BRISTOL, TN (October 17, 2021) — Racing at one of her favorite tracks on the NHRA circuit veteran driver Alexis DeJoria won for the sixth time in her career and first time with her new Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry team today at Bristol Dragway, home of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Almost a decade ago in 2012 during her rookie season DeJoria raced to the final round but was unable to seal the deal. Today in front of a packed house that roared with every win light DeJoria, the No. 1 qualifier, defeated Paul Lee, earned a second round bye, Robert Hight and J.R. Todd to secure her first win of the 2021 season.

“Round one always makes me want to throw up in my helmet,” said DeJoria. “It’s the worst round for me. It’s not nerves, I just want to get past first round. After that, it gets better. We got the win and I’ll just leave it at that. Then we got the bye in round two which was a gift this week. We just haven’t had much luck.” 

“The first two rounds went great. Obviously, we made it down the track with another good run on our bye run. Just to make it to the semis and the finals was a huge deal. I was just happy to make it to another final and have it be against another Toyota Funny Car. Two Toyota cars in the finals, it couldn’t be better than that. Even though I’m not teammates with J.R. anymore, all of those guys are always going to be teammates to me. We’re Toyota cars and we’re friends and I was just there a long time. I love racing him and I think that’s why I have such good lights against him.”

Bristol Dragway has held a special place in DeJoria’s memory going back to her rookie season. Racing as a team car for Kalitta Motorsports with Del Worsham as her mentor and crew chief the young driver raced to the final round. Today, once again partnered with Worsham, this time as co-owners of their own team, the Bristol experience was even more special. 

“Bristol is a very special track to me,” said DeJoria. “When Del was my crew chief in 2012, this was the first place where we went to a final round and lost a great race to Ron Capps. So, to come back here together again and make it to the final and then win means the world to me. This is one of my favorite tracks, if not my favorite. It’s just beautiful here and all the sounds and the people. I just love it here.”

After a final round appearance at Denver earlier this season and multiple semifinal appearances the pressure to secure a victory in 2021 was mounting with every event. The team knew they had the pieces to win but getting them to align on race day was problematic. Once DeJoria saw the fourth win light today the emotions poured out of the now six-time national event winner.

“It’s a huge weight taken off our shoulders,” said DeJoria. “We were number one qualifier and that was the first step. Getting that elusive number one after getting a ton of number twos, that was amazing. Then to get the Wally at the same race is insane. Whatever happens after this, I just hope for the best, but we’re good because we got a Wally. This is a huge confidence builder for me and our whole team. We knew we could do this, it’s just a matter of time.”

For the fifth consecutive Countdown race a different Funny Car driver captured the Wally. The category has never been as deeply competitive with drivers throughout the Top Ten vying for round wins and victories. The win was as significant to DeJoria as her 2014 U.S. Nationals victory the veteran driver explained to the Bristol media.

“I would say it’s one of the biggest because as a part-team owner definitely,” said DeJoria. “Coming back after taking the two years off and getting to work with my mentor, old teammate and friend in Del Worsham. I look up to him and I learned everything I know from Del. To be able to do this with him again and do something we couldn’t do at Kalitta when he ended up driving the other car. But we always wanted to do this again and we were able to make it happen.” 

After outrunning Hight in the semifinals with the quickest Funny Car run of the day, 3.904 seconds, DeJoria had lane choice over her Toyota teammate Todd, but she knew it would be a tough race. Todd had defeated his own monster list of opponents that included two points leaders, Matt Hagan and Ron Capps, as well as 16-time Funny Car champion John Force.

“It’s hard when the tree is long like that. For us, it seems like an eternity in the car. You’ve got your foot off the clutch, and you’re holding the brake and have the fuel on the high side and you’re just sitting there,” explained DeJoria. “Luckily, I was hungry and know that feeling in the finals it was like I was back in Indianapolis. I was up there saying, I’m just happy to be here and I’m going to do a damn good job and I’m going to win.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 5.469 sec, 131.52 mph; Qual. 7

Q2: 4.303 sec, 214.86 mph; Qual. 8

Q3: 3.907 sec, 326.79 mph; Qual. 1

Bonus Points: +4 (3^rd quickest of Q2 and quickest of Q3

Race Results

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                   1             .125       4.030     269.83 (W)

Paul Lee                              14           .119       8.033     87.70

Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                   1             .093       3.931     321.04 (W)

Bye

Semifinal Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                   1             .086       3.904     327.74 (W)

Robert Hight                      5             .073       3.934     329.10

Final Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                   1             .002       3.921     327.66 (W)

J.R. Todd                             12           .067       3.939     326.32                  

Camping World Funny Car Countdown Top Ten

1.          Ron Capps                                                2490

2.          Matt Hagan                                             2489

3.          J.R. Todd                                                   2407

4.          Cruz Pedregon                                        2389

4.          John Force                                               2389

6.          Bob Tasca III                                            2343

7.          Robert Hight                                            2337

8.          Alexis DeJoria                                         2319

9.          Tim Wilkerson                                         2249

10.        Blake Alexander                                      2184

BRISTOL, TN (October 17, 2021) — Second year driver Justin Ashley and the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot raced to another semifinal in the incredibly competitive NHRA Countdown to the championship today at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Through five races the 2020 Rookie of the Year has two final rounds including a win last week at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals and two additional semifinals. He has moved from seventh to third place in the Camping World Drag Racing Series with two races remaining in the 2021 season.

Today as the No. 5 qualifier Ashley defeated 2013 Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon and Countdown competitor Billy Torrence in the first two rounds before dropping a close race to the three-time and reigning Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence. Last weekend it was Ashley getting the win light in the final round over Torrence for this second career victory. Today both cars made clean runs again and Torrence was just a shade quicker to the finish line winning. 

Ashley opened his race day posting a track record and personal best speed in his first round win over Langdon. When the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster crossed the finish line the scoreboard lit up from an impressive and historic 334.48 mph pass. When Ashley was alerted to the speed record the young driver could barely contain his enthusiasm.

“Wow, how about that,” said Ashley. “We just eclipsed 330 mph yesterday for the first time and this was a big swing. My hat is off to this team led by Dustin Davis and Mike Green and this entire Smart Sanitizer Vita C Shot team. We are moving on and we just have to stay focused on ourselves and do the best we can.”

The second round race was a rematch from the Texas Fall Nationals second round. Once again Ashley got the jump off the starting line and that was the difference in the race as his 3.708 second run got the win over Torrence’s quicker 3.705 second pass. Ashley had the speed to match the elapsed time hitting the stripe at 333.33 mph.

In the semifinals racing the veteran Steve Torrence for the second race in a row Ashley came up just a little short of advance to his third final round in the Countdown.

“Today went really well and we got another semifinal finish,” said Ashley. “Being in the championship hunt against a driver like Steve it is almost like you must win every race. He is always on his A game. It was a tough loss but overall when you look at the weekend as a whole it was fantastic. We ran in the 3.60s a ton and we really have nothing to complain about. The car is running awesome. Now at this point we shift our focus to Vegas. We are going to take what we learned here and apply it to Vegas in two weeks.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.726 sec, 329.50 mph; Qual. 2

Q2: 7.270 sec, 90.30 mph; Qual. 7

Q3: 3.688 sec, 330.80 mph; Qual. 5

Bonus Points: +2 (2^nd quickest in Q1)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     5             .064       3.690     334.48 (W)

Shawn Langdon                10           .056       3.739     327.43

Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     5             .074       3.708     333.33 (W)

Billy Torrence                     4             .081       3.705     327.27

Semifinal Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     5             .108       3.691     334.15

Steve Torrence                  1             .059       3.677     331.69 (W)

Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown Top Ten – Top Fuel

1.          Steve Torrence                                    2575

2.          Brittany Force                                      2502

3.          Justin Ashley                                        2428

4.          Mike Salinas                                         2425

5.          Billy Torrence                                       2357

6.          Leah Pruett                                           2291

7.          Clay Millican                                         2265

8.          Antron Brown                                      2252

9.          Shawn Langdon                                   2228

10.       Doug Kalitta                                          2180

NASCAR CUP SERIES AUTO TRADER ECHO PARK AUTOMOTIVE 500 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 17, 2021  KYLE LARSON CAPTURES EIGHTH WIN OF 2021 AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYLarson Secures Spot in Final Four FORT WORTH, TX (October 17, 2021) – In his debut season with Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team will be one of four drivers to compete for the title of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Champion. Starting from the pole, Larson captured the Stage Two win and led a field-high 256 laps in route to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, the first race of the NCS Playoffs Round of 8. The win marks Larson’s eighth win of the 2021 season and 14th-career win in 257 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. Larson’s victory at the 1.5-mile Texas oval gives Chevrolet its 16th NASCAR Cup Series win thus far this season, the most of all manufacturers, and 811th all-time win in NCS history. With just three races left in the season, Chevrolet continues to sit atop of the Manufacturer Standings as the Bowtie brand battles for its 40th title. Team Chevy and Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, brought his No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE across the finish line in the runner-up position to give the Camaro ZL1 1LE a 1-2 finish of the 501-mile race. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished 7th; Tyler Reddick, No. 8 CC Ready Mix Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished ninth; and Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished tenth to give Chevrolet five of the top-10 finishers.  The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 24, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel.  KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our race-winning driver, Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Congratulations, Kyle. We’ll go ahead and open it up for questions.Q. I can’t jinx you now; you’re locked into the final Championship 4. What does that mean to you? What you were going around the track, what were you thinking?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s awesome. I mean, we had a good points lead or whatever from the cutoff going into it, but still, you know, Harvick had his issues last year and didn’t make the Final Four. That will always be on my mind.We had a fast, fast car today, and we had a good couple stages, so even if I didn’t come out with the lead or the win or whatever, I wanted to play it smart and take what I could get. I got good shots from behind me every restart and allowed me to get clear into 1 every time and then do some blocking for a few laps. Fine on all those restarts and we had a great race car to allow me to be aggressive with the blocks, and fast, too, to stay out in front of William. Q. Want to get your thoughts on breaking the tie with Chase Elliott and Tim Richmond on the all-time wins list.KYLE LARSON: Yeah, that’s cool. Hopefully Chase and I are both going to get a lot of wins throughout our career and catch Jimmie or Jeff some day. Yeah, it’s been cool to be teammates with him this season. He’s definitely pushed me to be better, and it’s nice having him there to listen to how he communicates with everybody in the competition meetings and stuff and really getting a look at his data more. I feel like we’ve got a great bunch of drivers and teams and crew chiefs, and that allows all of us to go out there and make ourselves better. Q. I know this is kind of a weird stat because it’s like 36 races and everything and not like all of NASCAR history, but apparently you have a pretty good shot now to get the all-time laps led record since it went to a 36-race season. Do you care about that number? Do you care about that mark?KYLE LARSON: I definitely care. I don’t know what the mark is or what the number is, but yeah, I’m probably 2,300 or so now, close to it. So yeah, that would be really, really cool. I led a lot more laps today than I thought I would, so yeah, it’s definitely a goal of mine. I think somewhere in the back of my mind like it’s a goal. It’s not like something I am upset about if I don’t lead any laps in a race or anything, but once I am leading I want to stay in the lead to help catch that record or whatever.But you have to have a fast race car to do that, and our race car has been really good all season long, especially today to have a dominating run like we did. Hopefully these next few weeks are a lot like today. Q. I was just curious about Phoenix in a couple weeks; do you like the benefit of having practice and qualifying, or do you wish it was like it was last year?KYLE LARSON: Well, I could kind of take it either way, really. We had practice at the 600 and Nashville, and we won those two. I can’t remember what all races we’ve had practice at. But as far as the ovals go for practice, I think we’ve won those.It kind of doesn’t — like I said, it could go either way for me. I think yes, I’m probably — I like having practice to give yourself — it kind of helps your confidence out, whether it’s good or bad, leading into the race with practice. But it also gives — if your car is great or whatever, it gives other people an opportunity to make their car better.But our team has done a really good job this year when we have had practice of not like getting crazy with trying different things. You kind of just get a head start on the race and your adjustments, what they may be.Yeah, I haven’t really thought too much about the practice and qualifying or all that at Phoenix, but hopefully it’ll go good for us. Q. Were you worried about the guys that were behind you that were on fresh tires because Christopher Bell on that last restart started third.KYLE LARSON: Yeah, so obviously Brad had taken the top on the other restarts behind William, and Brad is a really good pusher. I was nervous about that. Honestly like when they told you there was one to go, I was like, please, Brad, take the bottom, take the bottom, take the bottom. He took the bottom, because I was worried — I’m sure you guys will write a story about this, but I was worried about Bell being behind me because just — I felt like — not that he would wreck me or anything, but maybe he wouldn’t give me the push that I needed to get clear out to the lead, so I really wanted Brad behind me.I felt like if Brad was behind me, I could — I could anticipate it better because I knew I was going to get a good push, but I was ready for him to try and pull out and try and take me three wide or anything because he’s trying to race his way into the playoffs and lock in. I was at least ready for that.I wasn’t sure what to be ready for if Bell was behind me, so yeah, I was glad when Brad chose the bottom and gave me a great push like I knew he would. I protected a little bit and was able to get clear of the lead. Q. You had said from the start of the playoffs that Harvick last year was on your mind, and even this morning 47 points over the cushion is not enough. It seemed like you were sort of anticipating, like hey, I might have to race my way in on points. Is it sort of an odd feeling to be sitting here like oh, I’m in, I don’t have to worry about that for the next two weeks, that part of it’s gone?KYLE LARSON: A little bit. Not really. I had such a good day today in stage points and stuff and I was positioned well to where if I finished in the top four or five, I was still going to probably gain a lot I would think on the cut line. I wasn’t too worried about it. Still, yes, it probably still would have been on my mind going to Kansas, but as long as I went to Kansas and ran up front in the stages and stuff, too, I would have felt really good about it.I just was more worried about like if you get in the wall or something like Denny or Truex or get caught up in a wreck, stuff like that, which now we don’t have to worry about. So that’s good.But yeah, I mean, I’m not going to plan on racing any differently these next two weeks. I still want to win stages, win some races and keep this momentum going into Phoenix. Q. You’ve kind of alluded to this, but for a large part of this race it seemed to be on kind of an auto control and then the last 60 laps happened. During that course of time you saw various playoff guys disappear, you had to hold off restarts I think six times in the last 60-some laps. What were you thinking? Were you just focusing on what you were doing, or were you paying attention to the scenarios that were kind of developing behind you?KYLE LARSON: Well, I was more just thinking about William and how I’m going to beat him because I felt like he was the only guy that really had a car capable of passing us in the lead. I mean, even all race long on all the other restarts and throughout those 50-, 60-lap runs, I was just trying to make notes in my mind of what he was doing behind me, how he was trying to figure out how to make runs and stuff. I felt like I was doing a good job of maintaining the runs that he was getting behind me.I was making notes of all that, and then obviously things are going to get more aggressive there at the end, so trying to make plans for if he’s behind me, if he’s side by side with me. Finally stayed side-by-side with me on the restarts, what to do, how aggressive I needed to be, stuff like that. You’re always trying to plan ahead and think ahead, so you’re not really in auto pilot ever throughout a race, even if it’s 500 miles. You’re just trying to plan and be prepared for any moment that might come up. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Kyle. Congratulations. CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by members of our race-winning team. We have crew chief Cliff Daniels and executive vice president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Andrews. Congratulations, guys. We’ll open it up for questions. Q. Cliff, it seemed like before the race you were saying, hey, look, we can play this conservatively, like we don’t have to go out and hit a home run today, and then your car is so fast you don’t even have to worry about it. Can you talk about how that changes things for you guys now?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, it does for sure, and obviously coming into the day, it’s nice to have the point gap, but I think the last round taught us that nobody is ever safe, and certainly with the point gap we knew we weren’t safe. So it’s tough to certainly just tell yourself you want to call a race conservative, and then when we knew we had a fast car — I wanted to make sure to keep tires on it. We never did lefts or rights, we were either four tires or I think we did fuel only the one time.So wanted to make sure we weren’t really exposed, had a big tire deficit or were going to be short on fuel at any point, trying to be smart about how we called that.And then, yeah, I think you asked about moving forward, too. Moving forward we still want to be aggressive to get wins if our car is capable of it. I think as a company now we’ve got to put our focus on making sure we get the 9 to Phoenix, as well, but our job is still going to go win races every week if we can, and that’s our goal. Q. Cliff, a lot of times we hear people say, hey, the goal is to get to the Final Four because you just can’t bank on what happens in one race. I’d think seven wins would be a successful season, but now that you are there to the Final Four, do you feel like whatever happens over the next three weeks doesn’t define this year?CLIFF DANIELS: Yes and no. The yes part is absolutely we’ve had a great year, and I think it’s really shown a lot of strength of our team, of our organization, but to really see that through, right, to prove what we’ve hopefully earned, you want to walk away with a big prize at the end of the year.We’re certainly going to be focused on that as everybody is who’s in contention. You know, I think changing anything from our perspective now would be a mistake. We’ve had a very common mindset every race throughout the year. It’s what’s got us to this point, so even though we’re locked in, I’m sure my team is going to get a little grumpy at me on Tuesday because I’m going to walk in and tell them we have to win Kansas. That’s just the mentality that we’ve had all year, so we’ll keep it going. Q. Cliff, now what? You say you go in on Tuesday, but do you focus on the next few weeks, or do you specifically focus on Phoenix?CLIFF DANIELS: Well, we’re going to — first, I think part of what helps the Phoenix focus is just the timing of the schedule. Since it’s a Friday, Saturday, Sunday show, the truck is going to leave like Tuesday of that week, and the way these race formats go, our hauler didn’t leave until Friday morning this week, so you’re just going to have two less days that week.So now we are very fortunate that we have a little bit more time just to really plan out the way the next three weeks can go with emphasis on Phoenix where if you’re not locked in right away, you’re kind of giving everything you can for that week, and to not be talking out of both sides of my mouth, we have really good cars in the system already coming for Kansas, already coming for Martinsville. I looked at them with a lot of our guys last week. Both cars look great, so we’re going to finish those out like they are already in process to be, and then when our Phoenix cars get in the system, make sure that they’re top-notch and ready to go. Q. Kyle said something, someone mentioned to him that the last time a driver had eight points wins at Hendrick was Jimmie in 2007. He said some of these guys were on that team. Are there a lot of guys who were with Jimmie back then who are with you now? And how does this run compare to that run 14 years ago?CLIFF DANIELS: From what I know of that run, because I wasn’t at Hendrick then, I would say anything like that is probably hard to compare. Obviously the record that Chad and Jimmie have completely speaks for itself, and to even be mentioned in a conversation with them, first off, is a big blessing and pretty cool just to even have that.I know that I think that there may be one guy on our team that was with Jimmie in exactly the year ’07, and then three of our pit crew guys I believe have been on this team since 2009. If it’s not 2009, it’s 2010, that at least three of those guys have been together.Then there’s another handful of us that have been there, two guys since ’13, another two guys since ’14, and I’m on the group that was the end of ’14, beginning of the ’15 season.So certainly couldn’t be more fortunate to have learned from the champs of Jimmie and Chad for the years that all of us were with those guys, and we have some younger guys on our team that — I think the way we operate, the way we tried to go race every week has kind of resonated within our team. We have such a strong group, it’s just really special to be a part of. Q. I don’t know the exact number, but I believe that you guys are going to have a shot at the single season laps led record since it went to 36 races at least. Do you care about that, Mark?CLIFF DANIELS: I know it’s a really big deal to Larson. I didn’t even realize we were going to be that close in contention to it. That’s pretty cool. I think the way races are nowadays, we’ve seen especially with some of the races that we’ve had this year where we’ve led a lot of laps and we haven’t won, I would love to be leading a category of wins per year, but I’m sure that — what does the King have? The King has 20 something in a year, I think?The King has got a lot, so that would be probably a pretty lofty goal to ever get to, but we’ll take laps led if we can get there at the end of the day. Taking our group of guys, taking our team and all the resources we have at Hendrick Motorsports and putting fast cars on track is so cool and so fun to be a part of that hopefully we keep it going, and whatever the numbers end up, we’ll be happy about.FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use. About ChevroletFounded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Team Show Grit and Determination at Texas Motor Speedway

14th

15th

17th

“I love Texas Motor Speedway, and our entire Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet team came here this weekend with the goal of backing up our performance from 2020 and finding Victory Lane. Things just didn’t fall that way. We ran in the top-10 early in Stage 1, but we were too tight to stay up there. Even though we threw the kitchen sink at our No. 3 Chevy during pit stops, our Chevy never got dialed in to my liking. The day became even harder with a couple of cut right-rear tires, and untimely cautions that caused us to fall off the lead lap. Our team never gave up, though, and we were able to fight our way back from two laps down. By the last restart, we were too loose. It definitely made things interesting. We worked hard to finish 14th. I’m proud of everyone on this Richard Childress Racing team for sticking with it today.” -Austin Dillon

Hard-Fought Battle for Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Clark Pipeline Services Chevrolet Team at Texas Motor Speedway

9th

8th

12th

“Man, we came so close today. We definitely gave it all we had and put everything on the line to try and find Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway. This Clark Pipeline Services Chevrolet team came so close. We had speed right from the start of the race, and Randall Burnett and the guys did a good job of keeping up with adjustments throughout the race. We cut a right-rear tire at one point so I’m glad we were able to recover from that. After the midway point of the race,our Chevy would get tight in the resin, and loose out of the resin, so it was interesting managing that today. At the end, we just didn’t get a good enough chance to make a run at the No. 5 car. Another car got into us on the second-to-last restart and that’s what caused us to fall back. I’m just glad we didn’t have to pit for a tire rub and could hang on to finish ninth. It was a little disappointing after running in the top-five and battling for the lead for most of Stage 3, but I know that this team is capable and we will get to Victory Lane soon.” -Tyler Reddick

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCEAUTOTRADER ECHO PARK AUTOMOTIVE 500 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES OCTOBER 17, 2021TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE 2nd     WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 7th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 1LE 9th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CC READY MIX CAMARO ZL1 1LE 10th    DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)2nd     William Byron (Chevrolet)3rd      Christopher Bell (Toyota)4th      Brad Keselowski (Ford)5th      Kevin Harvick (Ford)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 24, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES: KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerYOU SURVIVED SEVEN STAGE 3 RESTARTS AND GOT IT TO VICTORY LANE. WELCOME TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME EVER FOR YOU, KYLE“Yeah, this is unreal. I knew we had a good shot to win today, and our car was amazing. That’s probably the best 550 package, intermediate car, we’ve had all year. So, thanks to everybody on this No. 5 team, HendrickCars.com, Rick Hendrick, this is so cool; we had a lot of people from HendrickCars here. We get to go race for a championship in a few weeks. This is crazy.” HOW ABOUT THOSE SEVEN RESTARTS YOU HAD IN STAGE 3? YOU NEVER ONCE FALTERED. HOW DID YOU KEEP IT TOGETHER FOR ALL OF THEM?“I just got good pushes from behind me, really. I tried to stay patient on the throttle to keep them to my back bumper. And thankfully, I was able to just barely clear them every time into (Turn) 1 and not have to fight off of (Turn) 2. So thanks to William (Byron) and Tyler (Reddick) and Brad Keselowski, anybody who was ever behind me (laughs), especially Brad there in that last restart. So, it was just awesome to win and hope we can get some more wins throughout the rest of the year.” HOW BIG WILL IT BE TO HAVE TWO WEEKS NOW TO GET READY FOR PHOENIX AND FOCUS ON THAT RACE AND GO RUN FOR A TITLE?“Yeah, it’ll be cool. I don’t think we’re going to lose focus on Kansas or Martinsville, but I definitely think we can shift a little bit more to our Phoenix car and I really look forward to that. I love the West Coast. I love Phoenix. We’ve always been fast there. At least I was really fast earlier this year in the No. 5 and made a lot of mistakes. But I think we should have a good shot. Our team has been so strong all year long and we might as well close it all out.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndYOU CAME UP JUST SHORT TODAY WITH A SECOND PLACE FINISH. YOU GAVE YOUR TEAMMATE, KYLE LARSON, A RUN FOR HIS MONEY TIME AND AGAIN. WHERE DID HE HAVE THAT EDGE ON YOU ON THOSE RESTARTS?“Just control of the lanes. It’s all about the push. And I think here at Texas, the shortest lane kind of wins because of the way the track kind of separates into Turn 1. Our Axalta Chevy was fast all day. We just never quite got control. I think he (Kyle Larson) was definitely better than us in that first Stage. And then I was right there with him the rest of the time and it was just clean air, basically. But congrats to those guys. Kyle really deserves it. They’ve been awesome all year and flawless on pit road; and pit calls and everything. Our team is right there and I think we’re building something really good for years to come.” YOU WERE ELIMINATED FROM THE PLAYOFFS LAST WEEK. WHAT KIND OF A STATEMENT CAN YOU MAKE IF YOU CONTINUE TO HAVE RUNS LIKE THIS?“Yeah, we’re here to stay. Rudy (Fugle, Crew Chief) is going to be in it for a long time, I feel like, and we’ve got a good team; a good young team, myself included, so I feel like we can do a lot of good things. I saw that last week. Just didn’t finish it off with the contact there, but yeah this week we had a pretty good run and had a shot at a win.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7thONCE THAT RIGHT FRONT TIRE ISSUE HAPPENS, IT WAS A TOUGH UPHILL BATTLE FROM THERE. “Yeah, it definitely was. I appreciate everybody continuing to fight through that and get our car a lot better. I thought by the end, we were decent. Just by that point, obviously, it was too late. I had another one vibrate again after that, so I’m not really sure what we had going on there. I’m still currently confused. So, we’ll see. But congrats to Kyle (Larson, race winner). Hopefully we can join those guys in Phoenix and I’m looking forward to these next two weeks. I think we can run good at the next couple and I feel like we’re all super close in points. I don’t know where everybody shakes out.” YOU’RE EIGHT BELOW: “Yeah, there you go. I feel like if we just go do our job these next two weeks and control what’s in our hands, we’ll be alright.” WHEN YOU HAVE A TOUGH DAY LIKE THIS WHEN YOU HAVE ISSUES WITH THE RIGHT FRONT, WHAT DO YOU AND ALAN (GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF) TALK ABOUT THIS WEEK GOING TO KANSAS? WHAT DO YOU FOCUS ON?“There’s nothing really glaring as to what would cause that. So, I’m really confused. We’ll talk about it and maybe we’ll get to the bottom of why that happened. But regardless, just proud of the fight. Obviously, it could have been a lot worse. So, I’m looking forward to Kansas.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th “It was a good day; up and down. I feel like we probably missed it a little bit on the adjustments in the middle of the race. And then right there at the end, during one of the stops when everyone came for tires and I was the first car without tires, I feel like we should have come for tires. We deserve maybe a little bit better, but we’ll have to keep working.”
ON THE CONTACT WITH THE NO. 19 (MARTIN TRUEX JR.):“I feel so bad for him. I feel like I ruined the race for him, but he just can’t be doing that. I’m racing as well here. I have a lot of respect for the guys in the Playoffs. But one thing is respect, another is taking advantage of the situation. He wasn’t even close to being clear and I don’t know why he did that. We’re in the last 10 to 12 laps of the race; I’ve got tires and he doesn’t have tires. I don’t know, I think he’s just got to be a little smarter.” 
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“Up and down day for the Medallion Bank Chevy. Finally got back on the lead lap at the end and got a top fifteen. Proud of the effort to stay in it all day as a team. Hope to take what we learned to Kansas and improve on it”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th “I love Texas Motor Speedway, and our entire Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet team came here this weekend with the goal of backing up our performance from 2020 and finding Victory Lane. Things just didn’t fall that way. We ran in the top-10 early in Stage 1, but we were too tight to stay up there. Even though we threw the kitchen sink at our No. 3 Chevy during pit stops, our Chevy never got dialed in to my liking. The day became even harder with a couple of cut right-rear tires, and untimely cautions that caused us to fall off the lead lap. Our team never gave up, though, and we were able to fight our way back from two laps down. By the last restart, we were too loose. It definitely made things interesting. We worked hard to finish 14th. I’m proud of everyone on this Richard Childress Racing team for sticking with it today.”

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE AUTOTRADER ECHO PARK AUTOMOTIVE 500 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FORT WORTH, TEXAS OCT. 17, 2021KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 ILE – Race Winner YOU SURVIVED SEVEN STAGE 3 RE-STARTS AND GOT IT TO VICTORY LANE. WELCOME TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME EVER FOR YOU, KYLE“Yeah, this is unreal. I knew we had a good shot to win today, and our car was amazing. That’s probably the best 550 package, intermediate car, we’ve had all year. So, thanks to everybody on this No. 5 team, HendrickCars.com, Rick Hendrick, this is so cool; we had a lot of people from HendrickCars here. We get to go race for a championship in a few weeks. This is crazy.”
HOW ABOUT THOSE SEVEN RESTARTS YOU HAD IN STAGE 3? YOU NEVER ONCE FALTERED. HOW DID YOU KEEP IT TOGETHER FOR ALL OF THEM?“I just got good pushes from behind me, really. I tried to stay patient on the throttle to keep them to my back bumper. And thankfully, I was able to just barely clear them every time into (Turn) 1 and not have to fight off of (Turn) 2. So thanks to William (Byron) and Tyler (Reddick) and Brad Keselowski, anybody who was ever behind me (laughs), especially Brad there in that last restart. So, it was just awesome to win and hope we can get some more wins throughout the rest of the year.”
HOW BIG WILL IT BE TO HAVE TWO WEEKS NOW TO GET READY FOR PHOENIX AND FOCUS ON THAT RACE AND GO RUN FOR A TITLE?“Yeah, it’ll be cool. I don’t think we’re going to lose focus on Kansas or Martinsville, but I definitely think we can shift a little bit more to our Phoenix car and I really look forward to that. I love the West Coast. I love Phoenix. We’ve always been fast there. At least I was really fast earlier this year in the No. 5 and made a lot of mistakes. But I think we should have a good shot. Our team has been so strong all year long and we might as well close it all out.”

BRISTOL, TN (October 17, 2021) — Two days of qualifying and a very cool race day challenged Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang Funny Car at historic Bristol Dragway. After the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions, Wilkerson had powered his 11,000 horsepower Funny Car to the No. 4 qualifier position. He came out of the trailer on Friday with the quickest run of the day and the provisional No. 1. Throughout the two sessions on Saturday Wilkerson along with car chief Richard Hartman looked at ways to repeat that performance after track conditions began to change following overnight rains and dropping temperatures.

Neither run on Saturday moved the team to the finish line under power. The tricky track conditions kept all the Funny Car teams on their toes. Many crew chiefs and teams were discussing managing the track conditions which included an exceptional launch zone for the first 60 feet followed by a track surface that was unwieldy to the power generated by the short wheel-based Funny Cars that cover the 1,000-foot race track in less than four seconds.

On Sunday morning air temperatures barely crept above 50 degrees and track temperatures hovered around 75 degrees at the start of eliminations. A chaotic first round of Top Fuel which featured nearly half a dozen engine explosions resulting in a significant amount of down time had tuners re-evaluating their decisions. Wilkerson made some adjustments based on his two Saturday runs with the hope that he could capture the magic that put him at the top of the field on Friday night.

His first round opponent was No. 11 qualifier and fellow Mustang driver Bob Tasca III who through three rounds never cracked the four second barrier on any of his runs. Wilkerson knew the team would step up and he was also confident he had made the appropriate changes for his Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang Funny Car. Unfortunately, his tuning moves did not equate to race day success.

“We made some adjustments based on what happened yesterday and they didn’t work at all,” said Wilkerson, in his crew chief lounge in the pits. “We made some changes on Saturday and didn’t get the results we wanted so I tried something else and that didn’t work either which is very frustrating. I am going through the run now and hopefully we can figure it out. I have some time before Las Vegas, but we just missed it today.”

At the hit of the throttle Wilkerson knew he had his hands full as he was forced to pedal his race car to try and get it to hook up and power down the track. Without a strong launch there was no chance for the two-time 2021 winner and reigning U.S. Nationals champion to catch up to Tasca who was on a decent run. The team will have a week off before the second to last NHRA national event in two weeks at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.965 sec, 295.27 mph; Qual. 1

Q2: 7.575 sec, 88.36 mph; Qual. 2

Q3: 7.035 sec, 121.97 mph; Qual. 4

Bonus Points: +3 (Quickest of Q1)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             4          .125     6.522   103.46

Bob Tasca III                11        .095     4.016   288.77 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Countdown Top Ten

1.       Ron Capps                                  2490

2.       Matt Hagan                                2489

3.       J.R. Todd                                    2407

4.       Cruz Pedregon                           2389

4.       John Force                                  2389

6.       Bob Tasca III                               2343

7.       Robert Hight                              2337

8.       Alexis DeJoria                             2319

9.       Tim Wilkerson                           2249

10.     Blake Alexander                        2184

 CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS BRISTOL DRAGWAY IN BRISTOL, TENNESSEE OCT. 17, 2021                                                                                                    Chevrolet drivers head to Las Vegas in title hunt • Brittany Force sets track speed record, reaches Top Fuel semifinals• No. 5 qualifier Robert High advances to Funny Car semifinals

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Oct. 17, 2021) – Another semifinal appearance and bonus points accumulated in qualifying at the Thunder Valley Nationals were beneficial to Brittany Force in her quest for a second National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel championship.
Force reached the semifinal for the second consecutive event after qualifying third and setting the Bristol Dragway speed record in the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. The 2017 NHRA Top Fuel titleholder remained second in the standings heading into the penultimate event of the Countdown to the Championship Oct. 29-31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Overall, happy with our semifinal finish,” said Force, whose 333.58 mph pass in in the third round of qualifying reset the track Top Fuel record. “This Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy team stayed No. 2 in points and we’re looking forward to Vegas.”
Teammate Robert Hight advanced to the Funny Car semifinals in the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro SS. John Force, driving the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Camaro SS, fell in the quarterfinals. He is tied for fourth in points.
Chevrolet Pro Stock competitors will join the John Force Racing trio at Las Vegas. Greg Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, takes an 81-point lead over reigning champion Erica Enders in the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Camaro SS.
The last of eight races in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown will also be conducted. Aaron Stanfield, driving the Janac Brothers Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro, locked up his second consecutive championship a few weeks ago at Madison, Illinois. 
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 3 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “I was really proud to be running this Flav-R-Pac car at my favorite race on the circuit, the Thunder Valley Nationals. We made some good passes all weekend long, starting Friday night. We had a few issues going rounds today and the boys had a lot of work, but they pulled it together and git us to that starting line.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “Not what we were looking for today. Bit of a rough go through the whole weekend. We’re still in the hunt though. Two races left, points and a half in Pomona. We’ll be good. Still have some fight in us.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “We qualified well this weekend. We put up some good runs, thought we had a competitive Chevy. We got outrun today, wish things were different. But we’re still out here to win. There are two races left in the season and we’ll be out there just like everyone else looking for wins.”

About ChevroletFounded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Oct. 17, 2021) – Brittany Force with the Flav-R-Pac dragster and Robert Hight with the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car raced into the semifinals Sunday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro had a second-round finish. Coming into race day in the No. 3 qualifying spot after setting the track speed record on Saturday, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team first competed with Lex Joon. Force would win the round but have a massive explosion near the finish officials assume caused the timing system to trip leaving her without a valid time. Second round would put Force against Spencer Massey. The Flav-R-Pac dragster would run 3.671-seconds at 332.10 mph with another smaller explosion down track but their efforts would still defeat Massey’s 3.777 at 320.13. In the semifinals Force and the Flav-R-Pac team would run into tire smoke early to go only 8.209-seconds at 79.25 mph falling to eventual race winner Mike Salinas and his 3.698 at 330.55.   “I was really proud to be running this Flav-R-Pac car at my favorite race on the circuit, the Thunder Valley Nationals. Overall, happy with our semifinal finish. We made some good passes all weekend long starting Friday night,” said Force who is still second in points. “We had a few issues going rounds today and the boys had a lot of work, but they pulled it together and got us up to that starting line. This Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team stayed two in points and we’re looking forward to getting to Vegas, the second to last race of the season.” After a solid qualifying effort that positioned Robert Hight in the No. 5, the Auto Club team would race their Chevy Camaro to a 3.940-second pass at 328.46 mph to hand Cory Lee and his 7.391 at 96.08 the first-round loss. Lined up with longtime rival Bob Tasca III in the second round, Hight drove to a solid 3.920-second pass at 329.84 mph, bettering Tasca’s 4.338 at 220.55. The victory would set Hight up against event No. 1 qualifier and eventual winner Alexis DeJoria in the semifinals. The Auto Club Chevy would put up a 3.934-second run at 329.10 mph, but it wouldn’t be enough for DeJoria’s 3.904 at 327.74. “We qualified well this weekend. We put up some good runs, thought we had a competitive Chevy,” Hight said. “We got out run today, wish things were different but we’re still out here to win. There’s two races left in the season, and we’ll be out there just like everyone else looking for wins.” John Force and the PEAK Chevy started race day off facing Jim Campbell in the first round. Force would lay down a 3.997-second pass at 272.12 mph despite having to shut off early and take the win over Campbell who drove into tire smoke for only an 8.069 run at 77.10. The second round put Force against 2018 world champion J.R. Todd. The PEAK Camaro would run into trouble to run only 4.118-seconds at 324.59 mph and be bettered by Todd’s 3.916 at 328.78. Force will head into the final two races of the season sitting tied for fourth in the championship points standings. “Not what we were looking for today. Bit of a rough go through the whole weekend,” said Force who is now tied for fourth in points. “We’re still in the hunt though. Two races left, points and a half in Pomona, we’ll be good, the PEAK Chevy team, we still have some fight in us.” The Dodge SRT // Nationals, the second to last event in the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, kicks off Oct. 29-31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. -30-

BRITTANY FORCE, 35, Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragsterQualifying: 3rd 3.672-seconds at 333.58 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+5 (quickest Q1; 2nd quickest Q3)Race Results: Beat Lex Joon, Spencer Massey; Lost to Mike Salinas

ROBERT HIGHT, 52, Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:5th; 3.968-seconds at 323.50 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+2 (2nd quickest Q1)Race Results: Beat Cory Lee, Bob Tasca III; Lost to Alexis DeJoria

JOHN FORCE, 72, PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:6th; 3.968-seconds at 322.73 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+1 (3rd quickest Q1)Race Results: Beat Jim Campbell; Lost to J.R. Todd

Photo Credit: PEAK Chevy, Gary Nastase, Auto Imagery; Flav-R-Pac dragster: Lucas Priamo/TheBLOCK.com; Auto Club Chevy: Ron Lewis

Unofficial NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top 10 Points Standings TOP FUEL – 1. Steve Torrence,   2,575; 2. Brittany Force, Monster Energy/ FLAV-R-PAK dragster, 2,502; 3. Justin Ashley, 2,428; 4. Mike Salinas, 2,425;  5. Billy Torrence, 2,357; 6. Leah Pruett, 2,291; 7. Clay Millican, 2,265; 8. Antron Brown, 2,252; 9. Shawn Langdon, 2,228; 10. Doug Kalitta, 2,180.           FUNNY CAR – 1. Ron Capps, 2,490; 2. Matt Hagan, 2,489; 3. J.R. Todd, 2,407; 4. Tie, John Force, PEAK/Blue Def Platinum Chevy Camaro SS, and Cruz Pedregon, 2,389 each; 6. Bob Tasca III, 2,343; 7. Robert Hight, Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SS, 2,337; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 2,319; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 2,249; 10. Blake Alexander, 2,184; 11. Jim Campbell, 2,150.

PORTSMOUTH, OH (October 16, 2021) – Ricky Thornton Jr. topped off his first full-year running with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as he snuck by race leader Brandon Overton on a lap 83 restart on Saturday Night at Portsmouth Raceway Park. The 2021 Eibach Springs Rookie-of-the-Year winner went on to score the biggest win of his racing career by capturing the 41st Annual General Tire Dirt Track World Championship presented by Optima Batteries. Thornton pulled away from Overton and Jonathan Davenport in the final laps to record a 2.145 second advantage over Overton for the $100,000 victory. Thornton’s previous career high late model wins were both $20,000. Devin Moran was in charge the first 35 circuits, Overton led laps 36-82. Overton and Davenport rounded out the podium. Mike Marlar and 2021 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion, Tim McCreadie completed the top five. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the first time since winning at Bubba Raceway Park in February, Thornton’s win was impressive over a stout field of cars. “I was kind of worried. I didn’t want those yellows, but then I could get a run off of four on the restart and go half a lane better into one. I finally stayed with him (Overton) on the front straightaway, and I thought it’s now or never. It’s 100 grand, I would have wrecked my mom to win.” Thornton became the 26th different driver to win the crown jewel event that started in 1981. “It’s wild. I can’t really explain it. We were lucky enough to run second last year. To win it this year is amazing. We gambled on tires. This is awesome, I have always wanted to be a late model driver and I think this kind of solidifies it. We have been so excited to run the Lucas Oil series and we look forward to doing it again next year.” Overton was looking for his first win in the event and his 29th overall this season but lost ground to Thornton in the waning laps. “I guess I just didn’t get going enough on that restart. He had a head full of steam going down in there. It is what it is. Sometimes you just run second. Congrats to those guys, they did a good job. They gambled on tires, and it paid off. Nobody needs to feel bad for me for running second, we have had a great year. We will take our second place and head to the house.” Davenport, like the top two ahead of him at the finish, was looking for his first win in the richest race on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule. Davenport tried his best to make the top side work in turns three and four. “Me and Brandon pretty much had the thing as far as tires. Ricky went a little different, so he was definitely better late in the race. We just wore ours down and didn’t have much tread left. The top of three and four died just a little too early before I could get up there and surprise them.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Hoker Trucking, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Dyno One, Inc., West Side Tractor Sales, Excel Floor Covering, Certified Inspection Service Co, Inc., D&E Outside Services, Shelby Materials, Penske Racing Shocks, and VP Race Fuels. Completing the top ten were Tyler Erb, Earl Pearson Jr., Spencer Hughes, Hudson O’Neal, and Jimmy Owens. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesRace SummaryGeneral Tire Dirt Track World Championship Presented by Optima BatteriesSaturday, October 16th, 2021Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, OH Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Ricky Thornton, Jr. / 15.254 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Devin Moran / 15.661 seconds Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 5. 11R-Josh Rice[5]; 6. 11W-Ronnie Whitt[7]; 7. 5M-Ryan Markham[8]; 8. 33K-Kevin Wagner[9]; 9. 1L-Corey Lewis[6]; 10. (DNS) 21H-Robby Hensley Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 11H-Spencer Hughes[1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton[2]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 4. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 5. 11J-Jared Hawkins[4]; 6. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[8]; 7. 10-Nathon Loney[5]; 8. 81F-Brandon Fouts[7]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan[10]; 10. 32A-Robert Starrett[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[4]; 5. 17D-Zack Dohm[5]; 6. 15B-Dean Bowen[6]; 7. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[7]; 8. 144-Anthony Kinkade[8]; 9. 21E-Richie Edwards[9]; 10. (DNS) KC44-KC Burdette Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 9-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 12J-Jason Jameson[4]; 4. D8-Dustin Linville[6]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 6. 17ST-Shannon Thornsberry[8]; 7. 1B-Nick Bocook[9]; 8. CJ1-Charlie Jude[10]; 9. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 10. 6T-Tim Dohm[7] Fast Shafts Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 2. 1G-Devin Gilpin[4]; 3. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 4. C9-Steve Casebolt[5]; 5. 44B-Colton Burdette[8]; 6. 111M-Matthew Lux[7]; 7. 71R-Rod Conley[9]; 8. 2M-Allen Murray[10] (DQ) 22F-Chris Ferguson[1]; (DQ) 1S-Brandon Sheppard[2] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 0-Scott Bloomquist[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 4. 71C-RJ Conley[8]; 5. 111V-Max Blair[4]; 6. 66C-Matt Cosner[7]; 7. 48-Colton Flinner[2]; 8. 1SB-Shane Bailey[9]; 9. 18C-Chris Carpenter[6]; 10. 145-Chase Frohnapfel[10] LINE-X B-Main #1 Running Order (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 3. 11R-Josh Rice[4]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 5. 11J-Jared Hawkins[5]; 6. 17D-Zack Dohm[6]; 7. 11W-Ronnie Whitt[7]; 8. 33K-Kevin Wagner[13]; 9. 10-Nathon Loney[11]; 10. 144-Anthony Kinkade[15]; 11. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[8]; 12. 81F-Brandon Fouts[14]; 13. 20B-Todd Brennan[17]; 14. 21H-Robby Hensley[20]; 15. 5M-Ryan Markham[10]; 16. 32A-Robert Starret[19]; 17. 21E-Richie Edwards[18]; 18. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[12]; 19. 15B-Dean Bowen[9]; 20. 1L-Corey Lewis[16]; 21. (DNS) KC44-KC Burdette UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. D8-Dustin Linville[1]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 3. C9-Steve Casebolt[2]; 4. 44B-Colton Burdette[5]; 5. 71C-RJ Conley[3]; 6. 111V-Max Blair[6]; 7. 111M-Matthew Lux[8]; 8. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 9. 71R-Rod Conley[11]; 10. 18C-Chris Carpenter[17]; 11. 1B-Nick Bocook[10]; 12. 48-Colton Flinner[12]; 13. 17ST-Shannon Thornsberry[7]; 14. CJ1-Charlie Jude[13]; 15. 1SB-Shane Bailey[15]; 16. 145-Chase Frohnapfel[19]; 17. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[16]; 18. (DNS) 2M-Allen Murray; 19. (DNS) 6T-Tim Dohm Jim Dunn Non-Qualifier Finish (25 Laps)1. 44B-Colton Burdette[2]; 2. 17D-Zack Dohm[5]; 3. 111V-Max Blair[6]; 4. 11J-Jared Hawkins[3]; 5. 111M-Matthew Lux[8]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[18]; 7. 71C-RJ Conley[4]; 8. 71R-Rod Conley[12]; 9. 33K-Kevin Wagner[9]; 10. 1SB-Shane Bailey[24]; 11. 10-Nathon Loney[11]; 12. 18C-Chris Carpenter[14]; 13. 11W-Ronnie Whitt[7]; 14. 144-Anthony Kinkade[13]; 15. 5M-Ryan Markham[21]; 16. CJ1-Charlie Jude[22]; 17. 32A-Robert Starret[23]; 18. 1B-Nick Bocook[16]; 19. 20B-Todd Brennan[17]; 20. 17ST-Shannon Thornsberry[20]; 21. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[15]; 22. (DNS) C9-Steve Casebolt; 23. (DNS) 66C-Matt Cosner; 24. (DNS) 21H-Robby Hensley; 25. (DNS) 145-Chase Frohnapfel General Tire Dirt Track World Championship Presented by Optima Batteries Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 60Lap Leaders: Devin Moran (Laps 1-35); Brandon Overton (Laps 36-51); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 52); Brandon Overton (Laps 53-82); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 83-100)Wrisco Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Brandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Margin of Victory: 2.145 secondsCautions: Devin Gilpin (Lap 23); Dustin Linville (Lap 25); Kyle Bronson (Lap 30); Josh Rice (Lap 36); Scott Bloomquist (Lap 80); Josh Richards (Lap 82); Jason Jameson (Lap 84)Series Provisionals: Josh Richards; Earl Pearson, Jr.Fast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisionals: Brandon Fouts; Josh RiceBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Overton, Jonathan DavenportPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, Mike Marlar, Tim McCreadieOptima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Earl Pearson, Jr. (Advanced 17 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadieHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Brandon Overton (46 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon OvertonEibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Jimmy Owens (Lap # 2 – 16.041 seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Kyle BronsonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony BurroughsARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Brandon Overton – 14.773 secondsTime of Race: 54 minutes 00 seconds Lucas Oil Point Standings:

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Oct. 16, 2021) – Despite morning showers, John Force Racing teams had the opportunity to take advantage of both qualifying runs on Saturday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster team land in the No. 3 spot while setting the track speed record. Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro are No. 5 and John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy are No. 6. The second qualifying session was a bit of awash for the John Force Racing hot rods, all three cars drove into tire smoke before mid-track. First up was Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster who recorded a 6.480-second run at 91.36 mph. Force was followed by father John Force and the PEAK Chevy who went 8.160-seconds at 77.85 mph and then Robert Hight and the Auto Club Camaro went 6.390 at 102.74. Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team found improvement in the final qualifying session. Force would handle her Top Fuel dragster to a 3.672-second pass at a track record 333.58 mph. The rest of the category would also make some moves through the two qualifying sessions, shifting her into the No. 3 qualifying position to race Lex Joon in the first round. “Overall good qualifying. Two solid passes for this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team. We have a great ladder tomorrow,” Force said. “Looking to go out and win Thunder Valley and put Flav-R-Pac in the winners circle. We want to end on a high note since this is the last time this season we’ll be representing Flav-R-Pac as our primary sponsor.” Qualified No. 3 and No. 4 coming into the Saturday evening session, Robert Hight and John Force would line up side-by-side. Both Chevy’s would go up in smoke at the same time with the Auto Club Camaro crossing the finish line at 8.247-seconds and 84.04 mph and the PEAK Camaro recording an 8.404-second run at 77.75 mph. Hight and the Auto Club Chevy Camaro, who land No. 5 with their 3.968-second pass at 323.50 mph from Friday night, will line-up with Cory Lee in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. “Not the day we wanted. It’s a real tight race track and that’s what we’re going to see tomorrow too, so we really wanted to get down the track,” Hight said. “We’re not used to racing here in October, not having the heat of summer is helpful and hopefully we got some good data from our early numbers. This Auto Club team, Jimmy Prock, Chris Cunningham, we’ll be ready tomorrow.” Sitting No. 6 off the efforts of their 3.968-second pass at 322.73 mph, Force and the PEAK Chevy Camaro will take on Jim Campbell in the first round. “Well, we’re in it. It’s going to be cool tomorrow so all these runs would have been helpful. But we have that one run from Friday night, and we’ll be in the fight tomorrow,” Force said. “This PEAK Chevy team are working hard.” Eliminations at the NRHA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway are slated for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Television coverage continues with a second qualifying show Sunday at 1 p.m. followed by the finals at 2 p.m. ET all on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

BRISTOL, TN (October 16, 2021) — Alexis DeJoria drove her Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car to the No. 1 qualifier position today at the 20th Thunder Valley Nationals at historic Bristol Dragway. It was the fifth career No. 1 for DeJoria and her first since the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals in 2016. The qualifying effort is the best of the season for DeJoria after six No. 2 qualifiers. 

“This is the first No. 1 qualifier for DC Motorsports since Del Worsham and I began in 2020 and I’m so happy that it came at the same track where I went to my first Funny Car final with Del as my crew chief in 2012,” said DeJoria, a five-time national event winner in Funny Car. “Everything’s going to come together and we’re going to break through for a win very soon. This track has a lot of very good memories for me. To come back here with our own team and get a No. 1 qualifier is huge. We have had so many No. 2s and I am not complaining but this No. 1 is so gratifying. It means so much. It kind of feels like a win. This is a huge weight lifted off our shoulders.”

Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car, Thunder Valley Nationals No. 1 qualifier

The No. 1 time of 3.907 seconds at 326.79 mph was almost five hundredths quicker than her nearest competitor in qualifying. The cooler track temperatures throughout the day made it tricky for all the teams. Following the run DeJoria shared with the media how close that run came to not happening.

“That run has a couple hiccups down track, but I just stayed in it and I drove through it,” said DeJoria. “I didn’t think it was going to be a 3.90. I did not think it was going to stick. It feels good right now but tomorrow is a new day. It is a confidence booster going into tomorrow. We didn’t make it down the track the first two runs. Hopefully we can build on what we did tonight.”

DeJoria will face No. 14 qualifier Paul Lee in the first round. Final eliminations will begin tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET with Top Fuel followed by Funny Car.

Honda claims TC manufacturers’ crown with HPD Honda Civic Type R
Eric Powell, Kevin Boehm finish 1-2 in tight TC Drivers’ Championship battle
Carter Fartuch again leads Honda Civic Si drivers in TCA

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (October 17, 2021) – HPD Honda Civic Type R racers finished 1-2 in the SRO TC America Drivers’ Championship, sweeping the 2021 season finale weekend on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Honda also claimed the TC Manufacturers’ crown.

TC Honda Civic Type R
Friday’s opener became a race of tire choice and management, as the 45-minute event was run on a wet-but-drying IMS road course. Starting third, Kevin Boehm used rain tires to grab an early advantage in his #9 DXDT Honda Civic Type R, leading the TC class by as much as four seconds. But as the laps wound down and the track dried rapidly, Mike LaMarra began a late-race charge in his ‘slick’ shod LA Honda World Civic Type R, snatching the victory from Boehm on the white-flag lap.

That result set up a championship showdown for Saturday’s season finale between Boehm and fellow Honda driver Eric Powell, who finished fifth on Friday. On Saturday, Boehm did all he could – leading every lap for his third win of the season. But Powell’s sixth-place result was more than enough to claim the title by a narrow 7.5-point margin.

TCA Honda Civic Si
Tires also were the tale in Friday’s TCA contest, as Jose Blanco took the early lead on wet weather tires in his VGMC Racing Honda Civic Si. But late in the race, the cars fitted with dry-weather ‘slick’ tires had the advantage, and late-race contact resulted in an unrepresentative 12th-place finish. TCA Championship contender Carter Fartuch also struggled in the changing conditions, finishing seventh.

Fartuch again led the way for Honda on Saturday, taking the checkers fifth in his Honda Civic Si, but lost out in his TCA championship battle, finishing third in the final points tally to Caleb Bacon and Luke Rumburg.

Quotes
Eric Powell (#28 Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R) 2021 TC America champion; Honda also wins TC Manufacturers’ Championship: “I’m kind of at a loss for words. It’s such an amazing feeling. I’ve been at this for a long time, racing for almost 25 years. I’ve won a lot of races, but never a championship, and a lot of times that was due to reliability issues. But this Honda Civic Type R that HPD has put in my hands has been rock-solid reliable all year. It’s incredible. The Skip Barber School has given us the resources to succeed, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s super exciting.”

Kevin Boehm (#9 DXDT Racing Honda Civic Type R) Saturday TC class winner, finished 2nd in the TC Drivers’ Championship: “It’s the teamwork we had as a group. We have Operation Motorsport on board, and they’re donating their time, to basically come and learn how to work on these race cars. Together, we really just try to make it go as fast as it can. That’s the most memorable thing, along with having my wife and my dad working alongside me as well, it’s been incredible. To finish at the top of the podium, in the last race of the season, was just great.”

Mike LaMarra (#37 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R) Friday TC class winner: “It’s fantastic [to win at Indianapolis}. This is the second time I’ve won here in sports car racing and it’s a real special place, obviously. It feels great. I took a gamble by starting on slicks, hoping that they would take me up to first [place]. It paid off, big time, and I couldn’t be happier!”

Next
This weekend’s races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway closed out the 2021 SRO Touring Car America championship season. The 2022 season gets underway April 15-17 at Sonoma Raceway, just north of San Francisco, California.

HPD has two ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring.

Social media content and video links from this weekend’s SRO Touring Car America races at Indianapolis are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

TC Indianapolis Friday Race Results
1st TC – #37 Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type R
2nd TC – #9 Kevin Boehm, DXDT Racing Honda Civic Type R
5th TC – #92 Eric Powell, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
8th TC – #73 Ken Fukuda, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
TCA Indianapolis Friday Race Results
7th TCA – #16 Carter Fartuch, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si
8th TCA – #780 Sally McNulty, Team Sally Racing Honda Civic Si
9th TCA – #20 Mike Stillwagon, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si
10th TCA – #77 Mario Biundo LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si
11th TCA – #2 Colin Harrison, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si
• 12th TCA – #99 Jose Blanco, VGMC Racing Honda Civic Si

TC Indianapolis Saturday Race Results
1st TC – #9 Kevin Boehm, DXDT Racing Honda Civic Type R
6th TC – #92 Eric Powell, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
7th TC – #73 Ken Fukuda, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R
9th TC – #37 Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type R
TCA Indianapolis Saturday Race Results
5th TCA – #16 Carter Fartuch, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si
6th TCA – #77 Mario Biundo LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si
7th TCA – #20 Mike Stillwagon, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si
8th TCA – #780 Sally McNulty, Team Sally Racing Honda Civic Si
11th TCA – #2 Colin Harrison, Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si
• 12th TCA – #99 Jose Blanco, VGMC Racing Honda Civic Si

21st

12th

10th

“I’m proud of the effort that everyone at Richard Childress Racing puts forth every week. Some days are harder than others and today was one of the hard ones for our No. 2 team, but we stuck together until the checkered flag. I was optimistic heading into the race, but from the get-go, the Crosley Furniture Chevrolet was twitchy on center exit and then built loose throughout. I didn’t think our car needed a big swing, but once we tightened up the car significantly, I was able to charge into the corner and not lose as much ground on entry. Our Camaro was fast enough to get back on the lead lap, but the cautions never fell our way at the end. It’s unfortunate but part of racing. The pit crew did a fantastic job all day and gained spots every stop which put us in better positions on the restarts. We have three races left in the 2021 season and our goal is to maximize every lap. I’m looking forward to Kansas Speedway next Saturday and putting today in the rearview mirror.”  -Myatt Snider

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Oct. 15, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster team are sitting in the provisional No. 1 spot Friday night at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Robert Hight with the Automobile Club of Southern California and John Force with the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaros are currently sitting No. 2 and 3, respectively, in Funny Car. After delays due to issues with the timing, Brittany Force and the David Grubnic and Mac Savage led Flav-R-Pac team found themselves making their first qualifying pass under the lights at Thunder Valley. Sitting No. 2 in points, the 2017 world champion would run in the final pair of nitro cars. The Flav-R-Pac team took full advantage laying down a track record 3.682-second pass at 328.94 mph. “We definitely made a few changes in that downtime, but I try to stay out of it, it gets my head in the wrong place and I start worrying about thins so I leave that to the team and David Grubnic and Mac Savage. They did a fantastic job with whatever adjustments they did make with the sun going down and the track cooling down,” said Force who has set five elapsed time and six speed track records this season. “We made it down there. I wasn’t sure if she was going to make, it was moving around and it felt like it was going to let go but we made it to that finish line.” Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy team built on some of the consistency found last weekend with a solid 3.968-second run at 323.50 mph, the top speed of the session. Their efforts put them No. 2 and gave them an extra two bonus points. “Good way to start the weekend out here in Bristol. There was probably more out there but it’s going to be cooler conditions tomorrow with the rain, hopefully we get both those runs in,” Hight said. “Just taking it one run at a time, making sure we’re getting down the track and having some fun while we do it. Getting a clean run like that, that’s what this Auto Club team knows how to do, and we just have to keep on building on it.” John Force and the PEAK Chevy were in the groove for the full pass clocking a 3.968-second run at 322.73 mph to be third quickest and earn one bonus point. “Pretty good start to the weekend out here in Thunder Valley. Getting the PEAK Chevy from A to B, picked up a bonus point. We’ll take it,” Force said. “There’s supposed to be some weather tomorrow, but we should get something in, be good for race day when it’s supposed to be real cool. We’ll see how it goes.” Qualifying at the NRHA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway continues Saturday with sessions at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Eliminations are slated for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Television coverage continues with a second qualifying show Sunday at 1 p.m. followed by the finals at 2 p.m. ET all on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

CHEVROLET AT BRISTOL  What: NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals When: Friday, Oct. 15-Sunday, Oct. 17Where: Bristol Dragway in Bristol, TennesseeTV: FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 17
Chevrolet drivers hope lightning strikes at Thunder ValleyJohn Force Racing trio seek to close points gap in Top Fuel, Funny Car

DETROIT (Oct. 14, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster team have been making waves all season in the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) Top Fuel category.
With three races left in the Countdown to the Championship, including this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Force, the 2017 NHRA Top Fuel champion, will aim to reclaim the points lead. She is second in the standings.
Force, who has been the No. 1 qualifier in 13 of the past 19 Top Fuel events, is two top qualifiers from tying the category single-season record of 13 set by Tony Schumacher in 2006 and from tying the John Force Racing team record of 13 set by John Force in 1996.
“There’s just three races left in this Countdown to the Championship and we are still in the fight. We’ve had a tough few weeks, but plan to turn that around,” said Force, who advanced to the semifinals last week at Dallas. “I’m looking forward to getting to Bristol seeing what this Flav-R-Pac team can pull off.”
John Force remains in the hunt for his 17th NHRA Funny Car title, and he’ll be looking aiming to extend to 14 the number of seasons he’s won at least four races. He’ll also be seeking his fifth victory at the racetrack. 
“A bit of bad luck in Dallas. But we still went some rounds,” said Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Camaro SS. “We’ve had a good race car all season. We’re in the fight because they’ve given me a good hot rod and because I’ve held on and tried to do my job. Just have to keep on doing it.”
Teammate Robert Hight, the most recent Funny Car No. 1 qualifier, is seeking to have a say in the championship chase. The driver of the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro SS is an unusually low seventh in the standings. He has one win at Thunder Valley.
FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 17. 
Pro Stock racers will next compete Oct. 29-31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the penultimate event of the Countdown to the Championship. At Ennis, Texas, on Oct. 10, Greg Anderson extended his points lead to 81 over reigning champion Erica Enders (Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Camaro SS) with his fourth victory of the season and 98th of his career. 
The latter lifted Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, past Warren Johnson as the class leader and second all time to John Force’s 154 wins.
“It’s the same for everybody, but I’m looking forward to the break where I can really dig in and try to find maybe a little something extra boost performance-wise for the final two events,” Anderson said. “Whoever uses the two-week break the best will probably be the champion this year. Hopefully, that will be us.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (Second in points): ““There’s just three races left in this Countdown to the Championship and we are still in the fight. We’ve had a tough few weeks, but plan to turn that around. I’m looking forward to getting to Bristol seeing what this Flav-R-Pac team can pull off.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Fourth points): “Bristol is special, it usually falls on Father’s Day weekend and that’s something I enjoy because I have my girls out here racing with me, first Ashley, then Courtney and now Brittany. It truly is Thunder Valley. The fans are great and I’m looking forward to seeing it all in fall. Having an extra race in the Countdown, well it depends where you’re at, could help some, could hurt others, I’m hoping we’re on the helping side. We’re going to stay focused, go some rounds and hopefully get this PEAK Chevy in the winner’s circle.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Seventh in points): “This Auto Club team, we’re used to being up there in qualifying, going rounds on race day, and when we weren’t doing that consistently, we got really hard on ourselves. You know, there’s still a chance we could pull off a fourth championship this year, but we need to take it one run at a time, one round win at a time. We know how to race, how to win, Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham, all these Auto Club guys, we can put it all together and get wins and have fun doing it.”

Richard Childress Racing at Texas Motor Speedway… Richard Childress Racing has a storied history at Texas Motor Speedway that includes two NASCAR Cup Series wins with Jeff Burton (1997) and most recently with Austin Dillon (2020). The Welcome, NC organization has earned five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins with Kevin Harvick (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012) and two NASCAR Truck Series wins with Jay Sauter (1999) and Ty Dillon (2013). Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live Saturday, October 16, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, October 17, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBC 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 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Texas Motor Speedway… Dillon is an accomplished driver at Texas Motor Speedway with 32 starts spread out across NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series. The Welcome, North Carolina driver has earned pole awards in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series while competing at Texas Motor Speedway and has led laps in four of his 15 Cup races there. He is a former winner at the track in the NASCAR Cup Series (2020). About Tracker Off Road… Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service, and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.  About Bass Pro Shops… Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:Tell us about racing at Texas Motor Speedway and how it differs from other 1.5-mile tracks, such as Kansas Speedway?“Texas Motor Speedway is a bit different from Kansas Speedway in that it has two different ends. You have one end that’s very banked and has high speeds, and then you have a hard end where you have to get turned and get back on the gas. Texas Motor Speedway just has so much grip now. It’s quite a bit different, and the banking has changed a lot from the old track to the new track. I really like Texas and am looking forward to getting there. Our team is hungry to get back to Victory Lane, and I’m looking forward to debuting our Bass Pro Shops Flannel Fest paint scheme.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Clark Pipeline Services Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Texas Motor Speedway… Reddick has two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, recording a second-place finish in July 2020. The 25-year-old has competed in five NASCAR Xfinity Series events, posting consecutive second-place results in the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. In addition, Reddick has six NASCAR Truck Series races under his belt at the Fort Worth track, earning four top-five finishes.  About Clark Pipeline Services… Clark Pipeline Services is a multi-million dollar company based in the heart of Eagleford Shale with over 10 years of experience in large and small diameter pipe with zero accidents. Clark Pipeline Services is a Civil Construction and Energy Construction Company dedicated to the service and safety of their clients. Clark Pipelines Services can provide superior quality, time savings, unmatched services and environment protection while completing successful projects. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: What are your thoughts on Texas Motor Speedway? “I’ve come close to winning at Texas Motor Speedway a lot in my career, even finishing second behind my teammate Austin Dillon last July, so I’m excited at having another shot there. Our No. 8 team is bringing extremely fast Chevrolet Camaros to the track right now and I feel like our first win is right around the corner. Last weekend in Charlotte at the Roval showed what our team is capable of and we are looking forward to showing that again in Texas on Sunday. The Clark Pipeline Services Chevrolet is going to have speed and we’ll see if I can finally get one of those cowboy hats.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Crosley Furniture Chevrolet Camaro at Texas Motor Speedway… Snider has three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. In the most recent Xfinity Series race at the Fort Worth intermediate track, Snider was in pursuit of a top-10 result before receiving contact from behind. The Charlotte, N.C. native has also competed in four NASCAR Truck Series races, posting a best finish of 12th in 2017.  About Crosley Brands… For over 30 years, Crosley Brands has been a leader in the nostalgic electronics category. From their beginning in the premium incentive industry, Crosley Brands developed their own exclusive product lines and built solid relationships with some of the most well-known catalogers and retailers in the business. Today, Crosley Brands is known for two brands – Crosley Radio and Crosley Furniture. At the front lines of the Vinyl Revolution, Crosley Radio seeks to bring new life to a classic medium, with its revolutionary line of turntables to its new series of high-fidelity units. Building on a legacy of entrepreneurship, Crosley Furniture delivers quality products at competitive prices, without sacrificing style. From the patio to the kitchen, bath, entryway and beyond, Crosley Furniture offers over 1,800 indoor and outdoor furniture items in a variety of categories and designs. For more information, please visit www.crosleybrands.com.  MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:Texas Motor Speedway is an intermediate track that you’ve raced on a handful of times. What do you expect from Saturday?“The good thing about Texas Motor Speedway is that I have raced there three times in the Xfinity Series and four times in the Truck Series. Sometimes just having laps under your belt makes you more comfortable on one day shows when we don’t have practice and qualifying. When my Richard Childress Racing team came to Texas earlier this season, our Chevrolet Camaro was extremely fast. We had put together a solid race to finish inside the top-10, but I received contact from behind on the backstretch and that ultimately ended our day early. Our Playoff run might be over prematurely, but this No. 2 team will continue to push forward to finish these final four races as strong as possible.”

AUSTIN, TX (October 14, 2021) — It has been four years since the roars of Alexis DeJoria’s NHRA Nitro Funny Car have reverberated off the mountains surrounding Bristol Dragway. For DeJoria who is now behind the wheel of the Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car that is four years too long. This weekend at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals DeJoria, a five-time Funny Car national event winner, will return to a track where in her rookie season she raced to her first professional final round.

In 2012 DeJoria bumped into the field as the No. 15 qualifier and then took out No. 2 qualifier Mike Neff in the first round before defeating Jeff Arend and Jack Beckman. In a final round showdown with Ron Capps, she was neck and neck with him before her race car overpowered the track handing the win to Capps. 

Since that first race, the veteran driver has raced to several quarterfinals and in 2016 raced to the semifinals from the No. 10 spot, upsetting Chad Head and current crew chief then driver Del Worsham in the first two rounds.

This season DeJoria and her Toyota Camry Funny Car have put up some amazing performance numbers and raced to the final round in Denver. They have gone rounds on race day and qualified top three seven times this season.

With three Countdown playoff races remaining DeJoria will be looking to finish the season strong at events where she has a strong track record. Last season in her first year back she raced to the semifinals in Vegas and throughout her career her home track of Pomona has been receptive to high performance.

“This season has been a challenge but that is what we are here for. If this was easy everyone would do it,” said DeJoria. “We are going to keep fighting and hopefully we will have a great weekend in Bristol and close out the season on a high note.”

Qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals will begin at 5:30 p.m. with Funny Cars and then Top Fuel vying for one of the top 16 spots in the field. Saturday will feature two more sessions at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. with Top Fuel and Funny Car. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday, October 17 at 11:30 a.m.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 500 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FORT WORTH, TEXAS OCT. 17, 2021
RACE #33 – TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYHendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott head into the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Playoffs Round of 8 focused on moving one step closer to the coveted Driver Championship title.  
Sunday’s 334-lap Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway is the first of three races on tap for the NCS Playoffs Round of 8. The 1.5-mile Texas oval was added to the Playoff schedule in 2005, but this season marks the first time that the venue will host the seventh race on the post-season schedule and the first race of the Round of 8. Texas Motor Speedway is now the fifth different track to host the seventh race of the Playoffs, alongside Atlanta Motor Speedway (2004-2008), Talladega Superspeedway (2009-2010), Martinsville Speedway (2011-2019) and Kansas Speedway (2020). 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE, reclaimed the top spot in the standings with his field-high seventh victory of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. In his fifth Playoff appearance, the 2021 season marks Larson’s first time advancing to the Round of 8. Joining Larson in the eight-driver Playoff field is Hendrick Motorsports teammate and reigning NCS Champion Chase Elliott. Behind the wheel of the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 1LE, Elliott enters the 501-mile race sixth in points as he seeks a second consecutive NCS title.
Team Chevy has recorded 14 wins in 40 NASCAR Cup Series races on the high-banked Texas Motor Speedway track. Career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with seven wins at the racetrack, including five in the Playoffs.
A capsule look at Team Chevy in the title hunt: 
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE – 1st in Playoff Standings (+42 points above cutline)Victories: 7 (field-high)Top-Fives: 17; Top-10’s: 23; Poles: 1; Laps Led: 2,011Average Finish: 9.7Stage Wins: 15At Texas (13 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 3; Top-10’s: 4; Average Finish: 19.769Of Note: Larson has captured two points-paying wins on 1.5-mile tracks this season (Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway), in addition to the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in June. His career-best finish at Texas of second was captured in the April 2017 after starting 32nd. 
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 1LE – 6th in Playoff Standings (-2 points below cutline)Victories: 2Top-Fives: 13; Top-10’s: 18; Laps Led: 527; Average Finish: 11.8Stage Wins: 4At Texas (10 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 2; Top-10’s: 5; Average Finish: 12.000; Of Note: Elliott has finishes of seventh or better in four races in a row on 1.5-mile tracks this season. His best finish at Texas of fourth came in the November 2016 race. Elliott has one NXS win at the track (April 2016), among three top-five finishes in the series. The 2021 NCS season marks Elliott’s sixth consecutive year of being part of the Playoff field. Six of his 13 career NCS wins have come in the Playoffs. 
FOUR TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS IN NXS ROUND OF 8NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Regular Season Champion AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS, won for the third consecutive year on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course to clinch a spot in the Round of 8. Team Chevy drivers also advancing were Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson and Justin Haley. The Bowtie brigade made a strong showing in the series’ opening round of the Playoffs, with a Chevrolet driver capturing the victory in all three races of the Round of 12. 
The NXS Round of 8 gets underway Saturday, October 16, with the 200-lap/300-mile Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway. Last weekend’s race winner, AJ Allmendinger, will lead the field to the green from the pole. Chevrolet, now with 15 wins, continues to sit atop of the Manufacturer Standings.
CHEVROLET CONTINUES ATOP STANDINGSChevrolet remains the leader in the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Standings in pursuit of its 40th title. Team Chevy has recorded manufacturer highs of 15 victories, 137 top-10 finishes, 3,495 laps led and 28 stage wins through 32 races. The Bowtie Brand has already surpassed its totals for wins (9), top-10 finishes (120), laps led (2,399) and stage wins (21) from the 36-race 2020 season.
KING OF THE ROADChevrolet won five of the six NCS road course races this season: Chase Elliott (Circuit of The Americas, Road America), Kyle Larson (Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Charlotte ROVAL) and AJ Allmendinger (Indianapolis). The Bowtie Brand has led 324 of the 572 total laps and recorded 14 top-five finishes on road courses this season. 
CHEVROLET CONTINUES ‘MAKING STRIDES AGAINST BREAST CANCER’ AT TEXASFor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Chevrolet again supports the American Cancer Society by contributing to the cause $350 for every lap run under caution, with a maximum of $50,000, during three NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) races in October, including this weekend’s NCS race at Texas Motor Speedway. To also help raise awareness, a specially-themed pink “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will serve as the pace car for the 334-lap/501-mile NCS race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 17. Chevrolet will also host a limited number of breast cancer survivors and guests at Texas, offering them a fun-filled afternoon at the track. 
“We are very proud to partner with the American Cancer Society and carry the ACS logo on the pace car during October races,” said Sean Finegan, Director, Chevrolet Motorsports Marketing and Activation. “The responses we receive at the tracks are always so positive, and we’re very humbled that we’re able to participate in this cause.”
ON THE WAY TO THE GREENWith no practice or qualifying for the 334-lap race, the starting lineup is determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results. Team Chevy’s Top-20 starters:1st    Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE 6th    Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Camaro ZL1 1LE 9th    Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE12th  William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE14th  Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE15th   Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Camaro ZL1 1LE17th  Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE19th  Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1 1LE
BOWTIE BULLETS·      Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 15 wins, 137 top-10 finishes and 3,495 laps led of 7,786 total this season.·      Chevrolet’s next win will be the 25th with the Camaro ZL1 1LE over two seasons.·      In addition to its 14 wins, Chevrolet has amassed 71 top-five and 167 top-10 finishes in 40 races since 1997 at Texas Motor Speedway.·      Austin Dillon won the July 2020 race at Texas Motor Speedway and Richard Childress Racing teammate, Tyler Reddick, was runner-up. ·      Chevrolet has registered three consecutive wins at Texas Motor Speedway on two occasions: Nov. 5, 2006 (Tony Stewart), April 15, 2007 (Jeff Burton), Nov. 4, 2007 (Jimmie Johnson) and by Johnson on Nov. 2, 2014, April 11, 2015, and Nov. 8, 2015.·      Johnson leads all drivers with seven wins and 16 top-five finishes at Texas Motor Speedway.·      Kurt Busch is tied for most starts at Texas Motor Speedway with 36 and most top-10 finishes with 23. ·      Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 2,011 laps led this season.·      Larson will start on the pole for the ninth time this season.·      Hendrick Motorsports, which leads the Owner Standings, is tied for most wins at Texas Motor Speedway with nine.·      Five Team Chevy drivers have combined for 28 stage wins: Chase Elliott (Daytona RC, Michigan, Daytona2, Charlotte2); William Byron (Homestead, Pocono2, Road America); Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indianapolis road course x2); Kurt Busch (Nashville Superspeedway, Pocono1, Atlanta2); Kyle Larson (Las Vegas, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville, Darlington2, Bristol2, Las Vegas2).
FOR THE FANS:

• Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Texas Motor Speedway. 
• Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: 2021 1500 Trail Boss, 2022 Camaro ZL1, 2021 Tahoe, 2022 Trailblazer RS, 2022 Silverado HD High Country, 2021 Colorado LT and 2020 Pink Corvette.  
• At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE show car.  

TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:Saturday, October 16·      Sam Mayer: 11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. ·      Joe Graf Jr: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. ·      Landon Cassill: 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ·      Jeremy Clements: 12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Sunday, October 17·      Ross Chastain: 10:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. ·      Erik Jones: 10:40 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. ·      Daniel Suarez: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.  Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: 

• Saturday, October 16: 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. 
• Sunday, October 17: 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

TUNE INNBC will telecast the 334-lap NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 17. Live coverage is also on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NBC will also telecast the 200-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 16.
QUOTABLE QUOTESKYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 1st IN STANDINGSLARSON ON OUTLOOK FOR THIS ROUND: “We’ve been good on the intermediate tracks this year and we have two to start this round. We weren’t as good as I would have liked at Texas, but we were able to get the victory in the All-Star Race. And we led a lot of laps at Kansas, so we are looking forward to getting back there. We ran top five at Martinsville, and that is a track where I don’t have much success but feel positive about it because of how we ran there in the spring.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LEDANIELS PREVIEWING ROUND OF 8: “We won the Texas All-Star Race, but we weren’t that good at the beginning and had to work on that car a lot. We learned a lot in that race. We led a lot of laps at Kansas but didn’t finish out that race like we wanted. Martinsville has not been one my or Kyle’s best tracks, but we had great notes from the (No.) 9 team from their win last year and we ran fifth earlier this year.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGSELLIOTT ON KICKING OFF THE ROUND OF 8: “Texas, obviously, has been a real tough place for us. I feel like the good news is we had a really good run there at the All-Star Race for the first time since the repave, so that was really encouraging. Sometimes you’ve got to be careful about having a good run and going back because it doesn’t always work out. The way that we’ve performed at all three of the upcoming tracks earlier in the year, I feel like we can go and have a shot to win any of them, really. I hope we can lock ourselves in and go have another shot at a championship.”
ELLIOTT ON IF ANYTHING FEELS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS YEAR’S PLAYOFFS VS LAST YEAR’S PLAYOFFS: “Not a lot, to be honest. Other than just a little more experience of going through the rounds and what some of those challenges were down the stretch last year. I feel like that helps prepare us a little better. Some of the guys on our team, myself included, had never been in those situations, never been in the running at Phoenix and seen what that was like. I think that’s a good thing, but at the same time I don’t know that the message really changes a ton. The big thing for us last year was just trying to enjoy those big spots, having fun with them and trying to thrive in those big moments and I honestly don’t think that ever really changes. I really don’t feel a ton different; I am excited. Again, this is my favorite time of year and a part of the season that matters most so we are ready to get after it.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON HIS MENTALITY FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON: “I have learned pretty quickly to put the past behind you and move forward. We have four more chances to win coming up before the season ends and we’re going to take every opportunity that we get. If we look at the last round, we probably had the best car in two of those races. We just had bad luck, and even then we almost overcame it all. Moving forward, these next tracks are strong for us, especially our mile-and-a-half program. I think we’re going to do good things in these last races. It sucks that we won’t be in the playoffs, but a win is a win, and that’s what we’re here to do still.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LEFUGLE ON CLOSING OUT THE 2021 SEASON STRONG: “I couldn’t be more proud of what William and the guys of the No. 24 team have done this season, especially in the playoffs. We controlled as much as we could have. And when things happened that we couldn’t control, we still worked as a group to overcome them as best as we could. Would we have loved to make it to the next round? Of course we would. That doesn’t mean our season is over, though, at this point. We’re going to go out there and try get as many wins as we can to close out the season and keep them still talking about us. We know what we’re capable of as a team, and we will continue to have the same goals – show up to the racetrack and execute the best race we can. First stop is winning a cowboy hat in Texas Sunday.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th IN STANDINGSBOWMAN ON HIS MINDSET HEADING TO TEXAS: “Obviously being out of the playoffs isn’t what our team wanted, but a lot of things just didn’t go our way in Charlotte. We really wanted to go into the Round of 8 and on to compete for a championship for Ally, but we still have four more races to compete for wins and that is what we are going to do. Our mile-and-a-half program is really strong at Hendrick Motorsports and I know each time we unload we are going to have a good day.”
BOWMAN ON TESTING THE NEXT GEN CAR: “It’s a big change for sure. I think the car tends to make a lot more grip around the ROVAL, which I think we all expected that bring the NextGen to a road course. It is a lot of fun to drive and drives really well. You can slide it around and drive it pretty hard. The sequential transmission is pretty cool to work with as well. Anytime that you make significant changes to the airflow of a racecar, you are going to change how the car drives. Each change we made had its own characteristics that it brought to the racecar.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE IVES ON OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AT THE CHARLOTTE ROVAL: “We needed to be about nine spots better on Sunday, but in the end we had to battle alternator issues and changing batteries, so all in all it was a race full of adversity. In the end, we struggled with the battery we had but thankful to get a top 10 out of it. The ROVAL lived up to its playoff-ending round event. We were still able to make passes and I feel like if we were able to get up front it would have been exciting.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGSTELL US ABOUT RACING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS, SUCH AS KANSAS SPEEDWAY? “Texas Motor Speedway is a bit different from Kansas Speedway in that it has two different ends. You have one end that’s very banked and has high speeds, and then you have a hard end where you have to get turned and get back on the gas. Texas Motor Speedway just has so much grip now. It’s quite a bit different, and the banking has changed a lot from the old track to the new track. I really like Texas and am looking forward to getting there. Our team is hungry to get back to Victory Lane, and I’m looking forward to debuting our Bass Pro Shops Flannel Fest paint scheme.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGSTALK ABOUT RACING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS? “Texas (Motor Speedway) is kind of it’s own animal, as far as 1.5-mile tracks go. All four turns are just so different that it’s hard to get your car to handle well. You have to really have your car so high in the air, essentially, for (turns) 3 and 4, that it’s hard to get through (turns) 1 and 2 and have your car driving good. It’s a tough balance, but I like Texas. I enjoy racing there. Since the repave, it’s been a little bit narrow. But I think in the last year or so, it’s started to widen out a little bit. Hopefully it continues to go that way so we can start to move around a little bit more. I think that’s going to help the racing a lot.”“It is tough. It’s its own animal where you want to be really trimmed down and fast in 3 and 4; and in 1 and 2, you kind of need to be the total opposite. You need a lot of downforce and a lot of handling to get through there. It’s tough to get your car to do both.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 25th IN STANDINGSWHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT TESTING THE NEXT GEN CHEVROLET CAMARO AT CHARLOTTE ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY?         “That was a blast. Our new car was looking great and a lot of fun to drive. It’s a completely different race car. The transmission is amazing. The brakes are amazing and the aero is awesome. We have to keep working. learning and prepare for next year.
“That doesn’t mean we are giving up on this year. My focus is still on this season. I believe the best thing you can to for the future is do well in the present. We have lots of racing left this season and that’s my focus.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TEXAS? “I have had some of my best finishes of my career at Texas so I am very optimistic about Sunday. We really didn’t get to race much in the All-Star Race (at Texas) because of a wreck in front of us that took us out of the race. We just need to keep working and getting better and I think that will happen in Texas.”
ARE YOU READY TO MEET FANS ON SATURDAY AT TEXAS? “Oh yes. That’s going to be a lot of fun. I am honored to be part of this event that I hope will make a lot of children happy, and will be a lot of fun for everyone who comes out. My friends at Freeway Insurance have a big day planned for us and I can’t wait to get to Texas. I want to have a good time Saturday with Freeway Insurance and win the race for the fans on Sunday.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 LITTLE HUG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGSPREECE ON HAVING LITTLE HUG FRUIT BARRELS ON HIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE AND HIS OUTLOOK ON TEXAS: “I think all of us growing up had Little Hug Fruit Barrels. Whenever you took a break from playing outside, you ran inside and grabbed a Little Hug. My favorite flavor was grape. I would have a grape Little Hug and it was a good refresher.”
“I learned recently that Little Hug’s parent company is based in Connecticut not far from where I grew up. That makes me even more proud to have them on our Camaro at Texas.”
“We’re looking forward to Texas and we feel like we’ve been moving forward in the right direction. We learned a lot when we were there last time and feel good about having a strong finish for Little Hug.” 
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series StatisticsManufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2020): 39First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2020): 32First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2021 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 15Poles: 5Laps Led: 3,495Top-five finishes: 64Top-10 finishes: 137Stage wins: 28 – Chase Elliott (Daytona RC, Michigan, Daytona, Charlotte RC), William Byron (Homestead, Pocono 2, Road America), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville, Darlington, Bristol), Kurt Busch (Nashville, Pocono 1, Atlanta 2, Las Vegas 2), Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indy RC x2)  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 810 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 722Laps led to date: 240,200Top-five finishes to date: 4,129Top-10 finishes to date: 8,539                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:           General Motors: 1,144           Chevrolet: 810           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 811                                                        Ford: 711           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 162 

Brandon Sheppard will claim his fourth Series championship on Nov. 4-6CONCORD, NC – October 14, 2021 – A season of thrills and compelling action for the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models has all led to the NGK NTK World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Nov. 4-6. The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will battle on the red clay for three nights, starting with Qualifying on Thursday, Nov. 4, for Friday and Saturday’s Feature events.  The two nights of racing will each see 40-lap Features paying $12,000-to-win—capping off a 49-race season.  Joining the World of Outlaws Late Models at illustrious NGK NTK World Finals are the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and the Super DIRTcar Series.  Tickets: CLICK HERE. The mega-event is back after a one-year hiatus, and fans who attend this year’s edition will catch a glimpse at history.  Brandon Sheppard has mathematically secured his third consecutive Series championship and fourth overall—tying Josh Richards for most all-time. However, he won’t officially claim the momentous achievement until the conclusion of the Morton Buildings Feature on Nov. 6. When he does, he’ll also be the only driver to win the title three years in a row. The championship feats aren’t the only history he’ll be chasing, too. “The Rocket Shepp” is one victory away from tying Richards for the most World of Outlaws Late Model wins in Series history (78). A weekend sweep would put him at the top of the mountain with more wins than any other driver.  While Sheppard chases history, some of the best Late Model drivers in the country will try to deny him of it.   His year-long championship rival Chris Madden will get a chance at two more victories in front of his home fans. The Charlotte Dirt Track is only an hour from his Gray Court, SC dwelling. Madden has three World Finals wins and hopes to add another to his four-win season with the World of Outlaws. Dennis Erb Jr. is another driver hoping to find Victory Lane for the fourth time in 2021—along with a second World Finals triumph. The “One Man Band” last found Victory Lane at The Dirt Track in 2017.  A few of year’s top performers such as Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie, and Jonathan Davenport hope to find Victory Lane throughout the weekend, as well. All three drivers have a World of Outlaws win this season, including Davenport’s $50,000 triumph at Cedar Lake in August. Overton and McCreadie are each having one of their best seasons in a Late Model. Overton has found Victory Lane 28 times in 2021, including five World of Outlaws wins, two Dirt Late Model Dreams, and a World 100 victory. “T-Mac” has nine wins in 2021, including a Series triumph at Richmond Raceway. The Watertown, NY driver also won a National touring series championship this season.  Overton and McCreadie are the last two World of Outlaws winners at The Dirt Track—each winning an event during 2020’s World of Outlaws Last Call. Those drivers, plus World of Outlaws standouts Tyler Bruening, Ricky Weiss, Ryan Gustin, Boom Briggs, and Brent Larson, hope to bring the house down on the biggest stage of the season.  If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App.

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp