Potential $39,000 champion’s check on the line for thirty-two race season

CONCORD, NC – March 29, 2022 – Two seasons in competition with a non-traditional Hell Tour format has brought the DIRTcar Summer Nationals back to the previous format for its 37th consecutive year. Thirty-two races over forty days comes with an increase in payouts and a new bonus program for drivers who choose to follow the tour.

New for 2022 – teams who make the summer-long commitment to compete in every race on the schedule are now eligible for the new tow-money program. Every 500 miles a driver and crew travel earns them a $500 bonus. The 2022 Summer Nationals schedule will have teams trucking over 5,500 miles total, which means teams who enter every event start-to-finish will collect $5,500 in tow money.

The progressive points fund scale introduced last season will again be in effect in 2022, offering a potential $39,000 championship check to the winner of the prestigious Late Model tour. For every event completed after the 25th, an extra $2,000 (up from $1,000 in 2021) will be added to added to the champion’s check which summates to $39,000 if all 32 events on the schedule are completed.

Each of the other spots inside the top-10 will follow suit, with different amounts being added to each position’s check as more races past 25 are completed. At its maximum, the runner-up in final points could take home over $15,000 with over $10,000 going to third-place. For 32 races complete, over $85,000 will be distributed between all 10 points fund check-eligible positions.

Weekly points fund checks will also be distributed at the end of each race week; $2,000 to the driver with the most points accumulated between all races contested in that week. Six-consecutive weeks of racing equates to $12,000 distributed in first-place money. This bonus also reaches every driver in the top-10 in points for that week; $5,000 total across all 10 positions.

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals sticks to its traditional championship format in 2022, counting each driver’s best 12 races of the 32 scheduled. A $5,000 check will be awarded to the points champion at season’s end, which returns to the familiar site of Fairbury Speedway as part of the 32nd annual Prairie Dirt Classic – July 29-30.

The championship chase begins with the first race at Kankakee County Speedway in Illinois on June 14. Catch all 32 races at the track or live from your home with a FAST PASS subscription to DIRTVision.

2022 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models Points Fund Chart

Points Position	25 Races	26 Races	27 Races	28 Races	29 Races	30 Races	31 Races	32 Races
1st	$25,000	$27,000	$29,000	$31,000	$33,000	$35,000	$37,000	$39,000
2nd	$10,000	$10,800	$11,600	$12,400	$13,200	$14,000	$14,800	$15,600
3rd	$7,000	$7,460	$7,920	$8,380	$8,840	$9,300	$9,760	$10,220
4th	$5,000	$5,400	$5,800	$6,200	$6,600	$7,000	$7,400	$7,800
5th	$3,000	$3,240	$3,480	$3,720	$3,960	$4,200	$4,440	$4,680
6th	$2,000	$2,160	$2,320	$2,480	$2,640	$2,800	$2,960	$3,120
7th	$1,000	$1,080	$1,160	$1,240	$1,320	$1,400	$1,480	$1,560
8th	$800	$864	$928	$992	$1,056	$1,120	$1,184	$1,248
9th	$700	$756	$812	$868	$924	$980	$1,036	$1,092
10th	$600	$650	$700	$750	$800	$850	$900	$950
Totals	$55,100	$59,410	$63,720	$68,030	$72,340	$76,650	$80,960	$85,270

In advance of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race April 9 on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit in Long Beach, California, Pipo Derani (No.31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) — who co-drove to the 2021 victory to lead a Cadillac sweep of the podium — and Richard Westbrook (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R), co-driver of the DPi championship points-leading team, met with the media March 29 via Zoom conference. Fast facts: Cadillac Racing Long Beach storylines, notes, statistics, driver bios and more2022 media guide: Cadillac Racing history, technology transfer, “why we race” and more Full transcript (by individual):

PIPO DERANI (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R): FOND MEMORIES OF LONG BEACH LAST YEAR. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO REPEAT WITH YOUR NEW TEAMMATE TRISTAN NUNEZ?“Long Beach last year was definitely a key moment in our championship. It was a fantastic race because the year before we almost won the race; in the end we wound up losing the wheel after leading the race up to the last pit stop. To capitalize last year and make sure we win that one when it slipped away the year before was great. Long Beach is a great track to drive. The event is a fantastic together with INDYCAR to have a lot of fans around. A street track is always challenging to be so close to the walls. It’s going to be again a very challenging and a very tight field and difficult race to win as usual in IMSA. Our Cadillac DPi runs really well at that track. Looking forward to it with a new teammate Tristan (Nunez). He’s driven there before and hopefully he’ll hit the ground running with the Cadillac. After two races under his belt, he’s getting more used to the Cadillac DPi. I’m looking forward to heading west and having our two races there at Long Beach and then later at Monterrey.” YOU CAME BACK LAST YEAR TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER A ROUGH START. DO YOU HAVE A PHILOSOPHY ABOUT IT OR ARE YOU EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT?“I think last year was a little bit chaotic in the beginning for us. I’d like to think this year has started much smoother than last year. Last year, we had a gearbox problem at Daytona, a horrible Sebring and we made our lives very difficult toward the end of the season to win the championship the way we did. I think we won the championship by 11 points, so it was really tight and difficult to overcome the difficult beginning. This year, not ideal to finish fourth at Daytona, but getting our first podium at Sebring I think we are much closer to the championship leaders than we were last year. Of course, we would like to be further up. There’s no philosophy in starting slow and trying to finish strong. I think a championship is built not only on the second half of the season but trying to make sure you get the points early on as well. The championship is so strong; we had a really strong race at Daytona this year and came up short at the end when it counted. We didn’t quite have the pace in the last 30 minutes and there were three cars that were stronger than us that finished ahead of us. In a championship, we try to maximize points when we can. If we can’t win, then take second or third or even fourth. I think we’re within 30 or 40 points from the lead so better than last year. Hopefully, it’s a good beginning to be stronger toward the rest of the championship.” WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO HAVING THREE DIFFERENT SETUPS FOR THE FIRST THREE RACES?“It shows the diversity of the championship. You go from Daytona – very big track – to Sebring – very bumpy track – and then to a street track in California. I think it brings something to the championship and for the teams to adapt quickly to these changes. They are great tracks to drive; each have their own peculiarity. Daytona being the beginning of the season and so many long straights and then going to Sebring, a track that was so strong for Cadillac. You have a brand like Acura that dominated at Daytona and then Cadillac dominating at Sebring. And now going into Long Beach – a track that has been quite even between the two manufacturers over the last few years. We got pole position last year and won the race. It’s great to have such a great combination of tracks where you have to keep yourself and your team on your toes and do the best job possible to stay ahead.” WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALIFYING ON A STREET CIRCUIT WITH A SHORT RACE?“It’s a track that is hard to pass. Also, you can get a little bit lucky because you see others making mistakes, hitting the walls and eventually you can be a little bit lucky with a yellow, but you don’t want to count on that at all. In an hour, 40-minute race, I think you need to maximize your chances and that starts with qualifying. That’s the beauty of the sport; you have to put it together early and hope that the race stays green.” WHAT MAKES THE CADILLAC SUCH A GOOD CAR AT LONG BEACH?“I think Cadillac has shown to be very good when the track is bumpy. Not last year, but the year before Acura qualified on pole with a Penske car and I think they had the pace to win just like we did. Last year, it seemed like we had some advantage over the Wayne Taylor car and the Shank car, but they seemed to have stepped up this year in terms of performance, so I’m expecting a close fight. But the Cadillac is a fantastic car over the bumps. We saw that at Sebring. It’s a car that copes well with a bump track and normally street tracks tend to be a little bit more bumpy than a normal track. I think this is one of the strong points of our Cadillac DPi and hopefully we can use that to our advantage over the race weekend at Long Beach.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SECTION OF THE LONG BEACH TRACK AND WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GAINING FROM THAT SECTION?“A fun part of Long Beach is the roundabout where it’s quite tight, it’s interesting how you have to go around the roundabout but at the same time try to clip a little bit of the curb. You have nice pictures there; sometimes it looks as if the car is on top of the grass.” IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET MORE IN TUNE WITH YOUR NEW TEAMMATE?“I think it’s been a learning curve after three years with Felipe (Nasr) when you get to learn and understand each other so well. Having Tristan (Nunez) come on board this year has been refreshing. It’s been two races where Tristan has allowed himself to adapt to the team. It’s always good to have Daytona and Sebring as the first two races of the season because you have so much track time and you have time to find all those details you need for a good relationship with your teammate. It’s not easy to just step into DPi with the car that just won the championship to perform at the highest level, but so far he’s doing a fantastic job. I think we’re heading into a different type of race of the championship that is much shorter and I’m sure he’s going to do really well. We’ll continue to develop this relationship and hopefully bring some wins to the team and bring another championship.”

RICHARD WESTBROOK (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R): THE MUSTANG SAMPLING COLORS HAVE WON AT LONG BEACH, BUT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST WIN THERE. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO BRING IT HOME FOR YOU AND TRISTAN VAUTIER?“It’s going to be incredibly tough, obviously. Going into the third round that starts off at Daytona, a completely different circuit, and then the polar opposite going to Sebring and then completely different yet again going to Long Beach. I feel like every time I’m going to a new track with this car – the track I know but it’s the first time in this car – it’s almost like I’ve never been there before because the car is so different than a GT and the last time I raced in prototype. It’s a massive learning curve, but there’s a lot you can take from Sebring to Long Beach setup-wise and we obviously had a good car there. I’m quietly confident and just really pleased to get the 36 hours of Florida out of the way because that was my target – to get through those two events and get some decent points on the board, learn as much as I can, try to fit into the team as best I can and get myself a platform for the short-race season. That’s what we’ve done. To come out of those two rounds with leading the championship, I sort of have to pinch myself. Obviously, it’s early days and lots of race to go, but we’ve given ourselves a good platform. I’m looking forward to Long Beach, but a completely different challenge.” WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALIFYING ON A STREET CIRCUIT WITH A SHORT RACE?“Street circuit qualifying is nuts. You have to sort of go to places that you don’t really want to go to in practice. You have to step out for sure and take the car past its limit in some way. I prefer to be finishing that race.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SECTION OF THE LONG BEACH TRACK AND WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GAINING FROM THAT SECTION?“I guess the last two corners because when you have sections of circuits where you can give up a little bit to have a good run through the last corners – where you can sacrifice a bit to gain something somewhere else. That whole last section where you’ve got the right and then the long left and then the final hairpin, you can go quicker in one but you’re going to have to sacrifice in the next. It’s sort of connecting the three and I like that sort of challenge in any circuit. We turn up for the first practice at 9 o’clock in the morning and it’s kind of a meaningless session because you’re just cleaning the circuit and the track just evolves, evolves and it’s a completely different circuit come race day. I remember that race day is normally quicker (lap times) than qualifying because the track just continues to evolve. You have to be ready for that. You sort of have to adapt yourself. You can’t go into each session with the mindset that ‘I need to improve in that corner, maybe I’ll try that.’ The track next session is completely different, so you have to be open-minded in how you set out to work. I’ve never won at Long Beach, so it’s about time I did.” IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET MORE IN TUNE WITH YOUR NEW TEAMMATE?“When you get a new teammate, the first few races you’re sort of working out what does he like to eat, where are we going to have dinner tonight. It’s getting used to all that stuff. The chemistry with Tristan (Vautier) and Loic (Duval) has been really strong. We’re definitely working toward the same goal in terms of setup on the car; we like a similar setup. For me, it’s only going to get stronger. I can’t say enough about Tristan. I’ve been super pleased with how he performs, and his one-lap pace is incredible. Hopefully, he puts that to good use all year.”

Sacramento, CA … The Northern Auto Racing Club released a full list of sponsors committed to support the 2022 NARC Fujitsu General USA 410 Sprint Car campaign.  The busy schedule features 25-event at 13 different dirt tracks in three States and will crown a “King of the West” champion.

Total feature event prize money will exceed $770,000 this season, plus additional cash awards and product contingency certificates worth another $49,000.  Fujitsu General Heating & Air Conditioning and Hoosier Racing Tires are the series title sponsors, with additional marketing support provided by Floracing.com.  In total, 28 companies have lent their support to the NARC sprint cars this season.

While many purses are backfilled in the lower positions to support lower-budget teams ($500 minimum to start A-Main), there are many over-the-top winner shares.  Heading the prestigious list is the $50,000 to win Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway in June.  Others include the $10,000 to win Anthony Simone Classic on April 9th, the May 14th $11,000 to win Peter Murphy Classic; the $8300 to win Dennis Roth Classic on October 15th, the $6900 to win Howard Kaeding Classic in July, plus several others.  There is also a $40,000 bonus on the line for any team that can sweep the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports over the Memorial Day weekend.

In addition, the top 10 teams in the final standings will earn shares of a $63,000 year end point fund.  The “King of the West” championship team will pocket $12,500 for their efforts.  The rookie-of-the-year will earn $1500 from Johnstone Supply.  The championship celebration is scheduled for November 6th at the Brookside Country Club in Stockton.

The NARC series sponsors include Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS), Dirt.Travel, Johnstone Supply, Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash, Roth Motorsports, Scelzi Enterprises, Starr Property Management, Swift Metal Finishing, and Sunnyvalley Smoked Meats.

The associate sponsors offering product contingency awards are Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS), FK Rod Ends, KSE Racing Products, Kaeding Performance, Maxim Racing, Pyrotect, Safecraft Safety Equipment, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, SCI – Sprint Car Innovation, System 1 Pro Ignition, Ultra-Lite Brakes, Vortex Wings, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Winters Performance.

Bullet Impressions is the official merchandising vendor of the Northern Auto Racing Club and provides numerous promotional benefits.

The 2022 campaign kicks off on Saturday, April 2nd with the Third Annual Asparagus Cup at the Stockton Dirt Track.  The winner of the feature event headliner will pocket a $6,000 payday.

For more information, go to www.NARC410.com

Upcoming Races at US-36, Lake Ozark, I-55, Tri-City & Tri-State for World of Outlaws

OSBORN, MO – March 29, 2022 – Just like the song, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races from sea to shining sea and everywhere in between.

The Greatest Show on Dirt has already seen Florida’s ocean, California’s coast, the southwestern desert, and now the Midwest awaits. Following this weekend in Oklahoma and Texas, a three-week swing through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana headline the heart of April’s 10-race schedule.

• US-36 Raceway in Osborn, MO on April 8 (BUY TICKETS)
• Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, MO on April 9 (BUY TICKETS)
• Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO on April 15-16 (BUY TICKETS)
• Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL on April 22 (BUY TICKETS)
• Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN on April 23 (EVENT INFO)

It all starts with a mega Missouri doubleheader on April 8-9, a weekend that truly features the best of both worlds for Sprint Car fanatics. Alongside the winged warriors of the World of Outlaws is the newly-formed Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Cars presented by Low-E Insulation, a non-wing Series that will create a can’t miss weekend at US-36 and Lake Ozark.

The most recent appearance at US-36’s 1/4-mile bullring offered the second-closest finish (0.118 seconds) over the last 100 races with Sheldon Haudenschild topping Brad Sweet in an instant classic during the fall of 2020. The Osborn, MO facility is one of six tracks to have seen a nine-second lap (9.84) with the World of Outlaws.

On Saturday, April 9, the Jason Johnson Classic returns to Lake Ozark Speedway as the Series remembers The Ragin’ Cajun. Defending winners include Brad Sweet, James McFadden, and David Gravel, but all eyes will be on Carson Macedo attempting to win it aboard the Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh #41.

After that, Pevely’s always-exciting Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 hosts the first two of four scheduled trips to the 1/4-mile bullring on April 15-16. The Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 of Sweet swept both spring races last year, and the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17 of Haudenschild swept the Ironman 55 last summer.

The Friday, April 22 slot brings The Greatest Show on Dirt back to Tri-City Speedway for the first time in 14 years. 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz won the most recent appearance at the Granite City, IL 3/8-mile in 2008, which was his fifth of 200+ victories driving the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15.

One of the most unpredictable venues on the schedule returns on Saturday, April 23 with Tri-State Speedway taking center stage. The Haubstadt, IN 1/4-mile paper clip has produced five first-time winners across 42 races, including notables Parker Price-Miller and Carson Short in recent years. Among full-timers, Carson Macedo and David Gravel – both with two wins – are the only ones to conquer the unique facility.

With another week until the next swing starts, Grass Valley, CA’s Brad Sweet currently leads the early-season standings in pursuit of his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws championship. Closely behind him is Carson Macedo (-20), David Gravel (-22), Sheldon Haudenschild (-46), and Giovanni Scelzi (-88), with each of those four claiming two victories apiece as of now.

For fans unable to attend, you can watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

US-36 WINNERS (5 Races):
2 wins – Joey Saldana
1 win – Jac Haudenschild, Jason Meyers, Sheldon Haudenschild

LAKE OZARK WINNERS (9 Races):
2 wins – Brad Sweet, Donny Schatz
1 win – Craig Dollansky, David Gravel, James McFadden, Logan Schuchart, Tim Shaffer

I-55 WINNERS (63 Races):
5 wins – Craig Dollansky, Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser
4 wins – Brad Sweet, Sheldon Haudenschild
3 wins – Daryn Pittman, Jac Haudenschild, Joey Saldana
2 wins – Donny Schatz, Doug Wolfgang, Jason Meyers, Kyle Larson, Mark Kinser, Rico Abreu, Stevie Smith
1 win – Andy Hillenburg, Bobby Davis Jr, Brad Doty, Brooke Tatnell, Chad Kemenah, Christopher Bell, Danny Lasoski, David Gravel, Jason Sides, Kerry Madsen, Kraig Kinser, Logan Schuchart, Paul McMahan, Randy Hannagan, Shane Stewart, Tim Shaffer, Tyler Walker

TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY WINNERS (55 Races):
26 wins – Steve Kinser
8 wins – Sammy Swindell
5 wins – Doug Wolfgang
3 wins – Dave Blaney
2 wins – Jac Haudenschild
1 win – Dale Blaney, Danny Lasoski, Donny Schatz, Jason Meyers, Joey Saldana, Ken Schrader, Kenny Jacobs, Mark Kinser, Paul McMahan, Tim Green, Tyler Walker

TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY WINNERS (42 Races):
8 wins – Steve Kinser
5 wins – Sammy Swindell
4 wins – Craig Dollansky
3 wins – Mark Kinser
2 wins – Andy Hillenburg, Carson Macedo, Dave Blaney, David Gravel, Doug Wolfgang, Paul McMahan, Tim Kaeding
1 win – Bobby Davis Jr, Carson Short, Christopher Bell, Gary Wright, Larry Gates, Lee James, Parker Price-Miller, Stevie Smith

LAS VEGAS (March 29, 2022) — Headed into the fourth NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series event of the season Justin Ashley and thePhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel team powered by Vita C Shot are No. 2 in the points, coming off a semifinal finish at the Gatornationals and looking forward to the challenge of the first four-wide race of the season. Ashley opened the season with a win at the historic Winternationals and kept that momentum rolling. With the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals coming up this weekend the rising star behind the wheel is looking forward to success in the desert.

“The four-wide races are great because they have a tendency to be unpredictable,” said Ashley, who has three career Top Fuel wins. “I have competed in two four-wide races and look forward to the challenge of racing in my third. Anything can happen with 40,000 plus horsepower on the starting line. As a driver, it’s a great test of concentration.” 

Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot, photo by Ron Lewis

This weekend there will be four qualifying runs, affording every team the opportunity to make at least one run in each of the four lanes. This is a return to the previous qualifying the NHRA offered prior to the pandemic. Ashley’s technical alliance with Toyota teammate Antron Brown will be critical this weekend for his crew chief tandem of Mike Green and Tommy DeLago.

“Mike and Tommy have a long history of experience and expertise. They’ve seen and done everything in the sport of NHRA Drag Racing. Being able to work closely with Antron’s team and their collective of crew chiefs, in addition to that expertise and experience, is crucial to our success,” said Ashley. “Our Phillips Connect/Vita C Shot team has been doing a great job. Dustin Davis has put together a great group of guys on and off the racetrack. We are excited about the start of the season and also know we have a lot more work ahead of us.”

Between the Gatornationals and the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals Ashley and Davis Motorsports announced the extension of their sponsorship with Phillips Connect through the end of the 2022 season. Originally slated as a three-race trial program both groups immediately saw the success and wrapped up a long-term deal. The at track marketing opportunity combined with the hospitality aspects were a win-win for everyone involved.

“We originally chose to partner with Justin because of the culture fit with our team,” explained Rob Phillips, Founder and CEO of Phillips Connect. “We immediately saw he was in sync with our company culture and objectives. He came in early and spent a week in California learning about our products, sitting in on customer Zoom meetings, and performing product installations. He was sincerely interested in learning why our products and company existed, and the extensive value that our products bring to the transportation industry.” Justin knew that by creating a deeper understanding, he’d be much more valuable as a brand ambassador for Phillips Connect.”

Ashley has built his program on maximizing business-to-business relationships. His programs with Auto Shocker, KATO Fastening Systems, Toyota and Lucas Oil have continued to grow since he broke into the NHRA in 2019. Throughout the racing season and off-season Ashley works to increase and enhance all his marketing programs.

“We have so many great marketing partners and we are seeing excellent activation and growth across the board,” said Ashley. “I am so grateful for all of our partners. I am extraordinarily excited to continue working with Phillips Connect throughout the 2022 season. I am equally as excited to continue working with Chip Lofton, Mark Beaver and Vita C Shot. There are so many positive things happening on and off the racetrack. We want to put our best foot forward to make sure that continues this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.”

Las Vegas is one of the tracks where Ashley has the most experience. He made some of his first professional passes in 2019 at the Toyota Nationals. He has raced to two semi-finals at the Fall national event so this weekend the 2020 Rookie of the Year will be looking to improve in the unique four-wide format. Qualifying will begin on Friday and Saturday with two sessions each day at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday, April 3, at 12:00 p.m. with three quads of racing action.

Racing Friday & Saturday Alongside World of Outlaws Late Models on DIRTVision

FARMER CITY, IL – March 28, 2022 – The Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series presented by Low-E Insulation had its turn in February, now the history-making is in the hands of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota Racing this weekend.

In conjunction with the POWRi Midgets, the new Series will come to life this Friday and Saturday, April 1-2 at Farmer City (IL) Raceway’s iconic Illini 100. The mighty midgets will battle for a pair of $4,000-to-win Features to kickstart the 12-race season on DIRTVision.

A fleet of 12 teams and drivers have already committed to chasing the inaugural Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship in 2022. They’ll be joined by a handful of POWRi regulars and Illini invaders this weekend at Farmer City’s 1/4-mile bullring.

The inclusion of the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series in this weekend’s program makes it the best of both worlds for open-wheel and fendered fans alike. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE to secure a seat for this historic happening.

Here are some of the stars and cars you can expect to see this weekend at Farmer City:

Chad Boat is bringing a trio of CB Industries entries from North Carolina to not only chase an Illini 100 victory but the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship as well. He’ll have teenagers Jade Avedisian (Clovis, CA), Dominic Gorden (Clovis, CA), and Jace Park (Overland Park, KS) at the wheel of his Toyota-powered machines.

Toyota Racing powerhouse Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports is set to bring a staggering six cars to the Xtreme Outlaw Midget debut with Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, KS) in the #01, Taylor Reimer (Bixby, OK) in the #25, Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, OK) in the #71, Mariah Ede (Fresno, CA) in the #71E, Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, TX) in the #97, and Kaidon Brown (Sydney, NSW) in the #97K.

Dave Mac Motorsports will have a foursome of Toyota-powered Midgets this weekend with both Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, OK) and J.J. Loss (Parsons, KS) committed to chasing the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship, along with Kevin Woody (Victor, NY) and Austin Barnhill (Wilmington, NC) joining the fleet this weekend for the Illini 100.

Bundy Built Motorsports is a two-car tandem traveling to Farmer City Raceway with Zach Daum (Pocahontas, IL) and Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, NC) piloting the #9 and #19 rides.

Andrew Felker of Carl Junction, MO will begin his championship chase aboard the Pannell Chipping, James Hodge Auto Group, Smith Equipment #11A this weekend. The 2012 POWRi Midget champion is looking for his first national title in a decade by joining the new Series.

Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports will field teenager Hayden Reinbold (Chandler, AZ) in the #19AZ for all 12 races throughout the Xtreme Outlaw Midget season. Emilio Hoover (Broken Arrow, OK) will pilot the Steve Reynolds-owned Ripper #21 with veteran crew chief Flea Ruzic on the wrenches for the defending POWRi West Midget champion.

Chase McDermand (Springfield, IL) has the pleasure of wheeling the Mounce/Stout Motorsports #40 in the first two of 12 races on DIRTVision this weekend. The Gray Auto #06 will hit the track with 15-year-old Rylan Gray (Greenfield, IL) opening his pursuit of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget championship.

Trifecta Motorsports is sending Kyle Jones (Kennedale, TX) on the road with crew chief Bobby Milliser to begin the Xtreme Outlaw Midget title quest this weekend at Farmer City. Karter Sarff (Mason City, IL) has continually raised eyebrows in the national midget ranks and makes his next step by chasing the Xtreme Outlaw Midget championship this year in his family-owned #21K.

Of currently committed full-time teams, Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, CA) rounds out the group aboard the Griffiths Motorsports #75AU. Daniel Adler (St. Louis, MO) is also expected to compete for the win this weekend in his #50 machine.

A practice night on Thursday, March 31 is open to all teams from 6-9pm.

The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series format includes Group Qualifying, a Heat Race inversion, and combined points lining up the Last Chance Showdown and Feature races. The full rulebook as well as information on purses and point funs is available HERE.

You can watch every lap of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series debut LIVE on DIRTVision and follow along with lineups, results, live timing, points, and more on the MyRacePass app.

Series Debut at Vado, NM & $20,000-to-win at Devil’s Bowl Highlights Next Swing

VADO, NM – March 28, 2022 – The return of California’s spring swing offered many unforgettable moments over the last three weeks, but now The Greatest Show on Dirt is ready to head east.

A three-race, three-state journey across five nights will give the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series its busiest week of the young season. Along the way are brand new tracks, familiar places, and historical sites where big money is on the line.

It all starts tomorrow Tuesday, March 29 with the first mid-week race of the year at Vado Speedway Park. The newly-created state-of-the-art facility is hosting the Series for the first time on the 3/8-mile and thus bringing the World of Outlaws back to New Mexico for the first time since 2008.

A 10-hour haul to Oklahoma will lead the Series to its first and only appearance in the Sooner State this year, coming on Friday, April 1 at Lawton Speedway. Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing enter as defending winners at the track, topping a race they dominated last fall with the largest margin of victory (5.5 seconds) all season.

The week wraps up on Saturday, April 2 with a $20,000 payday available at the DuraMAX/Drydene Texas Outlaw Nationals at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX. All eyes at the birthplace of the World of Outlaws will be on Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing, who are chasing a fourth-consecutive Ted Johnson Memorial trophy.

BUY VADO TICKETS (TUES)
BUY LAWTON TICKETS (FRI)
BUY DEVIL’S BOWL TICKETS (SAT)

Here’s a preview of what to watch for this week on DIRTVision.

NO NOTES: One of the most intriguing aspects of a track hosting the World of Outlaws for the first time ever is that the best sprint car drivers and teams in the world are heading into the night blind. There are no previous races to rely on, no notes to look back at, and no experience to pull from. It’s simply who can adapt and figure out Vado’s 3/8-mile the fastest.

While none of the full-time teams have ever attended Vado, 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz has actually raced at the New Mexico oval in his Dirt Late Model. He participated in the Wild West Shootout earlier this year in January, collecting a pair of top-1o finishes in his personally-owned #15. This time around, he’ll be in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 going for this second World of Outlaws win of the season. The Fargo, ND native actually won the most recent race in New Mexico, too, topping the now-closed Hollywood Hills Speedway in 2008.

FOUR-PEAT: The top storyline entering Saturday’s DuraMAX/Drydene Texas Outlaw Nationals is without a doubt Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing, who coincidentally fly the DuraMAX Oil and Drydene Performance Products colors on the #1S.

The Hanover, PA native is going for his fourth straight win at the Mesquite, TX 1/2-mile, the second-longest win streak at the track behind Sammy Swindell’s five-in-a-row spell from 1986-87. He’s won from a myriad of places in the lineup at Devil’s Bowl, topping an April 2019 show from third, the 2020 fall race from fifth, and last year’s thriller from eighth.

After starting the year with an average finish of 10.3 and only two top-five finishes, Devil’s Bowl couldn’t come at a better time for Schuchart and Shark Racing. His next victory would not only put him in the W column in 2022, but it would be his 31st all-time and move him beyond his grandfather and car owner, Bobby Allen.

LAWTON LANDSLIDE: When the World of Outlaws raced at Lawton Speedway last fall it was the biggest beating of the year with Carson Macedo & Jason Johnson Racing winning by 5.573-seconds. That same pairing returns to the Oklahoma 1/4-mile this Friday night with hopes of becoming the first back-to-back winners at the track since Steve Kinser did it in 1982-83.

Another win for the Lemoore, CA native would bring him his Series-best third on the season and propel him to 20 career World of Outlaws wins at the age of 25-years-old.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Throughout Brad Sweet’s nine years as a full-time Outlaw, The Big Cat had only gone winless in the first 10 races once (2018), until it happened again this season. Don’t be fooled, though, the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 team is still as consistent as ever, proven by the updated point standings with the three-time and defending champion back on top.

The Grass Valley, CA native is averaging an impressive finish of 3.7 over the last nine events with a Series-best five podiums, eight top-fives, and nine top-10s to his credit. Sweet will have three extra chances this week to park the #49 in victory lane with his best shot arguably coming during Devil’s Bowl $20,000 Feature on Saturday at a track he’s won at before.

TALKING A BIG GAME: After their unfortunate DNF while racing for the win on Friday at Bakersfield, David Gravelconfidently said he believes Cody Jacobs and Big Game Motorsports are providing the fastest car on tour. He backed that up less than 24 hours later by topping Perris Auto Speedway for his second win of the season.

Falling from the top to third in the early-season standings, the Watertown, CT native is extra motivated to rattle off the wins that he believes Tod Quiring’s #2 car deserves. The 71-time World of Outlaws winner will be vying for his first-ever win at Vado, Lawton & Devil’s Bowl alike this week.

GASS MONKEY: Of the three states on the agenda this week, only Oklahoma serves as a home state race for one of the 15 full-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competitors. In fact, it’ll be the first time that Noah Gass of Mounds, OK has raced in his home state since joining full-time to compete for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award.

The 18-year-old enters a new week following a season-best outing of 18th-place at Bakersfield, where he climbed as high as 13th at one point. It’s been a grueling learning curve with new tracks around every corner for the freshest face on tour and crew members Cody Cordell & Robby McQuinn, but the #20G continues to show signs of improvement with each passing night.

NON-PLATINUM PROWESS: Although they’re not full-time in 2022 chasing the World of Outlaws championship, Giovanni Scelzi and KCP Racing have certainly shown they’re capable of doing so in the future if they choose to. Through the opening 10 nights of a scheduled 60+ races with the Series, Scelzi currently ranks fifth in the standings and is among the leaders in many statistical categories.

The Fresno, CA native picked up two wins at Tulare and Bakersfield during the three-week west coast swing to his home state of California and will follow the Series back east aboard the Aspen Aire #18. Since joining forces with crew chief Dylan Buswell, the 20-year-old star has stepped up his game with three wins in the Series’ last 15 races.

LAST CHANCE: Each race this week represents the final opportunity for fans in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas to see The Greatest Show on Dirt in their home states. Barring any last-minute additions to the schedule, Vado (NM), Lawton (OK), and Devil’s Bowl (TX) will be the last appearances in each state for the 2022 season.

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE

Tuesday, March 29 at Vado Speedway Park in Vado, NM
Friday, April 1 at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, OK
Saturday, April 2 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX

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 (10/85 Nights):
1. 49-Brad Sweet (1,400 PTS); 2. 41-Carson Macedo (-20 PTS); 3. 2-David Gravel (-22 PTS); 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-46 PTS); 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (-88 PTS); 6. 83-James McFadden (-98 PTS); 7. 15-Donny Schatz (-100 PTS); 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-104 PTS); 9. 26-Cory Eliason (-106 PTS); 10. 5-Spencer Bayston (-148 PTS).

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (6 Drivers):
2 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41
2 wins – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2
2 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17
2 wins – Giovanni Scelzi, KCP Racing #18
1 win – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15
1 win – Kyle Larson, Kevin Kozlowski #57

FEATURE LAPS LED (13 Drivers):
71 laps – David Gravel
55 laps – Giovanni Scelzi
30 laps – Carson Macedo
28 laps – Brad Sweet
26 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
25 laps – Donny Schatz
23 laps – Spencer Bayston
17 laps – Kyle Larson
13 laps – Cory Eliason
10 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
9 laps – Dominic Scelzi
8 laps – James McFadden
1 lap – Corey Day

SLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (8 Drivers):
2 QuickTimes – David Gravel, Carson Macedo
1 QuickTime – Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Jacob Allen, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brad Sweet, Giovanni Scelzi*
* Denotes New Track Record

HEAT RACE WINNERS (17 Drivers):
5 Heat Wins – David Gravel
4 Heat Wins – Jacob Allen, Giovanni Scelzi
3 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, James McFadden
2 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo, Sheldon Haudenschild, Kraig Kinser, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney
1 Heat Win – Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Dominic Scelzi, Kerry Madsen, Rico Abreu, Corey Day

DIRTVISION FAST PASS DASH APPEARANCES (26 Drivers):
8 Dashes – David Gravel
6 Dashes – Brad Sweet, Jacob Allen
5 Dashes – Carson Macedo
4 Dashes – Spencer Bayston, Giovanni Scelzi, Kraig Kinser, Cory Eliason
3 Dashes – James McFadden, Tyler Courtney, Aaron Reutzel
2 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz, Kyle Larson, Kerry Madsen, Rico Abreu, Dominic Scelzi, Corey Day
1 Dash – Logan Schuchart, Brock Zearfoss, Anthony Macri, Brent Marks, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Colby Copeland, Tanner Carrick, DJ Netto

MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (7 Drivers):
3 LCS Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild
2 LCS Wins – Ayrton Gennetten
1 LCS Win – James McFadden, Logan Schuchart, Spencer Bayston, Anthony Macri, Mitchell Faccinto

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (5 Drivers):
3 Hard Chargers – Sheldon Haudenschild, Logan Schuchart
2 Hard Chargers – James McFadden
1 Hard Chargers – Carson Macedo, Donny Schatz

PODIUM FINISHES (13 Drivers):
5 Podiums – Brad Sweet, David Gravel
3 Podiums – Carson Macedo, Giovanni Scelzi, Kyle Larson
2 Podiums – Sheldon Haudenschild, James McFadden, Corey Day
1 Podium – Donny Schatz, Cory Eliason, Aaron Reutzel, Brent Marks, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

TOP 10 FINISHES (25 Drivers):
9 Top 10s – Brad Sweet
8 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild
7 Top 10s – Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi,
6 Top 10s – James McFadden, Logan Schuchart, Cory Eliason
4 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston, Jacob Allen, Tyler Courtney, Rico Abreu
3 Top 10s – Kyle Larson
2 Top 10s – Brock Zearfoss, Aaron Reutzel, Dominic Scelzi, Kerry Madsen, Corey Day
1 Top 10 – Anthony Macri, Justin Peck, Brent Marks, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Shane Golobic, DJ Netto

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
12. Fri, April 1 / Lawton Speedway / Lawton, OK
13. Sat, April 2 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX
14. Fri, April 8 / US-36 Raceway / Osborn, MO
15. Sat, April 9 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO
16. Fri, April 15 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
17. Sat, April 16 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
18. Fri, April 22 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
19. Sat, April 23 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN
20. Fri, April 29 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN
21. Sat, April 30 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN
22. Fri, May 6 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
23. Sat, May 7 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
24. Wed, May 11 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA
25. Fri, May 13 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
26. Sat, May 14 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
27. Tues, May 17 / Bridgeport Speedway / Swedesboro, NJ
28. Fri, May 20 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH
29. Sat, May 21 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
30. Sat, May 28 / Atomic Speedway / Waverly, OH
31. Mon, May 30 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN
32. Fri, June 3 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
33. Sun, June 5 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
34. Fri, June 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
35. Sat, June 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
36. Fri, June 17 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, IA
37. Sat, June 18 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, IA
38. Thur, June 23 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
39. Fri, June 24 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
40. Sat, June 25 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
41. Fri, July 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
42. Sat, July 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
43. Fri, July 8 / 34 Raceway / West Burlington, IA
44. Sat, July 9 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI
45. Tues, July 12 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH
46. Wed, July 13 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
47. Thur, July 14 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
48. Fri, July 15 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
49. Sat, July 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
50. Wed, July 20 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
51. Fri, July 22 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
52. Sat, July 23 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
53. Sat, July 30 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY
54. Sun, July 31 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY
55. Fri, Aug. 5 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
56. Sat, Aug. 6 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
57. Wed, Aug. 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
58. Thur, Aug. 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
69. Fri, Aug, 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
60. Sat, Aug. 13 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
61. Thur, Aug. 18 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN
62. Fri, Aug. 19 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN
63. Sat, Aug. 20 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN
64. Fri, Aug. 26 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
65. Sat, Aug. 27 / Red River Valley Speedway / West Fargo, ND
66. Thur, Sept. 1 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA
67. Fri, Sept. 2 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA
68. Sat, Sept. 3 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA
69. Mon, Sept. 5 / Gray’s Harbor Raceway / Elma, WA
70. Fri, Sept. 9 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
71. Sat, Sept. 10 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
72. Fri, Sept. 16 / Keller Auto Speedway / Hanford, CA
73. Sat, Sept. 17 / Placerville Speedway / Placerville, CA
74. Fri, Sept. 23 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
75. Sat, Sept. 24 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
76. Fri, Sept. 30 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
77. Sat, Oct. 1 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
78. Fri, Oct. 7 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
79. Sat, Oct. 8 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
80. Fri, Oct. 14 / I-80 Speedway / Greenwood, NE
81. Sat, Oct. 15 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS
82. Thur, Nov. 3 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
83. Fri, Nov. 4 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
84. Sat, Nov. 5 The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

Erb, Sheppard, Blair, Hammer, Pierce and more prepare for Farmer City Raceway April 1-2FARMER CITY, IL – March 28, 2022 – A bullring battle approaches for the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series as it makes its return to Farmer City Raceway for the Illini 100.  Two nights of wheel-to-wheel action highlights the Spring tradition as a potential $26,000 payday is on the line.  A 25-lap sprint paying $6,000-to-win kickstarts the weekend for The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planeton Friday, April 1. On Saturday, April 2, the weekend continues in a 75-lap finale paying $20,000-to-win. This year’s Illini 100 will make history as it also serves as the season opener for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota. Their highly anticipated debut features two nights of racing action on the 1/4-mile bullring.  Joining the World of Outlaws and Xtreme Outlaws Midgets are the Pro Late Models on Friday and the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds on Saturday.  A practice session is available for all divisions on Thursday, March 31.  TICKETS: https://bit.ly/35io6lo If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App. Here are some of the storylines to keep an eye on at the Illini 100:Erb Leads the Way: Dennis Erb Jr. sits atop the points standings for the first time in World of Outlaws CASE Late Models history. The Carpentersville, IL driver has a 30-point advantage on reigning champion Brandon Sheppard entering the Illini 100.  Erb enters the weekend with one World of Outlaws win (Volusia), three top-five finishes, and seven top-10’s in eight races. However, a Series triumph at Farmer City has eluded the veteran.  He finished 14th and 11th in last year’s Illini 100 Features. However, he still found success on bullrings in 2021. Erb scored two of his three wins on 1/4-mile tracks (Circle City and River Cities).  Back home in Illinois: Four-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard can’t wait to return to the Land of Lincoln after misfortune at Cherokee last weekend.  He’s found Victory Lane three times on Illini 100 weekend—the most recent win coming in 2019. “The Rocket Shepp” had a fifth and a third in 2021 at the track and has the chance to make history this weekend.  If the New Berlin, IL driver sweeps both races, he will have $26,000 in his pocket and more wins than any other driver in World of Outlaws history—passing Josh Richards at the top of the list. Sheppard had seven top-five’s, and eight top-10’s on bullrings in 2021.  Hammer Time: Farmer City Raceway is a home-state race for many full-time World of Outlaws drivers. But it’s an actual “home game” for Kyle Hammer.   The Clinton, IL driver has the chance to bring not only the home state but hometown fans to their feet this weekend as he lives less than 10 minutes away from the track. The Rookie of the Year candidate is ninth in points entering the weekend, with a top-five finish at Volusia Speedway Park.   Black and Green Machine: Max Blair is on a roll after winning the Rock Gault Memorial at South Carolina’s Cherokee Speedway last weekend and a third-place finish on Friday. The Centerville, PA driver enters the weekend third in points—38 points behind Dennis Erb Jr. Blair also has an early advantage in the battle for Rookie of the Year—58 points ahead of Tanner English.  He had success with the Series on bullrings in the past, scoring a top-five in his only appearance on a 1/4-mile track in 2021 (Circle City).  Rookie Blue: While Tanner English faces a deficit heading into the first World of Outlaws race in the Midwest, it’s a track that plays into his favor.  Two of his three Series starts in 2021 came at Farmer City Raceway, where he earned a fourth-place finish during Friday’s program.  This season, the Benton, KY driver has three top-10’s so far this season and is tied with Hudson O’Neal for fifth in the standings.Defending the Crown: Last year’s Illini 100 is a moment Bobby Pierce won’t forget. He held off Cade Dillard for his first career World of Outlaws triumph, something that eluded the Oakwood, IL driver for years.  The “Smooth Operator” will return to the 1/4-mile bullring this weekend to defend his crown as one of the many Illinois drivers hoping to keep the World of Outlaws out of Victory Lane.  Pierce was successful in seven of the eight Series races he ran on bullrings in 2021—scoring six top-fives, including five trips to the podium. Bad Boys for Life: Anytime the World of Outlaws travel to the Prairie State, they know a challenge is coming from the “Illinois Bad Boys.” Illinois drivers swept the 2021 Iliini 100 as Pierce, and Mike Spatola won their first career World of Outlaws Feature. In 17 Series Features at Farmer City Raceway, nine drivers from Illinois have won nine, including three by Brandon Sheppard. Brian Shirley and Shannon Babb are behind Sheppard on the World of Outlaws winners list at Farmer City, with two wins apiece. Other Land of Lincoln drivers to keep an eye on this weekend are defending Farmer City Raceway Track Champion Kevin Weaver and Ryan Unzicker, who narrowly missed out on a victory last year, finishing second to Spatola. WHEN AND WHEREApril 1-2, Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, ILABOUT THE TRACKFarmer City Raceway is a 1/4-mile bullring Online – www.farmercityracing.comPREVIOUS WINNERS 2021- Mike Spatola on April 2; Bobby Pierce on April 3 2019 – Brian Shirley on April 5; Brandon Sheppard on April 6 2017 – Brandon Sheppard on March 31; Brian Shirley on April 1 2016 – Josh Richards on April 2, 3 2015 – Scott Bloomquist on April 17; Brandon Sheppard on April 18 2014 – Shannon Babb on April 26 2013 – Billy Moyer on April 6 2012 – Jimmy Mars on March 31 2010 – Billy Moyer on April 10 2009 – Shane Clanton on April 4 2008 – Billy Moyer on April 5 2007 – Shannon Babb on April 27 2006 – Billy Moyer on Aug. 14 TRACK RECORDBrandon Sheppard- 11.750 set by Brandon Sheppard on April 5, 2019.On the Internet World of Outlaws CASE Late Models Series Twitter – Twitter.com/WoOLateModels – @WoOLateModels Instagram – Instagram.com/WoOLateModels – @woolatemodels Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month Around the Turn: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet travel to Atomic Speedway in Waverly, OH for the Outlaw Invasion April 22-23. Feature Winners: (7 Drivers) Rank- Driver- Hometown-WinsDale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA- 2Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-1 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-1 Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-1 Michael Brown, Lancaster, SC-1 Max Blair, Centerville, PA-1HEAT RACE WINNERS (20 Drivers) Rank- Driver- Hometown-WinsDale McDowell-Chickamauga, GA-6Chris Madden-Gray Court, SC-5Brandon Sheppard- New Berlin, IL-4Max Blair, Centerville, PA-3Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY-2 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-2 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-2 Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ-2 Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-2 Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-2Devin Moran-Dresden, OH-1 Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-1 Ross Robinson, Georgetown, DE-1 Kyle Hammer, Clinton, IL-1 Mark Whitener, Middleburg, FL-1 Frank Heckenast, Jr., Frankfort, IL-1 Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-1 Michael Brown, Lancaster, SC-1 Daulton Wilson, Fayetteville, NC-1 Ross Bailes, Clover, SC-1Last Chance Showdown Winners (16 Drivers) Rank- Driver- Hometown-WinsMax Blair, Centerville, PA-3Cade Dillard-Robeline, LA-2 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2Hudson O’Neal- Martinsville, IN-1 Logan Martin, Plains, MO-1 Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-1 Chris Simpson, Oxford, IA-1 Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA-1 Spencer Hughes, Meridian, MS-1 Mike Norris, Sarver, PA-1 Chase Osterhoff, Kankakee, IL-1 Tyler Erb, New Waverly, TX-1 Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA-1 Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV-1 Anthony Sanders, Spartanburg, SC-1 Banjo Duke, Sumter, SC-1PODIUM FINISHES (16 Drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – PodiumsDale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-4Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-2 Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY-2 Chris Madden, Gray Court, NC-2 Max Blair, Centerville, PA-2Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA-1 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1 Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1 Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-1 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS-1 Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-1 Michael Brown, Lancaster, SC-1 Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-1 Ross Bailes, Clover, SC-1 Daulton Wilson, Fayetteville, NC-1FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER (8 Drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, IN-1 Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1 Tanner English, Benton, KY-1 Max Blair, Centerville, PA-1 Gordy Gundaker, St. Charles, MO-1 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-1 Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-1 Carson Ferguson, Concord, NC-1SLICK WOODY’S QUICK TIME Award (7 Drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTsChris Madden, Gray Court, SC-2Kyle Hammer, Clinton, IL-1 Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-1 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1 Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA-1 Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1 Trent Ivey, Union, SC-1CASE Feature Lap Leaders (11 Drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Laps LedDale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-65Max Blair, Centerville, PA-56Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-39 Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-39Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-29Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-25Michael Brown, Lancaster, SC-25Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-18Kyle Hammer, Clinton, IL-17Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-15Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-22022 World of Outlaws Late Model Schedule & WinnersNo./ Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Thursday, Jan. 20 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Dale McDowell (1) 2. Friday, Jan. 21/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Ashton Winger (1) 3. Wednesday, Feb. 16/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Brandon Overton (1) 4. Thursday, Feb. 17/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Dale McDowell (2) 5. Friday, Feb. 18/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Dennis Erb Jr. (1) 6. Saturday, Feb. 19/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Chris Madden (1) 7. Friday, March 25/Cherokee Speedway, Gaffney, SC/Michael Brown (1) 8. Saturday, March 26/Cherokee Speeway, Gaffney, SC/Max Blair (1)

The World of Outlaws Case Construction Equipment 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, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), 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.

(3/28/22) Sacramento, CA … The high-powered NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars will embark on their 63rd season this Saturday, April 2nd at Stockton Dirt Track’s $6,000 to win Asparagus Cup.

It will mark NARC’s 21st visit to Stockton since the central valley facility opened in 2013. The three-eighths mile will be the busiest track on the 2022 calendar with the Third Annual Asparagus Cup slated to be the first of four trips this year.

Joining the West Coast’s premier 410 sprint car series will be the Legends of Kearney Bowl and the NorCal Dwarf Cars.

Who to Watch

The title defense will begin this weekend for 2021 series champion Dominic Scelzi of Fresno, and the venue may be the ideal location for the “Dominator.” With three victories, Scelzi is the winningest series driver through 20 races at Stockton and also owns top-fives in his five of his last seven starts.

2019 titlist, D.J. Netto of Hanford, has a wildly consistent recent record at Stockton. In his last nine series races, he’s finished no worse than fourth leading to a 2.8 average finish over that span. Netto also claimed the 2021 season opener at Stockton.

San Jose’s Tim Kaeding will begin his hunt for a third series championship at a track that’s been very kind to him. In nine NARC starts at Stockton, Kaeding owns a pair of wins and six podium finishes.

Although Shane Golobic of Elk Grove has only scored a pair of NARC wins at Stockton, he is always contending for the top spot.

Now teamed with Roth Motorsports, Australian Kerry Madsen plans to be at the season opener and should be an immediate contender. While he hasn’t made a NARC start at Stockton, he’s contested half a dozen World of Outlaws feature events and come away with five top-10s and a victory.  He has 28 World of Outlaw national wins to his credit.

Eight-time NARC feature winner, Willie Croft, would love to open his 2022 campaign with a momentum-building win as he pursues his first title. He’s yet to earn a NARC win at Stockton, but Croft has been strong with four runner-ups to his credit at the central valley facility.

Though he doesn’t own a NARC victory at Stockton, Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto has shown consistency in his 13 NARC appearances at the track with 11 top-10s and a best finish of second in June of 2016.  He is driving the 2022 campaign for the potent Fresno-based Tarlton Motorsports team.

Also expected to compete are Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, Sebastopol’s Joel Myers Jr., Benicia’s Billy Aton, Hanford’s Michael Faccinto, Clovis’ Sean Watts, Aromas’ Justin Sanders, Iowa’s Austin McCarl, Idaho’s Logan Forler, Tanner Holmes from Oregon, and more.

Fan & Competitor Info

The NARC-King of the West Hoosier Tire format will feature ARP Fast Time Qualifying, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions 8-lap Heat Races, a 6-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon Trophy Dash, a Kaeding Performance Semi if necessary and the Fujitsu General USA 30-lap Feature.

The pit gates will open at 1:00 P.M. with the main gate set to follow at 4:00 P.M. The driver’s meeting will also begin at 4:00 P.M. followed by wheel pack at 4:30 P.M. Qualifying is scheduled to start at 5:00 P.M.

Pit passes are priced at $40. Adult GA tickets are $25. Kids ages 5-12, seniors ages 65+ and military (valid ID required) will be admitted for the discounted price of $20. Kids 4 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased on race day at the gate or in advance via the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/narc-kws-410-sprint-car-series-legends-of-kearney-bowl-norcal-dwarf-cars-tickets-289266884037.

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 Asparagus Cup can be viewed live on floracing.com along with the entire NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car schedule.

FINAL 2021 NARC King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series
Championship Points Standings 

1. Dominic Scelzi, Fresno – 2229
2. DJ Netto, Hanford – 2164
3. Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 2163
4. Bud Kaeding, Campbell – 2145
5. Sean Becker, Roseville – 2115
6. Billy Aton, Benicia (R) – 2078
7. Sean Watts, Clovis – 2026
8. Justin Sanders, Aromas – 1936
9. Shane Golobic, Elk Grove – 1758
10. Joel Myers Jr, Sebastopol (R) – 1548
11. Geoffrey Strole, Hanford (R) – 1445
12. Corey Day, Salinas (R) – 1350
13. Austin McCarl, Altoona, Iowa – 1250
14. Mitchell Faccinto, Hanford – 1237
15. Mitchel Moles, Raisin City – 1206
16. Jessie Attard, Sydney, AUS (R) – 1092
17. Willie Croft, Colfax – 1061
18. Ryan Robinson, Foresthill (R) – 1043
19. Blake Carrick, Lincoln – 1039
20. Rico Abreu, Rutherford – 979

The NARC Fujitsu General USA Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires and Floracing.com.  Associate and product award sponsors include Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bullet Impressions, Dirt.Travel, FK Rod Ends, Johnstone Supply, Kaeding Performance Center, Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash, KSE Racing Products, Maxim, Pyrotect, Roth Motorsports, Safecraft Safety Equipment, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, SCI Racing Products, Scelzi Enterprises, Starr Property Management, Swift Metal Finishing, Sunnyvalley Bacon, System 1 Ignition, Ultra Lite Brakes, Vortex Wings, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Winters Performance Products.

Doorslammers – in association with VP Racing FuelsSanta Pod RacewayFri.20 – Sun.22 May 2022
£90,000 is up for grabs when Santa Pod Raceway presents its annual Doorslammers race in association with VP Racing Fuels. Entries from across Europe are expected to challenge for the record prize fund. 
‘Doorslammer’ is a drag racing term for any car with functioning doors – a ‘tin top’, in circuit racing parlance – so no dragsters, altereds or roadsters are invited. But that doesn’t preclude machines that pack a mean punch. At the top level, any saloon-car resemblance may barely be skin-deep. 
In 2018, Mattias Wulcan’s Chevrolet Camaro-bodied Blackbird entry from Sweden hit a jaw-dropping 262mph in pursuit of the big prize yet had to return the following year actually to win it. 
As Associate Sponsor of the event, VP Racing Fuels is also the Official Fuel Supplier for the venue and Title Sponsor of the Doorslammers’ premier race class, Pro Doorslammer. These heavyweights attract the most attention – brutal machines radically different from any ‘tin top’ seen on a circuit. The no-holds-barred shoot-out pits class-legal Pro Modifieds – which otherwise contest national and European championships – against the unregulated monsters of Sweden’s eighth-mile Top Doorslammer league, reconfigured for this weekend to run the full quarter-mile – and indeed against any other outlandish vehicle whose owner considers it fit for the challenge. 
In place of the usual, seeded qualifying ladder, elimination pairings are drawn at random before each knockout round until the last two contestants left standing dash for the cash. 
It’s truly a matter of “run what ya brung… and hope ya brung enough”. 
Alongside the headline VP Racing Fuels Pro Doorslammer class, the Doorslammers weekend features five other heads-up categories – Pro Street, True Street, Front-Wheel Drive, 6-Cylinder and 4-Cylinder – plus separate daily Big Bracket competitions on Saturday and Sunday, all racing for hefty cash prizes. 
VP Racing Fuels can be purchased online at  https://www.santapodshop.com/garage/race-fuel or directly from the Santa Pod on-site “Garage” shop.  Pre-orders are welcome too by calling the telesales team at Santa Pod Raceway on +44 (0) 1234 782828. 
VP Racing Fuels is best known as the World Leader in Fuel Technology®, fuelling champions in virtually every form of motorsport on land, sea, and air since 1975. The company operates internationally with businesses including race fuels and lubricants, consumer small engine fuels and automotive additives, and licensed retail fuel stations. VP’s partnership with Santa Pod provides availability of its products to all racers competing at the renowned British venue. For more information, visit VPRacingFuels.com. 
Doorslammers 2022 takes place at Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough NN29 7XA, from Friday 20^th to Sunday 22^nd May. Full information and advance booking facilities are available online at https://santapod.co.uk/doorslammers.php or by telephone at 01234 782828. Advance admission prices start at just £25 per day, with kids aged 5-15 at £5 per day – advance booking only, no admission on the gate. There is free paddock access and overnight camping is free with multi-day tickets. 

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 28, 2022) – The broadcast announcers called Chris Dyson “dominant” and it would be tough to dispute that description of his performance at Road Atlanta during this weekend’s third round of the 2022 Trans Am by Pirelli series. Bouncing back from a hard race at Charlotte Motor Speedway the previous weekend, Dyson won the pole at Road Atlanta in his #20 ALTWELL Ford Mustang by a healthy .579-second margin, grabbed the lead going into the first turn and led every lap of the 100-mile sprint. Dyson crossed the finish line 37 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer, Tomy Drissi. While dueling early in the race with Drissi, Dyson also set the race’s fastest lap, thereby securing the maximum number of available championship points, and extending what had been the slimmest of series point leads. This weekend’s triumph marks Dyson’s third Trans Am win at Road Atlanta – he won in 2018 and 2020 – to go with a class win in the American Le Mans Series. “The ALTWELL car was fantastic today,” Dyson exclaimed in a post-race interview. “This was a fabulous weekend for the team. The car was fast right off the trailer. I really felt completely in synch with the track all weekend, in all conditions.” The promise demonstrated with victory in the season-opening race at Sebring International Raceway last month and a front-row start on the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” circuit threatened to evaporate a few laps into last weekend’s Charlotte race. A tire issue while contesting the lead with eventual race winner Paul Menard catapulted Dyson into the wall surrounding the circuit’s tall banking. “The crew had to repair the car after the issue we had last weekend, which wiped out the right side of the car,” Dyson said. “And then we had some engine problems yesterday right as official practice started here at Road Atlanta. But everybody just kept their head down and executed. The great work by the team over the past week saved us from a setback becoming a disaster for our 2022 title effort.” Dyson continued, “It’s tough when you have a bad race and get behind early in the season. You spend the rest of the season playing catch-up. And sometimes you don’t. In the past that has happened to us in this series. You just can’t let your guard down. Thankfully we persevered through a lot here and extended the points lead. I’m delighted and I can’t wait to get to the next races in California.” Old Friends In Atlanta In honor of Plaid, his team’s primary branding partner for the 2018 through early 2021 seasons, Dyson this past weekend wore a driver’s suit with the Atlanta area-based crafts company’s logo emblazoned on the chest. “It was great to have folks from Plaid here as our guests this weekend,” Dyson said. “They have been terrific supporters for the team in Trans Am since our debut, and it was wonderful to have Mike McCooey, President and CEO of Plaid Enterprises, Inc., give the ‘Start Your Engines’ command and then for me to win the race in their hometown.” California Bound The fourth race of the 2022 Trans Am by Pirelli season takes place in Monterey, CA, south of San Francisco, at WeatherTech Laguna Seca, April 22-24. A week later the series travels north to Sonoma Raceway in the Napa Valley wine country.  Video Coverage of Road Atlanta The Road Atlanta race will be televised on a tape-delay basis on CBS Sports Network and also MavTV, dates TBA. Modern Wellness with ALTWELL ALTWELL provides purposefully curated and flavored products to help improve your overall wellness, sleep, relaxation and balance. We know that can be a different experience for everyone, so we prioritize being able to serve the unique needs of our customers. We’re committed to helping you live each day with comfort and calm. That’s why all ALTWELL products are crafted with product quality and consumer satisfaction in mind. Plaid Headquartered in Atlanta, Plaid Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world’s largest, most diverse manufacturers of creative do-it-yourself products. Plaid’s product innovation and dedication to the ever-changing needs of consumers have made the Plaid family of products among the most recognized and desired brands worldwide. Founded in 1976, Plaid began as a publisher of how-to craft books. The company soon expanded into manufacturing, with paint becoming the primary focus. Today, Plaid is the industry’s leading small batch paint manufacturer, proudly producing paint in its facilities located outside of Atlanta, GA.

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 28, 2022) – The broadcast announcers called Chris Dyson “dominant” and it would be tough to dispute that description of his performance at Road Atlanta during this weekend’s third round of the 2022 Trans Am by Pirelli series. Bouncing back from a hard race at Charlotte Motor Speedway the previous weekend, Dyson won the pole at Road Atlanta in his #20 ALTWELL Ford Mustang by a healthy .579-second margin, grabbed the lead going into the first turn and led every lap of the 100-mile sprint. Dyson crossed the finish line 37 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer, Tomy Drissi. While dueling early in the race with Drissi, Dyson also set the race’s fastest lap, thereby securing the maximum number of available championship points, and extending what had been the slimmest of series point leads. This weekend’s triumph marks Dyson’s third Trans Am win at Road Atlanta – he won in 2018 and 2020 – to go with a class win in the American Le Mans Series. “The ALTWELL car was fantastic today,” Dyson exclaimed in a post-race interview. “This was a fabulous weekend for the team. The car was fast right off the trailer. I really felt completely in synch with the track all weekend, in all conditions.” The promise demonstrated with victory in the season-opening race at Sebring International Raceway last month and a front-row start on the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” circuit threatened to evaporate a few laps into last weekend’s Charlotte race. A tire issue while contesting the lead with eventual race winner Paul Menard catapulted Dyson into the wall surrounding the circuit’s tall banking. “The crew had to repair the car after the issue we had last weekend, which wiped out the right side of the car,” Dyson said. “And then we had some engine problems yesterday right as official practice started here at Road Atlanta. But everybody just kept their head down and executed. The great work by the team over the past week saved us from a setback becoming a disaster for our 2022 title effort.” Dyson continued, “It’s tough when you have a bad race and get behind early in the season. You spend the rest of the season playing catch-up. And sometimes you don’t. In the past that has happened to us in this series. You just can’t let your guard down. Thankfully we persevered through a lot here and extended the points lead. I’m delighted and I can’t wait to get to the next races in California.” Old Friends In Atlanta In honor of Plaid, his team’s primary branding partner for the 2018 through early 2021 seasons, Dyson this past weekend wore a driver’s suit with the Atlanta area-based crafts company’s logo emblazoned on the chest. “It was great to have folks from Plaid here as our guests this weekend,” Dyson said. “They have been terrific supporters for the team in Trans Am since our debut, and it was wonderful to have Mike McCooey, President and CEO of Plaid Enterprises, Inc., give the ‘Start Your Engines’ command and then for me to win the race in their hometown.” California Bound The fourth race of the 2022 Trans Am by Pirelli season takes place in Monterey, CA, south of San Francisco, at WeatherTech Laguna Seca, April 22-24. A week later the series travels north to Sonoma Raceway in the Napa Valley wine country.  Video Coverage of Road Atlanta The Road Atlanta race will be televised on a tape-delay basis on CBS Sports Network and also MavTV, dates TBA. Modern Wellness with ALTWELL ALTWELL provides purposefully curated and flavored products to help improve your overall wellness, sleep, relaxation and balance. We know that can be a different experience for everyone, so we prioritize being able to serve the unique needs of our customers. We’re committed to helping you live each day with comfort and calm. That’s why all ALTWELL products are crafted with product quality and consumer satisfaction in mind. Plaid Headquartered in Atlanta, Plaid Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world’s largest, most diverse manufacturers of creative do-it-yourself products. Plaid’s product innovation and dedication to the ever-changing needs of consumers have made the Plaid family of products among the most recognized and desired brands worldwide. Founded in 1976, Plaid began as a publisher of how-to craft books. The company soon expanded into manufacturing, with paint becoming the primary focus. Today, Plaid is the industry’s leading small batch paint manufacturer, proudly producing paint in its facilities located outside of Atlanta, GA.

Circuit of the Americas Race Report

1st5th in Points

24th15th in Points

Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain finished first and teammate Daniel Suárez 24th in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Chastain prevailed in a three-car duel in the final lap to give Trackhouse Racing its inaugural victory after just 48 races in its history. It also marked Chastain’s first career Cup Series victory in 121 starts. It was an impressive performance for both team Chevrolets as the drivers led 46 of the race’s 69 laps. The victory secures Chastain a place in the 2022 NASCAR Playoffs.Ross ChastainStared 16th and quickly moved to eighth in the opening laps. He finished 13th because he pitted with three laps to go in the first stage to better his starting spot in the second stage. Chastain continued to show speed taking over the lead but choosing to pit in the stage’s closing laps and finished eighth. He started the final stage in third and took over the lead on lap 33 and led nearly every lap the rest of the way outbattling AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman on the last lap that included contact and a few lead swaps. Daniel SuárezSuárez qualified second on Saturday, it was the best qualifying effort in Trackhouse Racing’s brief history. He quickly showed his car was the fastest on the track leading all 15 laps and winning Stage 1. It was his first stage victory at Trackhouse Racing and the team’s second of 2022. Suárez restarted Stage 2 in 20th, but suffered a flat tire when he was spun in traffic in the first turn. He pitted his Chevrolet for repairs and finished Stage 2 in 37th. In the final stage, Suárez began a slow march from the back of the field climbing to 17th by lap 40 when he reported he had lost most of the his power steering.He climbed to 12th but a flat tire with three laps remaining dropped him back through the field and he finished 24th. NotesThe NASCAR Cup Series returns to action Sunday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Watch the Amazing Finish and Trackhouse Racing’s First Victory

“When it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight. Justin Marks, Trackhouse, AdventHealth, and the Moose supporting me is awesome. A million Moose members, they better be celebrating tonight all across the country and the world.”— Ross Chastain

“I am so disappointed because we had a rocket ship today. But we got spun, and then the power steering went out and that made it hard.”I am very happy for Ross and all of Trackhouse Racing. Especially happy for Justin Marks. It will be our turn soon. I hope the people at Trackhouse enjoy the victory.” – Daniel Suárez

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ECHO PARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 27, 2022 ROSS CHASTAIN GETS FIRST-CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT COTAClaims Berth in 2022 NCS Playoffs AUSTIN, Tx. (March 27, 2022) – It was a trip to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) that turned into a monumental race weekend for Ross Chastain and his Trackhouse Racing team. For the first time in his career, Ross Chastain drove his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 to victory lane to capture his first-career NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win in the 2nd Annual EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. The triumph comes after a string of strong finishes for the 29-year-old Florida native, including consecutive runner-up finishes.  “It’s insane. To go up against some of the best with AJ (Allmendinger) – I mean, I know he is going to be upset with me; but we raced hard, both of us, and he owes me one,” said Chastain. “But when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight. So, Justin Marks, Trackhouse, AdventHealth, the Moose. A million Moose members, they better be celebrating tonight all across the country and the world. Chastain took the green of the 68-lap, 231.88-mile race from the 16th-starting spot. Battling for the lead throughout Stage Two, the team’s Crew Chief, Phil Surgen, brought the No. 1 ONX Homes/iFly Camaro ZL1 down pit road prior to the end of the second stage, giving Chastain a fourth-place spot to start the final stage. Piloting his Chevrolet-powered machine to the lead on the first lap of the final stage, Chastain survived last-lap chaos to capture the checkered flag at the 3.41-mile, 20-turn Texas road course. In just the second season for the organization, the Chevrolet driver’s victory also brought Trackhouse Racing its first win in NASCAR’s premier series. Trackhouse Racing’s founder and owner, Justin Marks, is no stranger to the sport, going from a driver to ownership role when he started the organization at the beginning of the 2021 season.  With six points-paying races in the books for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Camaro ZL1 has recorded four wins to lead all manufacturers. Joining fellow Chevrolet drivers Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and William Byron on the win list, Chastain makes for the fourth different Chevrolet driver to have now claimed a spot in the 16-driver NCS Playoff field. Circuit of The Americas holds a special place in Chevrolet’s NASCAR history, where the bowtie brand captured its unprecedented 800th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win in the series’ debut at COTA last season. Since that milestone victory, Chevrolet has gone on to capture its 40th NCS Manufacturer Championship and 33rd NCS Driver Championship. Now, with Chastain’s victory at COTA, Chevrolet sits at 818 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier series, extending its win record over all manufacturers as the winningest brand in NASCAR. Chastain led the bowtie brigade to four of the top-five and six of the top-10 finishing positions in the first of six road course circuit events on the schedule for the NASCAR Cup Series, the third time this season that the Camaro ZL1 has accomplished this feat. Alex Bowman drove his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 to a runner-up finish, making it a 1-2 sweep for the Camaro ZL1. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Llumar Camaro ZL1, drove to a fourth-place finish, with Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1 rounding out the Team Chevy top-five. Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSFactor Camaro ZL1, crossed the finish line in ninth; and Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bennett Camaro ZL1, came home tenth to give the bowtie brand an impressive six of the top-10 finishers. Chevrolet has now posted 18 top-five’s and 28 top-10’s thus far this season to lead all manufacturers. The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Richmond Raceway with the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday, April 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ONX HOMES/iFLY CAMARO ZL1; PHIL SURGEN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 1 ONX HOMES/iFLY CAMARO ZL1; AND JUSTIN MARKS, OWNER, TRACKHOUSE RACING, RACE WIN PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: If I could have your attention, we’re going to go ahead and start with our post-race media availability here for the second annual EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.And we are joined by the happy owner of the No. 1 Onyx Homes Chevrolet of Trackhouse Racing, that is Justin Marks. Congratulations. Some thoughts on your triumph here today. JUSTIN MARKS: This was an ambitious thing to sort of dream up, and I asked a lot of people that had a lot of experience in this sport and seen a lot of teams come and go to trust me and to commit to Trackhouse. And so to be here not even — not even a year and a half really into our existence, I’m just proud of everybody that committed.Every single one of these people, they own a piece of this victory. So it was always Ross. That’s what I told him when he got out of the car: It was always you. When the Ganassi buy-out happened, and he texted me as I got off of the press conference stage of the Hall of Fame, and he just wrote, “I want this.” He had to be patient with me while I let the dust settle, but we all were huge, huge believers in Ross’ talent.We knew what he was capable of doing, and he has proved it the last month at Trackhouse. And I think we’ve really just opened a door for him and Phil and the 1 team moving forward.I’m proud of everybody. Chevrolet, Onyx Homes and Moose and AdventHealth. It’s a really, really great day for us. THE MODERATOR: We’re also joined by crew chief Phil Surgen. Congratulations on your win today. Walk us through the excitement there in the final lap from your perspective. PHIL SURGEN: Thanks. A little too much excitement there for a little bit. We knew we had a really strong car all day, and Ross’s restarts were really good. Tyler got by us on one of those restarts late, and we had to fight back for the lead.To come back and fight for the win with AJ, one of the best in the business, was great. And then that last lap was just crazy. I think going for the win on the last lap, everything is on the table. They muscled around, and we prevailed. Q-I’ve got one for each. I’ll start with Justin. Congratulations on to both of you. Justin, you said that you had to get people to trust you and to believe in what you were selling. What’s your sales pitch? How did you convince them? How did you get good at this? You convinced Chip Ganassi to sell his whole team to you.JUSTIN MARKS: Trackhouse is — it’s an investment in the people. The thing is this car — I really believed since day one that this car delivers an opportunity for these companies to feel like real teams and to really invest in teamwork, the way the 9 and the — I’m sorry. The way the 1 and the 99 work together and how everybody feels motivated and empowered.The pitch was, let’s build a great team together, let’s do all of this together. That was the inside of the building pitch. The outside of the building pitch is this sport is ready for challengers. It’s ready for disruptors. It’s ready for people to come in and challenge the status quo and how we do things, have some fun, look good, try to be fast, win races, have a good time doing it.I just have always been authentic about my mission. I just take a lot of pride in seeing everybody’s smiles and happiness today. The pitch was, Let’s just do something great together. Q-Where is Pit Bull? Have you heard from him?JUSTIN MARKS: I just talked to him on the phone. He said he is smashing a watermelon over his head and drinking champagne. Q-Where is he doing that?JUSTIN MARKS: I said I’ll join him as soon as I can. Q-Phil, congratulations. I imagine when you hear that the team is being sold, it’s a little scary and there’s a lot of upheaval. Here you are running the best that this car has ever run since it’s essentially the same driver/crew chief combination. What’s the difference?PHIL SURGEN: Last summer there was a little bit of an unknown there when the team gets bought, and you don’t know how things are going to shake out. Met with Justin pretty early on. Felt really good about what he had to say and felt great about the opportunity to work with Ross again and work with many of the same guys.Last season we did a lot of building, and we got some performance out of the car, particularly the second half of the season.It’s just determination. It’s hard work, and it’s assembling the right group of people. Right now we’ve got every component of it working well together.We got the pit crew. We’ve got the road crew. We’ve got everybody at the shop. Obviously, Ross’ talent speaks for itself, but everything is just working great together right now. And we spent all the offseason focused on developing the Next Gen car and are able to come out of the gate really strong this year. Q-Justin, I know you’re tweeting, but you’re checking them off as you go, right? From contenders to winners, now you have to fight for a Cup Series championship. What would that that mean for you guys to have a fight in winning a Cup Series championship?JUSTIN MARKS: I don’t think we can put the cart before the horse. I think it just comes down to fundamentals. We just have to continue executing, taking advantage of our strengths and improving our weaknesses as much as we can.Tomorrow these guys are going to be in the shop just thinking about Richmond, right? That’s the next one, right? Richmond? Whatever is next.That’s the thing, right? What I say is it’s the aggregate of all the small things that make opportunities for big things to happen. Just to have an opportunity to be at this stage, on this stage, and to be able to compete at this level of the sport, I’m really, really lucky. Lucky that everybody committed to this.We feel like I don’t want to use the word ‘championship’. We just got here, so it’s like we still have a lot to learn. And we haven’t been to a short track yet. We still have a lot to learn with these race cars.We’ll just keep fighting along and doing the best that we can, and we’ll see where we end up at the beginning of the fall. Q-Obviously, I didn’t see this coming, so I’m a little bit still confused about how you guys have done all this. Why do you guys have the speed? Is it that your drivers were this good all along, and they didn’t have the stuff to show it? Are the cars better than everybody else and that’s why you look good? Why is this happening?JUSTIN MARKS: I think a lot of it has to did with this car showcasing the talent of the people behind it. I think that we were coming out of an era in the sport where you could engineer a piece of equipment that was so much — so far superior to everybody else’s, but now we do truly basically have the same stuff.I say it’s an execution car. It’s a car that shines when people work together and really try to prepare well and methodically and think about it. It’s a driver’s car. We have two incredible race car drivers. I’ve said this about Daniel all along, and I’ve said it about Ross for ten years that I’ve known him. These are championship-caliber talents. We just need to get them in a spot where they can shine.And Chevrolet is strong right now. Our preparation is on point. Everybody is super motivated, so we’re just very — workflow is super effective during the week. I say all that knowing there’s a piece of me that I don’t know really besides the fact that we just have really, really good people that are united and working hard and preparing well, executing well. Q-I have two questions. First for Justin. What do you remember about your first conversation with Ross about driving for Trackhouse? And for both of you, what have the last three weeks been like with this near miss, near miss, near miss, going and having that happen? What does this feel like after all of that?JUSTIN MARKS: My first conversation with Ross was — I asked him — you know, obviously, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of the week that we announced the Ganassi buy-out was confusing for a lot of people. So I had to talk to a lot of people.Ross didn’t really know which way was up. Am I a part of this? Do I have a future with the company? What’s the plan here?I told him to be patient because we just tried to keep the buy-out so quiet that really when we went in to make the announcement, there was really only 12 people in the world that knew about it, and it was shocking for a lot of people.So there was a lot of work we had to do in the weeks afterwards. And then when we got to the point where, okay, the dust is settled, we know sort of which way is up and we’re planning for what’s next, I told Ross when he got out of the car on the front straightaway, It was always you, it was always you.I called him. I was up in Michigan, and I called him, and I told him that I’ve always been a huge believer in your talent. I think that you’re prime to break through. I want to put you on a two-year deal so you’ve got some job security. This is your race team. Let’s go win.He just dove right in and committed, and you see the result of it. The last couple of weeks have been just — you’re just seeing the fruits of your labor, and I just think it’s made everybody in the company believe that great things are possible for this enterprise, and we’re getting closer. We just keep doing it, our day will come. THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our race winner Ross Chastain. We’ll continue on with questions. Q-(Off microphone)PHIL SURGEN: The last three weeks have been really reassuring for us. It proved that all the efforts that everybody at Trackhouse have put in in the last six months were — everything they were doing was right.Like Justin alluded to, everybody in every department is doing the right things, and it gives you that confidence that it is truly the right things, and the long hours and the efforts that you are putting in are for something. It’s reassuring to know that you can get the results. It’s hard when you don’t. Q-I wouldn’t mind if both Justin and Ross answer this, but it’s for Justin. There’s going to be a lot talked about. Was the move kosher? Was it fair? Was it over the line? Is there anything that really is over the line with this Playoff system?JUSTIN MARKS: I struggle to find what’s too much. Today was not different than how you see so many of these races end. They’re so hard to win, and it’s just sort of like the way people think about racing each other and attacking the race track, it changes throughout the race.These races almost always have late race restarts, and there’s so much on the line that you just get to a point where it’s, like, all right, who just wants it the most.NASCAR has proven over the last four decades that they’re going to let these races play out like they may, and they’re going to let it self-police. These guys all wanted it. There’s always contact at the end of these races.Honestly, today is just not that much different than what you see a lot of times on green-white-checkereds at these race tracks. You take that white flag, and it’s like who wants it the most? Who wants it the most?Ross got beat up a little bit today too. I want to make sure people remember, Ross got used up a little bit today a couple of times. And when the money is on the line and a Playoff spot is on the table, you do what you got to do. That’s my opinion.Ross, your take?ROSS CHASTAIN: I didn’t draw it up that way in my head, but, yeah, I did what I did. I stand by it. Q-Two questions for Ross. First of all, congratulations on your win. It’s a long time coming. My first question is, you know, what were some of the lessons you learned from racing for JD Motorsports and Ganassi that’s helped you with Trackhouse Racing?ROSS CHASTAIN: Old tires, scuffs. Yeah, it’s everything. It’s race craft. It’s just laps. I got the Xfinity Series in in 2015, and I didn’t know how to turn right at all, and that was when Justin was in the series quite a bit on those tracks.I would go to him. I knew him from the start of my career in 2011 with Stacy Compton, and I just kept racing. I didn’t really have any great success at it, but it was just laps and race craft, and it all came together today. Q-How did you keep your faith up knowing you went through those ups and downs, especially when you weren’t sure if you were going to go up to Ganassi with what happened, and then you get this opportunity with Trackhouse, and obviously excelled with it?ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah, there were some days there where I didn’t know. Turns out Justin pretty much knew all along. When the sale happened, I texted him. I was at a wheel force test with Chevy and said I want this, and he said I know. Give me some time.To me that time should have been five minutes. I was, like, okay, just respond and say you got the job, but took some days and weeks. We were talking and figuring it out, and this is big business. This is big business racing, and this is a huge industry. You don’t just get the ride because you want it. I get that.But I don’t know how I could have ever scripted my career and the people that I met along the way, the people that I hurt along the way, the people that I wronged along the way, but it’s all got me here one way or the other.Part way through last year, I’ve said it in several interviews. I don’t know why I keep bringing it up. Because it helped me, but Mike Metcalf gave me a book called “It Takes What It Takes”. And it reset my whole mindset.I didn’t get worked up today when we had the lead. I didn’t get too high, and I didn’t get too low whenever we lost the lead to Tyler. It just is what it is. And thank neutral and go get it in the next opportunity. Q-I bet you can guess what I’m going to revisit. Yesterday I asked you about winning on a road course, and you said, I’m not a road course driver. I’m not good at road courses. Look what you did today. How special is it for you to get that first win on a road course?ROSS CHASTAIN: I’ve went to school when every driver is working to be the best race car driver that they can be, and I have been no different.Over the years I tried to be better, and Chevy gives us a ton of support. Once I became a backed Chevy driver in 2018, the resources I had at my disposal were incredible. I’ve tried to never go to sleep without using one of their resources, and it’s cost me other things in life and creature comforts of personal life.I’ve never sacrificed — no driver does, but I never sacrifice anything that I couldn’t. If there’s just one little thing I could do with the group of boys and girls that Chevrolet gives to us drivers, I just know what it was like without that, and I realize now how unfair that is, right, but they give us drivers the resources to become better.It might be something very small, and there’s been a few things I’ve learned that are huge. I’ve put in work. I’ve came out here to COTA both years ahead of the race and rented — one was a Skip Barber car, and one was just another race car. And it was just to get laps at this place. And I just did it last week, and it’s just — I just need to keep getting better.I didn’t feel like I could come here without showing up ahead of time and getting some laps. It’s not always convenient, but I want to be — everybody does, we want to be the best race car drivers we can be. Really the job never stops. Q-I would assume then you wouldn’t have necessarily years ago thought you were going to get your first win at a road course?ROSS CHASTAIN: Several years ago I just wanted to — I thought I had found my niche in the sport. I thought I found a comfortable spot. I thought I could make a living. It wasn’t glamorous by any means, but it was a way to stay in the sport that I loved and do what I loved.And I was preparing myself to get more involved with the farm back home and probably live in Florida more, travel to the races on the weekends, and not put a lot of effort, put more effort into the farm during the week, and then come back to the races.I was a few years out from that, but I had come to terms with that, and then in 2018 that all changed. Q-Phil, has Ross’ driving elevated, or has the new car elevated his driving? What do you see in him?PHIL SURGEN: Obviously, been running good this year. Better this year with the new car than the old car, but I don’t think it’s elevated his driving.You look back at a lot of the — particularly the road course events last year. We came here and finished fourth in the rain, and the other road courses were a high point for us as well.I don’t think it’s elevated it. It’s always been there. We’ve been working hard to put the car under him that he needs, and it showed today. THE MODERATOR: Phil, congratulations. We’ll move you along to your next stop. We’ll continue on the floor. Q-One for Ross and one for Justin. Ross, you and I have talked through the years about the good and the bad and things like that. How does a watermelon farmer from Florida process their first NASCAR Cup Series win, making the Playoffs with that, and then going ahead with this new team building your career?ROSS CHASTAIN: I don’t know how to process it yet. I sit here, and I look at this, and I think back to the stories of our family. They were in south Georgia for a long time. My great granddad moved the family south to Florida. My granddad two years in to living in Punta Gorda, Florida, enlisted in the service, he and his brother, because it was going to be a better life.You think about that, and that’s unfathomable for me. They came back, built the farm up. My dad and uncle became old enough to farm on their own. They’ve grown the farm to an incredible spot. And when you just think about agriculture right now, it’s scary. We don’t have crop insurance. In our area it’s not a thing. I think it’s coming down the pipe, but it really keeps the number of watermelon farmers to a very small group of us, probably five or six, there’s probably ten. We just honed in on watermelons as the family business. It started eight generations ago. Really before that 12 generations ago they were farming, but back then everybody farmed. We stuck with it, for better or worse, and every generation has stayed with it.When I look at that, and I think about what my great grandfather and farther back and then my granddad, what he has lived through, it’s incredible that we’ve been able to get into this sport.My dad liked it. Did some hobby racing. Got me into it. Mark Martin, which was here today, came by my car. Mark Martin the NASCAR driver came by my car and gave me a fist-bump and said, You’re awesome, with some other words. I love what you are doing, and keep being bad to the bone. He said some other words.I was, like, wow. His son Matt was the reason I wanted to race. They raced at 417 at my local track in The Fast Kid Series. Bobby Diehl ran it. And we ran the next race. It was Matt’s last race.To think back to the farming and then tie that into the racing, how my career has went, it’s just like there was never — I wanted to race, and that’s all I wanted to do. All this extra stuff now and to get to talk about watermelons on a national level, get to talk about agriculture in a positive light.It’s a scary world, and a small minority of people are very vocal, and they think that farmers are trying to kill them and hurt them, and it’s just not the case. We’re trying to feed the world.It’s a very small number of people in the world that grow the crops that feed this world and feed this population worldwide, so it’s a thankless job for the farmers. The real farmers. I’m just the one that gets to talk about it now, but I think for farmers and small racers everywhere, this is a big win. Obviously, I think so. Q-Justin, we know you are also a race car driver and pretty darn good on road courses. You have your own team. Have you considered getting a third car going just for a couple of one-offs to try it out?JUSTIN MARKS: No. I would like to drive the car. I think it would be fun to drive the car, but I think those days have passed me by, at least at this level.I have a Trans-Am car, and I’ll go have some fun. But I think what’s really interesting about today is — Ross alluded to it a little bit — it kind of makes sense. I came up road racing, and I never really got the car figured out on the ovals in NASCAR and really tried to develop my racing craft.Through that process Ross and I spent a lot of time together at the race tracks, and I tried to help him where I could help him and watched him get faster and faster and faster.For us to come and for him to be the one that delivered the first win for this company at a road course is just — it’s just kind of a cool story. It just kind of makes sense. It’s kind of wild.ROSS CHASTAIN: It makes sense? I don’t think it makes sense.JUSTIN MARKS: Makes sense to me.I love racing. I love race cars. I always have since I was four years old, as much today as at any point in my career. And I made a decision a couple of years ago that if I was going to fly to the top of the heights of this sport, I was going to have to do it on this side, not in the race car, and we have. Q-Ross, the watermelon you smashed today, was that the watermelon you started the season with?ROSS CHASTAIN: No, no, it didn’t last. No. That one was actually last week. We got rid of that one and got a new one. Q-(No microphone)ROSS CHASTAIN: We buy them at the grocery store just like everybody else does. My food comes from the grocery store, and our watermelons for NASCAR Cup Series victories do too. Q-Your dad wasn’t here. You talked to him on FaceTime, but your mom was here. Can you just share what it was like interacting with them for the first time after this? What did you tell them?ROSS CHASTAIN: I don’t know how to put it into words. Obviously, they were the first two, right? Yeah, I wish my dad was here. So with our farm, him and my brother, Chad — my dad Ralph and my brother Chad, they farm and run JDI Farms. And there’s five full-time people, and we bring in a crew to plant, to water the plants, plant the plants, harvest the plants.If Chad comes to the race, my dad stays back, and if my dad comes to the race, Chad stays back, and Chad spots. Chad is the one, he raced at Watkins Glen for Niece Motorsports last year, and it’s my dad stayed back to keep the farm going. No different than any other business: if the boss is away, the mice will play, right?You got to stay on everybody, and plants are in the ground, and we’ll start harvesting in a few weeks. This is our go time to grow the watermelons. So, yeah, I wish he was here, but my mom is here, and she’s just supported me the whole way.That was the closest I came to crying after the race and just now just thinking about she doesn’t get to come to as many as she wants to. She’s a traveling nurse, so she’s working an assignment now in north Georgia doing what she wants to do, right? She likes to take care of people, and she wants to save lives, and she’s worked through COVID and never backed down and has actually saved lives.For her to take time out of her schedule to come and to work her work schedule around to be here, it’s not lost on me. Chad comes and spots, and hopefully gets to race a little more. And we’re just racers. So I wish dad was here, wish a lot of people were here, but that’s not how the world works. Q-I have a couple more for Ross. When you hear that Ganassi is being sold, do you think my chances of winning a Cup race are not good because you don’t know what it’s going to do to that time, and you don’t know what your future is?ROSS CHASTAIN: No, that thought didn’t cross my mind. It was more the text I got a few hours before was Justin bought Chips. I said, I hope you mean Doritos.JUSTIN MARKS: What did you say?ROSS CHASTAIN: I said I hope you mean Doritos. I knew exactly what it meant, but I had — my blind humor was, and it was instant. I looked over at Darrian Grubb, who was sitting next to me. We were at the wheel force test.I said, do you know?He is, like — I looked at him.He said, What’s wrong? I said, Do you know?Know what?I showed him the text, and he is, like, I got to make a call. Then I made a call. Yeah, it’s for real.Once I knew it was Justin, I knew I had a shot, but I’ve been around enough to know, in the small scale I’ve seen the business side of this, and I know the numbers that it takes to fund these deals. I just didn’t know what this meant.Yeah, there was some definite questions, and the answer I got was some questions just aren’t ready to be answered.No, did I think I would never win a Cup race? That thought did not cross my mind. I just didn’t know if I would ever — more it was I didn’t know if I would ever drive in Cup again. Q-Did that text come from Spire, I guess?ROSS CHASTAIN: T.J. Q-Does the fact that AJ isn’t running full-time and isn’t trying to get a Playoff spot, does that go through your head at all and influence the move that you made?ROSS CHASTAIN: No, it’s just a race car. I know who I’m racing around. I’m aware of my surroundings. And honestly, through the carousel I thought with Alex to my right and AJ ahead of me, I didn’t think there was a way to win. When we got to 19, everything happened, and it was not the plan.The plan was stay out front when we took the white, and I just babied it. I eased it into 12 too much, and he got to me. It only took a small little bump in 15. I was so loose through there all day. You saw it in qualifying. It’s where I slipped up and missed the fast five and was managing that all day, and it only took a small little bit.No, I don’t race anybody any different.I’ve cost AJ a win at Daytona in the Xfinity Series, and he was obviously a quarter mile away from winning here. He has taught me a lot, and I’m sure that our friendship will hurt for this. I feel like I had started to win some of his friendship back, and just being nice to each other when you see each other. It took a while.I hate that because I’ve lived through that in my career for 12th place in Xfinity. I’ve fought, and I’ve roughed people up and gotten into people. I’ve wrecked Justin Marks. He was going to win Road America in 2016, 2017. I wrecked him and James Davidson for no reason. It’s not lost on me that I make some of the same mistakes. It’s just staring down a Cup Series win. I just couldn’t let that go. Q-My question is, with the last four races you’ve had four top three finishes. What do you attribute your recent success in the NexGen car, and can you carry this momentum all the way to Phoenix in November?ROSS CHASTAIN: I don’t know. You never know your next race how you’re going to run. This car is so volatile to drive. One bottom-out in the car one time at California, and I hit the wall almost head on and destroyed it. Kicked off our season in the hole.It’s no guarantees. We have to keep working hard. We’ve had this talk after the third — the first, third, and first second, I guess or maybe even after Vegas I think because Daniel had ran good at California. Then we ran good at Vegas. And Ty Norris got in front of the shop and said, Look, this is not the time to stop. This is not the time to rest on what we’re doing. Yes, it’s great, but this is what we’re here to do. We’re winners. Believe it. You keep building the cars like this, Daniel and Ross can win.It hasn’t slowed down, and I don’t expect it to slow down. Q-How do you stay neutral now?ROSS CHASTAIN: Man, it’s not easy, but that’s the whole point, right? You have to work at it. It’s not easy in the car to not get excited when I take the lead. It’s not easy to get down whenever I lose the lead.It’s not. It’s hard. This stuff is hard. Mentally thinking the right things for me in those moments are so challenging, and it’s something that I’ve just had to work at. No different than doing push-ups or air squats or running or biking. Mentally I have to work at it because I’m not good at that.I feel like just like I have to work to be a good road course racers, to turn right. Turning left kind of came natural. I will say that. From an early age I felt like guys I would race against a lot of times tried too hard, but I could race with anybody growing up, and mentally I didn’t realize that until the last few years that that’s a job. That’s a workout. That takes effort.It’s easy to get down. It’s easy to get depressed. We live this glamorous life, and we fly all over and race cars for a living, and everybody in this room covers it, and we all live this life, but everybody is fighting stuff. Everybody has things that pull at them. It’s easy to get down.Fighting that, you have to — I have to fight it. I have to, no, get that out. Back to the basics. Okay. Do I need to warm my tires? Do I need to keep the engine cool? What gear am I in? I’m dropping the clutch to fire behind the pace car and about to lose my spot because the ignition is off. Quit messing up. Focus. How much brake temperature do I need? What can I control? That’s how I stay neutral. Q-Ross, was that your brother? I’m assuming that was Chad that you picked up.ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah. Q-What was that moment like? What did you guys say? Then I have a quick follow-up.ROSS CHASTAIN: We were screaming. You know, I just couldn’t leave him back there. He supported my entire career. We’re six years apart. He watched me race growing up. His racing car just didn’t have the opportunities that I did and the investment it takes to get going as a kid at 18 years old or now 16 for the Truck Series in some races. It’s only going up, and it’s just astronomical.It’s one of those things that the fact that he is — we’re brothers. We’re just, it’s us. We have a big family, and it starts at the top with our grandparents, our Mima and granddaddy on my dad’s side, our Mima and Papa on my mom’s side. To have all four we know we’re lucky, but what they’ve built into our family, the family that they’ve built is — I just couldn’t leave him back there.As soon as I got done doing my burnouts and in one, I was, like, Chad where are you at? Get out on the track. Then I drove slow. I didn’t do any burnouts with him. I just eased around the track, but I wasn’t going to leave him back there and make him fight his way into the track. Get in. We’re going. We won because he is my brother and I love him. Q-When will you let it soak in, and how will you celebrate?ROSS CHASTAIN: I don’t know. I don’t know that that question is ready to be answered.JUSTIN MARKS: That will probably be the topic of discussion on the flight home?ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah.JUSTIN MARKS: We will celebrate. Q-Justin, as much as Ross won the race, Suarez dominated stage one, led all 15 laps. Circumstances prevented him from being contending for the win, but obviously he had a solid start to the day, and obviously, showing the same kind of speed that Ross has shown all year.JUSTIN MARKS: Yeah. Super, super proud of the 99 team. Daniel was very focused this week and put a lot of pressure on himself to try to deliver a win today, and circumstances dictated otherwise.He wants it really, really bad, and I know that it’s coming for him soon. He has a ton of speed. He has a great team behind him. We’re all behind him. He lost his power steering with 28 laps, had no power steering the last 28 laps of this race. He was a warrior and soldier to finish this thing.He has a lot of fight in him. He is not going to give up until we get him in Victory Lane. I think both of our cars will be in the Playoffs this year. We just got to make sure we put them in that position. Q-This is going to seem weird. Daniel, last year it was all him. This team started with him. I’ve seen this happen before. I saw it happen with your buddy Shank last year when Helio got the first win. Could Daniel be disappointed that he didn’t get the first win?JUSTIN MARKS: Yeah, of course. I think he is gutted today. Especially after leading every lap in the first stage and winning it, and he was so early in the process of building Trackhouse that I think in his mind he was always going to be the guy that was going to deliver our first win. I think that’s hard on him.But in a way I always try to take the long view on this stuff. These are our guys. These are our drivers. We’re building a team around both these guys, and that’s what I’ll tell him this week is you have an awesome opportunity to win Richmond in five days from now, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.These guys are all so competitive. We’ve done a good job at Trackhouse building two teams that really, really help each other. But when you distill that all the way down to the glory of winning a race and your first career race and sticking a Chevy in the Playoffs, it’s hard. It’s hard to navigate that teamwork, that selflessness and all that.He is gutted. He came over and gave Ross a hug. He understands the mission here, and he is probably already thinking about Richmond. And I’m excited to see what he is going to do the next couple of weeks. Sure, it’s human nature. Q-For the record, how many Ganassi people did you keep? How much of this is old Ganassi?JUSTIN MARKS: I think we have 128 people on the payroll, and 110, 105? Really a lot of them. It was important for me to keep a lot of those people because they know that building, they know workflow in that building, they’re used to working together. It’s a pretty tall mountain to climb if you put 120 people together that have never worked together and say, Go do this.There was some attrition. There were some people in the company that didn’t see it and went to go do something else, and that’s fine. The group that was left is fully, fully bought in. I’m really happy for all of them. Q-Do you count Ross in that number, by the way, of 105 people that you —JUSTIN MARKS: Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. He raced out of that building, you know? Q-I didn’t know if he is independent because you didn’t…JUSTIN MARKS: No, absolutely. Q-So, Ross, he has said several times that it was always you, but it had to be — he had to be quiet and do things quietly. He also said you texted him that as he was leaving the stage at the press conference. Why did you want all in, and how did you convince him? I guess he didn’t have to be. It was always you.ROSS CHASTAIN: I didn’t convince him. He already knew. It was important to just — I have a good group around me, and it was like, What do we do? I had to fight off the fear. They asked at the wheel force test, Are you ready to get back in? I said, No, I need ten minutes. Ten turned into 30. They’re, like, We’ve got to get going. I said, You don’t want me driving your car right now.Once I sent the text — this sounds funny. I’ve done all I can do. He knows. He will see it when he sees it, but I still have a job to do here, so we finished out the day. Q-What did the text say?ROSS CHASTAIN: I want this. Q-What did Daniel say?ROSS CHASTAIN: Out there? Everything is a blur. Good job, proud of you. Yeah. I can’t believe I still have a voice, honestly. My right hand hurts from high-fiving and hugging people and slapping people. My back is probably bruised from all the punches I got in the back, slaps. Q-Ross, I have two questions for you. Your journey within NASCAR to this point started July 29th, 2011, in a Truck race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. At what point in the last 11 years since that night did you allow yourself to believe that what you did today could happen, would happen, was possible?ROSS CHASTAIN: I’m a good couch racer. I believed for a long time, but Justin asked me on the front stretch, Do you believe yet? I would say that I still struggle with that.Yeah, I don’t view myself as a Cup Series winning race car driver. I just feel like I have to work to get there, and I’m not there yet. There’s so many mistakes I make.There’s mental, but physical. There’s the shifting, the braking, just the feedback in practice. There’s so many ways to mess this stuff up, and I haven’t done it perfect yet. I’ve learned to think neutral and just, okay, don’t get too worked up if I do something wrong. Just right back to it. It hasn’t happened yet. Q-You didn’t get your first real chance in race-winning equipment until the last five years or so. You’ve been in everything a driver could want or need to drive to get to this point. What’s your message to drivers who are currently where you used to be in back marker cars? What’s your message to them today?ROSS CHASTAIN: There is no right or wrong way to do this. You see guys every year take a different path. If you don’t have the resources to go rent or get in or you’re not hired to drive something really good and in the lower series, it’s just the economics of this sport. You kind of have to bring something.Wherever you can plug in, I mean, I’m a proponent of starting out. You race. You just race everything you can. As long as you’re at the track, you have a chance to — you just never know, right? I’ve carried around an extra set of driving stuff in case somebody got sick, and I’ve blown up in races and started races and then gotten in somebody else’s truck to finish the race for them.You just have to keep going. If you are bought in — you have to buy in. You have to live in Mooresville or the area. You just have to be there.Something comes up and you meet a crew chief and run into him at lunch, and he is, like, Hey, we don’t have a driver or his money fell through. I don’t have anything, but I’ll drive it. That’s how the Mario — that’s how the DGM deal.That’s how I drove for Mario Gosselin yesterday was last Friday we’re headed to Atlanta, and he is looking for somebody with some sponsorship, and I’m, like, well, I don’t have anything, but I’ll drive it. He was, like, You’ll drive it? Yeah. Mario, yeah, I want to race. I want to race.He couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t believe that he let me drive. I think that it’s surreal that I get to drive race cars for a living, so if you are able to do that in this sport, if you can pay your bills, and you have to give up a lot. You have to give up a personal life.Some guys balance both. I’ve never been able to balance both. I’m 29 and single and just chasing race cars. I know it sounds silly to say, but that’s a conscious effort to do that. THE MODERATOR: Justin, Ross, congratulations. Tremendous win today. Good luck next week at Richmond.

Austin Dillon Earns Career-Best Road Course Result with Top-10 Finish in the No. 3 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at COTA

10th

21st

18th

“We finished in the top 10 in the No. 3 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet, which is a really great testament to all of the hard work everyone has put into our road course program at RCR and ECR. We came from a long way back after qualifying 21st on Saturday, and then we had a little bit of pit trouble that sent us back even further during the race. Luckily, these races are really long so you can’t let an early penalty get you down. As a team, we just stayed focused and we were able to progress and make the car better. We were able to just keep going and get all the way up there to finish where we needed to. We were really good on those restarts at the end. To come back after two bad races, where we were taken out of the race and it was out of our own hands, feels good. We kept this one in our hands all day and it was wild there at the end. It feels great to get a top 10. COTA is probably not our best track, but it’s becoming better and better for us. I’m really proud of our guys and the effort that we put in our Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet.”-Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Lead Laps and Have Spectacular Showing at COTA

5th

4th

10th

“This one hurts because we were so close to a win, but I know that we will find Victory Lane in the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet soon. We were strong today, and spent most of the race contending in the top five. We were leading the race on the final restart, but I just didn’t get a good launch off Turn 1. I almost had the No. 1 car cleared, but didn’t quite. We were really on the loose side all day long and that made us pretty susceptible to getting aggressive at the end. It was just easy to get moved around there and ultimately that was a problem. With just a little bit of pressure from anybody behind us, the back of the car was out of the track. Our Chevy could get through the esses pretty well and could do a lot of things really well, but if we had to battle with other cars in traffic, it was hard to get the good launch off the corner and complete a pass or battle hard. It’s tough to settle for fifth after being so close to a win, but we will learn from today, go back to the simulator and go back to work. Proud of everyone on this team and really thankful to have 3CHI on board the No. 8.” -Tyler Reddick

March 27, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Freightliner team came away from Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas with a 17^th-place finish plus six Stage points.

Burton lined up 19th for the start of the Cup Series’ first road race of 2022, and ran outside the top 20 until the closing laps of Stage One when crew chief Brian Wilson elected to stay on the track while others ahead of the Freightliner team opted to make pit stops.

Burton moved up to ninth place and collected two Stage points.

After making his pit stop during the caution period following the end of the Stage, Burton returned to the track in 28^th place. He gained six spots before the team used their Stage One strategy again, moving up to seventh at the end of that 15-lap run. He earned another four points there.

In the third and final segment of the race, the No. 21 team found more speed and Burton had moved into the top 15 before being collected in a crash that damaged the right front of his Mustang.

After the pit stop and fresh tires, he returned to the track in 29^th place and had worked his way to 23^rd when another caution flag set up an overtime finish.

A strong drive over the final two laps netted Burton six spots.
 
“It was a good day,” Eddie Wood said. “For the first road-course race of the year it went really well.
 
“Harrison didn’t get turned around or spin on his own, and he made up some spots there at the end.”
 
Wood went on to say it was a good day for the entire Freightliner team.
 
“The pits stops were good,” he said, adding that crew chief Brian Wilson made good decisions from the pit box. “The strategy was good. There was a lot of back and forth about when to pit because there were so many options.
 
“The ones he chose worked out.” 
 
Burton and the No. 21 team now head to Richmond Raceway for next Sunday’s 400-lap run.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES MARCH 27, 2022
 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ONX HOMES / IFLY CAMARO ZL12nd     ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL14th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR FILMS CAMARO ZL15th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL19th      ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL110th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BENNETT CAMARO ZL1  TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)  2nd    Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)3rd      Christopher Bell (Toyota)4th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)5th      Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Richmond Raceway with the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday, April 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ONX HOMES / IFLY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 1stChastain has been so close this year to getting that first career win. Ross, today you couldn’t be denied. You had to fend them off at the end. You go from first to third. There was beating, there was begging. What was that last lap like, and what is this first win like?“I don’t know. It’s insane. To go up against some of the best with AJ (Allmendinger) – I mean, I know he is going to be upset with me; but we raced hard, both of us, and he owes me one. But when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight. So, Justin Marks, Trackhouse, AdventHealth, the Moose. A million Moose members, they better be celebrating tonight all across the country and the world. Phil Surgen (Crew Chief), man. He is so good. People don’t know how good this group is. I can’t believe Justin Marks hired me to drive this car.”
You lost control of that final restart. You get a good restart on the outside, which nobody had done. What did you have to do to make that happen, and how is that watermelon tasting right now?“It’s never tasted sweeter, I got to tell you. I don’t know. I don’t know how we got back by. I was so worried about AJ (Allmendinger) on the second-to-last restart that I let Tyler (Reddick) drive right by both of us. And AJ is so good. I’ve learned so much from him. And it was like how do you go beat the guy? He taught me so much. I’ve learned so much from so many people from 417 Speedway back home with my dad.I was thinking about on those late restarts, my dad used to make me race on old tires, and back then I was not going to win. It was in my head before I even started. It crossed my mind, like, We’re not going to win, we’re on old tires, but I couldn’t think that way. I thought neutral. Chevrolet, everything they do for me gave me the tools to try to go execute and we did it.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BENNETT CAMARO ZL1– Finished 10^th“Finished top-10 and we were really good on those restarts at the end. Came from a long way back. You know we had a little pit trouble that sent us back, but we were able to just keep going and get all the way up there to finish where we needed to. Luckily these races are really long, so you can’t let an early penalty get you down. Just stay focused and we were able to progress and make the car better. To come back after two bad races getting taken out kind of out of our own hands, we kept this one in our hands all day and it was wild there at the end. It feels great to get a top-10. Probably not our best track that we would look forward to coming to and it’s becoming better and better for us. Really proud of our guys and the effort that we put in our Bennett Chevrolet.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1– Finished 5^thWALK ME THROUGH THOSE LAST FEW LAPS“Yeah, just didn’t get a good launch off turn one. And just almost had the 1 car cleared but didn’t quite. We were really on the loose side all day long and that make us pretty susceptible to getting aggressive at the end. So, was just easy to get moved around there and that was kind of a problem I had all day. Just a little bit of pressure I had from anybody, and the back of this car was out of the track. It could get through the esses pretty good and could do a lot of things really well, but we just missed it in a little way where if we had to battle with other cars in traffic, it was really hard to get the good launch off the corner and complete a pass or really battle hard. So, it was tough, but we will learn from it and go back to the simulator and go back to work.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1– Finished 4^thWHAT WAS YOUR POINT OF VIEW AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO HAVE A FINISH THIS SOLID? YOU FOUGHT FOR IT ALL DAY LONG CHASE.“Yeah, I didn’t really have to do anything. They just kind of wrecked and they were out of the way so I just kind of ran it on the road and I got a free couple of positions, so I will take it.”
YOU AND KYLE BUSCH WERE GETTING INTO IT A LITTLE BIT EARLY OR WERE YOU GETTING INTO IT? WAS THERE ANYTHING HOT AND HEAVY BETWEEN YOU TWO?“No, I messed up earlier in the race.  I got crossed up in the braking zone and hit him. Obviously, we were racing for last and probably weren’t even racing for Stage points and I think he knows me better than that. But yeah, that was completely on me…….and my fault.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1– Finished 33rd“This Action Industries Chevy was so fast, and our pit stops were great all day. If we had a long run, nobody was going to touch us. I’m so proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. All these men and women have had a lot of sleepless nights trying to just get these cars to the next race. I was doing everything I could do to try to sweep the weekend for them. We were that close. We know we had a shot to win the race. It’s tough to win a Cup race, so when you put yourself in a position to legitimately run up front all day and have a shot to win it, it’s a pretty great day. Unfortunately, just we needed about two more corners.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1– Finished 12th“Tough day. Definitely put us behind with the speeding penalty. We were going to cycle out there in between AJ (Allmendinger) and Reddick (Tyler) and messed it up on my part. I thought our car was decent all day. Definitely some things to work on, but good to come home 12^th, get a solid finish and we’ll be good at Richmond and Martinsville. Looking forward to it.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1– Finished 2^ndWHAT’S YOUR TAKEAWAY ON THAT LAST LAP IN THE BATTLE FOR THE WIN?“We had a really fast Ally Chevrolet Camaro and I have been trying to do a better job as a race car driver at these road courses and I felt like from where I started the weekend, we accomplished that. So, thanks to Greg (Crew Chief Ives) and all the guys and really happy for Ross (Chastain) in getting his first win. Its been a crap weekend, so I am ready to get home and see the dogs and move on to next weekend. But glad to come home with a second place finish.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ECHO PARK AUTOMOTIVE GRAND PRIX TEAM CHEVY RACE WIN QUICK NOTES & QUOTE MARCH 27, 2022

ROSS CHASTAIN CAPTURES FIRST-CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT COTACamaro ZL1 Scores Fourth NCS Victory of 2022 Behind the wheel of his No. 1 ONX/iFly Camaro ZL1, Ross Chastain scored his first-career NASCAR Cup Series win in the 2nd Annual EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).  ·       Ross Chastain scored his first-career NASCAR Cup Series victory in 121 starts in the series.  ·       It also marks the first NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Trackhouse Racing in the organization’s second season of competition. ·       Chastain’s triumph is the fourth of the season for the Camaro ZL1, and the second victory for Chevrolet at COTA. ·       The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now sits at 818 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.  ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ONX HOMES/iFLY CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner Quick QuoteQ.Chastain has been so close this year to getting that first career win. Ross, today you couldn’t be denied. You had to fend them off at the end. You go from first to third. There was beating, there was begging. What was that last lap like, and what is this first win like?ROSS CHASTAIN: “I don’t know. It’s insane. To go up against some of the best with AJ (Allmendinger) – I mean, I know he is going to be upset with me; but we raced hard, both of us, and he owes me one.
But when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight. So, Justin Marks, Trackhouse, AdventHealth, the Moose. A million Moose members, they better be celebrating tonight all across the country and the world.
Phil Surgen (Crew Chief), man. He is so good. People don’t know how good this group is. I can’t believe Justin Marks hired me to drive this car.”
Q.You lost control of that final restart. You get a good restart on the outside, which nobody had done. What did you have to do to make that happen, and how is that watermelon tasting right now?ROSS CHASTAIN: “It’s never tasted sweeter, I got to tell you. I don’t know. I don’t know how we got back by. I was so worried about AJ (Allmendinger) on the second-to-last restart that I let Tyler (Reddick) drive right by both of us.
And AJ is so good. I’ve learned so much from him. And it was like how do you go beat the guy? He taught me so much. I’ve learned so much from so many people from 417 Speedway back home with my dad.
I was thinking about on those late restarts, my dad used to make me race on old tires, and back then I was not going to win. It was in my head before I even started. It crossed my mind, like, We’re not going to win, we’re on old tires, but I couldn’t think that way. I thought neutral.
Chevrolet, everything they do for me gave me the tools to try to go execute and we did it.” 

Watkins crosses in 17th to finish runner-up in points, Ferguson drives Sanders No. 42 to 11th

GAFFNEY, SC – March 26, 2022 – Coming into the final race of the winter season, Ross Bailes faced an uphill battle unlike few he’s seen before in the seat of a Super Late Model. Staring into the face of defiance, not once did he flinch.

Seventeen points stood between he the 2021-22 Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series championship going into Saturday night’s Rock Gault Memorial finale at Cherokee Speedway. Starting fourth, Bailes drove the Billy Hicks Racing Longhorn No. 79 to a runner-up finish against a field of World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series drivers, besting Ben Watkins by 15 positions to overcome a 17-point gap between the two in the standings and clinch his first Xtreme Series title.

“It feels good, I’m just glad it’s over,” Bailes said with a sigh of relief.

VIEW FINAL POINTS STANDINGS

While full-time Outlaw Max Blair celebrated in Victory Lane with the $20,000 Feature winner’s check, Bailes collected a $15,000 check of his own as Xtreme Series champion, plus a $1,000 bonus from Drydene Performance Products. He endured 60 laps of green-flag racing and kept his tires under him in a slight game of tire wear management while his competition stumbled, forced to come from out of the Last Chance races to make the show.

“Something I didn’t want to do was blow a tire running second,” Bailes, of Clover, SC, said. “There were times where I could have got up beside Max. If I wasn’t running for points, I might have done some things different or went a little harder.”

Bailes began the night with a bang, qualifying second in Group B and winning his Heat Race to claim a spot in the redraw. His championship rivals struggled – Watkins 11th-quick and Carson Ferguson 12th. This gave him a big advantage in track position for the Feature – an important element in longer-length main events.

Once Bailes got to second behind Blair, the two played a cat-and-mouse game in traffic. Though he was never able to make the pass, Bailes still had the pressure turned on full blast.

“We came here to win the race,” Bailes said. “I’m not gonna say we we’re stressing about it, but it was obviously in the back of our minds. Just like at Lavonia [in February], when Ben took the lead, I felt like there was a top there, but I didn’t want to go and try it because I didn’t want to lose more spots and points.”

Further back in the pack, Watkins was holding onto the 17th-18th spots, forcefully trying to muster the momentum needed to start gaining spots in the field.

“Especially around here, the competition’s just so tough,” Watkins, of Lancaster, SC, said. “We got behind a little bit early and it was just so hard to recover.”

Though he did not recover in the running order, he was able to hold on for a runner-up finish in the Xtreme Series standings – one worth $8,000.

“We’re still going to hold our heads up and be happy,” Watkins said. “We came into this thing pretty optimistic in going for the championship. It was nice to have a good run at it.”

Watkins and the Sandwood Racing/Wesley Page team put in a great deal of work in their pursuit for the Series title, shining especially in their efforts to repair the broken rear-end components that dropped them out of the Feature on Friday.

“It definitely makes us feel good,” Watkins said. “Last year when we teamed-up with Wesley and got something going, everything was fresh. I felt like coming into the start of this season, we had one good year behind us. Everything’s continuing to gel.”

Ferguson also suffered mechanical failure Friday night, breaking an oil pump while leading a Last Chance Showdown. Doug Sanders, veteran driver from McAndenville, NC, loaned Ferguson his car to finish out the weekend, which he drove from 24th-to-11th in Saturday night’s Feature to clinch third-place in the points championship.

“We had a lot of luck at the beginning of the season; definitely didn’t think we’d be in any kind of points chase with this deal,” Ferguson said. “We just ran it to get some seat time through the winter before the regular season started.

“After a few races, we found ourselves [tied for the lead] in the points after the first night at Lavonia, and that’s when the bad luck started.”

His near-top-10 Saturday night did break a stretch of two DNFs, which started with an untimely wreck at Lavonia Speedway in February and continued Friday night at Cherokee. But as a Super Late Model rookie driving for national championship-winning car owners, third-place is a great foundation on which he’ll continue to build his name in the Super ranks.

“I’ve got a lot better than other people starting out,” Ferguson said. “I’ve got a lot of connections that other people don’t when they first start, so a big thanks to Donald and Gena Bradsher and Wesley Page for putting me where I need to be, and now it’s up to me.”

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Rock Gault Memorial Feature (60 Laps): 1. 111V-Max Blair[3]; 2. 79-Ross Bailes[4]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[8]; 5. 42-Cla Knight[5]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 7. 57-Zack Mitchell[7]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[14]; 9. 11H-Spencer Hughes[12]; 10. 69*-Carder Miller[10]; 11. 42S-Carson Ferguson[24]; 12. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 13. 45-Kyle Hammer[9]; 14. 24D-Michael Brown[19]; 15. 421-Anthony Sanders[17]; 16. 16-Tyler Bruening[23]; 17. 16W-Ben Watkins[20]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[21]; 19. 81E-Tanner English[15]; 20. 11D-David Duke[18]; 21. 99B-Boom Briggs[27]; 22. 1R-Josh Richards[25]; 23. 11-Gordy Gundaker[13]; 24. 118-Matt Henderson[11]; 25. 121-Pearson Williams[22]; 26. 16E-Ethan Wilson[26]; 27. 1D-Brent Dixon[16]

Gravel & Macedo Offer Five Lead Changes in Exciting SoCal Showdown

PERRIS, CA – March 26, 2022 – Any of the 10 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champions will tell you that the ability to battle adversity is crucial in climbing the mountaintop.

If you’re one of the best, you’re certainly going to experience a fair share of glorious moments over the course of a 90-race schedule, but you’re not exempt from the bumps in the road. It’s about how you handle those moments that define your season.

On Saturday, David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports passed their first true test of the season with flying colors. From on the wrecker with a junked race car at 10pm Friday night to basking in victory lane’s confetti at 10pm on Saturday, the #2 boys excelled with an A+ bounce back.

“This feels really good,” a relieved Gravel said post-race. “I feel like we’ve been in contention to win every race this year but maybe one, so to have a 15th & 23rd following that start to the season was a bit depressing. We knew we were fast every night, but the results just didn’t show for it. These guys busted their asses today to make this possible. They woke up super early, built this new car, and it all paid off.”

A 7am alarm clock and all-day effort from Cody Jacobs, Trey Bowman, and Zach Patterson eventually led to the new car being finished just before hot laps. From there, Gravel took the wheel and did what he does best – timing in second, winning the heat, and topping a wild 30-lapper at Perris Auto Speedway.

To seal the deal on the rewarding comeback, Gravel was forced to manage a race that featured the most lead changes this season. He and Carson Macedo swapped the top spot on five occasions, including a pair of sliders on Lap 28 as things got heated. The Watertown, CT native then survived a green-white-checkered to bank his 71st career win and second of the 2022 season.

“When the #41 slid me like that I was ready to go and I was gonna give it right back at him,” Gravel commented on his battle with Macedo. “Those cautions were killing me, but it all worked out. These guys had to strip down the junked car, build this kit car today, and I’m glad I can reward them with a win. We deserved this win.”

Finishing second for the second-straight night was Corey Day, a teenager who continues to steal headlines across the nation. On Friday, he set the record for youngest runner-up in World of Outlaws history at 16 years, 3 months, 27 days. On Saturday, he took to the PAS 1/2-mile one day wiser and backed up his performance with another P2 effort against The Greatest Show on Dirt.

The Clovis, CA native and prodigy of two-time World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers dealt with his own slice of adversity, too. Contact with Macedo at the start of the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash sent the #14 flipping before he even had a shot to race for the pole position. After repairs were made, Day started sixth in the Feature and drove forward to earn his second podium in his third-career start.

“Running second against the Outlaws is cool enough, but then to do it two nights in a row is crazy,” said Corey, the son of former west coast sprint car star Ronnie Day. “I watch these guys on DIRTvision every single week and try to learn as much as possible, especially when I’m racing against them. I messed up that last restart again like I did last night, but it’s a teaching moment.”

Finishing third was Carson Macedo of Lemoore, CA in the Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh #41. He paced the opening seven laps on Saturday, then again controlled laps 9-12, and briefly commanded lap 28, but ultimately took the final step of the podium.

Going for his 20th career win – 5th in his home state of California – Macedo was all over Gravel for the win until a tiny mistake sent the Phil Dietz prepared machine over the cushion and backward at the white flag. It’s their third podium in 10 races as JJR continues to build a championship-contending operation.

“To win these Outlaw races you can’t make any mistakes, and I made too many tonight,” Macedo admitted on the frontstretch. “I felt strong early on, but definitely stalled out when I hit traffic. It’s so tough to be the leader in those situations because you just don’t know where to go. I threw a couple of things at David, but couldn’t land them right in front of him. I just need to get a little sharper.”

Closing out the top-five on Saturday night was championship leader Brad Sweet in fourth-place aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49, and Sheldon Haudenschild with a west coast best of fifth-place in the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17.

Rounding out the top-10 at Perris was D.J. Netto in the Netto Ag #88N, Jacob Allen in the Shark Racing #1A, Spencer Bayston in the CJB Motorsports #5, Cory Eliason in the Rudeen Racing #26, and Donny Schatz in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15.

NOS NOTEBOOK (Perris Auto Speedway, 3/27/22)

David Gravel’s 71st career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory brings him to one away from tying Jac Haudenschild for 12th on the All-Time Win List. He’s only 13 wins away from reaching Stevie Smith (84) to enter the top-10.

James McFadden was a contender for the win all throughout Saturday’s 30-lapper in the Roth Motorsports #83. The Australian was running second and tracking down David Gravel for the lead on Lap 26 when a right rear issue sent him to the pit area with a 22nd-place DNF.

Dominic Scelzi of Fresno, CA was in the hunt for his first-career World of Outlaws win before causing the final caution of the night. He was running third in the Scelzi Enterprises #41S and battling for second with Day & Macedo before spinning in turn two on the last lap.

Carson Macedo collected his 10th career Slick Woody’s QuickTime Award by circling Perris Auto Speedway in 14.125 seconds. He and David Gravel are the only drivers to top qualifying on multiple occasions through 10 races. NOS Energy Drink Heat Race wins went to Corey Day (1st career), David Gravel (187th career), and James McFadden (23rd career).

Macedo topped the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, while Logan Schuchart won the MicroLite Last Chance Showdown and followed that with a KSE Hard Charger Award by running 12th-from-19th.

UP NEXT (Tues) – After three weeks in California, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series now begins the journey back east. The Greatest Show on Dirt has a busy week with three races including stops at Vado (NM) Speedway Park on Tuesday, March 29, Lawton (OK) Speedway on Friday, April 1, and Devil’s Bowl (TX) on Saturday, April 2.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (31 Laps, GWC) – 1. 2-David Gravel [2][$10,000]; 2. 14-Corey Day [6][$6,000]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo [1][$3,500]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,800]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$2,500]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [5][$2,300]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [11][$2,200]; 8. 5-Spencer Bayston [8][$2,100]; 9. 26-Cory Eliason [13][$2,050]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [10][$2,000]; 11. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [12][$1,600]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart [19][$1,400]; 13. 24-Rico Abreu [15][$1,200]; 14. 24X-Chase Johnson [16][$1,100]; 15. 21-Mitchell Faccinto [20][$1,050]; 16. 83JR-Kerry Madsen [17][$1,000]; 17. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$1,000]; 18. 88-Austin McCarl [21][$1,000]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [22][$1,000]; 20. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [23][$1,000]; 21. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [4][$1,000]; 22. 83-James McFadden [3][$1,000]; 23. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [14][$1,000]; 24. 91R-Brody Roa [24][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-7, 9-12, 28; David Gravel 8, 13-27, 29-31. KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+7]

NEW Championship Standings (After 10/85 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (1,400); 2. Carson Macedo (-20); 3. David Gravel (-22); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-46); 5. Giovanni Scelzi (-88); 6. James McFadden (-98); 7. Donny Schatz (-100); 8. Logan Schuchart (-104); 9. Cory Eliason (-106); 10. Spencer Bayston (-148).