources.

“It’s tough, obviously, with the penalty we got, we’re pretty far back in points, so a lot out the window on the year,” Jones said, referring to the loss of 60 points for a greenhouse modification after St. Louis.

“But we want to run well. There’s nothing else we can do but try to go out and do this. A top 10 is really good for us right now with where we’re at, and it’s what we’ve got to do. Hopefully, we can continue that the rest of the year, build off this year, and keep moving forward.”

For Jones, the focus-forward attitude and determination to succeed despite adversity will, if nothing else, show how strong the organization is.

“The last two months have for sure done that, kind of tested everybody,” Jones said. “But I knew everybody was going to stick together and work at this deal, try to get it better. Got to keep pushing forward. Got to keep trying to get it better.

“We’re a bit on an island right here, but we’ve still got stuff to learn to try to apply for next year.”

NASCAR to evaluate Blaney’s non-SAFER hit at Nashville

NASCAR officials will evaluate Ryan Blaney’s crash at Nashville Superspeedway after his Team Penske Ford Mustang hit a wall that didn’t have a SAFER barrier. “NASCAR safety engineers work closely with safety experts on the implementation of barriers …

NASCAR officials will evaluate Ryan Blaney’s crash at Nashville Superspeedway after his Team Penske Ford Mustang hit a wall that didn’t have a SAFER barrier.

“NASCAR safety engineers work closely with safety experts on the implementation of barriers around the track,” a statement read. “As we do following every race weekend, we will evaluate all available data and make any necessary improvements.”

Blaney crashed on lap 147 of the Ally 400 off an accordion effect on a restart. It started in the second row with Brad Keselowski, who got hit from behind when the field launched.

Once Keselowski was out of shape, the field took evasive action to the left and right of the RFK Racing driver. Blaney, who was in the ninth row, was hit from behind by Kyle Busch and sent spinning.

“The guys behind me had so much power that they ran me over,” Keselowski said. “I got a great launch, and there they go. I just got run over. Got hit so hard it literally knocked it out of gear.

“They were just that much faster. It’s frustrating, but we got work to do.”

Blaney hit the inside wall nose first. Although he admitted the impact left him needing to catch his breath, he climbed from the car on his own and was cleared from the infield care center.

“I don’t really know what happened,” Blaney said. “Someone checked up on the restart, I guess, and I kind of checked up and got hit from behind. I didn’t know if they were wrecking, and just couldn’t get it straightened out when I got out of the grass. I thought I was going to come back around, and that I’d be OK, but it just never got back right, and I don’t know why there’s no safer barrier there.

“That’s pretty ridiculous, honestly — hardest hit I’ve ever had in my life, so happy to be all right. It sucks for the Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Stinks to go home early.”

Chastain secures playoff berth with clean drive in Nashville

Ross Chastain capped off a “perfect” race weekend, hitting all the right notes in the Music City to earn the winner’s guitar trophy in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway – his first NASCAR Cup Series race victory of the season, a day after …

Ross Chastain capped off a “perfect” race weekend, hitting all the right notes in the Music City to earn the winner’s guitar trophy in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway – his first NASCAR Cup Series race victory of the season, a day after claiming his first career pole position.

But before hoisting his new guitar, the 30-year old Chastain had a watermelon to smash – his trademark victory celebration – a nod to his family’s multi-generation watermelon farm in rural Alva, Florida. And the sold-out Nashville crowd – home to his race team owner Justin Marks — roared with enthusiasm for the long smoke-filled victory burnout he did in front of the grandstands to his enthusiastic melon drop.

“This is incredible,” a grinning Chastain said. “This is why every little kid out there, anyone in the world, when you get criticized and you’re going to if you’re a competitor, they will try to tear you down and you’ll start believing it and you can’t do that. Go to your people. Trust in the process. Read your books and trust in the Big Man’s plan upstairs. And just keep getting up and going to work on it.

“A lot of self-reflection through all this, but I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t let me get down,” he said of his challenges in 2023.

Chastain certainly proved his resilience and his faith in the process. He led early Sunday and then led late – thanks to incredibly fast pit stops from his Trackhouse Racing team helping position him for the race lead on the final round of stops of the night.

It’s the first race win of 2023 for Chastain, who led the championship standings for seven weeks early in the year, and the first win of the year and first pole position ever for Trackhouse Racing.

Ultimately Chastain had to hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin by 0.789s for the win – leading a race best 99 of the 300 laps, including the final 34.

Lapped traffic was a factor for Chastain to overcome all night. He lost his early race lead to Tyler Reddick after Noah Gragson raced Chastain hard trying not to be lapped. There is a history between Gragson and Chastain, who had a physical confrontation at Kansas Speedway in early May. Reddick went on to win Stage 1 after Chastain was unable to clear Gragson easily, but Reddick – who started the race alongside Chastain on the front row — spun out on pit road on a caution shortly thereafter and ultimately was not a factor for the win.

In the closing laps – with Truex hot on his bumper – Chastain had to navigate traffic again, and again cars held him up in an effort not to get lapped.

Fortunately for the No. 1, some of that traffic made things difficult for Truex as well and the “Melon Man” was able to pull away some in the final 20 laps.

It was a clean race – only two short extra caution flags beyond the two scheduled stage breaks. Reddick took his third stage win of the season in Stage 1 and Hamlin notched his fourth in Stage 2.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

“I just think we had a third place car,” Hamlin said. “I thought the No. 19 (Truex) was a little better and obviously the No. 1 came on really strong there at the end.

“Just didn’t have quite a fast enough car to go for the win,” he added.

With his runner-up showing, Truex maintained the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead, now up by 18-points on both Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Chastain.

“Just needed to get the lead. Once we lost it, just too loose on the long runs, just could never get off the corner good to make a move,” Truex said, adding, “Just needed a little bit. Had a lot of speed. … Overall a good night.”

The 1.33-mile Nashville oval has been a good place for Chastain. He finished runner-up in 2021 and was fifth last year. And having won his first career pole position on Saturday, he went into Sunday’s race feeling optimistic.

“I trust in my people, my family back home, the agriculture industry and all the people Justin Marks has in place,” Chastain said, adding, “It’s absolutely incredible the fight that we have.”

Chase Elliott, the 2022 Nashville winner, finished fourth, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Byron. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger – who won the Nashville Xfinity Series race on Saturday – rounded out the top 10.

The NASCAR Cup Series next heads to downtown Chicago for the highly-anticipated Grant Park 200 Chicago Street Race next Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

‘Hardest hit I’ve ever had in my life’ – Blaney crashes early at Nashville

Ryan Blaney made impact with an inside wall at Nashville Superspeedway that had no SAFER barrier and left the Team Penske driver saying it was the “hardest hit” he’s had. Blaney crashed on lap 147 of Sunday night’s race as the field came to a …

Ryan Blaney made impact with an inside wall at Nashville Superspeedway that had no SAFER barrier and left the Team Penske driver saying it was the “hardest hit” he’s had.

Blaney crashed on lap 147 of Sunday night’s race as the field came to a restart. A stack-up started in the second row with Brad Keselowski, who restarted in the outside lane. The field tried to take evasive action by scattering to the left and right of Keselowski.

Coming to the restart, Blaney was lined up on the inside of the ninth row. He was tagged from behind by Kyle Busch, which sent Blaney’s Ford spinning to the left.

During the spin, the Penske Ford went through the frontstretch grass and across the pavement of the exit of pit road. It then went nose-first into the inside wall.

“I feel better now,” Blaney said after being cleared from the infield care center. “It’s a shame to end our night early. I thought we finally got decent there the start of the second stage and I don’t really know what happened. Someone checked up on the restart, I guess, and I kind of checked up and got hit from behind.

“I didn’t know if they were wrecking and just couldn’t get it straightened out when I got out of the grass. I thought I was going to come back around and I’d be OK, but it just never got back right, and I don’t know why there’s no SAFER barrier there. It’s pretty ridiculous, honestly — hardest hit I’ve ever had in my life, so happy to be all right. It sucks for the Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Stinks to go home early.”

After the impact, Blaney said he needed time to catch his breath. He climbed from the car under his own power.

The lack of a SAFER barrier was a sticking point for him, being puzzled about how there wasn’t one in that spot, but expects it won’t be an issue going forward after his crash.

“I honestly thought I was going to be fine,” Blaney said. “I really thought I was going to be OK once I got past the grass back onto the asphalt. I thought I could kind of swing back around when I got off the brake.

“It just never did; it was at the weird angle. I thought I could get back going straight until the last second, and it just never came back.”

‘I don’t want to wreck myself; I want to win races’ – Chastain

Over a month removed from the highly publicized and criticized crash between Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson at Darlington Raceway, the Trackhouse Racing driver continues to evolve. Chastain was criticized by Larson’s team owner Rick Hendrick in the …

Over a month removed from the highly publicized and criticized crash between Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson at Darlington Raceway, the Trackhouse Racing driver continues to evolve.

Chastain was criticized by Larson’s team owner Rick Hendrick in the intermediate aftermath of the incident, which took both drivers out of contention for the victory. Trackhouse owner Justin Marks also spoke out, telling SiriusXM NASCAR Radio there were difficult conversations taking place, including with his driver.

In the three races since, Chastain has earned one top-10 finish and led just one lap. He’s gone from the points lead into a tie for third in the championship standings with Ryan Blaney.

“I’m definitely going to learn from Darlington,” Chastain said at Nashville Superspeedway. “I don’t want to wreck myself; I want to win races. Whatever I can do to wreck less and win more will definitely be top of mind and priority.

“I take what people say to heart, though, especially my boss, my owner. The guy that hires me and guides me. He’s a racer himself, so we’ve talked as just racers and buddies just as much as we’ve talked as owner and driver. People can think what they want. I know what our path is, has been, and is currently in what we’re planning, and I’m totally comfortable in the spot we’re in.”

When pressed on whether he’s finding a different approach of rhythm on the racetrack, Chastain said, “I’m trying to find victory lane. … I was there (Friday) night with Carson Hocevar, and I’ve got to get back myself. That’s all we’re trying to find.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Chastain has not won a Cup Series race since April of last season. Some of the criticism thrown his way in recent months is that his driving style has cost the No. 1 team opportunities to capitalize on fast race cars. However, from the outside looking in after Darlington, some would argue he’s been more conservative behind the wheel.

On Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway, Chastain earned his first career pole in the Cup Series and the first for Trackhouse Racing. It came at their home track.

“Personally, it’s a day that I will truly never forget,” Chastain said after qualifying. “No matter how the weekend goes or the rest of the year, I will always have a memory of today. We all have key, core memories within our lives and in our minds.”

Time will tell if the pole win is a positive step in momentum for Chastain to regain his footing.

“I don’t really know how this changes in the spotlight and things like that,” he said. “I’m me. Trackhouse gets the good and the bad, and our sport as a whole gets me for who I am. Everybody expects me to just be, like, very repeatable and robotic, I feel like — that I should just be one way or the other. I’m human; I’m going to do things different each time and try to be better.

“I’m not going to do the same thing over and over because if I want to do that, I’d be really good at failing and I don’t like failure. I don’t like crashing. I want to win. I will continue to evolve to do that. I’ve got a really good group around me that gets me through the bad days. We celebrate the good days and work through the bad ones, and keep working in the good ones, as well.”

Allmendinger heads back to Xfinity victory lane at Nashville

Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger held off an especially spirited field in double overtime to claim his first oval race victory of the season in a dramatic Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon. The popular veteran led …

Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger held off an especially spirited field in double overtime to claim his first oval race victory of the season in a dramatic Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon.

The popular veteran led the final 20 laps and got an impressive final restart to launch his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet from the pack and drive off to a 1.323s win over runner-up Riley Herbst in a race that included a record-tying 11 caution periods and 17 lead changes among 11 different drivers.

The caution-punctuated ending was perhaps suitable for a race that saw three yellow flags within the first 20 laps. Fifteen cars in the 38-car field had been involved in incidents before the Stage 2 break.

Yet ultimately it came down a veteran’s purposeful, patient afternoon-long pursuit. And the 41-year old Californian Allmendinger was up for the challenge, claiming his 17th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and second of the season.

“I love winning on ovals because I know a lot of people doubt me on an oval,” a smiling Allmendinger said, a nod to his former open-wheel days and his reputation as one of the best road course drivers in the history of the sport.

Certainly his experience paid off on Saturday with an especially active day. Ty Gibbs, the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and now a NASCAR Cup Series rookie, won the first Stage and showed himself among the class of the field. But on the next restart his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was hit while racing for the lead with one of this year’s championship favorites, Austin Hill, who was restarting up front on older tires. Allmendinger’s Chevy also suffered a little damage in the five-car melee near the front of the pack, but he – and Hill – were able to continue, while Gibbs’ car suffered too much damage.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Chandler Smith, Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammate won the race’s second stage and kept the lead pack honest for most of the day. He and Allmendinger exchanged the lead and ran 1-2 for much of the second half of the race around the 1.333-mile oval.

After a series of final scheduled pit stops, Parker Kligerman settled in for the biggest strategic gamble of the day. While the lead cars were making their way back through the field following stops, Kligerman kept his No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet out front willing to take a chance on a fuel-saving strategy. But with 12 laps remaining, Kligerman’s team told him to drop in line behind Allmendinger to start conserving and Allmendinger passed him for the lead with 11 laps of regulation to go.

JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer finished third with Hill fourth and JR Motorsports’ – and Tennessee native — Josh Berry rounding out the top five.

“That was the most up and down day I’ve ever had in racing,” Mayer said, managing a smile on pit road afterward.

John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth in the No. 20 JGR Toyota. Although he never led a lap his rally forward after a 21st starting position was good enough for him to hold onto the championship lead by nine points over Hill.

Reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Zane Smith turned in an impressive seventh-place finish in the No. 28 Ford. Allmendinger’s Kaulig teammate Daniel Hemric was eighth. Herbst’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer was ninth followed by rookie Parker Retzlaff.

“We got a little fortunate there, when the accident happened, it didn’t really do anything too bad to the quarter panels … and the guys did a good job of fixing it there,” Allmendinger said of the early damage, noting that the rash of early cautions actually helped his team have time to restore his car competitively.

“I will be honest, I was shocked on the initial start, I went down and made it three wide and thought nothing on it, didn’t even drive my car that hard and started wrecking so that kind of raised my eyebrows, it’s a lot slicker than I expected,” Allmendinger said. “So the next couple starts, just tried to chill and get into the rhythm of the race.

“I just knew more than anything I needed a good re-start and to get in Turn 1 clean,’’ he said of the final restart and ultimate winning move.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the Midwest next week for Saturday’s inaugural The Loop 121 on the Chicago Street Race course (5 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

NASCAR’s next area of growth needs to be Canada – Keselowski

The NASCAR schedule is becoming less predictable each season, as evidenced by the sport’s first street course race next weekend in Chicago. Former Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski knows what he wants to see next. “I’ve been pretty steady on this, …

The NASCAR schedule is becoming less predictable each season, as evidenced by the sport’s first street course race next weekend in Chicago. Former Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski knows what he wants to see next.

“I’ve been pretty steady on this, I think, for a number of years, but we have to get to Canada,” Keselowski said Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. “There is a big market for us there. We need to get to Canada and on an oval in Canada.

“I think that particular market is underserved and full of a ton of NASCAR fans that would help us branch out somewhat internationally while in a manner I think could control costs for the owners in a respectful way.”

NASCAR visited Montreal, Canada, from 2007 through 2012, with the Xfinity Series running at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Craftsman Truck Series also visited Canadian Tire Motorsports Park from 2013 through 2019, and the race even once served as a playoff race.

But Keselowski notably said an oval race.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

“I think the layup for us as a sport is to find these road courses in different countries, and that’s better than nothing,” Keselowski said, “But it’s not the way I would prefer to show what NASCAR’s capable of.”

NASCAR’s top stars running an oval race in Canada would not be completely new. Buddy Shuman won a Grand National race at Stamford Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 1952. While it was an oval race, it should be noted it was a half-mile dirt track that was mostly used for horse racing.

The race at Stamford Park is said to be the first NASCAR race run outside of the United States.

Lee Petty won a Grand National race in 1958 at Canadian Exposition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario — a 0.333-mile paved oval.

NASCAR’s current presence in Canada is through the popular Pinty’s Series. The schedule features a mix between ovals, road courses, and dirt tracks.

Keselowski’s support of Canada comes from first-hand knowledge. Once a full-time Xfinity Series driver for JR Motorsports and Team Penske, Keselowski ran three races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and saw how it was a good market for NASCAR.

“Just the passion out of the fans,” Keselowski said of what stood out. “When I go to races, go through the infields over the years, meet our fans, there’s just a significant fan base in Canada that I think just has a big desire to be a part of our sport and would embrace it in a way that we really need.”

Briscoe reunites with veteran crew chief to try and turn season around

Acknowledging something wasn’t clicking with his Stewart-Haas Racing team, Chase Briscoe felt it was time for a change for the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series season. It comes in the form of reuniting with crew chief Richard Boswell beginning …

Acknowledging something wasn’t clicking with his Stewart-Haas Racing team, Chase Briscoe felt it was time for a change for the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

It comes in the form of reuniting with crew chief Richard Boswell beginning this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. Earlier this week, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that Boswell would replace Johnny Klausmeier, who’s been serving a six-week suspension for a counterfeit part on the No. 14 Ford.

Briscoe and Boswell won eight races together in 67 starts in the Xfinity Series. The two last worked together in 2020.

“Boswell might not be the answer,” Briscoe said of a turnaround, “but I feel like could help me right away from a driver’s standpoint. Hopefully, the results will start showing. I feel from a speed standpoint, we’re off right now. But in general, our cars aren’t really good, so we’re trying to keep our expectations realistic and know what we need to do to improve our cars. Hopefully, we can do that.”

Briscoe is 31st in the championship standings with four top-10 finishes and lost 120 points from the penalty. His average finish is 19.8.

“When I came up from the Xfinity Series, it was something I’d ask for, and it probably didn’t make the most sense at the time and it was a 50-50 decision if we were going to go that direction with Richard,” Briscoe said of promoting Boswell. “It just didn’t really work out to have that happen. Truthfully, even in the offseason, we talked about making a change and just felt like with how good we finished last year, if we could start off on that same foot, we’d be in a really good place for the season. When that didn’t really work out and then the penalty happened, it probably expedited things a little bit.

“I think Johnny did an incredible job. That guy is one of the nicest individuals. He’s been working with Richard two or three hours a day just trying to get him in line to help Richard kind of shorten that learning curve, and for a guy that just got removed from the job, he didn’t have to do any of that. But that’s just the type of person Johnny is, and I respect Johnny a ton for that.

“We did have a lot of success. We were five laps away from making the final four — won my first Cup race with him. It was a hard decision, but at the end of the day, I had a lot of confidence with Richard. We won as many races as we did together, and I felt like, down deep, that’s the change that needed to be made. Whenever the penalty came out and how our season was, it made sense to do it so we can get a leap start on next year.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Although they didn’t graduate into the Cup Series together, Briscoe believes it worked out for the best. The two stayed in contact over the years, talking two or three times a week, and Briscoe described them as “super close.” The former Cup Series rookie of the year is confident he and Boswell are both in better positions to succeed once again on the same team.

But Briscoe also understands it’s going to take time to get where the team needs to be, and Boswell is good at keeping him focused. In the few days they’ve been back together, Boswell has already sent Briscoe a “ton” of notes, providing help on the study side of the sport.

Being kept accountable is a big thing for the driver, and Boswell does that. Furthermore, Briscoe described his new crew chief as a guy “that’s not afraid to get onto you if you’re doing something wrong.”

When Briscoe was “bummed” after the car’s performance in practice, Boswell reminded him a turnaround isn’t going to happen in three days. But the season can be salvaged, said Briscoe.

“You can always get there,” he said. “It’s no secret all the Fords, in general, are off, but we need to be the best Ford, and that’s something that right now is our goal. We’re not the top Ford, so we need to be the best Ford, and if we’re not the best, we need to at least be in the top two or three. Instead, we’ve been one of the worst two or three every single week. I think from that side of things, just manage our expectations. We know we don’t have the speed to go win, but let’s try to be the best Ford. And once we’re the best Ford, then we can focus on winning more.

“That’s all we’re trying to do right now is re-establish everything and lay a new foundation. Obviously, we got off the rails a little bit these last two or three months, and we just need to re-establish what a baseline setup is and rebuild from scratch again, truthfully. So it’s going to take time. That’s the frustrating thing – as a race car driver, you want to see results in two or three days, especially when you bring in new change and things like that. But truthfully, it is going to take time.

“At this point, if we can run better than 30th, it’s an improvement (compared to) what we’ve had the last couple of weeks. We just need to make our car better each and every week, and hopefully a month from now we’ll be up there in the top two or three Fords. But right now, we have to manage our expectations. We have a lot to learn right now, not only from the car standpoint but even a team dynamic standpoint. Things are so different, bringing a new guy in… We’re just trying to learn.”