AUCTION WINNERS ARE FIRST TO DRIVE SANTA POD’S NEW QUARTER-MILE

‘RUN WHAT YA BRUNG’ – Public Track Day

Santa Pod Raceway

Sat.17 March 2018

The two highest bidders in an online charity auction became the first drivers to traverse Santa Pod Raceway’s brand new, all-concrete racetrack on Saturday. The auction, hosted on Ebay, raised funds to benefit two regional air ambulance organisations, The Air Ambulance Service (East Midlands) and Magpas Air Ambulance (East Anglia).

Each of the dragstrip’s two lanes comprised a separate auction lot, and members of the public were invited to post bids for either lane. Car enthusiast Jordan Bradford was the highest bidder for the right, Autoglym-sponsored lane and drove his immaculate Mitsubishi Evo 8 all the way from Sevenoaks in Kent, with his mother in the passenger seat. “I wasn’t going to let this weather beat me,” he said, as an icy overnight front revived mid-winter conditions across the country. Continue reading AUCTION WINNERS ARE FIRST TO DRIVE SANTA POD’S NEW QUARTER-MILE →

4WD Street race
Champion – Dennis Batts

2WD Street race
Michael Gonzales

Dyno – Highest HP
Clay Stewart – 1275 HP

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 23, 2018

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway and discussed his week after winning the Daytona 500, why he loves the old surface at Atlanta, his expectations for the Camaro ZL1 on 1.5-mile tracks and many other topics. Full Transcript:

YOU’VE GOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH US:
“Yeah, this weekend we are running the No. 20 GoShare truck. It’s the GoShare App. The best way to explain it is if you are looking for someone to help you out with delivery, pick-up service, it’s like Uber, but for trucks and delivery. It’s very cool and I’ve moved a few times, it’s not a lot of fun, but you can get some help from the GoShare App, check-it out, go on your phone and grab it. It’s a great App to have.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Atlanta–Austin Dillon →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON MEDIA AVAILABILITY
CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 24, 2018

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at the Charlotte Media Tour and discussed his impression of the new Camaro ZL1 race car, the sharing of data, personnel changes at RCR, the Hawkeye system, and more. Full Transcript:

Q. Yesterday Austin said our show is going to be leaner and meaner. I was wondering if you feel the same way.
RYAN NEWMAN: Yeah, Jimmie was joking earlier about that, and I don’t know that I would describe it as leaner and meaner, but I think it’s a great opportunity for us to take the people that we decided to keep on board and pursue the 2018 season with a new Camaro ZL1. I don’t know that I’ll be leaner. I don’t know that I’ll be meaner. But I’m going to try as hard as I’ve ever tried and do whatever it takes to be as good as we can be. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Ryan Newman →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
PRE-SEASON MEDIA AVAILABILITY
CHARLOTTE MEDIA TOUR
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 24, 2018

DARRELL “BUBBA” WALLACE JR., NO. 43 CLICK N’ CLOSE CAMARO ZL1 met with members of the media and discussed how he feels about competing at the Cup level, moving their shop to the RCR campus, his performance expectations for 2018, the aura of Richard Petty, and more. Full Transcript:

Q. What about 2018, are you excited?
BUBBA WALLACE: I’m beyond excited. I might not show it, but man, this is it. We’re here. We’re at the Cup level. I’m one of the Cup guys walking around today on media day. I’m not an XFINITY guy, like oh, where’s such‑and‑such, he’s in the Cup Series. I’m there now, so it’s good. I’m ready to go. We’ve got a lot of stuff that has obviously changed over the off‑season, switching over to Chevrolet, the new Camaro ZL1 is awesome looking, looks great, especially with our colors on there, that Petty blue touch to it. Moving up camp to RCR, being on campus with them, so I’m adjusting to it all, and it’s all coming together pretty good.

Q. In 2017 you had an opportunity to run some races; talk about your comfort and how you see your responsibility?
BUBBA WALLACE: Yeah, going into those four races last year, it was like, okay, this isn’t my car, this isn’t my ride, no need to throw that extra little bit out there. Let’s just get through, and we ended up having some of the best races. We were on the cusp of fighting for a top 10 there at Kentucky. Just got edged out by my good friend Blaney there, so that was ‑‑ it was good to learn in that whole process. I just wish there was that one more that year to see what we could have done at Loudon. Coming back into this year, it’s been so nice to walk into the shop and be like, hey, man, good to see you again. No restarting over. Maybe just learning names of the people that I didn’t meet from behind the scenes, front office people, parts room, stuff like that. That’s a new process for me. It’s one of those deals like, okay, we’ve got a good thing going here, so I’m excited about that. We’re ready to get to Vegas is our first on‑track test coming up here in two weeks, and then Daytona. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Charlotte Media Tour–Bubba Wallace →

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force still seeking
title as NHRA heads to Vegas for penultimate race

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 24) – It’s crunch time for Courtney Force and the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team.

With two races remaining on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series calendar, Force and team need a strong result in the penultimate race of the season and the Countdown to the Championship this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway if they want a shot at being crowned champions next month. Continue reading Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force still seeking title as NHRA heads to Vegas for penultimate race →

CORVETTE RACING AT MONTEREY: Garcia, Magnussen On Doorstep of GTLM Title
Chevrolet leads Manufacturer’s Championship heading to Road Atlanta finale

No. 3 Corvette team needs only start Petit Le Mans to win Driver’s Championship
Chevrolet unofficially four points clear in Manufacturer’s standings

MONTEREY, California (Sept. 24, 2017) – Corvette Racing’s pairing of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen took a huge step toward the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver’s title in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Their fourth-place class finish in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at the America’s Tire 250 means they only need to start the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in two weeks to officially claim the GTLM championship.

Sunday was a doubly good day for the Corvette Racing program as Chevrolet extended its lead in the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship to four points with the result. As long as Chevrolet is the second-highest finishing manufacturer in the 10-hour Petit Le Mans, the Bowtie Brand will clinch its second straight title and 12th since 2001.

Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin had another run of bad luck in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. With aims of moving up through the field like the sister Corvette, the Gavin/Milner pairing placed ninth in GTLM after Gavin was hit from behind at the first corner of the opening lap. The contact damaged the Corvette’s rear diffuser, which impacted the handling and performance throughout.

Once changed, however, the No. 4 Corvette team gathered valuable information for the No. 3 Corvette’s championship run.

Magnussen began the race seventh in class, but that was a product of the team’s qualifying strategy to focus on race setup rather than ultimate pace in Saturday’s time trials. That paid off in the long run, as did a timely full-course caution just shy of the halfway point in the two-hour, 40-minute race. A GTLM competitor went off-track, and No. 3 Corvette lead race engineer Kyle Millay immediately called in Garcia for tires and fuel before the pits closed.

The call elevated Garcia from seventh to second by the time the race resumed. With a mind toward the championship picture and not the race result, the team elected to stay with a strategy that ensured the No. 3 Corvette would finish ahead of its closest title contenders.

Corvette Racing closes the IMSA season with the 10-hour Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct 7.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “I think we played it really cool today. It felt like instead of being the ones defending, we were the ones trying to go for it. We seemed to be the more relaxed car out there out of the ones in contention. We were not sure about the pace today. For sure the beginning of the race wasn’t really promising when everyone started to pull away. As soon as everyone started to drop off in lap time and I saw Jan before we pitted we were almost within a tenth of them so I thought, ‘Um, we might have a chance here.’ For sure if it had been a green race, I think we had a very good chance to finish second behind the Ferrari. But when it came to strategy, fuel and all of that, we had to be smart and go for the championship and not worry about the race results. I was pretty happy with how our Corvette felt, especially during the last 10 to 15 laps of a stint, which I think the hardest today. It was just really good. I had pressure for sure. I really liked that the closest car to me was Richard (Westbrook) because I knew he wouldn’t do anything strange. We had a fair fight. I kind of knew he would try to catch me and try to pass me, but I also knew he would run out of tires soon. I kept calm and as soon as I saw he was starting to struggle, I put in a little bit more pace to open the gap. At the end of the day, we didn’t know if all the other cars would make it to the end of the race (on fuel), and they actually did. But it doesn’t matter for the championship.
“I think we played all year long, I can’t remember us making a mistake. I don’t know… I would have to go back race-by-race. But I think this has been a perfect season for Corvette Racing and the No. 3 car engineers and crew. Whenever we had the car, we made most out of it and whenever we didn’t, we still made good points… just like today. If you would have told me before the start we would have come out of here with fourth and while not going for the race result of podium, I wouldn’t have believed it. I am very, very happy. I still don’t believe we are mathematically done and as soon as we start Petit Le Mans, that is it. It has been a very long season for us since after COTA. We struggled, but we kept it up there but we proved that we had what it took to win races and the championship.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “We’ve managed the whole year largely because of Kyle (Millay, No. 3 Corvette lead race engineer) to get more out of races than we should have. Whenever we haven’t had good pace, we always got good points. Today was no different. We had a good plan for the race but was painful to execute, but it worked. The painful part was in the beginning watching everyone drive away. Then things would turn around at the end of the stint where we would catch everything back and be in the mix. That’s great strategy that got us ahead of both Fords and the No. 25 BMW. It’s a great way to go to Petit Le Mans, where we can work on securing the Manufacturer’s Championship.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “Unfortunately our race was shaped by contact from another car. It seems like it has been the story of our year unfortunately. As I came into Turn One of Lap One, the No. 24 BMW got turned around. I was right behind Jan; he was checking up and I was just desperate not to hit the back of him. As I braked, the Lamborghini from GTD just came in and obviously didn’t expect me to be going so slow. It just drilled us in the rear which broke our rear diffuser, which flapped for all of my two stints. The vibration just got worse and worse, and we lost performance. The car was tricky to drive, hard to drive and very snappy. Once again, frustrating. We managed to do a couple of things just to try things out to give them (the No. 3 car) the right steer with the right tire choices. It’s been a good team effort. They are in a really strong position now in the championship which is great to see. They just basically have to start and they lock up the championship. It’s been once again a great team effort for Corvette Racing. We haven’t had the fastest car here this weekend but by strategy, execution, hard work, working certain problems, the team has come through with an extended lead in Manufacturer’s points, and an extended lead for Antonio and Jan and the No. 3 car for their championship. So ultimately, we’ve checked the box for the championships and that is fantastic.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “Our race was doomed from the start, in the first corner. That’s just very unlucky. It was just a racing deal – a car spinning ahead of Olly and cars behind getting stacked up. That kind of stuff in inevitable especially in a tight turn like it is here at Laguna. The car was a little bit damaged there at the start. Our Corvette was okay; it definitely didn’t have the pace today to win the race, but could have maybe been fourth or fifth if everything went smoothly. I am super proud of the team. We had super tricky conditions all weekend here. At times it was looking doom and gloom like we were way off the pace. In the end, the engineers did a really did a great job of keeping their heads clear and making good calls with tire strategy and pit strategy. Ultimately we executed as best we could today. That is what makes a championship team even in the face of some super strong adversity. Even under all that pressure there, all those guys did an awesome job. I am super proud of this Corvette Racing team and proud of what we have achieved this year.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “When you put together great race strategy with perfect pit execution and you have drivers of the talent level that we have at Corvette Racing, you’re going to make things happen that ordinarily wouldn’t. Today we showed that again. We qualified seventh and ninth, and we took the No. 3 Corvette to where we needed in order to put a very firm grip on the Driver’s and Team’s championships. Now we will go to Atlanta and do everything we can do to defend our Manufacturer’s Championship. It should be a great race.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
DODGE NHRA NATIONALS
MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY IN MOHNTON, PENNSYLVANIA
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, SEPT. 24, 2017

An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER (No. 4 qualifier; second victory of season and fifth in 116-race career; moves to third in the Countdown):

Q: GETTING INTO IT IN THE COUNTDOWN MODE?
BRITTANY FORCE: Absolutely. This is a huge win for us. This team had to fight all day long and I’m so proud of them. They are the best team to work with, and I’m so pumped going into the Countdown to work with them. Monster, we’re going after the championship. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NHRA–Maple Grove Post Race →

Royal Purple Raceway suspends
racing to help with hurricane relief efforts
Royal Purple Raceway, site of the annual NHRA SpringNationals, will suspend all drag racing activities through t Continue reading Royal Purple Raceway suspends racing to help with hurricane relief efforts →

Chevrolet Ready to Blaze Title Trail at Gateway

· Team Chevy carries momentum to Gateway Motorsports Park with lead In Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship standings
ᴏ Chevrolet coming off four consecutive Series wins
· The 1.25-mile track hosts open-wheel series for first time since 2003
ᴏ Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves won the last race from the pole
· Four Chevrolet drivers among the top five in championship standings
ᴏ Josef Newgarden extends his points lead with three races remaining
· The 248-lap race is the sixth and final of the season on an oval

DETROIT (Aug. 23, 2017) – Asked to describe Gateway Motorsports Park in one word, Verizon IndyCar Series team owner Ed Carpenter chose “character.” Continue reading Chevrolet Ready to Blaze Title Trail at Gateway →

Late-Race Incident Spoils Potential Top-10 Finish for Ben Kennedy

“Our No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet was good all day long, running in the top 10 for a majority of the race. We seemed to keep restarting in the worst of the two lanes, which would shove us back in the field and force us to fight for positions in some of the tougher spots on the track. I was learning a lot out there about road course racing until we got collected in one of the late-race wrecks, cutting our day short. That was a tough one. I’m looking forward to getting back in this No. 2 Chevy in a couple weeks at Road America.”
– Ben Kennedy

Scott Lagasse Comes Back to Finish After a Spin in Closing Laps of Mid-Ohio Challenge

“It was a really challenging day in the SCREEN YOUR MACHINE/American Cancer Society Chevrolet today. These guys worked really hard to get our Camaro handling how we needed it to. It was tight on exit for most of the race, and we made adjustments each time we hit pit road to loosen it up. We were going to get a good run out of today until we just got punted with a few laps to go and spun off the track. I’m thankful for the effort from this team. I’m frustrated that I couldn’t get them the finish we deserved.”

– Scott Lagasse

Daniel Hemric Brings Home an impressive Second-Place Finish in Mid-Ohio

“The whole goal or our team coming to Mid-Ohio was to maximize our day in the Blue Gate Bank Chevrolet, put ourselves in a good position and run all of the laps. We were able to do all of that in what was only my fourth road-course race ever in a stock car. We had a pretty solid day from the start of the race, and we kept the fenders on it. As all road-course races go, people get more and more aggressive as the laps wind down. That’s fine if you start on the front row, but we restarted the third row back a couple of times, and that’s when you start to run into the accordion stack-up. We ran into that a couple of times but were fortunate enough to get out of it. I’m proud of our effort and that we were able to a real shot there at the end. My guys did a great day on pit road sending me out leading after the money stop that mattered to start the final segment. We battled hard with the 22 car all afternoon, and I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to make it happen in the end. I left everything that I had on the race track though, and this entire team should be proud of what we did today.”

– Daniel Hemric

Brandon Jones Avoids Road-Course Chaos to Finish 14th at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

“These road course races are some of the craziest races I’ve ever been in. Today was no different. Nick (Harrison, crew chief) put together a strategy for the No. 33 Bali / Menards Chevrolet team that had us pitting early to make it through the first two stages without any additional stops. We executed it well at the start of the day. Unfortunately, the tires didn’t hold as much grip as we thought they would, which forced us to change our game plan and pit more often than we wanted. There were a couple close calls for us on pit road, but my team never gave up. We kept our heads up, made it clean through the string of late-race cautions and came home with a top-15 finish.”

– Brandon Jones

Brendan Gaughan Makes Incredible Save to Finish Seventh at Mid-Ohio

“We had a really good shot at the win with our No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet today, but the No. 22 car took us out of it at the end there. I have to give my thanks to Shane (Wilson, crew chief) and the boys on putting together this awesome race car they gave me today, That last save was probably one of the most amazing saves I’ve ever had in my 20-plus year NASCAR career. Those are the kinds of saves we learn racing out in the desert, and it came in handy today. ”

– Brendan Gaughan

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
MOPAR MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS
BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY AT MORRISON, COLORADO
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017

An interview with Funny Car winner ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; ended winless streak dating to Gainesville 2016; 38th career victory; fourth win at the track; has 29-9 round record at the track; won a race for 13th consecutive year; sixth driver to qualify for Traxxas Nitro Shootout; recorded 249th Funny Car victory for John Force Racing):

Q: HAS ANY OF YOUR WINS BEEN AS FULFILLING AS THIS ONE?

ROBERT HIGHT: Not at all; this is the big one. You have the team behind you and Chevrolet and Auto Club. Everybody kept coming up and saying, You’re due. No, you have to go out and win (the Wally). There’s going to be more coming. You can’t sweep the western swing unless you win Denver. Great job and Chevrolet. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NHRA–Bandimere Speedway Post Race →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRICKYARD 400
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTS
JULY 23, 2017
RICK HENDRICK, OWNER-HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, DALE EARNHARDT, JR-DRIVER NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS, ALEX BOWMAN-ANNOUNCED 2018 PLUS DRIVER OF NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS AND JIM MCCOY-DIRECTOR MOTORSPORTS MARKETING NATIONWIDE met with members of the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and discussed the naming of Alex Bowman as the new driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS after Dale Earnhardt, Jr. retirement. Full transcript: Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Brickyard 400–Rick Hendrick →

ERIE, MI (July 23, 2017) – Joe Swanson won a hard fought battle with Jay Steinebach to win Saturday’s Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP Driven Racing Oil Battlegrounds Bash at Butler Motor Speedway.
Swanson (Etna Green, Indiana) started from the pole, but a lap one red for a Shebly Bilton and Andy Chehowski crash on the back straightaway, and a quick caution for Tyler Bearden’s spin halted action quickly. Once back under green, Swanson took the lead over Tim Evilsizer. Boston Mead took 2nd on lap 7, then Steinebach took the spot on the next lap. Steinebach was getting faster as Swanson battled traffic and on lap 16 he shot by the leader and opened up a small lead. On lap 18 the caution flew for Tyler Rankin’s spin. Steinebach held the lead in spite of heavy pressure from Swanson through lap 22 when the caution came out for Doug Zimmerman’s spin. Swanson charged into 1st on lap 23 and led the final 2 laps to win the epic battle.

COMP Cams heat race winner Boston Mead suffered a broken rocker arm at the end of his heat race and SOD point leader suffered the same fate while leading the Engler Machine & Tool heat. While it looked like both drivers were done for the night, they borrowed the parts needed to run the feature and their perseverance paid off. Mead started 3rd and finished 4th. Irwin started 22nd and charged to a 6th place finish, easily winning the KSE Hard Charger Award.

Doug Zimmerman led the 27-car field in qualifying with a 13.272 lap.

The SOD program was completed with typical SOD efficiency through the combined efforts of SOD competitors and Butler Motor Speedway officials.

‘Run of the year’ in Saturday qualifying puts
Auto Club driver Robert Hight No. 2 at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 17) – Robert Hight turned in what he called the run of the year Saturday in his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, and will start No. 2 for Sunday’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Hight’s run in the third session, and first of two passes Saturday, was 4.023 seconds at 311.77 mph, in ambient temperatures in the mid-80s and on a track exceeding 130 degrees. While none of the drivers in the Funny Car field challenged Friday night’s qualification runs, Hight said it was the “run of the year” because of the weather and track conditions. Continue reading ‘Run of the year’ in Saturday qualifying puts Auto Club driver Robert Hight No. 2 at Bristol →

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CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
101ST RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP
MAY 28, 2017

Castroneves Leads Chevrolet with Runner-up Finish in Indianapolis 500

• Three-time race winner charges from the 19th starting position
• Four Team Chevy drivers place in the top 10 and seven in top 15
• Two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya finishes sixth
• Gabby Chaves claims ninth place for first-time entrant Harding Racing

INDIANAPOLIS (May 28, 2017) – Helio Castroneves’ charge in the final 10 laps of the 101st Indianapolis 500 nearly earned the popular Brazilian driver a record-tying fourth victory. Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Indy 500–Recap →

ERIE, MI (May 23, 2017) – After being rained out Saturday, Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP headlined the first-ever race on Fort Wayne, Indian’s Baer Field Motorsports Park new dirt track on Sunday night for the first race of SOD’s MAHLE/Clevite Beyond KLimits Challenge five-race series. Numerous facts about the event make it a truly historical event for both Baer Field Motorsports Park and Sprints On Dirt.

New ¼ mile track
The track crew put out a massive effort to make sure the Sunday race could take place. Several inches of rain resulted in the track being referred to as “Baer Lake” Sunday morning, then more rain came. The infield was pumped out and against all odds, the track was prepped for racing. Promoter Dave Muzzillo could have easily thrown in the towel, but was determined to get the race in.

Andrew Scheid
Thirteen-year-old Andrew Scheid, a SOD sprint car rookie of the year contender, raced a full-size sprint for the first time and drew many compliments. After qualifying seventh in his heat group, Scheid finished last in his heat. He then grabbed a fourth in the B Main to advance to the feature where he finished eighteenth, dropping out early in consideration of the fast field. Andrew dodged a few incidents that developed in front of him. He even executed a successful 360 degree spin to avoid a car that had spun to a stop in front of him.

Scheid has extensive racing experience and numerous wins in karts and lightning sprints.

Diverse field
The SOD “beyond limits” format continues to have broad appeal for race teams from many segments of sprint car racing.

Winner Valenti and Dan McCarron are currently regulars in the 410 class at Attica Raceway Park and Fremont Speedway. Valenti has has had great success in thunderstocks and dirt trucks in Ohio and Indiana.

2nd-place finisher Joe Swanson, 5th place Steve Irwin, and 6th place Brad Wyatt have had success in winged sprint pavement racing. Irwin has won pavement championships and #71H car owner Steve Smith has also won pavement championships as an owner.

3rd place Landon Simon is a successful USAC competitor who ran his first winged sprint race Sunday. Irwin and Wyatt also have extensive non-wing experience.

4th place Thomas Schinderle previously raced modifieds, then was a regular in the Attica/Fremont FAST 305 class.

Matt Prieur
Matt Prieur & Shawn ValentiSOD rookie announcer Matt Prieur got his first SOD race in Sunday. The former World of Outlaws late model announcer is also the announcer for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour, the American Ethanol Modified Tour, and occasional pavement races.

Prieur has been a hockey referee for 24 years. He has also been the color commentator for an Ontario Hockey League game.

Prieur has been announcing since 1989.

MCRP/SOD Safety Crew

SOD competitors got their first look at the MCRP safety crew. They were quick to assist in any on-track incidents.

For more information about Engine Pro go to www.enginepro.com. For more information about ARP, go to www.arp-bolts.com. The full 2017 Sprints on Dirt schedule, rules, current news, and other information are available at www.sprintsondirt.com.

Engine Pro Sprints On Dirt presented by ARP is brought to you in 2017 by many important sponsor partners including: Engine Pro (Title Sponsor), ARP (Title Sponsor), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official SOD Tire), MAHLE/Clevite (Beyond Limits Challenge Sponsor), Driven Racing Oil (Battlegrounds Bash Sponsor), King Engine Bearings (King of Michigan Sponsor), Lane Automotive/MSD Ignition (Fast Masters Sponsor), Engler Machine & Tool (Heat Race Sponsor), COMP Cams (Heat Race Sponsor), RockAuto.com (Heat Race Sponsor), The Perfit Corporation (Lucky Dog Sponsor), KSE Racing Products, and XYZ Machining. In addition, SOD contingency sponsors include: Allstar Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, BR Motorsports, Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI), K2W Precision/Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Kistler Racing Products, Maxim Racing, Motor City Racing Promotions, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Racing Products, Walker Performance Filtration.

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