TAMPA, FL (Jan. 31, 2024) – Lucas Lee has been one of the most dominant forces at East Bay Raceway Park’s UMP Modified Winternationals over the past few seasons, and Wednesday night put on another strong display with a sixth career victory in the famed event.

Lee, 36, of Paris, TN, has won a Winternationals Feature event in four of the last five years, including the 75-lap Championship Features in 2019 and 2023. He extended that streak to five of the last six years with a win in one of the triple-25s Tuesday night and backed that up Wednesday in the first single-Feature program of the week.

Lee earned the outside pole for the 25-lap main event and wasted little time, taking the top spot from teammate Michael Turner on the opening lap. From there, it was smooth sailing for the veteran Modified racer for the next 20 laps as he proceeded to build up an advantage in traffic of over six seconds.

With five laps left, the race’s first caution flag was displayed for a slowing Austin Sanders in Turn 2. This erased Lee’s large gap and put Austin Holcombe – winner of Features on Monday and Tuesday night – on his bumper for the restart.

The green flag dropped and Lee paced the field into Turn 1. However, when he hit Turn 2, Lee stumbled and pushed up the track just enough for Holcombe to sneak by underneath.

“I went in there and got tight I guess,” Lee said. “I wasn’t really worried about it and then [Holcombe] nosed in there, and when he did, he kinda backed to my left-front going down the back-straightaway and I turned underneath him. He kinda tightened-up getting into (Turn) 3 and slid, and when he did I went back underneath him.”

Holcombe went through the open door out of Turn 2 to take the lead momentarily, but Lee drove with speed into Turn 3, got underneath Holcombe and took the lead back out of Turn 4. Then, another caution flag appeared.

Though Lee was able to regain the lead, the lap was not counted as the yellow was thrown before the lap was complete, reverting to the last restart order of which Lee was the leader. Five more times Lee was forced to restart at the head of the field in the last five laps, including three with only one lap remaining, but he maintained composure and held off all challengers.

“Just stay on the bottom, back-up the corner, get down and don’t move up,” Lee said of his last-lap strategy. “I wasn’t getting off the bottom again so, if they were gonna pass me, they were gonna pass me on the outside.”

Crossing the stripe right behind Lee was Brad DeYoung, who took the original green flag from inside Row 2 and slipped back as far as fifth in the running order, but was able to make the passes he needed in the final 10 laps to get back to a best career Winternationals finish.

Finishing the podium was 18-year-old Cole Czarneski, who climbed all the way from 13th to finish third. After claiming victory in a triple-25 Tuesday night, the Wisconsin-native stayed strong through the final restarts, picking up a few positions from those dropping out in front of him and sealing a podium finish with a fifth-to-third drive on the final lap.

UP NEXT

UMP Modified Florida Speedweeks continues Thursday night with another full Winternationals program at East Bay Raceway Park. Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate. If you can’t be at the track to watch in person, follow along on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram for live updates.

RESULTS

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 12L-Lucas Lee[2]; 2. 7-Brad Deyoung[3]; 3. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski[13]; 4. 8A-Austin Holcombe[7]; 5. 2-Devin Dixon[6]; 6. 09-Michael Leach[10]; 7. 14M-Mavrick Varnadore[9]; 8. 8-Jimmy Lennex[8]; 9. 11R-Jeremy Rayburn[11]; 10. 26G-Ryan Gierke[19]; 11. 20-Brian Skaggs[17]; 12. 27T-Michael Turner[1]; 13. 12-Jeff Parsons[15]; 14. 25W-Allen Weisser[22]; 15. 99J-Treb Jacoby[5]; 16. 8S-Kyle Strickler[4]; 17. 33W-Rodney Wing[18]; 18. 27G-Jason Garver[12]; 19. 18C-Miles Cook II[21]; 20. 6B-Dave Baldwin[16]; 21. 24-Zeke McKenzie[23]; 22. M20-Mike Potosky[20]; 23. 64-Austin Sanders[14]; 24. 4SA-Kevin DeYoung[24]

OCALA, Fla. (January 31, 2024) – Hudson O’Neal, the reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion picked up his second series win of the 2024 season on Wednesday night at Ocala Speedway. O’Neal led 30 of the 40 laps for his 26th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory earning $10,000 for the win. Clay Harris who led 10 laps during the race finished second 1.093 seconds behind the winner. For Harris, who has made only four career starts in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (all this year) in was followed by Brian Shirley who rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Ricky Thornton Jr. and Kyle Bronson rounded out the top five finishers. O’Neal grabbed the lead at the start of the race and led the first seven laps of the event. Harris, who was looking for his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win then challenged O’Neal for the lead getting past him down the back stretch on lap eight. The race was slowed multiple times with five caution flags over a three-lap span. The final caution of the race came out with 10 laps complete as Harris still was showing the way. Harris tried to stretch his lead out over the field but as he approached the tail end of the field, O’Neal was able to squeeze by him coming off of turn four to regain the lead on lap 18. O’Neal then went on for the win, his second of the year after scoring an opening night win at Golden Isles last Thursday. It was O’Neal’s first ever win at Ocala, which was formerly known as Bubba Raceway Park. “I just got behind a lapped car down here and he kind of pinched me and I just completely messed up and about spun out. I just tried to move to get by those lapped cars and just couldn’t move you know. I was lucky the caution came back out and let us get back to second there and give it a run. Man, that Clay [Harris] drove a good race and I was just able to sneak by him. There was one time he kind of messed up and got up there and I think he grabbed the backstretch wall.” “That bottom was just really wet, and it just never gave up especially down here in one. No matter how many laps we ran it never really changed colors. So, it just worked out and we were able to get the lead back and just hold on and I was just trying to not miss that bottom the best I could going into one because you really had to slow down and be patient,” said the 23-year-old Martinsville, Indiana native.     Harris, who had only attempted one Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series start in his career before this year, came home in the runner-up spot. “I should have hugged the bottom there, you know at first, I thought I could run up high and do something, because last night you could. I should have known better, in fact that’s when I passed him the first time. I still think it was good run. We’ve run four races this year and made every show so far. We only did a handful of super racing last year. So, I think it is a win in our book.” Shirley has his best finish of 2024 coming home in third. “We haven’t been giving our sponsors what they deserve here the last couple of weeks, but that’s the good thing about Bob [Cullen] and them guys behind me is that they don’t give up on me. They just let me keep doing what I do and keep racing here and get into the groove. We are just trying to play catch up.”  The winner’s Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Performance Grading, Ace Metal Works, WR1 Sim Chassis, Stiles Marine and Maintenance, Wheeler Metals, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Gunter’s Honey, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, Fox Shocks, and Sunoco Race Fuels. Completing the top ten were Devin Moran, Ashton Winger, Tim McCreadie, Brandon Sheppard, and Tyler Erb. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Winter Nationals | Night 2Wednesday, January 31, 2024Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Hudson O’Neal | 14.012 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Blair Nothdurft | 14.263 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 3. 7T-Drake Troutman[3]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 6. 17SS-Brenden Smith[5]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[8]; 8. 2*-Logan Hitt[11]; 9. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 10. 28B-Carson Brown[10]; 11. 30-Ryan Gustin[9] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 5. 5-Mark Whitener[7]; 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 8. 4G-Bob Gardner[9]; 9. 81J-Jack Riggs[10]; 10. 93-Cory Lawler[8]; 11. 81F-Jadon Frame[11] Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[1]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[4]; 3. 25-Tony Jackson Jr[2]; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 6. 79-Donald McIntosh[8]; 7. 99-Devin Moran[6]; 8. 111-Max Blair[9]; 9. 0-Ryan Scott[11]; 10. 75-Daniel Adam[10]; 11. 1T-Tyler Erb[7] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 4. 96V-Tanner English[5]; 5. 97-Cody Overton[6]; 6. 19M-Spencer Hughes[4]; 7. 174-Ethan Dotson[7]; 8. 11C-Trevor Collins[9]; 9. 128-Kylan Garner[8]; 10. 8-Dillon McCowan[10] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 2. 5-Mark Whitener[2]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 6. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner[8]; 8. 2*-Logan Hitt[7]; 9. 81J-Jack Riggs[10]; 10. 81F-Jadon Frame[14]; 11. 93-Cory Lawler[12]; 12. 28B-Carson Brown[11]; 13. (DNS) 20-Jimmy Owens; 14. (DNS) 30-Ryan Gustin UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 97-Cody Overton[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 79-Donald McIntosh[3]; 4. 174-Ethan Dotson[6]; 5. 111-Max Blair[7]; 6. 19M-Spencer Hughes[4]; 7. 11C-Trevor Collins[8]; 8. 8-Dillon McCowan[12]; 9. 0-Ryan Scott[9]; 10. 75-Daniel Adam[11]; 11. 128-Kylan Garner[10]; 12. (DNS) 99-Devin Moran; 13. (DNS) 1T-Tyler Erb Winter Nationals | Night 2 Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 43Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Hudson O’NealLap Leaders: Hudson O’Neal (Laps 1-7); Clay Harris (Laps 8-17); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 18-40)Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 1.093 seconds Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: Tanner English (Lap 8); Blair Nothdurft (Lap 8 Restart); Drake Troutman, Mike Marlar (Lap 9); Tony Jackson, Jr., Garrett Alberson (Lap 10); Donald McIntosh, Mike Marlar, Mark Whitener (Lap 10 Restart)Series Provisionals: Devin Moran; Tyler ErbFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Max Blair, Spencer Hughes, Ross Robinson, Bob Gardner Track Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Clay Harris, Brian ShirleyPenske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Clay Harris, Brian Shirley, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Kyle BronsonTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Devin Moran (Advanced 17 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Ashton WingerDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Boom BriggsMD3 Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (30 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/a Coltman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Lap 1 – 15.176 seconds) Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Hudson O’NealMiller Welders Hard Luck Award: Blair NothdurftOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny White (Hudson O’Neal) ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Devin Moran (14.159 seconds)Time of Race: 31 minutes 35 seconds  Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

January 31, 2024

As the Wood Brothers embark on the team’s record-extending 74th year of competing in NASCAR, driver Harrison Burton, crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the rest of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are working hard to make the 2024 season a memorable one. 

Bullins, who started his NASCAR career with the Woods and returned to the team for the final 10 races of the 2023 season, said he’s looking forward to this weekend’s Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the non-points event that kicks off the 2024 Cup Series season. 

As in the first two runnings of the Clash at the Coliseum, the race will be contested on a temporary quarter-mile asphalt oval inside the facility known as “The Greatest Stadium in the World.” Completed and opened in 1923, the Coliseum was built as a living memorial to those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I.

“On one hand it’s hard to believe it’s time for the truck to leave to kick off another season, but on the other I’m ready to get back to the track and race,” Bullins said. “After all that’s what we do.”

Bullins added that he has high hopes for his young driver, who is beginning his third season behind the wheel of the iconic No. 21 Mustang. 

“We got a great jump start on the 2024 season by working with Harrison for the last 10 races of 2023, and that certainly helped us understand the areas we need to work to be better,” he said.

“Our new Dark Horse Mustang looks great, and we can’t wait to get on track and get the ball rolling.”

Bullins also said he and the team would like nothing better than to deliver a milestone victory for their Wood Brothers team, which was founded in 1950 and competed mostly on local dirt tracks before joining the Cup circuit in 1953. 

“We all look forward to chasing the Wood Brothers 100th win this year,” he said.

Practice and qualifying for the Clash is set to begin at 3:10 p.m. Saturday (6:10 p.m. Eastern Time). A driver’s fastest lap in the third and final practice session will serve as their qualifying lap and be used to set the line-up for the four 25-lap heat races that will be run just after practice.

FOX Sports 1 will be on the air from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time to provide coverage. 

Sunday’s schedule opens with a 75-lap Last Chance qualifying race at 3:40 p.m. local time (6:40 Eastern).

The 150-lap main event, which includes a break at the halfway-mark, is set to begin at 5 p.m. (8 p.m. Eastern).

 FOX will broadcast both of Sunday’s races.
 

OCALA, Fla. (January 30, 2024) – Ricky Thornton Jr. passed Tyler Erb coming to the white flag on Tuesday night at Ocala Speedway to score his second consecutive Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season in thrilling fashion. Erb made one last lap attempt as the duo entered turn three, but Thornton was able to hold him off for his 30th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory. Erb finished just 0.448 seconds behind at the line after he had led laps 3-38. Devin Moran charged from the eighth starting spot to finish third with pole sitter Jonathan Davenport coming home in fourth. Mike Marlar rounded out the top five. Davenport took the lead at the start of the 40-lap race and led the first two circuits until Erb made a daring move for the lead heading into the third turn on lap three. Erb held a several car length lead during the race as cautions would allow the rest of the field to stay close on restarts.  The final caution of the race came out with 27 laps scored. Erb then managed to again stretch his lead out over the field, but without the assistance of a caution flag, Erb was having to contend with the back of the field. With five laps to go Erb had two cars running side-by-side in front of him which allowed Thornton to close the gap in the waning laps. Thornton had cut which was at one point a ten car-length lead for Erb down to one car length. As the two came off of turn four heading to the white flag Thornton was able to sneak to the inside to take the lead which he held for another circuit around the 3/8ths mile oval for the $10,000 victory. Thornton who won $25,000 on Saturday night at Golden Isles in the finale of the General Tire Super Bowl of Racing knew he was in a dog fight at Ocala as he earned a hard-fought victory. “Man, I felt like I was stretching so much there in three and four. I felt like the top came in and the bottom cleaned up a little bit. He [Erb] got stuck behind that one lapped car there once off four and really without that I don’t think I would have gotten to him. We got into turn two and I got close and then in three he kind of shoved a little bit. I knew if I could get under him down the front straightaway you’ve got to throw a bomb down there. I watched him throw a bomb on JD down there. I didn’t’ know if it would work out for us. It’s pretty awesome.” Erb, who looked to break through early in 2024 with the a win came home in second. “I don’t know. Maybe I should have punted four lapped cars. I hit one getting into one there halfway through the race. It wasn’t our night. We are leaps and bounds better than we have been. We are going to win a race before its all said and done. I lost on the white flag tonight. It’s not a good feeling for sure. I got through traffic five or six different times and then just right there at the end when I caught traffic in like three laps. They [the traffic] were just side-by-side and Ricky got a good run on me. I tried to cross him over in one and two, but there wasn’t much you could do.” Moran, who last won at Ocala in 2022 rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “Kudos to Bubba and his whole crew for working on this place. I have always liked coming here and racing. They have worked really hard in getting the crown off the racetrack. You know a lot of tracks we go to have that problem. They need to take notes when they do this. It makes for some awesome racing. It was a good race. I felt like I dug myself a hole early and we got this car up towards the front.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms, Dyno One Inc., West Side Tractor Sales, Bilstein Shocks, MD Wraps, and Sunoco Race Fuels. Completing the top ten were Tim McCreadie, Garrett Alberson, Hudson O’Neal, Drake Troutman, and Earl Pearson Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Winter Nationals | Night 1Saturday, January 30, 2024Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Tanner English | 13.881 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Blair Nothdurft | 13.909 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 96V-Tanner English[1]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 4. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 5. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 6. 79-Donald McIntosh[7]; 7. 111-Max Blair[6]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[8]; 9. 81F-Jadon Frame[9]; 10. 93-Cory Lawler[10] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[4]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 4. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 6. 81J-Jack Riggs[6]; 7. 5-Mark Whitener[7]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8]; 9. 4G-Bob Gardner[9]; 10. 0-Ryan Scott[10] Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 1-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 3. 7T-Drake Troutman[4]; 4. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[1]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[5]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 7. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 8. 25-Tony Jackson Jr[8]; 9. 8-Dillon McCowan[10]; 10. 28B-Carson Brown[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[5]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[6]; 4. 19M-Spencer Hughes[3]; 5. 174-Ethan Dotson[8]; 6. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 7. 75-Daniel Adam[7]; 8. 2*-Logan Hitt[10]; 9. 97-Cody Overton[2]; 10. 128-Kylan Garner[9] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 79-Donald McIntosh[3]; 3. 111-Max Blair[5]; 4. 5-Mark Whitener[6]; 5. 81J-Jack Riggs[4]; 6. 81F-Jadon Frame[9]; 7. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8]; 8. 4G-Bob Gardner[10]; 9. 0-Ryan Scott[12]; 10. 93-Cory Lawler[11]; 11. 99B-Boom Briggs[7]; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley[2] UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 79-Donald McIntosh[3]; 3. 111-Max Blair[5]; 4. 5-Mark Whitener[6]; 5. 81J-Jack Riggs[4]; 6. 81F-Jadon Frame[9]; 7. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8]; 8. 4G-Bob Gardner[10]; 9. 0-Ryan Scott[12]; 10. 93-Cory Lawler[11]; 11. 99B-Boom Briggs[7]; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley[2] Winter Nationals | Night 1 Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 40Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Jonathan DavenportLap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1-2); Tyler Erb (Laps 3-38); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 39-40)Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 0.449 seconds Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: Donald McIntosh (Lap 19); Daulton Wilson, Kyle Bronson (Lap 19 restart); Ross Robinson (Lap 27)Series Provisionals: Boom Briggs; Brian ShirleyFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Dillon McCowan; Bob Gardner; Cory Lawler; Brenden SmithTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Tyler Erb, Devin MoranPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Tyler Erb, Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Mike MarlarTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Brian Shirley (Advanced 11 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Brian ShirleyMD3 Most Laps Led: Tyler Erb (36 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport; Hudson O’Neal; Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/a Coltman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Tyler Erb (Lap 21 – 15.563 seconds) Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Tyler ErbMiller Welders Hard Luck Award: Ross RobinsonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.) ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Devin Moran (14.0437 seconds)Time of Race: 20 minutes 37 seconds Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

NMRA’s Spring Break Shootout is an epic festival-style event kicking off the ’24 season in style! Celebrating 60 Years of Mustang, NMRA has all sorts of special events planned throughout the weekend. Top-20 reasons to attend this historic event:

♦ Celebrating Mustang’s 60th ♦ NPD Cars, Coffee & Cruise (Fri)♦ Ford Drift Invitational♦ Vaughn Gittin & Cheslea DeNofa♦ RTR Experience♦ Insane Ford Drag Racing♦ True Street ♦ All-Female True Street♦ Stick Shift Shootout ♦ Spring Break Shootout♦ S650 Mustang Stampede♦ 2020+ GT500 Shootout♦ All-Ford Car Show♦ Fox Body Reunion♦ World’s Largest BIGFOOT ♦ Freestyle Motocross Shows♦ Flame-Throwing Jet Cars♦ NMRA Fan Experience♦ Manufacturers Midway ♦ Used Parts Swap Meet

Visit NMRAdigital.com for a complete schedule of events, including specific daily features. Kids 12 & under FREE & FREE parking. Buy your tickets online or at the gate.

BetMGM Continues as Official Sports Betting Operator of Richard Childress Racing and Multi-Race Primary Partner of RCR’s NASCAR Cup Series Teams

WELCOME, N.C. (January 29, 2024) – Richard Childress Racing and BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, today announced a partnership extension. BetMGM continues as the Official Sports Betting Operator of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), a 16-time NASCAR championship-winning organization. BetMGM will partner with the iconic NASCAR team for a variety of marketing and activation assets, including primary sponsorship for select races on the No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon and the No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series. BetMGM is also an Authorized NASCAR Gaming Partner. BetMGM’s partnership extension with RCR sees the rubber hit the road at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18. The partnership extension comes in advance of the arrival of legalized sports betting in North Carolina. Customers can pre-register on BetMGM.com on March 1 ahead of the full state launch on March 11.  “Richard Childress Racing is an iconic name in motorsports, and it aligns with BetMGM’s goal to partner with best-in-class organizations,” said BetMGM’s Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost. “North Carolina is home to some of the most passionate motorsports fans in the world and BetMGM’s extended partnership with RCR will surely hit another gear with the start of legalized sports betting in North Carolina,” said BetMGM’s Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost.  Torrey Galida, president of RCR, said, “Since our partnership first began in 2021, BetMGM has done an excellent job building on their partnership with Richard Childress Racing through fun, unique activations geared toward engaging race fans and sports bettors. We look forward to building on the success of our innovative partnership.” As BetMGM continues to expand into new markets, responsible gaming remains a key focus. Additionally, BetMGM is proud to provide resources to help customers play responsibly including GameSense, an industry leading program, developed and licensed to MGM Resorts by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. Through the integration within BetMGM’s mobile and desktop platforms, customers can receive the same GameSense experience they have grown to count on at MGM Resorts properties nationwide. This complements BetMGM’s already existing responsible gambling tools which serve to provide customers with an entertaining and safe digital experience. For more information on BetMGM, follow @BetMGM on X (formerly Twitter). For more information on RCR, visit rcrracing.co

McCarl beats Hafertepe by seven hundredths of a second in thrilling Volusia finish

BARBERVILLE, FL (January 26, 2023) – On Thursday night Austin McCarl watched victory slip from his grasp in the waning laps, and Friday looked as if it may produce a case of déjà vu. But “The Big Unit” refused to accept the same fate.

McCarl barely held off Sam Hafertepe Jr.’s late charge to secure victory on night two of Volusia Speedway Park’s Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout. The margin of victory was seven hundredths of a second as Hafertepe pulled alongside coming to the checkered flag but couldn’t quite nose ahead.

Before Thursday’s race, McCarl hadn’t visited Volusia since 2016. He’s quickly gotten reacquainted by leading 44 of 50 Feature laps over the last two nights and earning a runner-up and Friday’s victory.

“Those first couple laps I kind of moved around,” McCarl explained. “I felt like I got a really good start on Cameron. He did a really good job, and I feel like we kind of took off together. I kind of just wanted to take the air off him. And once I got to the lead I just wanted to move around early. I used to get mad at my dad (Terry) for moving around early, and he said, ‘I’ve got to know where I’m good when I get to traffic,” and I just kept thinking of that.

“A couple times I could roll down here (the bottom) really, really good and really, really hard. And I thought if I can run it that hard, you’ve got to take the shortest way around. I feel like Sam kind of taught me that last night, too. You get kind of complacent up there (the top) ringing around the rosie and feeling really comfortable like you’re making speed. But sometimes the shortest way is the fastest way.”

It was an all-Iowa front row with Cameron Martin leading the field to green with McCarl alongside. Martin managed to slip ahead in Turns 1 and 2, but McCarl powered into the lead in the next set of corners to lead the opening lap.

After securing the top spot, McCarl began to build a solid advantage. Behind him Christopher Thram moved by Martin to snag second. By the fifth lap McCarl’s lead had already climbed to nearly two seconds.

Similar to his drive from seventh to Victory Lane the night before, Hafertepe Jr. was on the move early. He started the main event eighth and was up to fourth on Lap 5. Five laps later he cracked the top three. And only one lap later the Sunnyvale, TX native snagged second. 

Up ahead McCarl sliced through traffic with more than a two-second advantage. But a couple slip ups with lapped cars and a couple strong laps by Hafertepe brought the gap down to a second on Lap 15.

“I felt like I was really cruising through traffic, and a couple of times a guy would get squirrely down here and I’d have to move around,” McCarl noted. “It’s just so easy to get rolled up behind somebody. Air plays such a big part of these cars.”

A motivated McCarl maintained focus even with the troubles in traffic. He quickly reestablished his rhythm, passed a couple slower cars, and grew his lead back over two seconds.

A pivotal yellow flag for a crash on the front straightaway set up a restart with three laps to go and a finish that brought the crowd to its feet.

The green lights flashed, and McCarl committed to the bottom groove. Hafertepe opted for the top and put together some momentum. The gap between the two was only two tenths of a second when the white flag flew. Hafertepe nearly pulled next to McCarl down the back straightaway. The two exited Turn 4, and Hafertepe managed to draw his nose alongside McCarl’s right rear tire but couldn’t quite make the pass as McCarl held on.

With a win under his belt and a fast Country Builders Racing #88 to drive, McCarl is now completely focused on going back to Victory Lane on Saturday in the $10,000-to-win finale.

“Hopefully we can keep this speed up,” McCarl said. “Tomorrow is the big day. The big money. We’ve started on the front row two days in a row. Hopefully we can lay down another qualifying lap and put ourselves in position. That’s where it starts.”

Hafertepe Jr. came within less than a car length of sweeping the first two nights aboard the Hills Racing Team #15H. He again proved he’s one of the fastest cars in the Volusia pit area this week and will be a threat for the $10,000 on Saturday.

“I feel like we’re moving around about as good as anybody,” Hafertepe said. “Like I said, he got through traffic way better tonight and made me work for it. I thought, ‘Well, we’re going to get lucky and catch this caution.’ Clean air is pretty important, and he did exactly what he needed to do.”

A strong 10th to third drive led Justin Peck to the final spot on the podium behind the wheel of the Chris Dyson #20. The Monrovia, IN native made some moves on the last restart to climb into the third spot.

“I kind of just went around the bottom,” Peck said of the final restart. “That was the gameplan. I watched those two cars in front of me for a couple laps before that caution. They were kind of sweeping out a little bit, maybe trying to open their entry up a little bit more than I was. I knew if I could get a nose in there, I could kind of keep them up off the bottom. That was kind of the gameplan going into that and it worked.”

Cameron Martin and Danny Dietrich completed the top five.

Heat Races were won by Ryan Timms, Eric Riggins Jr., Tyler Clem, and Liam Martin. 

Danny Sams III earned the Hard Charger by driving from 17th to ninth.

UP NEXT: Volusia Speedway Park welcomes the USCS Sprints again tomorrow for the $10,000-to-win finale of the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 88-Austin McCarl[2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[8]; 3. 20-Justin Peck[10]; 4. 4-Cameron Martin[1]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich[12]; 6. 24T-Christopher Thram[4]; 7. 5T-Ryan Timms[7]; 8. 6-Tyler Clem[5]; 9. 24D-Danny Sams III[17]; 10. 2C-Wayne Johnson[16]; 11. 47-Eric Riggins Jr[3]; 12. 11M-Brendan Mullen[11]; 13. 9-Liam Martin[6]; 14. 44-Chris Martin[9]; 15. 7S-Landon Crawley[21]; 16. 63-Josh Weller[18]; 17. 15-Ryan Turner[19]; 18. 13-Elijah Gile[22]; 19. 10-Terry Gray[15]; 20. 34-Sterling Cling[14]; 21. 23-Lance Moss[24]; 22. 28-Jeff Willingham[25]; 23. (DNF) 28F-Davie Franek[20]; 24. (DNF) 24-Danny Martin Jr[13]; 25. (DNS) 17JR-Ricky Stenhouse Jr

LAKE CITY, FL (Jan. 28, 2024) – For the past four years, Kyle Strickler has made the trip south to the Sunshine State to kick off his racing season at the controls of a Super Late Model. But for his 2024 Speedweeks campaign, he’s going back to his roots.

The veteran racer from Mooresville, NC, returned to the seat of a DIRTcar UMP Modified and kicked off his season with a win Sunday afternoon at North Florida Speedway in the track’s annual Winternationals event.

“This Modified is just a lot of fun,” Strickler said. “I feel like I can manhandle it a lot more than the Late Model stuff. I kinda wanted to come down here and have some stress-free racing and go back to the roots and have fun with this Modified stuff.”

“Not a bad start to my Speedweeks. We’ll head over to East Bay and hopefully we can keep things rolling there.”

After rain postponed the remainder of Saturday’s program to Sunday, Strickler returned to the 3/8-mile track, locked into the Feature sixth on the starting grid. A few caution flags flew in the opening laps and Strickler took the green from third on a restart with only leader Cole Czarneski and Brad DeYoung ahead.

“I saw DeYoung trying to roll around the outside of Cole (Czarneski) there, and it was starting to clean-up around the bottom, so he was doing a good job staying on the bottom,” Strickler said. “Then when he saw DeYoung on the outside, he kinda got in there a little too hard and I was able to sneak past both of them and go from third to the lead.”

By Lap 5, Strickler had taken the lead and quickly began to stretch a gap over the field. Though several caution periods dotted the rest of the race, Strickler stayed strong on all restarts and held the field off for the remainder of the race to bag the $2,500 grand prize.

Back at the trailer, Strickler was wrapping-up his post-race duties as a solo driver/crew team, which he’ll continue throughout his UMP Modified Speedweeks campaign.

“I don’t have any crew guys, so Austin Wayne Self’s guys and Buck Stevens and all of Cole’s [Czarneski] guys have been helping out, and Ryan [with Jerovetz Motorsports Shocks Service]” Strickler said. “I want to thank them guys.”

Though Strickler’s enjoyed multiple instances of success in the Super Late Model ranks, notably winning a Dirt Late Model Stream preliminary event at Eldora Speedway in 2020, he said he’s endured a heavy workload in its upkeep and is happy to be back on the open-wheel-style Modified circuit.

“At Speedweeks with the Late Model, you’ve gotta have two or three guys – it’s so much work to run the Late Model,” Strickler said. “I just kinda got burned-out on it. I didn’t have any crew guys, and it got to the point where I was so stressed out, I wasn’t fun to be around.

“I wanted to come back to the Modified stuff and just enjoy it. These things are a lot of fun to drive.”

DeYoung and Czarneski were able to hold on strong to second and third, while Jimmy Lennex Jr. charged from 14th to finish fourth and Ray Bollinger completed the top-five.

UP NEXT

DIRTcar UMP Modified Florida Speedweeks continues with six-straight days of racing at East Bay Raceway Park – Monday-Saturday, Jan. 29-Feb. 3 – in what will be final edition of the track’s famed Winternationals event.

Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate. If you can’t be at the track to watch in person, follow along on DIRTcar X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram for live updates.

RESULTS 

Feature (35 laps) – 1. 8-Kyle Strickler [6]; 2. 7-Brad DeYoung [2]; 3. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski [1]; 4. 8JR-Jimmy Lennex Jr. [14]; 5. 77-Ray Bollinger [10]; 6. 24-Zeke McKenzie [13]; 7. 21B-Hunter Breland [18]; 8. 05-Dave Wietholder [12]; 9. 23W-Austin Wayne Self [21]; 10. 14M-Dave Markham [11]; 11. 4sale-Kevin DeYoung [19]; 12. 25W-Allen Weisser [8]; 13. 21-Scott Ladner [20]; 14. 12-Jeff Parsons [9]; 15. 27G Jason Garver [4]; 16. 27B-Beau DeYoung [17]; 17. 1W-Brian Wilburn [7]; 18. 14C-Rick Conoyer [23]; 19. M20-Mike Potosky [16]  20. 12L-Lucas Lee [3]; 21. K9-Will Krup [5]; 22. 15K-Chris Kittle [24] 23. 14L-Dalton Lane [15]; 24. 27T-Michael Turner [21]

CONCORD, NC (Jan. 29, 2024) – Mounce/Stout Motorsports has added two more rookie contenders to its stable for the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season – one at the beginning of his career and the other well into his.

The Tulsa-based team has tapped fellow Oklahoma natives Jayden Clay, 16, of Newcastle, OK, and Tyler Edwards, 30, of Salina, OK, to follow the entire 30-race schedule.

Clay has a deep background in Micro Sprint racing and will make his debut in a Midget at the Xtreme Outlaw Series season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL, March 15-16.

“My dad told me, and I immediately said, ‘Yes.’ I’m super excited for it,” Clay said. “I can’t thank (team owners) Jay [Mounce] and Gavin [Stout] enough for this opportunity. It is super cool.”

Edwards has worked as a crew member for many years with several different drivers and teams, including Mounce/Stout Motorsports, in various capacities over the last several seasons. He also brings a resume of part-time Sprint Car and Micro Sprint experience to the table.

“Jay and I are good friends; turned out to be good working buddies too,” Edwards said. “It’s worked out pretty good. That’s kind of what led to this deal too. Jay trusts me with everything, all his equipment already. He knows my driving ability.”

Together, they’ll join forces with Arizonan Ashton Torgerson to make up a three-car squad following the Xtreme Outlaw Series in 2024. Each come with an impressive resume, but none of them have competed on the national Midget scene.

For Mounce and Stout, its exactly the kind of talent they’re looking to foster as they push to grow the next generation in motorsports.

“I think that’s more of it more than anything – just having a passion for Midget racing in general and understanding what it feels like to be the little guy, waiting and hoping and wishing for an opportunity that may never come,” Mounce said. “It’s no longer about how much money you have in your equipment. It’s more about giving the guys the opportunity to showcase what they can do in the seat.”

The Mounce/Stout partnership was founded when former Midget racers Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout came together for the 2019 Chili Bowl Nationals. Mounce was offering to help maintain more cars at his shop in advance of the indoor Midget event, and Stout – in his final Chili Bowl as a driver – took up the offer.

The two went into official team co-ownership that year, strongly built on the principles of leadership and development of the sport’s future. Today, Mounce is most often seen providing the team with his technical expertise – making car setup calls and carrying out various crew member functions on his cars at the track – while Stout works his full-time position as an electrical lineman in Tulsa, providing the team with the resources it needs and coming to the track as his schedule allows.

Young or aged, rookie or experienced – Mounce/Stout Motorsports has taken in drivers at all skill levels and given them a place to develop their abilities, and the same runs true with Clay and Edwards in 2024.

“That’s the coolest part, because everybody remembers where they came from,” Stout said. “Everybody remembers who they got their first win with, who helped them cross that bridge from being just a weekend racer to now being a professional – somebody who’s on the map. That’s the most important thing.”

Clay is the newest face to Midget racing on the team and, like Torgerson, is a continuation of the youthful wave sweeping the national Midget circuit over the past several seasons. While he’s only tested in a Midget thus far, he’s ambitious to get started.

“I feel like there’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve from a Micro to a Midget, but I think the quicker I can get into it and the more races I have, then I’ll be comfortable quicker and get up to speed a lot quicker,” Clay said.

Clay began his career racing in the Junior Sprint and Restricted Micro Sprint classes around his native Oklahoma, favoring Micro Sprint hotspots like Port City Raceway in Tulsa and I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City. Since then, he’s been gradually venturing out to new places including tracks in Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Texas and California during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

“Throttle control and just being around race cars and racing around other people, kind of how you want to be raced and being aggressive,” Clay said of the skills he’s learned. “The Midget series is going to be a big jump in being aggressive and putting your nose in spots that maybe you might be able to, maybe you won’t. Just learning that situation. Micro Sprints have taught me throttle control and how to keep the car underneath me.”

He’ll be teammates with the experienced Edwards, who has been around the block in open-wheel racing. Edwards first established a working and friendly relationship with Mounce at 18 years old and has been a childhood friend of Stout. He dipped into Micro Sprint and Sprint Car racing as a driver, but later began to split time being in the seat and on the wrenches, picking up mechanic duties for some open-wheel racing standouts including Dave Darland, Cory Kruseman, Kevin Thomas Jr, and most recently Chase McDermand during his 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Series campaign.

However, his expertise as a crew member will be on the backburner in 2024, as Edwards plans to let Mounce and the other crew members handle setup calls and other mechanical involvement during the program.

“That’s something I’ve also lacked in a lot of the teams I have drove for in the past – I do both,” Edwards said. “I think some nights I’ve struggled because I’ve had to focus on too many things. I don’t just get to focus on the driving part of it. But with this opportunity I think I’ll be able to shine and get better at the driving part of it.”

Edwards has also remained a yearly competitor at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January, once posting a fourth-place finish in a 2012 Prelim Feature. This past Chili Bowl, he again qualified for his Prelim Feature and finished in a D-Main on Saturday in his first outing in his new Mounce/Stout ride. Now that his full-time deal with the team is inked, Edwards is all eyes on the 2024 season. 

“I would like to compete for a few wins. That’s the ultimate goal, win a race or two,” Edwards said. “If I can be in the top five in points at the end of the year, I would be extremely happy. But my ultimate goal is to run up front most nights, try not to DNF.”

Despite the age and experience gaps between the team’s new national Midget series rookies – Clay, Edwards and Ashton Torgerson – Mounce is confident in each of their abilities to contend for wins and potentially a points championship with the Xtreme Outlaw Series.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Mounce said. “Ashton hasn’t been in a Midget very much at all. The first time I ever got to work with him is this year at the Chili Bowl. Very nice family; Danny (father) is a very nice guy. He’s given me free reign to basically start from the beginning with Ashton.

“A lot of people don’t know who [Edwards] is, and he is going to be a new face on the scene, so to speak. But he’s going to be one of these guys the younger kids can lean on for advice and have a better understanding of what it’s going to take to be a race car driver at this level.”

Don’t miss Clay and Edwards in their Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota debut – March 15-16 at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL. If you can’t be there in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

BATAVIA, Ohio (January 29, 2024) – The previously named Bubba Raceway Park, now re-branded as Ocala Speedway is the next stop on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Speedweeks slate. Team’s will tackle the 3/8-mile oval beginning Monday, January 29 for an Open Practice. The pit gates will open at 2:00PM with practice slated from 6:00PM to 9:00PM. The general admission area will be open free of charge. Fans are encouraged to visit Ocala Speedway for a sneak peek at the top dirt late model drivers expected.  The action will ratchet up on Tuesday and Wednesday with a complete program of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win main event each night. The Thunder Stocks are also on the racing card for Tuesday and Wednesday at Ocala Speedway. The pit gates will open at 2:00PM each day, followed by general admission gates at 5:00PM. The on-track excitement is slated for 5:30PM each day with Hot Laps. All times are eastern time. Ocala Speedway is the longest continuously running dirt track in the state of Florida, beginning operations in 1952. Ocala Speedway is located at 9050 N.W. Gainesville Road in Ocala, Florida, just minutes from I-75 at Exit 354. For more information, please visit www.bubbaracewaypark.com.  After two events, Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, and Jonathan Davenport are tied for the top spot in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – Presented by ARP. Brandon Overton is fourth with Devin Moran completing the top five. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Bubba Raceway Park Purses: Tues. Jan. 30: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Wed. Jan. 31: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Left Front – Any (90) Hoosier TireRight Front/Left Rear – Hoosier (90) NLMT2Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3

January 28, 2024 — DAYTONA BEACH, FL.

• Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti #40 Acura ARX-06 finishes third in a tough Rolex 24 at Daytona
• #10 WTRAndretti Acura fights back from multiple issues to finish ninth as the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opens in Florida
• Electricals problems blunt Gradient Racing’s challenge for GTD honors in the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22

The quest for a fourth consecutive Acura victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona came up just short this weekend, as Wayne Taylor Racing with Andrettti finished third in the 2024 season-opening, 24-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance contest.

Louis Deletraz started fifth aboard the #40 DEX Imaging ARX-06, with the sister #10 Konica Minolta Acura of Filipe Albuquerque slotting in right alongside in sixth. Despite a few minor issues through the night, the Acura piloted by Deletraz, Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Jenson Button remained in the fight for a podium position through the night.  One of five cars on the lead lap in the closing hours, Deletraz brought the #40 home third.

Trouble for the second, #10 WTR Andrettti Acura, began in the ninth hour as the third-place #10 ARX-06 with Albuquerque at the controls rolled to a stop on course with an electrical issue.

The problem was soon isolated to a failure in the wiring harness, but repairs took approximately 90 minutes to complete, taking the #10 ARX-06 of Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Brendon Hartley and Marcus Ericsson out of contention for the victory. An additional long stop for brake repairs in the 11th hour dropped the #10 further down the field, resulting in a 9th place finish in GTP.

Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
In the production-based GTD category, Katherine Legge started the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 after qualifying third in class last weekend. Legge and co-drivers Sheena Monk, Tatiana Calderon and Stevan McAleer remained in position to contend for the class victory until their own electrical issue in the ninth hour resulted in a series of pit stops for repairs, followed by another long stop for repairs after the NSX struck debris on track during the night, damaging the right front fender and bodywork.

The car was eventually retired when the electrical issues returned in the early morning hours, dropping the J.G. Wentworth-sponsored NSX to an unrepresentative 19th-place finish.

Rolex 24 Acura Results

• 3rd GTP and overall – #40 Louis Deletraz, Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Jenson Button; Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06
• 9th GTP – #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Brendon Hartley, Marcus Ericsson; Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 [not running – retired]

Rolex 24 Acura Results (con’t)

• 19th GTD – #66 Katherine Legge, Sheena Monk, Tatiana Calderon and Stevan McAleer; Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 [not running – electrical]

Fast Facts

• Acura returned to Daytona International Speedway and the IMSA season-opening Rolex 24 as three-time defending race winners. In the debut of the hybrid GTP era, Meyer Shank Racing led a 1-2 result for Acura last year. The electrified #60 Acura ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud claimed the overall honors for the second year in a row; ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz and Brendon Hartley.
• This was Acura’s 10th Rolex 24 as a prototype manufacturer (1991-93, 2018-24).  In addition to the overall wins in 2021, 2022 and 2023 – and in 2016 under the HPD/Honda banner – Acura won the Camel Lights class at Daytona in 1991 and again in 1992.

Quotes
Louis Deletraz (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) 3rd overall and in GTP: “I think we should be very happy with the result as a team.  These last 10 days have not been easy. Acura, HRC and the whole WTRAndrettti organization have been working amazingly. We made the most of the situation. The #31 and the #7 cars were obviously quicker than us, but we never gave up. We lost a few laps, but we always came back and gave them a fight to the last minute. It was great. I am very grateful for everyone’s hard work and it is a great start to the championship with strong [championship] points today. We’re looking toward [winning] the season-long championship and hopefully scoring a few victories along the way for the #40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team.”

Marcus Ericsson (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) 9th in GTP: “Congratulations to my teammates in the #40 car, it’s great to get a podium [result] at such a tough race. Of course, we always want to win, but a podium finish is a great success for the whole WTRAndretti team. I think for us in the #10 car, we had a really good race going, the car was feeling really good, and the Acura power was excellent. It felt like we were making progress, but then unfortunately we had the [electrical] issue that put us out of contention [for the victory]. The team did a tremendous job getting the car back on track and I got the chance to do quite a lot of laps, which was a ton of fun. I really appreciate the opportunity to come here and race with WTRAndretti and Acura. It’s been a blast, and I hope to do it again.”

Tatiana Calderon (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) 19th in GTD: “First of all, I want to thank the team for all the effort over the last two weeks! It’s a dream for any driver to be part of this amazing race, so even though we did not finish, I will take the positives. We had a quick car and I gained valuable experience, as it was my first time driving the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22. We have unfinished business and I can’t wait to get back in the car for Sebring. Thanks to all the fans who came to support us, the atmosphere here was amazing!”

David Salters (President, HRC US) on this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona: “A great debut for HRC-US with a podium finish at the Rolex 24. I think, all things considered, that [third-place finish] was the most we could get out of today. So thank you very much to the brilliant men and women of HRC, WTRAndretti, ORECA, Gradient Racing and everyone involved who makes our racing possible. They do the actual, hard work and ‘well done’ to them. We maximized what we had; and we move on with the lessons learned.”

Next
The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now moves to central Florida for the 72nd annual Mobil-1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Saturday, March 16 in Sebring, Fla.

Cadillac grabs Rolex 24 runner-up finishPole-winning No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R takes Endurance Cup points lead

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2024) – A twice-around-the-clock race evolved into a 30-minute sprint Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which started first, finished second in the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona to begin defense of its Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) championship and Cadillac’s Manufacturer title. Tenacity of drivers Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist and the Action Express Racing team complemented a reliable and fast hybrid racecar and efficient pit stops to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in the physically demanding race on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn course.The runner-up finish is Cadillac’s 223rd podium in all classes/series since 2000, including seven in the GTP era. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R grabbed the early lead in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. “It’s great to make it to the podium, building on last year’s success. Every member of the team can be very proud of their efforts on preparing the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R for success, from both a technology and durability standpoint,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac. “For more than a century, racing has provided a testbed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between race cars and production vehicles, and our V-Series portfolio demonstrates how we seamlessly bring learnings from the track to the road. Media resource: High-res on-track photography for editorial use “The podium finish today demonstrates the remarkable capabilities and determination of the people at Cadillac and is a significant milestone as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of V-Series. Of course, our goal is always to win so we will enjoy the moment, learn and look to Sebring.” The 72nd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is March 16. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is the defending GTP pole and race winner, and Derani has been victorious four times at the 3.74-mile course.Derani earned the Rolex 24 pole with a track-record lap time in the 15-minute qualifying session January 21, and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R led multiple times for multiple laps throughout the race. Blomqvist, who was aiming to become the second driver to win the Rolex 24 three consecutive years, drove the final 2 hours, 56 minutes and battled drivers of eventual winner No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports, taking the lead in Turn 1 with 1 hour, 18 minutes left. The No. 7 Porsche nosed in front exiting pit lane under full-course caution with 43 minutes left, held off multiple Blomqvist challenges over the duration won by 2.112 seconds.The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, with drivers Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, also started on the front row and was a serious contender for the victory until a surprise development in the wee hours Sunday. van der Zande was making significant headway hours after the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R fell off the lead lap because of a cut tire and drive-thru penalty for a pit lane speed violation when, just shy of 3 a.m. ET, the Dutch driver coasted onto the Turn 1 apron without power. After examination in the garage, the Chip Ganassi Racing-campaigned GTP entry retired. Cadillac Racing issued a statement: The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R experienced a mechanical powertrain issue in the second half of the grueling race that resulted in retirement of the entry. Cadillac Racing will investigate to find the root cause and prepare for the 72nd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.Runner-up finishes in Rolex 24 At Daytona2023: Cadillac Racing (Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist)2021: Action Express Racing (Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud, MikeRockenfeller, Kamui Kobayashi)2019: Whelen Engineering (Eric Curran, Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani)2018: Whelen Engineering Racing (Eric Curran, Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway)2017: Mustang Sampling Racing (Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, FilipeAlbuquerque)An interview with Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist, drivers of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R: TOM, TALK ABOUT THE CLOSING STAGES OF THE RACE, AND THE BATTLE WITH FELIPE (NASR)…“First, I want to say what a fantastic job that the whole Whelen Cadillac team has done this whole two weeks. My teammates have been absolutely fantastic. Not a single stint wrong all race, really. It was kind of between the last, well, what feels like the whole race, between the No. 7 Porsche, they were really, really quick at times. We were quick at times. I think, if I look back, we were maybe a little bit better taking care of tires when we were double-stinting. They were really strong at the restarts, especially during the night when it was a little bit cooler and there was rubber on the track. It kind of came down to those that couple of stints. I was slowly chipping away. Managed to close the gap. We then decided to take an early stop to try and undercut them. Thankfully, I was able to get by on-track. The whole goal there was then to make a gap, because obviously we were going to have a little bit longer of fuel stoppage time at the next stop. That yellow basically ended our chances, really, especially where we are on pit lane, coming under yellow and not really being able to react to the car behind in terms of pulling early, for example. That hurt us, really. I think it was going to be a bit closer if that yellow hadn’t of come out, because I felt there at the end of the race we had the pace advantage. It was just so difficult to pass. The Porsche was really strong on the straight. We were really good in the infield. It was hard to make anything count. I felt like there weren’t many cars there at the end of the race in terms of traffic to find an opportunity. And then Felipe (Nasr) at the end there, I think he made one small mistake where he went wide by a few meters, but other than that, there was no opportunity. Huge hats off to them. They were fantastic, really.”  TOM, YOU DID A TRIPLE (STINT) AT THE END. WAS THAT ALWAYS THE PLAN FOR YOU TO BE IN FOR THE END?“We didn’t change our driver rotation the whole race. It was always kind of the way it was going to work out was for me to finish, even if we were running a completely green race. And then we decided to just put more time because there was only three of us. Obviously, we had to spend more time in the car to maximize rest out of the car. That was kind of the strategy we went with. These guys did some math and stints during the night doing four so I could get enough rest to jump in and not have to do four, basically. That was always the plan. We just basically extended our driving, so there was a lot of tenuous seat time. It worked out. I think overall it was a good way to go.”  TOM, ROUGHLY 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE END OF THE RACE, THE GAP WAS DOWN TO 0.8 SECONDS. YOU MENTIONED ALREADY THE YELLOW AND TRAFFIC. WAS THIS THE REASON THE GAP INCREASED AT THE END? “At the end there, I think Felipe (Nasr) just got a little bit more lucky on the last two laps where some of the traffic was slowed up into the bus stop. It just kills you. He got away there at the very end because of that. And then in terms of the fuel consumption, we had the least amount of energy to use. Obviously, our car was the lightest, but we had the least amount. Maybe they were a little bit better, but we also rolled the dice a little bit in terms of stopping early to try and create an opportunity to actually get ahead on track. It’s always easier, you know, when you’ve got track position. You can figure out a way to maintain that. They maximized what they had.”  PIPO, TALK US THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE TEAM IN THE PITBOX AT THE END.“First of all, it’s always a thrill. We are here to enjoy those moments. It’s made it a fantastic race to watch for the fans. Obviously we are competitors and we want to be out there. But there is nothing better than fighting wheel-to-wheel with great competitors and having such an amazing finish to a race that had been like that for the beginning to the end. So yeah, a nail-biter I think. We had our moment. Tom did a fantastic job to come out to undercut and get by Felipe. Obviously with Daytona being the way it is, the pit is inverted so they could see where we were and short-fueled to come out ahead. At the end of the day, that is part of the game. We gave everything we could. It was definitely harder to be on the outside than in the car. I’m sure it was the same for Jack. We knew Tom was going to do the job, and we came up just short. I’m really proud because I think we did a fantastic job… everyone involved in the team. We didn’t make a single mistake the whole week. We came here with a very competitive car. We were out front from the beginning to the end of the race. I had great battles. There is nothing better to enjoy and celebrate motorsport with a race like this. Next time if I’m not finishing the race, I hope these guys can make it a little bit easier on the heartbeat.” PIPO, TALK ABOUT STARTING YOUR TITLE DEFENSE WITH A STRONG RESULT.“It’s great. I think last year if you look at how we started the year, I think we finished fifth here in an up-and-down season. So we had a winter where we said we have to improve this and this and this. We’ve been checking those pockets and mark sure we can come back stronger in ’24. We certainly rolled out with a very competitive car and we did a fantastic race. Hats off to the entire team. We were flawless the whole race. So to begin the season with a pole position and a second-place, it gives us great hope that we are on the right path to fight for another championship. Hopefully it’s not going to be as up-and-down as it was last year. But we’re very happy with how Daytona went, despite coming just short. Everyone should be proud and looking forward to the next one.” JACK, TALK US THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE TEAM IN THE PITBOX AT THE END.“It’s a different kind of pain finishing second by that little. We’ve said it many times already this week that we have a lot of confidence in our lineup that we felt comfortable with anybody being in the car for the finish. Tom did a great job, and I really thought he possibly secured us the win with the move on Felipe before the yellow. Just watching from the sidelines like Pipo said, it’s definitely a bit hard on the nerves because you can’t really do anything at that point. It was still heartwarming to see the reaction in the garage that everyone on the Cadillac crew were able to hold their heads high because they put a lot in over the last two weeks after a pretty intense year last year as well. It’s not a long offseason. We’ve come out swinging. So hopefully that is a good indication for the rest of the year. But it definitely stings right now, rightly or wrongly.” TOM, DID YOU THINK YOU WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO FORCE THE PORSCHE INTO A MISTAKE?“I tried. But like I said before, I remember him running wide just one. We were both really on it because the lap times came down at the end. We did all we could to secure victories for our teams. It was fun. There was a lot of adrenaline in the car, but it was so close. That’s motorsports sometimes.”No. 1 Cadillac V-Series.R quotes Renger van der Zande: “I was really moving; I came through the field so easily. The car was lightning fast and credit to Cadillac and the Ganassi team to give us such a big car to win a race like this. It’s just a shame it has to end like this so early. This is motorsport, we’re fighting with the very best and we’re on the limit with everything to have a competitive car. I have three amazing teammates, a whole team here to win and I think we had the best chance to win. It’s just a shame.” Sebastien Bourdais: “This end result is obviously disappointing because everyone at Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing has put in so much work to get to this point. We showed that we had the pace to compete in this race, but things just didn’t fall our way. We continued to push until the very last minute.” Scott Dixon: “The team did an amazing job. We worked well together and had great speed with a lot of possibilities, but it’s sad to go out of the race like we did so early on. That’s the way it rolls sometimes. I’m just thankful for everyone from the team at GM and Cadillac. I know there’s an amazing amount of effort that goes into this race and the whole season. The only way is up from here.” Alex Palou: “Very sad that we couldn’t finish the race after an amazing couple of weeks in Daytona preparing for this big race. We were looking really good, and the Cadillac was super quick in all track conditions. It was an absolute pleasure to drive the 01 and share car with Renger, Sebastien and Scott. Thank you to the team for all the hard work and I know it will pay off down the road.”

· Corvette Z06 GT3.R made its worldwide competition debut to open the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Daytona.· Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports No. 3 and No. 4 Z06 GT3.Rs combined to lead 118 of 773 laps in incredible GTD PRO fight· Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella led the Corvette Z06 GT3.R runners with a fifth-place finish in No. 3 Oshkosh/Mobil 1 Corvette.· New Corvette showed impressive performance in deep GT field with 36 entries from 11 manufacturers· Despite retirements, first Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer team AWA logged a considerable number of laps and miles in first race with the Corvette brand· Focus for Corvette Racing program is to learn from Daytona experiences ahead of FIA WEC race in Qatar and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in IMSA competition

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2024) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R showed promise during its competition debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with four of Corvette GT3 cars in the hands of teams Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA. Although Sunday’s checkered flag flew without a Corvette win, there are plenty of positives and lessons to carry forward to the Z06 GT3.R’s upcoming events in IMSA, the FIA World Endurance Championship and GT World Challenge America. Both Corvettes from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports completed the full 24 hours with the No. 3 of Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella led the way with a fifth-place finish. The trio led 118 laps during Saturday and Sunday with the sister No. 4 Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Earl Bamber leading 38 additional laps. Both of the Pratt Miller Corvettes experienced separate mechanical issues – the No. 3 had a cracked oil tank and the No. 4 had to replace a power steering pump inside the final six hours. In GTD, AWA decided to withdraw the No. 13 Corvette (power steering) and the No. 17 Corvette (electrical), also in the last quarter of the event. The team and Chevrolet Competition Engineering will work together to determine the root causes and address ahead of the next race at Sebring. Chevrolet thanks the AWA team for its hard work and collaboration leading up to and during the Rolex 24. Despite missing out on a fifth class victory for the Corvette Racing brand since 2001, the competition groups learned a considerable amount while running all four cars in the season-opening race. Throughout its history, Corvette Racing has prided itself in taking lessons away from the racetrack and making its racecars – and production vehicles – better. That will continue being the case as the Corvette Z06 GT3.R moves forward. The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R is the Qatar 1812 Kilometers to open the FIA World Endurance Championship on Saturday, March 2. TF Sport will field two of the Corvette GT3 racecars for the full season. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA will next compete at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 16.

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available for all races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

ANTONIO GARCIA/ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTD PRO: “This is always a tough race, and this one was flat-out. The Rolex 24 is hard on equipment, and unfortunately we had our one issue. It is always great to be in the hunt and put pressure on our competitors so they may make mistakes. It’s a shame, for sure. I would have loved to be in contention late with the new Corvette. We learned a lot that we can use to push the Z06 GT3.R forward. We will use all those lessons to improve for the next race Sebring. It’s a classic event for us and we’ll definitely try to go for the win there.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – FINISHED EIGHTH IN GTD PRO: “Overall I’m proud of our effort today and what we showed with this new Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The pace was good and the balance was good. I think all of us as drivers were happy. Unfortunately for us, we had one main item that set us back and cost us time. But this is a new car and we’ve never seen that problem in testing. That’s why these 24-hour races in some ways feel like sprint races. This is a great learning opportunity for us, as well. There are things we will find and be better for the rest of the year. Realistically when you look at all the cars in the GT classes today, I don’t think anyone had a clean run. It shows how hard everyone was pushing, especially us. So yes, it’s somewhat disappointing because both cars led and were in the top-three for most of the race. These require perfection from everybody. Our race wasn’t perfect, but it was close. We can be proud of that.”

Both GTP entries lead multiple times; No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R retires

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2024) – Reigning Grand Touring Prototype champion Pipo Derani took over the wheel of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R from Tom Blomqvist in the wee hours of a cloudy Sunday and promptly retook the point as dawn broke in the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Both Cadillac Grand Touring Prototype entries paced the field multiple times for multiple laps on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course as Cadillac Racing pursues its fifth victory in the North American endurance classic since 2017. Derani, who earned the pole with a track-record lap during the 15-minute qualifying session January 21, recorded the quickest lap of the race (1 minute, 35.863 seconds) on Lap 2. Renger van der Zande was making significant headway hours after the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R fell off the lead lap because of a cut tire and drive-thru penalty for a pit lane speed violation when, just shy of 3 a.m. ET, the hybrid racecar lost power and the Dutch driver coasted onto the Turn 1 apron. After examination in the garage, the Chip Ganassi Racing-campaigned GTP entry retired. Cadillac Racing issued a statement: The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R experienced a mechanical powertrain issue in the second half of the grueling race that resulted in retirement of the entry. Cadillac Racing will investigate to find the root cause and prepare for the 72nd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Flag-to-flag streaming coverage is available on Peacock. USA Network’s coverage continues until noon ET when NBC will telecast the race conclusion.

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.RTom Blomqvist: “The car is just working well. It’s difficult out there because the Porsche and BMW are quick at different points. It’s hard work. Sometimes you feel like you’re slow and the next thing you know you feel like you’re fast. We got back to the front though it’s still a long way to go.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2024) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports remained in the battle for the lead of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class at the halfway point of the first race for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Both the No. 3 and No. 4 Oshkosh / Mobil 1 Corvettes took turns in the lead of the class to open the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Alexander Sims (No. 3) – in the final leg of a tripe-stint – and Earl Bamber (No. 4) were installed in the pair of new Z06 GT3.Rs at the 12-hour mark with Sims leading the team effort in second place. The race had just restarted following the 10th full-course caution period of the opening 12 hours. In GTD, the No. 17 and No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs continued trying to work their way up the standings. Starting driver Nico Varrone was in the middle of his second stint in the No. 17 Corvette at the halfway mark while Lars Kern was in his first stint in the No. 13 Z06 GT3.R.  The next Corvette Racing report will come at the race’s 18-hour mark.

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available for all races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RHOW WAS YOUR SECOND RUN COMPARED TO YOUR FIRST?“That was a long time in the car. I stayed in the car with the same tires on my second time around was a stretch. We took right-sides and then when the 4 car elected to stay out, we came in for fuel and didn’t take tires. So that was almost 50 laps on that set and three-and-a-half hours for me in the car. It was hard. I would say that was pretty much my limit. I was kind of in the mix with GTD cars but I couldn’t really pass them even if I had a little more pace. Just like earlier, there was no real reward if you make a move on anyone like that. So there was a point where I chose to stay where I was. Things are running well. Alex and Dani are doing a good job. We just need to carry on.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RWAS THERE A NOTICEABLE CHANGE FROM YOUR FIRST STINT TO YOUR SECOND?“Not too much. There’s just a better understanding of this car and the tire now. As soon as the ambient temperature dropped, I could feel it through the car. That will certainly help us down the road. I’m happy with how the Corvette feels. I see that Antonio is leading, so they are having a good time as well at the moment. We are for sure missing some power compared to some of the other guys out there. We’ll keep hammering and keep doing what we are doing – not make mistakes and maximize what this Corvette can do. Hopefully there are no issues, and then with four hours to go we can talk about the end of the race. For now, it’s about maximizing what we’re doing, not making mistakes and just putting in laps.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 17 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RHOW WAS YOUR FIRST RUN?“We’re still learning so much every stint, both on the driving side and the team side. We’re only a couple of laps back but were super-close to getting one of the laps back before the red light (at pit exit) came on just as we were getting to pit exit. We’ll keep cracking on to the end. For me, my stints were OK. I was trying to stay risk-averse. Ultimately, we weren’t close to unlapping ourselves on track; it was only going to be in the pits. So there was no point in taking big risks at that minute. More important was keeping the car in one piece for the end of the race.” ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CORVETTE SO FAR?“I am. We were only meant to do single stints on the tires. The way that it went, I did 20 laps and then another full stint on the same tires. For sure they were hurting a lot at the end, but my pace stayed consistent. So things went pretty well.”

Both GTP entries lead multiple times for multiple laps on changeable race course

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2024) – The pole-sitting No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, with Jack Aitken behind the wheel, led at the 12-hour mark of the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona. Both Cadillac Grand Touring Prototype entries paced the field multiple times for multiple laps on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course as Cadillac Racing pursues its fifth victory in the North American endurance classic since 2017. Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R that was running second to the sister No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, reported hitting debris in Turn 5 that shredded the left-front tire 8 hours, 42 minutes into the race. The car went off course and continued, with Bourdais bringing the hybrid to pit lane.

Scott Dixon relieved Bourdais and, running a lap down, came back into the pits for fuel and tires. A pit lane speed violation that required a drive-thru temporarily dropped the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R three laps down. “The tire went down right away and I was fortunate not to hit the tire (barrier) because I didn’t think I was going to stop it,” Bourdais said. “If I would have hit the tires it would have been really bad, but now we’re probably a lap down but it could have been a lot worse.” Alex Palou, the defending IndyCar champion took over the seat from Dixon and was running one lap down in sixth place at the halfway mark. Through the initial six hours, the Cadillac racecars combined to lead a majority of the race laps. Reigning GTP champion Pipo Derani, who earned the pole with a track-record lap during the 15-minute qualifying session January 21, recorded the quickest lap of the race (1 minute, 35.863 seconds) on Lap 2.

Flag-to-flag streaming coverage is available on Peacock. USA Network’s coverage resumes at 6 a.m. until noon ET. NBC will telecast the race conclusion from noon-2 p.m.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais: “It’s a very slippery track on the fairly old pavement with lots of yellow and white lines that do not have abrasive in it, so you better get the wheels straight when you hit those because you’re in for a ride with those.”   Alex Palou (on driving at night): “You always have to adapt, with different cars, different track conditions, and especially if the night suddenly comes. The most difficult part was not seeing a lot of references, but honestly, it’s cool. I think that’s the challenge of motorsport, and you always need to adapt. You always need to push yourself.”  No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani: “I feel great. I did a long stint and everything went OK. I was double stinting my tires to stretch the longevity. Now Jack (Aitken) is in the car and the car is very good at the moment. All in all, it is going according to plan.”

Timms builds huge lead and survives late restart to collect $10,000 Volusia payday (Trent Gower Photo)

BARBERVILLE, FL (January 27, 2023) – Last year Ryan Timms impressed by winning night one of the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout in his Volusia Speedway Park debut. But the teenage phenom wanted more in 2024.

The 2023 prelim win was nice. But Timms’ focus was firmly fixed on the $10,000-to-win finale this time around. And the Oklahoma City, OK gasser pieced together an excellent drive win and bank the $10K on Saturday night.

Timms started the 30-lap Feature fifth and took over the lead on the 18th lap. He then built a huge lead and held on for the victory on a green-white-checkered restart to seal the deal.

“I’m just so stoked to be able to park this thing in Victory Lane and be up here on the podium in first place,” Timms said. “After the Heat Race and Qualifying and the first few laps of the main, I knew we had a fast car. I’m just so excited to be up here.”

Austin McCarl and Justin Peck led the field to green. It was Friday’s winner – McCarl – taking the early lap to pace the opening lap. But Peck ripped around him to take over the top spot on the second circuit.

Behind the lead duo both Timms and Sam Hafertepe Jr. were on the move. Timms leaped from fifth to third by the fourth lap. Hafertepe Jr. managed to roar from eighth to second in the same amount of laps. Timms and Hafertepe were both aided by heartbreak for McCarl on the fourth lap as “The Big Unit” spun while running second in Turn 4.

On the restart Peck pulled ahead while Hafertepe and Timms pursued. While Peck maintained a steady advantage, Timms went to work on finding a way by Hafertepe. The teenager worked the bottom of “The World’s Fastest Half Mile” while Hafertepe committed to the top. On Lap 11 Timms managed to slip ahead of Hafertepe for the runner-up spot.

When Timms first grabbed second, Peck pulled ahead and added a few more tenths to his lead. But Timms quickly got in the groove and began to chase him down. On Lap 18 Timms rolled the bottom to perfection to drive ahead of Peck for the top spot.

Timms then began to work through traffic flawlessly. Only two laps after wrestling the lead from Peck, Timms was over a second ahead. The gap ballooned to over two seconds two laps later. The phenom moved wherever he needed to navigate traffic as he distanced himself from the field. When he took the white flag, he was more than four seconds ahead of Peck.

But as he was in Turns 3 and 4 heading toward the checkered flag, the caution lights flashed for a car slowing on the back straightaway. The yellow erased Timms’ lead and set up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish.

When the green flag brought the action back to life, Peck stayed close to Timms’ tail tank. But ultimately he couldn’t build enough momentum to challenge on the final lap. Timms held him off to claim the finale and $10,000.

“I was pretty frustrated,” Timms said of the late caution. “But I knew the slider line wasn’t necessarily faster in (Turns) 3 and 4, but I knew it was fast enough where I could hold off second for two or three laps. I knew the main deal was not missing the bottom. It was getting kind of thin in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2 where it was easy to miss.”

Peck held onto the runner-up spot after leading 16 laps. The Monrovia, IN native felt that missing a small amount of comfort in the car and troubles navigating traffic cost him a better shot at challenging for the win.

“Once I caught traffic I was a bit snug,” Peck said. “Ultimately, Ryan just ran a better race there in traffic. It seemed like every time a lapped car in front of me would go to the top so I’d go to the bottom, and the lapped car in front of them would hold me up on that same corner. I just didn’t pick my spots right, I guess. Like I said, he must’ve done a better job at that than me.”

Rounding out the top three was Hafertepe Jr. aboard the Hills Racing #15H. The Sunnyvale, TX native showed speed all week, driving onto the podium from row four each of the three nights. Like Peck, Hafertepe combatted handling troubles in traffic.

“We were just really tight behind guys,” Hafertepe Jr. said. “And when Timms got by us after that restart there, it really kind of botched us up. And then we got up to Peck a couple of times and just lapped traffic was really, really treacherous for us. It being in dirty air was really bad. We tightened the car up too much. Didn’t really anticipate the track doing what it did.”

Austin McCarl rebounded from his early spin to finish fourth. Danny Dietrich drove from 14th to fifth to earn the Hard Charger.

Heat Races were claimed by Austin McCarl, Justin Peck, Cameron Martin, and Sam Hafertepe Jr.

UP NEXT: Volusia Speedway Park comes back to life when the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 5-17) begin. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout (30 Laps): 1. 5T-Ryan Timms[5]; 2. 20-Justin Peck[4]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[8]; 4. 88-Austin McCarl[1]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich[14]; 6. 4-Cameron Martin[3]; 7. 28F-Davie Franek[10]; 8. 24-Danny Martin Jr[12]; 9. 6-Tyler Clem[7]; 10. 47-Eric Riggins Jr[9]; 11. 44-Chris Martin[13]; 12. 15-Ryan Turner[2]; 13. 7S-Landon Crawley[6]; 14. 17JR-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[20]; 15. 9-Liam Martin[17]; 16. 97-Ryan Harrison[18]; 17. 0-Glenn Styres[15]; 18. 13-Elijah Gile[26]; 19. 23-Lance Moss[24]; 20. 3-Dennis Misuraca[25]; 21. 23R-Ryan Roberts[16]; 22. 24D-Danny Sams III[19]; 23. 2C-Wayne Johnson[21]; 24. G6-Brandon Grubaugh[22]; 25. 24T-Christopher Thram[11]; 26. 10-Terry Gray[23]

WAYNESVILLE, Ga. (January 27, 2024) – Ricky Thornton Jr. picked up his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season on Saturday night at Golden Isles Speedway on the final night of the General Tire Super Bowl of Racing. Thornton earned $25,000 for his 29th career series win. Thornton won by 0.425 seconds over Chris Madden, who finished second with Jonathan Davenport rounding out the Big River Podium in third. Brandon Overton came home in fourth followed by Devin Moran. Thornton grabbed the early lead in the 60-lap feature with Mike Marlar tucking in behind him. Those two ran first and second and as they raced through heavy traffic. Marlar made a move for the lead as he drove to the outside of Thornton in turn four on lap 37. The two made contact as they exited turn four side-by-side and Davenport would sneak by both of them to take the lead on lap 37. Davenport, who started fifth, then held the lead until lap 48 when Thornton regained the top spot. It appeared Thornton’s time back in front again would be short-lived however as both Madden and Davenport challenged for the position. One circuit later, a slowing Tim McCreadie exiting turn four would bring out the first caution of the race before the lap was officially scored, putting Thornton out front again. The race would go green for three more laps when tenth running Tyler Erb slowed with a flat tire bringing out the second and final caution of the race.  The final restart with eight laps remaining saw Thornton maintain his grip on the bottom to hold off Madden for the win. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Thornton voiced his displeasure with a couple of his fellow competitors. “When I got passed, I didn’t think I was going to get back to the front. I am not quite sure why the 49 and the 157 kept racing there. Mikey drove across my right front in three and is mad at me, and with JD I tried to cross him, and I probably shouldn’t have tried to stuff it in there. Everyone is already counting us out after one night, maybe the rest of the week will be elbows up.” Madden, who climbed from the sixth spot was in position to take the lead in the race when the caution flew. “I saw Timmy [McCreadie] up there slowing down, but he was still rolling and still going so I felt like we shouldn’t have had the caution thrown yet, but it is what it is. At that time, we were just getting what we could get, but they [Thornton and Davenport] had slipped up and I had a chance to go for the lead. I just want to thank Lucas Oil for getting this race in tonight with the weather upon us and they rushed us on through here.” Davenport came home in third and gave his opinion on what happened between the front runners. “The 20RT and the car running second, the 157 they got together, and I passed them both I thought clean and then we come down the back straightaway and the 20RT jacked me up and about spun me out getting into three. I then ran the rest of the race there and kind of protected the bottom and then obviously he [Thornton] got a big run on me and took the left side of the car off and knocked us up the track and Madden got by us that time.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms Racing, Dyno One Inc., West Side Tractor Sales, Bilstein Shocks, and Sunoco Race Fuels. Completing the top ten were Mike Marlar, Ryan Gustin, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, and Ross Robinson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary General Tire Super Bowl of Racing | Night 3Saturday, January 27, 2024Golden Isles Speedway – Waynesville, GA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Garrett Smith | 15.146 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Hudson O’Neal | 15.328 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 10-Garrett Smith[1]; 2. 7-Ross Robinson[2]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 4. 97-Cody Overton[5]; 5. 17M-Dale McDowell[3]; 6. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 7. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 8. 93-Cory Lawler[8]; 9. (DNS) 388-Jackson Hise Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[4]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 5. 75-Daniel Adam[6]; 6. 17SS-Brenden Smith[7]; 7. 81J-Jack Riggs[8]; 8. (DNS) 96V-Tanner English Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 4. 111-Max Blair[2]; 5. 81-Jason Riggs[7]; 6. 19M-Spencer Hughes[5]; 7. 214-Haiden Cowan[6]; 8. 4G-Bob Gardner[8] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 1-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[5]; 6. 14JR-Trey Mills[4]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[7]; 8. 3-Brennon Willard[8] Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 6-Clay Harris[2]; 3. 79-Donald McIntosh[3]; 4. 7T-Drake Troutman[4]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[7]; 6. 111R-Steven Roberts[8]; 7. 25-Tony Jackson Jr[6]; 8. 28B-Carson Brown[5] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 44-Chris Madden[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 4. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[5]; 5. 5-Mark Whitener[6]; 6. 14X-Wil Herrington[3]; 7. 174-Ethan Dotson[8]; 8. 8-Dillon McCowan[7] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 97-Cody Overton[1]; 2. 111-Max Blair[3]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[4]; 5. 75-Daniel Adam[5]; 6. 214-Haiden Cowan[12]; 7. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[6]; 9. 19M-Spencer Hughes[9]; 10. 93-Cory Lawler[13]; 11. 81J-Jack Riggs[11]; 12. 4G-Bob Gardner[15]; 13. 99B-Boom Briggs[10]; 14. (DNS) 17SS-Brenden Smith; 15. (DNS) 96V-Tanner English; 16. (DNS) 388-Jackson Hise UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[3]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 4. 7T-Drake Troutman[2]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening[10]; 6. 174-Ethan Dotson[12]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[4]; 8. 5-Mark Whitener[6]; 9. 25-Tony Jackson Jr[11]; 10. 14JR-Trey Mills[7]; 11. 8-Dillon McCowan[15]; 12. 3-Brennon Willard[13]; 13. 14X-Wil Herrington[9]; 14. (DNS) 111R-Steven Roberts; 15. (DNS) 28B-Carson Brown General Tire Super Bowl of Racing | Night 3 Feature Finish (60 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 49Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Garrett SmithLap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-37); Jonathan Davenport (Laps 38-48); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 49-60)Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton Jr.Margin of Victory: 0.425 seconds Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: Tim McCreadie (Lap 49); Tyler Erb (Lap 52)Series Provisionals: Earl Pearson, Jr.; Spencer HughesFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Boom Briggs; Drake Troutman; Daniel Adam, Brian ShirleyTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Chris Madden, Jonathan DavenportPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Chris Madden, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Devin MoranTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Ryan Gustin (Advanced 11 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Ryan GustinDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonMD3 Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (49 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Hudson O’Neal O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/a Coltman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 4 – 16.024 seconds) Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Jonathan DavenportGorsuch Performance Max Air Cool Move of the Race: Devin MoranMiller Welders Hard Luck Award: Tyler ErbOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.) ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Garrett Smith (15.442 seconds)Time of Race: 24 minutes 40 seconds  Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

Both GTP entries lead multiple laps through six hours of the Rolex 24 At Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2024) – Cadillac Racing’s Grand Touring Prototype entries, which started on the front row for the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona, continued the strong pace they displayed in test sessions and led a majority of the laps in the initial six hours of the North American endurance classic. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series,R, which bolted to the pole with a track-record lap at the hands of reigning GTP champion Pipo Derani, led early on and recorded the fastest lap of the race (1 minute, 35.863 seconds) on Lap 2. Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist also led laps in the first quarter of the race that saw ambient temperature reach 79 degrees Fahrenheit at the 1:41 p.m. ET start. Sebastien Bourdais, who drove the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to second in the 15-minute qualifying session Jan. 21, led during his two-plus-hour stint. Scott Dixon and Alex Palou also took turns at the front of the 10-car GTP field. Renger van der Zande will be in the car in the early evening.

USA Network’s coverage continues until midnight and then from 6 a.m.-noon ET Sunday. NBC has the race conclusion airing from noon-2 p.m. Flag-to-flag streaming coverage is also available on Peacock. Leading the field and looking ahead to 2025

The 2025 Cadillac CT5-V and CT5-V Blackwing, which were unveiled earlier in the week, made their public debut at Daytona International Speedway and are available for spectator viewing this weekend in the Cadillac display. The 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing is serving as the Official Safety Car for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Cadillac is showcasing its Detroit “OnePride” spirit with a Detroit Lions sticker on the rear bumper of the Safety Car. The Lions face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship game. The CT5-V Blackwing features a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 that generates 668 horsepower and 659 lb.-ft. of torque with a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic gearbox. “Cadillac sedans continue to drive positive brand momentum, year-over-year,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac. “Last year, our sedans experienced their best sales since 2018 and CT5 is Cadillac’s best-selling vehicle, globally. As V-Series celebrates a record year, the importance of this option for those customers who value performance and power cannot be overstated.” The V-Series, marking its 20th anniversary, “is the ultimate expression of Cadillac design, performance, and technology.” The 2025 Cadillac CT5-V and CT5-V Blackwing will be produced at GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly facility in Michigan, with production to begin in summer 2024. Learn more at cadillac.com.No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais: “We knew we were going to have a fight, and we do. I think the car shows that it’s got plenty of pace, which I’ve never been in doubt of that. But as far as when it comes down to interacting with the other cars, we really have out-brake ourselves to get by, because we’re barely keeping up in the straights. It’s good we’re leading, and we can definitely put on a fight, but it’s the hard way. It is what it is. We knew we had the strong package as far as optimizing the performance level we have at our disposal, but it won’t be easy if it comes down to a drag race in the last 30 minutes.” Scott Dixon: “I think the Cadillacs have been going really good throughout the race. That was tricky for me. We had to do two-and-a-half stints on the same set of tires, so that was definitely an eye-opener, and to actually hold on to the pace of the lead was showing the car is in good shape. We’ll see where that goes. I think as we build up on double-stinting tires, or even more than that, should help us on the back end of the race. Pretty crazy out there. Lots of interesting traffic, and just trying to keep the car on track and out of trouble.”  Alex Palou: “The car felt very good going through traffic. Patience is No. 1 in the car. It’s just a dream to share this 01 Cadillac with teammates like this that I can learn every session and every single lap. Pretty happy and I’ll be back during the nighttime.” No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.RJack Aitken: “I think we have very good racecars. I’m not going to sit here and say we’re not looking good. Obviously, we were good in qualifying already and the race is proving to be a similar situation with the field that we look to be good on pace. But the Porsches especially and the BMWs are not far behind. And even when we get behind the Acuras it’s not easy to pass. We’ll see how conditions change overnight when it gets cold again. We haven’t had those conditions since the Roar. Pipo Derani: “With a clear track in front of us, we started fast — did a 1:35 on Lap 2 — and led a lot of laps. The car felt good and was fast, and we were just trying to take care of the tires on track conditions that are not the same as they have been the past week (79 degrees Fahrenheit at race start). A couple of yellows disrupted the flow, but you expect that and we stuck to our plan. I handed the car off to Jack (Aitken) and we’ll see how things evolve as we enter the early evening.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2024) – The new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R was firmly in contention in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class after the first quarter of the Rolex 24 At Daytona – the opening race of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Earl Bamber in the No. 4 Oshkosh/Mobil 1 Corvette ran third to pace the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ two-car effort. The trio of Bamber, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg climbed their way from sixth in class – and 21st of all GTD category cars – at the start to eighth among all GTD runners. The No. 3 Z06 GT3.R with Daniel Juncadella at the wheel ran fourth in class after six hours. His Corvette – which he shares with Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims – led in class early in the race before the sun went down and track conditions cooled. In GTD, new Corvette customer team AWA was battling back from slow starts from the beginning. Thomas Merrill sat 19th of 23 GTD cars but was in striking distance of the top-15 in the No. 17 Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Matt Bell was at the wheel of the No. 13 Corvette, which lost a handful of laps early but ran trouble-free following a first-hour trip to the garage. The next Corvette Racing report will come at the race’s halfway mark.

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

Photo: Richard Prince

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the Roar Before the 24 as well as next week’s Rolex 24 At Daytona for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RHOW HAVE YOU GUYS MANAGED FOR THE FIRST BIT THERE?“It was difficult to stay out of trouble. People were going a bit crazy there, especially between classes. I don’t really know what happened. Everybody was very, very aggressive right away, so we tried to stay out of that. Our pace is decent. I believe Ferrari has a little bit more than us, but we just need to be there. No mistakes, and we’ll end up in the front. We just need to focus on ourselves, our race, and that’s it.” ONE OF YOU CALLED IT CRAZY OUT THERE. IS THAT BECAUSE SOME DRIVERS AREN’T USING THEIR HEADS?“There’s definitely not very great communication between some drivers there. I had a few close calls, but you have to anticipate that. You can be aggressive tomorrow. That’s when it matters. To lose a position today because you could have stayed where you are doesn’t mean anything. So this is my goal for today and all the way until tomorrow. For sure I can blame many cars out there. Some weren’t at fault when they crashed. So I would say it’s crazy. We need to stay calm.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RWELCOME BACK TO GT RACING IN IMSA…“That was quite good. Honestly everyone was pretty well behaved. It was nice, close racing. It was good fun to have people directly ahead and behind for most of my two stints. Right now it’s about getting a feeling for where the Z06 GT3.R is fast and where we could be a little stronger compared to other manufacturers and using that to our advantage in the racing scenarios. It was all good fun. Tire degradation was noticeable on the second stint, and I’m guessing everyone has the same. It was good to be out there fighting people and enjoying racing.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RTOMMY, TO START OFF, OBVIOUSLY VERY EARLY GOING HERE. WHAT WAS THE APPROACH TO THE BEGINNING OF THE RACE FOR YOU GUYS?“The car has been good. Starting the race here, it’s been hot. You’ve heard those (GTP) guys talk about it a little bit as well. It’s kind of the hottest it’s been all weekend. Understanding what the car is going to do in those conditions… obviously tires are a big part of the start this year. We’re managing the tires as best we can and seeing what we have balance-wise and making some adjustments throughout the race to improve it. But it’s a 24-hour race. Obviously, the first part of this race is just surviving, and there is a lot of surviving early on there with some accidents and people checking up and things like that. It’s a lot of racing, a lot of fun so far. I’m looking forward to getting into the nighttime here.” IMSA REPORTS THAT THIS IS THE BIGGEST ATTENDANCE FOR THE ROLEX 24. ANY INSIGHT INTO THAT?“Looking at the stands at the start of the race, I’ve never seen so many people packing the stands all the way into Turn One and as far as they came down to start-finish. It’s super exciting. In some ways it’s not surprising. IMSA has been on upswing the last couple of years and building on a lot of momentum over the years. Last year the new GTP class was a big draw. And we have 30-plus GT cars this year that are all super-competitive. The show is amazing. The start of the race was probably a lot of fun to watch. It was a lot of fun to watch from where I was sitting. It’s great to be a part of this race. It’s the biggest sports car race in the United States, and I’m glad to see that the fans are coming out to watch it.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RWAS IT DIFFICULT OUT THERE IN TRAFFIC?“It’s the same as always here. That doesn’t change. But it’s tough to fight when others have more power than you. Out of the corners it’s tough to keep them behind. I feel like we have a pretty good Corvette. We struggled a bit on the (left side) double-stint. But it’s tough to fight. Unfortunately at Daytona you go straight a lot of the time. That’s difficult but we have had no issues so far. We’re very much in the game, so it’s all good.” WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE FOR YOUR NEXT RUN?“Double-stinting the tires is very hard on the rears. So we need to work a little bit on traction. But I believe everyone has that issue.”

ALEX LYNN, NO. 13 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.RWHAT IS THE GOAL FOR THE REST OF THE RACE?“It’s a shame we lost some time at the start, but the Z06 GT3.R is really fast and felt great when I was out there. Now we just need to help the team learn for the rest of the season and see what we can do to the end of this race.”