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No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Toyota Welcomes Peacock at Martinsville

October 30, 2020

MOORESVILLE, North Carolina (Oct. 30, 2020) – As improbable as it might have seemed at times during the 10-week shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule of 36 points-paying races and a pair of non-points exhibition events is remarkably about to be completed in its entirety.

Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway marks the penultimate event on the 2020 Cup Series calendar and the 32nd event over the last 25 weeks, and the Nov. 8 finale at Phoenix Raceway will be the 33rd in 26 weeks. That’s quite the pace for a series that normally spreads its typical 38-race schedule over a 41-week span each year.

This weekend, the No. 96 Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing (GBR), with driver Daniel Suárez behind the wheel, welcomes Peacock on board for the race at the paperclip-shaped, half-mile Martinsville oval. Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, launched in July and offers 20,000 hours of on-demand movies and shows from NBCUniversal and beyond. There’s something for everyone to watch across news and sports, kids programming, late-night, reality and pop culture shows, Spanish-language programming and more. Highlights of live sports offerings include Premier League soccer, U.S. Open golf, French Open tennis, Tour de France cycling and, in 2021, an NFL Wild Card playoff game and the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Fans can visit PeacockTV.com to start watching for free – no credit card required – and can upgrade to Peacock Premium to unlock everything Peacock has to offer, including full seasons of exclusive original series, next-day airings of current TV favorites, and can’t-miss live sports events. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for millions of Xfinity X1 and Flex customers.

As they head to the Southern Virginia short track this weekend, the No. 96 Peacock Toyota team for GBR is looking forward to winding down its first full Cup Series season since joining NASCAR’s top ranks as a part-time effort in 2017. A solid pair of outings at Martinsville Sunday and the season-ending race at Phoenix, where Peacock will be on board once again, would be a key springboard for its further development in 2021 with an eye toward the arrival of the Cup Series’ next-generation racecar in 2022.

Daniel Suárez: Driver of the No. 96 Peacock Toyota Camry for Gaunt Brothers Racing:

Your thoughts about racing at Martinsville Sunday?

“First of all, we’re happy to have Peacock on board with us this weekend and again at Phoenix. I love going to Martinsville. It’s just a different atmosphere and they have things so unique to them – the trophy, the style of track, etc. Martinsville is cool because it’s one of the old-school tracks that we go to. I drive back and forth from home and it’s a unique place. It reminds me kind of like a Late Model race, where it’s just a different environment from the big tracks we usually go to. This time, we’ll get to race there with fans in the stands, which was not the case when we had our Wednesday-night race there in June. I hope we can give the fans and Peacock a good show.”

Everyone says Martinsville requires a totally different approach as a driver. How would you describe that?

“It’s one of those tracks where you have to go slow in order to make yourself fast. You have to back up the corner and go slow going into it, then you really get your speed coming off of it to pass people. There’s a lot of beating and banging between all of us on the track and it’s something really fun to watch. You have to move guys out of the way to pass, usually, and it’s just so different.”