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Burton Finishes 28th at Sonoma


June 12, 2022


Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team entered Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway with the goal of earning Stage points and scoring a good finish, as they did earlier this year at Circuit of the Americas.

They wound up with a mixed bag as they scored Stage points in both Stages but took the checkered flag in 28th place.

Burton, who started the race from 26th place, ran inside the top 25 for much of the first Stage, then stayed on the track when others pitted near the end of that 25-lap segment. He moved up to sixth place and finished the Stage there, earning five points.

After making his pit stop, he rejoined the race in 33rd place. The DEX Imaging team employed the same strategy in Stage Two, ending that segment in seventh place and collecting four more points.
 
Burton lined up 24th for the start of final segment of the race and made his final pit stop early, with 36 laps remaining.
 
When the caution flag flew with 27 laps remaining, and other drivers made their pit stops, Burton moved up to 15th place for the ensuing restart.
 
He ran inside the top 25 for much of the remainder of the race, which saw just two yellow flags for incidents on the track, one of them coming in the final segment. In the closing laps, Burton lost several spots to drivers who made later stops for fresh rubber and wound up 28th, which gave him a total of 18 points earned for the day.
 
Next up for Burton and the No. 21 team is the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 26.

chevy racing–nascar–sonoma–post race quotes

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES

JUNE 12, 2022

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:

POS.   DRIVER

1st      DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES / RENU CAMARO ZL1

7th      ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1

8th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

9th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

11th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 TRUE VELOCITY CAMARO ZL1

12th    JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1

15th    KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

16th    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY/BETTER TOGETHER CAMARO ZL1

19th    AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 GOLD FISH CASINO SLOTS CAMARO ZL1

22nd   ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1

23rd   TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1

25th    RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: 

POS.  DRIVER

1.        Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)

2.        Chris Buescher (Ford)

3.        Michael McDowell (Ford)

4.        Kevin Harvick (Ford)

5.        Austin Cindric (Ford)

Heading into the off week for the series, the NASCAR Cup Series will be back in action at Nashville Superspeedway with the Ally 400 on Sunday, June 26, at 5 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES / RENU CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 1st

THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN QUITE THE CELEBRATION. DANIEL SUAREZ, SINCE YOU WON YOUR XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP, IT HAS BEEN A LONG ROAD HERE IN THE CUP SERIES, DIFFERENT TEAMS, A LOT OF HEARTBREAK. HOW DO YOU PUT INTO WORDS THE RACE YOU HAD TODAY?

“It’s crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now. I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series. These guys believing in me – Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me get to this point. A lot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t.

Just very happy we were able to make it work.” 

I MENTIONED DIFFERENT TEAMS. TRACKHOUSE, SEEMED LIKE MAGIC FROM THE MOMENT YOU STARTED TOGETHER. WHAT HAS BEEN DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS TEAM FOR YOU?

“Their energy. They believe in me since day one. They believe in me. All the people, all the resources to make it happen.

We have Daniel’s Amigos over there. (Expletive) yeah.”

TALK TO THOSE DANIEL’S AMIGOS OVER THERE AND ALL THE DANIEL’S AMIGO’S WATCHING ON TV. TELL THEM IN SPANISH WHAT YOU’RE FEELING JUST NOW. 

(Answer in Spanish.) This is the first one of many.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 9th

“Ended up ninth here at Sonoma. Good run for our team. Fought hard all day and got the balance right and the second half of the race was good. Happy with that and going into the off week with some good momentum.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 35th

“Our Lenovo Chevy was strong this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. We started the race fifth and spent most of Stages 1 and 2 in and around the top five. We were running fourth with three laps remaining in Stage 2 when we made a green-flag stop. Unfortunately, we were caught speeding on pit road and had to restart at the tail end of the field to start Stage 3. We got mirrored back in traffic. Everyone was bunching up and another car ended up making contact with us. It destroyed our left-rear and we had to go to the garage for repairs. We made it back out, but finished 14 laps down in 35th. It’s definitely disappointing to get a finish like that after running so strong today.”

TEAM CHEVY – RACE QUICK NOTES

Stage One: 

·       A Chevrolet front row led the field to the green in today’s Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, with Kyle Larson capturing a series-leading fourth pole at the track; joined by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott on the front row.  

·       Varying pit strategies in the closing laps of Stage One, Cliff Daniels kept the No. 5 HendrickCars.comCamaro ZL1 out until the end of the stage. 

·       Defending race winner, Kyle Larson, led all 25 laps of Stage One, giving Larson his second stage win of 2022. 

·       Team Chevy Top-10 of Stage One: Kyle Larson (Stage Winner), Justin Haley (4th), Josh Bilicki (7th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9th).

Stage Two: 

·       Chase Elliott, who pitted prior to the conclusion of the Stage One, capitalized on track position, leading the field to the green from the pole position. 

·       Leading 26 laps of the 30-lap Stage Two, Alan Gustafson brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 down pit road in the closing laps of the stage, with a long stop causing Elliott to lose track position. Issued a penalty for pitting outside the box, Elliott was forced to restart at the rear of the field to start the Final Stage. 

·       Team Chevy Top-10 of Stage Two: Daniel Suarez (4th) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9th).

Post-Race Fast Facts: 

·       Suarez’s triumph is also the eighth of the season for the Camaro ZL1 and the 13th victory for Chevrolet at Sonoma Raceway, both of which are manufacturer-leading feats. 

·       The win is Suarez’s first-career victory in 195 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

·       It also marks the third NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Trackhouse Racing in 2022. 

·       With his victory, Suarez secures a spot into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Field. 

·       The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 822 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

chevy racing–nascar–sonoma post race

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

TEAM CHEVY RACE WINNER QUOTE & NOTES

JUNE 12, 2022

DANIEL SUAREZ TAKES FIRST-CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT SONOMA 

Team Chevy Scores Eighth NCS Victory of 2022

Behind the wheel of his No. 99 Onx Homes/Renu Camaro ZL1, Daniel Suarez scored his first-career NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win at Sonoma Raceway. 

·       The win is Suarez’s first-career victory in 195 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

·       It also marks the third NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Trackhouse Racing in 2022. 

·       With his victory, Suarez secures a spot into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Field. 

·       Suarez’s triumph is also the eighth of the season for the Camaro ZL1 and the 13th victory for Team Chevy at Sonoma Raceway, both of which are manufacturer-leading feats. 

·       The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 822 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES/RENU CAMARO ZL1, Race Winner Quick Quote: 

Q. This has already been quite the celebration. Daniel Suarez, since you won your Xfinity Series championship, it has been a long road here in the Cup Series, different teams, a lot of heartbreak. How do you put into words the race you had today?

DANIEL SUAREZ: It’s a crazy day. I have so many thoughts in my head right now. I mean, it’s been a rough road. It’s been a rough journey in the Cup Series.

These guys believe in me – Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Ty Norris. Everyone that helped me to get to this point. Alot of people in Mexico: Jay Morales, Carlos Slim. My family, they never give up on me. A lot of people did, but they didn’t (tearing up).

Just very happy we were able to make it work.

Q. I mentioned different teams. Trackhouse, seemed like magic from the moment you started together. What has been different about this team for you?

DANIEL SUAREZ: Their energy. They believed in me since day one. They believe in me. All the people, all the resources to make it happen.

We have Daniel’s Amigos over there. (Expletive) yeah.

Q. Talk to those Daniel’s Amigos over there and all the Daniel’s Amigos watching on TV. Tell them in Spanish what you’re feeling just now.

DANIEL SUAREZ: (Answer in Spanish.) This is the first one of many.

chevy racing–indycar–road america–post race

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN

TEAM CHEVY POST RACE REPORT

JUNE 12, 2022

JOSEF NEWGARDEN TAKES CHEVROLET TO VICTORY LANE AT ROAD AMERICA

WINS $1 MILLION PEOPLEREADY FORCE FOR GOOD CHARITY WITH ONE WIN ON EACH STREET COURSE, OVAL AND NATURAL ROAD COURSE

ELKHART LAKE, WISC (JUNE 12, 2022) – Josef Newgarden put Chevrolet in Victory Lane for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR at Road America. It is the two-time NTT INDYCAR Series Champion’s third win of season.

By capturing his victories on one of each different kind of track – street course (Long Beach), oval (Texas Motor Speedway) and today on Road America, a 4.048-mile, 14-turn natural road course – the $1 million PeopleReady Force for Good for charity and his team today. 

The $1 million will be split between Newgarden and Team Penske, and the two charities of Newgarden’s choice – Wags and Walks of Nashville and SeriousFun Children’s Network.

This is his 22nd career INDYCAR victory and his second at Road America – all behind the wheel of a Chevrolet powered INDY car.

Newgarden started on the outside of the front row. He led a total 28 of the 55-lap race taking the lead for the first time on a pitstop exchange on lap 25. He never relinquished the point for the remainder of the race except during pitstop cycles and differing race strategies.

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 VUSE Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet finished sixth, and Scott McLaughlin finished seventh to give Team Chevy three of the top-seven. Chevrolet leads the Manufacturer Standings by 60 points. 677-617.

Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, came into the weekend leading the points, but contact from another car on lap seven in turn five sent him to pit lane for repairs. He rallied to finish 19th, one lap down and sits second in the standings only 27 points down to the leader.

Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi completed the podium.

Race nine of the 17-race NTT INDYCAR Series season will be Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 1 – 3, 2022.

CHEVROLET DRIVER QUOTES

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 1st

WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT THOSE RACES THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT ON LATE RESTARTS? HOW DETERMINED WERE YOU TO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN TODAY?

“I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do. Just an unbelievable job by everyone at Team Penske. Great to have PPG on board with us. We’ve had a lot of success with this car and Team Chevy. Team Chevy’s bringing it with this engine. Just so proud to be here and People’s Choice. I keep forgetting about this million bucks.”

YOU’VE GOT A MILLION DOLLAR CHECK COMING HERE IN A SECOND!

“I just kept forgetting about it. To finally get it done and to most importantly give that money to charity. Half that money is going to charity with SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville. I hope they are happy about that. That’s a lot of money coming their way.”

HOW TOUGH OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT IS THAT TO GET IT DONE ON AN OVAL, A STREET COURSE AND A ROAD COURSE ALL IN ONE SEASON, MUCH LESS THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON?

“That’s what makes Indy Car so tough. It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen. I thought we had it all locked up in Detroit. It was going to be easy from the front row and it was anything but easy. It went completely different than we predicted. That’s just what makes this series so difficult, and it makes it fun to be in. You’ve got to be on your toes at all times. You can go in with a plan, but you’re probably going to have to change your plan 90 percent of the time once the race starts to unfold. To be able to hit all these disciplines with this team is just, for me, it’s the best series in the world. I just love driving Indy Car.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 6th

“Pretty interesting race. We were a bit weak on the start and on the restarts, especially on the reds. We just couldn’t really make anything happen. We pitted early and then it kind of became a fuel race. We needed to save a lot on every stint after pitting so early. We ended up getting pretty good track position and our pace was better than expected while making our fuel number. We were able to lead the race but didn’t really have anything for the lead drivers at the end. We did the best we could. The No. 7 team did a great job on pit stops and we have moved higher in the championship.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO.3 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 7th

“Overall, pretty good day for the Sonsio Chevy. We started eighth and finished seventh. Nearly got sixth on the line. We’ve been chasing set up all weekend, but solid points day for us in seventh. We will just keep building from there. Onto Mid-Ohio. We have a couple of weeks off, we’ll be ok.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLIGER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 11th

“It was a pretty good race finishing P11. It was a crazy race, we just kept it clean and kept it cool. A couple of things slowed us down in the beginning and then we got our momentum. To be fair, the pace was good. I probably could have pushed it a bit more in some areas. Honestly, P11 is a good result for us and good points especially since I have been out of the car. We did a good job putting everything back together after qualifying. Thanks to all the guys at Juncos Hollinger and Team Chevy.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 14th

“We had great pace today, especially on the reds. Both Meyer Shank Racing cars drove us off the road today at two different times, it’s a real shame to see experienced veterans drive like that. Simon (Pagenaud) knocking us off blatantly on the last restart was really tough because we were in 12th and that was my goal. We had a good day, great pace, but sometimes these things happen in racing.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 DIRECT SUPPLY ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 17th

“P17 was everything we had, really. It was very tough. I struggled with the balance of the car all day. For me, it was a race to keep the car on track and that’s not a great race! It was a great call all the end to go to red tires, I passed many guys. I am looking forward to a few weeks off and coming back with great car for Mid-Ohio.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 19th

STILL SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPSHIP, BUT WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. YOU ALREADY HAD A LONG WAY TO GO FROM THERE, BUT WE HEARD YOU AFTER THE CONTACT WITH DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO IT WAS “WAIT UNTIL I SEE HIM.” HAVE YOU SEEN HIM AND YOU’VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TIME SINCE THEN, HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THIS?

“Yeah, no I haven’t seen him. I mean, we had a fast car it’s just I kind of wondered if we changed tires when we were doing the wing. We didn’t want to go down a lap obviously. That made our day a lot harder. Yeah, nothing I could do about that one. That is Indy Car. Not the best day, you have them. Just move on to the next one.”

THIS DOES SEEM TO ALIGN WITH THE NEW MENTALITY THAT YOU’VE HAD OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO. YOU’RE TAKING THIS BETTER THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD AT THIS POINT.

“Man, you can’t really do much about it. He is a young guy and he’s made some big moves this year that resulted in some incidents. It was good on the team for at least, I got ran off on the last lap there so maybe we could have finished a little bit higher. We had plenty of push to pass, couldn’t do much about it. We’ll see if we can get the Verizon 5G Chevy to victory lane again this year. Anytime we get a victory in this series it’s so big, because it’s so hard. There’s a different winner every week. Except for Newgarden, obviously congrats to him. He won the charity prize and yeah, he’s won three races. He’s on a good run.” 

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 20th

“Finished up here in Road America. Weekend is over. We didn’t have the exact race like we would have liked to have. For some reason, we lost pace from final practice yesterday to the race. We started 24th and finished 20th, so we gained a few positions. Finished with the car, came back with no battle wounds. So, that’s positive. We are going to look forward to Mid-Ohio.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 16 PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – Finished 21st

“I think it was really important to finish this race. We had so much going on with me getting back in the car, getting to know the team again and working with my engineer. But we finished and I think we can be pretty happy because things started to come together at the end. It’s something to build on.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 23rd

“Not the weekend we wanted here at Road America. I don’t think we had the pace overall in the race to make a lot of headway. We kept our nose clean and was able to make up a couple of spots. Coming to the final restart, on my end I don’t think I had a great restart for those last couple of laps. Gave up a couple spots there. That’s how it goes sometimes. Lesson learned. Aggression and timing, I don’t think I really timed the run coming through 14. That cost me those couple spots. Overall, we are still kind of struggling on pace on blacks. Reds felt better. We’ve got a little work to do and have some time to think about it before the next Indy road course race.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 25th

“We just finished Road America and unfortunately it was not our day in many ways. We had some penalties, some fuel miscommunication and we had to restart the engine a couple of times on pit lane. So yeah, tough day for everyone. I just want to thank the whole AJ Foyt racing team. It’s been a couple of busy weeks, so hopefully we can regroup and go back Mid-Ohio. I’m looking forward to it.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 26th

“We had a failure, which will put an end to anyone’s race. We weren’t having the smoothest of days anyway. We made some mistakes in the pits that cost us positions and we didn’t really have much pace to attack. Just not our day today.”

Josef Newgarden

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Josef Newgarden. The second win here at Road America. Third win of the season, 23rd of your career. Now ties the great Tommy Milton for 19th on the all-time list. Most importantly today the People Ready Force For Good Challenge, $1 million. Half goes to your favorite charity. A spectacular day.

Tell us about it a little bit.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a great day. Great, great day. Felt really good going into it. Felt like we had a car to win today. It was just about executing.

My team really put me in position on that first stop. Rossi was not going to be easy to beat today. I felt like he was very strong. I felt like we were a little bit better than him, but he was by no means going to be simple to go by.

That first stop is really what set the tone for us. Once we got in position, it was about getting through the lap markers, the alternate strategy quicker than him, building a gap, maintaining it. I felt like our PPG car was hooked up and had it from Team Chevy on the power side pretty much as always this year.

Really comfy. To be able to win this million bucks, give half of it to charity, is very cool. Very, very cool. I’m sure our recipients are going to be thrilled with that.

THE MODERATOR: On the Zoom joining us are your friends that are going to be the recipients.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Fantastic.

THE MODERATOR: Kathryn Hurley is the founder of the Nashville chapter of Wags & Walks.

Kathryn, say hello.

KATHRYN HURLEY: Hi.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Kathryn.

KATHRYN HURLEY: Hi. We are absolutely thrilled. Congratulations, Josef. I mean, you know what we’re going to do this year with all the dogs here in Nashville. That was bigger than me winning the Super Bowl for the Detroit Lions. We are absolutely so, so thrilled.

It’s going to impact literally thousands of dogs here in Nashville and allow us to build an amazing adoption center. Congratulations to you, Ashley and your little one at home.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you.

For people don’t know, our dog Axel was adopted through Wags & Walks. Kathryn really started the charge in Nashville. Wags & Walks started in L.A. Kathryn started the Nashville chapter for it. They’ve been doing an amazing job. They work with a lot of great people in Nashville. They save all sorts of dogs. All sorts. You should hear some of these heartbreaking stories that these guys through to find these dogs homes. We need more of that.

We’re very happy to be able to get some money to this group because they’ve done a lot for us and for a lot of people in Nashville. Very thrilled.

Thank you, Kathryn, for all your work.

KATHRYN HURLEY: Thank you so much. Congratulations again.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us. By the way, the $10,000 for each and every race continues through the rest of the season. You may not be done.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We’ll work on it more.

KATHRYN HURLEY: The good news continues.

THE MODERATOR: Blake Maher is the CEO from the (indiscernible).

BLAKE MAHER: Congratulations, Josef, on a big win for you and your whole team. Couldn’t be more grateful for the win today and all you do for SeriousFun, a true champion for us.

(Loss of audio.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We want to help these groups as much as we can. To have something like this challenge I think fires you up more competitively, that you want to get it done for them. You know it’s just a bonus and a plus for these two groups.

Yeah, not quite as emotional. I just know how impactful it is, so I get really competitive and want to make it happen.

THE MODERATOR: Tremendous day. So congratulations many times over.

Questions.

Q. What type of dog is Axel?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He’s a mutt. He has a lot of different breeds. He’s a smart little fellow. Cute, adorable. 30 pounds. He’s a lot of things. He’s got Shepard in him. All sorts of stuff. I couldn’t even tell you.

Q. You said on the TV interview you had forgotten about the $1 million prize. How can you forget about something like that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I do forget about it at points. Like, I didn’t think about it coming into this weekend. I totally forgot that that was a thing. There’s a point you get reminded about it. You’re like, Oh, yeah, that’s right.

But for me, it’s not something you really dwell on because it doesn’t matter ultimately at the end of the day. I’m not going to try to win this race because this is on the line. You never approach any race that way.

I want to win the race because I want to win the race. It’s a great little bonus. It’s not a little bonus, that’s a big bonus. It’s just one of those things that kind of comes with it.

It’s not motivating for me that I have to do something extra because of this. I’m putting my best effort forward every weekend. I know if we can just focus on our job, get the job done, at times I get reminded, This is also going to come with it. That’s very, very cool obviously.

THE MODERATOR: Blake, do you have anything else to say? We lost you there.

BLAKE MAHER: Josef, I just wanted to make sure you heard our congratulations. We’re so excited for you and the team. Thank you for being a champion for SeriousFun, whether you’re at camp, welcoming kids to the racetrack, your ping-pong tournament. This, of course, is such a huge feather in your cap. We’re so proud to work with you and thankful for all you do for all the kids at the camps around the world.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you, Blake. We’re so fortunate to have people like you and SeriousFun Children’s Network. Keep up the great work as always.

BLAKE MAHER: Hope to see you soon. Take care.

THE MODERATOR: Blake, thanks. You’ve been a great friend for INDYCAR in the past and for years to come.

More questions.

Q. It seemed like the first pit stop was the key to the race. You were able to beat Rossi out. From that point on it seemed like every time…

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was going to be that point or another point. Truthfully I was hoping for an all green start, no cautions, because I felt that’s where we could find the exposure in Rossi’s game.

I was kind of biding my time but felt like I had the straight speed advantage with him. I felt like my Chevy was much quicker than him on the straights. I was going to wait for an opportunity.

All the yellows really took away that potential. We were running most of the laps under caution, so the reds weren’t going to drop off as much. We needed to make the difference somewhere else. We came in right on his tail. I made sure, Look, I’m going to give my team ample opportunity, get as close as I can to Rossi on the pits.

If it wasn’t going to happen on the pit stop, it was going to be an out lap or a back end of a stint (indiscernible). The pit stop is what ended up being the pivotal point for us. If that wasn’t the point, I think we could have made that point somewhere else today.

Q. Pit selection seemed to work in your favor. I believe you were the last pit out.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, yeah. We were first out, if you will, first box, which always helps. You got a clear out. You don’t have to worry about typically a lot of the mess going on in the middle or wherever you’re located at.

It does pay to start up front.

(Loss of audio.)

Q. Obviously the difference on a late restart this year versus last year was considerable. Can you forget that stuff?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t really think about it. If you want to talk about last year, it’s not anything anyone did wrong. It’s a part that failed that I think was a $50 part. No one has ever seen it fail. It’s not like it was a prep issue.

I couldn’t have affected anything. I or the team couldn’t have affected anything to make it different. Had no thought about it. I was just focused on today.

The thing I focus on is we’re in position. You don’t have many opportunities to be in position to close. I just want to close. That’s where my head was at today, yep.

Q. With the two late restarts there at the very end, were you surprised on both cases how much you were able to gap Rossi going up the hill with the green flag there?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not after watching him. I kind of knew where the strength and weakness was. I felt like we had a good advantage on him in certain areas. We tried to exploit that as best as possible.

It was two really good starts, great attack mode from Team Chevy. All of that contributes to being able to push the gap. I was hopeful we could do that, but I can’t say I was surprised. I felt like we had that potential. I knew if we just do our job, we can do that, and was happy to see it kind of come to fruition.

Q. You get a good cut of it the bonus. After buying some baby stuff for the newborn, what is the first dumb thing you’re going to buy with the money?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. I don’t know. Probably a bunch of McDonald’s. Probably over a hundred dollars worth of McDonald’s at least. That’s probably stop one. After that, I don’t know. We’ll have to see.

Q. Will had a line in the interview that it’s hard to get wins except for Josef, he’s got multiple. How hard is it to win now compared to earlier in your career? What do they mean now?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s extremely difficult. It’s hard to win a pole. Hard to win a race. The landscape is not constant these days. I think 10 years ago you used to have sort of consistent trends. When a team would find a performance edge, they would typically carry that edge across the entire year.

Whereas now I think people find these little edges on each other like every weekend. It’s going up and down all the time.

You see a McLaren strong at one track, Andretti strong at another, Ganassi pops up, ECR pops up, we’re in the mix. Then a Shank pops up. It’s never ending.

We say every year it’s the closest competition we ever had. Somehow it keeps getting tighter. It must be just the development of this car has really hit a fine point. You’re just constantly tuning little things now, millimeters of changes.

The driving style is getting tighter, with simulators, all this stuff you can analyze. It’s impossible to hide something from the competition.

Yeah, it is very difficult to win these races consistently. To be able to put multiple on the board, it’s a job well done to everybody in the 2 group.

Q. Three wins is like what drivers are looking for, if you want to win the championship, you have to win three races. Do you feel like you’ve got the momentum in the championship or is that still with Marcus after the 500 win?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s been a little bit too up and down for us. Kind of feast or famine. I think we genuinely had the potential for four or five wins up to this point. So we’ve done three of the potential five, let’s say. The other ones that we weren’t winning, we were finishing too far back.

We’ve got to up our consistency. It’s a little abnormal for us. I feel like we’re a fairly consistent group. So I’m not going to lose sleep on why that was happening. Sometimes you get in these little micro trends where we didn’t have the consistency we needed.

Number one, we need to clean that up. We need to win a couple more races before the year is out because of the way the first part of the season went. We definitely have wins on the board. But definitely more than wins, consistency is going to rule the day this year, for sure.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I felt good coming into the season. I felt good about last year. I remember we were getting hounded, up to this point last year we were getting hounded on why we hadn’t won a race.

For me it was funny because I’m like, You guys must not be inside our internal network and seeing. We’re just totally fine, totally fine. There’s not a problem with the team. We’re where we need to be. Just wasn’t clicking off for some reason.

I felt that way going into this season and I feel that way now. I think we’re in a good spot. We have to clean up the consistency. For one reason or another that didn’t happen up to this point. I know if we keep doing our normal thing, that will come.

We just need to keep on a good track here till the finish. Feel very positive about our group. I mean, we don’t have anything negative going on. Honestly, there’s nothing that I could be complaining about. We got a really strong team, everything is in a good place, great partnerships with Tammy Chevy and everyone else. Yeah, feel good about it.

Q. (Question about the late caution.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I think I cooked my stuff a little bit too much on that second stint. I was aggressive with traffic. That’s where I think I got the gap, was I was more aggressive than he was cutting through either a lap marker or an alternate strategy. So that ripped a really nice gap for us.

After that it was more just trying to manage it. I kept watching my gap to him. I was trying to study where he was strong and where I was weak. I just kind of focused on tire management after that point.

I could tell he was very good in the beginning through 75% of the stint. I think we had the edge in the last 25%. Look, we have a good gap here, got more overtake, let’s just try to manage tires. That was my game plan as I got to middle to finish. I think that worked well for us.

I was surprised. We didn’t get to see what was going to happen in the first stint because of all the yellows. That’s where I thought I was going to find the exposure for him. I was a little bit worried, we missed that opportunity, but let’s see what happens on the primaries. It worked out. I think we had a fast car all around.

Q. Can you explain how restarts work here.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, typically in INDYCAR now the rule is there’s a restart zone that’s designated. Typically it’s around the final corner, sometimes sort of encompassing the entire final corner, sometimes it’s a bit more.

In our case, it’s kind of 13 to 14, that lead-up into 14 is the restart zone. So the procedure for us is the pace car lets us get temperature, does a pretty quick lap, then slows us down. By the time we get to the carrousel, packs us up. As we get to turn 12, he tries to get away. We let him get away to where we can start 13 to 14. That’s our process.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Rossi was as tight as he could be to me when I got on the gas. He definitely wasn’t getting jacked up, to use your words. It’s just the point. INDYCAR sort of designates the restart area or zone that you can start in. We know that. That’s what I did today.

Q. From our point of view once you got the lead, it seemed like you were pretty comfortable. Was it that comfortable to you? Anything you think you could have done better?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say it was only fairly comfortable today. I didn’t feel like we were lights out better than anybody. But I felt like we were just as good. I felt we were kind of toe-to-toe with Rossi today. It was just about managing the tires the best.

I think raw pace on the primaries, we were probably similar. It was a matter of when you wanted to push them.

Yeah, what can we learn? There’s always a lot of little stuff. We’re going to go back and analyze the sectors, look at straights versus corners, mechanical changes that we made. We’re going to analyze all of it and see where we can optimize for next year.

At this point the broad strokes are very good for this track, these conditions. Now that I’m also saying that, we’re going to come back next year and it’s going to be a completely new challenge, they’re going to resurface this place. We are still going to analyze and learn what we can from this season, but pretty open book next year.

Q. This track could be quite a bit different. Do you think that’s a good thing? Do you think it needs it or rather it stay like it is?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m indifferent. If it’s up to me…

Honda’s Ericsson Reclaims Championship Lead at Road America


Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson returns to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead with second-place finish at Road America
Alexander Rossi scores second successive podium with third-place finish
Honda drivers claim four of the top-five finishing positions with Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 12, 2022) – Last month’s Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson led the way for Honda today in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America, with a second-place finish vaulting him back into the championship points lead after eight of 17 races.

Starting fourth, Ericsson ran in the lead group throughout the first two stints of the 55-lap, 220-mile race. When a late-race caution flag led to a restart with just three laps remaining, second-running Alexander Rossi made a lunge for the lead, but had to abort the attempt and Ericsson used the opportunity to grab second, finishing three seconds behind winner Josef Newgarden. With today’s result, Ericsson has a 27-point lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship over Will Power, who finished 19th.

Rossi, the pole qualifier on Saturday, recovered to finish third, with his Honda-powered Andretti Autosport teammates Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Also of note, Graham Rahal rebounded from a disappointing 22nd in qualifying to finish eighth today, with his Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammate Christian Lundegaard leading the rookie contingent with an 11th-place finish.

Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America Honda Results
2nd Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
3rd Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
4th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
5th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
8th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
9th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
12th Simon Pagenaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
13th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
15th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
16th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
18th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
22nd Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
24th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
27th Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
R – Rookie

Quotes
Marcus Ericsson (#8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished second, moves into the Drivers’ Championship points lead after 8 of 17 races: “It was a really good race, and we were strong throughout the weekend. Honda, HPD, and everyone on the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing team did an awesome job this weekend, they gave me a really good race car today. Finishing second is great for the championship. I am sorry about the [early race] contact with Alex [Palou]. From my point of view, we were side-by-side and it was a nice racing move. But you never want to have contact with a teammate, and I’m super sorry Alex was damaged there.”

Alexander Rossi (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda) pole qualifier, finished third: “We went for the lead on that last restart, and it kind of cost us [dropping from second to third], but ultimately a good day for us. It took us until the last stint to get the balance right in the car, and then we could make up ground on Josef [Newgarden]. It’s always disappointing when you start on pole, but don’t win the race, but it’s been a good couple of races for us [with podium finishes at both Detroit and Road Amerca]. We’ll take to positives from that and move on to Mid-Ohio.”

Rebecca Johnson (Senior Manager, Director of Production, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Honda podium finishes at Road America: “While we can’t be fully satisfied with missing out on the race win, it was good to seen Marcus [Ericsson] move back to the championship points lead with a strong second-place finish and Andretti Autosport had their best result – across the board – today with [Alexander] Rossi, Romain [Grosjean] and Colton [Herta] all scoring top-five finishes. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan organization today demonstrated they are improving, with Graham [Rahal] coming from 22nd on the grid to finish eighth; and Christian Lundegaard again leading the rookie field with an 11th-place result. After five consecutive weekends at Indianapolis, Detroit and now here in Wisconsin, it will be nice for the HPD race team to get a brief, but well-deserved break, before resuming the season at our “home” circuit, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on the Independence Day weekend.”

Fast Fact
Honda Indy car drivers have scored eight victories at Road America, most recently in last year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, won by eventual series champion Alex Palou in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Next
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back racing at the Midwestern “home circuit” for American Honda, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, for the Honda Indy 200 presented by the all-new 2023 Civic Type R, on July 1-3.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from Road America can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

chevy racing–indycar–road america–josef newgarden

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN

TEAM CHEVY JOSEF NEWGARDEN

WINNER QUICK QUOTE

JUNE 12, 2022

JOSEF NEWGARDEN TAKES CHEVROLET TO VICTORY LANE AT ROAD AMERICA

WINS $1 MILLION PEOPLEREADY FORCE FOR GOOD CHARITY WITH ONE WIN ON EACH STREET COURSE, OVAL AND NATURAL ROAD COURSE

ELKHART LAKE, WISC (JUNE 12, 2022) – Josef Newgarden put Chevrolet in Victory Lane for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR at Road America. It is the two-time NTT INDYCAR Series Champion’s third win of season.

By capturing his victories on one of each different kind of track – street course (Long Beach), oval (Texas Motor Speedway and today on Road America, a 4.048-mile, 14-turn natural road course – the $1 million PeopleReady Force for Good for charity and his team today. 

The $1 million will be split between Newgarden and Team Penske, and the two charities of Newgarden’s choice – Wags and Walks of Nashville and SeriousFun Children’s Network.

This is his 22nd career INDYCAR victory and his second at Road America – all behind the wheel of a Chevrolet-powered car.

WINNER’S QUOTE:

WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT THOSE RACES THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT ON LATE RESTARTS? HOW DETERMINED WERE YOU TO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN TODAY?

“I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do. Just an unbelievable job by everyone at Team Penske. Great to have PPG on board with us. We’ve had a lot of success with this car and Team Chevy. Team Chevy’s bringing it with this engine. Just so proud to be here and People’s Choice. I keep forgetting about this million bucks.”

YOU’VE GOT A MILLION DOLLAR CHECK COMING HERE IN A SECOND!

“I just kept forgetting about it. To finally get it done and to most importantly give that money to charity. Half that money is going to charity with SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville. I hope they are happy about that. That’s a lot of money coming their way.”

HOW TOUGH OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT IS THAT TO GET IT DONE ON AN OVAL, A STREET COURSE AND A ROAD COURSE ALL IN ONE SEASON, MUCH LESS THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON?

“That’s what makes Indy Car so tough. It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen. I thought we had it all locked up in Detroit. It was going to be easy from the front row and it was anything but easy. It went completely different than we predicted. That’s just what makes this series so difficult, and it makes it fun to be in. You’ve got to be on your toes at all times. You can go in with a plan, but you’re probably going to have to change your plan 90 percent of the time once the

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: No Words

Both Corvettes retire early in final GTE Pro race at 24 Hours
LE MANS, France (June 12, 2022) – Corvette Racing’s GTE Pro run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended with retirements of both Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs on Sunday.
Alexander Sims in the No. 64 Corvette was fighting to regain the class lead just before the 18-hour mark when a prototype competitor moved into him on the Mulsanne Straight. The contact, with Sims on the far-left with two LMP2 cars going by, pitched the Corvette hard left into the guardrail nose-first.
Sims exited the car unassisted and was fine upon his return to the paddock. He, along with FIA World Endurance Championship teammates Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy, took turns leading in the pole-winning Corvette. Sims earlier set the fastest GTE Pro lap of the race.
Only moments earlier, Corvette Racing had retired the No. 63 Corvette due to significant mechanical damage –  seen and unseen – at the rear of the car. It was unclear if this was a continuation from an earlier suspension issue in the race’s first six hours. Every effort was made to get the car back into the race, but due to safety concerns for the team’s drivers and fellow competitors, the decision was made to retire.
“This isn’t how we wanted our Le Mans race to end,” said Laura Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager. “We’re all proud of the dedication of everyone on the Corvette Racing team to give us the absolute best chance for our ninth class victory. At the end of the day, we’re all proud to be part of the One Team effort that is Corvette Racing. We’re glad Alexander is OK and that the C8.R kept him safe. Our focus now is on our two full-season efforts in the WEC and also the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.”
CORVETTE RACING AU MANS: Sans parolesLes deux Corvettes abandonnent dans la course des GTE Pro aux 24 Heures LE MANS, le 12 juin 2022 – La course du Corvette Racing aux 24 Heures du Mans s’est terminée par l’abandon des deux Chevrolet Corvette C8.R dimanche matin. Alexander Sims, au volant de la Corvette n°64, se battait pour reprendre la tête de la catégorie GTE Pro juste avant la 18e heure lorsqu’un concurrent prototype l’a percuté sur la ligne droite des Hunaudières. Le contact, alors que Sims se trouvait à l’extrême gauche et que deux voitures LMP2 le dépassaient, a envoyé la Corvette de front dans les rails. Sims est sorti de la voiture sans assistance et se sentait bien à son retour dans le paddock. Avec ses coéquipiers du Championnat du monde d’Endurance, Tommy Milner et Nick Tandy, il s’est relayé en tête de la Corvette qui a remporté la pole. Sims avait auparavant réalisé le tour le plus rapide de la course en GTE Pro. Quelques instants plus tôt, Corvette Racing avait retiré la Corvette n° 63 en raison d’importants dégâts mécaniques – visibles et invisibles – à l’arrière de la voiture. Il n’était pas clair s’il s’agissait de la suite d’un problème de suspension survenu au cours des six premières heures de la course. Tout a été fait pour que la voiture reprenne la course, mais pour des raisons de sécurité pour les pilotes et les autres concurrents, la décision a été prise de retirer la voiture. “Ce n’est pas comme ça que nous voulions que notre course au Mans se termine,” disait Laura Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager. “Nous sommes tous fiers de l’engagement de tous les membres du team Corvette Racing pour nous donner les meilleures chances de remporter notre neuvième victoire de catégorie . En fin de compte, nous sommes tous fiers de faire partie de l’effort de l’équipe unique qu’est Corvette Racing. Nous sommes heureux qu’Alexander aille bien et que la C8.R l’ait bien protégé. Désormais, nous nous concentrons sur nos deux efforts en WEC et aussi dans le championnat IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar”.

THAT’S KNOXVILLE: Brown Beats Outlaws in Big Guns Bash Finale

Danny Lasoski gets first World of Outlaws win as a crew chief

KNOXVILLE, IA – June 11, 2022 – Fifty-nine times Brian Brown has now triumphed in a 410 Sprint Car at Knoxville Raceway. But this one might be his most special in a long time.

“That’s Knoxville,” Brown said with assertion in Victory Lane. “Chalk that one up on the board for Knoxville.”

Brown’s jubilation in Victory Lane as he emerged from his car victorious in the Brownells Big Guns Bash and the weight of this win can best be illustrated with a few stats: his sixth career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature win, first in Outlaws action since June 14, 2019 – ending a 90-race drought with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

But one accolade he earned Saturday night that stands out above the rest has to do with one man that helped get him into the winner’s circle – Sprint Car Hall-of-Famer Danny Lasoski.

Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, has 122 victories with the Series in his career, and now has one as a crew chief to match.

“My whole career, I’ve been a really, really big fan of Brian Brown’s,” Lasoski said. “I helped him get his start with my dad, and there’s nothing that makes me more proud to be a part of this team with Casey’s, FVP and all these partners here that make this happen.”

“Danny has been great since he’s come on board,” Brown, of Higginsville, MO, said. “But, me and Danny are just a small piece of this whole puzzle.”

Together, they figured out the right combination to beat one of the most stacked fields of 410 Sprint Cars assembled anywhere in the country so far this year. Forty-seven cars came back to the Marion County Fairgrounds Saturday night, and Brown topped them all, much to the pleasure of his fans and dismay of his doubters.

“Everybody always says, ‘Oh Brian can’t beat the Outlaws,’ or he can’t do this, or he can’t do that,” Brown said in Victory Lane. “But we just beat the Outlaws tonight and that’s very special to our team.”

To pull off the win, Brown had to knock-off one of the Outlaws’ very best – the three-time and defending Series champion Brad Sweet. He and his NAPA Auto Parts #49 led the opening 14 circuits around the historic half-mile before Brown got a big run on him, using the high side of Turns 3-4. They crossed the stripe and bolted into Turn 1, where Brown decided to pull the trigger.

“You kinda build a sixth sense about where guys are,” Sweet said when asked if he was surprised by Brown’s close presence. “I knew I wasn’t getting off the corners like I needed to, so you just knew he was going to have a run.”

A big slide job through the wide, sweeping corner sent the local crowd into a frenzy as they watched their favorite begin to pull away down the backstretch. According to Brown, it wasn’t the first time the Knoxville faithful had seen the maneuver this year.

“That move that I [used to] get by Brad there – I used that a couple weeks ago,” Brown said. “It pays to run here and run with [the Outlaws].”

A red flag brought the action to a halt with seven laps to go, which restacked the field and erased Brown’s lead. On the restart, Sweet tried to get back by Brown in the low groove, but Brown was too fast on the top. He led the remaining seven laps, unchallenged after that point, and collected $10,000 for his 59th career victory at Knoxville, tying him for third-most all-time with seven-time track champion Terry McCarl.

“It’s a dream come true to beat the Outlaws,” Brown said, dedicating the win to former car owner Lonny Parsons, who passed away recently.

Sweet held off a hungry Spencer Bayston in the closing laps to bag his 10th podium of the season – the most by any driver. Though he came up one spot short of his second win of the season, he recognized where he could have been better for the next time he’ll be here in August for the 61st running of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals.

“The line I wanted to run, I felt like I needed to move off of it sooner,” Sweet said. “I think the top got a little faster. I knew Brian was gonna be really fast on the top of the racetrack, so I’m a little disappointed in maybe a couple of the decisions I made as a driver.

“Any time you come to Knoxville, you’re thinking about the Nationals, so to leave here in June with a really nice balance is definitely a plus.”


Bayston crossed the stripe in third, bagging his third podium of the season behind the wheel of the CJB Motorsports #5. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz came home in fourth after starting 10th, while Jason Johnson Racing pilot Carson Macedo rounded out the top-five.

UP NEXT

The Outlaws will get a few days off before getting back into action next Friday-Saturday night, June 17-18, at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, WI. If you can’t be at the track, DIRTVision has you covered with a FAST PASS subscription to watch The Greatest Show on Dirt.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps)

1. 21-Brian Brown [4][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$6,000]; 3. 5-Spencer Bayston [3][$3,500]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [10][$2,800]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo [6][$2,500]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$2,300]; 7. 2-David Gravel [7][$2,200]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri [8][$2,100]; 9. 8-Aaron Reutzel [11][$2,050]; 10. 24-Rico Abreu [18][$2,000]; 11. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [5][$1,600]; 12. 83-James McFadden [20][$1,400]; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [24][$1,200]; 14. 9-Kasey Kahne [9][$1,100]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [2][$1,050]; 16. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [14][$1,000]; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [22][$1,000]; 18. O9-Matt Juhl [17][$1,000]; 19. 7S-Robbie Price [25][$1,000]; 20. 76-Nathan Mills [19][$1,000]; 21. 83JR-Kerry Madsen [21][$1,000]; 22. 19-Brent Marks [13][$1,000]; 23. 7W-Dustin Selvage [15][$1,000]; 24. 2J-Lynton Jeffrey [16][$1,000]; 25. 1A-Jacob Allen [23][]

Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-14, Brian Brown 15-25

KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+11]

MAKING HISTORY: DAY COMPLETES HISTORIC WEEKEND SWEEP WITH BRADWAY VICTORY

(6/11/2022 – Alex Nieten) Placerville, CA… At just 16-years old, Corey Day continues to write his name in the West Coast racing history books.

The sprint car prodigy is hitting marks with the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars that even his most talented California predecessors didn’t reach. A hard-fought battle in just his second start in the potent Works Limited No. 57 at Saturday’s Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial resulted in Day picking up his fifth career Fujitsu Feature victory in just his 19th career series start. Drivers like Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, and Carson Macedo didn’t manage to reach that feat in their stints with NARC. In fact, none of them even won more than twice in their first 19 appearances.

Day also cemented his name next to perhaps the greatest driver in the history of the California circuit. His Placerville Speedway Bradway triumph came a day after he claimed the Pombo-Sargent Classic. The only other driver to win the two prestigious events that have more than three decades of history in the same year? None other than Brent Kaeding.

“Happy is an understatement,” Day said of his emotion in victory lane. “I can’t say enough about Paul Silva, Doug, Hayden, Kevin Kozlowski and everyone on this car for the opportunity. These guys work their tails off, and I’m the lucky guy that gets to drive it.”

Leading the field to green was Dominic Scelzi and Mitchell Faccinto. The race’s initial start was halted twice, first for a tangle between Billy Aton and Logan Forler and then for a violently flipping Chase Johnson on the second attempt. All drivers were unharmed.

After one more early yellow for a spinning Jake Morgan, the race was finally able to establish a bit of a green flag run.

Scelzi led the lap four restart, and Day quickly jumped into the runner-up spot and began to pursue the reigning series champion. On lap eight Day showed Scelzi a nose, but “The Dominator” shut the door in the next corner. Day proved he could put the Finley Farms sponsored No. 57 anywhere he wanted, heading to the high line and pouncing.

On lap nine Scelzi missed the bottom on the exit of turn four, and Day rocketed around his outside to snag the lead. Day pulled slightly ahead of Scelzi until a lap 13 caution for a spinning Max Mittry bunched the field together.

Day and Scelzi nearly touched on the restart after an attempted Scelzi slider but Day held on. The yellow flew yet again on lap 15 for an issue between Ing and Aton. Both of their nights were done.

The ensuing restart provided some of the race’s wildest moments. Scelzi jumped ahead (a jump that was deemed early by officials) and took the top spot back. In turn three Day launched a slider and cleared the No. 41, but Scelzi powered underneath him with a crossover as Tanner Carrick rolled the bottom perfectly to make it three wide for the lead down the front stretch.

Scelzi came out ahead, but when the yellow flew on lap 16 for C.J. Humphreys and John Clark slowing, Scelzi was docked two spots for jumping the previous restart. The penalty gifted the lead back to Day who had fallen to third, but with Scelzi’s penalty and the lineup revering to the previous lap before the yellow, Day leaped ahead of Scelzi and Carrick.

“I had to clean up my restarts,” Day said of what might’ve prevented him from ever falling to third. “I got a gift there on that double file when Tanner and Dominic got by me. After that I really had to clean them up. I had to get down in the grip there off (turn) four and kind of mess them up by running the opposite line that I was running and get them in the dirty air.”

Day did exactly that as, after the timely caution gave him the lead, the teenager went effectively unchallenged the remainder of the way.

A pair of yellows forced Day to show he could do better on restarts, and he did so as none of his competitors were able to mount a serious run at the top spot.

Day went on to win comfortably by 3.271 seconds over Tanner Carrick.

It all worked out, and we’re here in victory lane,” Day said with a smile.

Carrick’s runner up result in the CVC Concrete/Arai Helmets No. 83T matched his career best result with NARC. Though he was happy with the podium effort, Carrick hoped a longer green flag run might’ve given him a shot at an inaugural series win.

“I didn’t need the yellows,” Carrick said. “I got the yellows at the wrong time, and that kind of hurt me, especially on the long run. We got really good. I don’t know if their stuff was going away or what, but we were getting really good on the long runs. Short runs, I struggled. I couldn’t get going until about 10 laps in.”

A quiet charge from seventh led Shane Golobic to take the final spot on the podium, the 53rd top-three of his NARC career. The pilot of the NOS Energy Drink/Elk Grove Ford No. 17W found himself wishing he’d managed the first three quarters of the race differently to give himself a chance to win.

“I put together 30 really bad laps,” Golobic explained. “The last 10 laps I kind of got up on the wheel a little bit and got going. I just made a lot of bad decisions early and put ourselves in a bad spot multiple times. So, it was good to get back going there at the end.”

Completing the top-10 was Willie Croft, Dominic Scelzi, Mitchell Faccinto, Sean Becker, Bud Kaeding, Shane Hopkins, and Kalib Henry.

FUJITSU GENERAL USA FEATURE (40 laps): 1. Corey Day 57 2. Tanner Carrick 83T 3. Shane Golobic 17W 4. Willie Croft 29 5. Dominic Scelzi 41 6. Mitchell Faccinto 21 7. Sean Becker 5V 8. Bud Kaeding 69 9. Shane Hopkins 51 10. Kalib Henry 17 11. Logan Forler 2L 12. Max Mittry 2XM 13. Jake Morgan 45 14. Koen Shaw 88 15. Colby Wiesz 8 16. Nick Parker 15 17. John Clark 12J 18. Justin Bradway 20 19. C.J. Humphreys 85 20. Kyle Hirst 42X 21. Justin Sanders 2X 22. Ryan Robinson 56 23. Michael Ing 21M 24. Billy Aton 26 25. Stephen Ingraham 93 26. Chase Johnson 24

HOOSIER TIRE LAP LEADERS: Scelzi 1-8, 15 Day 9-14, 16-40

SWIFT METAL FINISHING HARDCHARGER: Colby Wiesz 25th to 15th

CARWASH MIKE AVILLA/ARP FAST QUALIFIER (26 cars): Willie Croft 10.637 seconds

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (10 laps): Faccinto, Day, Croft, Clark, Becker, Robinson, Humphreys, Morgan, Bradway

KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (10 laps): Scelzi, Ing, Carrick, Henry, Kaeding, Forler, Aton, Wiesz, Ingraham

DIRT.TRAVEL CLUB HEAT THREE (10 laps): Hirst, Golobic, Hopkins, Sanders, Johnson, Parker, Mittry, Shaw

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 laps): Scelzi, Faccinto, Day, Hirst, Carrick, Croft

THE MACHO MAN: Brady Bacon Battles to First Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Win at Lake Ozark Speedway

Ballou and Swanson Led First 15 Laps Before Dramatics UnfoldedELDON, MO – June 11, 2022 – After several close calls through the first three races, Brady Bacon finally sealed the deal on Saturday night at Lake Ozark Speedway to score his first win with the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series presented by Low-E Insulation.”The Macho Man” rolled from seventh as the green flag waved at the Eldon, MO track and quickly picked his way into the top-five. From there, it was a methodical line on the low side that allowed the #98 entry to drive by the trio of Matt Westfall, Robert Ballou, and eventually leader Jake Swanson on the 16th of 30 laps.The Broken Arrow, OK native survived a pair of restarts, one with a hard-charging CJ Leary on his tail, to get the job done and take down Saturday’s $6,000 top prize. He had a chance at a potential $16,000 payday at Lake Ozark – needing another win in the POWRi 410 Winged Feature – but fell short of the Design Source Flooring sweep bonus with a second-place run following his non-wing win.It’s been a rollercoaster ride to Xtreme Outlaw victory lane for the four-time USAC National Sprint Car Series champion, who has been a threat to win in each of the four races in 2022. He was high point man before a violent flip on night one, then finished a close second-place on night two, and was leading the third event before spinning from command.However, tonight, “The Baconator” was not to be denied. He controlled the final 15 laps of the Low-E Insulation Feature and snagged his third overall win of the season in the process. Behind him, the dramatics did not disappoint.A part of Bacon’s drive to the lead was Jake Swanson’s unfortunate luck as his right rear tire began to delaminate. Things only heated up on Lap 24 when Robert Ballou made contact with Swanson’s #21AZ in turn three and moved him out of the way for position. The tide quickly turned in the next corner Swanson returned the favor to Ballou, bringing both cars to a stop, and taking away two winning contenders.CJ Leary, the hard-charging championship leader, was placed into second-from-13th following the wreck and appeared to be Bacon’s biggest threat for the Lake Ozark glory. The Greenfield, IN native was searching for his third Xtreme Outlaw win in four races but ultimately fell short after providing a brief bid against Bacon on the final restart.Ultimately, Matt Westfall of Pleasant Hill, OH earned the runner-up finish as he snuck by Leary after a close encounter with the wall. For Westfall, it continues his success at Lake Ozark as he follows a fourth in April with a second in June to up his Xtreme Outlaw career-best result.Leary officially brought the Bill Michael Motorsports #77M home with a third-from-13th effort and extended his Xtreme Outlaw championship advantage due to Ballou’s misfortune. To start the inaugural season with the new Series, Leary has finished first, fourth, first, and third as the most consistent car on tour.Shane Cockrum rallied from a work area trip early on and unofficially drove the Amati Racing #66 all the way from 18th-to-fourth. His stellar rally from the tail brings the Benton, IL native up to second in the Xtreme Outlaw standings with only eight races remaining in pursuit of the inaugural $20,000 title. Alex Bright, who made the long haul from Collegeville, PA, earned his first Xtreme Outlaw top-five finish.Rounding out the top-10 at Lake Ozark was Kory Schudy of Springfield, MO in sixth-from-14th, Jack Wagner of Lone Jack, MO in seventh-from-17th, Mario Clouser of Auburn, IL in eighth after a trip to the work area, Anthony Nicholson of Bartlett, TN in ninth-from-20th, and Steven Russell of Rochester, IL with TJ Forged Hard Charger Honors for his 22nd-to-1oth run.UP NEXT – The Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series presented by Low-E Insulation returns to racing in two weeks with the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff on Friday and Saturday, June 24-25. The Series will join the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series and Summit Racing DIRTcar Summer Nationals for the two-night affair at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE or watch LIVE on DIRTVision.Low-E Insulation Feature Results (30 Laps): 1.98-Brady Bacon (7); 2. 33M-Matt Westfall (3); 3. 77M-CJ Leary (13); 4. 66-Shane Cockrum (8); 5. 20-Alex Bright (5); 6. 28-Kory Schudy (14); 7. 77-Jack Wagner (17); 8. 6-Mario Clouser (4); 9. 16-Anthony Nicholson (20); 10. 1JR-Steven Russell (22); 11. 11W-Wyatt Burks (18); 12. 44-Wesley Smith (15); 13. 74-Xavier Doney (9); 14. 12-Robert Ballou (1); 15. 17GP-Kyle Shipley (10); 16. 4-Braydon Cromwell (21); 17. 21AZ-Jake Swanson (2); 18. 24-Landon Simson (16); 19. 2B-Chad Boespflug (6); 20. 91-Riley Kreisel (11); 21. 9-Cody Baker (12); 22. 32-Garrett Aitken (19). Lap Leaders: Ballou 1-6; Swanson 7-15; Bacon 16-30. TJ Forged Hard Charger: Russel +12.

The Xtreme Outlaw Series is brought to fans by important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Low-E Insulation (Presenting sponsor of the non-wing Sprint Car Series), Toyota (Presenting sponsor of the Midgets Series), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier) and SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider). Other partners include:  DRC Chassis, K1 Race Gear, Pace Dyno Services, TJ Forged and Whitz Racing Products.

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Halfway Report

No. 64 Corvette remains in contention into final 12 hours
LE MANS, France (June 12, 2022) – Corvette Racing’s No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R made it back into podium position at the halfway mark of the 24 Hours of Le Mans after an up-and-down, roller-coaster ride in the second quarter of the race.
Nick Tandy was aboard the No. 64 Corvette that ran second in GTE Pro after a couple of early-race setbacks, including an unscheduled stop to change front brakes just shy of the seventh hour. Alexander Sims, driving with Tandy and Tommy Milner, had the class’s fastest race lap in his second time through the rotation.
Four cars were on the lead lap in the class. Unfortunately, the No. 63 C8.R wasn’t one of those following a lengthy stay in the garage to repair a broken left-rear suspension. Just past halfway, Nicky Catsburg switched over to Antonio Garcia, who was at the wheel when the Corvette suffered its major issue.
Corvette Racing’s next update will come after the 18-hour mark.
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Things are good at the moment. The car feels nice and is hooked up. The tires stayed very nicely throughout the two stints. The feedback I was getting from the engineers is that the pace was sensible. The gap to the leader is still quite substantial but we’re still in this race. After a couple of hiccups, it could be better but it also could be a lot worse.”Staying in contention: “The first thing is to not have any major hiccups, any penalties, any contact or anything like that. That in itself is always a huge challenge. We’re pushing flat-out. We know we’re on the back foot so we have to take some risks. But at the same time, we have to stay in this race. Any contact and that’s probably it. We’ve got a bit of step to make already, which might be doable. We’ll see… we have to be smart.”
CORVETTE RACING AU MANS: A la mi-courseLa Corvette n°64 est toujours en lice pour les 12 dernières heures LE MANS, le 12 juin 2022 – La Chevrolet Corvette C8.R Mobil 1/SiriusXM n° 64 du Corvette Racing est remontée dans le top trois à la mi-course des 24 Heures du Mans après avoir connu des hauts et des bas dans le deuxième quart de la course. Nick Tandy était au volant de la Corvette n°64 qui occupait la deuxième place en GTE Pro après quelques déboires en début de course, dont un arrêt non programmé pour changer les freins avant juste avant la septième heure. Alexander Sims, qui roule avec Tandy et Tommy Milner, a réalisé le meilleur tour de course de la catégorie lors de son deuxième passage dans la rotation. Quatre voitures étaient dans le tour de tête de la catégorie. Malheureusement, la C8.R n°63 n’en faisait pas partie après un long passage au box pour réparer une suspension arrière gauche cassée. Juste après la mi-course, Nicky Catsburg a cédé sa place à Antonio Garcia, qui était au volant lorsque la Corvette a connu son principal problème. ALEXANDER SIMS, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « Les choses vont bien en ce moment. La voiture est agréable et bien réglée. Les pneus sont restés très bien tout au long des deux relais. Le feedback que j’ai reçu des ingénieurs est que le rythme était raisonnable. L’écart avec le leader est encore assez important mais nous sommes toujours dans cette course. Après quelques contretemps, ça pourrait être mieux mais ça pourrait aussi être bien pire. »Rester en lice: « La première chose est de ne pas avoir de gros pépins, de pénalités, de contacts ou autres. Cela représente déjà un énorme défi en soi. Nous poussons à fond. Nous savons que nous sommes sur la défensive, donc nous devons prendre des risques. Mais en même temps, nous devons rester dans cette course. Le moindre contact et c’est probablement fini. Nous avons déjà un petit pas à faire, ce qui pourrait être faisable. On verra… nous devons être intelligents. »

Burton Qualifies 26th at Sonoma


June 11, 2022


Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are set to start Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway from 26th place.

His lap at 90.323 miles per hour over the winding road course represents a pick-up from practice.

Burton was 20th in Saturday’s practice session, posting a best lap at 89.408 mph on the fourth of the 14 laps he ran.

He was fifth best among drivers who ran 10 consecutive laps. He averaged 88.605 mph on Laps 2-11 of his practice run.
 
Sunday’s 110-lap, 218.9-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (4 p.m. Eastern Time). FOX Sports 1 will carry the live coverage.
 
Stage breaks are set for Laps 25 and 55. 

KYLE LARSON PUTS CAMARO ZL1 ON POLE AT SONOMA

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

JUNE 11, 2022

Chevrolet Sweeps Front Row, Puts Five Drivers in Top-10

·       Kyle Larson’s pole win marks his fourth pole at Sonoma Raceway; and his 12th-career pole in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

·       His four pole wins at Sonoma Raceway is the most among active drivers; and second to Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon (five poles) for the most all-time in the series’ history at Sonoma Raceway. 

·       The pole win is the third for the Camaro ZL1 in 2022; the 18th at Sonoma Raceway; and 726th all-time for Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.

·       Chevrolet drivers took five of the top-10 spots in qualifying, including a sweep of the front row: Chase Elliott (2nd), Tyler Reddick (5th), Ross Chastain (7th) and Daniel Suarez (8th). 

SONOMA, Calif. (June 11, 2022) – For the third time this season, a Camaro ZL1 will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. After topping the overall speed chart in the series’ practice session, the speed of the No. 5 HendrickCars.comCamaro ZL1 carried over to qualifying, with Kyle Larson putting down a lap of 77.776 seconds, at 92.111 mph, to capture a series-leading fourth pole win at Sonoma Raceway and his 12th-career pole in NASCAR’s premier series. The most among active drivers at Sonoma Raceway, Larson also now sits second on the all-time pole win list in the series’ history at the track, behind Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon (five poles). 

“It was a good lap,” said Larson. “I was a bit surprised that I ran that lap because I feel like I gave up a lot of time in turns four and seven. If I had those two corners back, I feel like I could have gone quite a bit faster. We just have a really good No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy. Thank you to everyone on our team and everybody back at the shop and the engine shop. I’m excited about it.”

The feat marks 18th pole win for Chevrolet at Sonoma Raceway and its 726th all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, extending its lead over all manufacturers. Larson’s pole win was celebrated by Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, who qualified second to give Chevrolet a front row sweep. “For Chase (Elliott) to lap down the lap that he did, I feel like that shows how strong he is because he was really good in race trim, too,” said Larson on his teammate’s qualifying run. 

Chevrolet drivers took five of the top-10 for the starting lineup for tomorrow’s 110-lap race. Joining Larson and Elliott in the top-10 includes Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1, in fifth; Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1, in seventh; and Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Onx Homes/Renu Camaro ZL1 rounding out the Team Chevy top-10 in eighth. 

FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway live at 4 p.m. ET tomorrow, Sunday, June 12. Live coverage of the 110-lap race can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, Pole Win Press Conference Transcript: 

NO SURPRISE YOU’RE ON THE POLE AGAIN. WALK US THROUGH QUALIFYING FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE.

“Really, really neat to get another pole here. I think that’s five-consecutive I heard. It’s cool. My car was really good in qualifying trim. I felt like I could have gone quite a bit faster there. On my good lap, I made a pretty big mistake there in turn four. So, I was surprised I ran the lap that I did because it was such a big mistake. 

Good to get another pole and I look forward to the race.”

YOU’VE WON FIVE POLES IN A ROW HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY. HOW NEAT IS IT TO DO THAT AND HOW MUCH MOMENTUM WILL THAT GIVE YOU GOING INTO TOMORROW? 

“It gives you confidence in your car, especially for the short run stuff. I feel like we need to work on it a fair bit for race trim stuff. I feel like Chase (Elliott) was really good and Kyle Busch was probably pretty good; at least the guys around me. I just have to look at some data tonight and try and get a little better; and do a better job once the tires start to lose grip.”

INAUDIBLE

“I’m not really sure exactly what the strategy is for the race yet and how all of that plays out. I know Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) and my engineers probably have a good idea what the strategy is going to be. We’ll talk about that some more tomorrow and try to be prepared for the race.”

DO YOU PREFER THIS LAYOUT OVER THE CAROUSEL; OR DOES IT REALLY MATTER TO YOU?

“I think every driver has their different preferences. I think for me, the other layout works better for me and my driving style. I really struggle in turn seven here. The way that the track was before, turn seven was a little bit different and I felt like that lended itself a little bit better to me. The carousel, being a more traditional, left-hander, was better for me, too. 

But it doesn’t matter. We’ve been able to be fast on both layouts, so hopefully tomorrow we can win on this layout.”

OFF WEEK NEXT WEEK. PLANS FOR YOU AND ANY UPDATE ON OWEN’S RACING AFTER HIS INCIDENT?

“I’m going to not be racing. I’m really excited about that to spend time with the family and just hangout. 

For Owen, I had to go pickup a new chassis, spindles, radius rods, body parts, wings – basically everything. His car will be ready to go for Tuesday at Millbridge.”

YOU ARE THE REIGNING WINNER AT SONOMA RACEWAY, BUT IT’S A BRAND NEW CAR AND IT’S A DIFFERENT LAYOUT. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN CARRYOVER FROM LAST YEAR THAT WILL HELP YOU THIS WEEKEND OR IS IT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT?

“I don’t think so. My car felt really, really good last year. Our car was just really good compared to the field everywhere we went last year. This year, things are a little bit tougher. Cars are more equal and they seem to be more of a handful here this year than last year’s car. I don’t think there’s much I can take from that, maybe just a little bit of technique and stuff you use to pass people and stuff like that. The cars don’t really drive that similar. There are some areas where it feels normal and then there are other areas where I seem to be struggling a little bit more, which I’m sure everybody is.”

DID YOU FEEL THE CONCRETE THEY PUT DOWN COMING OFF OF TURN FOUR, REMOVING THE CURB COMING OUT OF FOUR – HOW WAS IT? 

“Now that it’s not there, I don’t know why we ever had a curb there. It’s so much nicer without it and you kind of use up the same amount of track as you did before. So, it’s just less aggressive on your car, your body and your head bouncing off the head rest.

I love how they did that. It’s got some good grip out there, which is nice. It’s a pretty straight and forward corner.”

HOW DOES COTA HELP YOU FOR THIS WEEKEND? HOW DOES THE CAR HERE FEEL IN RELATION TO COTA?

“That would be a better question for Cliff (Daniels, crew chief). I’m sure the setup is way different, maybe it’s not. The two tracks are totally different – the grip level in them, the elevation, the corners, braking, speed, everything is way different. So, there’s not a whole lot that I can take from it. But like I said, I don’t know what’s different with our car, but I’m sure there’s a fair amount different, as well.”

THIS IS YOUR HOME TRACK. DOES THAT GIVE YOU ANY KIND OF BOOST? 

“Once I’m in the car, no I don’t really think about any of that. But I’m sure during the race or before the race starts, I’ll definitely glance around the crowd and see many blue No. 5 shirts there are out there. I know I think in this section right behind us in the grandstands, it’s supposed to be the ‘Kyle Larson section’. I heard there’s supposed to be like thousands of fans with blue shirts, so that should be really cool. I always feel the support when I come home; and now that I’ve had some success, it’s just exploded. It’s been neat and like I said, seeing those stands, hopefully it’s really blue and that will be cool to see.”

Beach Spearheads Yamaha 1-2 at Laconia Short Track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 11, 2022) – JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) scored a milestone victory as the 2022 Progressive American Flat Track season resumed with Saturday’s Progressive Laconia Short Track presented by MOMS at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Faced with an extraordinarily technical surface, passing was at a premium on the day, making the start all that more important. Beach earned the top pick of starting positions with his performance in the lead-up to the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle Main Event but appeared to throw that pivotal advantage away by slipping down to third in the race’s opening corner. However, the versatile Beach somehow slashed past both Briar Bauman (No. 3 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) and Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) in less than a quarter mile to reassert his dominance before it could ever be questioned. He was effectively perfect from that point forward, never providing another rider with any real hope of stealing away the victory. While Yamaha had gone nearly a half-century between oval wins prior to the Mission Red Mile I triumph of Beach’s Estenson Yamaha teammate, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), it took just two weeks to add another. The triumph also happened to be the first oval win of Beach’s Progressive AFT career to go along with his four prior TT victories. And as a result of today’s points haul, Beach now holds the early advantage in the recently announced Progressive Triple Crown. He said, “I felt great. Thanks to the whole team – this track has been rough. It’s been a long day, but we squeaked out a win. It feels amazing to finally win on an oval. We’ve still got a lot of races to go, but I’m looking forward to it.” Speaking of Daniels, the rookie might have been able to give Beach a run if not for a poor start that saw he and Mees shuffled back into an early scrap for sixth. Despite the general difficulties with overtaking at the venue, Daniels systematically made his way forward, ultimately charging all the way up to second at the checkered flag. It was a rewarding 1-2 for Estenson Yamaha who backed up their Mile excellence with an even more convincing outing at a Short Track. After being overtaken by Daniels, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) followed the rising star up the order. With less than two minutes remaining, he made his way past the aforementioned Bauman and ‘19 Laconia ST winner Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) to claim the final spot on the box. Bronson ultimately finished fourth with Briar fifth after the Baumans waged a brother-vs-brother duel for the runner-up spot for more than half the contest. Reigning champion Mees never did find his typical front-running form, ultimately coming home in sixth position. Despite suffering his worst finish of the season, Mees continues to lead the title fight. However, Daniels is now just 15 points back (122-107) while Briar and Beach remain significant factors as well with 100 and 98 points, respectively. Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R), Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Vinson Construction/Viper Air Yamaha MT-07) completed the top ten. Also notable is Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), who made his return to racing following his terrifying crash and subsequent injury at last year’s Charlotte Half-Mile. Halbert ran as high as fourth early before eventually fading back to eleventh. Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines Billy “the Kid” Ross (No. 109 Roof Systems/JRi Shocks Harley-Davidson XG750R) earned his first career Progressive AFT victory in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion in Saturday’s thrilling Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines Main Event. For just over six minutes, the race seemed all but certain to go to championship leader Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R), a one-time TT ace added Half-Mile and Mile victories to his résumé in recent weeks. However, the combination of a couple small mistakes on an unforgiving track and heavy traffic saw Janisch’s hard-earned gap eaten away, allowing the 17-year-old Ross to close back to within striking distance just as they approached the final two laps. Ross proceeded to pounce when Janisch made a minor miscue with just over a lap to go and then successfully defended the position to the checkered flag. The victory wasn’t just the first of Ross’ young career, it was his first Mission Production Twins result better than tenth and the first top-five of his pro career full stop. “I can’t even take it all in yet,” Ross said. “I feel like it’s been coming for a couple races now, but I’m just glad it happened here. I almost settled in behind Jesse, but then he made a little bobble and I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got to take advantage.’ It was a fun race.” A few seconds back, the “partially-retired” Dan Bromley (No. 62 Vinson Construction/Viper Air Yamaha MT-07) showed he’s still got his chops with a strong ride to third. As a result, Bromley stands two-for-two in podiums per attempt this year following his runner-up at the season opener in Volusia. Cory Texter (No. 1 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) once again salvaged a decent result out of a less-than-perfect round. The defending class champ executed successive passes on sixth-placed Cole Zabala (No. 51 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Vinson Yamaha MT-07) and fifth-placed Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) to minimize the day’s damage with a fourth-place finish. Meanwhile, it was a second consecutive tough outing for former points leader Nick Armstrong (No. 60 Competitive Racing Frames/Lessley Brothers Yamaha MT-07), who ended up 13th. As a result, Janisch has expanded his points lead from one to six (112-106) over Texter, while Armstrong now sits a distant third at 87. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER title leader Kody Kopp (No. 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) was in a class of his own all day long at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The prodigious Kopp was fastest in every practice and qualifying session, won his Semi and the Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Challenge going away, and then stamped his authority through multiple starts and stops in a three-time red-flagged Main Event. The field was gifted a pair of late Hail Marys, first when the charging Gage Smith (No. 113 BigR Racing/L&R Racing Honda CRF450R) crashed with a minute-and-a-half remaining on the clock, and then again when Michael Inderbitzin (No. 54 1st Impressions Services of Florida Honda CRF450R) had an incident shortly after the restart. While the red flags deleted Kopp’s six-second advantage, they may have actually done him a favor by clearing out the possibility of encountering trouble in traffic in his final sprint to the flag. The victory was Kopp’s third of ‘22. That, combined with an eighth on the part of title rival Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R), and the DNS of the injured Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE), allowed Kopp to rip his championship advantage open to 18 points over Mischler, and 41 over teammate Whale. Despite his strong championship position, the 17-year-old Kopp remains focused on the here and now. He said, “It’s too early to think about that. We’re just playing it race-by-race. I can’t believe the opportunity this team has given me. It’s been so great for myself and my family.” Behind Kopp, Trent Lowe (No. 48 Mission Foods/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda CRF450R) narrowly edged rookie Chase Saathoff (No. 106 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R) for second at the stripe by 0.019 seconds. It was an impressive performance for both riders with Lowe securing his second podium in the most recent three races. Saathoff, meanwhile, earned his first-career Progressive AFT podium in third despite having to start from the back of the field after forcing the race’s first red flag. Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) took fourth ahead of Mission Red Mile II winner Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R), who rounded out the top five. The Progressive Laconia Short Track presented by MOMS will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, June 18, at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m, PT, including exclusive features, cutting-edge aerial drone and onboard footage, and expert commentary. Next Up: Progressive AFT will now head to the demanding Mission Lima Half-Mile at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio, on Saturday June 25. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT ahead of the evening’s Main Event program. Visit https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3765 to reserve your tickets today. You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities on FansChoice.tvFansChoice.tv provides free-to-view livestreaming of Practice and Qualifying. FansChoice.tvsubscribers will then be able to watch the drama unfold from Opening Ceremonies through the Semis, Main Events, and podium celebrations. FansChoice.tv offers two subscription options, granting unlimited access to premium AFT content. Monthly subscriptions start at just $7.99, while a six-month subscription is available for $44.99. For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. To score the latest gear for the Progressive American Flat Track fan, visit our official merchandise store at https://store.americanflattrack.com

KYLE LARSON PUTS CAMARO ZL1 ON POLE AT SONOMA

Chevrolet Sweeps Front Row, Puts Five Drivers in Top-10

·       Kyle Larson’s pole win marks his fourth pole at Sonoma Raceway; and his 12th-career pole in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

·       His four pole wins at Sonoma Raceway is the most among active drivers; and second to Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon (five poles) for the most all-time in the series’ history at Sonoma Raceway.  

·       The pole win is the third for the Camaro ZL1 in 2022; the 18th at Sonoma Raceway; and 726th all-time for Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.

·       Chevrolet drivers took five of the top-10 spots in qualifying, including a sweep of the front row: Chase Elliott (2nd), Tyler Reddick (5th), Ross Chastain (7th) and Daniel Suarez (8th).  

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, Pole Win Quick Quote: 

“It was a good lap. I was a bit surprised that I ran that lap because I feel like I gave up a lot of time in turns four and seven. If I had those two corners back, I feel like I could have gone quite a bit faster. We just have a really good No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy. Thank you to everyone on our team and everybody back at the shop and the engine shop. I’m excited about it.

For Chase (Elliott) to lap down the lap that he did, I feel like that shows how strong he is because he was really good in race trim, too. I have to figure some things out on my end. I think my car is capable of racing good, I just have to get a little bit better on the long runs. Hopefully we’ll have a good shot at the win.”

Alexander Rossi, Honda Claim Pole in Road America Qualifying


Alexander Rossi takes his Andretti Autosport Honda to the pole in qualifying for Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America
Chip Ganassi Racing teammates will line up third and fourth in their Hondas
Colton Herta rounds out the top five qualifiers for Honda, Andretti Autosport

ELKHART LAKE, Wus. (June 11, 2022) – Alexander Rossi led the way in NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying today in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and will start from the pole in Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America. The pole is the eighth of Rossi’s Indy car career, and his second at Road America, where the Andretti Autosport driver dominated in 2019, leading all but one of the 55 laps for his seventh career win.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson make up the second row of the starting grid in the 27-car field, with defending series champion Palou qualifying third, and recent Indianapolis 500 winner Ericsson in fourth. Colton Herta rounded out the top five qualifiers today for Honda in his Andretti Autosport entry.

Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America Honda Qualifying Results
1st Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
3rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
5th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
7th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
10th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11th Simon Pagenaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
13th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
14th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
16th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
19th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
20th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
21st Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
22nd Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
26th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
R – Rookie

Quotes
Alexander Rossi (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda) pole qualifier: “I think we saw with last year’s [qualifying] results here that [Firestone primary ‘Black’ compound] tires were the way to go, so I think that’s just kind of a trend here. But it was an amazing job here all weekend by the Napa Auto Parts/AutoNation Honda team. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in this position [on the pole] so it’s amazing. It was so close today. We’ll enjoy it now, but we’ve still got a job to do [in the race] tomorrow. I think we’re really strong on the primaries, so huge thanks to the team for all their efforts this weekend. It’s a good boost for everyone, and we’ll enjoy it going into tomorrow.”

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) will start third: “Qualifying [third] is good, we were close [to claiming the pole], that was a good job by Alex [Rossi] and the 27 team. We were on the right strategy using the [Firestone primary compound] Black tires, it’s just that Alex [Rossi] was able to get a bit more time out of them than we could. They made it happen. But we’ve been improving the car every single time we’ve gone out this weekend and this is an amazing starting position compared to last week [when Palou started 18th in Detroit].”

Fast Facts
Honda Indy car drivers have scored eight victories at Road America, most recently in last year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, won by eventual series champion Alex Palou in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

In 2020, Honda drivers scored a clean sweep of both rounds of a doubleheader race weekend. Scott Dixon won Saturday’s opening race en route to his sixth drivers’ title; with his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist claiming victory in Sunday’s event.

In 2019, Alexander Rossi dominated at Road America leading 54 of the 55 laps for a crushing, 28-second margin of victory in his Andretti Autosport Honda.

Dixon provided his own master class in race craft in 2017, taking charge midway through the 220-mile contest and fending off all challengers to claim the win.

chevy racing– indycar–road america–qualifying recap

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN

TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

JUNE 10, 2022

JOSEF NEWGARDEN GRABS FRONT ROW STARTING POSITION FOR TEAM CHEVY

PATO O’WARD WILL ROLL OFF FROM THIRD ROW

ELKHART LAKE, WISC (JUNE 11, 2022) – Josef Newgarden did what Josef Newgarden does at Road America – qualify on the front row. The two-time NTT INDYCAR Champion piloted his No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet to the front row with a lap of one minute, 44.9371 seconds/137.705 mph.  

This is Newgarden’s fourth front-row start (three poles)  on the 4.048-mile/14-turn natural terrain road course. He won from the pole in 2018. 

Pato O’Ward powered his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to a third-row position on the grid. His Arrow McLaren SP teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, will start in eighth position in the No. 7 Vuse Chevrolet.

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet, will start ninth, on the inside of row five.

Alexander Rossi won the NTT P1 award. Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta made up the remainder of the Firestone Fast Six field.

The remaining Team Chevy drivers will start as follows: 

12th                                     Callum Ilott

15th                                     Will Power

17th                                     Rinus Veekay

18th                                     Conor Daly

23rd                                    Dalton Kellett

24th                                     Kirk Kirkwood

25th                                     Tatiana Calderon

27th                                     Simon de Silvestro

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season with the Sonsio Grand Prix at 12:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 12 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160) beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

DRIVER QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

SO, YOU WERE THE BEST ON THE SCUFF REDS.

“I thought he (Rossi) was on used reds. I’m surprised he was able to make that work on blacks to be quite honest. In my opinion I thought it was clear we were going to go used reds. They just seemed significantly better this year than last year. Last year, we obviously used that strategy, but I thought the drop off for the blacks was not as bad, where this year it seems a bit worse. You know what if he made that work, that’s pretty stout. The lap time he did on blacks would be really, really good. That’s an impressive pole. Hats off to that. I felt like I did a good lap, wasn’t perfect. I went for it on my first, because I didn’t know what the rain was going to do. Ultimately, I’d probably handle that differently, but PPG car is fast. Team Chevy has done a great job for us. Just wish we had the pole.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO.3 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

DID YOU NOT FIND THE SWEET SPOT THERE IN QUALIFYING?

“Yeah, I think all weekend we have just been chasing the sweet spot. I think we found it in qualifying, but it was just too late on learning the car as we’re going along. Proud of everyone on this Sonsio Chevy. The Sonsio Grand Prix too, I’d like to be a little further up, but at the end of the day it’s all good.”

I’VE GOT TO GIVE YOU AN A PLUS ON THAT SAVE OVER THERE IN TURN 12. YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD YOUR HANDS FULL. 

“Yeah, I mean I was just up on the (inaudible). You know how it is. It was pretty loose. Hands and feet going everywhere. Yeah, you’re on the limit and you’re trying to find it. You’ve got to be on the limit in IndyCar. It’s the most competitive series in the world and I have so much thrill in qualifying a race car around here and in the IndyCar Series.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

“I punished my reds on that first lap too much, knowing that I was not in the top-six after the black run. Just put you in a more pressure situation. I think that’s some of it, just need to do a better job. 

YOU’VE BEEN REALLY COMPLIMENTARY OF YOUR CREW AND HOW THEY’VE GOTTEN YOU INTO THIS POSITION OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON. WHAT DO YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO TO GET INTO POSITION TO RUN UP FRONT TOMORROW?

“The only good thing about not qualifying well is the tire situation. You just have better tires. We need to qualify better, but I’m sure we can work something out tomorrow.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET

WHAT KIND OF MEMORY WILL THIS QUALIFICATION SESSION BE FOR YOU?

“I think it’s actually the same spot I started when I won. That’s funny. No eight, maybe seven or eight. I mean, pretty good starting position. A bit bummed I couldn’t do a better lap. Just struggled a bit on the reds to be honest. I think every time we have been on the reds just didn’t get the difference we expected, but it’s a good starting point. Anything can happen on this track. Especially the stints on reds. If you can make that work, I think you’re in a good shape from P8. Little bit bummed like always.”

WE WERE WATCHING THE RAIN DROPS OFF AND ON. WERE YOU DISTRACTED AT ALL? DID THEY AFFECT AT ALL THE GRIP OF THE CAR?

“They did in Q1. I remember when I started my first red lap into 1 it was like oh. I definitely didn’t warm up my tires enough for that. I think it was just on the limit where you can see it on your screen, but it doesn’t really affect the grip much. Just a little bit when the tires are cold.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLIGER RACING CHEVROLET

WHAT HAPPENED?

“I think I pushed it. The front didn’t really respond and then yeah, I just overshot it basically. Bit optimistic maybe. I don’t know, it was a bit strange.”

LUCKILY CAR NOT TOO BAD. YOU COULD HAVE PROBABLY GONE OUT AGAIN.

“Yeah, just with the time and they would have taken away the two laps anyway. So, better to check everything over. Great run to get out of the first Q1.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 16 PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET

REACCLIMATING IN SO MANY WAYS TO THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT QUALIFYING RUN?

“Terrible to be honest. I don’t know. I think it’s definitely been tough kind of jumping into the car and just getting my head around it. Then going out on reds, you know we had one set yesterday. I felt kind of ok yesterday, but definitely today when everyone kind of ups their game it changes things a little bit. Just didn’t really use the tire. I went out and yeah just didn’t use it. From that point of view, it’s definitely something that I really need to analyze for the next run we go to.”

WE CHATTED YESTERDAY AND I ASKED YOU WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD RESULT ON SUNDAY. YOU SAID, GIVE ME A PRACTICE, GIVE ME QUALYFING AND THEN MAYBE I’LL LET YOU KNOW. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU STAND FOR SUNDAY?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I think we can be quicker than a few cars in front of us. I don’t know. We just don’t need to do mistakes. For me, it is going to be important as well to just do 55 laps and finish it. We’ll see. I think if we get closer to where we want to be I think that would be positive.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 DIRECT SUPPLY ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET

  “I drove as hard as I could, but we were just way too slow. We’ve been struggling since opening practice yesterday, especially in the slow-speed corners. It’s very unfortunate. I hope we can improve and find something good for the race.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET 

WHAT WERE YOU MISSING? WHAT DID YOU LEARN HERE IN THIS SESSION?

“Yeah, it’s tough man. I felt like the balance was good. At least good enough to transfer. When we crossed the line for our last lap, they were like oh you are fifth. I was like alright. Everyone is so good here. Everyone is really good, so you got to be perfect. It’s tough man. We are on the limit everywhere. Just missing a little bit of grip. This is a really challenging place, on multiple different surfaces. As a team, we are definitely working on it so we can have a good day tomorrow for sure.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO FROM WHERE YOU’RE AT IN THE RACE TOMORROW? IS THIS A PLACE WHERE THE CAR IS GOOD AND YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD?

“I mean anything can happen in the race. Last year was kind of a wild mix up of strategy. You never know what can happen in an IndyCar race. The goal is to just try to pick people off one stint at a time. The windows aren’t massive, but we know we’ve raced well all year long. That’s a confidence inspiring thing that we have going for us.” 

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET

 “Overall, we were not too happy with how the run went. We’d like to be starting a little further up but we felt like we were maybe a little over the top on being a bit loose that run. I think we are just looking for some grip overall across the camp right now between the three of us. Straightline braking seems to be a bit of a bit of a struggle. I made a little mistake on the start of my second lap and that probably cost us a couple of tenths, but that wouldn’t really have affected our position in our group I don’t think. Overall, still trying to figure out what it is we really need to kind of hit the nail on the head here. We seem to be still looking for that. So we’re going to look at the data between the three cars and see if we can come up with for warmup.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET

  “I think we improved a lot since free practice. Unfortunately, I made a big lock up on my quickest lap where we lost a lot of time. So that cost me quite a lot of lap time obviously. I think this is the closest I’ve been to my teammates. So that’s encouraging and I think the car felt much much better than free practice 1 and free practice 2. So hopefully we can build on that. We need a good race car because they I think that tire degradation will be key here so hopefully we can get closer to the top guys in race trim.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET 

“Finished with qualifying, definitely not the best qualifying that we’ve had all year. Qualified P24. I think some of that is caused by losing some [time] in the second practice which was unfortunate. Conditions have changed a lot I think from yesterday to today and I feel like we probably missed out in qualifying. We got the car a lot better from the first run to the second run, but still just not enough and it’s been really tight up at the front. So unfortunate starting position, but we’ll see how the race car goes.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

NTT P1 FIRESTONE FAST SIX

Josef Newgarden

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up qualifying, we’ve been joined by the outside front row starter Josef Newgarden.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was unbelievable. I didn’t even realize it was on blacks. I looked like an idiot talking to Greg from Team Chevy. I was like, Clearly, clearly it was better to go use reds, we knew that. He didn’t say anything to me (smiling). Someone else told me. He was like, I didn’t want to correct you. Wow, I feel, like, stupid.

Yeah, I think what Palou did was about what I would figure. Blacks was a low five on new blacks, low five, five-two, five-three. The new reds, I figured we could eke out an eight, nine, maybe a seven in a perfect world, if you absolutely, absolutely nailed it.

We were just a little short. I think Rossi’s lap is definitely an outlier. Must have been a mega lap. It looks like it. Kudos to these guys.

I was pretty happy with my lap. It wasn’t like it was a bad lap. It just wasn’t enough. Wish we were one spot better, but we all day to work on that now with PPG and Team Chevy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Did the rain affect anything?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Maybe a little warmup, but I didn’t notice a big difference from it.

Q. This race has been won from different positions on the grid. Historically seems to favor the guys up front because you can control the agenda of the race. How important is it to be where you’re at?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think it’s helpful here for sure. You want to be up front. Ideally it’s a long track, it’s a lot of ground to make up. You get pretty spread out. When you start at the back, it puts you on even more of a back foot here versus a smaller track.

Yeah, hopefully it’s good. The race is very different than qualifying. We’ll have to see how that works out. Tires, in my opinion, are quite different this year. So it will be interesting to see some guys that didn’t transfer, like a Will Power, for instance, it will be interesting to see how they utilize their reds and things like that.

There’s no gimmes this day. I thought Detroit was going to be pretty straightforward last weekend and it was anything but that. Don’t hold your breath.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think outside Rossi, it clearly was a better choice for us. I mean, if I was to do it again, I think I could have found a little bit of time in it. I didn’t do a bad lap. It was a good lap I did.

But I think the evidence suggested to me that it wasn’t the same case as last year. Last year was a lot closer between I thought the reds and the blacks. The dropoff was maybe a little different on the reds. To me, I thought it was pretty clear that reds seemed better this year. Yeah, from yesterday, purely off the data yesterday, it seemed clear to me that they would be better. Obviously that wasn’t the case.

But I think Rossi is a bit of an outlier being able to make that work. It’s a very impressive lap, for sure. If you look at the others, five-four, five-three, that’s kind of what it stacked up to be in my mind.

Ultimately if we were to go back and do it again, maybe we could have pipped him. It was that close with how good of a lap it was. That’s INDYCAR, though. Sometimes you really think you have it sorted out, and someone can always put something together.

I think Alex mustered a really good lap together today. Sometimes that’s all it takes, is just really digging deep, putting it all together. That’s obviously enough for today. It’s not always straightforward.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I forget about that stuff half the time, to be honest. I just hope it doesn’t happen again. That would be great to not have that happen.

But we’ve got a lot of racing to do before we get to that point, to the end. I feel just as good as we did last year going into the race. Obviously not in the same position starting, but I think we’ve got a good car to go the distance. Hopefully two laps more the distance (smiling).

Yeah, we should be in good shape. I haven’t really thought of it much, honestly.

Q. (No microphone.)

THE MODERATOR: 1961 was the last time we had eight different pole winners to start the season.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Isn’t that crazy?

THE MODERATOR: There were nine that year. We’ll see what happens at Mid-Ohio. Bruce covered that year, too (laughter).

Q. Talk about how much more a pole means when it’s difficult to earn a pole?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, look, I think anything in this series nowadays is incredibly gratifying whenever you’re successful, whether it’s poles, winning the race. They’re both extremely difficult for different reasons.

It’s just hard these days to stay up front, to find a consistent edge. I think we can find an edge every now and then on people, but consistently having it is incredibly difficult.

INDYCAR is what it is, the product is diverse. You’re constantly swinging between all these different types of tracks. You might find a little edge on a road course and all of a sudden (indiscernible) between a street course, superspeedway. It’s not all just one type. It’s really satisfying when you get stuff right nowadays.

Q. Crowd bigger than you’ve seen here in the past. It seems like the crowd is up. I believe they were saying 20% over last couple years. What did you notice about the crowd?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Just less COVID, you know (smiling).

I mean, truthfully that’s probably accurate. I don’t know. There’s always a huge crowd here. I don’t even know that I noticed a difference because the crowd always feels incredibly big here. So I don’t know. I don’t know there’s a difference. It’s always looked packed here.

Just to speak to Road America, I think they do a tremendous job here. I’ve never stayed here at the track until this weekend. Having a blast. Love f the atmosphere, love the fans. It’s beautiful country. It’s a great place to go racing, absolutely one of the best on the calendar. They do a great job up here of putting on a good show.

THE MODERATOR: Back to the most different poles, the record for most different pole winners in a season was in 1999 in the old CART days.

Q. How the performance of the blacks and reds in the qualifying is changing the preparation for the race?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. Clearly I think some people will prefer different things with their cars. I feel more confident on red tires this weekend, which is different than I think probably Rossi feels. I think you’ll see some split feelings amongst the pack.

If we get rained out here in P3, I don’t know. I’m not really sure we’re going to have a great analysis or estimate on how the tires are going to perform across the life, both the blacks and the reds. Hard to say at the moment. I’m not sure what we’re going to get. Could be a mixed bag.

But you’re going to need to be smart. Like I said, I thought we were smart in Detroit with what we were doing. It clearly wasn’t the right thing. It’s hard to always predict these races nowadays. I don’t have a good answer for you.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll let you go. Thank you.

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Six-Hour Report

Corvette C8.Rs run 1-2 in majority of race’s first quarter
LE MANS, France (June 11, 2022) – Corvette Racing ran 1-2 in GTE Pro at the quarter-distance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R leading much of the first six hours.
Antonio Garcia was in the early part of his second rotation in the race-leading Corvette after he, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg each cycled through a double-stint each into the dusk. Garcia began second but took the lead from Nick Tandy in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette in the opening 90 minutes. Tandy, Milner and Alexander Sims caught the wrong end of a slow zone to fall off the pace of the sister car in the third hour.
Tandy got back in the No. 64 C8.R near the six-hour mark in second place and ran about 40 seconds behind Garcia as the race moved toward the halfway point.
Corvette Racing’s next update will come after the 12-hour mark.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s good. It was my first time in the car being this hot, and it was a bit of an unknown as to how the car would behave. I was happy with the setup and we were pulling away from the Porsches, especially in the first stint where I tried to stay in contact with Nick. During the second stint, traffic was a key part but I was still working to pull away from the rest and I could see Nick until he had his issue into Mulsanne. We’re still 1-2. It seems like we have the pace so let’s try to keep it up and see how the night goes. We are wondering how tomorrow will go with even hotter conditions than today. It will be another unknown.”More on the conditions: “Tonight will be better. From here though tomorrow afternoon, temperatures will start to cool off a little bit. That will hopefully make it a little easier.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “So far, so good. Antonio was able to get us into the lead by about 10 seconds. As soon as I got in, we got lucky with a slow zone and extended the lead. The car was really good. It was probably the warmest the track has been all week; we were on our alternate compound, which we haven’t done much running on. That was a bit of a question mark on how the car would handle it. Thankfully the double-stint wasn’t too bad and the pace was able to stay all the way through it. Looking ahead to tomorrow, where it’s going to warm up again, it’s promising for us if we’re still in the fight for it. Now we’ll get back to our preferred compound and see how that goes during the night.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It went well. On the opening stint you always have to get in the rhythm. The car did what it was supposed to do. We didn’t have any incidents. We maintained our gap. What more could you ask for, you know? It was a little bit of an up-and-down when judging the pace and what to do with the car in some places. No incidents so far… no damage, no touches, no punctures, no failures, no mistakes. That’s what we need.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “You saw there were a lot of different tire strategies in play there. Some guys took new ones on the first stop and some of us not. I lost a little bit at the end of my stint trying to get the front tires to work after the slow zones. It was frustrating. The first half of my first stint… I don’t think I had a clear lap until my 10th or 11th lap. That’s the way it goes sometimes. You try not to make mistakes in those situations.”
NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s far and away hotter in the air and especially on the track that we’ve seen in practice. Everyone is learning. You see some different strategies with cars doing single stints on tires and double stints. For us it was going quite well. I had an issue on downshifting due to some brake locking at Mulsanne and had to bail out and around the round-about. It’s also very difficult out there with traffic because everyone is finding this strange situation with the grip of the track. There’s a lot of aggression because people aren’t feeling the car the same way as during practice, which is tough for us to deal with. It’s a good start with a long way to go. I’m looking forward to getting back in when the track is cooler.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was good fun. We had sensible pace, I think. We’re coming into conditions where our tires seems to be working a bit better. Our pace is solid and as good as anyone. It’s a long way to go yet but we’re still in the fight.”
Corvette Racing will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12 with the green flag set for 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV and MotorTrend Plus will air the race live. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans starting with Wednesday’s first official practice session.
CORVETTE RACING AU MANS: Après six heuresLes Corvette C8.R mènent en GTE Pro dans la majorité du premier quart de la course LE MANS, le 11 juin 2022 – Le Corvette Racing occupait les deux premières places en GTE Pro au quart des 24 heures du Mans, la Chevrolet Corvette C8.R Mobil 1/SiriusXM n° 63 ayant mené la plus grande partie des six premières heures de course. Antonio Garcia était au début de son deuxième relais dans la Corvette de tête après que lui, Jordan Taylor et Nicky Catsburg aient chacun effectué un double relais à la tombée de la nuit. Garcia était parti en deuxième position mais a pris la tête de Nick Tandy sur la Corvette Mobil 1/SiriusXM n°64 dans les 90 premières minutes. Tandy, Milner et Alexander Sims ont été victimes d’un « Slow Zone » et ont perdu le contact avec la voiture sœur au cours de la troisième heure. Tandy a repris le volant de la C8.R n° 64 vers la fin de la sixième heure, en deuxième position, et se trouvait à environ 40 secondes de Garcia à la mi-course. ANTONIO GARCIA, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°63: « C’est positif. C’était la première fois que je roulais avec une voiture à une chaleur aussi élevée, et c’était un peu une inconnue quant à la façon dont la voiture allait se comporter. J’étais content des réglages et nous nous éloignions des Porsche, surtout dans le premier relais où j’ai essayé de rester en contact avec Nick. Pendant le deuxième relais, le trafic était un élément clé, mais je travaillais toujours pour m’éloigner des autres et je ne perdais pas Nick de vue jusqu’à ce qu’il ait un problème à Mulsanne. Nous sommes toujours leaders en GTE Pro et il semble que nous ayons le rythme, alors essayons de le maintenir et de voir comment la nuit se passe. Nous nous demandons comment se déroulera la journée de demain avec des conditions encore plus chaudes qu’aujourd’hui. Ce sera une autre inconnue. Cette nuit sera meilleure. D’ici à demain après-midi, les températures vont commencer à se rafraîchir un peu. J’espère que cela rendra les choses un peu plus faciles. » JORDAN TAYLOR, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°63: « Jusqu’ici, tout va bien. Antonio a réussi à nous mettre en tête avec une dizaine de secondes d’avance. Dès que je prenais le volant, nous avons eu de la chance avec une Slow Zone et nous avons augmenté notre avance. La voiture était vraiment bonne. C’était probablement le plus chaud que la piste ait été toute la semaine ; nous utilisons notre compound alternatif, avec lequel nous n’avons pas beaucoup roulé. C’était un peu un point d’interrogation sur la façon dont la voiture allait réagir. Heureusement, le double relais n’a pas été trop difficile et le rythme a pu être maintenu tout au long. En regardant vers demain, où il va faire plus chaud, c’est prometteur pour nous si nous sommes encore dans la lutte pour la victoire. Maintenant, nous allons revenir à notre compound préféré et voir comment ça se passe pendant la nuit. » NICKY CATSBURG, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°63: « Ça s’est bien passé. Dans le premier relais, il faut toujours se mettre dans le rythme. La voiture se comporte comme elle le doit. Nous n’avons pas eu d’incidents. Nous avons maintenu notre écart. Que demander de plus ? Il y a eu un peu de fluctuations dans l’évaluation du rythme et de ce qu’il fallait faire avec la voiture à certains endroits. Aucun incident jusqu’à présent… pas de dégâts, pas de contacts, pas de crevaisons, pas de défaillances, pas d’erreurs. C’est ce dont nous avons besoin. » TOMMY MILNER, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « Vous avez vu qu’il y avait beaucoup de stratégies de pneus différentes en jeu. Certains pilotes ont pris des pneus neufs lors du premier arrêt, d’autres non. J’ai perdu un peu de temps à la fin de mon relais en essayant de faire fonctionner les pneus avant après les zones lentes. C’était frustrant. La première moitié de mon premier relais… Je ne pense pas avoir eu un tour clair avant mon 10e ou 11e tour. C’est comme ça que ça se passe parfois. On essaie de ne pas faire d’erreurs dans ce genre de situation. » NICK TANDY, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « Il fait de loin plus chaud dans l’air et surtout sur la piste que ce que nous avons vu aux essais. Tout le monde apprend. Vous voyez quelques stratégies différentes avec des voitures qui font des relais simples sur les pneus et des relais doubles. Pour nous, ça se passait plutôt bien. J’ai eu un problème de rétrogradation à cause d’un blocage des freins à Mulsanne et j’ai dû sortir et faire le tour du rond-point. C’est aussi très difficile avec le trafic parce que tout le monde trouve cette situation étrange avec l’adhérence de la piste. Il y a beaucoup d’agressivité parce que les gens ne sentent pas la voiture de la même façon que pendant les essais, ce qui est difficile à gérer pour nous. C’est un bon début, mais il reste encore un long chemin à parcourir. J’ai hâte de reprendre le volant quand la piste sera plus fraîche. » ALEXANDER SIMS, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « C’était bien amusant. Nous avions un rythme raisonnable, je crois. Nous arrivons dans des conditions où nos pneus semblent fonctionner un peu mieux. Notre rythme est solide et aussi bien que n’importe qui. Il y a encore un long chemin à parcourir mais nous sommes toujours dans la lutte. »

chevy racing–nascar–sonoma–kyle larson

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 11, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway. Press Conference Transcript: 

AS THE DEFENDING RACE WINNER HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK?

“Yeah, it’s nice. It’s home, so it’s cool to get out here to Sonoma (Raceway); a track where we won last year. I’ve always qualified really well here, so I’m excited about today. I’m hoping with this Next Gen car that we’re just as good as we were last year. I’m excited to get on track.”

HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU SPENT IN THE SIMULATOR TO ADJUST TO WHAT THE NEW CAR IS GOING TO DO HERE. 

“I haven’t been in the sim, but we should be alright. These cars, especially on the road courses, haven’t driven too much different, at least at COTA. The braking zones go a little bit deeper, but other than that, it felt similar.”

THIS IS A PLACE WHERE YOU GOT YOUR FIRST CAREER ROAD COURSE WIN. AS A NORTHERN CALIFORNIA NATIVE, WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO GO BACK-TO-BACK HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY?

“Yeah, it would be really cool for sure. Jeff Gordon, also another Northern California guy, has had a lot of success here. I’d like to catch him in wins someday, so have to go to work on that because he’s won a lot here. 

It would be neat. Like I said, it’s always nice to come home, but it’s especially nice when you can win.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE LAYOUT CHANGE? 

“Yeah, it kind of is what it is. I think it’s going to be similar racing either way. The same guys are going to be up front as they would with the other style. Personally, I enjoyed the carousel. It added a left-hander, more normal feeling corner to me. They added a patch of new pavement over there last year, so I felt like that kind of opened up the groove a little bit in getting grip. I don’t know the reasoning behind changing it back. Maybe it’s just better viewing for the fans or something. But again, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot. We know what to expect because we’ve raced on this layout for a long time. It should be fine.”

ON TOP OF THAT, YOU WON BOTH STAGES AND THE RACE LAST YEAR. ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO TRY AND DO THAT AGAIN OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO DO?

“I have no idea. I think last year, our car was so much better than the fields that we were able to kind of be aggressive with the strategy like that and go after the stages and the race win. I think I read somewhere earlier where there had never been a stage winner to win the race here, so that just showed how good our stuff was last year. 

I don’t expect you’ll be able to do that this year. I think everybody’s cars are a little bit more equal. You’re going to have to play the strategy more conservatively to prepare yourself to lineup in the best spot for the final stage.”

WE HAVE OUR OFF WEEK COMING UP. WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHTS ON ONLY HAVING ONE OFF WEEK; AND ARE YOU GOING TO DO YOUR TYPICAL THING AND GO RACE? 

“I’m not going to race. I’ve been racing a lot more this year than I have in years previous. So, I want to take this off week and spend more time with my family; kind of recharge and get back excited about racing. Obviously I would love to have more than one off week. I think all of us in the sport deserves more than one off weekend. But again, it is what it is. If there were no off weekends, we would still be racing. 

I loved having two off weekends in a row last year. I know that was circumstantial with the Olympics, but that fell at a perfect time. It was Katelyn’s birthday and my birthday for both of those off weekends. So, that was fun. I would love to get at least one off weekend back. If we could get three off weekends in a year, that’d be great.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO NASHVILLE, LAST YEAR YOU DOMINATED THAT RACE. DESPITE DOMINATING IT, IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD RACE. WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH HOW GOOD THE RACE WAS AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU WON THE RACE?

“A lot of the tracks we went to last year, our car was so good that we were able to lead a lot of that race and get the win. It raced really well. I had only tested there before and it was always kind of just right around the bottom; where last year, I think they put some resin no the track or something and we were able to move up the track a far bit. It was pretty slick and you could move around. I hope it’s similar to that. I think it should be and probably even better. It seems like these Next Gen cars slide around even more, so it should be fun.”

THE NASHVILLE MARKET HAS REALLY COME TOGETHER FOR NASCAR, WITH THE BANQUET AND CHAMPIONS WEEK. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE NASHVILLE GETS PRETTY FIRED UP FOR NASCAR.

“Yeah, definitely. Nashville is a great area for racing, especially NASCAR racing. I look forward to getting there. Last year was the first event there for the Cup Series. The crowd was huge and the atmosphere in the city was great. I’m sure it will be a lot of the same.”

AFTER LAST WEEK AT GATEWAY, ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL THAT YOU MAY GET CAUGHT UP IN SOMEBODY ELSE’S PAYBACK? 

“I don’t know – you’d have to ask people if they feel the need to pay me back (laughs). I don’t know who owes me anything.”

HOW CRITICAL IS TIRE MANAGEMENT? ALSO, TOMORROW IS SUPPOSED TO BE COOLER. WILL THAT HELP WITH HANDLING AND TIRES?

“Sonoma (Raceway) has a really wore out surface, so you have to manage your tires, especially the exit of (turns) 7 and 11. I feel like that’s where you really fight grip. The more you can manage your tires, the better off you’ll be for the long run. Tomorrow being cooler will be a lot better for us in the cockpits with the cars being cooler inside. Usually when it’s cooler outside, the track is cooler and has more grip. It makes it a little bit easier to manage your stuff and things like that. It will be similar racing whether it’s 100 degrees or 78 degrees.”

NEXT YEAR’S OFF WEEKEND, WOULD YOU SPEND IT IN FRANCE VACATIONING? 

“(laughs) I would, yes. If NASCAR would allow us, for sure.”

DEBUT DOMINANCE: DAY RULES POMBO-SARGENT CLASSIC ON FIRST NIGHT IN WORKS LIMITED RIDE

(6/10/2022 – Alex Nieten) Watsonville, CA… Put a phenomenal race car driver in a phenomenal race car and good things are bound to happen.

That’s exactly what took place Friday night at the 36th Annual Pombo-Sargent Classic hosted by Ocean Speedway as Corey Day climbed aboard the Works Limited No. 57 and won in dominant fashion on his first night in the potent machine, taking the lead early on in the non-stop 30-lap main event and never looking back.

The triumph marked Day’s fourth with the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars in just his 18th career series start. It was also the third different car he’s won in with the series, the other two being Jason Meyers’ No. 14 and Day’s family owned No. 41. Day also became just the second driver to win multiple NARC Fujitsu Features this year after claiming the David Tarter Memorial in Chico back in April.

After the checkered flag flew, Day was quick to offer gratitude to those who contribute to making the 57 such a strong car and who presented him to the chance to pilot it– Kevin Kozlowski (car owner) and Paul Silva (crew chief).

“I can’t thank Kevin and Paul enough for the opportunity,” Day said. “This car is legendary, and to be the one picked to drive it is pretty cool.”

Originally scheduled to start third, Day lined up on the pole after the originally scheduled pole sitter, Mitchell Faccinto, suffered a broken crankshaft while lining up for the main event.

To Day’s outside was series point leader, Dominic Scelzi, and “The Dominator” got the initial jump, rocketing around the topside to lead the opening circuit.

The high line proved dominant early on a fast racing surface at the Watsonville bullring. Scelzi led the way as the front runners approached traffic within just five laps of the green flag flying. As Scelzi fought with lapped cars, Day saw his opening and pounced.

On lap eight Day carried a huge run into turn one courtesy of ripping the cushion to perfection in turns three and four and pulled the trigger on a flawless slider. Day’s momentum propelled him to such a speed that Scelzi didn’t even have a chance to try a crossover down the backstretch.

“He (Scelzi) got to traffic there and was taking it a touch to easy,” Day said of what led to the move. “He was ahead of me enough to where I had a little clean air and could run a little bit harder than he could, him being stuck behind those guys. So, I got to him and threw a slider on him, and then lap traffic was really tough.”

The traffic Day spoke of was a challenge he’d be forced to face the rest of the way as the main event went caution free. Day moved all around the quarter-mile oval to work his way by slower cars. While Day encountered some difficulties with traffic, the drivers pursuing him, Scelzi,

Willie Croft, and Justin Sanders, we’re busy battling each other and traffic and unable to erase the deficit.

As their war raged on for runner-up, Day cruised away and the laps dwindled.

Day wound up taking the checkered flag with a 2.905 second advantage over Scelzi.

“Getting through traffic definitely wasn’t easy,” a winded Day said to sum up the race. “But, I was just trying to pick off as many as I could to have a good buffer between me and second, and it worked out. There were a couple times there where I tried the bottom and blew it there off (turn) four, and I figured Dominic or Justin, I didn’t know who was running second, would be right on me, but they weren’t. I’m super pumped.”

Scelzi’s runner-up finish marked his ninth consecutive top-three to begin the NARC campaign as the Red Rose Transportation/Whipple Superchargers No. 41 seems incapable of missing the podium this season. He’s the first to string together nine straight NARC podiums since Kyle Hirst in 2018. While he’s enjoying the consistency, Scelzi couldn’t help be a little disappointed to miss out on a possible win.

“He (Day) did an awesome job,” Scelzi said. “I just got into traffic, and I don’t really think we got too tight. I think he just did a better job in traffic… At the end of the day, Corey got by the lapped cars and we didn’t and ran second. I’m kind of tired of running second. That’s like three in a row, so let’s get back to getting first-places in a row.”

Completing the podium was Willie Croft in the Amerikote Powdercoating/Holey Smokes BBQ No. 29 as he held on for the good finish even after late contact with the fence. Croft now has five straight series top-fives and podiums in four of his last five races as he continues to chase down Scelzi for his first title.

“I got a little high in the marbles here off of (turn) four and tried to just skim the wall but hit it harder than anticipated,” Croft explained. “But overall everything was good. We had a great car all night. My guys did a great job… It’s a little hard to make up points when Dominic’s on the podium with me, but there’s a lot of races left. We’re just going to keep plugging along and just try to do the best we can every night and see what happens.”

The balance of the top-10 included Justin Sanders, Ryan Robinson, D.J. Netto, Max Mittry, Shane Golobic, Steven Kent, and Chase Johnson.

FUJITSU GENERAL USA FEATURE (30 laps): 1. Corey Day 57 2. Dominic Scelzi 41 3. Willie Croft 29 4. Justin Sanders 2X 5. Ryan Robinson 56 6. D.J. Netto 88N 7. Max Mittry 2XM 8. Shane Golobic 17W 9. Steven Kent 37 10. Chase Johnson 24 11. Bud Kaeding 69 12. J.J. Ringo 2K 13. Kaleb Montgomery 3 14. Joel Myers Jr. 83V 15. Kurt Nelson 72W 16. Koen Shaw 88 17. Billy Aton 26 18. Gauge Garcia 21X 19. Chris Nelson 72JR 20. Logan Forler 2L 21. Mitchell Faccinto 21

HOOSIER TIRE LAP LEADERS: Scelzi 1-7, Day 8-30

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (21 cars): Corey Day 10.968

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (10 laps): Johnson, Faccinto, Day, Myers Jr., Nelson, Garcia, Forler

KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (10 laps): Scelzi, Mittry, Kent, Montgomery, Kaeding, Shaw, Nelson

DIRT.TRAVEL CLUB HEAT THREE (10 laps): Golobic, Sanders, Netto, Croft, Ringo, Robinson, Aton

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 laps): Faccinto, Scelzi, Day, Croft, Mittry, Johnson