No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
Michael McDowell entered the Brickyard 400 as the defending track winner and another Top-10 qualifying effort, his 11th of the season. At the drop of the green flag, McDowell jumped from eighth to fifth and proceeded to keep pace with the leaders. As some of the leaders elected to pit early, McDowell stayed out along with the No. 45, eventually pitting after inheriting the lead and finishing Stage 1 in sixth-place. As Stage 2 began, fuel strategy became the main player for the remainder of the race. When the first caution came out, McDowell pitted from the Top-10, dropping back to the 27th-position and came down pit road a second time to top off fuel, finishing Stage 2 in 28th position. McDowell climbed up to 17th place as the other cars in front were gambling with fuel as well, but the No. 34 team fueled up again dropping him back to 31st. In the closing laps of the race and as cautions bred cautions, the leaders were forced to save or get fuel. McDowell finished the Brickyard 400 in 16th-place.
Start: 8th
Stage One: 6th
Stage Two: 28th
Race Result: 16th
DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:
"Frustrating for sure because we had a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse. We knew track position was going to be important because passing is so hard here. We were able to get stage points in Stage 1, but we just couldn't put it all together with the fuel strategy in the final stage. We'll take some much-needed time off these next two weeks and come out of the break hungrier than ever to get a win."
No. 38 gener8tor Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
Todd Gilliland made his Brickyard 400 debut this past Sunday in a new, black and gold, gener8tor scheme designed by his Crew Chief, Ryan Bergenty. Returning to the famed track after testing there in June, Gilliland qualified 24th for the 400-mile event. Pitting in the remaining laps of Stage 1, Gilliland took four tires and fuel, cycling out to finish the stage in 29th. Staying out under the stage-break caution, Gilliland started Stage 2 within the Top-10. As the cautions flew, Gilliland and the team chose to stay out, getting up to as high as third before pitting under green for tires and fuel. Gilliland finished Stage 2 in the 33rd position. Gilliland came back to pit road under the stage-break caution for tires and fuel. With multiple cautions in the final stage and fuel becoming a concern, Gilliland had the chance to pit for fuel only. After a red flag brought the field to a stop, Gilliland was able to save enough fuel to get through two overtimes and finished the race in the sixth position, his fourth Top-10 finish of the season.
Start: 24th
Stage One: 29th
Stage Two: 33rd
Race Result: 6th
DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:
"I think our Mustang was really competitive. We were a little tight on exit the whole race, but that is part of it. Our car had good speed when we stayed up there. It was an interesting race. It was hard to pass. We didn’t do good on the strategy for the middle part of the race but then it put us in a position where it worked out for us at the end. Just disappointing a little bit. I was fourth on the last restart and probably should have chose the bottom looking back on it, but that is how it goes sometimes. You live and you learn."
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