| ND Native Collects 301st World of Outlaws Victory at Home TrackFARGO, ND – August 21, 2021 – Fargo fans got exactly what they wanted on Saturday night: a Donny Schatz W.After taking the lead from Logan Schuchart with eight to go at Red River Valley Speedway, the 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion survived the final restart and ran away with his second victory of the 2021 season.As emotional that he was for his 300th career win, Schatz was equally as excited for his 301st.He offered a huge fist pump in victory lane and couldn’t thank the fans enough for their support. The roars of the packed crowd echoed through Cass County and random shoutings such as “WE LOVE YOU DONNY” and “YOU’RE THE GOAT” could be heard over the podium interviews.Schatz has now won 23 of his 301 career wins with The Greatest Show on Dirt inside his home state of North Dakota. Six of those 23 triumphs in the “Peace Garden State” have come specifically at Red River Valley, located just minutes away from his Fargo residence.Saturday’s win came in the first race back since he nearly stole his 11th Knoxville Nationals title last weekend. With a new Ford Performance (FPS410) Engine under the hood and newfound confidence, Schatz says he’s looking forward to these final 23 races in the 2021 season.”Winning at home is big, and it’s important,” Schatz said to a raucous crowd. “I mean, look at this crowd. You guys are incredible. It’s cliche, but I can’t thank you guys enough for the support, it means a lot to me. I’m 25 years into this deal, and I’m feeling better every day. I don’t know that I have another 25, but I know that I’ve still got a lot left in me.”Before Schatz thrilled his hometown crowd, Kasey Kahne sent the internet into a frenzy during Slick Woody’s Qualifying. In his first race as a “full-time” Outlaw, Kahne established a NEW TRACK RECORD (11.397 seconds) and made it four consecutive QuickTimes for the Roth Motorsports #83.Team Drydene Heat wins followed for Schatz, Schuchart & McFadden, but it was David Gravel earning his eighth pole position by topping the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.Gravel paced the opening lap of the Feature in his Big Game Motorsports #2, but in choosing the outside lane on the first restart, he chose poorly. Schuchart scooted by with a slide job into turn one and Gravel eventually succumbed to Schatz on Lap 11 as he faded to third.As the cross flags waved with 15 down and 15 to go, Schatz picked up the pace and quickly caught Schuchart in a battle for the lead. Fans were treated to a thrilling show through lap traffic as the #15 and the #1S dueled for a handful of laps, even going three-wide with the backmarkers.Schatz officially took command on Lap 22, moments prior to the final caution being called for Marcus Dumesny on Lap 24. He aced the final restart and went challenge free to the checkered flag ahead by 2.636-seconds as his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Carquest #15 made it two wins in 2021.”We haven’t had the greatest year, but we’re past 300, we’re onto the 301, and now we want 302,” Schatz mentioned. “We’re hitting on all cylinders right now. This is a new Ford powerplant under the hood. Things have been way better with this. It’s a lot easier for me to drive, and we can do the things that we couldn’t earlier this year. Hats off to Ford Performance, and every single one of our partners for sticking with us. We’ve lacked speed at the end of the races, and these past few weeks there’s been a huge difference. I’m feeling really good going forward.”While Schatz walked away with the win, mayhem broke loose in the battle for second as a three-way war ensued.Ultimately, David Gravel ended the night with a runner-up finish. The Big Game Motorsports #2 didn’t get the W they wanted, but they’ll now head to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday with the championship runner-up slot back in their grasp.”I feel bad for my guys,” Gravel acknowledged. “I chose the top and gave up the lead, and I think that is what took us out of contention for the win. If I didn’t make that big move at the end, I think we’d run fourth tonight. Starting on the pole, you always want to win so it’s a bit disappointing. It’s been a good year, but we need to start picking up some more wins.” Rounding out the podium for the seventh time this year was James McFadden aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, Karavan Trailers #9. He sealed his deal for a top-three in the midst of a wild three-wide move with Gravel and Schuchart on the Lap 24 restart.”That was a lot of fun, mate,” McFadden offered. “It was treacherous up top. A real fine line between ripping or falling off. This place reminds me of home. It’s always fun when you run better and we’ve been doing that lately.”Closing out the top-10 at Red River Valley was early leader Logan Schuchart in fourth, NOS Energy Drink pilot Sheldon Haudenschild in fifth, championship leader Brad Sweet in sixth, Jason Johnson Racing’s Carson Macedo in seventh, 360 Nationals champion Giovanni Scelzi in eighth, KSE Hard Charger Kraig Kinser in ninth, and Shark Racing driver Jacob Allen in tenth.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series wraps up the weekend tomorrow, Sunday, August 22 at Huset’s Speedway. The Pioneer Bin Buster Bash marks the 50th all-time appearance by The Greatest Show on Dirtin Brandon, SD. Tickets are available to BUY HERE.NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [4][$10,000]; 2. 2-David Gravel [1][$6,000]; 3. 9-James McFadden [5][$3,500]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$2,800]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [10][$2,500]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$2,300]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo [9][$2,200]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [3][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$2,050]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$2,000]; 11. 83-Kasey Kahne [7][$1,600]; 12. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [12][$1,400]; 13. 2C-Wayne Johnson [17][$1,200]; 14. 20G-Noah Gass [14][$1,100]; 15. 47N-Marcus Dumesny [15][$1,050]; 16. 13-Mark Dobmeier [22][$1,000]; 17. 7S-Jason Sides [20][$1,000]; 18. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [21][$1,000]; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle [24][$1,000]; 20. 20A-Jordan Adams [16][$1,000]; 21. 14T-Tim Estenson [19][$1,000]; 22. 8-Jack Croaker [23][$1,000]; 23. 9N-Wade Nygaard [11][$1,000]; 24. 55-Nick Ranten [13][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1, Logan Schuchart 2-21, Donny Schatz 22-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 11K-Kraig Kinser[+9]NEW Championship Standings (57/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (7,588); 2. David Gravel (-136); 3. Carson Macedo (-142); 4. Donny Schatz (-246); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-264); 6. Logan Schuchart (-296); 7. James McFadden (-716); 8. Kraig Kinser (-916); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1186); 10. Jacob Allen (-1394). |
BUCKEYE BARNBURNER
| Larson holds off Gustin for Battle at the Border Victory It’s the Elk Grove, CA driver’s second career World of Outlaws Late Models winHARTFORD, OH – August 21, 2021 – Kyle Larson proved Saturday night that not even “the reaper” could kill his winning momentum.The Elk Grove, CA driver – who now has five World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model starts and only a handful of Late Model races under his belt in general – looked like Late Model veteran at Sharon Speedway, leading every lap of the “Battle at the Border.” It’s his second Series victory in three starts this season, and of his career, adding to the plethora of trophies he’s already collected amongst a multitude of different racing disciplines in 2021. While the record book will show Larson never relinquished the lead, “The Reaper” took a few swings at the 2021 Prairie Dirt Classic and Knoxville Nationals champion. Ryan Gustin used the cushion to make a late-race charge, pulling even with Larson’s Longhorn Chassis in the closing laps. The battle forced Larson to change his line, keeping “The Reaper” at bay until the checkered flag. “I heard [Gustin] going into [Turn 1], and I saw him coming out of [Turn 2],” Larson said. “We kind of drag raced down the backstretch, and he tried to run in and pinch me and kind of block my slider, but I was able to have enough room to get in front of him and kind of get up on the wheel from there. “The top of [Turns 1 and 2] was definitely better when I got up there, and I just had to not make too many mistakes once I got up there.” The $10,000 victory came on the type of surface Larson said best suited his driving style – one he’s still fine tuning for the Late Models. “I feel like when a track is like that is when I’m best,” he said. “When I don’t have to run the top, I don’t have to try and run the bottom, I can kind of use momentum and use the middle to be good. “That’s kind of how [All-Tech Speedway] was, and [Fairbury Speedway] a little bit, so yeah, I think my car is good in those conditions, and I don’t have to be so precise.” Gustin brought the crowd to their feet and made his name known with one of the closest attempts of dethroning Larson for a win, while in search of his first Series win. The Marshalltown, IA driver made an impressive run from 14th to third before a caution with 13 laps left gave him the breakthrough he needed. “[Brandon Sheppard] gave me the outside on that restart, and I knew I had to make the best of it, otherwise he was going to find it and go up there,” Gustin said. Gustin pounded the cushion off the restart, giving him a chance to catch Larson and try to pass him for the win. Even though he came up short, “The Reaper” knew he left everything on the racetrack. “We gave it all we had, but we got beat by the best driver in the world as far as I’m concerned,” Gustin said. “Nothing to hang your hat on there, but I wish he wouldn’t have been here, so we could’ve gotten our first [win].” Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished third, his 19th podium finish of the season. The New Berlin, IL driver stated he was happy with the car and feels they aren’t far from rattling off a few more wins. “We were decent; we were just a little bit free in that Feature,” Sheppard said. “The team’s working their butts off. We’re right there on the cusp of being really good like we’ve been for a long time. We just have to get all of our ducks in a row.” Tyler Bruening crossed the line fourth—his second top-five of the weekend. Colton Flinner, from Allison Park, PA, rounded out the top-five. Even though Larson’s experience in a Late Model is limited, he hasn’t shown it. As “Yung Money” gets more comfortable, one can only imagine what he can accomplish in the future. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet finish their Northeast swing on Sunday, Aug. 22 at Eriez Speedway in Erie, PA. 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. Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 6-Kyle Larson [1][$10,000]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin [14][$6,000]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$3,500]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening [4][$2,800]; 5. 48-Colton Flinner [5][$2,500]; 6. 99X-Boom Briggs [9][$2,300]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [13][$2,200]; 8. 1X-Chub Frank [10][$2,100]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb [7][$2,050]; 10. 22-Gregg Satterlee [6][$2,000]; 11. B1-Brent Larson [15][$1,600]; 12. 10-Jared Miley [11][$1,400]; 13. 77-Tyler Dietz [22][$1,200]; 14. 1Z-Logan Zarin [19][$1,100]; 15. 9-Levi Yetter [12][$1,050]; 16. 44-Chris Madden [8][$1,000]; 17. 76-Steve Kania [24][$1,000]; 18. 50-Ryan Missler [20][$1,000]; 19. 111V-Max Blair [3][$1,000]; 20. 19-Bob Dorman [16][$1,000]; 21. 777-Doug Drown [21][$1,000]; 22. 119-Chad McClellan [17][$1,000]; 23. 99B-Logan Jaquay [23][$1,000]; 24. 12B-Andy Boozel [18][$1,000] Hard Charger Award: 19R-Ryan Gustin[+12] Qualifying Flight-A –1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 16.637; 2. 111V-Max Blair, 16.651; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 16.764; 4. 10-Jared Miley, 16.951; 5. 7-Ricky Weiss, 17.062; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 17.125; 7. 99X-Boom Briggs, 17.15; 8. 22-Gregg Satterlee, 17.19; 9. 12B-Andy Boozel, 17.391; 10. 777-Doug Drown, 17.451; 11. 77-Tyler Dietz, 17.674; 12. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 17.739; 13. 99B-Logan Jaquay, 17.829; 14. 76-Steve Kania, 18.029 Qualifying Flight-B-1. 6-Kyle Larson, 16.866; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening, 16.876; 3. 28-Dennis Erb, 16.91; 4. 9-Levi Yetter, 17.233; 5. 1X-Chub Frank, 17.277; 6. 14R-Clay Ruffo, 17.361; 7. 119-Chad McClellan, 17.454; 8. 48-Colton Flinner, 17.502; 9. 50-Ryan Missler, 17.608; 10. 19-Bob Dorman, 17.972; 11. 43X-Garrett Mott, 18.093; 12. 27W-Eric Wilson, 18.253; DQ. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 17.425; DQ. 217-Howard Fraley, 18.46 |
| 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, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
chevy racing-indycar–madison IL–post race
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS TEAM CHEVY – POST RACE RECAP AUGUST 21, 2021 JOSEF NEWGARDEN WINS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY FOR THIRD TIME CHEVROLET DRIVERS SCORE TOP-FIVE FINISHING POSTIONS AND SIX OF TOP-EIGHT
- Chevrolet sweeps podium under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway
- Chevrolet drivers capture top-five finishing positions and six of the top-eight
- With runner-up finish, Pato O’Ward takes a 10 point lead in the driver standings with three races remaining in the season
- Three Chevrolet powered organizations represented in top-five finishers
MADISON, ILL (AUGUST 21, 2021) – Josef Newgarden came to World Wide Technology Raceway with his focus set squarely on doing everything he could to continue his march to secure his third NTT INDYCAR Series title.
The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion took his third place starting position, avoided near disaster in the race that was slowed by caution six times for a total of 49 lap and drove to Victory Lane for the second time this season and the third time at the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis.
It was the 20th career win for Newgarden and the sixth win for Chevrolet in 2021 with 13 races in the books. Newgarden now sits third in the point standings, just 22 points behind the leader.
Pato O’Ward finished second after starting fifth. He was credited for leading once for one lap and as his championship rivals were caught up in on-track incidents impacting their finishing positions, the young Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet driver executed a well-planned race, and is now is the leader in the driver standings with a 10 point advantage going into the final three races.
Pole winner Will Power brought his No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet to the checkered flag in third place to make it a Chevy sweep of the podium. Power led once for one lap and continued on the momentum he built with a strong win at the Road Course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Scott McLaughlin continues his remarkable rookie season with a fourth-place finish in the No. 3 Dex Imagining Team Penske Chevrolet. Rounding out the all-Chevy top-five was four-time Series’ champion Sebastien Bourdais driving the No. 14 Rokit AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
Former champion and Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud rebounded from an early race incident to finish eighth in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.
TOP CHEVROLET UNOFFICIAL FINISHING POSITIONS1stJOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET2nd PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET3rd WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET4th SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET5TH SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET8TH SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET11th CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET12th DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET16th FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET21st RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX/AUTOGEEK CHEVROLET22nd ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE CHEVROLET
Rosenqvist retired from the race due to a mechanical issue. VeeKay and Carpenter were caught in on-tract incidents and sustained too much damage to continue in the race. A total of nine of the 24 starters were in the paddock when the checkered flag flew as a result of several multi-car incidents. Next on the schedule is the Portland Grand Prix, Portland International Raceway (Oregon) on September 12, 2021.
DRIVER QUOTES:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – RACE WINNERON A WILD NIGHT THAT SAW SO MANY CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS HAVE SOME MISFORTUNE, THIS WAS THE ULTIMATE ELIXIR, RIGHT, TO GET YOU RIGHT BACK IN THE TITLE HUNT?“Yeah, any win is big. It’s been disappointing on a couple of these last events because I felt like we’ve had winning cars. Obviously, Nashville wasn’t supporting for us. It was tough to have a not-so-good-race in your hometown. And the GP wasn’t great. We came here with just an amazing car. Scott McLaughlin tested for us. He made a whole new package for us. I’m real thankful for my team and teammates and just happy to be falling back into this chase with Team Chevy and having Sonsio on the car tonight was good. “Team Penske is good here. I’m so proud of this team! Team Chevy did awesome as you can tell! Great Mileage. Great Performance. This is so good.” LET’S GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING WHERE THERE WAS SOME CONTACT WITH SIMON PAGENAUD. AT THAT POINT, HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU ABOUT THE RACE CAR?“I was real concerned that we were going to have a tire going down. I knew his front wing had touched my left rear. I wasn’t sure how bad it was. I picked up a vibration and I think it ended up just being a bent rim. So, we got really lucky it didn’t get worse, but I knew our car was good. I was like if we can make it through this stint, and not compromise our positioning, then we’re going to be just fine.” GOING TO THE FINAL STINT, HOW CONFIDENT WERE YOU THAT YOU HAD THE CAR TO BEAT AND THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP PATO O’WARD AND THE REST OF THE FIELD AT BAY?“I felt good about it. I was real confident we had the car if nothing silly happened. So, at that point, I was feeling good about things.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2NDLATE IN THE RACE WITH NEWGARDEN ON THE RESTART, DID YOU KNOW HEY, I’M THE POINTS LEADER? DID IT GO INTO YOUR MINDSET AT ALL?“I knew we were having a good points day. And I just had to keep my nose clean the whole race. Obviously, it would have been great to win. I think I had the car to win. Man, these Penske guys were really, really tough. It was really tough to get by them. I think we maximized today. I think we truly did. So, I’m proud of the Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 crew.” WE HEAD TO THE WEST COAST FOR THE LAST THREE RACES. YOU ARE THE POINTS LEADER IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES‘Yeah, there are still three races to go. But this is definitely the right way we want to go. So, we need to continue pushing.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3RDSOMETIMES YOU CAN FINISH 3RD AND SAY I HAD A LITTLE BIT LEFT IN ME AND OTHER TIMES YOU CAN SAY I GOT THE MOST OUT OF IT. WHICH WAY DID THIS ONE GO?“I was really lucky to finish third. I really didn’t have the car, honestly. I was definitely not as quick as the guys in front.” HOW DRAINING IS A TRACK LIKE THIS? IT IS HOT OUT HERE“It wasn’t bad until the end there and we were pushing really hard. Not terrible. Just a little tired like mentally tired in a long race like that. I got a bit tired at the end there, like mentally tired. I was physically fine.”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGINING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FIINISHED 4TH: “I feel like I jumped in a sand pit. I have sand up and down my back and its disgusting. BUT, it was an awesome day for us with the Dex Imaging Chevy. I had a decent car. I fell back at the start so I probably didn’t pick the right hole, I took it a little safe I suppose, but then on the third or fourth or 10th restart, whatever we had, they were crazy starts, but I really got into it, and got comfortable. We got ourselves in a nice position there. We were able to get a good finish.“We tested here a while back, and my feedback translated to good performance gain for all the guys and I am really proud of that. I’m learning the car and getting more comfortable in it and learning to trust the car and myself. Really proud of the Dex Imaging Chevrolet. We had great fuel mileage and I can’t wait for what’s ahead.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 5THYOU LOOK LIKE YOU ARE COMPLETELY WORN OUT BY THAT RUN. THAT WAS A HECK OF A NIGHT. TAKE US THROUGH YOUR TOP 5 FINISH“Honestly, I’m still not quite sure how we didn’t cycle in the lead when the yellow came out and we basically stopped one less time than everybody else, I think. And we stopped after the yellow. But I don’t know. I’ll have to look at it. But I didn’t quite understand at the time and I really thought shit, we’re actually going to be in the lead! But anyway. I didn’t have the fastest car but the car was still pretty solid. I was really trying to bring it to the end because I had that feeling like after the start and looking at all the chaos and the aggressivity and things, one yellow after another, finishing was actually going to be some valuable points. So, yeah I guess we were well inspired this time because there was definitely a lot of attrition and a top-5 finish with the ROKiT No. 14 Chevrolet is definitely a good result for us.” ON THE STRATEGY AND PIT STOPS“It was a total team effort for sure. Good strategy, good pit stops, and didn’t make any mistakes on track or in the pits. Actually, if that yellow doesn’t come out, I’m quite sure how it works out. But we’re going to do one less than some of the guys, so for sure. Anyways, we’ll take a top-5; and not really being able to pass anyone because there really wasn’t any passing, is a heck of a result.” POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:THE MODERATOR: We have joined by the third-place finisher, Will Power. Power’s fourth podium of the season, 85th now of his career. That seems like a lot. Pato O’Ward, fifth podium of the season as he now takes over the overall points championship. He’s up 10 over Alex Palou with just three races remaining in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.Will, tell us about your night.WILL POWER: Yeah, actually I was really happy to finish third. Definitely didn’t have the car to challenge for the win. Yeah, struggled a little bit to get the car in a window.Just did a really clean race, clean pit stops, no mistakes. Yeah, stoked to be third.THE MODERATOR: Clean certainly because there’s a lot of attrition early on. Just staying clean was key. There was one point in the race, maybe the third stint, you lost some ground. Difficult to tell exactly what happened.WILL POWER: That was when everyone was saving fuel. You literally have to lift at the start/finish line. If you wanted to burn more fuel to pass someone, which a couple guys did to me, you could. I lost track position doing that. I could have burnt more fuel. But I was playing the long game. I wanted to get that number and made sure we went a couple laps longer.Ultimately I should have kept the track position. Nothing much would have changed to be honest. The guys that I was fighting, most of them just fell out, so it didn’t matter. I don’t think I was going to beat Newgarden or Pato.THE MODERATOR: Pato, congratulations. Another podium. Perhaps more importantly you now take over the points championship. How big is this for you?PATO O’WARD: It’s a very big points day for us. To be honest, man, it’s so tight. There’s still three races to go, 150 points on the table. Yeah, I mean, this means we’re going on the right path. We came off a solid run in Indy road course, now we have a podium with second. It would be great to rack up a couple more, a few more podiums.Yeah, man, we’re just going to push until the checkered flag waves in Long Beach and see where we stand.THE MODERATOR: Speaking of pushing, were you content with the podium? Were you thinking championship maybe versus the win?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, man, I was happy. In a perfect world, it’s not ideal that Josef beat us. But, man, the guy had everything to win it. He had so much pace. I honestly didn’t have anything to challenge him.The only way I could have maybe challenged him was if we got stuck behind lapped cars. But they were all very respectful, which is completely fine. Yeah, that’s a change (smiling).Yeah, I couldn’t really get close enough. I didn’t want to throw away a second.THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.Q.What did you think of the racing tonight? Scott Dixon said it was erratic, race control needs to look at it. What did you two think?PATO O’WARD: In the beginning of the race, I mean, I was alongside — I will remain not saying their name, but I was alongside…Q.Say it.PATO O’WARD: No. I think you guys know who. I was alongside him. But people know who they can race dirty or not. I had a lot to lose today, and they know that. Yeah, they’re just taking advantage of what position they’re in in terms of the championship because it’s almost finishing.Other than that, after the first — honestly, I wasn’t even keeping track when it was, but after the first hundred laps, my race calmed down a lot actually. But the start was pretty hectic.I don’t know what you think, Will.WILL POWER: It was me, wasn’t it (laughter)? That was the person. No, just kidding.Actually, it was all behind me. I didn’t have any issues with anyone. I didn’t see anything. Everyone was saying after the race it was a very crazy race. For me, it was a pretty straightforward, no issues with anyone. Yeah, I didn’t fight Herta very hard at the beginning because it’s such a long race.Yeah, it didn’t matter in the end, so… I just wanted to finish this race. I wasn’t that good, so just wanted to get through it, no mistakes. Yeah, I’ll be interested to watch to see what went on.Q.Pato, the restart where VeeKay and Dixon and Palou were in their incident, TV said they thought you had backed out a little bit, you were racing safe. At any point were you racing safe?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I was fully alongside Rossi. I guess he doesn’t look in his left mirror here. He just turned in, so I had to slam on the brakes so I didn’t crash. Marcus had to, as well, because we were going three-wide into there.I’m assuming that is what caused the checkup behind for sure. For me it was even sudden and pretty aggressive, yes.Q.(No microphone.)PATO O’WARD: I mean, I was trying to make positions when I could. I mean, it’s so important. It’s such a long race. Sometimes it’s not really so good to be risking so much in the beginning just because, I mean, so many things can fall.Yeah, I was trying to make positions when I could. I mean, I had a run. It wasn’t like I was going to brake and let Hunter-Reay and Sato and everyone behind by, I had to pull out. I did but I got blocked.WILL POWER: Sounded like it was Rossi (smiling). Just kidding.Q.There seemed to be questions, the first couple of restarts, even the start, that the starts were way too slow. They were coming up in first gear, stacking everybody up. How did you feel about that?WILL POWER: I actually did the start. I started in first gear. They told me first gear. Go at this point. I did exactly what they said. After that it was Colton. Let’s see, you know more.PATO O’WARD: I can’t remember who it was. It wasn’t Will because I think you were in the first and second restart. First restart, yeah. I think it was either the third or fourth restart.The problem was, the guys were starting to accelerate. Everybody is like, Okay, we’re going. They would stop and then go. That’s what makes the checkup so much. I don’t know why it’s so hard to comprehend. Man, just stay in one throttle, then go. It’s so simple.But when guys just go, then stop, everybody behind us, I mean, at least with me, if you’re fourth or fifth in the line, you see the first jump a little bit, let’s go. If not, you just get eaten. They stop, you stop, you’re relying on the guys behind to stop, it just creates chaos.Q.Early in the race we saw the high line getting used, especially in three. Did it marble up?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, just all the marbles at the end of the race. Really, I didn’t use the second groove. I had big wiggles when I tried so I stopped.WILL POWER: Yeah, I think it would be awesome if it got rubbered in. You would see one of the best races you’ve ever seen. It would be like Iowa. Yeah, I don’t know how they do that.I was speaking to the guys that run the track. Do you grind up there? Do you do something that adds a lot of grip? That’s what needs to be done. It just makes the racing so much better, so much better when you got a second groove to go to, especially on the outside.Yeah, you’ve literally got 10 laps maybe beginning of the race to do that, then it’s gone.Q.Now that the last oval is out of the way, you have a couple weeks off before the three-week stretch to finish out the season. How do your respective teams prepare for three weeks out west?WILL POWER: Yeah, we tested out there for our team. I know those guys tested, as well. Yeah, there’s not much you can do now. We’ll do some sim work. Pretty quick weekends, too. I think they’re shorter weekends. Not much practice.It will be an interesting three races, as tight as the championship is. It always is this way. I’ve never seen someone wrap it up in all my 15 years in INDYCAR, no one’s wrapped it up the race before the last race. It never happened. Looks like the same here.PATO O’WARD: Which was the question again?Q.How does your team prepare?PATO O’WARD: We prepare like we have been preparing the whole year, I guess. Now championship is more into the mindset of just really be aware of who we’re racing and when. But, yeah, I mean, to make your life easier, you score more points than the guys you’re fighting. It’s not really as easy as it sounds (smiling).Q.Last week you were pretty frustrated at your race at Indy. Is there any frustration at not getting the top step tonight? Are you happy given what’s going on with the championship right now?PATO O’WARD: I was happy. We did a really good race. I think I did a really smart — I think I maximized every little bit I could out of our car. But Josef was just really quick. The Penskes in general were just really, really quick.So, yeah, I mean, I think for us it was a really good day.Q.Was it difficult to balance the level of aggression towards the end knowing you wanted to get Josef?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I tried to catch him. I could get within I think 3 or 4/10ths. That’s as close as I could. If not, I was risking too much of getting some takeoff understeering into the marbles. Like I said, I needed him to have his wings messed up with a car in front for me to be able to get more of a run.When one car has clean air and the one behind doesn’t, the pace is very similar, it’s pretty much impossible to get by them.Q.Will, with four Penske cars in the top eight tonight, what has changed at Penske?WILL POWER: Well, nothing really. I mean, like I said at Indy, it wasn’t due to lack of trying or hard work. Obviously there’s a bit of bad luck in there. Yeah, nothing’s changed. I think we’re just kind of seeing our true potential right now, yeah.When you look at Newgarden’s pace all year, it really is not a lack of performance. It’s just a lack of just circumstance. Yeah, I mean, I expect us to be competitive for the next three races.Q.Pato, given the intense ups and downs of the championship fight, how have you balanced that mentally with the high stakes of this year’s close competition?PATO O’WARD: I mean, you try not to think about it too much because there’s so much racing. Whenever it’s so competitive like this series in INDYCAR, just a lot can shift in one race, as we saw today.You just always try to maximize every session you’re in, whether it’s practice, qualifying, race. Obviously the race counts way more than others. Yeah, I mean, you kind of just have to weigh it out and understand who you’re racing against.Too bad this guy beat us today so he’s closer in the championship to me. He did a great job.THE MODERATOR: Obviously joined now by Josef Newgarden, for the third time a winner here, second win of the season, 20th now of his career. We talked earlier about the championship. Josef now 22 points out of first place.Congratulations. It’s a whole new ballgame now for the last three races of the season, isn’t it?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think so. It definitely helps a lot. I was surprised when I saw the early wreck. Will and me were talking about it. Yeah, everyone was good, which is great. But it’s about time we got something to come our way a little bit. That’s what it felt like.Yeah, it does help a lot. It helped a lot today. A win helps a lot. The team did a great job. Will was super quick this weekend. I thought Scott McLaughlin did a great job for us. He came and tested here. He’s a rookie that never has driven on ovals before this year. He helped develop a lot of the things I ran on the car here.Everybody did a great job of pitching in this weekend. We had great cars. The circumstances have played favorably into helping us get back into this race, which is what we’ve been working towards. I feel really confident about where we’re going.THE MODERATOR: The big announcement at Iowa Speedway this week where you have won three times. These types of tracks seem to be right in your wheelhouse? How are you so comfortable at tracks like this?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ve always liked short ovals. I think it’s some of the most fun racing out there. It’s fun to drive these type of cars on these type of tracks. It’s hard competing against Pato and Will at these type of tracks, too. I mean, I’m pretty sure whether it’s Iowa or here, these are the guys I’m racing. It’s not a given. They’re going to be very strong next year, too.I’m excited to see it back on the schedule. Past success doesn’t necessarily mean future success. We got to stay vigilant. Yeah, I love the style of racing. I would put a lot more short ovals on the calendar if we could. I’d love to go back to Milwaukee, if we can figure that out. Iowa I think is a big favorite for everybody. To have a doubleheader is pretty cool.I hate when we have these dinky little champaign bottles. This is awesome. Everywhere we should have big bottles like this. I know the boss, so I’ll put in a good word.THE MODERATOR: We will let Pato and Will go and continue with questions for Josef.Q.You had a bit of a collision with Simon. What happened on the backstretch?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I knew we touched, his right front wing to my left rear wheel. I knew that. I was just concerned after it, I didn’t know if I had a tire going down or not immediately. I think it was just a bent rim. Fortunately that didn’t turn into something more significant somehow. I just had a vibration after the contact.Yeah, we obviously had some sort of miscommunication. For me I thought he was making a move, I swung back out wide, went in pretty deep. It didn’t look like he got into the corner deep enough on me. I started to kind of come down so I wasn’t in the marbles. Looked like we just touched from where he was still at getting into the corner.I would say a bit of a miscommunication. We don’t normally get together very often. It’s been a long time since I’ve touched with a teammate. It happens. Fortunately it wasn’t more significant. I hate to see that it broke his front wing. I came out better of that mix for sure. It only damaged my rim, was able to continue. It obviously ruined his race. I don’t like seeing that. Unfortunately it happened.Q.From the manufacturer’s standpoint, Chevy was first through fifth. How is that for Chevy as a manufacturer?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Stellar. I think Chevy has been doing a great job for us. Real proud to represent them as always. Had everything I needed tonight as far as fuel, power, reliability. Couldn’t ask for more.Q.With how your season really started with just a string of bad luck, now two race wins, how big of a morale boost is this for you and the team?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Any win is positive. Everyone is going to be really happy about that. Yeah, I’m pumped for the crew. I felt like we’ve been very competitive all the way through this summer, to be quite honest.I don’t know that we needed a big jolt of confidence. We needed definitely some more consistency. Last weekend hurt us. It was a small mistake that kind of derailed the weekend with not getting qualifying right. Mostly that was on me. Just not setting my gap correctly. A small little mistakes like that can affect you from winning the race or finishing eighth.I think when I look at our overall performance, our capability, do we have the capability to come to most tracks or every track and win the race? Yeah, I do. As far as a confidence standpoint, it’s been really strong. But a win, to seal that off, obviously it cements things. I think that’s always positive. Whenever we can get ’em, we’ll take ’em.We’re going to need some more. This is kind of the situation we’ve been in. Road America didn’t help us, a couple other races that didn’t help us this year. We’re not where we want to be points-wise. But we’re clawing back. We said we would and we are.Q.The end of the race, how important was it you did not catch Tony Kanaan?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know that it was critical. If I had a preference, I probably would like to not get there. So, yeah, it’s a game. I just turned into a time game at the end, how you want to manage gaps, how fast you really want to go. It’s a little bit boring. Probably didn’t look very entertaining.It’s definitely a game that you’re playing, trying to figure out what’s the best way to run the car to finish the race, not use it up, not get passed, keep the thing clean.It wasn’t critical we catch him. My preference was to not catch him.Q.You could feel the air getting disturbed and it messing you up?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, honestly I don’t think it would have been very different if we caught him 20 laps sooner. I don’t. It disturbs the car. It’s been tough to drive here in the turbulence. I don’t think we probably have the degradation of the tire perfect where we should have it for incredible racing.But it’s hard to create that perfect storm. It’s a moving target every track, trying to get the conditions and the tire and the downforce, it’s just really hard to nail it, exactly where it needs to be.Yeah, I guess to answer your question, I don’t know that it would have made a big difference.Q.Dixon said it was erratic and crazy driving out there tonight, race control needs to look at it. Did you see any of that, share that sentiment?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I saw it last week. When I started 20th last week, I was just trying to protect my race car. First stint of the race, I was about getting run into three or four times. Literally was just trying to not wreck while being aggressive and going forward myself.Yeah, I mean, I think people are driving aggressively these days. They really are. You almost have to match it to some degree because if you don’t you just get run over. You’re sitting there going, Why are you running me over? Doesn’t matter who is right or wrong at that point, you still got ran over, right?I would agree with him. Everyone just drives real aggressive these days. They push the cars to the limits, they push how much they can touch or not touch. With these cars you can touch a lot, generally get away with it. I think people are pushing over the edge of that at times.I definitely feel and understand and probably agree with him that people are driving pretty aggressively these days.Q.In the other series I cover, there’s allegedly a hierarchy where veterans will talk to the younger guys, say, We don’t do that. Is there a fix for the way guys are driving? Can something be said or done?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That’s a tough question. Some of it’s self-policing, right? You end up causing enough problems in a row, an individual, that’s going to turn into a bad situation. Everyone’s going to not be happy with that certain individual. I think that frustration will not last too long.So I don’t think it’s going — if you’re running up front around the same guys every weekend, I don’t think you’re going to have multiple instances week after week. There’s no way you can sustain it. In some ways that’s self-policing. You’re not going to get a lot of multiple offenses.The hard thing nowadays is you’re up and down the grid. It’s really hard to stay at the front nowadays. Last weekend I had to start 20th. I’d consider us a frontrunner. Every now and then we find ourselves all over the grid. I’m not always around consistently the same people. You end up having these run-ins with people you don’t see very often during the year.I think that’s part of what’s aggravating the situation, is the field is so competitive, it’s jumbled up every weekend. Different people are around each other all the time now. Couple that with aggressive driving, you’re just having a lot more moments I think where people are upset with each other.It’s kind of the nature of the beast right now. It’s so competitive and so tight, the field as far as performance goes, you almost have to be aggressive to get in front of people and find an edge.Like I said before, if you don’t bring that aggression yourself, you end up getting run over now. It’s a hard balancing act. But, yeah, I don’t think there’s like a pecking order as far as the veterans and who gets a talking to. I don’t think the youth really cares anyways.Q.(No microphone.)JOSEF NEWGARDEN: If you were talking to Will, we’d get a cage out. We’d settle this UFC style. I’d put some money on Will. That guy’s nuts. He just blacks out sometimes. You should see him drive. I don’t think he even knows where he’s going half the time. He’s literally just driving off instinct.You put him in a cage, you don’t want to go against Will Power. I think it’s called psychotic, is what it’s called.Q.Without naming names, are there drivers that when you get up beside them, you’re like, Yeah, no, this is not going to be fun?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So difficult not to just blurt a name, but I’m not going to do that.Q.I would be okay with that.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You would. It’s late at night, between us, not going anywhere. Absolutely not getting suckered into that.Yeah, we all have our feelings on who we feel like is not the right person to be around or who we think is aggressive more than others. It’s just part of the learning process, trying to understand your competitors.It’s like that in any series, though. That’s not unique to INDYCAR racing. It’s like that in Formula 1 or sports cars or NASCAR. Everyone knows or has an opinion on who they think is probably not safe to be around on the track as far as protecting your car.So, yeah, there are instances like that. I won’t be specific, but I think we all feel that way.Q.Now that it’s time to make the numbers in the fight for the championship, is your strategy to win all three of them?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I think the good news is, is if we win all three, it definitely adds up to winning the championship. That’s the good news.As far as our approach, I don’t know that we’ve ever really changed our style or procedure. We typically show up every weekend and try to maximize whatever our potential is. We felt like we had a winning car today and we tried to win the race.I think the name of the game for us is doing that in Portland, Laguna and Long Beach. Kelly asked me this question before the race. Of course, within the race, if there’s situations that arise, bring about an obvious change of course or change of approach, then maybe we would. Say the leaders get taken out like today, leaders of the championship I should say, then maybe you’re going to be a little bit more cautious towards of the end of that race.But when you go into the weekend, I think you’re just trying to maximize whatever your result is. It’s really the best way to approach it.Q.Given your past experiences fighting for the title, how much can you rely on that? Can you rely on your teammates with the tight competition?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Definitely can rely on my teammates. We have a lot over the years. They’ve always been good to me. I feel confident that we have a championship-winning team. I felt that, I mean, how many years have I been doing that? Is this my fifth-year at Penske? I think so. I felt that my first four years here. Every single year we’ve had the competitive capacity to challenge for the championship. I feel no different now.I think, yeah, it definitely will serve us well in this homestretch.Q.How do you think the strong end of the season will help you in 2022?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, we got to keep it up, right? We’re doing a good job now. Nashville was a little rocky for us. GP was slightly rocky, too. It can swing very quickly. We could be from being a hero this weekend to right back out of it in Portland. It swings that fast.I don’t think we can be relaxed about anything. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We certainly have to be strong. We’re not in some cushiony position when we can just sit back and anything can really happen to us. We can’t. We have to be solid. Hopefully we have a good, solid end here. If we do, that could add up to a championship.Q.Not a very important question. The giant champagne bottle thing, the bigger the bottle, is that so you can get more people?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, in all seriousness, it just looks more professional. When you hand someone a foot bottle, half this size, it just looks funny. When you look at a professional championship, we got a big champagne bottle that doesn’t run out in like three seconds, it just looks better in my opinion.I think whoever has done a great job and gotten up on the podium should have a nice, big champagne bottle that sprays for a little while. You can hand it to the team and everyone can enjoy it. I just think it’s better for the series. It’s not that hard to do. It’s just a small request. I think it goes a long way to the appearance of the show.Q.(No microphone.)JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think they would agree. Talk to Roger or Bud about it. I think they would agree. Whatever the small details. I mean, they’re all about the details. Adding a little detail like that is not difficult. Yeah, I think it should be mandatory we have big champagne bottles.Q.You have two weeks off until you go to Portland. How do you plan on spending the next two weeks off?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I’m going to sleep probably all day tomorrow, I can tell you that. I was really lucky. My dad drove me up here this weekend, about four and a half hours from Nashville. He’s a sweetheart. He’s going to drive me home tonight. I’ll sleep in the car. How lucky am I? 30-year-old, still have my dad driving me around. Feel like the go-kart days.I’m going to relax. I have some sponsor deals I’m going to do next week and the week after that. Once we go out to Portland, I’m pretty much staying out there, help my team try to maximize three events to go.
O’Neal Edges Davenport for First Career Topless 100 Victory
| Locust Grove, AR (August 21, 2021) – In a close and dramatic finish Hudson O’Neal barely edged out Jonathan Davenport at the finish line to win the 29th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 Presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions. The win Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway was O’Neal’s fourth this season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The event was co-sanctioned with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Presented by Lucas Oil. For the 20-year-old Indiana native it would be O’Neal’s second crown jewel victory of 2021 to go along with his Show-Me 100 win at Lucas Oil Speedway in May. O’Neal started sixth and took the lead on lap 39 from Jimmy Owens as he raced unchallenged until Davenport, with five laps to go started to make a run on him. After taking the white flag Davenport went low in turn one for the lead briefly as O’Neal crossed over to regain the top spot heading down the back stretch. Davenport made one last-ditch effort sliding in front of O’Neal as the two headed to the checkers. O’Neal would cross over Davenport as he beat the 3-time Series Champion to the finish line by just 0.116 seconds. Brandon Overton, last week’s Sunoco Race Fuels North-South 100 winner at Florence Speedway came home in third followed by Tim McCreadie and Jimmy Owens. McCreadie, the current LOLMDS point leader jumped to the lead at the start of the event with Owens following in second. The two longtime series regulars ran 1-2 until the tenth circuit when Owens took the lead. Owens was trying to make Topless 100 history by becoming the first driver to win the event in back-to-back years by leading the next 29 laps, before he yielded the top spot to O’Neal. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 11th time in his career, the third-generation racer won a career-high $40,000. “I was thinking don’t make any mistakes. The top was really thin. I knew when I passed for the lead that some other guys were going to move up there and it was just going to keep dying. We had a lap 75 caution there and my guys were pointing me to the bottom. I heard Jimmy picked the top and I thought I was only going to run this top one lap again because I knew I had some decent speed up there. Whenever I came back around after the restart, they were pointing me back to the top, so I thought I better get back up there.” “This is just awesome. I knew he [Davenport] was close. They told me was kind of running a little bit of a diamond line in turn one. I knew the line I was running; it was going to be subject to a slider down here. I knew coming to the white flag, I was actually expecting him to slide me with two to go. I knew I had to be ready the next lap. He was going to slide me, and I was just kind of prepared and turned down the racetrack to get a good run down the backstretch, and then he slid me again. I knew I had to grab that traction early in three to able to get a run to beat him back to the line.” Davenport, like O’Neal, was looking for his first career win in the annual event but came up just short at the finish line by one car length. “That was just kind of a Hail-Mary there. I got just a little bit of a run on him off of four. He went in just low enough in three that I couldn’t really get a momentum run on him. I was a little bit better running crooked than he was around the top there, but I just couldn’t quite get up there early enough. I probably slid too far and then he got back by me earlier than what I anticipated. He raced me clean. I was just trying to catch a little of grip up there at the checkered flag. He done an awesome job; he never made a mistake.” Overton entered the event with 21 overall wins this year, looking for his second-straight crown jewel. Finishing in third, Overton said, “We just fell too far back early on. We got it rolling there at the end, we could have run them down there. Hudson and JD, they run a good race. Like I said week after week, we’ve been running a bunch of big races and running up front. I am just proud of my whole team.” The winner’s Roger Sellers Double Down Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Lazydays RV, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Lucas Oil products, 2150 Enterprises, WR1 Sim Chassis, and Midwest Sheet Metal. Completing the top ten were Josh Richards, Ricky Thornton Jr., Shane Clanton, Mike Marlar, and Kyle Bronson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary COMP Cams Topless 100 – Presented by Nutrien Ag SolutionsSaturday, August 21, 2021Batesville Motor Speedway – Locust Grove, AR LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 3. 14M-Morgan Bagley[4]; 4. 11H-Spencer Hughes[6]; 5. 48-Wendell Wallace[1]; 6. R5-Hunter Rasdon[8]; 7. 21XXX-Neil Baggett[10]; 8. 45-Kylan Garner[3]; 9. 27-Rayce McCord[15]; 10. 6R-Robbie Stuart[14]; 11. 92M-Chad Mallett[11]; 12. 503-Jason Miles[12]; 13. 86R-Rick Rickman[5]; 14. 4A-Michael Arnold[9]; 15. (DNS) 78S-Steve Stultz; 16. (DNS) 26R-Cole Farmer UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 86-Kyle Beard[2]; 3. 75-Terry Phillips[3]; 4. 25-Shane Clanton[4]; 5. 18-Shannon Babb[5]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[6]; 7. 36-Logan Martin[8]; 8. 1R-BJ Robinson[11]; 9. 18P-Brayden Proctor[9]; 10. 13N-Derrick Nichols[13]; 11. 5A-Austin Vincent[10]; 12. 26H-Dustin Holmes[14]; 13. 997-Travis Ashley[15]; 14. (DNS) 91-Chris Jones; 15. (DNS) J8-Jadon Frame |
| COMP Cams Topless 100 Feature Finish (100 Laps): |
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| Race StatisticsEntrants: 47Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Laps 1-9); Jimmy Owens (Laps 10-38); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 39-100)Wrisco Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 0.116 secondsStop Tech Brakes Cautions: Tyler Erb (Lap 37); Nick Hoffman (Lap 67); Billy Moyer, Sr. (Lap 75)Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Shane Clanton; Spencer HughesCOMP Cams Super Dirt Series Provisionals: Logan Martin; BJ RobinsonSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon OvertonPenske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy OwensOptima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Shane Clanton (Advanced 15 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadieHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (62 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: Tim McCreadie (Lap 1 – 15.183 seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Nick HoffmanOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Trevor Crittenden (Hudson O’Neal)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Kyle Bronson (13.734 seconds)Time of Race: 42 minutes 07 seconds |
| Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings: |
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Honda Maintains Manufacturers’ Point Lead After Tough St. Louis Race
Championship contenders Alex Palou, Scott Dixon taken out in early crash
Honda maintains 35-point margin over Chevrolet in Manufacturers’ standings
MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 21, 2021) – A tough race at World Wide Technology Raceway tonight saw three of Honda’s top championship competitors knocked out of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
Honda drivers Graham Rahal and Ed Jones were the first pair of cars to go out, colliding on lap two of the event. They were followed not long after by Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, who were both taken out by contact from Rinus VeeKay on Lap 64.
Palou had been the Drivers’ Championship leader going into the race, and Dixon third. The contact dropped them to second and fourth in the standings respectively. Other notable incidents involving Honda drivers included Colton Herta breaking a drive shaft during his final pit stop, and Alexander Rossi making contact with the wall on lap 200.
Romain Grosjean shone brightly during the opening half of the race, making gutsy passes on far more experienced veterans, in his very first oval start. However, an off-sequence pit strategy would cycle him a lap down and he would ultimately finish in the 14th place.
Top Honda honors of the day went to Takuma Sato and Rahal Letterman Lanigan in sixth. The Japanese driver was fighting for a potential podium finish when the #30 had an issue refueling during a pit stop and was required to come down pit road again.
Other top-10 finishers for Honda were: Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport, seventh, Marcus Ericsson for Chip Ganassi Racing, ninth, and Jack Harvey for Meyer Shank Racing, tenth.
Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Honda Race Results
6th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
8th Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
9th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10th Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda
13th Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
14th Romain Grosjean-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
15th James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda
17th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]
18th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – mechanical]
19th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
20th Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
23rd Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda [did not finish – contact]
24th Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda [dnf – contact]
R – Rookie
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship (unofficial, after 13 of 16 rounds)
Honda 1,092 points
Chevrolet 1,057
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship Standings
- Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP 435 points [2 wins]
- Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 425 [2 wins]
- Josef Newgarden, Team Penske 413 [2 wins]
- Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 392 [1 win]
Quotes
Takuma Sato (#30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with RWR Honda) Started 17th, finished 6th: “St. Louis is one of our favorite tracks, we have a really good record here. Today, our qualifying wasn’t great, but we gradually started moving up. Unfortunately, at the last pit stop we had an issue with the refueling hose, so I had to come in again under yellow to top up [the fuel tank]. Without that, I think we would have had a really strong finish, but I think a top six [result] was good for the whole team.”
Alex Palou (#10 Andretti Autosport Honda) Championship leader coming into St. Louis, eliminate in opening lap crash after contact from Rinus VeeKay: “Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish the race here tonight. We were running the top 10 early, and I think we were doing a really good job, but we got crashed in Turn One [after contact from Rinus VeeKay] and there was nothing we could do. So, now we just move on to the last three races and keep doing our best for Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing.”
David Salters (President, Honda Performance Development) on tonight’s race in St. Louis: “
“The race started off well for us tonight, and several of our teams and drivers seemed to be in position to contend for the victory. But then, it seemed as if we did everything we could to not win. There were a variety of reasons, and circumstances, but at the end of the day we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. On to Portland.”
Fast Facts
Tonight’s 260-lap contest at World Wide Technology Raceway was the fourth and final oval race on the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar.
In addition to Helio Castroneves’ historic win at the Indianapolis 500 in May, Honda race winners this year include Alex Palou at Road America in June and at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama; Marcus Ericsson in Nashville and at the first race of the Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader weekend; defending and six-time champion Scott Dixon (Texas Race 1); and Colton Herta (Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg).
Next
After races on three consecutive weekends, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES now takes two weeks off before concluding with a three-race swing to the US West Coast, starting with the Sept. 12 Grand Prix of Portland in Portland, Oregon.
BRITTANY FORCE AND MONSTER ENERGY EARN SEVENTH NO. 1 OF SEASON AT BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
| BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 21, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team raced to their fifth consecutive No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team enter race day at No. 6 while John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy sit No. 10. In their second qualifying try, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team had trouble at the start. With a hole out almost immediately, the dragster was shut off early for only an 8.381-second pass at 80.43 mph. The David Grubnic and Mac Savage led team made up for it in the final qualifying. The Monster Energy dragster broke their own track speed record when they crossed the line at 334.98 mph and a stellar 3.675-seconds. The stout run earned them their fifth consecutive No. 1 qualifying position, seventh of the year, 27th of Force’s career and second at the facility. Five No. 1s in a row is the most by a Top Fuel driver since Larry Dixon in 2009. Their efforts earn them their fourth bye run of the year in the first round of eliminations. “Coming out of that win in Topeka with my dad, it was incredible for all of John Force Racing, being able to double up like that. For my Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team especially. We got it done last weekend and we plan to come out and do it again here in Brainerd,” Force said. “There’s a different energy in the pits, after winning and celebrating in the winners circle, celebrating all our hard work. There’s no better feeling than winning. That’s why we’re out here. The wins make the bad bays suck a little less. It’s just finding it again on race day we want to do it again. We want to repeat. We want to win.” Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy and John Force and the PEAK Chevy lined-up side-by-side for their second qualifying pass. Both Camaros had tire smoke mid-track. Force would go 4.755 at 167.24 while Hight would cross the finish line at 4.844 at 161.83. Hight and the Auto Club team would improve in the final session. Their 3.909-second run at 222.88 mph moved them from No. 10 into the No. 6 position heading into race day. The Auto Club Chevy will face J.R. Todd in the first round. “We’re looking good for tomorrow. We have some good data. We just overpowered it earlier today. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham are always working to get this Auto Club Chevy running just right,” Hight said. “Tomorrow will be somewhat similar to today, maybe a little warmer. Planning to go some rounds, get in the winners circle and make a move in the points standings.” For Force and the PEAK Chevy, the third qualifying session would bring them more trouble. The Camaro would get loose mid-track to cross the finish line at 4.201-seconds and 222.88 mph. Force will be 10th heading into race day and face Ron Capps in the first round. “Well, we’re in the show. Not maybe where we want to be, but tomorrow is another day and we’ll be okay,” Force said. “Points are looking good and if I do my job tomorrow the PEAK Chevy could be moving up just in time for Indy and the Countdown.” Eliminations at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals and Brainerd International Raceway are slated to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will continue with a second qualifying show on FS1 Sunday at Noon ET / 11 a.m. CT. Eliminations will be on FOX Broadcastin |
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Halfway Report
| No. 63 Corvette C8.R remains in the GTE Pro hunt on Le Mans debut |
| ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was quite a long time in the car. But the beauty the C8.R is that is actually really comfortable and really cool to drive in terms of temperature. It wasn’t stressful from my point of view in terms of the duration. It was good. Obviously to have the floor finally fail – I don’t know the exact analysis, but I’d have to guess it’s to do with the contact the very start – was a real shame. Aside from that we could be in a really good position. That’s the way it goes in these 24-hour races. We’ll stick it out and see what we can get out of it. Stranger things have happened but at the moment it’s a shame.” |
RCR Post Race Report – Michigan 250
| Early Accident Spoils Strong Run for Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Superior Essex Team at Michigan International Speedway |
 |
 36th |  9th |  12th |
| “Man, our Superior Essex Chevrolet Camaro was really fast today at Michigan International Speedway. We easily would have finished inside the top-five and I feel like we could have been in contention for another win for Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity Series program here in the Irish Hills. From the drop of the green flag, our car fired off really well and I knew the biggest challenge all day was to just keep up with the changing track. Unfortunately, while running up front on a restart at the beginning of Stage 2, I received contact from behind, collecting a few other guys and ultimately hurting our car. After trying to fix as much as possible within the damage vehicle policy time allotment, we weren’t able to meet minimum speed. We were trying to get the clock reset in order to go to the garage and fix our bent truck arm. It’s frustrating because my guys work so hard to bring fast cars to the track each week and then something like this happens when we have a race-winning car. It’s a racing deal though and we will keep pushing forward together. I look forward to Daytona next Friday night and giving it all I can there.” -Myatt Snider |
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Six-Hour ReportPair of Corvette C8.Rs run out front in wild Le Mans early running
GREAT LAKES THRILLER: Winger Beats Moran to the Line at TCMS for Fifth Career Victory
| English and Winger’s points battle comes to a boil with only one race remaining AUBURN, MI – Aug. 20, 2021 – When the pressure’s high and the money’s on the line, Ashton Winger only seems to perform better. Leading Friday night’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature at Tri-City Motor Speedway with only a handful to go, the 21-year-old DIRTcar Late Model ringer had a solid lead in traffic and looked as if he was going to cruise to his third $10,000 payday of the season. With the wave of the white flag and a dive down into Turn 3, a spinning lapped car appeared right in his path, bringing out the caution. Winger took evasive action and was able to avoid getting caught-up in the incident, keeping him as the leader for the restart. But now, a fast and hungry Devin Moran sat on his rear bumper for the restart – a one-lap shootout for all the marbles. Winger mashed the throttle at the drop of the green and mounted a small gap to Moran, but Moran’s plan was already unfolding. He went high in Turns 1-2 to build momentum and sailed it deep into Turns 3-4, looking for a last-corner slide job for the win. But Winger was not to be denied. The two bumped and banged wheels coming to the stripe, and Winger was able to hang on for the win by .197 seconds over Moran. “I was just trying really hard. I wanted to win. I probably should’ve leaned on him a little harder, but I just don’t really race that way,” Moran, of Dresden, OH said. “I’m thankful for him racing me clean,” Winger, of Hampton, GA said. “He could have roughed me up there, because he drove by me like three times.” Moran did, in fact, drive by people multiple times – only to have them ruined by caution flags. Once while going for second around Winger while Brandon Lance spun, and another a few laps later when Moran took the lead from Heckenast before Brandon Thirlby and Joe Godsey looped it in Turns 1-2. This would have frustrated some drivers, but Moran kept his cool and stayed with it through the plethora of yellows. “I wanted it green all the way – I felt like my car was really good once we got rolling,” Moran said. “I wasn’t very good on restarts. I just couldn’t get going.” After the Thirlby/Godsey caution that sent Moran back again, Winger noticed the speed Moran had when passing for the lead on the bottom and decided to try it himself on the following restart. And it worked, especially when his car took off on the bottom lane. “With the shape of the racetrack, it’s just hard to start on the top. I fired really good one time on the top of Tanner, and then we got together a little bit, and I fired good again and got by him,” Winger said. Tanner English, of Benton, KY, had another solid night with a fourth-place run, but lost more points on his lead over Winger for runner-up in the standings. Unofficially, it appears the two drivers will be tied for second in points heading into the final race, with an extra $3,480 on the line. UP NEXT The 2021 Summer Nationals season comes to a close Saturday night when the Late Models make their return to Merritt Speedway for the fourth time in tour history. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (click for full results) Feature (40 Laps) 1. 12-Ashton Winger[4]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[3]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 4. 81E-Tanner English[1]; 5. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[12]; 6. 42-Chad Finley[9]; 7. 74-Mitch McGrath[16]; 8. 4-Travis Stemler[8]; 9. 27-Eric Spangler[10]; 10. 32- Bobby Pierce[5]; 11. 19X-Cody Bauer[6]; 12. 21D-David Hilliker[13]; 13. 19-Derrick Hilliker[14]; 14. M14-Brandon Thirlby[11]; 15. 55-Jeep Van Wormer[7]; 16. 11X-Ryan Lanphierd[15]; 17. 21N-Logan Nickerson[18]; 18. 4T-Andrew Terrill[21]; 19. 14G-Joe Godsey[17]; 20. 38-Thomas Hunziker[24]; 21. 03-JC Witherspoon[20]; 22. 16-Mike Staszak[23]; 23. 14R-Jeff Roth[19]; 24. 248-Brandon Lance[22] DID IT AGAIN: Gossum Beats Michigan Regulars at TCMS for Back-to-Back Wins Coming into the final week of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals in Michigan, young Hunt Gossum said did not expect to win any of the four races. Now, after three complete, he’s already won two. The 16-year-old UMP Modified wheelman made it back-to-back wins with the tour Friday night at Tri-City Motor Speedway, again sticking mostly to the low groove en route to his fourth career Victory Lane trip. “It’s something about Michigan out here. Awesome racetracks, always racey. Something about the bottom down here, it’s always good,” Gossum said. However, Gossum was forced to deal with the wrath of polesitter Jeffrey Erickson ahead of him for the first half of the 30-lap contest. But, a well-handling car and plenty of grip in the bottom lane gave him the edge he needed to make the pass for the lead on Lap 15 – one he would not surrender as he crossed the line unchallenged for his fourth career victory. “I was following Jeffrey there for a while. I didn’t think I was gonna be able to get around him, and then he kinda bobbled down in Turns 3-4, and I just got a patch of grip and got around him,” Gossum said. UP NEXT The 2021 Summit Modified season comes to a close Saturday night when the tour makes its return to Merritt Speedway for the fourth time in tour history. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (30 Laps) 1. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 2. 1E-Jeffery Erickson[1]; 3. 5CS-Curt Spalding[3]; 4. 36-Kenny Wallace[6]; 5. 47-Collin Thirlby[5]; 6. 19B-Chad Bauer[8]; 7. 242-Brandon Bollinger[4]; 8. 15-Dave Baker[16]; 9. 19JR-Kody Johnson[14]; 10. 15H-Austin Harnick[18]; 11. 12M-John McClure[7]; 12. 92-Caleb Kill[11]; 13. 4B-Brian Brindley[17]; 14. 77-Joe Rokos[10]; 15. 42-Craig Vance[12]; 16. 1*-Wyatt Baker[15]; 17. 4J-Paul Johnson[21]; 18. 99B-Brent Banning[9]; 19. 32-Scott Boyd Jr[22]; 20. 81- Rick Swartout[20]; 21. 9-Garrett Rons[19]; 22. 71-Drew Smith[13] |
| DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne. |
Owens Gets First Lucas Oil Win of the Season Friday Night at Batesville
| Locust Grove, AR (August 20, 2021) – Jimmy Owens, reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion, picked up his first series win of 2021 on Friday Night at Batesville Motor Speedway. Owens claimed the 30-lap preliminary night feature to kick off the 29th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 – presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions. Owens took the lead at the drop of the green flag and led the entire distance for his 76th career series victory. The event was co-sanctioned with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series – presented by Lucas Oil. Tim McCreadie came from the fifth starting spot to take second with Nick Hoffman, Brandon Overton, and Ricky Thornton Jr. rounding out the top five finishers. In a race slowed by only one caution flag, the 49-year-old Tennessee native raced through traffic at a consistent rate to keep McCreadie at bay. McCreadie and Overton closed slightly on Owens in traffic, but neither could get close enough to challenge for the top spot. Overton, the Sunoco North-South 100 winner a week ago at Florence Speedway, ran as high as second before crossing the finish line in fourth with left front suspension damage. Nick Hoffman started fourth but faded several positions in the early part of the race before recovering to claim the final podium spot. Owens has climbed to sixth in the championship points standings, after leaving Florida Speedweeks in 15th, looks forward to defending his COMP Cams Topless 100 title tomorrow night. “This was 30 laps tonight, there wasn’t any sense in taking it easy until the end of the race. The car was good. It’s been good all night long. I want to thank the guys for busting their tails. It’s been a long road to get back up here. The car was flawless tonight, maybe we can carry it into tomorrow.” “This definitely is a boost of morale for the guys,” Owens added. “It makes it a lot better when you go from one race to the next. It was Becky Ramirez’s birthday a few days ago. This one’s for her.” McCreadie will enter tomorrow night’s $40,000-to-win event with a good starting spot as well after coming in second Friday Night. “The car wasn’t the greatest at the beginning, but that’s what you’re hoping for at the end to get a little better as the race goes on. We will see if we can make it better for tomorrow night. We had a little luck on our side to run second tonight. We have run second this year in a lot of big races. This is a tough series to be in. We have been the most consistent here lately.” Hoffman’s comeback during the race netted him a third-place finish. “The race car has been really good. Talking to Scott about this weekend I just felt like this place would fit my driving style. We drive a lot alike. He has won a lot of races here. At the beginning I kind of faded a little bit. A lot of it was me just not being aggressive enough at the beginning and then I got rolling at the end. We were really good.” The winner’s Ramirez Motorsports, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Boomtest Well Service, Tim Short Auto Group, Reece Monument Company, Red Line Oil, Ohlins Shocks, Sybesma Graphics, Sunoco Race Fuels, and Georgia Arms. Completing the top ten were Hudson O’Neal, Tyler Erb, Jonathan Davenport, Billy Moyer Jr., and Josh Richards. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Topless 100 PrelimFriday, August 20, 2021Batesville Motor Speedway – Locust Grove, AR Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Jimmy Owens / 14.734 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport / 14.932 seconds Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 3. 12C-Scott Crigler[3]; 4. 90-Brian Rickman[6]; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes[4]; 6. 4A-Michael Arnold[5]; 7. 6R-Robbie Stuart[7]; 8. 27-Rayce McCord[8] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 48-Wendell Wallace[6]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[5]; 6. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 7. 78S-Steve Stultz[7]; 8. (DNF) 1R-BJ Robinson[8] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 4. 18-Shannon Babb[5]; 5. R5-Hunter Rasdon[4]; 6. 21XXX-Neil Baggett[6]; 7. (DNS) J8-Jadon Frame; 8. (DNS) 26R-Cole Farmer Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 3. 97-Cade Dillard[3]; 4. 45-Kylan Garner[7]; 5. 92M-Chad Mallett[5]; 6. 18P-Brayden Proctor[6]; 7. 86R-Rick Rickman[4]; 8. 26H-Dustin Holmes[8] Fast Shafts Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 0H-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[4]; 4. 75-Terry Phillips[3]; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 6. 997-Travis Ashley[7]; 7. 5A-Austin Vincent[6]; 8. 13N-Derrick Nichols[8] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 3. C8-Timothy Culp[2]; 4. 14M-Morgan Bagley[5]; 5. 91-Chris Jones[7]; 6. 36-Logan Martin[6]; 7. 503-Jason Miles[4] LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 48-Wendell Wallace[2]; 2. 90-Brian Rickman[1]; 3. 86-Kyle Beard[5]; 4. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes[4]; 6. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 7. R5-Hunter Rasdon[6]; 8. 4A-Michael Arnold[7]; 9. 21XXX-Neil Baggett[9]; 10. 1R-BJ Robinson[13]; 11. J8-Jadon Frame[14]; 12. 78S-Steve Stultz[11]; 13. 6R-Robbie Stuart[10]; 14. 27-Rayce McCord[12]; 15. (DNS) 26R-Cole Farmer UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 45-Kylan Garner[1]; 2. 75-Terry Phillips[2]; 3. 14M-Morgan Bagley[3]; 4. 86R-Rick Rickman[10]; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 6. 91-Chris Jones[6]; 7. 36-Logan Martin[9]; 8. 18P-Brayden Proctor[7]; 9. 5A-Austin Vincent[11]; 10. 92M-Chad Mallett[4]; 11. 503-Jason Miles[12]; 12. 13N-Derrick Nichols[14]; 13. 26H-Dustin Holmes[13]; 14. 997-Travis Ashley[8] |
TRUTH HURTS: Satterlee leads wire-to-wire for Williams Grove win
| It’s the Rochester Mills, PA driver’s fourth career World of Outlaws winMECHANICSBURG, PA – August 20, 2021 – As Gregg Satterlee anticipated the green flag, he knew the importance of a good start. He knew whoever reached Turn 1 between himself and Max Blair was on the right track to cash in on $10,000. The Rochester Mills, PA driver aced the start, beat Blair to the corner, and held on for his first World of Outlaws win of the season Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway. Satterlee’s ability to grab the lead early helped him set his own pace throughout the 40-lap Feature, allowing him to save his tires as long as possible. “Chasing cars here [Friday] was not the thing to do because we had soft left rear tires on, and we were trying to stretch these tires as far as we could,” Satterlee said. “I really felt like I struggled there the last 10 laps, but I think probably everyone had to have a similar deal going on with their tires. My left rear is totally shot.” The start wasn’t the only battle Satterlee faced during the race. “The Truth” fought through lap traffic while holding off NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson, who’s won just about every race he’s entered in the past few weeks. The Elk Grove, CA driver, peeked around the outside of Satterlee but couldn’t get by him despite the heavy traffic. Satterlee stayed patient, hitting his marks until he could adjust. “It was tricky; I could certainly see [Larson] had got on the outside of me at least once,” Satterlee said. “Eventually, I was able to move my line around a little bit and use as much of the race track up that I could.” The win is Satterlee’s fourth career World of Outlaws triumph and first since 2014. Mechanical trouble ended Larson’s night in the final 10 laps, relegating him to a 22nd place finish. Four-time winner Chris Madden finished second, his first podium finish in four races. The Gray Court, SC driver was content with his runner-up finish but felt his car wasn’t as good as it needed to be. “We made some adjustments before the Feature, and I guess I went the wrong way,” Madden said. “We’ll take second, and maybe it’ll get us back going in the right direction. We’ve had a great race car; we just haven’t had any luck. Hopefully, we can get back on a tear and get us a win before the weekend’s out.” From Stephens City, VA, Kyle Hardy grabbed the last spot on the podium—tying his best career finish with the World of Outlaws. Hardy had to work his way back to the top-three after dropping to eighth early in the race. It’s a mountain he expected to climb based on his car’s setup. “The way our package is, we tend to fire off late,” Hardy said. “It takes a little bit for us to get going, so we have to wait for it to get going before we tear the tires up. “But to work back up to third, holy cow we’re happy about it.” Rick Eckert, the 2011 Series Champion, finished fourth. Matt Cosner rounded out the top five, charging eight spots from 13th. Gregg Satterlee’s anticipation of what to do before the race started showed off his experience 1/2-mile tracks. It’s a style of racing he’s comfortable with, as everything seems to come together. “These big tracks where you drive the car straight and use a lot of momentum and stuff, it just seems to click,” Satterlee said. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet head to Ohio on Saturday Aug. 21 for a stop at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH. 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.Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 22-Gregg Satterlee [2][$10,000]; 2. 44-Chris Madden [4][$6,000]; 3. 45-Kyle Hardy [5][$3,500]; 4. 0-Rick Eckert [9][$2,800]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner [13][$2,500]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard [3][$2,300]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [7][$2,200]; 8. 111V-Max Blair [1][$2,100]; 9. 32J-Shaun Jones [16][$2,050]; 10. 16-Tyler Bruening [8][$2,000]; 11. 8-Kyle Strickler [17][$1,600]; 12. 7R-Ross Robinson [22][$1,400]; 13. 2T-Kyle Lee [11][$1,200]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb [23][$1,100]; 15. 0H-Dale Hollidge [14][$1,050]; 16. 19R-Ryan Gustin [12][$1,000]; 17. 99B-Boom Briggs [19][$1,000]; 18. B1-Brent Larson [18][$1,000]; 19. O6-Mike Lupfer [21][$1,000]; 20. 24-Kenny Moreland [20][$1,000]; 21. 2-Dan Stone [10][$1,000]; 22. 6-Kyle Larson [6][$1,000]; 23. 151-Kyle Lear [24][$1,000]; 24. 24Y-Dylan Yoder [15][$1,000] Hard Charger: 7R-Ross Robinson[+10]Qualifying –1. 44-Chris Madden, 19.55; 2. 111V-Max Blair, 19.853; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 19.871; 4. 45-Kyle Hardy, 19.88; 5. 6-Kyle Larson, 20.003; 6. 22-Gregg Satterlee, 20.01; 7. 32J-Shaun Jones, 20.055; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening, 20.117; 9. B1-Brent Larson, 20.195; 10. 7-Ricky Weiss, 20.201; 11. 8-Kyle Strickler, 20.235; 12. 0-Rick Eckert, 20.247; 13. 2-Dan Stone, 20.273; 14. 0H-Dale Hollidge, 20.367; 15. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 20.411; 16. 28-Dennis Erb, 20.433; 17. 2T-Kyle Lee, 20.472; 18. O6-Mike Lupfer, 20.6; 19. 99B-Boom Briggs, 20.657; 20. 151-Kyle Lear, 20.786; 21. 24Y-Dylan Yoder, 20.819; 22. 66C-Matt Cosner, 20.822; 23. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 20.862; 24. 7R-Ross Robinson, 20.951; 25. 24-Kenny Moreland, 23.252; 26. 59-Chad Julius, 23.926; 27. 121-Larry Neiderer, 24.695 |
| 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, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
JOHN FORCE AND THE PEAK CHEVY LEAD JOHN FORCE RACING FRIDAY AT BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
| BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20, 2021) – Coming off the 154th win of his career, third of the season, John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS sit No. 3 in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Funny Car qualifying order after one run Friday at Brainerd International Raceway. Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy are currently No. 5 while Brittany Force and the Monster Energy dragster are No. 4. Right out of the box, John Force handled the PEAK Chevy to a solid 3. 968-second pass at 322.42 mph that lands him in the No. 3 spot heading into Saturday. Force is looking to secure his ninth No. 1 qualifying position at the event. “Good day today. Avoided the rain, got the car down clean. It’s a great car. Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi have this PEAK Chevy under control. Now I just have to do my job,” Force said. “Loved seeing all the fans in the sands. It was a good session, pretty much everyone made it down, so we put on a show. We’ve got two more runs tomorrow to set us up for race day, so we’ll see how it goes.” Robert Hight and the Auto Club boys had a clean run at 3.971-seconds and 307.72 mph to start off Hight’s birthday weekend. Hight is looking for his third No. 1 position at Brainerd International Raceway, he had back-to-back No. 1s in 2017 and 2018. “We’re getting back to where we need to be. Two more runs tomorrow to get this Auto Club Chevy set up for race day,” Hight said. “Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham, I know they’ve been constantly thinking about this Camaro. We’ll be good to go.” With a victory under their belt and renewed confidence, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team are looking for their fifth consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season, second at the Brainerd event. They started with a 3.813-second pass at 286.98 mph after hazing the tires down track and shutting of early. “First qualifying pass here in Brainerd and our Monster Energy Flav-R-Pac team ran a 3.81. We had holes out and I lifted before the 1,000-foot but it secured us the No. 4 spot for the evening,” Force said. “The track conditions should be good tomorrow with temps cooling down. Looking forward to improving and stepping it up tomorrow.” Qualifying at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals and Brainerd International Raceway continues Saturday with sessions at 2 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Eliminations are slated begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will begin Friday on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT. A second qualifying show will air on FS1 Sunday at Noon ET / 11 a.m. CT. Eliminations will be on FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX) at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT. |
NARC NEWSLINE – AUGUST 20, 2021
NARC NEWSLINE – AUGUST 20, 2021, By Jim Allen … According to the official NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series schedule, we’ve got nine races in the books with 11 more to go, including a flurry of them on the smoky horizon. Everybody in California is gearing up for a Fastest Four Days in Motorsports. Yes …, we know that just a few short days ago, it was the fastest five-days, but we were forced to improvise when, yet another fire decided to wreak havoc on Northern California. Now Placerville Speedway’s pit area is a staging and rest area for overworked fire crews and equipment fighting a massive fire in El Dorado County. And depending on how the wind is blowing, that may put a crimp in the rest of their local racing season. Let’s hope they get these fires out soon.
Either way, four races in four days at four different tracks still represents a delectable slice of sprint car racing heaven! To top it off, with the 2021 championship at stake, this centerpiece will probably have huge implications on what team’s name will be locked into the NARC King of the West history books. Just so our calendars are synchronized, Merced Speedway will now host the opener on Thursday, August 26th, followed by Ocean Speedway, the Stockton Dirt Track and Petaluma Speedway on consecutive nights.
As defending champ DJ Netto calmly stated at a recent driver’s meeting, “it’s all going to come down to NARC Speedweek.”
I tend to agree with that statement!
What else is at stake? Each feature will pay $4000 to the winner, except for the August 28th show at the Stockton Dirt Track which will cash out $6000 to the top dog of the 30-lap Champions Classic headliner. Promoter Tony Noceti also bolted on a 360-sprint car show to the line-up at Stockton which pays $3000 to the winner. Expect a few teams to “double-up.” Overall, there is a $8,000 point fund that will pay shares to the top 12 in points during the four-race blast. The champ will pocket $2,000 for his adventures, plus a one-of-a-kind custom FFDM trophy, which will rock the champions mantle for decades to come. It’s a gem!
FFDM PREDICTIONS, THOUGHTS & NOTES: At least one of these young drivers – Ryan Robinson, Corey Day, and Joel Myers Jr. – has a good chance to win their first NARC-KWS feature during the four days. Robinson should have won at Petaluma in July but got snagged by slower traffic. Day has proven to be fast and is beginning to gel with Paul Baines and Tarlton Motorsports. And Myers drives well beyond his 15-years of age. … Who else is overdue? How about Shane Golobic? He has been all over the podium this season, except for the tall one in the middle. Can he win two? Absolutely! Can he win three? Wouldn’t bet against it! … Oregon’s Brian Boswell will be tackling all four nights of racing. … Roseville’s Colby Copeland will be making his first extended-stay on the 2021 KWS campaign piloting Larry Antaya’s 16A sprint car. What does that mean for regular shoe Justin Sanders? Something big, which we can’t tell you right now. … The last time the NARC 410 sprint cars pulled into the Merced Speedway pit area, Ross Perot was running for president and Sharon Stone uncrossed her legs and sent millions of teenage boys into puberty with the movie Basic Instinct. The year was 1992 and Tim Green captured a double-feature show that eventually led to his second NARC championship. That is way too long of a time span. Which brings to question; is Basic Instinct on Netflix? … Many fans asked why a replacement venue wasn’t found for Placerville after the cancellation. It was researched but there were no takers for a Wednesday night show with a week’s notice. Not to mention, most Fairgrounds don’t allow midweek shows. … Tim Kaeding, the winner of the 2019 edition of the FFDM aboard Rod Tiner’s 83SA, is a driver who wins in bunches. He is driving excellent equipment with Joshua Bates and Roger Hamilton, so don’t rule out a repeat! …
FROM THIS MONTH’S … “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME” DEPARTMENT: Santa Maria Raceway threw a giant wrench into the dirt track grinder by surprising many with news that they were shutting down operations as of August 9, 2021. Track owner/operator Nick Duggan, who bought the facility in 2018, published a lengthy release on the tracks Facebook site explaining the adversity, obstacles, and political nightmares they have had to deal with. We all knew the pressure was on the racetrack, but not to what level until he spelled it out in detail. Unfortunately, his press release provided as much joy as experiencing an emergency root canal and colonoscopy on the same day, or an ex-wife coming to visit because “she wants to talk.”
Don’t deny it, California racetracks are under direct assault. Calistoga! Petaluma! And several others are beginning to put on their body armor. The thought was that privately-owned facilities like Santa Maria would be immune from the drama effecting State fairgrounds, but all it did was make the legal bills larger for the track owner. In a State where there are more than 266,000 lawyers, it’s really no surprise a few filed expensive and threatening lawsuits because of the “environmental impact” and violation of “use-permits” by Santa Maria Raceway. What do you think was going to happen when a local housing tract began creeping closer and closer to the historic track? If the environment was going to be impacted, we think something would have happened by now, especially since the track opened in 1964. Instead of environmental impact, we should be talking about the positive “economic impact.” And since racetracks are entertainment venues, it needs to do more than just racing events, because promoters are working on super slim margins, especially after the pandemic.
Unfortunately, housing developers usually have deep pockets and politicians in their back pockets and don’t typically care about these types of issues. The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back is when the County and District Supervisor couldn’t get on the same page regarding long-existing “use permits” and the types of events that could be held at the facility. That complicated matters even more and the legal bills and fines continued to pile up, forcing Santa Maria to pull the plug. The local Homeowners Association also issued a press release with their point of view. It’s like comparing Fox News to CNN. By the time you get done reading both, you need lots of alcohol.
So, what can you do to help? Well, I’m glad you asked! The track may be shuttered for now, but there is still a faint pulse. We need the racing community to burn up the phones and call the following two bureaucrats. Explain what Santa Maria Raceway means to you. This includes how much money you spend in the area (trust me, they understand the money deal), the quality of entertainment the facility provides, and what a loss it would be if it closed permanently. Be professional, don’t cuss and drive the point home.
Wade Horton is the San Luis Obispo County Administrator. He can be reached at 805-781-5011.
Lynne Compton is the 4th District Supervisor. She can be reached at 805-781-5450.
NARC NOTES: And to answer your next question, the September 25th race at Santa Maria is cancelled (unless you see a pig fly by!) However, don’t expect our series to lose the race date. A new location will be announced shortly. … Just in case you were in a coma and missed the month of July, Tim Kaeding (Petaluma), Sean Becker (Ocean Speedway), Dominic Scelzi (Tulare) and Billy Aton (Santa Maria) were feature event winners. Even though TK has won 71 King of the West races in his career, he makes every win seem like his first. You can count on fist pumps, team hugs, an obligatory wheelie as he crosses the checkered, and a million-dollar smile. That’s enough to get any fan excited. By the way, Andy Forsberg was strong all night and scored second at Petaluma, chased by early-race leader Bud Kaeding to fill out the “40-year and older” podium. …
… If you are into pure raw emotion after a heartfelt and overdue victory, then Sean Becker climbing the fence at Ocean and fist pumping to the crowd after claiming a stout $6900 payday at the Howard Kaeding Classic was a keeper also. Becker and the Dave Vertullo 83V sprinter survived a metal crunching feature that seriously damaged at least half of the 24-car field in two big accidents. Tanner Carrick posted a KWS career best second and Mitchell Faccinto was third. … Special thanks to all the great sponsors who supported the HK race. Your generous contributions allowed this show to pay the enhanced winners share and a minimum of $1000 to start the feature – plus there were a ton of other perks for fast time mechanic, heat race winners, and non-transfers. Geoffrey Strole took home a 50” TV as the first B-main non-transfer. That doesn’t happen every day! Bud Kaeding’s fundraising efforts also kicked in a substantial amount of money to the Friday night portion of the HKC. … Corey Day made his debut aboard the Tarlton Motorsports #21. He timed in third quick, but got crashed out in the feature, finishing 14th. … More than $5000 was raised for the NARC Benevolent Fund at the Howard Kaeding Classic luncheon. Miles McAtee’s catering group knocked it out of the park (again) in the food department! … Also, special thanks to Petaluma Speedway promoter Rick Faeth for his recent $500 donation to the NARC Benevolent Fund. …
The next weekend in Tulare, Dominic Scelzi outran DJ Netto and Shane Golobic to claim yet another “W” at Tulare! It might be time to install a dedicated parking space on the front straightaway for the Scelzi Enterprise #41, because he owns the Thunderbowl Raceway in 2021. Let’s see if he can continue that success at the Trophy Cup. … Billy Aton’s first series win at Santa Maria was about as popular a win as we could possibly have! It made the best of a rough night. Everybody loves the guy and the effort he puts into racing on the NARC King of the West circuit. The win should be the first of many. It was a great ending to a drawn-out show that required a two-hour intermission after qualifying to make the track raceable. Most teams had already burned down three-tires in hot laps and qualifying, forcing the rework. The delay forced the cancellation of the highly anticipated wheelie contest. … Scelzi attempted to reel Mr. Aton in the waning laps but couldn’t make it happen. JJ Ringo nailed down a KWS career best third place finish after suffering a heat race crash. The Keller Motorsports team barely made the call for the feature, but their hard work paid off. Bud Kaeding’s championship aspirations took a hit when he got reeled into a big first lap crash, effectively ending his night two caution flags later. A few pit peeps thought Kaeding benefitted from three yellows and should have been DQ’ed earlier. However, the NARC rulebook states that if there is a crash involving three or more cars on the first lap, no teams get charged with the yellow. It didn’t matter because he finished 17th. Along those lines, the NARC-KWS rulebook has three-times the text than it had 20-years ago.
THE LOUIE VERMEIL CLASSIC: The Fastest Four Days in Motorsports is the front end of six races in 11 days for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Cars. The backend is the popular 13th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic at Chico on September 4-5th. Yes .., like you .., I almost said Calistoga, but the event was moved while the Napa Valley track works through its own set of problems. However, don’t expect any drop off in enthusiasm or entertainment because the Labor Day weekend is packed with activities at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds. Wine tasting, beer tasting, and of course, the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday night, September 3rd. Big money is on the line for both the King of the West and USAC/CRA series and this one also features lap money both nights. Go to www.LouieVermeilClassic.com for more info. If you need tickets, lock them in now by calling HMC Promotions at (916) 773-7223
Face it: The best way to thoroughly enjoy an entertaining Labor Day weekend is by attending the Louie Vermeil Classic! Make sure you bring a friend! #justsaying
Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See
SUPER BUSINESS: Oswego businesses excited for Super DIRT Week return
The weeklong event brings a large crowd and boost of business to the city of Oswego OSWEGO, NY – Aug. 20, 2021 – The city of Oswego has a population of 17,000. That number will more than double for a week in October, bringing a welcomed and needed boost to local businesses.Racing’s Biggest Party – the 49th NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week – returns to Oswego Speedway Oct. 6-10, with campers arriving Sunday, Oct. 3, for the city’s most significant event and New York’s biggest motorsports experience.The premier dirt racing event moved from the Syracuse Mile to Oswego Speedway in 2016 and has brought a positive benefit to small businesses in the county, according to Dave Turner, the director of community development tourism and planning for the county of Oswego.“Typically, there are drivers and visitors from 17 or so states, and some international participation as well… over the course of the entire event they draw thousands of fans and competitors,” Turner said. “It’s a pretty active week throughout the county.“I think the city of Oswego really feels the boost. It’s pretty significant when you think of food and housing.”Garafolo’s, on East Bridge Street – four minutes from the speedway – is a small family-owned meat store and sandwich shop that’s been a staple of the Oswego community for years. NAPA Super DIRT Week has been a huge boost for not only them but the city, according to Joe Garafolo. Without the event last year, things were “slow and boring,” he said.“It’s a huge boost to the economy of our city here,” Garafolo said. “Any time you can bring any people to the city it is a good thing. For us, we’re kind of on the main drag here, so people see us coming in and out. They know we’re here. Beer sales go up. There’s a lot of grilling. The first few years they brought their own stuff, but they also went exploring and now they know we’re here. Now, we get a lot of those people in here as customers.”He couldn’t pin an exact number of how much his sales increase, but said it is almost double what they usually do. Especially for October. Grilling season usually ends in September in the city, he said, leaving October and on as a slower time until it starts again. Super DIRT Week helped bring a boost when they normally wouldn’t anticipate one.He’ll usually increase his inventory for the week – especially on beer – but said even if he were to run out, other vendors are happy to help as businesses work together that week knowing they’re all aiming for the same goal.“We’ve got places we can get stuff if need be,” Garafolo said. “Some of the local vendors are doing the same thing and they’ll work with us throughout the weekend. We can call them up and get things. We’re pretty tight nit with that. Everybody helps everyone at this time because we all need the money.”Amy Lear, owner of Man in the Moon Candies, located on West 1st Street in the heart of the city, echoed Garafolo’s sentiment about the boost in business.“I think anything that goes on in town is beneficial to all businesses,” she said. “People always explore what is going on. I’d imagine we’ll do additional business.”She plans on making special chocolate race cars just for the week.Race fans will be spread throughout the city for the week, with many camping on-site and others staying in hotels. However, with two months still to go until the event, both options are almost full in the area.Mark Dorsey, the interim general manager of the Home2 Suites – located directly in front of the speedway – said he has all 89 rooms about booked for the week.“Everyone is excited to get back to the races and get back to normalcy,” he said. “We’ve been getting calls left and right about people wanting to get in here for Super DIRT Week. Fifty percent of my rooms look at the track, so it’s like being by the Pacific Ocean.”To help accommodate those still looking to camp near the area, Super DIRT Week has added a new camping site at Fulton Speedway for Friday, Oct. 8, to Monday morning on Oct. 11, further extending the event’s financial impact on the county. For more information on the site, call 844-DIRT-TIX.Since NAPA Super DIRT Week came to Oswego in 2016, Bob Hoefer, owner of Lighthouse Lanes bowling alley – located in front of the speedway – said there’s been an adjustment period for fans. They were used to being self-sufficient at the Syracuse Fairgrounds but then had to learn a new area when it switched to Oswego. As they’ve learned what amenities are around, business in the city picked up each year.”They’ve now realized there are amenities all over town they can take advantage of,” Hoefer said. “I think over the course of the years, they’ve realized there are other opportunities out there and are taking advantage of them. We’ve definitely seen the results of that.”He cited the event brings a positive “significant impact” to the bowling alley, especially during the main events on the weekend.Along with Oswego’s Harborfest concert festival – which was canceled this year – NAPA Super DIRT Week is the city’s biggest event. However, Super DIRT Week brings something Harborfest doesn’t.“Harbor Fest is free. A lot of people go because it is free and they don’t spend a ton of money,” Garafolo said. “The people for the races, they have no problem spending money. They’re here to spend money. They buy their food, buy their drinks and have a good time. It just helps us all tremendously. It gets your name out there and hopefully, people will come back when there’s not racing going on.”DIRTcar Day – on Wednesday, Oct. 6 – will see a parade of NAPA Super DIRT Week cars make their way around the city, shutting down streets for the celebration. And while it may be an inconvenience for some, Turner said there are never any complaints.“We think that is because people understand the economic value of having an event that size in their community,” he said.For the full 49th NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week schedule and tickets, CLICK HERE. |
| NAPA Super DIRT Week is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: NAPA Auto Parts, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux, Chevrolet Performance and SIS Insurance. Other Super DIRT Week sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), A-Verdi, Area Auto Racing News, ASI Race Wear, Bart Contracting Inc, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, CNY Golf Carts, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, MSD, Penske Shocks, Quality Inn-Oswego, Racing Electronics, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum.The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics. |
DeJoria Returns to Brainerd, Site of Last Victory
BRAINERD, MN (August 20, 2021) — Alexis DeJoria will return this weekend to Brainerd International Raceway, the site of her most recent Funny Car victory, a 2017 triumph over veteran driver Tommy Johnson Jr. It was her fifth career Funny Car national event win and she took out four competitors including Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon, John Force and eventually the No. 5 qualifier Johnson Jr., from the No. 10 qualifying position to take the Wally. This weekend DeJoria will bring her Bandero Premium Tequila/ROKiT Toyota Camry to the NHRA Brainerd Nationals with an eye on making this event a repeat winner for the racer from Austin, Texas.
“That win was a big one for us and we want to add to that total,” said DeJoria. “We have a great race car and we have been close to getting a win this season. We have all the pieces in place and we just need to get everything to come together on race day.”
This season the Bandero Tequila/ROKiT Toyota Camry has been all-conquering in qualifying posting seven top three qualifiers including two No. 2 qualifiers in the 3.89 range during the last three races. In Topeka DeJoria was narrowly edged out of the top spot by Toyota teammate J.R. Todd. Only one other driver has more 3.8 second runs in qualifying and that consistency has been the key to the nine-time career Funny Car finalist’s success.
“I have an awesome team behind me and they give me a bad ass race car every event,” said DeJoria. “The conditions this weekend should give us another opportunity to put up some low numbers and we will see what we can do on race day. I like going to tracks where I have had success.”
This season DeJoria raced to the final round of the Mile-High Nationals and she has three additional semifinal finishes. Throughout the season the team has worked together to eliminate tune-up issues and create opportunities for DeJoria to outrun the opposition. With two races left in the regular season a Countdown playoff berth should be clinched this weekend with another solid performance.
“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to race for the Camping World Funny Car world championship and you have to be in the Countdown to have a shot,” said DeJoria. “We can secure our spot this weekend and then we can focus on winning the race.”
DeJoria has had success during this stretch of the season with her 2017 win in Brainerd and in 2014 she picked up her historic win at the U.S Nationals. The fact that her team which returned to competition last season now has over 20 national events together gives DeJoria even more confidence.
“We figured a lot of things out last year and we were running really well at the end of 2020,” said DeJoria. “This season I think we are working together even better and you are seeing that in the numbers we are running in qualifying and on race day. If I do my job on the starting line we have a tremendous 1-2 punch. I can’t wait to get to Brainerd and get into the fight.”
Qualifying will begin on Friday, August 20, with an afternoon qualifying session. Two sessions will follow on Saturday with final eliminations beginning Sunday morning at 11 a.m. local time. The race will be broadcast on Fox from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. CDT.
MAILMAN DELIVERS
| Moran Dominates I-96 for Third Career VictoryEnglish rebounds from Wednesday to finish second, Pierce DNF after late engine issues LAKE ODESSA, MI – Aug. 19, 2021 – Seven starts, two wins. Devin Moran has made his 2021 DIRTcar Summer Nationals campaign a short one, but a very sweet one. After grabbing his first checkered flag on tour back in Week #1 at Kankakee County Speedway, The Mailman cashed-in again Thursday night at I-96 Speedway, leading all 40 laps en route to his third career Hell Tour victory. “I felt like we were gonna be good as long as I didn’t make a big mistake, and that’s kinda what happened. We kept pace and it all worked out,” said Moran, of Dresden, OH. A win in the opening Heat Race set Moran up for a Feature starting spot on the outside front row, where he jumped out to the early lead at the drop of the green. He took that jump and extended it out to a five-plus-second lead before the first caution erased it on Lap 18. Moran held the top spot through another restart before jetting out to a solid lead again, and soon reached slower traffic with points leader Bobby Pierce, of Oakwood, IL, right on his tail. Pierce closed the small gap quickly and looked to make a move on Moran, now impeded by traffic. With a little patience and some great car control, Moran was able to maneuver through the pack. Pierce got caught-up in the jam, allowing Moran to pull away. “They were side-by-side, and I was set up a little bit free so I could run the top, so I couldn’t just blast-off down in there,” Moran said of the lapped traffic. “I just kinda had to wait and find the right moment to when my car was going to be able to pass them, and we took advantage of it.” Continuing to rip the top side like he had been all night, Moran kept it steady on the wall-less 3/8-mile and appeared to have it in the bag when the caution flew one final time with two laps left. Bobby Pierce had been showing smoke for the previous 4-5 laps and took his Pierce Platinum #32 pit-side and would not return, fearing engine issues. Travis Stemler, of Ionia, MI, also gave up his spot inside the top-10 and headed pit-side after running on the podium earlier on. Moran dropped the hammer on the green-white checkered finish and led the field back around to the checkers unscathed, collecting his second $5,000 check of the season. “I watched some videos on the place, and it kinda seemed like the top was the place to be,” Moran said. “It got kinda sketchy though – the cushion got almost all the way off the end of it, so I had to be tip-toeing there at the end.” UP NEXT The Summer Nationals Late Models return to the unique Tri-City Motor Speedway on Friday, Aug. 20, for the next-to-last race of Champions Week and the 2021 campaign. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (40 Laps) 1. 9-Devin Moran[2]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[10]; 3. 12-Ashton Winger[7]; 4. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 5. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[12]; 6. 74-Mitch McGrath[9]; 7. 42-Chad Finley[11]; 8. 4-Travis Stemler[1]; 9. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4]; 10. M14- Brandon Thirlby[8]; 11. 21N-Logan Nickerson[13]; 12. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 13. 14G-Joe Godsey[14]; 14. 38-Thomas Hunziker[17]; 15. 20-Chad White[18]; 16. 14R-Jeff Roth[19]; 17. 248-Brandon Lance[22]; 18. 23V-Ryan Vanderveen[16]; 19. 41-Mike Vandermark Jr[15]; 20. 55-Jeep Van Wormer[5]; 21. 16-Garrett Wiles[21]; 22. 44S-Colin Shipley[20] GOSSUM SAUCE: Teenage UMP Modified Sensation Wins Third of Career at I-96 The young gasser from Mayfield, KY, has done it again. Sixteen-year-old Hunt Gossum parked it in I-96 Speedway Victory Lane Thursday night after a dominating performance in the 25-lap Feature. Using the low side of the fast 3/8-mile, Gossum seemed as though he was on rails, rapidly pulling away from his competition en route to his second DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature win this season. “After the Late Model race, I knew they were all up top,” Gossum said. “I thought [the Modifieds] were all gonna be up top, so I went down low in Turn 1 on the start and there was a lot of grip down there.” Jeffery Erickson took the lead in the opening laps as Gossum mounted his charge from behind. By Lap 3, he had taken second from his fifth-place starting spot and made a bee line for the leader. With Erickson riding the low-middle groove, Gossum was able to hug the ultra-bottom lane and pick up the plentiful speed to make the pass on Lap 6. From that point, there was no stopping the Elite Chassis #99. Each lap, he padded his lead a little more, even with sections of slower traffic in his path. Even a few rapid-fire cautions in the final laps could not shake his concentration as he cruised to the $1,500 payday. “Stick guy right here – he gave me a big enough lead, so I figured I’d just stay on the bottom and ride around until the checkered flag,” Gossum said. UP NEXT The Summit Modifieds return to the unique Tri-City Motor Speedway on Friday, Aug. 20, for the next-to-last race of Champions Week and the 2021 campaign. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (25 Laps) 1. 99-Hunt Gossum[5]; 2. 1E-Jeffery Erickson[1]; 3. K19-Will Krup[4]; 4. 242-Brandon Bollinger[9]; 5. 36-Kenny Wallace[7]; 6. 65-Todd Sherman[11]; 7. 5CS-Curt Spalding[6]; 8. 80-Rich Dawson[8]; 9. 117-Kevin Reeve[14]; 10. 19B-Chad Bauer[17]; 11. 8C-Corey Bevard[13]; 12. 3W-Dylan Woodling[2]; 13. 9-Garrett Rons[19]; 14. 81-Rick Swartout[20]; 15. 29- Steve Shellenberger[22]; 16. 96-Richard Swan[21]; 17. 25-Josh Lolmaugh[18]; 18. 82-Jacob Poel[3]; 19. 42-Bob Baldwin[12]; 20. 9H-John Demoss[10]; 21. 23-Luke Hubbell[15]; 22. 12M-John McClure[16] |
| DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne. |
MIDDLETOWN SHOWDOWN
| Sheppard inches Blair for fifth win of the season at Orange CountyIt’s the New Berlin, IL driver’s 74th career World of Outlaws Victory, tying him for second all-timeMIDDLETOWN, NY – August 20, 2021 – A few inches and a bit of luck separated three-time and defending World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model champion Brandon Sheppard from another step in Series history Thursday night at Orange County Speedway.The New Berlin, IL driver and Centerville, PA’s Max Blair waged an epic battle in the closing laps, resulting in the two exiting Turn 4 for the final time side-by-side. Blair had thrown his Viper Motorsports car underneath Sheppard in the final corner to pull even with him, but the blue Rocket1 Racing machine had the better momentum up top, propelling him ahead of Blair at the finish line by inches. The victory was Sheppard’s fifth of the season and 74th Series win of his career – tying him with Darrell Lanigan for second on the all-time wins list. It’s also a victory that wouldn’t have happened if the race went any longer. “The last couple of laps, I started laying over more, and I kept getting looser and looser, and I didn’t know why,” Sheppard said. “I took the checkered flag and getting into [Turn 1], my right rear tire went down. “We got lucky there for sure; if it had been 41 laps or another caution, we wouldn’t have won that race.” Another factor in the race was Sheppard’s tire choice. He picked a different compound than some of his challengers, putting him at a disadvantage on shorter runs. “I felt like I was better on the longer runs, which I should’ve been because I was on a little bit harder of a tire than what [Blair] was,” Sheppard said. “He was softer than me, and I couldn’t run on the bottom of the track like I wanted to.” Sheppard is now only four wins away from matching Josh Richards at the top of the win list (78). He also extended his points lead to 128 over Chris Madden, who finished 13th. The Gray Court, SC driver was running third when he lost oil pressure, sidelining him for the last two laps. Even though Blair settled for second, he still wore a smile. He stated he was happy to run up front with some of the top drivers on tour. “I think I had a really good racecar, but Brandon Sheppard’s a really, really good racecar driver,” Blair said. “On that last lap, I thought I had him getting into [Turn 3], and he just carried so much momentum off [Turn 4] that I just couldn’t quite beat him back to the line. “You don’t get too many opportunities to run against [Chris Madden] and [Brandon Sheppard] like that, so I’ll take that all day long; that was fun.” After switching to a backup car before the Feature, Tyler Bruening, the top rookie, finished third. The Decorah, IA driver had motor trouble at the end of his Drydene Heat Race, forcing him to battle from the back of the field to reach the podium. “The car was dynamite tonight,” Bruening said. “I like these big racetracks; it just suits my driving style a little more, and they’re a lot of fun for me.” “You got to have a good race car to come from dead last to run third with these guys.” NASCAR Truck and Super DIRTcar Series regular Stewart Friesen crossed the line fourth in his second appearance with the World of Outlaws Late Models. The Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON driver thought he may have used up his stuff trying to get to the front. “I think I just burned the tires up trying to get there, and then toward the end, I was just kind of skating,” Friesen said. “A good run for us. We’re still learning these cars. There’s just so much to them. I still don’t think it’s where it needs to be, but it’s pretty cool to run with these guys and be out here.” Pennsylvania’s Dan Stone finished fifth, his second top-five with the Series in 2021. A little luck doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to reach Victory Lane, even if you’ve been there as often as Brandon Sheppard. Thursday’s win isn’t something the “Rocket Shepp” is taking for granted. “The good Lord was watching after us [Thursday],” Sheppard said. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet head to Pennsylvania for a stop at the iconic Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, Aug. 20. 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. Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1][$10,000]; 2. 111V-Max Blair [5][$6,000]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening [13][$3,500]; 4. 44F-Stewart Friesen [9][$2,800]; 5. 2-Dan Stone [14][$2,500]; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler [4][$2,300]; 7. B1-Brent Larson [11][$2,200]; 8. 99M-Max McLaughlin [19][$2,100]; 9. 24Y-Dylan Yoder [18][$2,050]; 10. 119B-Bryan Bernheisel [10][$2,000]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr [6][$1,600]; 12. 171-Jimmy Bernheisel [12][$1,400]; 13. 44-Chris Madden [3][$1,200]; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs [8][$1,100]; 15. 7-Ricky Weiss [7][$1,050]; 16. 7R-Ross Robinson [16][$1,000]; 17. 93-Pancho Lawler [22][$1,000]; 18. 4S-Danny Snyder [17][$1,000]; 19. 0-Rick Eckert [2][$1,000]; 20. 24-Jon Rohacevich [15][$1,000]; 21. 7A-Amanda Robinson [21][$1,000]; 22. 19R-Ryan Gustin [20][$1,000] Hard Charger:99M-Max McLaughlin[+11] Qualifying –1. 119B-Bryan Bernheisel, 20.072; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 20.16; 3. 8-Kyle Strickler, 20.299; 4. 44-Chris Madden, 20.437; 5. 0-Rick Eckert, 20.447; 6. 7A-Amanda Robinson, 20.46; 7. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 20.466; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs, 20.476; 9. 44F-Stewart Friesen, 20.529; 10. 7R-Ross Robinson, 20.55; 11. 111V-Max Blair, 20.698; 12. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 20.813; 13. 7-Ricky Weiss, 20.835; 14. B1-Brent Larson, 20.901; 15. 171-Jimmy Bernheisel, 21.053; 16. 99M-Max McLaughlin, 21.081; 17. 2-Dan Stone, 21.11; 18. 24Y-Dylan Yoder, 21.171; 19. 93-Pancho Lawler, 21.35; 20. 4S-Danny Snyder, 22.258; 21. 24-Jon Rohacevich, 22.33; 22. 16-Tyler Bruening, NT |
| 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, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Tandy, No. 64 C8.R Third in Hyperpole
| Final on-track practice sessions ahead of Saturday-Sunday endurance classic |
| LE MANS, France (Aug. 19, 2021) – Nick Tandy set the third-fastest time in Hyperpole qualifying Thursday to put Corvette Racing’s No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R on the second row of the GTE Pro grid for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tandy, who drives with Tommy Milner and Alexander Sims, posted a best lap of 3:47.093 (134.216 mph) in the 30-minute session. The day before in the first round of qualifying, Tandy turned a 3:47.074 (134.217 mph) – the fastest lap for any Corvette Racing entry in its 21 years at Le Mans. Thursday also featured the final two official practice sessions for the full field of 61 cars – including eight in GTE Pro. The two Corvettes continued to focus on race pace with a number of adjustments and changes to many of the C8.R’s systems including suspension and aerodynamics. Antonio Garcia set the best combined practice time for the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R – a 3:49.603 (132.725 mph) effort in the fourth and final practice session of the week. He will team with Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg as the No. 63 C8.R starts eighth Saturday. A 15-minute warmup is set for 11:30 a.m. CET/5:30 a.m. ET. The green flag for the 24 Hours of Le Mans falls at 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV will air the race live with the MotorTrend App adding coverage of official practices and qualifying on Aug. 18 and 19. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans starting with Sunday’s Test Day. Chevrolet’s YouTube page will stream the on-board feed from the No. 63 Corvette C8.R for the entire race. |
| NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Today was not bad at all. It seems we improved the balance a little bit. We were trying to figure out whether we can double-stint the tires, yes or no. It feels good. Compared to yesterday, today was definitely better. I think we made good steps tonight, so I’m positive.” |
chevy racing–nascar–michigan advance
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN AUGUST 22, 2021 RACE #25 – MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYFollowing two consecutive victories on road courses, Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) drivers turn their attention to two ovals to close the regular season, starting with the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 22. Chevrolet, which leads the NCS Manufacturer Standings, has posted 13 wins and secured five spots in the Playoffs heading into the 200-lap race on the 2-mile, D-shaped oval in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Chevrolet has recorded 26 wins at MIS; the first by Cale Yarborough in the 200-lap race on June 19, 1977, in the No. 11 Chevelle Laguna/Laguna S-3 from the fourth starting position for team owner Junior Johnson. It will be the first time since 1973 that Michigan International Speedway has hosted only one race during an NCS season.
NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson, driving the No. 5 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend, has scored three victories at MIS in the past five years, including his first-career NCS win on August 28, 2016. He also won from the pole in June 2017 and from the ninth starting position in the August 2017, all behind the wheel of a Chevrolet.
Larson, who will start from the pole for the fifth time this season, has recorded three of his field-high five wins in non-restrictor plate races on superspeedways. Hendrick Motorsports teammate and reigning NCS champion Chase Elliott will join Larson on the front row in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE.
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) drivers will also race at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) opens its Playoffs at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Illinois.
Chevrolet has won 17 of the 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at MIS, including the last three. NCS regular Tyler Reddick, who won the last NXS race at Michigan in 2019, is entered in the No. 23 Our Motorsports Camaro SS for the 125-lap New Holland 250. Seven drivers of the Chevrolet Camaro SS placed in the top-10 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, led by runner-up AJ Allmendinger. He is second in the standings and Justin Allgaier is third with five races left in the regular season.
Three drivers of the Chevrolet Silverado, including 2020 NCWTS Champion Sheldon Creed, qualified for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series elimination-style Playoffs that kicks off Friday, August 20, at the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
CHEVROLET, LARSON ATOP STANDINGSChevrolet increased its lead in the Manufacturer Standings in the run to its 40th NASCAR Cup Series title with AJ Allmendinger’s victory and six drivers finishing in the top-10 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Kyle Larson took the outright lead in the Driver Standings with a third-place finish in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE and is positioned to grab the regular-season champion’s prize of 15 Playoff bonus points. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron is fourth and Chase Elliott is fifth in the standings.
TEAM CHEVY ROAD COURSE DOMINANCE CONTINUESTeam Chevy drivers have won five of the six NASCAR Cup Series road course races this season. AJ Allmendinger’s first NCS win since 2014 – on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit – complements victories by reigning champion Chase Elliott (Circuit of the Americas and Road America) and Kyle Larson (Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International). One road course race, on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in September, is part of the NCS Playoffs.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREENWith no practice or qualifying for the 200-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 Cincinnati Camaro ZL1 1LE2nd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE6th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE10th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE12th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Maxwell House Camaro ZL1 1LE13th Erik Jones, No. 43 Medallion Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE14th Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro ZL1 1LE17th Justin Haley, No. 77 General Formulations/Mutoh Camaro ZL1 1LE18th William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE
BOWTIE BULLETS· Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 13 victories in 24 NCS races thus far this season. · Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 108 top-10 finishes and 2,524 laps led of 5,661 total this season.· In addition to its 26 wins, Chevrolet has amassed 180 top-five and 373 top-10 finishes at Michigan International Speedway.· Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 1,496 laps led.· Austin Dillon is second among drivers with 99.79% of laps completed (5,649 of 5,661) and Tyler Reddick is third (99.43%) with 5,629.· Reddick holds a 28-point lead over Richard Childress Racing teammate Dillon for the final Playoff berth. · Chase Elliott leads active drivers with an average finish of 7.7 n 10 races at MIS.· Kurt Busch is tied for most starts at MIS among active drivers with 40. He has three wins among 16 top-10 finishes.· Five Team Chevy drivers have combined for 22 stage wins: Chase Elliott (Daytona RC); 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).
FOR THE FANS:
- Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Michigan International Speedway.
- Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: 2021 Silverado 1500 Trailboss, 2021 Corvette Convertible 3LT, 2021 Camaro SS 3LT Convertible, 2021 Silverado 2500 4WD LTZ Crew, 2022 Trailblazer, Blazer Premier.
- At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro ZL1 1LE show car.
TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:Sunday, August 22
- Ross Chastain: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
- Alex Bowman: 11:55 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:
- Friday, August 20: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, August 21: 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- Sunday, August 22: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
TUNE INNBCSN will telecast the 200-lap NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 22. Live coverage is also on the MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NBCSN will telecast the 125-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 21. FS1 will telecast the 160-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at 9 p.m. ET Friday, Aug. 20.
QUOTABLE QUOTESKYLE LARSON, NO. 5 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 1st IN STANDINGSLARSON ON HIS STRATEGY AT MICHIGAN: “It’s a totally different package; aero, engine, all that compared to when I used to win there but Hendrick Motorsports has been strong there and we have been good on all the bigger ovals this year. The draft plays a big role there, so you have to be really patient when you are making moves. As long as we keep executing and being smart like we have been doing all year long, we should have ourselves in position to challenge for another win.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LEDANIELS ON CHALLENGES OF MICHIGAN BEING THE ONLY RACE ON A 2-MILE TRACK THIS SEASON:“Massive challenges. Michigan is a tough place to know where to set the trim of your car for drag and downforce. A lot of the mile-and-a-half’s are more similar in that regard. At Michigan, you really have to have speed in your car. Of course, you have to have the right amount of handling to get through the corners, but the straightaways are long and the track is smooth. If you have handling on your side – which hopefully we do – then you must be able to go fast in a straight line.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON THE HIGH SPEEDS AT MICHIGAN: “I think with the 550 horsepower package we run, the mid-corner section of the track feels more high speed than anything. Even though we’re going slower down the straightaways than we were a couple years ago, I feel like the mid-corner now feels almost sketchy. It’s fully on edge and you’re close to always chattering the tires. It’s a fast track that makes you feel like you’re always running on a fine line. It’s just a different sensation of speed with this package.”
BYRON ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING AT MICHIGAN: “Michigan is such an important racetrack, not only for teams but for manufacturers – Chevrolet, most importantly. It’s a fun race that’s all about bragging rights for them on who had the most power, the most downforce, and things like that. I feel like we are heading into this race with a really good shot to get it done for Chevy. We have really fast cars on the 1.5-mile and 2-mile tracks. So, I’m excited to see how things play out for us and hopefully we can be the ones to give the bragging rights to Chevy at the end of the day.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE FUGLE ON THE FINAL RACES BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS: “Since the two-week break, we wanted to make sure we came back with high intensity. We obviously bring it every week, but we wanted to ensure that everyone understands that we want to treat this like a 14-week playoff. With the last two races we ran and the next two coming up, we want to make sure that we are executing at the highest level possible. It’s about the cars you bring to the track, the execution level and going through every detail. That is what we’re trying to hit on to make sure we are ready to go for the playoffs. We don’t want to wait until the playoffs start to be like, ‘Okay, it’s time to step it up.’ It’s a fight every week, so we’re trying to make sure that we’re bringing it at all times.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGSELLIOTT ON MAKING A PLAYOFF RUN THIS SEASON: “We just have to peak at the right time. That was really what we did best last year. We just really peaked at the right time and kind of got hot for a stretch of races. It was perfect timing. Unfortunately, you can’t always draw that up. That’s not just something you can snap your fingers and make happen. It’s a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of effort and it comes from everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, everyone on the road, myself, our off-track help. Everything has to really be clicking at the right time. Our playoffs are 10 weeks, which is a long time. Just that stretch of races, it’s tough to be at your peak for 10 weeks. We just hope we can peak at the right time again, that’s key. We want to perform when it matters most.”
ELLIOTT ON THIS YEAR’S ‘DESI9N TO DRIVE’ PROGRAM: “With September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the Chase Elliott Foundation, NAPA AUTO PARTS and Hendrick Motorsports have decided to give the No. 9 Chevrolet an entirely new look for the Darlington race. To me, the main player is obviously NAPA and how they are allowing Children’s to be a part of it. To take ‘DESI9N TO DRIVE’, an event that was just shoe designs, and turn it into being on the car, on the suit, on the helmet. I think all of that is extremely special, so I am grateful for NAPA being open, willing and excited about it enough to partner up and make it happen.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGSTHE NASCAR PLAYOFFS BATTLE IS REALLY HEATING UP. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS FOLLOWING INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY WITH TWO MORE RACES REMAINING IN THE REGULAR SEASON? “It’s an interesting place to be, with myself and my teammate, Austin Dillon, fighting for points and in that cutline situation. Looking back on it, I think Indy was tough. If we could have both just agreed not to go after stage points, I think we both could have had really strong chances at top-10s and good finishes, and maybe even going for the win. With the way the race played out and seeing all of the carnage that took place, I think we would have had a different strategy going in if we would have known. It was nice to get the stage points. Those Playoff points will be good to have if we can survive the next two weeks.”
FAST, TWO-MILE TRACK AT MICHIGAN. YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO THE RACE? “I don’t know, honestly. I’ve been really focused on these road course races. Trying to get up to speed on what we’re going to have for a racing surface. The last time the sport did anything surface-wise to a track was at Nashville Superspeedway when we put the resin down, so I am curious to see if the track is getting left alone or if anything is going to be applied. The resin seemed to work really well when we raced at Nashville Superspeedway on that concrete oval.” YOU’RE A FORMER WINNER AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY… “Yeah, it was really fun the last time we ran a NASCAR Xfinity Series car there. We were able to find Victory Lane with RCR, so I’m excited to be heading back to Michigan. I’ll be in both the NASCAR Cup Series car and I’m racing a Xfinity Series car for Our Motorsports. I’m excited to get back to Michigan and get some laps in both cars. Running the Xfinity Series race will hopefully be an advantage for Sunday and provide a way for me to get some insight into the characteristics of this tire with whatever application they decide to put on the track. I’m just excited to get back to Michigan. I forget that I haven’t run a Xfinity Series car there since I won in 2019. It’s just a neat place. A lot of power, and fighting dirty air is wild. It should be a fun trip.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGS“Definitely excited to go to Michigan. Last year we were fast, so this year I think we know our program for that style racetrack is really strong and think we could be really good. Excited to go there and hopefully contend for a win. It’s really cool to go to Ally’s backyard, Chevrolet’s backyard and really everyone’s backyards. Everyone has a little bit of added pressure to try to win there and hopefully we can get it done.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE“I am really looking forward to getting to Michigan. Obviously, it’s my home state and one of the first tracks that I went to as a fan in the stands. That gave me the passion for wanting to do this every day. We are looking to continue our great runs on 550 tracks this weekend. Ally’s presence there and Chevrolet’s, having success at Michigan is super important for us on Sunday.” “There is never a bad time to have three wins in the hopper. The big thing is that you want to cap off these races at Michigan and Daytona with momentum. After Watkins Glen we were down a little bit, but I think we are getting back to where we need to be. We need that momentum to go into the start of the playoffs. That is our focus right now. We don’t want to plan to far ahead of us, because you have to take each race and keep building on it.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BREZTRI CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY? “We had a strong Chevy at Michigan International Speedway last year, and I expect the same this year. I’m really looking forward to the race. Michigan is a place we’ve run well at in the past, and it’s a place we’ve circled to try and win and lock ourselves into the NASCAR Playoffs.” FANS HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO SEE A RACE AT MICHIGAN IN PERSON IN TWO YEARS. TALK ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF RACING THERE AND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO? “Michigan has been a fun race for us on the No. 3 team the last couple of years, so we always circle it. We are really focused on this one and the points situation we’re in, we like going to places where we’ve had success in the past. Everybody at RCR has put a lot of focus on our car for that weekend, knowing it’s a good place for us. We’d like to go there and show out for our partners at Dow and Chevrolet since they are based in Michigan. Chevrolet is in Detroit and Dow is based out of Midland, so it’s always good to put on a show for everyone that helps us get to the track each and every weekend. We’re also looking forward to spending time with our friends at AstraZeneca since this is a big race for BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Aerosol. YOU’VE BEEN HITTING THE GYM PRETTY HARD. WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR YOUR MENTALITY IN A HIGH-PRESSURE SITUATION? “Hopefully, in any situation in the car, you feel good. You don’t want to have a point where you don’t feel strong enough to be the same driver every lap. Anytime you can put yourself in a better situation with your heart rate and everything, health-wise, I think it’s better. You are more clear, mentally. I’ve been back at the gym with our trainer and it’s a little more based on what I do in the car and staying more mobile and keeping my body right, so I’m stretched out and feel good when I get in the race car. Healthy is a good thing.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON GOING TO THE PITBULL CONCERT AND THE MICHIGAN RACE IN THE SAME WEEKEND? “I think this is going to be very, very cool especially since we can do it as part of our race weekend. It’s not going to be just a concert; it’s going to be everything around it and the race at Michigan. I’m really looking forward to seeing him do his thing.
HAVE YOU ENJOYED GETTING TO KNOW PITBULL THIS YEAR? “It’s been a lot of fun. I was very fortunate to meet him in the past, but I didn’t get to know him to this level as I do now. He is a role model, man. He is the perfect example of somebody who works very, very hard and is successful. He came from nothing to something great. I really admire the way he represents himself.”
DESCRIBE WHAT IT TAKES FOR SUCCESS AT MICHIGAN?“Michigan is the kind of racetrack where you have to have a lot of straightaway speed and try to be as good as possible in the corners. You have to have a good downforce car in combination with drag to be able to go fast in the straightaways.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MICHIGAN MEMORY? “Michigan is where I got my first Xfinity win, so it’s special to me. You don’t forget moments like that.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 25th IN STANDINGSTHOUGHTS HEADING INTO YOUR HOMETOWN TRACK OF MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY? “I always get pumped up to go to Michigan (International Speedway). For me, growing up about an hour away from there, the fan support I have there is unmatched. Not only that, but getting to go home and see friends and family, spend the week up there, and getting to do some cool stuff. There is a lot of neat events going on during that week in Flint and the surrounding areas with the Back to The Bricks and the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. I have a lot of events going on and for me, having all that happening and getting to be a part of some of it is usually pretty cool.”