TRYING TO STAY AHEAD PLAYOFF BUBBLE BATTLE!
IN THE HOT SEAT JIMMIE JOHNSON DECOMPRESSING
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PLAYOFF BUBBLE BATTLE AT THE MONSTER MILE In this week’s episode of Out of the Groove, host and creator Eric Estepp takes us through yesterday’s incredible playoff bubble battle at Dover, the second race of the weekend’s dramatic doubleheader. It was an eerie repeat of the Monster Mile from the day before, with an early crash and everything. But the devastating loss of Chase Elliott so early on in the race didn’t keep the excitement from building, as the playoff battle from 0 0 4
Saturday carried right over into Sunday. Even with the Indy 500 raging just a few channels over, there was still plenty of action on the track at Dover. The 16th place spot on the playoffs bubble managed to change hands multiple times over the course of the race, and Eric is here to take us through exactly how the standings shook out. Plus, it all goes up on his patented Groovy Gauge in this week’s episode of Out of the Groove!
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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5 LESSONS LEARNED
5
LESSONS LEARNED AT DOVER Well, that was fun. Two busy days of NASCAR Cup Series racing at Dover International Speedway produced just about everything a NASCAR fan could ever want — bold, aggressive on-track maneuvers, visibly agitated drivers and outcomes that were less than certain until the checkered flag was waving in the air. In the end, though, the results were much the same as they’ve been throughout most of the season, with Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick winning for sixth and seventh time in 2020, respectively. Following are five important lessons learned at The Monster Mile. BY JA RED TURNER
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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5 LESSONS LEARNED
5
IT’S A MAD SCRAMBLE NEAR THE BUBBLE
A
fter two races at Dover, things have tightened considerably around the playoff bubble with only one race left before the 16-driver playoff field is set. Coming into The Monster Mile, William Byron sat squarely on the bubble but held a 25-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the final transfer spot. As it stands now, Byron would still be the last driver to make the cut, but his advantage over Johnson has shrunk to four points. Meanwhile, Erik Jones has slipped from 35 to 50 points behind Byron and will likely need to win this weekend’s regular season finale to secure a playoff berth. On the heels of two subpar outings at Dover, Matt DiBenedetto is now just nine points ahead of Johnson and five ahead of Byron. If a driver who’s already won in 2020 prevails at Daytona this weekend, it’s all but certain that two drivers from the combination of DiBenedetto, Byron and Johnson will advance — but it’s anyone’s guess who won’t.
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
5 LESSONS LEARNED
4
ERIK JONES RUINED KURT BUSCH’S SATURDAY AND OWNED IT
O
ne of the most unexpected moments from the weekend at Dover occurred early — on Lap 6 of Saturday’s race — when Erik Jones tapped Kurt Busch’s left rear quarter panel, sending Busch’s No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet spinning and hard into the inside wall. Busch, whose car suffered major damage, was credited with a 40th-place finish. Jones later took responsibility. “I want to apologize to Kurt and the whole 1 team,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. “I got into him. That’s my mistake. I got tight and it ended their day really quick. I feel bad. I’ve raced with Kurt now a while, and we have never had an issue and raced really well, so I want to say sorry to him first.” Busch, not surprisingly, didn’t take too kindly to the bump from Jones. “What an unfortunate way to have our day end on Lap 6,” the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion said. “Way too early to be racing like that.”
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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MARTIN TRUEX JR. IS ROYALLY MIFFED AT ARIC ALMIROLA
G
ood luck finding an unhappier second-place finisher than Martin Truex Jr. was on Saturday at Dover. Truex, who was less downtrodden after coming home second in Sunday’s Part Two of the weekend doubleheader, blamed Aric Almirola for costing him a victory on Saturday in a race Truex led before running up on the almostlapped car of Almirola in the closing laps and being passed by Denny Hamlin with nine laps to go. “I really struggled once I got to the 10 car,” Truex said of Almirola. “He was running exactly where I wanted to run. He was making it tough. I was fine with him running where he wanted to run, which was pinned on the white line on the bottom. I had a problem with how every time I’d try to move up, he would drive up the racetrack in front of me. Not cool to do to the leader when second-place is catching him. I think that’s kind of shitty, to be honest.”
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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5 LESSONS LEARNED
2
DENNY HAMLIN GOT THE DOVER MONKEY OFF HIS BACK
P
rior to Saturday’s race at Dover, Denny Hamlin was notably and surprisingly winless in 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at The Monster Mile. No more. Continuing his already magical season, Hamlin led 115 of 311 laps on the way to his sixth triumph of 2020. However, Dover is the first track this season where Hamlin has prevailed for the first time ever. “It hasn’t been one of my best tracks, by any means,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. “I got teammates that are probably the best in the business when it comes to this track. I just study them and try to replicate their style at this racetrack. Once I adapt, then I can give the feedback to tell them what to do with the car. I think my style of driving typically doesn’t fit this type of racetrack. I have to adapt more to my teammates’ style when I come here.”
0 1 4
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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1
KEVIN HARVICK RELISHES PLAYOFF POINTS THAT COME WITH REGULAR SEASON TITLE
W
ith one race still to be run in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Kevin Harvick — as of Sunday — has solidified the regular season championship. What does that mean? In one sense, not a ton, since the crowning of the regular season champ is mostly ceremonial in nature. Of greater significance, however, is the 15 extra playoff points that Harvick will carry into the playoffs by virtue of this achievement. With 15 additional playoffs tacked onto an already bulging number of playoff points amassed from race wins and stage wins, Harvick is well-positioned to be in the Championship 4. “What you want to accomplish in the regular season is to gain as many playoff points as you can,” Harvick said after scoring his seventh victory of 2020 on Sunday. “We’ve done that by winning races. We’ve done that in a number of different ways throughout the year, just trying to be consistent and make up for days that things aren’t going good.”
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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JUST SAYIN’ ▶ JOEY LOGANO WAS DRIVING WAY OVER HIS HEAD Joey Logano is a former NASCAR Cup Series champion and widely considered one of the best overall talents in NASCAR today. So why in the world did he carelessly run into Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the sixth lap of Sunday’s race, triggering an accident that involved six cars? “I screwed up,” Logano said. “I don’t know any way better to put it.” You think? Look, I’m not casting stones here, because even the best drivers make mistakes from time to time. But Logano — a driver who is always quick to fight or point the finger at others when he believes he’s gotten the short end of the stick — can simply do better than this. JA RED TURNER ▶▶ The Doubleheader Concept Works for Now Never in NASCAR’s modern era prior to 2020 has there been a doubleheader race weekend for the sport’s premier series. This year has featured three of them, the last one coming over the weekend at Dover International Speedway after doubleheaders earlier in the season at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway. With the last of the two doubleheaders being a result of the rescheduling brought about by COVID-19, which could linger well into 2021, the question is begged: Are doubleheaders the way of the future in NASCAR? From a practicality standpoint — at least for the time being — it’s hard to argue against them.
■■ Joey Logano triggered a 6 car crash early in Sunday’s race.
▶▶ Having No Fans at Richmond is a Disgrace One of the most popular stops on the NASCAR schedule, Richmond Raceway already had its spring race weekend stripped away when Virginia’s governor wouldn’t allow NASCAR to come to town because of fears related to COVID-19. As it stands now, Richmond will be able to host its originally scheduled fall race weekend, but it was recently announced that the weekend will be bereft of fans. This is the height of insanity, folks. The track accommodates up to 51,000 fans. With 15,000 spectators or fewer, Richmond should be able to comfortably host fans at a significantly reduced capacity and have more than enough room for adequate social distancing. At some point, common sense simply must prevail. 0 1 8
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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IN THE HOT SEAT
IN THE HOT SEAT
Jimmie Johnson BY ROB TIONGSON
As the NASCAR Cup Series season prepares for the Playoffs, the stakes increase for drivers and teams. Rob Tiongson catches up with seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. ▶▶ You and the 48 team are finding speed when it matters. How encouraged are you about the team’s fortunes during crunch time? And how much of it do you attribute to that new 48 car’s paint scheme? We’re not superstitious but we changed the color of the car just in case there was something in that. I really feel like it’s been here for us and we’ve just been affecting ourselves or hurting ourselves throughout the last couple of months and losing opportunities to perform and shine. I still think we’re missing some pace and we don’t have dominant pace. With runs like today, to run in the top-five, to run in the top-10, we should’ve been doing this all year long and not have to worry about points going into Daytona. So, I’m pretty bummed about that. But when I look back, the DQ at Charlotte, we got a goose egg in points there. And then I missed the Brickyard 400. So, if we just scored some points in those races, we’re in a much different position right now than what we’re in. ▶▶ You mentioned how experience serves you well with handling the pressures of the Playoff battle. What’s some of the ways you’ve decompressed and kept calm? I feel as you get older and more experienced in anything you do, you learn what to worry about. When you’re young, you worry about everything as you don’t want to overlook something that’s important. But I feel like experience really buys you that knowledge. And you know where to focus your energy and not just wearing yourself out worrying about everything all of the time.
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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12 KYLE BUSCH
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13 KURT BUSCH
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14 CLINT BOWYER
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15 MATT DIBENEDETTO
637
16 WILLIAM BYRON
632
17 JIMMIE JOHNSON
628
18 ERIK JONES
582
19 TYLER REDDICK
563
20 CHRISTOPHER BELL
456
21 CHRIS BUESCHER
449
22 BUBBA WALLACE
438
23 RICKY STENHOUSE JR.
426
24 MICHAEL MCDOWELL
426
25 RYAN NEWMAN
387
26 JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK 373 27 TY DILLON
369
28 MATT KENSETH
363
29 COREY LAJOIE
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30 RYAN PREECE
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32 QUIN HOUFF
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33 DANIEL SUAREZ
264
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
WINS
POLES
TOP 5
TOP 10
7 0 17 21 6 0 14 16 3 1 9 18 2 0 6 14 2 1 9 14 1 1 10 16 1 0 8 10 1 0 3 7 1 0 2 7 1 0 2 6 0 0 5 14 0 1 11 13 0 1 4 14 0 1 2 7 0 0 2 7 0 0 1 8 0 0 4 9 0 0 5 8 0 0 2 7 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 4 0 1 3 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BLUE AREAS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS
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AUSTIN CINDRIC
929
3
NOAH GRAGSON
832
4
HARRISON BURTON
716
5
BRANDON JONES
626
6
JUSTIN ALLGAIER
739
7
JUSTIN HALEY
699
8
ROSS CHASTAIN
811
9
MICHAEL ANNETT
627
10 RILEY HERBST
539
11 RYAN SIEG
511
12 BRANDON BROWN
454
13 JEREMY CLEMENTS
423
14 MYATT SNIDER
396
15 ALEX LABBE
371
16 JOSH WILLIAMS
358
17 JESSE LITTLE
357
18 JOE GRAF JR.
285
19 DANIEL HEMRIC
368
20 ANTHONY ALFREDO
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21 B.J. MCLEOD
288
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28 KYLE WEATHERMAN
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29 JEB BURTON
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30 COLBY HOWARD
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31 KODY VANDERWAL
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32 DAVID STARR
123
33 STEPHEN LEICHT
102
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
WINS
POLES
TOP 5
TOP 10
6 0 12 16 5 0 15 17 2 0 10 15 2 0 10 14 2 1 7 11 1 0 5 12 1 0 6 13 0 0 9 18 0 1 3 12 0 0 2 12 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 4 0 2 2 5 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BLUE AREAS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS
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1
ZANE SMITH
474
2
SHELDON CREED
426
3
GRANT ENFINGER
393
4
AUSTIN HILL
515
5
MATT CRAFTON
420
6
BRETT MOFFITT
468
7
CHRISTIAN ECKES
450
8
BEN RHODES
450
9
TYLER ANKRUM
383
10 TODD GILLILAND
378
11 DEREK KRAUS
374
12 TANNER GRAY
315
13 JOHNNY SAUTER
307
14 RAPHAEL LESSARD
305
15 STEWART FRIESEN
281
16 TY MAJESKI
245
17 AUSTIN SELF
208
18 TATE FOGLEMAN
178
19 SPENCER BOYD
172
20 JORDAN ANDERSON
163
21 SPENCER DAVIS
188
22 CORY ROPER
161
23 CODIE ROHRBAUGH
159
24 NATALIE DECKER
109
25 PARKER KLIGERMAN
105
26 TYLER HILL
102
27 CLAY GREENFIELD
97
28 TIMMY HILL
92
29 ANGELA RUCH
84
30 RYAN TRUEX
79
31 CHASE PURDY
78
32 JENNIFER COBB
78
33 KORBIN FORRISTER
68
WINS
POLES
TOP 5
TOP 10
2 0 4 8 2 1 4 7 2 0 4 6 1 0 6 11 1 0 7 8 0 0 5 8 0 0 4 6 0 0 5 9 0 0 2 6 0 0 4 8 0 0 2 8 0 0 2 4 0 2 3 7 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BLUE AREAS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS
0 2 6
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020 5/15/2020 8:30:21 AM
ROB IS RACIN’
ROB IS RACIN’:
MARTIN TRUEX JR IS PRIME FOR NASCAR PLAYOFFS BY ROB TIONGSON
W
hile it’s been “The Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin Show” in the NASCAR Cup Series, Martin Truex Jr and his No. 19 team are prime for another championship in 2020. After a rather inconsistent start to the year with an average finish of 14.46 in the first 13 races, Truex and new crew chief James Small are close to hitting paydirt in the past 12 races. For a driver who’s averaged a terrific finish of 8.67 since the Pocono doubleheader, it’s safe to say he sees an area of improvement heading into the 10-race Playoffs. “I think overall, they’re (Harvick and the No. 4 team) probably just a little bit -- got a little bit more speed than we do,” Truex observed. “And I think probably one of the biggest things I notice is their ability to get through traffic better than our cars, and that’s something we’ve 0 2 8
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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been really focusing on and working on, and we haven’t found a whole lot that really has helped us in that department.” Still, Truex, who’s built his rapport with Small throughout the year, has that savvy and experience to succeed in crunch time. Certainly, he prevailed in 2017 with an emotional driver’s championship on the strength of eight wins. Along the same lines, Truex, who’s won just under five races in Toyota sheet metal since 2016, understands what he and his team must concentrate on when the narrative turns to the prized championship trophy. “I mean, it’s just been little things here and there that we’ve got to be smarter about,” Truex said. “But also, I think overall, we’ve got to find a little bit more speed if we can, and again, we’re so close. It’s just little things here and there we’ve got to look at and figure out how to turn those seconds and thirds into victories.” Converting consistent frontrunning performances into wins is a staple of Truex’s career, particularly since joining the Joe Gibbs Racing umbrella in 2016. Previously wheeling the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry, a ride affiliated with JGR from ’16 to ’18, he understands what it takes to be on the attack like teammate Denny Hamlin. “The 11 has been really fast, they’ve won a bunch of races, but we’ve been right there, too,” Truex said. “We’ve been right there, (but) we just need a little bit more. You just keep working, that’s all you can do. This stuff is hard, it’s not easy, so it’s pretty impressive what they’re doing.” Perseverance seems to be a staple of Truex’s career. Overcoming professional setbacks with Michael Waltrip Racing following the 2013 season and the conclusion of Furniture Row Racing in ’18, as the saying goes, “you can’t keep a good man down.”
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
ROB IS RACIN’
START RUN STORE
Moreover, of course, he can draw strength and inspiration from his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex, a survivor of ovarian cancer. Standing alongside her during her difficult battle starting in 2014, both understand the wherewithal and courage required to cope through incredible adversity. Much like Pollex, it’s safe to say that Truex is very resilient and optimistic as can be, even if he does most of his talking on the track with strong, consistent performances in the No. 19 car. Rarely putting a foot wrong, particularly in the heat of an intense championship battle, Truex is as cool and collected as Tom Brady when facing a fullout blitz in the Super Bowl. All told, Truex, who might seem the invisible man in recent times, issued a friendly but competitive message to his competitors. “I think the results speak for themselves,” Truex remarked. “For us, I think if they forget about us, that’s fine because we’re right there. We’re ready to pounce. Again, we’re close. We obviously haven’t won as many races as I think we should have, but we’re ready, and hopefully the momentum will swing our direction and they’ll forget about us and we’ll go beat them all.” Odds are, it’d be foolish to bet against Truex and the No. 19 team. If there’s championship glory to be had in the NASCAR Cup Series battlefield, General Truex and his troops are ready to be on the offensive on any given race weekend.
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DRIVER Q&A
PARKER KLIGERMAN LOVES THE TRUCK SERIES BY JOSEPH WOLK IN
When Henderson Motorsports calls, Parker Kligerman jumps at the opportunity to compete in the Gander Rv & Outdoors Truck Series. Truck No. 75 is always a contender for top 10s when Kligerman competes, and the unexpected opportunity to run more events in 2020 makes him even more thankful to the Henderson family. ▶ WHAT’S THE SEASON BEEN LIKE FOR YOU WITH THESE CRAZY CIRCUMSTANCES? “I love it. I think no practice is the best thing ever. This is my 11th year in NASCAR, so I don’t think I need to practice that often. In the modern day, it’s become a bit redundant because 90 percent of the time, you just go back to the setup you showed up with. It’s been cool to show up and hop in the truck. The team has done a great job providing competitive trucks this year. I didn’t think in January that I would do any racing this year. Here we are and we’re going to do almost 10 races. When they say jump, I say how high.”
■■ Parker Kligerman drives part-time for Henderson Motorsports
▶ WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN AGAIN FOR THIS TEAM? “I have to get Charlie Henderson another race to watch. He watches our 2017 Talladega win like once a week, so I have to get him another win to watch. It would be huge for me. I would really like to win somewhere outside of a superspeedway.” 0 3 4
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
COMMUNITY CREATOR: DANNY B
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Monaco. But we still had a dramatic playoff battle at Dover, along with the Indy 500. Danny takes us through the events of the races to figure out what it all means. Plus Danny talks us through the weekend’s Xfinity race, and gives us the context behind Chase Briscoe’s powerful performance on the track. All this and more in today’s Danny B Needs a Minute!
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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BY THE NUMBER
96
BY THE NUMBER
CAR NO. BY K EITH WA LTZ
■■ Ray Elder (Getty Images photo)
W
est Coast stock car racing legend Ray Elder is the only driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race wheeling car No. 96 as the racer from Caruthers, California, recorded a pair of victories at Riverside International Raceway. Elder, who captured NASCAR’s West Coast championship six times between 1969 and 1975, gave No. 96 its first victory on Jan. 10,
■■ 2020 – Daniel Suarez (Getty Images photo)
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1971, when he won the Motor Trend 500 at the serpentine Southern California track. Elder started third and led 67 of the 191 laps. Elder returned to Riverside’s Victory Lane on June 18, 1972, when he beat Benny Parsons by a full lap of the 2.262-mile road course to win the Golden State 400. Car No. 96 was a bit of a later bloomer as it did not appear in the NASCAR Cup Series until the 1951 Southern 500. On Sept. 3, 1951, J.E. Hardie started 73rd in the 82-car field and finished 42nd at Darlington Raceway. Overall statistics show that cars carrying No. 96 in the NASCAR Cup Series have only 19 top-five finishes and 92 top-10 results in just over 625 starts. Interestingly, Richard Childress has the most starts (108) in car No. 96 as he used that number from 1971 through 1975 before switching to No. 3. Gaunt Brothers Racing has used No. 96 since 2017 and Daniel Suarez is the team’s current driver.
ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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ROAR! WEEKLY RACING MAGAZINE: AUGUST 24, 2020
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