Marlar runner-up after epic charge from 26th, Overton third, McCreadie 18th-to-fourth

ROSSBURG, OH – Sept. 11, 2021 – Thinking back to when he started his Dirt Late Model racing career, Jonathan Davenport said he couldn’t have imagined winning one World 100, let alone four in his career.

But that’s exactly what he accomplished Saturday night, taking the lead from Brandon Overton just past halfway and leading the final 45 laps to win the 50th World 100 at Eldora Speedway.

“To me, I couldn’t have ever dreamt it up like this,” Davenport, of Blairsville, GA, said. “We’re only as good as our last race – that’s the way I always feel. I didn’t win the last one, so I feel like I’ve got to win the next one.”

Superman now joins an elite class of Late Model drivers at Eldora, becoming only the fourth man in history to win the World 100 at least four times – a feat previously accomplished by Billy Moyer (6), Scott Bloomquist (4) and Donnie Moran (4).

The $53,000 winner’s check now makes it six events Davenport and the Double L Motorsports team have won with winner’s shares of $20,000 or higher this year. In short, they’ve been just plain dominant when the money, and prestige, are on the line.

“It’s been a hell of a year, for sure,” Davenport said. “It’s probably been the best I’ve ever had, if not, the best so far against this competition.”

While he was all smiles in Victory Lane, a look of determination was painted across his face on pit road as the engines fired to start the 100-lap showdown. Rolling off P6 after a win in Heat 1, Davenport let the field get away from him a tiny bit in the early going, dropping back as far as 10th at one point. But this was all part of his plan.

“We got to start sixth, so I thought I had a big enough buffer that I could fall back a little and run my pace,” Davenport said. “Probably 10-15 laps into that run, I never really changed my pace, and then everybody started coming back to me.”

Fifteen laps later, Davenport had cracked into the top-five and had his sights set on the leaders. Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Brandon Overton and Johnny Scott were all still ahead of him, but it didn’t take long for him to crack the whip.

While Davenport began to pick cars off one-by-one, Overton decided it was time to make a move for the lead and did so on Lap 42, getting around Scott on the backstretch. He led the field around the half-mile for the next 12 laps, until the caution was displayed on Lap 55.

Overton chose the top lane for the ensuing restart, and right to his inside was none other than Davenport. He had made the climb and knew it was his moment to pounce, and he did with a slide job into Turn 1 to take the lead.

“He chose the top on the restart, and I got a decent run on him, and then I just tried to clear him getting into Turn 1,” Davenport said. “I figured he would slide me back, but I was just wanting to dirty his air up, make him slide his tires or something, get him out of rhythm.”

“I should have been able to carry enough speed to block him, but I couldn’t,” Overton said. “It wouldn’t have mattered if [Davenport] would’ve passed me on that restart; he would’ve got me on one of ‘em.”

Getting the jump on that restart was critical, and Davenport made sure he did just that by anticipating Overton’s takeoff when the green was thrown.

“The way they’ve got us boxed-in now, the other guy knows exactly where you’re gonna take off, so there’s no way you can really get a true jump on him,” Davenport said. “That’s what happened with Brandon – I knew exactly where he was gonna take off, within a half-car-length or so.”

Now with the lead, Davenport set it on cruise control. Meanwhile, another driver was on a mission.

Mike Marlar was forced to get into the show via Last Chance Showdown after getting caught-up in a Heat Race incident. He made repairs during the break, went out onto the track and put on a passing clinic, advancing to third from 17th and getting the final transfer spot into the 50th World 100.

Marlar said that the wreck in the Heat actually gave him a chance to work on his car and fine-tune it a bit more before the Last Chance. This enabled him to become a passing machine over the next two races.

“My car had good lateral grip. When they would all go down in the corner and drift up the track, I could stick it in there and get ‘em,” Marlar said.

A third-place finish in the Last Chance put him 26th on the Feature starting grid. For the first half of the race, he passed even more cars, advancing all the way to fifth by Lap 53. One by one, Marlar picked off the cars in the top-five and was sitting second with just over a quarter of the race left.

Marlar held his spot until the final restart on Lap 92, where he had one chance to score his first globe after starting 26th. He gave Davenport a good race down the straightway, but the #49 was just too fast.

Davenport drove away in the final laps and took the win by over 1.7 seconds to claim his fourth World 100 title.

“I’m grateful for it,” Marlar said of his run from the back. “Tonight, to actually have a shot with five-to-go, me and Jonathan drag racing down the front straightaway, door-to-door… he barely got me, but I was really grateful to get to run good.”

Overton hung on for third after bagging his first globe on Thursday night. While he was one man to beat all weekend long and missed the setup for Saturday, he knew what he and the Wells Motorsports team accomplished at Eldora this season was still impressive, even if they came up short of another sweep in the end.

“Honestly, I just got a little too tight and couldn’t steer in there,” Overton said. “It’s bound to happen. You can’t win ‘em all.”

The week’s overall top point-getter, Tim McCreadie, came home fourth after a drive from 18th, while Chris Ferguson bagged his second-straight World 100 top-10 in fifth.

Polesitter Scott Bloomquist led the first 18 laps before fading back and eventually coming to pit road under yellow. The four-time globe winner was part of two more cautions, and eventually decided to call it quits on Lap 72.

Pierce, who started on the outside pole, ran up front for most of the race before fading late and bringing out the race’s final caution on Lap 92. He pulled into the pits and retired with an apparent internal issue.

50th World 100 Feature (100 Laps) 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[6]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[26]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[18]; 5. 22F-Chris Ferguson[14]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 7. 17M-Dale McDowell[19]; 8. 44-Chris Madden[16]; 9. 66-Kyle Bronson[7]; 10. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[25]; 11. 25S-Chad Simpson[28]; 12. 0E-Rick Eckert[12]; 13. 14-Josh Richards[17]; 14. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 15. 8-Kyle Strickler[9]; 16. 0-Scott Bloomquist[1]; 17. 23-John Blankenship[15]; 18. 1ST-Johnny Scott[3]; 19. 11K-Austin Kirkpatrick[21]; 20. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[10]; 21. 9-Devin Moran[27]; 22. 7-Ricky Weiss[11]; 23. 29-Darrell Lanigan[8]; 24. 11H-Spencer Hughes[13]; 25. 22-Gregg Satterlee[24]; 26. 72-Mike Norris[23]; 27. 6-Ashton Winger[22]; 28. 0NH-Nick Hoffman[20]

Round one of Weedsport Speedway’s Cavalcade Cup doubleheader goes to Matt Sheppard ahead of Max McLaughlin and Tim Fuller

WEEDSPORT, NY – The seven-time Super DIRTcar Series champion Matt Sheppard showed the fast way around Weedsport Speedway to pick up round one of the Cavalcade Cup and a big $7,500 paycheck. Polesitter Max McLaughlin failed to fend off Sheppard’s early-race charge and settled for second place. A fast and furious Tim Fuller finished third to complete the podium.

At the drop of the green flag, Max McLaughlin got the hole shot and took the lead. That left third-place starter, Matt Sheppard, to battle side-by-side with Stewart Friesen in his black #44 Halmar Racing Big Block. While the #32C Carl Myers Enterprises sponsored machine drove off into the Weedsport night, Sheppard hooked up on the low side and powered away from Friesen. 

The Waterloo, NY native in the cool blue #9S got into a rhythm following McLaughlin for the first seven laps. Then Sheppard found something and started angling his car for a run on the outside of the #32C. 

“I road behind him and was running the same speed for a little there,” said Sheppard. “Then I don’t know if he slowed down or if I gained speed, but I felt like he was holding me up. I gave the top a shot and everything worked out. I rolled around the top and cleared him.”

It was lap nine that Sheppard made the move around the outside and stuck the pass for the lead. After that, it was a game of lapped traffic management as the race went on without a single caution flag. 

Sheppard is one of the great lapped traffic managers of all time. It’s a skill that only the elite will ever have a chance to hone over time. Drivers must be fast, consistent, and able to make decisive, confidant moves to properly move through lapped traffic as the leader. 

“You gotta keep cars between you and the second-place guy. Then it’s pretty much clear sailing,” noted Sheppard. “I knew the race was short enough that I wasn’t overly worried about the wear. We were able to put the car where we needed to.”

The #9S led the rest of the way and mounted Victory Hill to celebrate Super DIRTcar Series win 82. 

As fast as polesitter Max McLaughlin, from Mooresville, NC, was throughout the race sessions, he was always chasing Super Matt. 

“Sheppard was really good all day,” said McLaughlin “He was consistently a tenth or two ahead of us. We changed a lot of stuff tonight. Even though we had speed, we knew we weren’t fast enough to beat him. We changed shocks. We changed springs. We changed all sorts of stuff to get better, but we were just a little bit off of him. We definitely gotta get better for tomorrow. We’ve been chasing the #44 all year and now it seems like it’s the #9S now. He’s tough to beat. They are two of the best and any time you can beat one of them is usually a good day.”

After giving up the lead to Sheppard, McLaughlin hit his marks and was able to hold off Friesen until he faded and then Tim Fuller who was charged to the front.

“I don’t think about who is behind me,” McLaughlin said of his challengers. “I keep my eyes forward. Friesen must have tried to make something work back there and slipped back. I knew Fuller was better than us. He’s one of the best in the slick.”

Tim Fuller, from Watertown, NY, in the #19 St. Lawrence Radiology Big Block was fast but was forced to settle for third. He made a desperate move for second but had to bail out. 

“I had to ride it out,” Fuller said. “I went outside once and lost four car lengths going for second.”

Few drivers are able to coax their Big Blocks around slippery tracks as well as Fuller, but he came up short in a run for the win. 

“I was running half throttle at most,” Fuller noted of his racing line. “All the crumbs above the bottom line made it hard to venture out there. I wanted to take a run but what can you do?” 

Mike Mahaney, in the Adirondack Auto #35 Big Block, picked up the Billy Whittaker Cars Fast-Time Award with a time of 16.372 around Weedsport Speedway. That’s over a full second off the Super DIRTcar Series track record of 15.156 set by Demetrios Drellos in 2019. 

NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to Weedsport Speedway for round two of the Cavalcade Cup. This time the Big Blocks race for 100 laps, $10,000, and a guaranteed starting position for NAPA Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway Oct. 6-10. 

Feature (60 Laps)

1. 9S-Matt Sheppard [3][$7,500]; 2. 32C-Max Mclaughlin [1][$4,000]; 3. 19F-Tim Fuller [5][$2,500]; 4. 44F-Stewart Friesen [2][$1,800]; 5. 91D-Billy Decker [4][$1,600]; 6. 25R-Erick Rudolph [9][$1,400]; 7. 5H-Chris Hile [7][$1,300]; 8. 44P-Anthony Perrego [11][$1,200]; 9. 121T-Gary Tomkins [13][$1,100]; 10. 35M-Mike Mahaney [10][$1,000]; 11. 22W-Brandon Walters [6][$800]; 12. 21A-Peter Britten [12][$700]; 13. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [15][$600]; 14. 99L-Larry Wight [19][$575]; 15. M1-Dave Marcuccilli [8][$550]; 16. X-Chad Phelps [14][$525]; 17. 3H-Justin Haers [17][$500]; 18. 42P-Pat Ward [18][$500]; 19. 88W-Mat Williamson [21][$500]; 20. 27J-Danny Johnson [20][$500]; 21. 83X-Tim Sears [25][$500]; 22. 111D-Demetrios Drellos [24][$500]; 23. 34R-Kevin Root [23][$500]; 24. 2L-Jack Lehner [26][$500]; 25. 32R-Ronnie Davis [16][]; 26. 28M-Jordan McCreadie [22][]

Hard Charger Award: 99L-Larry Wight[+5]

Austin Dillon And The No. 3 Roland Chevrolet Team Show Speed En Route to 11th-Place Finish at Richmond Raceway

11th

19th

17th

“We came to Richmond Raceway this weekend to finish what we started last year, when we had a great run but didn’t win. Even through we came up a little bit short in the Roland Chevrolet this weekend, I’m proud of the entire team for hanging in there. We started off the race with a very loose handling machine, but we made a big swing at adjustments at the end of Stage 1. Those adjustments helped the handling tremendously. The No. 3 Roland Chevrolet was strong tonight through the middle portion of the race, but we lost forward drive in Stage 3 and never got it back to where we wanted it. All-in-all, 11thisn’t horrible. We’ll head to Bristol Motor Speedway with the goal of winning.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick And The No. 8 Childress Vineyards Team Rally To Top-15 Finish Under the Lights at Richmond Raceway

15th

11th

14th

“Tonight didn’t go as planned for our Childress Vineyards team, but this Richard Childress Racing team never quit fighting. We spent the first half of the race too loose on entry and tight in the center. Our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE struggled to rotate the middle. Once we made adjustments that positively changed the handling, we had already lost track position and the cautions didn’t fall our way to get back on the lead lap. The positive coming out of tonight is that we are still in contention to advance to the Round of 12 next weekend. We will give it everything we have in Bristol to see if we can keep our Playoffs run going.”  -Tyler Reddick

• Cruz Pedregon powered the Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the No.1 qualifier position at Mopar Express Lane Nationals Presented by Pennzoil to kick off the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) “Countdown to the Championship” playoff series
• Tommy Johnson Jr. qualified fourth aboard the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat as the fill-in driver at Maple Grove Raceway for sidelined defending series Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan who continues to recover from COVID-19
• Ron Capps followed up his runner-up finish at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals last weekend with a top-five qualifying effort aboard his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat at one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit
• DSR Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett qualifies No. 8 aboard her white and blue Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster 

September 11, 2021, Mohnton, Pennsylvania — Cruz Pedregon powered his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to the No. 1 qualifier position to kick off the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) “Countdown to the Championship” playoff series at the Mopar Express Lane Nationals Presented by Pennzoil near Reading, Pennsylvania. It was his 62nd career pole position and the first time since 2015 that Cruz Pedregon Racing will start from the top rung of the eliminations ladder.

Pedregon came out of the gate fourth quickest in Friday’s evening qualifying session at the fastest track on the circuit with a 3.914-second pass which he then improved upon in Saturday’s Q2 with a 3.912-second effort to record the second quickest run of that session. In final qualifying, Pedregon jumped to the top of the timing sheets by driving his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to an impressive 3.875-second elapsed time at 326 mph to earn the No. 1 qualifier position and five valuable bonus points. The run brought Pedregon within a hair of his best career elapsed time run, posted just a few weeks ago at Brainerd with a 3.874 second /324.67 mph pass in the final session for the No. 2 spot from which he drove to a runner-up in an all-Dodge final against Don Schumacher Racing’s (DSR) Matt Hagan. Pedregon’s reward for the No. 1 qualifying effort at Maple Grove Raceway is a first round bye.

The second of three HEMI®-powered machines to qualify in top-five for the Mopar Express Lane Nationals was driven by Tommy Johnson Jr. who is filling-in this weekend for DSR’s sidelined defending series Funny Car world champion Hagan as he continues to recover from COVID-19. Johnson will start fourth after recording a career-best speed with his Friday night qualifying run of 3.895 seconds at 333.82 mph that put him in the provisional No. 2 spot and awarded two bonus points to the DSR Mopar Dodge SRT Hellcat entry. He will see No. 11 Jim Campbell in the opening round.

Last weekend’s runner-up finisher at the Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals, Ron Capps qualified fifth after driving his NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the quickest run in Q2 with a 3.896-second pass. He added three bonus points to his lead atop the NHRA’s Funny Car championship standings and will see No. 10 seed Blake Alexander as his first match-up of race day.

In Top Fuel action, Leah Pruett’s quickest drive aboard the white and blue Mopar dragster came on Friday evening with a run of 3.733 seconds at 323.89 mph, which she followed up with another pair of 3.74 sec. passes on Saturday. She’ll start from the eighth seeded position and face-off against No. 7 seed Antron Brown who has lane choice. 

Coverage of the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, the first of seven events in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) playoff series “Countdown to the Championship”, will be broadcast on FS1 on Sunday, Sept. 14, with qualifying highlights 12-2 p.m. ET and race coverage 2-5 p.m. ET.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES
 
FUNNY CAR:
Tommy Johnson Jr., DSR Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.895 seconds at 333.82 mph) 
Qualifying 1: 3.895 seconds at 333.82 mph (Two bonus points for No. 2 run of the session)
Qualifying 2: 4.426 seconds at 187.65 mph
Qualifying 3: 3.917 seconds at 325.85 mph
 
“With each run I get more comfortable and it feels more natural in this Mopar Dodge. This team is doing such a great job. We have a great race car and I’m just looking forward to tomorrow. It’s been a long time since I’ve been out here on a race day Sunday. I’ve been at home watching on the computer on NHRA.TV and Fox and now we get to do it for real and make our mark.”
 
Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 5 Qualifier – 3.896 seconds at 328.86 mph)
Qualifying 1: 3.932 seconds at 325.06 mph
Qualifying 2: 3.896 seconds at 328.86 mph
Qualifying 3: 5.480 seconds at 133.55 mph
 
“This race ups the ante with it being the start of the Countdown and the feeling you get in the pit area, not only just the drivers but the crew chiefs and the teams as well. You definitely have the playoff fever floating around. We went out with that typical NAPA Know How today and went out in Q2 and got three qualifying bonus points with the quickest run in the heat at 3.89. And, tomorrow, Sunday, is going to be just like that. We didn’t qualify as high as we would have liked, but we were still in the top half and it’s a strange ladder. Any car in that ladder is one that can win a race; it’s so tight in Funny Car. We’ll concentrate on one round at a time and it’s going to be warmer tomorrow. The track is going to be great and we’re looking forward to seeing what ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen and our NAPA AutoCare team can put together for us.”
  
Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.912 seconds at 327.03 mph)
Qualifying 1: 3.914 seconds at 321.42 mph
Qualifying 2: 3.912 seconds at 327.03 mph (Two bonus points for second-quickest run of session)
Qualifying 3: 3.875 seconds at 326.00 mph (Three bonus points for quickest run of session)
 
“I didn’t even realize it (last No. 1 qualifier position) was that long ago (2015). We’ve been steady and knocking on the door this year and we were definitely trying. My crew chief, John Collins was definitely fighting for it because with the brackets the way they are he knew that it would pay off to get that No. 1 spot. You’ve got to get on the right side of the ladder to avoid the big hitters until the later rounds and it couldn’t have worked out better for us today. The car was responding and has been for the last six races. I don’t know that I’ve driven a car as consistent as this Snap-on Dodge Hellcat. It’s not easy to drive as it wanted to hunt around there, but it’s going places, that’s for sure.
 
“The points are important and it’s a nice feather in the team’s cap that we can, after three runs, when everybody had the same track conditions, for us to come out on top. It really says a lot about the team and JC (Collins) that we have the parts, equipment, the car and as a single car team to be able to go head to head with some of these guys. From that perspective getting No.1 is great. But it’s going rounds that will be key, and having a consistent car wins rounds. There will be guys going after us but we’ll answer the bell and keep coming out swinging.
 
TOP FUEL:
Leah Pruett, DSR Pennzoil Mopar Dodge//SRT Dragster  
(No. 8 Qualifier – 3.733 seconds at 323.89 mph)
Qualifying 1: 3.733 seconds at 323.89 mph
Qualifying 2: 3.748 seconds at 323.66 mph
Qualifying 3: 3.743 seconds at 282.54 mph
 
“I really like to go back to the foundation of a great weekend, and that started for us with a great run on Friday. We were shooting for a low 3.70 and that gave us something to work off of. When we look at Sundays where we’ve done well, ultimately, we’ve always had a great start to the weekend. So, we have that in our corner going into race day. Going into Q2, we were shooting for a high 3.60 and we missed it in the clutch department a little bit so we made some major changes. We’re in Amish country and for Q3, we were putting all 12,000 HEMI horses to it, and it took it to halftrack. We were on track for that high 3.60 we were shooting for but then the car kicked a belt at halftrack and we missed it. The most unfortunate part of qualifying is that we’re up against our teammate Antron Brown. We would’ve loved nothing more than to meet him in the final but we are so close in points that someone is going to get a leg up on the other one, and hopefully, it’s us.
 
“Our Mopar Dodge dragster is running exceptionally well and we feel good about tomorrow. For me personally, I haven’t had the best luck here at Reading, and because of that, I’ve gotten to know a lot of the fans and spend a lot of time with them. It’s an awesome group, and I’m really taking their energy and their vibe and enthusiasm into race day, and will hopefully carry that deep into the elimination rounds. We’re looking for great results here at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil.”
 
NHRA Championship Points Standings:
Following qualifying at Mopar Express Lane Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at Maple Grove Raceway
 
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 2,137 (1)
2. John Force – 2,112 (3)
3. Bob Tasca III – 2,106 (2)
4. J.R. Todd – 2,093 (1)
5. Matt Hagan/Tommy Johnson Jr. (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 2,087 (2) 
6. Robert Hight – 2,081 (2)
7. Alexis DeJoria – 2,063
7. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 2,063 (1)
9. Tim Wilkerson– 2,048 (1)
10. Blake Alexander– 2,032
 
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1. Steve Torrance – 2,139 (8)
2. Brittany Force – 2,127 (1)
3. Antron Brown – 2,103 (1)
4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 2,093 (1)
5. Shawn Langdon – 2,082
6. Mike Salinas – 2,078
7. Justin Ashley – 2,064
8. Billy Torrence – 2,057 (1)
9. Clay Millican – 2,047
10. Doug Kalitta – 2,032

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY PORTLAND, OREGON TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP SEPTEMBER. 11, 2021
FELIX ROSENQVIST LEADS TEAM CHEVY IN QUALIFYING FOR PORTLAND GRAND PRIX
PORTLAND – (September 11, 2021) Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, led Team Chevy in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Portland. After advancing to the Firestone Fast Six, Rosenqvist captured the fourth starting position for tomorrow’s 110-lap/216-mile Grand Prix of Portland on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile Portland International Raceway that opened in 1961.
Chevrolet-powered championship contenders Pato O’Ward, No.5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, and Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, will start 7th and 18th respectively. O’Ward and team weren’t happy with performance on red tires, and Newgarden and team were lacking pace of this morning’s practice.
The remainder of the Team Chevy drivers qualified as follows:

• 11th – Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin 
• 12th – Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKIT AJ Foyt Racing
• 14th – Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
• 15th – Scott McLaughlin, No.3 PPG Team Penske
• 16th – Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing
• 19th – Callum Ilott, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing
• 22nd – Rinus Veekay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing
• 26th – Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
• 27th – Dalton Kellett. No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing

Alex Palou won the pole. Alexander Rossi Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal and Colton Herta completed the Firestone Fast Six. 
VeeKay will have a six grid position penalty for an unapproved engine change as a result of damage his engine received in an accident at Gateway.
NBC will telecast the 110-lap Grand Prix of Portland at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 12. Sept. 11, will stream on Peacock Premium. The racewill also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.
Driver quotes:FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH:“It’s been a good day. The car felt good all day. Every session it felt like it was solid top-five which is where you want to be. We didn’t have quite the car to win the pole in the Firestone Fast Six. When you make the Fast Six, you always want to go for pole. But overall it is satisfying to have good qualifying. To be up there to help Pato’s situation in the championship to race hard against those other guys. So happy with where we are so far!”
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 7TH: ON HIS QUALIFIFYING: “Honestly, its not too bad. Our pace on reds was horrendous. We made significant steps forward in Q2. But it wasn’t enough to have us go to the Firestone Fast Six. We can do a lot from here honestly. We are starting inside of row four. We need to make it clean through turn one, and then run our race with the strategy. We will work on the race car in warm-up. It is what it is I guess. We need to pass the other contenders contenders in front of us.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 18TH: ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT“We just didn’t have any pace. It wasn’t a bad lap, it just wasn’t fast. So, I don’t know. I’m not sure. We’ve got a lot of fights, so we’ll fight back. I was really happy this morning, so I’m not quite sure why we didn’t have the speed there, we just didn’t. We’ll just have to figure it out. We’ll get together as a team and try and make the most of it and we’ll battle tomorrow, for sure.” YOU HAD TO BACK OFF TO FIND ANOTHER GAP AFTER YOUR FIRST FAST LAP ON THE REDS. DID THAT IMPACT ANYTHING?“It wasn’t ideal, but I don’t think that’s the reason. I think I was within a tenth or a tenth and a half of what I could do. So, we just didn’t have speed for some reason. It’s definitely odd.”

READING, Pa. (Sept. 11, 2021) – For the seventh consecutive time, ninth time this season and the 29th time in her career Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team have secured the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS landed in the No. 2 spot while John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro are No. 11. Brittany Force’s seventh straight No. 1 start is the most by any pro drivers since 2007 when Greg Anderson qualified No. 1 seven straight times in Pro Stock and makes her just the fourth driver ever to qualify No. 1 seven straight times in one season. It also equals her dad’s John Force Racing team record for consecutive No. 1 starts. Already with a tight grip on the No. 1 qualifying position after going 3.666-seconds at a track record speed of 335.57 mph, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team continued to flex their muscle improving their performance to a 3.660-second pass at 334.07 mph during Saturday’s opening qualifying try. In the third and final qualifying session, Force had another solid pass at 3.689-seconds and 331.77 mph. “This Flav-R-Pac Monster Energy team, we’re feeling good. Seven straight No. 1s, that’s pretty impressive. Looking at today and yesterday, though, that Q2 run that we had today, to be able to step it up to a 3.66, that’s pretty outstanding. That was a big run for us, in the heat of the day, that’s what we’re going to be up against tomorrow on race day. So that’s the run I’m most excited about,” said Force who’s track record speed goes with her national record elapsed time of 3.623-seconds set at the facility in 2019. “We laid three solid passes down the race track so I’m proud of this team and ready to get this countdown going. We’re in a great place and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow” “ Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy entered the day No. 1 off their Friday evening run of 3.883-seconds and 330.39 mph. The three-time world champion drove into tire smoke during Saturday’s first session for only a 5.068-second run at 149.55. The Auto Club team found their stride again in the last session of the day going 3.899-seconds at 322.27 mph. Unfortunately, Hight was bumped from the No. 1 qualifying spot just before his final qualifying try.   “I feel you’re going to have to win at least three races in the Countdown to win this championship. And this Auto Club team needs to start right here at Maple Grove tomorrow,” Hight said. “We have to be aggressive. There’s a lot of good cars both in front and behind us. There’s no time to play defense, we’ve got to play offensive. Be aggressive but make good runs. My guys know how to do that. If we go out there and do what we know how to do, we can win this championship but we have to put it all together and we have a short amount of time to do it.” John Force and the PEAK Camaro, sitting No. 11 after Friday, continued to struggle during Saturday’s opening session once again driving into smoke to record a 4.907-second run at 164.81 mph. Force and his Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi tuned Chevy picked things up in the final session to go 4.096-seconds and 256.84 mph but had issues down track. Force will start race day from No. 12. “We had some problems but we’re figuring it out. We’ll be okay for tomorrow, it’s a new day, weather will be warmer. We just have to go out there and do our jobs,” Force said. “Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi and all the guys, this PEAK Camaro team, they’ll give me a good car and I just need to drive it, go rounds and get in the winner’s circle for PEAK, Chevrolet, Cornwell Tools, Baldwin Filters, ParkerStore and all my sponsors.” The Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway eliminations are slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage begins Sunday at noon ET with qualifying and continues with eliminations at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

All-Corvette front row in GTLM after tight battle with Milner, No. 4 C8.R

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor won his second straight GT Le Mans (GTLM) pole position at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday, setting a track record in the process. Taylor, driving the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R with Antonio Garcia, set a lap of 1:21.151 (99.281 mph) ahead of Sunday’s Hyundai Sports Car Championship to best his qualifying mark from 2020 by 0.332 seconds. Tommy Milner made it a 1-2 for Corvette Racing and just missed claiming pole position for he and Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. Milner’s best lap was a 1:21.267 (99.139 mph) and also below last year’s pole time as well. Taylor and Garcia lead the GTLM Drivers Championship as they seek to repeat their title win from 2020. The pairing have won four times this year including the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the year.  Milner and Tandy are second in GTLM points, and they were quickest in the two practice sessions leading up to qualifying. Both Taylor and Milner stressed the importance of race setup to help conserve their Michelin tires over the course of a full stint instead of going for single-lap pace. This is Corvette Racing’s 23rd consecutive start at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The program has won seven times in Monterey but is seeking its first victory there since 2014. Corvette Racing will contest the Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship at 4:10 p.m. ET on Sunday. Live television coverage from NBCSN will start at 4 p.m. ET with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com, Sirius 219, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “It was good. We were a little bit behind the 4 car all weekend. They seemed to be a little bit stronger throughout practice. We made some big changes in Practice 2 and even into qualifying to separate the two setups (for qualifying and the race). We found some things for pure laptime but I don’t think they’re going to work for a race setup. It’s nice to get the pole and get those points. We have an idea of what we need to do for the race from a setup point of view. So it’s nice to start out front but at the same time, I think tomorrow is going to be a different picture.”KEYS TO WINNING THE RACE: “Last year was our first year here with this new Corvette. Having that under our belt and understanding more about tire degradation, what tire compound to be on and the strategy of when to pit when we’re catching GTD cars (are important). Every year we are learning new lessons. We learned a lot last year and already have learned a lot through yesterday and today. We’re in good shape but at the same time, you never know what’s going to happen in these races with yellows and the different strategies. We’ll have to stay on top of our game.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “All things considered, the cars are good. We were fastest in the two sessions that don’t count and on the one does kind of count, we were a little bit off. It was a good lap from Jordan. I was happy with our car, though. I didn’t put it all together but I think we have a good Corvette for the race. This track is super-tricky with tires and strategy. You can get cars stuck in the gravel pretty easy, so cautions play a big role in the outcome of the race, as well. We need to be on top of our game and do whatever we can early on in the first part of the race to build as big a gap as we can to hold off the Porsche.”HAPPY WITH RACE SETUP? “You definitely have to manage the tires at this track. The surface is pretty low-grip but it’s also pretty high-wear, too. It makes our job pretty difficult but it’s the same for everyone. We saw in the GTD class that some of those guys did only one lap for their qualifying and parked it. (In GTLM), we don’t have to start on our qualifying tires, so we were able to push for the whole session. We definitely have an eye toward making the car and tires maybe not fastest over one lap but fastest over one stint.”

2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM (After Six of 10 Events)Driver Standings1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,2072. Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1,9933. Cooper MacNeil – 1,9844. Matt Campbell – 1,3725. Augusto Farfus/Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 1001 Team Standings1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,2072. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 1,9933. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 1,9844. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 1,0015. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 966 Manufacturer Standings1. Chevrolet – 2,2302. Porsche – 2,1083. BMW – 1,0524. Ferrari – 330 CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 23 years at Laguna Seca: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its 22 previous years: Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. • 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries since 1999 – Corvette C5-R (2000-04), Corvette C6.R (2005-13), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and Corvette C8.R (2020).• 7: Number of Laguna Seca victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2004.• 10: Laguna Seca victories for the current Corvette Racing for the current driving lineup – Oliver Gavin (four), Antonio Garcia (three) and Tommy Milner (two) and Jordan Taylor (one).• 11: Victories at Laguna Seca for Chevrolet in IMSA competition.• 12: Drivers who have competed for Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca. Of those, seven went on to win at Monterey.• 13: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.• 25: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.• 26: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014.• 117: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 109 in North America and eight at Le Mans.• 246: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 12,795.65: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 21 previous trips to Laguna Seca. That represents 5,800 laps… or more than 750 trips around Carmel’s famous 17-Mile Drive.• 330,467.26: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history – covered “just” 248,655 miles. Simply put, the program has raced to the moon and back… and then some. Corvette Racing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (wins in bold)1999No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel – 2nd in GTS 2000No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Justin Bell/Kelly Collins – 4th in GTS 2001No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 3rd in GTS 2002No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 5th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 3rd in GTS 2003No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 3rd in GTS 2004No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTS (O’Connell fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GTS (Beretta pole) 2005No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2006No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 3rd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Beretta fastest race lap) 2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT2 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 10th in GT2 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 6th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT2 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 5th in GT 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT (Gavin fastest race lap) 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 9th in GT 2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM (Gavin pole) 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM (Milner fastest race lap) 2020No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM (Milner fastest race lap)

25th

9th

12th

“First and foremost, with today being the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, our thoughts remain with all those affected. That day changed our nation and I’m thankful for all the men and women who serve our country. They allow us to race each weekend. As for our day here at Richmond, racing is a tough sport and some days are harder than others. Today was one of those days for our Superior Essex team. We started the race inside the top-10 with track position, but our No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro struggled to roll the center of the corner. We were able to steadily stay inside the top-15, while my team continued to make adjustments to help the handling. My crew chief Andy Street tried a lot of different changes, which definitely helped, but overall I still struggled to turn in center. When the caution came out with about 20 laps to go and those teams who still had sticker tires left had fresh rubber behind us, we had ourselves in a tough position. We will learn from today, regroup and head to Bristol next week.”  -Myatt Snider

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor captured the GT Le Mans (GTLM) pole position Saturday for the Hyundai Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Taylor claimed his second straight pole in Monterey and a track record with the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that he shares with Antonio Garcia. The two were runners-up in last year’s race and claimed the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM title. Taylor set a lap of 1:21.151 (99.281 mph) to best teammate Tommy Milner by just 0.116 seconds. Corvette Racing will contest the Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship on Sept. 10-12 from WeatherTech Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Live television coverage will air at 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 10 with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com, Sirius 219, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “In practice we were on our own program in working on race setup, and we had some ideas on what would work for qualifying, as well. The name of the game here is getting points for the championship so the main focus is the race. In qualifying you do get a couple of points, so we had a couple of changes in mind for this. Thankfully they worked for qualifying, but for the race we’ll have a completely different racecar in itself. We have the right direction and the right guys at Corvette Racing working on it. It should be a good race tomorrow.”It was a good session. Through the practices, we weren’t the quickest car but we had some changes in mind we wanted to make for both qualifying and the race because this is such a unique track. We put the changes in for qualifying, and I’d say it was an improvement for one-lap pace. When we go to the race, we’ll have a different car and setup to make sure it’s good for the long run. We’re in good shape. It’s great to get another pole position for Corvette Racing. It’s our 23rd year here so it’s nice to keep that tradition.”

READING, PA (September 12, 2021) — As the No. 3 qualifier at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals, Tim Wilkerson outpaced all but two nitro Funny Cars after three rounds of qualifying at Maple Grove Raceway. In the final session the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Equipment Ford Mustang posted the second quickest run collecting two qualifying bonus points and moving Wilkerson from the No. 6 spot to the No. 3 position. He opened qualifying with a 3.932 second run so confidence was high for the team that last week won the most prestigious drag race in the country.

In the first round Wilkerson drew a tough opponent, the surprise No. 12 qualifier John Force, who struggled throughout qualifying. The team knew that would have to make another great run to advance to the quarterfinals. The conditions were comparable to qualifying and Wilkerson conferred with car chief Richard Hartman on a first round tune up he felt confident would get the job done.

 Running behind No.1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon who was on a bye run due to a short field, Wilkerson and Force raced one of the closest Funny Car races of the day. Force was first off the line but Wilkerson quickly pulled up beside him as each 11,000 horsepower Funny Car hit half-track within two seconds.  Both race cars were hitting on all eight and Wilkerson crossed the finish line 3.892 seconds after he hit the throttle. It was one of the quickest runs of the first round but unfortunately his opponent was making the quickest pass of the event, 3.875 seconds. There was nothing wrong with Wilkerson’s run but the veteran driver just fell victim to tough racer luck.

“When you qualify No. 3 you don’t expect to race someone like John Force in the first round,” said Wilkerson. “We only had 13 race cars here and that will mess up the ladder. We just ran into some bad luck that they figured out their racecar in the first round against us. That was the run I was looking for, maybe a little off, but no one over here is hanging their head.”

With six more Countdown races on the schedule including next weekend’s DeWalt NHRA Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang will be back on the track. Wilkerson is No. 9 in the Funny Car points and will have the chance to reel in the cars in front of him beginning with the first round of qualifying on Friday night at zMax Dragway.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.932 sec, 390.82 mph; Qual. 6

Q2: 7.392 sec., 90.28 mph; Qual. 6

Q3: 3.884 sec., 332.67 mph; Qual. 3

Bonus Points: +2 (2^nd quickest of Q3)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             3          .129     3.892   322.84

John Force                  12        .059     3.875   334.65 (W)      

Camping World Funny Car Countdown Top Ten

1.          John Force                                            2172

2.          Matt Hagan                                          2167

3.          Ron Capps                                             2157

4.          J.R. Todd                                                2133

5.          Robert Hight                                         2121

6.          Bob Tasca III                                         2106

7.          Cruz Pedregon                                     2083

8.          Alexis DeJoria                                      2063

9.          Tim Wilkerson                                     2048

10.       Blake Alexander                                   2032

Max McLaughlin returns home to Weedsport Speedway for Cavalcade Cup Sept. 11-12WEEDSPORT, NY – Max McLaughlin, from Mooresville, NC, is back home, both literally and figuratively, to Weedsport Speedway. Not only did McLaughlin pick up his first career Super DIRTcar Series win at the legendary ⅜-mile Central New York speedway [October 2020], but he also actually lived on the grounds of the track. McLaughlin is also back home in the seat of a Big Block Modified. He is one of those talents that can slip into an asphalt modified, an outlaw go-kart at Millbridge, a World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model, and back into his 900-horsepower Big Block without missing a beat. “I want to win everywhere in everything,” McLaughlin said. “But Weedsport is huge. I thought I had a shot at winning there last time at the Hall of Fame 100 but Friesen spoiled that for us. I am looking forward to this doubleheader. It’s probably my best track.”Weedsport Speedway is special in many ways to Max McLaughlin. One would assume that his many laps there would be what has given him an edge at the historic track. But McLaughlin points to one source for his approach to Weedsport and Big Block racing in general: Gary Tomkins [18 Super DIRTcar Series wins]. “I run a unique line there compared to most,” noted McLaughlin. “It’s something I watched Gary Tomkins do. I owe Gary a lot for making me as successful as I am at Weedsport. He runs this unique line and I asked him about it early in my career.”When McLaughlin hit the Big Block scene he was a fish out of water. “I came from a different form of dirt racing and I was horrible in the Big Block,” he said. “In 2016 I was lapped traffic every week. Gary explained to me that these things will never have side bite on the throttle. You gotta lift and carry entry speed into the corner. Once you get tracking sideways you can’t be on the throttle. That’s something I think about every race we go to. Weedsport is one track where that advice works really well.”Successful drivers like Brett Hearn have always shown that surrounding yourself with high-quality talent will elevate your performance. “I’ve had great people around me my entire career,” McLaughlin said. “Obviously my dad [Mike McLaughlin], Jimmy Phelps who has been like a big brother to me, and now I have Vic Coffey right there [two-time NAPA Super DIRT Week champion]. But out of all of that, the one thing I remember the most is what Gary Tomkins said.” The Vic Coffey-owned #32C has been strong throughout the 2021 season. McLaughlin currently runs sixth in Super DIRTcar Series points just -137 points from the leader. Some nights #32C is lights-out fast, a clear podium car, and other nights he is running hard with the very competitive pack. “I got second there last time and just couldn’t catch Stew [Friesen],” he said. “The time before that I ran eighth, but the Panhard bar was totally broken off the frame. So we ran that race with the rear end just smacking around. It’s a lot more fun with a good handling car!”McLaughlin is going for the double to take a big chunk out of points leader Matt Sheppard’s margin. A one-two punch should do it. Drivers always talk about laps. McLaughlin has put down more than most at Weedsport, if you count virtual laps on iRacing, the official racing simulation of the Super DIRTcar Series. “The iRacing laps have there are huge,” he said. “It’s so realistic. I couldn’t believe it when it came out. I ran it for two days straight.”iRacers, be sure to go follow McLaughlin at Weedsport and find out how to run his secret Gary Tomkins line. HOW TO WATCHIf you can’t make it to the track, don’t forget to watch live on DIRTvision with either the Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month. Download the app today.NEXT WEEK: The Gerald Haers Memorial at Land of Legends Raceway takes center stage on Saturday, Sept. 18. NAPA SUPER DIRT WEEK: Tickets, parking passes, and camping are limited at NAPA Super DIRT Week. Be sure to get yours NOW.PPHOTO: Tom Morris

The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

Connecticut Native Wins First Feature at California’s Silver Dollar Speedway

CHICO, CA – September 10, 2021 – The Greatest Show on Dirt didn’t disappoint in quickly making up for the two-year absence from California.

Four different leaders and eight unofficial lead changes wowed the Silver Dollar Speedway crowd on Friday night as the 67th running of the Gold Cup Race of Champions brought the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series back to town.

It was a long-awaited return (728 days) for the Chico faithful, but it was an even longer awaited victory for David Gravel.

Specifically, it took eight years, 17 races, and 530 laps for the Watertown, CT native to break through at the 1/4-mile bullring and claim his first-career win at Silver Dollar Speedway. In the grand scheme of things, it marked nine wins in 2021 for the Big Game Motorsports #2 and gave Gravel 67 career wins with the Series, which moves him into 13th on the All-Time Wins List.

To get the job done, Gravel had to outlast Colby Copeland, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Brad Sweet through an intense four-war war for the top spot. He became the fourth and final leader on Lap 17, then survived lap traffic and the final restart to score the victory by 1.202-seconds.

“Man, I’ve been coming here for a long time,” Gravel said on his Silver Dollar history. “I’ve always struggled to qualify well here, but we timed in good tonight and that put us in a solid position. We’re constantly learning, I mean this is still our first year together. I think we’re really growing and everyone is meshing between Tod [Quiring], Cody [Jacobs], Trey [Bowman], and Scott [Vogelson]. Feels great to finally get a win here, especially in such an exciting race.”

Before Gravel’s glory, the spotlight was shined brightly on Colby Copeland of Roseville, CA. The 29-year-old, in his 17th World of Outlaws start, earned the pole position and put the country on upset alert as he eyed his first-career victory.

Copeland shot to the lead of the 35-lapper and controlled the opening 10 laps aboard the Laramie #16A. However, intense traffic created chaos and allowed outside polesitter Sheldon Haudenschild to close and eventually put the NOS Energy Drink #17 to the point on Lap 11.

Haudenschild’s reign was short-lived as he, Copeland, and Brad Sweet took each other three-wide the next time by. Copeland slid through the middle across Haudenschild’s nose and Sweet capitalized, nailing the bottom and rolling on past to lead Lap 12.

Sweet’s shot at the top lasted two whole laps before Copeland built his momentum and whipped back by on the cushion. He would lead another three circuits before fifth-starting Gravel appeared from nowhere and drove by them all on the low line as Lap 17 clicked off.

The remains of lap traffic and the final restart with eight laps to go tried to derail Gravel, but he was not to be denied as he drove away with his first-career Silver Dollar triumph to kick off the Gold Cup.

“Tomorrow being 40 laps is pretty close to tonight’s length,” Gravel thought on track conditions. “I really hope they can give us the same surface, it was awesome. I think in open track the top was better, but traffic was crucial tonight and I hit the bottom at the perfect times behind those guys. Hopefully, we put on another awesome show tomorrow night.”

Shattering his former career-best finish (13th) with the World of Outlaws, Roseville’s Colby Copeland crossed the line with a second-place effort and received a standing ovation from the Chico crowd as the leading Californian.

“Any driver when you lead laps you want to win, so there’s a bit of disappointment there,” Copeland noted. “But these guys are the best of the best. I’m out there ripping and they give their extra 10% and start blowing by me. It’s a whole different pace out here. I felt like we raced good, though. It was a lot of fun and all I can ask for is the same speed tomorrow night.”

Grass Valley’s Brad Sweet continued his consistent championship campaign with his 31st podium finish aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. He’s hoping that losing his streak of Gold Cup prelim wins will transition to finally scoring a Gold Cup title in the finale tomorrow.

“It was a great race track tonight, I thought,” Sweet said. “We were just a little off with the setup, but we have something to build on for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can come back and get us a Gold Cup.”

Closing out the top-five on Friday night was Sheldon Haudenschild in the fourth spot and Kraig Kinser with his fourth top-five finish of the year.

Rounding out the top-10 at Silver Dollar was Shark Racing’s Jacob Allen in sixth, California’s Dominic Scelzi with a season-best seventh, Kasey Kahne Racing’s James McFadden in eighth, Roth Motorsports pilot Kasey Kahne in ninth, and KSE Hard Charger Carson Macedo in 10th-from-21st.

UP NEXT (Sat): The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series return to Chico, CA’s Silver Dollar Speedway tomorrow, Saturday, September 11 for the finale of the 67th Gold Cup Race of Champions. If you can’t be here, you can watch Every Lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (35 Laps) – 1. 2-David Gravel [5][$10,000]; 2. 16A-Colby Copeland [1][$5,500]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$3,200]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][$2,600]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3][$2,350]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [8][$2,150]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [17][$2,100]; 8. 9-James McFadden [12][$1,950]; 9. 83-Kasey Kahne [19][$1,900]; 10. 41-Carson Macedo [21][$1,850]; 11. 83T-Tanner Carrick [14][$1,400]; 12. 38B-Blake Carrick [6][$1,200]; 13. 15-Donny Schatz [22][$1,000]; 14. 7-Carson Short [10][$950]; 15. 88N-DJ Netto [23][$900]; 16. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [11][$900]; 17. 42X-Tim Kaeding [15][$900]; 18. 2K-JJ Ringo [16][$900]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [20][$900]; 20. 37-Mitchell Faccinto [9][$900]; 21. 29-Willie Croft [13][$900]; 22. 93-Kalib Henry [24][$900]; 23. 53-Jessie Attard [18][$900]; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7][$900]. Lap Leaders: Colby Copeland 1-10, 14-16; Sheldon Haudenschild 11; Brad Sweet 12-13; David Gravel 17-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 41-Carson Macedo[+11]

NEW Championship Standings (67/80 races): 1. Brad Sweet (8,864); 2. David Gravel (-128); 3. Carson Macedo (-180); 4. Donny Schatz (-252); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-286); 6. Logan Schuchart (-360); 7. James McFadden (-736); 8. Kraig Kinser (-1022); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1284); 10. Jacob Allen (-1548).

Both drivers also won Friday prelims in double-Dream week three months prior

ROSSBURG, OH – Sept. 10, 2021 – When it comes to crown jewel Late Model events at Eldora Speedway, starting up front, making smart moves in traffic and getting the jump on starts each seem to play a big role in a driver’s path to Victory Lane.

Brandon Overton and Gregg Satterlee showed mastery of all three of those Friday night, winning their respective preliminary Features in the 50th edition of the World 100 – just as they both did on Friday night of the double Dirt Late Model Dreams back in June.

A grand total of 79 DIRTcar Late Models signed-in for competition in the gold anniversary of dirt track racing’s most prestigious event. After 50 total laps of Feature racing between the two split groups, a #4 was spun on the Wheel of Misfortune, indicating the top-four cars in Saturday’s Heat Race lineups will now be inverted before hitting the track.

GROUP A FEATURE – Brandon Overton

He just keeps winning and winning at The Big E. With yet another victory Friday night, Brandon Overton has now won in six of the last seven Features he’s started at Eldora.

Overton led all 25 laps virtually unchallenged for the $10,000 prelim Feature win. But his journey to get there was a little different than in times past. He struggled in Qualifying, posting only a 20th-fastest time in the group, which set him fifth on the grid for his Heat Race.

However, Big Sexy made it back up to second by the end of his Heat, placing him on the pole for the Group A Feature. According to the event format, the top-two finishers from each Heat were locked into the Feature and given their fastest Qualifying lap back. The two fastest of the four third-place finishers were also locked in and given their Qualifying times back as well. The 10 total drivers were then lined up slowest-to-fastest by those times, which placed Overton on the pole.

Eldora crown jewel event formats always give drivers a challenge, but Overton approaches them all the same. Sit down, strap in and go fast. And win.

“They keep asking me what is it, or how… and honestly, I don’t know either,” Overton said with a smile. “Everything’s been going our way. We keep making mistakes early and it’s almost like we’re capitalizing on them with however they do that invert.”

His Wells Motorsports #76 was as smooth as glass around the half-mile, as he cruised untouched to the win. In traffic, he made smart, patient moves to avoid giving getting held-up and opening the door for runner-up Jimmy Owens to swoop in for the spot.

“When it’s out front, it’ll drive itself,” Overton said. “I just gotta get in there and steer it and aim it wherever I want it to go, get my arcs right getting in. It’s awesome.”

Now with three races down on the week and one final show left on Saturday, Overton and his team prepare for a chance at Late Model immortality. They’ll attempt to do the unthinkable, winning two Dreams and two World 100s in the same year. Right now, Overton’s got all the confidence in the world in his skills and all the faith he needs in his team.

“It makes me feel good to be able to make it go that fast,” Overton said. “There’s a lot of smart people in these pits. So, for us to do this and have that car that fast and consistent, at this big of a race, it makes me proud of my team and everything we’ve got right here.”

Feature (25 Laps) – 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Jimmy Owens, 3. Kyle Bronson, 4. Ricky Thornton Jr., 5. Dale McDowell, 6. Kyle Strickler, 7. Jensen Ford, 8. Dennis Erb Jr., 9. Mike Marlar, 10. Jonathan Davenport, 11. Spencer Hughes, 12. Frank Heckenast Jr., 13. Scott Bloomquist, 14. Shane Clanton, 15. John Blankenship, 16. Devin Moran, 17. Mike Norris, 18. Chris Simpson, 19. Michael Page, 20. Stormy Scott, 21. Max Blair, 22. Shannon Babb, 23. Kody Evans, 24. Austin Kirkpatrick

GROUP B FEATURE – Gregg Satterlee

It’s never easy to hold off an entire field of cars in a sprint race at Eldora, especially with the youngest World 100 winner, Bobby Pierce, right in the rearview. But Gregg Satterlee did just that Friday night, earning his first career World 100 preliminary Feature victory from the pole.

“I was just making as smooth of laps as I could, keeping my speed up, trying to not commit myself to one line, but trying to use the middle groove to the bottom and ride it out until the end or Bobby got by me,” Satterlee said.

Satterlee indicated he never considered leaving the middle-bottom grooves for the top, which was right where Pierce was running most of his laps. For 25 circuits, Pierce was in hot pursuit of the leader, and was even given a few restarts to get a run on him, but could not make the move in the end.

“I knew what I was doing was working,” Satterlee said. “I could see that [Pierce] was close, but I didn’t think I was giving up enough for him to really get a slider and clear me.”

On the final restart came Pierce’s most fierce challenge, as he drove it deep into Turn 1 with two-to-go as if to try a slide job, but Satterlee had too much speed in the lane above and drove right on by to retain the top spot.

“At that point, I just tried to make a bigger arc in the corner, and just take up a little bit more room on entry,” Satterlee said. “I tried to make a little more speed down the straightaways to not enable him to get a run on me.”

Feature (25 Laps) – 1. Gregg Satterlee, 2. Bobby Pierce, 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Nick Hoffman, 5. Tim McCreadie, 6. Hudson O’Neal, 7. Ricky Weiss, 8. Chris Ferguson, 9. Ashton Winger, 10. Zack Dohm, 11. Rick Eckert, 12. Chris Madden, 13. Chad Simpson, 14. Joseph Joiner, 15. Boom Briggs, 16. Kyle Hammer, 17. Johnny Scott, 18. Alex Ferree, 19. Steven Roberts, 20. Josh Richards, 21. Ryan Gustin, 22. Tyler Erb, 23. Brian Shirley, 24. Darrell Lanigan

UP NEXT

The 50th World 100 comes to a close Saturday night at Eldora Speedway with Heat Races, Last Chances, B-Scrambles and the 100-lap, $53,000-to-win finale for the most coveted trophy in all of dirt track racing.

Five DIRTcar Northeast Series Winners Across Three Tracks, Three DivisionsLaFARGEVILLE, NY – Can-Am Speedway, Humberstone Speedway, and Albany-Saratoga Speedway hosted five DIRTcar Northeast Series races in one night. The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series came to life at Can-Am Speedway along with the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series and DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Central Region plus Humberstone Speedway hosted the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series West Region for a $1,500-to-win 50-lap Feature and The Great Race Place – Albany-Saratoga Speedway – brought in the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series East Region for a clash. Read below for Feature results. Billy Dunn Two-for-Two in ‘21 DIRTcar 358 Modified Series The Can-Am Speedway grandstands shook with the roar of 31 DIRTcar 358 Modifieds battling out for 50 laps in the second round of Series racing this year. Once again, Billy Dunn came out on top. Dunn’s previous Series win at Mohawk Int’l Raceway came as a result of a little luck, a lot of hard work, and a clean battle with Tim Fuller. The #49 and #19 were once again duking it out at Can-Am. First, Dunn tracked down early leader Michael Maresca and went on to survive late charges from Tim Fuller to win the $4,000 tour stop. The #7MM of Maresca rounded out the podium positions with a third-place finish. “We brought out a new car which I wish we had brought out last weekend,” said Dunn in Victory Lane. “The car just felt really comfortable. Hats off to the track crew. We had heavy rains this week and cold temperatures but this was the best track we’ve had all year.”With Fuller finishing second again, this writes another chapter in the on-track rivalry between Billy Dunn and the 2021 Can-Am Speedway track champion Tim Fuller. “I knew Fuller was there and that he’d be wanting one back for giving up the win at Mohawk but he wasn’t getting one,” said Dunn of his battle with Fuller. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Results (50 laps)1. Billy Dunn 2. Tim Fuller 3. Michael Maresca 4. David Marcuccilli 5. Jordan McCreadie 6. Erick Rudolph 7. Ryan Bartlett 8. Louie Jackson 9. Shaun Shaw 10. Rocky Warner 11. Lance Willix 12. Tyler Meeks 13. Taylor Caprara 14. Ronnie Davis III 15. Demetrios Drellos 16. Scott Webb 17. Matt Woodruff 18. Carey Terrance 19. Nick Webb 20. Joel Hall 21. RJ Tresidder 22. Mike Stacey 23. Jackson Gill 24. Todd Root 25. Lucas Fuller 26. Andrew Ferguson 27. Derek Webb 28. Mike Mandigo 29. Steve Lewis 30. Cameron Black 31. Preston ForbesTyler Corcoran Wins Third ‘21 DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Central Region Feature in a Row  Tyler Corcoran capitalized on lapped traffic affecting race leader Zach Payne with an assertive pass for the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Central Region win, Corcoran has visited Victory Lane in the last three Series races. He is three for five on the year. Series winner at Weedsport Speedway this year,  Zach Payne did not let Corcoran run away but he had to settle for second after 30 laps. In third was early race leader Mike Fowler who fought hard throughout and landed a podium. “Zach Payne drove a hell of a race,” said Corcoran. “I didn’t think I had anything for him. I tried running the top and then rolling the bottom I started catching him. Lapped cars were the story of this one. I know where to put the car here from experience.”DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Central Region Results (30 laps)1. Tyler Corcoran 2. Zach Payne 3. Mike Fowler 4. Gavin Eisele 5. Matt Janczuk 6. Jack Meeks 7. Chris Mackey 8. Ryan Shanahan 9. Tyler Stevenson 10. Josh Reome 11. Eric Nier 12. Mike Amell 13. Brent Joy 14. Tyler Murray 15. Zach Sobotka 16. Nick Heywood 17. Dalton Rombough 18. Brian Hudson 19. Ed Lukas 20. Taylor Doxtater 21. Ryan Dolbear 22. Frank Sibley 23. Michael Delormier 24. Richard Murtaugh 25. Max Hill 26. Trevor Gibbons 27. Kyle Devendorf 28. Travis Beck 29. Daniel Rief 30. Payton TalbotMcPherson Rounds off Rouse for Sportsman West Region Glory at HumberstoneThe DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series West Region raced for 50 laps at Humberstone Speedway to start the Canadian doubleheader of Series races. James Michael Friesen and Brad Rouse started on the front row. Either of those drivers could have won but Cody McPherson made patient gains and eventually passed for the lead. Brad Rouse finished second and James Michael Friesen hung on for third. “I felt really confident going into tonight,” said McPherson. “Even when we drew 12th to start I said don’t worry about it. With 50 laps I could do it. It seemed that James and Brad didn’t know exactly where to run. I knew where to go so when I cleared them so I didn’t show them the line and it worked out.”McPherson’s car was hooked up. “I took it over to my buddy Mat Williamson and we scaled it. I haven’t touched a thing since. I could bury this thing in Turns Three and Four and it would stop on a dime.”DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series West Region Results (50 laps)1. Cody McPherson 2. Brad Rouse 3. James Friesen 4. Adam Leslie 5. Greg Panunte 6. Jay Mallory 7. Justin Sharp 8. Ryan Ferri 9. Dave Flannigan Jr 10. Taylor Vanderzanden 11. Luke Carleton 12. Jessica Power 13. Matt Sharpe 14. Jordan Cosco 15. Terry Smith 16. Curtis Friesen 17. John Babion 18. Daniel McKay 19. Noah Mamo 20. Jeff Panunte 21. Bill Bleich 22. Greg Brinklow 23. Tony CowellAndrew Buff Wins His First DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series East Region Feature at Albany-SaratogaThe Great Race Place lived up to its name as Andrew Buff won an exciting East Region Feature holding off Scott Duell and Tim Hartman Jr. for the win. Buff was locked in a battle for most of the Feature and chased leader Chad Edwards. Unfortunately, for Edwards, a mechanical issue ended his run at the front and Buff inherited the lead. “It took a little bit to get going,” said Buff of his Feature efforts. “I knew they [Duell and Hartman] were close to us.”“That sucks for Chad Edwards. I would have liked to race that out.”Buff started mid-pack and took advantage of other drivers’ mistakes to get into striking distance of the lead. “There was a jam up early in the race so I kept her going and kept my track position which turned out to be really important.” DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series East Region Results (50 laps)1. Andrew Buff 2. Tim Hartman Jr. 3. Scott Duell 4. Brian Calabrese 5. Robert Bublak 6. Jim Nagle 7. Connor Cleveland 8. Jason Reome 9. Mike Ballestero 10. Jason Gray 11. Robert Tucker 12. Todd Buckwold 13. AJ Miller 14. Travis Whitbeck 15. Tyler Rapp 16. Jim Osgood 17. Matt Lashua 18. Michael Wright 19. Brandon Gibbons 20. Chad Edwards 21. Dick Bisson 22. Kevin Chaffee 23. Jeff Washburn 24. Bill August 25. Pat Jones 26. Dan Grignon 27. Travis Bruno 28. David Boisclair 29. Michae Wagner Fitzgerland 30, Darrl NuttingJustin White Awarded DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Feature Win After Sid Harmer Jr. Disqualification at Can-AmAfter an early jingle, Justin White drove up through the field to claim the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series win at Can-Am Speedway. He barely beat Chad Jeseo at the line to, at the time, claim second. Sid Harmer Jr. was originally awarded the win but he was disqualified in post-race tech. Pro Stock Series Round one winner Josh Coonradt stayed in the mix and finished third.  DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Results (30 laps)1, Justin White 2. Chad Jeseo 3. Josh Coonradt 4. Ian Bressett 5. Pete Stefanski 6. Shawn Kirby 7. Burton Ward 8. Jay Casey. 9. Luke Horning 10. Jason Casey 11. Rob Yetman 12. Rich Crane 13. Timothy Bailey 14. Tyler Bushey 15. Brian Carter 16. Edward Kotary 17. Scott Townslee 18. Pete Schroy 19. Johnny Rivers 20. Shawn Perez 21. Ray Hughto 22. Luke Hull 23. Rick Duscus 24. Sid Harmer Jr. (DQ)PHOTO: Rebecca Eisele

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

READING, Pa. (Sept. 10, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster and Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car sit in the provisional No. 1 qualifying positions in their respective categories after Friday evening qualifying at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro sit 11th. Looking to take their seventh consecutive and ninth overall No. 1 qualifying position this season, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team blasted to a 3.666-second run at a track record speed of 335.57 mph to earn three bonus points and narrow the gap to the top spot.  “That run felt fast. That finish line came up quick. But it feel good to be able to fun like that the first qualifying PASS OF the weekend and grab that No. 1 currently. It gives confidence and helps us feel strong going into tomorrow,” Force said. “This Countdown has begun right here in Reading, Pa. SO everything is on the line right now. We have to do that we have to repeat that the rest of the weekend.” Coming into the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s seven race playoffs, siting in the No. 6 spot, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy wasted no time collecting points earning three bonus qualifying points for being quickest Friday night. The three-time world champion’s 3.883-second run at 330.39 mph put the Auto Club team No. 1 heading into two more qualifying sessions on Saturday. “We’ve actually been making a lot 3.80 runs. Testing Monday in Brainerd really got this Auto Club Chevy back to where we need to be. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham have a good handle on how to make this Camaro run,” Hight said. “The trick is going to be tomorrow, when it warms up a little bit, and Sunday is going to be even warmer. That’s what’s going to be the trick.” Sitting No. 2 heading into the Countdown, John Force and the PEAK Camaro team drove into smoke on their first attempt down Maple Grove Raceway on Friday evening. Force and the PEAK Chevy recorded a time of 6.880-seconds and 92.36 mph. “Not the run we wanted, obviously, but we’ll be okay. This PEAK Chevy with Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, we’ll be okay. We’ve got two more tries tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes,” Force said. “Brittany over there with Flav-R-Pac and Robert too with Auto Club, their running good. So that’s good and we’ll just have to catch up.” The Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway continues Saturday with qualifying sessions at 1:15 and 4:45 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. Television coverage begins Sunday at noon ET with qualifying and continues with eliminations at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

NASCAR CUP SERIES FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400 RICHMOND RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript Highlights: TALK ABOUT HEADING TO RICHMOND AND HOW YOUR TEAM IS GOING TO APPROACH THE RACE“The confidence level of the team is still where it needs to be. Unfortunately, we made a big mistake going into Darlington. We had a lot of motivation to come out of the gate well. We focused on a lot of things really well. It was just kind of a product of it being Darlington, the first Playoff race, we’ve done a really good job of improving our car and we did a good job of hitting on some really important details and aspects of our race. But unfortunately, because Randall (Burnett, crew chief) and myself were so busy and so focused on a number of things, that we just kind of got away from the basics; like just being on the same page about where we’re going to be throughout the night and what adjustments we need to make. We started off the race with a really good car. We just didn’t have that game plan or the approach that we normally are pretty good about staying on through a race path. Five hundred miles is a long time at Darlington. A lot of sets of tires and a lot of opportunities to adjust. In hindsight, it really seemed like a really doom and gloom moment, which was a tough one to swallow after having such a good car to start to finish where we did. To peel the layers of the onion back, it really was obvious what we missed and how we missed it, isn’t something that can’t be corrected within one week’s time. It’s something that, going into Richmond we can have a hundred percent better. That makes it pretty easy to get positive once again. I look at where we were in the Fall here, I had a lot of learning to do over the course of this race last year. So, we started in the hole, and I worked to get closer and closer to my teammate, Austin Dillon, who had a good strong car here in the Fall. And by the end of it, we were right where we needed to be, pace-wise. We just had given up too much to that point to really do anything good or really serious about it. So, I like where we’re at. I like where our car is at. It was a tough lesson to have at Darlington. We had a great opportunity there but didn’t take full advantage of it. And I think it was a good humbling moment or a good painful experience to go through to start this thing off. Just a reminder that it totally didn’t take us out of the Playoff running, if you will, to make the next round.” IS THERE ANY LESS ANGST NOW THAT YOU ARE NOT RACING YOUR TEAMMATE, AUSTIN DILLON, IN THE PLAYOFFS?“I don’t know if it really would have changed much. Austin and I, whether both in the Playoffs or not, both teams work really close together, which is something I’ve said a lot, especially in the last month or two. I’ve been asked more. The effort that we have combined works really good together. We have some differences in driving style. That driving style really showed up in the Spring Richmond. We pretty much brought back exactly what he ran in the Fall there. Yeah, it was a daytime race, but the way he drives his car, and everything, doesn’t really match up for me. It was a good lesson to go through in that race in the Spring. So, we’re kind of coming back to what I like, some of the details that I like, in the car; but with some tweaks to try and make it better. Between us, I don’t know if it really would have changed anything in being in the Playoffs, or not. We’re both going to push really hard, and I think we saw that at Darlington. A number of drivers that are in the Playoffs, they never really have, from my vantage point, the drivers outside the Playoffs have never really laid over for the Playoff drivers. Yeah, you give them a little bit more room. A little bit more space. You don’t race them super hard. But no one really gives an inch or much more than an inch out there. Maybe the non-Playoff drivers give that tiny inch. Everyone still knows how to race really hard within reason.” WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FOUR GUYS BEHIND YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS, HOW IMPOSING IS THAT?“Yeah, we’re all aware of where they’re at. Those drivers are behind the cutline. But for us, and our situation, I think it’s more important to look at who is ahead of us and focus forward. Those guys, for sure, are capable of winning. We’ve seen Alex (Bowman) win earlier this year at Richmond. Kyle (Busch) has always been really good at Richmond. William (Byron). There are guys in there that have good speeds. Looking behind, while it could be beneficial a little bit, especially at a place like Darlington, Richmond, and even Bristol, it’s all about running your own race. And for us to win, you’ve got to run up front all day. You can’t drive through the field. You’re not going to get a magic adjustment, if you will, to get the car perfect. You’ve got to be up there all night long, working on it, if it needs it, and maintaining that track position. Winning versus running good enough to make it to the top 12, how you approach that, are pretty similar. I mean, you’re battling for the win at the end of the race, like we saw with Kyle (Larson) and Denny (Hamlin) at the end of the Southern 500, that’s when things change a little bit in that final run. But up until that point, the path on how you get either of those goals accomplished, are very similar on how your approach and execute that over the course of a race.” AFTER THE RACE, DENNY HAMLIN SAID HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO WIN EVENTUALLY AND THINGS JUST FINALLY LINED UP RIGHT FOR HIM. YOU ARE STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR. HOW MUCH ENCOURAGEMENT DOES IT GIVE YOU TO SEE HOW HIS LUCK CHANGED IN ONE RACE?“It’s not luck. I disagree with you there. It was a well-executed day. They were really good on pit road. Denny only hit the wall a couple of times and made minimal mistakes and did a really good job of managing the track position that he had. It’s not a matter of luck by any means. It’s adding up all the little details and having that perfect race. Sometimes your perfect race means that you get an 8th, or a 7th, or a 5th; it doesn’t always mean you get a first-place finish. But when you’re running, and you have the speed to stay in the top 5. Hitting all those extra details right can be the difference between running fifth and first. We haven’t had a whole lot of top 5’s this year, but we’ve been in the top 10 a lot. Those top 10’s have been with bumps in the road throughout the days. We just keep focusing on the little things that I need to be better at. Even the stuff that got us at Darlington last week. We were paying attention to a lot of things. We just got away from one of the most important parts. And that happens. And it didn’t cost us too much. It’s a constant moving target. Everyone is getting better, as always, and you just keep having to squeeze out more out of your car, your team, yourself. It eventually will add up. We’re in a good spot for that. The last month we’ve been a little inconsistent, finish-wise. But we had some different targets moving around with the cutoff and then, as much as we tried to be aggressive at Darlington, it was very obvious that we missed it. We were trying to recover. And the last thing we needed to do was to be super aggressive while free-falling and losing more positions than we did.” DO YOU THINK FINDING THE BALANCE AND STAYING ON TOP OF IT WILL BE EASIER IN NIGHTTIME CONDITIONS GOING INTO THE FALL RICHMOND RACE?“I think it could. Whether it was a daytime race, I think it cooled off a little bit towards the end. So, there was a little bit of a transition. It will certainly cool off as the night rolls in at Richmond, as well. But I think how the track changes at night and how it may grip-up, if you will, in combination with rubber being laid down and the track getting worn in, I think it kind of doesn’t change an entirely large amount. So, we’ll see. I’m not expecting the track to change a lot. It should still change some. But having what we went through last weekend was kind of a good lesson reminder, so we have a game plan in place for what we’re going to do throughout the race, adjustment-wise. We don’t expect a lot though. We just hope that what we changed, the little tweaks that we’ve changed, are as expected; and the balance remains really close to where it was when we ran there last Fall.” YOU SAID YOU WERE DISAPPOINTED WITH YOUR TEAM’S EXECUTION AT DARLINGTON. HEADING TO RICHMOND, WHAT ARE YOU CHANGING WITH THAT GAME PLAN AND HOW CLOSE DO YOU FEEL TO BEING IN A MUST WIN SCENARIO?“I certainly don’t feel like we are in a must win scenario. But it’s pretty simple. There are a lot of details that are really important to have right, going into a race; especially a race like Darlington. It’s important to have the car good. It’s important to, as a driver, have a good understanding of where you need to be, line, and a lot of details like pit road and green cycles and being good there. But there were so many things going on we were really focused on just to make sure we had every last detail checked off, that we just kind of missed one of the more obvious, maybe redundant, parts of our preparation; and being on the same page about how we think the track is going to change, what adjustments we like in our car, what ones we need to stay away from. It’s like showing up to a football game and not really ever putting together a game plan. It happens. And it showed. The car was good when we got there. We were confident in what we brought. We were right. We showed up with the right piece. It’s just that we were so caught up in a number of those things that really just kind of got away from some of the more easy, redundant, kind of repetitive motions that you have throughout the week. Change is tiresome sometimes, right? By trying to cover all the bases and making sure every little detail is right with this length of a race and how much we both like Darlington and we feel like we have good speed there. We just missed it.” HOW DO YOU VIEW THE POINTS NOW? IS IT ANY DIFFERENT FROM HOW YOU LOOKED AT IT IN THE LAST RACE OF THE REGULAR SEASON?“Oh no. Not at all. As we saw with Darlington, so much can happen. The pressure is on not just us, it’s on everybody. Now a different kind of pressure is on. The pressure of not screwing it up is upon you. And it’s very easy to let that get to you more so than being in the hole. Wherever you’re at, I feel like it’s just important to have the same mindset, whether you’re in the hole or whether your plus 30 or minus 30, the same things need to happen. It’s just about running a clean race and getting the most out of your day. Without practice, and throwing darts at a board without even looking at it and hoping you’re going to get a bullseye. Nine times out of 10, it’s not going to work; especially in the Cup Series. So, to win these races, being consistent and being close to the front all day and hitting on all the details are important. And I don’t think running fifth and winning, there’s a bit difference in how you approach those things. It’s just a matter of did you do your homework perfectly, where all the little details add up. Was there a difference? Was there not? I don’t feel like we’re in a must win situation. Again, I really like all three of these tracks in this first round that we have. We had a little bit of a stumble, a trip-up, if you will. But thankfully, the misfortune of some of the other drivers really didn’t allow our struggles to really be that much more of a penalty than we did from our struggles Sunday.”

OSWEGO, NY – Oswego Speedway will again transform into a 5/8-mile dirt track, on Monday, Sept. 13, in preparation for the 49th NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week (Oct. 6-10).The process of dirt being put down on the asphalt track will begin at 7am (ET) and will continue throughout the day.Media is invited to attend at their convenience. DIRTcar Events Director Jeff Hachmann and DIRTcar PR Manager Nick Graziano will be on-site throughout the day. If you are planning to cover the event, please contact Graziano at ngraziano@dirtcar.com or 315-952-3305. After the Northeast’s most historic motorsports event was forced to be postponed last year, NAPA Super DIRT Week will make its grand return to the City of Oswego in 2021 with a full week’s worth of activity. CLICK HERE for the full schedule. For video of DIRTcar CEO Brian Carter and other key Super DIRT Week players talking about the return of Super DIRT Week, click the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h7gle7pjdi4uz69/Super%20DIRT%20Week%20Conference.mp4?dl=0 For more on Super DIRT Week’s impact on the City of Oswego: https://superdirtweek.com/news/super-business-oswego-businesses-excited-for-super-dirt-week-return/

NAPA Super DIRT Week is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: NAPA Auto Parts, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux, Chevrolet Performance and SIS Insurance. Other Super DIRT Week sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), A-Verdi, Area Auto Racing News, ASI Race Wear, Bart Contracting Inc, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, CNY Golf Carts, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,  Drydene, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, MSD, Penske Shocks, Quality Inn-Oswego, Racing Electronics, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum.The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

Richard Childress Racing at Richmond Raceway… In 179 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored nine wins, 38 top-five, and 73 top-10 finishes. The Welcome N.C. organization has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Virginia short track, capturing six wins, 32 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes. Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway will be televised live Saturday, September 11, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Motor Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ Richmond 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond Raceway will be televised live Saturday, September 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Motor Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway… Dillon’s best NASCAR Cup Series finish at Richmond Raceway is a fourth place result he earned last Fall in the NASCAR Playoffs. He also has a pair of consecutive sixth place finishes in April 2019 and September 2018. Most recently, he finished 10th at the track in April. He has 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, acquiring seven top-10 finishes and one pole award. About Roland… Roland DGA Corporation serves North and South America as the marketing, sales, distribution and service arm for Roland DG Corporation. Founded in 1981 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Roland DG of Hamamatsu, Japan is a worldwide leader in wide-format inkjet printers for the sign, apparel, textile, personalization and vehicle graphics markets; engravers for awards, giftware and ADA signage; photo impact printers for direct part marking; and 3D printers and CNC milling machines for the dental CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, part manufacturing and medical industries. For more information, visit www.rolanddga.com. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:What are your thoughts on Richmond Raceway?“I actually love Richmond Raceway. There was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We ran really well there in April, and I’m excited to get back there and see what we can do this time around.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway… Reddick has two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, earning his best finish of 11th at the track last year. Reddick also has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 0.75-mile track, collecting one top-five and four top-10 finishes there. Race One in the NASCAR Playoffs… Last week, Reddick survived an eventful race at Darlington Raceway with a 18th place finish, positioning him 12th in points and within the cutoff line in the NASCAR Playoffs with two races remaining in the round of 16. About Childress Vineyards… Childress Vineyards is a premier winery located at the southern gateway of the Yadkin Valley in Lexington, North Carolina. Owned by Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner and Hall of Fame member, Childress Vineyards has been producing award-winning wines with the expertise of Winemaker Mark Frizsolowski. Open daily for tours, tastings, and lunch in the Bistro. Information about Childress Vineyards can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/childresswines/, on Twitter at @ChildressWines and on Instagram at Instagram.com/childresswines. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:What are the challenges that Richmond Racing present? You’ll have decent track position to start the race. “When we ran at Richmond last year in the fall and it was Playoffs time, obviously we weren’t racing in the Playoffs at that point, but Austin (Dillon) and myself, and Austin especially, were really good at the beginning. He was flying and our No. 8 team eventually caught up to where he was at. We both had good pace, so I don’t think we are far away from where we need to be for this time around. The race in the spring in the daytime is a little different race than it is at night, so we just need make sure to not chase the balance the wrong way. It will be important to not have a bad stage during the race to not lose time and track position for the end.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Superior Essex Chevrolet Camaro at Richmond Raceway… Snider has two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, both of which came during the 2020 doubleheader. Saturday will mark the 26-year-old’s first start at the Virginia short track behind the wheel of a Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet.  About Superior Essex… Superior Essex is the parent brand of Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire, Superior Essex Communications, and Essex Brownell. It has over 3,000 employees in 11 countries, on three continents. Superior Essex is the leading, global provider of magnet wire and is on the forefront of communications fiber application as well as Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology. It is instrumental in creating disruptive technological advancements in the electrification of the automotive, energy, and industrial sectors. Superior Essex is committed to pioneering smart building technology while also setting the pace on sustainability. Superior Essex is Everywhere You Live and Work®. Additional information is available at www.superioressex.com. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:What do you have to do better at Richmond Raceway to have a successful result? “I think I wasn’t patient enough in my first two Xfinity Series starts there in the No. 93 last season. I was always rushing the throttle, hustle the car and that doesn’t work at Richmond. You have to drive your car like a late model there – drive real smooth, wait on the throttle, let the car work. It is a total different style of racing that I had learned for the Xfinity Series up to that point. I will need to go back to some of my late model days to calm myself down with the throttle pedal.”

Sep 8, 2021 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Race Results, Rachel Meyer

Julie Nataas took on the best of the best in the country for the JEGS AllStars and came out victorious after defeating Aaron Cooper, Jackie Fricke, and James Stevens on her way to the winner circle.

After two qualifying sessions, it was straight into the Jegs AllStars race for Julie Nataas. She came into raceday in the No. 2 qualifying spot with a first round matchup against Aaron Cooper. Nataas had an otherworldly .003-second reaction time in her OTG dragster with additional support from Right Trailers and MotoRad, and set low elapsed time of the event with a 5.162, 280.72 to defeat Cooper’s 6.124, 222.07.

Second round, No. 3 in the country Nataas staged up against No. 4 in the country Jackie Fricke. Fricke had the initial starting line advantage over Nataas but when Fricke went up in smoke shortly after, Julie was able to take advantage of the moment and take the win with a 5.439, 270.21. 

For the finals of one of the most prestigious sportsman races of the year, Julie began her normal burnout routine against competitor James Stevens. By the time she backed up from her abbreviated burnout and rolled forward to stage, she was given the hand signal from the NHRA starter that she would be running a competition bye. Unfortunately for Stevens, his team was unable to get his dragster to fire and compete for all the glory. Julie breathed a sigh of relief as she rolled forward and staged for her first Jegs AllStars win unopposed in the final round. In true Randy Meyer Racing form, Julie was loaded for bear as she crossed the finish line with a stout 5.225, 278.06. 

“The Jegs AllStars is huge and a dream to win for every sportsman racer and to do it at the U.S. Nationals made it even bigger of a win for me,” said Julie. “This is my first win with Right Trailers by my side. I’m glad we were able to get them in the winners circle.”

Coming off the high of the JEGS AllStars win for Julie Nataas, both Randy Meyer Racing drivers Rachel Meyer and Nataas were ready to keep that momentum rolling into race day at the 67th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals with help from their two college crew interns, Juliaun and Jeremy, who won the 6th annual Respect is Learned In The Pits program with Technician.Academy.

In the first round, Julie proved why she had won the AllStars the night before with a perfect reaction time and a 5.216, 277.49 to defeat Mick Steele’s 5.528, 261.78. Three pairs later, Rachel was awarded a competition bye when her competitor Steve Collier was disqualified due to his fuel being too cool in the lanes. Rachel powered her NTK Sensors, Technician.Academy, Ivy Tech dragster to her quickest pass of the weekend 5.225, 266.53.

Second round, Julie bettered her raceday performance with a 5.184, 277.03 to take the win over Mike Bucher’s 5.350, 242.54. In her pairing, Rachel and competitor Karen Stalba left almost identically on the starting line. As Stalba went up in smoke and tried to recover, Rachel never looked back as she went straight down the boulevard with a solid 5.274, 276.97.

In the semifinals, Julie ran a consistent 5.254, 275.22 but Matthew Cummings’ 5.196, 277.54 ended Julie’s quest of a double-up at the U.S. Nationals in the third round of eliminations. Rachel followed right behind with a stable 5.260, 274.11 but Jackie Fricke’s 5.188, 279.15 advanced past Rachel to the finals. 

“Thank you to Technician Acadamy, MotoRad and Ivy Tech for brining us two amazing interns this year. I had Juliaun working on my car and he fit right into my team. He learned quick! I have no doubt that he will be out working on a race car again. Both Juliaun and Jeremy wanted to learn and understand, which is a big plus in my book. They took every chance they could to ask questions,” said Julie.

The next event for the team will be the Central Region event of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series this weekend in Earlville, IA with Rachel Meyer.

• Mopar Express Lane Nationals Presented by Pennzoil take place at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, Sept. 12-14 as the first of seven events in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) playoff series “Countdown to the Championship”
• This weekend’s competition is the fourth of five NHRA national events with Mopar and Dodge//SRT title sponsorship support in 2021
• Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett returns to the fastest track on the circuit with a Mopar paint scheme on her HEMI®-powered dragster as the No. 4 seed to kick off the postseason battle
• Ron Capps drives his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from a runner-up finish at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals last weekend to Maple Grove Raceway as the Funny Car No. 1 seed for the NHRA playoff series opening event
• Reigning Funny Car World Champ Matt Hagan will miss this weekend’s event at Reading as he recovers from COVID-19; Tommy Johnson Jr. will be in the driver’s seat of the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to start the playoffs from fifth place in the championship points standings

September 8, 2021, Auburn Hills, Mich. – The 36th annual Mopar Express Lane Nationals Presented by Pennzoil are set for this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, with Mopar and Dodge//SRT-supported racers staged and ready to begin their drive for National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) world championship titles in the first of seven “Countdown to the Championship” playoff series national events. 

This weekend’s competition marks the fourth of five national events supported by Mopar and Dodge//SRT title sponsorship during the NHRA’s 70th anniversary season and the first of two playoff contests, which include the penultimate event at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil in Las Vegas Oct. 29-Nov. 1.

“We’re pleased to be back at Maple Grove Raceway with our Pennzoil partners for the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals to kick off the NHRA’s ‘Countdown to the Championship’ playoff series,” said Mark Bosanac, North America Vice President, Mopar Service, Parts & Customer Care. “We look forward to watching our HEMI®-powered racers compete while showcasing the Mopar brand to ultra-passionate drag racing enthusiasts.”

Mopar Express Lane provides quick in-and-out, high-quality, factory-backed service by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations across the nation. Racers and fans will see the familiar blue, white and yellow Mopar Express Lane signage at Maple Grove Raceway as NHRA returns to one of the fastest tracks on the circuit Sept. 12-14. After a year hiatus from both the venue and the playoff format, record runs and high-horsepower performances facilitated by cooler fall weather conditions are anticipated.

Fans are invited to visit the Mopar exhibit at the track’s Manufacturers Midway to peruse a selection of the brand’s quality performance part offerings and experience what it feels like on track aboard an actual Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car simulator. 

Leah Pruett’s HEMI-powered Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster will be dressed for success in the familiar Mopar blue and white primary paint scheme as she works to take home her first Wally trophy from Reading. She takes to the track as the No. 4 seed in the Top Fuel ranks after a quarterfinal appearance at last weekend’s Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals.

“Leaving there fourth in points, heading into Reading for the Mopar Express Lane Nationals and starting the Countdown from there, we feel good about that,” said Pruett, who scored a win and a runner-up finish in the second half of the regular season. “Right now we have the most capable and consistent car that we’ve had all year long and that is responding to what we want it to do. That’s exactly where we want to be going into the countdown.”

Reigning Funny Car World Champ Matt Hagan will remain sidelined for this weekend’s event as he recovers from COVID-19. Tommy Johnson Jr. will slip into the driver’s seat of the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car in Hagan’s place as he did at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals when the entry did not qualify due to a mechanical issue on Friday and rain on Saturday. Johnson was the clear choice after finishing runner-up to Hagan in the 2020 NHRA Funny Car World Championship with DSR, powering to three wins and three No. 1 qualifier positions last season. The points Johnson accumulates during this race weekend will be awarded to Hagan, who starts the Countdown ranked fifth.

DSR driver Ron Capps arrives at Maple Grove Raceway in his HEMI-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat fresh off a runner-up finish at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals and as the top seed for the Funny Car world championship after points were reset for the playoff battle, giving him a 20-point lead. Capps earned the No. 1 qualifier position and set Maple Grove’s current elapsed time and speed records in 2019 with a 3.837-second pass at 339.28 mph. He also took home a Wally from the venue in 2018.

“Going to Maple Grove to start the Countdown and having a race car as good as our’s is right now with consistency and performance is exciting,” said Capps. “I’m really pumped to get to Maple Grove to start the playoffs. We won the championship in 2016 without winning a race in the Countdown but we were, by far, the most consistent car. We put the pressure on people and that’s what you have to do. We have a great team with John Medlen and Guido (Dean Antonelli), they’re firing on all cylinders and it’s really great to drive this Hellcat Funny Car.”

Meanwhile, fellow Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver Cruz Pedregon has two wins at Reading (1992, 2010) and is working to build on his semifinal performance last weekend at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis to work his way up from an eighth place position in the championship battle.

“We’re really optimistic about going into the Mopar Express Lane Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, which is a fast race track. I looked at the weather and it’s expected to be in the 70s (degrees Fahrenheit) so it’s just going to be a ‘just hammer down’ kind of event. The fall temperatures are going to cool down but the action is going to heat up. One thing we did prove at Brainerd two races ago is that we can hammer out the fast times and run in the high 3.80s (elapsed time passes). That’s probably what it’s going to take to win down the stretch here. We’re just going to take one race at a time and keep this momentum going that we’ve enjoyed. I’ve talked to (crew chiefs) JC (John Collins) and Rip (Reynolds) and everybody’s excited and just looking forward to it.”

On-track action at the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil begins with one qualifying session in the late afternoon on Friday and two sessions on Saturday to determine the lineup for Sunday’s final eliminations rounds. Coverage of the event will be available via online streaming at NHRA.TV, while television coverage will be broadcast on FS1 on Sunday, Sept. 14, with qualifying highlights 12-2 p.m. ET and race coverage 2-5 p.m. ET.

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

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

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

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

Mopar

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) offers exceptional service, parts and customer care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, the brand expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

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

Follow Mopar and company news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com

Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mopar

Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialmopar

Twitter: @OfficialMOPAR

YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA