HOWARD KAEDING CLASSIC NEXT UP FOR KING OF THE WEST-NARC SPRINT CARS
July 15, 2019
Jim Allen

(July 16, 2019) Jim Allen, Sacramento, CA … The King of the West-NARC 410 winged sprint cars will converge on Ocean Speedway, this Saturday, July 20th for the popular Ninth Annual Howard Kaeding Classic presented by Al’s Roofing. It marks the ninth round of the Fujitsu Racing Series 60th Anniversary campaign and will pay $5000 to the winner of the 30-lap headliner. Overall, there will be more than $30,000 up for grabs.

The event pays tribute to 86-year old racing legend Howard Kaeding, the patriarch of the well-known Campbell, California-based Kaeding family. The elder-statesman is a winner of more than 350 main events over his illustrious Hall of Fame career. That winning tradition and DNA was successfully carried on by 13-time King of the West & Northern Auto Racing Club champion Brent Kaeding, and his sons Bud and Tim. Continue reading HOWARD KAEDING CLASSIC NEXT UP FOR KING OF THE WEST-NARC SPRINT CARS →

DI DRIVER BLOG PRESENTED BY WELD RACING: Megan Meyer
By Drag Illustrated | July 15, 2019

“It’s good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway

We’re ENGAGED!!!! I can’t put into words how happy I am to say that knowing I will be spending the rest of my life with my best friend, building our dream journey together. Continue reading DI DRIVER BLOG PRESENTED BY WELD RACING: Megan Meyer →

Back-to-back wins puts Mike Coughlin in Top Dragster spotlight heading into D7 double-header weekend
SONOMA, Calif. (July 16) — Consecutive victories in Indianapolis and Chicago has put Mike Coughlin in the spotlight of the Top Dragster class as the two-time Division 3 champion heads west for this weekend’s NHRA Division 7 Doubleheader presented by Korbel at Sonoma Raceway.

After struggling with their racecar for the better part of a year, Coughlin and his Columbus, Ohio-based crew changed to a locally-built Fowler F12 roots-style supercharger that turned their unreliable tune-up into the most consistent one they’ve ever used. Continue reading Back-to-back wins puts Mike Coughlin in Top Dragster spotlight heading into D7 double-header weekend →

ROBERT HIGHT AND AUTO CLUB DETERMINED FOR SUCCESS AT MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS
MORRISON, Colo. (July 17, 2019) — With a stronghold on the Funny Car class, Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SS team are headed to the 14th event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Season schedule, the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, eager to secure their fifth win of the season. Continue reading ROBERT HIGHT AND AUTO CLUB DETERMINED FOR SUCCESS AT MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS →

BRITTANY FORCE EAGER TO GET TO MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS AND SHOW OFF CARQUEST BRAKES COLORS
MORRISON, Colo. (July 17, 2019) — Brittany Force and the Carquest Brakes Top Fuel team are making their way to the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, looking to regain their early season success with second win of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Continue reading BRITTANY FORCE EAGER TO GET TO MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS AND SHOW OFF CARQUEST BRAKES COLORS →

AUSTIN PROCK AND MONTANA BRAND / ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST LOOKING FOR PROGRESS AT MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS
MORRISON, Colo. (July 17, 2019) — Rookie of the Year candidate, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster team are going to the first event in NHRA’s Western Swing, the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, looking for a breakthrough after consistent performance.

For Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team, taking it one step at a time and continuing to build has been the focus of the season and with a resume that extends to a semi-final finish, four second-round appearances and a career best elapsed time of 3.69 and speed of 334.15, the newest team on the John Force Racing roster has been proving their potential. Continue reading AUSTIN PROCK AND MONTANA BRAND / ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST LOOKING FOR PROGRESS AT MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS →

CORVETTE RACING AT LIME ROCK: Getting Back on Track
A return to site of Corvette Racing’s 100th program victory

• Garcia, Magnussen seek to regain ground in GTLM points chase
• Fässler to sub for Milner in No. 4 Corvette alongside Gavin
• Corvette Racing leads all IMSA entrants with five Lime Rock victories
DETROIT (July 16, 2019) – The longest-running program in IMSA history visits the shortest venue on the calendar this weekend as Corvette Racing heads to Lime Rock Park with the rest of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The Northeast Grand Prix, set for 3:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, is a GT-only affair at the 1.474-mile, seven-turn road course in northwestern Connecticut. Corvette Racing is hoping that a return to Lime Rock – a place where it has won five times in 12 tries – will set the course right after an uncharacteristic showing two weeks ago at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Continue reading CORVETTE RACING AT LIME ROCK: Getting Back on Track →

Five-time Pro Stock champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. ready to get back in the ‘swing’ of things
DENVER (July 16) — The gaps in the NHRA schedule where Pro Stock cars do not compete are over with the start of the vaunted “Western Swing” of consecutive races in Denver, Sonoma, Calif., and Seattle and five-time class champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. is pumped up about racing his JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro again.

“I’m excited to resume the title chase with my Elite teammates,” Coughlin said. “What better place to get back into the swing of things than Bandimere Speedway. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the NHRA tour and definitely one of the most picturesque of them all. Plus, we have a long relationship with the Bandimere family and just love coming here.” Continue reading Five-time Pro Stock champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. ready to get back in the ‘swing’ of things →

Chris Haldeman Earns Season-Best Second in TCA Event in Portland
• Haldeman comes up just short of season’s first victory in TCA
• Taylor Hagler earns pair of top-five results
• Cole Ciraulo places fourth in weekend’s opening TCA race

PORTLAND, Ore. – (July 15, 2019) – Chris Haldeman did about as much as you can do to win a race at this weekend’s Rose Cup Races at the Portland International Raceway, but had to settle for a season-best second-place finish in Sunday’s SRO Motorsports Group Touring Car America event as his hunt for his first TCA class victory of the year continues. Continue reading Chris Haldeman Earns Season-Best Second in TCA Event in Portland →

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY TORONTO
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES
JULY 14, 2019

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DXC TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET (pole sitter and race winner; third victory of season and 14th of career):

WHAT’S THE NERVES LIKE IN THE CLOSING LAPS?
“It’s never easy with the lap traffic really difficult. I was just trying to pass them and I saw (Ryan) Hunter-Reay made it difficult defending for the lap. I get it. Not the way I love to race but Chevy did a great job of giving us an update this week and it really paid off, and obviously on the fuel it was tremendous. The car was plenty fast all day. We never really got in trouble with anyone. It was a perfect execution for the Team Penske team.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Post Race →

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY TORONTO
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTES
JULY 14, 2019

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 TEAM PENSKE DXC TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET – Race Winner

YOU SAID THE CAR WAS PERFECT ON FRIDAY AND SHOWED NO SIGNS ANYTHING DIFFERENT ALL AFTERNOON OVER THE COURSE OF 85 LAPS. SO YOU’RE CLOSE TO RUNNING OUT OF FUEL. KYLE (MOYER, RACE STRATEGIST) IS TELLING YOU THAT YOU NEED TO SAVE. WHAT WERE YOUR NERVES LIKE IN THOSE CLOSING LAPS?
“It’s never easy with the lapped traffic. The lapped traffic was really very difficult because I was trying to just pass them and that made it difficult. They’re fighting for their lap. I get it. So, I just backed myself up and tried to give myself a gap with (Scott) Dixon (finished 2nd) while saving fuel. Continue reading CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES ON STREETS OF TORONTO: Simon Pagenaud Winner Quote →

Solid Team Effort Nets Menard An 11th-Place Finish in Quaker State 400 at Kentucky

July 14, 2019

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Quaker State Ford Mustang put together one of their best races of the season and came away with an 11th-place finish in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Menard earned points in both preliminary Stages, then overcame the disadvantage of restarting on the inside lane in an overtime run to the finish line to finish 11th after dropping as low as 15th place during the final two-lap dash. Continue reading Solid Team Effort Nets Menard An 11th-Place Finish in Quaker State 400 at Kentucky →

CHASE JOHNSON PARKS IT AT PETALUMA SPEEDWAY
July 13, 2019
Jim Allen

(7/13/19) By Jim Allen, Petaluma, CA … Chase Johnson passed Bill Aton with nine-laps remaining to score Saturday’s fast-paced King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Sprint Car Series 30-lap headliner before a hometown crowd at Petaluma Speedway.

Wheeling the Shawn & Cyndi Thomas-owned Fire Suppression Engineering Shaver-powered Maxim, Johnson pocketed $3000 for his second career series victory, both of which have come at Petaluma. Continue reading CHASE JOHNSON PARKS IT AT PETALUMA SPEEDWAY →

Austin Dillon Shows Speed and Earns Stage Points in the No. 3 AAA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Before Mechanical Issues at Kentucky Speedway

“The AAA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was really fast to start the race today at Kentucky Speedway. We were able to run within the top-five for much of the first two Stages and earn Stage points, which is definitely an improvement over last year. We have speed, and that’s a testament to all of the hard work RCR and ECR is doing. Unfortunately we had transmission and alternator issues today and spent time in the garage making repairs. I hate breaking stuff, but when you do, this No. 3 team just keeps working and never gives up. We’re going to get this monkey off our back and we’ll be just fine.”

-Austin Dillon

Daniel Hemric and the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Team Showcase Their Never-Give-Up Attitude at Kentucky Speedway

“Our No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was faster than our 24th-place finish indicates tonight at Kentucky Speedway. Starting in the top 10 was a positive step for this team, and it was great to earn Stage points at the conclusion of Stage 1. Throughout Stage 2, we chipped away at the lead and gained solid ground until we were assessed a stop and go penalty during our pit stop on lap 150. The penalty put us two laps down, but we kept fighting and grinding it out because there’s no quit in this team. It wasn’t the finish we hoped for, but I know we have a resilient group that will be ready to rebound next weekend in New Hampshire.”

-Daniel Hemric

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 13, 2019

KURT BUSCH, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 SCORE VICTORY AT KENTUCKY
Three Team Chevy Drivers in Top 10

SPARTA, KY (July 13, 2019) – Kurt Busch scored an incredible victory with the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on Saturday night in winning the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. He led 41 of the 267-lap, 400-mile race to collect his first win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENSC) 2019 season.

The victory, Chevrolet’s first at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, was also the 2004 Champion’s 31st career MENCS win in 667 races, and 12th MENCS triumph for car owner Chip Ganassi.

With a strong showing as the Stage One winner, Busch’s speed prevailed on a last-lap pass to younger brother, Kyle Busch, coming to the checkered flag. It marked Chevrolet’s 783rd all-time win in NASCAR’s top series and also secures Busch a berth in the Cup Series Playoffs. Continue reading KURT BUSCH, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 SCORE VICTORY AT KENTUCKY →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 13, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1
4th Kyle Larson, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1
10th Chris Buescher, No. 37 Planters Camaro ZL1
15th Chase Elliott, No. 9 Dewnited States Camaro ZL1
17th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)
2nd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
3rd Erik Jones (Toyota)
4th Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
5th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday, July 21 at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Continue reading TEAM CHEVY AT KENTUCKY: Post-Race Notes and Quotes →

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY TORONTO
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFICATIONS RECAP AND DRIVER QUOTES
JULY 13, 2019

Chevrolet extends pole streak to seven in Toronto

Simon Pagenaud leads three Team Chevy drivers in top 6
Points leader Josef Newgarden, Ed Jones to start on Row 3
Newgarden resets track qualifying record for current configuration

TORONTO (July 13, 2019) – Simon Pagenaud will lead the 22-car field to the green flag of the 85-lap Honda Indy Toronto after winning the NTT P1 Award in the No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet.

Pagenaud, who also earned the pole in 2017, recorded a quick lap of 58.4293 seconds (110.041 mph) on the 1.786-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in the Firestone Fast Six session.
Continue reading Chevrolet extends pole streak to seven in Toronto →

Teammates Dixon, Rosenqvist Top Honda Qualifiers in Toronto
• Scott Dixon qualifies second for Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing
• Rookie teammate Felix Rosenqvist qualifies third
• Alexander Rossi runs fourth for Andretti Autosport

TORONTO, Ont., Canada (July 13, 2019) – Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist led the way for the Honda field today in NTT IndyCar Series qualifying, and will start second and third, respectively, in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto.

Dixon, who won from the second starting position last year, ended the three rounds of “knockout” qualifying 16 hundredths of a second off the pole time set by Simon Pagenaud. Rosenqvist, an IndyCar Series rookie this season but a two-time winner on the Exhibition Place street circuit in Indy Lights competition, will start third in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Twice a race winner this season – at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and Road America – Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi was the third Honda driver to advance to final round “Fast Six” qualifying, and will start fourth. Live television coverage of the Honda Indy Toronto, 11th round of the 2019 season, begins at 3 p.m. EDT Sunday on the NBC Sports Network.

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) defending race winner, defending series champion, will start second: “I just couldn’t quite piece together a lap [for the pole]. Both Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas have been fast all weekend, but at times it was a struggle getting a clear track [in practice]. It was better in qualifying with the split groups, and I felt my last lap could’ve been ‘the one’ had I finished it! [Dixon spun exiting the last corner of his final qualifying lap]. The second-place start for us last year worked out well and turned into a win so we hope to replicate that tomorrow.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 2 Alsco Team Fight Through Balance Challenges to Third-Place Finish at Kentucky Speedway

“After the last couple of weeks, we needed a solid race like tonight to get back into our groove. I just obviously wish we had finished two spots better than we did with our No. 2 Alsco Chevrolet Camaro in the Alsco 300. The balance was tricky to get figured out tonight. Firing off to start the race, I was just way too loose and would fall back on any restarts. We’d build tight the longer we went in a run, but it was just a little too late to contend for the lead at the end of the stages. We got our Alsco Camaro handling really well and were running some of our fastest lap times of the night in the second half of the final stage, we just didn’t have enough time or track position to get to the front. We learned a lot in this final mile-and-a-half before the playoffs start, so we’ll bounce back just fine when we come back to them. I can’t thank Alsco and everyone there enough for their support. We tried everything to get them another Alsco 300 win, but came up just short this time.”

-Tyler Reddick

Menard Qualifies 14th For Quaker State 400 At Kentucky

July 12, 2019

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Quaker State Ford Mustang are set to start Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 from 14th place.

The starting line-up won’t be official until after the cars are inspected on Saturday prior to the race.

With a schedule like the one NASCAR is following this weekend, teams start the race with the same chassis set-up used in qualifying, so crews tend to sacrifice some speed in qualifying and focus on a set-up that will be best for the race. Continue reading Menard Qualifies 14th For Quaker State 400 At Kentucky →