STEWART-HAAS RACING – Würth 400

Date:  April 28, 2024

Event:  Würth 400 (Round 11 of 36)

Series:  NASCAR Cup Series

Location:  Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)

Format:  400 laps, broken into three stages (120 laps/130 laps/150 laps)

Race Winner:  Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner:  Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner:  Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Finish:       

●  Noah Gragson (Started 5th, Finished 6th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

●  Josh Berry (Started 12th, Finished 14th / Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)

●  Chase Briscoe (Started 7th, Finished 19th / Running, completed 399 of 400 laps)  

●  Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 37th / Safety, completed 66 of 400 laps)

SHR Points:

●  Chase Briscoe (12th with 274 points, 136 out of first)

●  Noah Gragson (21st with 185 points, 225 out of first)

●  Josh Berry (24th with 174 points, 236 out of first)

●  Ryan Preece (28th with 163 points, 247 out of first)

SHR Notes:        

●  The Würth 400 marked Gragson’s milestone 50th career NASCAR Cup Series start.

●  Gragson earned his fourth top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Dover.

●  This was Gragson’s second straight top-10. He finished a career-best third last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

●  Gragson’s sixth-place result bettered his previous best finish at Dover – 34th, earned last year.

●  Berry earned his third top-15 of the season and his second top-15 in three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Dover.

●  Berry was the highest finishing rookie.

●  This was Briscoe’s eighth consecutive top-20.

Race Notes:       

●  Denny Hamlin won the Würth 400 to score his 54th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Dover. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Larson was .256 of a second.

●  There were five caution periods for a total of 42 laps.

●  Only 17 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

●  Larson remains the championship leader after Dover with a 15-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“The MillerTech Mustang was good once we got track position, it just took a little bit. But things fell our way and we were able to come home with a top-10 finish in sixth. It wasn’t looking pretty there in the middle of the race, but I’m thankful things went our way and we were able to get that track position at the end after a couple of cautions. We set goals throughout the week on where we wanted to run and we were hoping to qualify in the top-15 and run top-16 today. So, to come home sixth today feels really good. Big thanks to (crew chief) Drew Blickensderfer, Andy Houston our spotter, everyone else on this 10 team, they’ve been doing a great job with me and I’m excited for the future.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 MillerTech Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was solid. We had a good car, really, all day, and were solid. We just needed more track position. We kept chipping away at it and just couldn’t quite get up into the top-10, but I thought we were going to be really close to having a top-10 effort. But we definitely had top-10 speed. So we just need to keep chipping away at it and doing the same thing and the results will come.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was weird. We started off pretty good. We just had one really bad run where we went from fifth to 25th. The balance wasn’t really where we needed it to be. It would be one way, and then the next run it would be another way. It seemed like we were always chasing our tails. Kind of burned by that caution and finished 19th. Definitely this place has been trouble for us, for whatever reason. We just need to do our homework a little bit more and see what we can find.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I felt like I was on fire and I went the first 70 laps just trying to push through and then it got so bad that I couldn’t put my hands on the wheel. I was worried that an oil line or something would melt and then the whole car gets engulfed in fire and I don’t want to be trapped in there having that happen, so I pulled off.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Morton Buildings Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 5 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-SHR-

Contact Mike Arning

True Speed Communication on behalf of Stewart-Haas Racing

(704) 875-3388, ext. 802 or Mike.Arning@TrueSpeedCommunication.com