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Zep® Launches Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner in Walmart and Online, in Partnership with NASCAR Driver Noah Gragson
Zep® Launches Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner in Walmart and Online, in Partnership with NASCAR Driver Noah Gragson

Yahoo

time5 days ago

  • Automotive
  • Yahoo

Zep® Launches Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner in Walmart and Online, in Partnership with NASCAR Driver Noah Gragson

ATLANTA, June 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zep®, the go-to cleaning brand for professionals and auto enthusiasts, has introduced its newest high-performance solution: Zep Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner, now available in Walmart locations nationwide and online at Designed to cut through oil, grease, grime, and dirt on a variety of surfaces, this ready-to-use degreaser features a bold cherry scent and is built for everything from garages and vehicles to tools and household equipment. The product launch aligns with Zep's partnership with NASCAR driver Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Zep will serve as a primary partner on the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in two NASCAR Cup Series events this season, collaborating with FRM and Gragson to showcase their lineup of professional-grade cleaning products. "Cherry Bomb Auto+ is built for serious messes—whether you're working on your car, scrubbing down your grill, or cleaning up your shop tools," said Lauren Houser, Vice President of Marketing at Zep. "We're excited to bring this powerful, ready-to-use formula to Walmart shoppers and customers, and to work alongside Noah and Front Row Motorsports to show the product in action." Zep Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner offers professional-grade power and versatility. Its biodegradable, phosphate-free formula works on fiberglass, painted metals, chrome, rubber, and finished concrete. It is also non-caustic, making it ideal for automotive, marine, and shop applications, as well as common household surfaces, including the outside of appliances and grills. "No matter how much you try to stay on top of the mess in the garage or workshop, it adds up fast," said Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports. "This Cherry Bomb cleaner gets right to work on grease and grime and leaves the place smelling way better too. It's what I use in my own space." Offered in three sizes to accommodate different job scales, Zep Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner is rolling out to over 2,500 Walmart stores nationwide this spring, with additional availability online at The product also complements Zep's fan-favorite Cherry Bomb Hand Cleaner, giving users a complete cleaning system with a signature scent. For more information on Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner, or to find a retailer near you, visit About Zep, Inc. is a leading innovator, producer, and distributor of maintenance, cleaning, and sanitation solutions for industrial and institutional, retail, and food & beverage customers. Zep possesses a large portfolio of premium solutions built over an 85-year legacy of developing the most effective products trusted by professionals and consumers to get the job done right the first time. View source version on Contacts Jason Feldman - PR & Mediajason@ // (470) 626-1055 Sign in to access your portfolio

Zep® Launches Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner in Walmart and Online, in Partnership with NASCAR Driver Noah Gragson
Zep® Launches Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner in Walmart and Online, in Partnership with NASCAR Driver Noah Gragson

Business Wire

time5 days ago

  • Automotive
  • Business Wire

Zep® Launches Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner in Walmart and Online, in Partnership with NASCAR Driver Noah Gragson

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zep®, the go-to cleaning brand for professionals and auto enthusiasts, has introduced its newest high-performance solution: Zep Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner, now available in Walmart locations nationwide and online at Designed to cut through oil, grease, grime, and dirt on a variety of surfaces, this ready-to-use degreaser features a bold cherry scent and is built for everything from garages and vehicles to tools and household equipment. 'Cherry Bomb Auto+ is built for serious messes—whether you're working on your car, scrubbing down your grill, or cleaning up your shop tools." Share The product launch aligns with Zep's partnership with NASCAR driver Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Zep will serve as a primary partner on the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in two NASCAR Cup Series events this season, collaborating with FRM and Gragson to showcase their lineup of professional-grade cleaning products. 'Cherry Bomb Auto+ is built for serious messes—whether you're working on your car, scrubbing down your grill, or cleaning up your shop tools,' said Lauren Houser, Vice President of Marketing at Zep. 'We're excited to bring this powerful, ready-to-use formula to Walmart shoppers and customers, and to work alongside Noah and Front Row Motorsports to show the product in action.' Zep Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner offers professional-grade power and versatility. Its biodegradable, phosphate-free formula works on fiberglass, painted metals, chrome, rubber, and finished concrete. It is also non-caustic, making it ideal for automotive, marine, and shop applications, as well as common household surfaces, including the outside of appliances and grills. 'No matter how much you try to stay on top of the mess in the garage or workshop, it adds up fast,' said Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports. 'This Cherry Bomb cleaner gets right to work on grease and grime and leaves the place smelling way better too. It's what I use in my own space.' Offered in three sizes to accommodate different job scales, Zep Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner is rolling out to over 2,500 Walmart stores nationwide this spring, with additional availability online at The product also complements Zep's fan-favorite Cherry Bomb Hand Cleaner, giving users a complete cleaning system with a signature scent. For more information on Cherry Bomb Auto+ Degreaser & Cleaner, or to find a retailer near you, visit About Zep, Inc. Zep, Inc. is a leading innovator, producer, and distributor of maintenance, cleaning, and sanitation solutions for industrial and institutional, retail, and food & beverage customers. Zep possesses a large portfolio of premium solutions built over an 85-year legacy of developing the most effective products trusted by professionals and consumers to get the job done right the first time.

Noah Gragson Cusses on Live TV, Then Calls Out Cup Series Stars for Being Boring
Noah Gragson Cusses on Live TV, Then Calls Out Cup Series Stars for Being Boring

Yahoo

time19-05-2025

  • Automotive
  • Yahoo

Noah Gragson Cusses on Live TV, Then Calls Out Cup Series Stars for Being Boring

Noah Gragson has five top 20s through the first 12 races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, including a pair of top 10s. His best finish was fourth at Talladega Superspeedway. On Sunday, the No. 4 driver raced in the All-Star Open, where he finished 17th and failed to advance to the main event. However, that all changed when the results for the fan voting were announced and for a third consecutive year he will race in the All-Star Race propelled by his loyal followers. Advertisement After the Open, the 26-year-old Front Row Motorsports driver visited with the FS1 crew and first talked about his on-track performance. Noah Gragson during the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Dedmon-Imagn Images 'We ran into power steering issues,' Gragson said. 'Hopefully we get that cleaned up for the race. But the car actually feels pretty fast. The last two years I've drove the [expletive] out of my car, and now I was like, man, we're in the top 5 of the fan vote, the car feels good, we've got a little bit of power steering issues, but man, you fans, you guys are the GOATs. It truly means the world to have the support from the fans and very grateful to be a part of this race.' A few moments later, Jamie McMurray asked the driver how he makes his fans so passionate to support him like they have the last three years. 'I just try to be myself at the end of the day and I probably have a bolder personality than most guys, but they don't really show any personality, you know,' he said. 'A lot of these guys in the Cup Series, if not all of them, they're all really cool guys. I don't know why they don't show it. Advertisement "But very grateful to have the fan support. At the end of the day I just try to be me. I don't know when my last day on earth is going to be, but if today is the day, I'm going to have as much fun as possible. I'm going to out-fun everybody.' Related: Noah Gragson Says Iconic Martinsville Trophy Is 'Obnoxious and Annoying'

Alex Bowman wins the pole for Cup race at Miami
Alex Bowman wins the pole for Cup race at Miami

Miami Herald

time24-03-2025

  • Automotive
  • Miami Herald

Alex Bowman wins the pole for Cup race at Miami

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman provided a dramatic final few minutes of Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday afternoon -- claiming the pole position for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). With only four cars remaining in the session, Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet set fast lap of 168.845 mph around the 1.5-mile track, knocking Front Frow Motorsports' Noah Gragson from the lead position that he had held for the majority of the qualifying session. Last week's Las Vegas race winner, Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry took the track immediately after and nearly equaled Bowman's lap -- instead his No. 21 Ford coming a mere .073-second off the pole-winning pace but earning a front row position alongside the Hendrick driver. This is Bowman's sixth career pole position and first at Homestead, a place the 32-year-old Arizona-native doesn't necessarily consider one of his historically better tracks. He has only a pair of top-10 finishes, but his best outcome -- seventh place -- came in the series most recent Homestead visit last October. "There were some cars not so great on the short run and really fast on the long run and we were kind of the opposite of that practice, we were really faster in the short run and not great on the long run stuff so I knew qualifying was going to be really important because of that and that we had some work to do for tomorrow," Bowman said, "But for me, I had a pretty clear cut plan for qualifying and I thought I was able to execute that pretty well and my race car gave me what I needed to do that." Gragson will start third, followed by Daytona 500 polesitter, Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe in the No. 19 Toyota and current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet. "We're still really fast, but I've never gotten a pole in the Cup Series, but our Beef A Roo Mustang is pretty quick on the short run," said Gragson, driver of the No. 4 FRM Ford. "We just need to get a little better for the long run and we're up in the hunt, so that's good." Intermittent clouds cooled the 74-degree afternoon and as Bowman alluded to, several of the fastest cars in practice did not necessarily fare as well in actual qualifying. 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace set top pace in Group B practice, for example, but was only ninth quickest in qualifying. Fellow Toyota driver, Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones was second -- just behind Wallace -- in that practice session but ended up only 28th quickest on the starting grid. Conversely, Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger, who was 25th fastest in that Group 2 practice session will start the race from 10th position. Berry, still basking in his first career win last week at Las Vegas, was 31st in practice but will start from the front row. Defending race winner Tyler Reddick was 20th in qualifying. Kyle Larson, who is attempting to win in all three national series races this weekend will roll off 14th in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. And the season's winningest driver, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell was 16th in qualifying. A three-time winner already, he is trying to become only the third driver in NASCAR history -- joining Hall of Famers Bill Elliott (1992) and Dale Earnhardt (1987) as the only competitors in the modern era to win four of the opening six races. NOTEBOOK ITEMS: *BERRY INSISTS SUCCESS NOT A FLUKE *First-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Josh Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team come into Homestead race week still enjoying the legendary team's 101st victory at Las Vegas last Sunday -- a huge career achievement for Berry, personally, and only the second win for the team in the last nine years. Only five races into his tenure, Berry has already delivered an early-season Playoff berth for the team and by the looks of the strong showing may well win again in the months before the championship march starts. He was adamant that the Vegas win wasn't a "fluke' and is one of only four drivers with multiple top-five finishes on the year. "Without a doubt I feel like I had things to prove," said the 34-year-old Berry, who is beginning only his second fulltime season in the Cup ranks. "Obviously, coming off of last year and everything we went through, I think people were still looking at all four of us that were part of that program with a lot of question marks, so, to me, I wanted to go out and prove myself all over again in the Cup Series. "I felt like this was probably the opportunity for me. I think if I fail at this one, I don't think there's probably another one lined up for me, so most definitely there was pressure to go out and perform. During the offseason we just really buckled down and obviously getting to know and working with my new crew chief, Miles. "We put in a lot of work over the offseason to be prepared when the season started and I feel like that obviously paid off. Honestly, our results and performance has exceeded our expectations, so I'm super happy with that and winning a race in the Cup Series is a big deal." Berry's second place qualifying lap marks the fourth time in the past five races he's secured a top-10 start. *LARSON'S TRIPLE QUEST No driver is busier than Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson this weekend and the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion is already batting a thousand in his quest to win trophies in all three national series races at Homestead. He earned his first trophy with a dramatic comeback victory in Friday's NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race making the pass for the lead with only two laps remaining. It adds to an already-impressive resume here for Larson, who is a former winner in both Saturday's Xfinity Series 300-miler (2015) and Sunday's NACAR Cup Series race (2022) at the South Florida 1.5-miler. He comes into Sunday's race ranked sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, with three top-10s and a pair of third place finishes through the opening five races. "I felt like the Truck race was probably going to be the toughest to win, I don't have much experience in them and the runs are typically shorter," Larson said. "I feel better about Xfinity and Cup but the competition keeps getting tough and tougher as you get on with the weekend, but we'll see. Off to a good start." *HOMESTEAD A FINALE FAVORITE NASCAR just raced at the Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-miler during the October 2024 Playoff run and this weekend marks the first time it has been a Spring event since 2021. Ask the drivers where they'd like to see the former, longtime season finale venue on the schedule and the consensus is, they'd love to see it return as the championship race one day. "I certainly would like to see it play a bigger factor in our championship, whether it's in the Playoffs or part of the championship race round or whatever it might be," said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, whose three wins are most among active drivers. "I'd just like to see it a part of that because we just talked about how the driver makes a bigger difference at the is race track than the car." Team Penske's Ryan Blaney took it a step further. "All the above, really," Blaney responded with a grin when asked if he preferred the spring or fall Homestead placement on the calendar. "I'll be honest, it doesn't matter to me when we come here, spring all, in the playoffs, championship race, as long as we're coming here. I think if you asked, some guys would love to come here twice, once in the spring and once in the fall, where that race in the fall lays, I don't care. Do I think the championship race should rotate between a few tracks? Yeah. And this should be one of them. This place puts on a great show no matter what." *THE WINNING Bs The five NASCAR Cup Series races have all been won by drivers whose last names begin with the letter "B." Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron won the Daytona 500. Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell won the next three races -- at Atlanta, Circuit of The Americas and Phoenix -- and Berry picked up his first career win at Las Vegas last weekend. Saturday's Homestead pole winner? Alex Bowman. Several drivers conceded that B letter trend could likely continue this weekend at Homestead with 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champ Ryan Blaney considered a favorite. He started the season with a pair of top-10 finishes and won the pole position at Atlanta but has back-to-back showings of 28th and 35th in the two races heading to South Florida -- suffering an engine failure at Phoenix and crashing last weekend at Las Vegas. "I thought our car was really good last week until I wrecked all of us on the back stretch so just hope to keep that same pace but I feel good with where our program is at right now," said Blaney, who has finished runner-up in the last two Homestead races. "Just a matter of trying to get some stuff to go our way." *SEASON OF LEARNING One of the more heralded rookies this season is former Australian SuperCars champion Shane Van Gisbergen, who turned heads and earned high praise for his historic victory at the Chicago Street Course two years ago in his first ever NASCAR Cup Series start. With a strong background in road and street courses before coming to America as a fulltime NASCAR Competitor, the 34-year-old New Zealand-native said it has been a legitimate learning curve in the NASCAR Cup Series on the ovals. His lone top-10 result of the year in the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came at the Circuit of The Americas road course. He says it has been an education on the assortment of long and short ovals in this first full NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Twice -- in the last two races at Phoenix and Las Vegas -- he's been collected in crashes not of his own doing. "I feel like we've showed a lot of promise but we have nothing to show for it, really," Van Gisbergen said. "COTA was a good day, but on the ovals we've really struggled and we've had a lot of accidents and they haven't really been our fault. "It's really tough results-wise but I see a lot of potential and speed. Just got to put it together and get to the end of the races and things will start clicking for us, I think." "It has been hard because I'm not really known for crashing too much and not finishing, so it's been a bit of a pain really," Van Gisbergen added. "Just have to stay out of trouble and get through it. The first stage we're always going good and improving and thinking the rest of the race is going to be good then something seems to happen, so hopefully we stop that this weekend." --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved

Alex Bowman wins the pole for Cup race at Miami
Alex Bowman wins the pole for Cup race at Miami

Reuters

time22-03-2025

  • Automotive
  • Reuters

Alex Bowman wins the pole for Cup race at Miami

March 22 - HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman provided a dramatic final few minutes of Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday afternoon -- claiming the pole position for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). With only four cars remaining in the session, Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet set fast lap of 168.845 mph around the 1.5-mile track, knocking Front Frow Motorsports' Noah Gragson from the lead position that he had held for the majority of the qualifying session. Last week's Las Vegas race winner, Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry took the track immediately after and nearly equaled Bowman's lap -- instead his No. 21 Ford coming a mere .073-second off the pole-winning pace but earning a front row position alongside the Hendrick driver. This is Bowman's sixth career pole position and first at Homestead, a place the 32-year-old Arizona-native doesn't necessarily consider one of his historically better tracks. He has only a pair of top-10 finishes, but his best outcome -- seventh place -- came in the series most recent Homestead visit last October. "There were some cars not so great on the short run and really fast on the long run and we were kind of the opposite of that practice, we were really faster in the short run and not great on the long run stuff so I knew qualifying was going to be really important because of that and that we had some work to do for tomorrow," Bowman said, "But for me, I had a pretty clear cut plan for qualifying and I thought I was able to execute that pretty well and my race car gave me what I needed to do that." Gragson will start third, followed by Daytona 500 polesitter, Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe in the No. 19 Toyota and current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet. "We're still really fast, but I've never gotten a pole in the Cup Series, but our Beef A Roo Mustang is pretty quick on the short run," said Gragson, driver of the No. 4 FRM Ford. "We just need to get a little better for the long run and we're up in the hunt, so that's good." Intermittent clouds cooled the 74-degree afternoon and as Bowman alluded to, several of the fastest cars in practice did not necessarily fare as well in actual qualifying. 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace set top pace in Group B practice, for example, but was only ninth quickest in qualifying. Fellow Toyota driver, Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones was second -- just behind Wallace -- in that practice session but ended up only 28th quickest on the starting grid. Conversely, Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger, who was 25th fastest in that Group 2 practice session will start the race from 10th position. Berry, still basking in his first career win last week at Las Vegas, was 31st in practice but will start from the front row. Defending race winner Tyler Reddick was 20th in qualifying. Kyle Larson, who is attempting to win in all three national series races this weekend will roll off 14th in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. And the season's winningest driver, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell was 16th in qualifying. A three-time winner already, he is trying to become only the third driver in NASCAR history -- joining Hall of Famers Bill Elliott (1992) and Dale Earnhardt (1987) as the only competitors in the modern era to win four of the opening six races. NOTEBOOK ITEMS: *BERRY INSISTS SUCCESS NOT A FLUKE *First-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Josh Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team come into Homestead race week still enjoying the legendary team's 101st victory at Las Vegas last Sunday -- a huge career achievement for Berry, personally, and only the second win for the team in the last nine years. Only five races into his tenure, Berry has already delivered an early-season Playoff berth for the team and by the looks of the strong showing may well win again in the months before the championship march starts. He was adamant that the Vegas win wasn't a "fluke' and is one of only four drivers with multiple top-five finishes on the year. "Without a doubt I feel like I had things to prove," said the 34-year-old Berry, who is beginning only his second fulltime season in the Cup ranks. "Obviously, coming off of last year and everything we went through, I think people were still looking at all four of us that were part of that program with a lot of question marks, so, to me, I wanted to go out and prove myself all over again in the Cup Series. "I felt like this was probably the opportunity for me. I think if I fail at this one, I don't think there's probably another one lined up for me, so most definitely there was pressure to go out and perform. During the offseason we just really buckled down and obviously getting to know and working with my new crew chief, Miles. "We put in a lot of work over the offseason to be prepared when the season started and I feel like that obviously paid off. Honestly, our results and performance has exceeded our expectations, so I'm super happy with that and winning a race in the Cup Series is a big deal." Berry's second place qualifying lap marks the fourth time in the past five races he's secured a top-10 start. *LARSON'S TRIPLE QUEST No driver is busier than Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson this weekend and the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion is already batting a thousand in his quest to win trophies in all three national series races at Homestead. He earned his first trophy with a dramatic comeback victory in Friday's NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race making the pass for the lead with only two laps remaining. It adds to an already-impressive resume here for Larson, who is a former winner in both Saturday's Xfinity Series 300-miler (2015) and Sunday's NACAR Cup Series race (2022) at the South Florida 1.5-miler. He comes into Sunday's race ranked sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, with three top-10s and a pair of third place finishes through the opening five races. "I felt like the Truck race was probably going to be the toughest to win, I don't have much experience in them and the runs are typically shorter," Larson said. "I feel better about Xfinity and Cup but the competition keeps getting tough and tougher as you get on with the weekend, but we'll see. Off to a good start." *HOMESTEAD A FINALE FAVORITE NASCAR just raced at the Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-miler during the October 2024 Playoff run and this weekend marks the first time it has been a Spring event since 2021. Ask the drivers where they'd like to see the former, longtime season finale venue on the schedule and the consensus is, they'd love to see it return as the championship race one day. "I certainly would like to see it play a bigger factor in our championship, whether it's in the Playoffs or part of the championship race round or whatever it might be," said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, whose three wins are most among active drivers. "I'd just like to see it a part of that because we just talked about how the driver makes a bigger difference at the is race track than the car." Team Penske's Ryan Blaney took it a step further. "All the above, really," Blaney responded with a grin when asked if he preferred the spring or fall Homestead placement on the calendar. "I'll be honest, it doesn't matter to me when we come here, spring all, in the playoffs, championship race, as long as we're coming here. I think if you asked, some guys would love to come here twice, once in the spring and once in the fall, where that race in the fall lays, I don't care. Do I think the championship race should rotate between a few tracks? Yeah. And this should be one of them. This place puts on a great show no matter what." *THE WINNING Bs The five NASCAR Cup Series races have all been won by drivers whose last names begin with the letter "B." Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron won the Daytona 500. Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell won the next three races -- at Atlanta, Circuit of The Americas and Phoenix -- and Berry picked up his first career win at Las Vegas last weekend. Saturday's Homestead pole winner? Alex Bowman. Several drivers conceded that B letter trend could likely continue this weekend at Homestead with 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champ Ryan Blaney considered a favorite. He started the season with a pair of top-10 finishes and won the pole position at Atlanta but has back-to-back showings of 28th and 35th in the two races heading to South Florida -- suffering an engine failure at Phoenix and crashing last weekend at Las Vegas. "I thought our car was really good last week until I wrecked all of us on the back stretch so just hope to keep that same pace but I feel good with where our program is at right now," said Blaney, who has finished runner-up in the last two Homestead races. "Just a matter of trying to get some stuff to go our way." *SEASON OF LEARNING One of the more heralded rookies this season is former Australian SuperCars champion Shane Van Gisbergen, who turned heads and earned high praise for his historic victory at the Chicago Street Course two years ago in his first ever NASCAR Cup Series start. With a strong background in road and street courses before coming to America as a fulltime NASCAR Competitor, the 34-year-old New Zealand-native said it has been a legitimate learning curve in the NASCAR Cup Series on the ovals. His lone top-10 result of the year in the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came at the Circuit of The Americas road course. He says it has been an education on the assortment of long and short ovals in this first full NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Twice -- in the last two races at Phoenix and Las Vegas -- he's been collected in crashes not of his own doing. "I feel like we've showed a lot of promise but we have nothing to show for it, really," Van Gisbergen said. "COTA was a good day, but on the ovals we've really struggled and we've had a lot of accidents and they haven't really been our fault. "It's really tough results-wise but I see a lot of potential and speed. Just got to put it together and get to the end of the races and things will start clicking for us, I think." "It has been hard because I'm not really known for crashing too much and not finishing, so it's been a bit of a pain really," Van Gisbergen added. "Just have to stay out of trouble and get through it. The first stage we're always going good and improving and thinking the rest of the race is going to be good then something seems to happen, so hopefully we stop that this weekend." --By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.

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