Ron Capps Wins Third NHRA Funny Car Title

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

Earns Toyota’s Fourth NHRA Funny Car Driver’s Championship

POMONA, Calif. (November 13, 2022) – Toyota driver Ron Capps won his third career NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car Championship on Sunday night with a final round appearance in the season finale at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Capps’ championship marks the fourth Funny Car championship for Toyota, and the first for the GR Supra Funny Car.

TOYOTA FAST FACTS

• Since joining Team Toyota in Charlotte, Capps won four races, advanced to three final rounds and scored 36 round wins over 17 races to claim the 2022 NHRA Top Fuel Championship.

• This is Capps third championship, and second consecutive. Capps previously won the championship in 2016 and 2021.

• The 57-year-old California-native is second all-time with 72 career Funny Car wins. Combined with his one Top Fuel victory, Capps ranks sixth in NHRA history with 73 career wins.

• This is Capps’s first title as an owner-driver for Ron Capps Motorsports. Capps won the previous two championships with Don Schumacher Racing.

• This is the first title for the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car. Cruz Pedregon won the first Funny Car championship for Toyota aboard a Toyota Solara in 2008, and Del Worsham (2015) and J.R. Todd (2018) won their Funny Car titles aboard the Toyota Camry.

TOYOTA QUOTES

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

What would you say to anyone looking to take a risk like you did to start this race team?

“It’s like anybody in Amrica, anything you put your mind to, you can do with great people around you. I told you earlier I knew we deserved it because of the great group of people I have around me. I can’t even begin to say what it feels like right now. I mean, NAPA Auto Care people, all the NAPA Auto Care owners, 6000 strong and for everybody at home that puts on the Ron Capps NAPA jersey and watching on the couch there on Fox Sports, and GearWrench and Toyota coming on board – to give them a championship means so much. But my family and more than anything we have take on this role this year. That’s been unbelievable. I’m sure you’ve all seen me age quite a but in the last year or so. And I’m sure there were some upset people on the starting like including Slugger (Labbe, TRD) from Toyota and his guys. They thought I was going to shut it off and I planned on it, but I didn’t see Cruz (Pedregon) and I knew I couldn’t get across the centerline so I hugged the wall all the way down. I hope everybody appreciates that. I ran it to the finish line because that was a hard decision to make. For the fans, I did the longest burnout.”

PAUL DOLESHAL, group manager, motorsports, Toyota Motor North America

“We are thrilled to celebrate with Ron and his entire team on their third Funny Car championship in the first season for the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car. To see the efforts of the entire Toyota Gazoo Racing North America team culminate in a Funny Car championship this quickly is extremely rewarding. Ron has fully embraced the Toyota culture and Toyota family since our partnership began this season and we couldn’t be more thrilled to call him a Team Toyota champion.”

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BRITTANY FORCE AND MONSTER ENERGY / FLAV-R-PAC CHEVYCLINCH SECOND TOP FUEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 13, 2022) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster earned their second NHRA Camping World NHRA world championship on Sunday, Nov. 13 when they qualified No. 1 and won first round at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team became just the fourth woman in NHRA professional drag racing history to win multiple championships after Erica Enders, Angelle Sampey and Shirley Muldowney and just the second in Top Fuel behind Muldowney. “I want everyone to remember this day, here in Pomona with this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team; David Grubnic, Mac Savage, every single one of my guys. We have been working at this all season long. We never gave up and then we struggled in the Countdown, but we recovered, and we recovered when we needed to in Vegas and here in Pomona,” Force said. “This just seems unreal; I can’t believe we’re here. I have to thank every single one of my guys, our sponsors, Monster Energy, Flav-R-Pac, Auto Club, Chevy, PEAK, Cornwell Tools, Montana Brand, NK Seeds, Powers Solar, we wouldn’t be here without them today. I’m so proud of everybody. It just seems surreal; I can’t believe it ended up this way. I believed coming into today, I was motivated, pumped, we all were, and we got the job done. Just needed to get past the first round.” After earning 13 bonus points throughout qualifying, Force picked up a first-round win at 3.701-seconds and 334.90 mph defeating Steve Chrisman and just had to see how championship contenders Mike Salinas and Justin Ashley faired through the first round. Salina would go out first, falling to Krista Baldwin. As the last pair in the first round, Ashley would come up short to Antron Brown who was knocked out of contention when Force won first round. Force will take on Clay Millican in the next round of eliminations as she continues to compete for her sixth win of the season.

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Hagan Drives Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car Into Three-Way Battle for Championship Crown at NHRA Finals

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan qualified his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car No. 3 on the eliminations ladder at the 57th annual Auto Club National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Finals and remains in the hunt for the championship for a fourth straight year heading into the last race day of the season
While Hagan has a 62-point deficit to Funny Car championship leader Robert Hight and is five behind No. 1 Qualifier Ron Capps, both of his opponents are on the opposite side of the eliminations ladder to the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat which sets up the possibility of TSR earning their first NHRA world title by advancing to the final or winning the Wally trophy
No. 2 seed Cruz Pedregon had the best qualifying performance of his Funny Car career aboard the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with four of the quickest passes he has ever run, all of which were in the 3.84-second range
TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett took her Dodge Power Brokers dragster for their best elapsed-time run of the season to earn the No. 4 position for eliminations at NHRA Finals

November 12, 2022, Pomona, California – Race day at the 57th annual Auto Club National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Finals may offer up a very exciting end to Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) first season in drag racing competition as Matt Hagan qualified his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car No. 3 for eliminations and, with three win lights and a little luck, could end up battling for a Wally trophy and the 2022 NHRA World Championship in the final round of the season.

There are certainly plenty of scenarios that could play out on race day for the points-and-a-half finale at the legendary Auto Club Raceway at Pomona but should current class leader Robert Hight falter in the first two rounds while the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car drives to a final elimination appearance, the world championship title for Hagan and TSR remains a possibility.

The three-time Funny Car World Champion’s best run of the weekend came in Friday’s second session with a 3.669-second elapsed time run at 329.67 mph to put him third on the elimination ladder and earn four of his five total qualifying bonus points. While he wasn’t able to amass enough extra points to put him within two rounds (or less than 60 points) of Hight as No. 1 Qualifier Capps (57 points behind) had done, the good news is that both of Hagan’s opponents are on the opposite side of the eliminations ladder, giving the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver a chance to contend for the crown by advancing to the final round.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Hagan heads into the last race of the season as a title contender. He’ll begin his drive against No. 14 seed Steven Densham.

Two-time Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon earned the No. 2 Qualifier position for the last race of the 2022 season aboard his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat after putting together the best qualifying performance of his career with four of the quickest passes he has ever run, all of which were in the 3.84-second range. Pedregon ran a career-best 3.840-second run at 322.58 mph with his first lap of the weekend to put himself in the provisional No. 1 Qualifier position on Friday, and had three more great consistent runs that put him first or second in each of the remain sessions to collect a total of 14 bonus points.

Unfortunately, Pedregon was dislodged from to the top spot by Capps in their final qualifying run. Pedregon will have No. 15 seed Jason Rupert as his opening round opponent.

TSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett will go into the last race day of the year as No. 4 qualifier after wheeling her Dodge Power Brokers dragster to their best elapsed time run of the season with a 3.669 second/329.67 mph effort in Friday’s second session. That run put her provisionally third heading into Saturday qualifying where she added two more solid passes but was unable to improve her starting position in a tight Top Fuel field. Pruett will line up next to No. 12 seed Alex Laughlin in the opening round as she works towards earning her second Wally trophy of the year.

The NHRA Finals, the last of six NHRA “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events will air on FS1 with a recap of qualifying on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. ET and race coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET to conclude with the crowning of 2022 NHRA World Champions.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:

Leah Pruett, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.669 seconds at 329.67 mph)

Qualifying 1: 9.948 seconds at 69.35 mph

Qualifying 2: 3.669 sec./329.67 mph (2 bonus points for 3rd quickest of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.739 sec./323.12 mph

Qualifying 4: 3.692 sec./324.59 mph

“Friday was a phenomenal day. Even though we smoked the tires on the first run, it really wasn’t due to tune-up. It was just an internal error that we identified immediately just like we had in Denver at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-HIgh Nationals where we rebounded and put down a killer time and went on to win the race. It felt so good to go fast and it’s a complete tribute to the dedication that this team has had through our last couple races. We haven’t had the results that we wanted, but the team kept digging and applied all of those performance enhancing ideologies into this. Our goal is to finish out stronger than we’ve raced all year. We’re very happy with our Dodge Power Brokers dragster and we’re excited because we are going in the direction that we’ve been trying for so long. The car is reacting and it’s exciting to be able to continue pushing and not trying to fix problems.

“To be able to execute like we did in qualifying was awesome. Qualifying fourth in what I would consider to be the toughest and tightest Top Fuel competition season that I’ve ever been a part of feels good. We’re just really focused on making sure that we keep this momentum and that fierce fighting attitude to make sure that we have a very long Sunday drive.”

Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.844 seconds at 323.58 mph)

Qualifying 1: 4.199 seconds at 220.66 mph

Qualifying 2: 3.844 sec./ 323.58 mph (4 points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.867 sec./326.56 mph (1 point for 4th quickest run of session)

Qualifying 4: 4.057 sec./245.32 mph

“It kind of comes down to if (Bob) Tasca can take Hight out in the second round, we still have a real shot at it. Then it could be a battle between me and (Ron) Capps to see who goes the farthest there at the end of the day. We’ve still got a shot at it. It’s always great to be in the hunt and I’ve got nothing but confidence in my team and Dickie Venables, Mike Knutson and Alex Conway. Those guys always put an amazing race car underneath me and I’m just excited to get to go tomorrow.

“Obviously there’s always pressure at every race but this is just amplified a little bit more because it’s an opportunity for a championship. It always seems to come down to the last race and the last run and the semi-finals or finals so there’s nothing new there. It’s just knowing that we have to go every round and make every round count. Dickie’s a great racer on Sunday. He races the racetrack. He’s good with making the calls up there and the gut decisions that he has to make up there to make the car go down the racetrack. I think that we just gotta go race the track tomorrow, race our race and let the cards fall where they fall.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.840 seconds at 322.58 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.840 seconds at 322.58 mph (4 points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 2: 3.849 sec./327.03 mph (3 points for 2nd quickest run of session)

Qualifying 3: 3.847 sec./323.43 mph (4 points for quickest run of session)

Qualifying 4: 3.841 sec./ 330.31 (3 points for 2nd quickest run of session)

“To say I’m happy and excited and relieved all in one would be an understatement. I’ve been surprised before at the finish line. but not like that. [The first pass] was such a great run and honestly, the car had a cylinder out about three-quarter track on that first (run) so had we been able to put the back half of this second run with the first one I would have been a little bit better.”

“To have four great consistent runs like that makes us very excited about our next season because we now know we have a car that can win races. We’re still trying to get faster speeds, That’s something that we know we need to work on but hats off to the team. They did the job and it’s exciting. That’s what you want and that’s what we work for. Tomorrow we’re just gonna go out there and do all we can to outlast everybody.”

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

Following qualifying at the NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1. Robert Hight 2649 (8)

2. Ron Capps: 2592 (5)

3. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2587(4)

4. John Force: 2460 (1)

5. Bob Tasca III: 2444 (3)

6. J.R. Todd: 2344

7. Tim Wilkerson: 2313

8. Alexis DeJoria: 2312 (1)

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2290

10. Blake Alexander: 2199

11. Jim Campbell: 2198

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1. Brittany Force: 2536 (5)

2. Justin Ashley: 2510 (3)

3. Mike Salinas: 2461 (4)

4. Antron Brown 2444 (3)

5. Steve Torrence: 2443 (2)

6. Austin Prock: 2394 (1)

7. Josh Hart: 2359 (1)

8. Shawn Langdon: 2339

9. Doug Kalitta: 2335

10. Clay Millican: 2318

11. Tony Schumacher: 2277(1)

12. Leah Pruett (Dodge Power Brokers): 2265 (1)

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge//SRT

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In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), visitwww.stellantis.com.

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BRITTANY FORCE AND MONSTER ENERGY TRY TO CLOSE THE DEAL ON CHAMPIONSHIP WITH NO. 1 START AT AUTO CLUB FINALS

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 12, 2022) – With a second NHRA Camping World tour championship clearly in her sights, Brittany Force starts Sunday’s 57th Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona as the No. 1 qualifier on the strength of a 3.641 second performance in a Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster she drove to a track record-setting and all-time best Top Fuel speed of 338.94 mph. Robert Hight, who is trying to join Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein and teammate John Force as one of the sport’s only four-time Funny Car champions, will start his Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS from the No. 4 position after a best of 3.849 seconds. John Force, meanwhile, qualified his Dan Hood and Tim Fabrisi prepared PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro No. 7 in Funny Car at 3.864 at 333.49 mph. Third generation drag racer Austin Prock, whose Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster has surged during the Countdown, will start from the No. 5 spot at 3.689 seconds, 333.08 mph. Brittany grabbed 13 of the maximum 16 qualifying bonus points over the two days and, as a result, will carry a 26-point advantage over second place Justin Ashley into Sunday eliminations where she will oppose No. 16 qualifier Steve Chrisman in the first round. The No. 1 start is the 2017 Champion’s 10th of this season and 22nd over the last two campaigns. That gives her 42 career No. 1s, third most in team history behind her dad (165) and Hight (77). “I feel very good going into race day tomorrow. We had four consistent runs, got that No. 1 spot and we picked up some bonus points, so this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team is going into tomorrow feeling good,” said Force. “I’ve been here before, battling out to the final day for the championship, that gives me a little bit of confidence. We’re out ahead, but not by very much. It could change so quickly, but this team is incredible, what we’ve done all season long, what we’ve done this weekend, we just need to keep on hitting our numbers like we have been.” Robert Hight’s Top 4 starting position is his 19^th in 22 races this year in the NHRA national record-holding Auto Club Chevy tuned by Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham. A 61-time tour winner, Hight will begin his drive to a potential fourth championship against No. 13 qualifier Chad Green. Significantly, he will start eliminations 57 points ahead of No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps and 62 ahead of Matt Hagan. “Two great runs today for this Auto Club Chevy team. It gives us something to work with for tomorrow,” High said. “It’s going to be an exciting day of racing, that’s for sure. These Auto Club guys have worked hard all season, tomorrow it pays off. We just need to keep our heads down and focus. It’s ours to lose, we know that, and we know what we need to do. I’m ready to get it going and I know every single one of these guys is too.” Regardless of what happens Sunday, John Force will finish in the Top five for the 29^th time in his career. He’ll open his bid for a ninth win in the Auto Club Finals and 17th overall at Auto Club Raceway against No. 10 qualifier Blake Alexander against whom he is 5-0 in his career. “Going to be an exciting Sunday race day. Championships are on the line. I know I’m out of it but Brittany and Robert are right in it. It’s going to come down to the wire. They both have what it takes to get the job done, they’ve had it all year,” Force said. “We’ll just have to see what happens, see how the day shakes out, maybe this PEAK team can do something to help that Auto Club team out. We’ll see.” In the midst of a strong Countdown performance that includes a win at Reading, Pa., arunner-up finish at Dallas and a trip to the semifinals two weeks ago at Las Vegas, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT dragster will go into Sunday’s eliminations against No. 12 qualifier Shawn Langdon. “Solid day for this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team. We’re rolling into Sunday qualified fifth and have a great car to go rounds,” Prock said. “We’re looking forward to a strong day to finish out the season.” Competition continues at the Auto Club Finals with eliminations at 11 a.m. Sunday. Television coverage will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying highlights at 2 p.m. ET and concluding with final eliminations from 4-to-7 p.m. ET.
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CAPPS CLAIMS NUMBER ONE QUALIFIER FOR TOYOTA GR SUPRA IN POMONA FINALS

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

Torrence’s Top Fuel Dragster Scores Number Two Qualifier

POMONA, Calif. (November 12, 2022) – Ron Capps and his NAPA Toyota GR Supra team struggled through Friday’s qualifying sessions and found themselves on the outside looking in at the top-16 cars. But when the final round came about Saturday afternoon, Capps posted the top time of 3.837 to claim the number one qualifier position. Capps now finds himself within 57 points of the Funny Car championship with eliminations starting Sunday morning from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence posted the number two qualifier time with a pass of 3.647, but was behind one of the two championship contenders, Brittany Force, who claimed the number one qualifier spot only six one-thousandths quicker.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Auto Club Raceway of Pomona

Race 22 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force*	Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster*	*1st (3.641)*	*S. Chrisman*
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	2nd (3.647)	R. August Jr.
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6th (3.693)	J. Hart
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th (3.696)	J. Ashley
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	10th (3.706)	A. Brown
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	12th (3.751)	A. Prock

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
*Ron Capps*	*NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car*	*1st (3.837)*	*J. Arend*
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	6th (3.862)	J. Campbell
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	9th (3.917)	T. Wilkerson

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 1st

Can you talk about the emotion involved in claiming the number one qualifier heading into the championship run tomorrow?

“I got on the radio and I was screaming and yelling, it was like going down the road to Disneyland and getting on Space Mountain for the first time as a kid. I was fighting for my life to keep it between the guardrail and the center line and it was just hunting and moving. A lot of times, you think that would take ET (elapsed time) away, but I felt the clutch come in sooner than normal and today I could just tell. Yesterday we had issues, turned out it was ignition issues and we found it, but today it just had max cackle that Gary Scelzi always talked about. When your car is just banging and popping and sounding good at idle and you do the burnout and you think, ‘This might be too much,’ it sounded like that all day today. We were worried that the conditions might cool off too much with it being late in the day, but it held its own and Guido got in the box a couple times during the oil down and it just got to where I was asking for us just to get down and have a good run. We’re not going to see these conditions again this year so it’s great to end this way. We started the season with the number one qualifier at the Winternationals as a new team owner and I thought it would be crazy and how much better could it get. Then we go on to win five races and get the pole here at the end. This is what I talk about when you get into a race car like this and you wish you could make those big runs at the big moments, but when you actually have the capability and the personnel and the tools and obviously the sponsors with NAPA and Toyota, but you can actually strap in and go not only do I wish I can or do I think we can, but I know we can go out and throw down with the best. It’s a great feeling so what a way to end qualifying.”

What does it do knowing you have a possible match-up with Robert Hight in the semi-finals tomorrow?

“It’s just an emotional roller coaster. First it’s the interview on the top end and then we come up and see my family on the fence – all 80 of them that we got tickets for. That’s all fun and that’s what makes this so special, right? Then to get up here and I forgot all about the math and we get up here and Paul Mecca and our Gearwrench tools guy are like, ‘Did that get us below two rounds?’ So to have you guys tell us that not only did it, but it got us three points under, it gets better and better. Then I find out that we’re on the same side of the ladder so like I said, it’s a different day tomorrow. New track, new people, new opponents, big moments. I’m going to wake up tomorrow in my motorhome trackside and have a chance of possibly winning a world championship once again in NHRA. Possibly not, but there’s a good chance. There’s not a better feeling to wake up and stand here and realize that as a kid I used to watch the big moments and now I’m part of some of them.”

How do you calm yourself down in a situation like tomorrow with the championship on the line?

“Some drivers have to be completely silent and sit in the tow vehicle and I’m sending Instagrams out and tweets. Leah (Pruett) asked me last year when I have the time to do all this stuff and I told her, ‘When I get into the staging lanes.’ I answer my emails and send my tweets and funny Instagrams and Facebook stuff before I get suited up and it keeps my mind calm. And if anyone here is A.D.D., they will understand. It’s backwards, but I just try to stay busy. I’ve been through this moment so many times, it doesn’t matter, you still wake up with a pit in your stomach and bald eagles flying around your stomach. That’s what it’s all about.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 6th

After a career-best pass in this qualifying session with 3.862, what does that say about this race team?

“Well, it definitely lifted up in the front, I could feel it a little bit, but it was nice and smooth. I didn’t get out of the groove too much. The temperature is great right now. Our last one would have been good, but I’m so nervous about crossing the center line or touching it and getting 15 points taken away. So I’m a little gun shy. I can’t say enough about our team, they are so rad and our crew chiefs are so rad. This year has really been building for next season. We have a badass car. We have a badass team and my whole crew is just freaking awesome.”

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

How do you feel about your championship chances with Brittany Force and Justin Ashley running strong in qualifying?

“There’s still a chance, but that door is definitely not open very much. Anytime you can run quicker than that Monster car on any lap, that’s a big deal and it’s crazy to think we ran .64 and we’re still number two. That’s a testament to how bad to the bone those guys are, but these Capco Contractors boys on this Toyota dragster, we definitely want to finish the season on a bang and finish strong. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot and just experimented entirely too long and couldn’t get it back in time. It’s been a good year, but I’m glad it’s over. We still have a shot to play spoiler tomorrow, but it would entail two of the best cars out here to go out early. We’re not going to hope for that, but we’re just going to go out and give it all we’ve got and maybe we can play spoiler.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

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Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

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CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: What a Run to GTE Pro Podium!

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

Second place for Milner, Tandy, No. 64 C8.R in season, class finale SAKHIR, Bahrain (Nov. 12, 2022) – Corvette Racing’s never-give-up mindset came to the forefront again Saturday as a total team effort led to a runner-up GTE Pro class finish in the Eight Hours of Bahrain and the final race of the year in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy came home second in the last race for the GTE Pro category with the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. It marked the pairing’s third podium finish of the season and second runner-up result, the first coming in the season-opening 1,000 Miles of Sebring.
Milner, Tandy and Corvette Racing captured the Six Hours of Monza earlier this year as part of the team’s globe-trotting first season in the WEC. Saturday’s result provides a nice springboard to the 2023 season and a GTE Am campaign with the mid-engine Corvette C8.R.

Saturday, the Corvette team’s fortunes took a dramatic change just past the one-hour mark. After starting fifth in class – and sitting at the bottom of the GTE Pro timesheets throughout practice and qualifying – Milner gained track position by going a lap longer than three other GTE Pro cars in his opening stint and made his first pit stop during the race’s first full-course caution just past the one-hour mark.
Going long gained Milner 30 seconds and – more importantly – three positions to second place by the time the race went green again with 75 minutes running. From that point on, Milner masterfully managed his pace and tires on a hot and slippery surface for the next hour before handing off to Tandy for a double-stint under another yellow period.
The C8.R continued to show life with changes from the Corvette Racing engineers and crew following Friday’s qualifying. Tandy was able to fight and overtake one of the two Porsches and challenge eventual race-winner Ferrari despite behind handfuls of seconds behind throughout practice.
Milner got back in in the Corvette just past the halfway point – again, under a full-course yellow – and held second position throughout his 70-minute run before a final swap back to Tandy for the final 2.5 hours.
As much as the pre-race adjustments to the C8.R paid off, the pit work by the Corvette Racing crew and engineering strategies – both fuel and tire usage – kept the team in contention throughout. That bore out in the pit stops with the C8.R crew nine seconds quicker in its cumulative pitlane time throughout the race than the other two podium cars in GTE Pro.
The end of the WEC season brought to an end an iconic era of GTE Pro racing. Corvette Racing, naturally, has been part of GTE Pro in the WEC – including the 24 Hours of Le Mans – since the first year of the class in 2011. Its participation in GTE-rules racing was amplified in 2014 with the birth of the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category in IMSA, which used the same technical rules that existed for GTE.
Taking into account both championships, Corvette Racing has an exemplary record in GTE/GTLM competition with 32 victories at racetracks around the world to go along with five Drivers and Team championships and four Manufacturers crowns in IMSA
Corvette Racing will return to FIA WEC competition in 2023 with Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg teaming in a GTE Am Corvette C8.R. The season begins March 17 at Sebring International Raceway.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTE PRO: “That was definitely a lot better than we were anticipating! It’s great to be back on the podium in the last race of the year and the last GTE Pro race. It’s a little bittersweet. If you look at our season as a whole, we had a great year. There was still a lot to be had. If Le Mans had gone the way it was going for us, Nick and I would be World Champions as drivers so that’s a bit of a bummer. But that’s racing. I’m happy to end this class on a high note and be back on the podium for Corvette Racing. I’m super-proud of the work that all these guys have done this year. We realistically had a championship season, and everyone should be super-proud.”(On the race): “We were really lucky with the timing of that second full-course yellow and to be in position to take advantage of that. That catapulted us back in the race. Ultimately we didn’t have the pace to run with the Ferrari. The plan from the beginning was to run our own race and be smart on the strategy to see where we end up. The engineers had me save quite a bit of fuel. We did whatever we could do to be as perfect as possible and let the result be determined by everybody else and not by us. Our goal was to drive our own race and see what happened.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTE PRO: “What a great way to finish the season. It shows again that in a long endurance race, all the pieces and parts of the puzzle – most of those being the people involved – make a huge difference. From a team point of view, we ran an absolute faultless race from start to finish. We got lucky with strategy but we put ourselves in position to get that luck. From then on, we made the Corvette the best that it’s been to drive all week. We had pace in the race when others saw theirs drop. From the pit crew to the engineering group, everyone who has been looking after the team, getting us and the car here and ready, it’s been a great day for Corvette Racing. We finished probably three places further up than we should have, and that’s due to great execution from every single team member. It’s a great way to end this season.”(On the race): “We got lucky with the early yellow. Actually we had looked at it early and said maybe the only chance we’d have is to try and play something on the fuel strategy game. That worked out well for us and the 51 Ferrari. We gained about 30 seconds on the other three cars when we pitted. Then we were looking to see where we were in the meat of the race when the sun came down. We weren’t too bad on pace, and I had a great fight with Michael (Christensen, No. 92 Porsche) for a few laps. It was a good run out there.”(On the full season): “I think you can see that all of us at Corvette Racing have enjoyed it. It’s been good fun. It’s been frustrating at times but overall everyone is pleased with what we’ve done by coming in for the full season. We’ve won a race and been competitive at most events. We’ve got experience not just for Corvette Racing but also for all our partner teams at General Motors. Everything we’ve done and learned will help not only this teams but hopefully others in the future. It’s good to come here and see everything and bring people to these events and tracks with regulations we haven’t seen before.”

LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We’re really proud of all the accomplishments by everyone on the Corvette Racing program this year in the World Endurance Championship. It was our first time in this series, and we knew it was going to be a learning season. To win at Monza, to lead as many laps as we did at Le Mans, and to finish second at Sebring and now here at Bahrain… I’d say we did pretty well! There is a lot we can and will take from this into the 2023 season. A huge thanks to everyone at Chevrolet, GM Performance, Pratt Miller and many, many more who supported us and made this possible. We’re already looking forward to Sebring next year!”

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BRITTANY FORCE AND MONSTER ENERGY READY FOR CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT AT AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS

November 14, 2022 ARP Trish

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 09, 2022) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet team enter this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona with a seven-point lead chasing her sixth win of the season which would guarantee her the second NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship of her career.
Coming off a wire-to-wire victory at the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team are poised to win her second Top Fuel championship in just seven years. Force’s victory Las Vegas marked a career best fifth win for the 2013 Rookie of the Year. She won four events when she claimed the championship in 2017 to become just the second woman to win in the premier division and the first to do so in 35 years.
“I’m really proud of our entire team, they’ve all worked really hard from David Grubnic and Mac Savage to every single crew guy and we’ve had a great season. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing. This Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac ream has been winning races and setting track records and now it comes down to the final race, as we knew it would,” Force said. “Our Countdown got off to a rocky start. The first four races, we didn’t perform like we had all season and we started to stumble, but we turned it around in Vegas and we all felt that energy. Anything can happen in Pomona with points-and-a-half, and we’ve all seen it before at this race. It’s still anyone’s game. That win in Vegas was huge for us and we’re going ride that through this weekend. That gives us confidence and it motivates us to want to do it again.”
Force was the winner at the Finals in her championship-winning 2017 season where she also earned her only Finals No. 1 qualifying position (although she has started from No. 1 the last three years at the season-opening Winternationals). Owner of the 10 fastest speeds in Top Fuel history, Brittany is also the speed record holder at Auto Club Raceway where she drove her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster to 336.23 mph on Feb. 9, 2020. With Dave Grubnic and Mac Savage handling the tune-up duties, she set the current NHRA national records of 3.623 seconds (Aug.31, 2019 at Reading, Pa.) and 338.43 mph (Oct. 2, 2022 at St. Louis).
The Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona will begin with four rounds of qualifying including two on Friday at 1 and 4:15 p.m. and two Saturday at 12:30 and 4 p.m. Eliminations, where champions will be crowned, are slated to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event begins Sunday with qualifying coverage Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and eliminations airing in a tape delay at 4 p.m. ET and a special NHRA Post Show at 7 p.m. ET all on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

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LIVEWIRE-TO-WIRE: English Wins at Charlotte, Nets First Career World Finals Victory

November 4, 2022 ARP Trish

LIVEWIRE-TO-WIRE: English Wins at Charlotte, Nets First Career World Finals Victory

Kentuckian clinches second in Series points and Rookie of the Year title

CONCORD, NC – Nov. 3, 2022 – Tanner English’s third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series Feature win of the season Thursday night was worth a lot more to he and his team than just another trophy in the cabinet.

With his wire-to-wire victory in the 40-lap main event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, English garnered enough points in the standings to lock-up second place overall and officially clinch the 2022 Rookie of the Year Award.

This effectively settles the 10-month-long battle for the prestigious honor between English and fellow full-time Outlaw Max Blair. With only one race remaining on the schedule and the points advantage at 58, English now becomes the highest-finishing rookie in points in World of Outlaws Late Models history – breaking the previous record of third place, shared by Ricky Weiss (2019) and Tyler Bruening (2021).

“It’s big to me to be able to do that and get second in points,” English said. “Everybody’s been tough. Max has been tough all year, and [Ryan] Gustin… it’s just been a tough crowd, and it’s good to finish up front with all these people.”

It’s been a long and demanding season to this point, and in the 42nd race of the 2022 campaign at the World of Outlaws World Finals, The Kentucky Livewire made quick work of the field in the caution-free event that took slightly over 12 minutes to complete. At the drop of the green, English got the jump on polesitter Shane Clanton and won the mad dash into Turn 1 – a goal that he said was the key to the win.

“I knew Clanton was going to be tough getting into Turn 1,” English said. “It kinda helped me out when he pushed me up a little bit; I kinda pushed-up and hit that cushion coming off and it got me a good run down the straightaway.

“That was big. That’s what won the race. I feel like if he gets out front, he wins the race.”

Armed with clean air and the rest of the field behind him, English jumped out to a fluctuating lead of approximately 1.5 seconds on Clanton through the first 20 laps. As the laps clicked off, English dug further and further into lapped traffic, but never seemed to slow down or give up ground to Clanton.

English managed to maintain the solid gap in traffic until the final laps, when Clanton began to close the gap slightly. Try as he may, though, Clanton was unable to reel English all the way in and was forced to settle for runner-up as English crossed the stripe for his first career victory at The Dirt Track.

“I didn’t even think we’d make the show here,” English said. “I thought I was going to have to use some provisionals the way this place is. It usually takes some big motor here, and we don’t have that, for sure.

“It’s sung. It was getting after it, but it got the job done and that’s all you can ask out of it.”

Clanton crossed the stripe in second for the second-straight night. Though he managed to hold-off a relentless Chris Madden throughout the second half of the race, the 2015 Series champion said he knew how his car could have been better even before the race was over.

“We tightened it up a little too much,” Clanton said. “If I’d have left it like it was last night, I maybe could’ve charged harder getting into the corner. But when I drive harder, I’m too tight.”

Madden came home third after starting fourth on the grid. He was a strong threat to Clanton’s runner-up spot inside of 20-to-go, nearly pulling alongside him to make the pass at one point.

“I ran Shane down and ran up [beside] him and tried to move around a little bit, but the air would get dirtied-up a little bit and we’d get loose,” Madden said. “Overall, we had a good race car tonight. We just needed to draw a 1 or 2 I think and start on that front row.”

Madden’s strong Thursday showing makes up a bit for his 21st-place result in Wednesday’s Feature, where internal mechanical issues on the final lap struck him and ruined what could’ve been a top-10 finish. He’ll need those Every Lap Matters points, as they set Saturday’s Heat lineups.

“Hopefully, we’re gonna get a good starting spot for the Heat Race [on Saturday],” Madden said. “You definitely need to start on the first three rows, for sure.”

Wednesday night winner Mike Marlar crossed the stripe in fourth, while Rocket1 Racing’s new pilot Hudson O’Neal turned things around from Wednesday’s 13th-place run to complete the top-five. Scott Bloomquist was the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award winner, advancing six spots on his drive from 20th-to-14th.

UP NEXT

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models have the night off from racing action tomorrow at The Dirt Track and will instead headline Friday’s Fan Fest on the access road in front of the grandstands from 2-4pm. Full-time Outlaws and various other drivers in the field will be there with their cars signing autographs and taking part in the fun activities planned, then getting ready for the World Finals finale on Saturday night and the 50-lap, $25,000-to-win Feature event.

Tickets are available at WorldofOutlaws.com or at the gate on race day. If you can’t be at the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

CASE Construction Feature (40 Laps): 1. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 3. 44-Chris Madden[4]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 5. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[6]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[9]; 7. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[8]; 9. 17M-Dale McDowell[10]; 10. 7W-Ricky Weiss[11]; 11. 1T-Tyler Erb[12]; 12. 8-Kyle Strickler[7]; 13. 10-Garrett Smith[14]; 14. 0-Scott Bloomquist[20]; 15. 76-Brandon Overton[15]; 16. 22-Chris Ferguson[16]; 17. 93-Carson Ferguson[22]; 18. 18D-Daulton Wilson[21]; 19. 20-Jimmy Owens[18]; 20. 111V-Max Blair[25]; 21. B1-Brent Larson[17]; 22. 15-Dale Hollidge[13]; 23. 1-Josh Richards[26]; 24. 22*-Payton Freeman[24]; 25. 19R-Ryan Gustin[23]; 26. 88-Trent Ivey[19]; 27. 11-Gordy Gundaker[27]

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Dominic Scelzi Wrapping Up Second Straight Championship This Saturday

November 3, 2022 ARP Trish

Inside Line Promotions – BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Nov. 3, 2022) – Although mechanical woes derailed a great result for Dominic Scelzi last Saturday, he was able to increase his lead in the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series championship standings.

Scelzi now owns a 65-point advantage entering the season finale this Saturday when Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif., hosts the 39^th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson. Scelzi simply needs to take a green flag to garner the series championship for the second straight season.

“Our consistency has been incredible this season and we’ve had a lot of good runs,” he said. “A lot of people worked hard in the offseason and got better. We did, too, but there’s so many cars capable of winning out here. It’s been a great season and we’re fortunate to have had the success we’ve had.”

Last Saturday started out promising for Scelzi, who qualified fourth quickest at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park. He advanced from third to second place in a heat race and from sixth to third place in the dash to earn the third starting spot in the A Main.

“We were really good,” he said. “We timed in good and ran good in the heat and in the dash. I truly felt we were the strongest car there. The engine started going on the first start of the feature. I knew something was wrong and figured I needed to stay out as long as I could to minimize the points lost. Once Willie (Croft), who is second in the points, had his incident I decided to pull.”

Scelzi was running third when he exited the race early because of the mechanical problem. He was credited with an 18^th-place result.

The KWS/NARC season concludes this Saturday. Scelzi will also compete in the 360ci winged sprint car competition with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour during the Tribute to Gary Patterson.

“This is a big event so it’d be nice to end the season with a win or two,” he said. “I’d like to get to five NARC wins this year and if we could do that it’d put me at 20 career wins with the series. We’re at nine wins overall this season so we need one more to hit double digits.”

Following Saturday’s event Scelzi plans on tackling four additional nights of action this season – the 2^nd annual Keith Bryan Memorial at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., Nov. 11-12 and a Kings of Thunder doubleheader at Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif., Nov. 22-23.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 29 – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (3); Dash: 3 (6); Feature: 18 (3).

SEASON STATS –

54 races, 9 wins, 27 top fives, 37 top 10s, 44 top 15s, 47 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif., for the 39^th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson with the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series and Sprint Car Challenge Tour

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Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Looking for Solid Phoenix Finale

November 3, 2022 ARP Trish

November 3, 2022

Harrison Burton and his crew chief Brian Wilson are hoping to end their rookie seasons in the Cup Series with a strong run in this weekend’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Burton, Wilson and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are coming off their best overall weekend of the season, at Martinsville Speedway, where they qualified 10^th and finished 11^th. Other recent races also have seen improved performances by the Wood Brothers team.

“Everyone on the No. 21 team is extremely proud of the competitiveness that we’ve seen over the past month,” Wilson said. “As we head into Phoenix to wrap up our rookie season, it’s a little bittersweet since we seem to be turning a corner as a team.”

Wilson said he was especially proud of the team’s most recent performance.

“This past race in Martinsville was what I consider our most complete weekend,” he said. “We had competitive speed in every session and Stage in the schedule.

“Practice was very strong, qualifying in the top 10 was a great result, and we were able to start and finish the race with competitive speed. Finishing 11th shows that our process is starting to pay off.”

Wilson said he expects the challenges at Phoenix will be similar to Martinsville as far as how the team will prepare the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang.

“The first [Phoenix] race was so early in the season that you wouldn’t be able to bring the same setup and be competitive,” he said. “We’ll look at recent trends to put together another complete weekend.”

And the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will be keeping an eye on the championship battle as Mustang driver Joey Logano is among the final four who will contend for the Cup Series championship.

“Also, through our alliance with Team Penske, we’ll try to gather as much information as we can to help ensure a Ford championship at the end of the weekend,” he said.

Practice at Phoenix is set for Friday at 5:05 p.m. (8:05 Eastern Time), with qualifying on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (3:30 Eastern).

Sunday’s 312-mile race on the one-mile oval is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 pm. (3 p.m. Eastern) with TV coverage on NBC.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 185.

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Looking for Solid Phoenix Finale

November 3, 2022

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pAYING A DEBT: World Finals Finish Hands Redemption-Filled Victory to Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing

November 3, 2022 ARP Trish

Carson Macedo’s Perfect Night Ruined by Nozzle Line Fitting with Two Laps Left at The Dirt Track at Charlotte

CONCORD, NC – November 2, 2022 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte was quite cruel to Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing in 2021, but she’s doing her best to mend that relationship and it started with Wednesday’s win at the World Finals.

After being stripped of not, but two victories on back-to-back nights within the last 10 laps last year, Schuchart and the DuraMAX Oil, Drydene Performance Products #1S team returned to the Concord, NC 4/10-mile oval this week knowing that they were owed redemption, and that they found.

Combining a healthy mixture of speed and fortune, the Hanover, PA native put himself in the right position at the right time to capitalize as Carson Macedo’s nozzle line flipped the script and sent Schuchart out on the joyful side of this World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature.

The Jason Johnson Racing #41 had been dominant all night long, sitting only two laps shy of a “Perfect Night” at America’s Home for Racing, but lady luck intervened and changed it all during the final restart. While Macedo slipped to seven cylinders and fell short on power, Schuchart stood up in the seat and stormed by to lead the final two laps in a chaotic ending to the $15,000-to-win Feature.

It is what it is, though, and Schuchart gladly accepted his fifth win of 2022 with The Greatest Show on Dirt anyway that it came to him. Instead of sulking in the agony of defeat like last year, this time he enjoyed the thrill of victory, and has already set his sights on hopeful back-to-back wins when the Series returns to racing at Charlotte on Friday.

“After last year, this place owed us one,” Schuchart said on his perfect timing. “We fell out leading both races that I think we would’ve dominated, so we came back with the attitude that we deserved this and it paid off. This Drydene, DuraMAX #1S is just so good here and I really don’t know why. For whatever reason, no matter what setup we throw at this thing, we can always roll so well. It took a little bit of luck, but hey, that’s part of the game. I honestly thing tonight was the best I’ve ever felt here.”

On the losing side of Schuchart’s stolen triumph was Lemoore, CA’s Carson Macedo, who was less than a mile away from earning his first-career win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte when the universe took matters into its own hands. Dropping power on the final restart, Macedo’s sudden loss ended what would’ve been the fifth “perfect night” this season after he set My Place Hotels QuickTime, won his NOS Energy Drink Heat Race, topped the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, and nearly went flag-to-flag in the World Finals Feature.

“We had a car to win and it was a really great night right up until the end,” Macedo noted. “It was just a freak deal. There’s a fitting that hooks to the nozzle, and at the end of that the rubber line broke right off. I was basically running on seven cylinders and trying to baby it so we didn’t blow the engine. It’s unfortunate because we really should’ve won, but it is what it is. I’m thankful we’ve got such a fast race car and I know we can come back to compete for wins on Friday and Saturday.”

Settling for the third-place position, his 23rd podium of the season, was points leader Brad Sweet in the NAPA Auto Parts #49. The Big Cat did what needed to be done during a heated title fight, and now heads into the final two shows with a little bit more of a cushion as he tries to seal the deal on his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship.

“We didn’t change much after the Dash, but it didn’t just take off as well in the Feature,” Sweet, who passed six cars in six laps during the Dash, said after falling from the outside pole. “I think we’re all in such small windows with these race cars that you’re decision making needs to be spot on and we were just a tick off tonight. It was a good night to start the week and build upon. We did a great job executing with the situation we’re in.”

After battling for third on the final restart against Sweet, David Gravel slipped back to finish sixth in the Big Game Motorsports #2. With two races remaining, he now trails the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 by 22-points in hopes of stealing his first-career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship.

Rounding out the top-10 was “The Jonestown Jet” Brock Zearfoss with a stellar 15th-to-seventh run, Lance Dewease with a remarkable 29th-to-8th effort in the Kreitz Racing #69K, Sheldon Haudenschild with a ninth-place finish as he overtakes fourth in the standings, and Parker Price-Miller in 10th during his return to racing in the Swindell SpeedLab #39.

NOS NOTEBOOK (THE DIRT TRACK AT CHARLOTTE, 11/2/22)

Logan Schuchart’s 35th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win brings him one away from tying Shane Stewart for 19th on the All-Time Win List. He’s the sixth five-time winner of 2022, joining a group that includes Carson Macedo (11), Sheldon Haudenschild (9), David Gravel (7), Brent Marks (5), and Brad Sweet (5).

A fourth triumph at The Dirt Track at Charlotte puts the Concord, NC 4/10-mile oval into a tie with Minnesota’s Jackson Motorplex as the winningest track of Schuchart’s World of Outlaws career.

Carson Macedo extended his reign as the best qualifier of 2022, taking his 11th QuickTime Award of the season and the 19th of his World of Outlaws career. The Jason Johnson Racing #41 circled The Dirt Track at Charlotte in 12.678 seconds to top all 52 cars in My Place Hotels Qualifying.

Winning NOS Energy Drink Heat Races was David Gravel (208th career), Jacob Allen (52nd career), Carson Macedo (82nd career), and Sam Hafertepe Jr. (49th career).

Macedo mastered the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash to earn his Series-best seventh pole position, and was well on his way to the fifth perfect night of 2022 when a nozzle line took his win away.

Brian Brown, of Grain Valley, MO, officially earned the KSE Hard Charger Award with a 24th-to-12th run, but a pair of PA Posse stars certainly made up the most ground on Wednesday. Lance Dewease drove from 29th-to-8th after a work area trip derailed his strong starting position, and Brent Marks advanced +24 positions across his Non-Qualifier, Heat Race, Last Chance Showdown, and Feature after missing his Qualifying attempt.

UP NEXT (Fri-Sat) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will host a “Fan Fest” from 2-4pm on Thursday, but takes the night off from racing. The penultimate and then season finale shows will run back-to-back on Friday and Saturday as the World Finals conclude at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE, or watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (30 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart (4); 2. 41-Carson Macedo (1); 3. 49-Brad Sweet (2); 4. 24-Rico Abreu (5); 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (12); 6. 2-David Gravel (8); 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (15); 8. 69K-Lance Dewease (11); 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (9); 10. 39-Parker Price-Miller (14); 11. 39M-Anthony Macri (13); 12. 21-Brian Brown (24); 13. 91-Kyle Reinhardt (22); 14. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (17); 15. 13-Justin Peck (16); 16. 19-Brent Marks (21); 17. 5-Spencer Bayston (19); 18. 55-Cole Macedo (20); 19. 20G-Noah Gass (28); 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser (27); 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. (7); 22. 7S-Robbie Price (26); 23. 1A-Jacob Allen (3); 24. 42-Sye Lynch (23); 25. 6-Bill Rose (29); 26. 15-Donny Schatz (10); 27. 49X-Cale Thomas (18); 28. 11-Buddy Kofoid (6); 29. 83-James McFadden (25). Lap Leader(s): Carson Macedo 1-28; Logan Schuchart 29-30. KSE Hard Charger: Brian Brown +12

NEW Championship Standings (72/74 Races) – 1. Brad Sweet (8,998); 2. David Gravel (-22); 3. Carson Macedo (-104); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-250); 5. Donny Schatz (-256); 6. Logan Schuchart (-380); 7. James McFadden (-488); 8. Spencer Bayston (-608); 9. Jacob Allen (-712); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-962).

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A WARRIOR’S CALL: Mike Marlar Opens World of Outlaws World Finals with Victory

November 3, 2022 ARP Trish

Max Blair cuts Tanner English’s lead to 18 points in race for Rookie of the Year

CONCORD, NC – November 2, 2022 – Mike Marlar clinched a World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models title at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in 2018. However, a World Finals victory had eluded the Winfield, TN driver.

That changed Wednesday night, as the “Winfield Warrior” drove from ninth to first to earn his fifth World of Outlaws win of 2022 and first at The Dirt Track.

Shane Clanton grabbed the early lead in the 40-lap Feature, sliding Brandon Overton in Turn 4 to take the lead on Lap 1.

Behind them, Marlar was methodically working through the field, picking off cars one by one on the bottom until he reached the top five on a Lap 19 restart.

That restart propelled him further up the field as he swung his Longhorn Chassis under Tim McCreadie for fourth, Overton for third, and Trent Ivey for second by Lap 37 when a yellow for Tyler Erb slowed the field.

It set up a single-file restart, putting Marlar behind Clanton.

When the green came out, Marlar thundered to the low side as Clanton rolled the middle, keeping Marlar at bay for two laps. But on Lap 39, the window Marlar needed finally opened.

He used his momentum to pull even with “The Georgia Bulldog,” inching ahead as they roared into Turn 3.

A slide job in Turn 4 completed the pass for Marlar, who held on to score the $15,000 prize and his 13th World of Outlaws triumph.

“The car was excellent tonight,” Marlar said. “All night long, I thought I had a good car. I was the first car on the track in Qualifying, and the track was a little greasy, and I thought that hurt me some. We got a lucky break in the Heat (Race) when Hudson (O’Neal) pushed up, and it got me to start ninth (in the Feature), and I got a lot of good restarts in that race.

“I had a good car, though, man. The closer I got to the front, the better it was.”

Even though the restart propelled him to the win, Marlar said he felt he was positioned to take the lead before the caution for Tyler Erb.

“I was in a real good position there before that caution came out,” Marlar said. “I honestly thought it’d be tough to beat Shane on a little shootout here at the end with four laps to get it done.

“It worked out, I had a good enough car I could pass him, and it worked out for me.”

Clanton settled for second, falling short of his third Series win of the season by one lap.

The Zebulon, GA driver said he wasn’t sure if he could’ve held Marlar off even if the late caution didn’t come out.

“It is what it is,” Clanton said. “I don’t know if I could’ve held him off anyways. Dirty air is big here. The racetrack is so big, and our car has to be a little bit better to win the race.

“I’ve raced here a lot and ain’t never really had clean air. I’ve won a lot of Heat Races in clean air. I just know that’s what we need to have. I was trying to get the lead and trying to hold on for 40 laps and made it 39.”

Trent Ivey, from Union, SC, grabbed the final spot on the podium. He was up to second and trying to catch Clanton before Marlar passed him on Lap 35.

Even though he fell to third, he said he was happy to run up front against some of the best drivers in the country.

“I was so content just to race behind Shane,” Ivey said. “I just couldn’t get quite close enough, but like you said, I’m just going to ride and take wherever we finish at that point.

“I had no idea Mikey was coming like that, and I knew Shane knew that I was coming. Shane protected, and I tried to change my line up, and Mikey slid by me.”

Overton crossed the line fourth after starting on the pole. The Evans, GA driver, said he was fighting the handling of his Longhorn Chassis throughout the race.

“We just wasn’t balanced,” Overton said. “The first time we were behind anybody all night and I would get into traffic, it was like, wheelieing and picking the nose off the ground. It was hard to drive.

“Hell, I don’t know. I kind of got better as the fuel burned off. We were good early; we just have to adjust a little bit for the race. I feel like I know which direction to go.”

Tim McCreadie, the 2006 World of Outlaws champion, rounded out the top five.

Max Blair finished ninth, gaining two points on Tanner English, who finished 10th in the race for Rookie of the Year.

The Benton, KY driver leads Blair by 18 points with two races remaining in the 2022 season.

UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return to The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Thursday, Nov. 3, for night two of the World of Outlaws World Finals, along with the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds. On Friday, Nov. 4, fans get to meet the World of Outlaws stars during the World Finals Fan Fest from 2-4 p.m. Drivers will be signing autographs and playing games with the fans.

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TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE NASCAR Cup Series Championship Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona November 6, 2022

November 2, 2022 ARP Trish

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND: PHOENIX RACEWAYThe Championship 4 is set and a trip out west to Phoenix Raceway will determine the 2022 champions across all three NASCAR national series. Already clinching the manufacturer’s championship in both the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), Chevrolet will look to add two drivers’ championships to the record book as five Chevrolet drivers across the NCS and NXS will contend for titles at the 1-mile Arizona tri-oval. The 2022 season marks the third consecutive year that Phoenix Raceway will host the championship-deciding race for all three NASCAR national series. Since taking championship weekend to the Arizona venue in 2020, a Chevrolet driver has won the race and the title in NASCAR’s premier series both seasons, with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021) recording their first career championship titles in the series. Two Chevrolet drivers will be represented in the NCS Championship 4, with Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain looking to deliver the Bowtie brand its third consecutive – and series-leading 34th – driver’s championship in NASCAR’s premier series. 15 different drivers have earned a NCS driver’s championship with Chevrolet, including Elliott with his title in 2020. A look at where the Team Chevy NCS Championship 4 drivers Elliott and Chastain stand heading into the season finale, including season numbers and career stats at Phoenix Raceway:

CHEVROLET TAKES THREE SPOTS IN NXS CHAMPIONSHIP 4Following the NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier was able to point his way into one of the two remaining spots in the Championship 4. Allgaier is the third driver for the Chevrolet team to claim a berth into the championship race, joining teammates Josh Berry and Noah Gragson, who both secured their spots by virtue of a win in the Round of 8. All three Chevrolet drivers will head to Phoenix Raceway looking for their first career championship title in the series. Chevrolet has recorded 21 NXS driver’s championships, delivered by 16 different drivers; and a title by one of the three JR Motorsports drivers would add one more name to that list.
Gragson will enter the championship race weekend as the top seeded driver among the four title contenders. The 2022 season marks his fourth appearance in the series’ playoffs, making it to the Championship 4 for the second consecutive season. The 24-year-old Nevada native has turned in a career season, collecting a series-leading eight victories and 975 laps led thus far. Gragson also tops the other Championship 4 drivers in top-fives (20), top-10s (25) and an average finish of 8.3. The No. 9 JR Motorsports Camaro SS team also has an extra boost of confidence heading into the championship weekend, as Gragson and the team returns to Phoenix Raceway as the series’ most recent winner at the track. In his first full-time season in the series, Berry will take his first career appearance in the playoffs all the way to the Championship 4. The 31-year-old Tennessee native punched his ticket to the Championship 4 with his third victory of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.. a victory that also delivered Chevrolet its 500th all-time NXS win and clinched the manufacturer’s 24th Bill France Performance Cup. Berry recorded a third-place finish at the spring Phoenix race. Allgaier has experience on his side heading into the championship race weekend, with this season marking Allgaier’s series-leading fifth appearance in the NXS Championship 4. The 36-year-old Illinois native has recorded three wins in 2022, with an average finish of 10.8 for the season. Allgaier has visited victory lane two times at Phoenix Raceway in his NXS career, including the series’ playoff race at the track in 2019.

CHEVROLET TAKES NCS, NXS MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIPSChevrolet enters the championship weekend with two titles already locked-up: the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championship and the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Manufacturer’s Championship.
The NCS Manufacturer’s Championship is Chevrolet’s series-leading 41st title in NASCAR’s premier series. The title comes in the debut season of the Next Gen Camaro ZL1, with Chevrolet drivers putting the Bowtie brand in victory lane a series-leading 19 times in 35 NCS races. Nine drivers from four different Chevrolet teams have contributed to those wins: Chase Elliott (five wins; series-leading); Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson (three wins each); Ross Chastain and William Byron (two wins each); and Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones (one win each). Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger also contributed to the points total that led to the championship title.Chevrolet’s 24th NXS Manufacturer’s Championship title comes in a dominant season for the Camaro SS. In 32 races, Chevrolet has collected 24 wins, with those triumphs recorded by eight drivers from five different Chevrolet teams: Noah Gragson (eight wins),, AJ Allmendinger (five wins), Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry (three wins each), Austin Hill (two wins), and Jeremy Clements, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick (one win each). Sam Mayer, Landon Cassill and Sheldon Creed have also contributed points toward the manufacturer points total.

BOWTIE BULLETS·       Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway:    Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (2021) Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (2020) ·       In 52 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 25 victories.
·       Phoenix Raceway has hosted the NASCAR Cup Series championship race two times, with Chevrolet drivers taking the race win and the championship title in both events (Chase Elliott – 2020; and Kyle Larson – 2021).
·       With a championship title, Chase Elliott – the youngest of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 drivers – would become the 17th driver in series’ history to win multiple championships. Elliott would also become just the second active driver to have more than one title to his name, joining Kyle Busch.
·       With his win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.comCamaro ZL1 team will compete for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Owner’s Championship. Team owner, Rick Hendrick, has collected 14 owner’s championship titles in NASCAR’s premier series, all of which have been recorded behind the wheel of a Chevrolet.
·       Chevrolet continues to lead its manufacturer competitors in NASCAR Cup Series wins (19), top-fives (82), top-10s (154), laps led (4,206) and stage wins (28) this season.  ·       Seven Team Chevy drivers have combined 28 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins:   Tyler Reddick 2 – Fontana x2 Alex Bowman 1 – Las Vegas, Kansas Ross Chastain 6 – Las Vegas, Darlington, Charlotte, Pocono, Richmond, ROVAL William Byron 4 – Phoenix, Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington Daniel Suarez 2 – COTA, Charlotte Chase Elliott 6 – Martinsville x2, Charlotte, Atlanta x2, Talladega   Kyle Larson 6 – Bristol, Sonoma, Pocono, Texas, Homesteadx2 ·       Following the Homestead-Miami Speedway race weekend, Chevrolet clinched its series-leading 41st NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championship.  ·       Chevrolet clinched its series-leading 24th NASCAR Xfinity Series Manufacturer’s Championship. This marks the eighth title for the Camaro SS since becoming Chevrolet’s flagship vehicle in the series in 2013, including the past six consecutive years.  ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 833 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

FOR THE FANS·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway and Campground at Phoenix Raceway. ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles the Fan Midway including: Corvette 3LT Convertible, Trailblazer, Colorado ZR2, Silverado ZR2, Equinox EV, Camaro ZL1, Tahoe Z71. ·       The Campground Display will feature the Silverado HD and Equinox. ·       Fans can also view Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro ZL1 show car at the Chevrolet Display in the Fan Midway.  Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display: Friday, November 4·       Derek Kraus, Colby Howard & Jake Garcia: 11 a.m. ·       Grant Enfinger & Jack Wood: 12:45 p.m. ·       Matt DiBenedetto: 1 p.m. ·       Sheldon Creed: 2 p.m. ·       Josh Berry, Sam Mayer & Justin Allgaier: 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 5·       Austin Dillon: 11:15 a.m. ·       Chase Elliott: 11:30 a.m. ·       Rajah Caruth: 12:30 p.m. ·       Jeremy Clements: 1 p.m. ·       Nick Sanchez: 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 6·       Erik Jones: 9:30 a.m. ·       Alex Bowman: 10:15 a.m. ·       Daniel Suarez: 10:30 a.m. ·       Kyle Larson: 10:45 a.m.  Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:  Thursday, November 3: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Friday, November 4: 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.Saturday, November 5: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday, November 6: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.  Tune In: NBC will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 6. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  USA Network will broadcast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 5. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, November 4. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTESROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS / ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1 After the thrilling finish, how cool is it to look back on Martinsville?“I wish I would’ve had five more points throughout the playoffs and I could’ve just cruised in 10th and been out of sight, out of mind, and no one was the wiser that we made it, except us. Those weren’t the cards we were dealt though. This means the world. This is a life achievement, a career achievement, this is what we work for and dream about. Just getting the opportunity is all I could ever ask for. Then to do it, make the decision I did down the backstretch is wild enough. The fact that it worked, is truly unbelievable. I still watch the video and it doesn’t look real.”
Trackhouse took a risk in hiring you, what does it mean to have it pay off so quickly?“It’s unreal. There were so many unknowns with the car, the teams we assembled. The drivers, crew chiefs and spotters who have never won a Cup race in those same positions. It means the world. It means so much that we were able to win together and be in the playoffs together, and to advance.”What does this mean to you personally?“Two years ago, I went to the Southern 500, put sticker tires on the car to fight for 27th, seven laps down. Two years before that in 2018, I’m start and parking a truck at Gateway, and then a win later in 2018 in the Xfinity Series, then to come back and win in the truck in 2019 at Gateway. The progression, and the ups and downs of start and parking, to winning, to the team shutting down, to winning. It’s a lot, and I owe it to the people that build me. I was a 13th-place driver in the Xfinity Series for years. Being in the Cup Series is wild and being in a competitive car in the Cup Series doesn’t seem real. Two years ago, you know what I would’ve given to run 10th, and now this year, I’m losing my mind in the car because we are running 10th at Martinsville.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 Larson on competing for the owner’s championship at Phoenix Raceway: “We still have a lot riding on the race this weekend – this HendrickCars.com team really wants to win that 15th championship for Mr. Hendrick. We ran pretty good there earlier this year before the mechanical issue, and I expect we’ll be better this weekend. We have been executing well recently as a team and we have a win and a second-place finish in the last two races. Hopefully, we’re in the battle for the win again on Sunday.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 Daniels on the strategy this year with Next Gen car compared to last year: “I think the biggest thing we saw in the spring, if I’m not mistaken, is that some teams stayed out while some took two tires and some took four tires. I don’t remember who was on what strategy, but I think the winner was on [right-side tires]. Last year in the championship race, everyone was on four (new tires). That could be different for the whole field this year. With a late caution, how do you handle that?”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 Elliott on the biggest strength going into the championship race this weekend: “The biggest thing for us, our strengths, are just our entire team. I feel like it’s really solid. Our group puts in a lot of work. The amount of effort they’re willing to put in and the late nights and the things that they’ve done throughout this year to be good as a group is really impressive. For me personally, it’s just about them and they have always made me look better than I really am and I really appreciate their efforts and wanting to try to make me better. I just hope I can be half as good as the people I have around me and we’ll be just fine.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1Gustafson on the performance of the team and the mindset heading into Phoenix: “I feel good about it. The one-race championship is a different feel, different setup. I don’t know how to describe it. Once you’re here, anything can happen. Our goal is always to just give ourselves this opportunity. That’s what you want to do. I know Phoenix (Raceway) is a really good track for us and we had a good car there in the spring. I feel really good about going back there, having fun with it and just cutting it loose and letting it rip. I think that suits our team well and all things are good.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 Byron on the importance of closing the season strong: “It’s unfortunate that our playoff run came to an end last weekend, but there’s still more for us to fight for this weekend. We have a shot to finish fifth in both the driver and owner’s points and that’s still something to be proud of. We’ve had a bit of an up-and-down season. We started strong getting wins early on, and then tried a few things during the summer that didn’t work out like we wanted. We really got back to the basics and that showed in our playoff run. We have one more race to put a solid weekend together and head into the offseason on a high note.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 Fugle on how what he expects at Phoenix: “I’m curious to see how the race this weekend at Phoenix (Raceway) is going to play out. Typically in the past, you head to the final race and it seems like the Championship 4 drivers are on a different level and you’re racing for fifth. But with the Next Gen car, we’ve seen that the playing field is a bit more even. That could really shake things up, plus with the way the resin was applied differently, there’s more unknowns than normal. It’s going to be nice to have a full 50 minutes of practice to be able to make bigger changes you may not have normally made, but it also gives you time to overthink and go too far. We all want to end the season on a high note, and that’s what we plan to do.”
TY DILLON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1 “Phoenix is one of those places that I have had the pleasure of racing at on many different occasions during my career. I’ve driven about every type of stock car around there, and they all take one thing in common when it comes to making speed – you have to be disciplined and hit your marks every lap. The addition of the resin, along with the track starting to age, has really widened the groove out, so we will be searching for grip throughout the race on Sunday.I have had fun his season with all of my guys on the No. 42 crew at Petty GMS. Though at times it has been a challenging year, I think what we have been able to accomplish has been pretty well noted for a first-year team. Heading into the final race of the season, I can look back on the highs and lows of the year knowing that everyone gave it their absolute best, and there’s nothing more we can ask for. It will be sad to go our separate ways next year, but I’m proud of everyone and look forward to what’s ahead for both myself personally as well as the team, and am thankful to Maury Gallagher, Richard Petty, and Mike Beam for the opportunity to race for them this year.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1“Phoenix is a good track for me. It’s always a tough race if you aren’t in the Championship Four. Those guys are a going to be tough to beat. Phoenix was a race we struggled at early in the season, but I think our short track cars are quite a bit better now than what we had. Hopefully some of the things we have learned through the year is going to apply and be better and we can finish off our year strong. We’ve had a really good year and would love to go out on a high note here and jump into the off season, get some rest and come back strong for the 500.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 Bowman on returning to Phoenix this Sunday: “I am excited to get back in the car and I am glad I can do one more race with Greg (Ives). We both wanted one more race together and for that to happen at Phoenix (Raceway) is really exciting. To this day, we both feel like we have unfinished business from 2016 and the whole crew is more motivated than ever to get it done this Sunday. We have one race left and I plan to make the most of it and leave it all out there when the green flag waves.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 Ives on getting one more race with Alex Bowman at Phoenix: “Alex (Bowman) did a great job getting healthy and working hard to be in the car for Phoenix and to be able to go race together one more time is really special. I’ve spent most of my NASCAR Cup Series career with Alex and I am glad he was cleared to race this weekend so we can go to Phoenix and try to get one more win. Our whole team is working hard on the No. 48 Ally Chevy like they have done the whole season and I feel like we are all hungry for a win this weekend. I’ve said it all year and it holds true this weekend, we just have to keep maximizing on our opportunities and take it one stage at a time. If everyone plays their part, we have a really good shot at winning on Sunday.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE / COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1What do you think about your 2022 season?“We have made a lot of progress. To be a second year team, first as a multicar team, winning races and running as well as we have run is an accomplishment. We also know we have a lot of work to do. Next year we want to win even more races and we want two cars in the championship race. We won’t be happy until that happens.
Justin Marks is building something great here at Trackhouse and I feel extremely fortunate to be part of it. I think the Trackhouse story is only going to get better every year.”
GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RST“Phoenix Raceway is a unique place on the schedule. As a driver, you can begin to notice that the track surface is beginning to age a little bit, which is always good. Both corners are different so you have to compromise and adapt your driving styles for each end of the track. Jeff Hensley and I have a solid baseline to add onto the already stellar notebook that GMS Racing has here, so I’m definitely looking forward to finishing our season off right this weekend.
2022 has been a challenging season for us at GMS Racing, but everyone has rallied and pulled together to make the absolute most of it. Having the support from everyone at Champion Power Equipment, Chevrolet, and GMS Fabrication has been incredible this year. While I wish we were going to be fighting for a championship this weekend, I can hang my head high knowing that we have a lot of exciting things ahead of us over the off season. We aren’t looking past this weekend however, as I think we have a great chance at playing spoiler and chasing our second win of the season. It’s going to be fun!”
JACK WOOD, NO. 24 QUICK QUACK CAR WASH SILVERADO RST“Out of all of the tracks on the schedule, I have the most experience at Phoenix Raceway. I’ve ran a few West Series races before with my family team, and have also driven an ARCA car as well as a truck with GMS Racing. I’m confident ending our season there, and I think that it’s a place where if we are able to hit the setup right, we can have a good day.
Overall heading into our last race, I would like to say thank you to everyone at GMS Racing for everything they’ve done for me over the past two years. It has been a great experience to become a part of this organization and I’ve learned a lot with them. Everyone has put in a huge amount of effort into this season through the ups and the downs, and they haven’t given up on me, so we’re going to give it everything we’ve got to crack into the top-10 and finish strong.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007) 2022 STATISTICS: Wins: 19Poles: 11Laps Led: 4,206Top-five finishes: 82Top-10 finishes: 154Stage wins: 28Tyler Reddick (Fontanax2)Alex Bowman (Las Vegas), (Kansas)Ross Chastain (Las Vegas), (Darlington), (Charlotte), (Pocono), (Richmond), (Charlotte ROVAL)William Byron (Phoenix), (Atlanta), (Talladega), (Darlington)Daniel Suarez (COTA), (Charlotte)Chase Elliott (Martinsvillex2), (Charlotte), (Atlantax2), (Talladega)Kyle Larson (Bristol Dirt), (Sonoma), (Pocono), (Texas), (Homesteadx2) CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 833 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 734Laps led to date: 245,542Top-five finishes to date: 4,220Top-10 finishes to date: 8,709 Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date: General Motors: 1,167 Chevrolet: 833 Pontiac: 154 Oldsmobile: 115 Buick: 65 Ford: 819 Ford: 719 Mercury: 96 Lincoln: 4
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467 Dodge: 217 Plymouth: 191 Chrysler: 59 Toyota: 170

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Tim McCreadie Earns Second Lucas Oil National Championship

November 2, 2022 ARP Trish

BATAVIA, Ohio (November 2, 2022) – Tim McCreadie recently capped off another successful season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – claiming his second consecutive National Championship. In 54 starts McCreadie went to Victory Lane on six occasions, while recording 28 top five’s and 45 top ten results. That consistency is what carried McCreadie to his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series title. McCreadie and the Paylor Motorsports team will take home an industry record $150,000 along with a multitude of other cash and prizes at the Championship Awards Banquet. “This is surreal,” McCreadie said of his second straight title. “The guys we race against every week are tough and the guys that pop in and race with us across the country are just as tough. I owe it to all the guys. It took me a long time to get another championship [2021], to do it again in less than a year, it’s a tribute to this team.”

McCreadie took the top spot in championship standings from Brandon Sheppard at Deer Creek Speedway on July 9 and never looked back. “We found a little more than what we have in the early spring and were able to chip away at Brandon [Sheppard] and bring it home. On this deal, you must stay the course. We may not have always been the fastest car, but we were able to grind the top five and top ten finishes. At the time I may not have enjoyed running ninth and didn’t think we would get it done but the past month we’ve turned a corner and started winning, that’s usually what it takes to seal the deal.” “I’ve been truly blessed to drive for Donald and Gena [Bradsher]. Thank you to Longhorn Chassis, Bilstein Shocks, Cornett Racing Engines, my crew, everyone that helps this team. This isn’t easy, it’s truly a life that you must have it in your veins. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.” McCreadie’s Paylor Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Mega Plumbing HVAC, Armslist.com, New Point Lighting and Design, Bilstein Shocks, Racing for Heroes, Walker Performance Filtration, Baker Mitchell Company, SCT, and The Aesthetic Haus. Brandon Sheppard finished second in the final Championship standings, followed by Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, and Earl Pearson Jr. rounding out the top five. Completing the top ten were Tyler Erb, Garrett Alberson, Daulton Wilson, Spencer Hughes, and Ross Robinson. McCreadie and the remainder of the top ten in Championship standings will be honored at the annual Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship Awards Banquet – held at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 9.

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Steve Francis Named World of Outlaws Late Models Series Director

November 1, 2022 ARP Trish

CONCORD, NC – November 1, 2022– When the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models kick off their 2023 season at Volusia Speedway Park, it’s the beginning of a new era.Current Series Competition Director Steve Francis will take over as the new Series Director starting at Sunshine Nationals Jan. 19-21. The 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Champion was brought on as the Competition Director in August and came in with a new vision for the Series. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Francis said. “I’m fortunate enough that Brian (Carter) and World Racing Group gave me the opportunity to take the Late Model schedule and build it the way I would as a racer. And hopefully, the race teams respond. “We’ve changed the purses and built them how I would as a racer. We put a lot of money toward the third through 13th-14th place positions. I’m just really pleased that they gave me the opportunity to do this and try to build purses and make many teams strong. I want us to have 12 strong teams.” Francis, a National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer, is 10th all-time on the World of Outlaws wins list with 28 victories. Overall, Francis has nearly 300 wins in his career, including the World 100 and the Dirt Track World Championship. He was a key part of the rebirth of the Outlaws in 2004, even winning the first night in 2004 at Volusia Speedway Park. Casey Shuman will finish off his tenure as series director this weekend at the World of Outlaws World Finals, before taking on a new role as the general manager of I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO. The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models finish an epic 2022 season with the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, NC, on November 2-5. Fans will get to meet the World of Outlaws stars during the World Finals Fan Fest on Friday, Nov. 4, from 2-4 p.m. Drivers will be signing autographs and playing games with the fans. FOR TICKETS: CLICK HERE. If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.

The World of Outlaws Case Construction Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Case Construction Equipment (Official Construction Equipment), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Fox Factory (Hard Charger Award), MSD, My Place Hotels, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Swift Springs, and Wrisco–Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including Dirt Car Lift, Capital Race Cars, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, FIREBULL, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, Rocket Chassis, and Sea Foam.

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Charlotte’s World Finals to Decide World of Outlaws Sprint Car Championship This Week

November 1, 2022 ARP Trish

Brad Sweet Leads David Gravel by 16 Points with Three Races Remaining

CONCORD, NC – November 1, 2022 – From Florida in February to North Carolina in November, all dirt roads have led to this week’s championship-crowning moment at World Finals.

After 71 events, the difference from Brad Sweet’s Kasey Kahne Racing #49 to David Gravel’s Big Game Motorsports #2 is a mere 16 points with a $200,000-to-win World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship on the line.

With an expanded event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, the title fight now comes down to three Features with $15,000-to-win shows on Wednesday and Friday, followed by a $25,000-to-win season finale on Saturday night. Scheduled to have the day off on Thursday, the superstars of The Greatest Show on Dirt will partake in Fan Fest from 2-4 pm along the front stretch access road with autographs and games available for fans.

Following Saturday’s grand finale, fans are invited to the World of Outlaws Champions Celebration at the NOS Energy Drink Stage in the lower pit area, featuring a concert, a parade of cars, and the honoring of this year’s championship contenders.

As usual, the 900-plus horsepower beasts will be joined by the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds in this weeklong extravaganza. The fun unofficially begins, Tuesday, Nov. 1, with a kickoff party and concert 6pm at the zMax Pavilion.

BUY TICKETS HERE

Let’s look at what to watch for this week on DIRTVision.com:

THIS IS IT: It all comes down to this for Brad Sweet and David Gravel, who are separated by 16 points with three races remaining this week. Sweet has controlled command of the championship since March 26 when the Series left the west coast and held his largest lead of the season (96-points) on September 24 after his fifth win, but Gravel has consistently beaten him for six-straight shows to chop a whopping 80-points out of the lead.

For Sweet, the Grass Valley, CA native is chasing his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws championship in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. Another title would move him past Sammy Swindell for third on the all-time list, only trailing Steve Kinser (20) and Donny Schatz (10).

For Gravel, the Watertown, CT native is attempting to become the 11th driver to win a World of Outlaws championship through 45 seasons. He finished third in the title chase for four consecutive seasons (2016-19) and then a career-best runner-up (-80 points) last year, and now tries to deliver a title to car owner Tod Quiring.

TALE OF THE TAPE: When it comes to The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Sweet and Gravel have obtained two contrasting resumes at the Concord, NC 4/10-mile and it could be the deciding factor in this championship chase. They each enter with six consecutive top-10s at the track, however, Gravel’s average finish over that span is 1.8 with Sweet’s average at 5.0.

Gravel is a five-time Charlotte victor – including three-straight in 2019-20 – which ranks second behind Donny Schatz (12) through 58 World of Outlaws events. He’s already won at the track with crew chief Cody Jacobs, taking the Big Game Motorsports #2 to Victory Lane during the World Finals opener last year.

Sweet, however, has yet to triumph through 32 attempts at Charlotte, making it his most-visited track without a win. That’s not to say he’s underperformed though, as “The Big Cat” owns five podium finishes and 11 top-five results at KKR’s home venue. He also has the experience advantage of topping the closest championship battle (+4 points over Schatz in 2019) in Series history at Charlotte.

KING OF QUEEN CITY: Donny Schatz is the only driver to contest all 58 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series events at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, and as you’d expect, he’s statistically the best.

The Fargo, ND native averages a 5.4 finish including 12 wins, another eight runner-up finishes, a staggering total of 31 podium appearances, 39 top-fives, 49 top-10s, and only nine finishes outside the top-10 with five of those being a DNF.

Another triumph this week for the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance, Advance Auto Parts #15 would give Schatz the 306th victory of his career and his fourth of the season.

GOING OUT ON TOP: Outside of the championship battle, several full-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series stars will look to close out their 2022 season with one more high note – especially with higher purses including $15,000-to-win prelims and a $25,000-to-win finale this week.

Carson Macedo, of Lemoore, CA, has wrapped up another championship podium and still has three more chances to make 2022 the winningest season of his career with a 12th victory. The Jason Johnson Racing #41 pilot established his Charlotte best of fourth last year.

Sheldon Haudenschild, of Wooster, OH, is 24-points behind Schatz in the battle for fourth in the championship, which would be a new career-best for the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17. He’s one win away from reaching 10 for the first time in his career, and it would be his first at Charlotte.

Both Shark Racing stars, Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen, could add their fifth World of Outlaws win of the year this weekend. Schuchart is a three-time Charlotte winner (2017, 2019, 2020) and Allen has spent time leading laps at the track and owns a career-best of sixth.

END OF THE LINE: The grind finally ends for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contenders this week as Spencer Bayston and Noah Gass close the curtains on their first season with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Bayston, a 24-year-old native of Lebanon, IN, enjoyed a successful freshman campaign with CJB Motorsports, racking up two wins, 16 top fives, 37 top 10s, and an eighth-place points finish. He’ll look for a strong finale at Charlotte, where he’s started on the pole and finished fourth before.

Gass, a 19-year-old native of Mounds, OK, made strides all season long as he encountered 30-plus new-to-him tracks. He was a two-time top-10 finisher and recorded several KSE Hard Charger Awards prior to Charlotte, where he makes his debut this week.

ADJUSTED FORMAT: Going away from the traditional World Finals schedule, this year’s event adds a whole extra day with more racing and activities for the fans. The NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars will run complete standard shows (Qualifying, Heats, C-Main, Dash, LCS, Feature) on Wednesday – with Late Models – and again on Friday – with Big Block Modifieds.

On Saturday, all three divisions will come together for the season finale. There will be no qualifying sessions with all Heat Races being lined up by preliminary points, which will utilize the championship format (150, 146, 144, 142, etc.).

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE
Wednesday, November 2 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, NC
Friday, November 4 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, NC
Saturday, November 5 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, NC

ON THE INTERNET
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (71/74 Races):
1. 49-Brad Sweet (8,854 PTS); 2. 2-David Gravel (-16 PTS); 3. 41-Carson Macedo (-106 PTS); 4. 15-Donny Schatz (-214 PTS); 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-238 PTS); 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-386 PTS); 7. 83-James McFadden (-446 PTS); 8. 5-Spencer Bayston (-580 PTS); 9. 1A-Jacob Allen (-672 PTS); 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (-954 PTS)

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (18 Drivers):
11 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41
9 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17
7 wins – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2
5 wins – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing #49
5 wins – Brent Marks, Murray-Marks Motorsports #19
4 wins – Kyle Larson, Kevin Kozlowski/Paul Silva #57
4 wins – Logan Schuchart, Shark Racing #1S
4 wins – Jacob Allen, Shark Racing #1A
3 wins – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15
3 wins – Lance Dewease, Don Kreitz Jr. Racing #69K
2 wins – Spencer Bayston, CJB Motorsports #5
2 wins – Giovanni Scelzi, KCP Racing #18
2 wins – Anthony Macri, Macri Motorsports #39M
1 win – James McFadden, Roth Motorsports #83
1 win – Brock Zearfoss, Zearfoss Racing #3Z
1 win – Brian Brown, Brian Brown Racing #21
1 win – Buddy Kofoid, Crouch Motorsports #11
1 win – Rico Abreu, Rico Abreu Racing #24

FEATURE LAPS LED (30 Drivers):
306 laps – Brad Sweet
286 laps – Carson Macedo
216 laps – David Gravel
189 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
134 laps – Jacob Allen
123 laps – Brent Marks
119 laps – Kyle Larson
100 laps – Donny Schatz
78 laps – Giovanni Scelzi
75 laps – Logan Schuchart
70 laps – Spencer Bayston
55 laps – Lance Dewease
52 laps – Brian Brown
49 laps – Anthony Macri
46 laps – Tyler Courtney
40 laps – James McFadden
36 laps – Rico Abreu
31 laps – Buddy Kofoid
26 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
23 laps – Kasey Kahne
22 laps – Brock Zearfoss
15 laps – Justin Peck
14 laps – Cory Eliason
9 laps – Dominic Scelzi, Brady Bacon
8 laps – Riley Goodno
7 laps – Kerry Madsen
1 lap – Corey Day, Aaron Reutzel, Austin McCarl

QUICKTIME AWARDS (20 Drivers):
10 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo*
8 QuickTimes – Brad Sweet, David Gravel
6 QuickTimes – Sheldon Haudenschild*
4 QuickTimes – Jacob Allen, Giovanni Scelzi*
3 QuickTimes – Spencer Bayston
2 QuickTimes – Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart, James McFadden, Rico Abreu, Justin Peck, Brent Marks, Anthony Macri
1 QuickTime – Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Buddy Kofoid, Kerry Madsen, Daryn Pittman
* Denotes New Track Record

HEAT RACE WINNERS (52 Drivers):
25 Heat Wins – David Gravel
21 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo
19 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet
18 Heat Wins – Jacob Allen
16 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart, James McFadden
15 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild
13 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz
7 Heat Wins – Spencer Bayston, Giovanni Scelzi
5 Heat Wins – Brock Zearfoss, Rico Abreu, Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown, Brent Marks
4 Heat Wins – Kraig Kinser, Aaron Reutzel, Anthony Macri, Tyler Courtney
3 Heat Wins – Kasey Kahne, Cory Eliason, Kyle Larson, Hunter Schuerenberg
2 Heat Wins – Austin McCarl, Justin Peck, Marcus Dumesny, Corey Day, Lance Dewease
1 Heat Win – Sam Hafertepe Jr, Dominic Scelzi, Justin Whittall, Ian Madsen, Parker Price-Miller, Buddy Kofoid, Mark Dobmeier, Mitchel Moles, Brooke Tatnell, Riley Goodno, Jack Croaker, Paige Polyak, Carson McCarl, Sye Lynch, Daryn Pittman, Danny Dietrich, Devon Borden, Larry Wight, Noah Gass, Tim Kaeding, Logan Seavey, Logan Wagner, Matt Juhl, Garet Williamson

DIRTVISION FAST PASS DASH APPEARANCES (61 Drivers):
42 Dashes – Brad Sweet
41 Dashes – David Gravel
40 Dashes – Carson Macedo
31 Dashes – Spencer Bayston
29 Dashes – James McFadden
28 Dashes – Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, Jacob Allen
27 Dashes – Donny Schatz
13 Dashes – Giovanni Scelzi
11 Dashes – Brock Zearfoss, Rico Abreu
8 Dashes – Kraig Kinser, Brent Marks
7 Dashes – Kyle Larson, Anthony Macri, Kasey Kahne
6 Dashes – Cory Eliason, Brian Brown, Aaron Reutzel
5 Dashes – Kerry Madsen, Tyler Courtney
4 Dashes – Robbie Price, Corey Day, Hunter Schuerenberg, Justin Peck, Lance Dewease
3 Dashes – Danny Dietrich, Ryan Timms
2 Dashes – Dominic Scelzi, Justin Whittall, Ian Madsen, Buddy Kofoid
1 Dash – Sam Hafertepe Jr, Colby Copeland, Tanner Carrick, DJ Netto, Brady Bacon, Matt Campbell, Cole Duncan, Parker Price-Miller, Austin McCarl, Matt Juhl, Scotty Thiel, Robbie Price, Zeb Wise, Ayrton Gennetten, Daryn Pittman, Jeff Halligan, Devon Borden, Larry Wight, Danny Varin, Marcus Dumesny, Mark Dobmeier, Joel Myers Jr, Mitchell Faccinto, Shane Golobic, Logan Seavey, Sye Lynch, Logan Wagner, Garet Williamson

MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (38 Drivers):
5 LCS Wins – Logan Schuchart
4 LCS Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, James McFadden, Spencer Bayston
3 LCS Wins – Donny Schatz, Ayrton Gennetten
2 LCS Wins – Jacob Allen, Brock Zearfoss, Noah Gass, Kerry Madsen, Rico Abreu, Anthony Macri, Jesse Schlotfeldt, Brian Brown
1 LCS Win – Kraig Kinser, Mitchell Faccinto, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brent Marks, DJ Foos, Christopher Bell, Austin Pierce, Jake Blackhurst, Robbie Price, Giovanni Scelzi, Scotty Thiel, Josh Schneiderman, Lachlan McHugh, Justin Whittall, Chase Dietz, Brandon Rahmer, Jordan Thomas, Joe B. Miller, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brendan Mullen, Tanner Holmes, DJ Netto, Dylan Cisney, Jake Bubak

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (33 Drivers):
10 Hard Chargers – Sheldon Haudenschild
9 Hard Chargers – Logan Schuchart
4 Hard Chargers – Donny Schatz, Noah Gass
3 Hard Chargers – David Gravel, Carson Macedo
2 Hard Chargers – James McFadden, Spencer Bayston, Jacob Allen, Brock Zearfoss, Anthony Macri, Freddie Rahmer
1 Hard Charger – Kraig Kinser, Jason Sides, Rico Abreu, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Tanner Thorson, Alan Krimes, Devon Borden, Greg Wilson, Travis Philo, Kyle Larson, Russell Borland, Aaron Reutzel, Scotty Thiel, Larry Wight, Tim Kaeding, Ryan Timms, Kevin Ingle, Tyler Thompson, Kerry Madsen, Ryan Smith, Lucas Wolfe

PODIUM FINISHES (32 Drivers):
25 Podiums – Carson Macedo
22 Podiums – Brad Sweet
20 Podiums – David Gravel
17 Podiums – Sheldon Haudenschild
15 Podiums – Donny Schatz
13 Podiums – Logan Schuchart
11 Podiums – James McFadden
10 Podiums – Jacob Allen
9 Podiums – Kyle Larson, Brent Marks
5 Podiums – Spencer Bayston, Brian Brown, Anthony Macri
4 Podiums – Rico Abreu, Giovanni Scelzi, Lance Dewease
2 Podiums – Aaron Reutzel, Corey Day, Buddy Kofoid, Danny Dietrich
1 Podium – Brock Zearfoss, Kraig Kinser, Kasey Kahne, Cory Eliason, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Justin Peck, Parker Price-Miller, Riley Goodno, Tyler Courtney, Paulie Colagiovanni, Ryan Timms, Logan Wagner

TOP 10 FINISHES (66 Drivers):
58 Top 10s – David Gravel
56 Top 10s – Brad Sweet
53 Top 10s – Donny Schatz
52 Top 10s – Carson Macedo
48 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild
43 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart
39 Top 10s – James McFadden
37 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston
36 Top 10s – Jacob Allen
25 Top 10s – Giovanni Scelzi
19 Top 10s – Brock Zearfoss
17 Top 10s – Rico Abreu
15 Top 10s – Anthony Macri
14 Top 10s – Kyle Larson
13 Top 10s – Brent Marks
9 Top 10s – Brian Brown
8 Top 10s – Cory Eliason, Aaron Reutzel, Justin Peck
7 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney, Kerry Madsen, Lance Dewease
6 Top 10s – Kasey Kahne, Danny Dietrich
4 Top 10s – Hunter Schuerenberg, Corey Day, Dominic Scelzi
3 Top 10s – Kraig Kinser, Buddy Kofoid, Scotty Thiel, Trey Starks, Ryan Timms
2 Top 10s – Noah Gass, Robbie Price, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Larry Wight, Danny Varin, Shane Golobic, DJ Netto, Justin Whittall
1 Top 10 – Carson Short, Tanner Thorson, Greg Wilson, Cole Duncan, Cale Thomas, Cole Macedo, Mark Dobmeier, Parker Price-Miller, Riley Goodno, Ayrton Gennetten, Zeb Wise, Jeff Halligan, Devon Borden, Freddie Rahmer, Paulie Colagiovanni, Lachlan McHugh, Marcus Dumesny, Daryn Pittman, Joel Myers Jr, Mitchell Faccinto, Justin Sanders, Lee Jacobs, Logan Wagner, Sye Lynch, Ryan Smith, Lucas Wolfe

2022 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Thur, Feb. 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Donny Schatz (1)
2. Fri, Feb. 11 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)
3. Sat, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)
4. Fri, March 4 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2)
5. Sat, March 5 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Carson Macedo (1)
6. Fri, March 11 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Giovanni Scelzi (1)
7. Sat, March 12 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Kyle Larson (1)
8. Fri, March 18 / Merced Speedway / Merced, CA / Carson Macedo (2)
9. Fri, March 25 / Bakersfield Speedway / Bakersfield, CA / Giovanni Scelzi (2)
10. Sat, March 26 / Perris Auto Speedway / Perris, CA / David Gravel (2)
11. Tues, March 29 / Vado Speedway Park / Vado, NM / Brad Sweet (1)
12. Sat, April 2 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / Brent Marks (1)
13. Sat, April 9 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO / Jacob Allen (1)
14. Fri, April 15 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Carson Macedo (3)
15. Sat, April 23 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Carson Macedo (4)
16. Fri, April 29 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / Logan Schuchart (1)
17. Sat, April 30 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / Spencer Bayston (1)
18. Wed, May 11 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Jacob Allen (2)
19. Sat, May 14 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Brent Marks (2)
20. Tues, May 17 / Bridgeport Motorsports Park / Swedesboro, NJ / Sheldon Haudenschild (3)
21. Fri, May 20 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Kyle Larson (2)
22. Sat, May 28 / Atomic Speedway / Waverly, OH / Sheldon Haudenschild (4)
23. Mon, May 30 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN / Sheldon Haudenschild (5)
24. Fri, June 3 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND / Carson Macedo (5)
25. Fri, June 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Brent Marks (3)
26. Sat, June 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Brian Brown (1)
27. Fri, June 17 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (6)
28. Sat, June 18 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (7)
29. Wed, June 22 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Spencer Bayston (2)
30. Thur, June 23 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Buddy Kofoid (1)
31. Fri, June 24 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Carson Macedo (6)
32. Sat, June 25 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Sheldon Haudenschild (8)
33. Fri, July 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Jacob Allen (3)
34. Sat, July 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Brock Zearfoss (1)
35. Sat, July 9 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI / Carson Macedo (7)
36. Tues, July 12 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Kyle Larson (3)
37. Wed, July 13 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / David Gravel (3)
38. Thur, July 14 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Brent Marks (4)
39. Sat, July 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / David Gravel (4)
40. Sat, July 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Brent Marks (5)
41. Wed, July 20 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA / Kyle Larson (4)
42. Fri, July 22 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Lance Dewease (1)
43. Sat, July 23 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Brad Sweet (2)
44. Sat, July 30 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY / David Gravel (5)
45. Sun, July 31 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY / Donny Schatz (2)
46. Fri, Aug. 5 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Carson Macedo (8)
47. Sat, Aug. 6 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (3)
48. Wed, Aug. 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Logan Schuchart (SF)*
49. Thur, Aug. 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Jacob Allen (SF)*
50. Fri, Aug. 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Rico Abreu (SF)*
51. Sat, Aug. 13 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Donny Schatz (3)
52. Sat, Aug. 20 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Logan Schuchart (2)
53. Sat. Aug. 20 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Carson Macedo (9)
54. Fri, Aug. 26 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND / Brad Sweet (4)
55. Sat, Aug. 27 / Red River Valley Speedway / West Fargo, ND / Carson Macedo (10)
56. Thur, Sept. 1 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA / Logan Schuchart (3)
57. Fri, Sept. 2 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA / Sheldon Haudenschild (9)
58. Sat, Sept. 3 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA / David Gravel (6)
59. Mon, Sept. 5 / Grays Harbor Raceway / Elma, WA / Carson Macedo (11)
60. Thur, Sept. 8 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA / Kyle Larson (NP)*
61. Fri, Sept. 9 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA / Carson Macedo (NP)*
62. Sat, Sept. 10 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA / Jacob Allen (4)
63. Fri, Sept. 16 / Keller Auto Speedway / Hanford, CA / Logan Schuchart (4)
64. Fri, Sept. 23 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Rico Abreu (1)
65. Sat, Sept. 24 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH / Brad Sweet (5)
66. Fri, Sept. 30 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Lance Dewease (2)
67. Fri, Oct. 7 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA / Anthony Macri (1)
68. Sat, Oct. 8 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA / Anthony Macri (2)
69. Fri, Oct. 14 / I-80 Speedway / Greenwood, NE / David Gravel (7)
70. Sat, Oct. 15 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS / James McFadden (1)
71. Sat, Oct. 22 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Lance Dewease (3)
72. Wed, Nov. 2 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC / $15,000-to-win
73. Fri, Nov. 4 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC / $15,000-to-win
74. Sat, Nov. 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC / $25,000-to-win

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STOCKTON’S TRIBUTE TO GP SET TO PUNCUATE 2022 NARC SPRINT CAR CAMPAIGN

November 1, 2022 ARP Trish

(10/31/2022) Sacramento, CA… Another season of NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car racing will come to an end this Saturday, November 5th as Stockton Dirt Track hosts the 39th Annual Tribute to Gary Patterson.

After beginning in April, visiting 12 different tracks, and journeying to three states, the 2022 campaign will conclude with NARC’s 23rd overall trip to Stockton on a night one of the most admired racers to hail from California is honored.

Patterson, known as “The Preacher,” raced as a true outlaw in his day, venturing wherever he felt on a given weekend, and was widely respected for his talent behind the wheel. “GP” wheeled a variety of cars to victory lane at a variety of racetracks until he unfortunately passed in an accident at Calistoga Speedway in 1983. As one of the most notorious figures not only of west coast sprint car racing, but racing across the country, an event was born to honor him and approaches four decades of existence with its running this Saturday.

The night will be full of celebration as the event doubles as Triple Crown Championship Night with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprints also capping their campaigns at the central valley 3/8ths mile.

Championship Chase

Even after a DNF this past weekend in Bakersfield, a second consecutive NARC championship is all but in Dominic Scelzi’s hands. All the Fresno native needs to do Saturday is complete a qualifying lap which will guarantee him, at the least, 75 show up points and make his gap atop the standings insurmountable.

Willie Croft still firmly holds the second spot, and barring any severe misfortune at Stockton, he should finish runner-up.

In the fight for the final step on the points podium, Bud Kaeding put a little more distance between himself and Mitchell Faccinto, but the gap is still close enough where Faccinto could pass Kaeding on Saturday.

Who to Watch

The Kaeding brothers, Tim and Bud, are a threat anywhere but especially when they roll into Stockton.

In Tim’s last nine NARC starts in Stockton, he’s bagged a pair of wins, notched six top-fives, and finished no worse than eighth. One of those wins (2016) came aboard a Roth Motorsports No. 83, the same car the San Jose driver will wheel on Saturday.

Bud is also a two-time Stockton series winner, picking up victories in the same years as Tim, 2016 and 2019. The latter of those is his most recent NARC victory, so the Campbell native will look

to end the winless drought at a track that’s been good to him. Bud’s most recent podium also occurred at the 3/8ths mile this past July.

Anytime a race is hosted at Stockton, Shane Golobic is guaranteed to be a contender. The Fremont native is the track’s winningest driver since it opened in 2013 with a pair of his overall victories coming in NARC competition. Back in July he nearly won another, falling just short to D.J. Netto. He’s fresh off his first series victory of the year and looks to cap the season with back-to-back triumphs.

Bill Balog is expected to make his second NARC appearance of the year and the fifth of his career. The 10-time IRA Sprints champion will wheel a Snow Racing entry. Back in 2017, the North Pole Nightmare made his NARC debut driving for Clayton Snow at none other than Stockton and earned a top-five.

Other drivers expected to compete include Redding’s Max Mittry, Aromas’ Justin Sanders, Benicia’s Billy Aton, Oklahoma’s Ryan Timms, and more.

Fan & Competitor Info

The NARC-King of the West Hoosier Tire format will feature ARP Fast Time Qualifying, 8-lap Heat Races, a 6-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon Trophy Dash, and the Fujitsu General USA 25-lap Feature.

The pit gate will open at 1:00 P.M. The front gate will open at 3:00 P.M., and racing is scheduled to kickoff around 6:00 P.M.

Pit passes are $40. General Admission tickets are $30. Kids 4 and under will be admitted for free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online in advance for the discounted price of $25 via the following link.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nov-5th-triple-crown-championship-finales-at-the-stockton-dirt-track-tickets-431216950507.

The Stockton Dirt Track is located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds at 1658 S Airport Way Stockton, CA 95206. For more information call 209-466-9999 or visit stocktondirttrack.com.

The Tribute to GP can be viewed live on floracing.com along with every NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car Series race.

2022 NARC King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series
Championship Points Standings (After 19 events in 20-race series – 10/31/22)

Dominic Scelzi, Fresno – 2096
Willie Croft, Colfax – 2031
Bud Kaeding, Campbell – 2008
Mitchell Faccinto, Hanford – 2000
Shane Golobic, Elk Grove – 1951
Justin Sanders, Aromas – 1938
Max Mittry, Redding (R) – 1926
Billy Aton, Benicia – 1765
Joel Myers Jr, Sebastopol – 1490
Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 1463
Corey Day, Salinas – 1407
Logan Forler, Boise, ID – 1382
DJ Netto, Hanford – 1269
Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (R) – 904
Nick Parker, Tucson, AZ (R) – 878
Tanner Carrick, Lincoln – 836
Chase Johnson, Penngrove – 815
Blake Carrick, Lincoln – 813
Dylan Bloomfield, Discovery Bay 715
Garen Linder, Central Point, OR – 708

Uncategorized

AFTER VEGAS CARUSO TURNS ATTENTION TO SEASON FINALE

November 1, 2022 ARP Trish

LAS VEGAS, NV (October 30, 2022) —- The Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro and rookie driver Camrie Caruso came into the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend looking to continue her development and chase her first professional win. This was Caruso’s second appearance at the Las Vegas track following the spring Four-Wide Nationals earlier this year. The third-generation driver who worked her way up from junior dragsters through the sportsman ranks has been battling one of the toughest Pro Stock fields in recent memory. Caruso was looking to keep her consecutive qualifying streak alive and after two days and four sessions the former Top Alcohol Dragster driver national event winner entered her 18^th consecutive race as the No. 11 qualifier.

Camrie Caruso and Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

In the first round Caruso was paired up against Troy Coughlin Jr. for the second race in 2022. In their previous match-up Coughlin narrowly defeated Caruso in the second round of the Northwest Nationals in Seattle. Today Caruso was looking to take her Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro with power from Titan Racing Engines to the quarterfinals.

Caruso pulled up to the starting line and both cars launched with Coughlin getting a nose on Caruso’s Camaro as they approached half-track. As the finish line closed in, Coughlin was able to hold off a charging Caruso for the round win. At the stripe Coughlin’s winning time of 6.627 seconds was a tick quicker than Caruso’s 6.665 seconds. Both teams slowed slightly from their best qualifying times and Caruso will head to Pomona looking to close out her rookie season on a high note.

Powerbuilt Chevrolet Camaro, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

“We have been battling this whole Countdown and things didn’t go our way today,” said Caruso. “We have one more race this season to get a win and finish on a high note. This has been an amazing rookie season and it was great to be back in Las Vegas. The fans have been great and this place was packed today.”

The Auto Club Finals will be the season finale for Caruso and the Pro Stock class in two weeks. The race could also be the coronation for Caruso as NHRA Rookie of the Year as she was announced last week as one of the two finalists. Following the final event the NHRA will host the championship banquet on Monday night for the announcement.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 13.297 sec, 64.15 mph; Qual. 16

Q2: 6.633 sec, 206.76 mph; Qual. 9

Q3: 6.613 sec, 207.69 mph; Qual. 11

Q4: 6.648 sec, 206.45 mph; Qual. 11

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

First Round

Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware, Ohio, JEG’S Chevrolet Camaro, 6.627, 206.89 mph def. Camrie Caruso, Denver, NC, Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro, 6.665, 205.54 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fifteen – Pro Stock

1. Erica Enders 2684

2. Aaron Stanfield 2460

3. Troy Coughlin Jr 2440

4. Kyle Koretsky 2406

5. Greg Anderson 2396

6. Dallas Glenn 2319

7. Matt Hartford 2318

8. Cristian Cuadra 2216

9. Deric Kramer 2205

10. Mason McGaha 2188

11. Bo Butner 2183

12. Camrie Caruso 2181

13. Fernando Cuadra Jr 2178

14. Chris McGaha 2116

15. Fernando Cuadra 2106

Uncategorized

JOSH HART DROPS CLOSE VEGAS RACE

November 1, 2022 ARP Trish

LAS VEGAS, NV (October 30, 2022) — Closing out his first full season on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster are holding their own in the top ten working to race their way into the top five. The toughest and closest Top Fuel battle is underway and Hart, who raced to the final round at the St Louis Midwest Nationals, was looking to close the gap at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway today. The second-year driver, who raced just a partial schedule in 2021, was looking for his first round win at the Nevada Nationals. After two days of qualifying Hart entered race day as the No. 10 qualifier.

Josh Hart and R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

In the opening round Hart drew four-time and reigning Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence. The two team owners and drivers have faced each other four previous times with Hart securing a win just once in those matchups. Prior to their first round race the tandem had to wait nearly 20 minutes for the NHRA Safety Safari to clean up a sizable oil down in Hart’s lane following Leah Pruett’s pass. Once the drivers were given the signal to fire Hart and Torrence burned out and rolled to the starting line.

Hart launched hard and was right with Torrence all the way down the track but the 3.719 second run at 331.77 mph by the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster was not quite enough to outrun Torrence’s 3.690 second, 331.85 mph pass. It was Torrence’s quickest run of the weekend. Hart made a nearly identical pass to his quickest qualifying effort.

“We just need to find a little more power,” said Hart. “This R+L Carriers dragster has been running really well all season and we are just a young team. These are the best teams in the world and we are holding our own. I am proud of every person working on this R+L and TechNet team and I am so thankful for everyone’s effort. Today didn’t go our way but we have one more race to finish the season on a high note.”

Josh Hart, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

The final race of the season will be contested in two weeks at the picturesque Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Hart and the rest of the Top Fuel field will be battling for their Top Ten positions at an event distributing points and a half for every round win.

“I am excited to close out the season in Pomona and points and half will be a big deal to move around in the top ten,” said Hart. “I truly believe ‘Anything’s Possible’ and we are looking to have a big race in two weeks.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.741 sec, 324.75 mph; Qual. 6

Q2: 13.466 sec, 50.10 mph; Qual. 7

Q3: 3.714 sec, 332.34 mph; Qual. 7

Q4: 3.833 sec, 318.84 mph; Qual. 10

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

First Round

Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco dragster, 3.690, 331.85 mph def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, 3.719, 331.77 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel

1. Brittany Force 2468

2. Justin Ashley 2461

3. Mike Salinas 2402

4. Antron Brown 2390

5. Steve Torrence 2381

6. Austin Prock 2342

7. Josh Hart 2307

8. Shawn Langdon 2290

9. Doug Kalitta 2284

10. Clay Millican 2269

Uncategorized

ASHLEY LEAVES VEGAS WITH POMONA BATTLE LOOMING

November 1, 2022 ARP Trish

LAS VEGAS, NV (October 30, 2022) — The NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway brought the drama and high stakes to the Top Fuel points battle. Through two days of qualifying points leader Justin Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Energy worked their way through each session. In the opening session they made the third quickest pass and in the final session they stepped up and jumped to the No. 3 qualifying position going into race day. The points leader picked up three qualifying bonus points for his efforts.

In the first round Ashley pulled up beside veteran driver Clay Millican, the No. 14 qualifier, looking to hold off a tough group of Top Fuel competitors. As the cars were preparing to fire up Millican’s crew had an issue starting his 11,000-horsepower dragster and Ashley’s Phillips Connect team waited for them to address the problem. Millican’s crew corrected the problem and both cars started and executed burnouts without issue.

Justin Ashley and Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Energy, photo by Ron Lewis

Ashley took a starting line advantage and as the teams closed in on halftrack Millican pulled even with Ashley. Both dragsters were blasting down their respective lanes towards the finish line and when the scoreboards flashed the elapsed times, a stunned crowd recognized that Millican had made the pass of the weekend, a monster 3.695 second run, light years ahead of his best qualifying effort of 4.272 seconds for the upset win over Ashley’s 3.754 second run. Ashley’s reaction time advantage of .038 to .063 was not enough to overcome the elapsed time difference.

This was the first time Ashley faced Millican in competition in 2022 and he held a 4-0 head-to-head record against the driver from Tennessee coming into the race. The early exit cut into Ashley’s points lead and heading to the final race of the season the 2020 Rookie of the Year will control his destiny in his pursuit of his first Top Fuel world championship. A win in the final race of the season will secure the world championship for the driver from Plainview, New York.

“It’s important to have the right mindset. This race is behind us and all of our attention and energy has shifted to Pomona,” said Ashley. “We have a championship winning team with championship winning partners. We knew at the beginning of the year it was more than likely going to come down to the last race of the season in Pomona. All we needed to do was put ourselves in a position to win that championship and we did just that. We’ll be ready to put our foot forward in Pomona.”

The Auto Club Finals will be contested at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, from November 11-13, with the race being broadcast on FS1.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.716 sec; 331.85 mph; Qual. 3

Q2: 6.636 sec; 90.10 mph; Qual. 4

Q3: 3.743 sec; 331.04 mph; Qual. 8

Q4: 3.686 sec, 333.08 mph; Qual. 3

Bonus Points: +3 (3^rd quickest of Q1 and 2^nd quickest of Q4)

Race Results

First Round

Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster, 3.695, 330.72 mph def. Justin Ashley, Plainview, NY, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Vita C Energy, 3.754, 332.67 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel

1. Brittany Force 2468

2. Justin Ashley 2461

3. Mike Salinas 2402

4. Antron Brown 2390

5. Steve Torrence 2381

6. Austin Prock 2342

7. Josh Hart 2307

8. Shawn Langdon 2290

9. Doug Kalitta 2284

10. Clay Millican 2269

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BUY TICKETS HERE

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

STOCKTON’S TRIBUTE TO GP SET TO PUNCUATE 2022 NARC SPRINT CAR CAMPAIGN

AFTER VEGAS CARUSO TURNS ATTENTION TO SEASON FINALE

JOSH HART DROPS CLOSE VEGAS RACE

ASHLEY LEAVES VEGAS WITH POMONA BATTLE LOOMING

Racer News and Results