While the Nascar Ford teams of Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Mustang and Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang took the green flag from the front row at Texas Motor Speedway on September 25th, many of The Blue Oval racers fell victim to single car incidents and tire wear that eliminated their shot at taking the trophy.
Keselowski was the first to suffer, when his No. 6 Mustang shot up the racetrack and forced him to get off the throttle, turning the lead over to Logano’s No. 22 Mustang. Then, at the conclusion of Stage 1, Keselowski was nabbed for speeding on Pit Road, and his No. 6 Mustang was sent to the rear as a result. Cole Custer’s No. 41 Ford suffered a flat right rear tire, with the tire going down without warning.
Then, the No. 51 Nascar Ford of Cody Ware got loose and overcorrected, sending him nose-first into the outside wall. The contact damaged the front end of his car so badly, he could not steer as he careened toward Pit Road and contacted the wall hard as crewmembers from other teams scrambled. He exited the race car under his own power, but was transported to the infield care center on a stretcher and evaluated before being released.
Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang shone in Stage 2, claiming the lead after Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro suffered a blown tire while running first. Then, Kevin Harvick assumed the lead in the No. 4 Mustang in Stage 3, but also blew a tire without warning. The No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry of Martin Truex Jr. also suffered a similar fate while running first.
At the end of the race, Logano rallied his No. 22 Mustang and sent it after eventual winner Tyler Reddick’s No. 8 Camaro, but couldn’t find a way around him, taking second. Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang finished fourth, while Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Mustang took home fifth. Keselowski salvaged an eighth-place result in his No. 6 Mustang.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Lenovo/ThinkEdge Chevrolet | 334 | 70 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | AAA Insurance Ford | 334 | 15 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 31 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 14 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Tarkett Ford | 334 | 29 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 30 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford | 334 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | 334 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 334 | 42 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 1 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RoushParts.com Ford | 334 | 31 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 334 | 19 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx Office Toyota | 334 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 11 | 5 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 334 | 12 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 10 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | Aguas Frescas Chevrolet | 334 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | Renu Chevrolet | 334 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 29 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Shelton Energy Solutions Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 11 | 2 | Austin Cindric # (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 334 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 32 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | True Velocity Chevrolet | 334 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 20 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | DEX Imaging Ford | 334 | 15 | Ford Mustang |
| 19 | 23 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 334 | 9 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 16 | 23 | Ty Gibbs(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 334 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 21 | 26 | 16 | Noah Gragson(i) | Freedom by Ed Morse Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 35 | 77 | Landon Cassill(i) | WearMe Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 33 | 15 | Garrett Smithley(i) | Trophy Tractor Ford | 334 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 25 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield/IHOP Ford | 334 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 19 | 45 | Bubba Wallace (P) | MoneyLion Toyota | 334 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 26 | 34 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Boss Truck Shops Ford | 333 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 21 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/NOS Chevrolet | 333 | 23 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 28 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | First Phase Ford | 333 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 17 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 329 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 13 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 270 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 15 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 267 | 15 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 32 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 184 | 44 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 36 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 166 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 22 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Rheem – Smurfit Kappa Toyota | 136 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 35 | 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford | 77 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 18 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 48 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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Comments
Fords weren’t the only ones. Tire problems hit everybody. Several cars leading had tire issues leading to a bunch of wadded up racecars. The drag racing glue they used for additional traction was also a big contributor as cars got just above the glued part.
Here is a sport, where the people at the top think they need to, and try to, improve their product, and end up messing it up terribly and cause a loss of fans, pissed off drivers, increase in expenses for teams, instead of a decrease, shortage of parts, etc., etc., etc., when really, there was no need to change their product. F1 is doing the same thing, luckily they are having a resurgent in fans, and not a decrease.