● Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 51 Schluter Systems Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will make his sixth start at the Charlotte (N.C.). Motor Speedway Roval this Sunday. In five previous NASCAR Cup Series starts, LaJoie’s two most recent were his best – a 12th-place result in 2022 and 17th in 2023.
● The Roval marks the fifth and final road-course race of the 2024 season. LaJoie’s best road-course result of the year came at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, where he started 18th and finished eighth. It was a career-best result in 29 road-course races.
● In two starts with RWR, LaJoie has earned back to back top-20’s and set a new team-best finish at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City with a 15th-place effort.
● Schluter Systems joins LaJoie for the third time this year and first as the primary partner on the No. 51 RWR Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Schluter Systems provides innovative, easy-to-use installation systems to support the durability, integrity and design of tile installations. With more than 8,000 products within its growing portfolio, Schluter Systems is continuously improving the landscape of the tile industry. Its educational workshops and intuitive approach to product design supports Schluter’s position as an industry leader in quality and service. Schluter Systems services North America with multiple Training, Distribution and Manufacturing facilities in Plattsburgh, New York, Montreal, Quebec, Reno, Nevada, and Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit www.schluter.com.
● Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 Meat N’ Bone Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will make his first Cup Series start on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400.
● Grala owns four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts on the Roval. He earned a top-five finish last October and a top-10 in his first start in 2018.
● In six Cup Series road-course starts, Grala has an average finish of 23.8. His only top-10 result came in his first Cup Series start in 2020 on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road-course layout.
● Meat N’ Bone returns to the No. 15 RWR Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the Roval. Meat N’ Bone is an online butcher shop offering premium quality meats delivered locally and shipped nationally. Customers can order from more than 300 products, including USDA Prime and Wagyu A5, and have it delivered fresh to their door. Meat N’ Bone also offers local pickup and a personalized retail experience in its boutiques.
● The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series is back in action with RWR Top Fuel racer Clay Millican set to compete at Texas Motorplex in Ennis Friday through Sunday. It’s the fourth event in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Millican is currently seventh in the standings with three events remaining.
● Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age six when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver seat and into fulltime team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that fields two fulltime entries in the NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX), where RWR won the 2022 SX2 championship with rider Shane McElrath.
Corey LaJoie, Driver Q&A
How do you expect the changes made to the Roval layout to affect the racing?
“I think we’re going to see some carnage and some aggression. We’re taking away some passing zones and, I think, trying to create others, but I’m not sure that’s what will happen. But, I think it will accomplish what it’s meant to – tight racing and lots of excitement for the fans.”
How much does the extended practice session this weekend help when learning how to get around the track?
“I imagine a lot of teams will spend time trying to figure out the best way to get through those turns and where you can find speed and a passing zone. Handling is always important, but even moreso on the road courses. So, I think between finding your way through the new layout, especially turn six into seven and up onto the oval, and making sure the car is where it needs to be for that first stage, we’ll have a pretty detailed checklist to get through in practice.”
Kaz Grala,
Driver Q&A
What are the biggest differences between the Roval and a traditional road course?
“The Roval is tricky because it’s unforgiving – there’s very little runoff before you’re in trouble. I’ve always liked the discipline needed to squeeze the most lap time out of the car without making any mistakes, and this track rewards that more than anywhere else. I’ve run up front at the Roval in every Xfinity race I’ve done there, so I feel great about our chances on Sunday.”
How do you expect the changes made to the layout to affect the racing?
“The new configuration creates an additional passing zone, but one that looks like it will invite a lot of aggression and risk-taking. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the new turn seven be at the center of any carnage, so it will be important to gain an understanding of the corner during practice and know what to expect the next day.”
It seems that track position has played a major role in success at the road courses this year. Because of that, how nice can you really be when you get an opportunity to gain position?
“It’s so hard to pass nowadays that your entire weekend, including practice, is absolutely critical to your finishing result. A good Saturday directly translates to a good Sunday, and that requires total execution of every detail. We will be aggressive and take what we can get every lap, as will everyone else, but we’re up for the challenge. Having speed opens up your options and makes all of this easier, so that’s the goal going into the weekend.”
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