Information By: HEATHER GRIFFIN / RICK WARE RACING – LOUDON, NH
RICK WARE RACING
USA Today 301
Date: June 23, 2024
Event: USA Today 301 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 301 laps, broken into three stages 70 laps/115 laps/116 laps)
Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 301-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
RWR Race Finish:
● Kaz Grala (Started 35th, Finished 22nd/Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 24th, Finished 29th/Running, completed 305 of 305 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (30th with 242 points)
● Kaz Grala (35th with 155 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Grala’s first Cup Series start at New Hampshire.
● Grala’s 22nd-place finish is a new team-best for Rick Ware Racing at New Hampshire. The previous best was a 27th-place result earned by Brennan Poole in August 2020.
● This was Haley’s fourth start at New Hampshire. His best finish remains 17th, earned in July 2023.
Race Notes:
● Christopher Bell won the USA Today 301 to score his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at New Hampshire. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Briscoe was 1.104 seconds.
● There were 14 caution periods for a total of 85 laps.
● Twenty-nine of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott leave New Hampshire tied atop the championship standings with a 40-point advantage over third-place Denny Hamlin.
Sound Bites:
“We made the most of our finish today, for sure. We got behind early but were on our way forward when one of the crashes in the dry damaged our right side quite a bit. We had to manage that throughout the wet portion of the race, and it definitely hurt our speed, but we fought our way as far forward as we could to salvage a 22-place finish. Our Meat N’ Bone team worked hard all day and executed the way we needed to.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 Meat N’ Bone Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“Our Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse was so good today. I really felt like when we went back racing after the delay, we’d be able to stay in the top-10 and battle for a top-five finish. Unfortunately, the damage we got when the Nos. 34 and 12 wrecked made a bigger difference than we thought and there wasn’t much I could do to overcome it. We still have a lot to be proud of. The top-10 runs are getting more consistent and we’re showing just how much work is being put in to improve at Rick Ware Racing.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 30 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.