Long-time partners extend sponsorship; Several step up to present more than $20,000 total in special awards OSWEGO, NY – Sept. 23, 2021 – The 49th NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week will boast more than a $400,000 total purse for the week of racing (Oct. 6-10), which couldn’t be accomplished without the support of new and long-lasting sponsors.Earlier this year, NAPA Auto Parts announced it was extending its partnership with Super DIRT Week with a multi-year deal, which will include the 50th edition of the historic event. This year will mark the ninth consecutive year that NAPA has served as the title sponsor.“NAPA Auto Parts is thrilled to be a part of the history and legacy of Super DIRT Week,” said Ryan Nowitzke, general manager of NAPA Syracuse. “We look forward to seeing our dedicated, hard-working race fans from across the Northeast spend the week in Central New York at Oswego Speedway and surrounding racetracks. Nothing compares to the excitement and drama of Super DIRTcar Series racing at Super DIRT Week. It takes a lot of “NAPA Know How” to get to the top level of dirt racing.”NAPA isn’t the only well-known partner returning, as well. Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux enters its fifth consecutive season as the sponsor of the Super DIRTcar Series 200-lap, $50,000-to-win, main event (Sunday, Oct. 10).“Super DIRT Week is a special event with an amazing community of race fans and I’m proud to have Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux continue to play a key role,” Billy Whittaker said. “This has been a tremendous partnership throughout the years as we all work to produce the best dirt car racing, we can in the Northeast.”The familiar gold bowtie will dawn the DIRTcar Sportsman main event once again for the Chevrolet Performance 75 – taking place on Sunday, Oct. 10.When it comes to the essential tires and fuel, Hoosier Racing Tire and VP Racing Fuels have become synonymous with NAPA Super DIRT Week and DIRTcar Racing throughout the Northeast. They’ll both continue to be suppliers of those essentials for competitors throughout the week.DIRTVision joins NAPA Super DIRT Week as the new official live broadcast partner this year. The entire week of racing from Oswego Speedway, Brewerton Speedway and Weedsport Speedway will be broadcast live with expert play-by-play announcing, in-depth pit reporter and superior camera action – including drone coverage. There will also be jumbotrons at every race for fans in the grandstands. To watch DIRTVision, sign up now with an annual Platinum FASS PASS or the monthly FAST PASS. You can watch at DIRTVision.com or on the DIRTVision App.“We’re very excited to showcase to the Northeast fans that can’t be at the track the expert coverage and storytelling DIRTVision has to offer,” said DIRTVision General Manager Jim Chiappelli. “We have a lot of exciting things in store that will make them feel like they’re still a part of Racing’s Biggest Party.”More than $20,000 in total special awards will be available to drivers in all four divisions (Super DIRTcar Series, DIRTcar 358 Modified, DIRTcar Sportsman and DIRTcar Pro Stock) with awards for all four coming from SRI Performance (Pole Award), Low-E Insulation (Outside Pole Award), St. Lawrence Radiology (Last Chance Showdown), Bart Contracting (Hard Luck Award), K1 Race Gear (Last Car/Finisher Award), Fastline Performance (Halfway Feature Leader Award), Integra (Last Car on the Lead Lap) PJC Spray Foam (Lap 50 Leader Award) and Penske Racing Shocks (Hard Charger Award). Area Auto Racing News will also again present the Best Appearing Car award for each division.Beyond those sponsors, NAPA Super DIRT Week counts on many other key sponsors and partners, including: SIS Insurance, Automotive Racing Products, A-Verdi, ASI Race Wear, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, Clarion Hotel-Oswego, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Empire Golf Cars, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Racing Electronics, Tracey Road Equipment, and Wrisco Aluminum.

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, Clarion Hotel – Oswego, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,  Drydene, Fast Line Performance, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, K1 Race Gear, Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Shocks, PJC Spray Foam, Racing Electronics, SRI Performance, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum. Special thanks to New York State. 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.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE SOUTH POINT 400 LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAS VEGAS, NEVADA SEPT. 26, 2021
RACE #30 – LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYThe Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Playoffs for four Team Chevy drivers opens Sunday, September 26, with the 267-lap South Point 400 on the 1.5-mile oval of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Chevrolet has won nine of the 27 NCS races held at the Nevada venue, including the past two by Kyle Larson (March 2021) and Kurt Busch (September 2020). Larson, first in the Playoff standings entering the race, will start from the pole in his No. 5 Tarlton and Son Camaro ZL1 1LE.
The diverse three-race set of the second round also includes the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway oval and the Charlotte ROVAL, where the field will be trimmed from 12 drivers to eight in pursuit for the NCS championship title. A look at Team Chevy in the NASCAR Cup Series title hunt:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Tarlton and Son Camaro ZL1 1LE – 1st in Standings (3,059 Points)Victories: 6 (field-high)Top-Fives: 16; Top-10’s: 21; Poles: 1; Laps Led: 1,905Average Finish: 9.0Stage Wins: 14At Las Vegas (10 career NCS starts): Wins: 1; Top-Fives: 4; Top-10’s: 7; Average Finish: 9.8Of Note: In the March 2021 NCS race at Las Vegas, Larson led a field-high 103 of 267 laps to capture his first win of the 2021 NCS season and his first with Hendrick Motorsports. The NCS Regular Season Champion starts the second round 46 points above the cutline. 
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE – 6th in Standings (3,021 points)Victories: 2Top-Fives: 12; Top-10’s: 17; Laps Led: 524; Average Finish: 12.0Stage Wins: 3At Las Vegas (9 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 2; Top-10’s: 3; Average Finish: 20.556 Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Elliott’s sixth consecutive year of being part of the Playoff field. Six of his 13 career NCS wins have come in the Playoffs. Elliott has wins at five of the next seven venues on the NCS schedule. 
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE –7th in Standings (3,015 Points)Victories: 3Top-Fives: 7; Top-10’s 14; Pole Wins: 1; Laps Led: 151; Average Finish: 14.1At Las Vegas (9 career NCS starts): Top-Fives: 1; Top-10’s: 2; Average Finish: 19.667Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Bowman’s fourth-career Playoffs appearance. Bowman has raced his way into the Round of 12 for the last three years. Bowman tied a career best at Bristol of a fifth-place finish to advance to the Round of 12. 
William Byron, No. 24 Axalta/Service King Camaro ZL1 1LE – 8th in Standings (3,014 Points)Victories: 1 Top-Fives: 10; Top-10’s: 17; Pole Wins: 2; Laps Led: 276; Average Finish: 13.7Stage Wins: 3At Las Vegas (8 career NCS starts): Top-10’s: 2; Average Finish: 20.286Of Note: The 2021 NCS season marks Byron’s third-career Playoffs appearance. Byron produced a career-high third place finish at Bristol, making up an 18-point deficit to advance to the Round of 12. In six NCS races on 1.5-mile tracks thus far this season, Byron has captured one win (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and finished inside the top 10 in five of those races. 
CHEVROLET OCCUPIES SEVEN OF 12 NXS PLAYOFF SPOTSSeven drivers of the Chevrolet Camaro SS – AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Jeremy Clements – qualified for the 12-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Playoffs that begin Saturday, September 25, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.Allmendinger sealed the regular season championship with his fourth victory of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Kaulig Racing driver returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway looking to become a repeat winner after capturing the NXS victory at Las Vegas in March. Chevrolet, with 12 NXS wins, is heading into the NXS playoff run atop the Manufacturer Standings.
NCWTS ROUND OF EIGHTReigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) champion Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar advanced to the Round of 8 in their Chevrolet Silverado’s. The reigning NCWTS Champion, Sheldon Creed, had an impressive first round, capturing the victory at two of the three races in the Round of 10. Creed leads the Team Chevy brigade sitting second in the driver standings. The Round of 8 kicks off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, September 24, with the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 Presented by Westgate Resorts. 
TWENTY YEARS AGO – GORDON RECORDS CHEVY’S FIRSTCareer Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon gave the Bowtie Brand its first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2001. Gordon led twice, including the final 20 laps of the 267-lap race, after starting 24th. Jimmie Johnson leads Chevrolet and all NCS drivers with four wins at the track, including three in a row in 2005, ’06 and ’07. 
CHEVROLET HOLDS LEAD IN MANUFACTURER STANDINGSChevrolet remains the leader in the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Standings in pursuit of its 40th title. Team Chevy has recorded field highs of 14 victories, 128 top-10 finishes, 3,300 laps led and 26 stage wins through 29 races. The Bowtie Brand has already surpassed its totals for wins (9), top-10 finishes (120), laps led (2,399) and stage wins (21) from the 36-race 2020 season.
BUSCH TO MAKE 750TH START ON HOME TRACKLas Vegas native Kurt Busch, driving the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE, will make his 750th NASCAR Cup Series start on his home track. In his 22nd season, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion is the longest-tenured active driver in terms of career starts. He has 33 wins and 327 top-10 finishes. Busch, 43, qualified for the Playoffs this season for the 15th time in the 18 years of the postseason.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREENWith no practice or qualifying for the 267-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 Tarlton and Son Camaro ZL1 1LE 3rd     William Byron, No. 24 Axalta/Service King Camaro ZL1 1LE7th     Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE 11th   Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE 13th   Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cat Trial 11: Hot Wheels Camaro ZL1 1LE15th    Austin Dillon, No. 3 BETMGM Camaro ZL1 1LE16th    Erik Jones, No. 43 Medallion Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE 18th   Ross Chastain, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 1LE20th   Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
BOWTIE BULLETS·       Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 14 wins, 128 top-10 finishes and 3,300 laps led of 7,293 total this season.·       In addition to its nine wins, Chevrolet has amassed 55 top-five and 106 top-10 finishes in 27 races since Las Vegas Motor Speedway opened in 1998.·       The Southpoint 400 is the fourth race of the Playoffs. Career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson won the fourth race in 2009 and 2016 on the way to claiming the Driver Championship.·       Johnson’s four wins at Las Vegas leads all drivers.·       Erik Jones (22 years, 3 months, 17 days) is the youngest pole winner at Las Vegas.·       Jones led non-Playoff drivers with an eighth-place finish at Bristol.·       Hendrick Motorsports continues to lead the Owner Standings.·       Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 1,905 laps led.·       Tyler Reddick is second among drivers with 99.49% of laps completed (7,256 of 7,293).·       Five Team Chevy drivers have combined for 26 stage wins: Chase Elliott (Daytona RC, Michigan, Daytona2); William Byron (Homestead, Pocono2, Road America); Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indianapolis Road Course x2); Kurt Busch (Nashville Superspeedway, Pocono1, Atlanta2); Kyle Larson (Las Vegas, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville, Darlington2, Bristol2).
TUNE INNBCSN will telecast the 267-lap NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at 7 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 26. Live coverage is also on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NBCSN will also telecast the 201-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 302 at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 25. FS1 will telecast the 134-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts at 9 p.m. ET, Friday, Sept. 24.
QUOTABLE QUOTESKYLE LARSON, NO. 5 TARLTON AND SON CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 1st IN STANDINGSLARSON ON RETURNING TO LAS VEGAS: “It’s nice going back to a track we’ve won at before. We were really good at Vegas earlier this year, so definitely excited to go back and hoping we have similar speed. The temperature will be much warmer this weekend, so that changes things but our team has been really good at adapting to every situation this year. Hopefully, we can prepare well and have another good car and battle for the win.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 TARLTON AND SON CAMARO ZL1 1LEDANIELS ON HOTTER TEMPERATURES COMPARED TO MARCH: “It definitely presents a lot of challenges – from the ambient air temperature to the track temperature, and the pace is going to be slower and (tire) fall off is going to be higher. We’re taking all that into consideration and hope we make the right decisions to have a good car – not only for speed but longer into a run when grip is lacking.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGS“We haven’t had the best results at Las Vegas. The good thing is I feel like we have been fast out there at times. That’s the frustrating thing. Terrible results. I feel like every time I leave out there I’m mad and ready to go home, but I’m looking forward to this trip. Vegas is a place that I don’t have any ill will toward and again, I feel like we have had pace there. We have just really struggled to get the results. Hopefully, this time is a little different. It would be nice to get a win out there. That would be even better.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS“Advancing to the Round of 12 was exactly what we needed to do going into the Bristol race. It is obvious we struggled in the first two races in the playoffs, but we went into Bristol with a strategy and Greg (Ives) and the team did a great job with adjustments throughout the race. We fought hard and coming out with a fifth-place finish was big for this Ally team. We want to take Ally as far as we can in these playoffs and putting races together like last weekend will do just that for us.”
“Going to Vegas this weekend is a good track for the 48 team. We have seen success there in the past and earlier this season we had a top-10, if not a top-five run going before we had a tire go down. Our mile and a half program is strong and this Ally team has been working hard on our Chevrolets. This round of the playoffs has a lot of good tracks for us, so we are looking to have strong runs the next three weeks.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE “Whether it’s a great week or a bad week, you try to look at each week as a new start and have realistic goals in mind. A realistic goal for us at Las Vegas is a win. There are some places you go and try to get top five in stages and then come out with a good finish. With Vegas, I feel like we got great race cars capable of going out there and scoring a lot of stage points and getting the win. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we have teammates who have the same thing. We just got to go out there and execute to the best of our abilities and take advantage when we can. Whether it’s a restart or on pit road or short runs or long runs. We just got to stay focused on that. I feel like we’re capable of winning at any racetrack, but there’s a lot of confidence going back to Vegas.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA / SERVICE KING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON HOW CRUCIAL LAS VEGAS IS FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS: “It’s a great feeling knowing that we had the performance we did in Bristol and were able to advance on. I knew this team was capable of it but to be able to execute it in a Game 7-style situation is even more impressive. Now we’re moving on and turning or focus to the next round. These upcoming tracks are ones that have always been good for us but they also can be wildcards in their own respective, especially Talladega (Superspeedway) and the Charlotte ROVAL. That’s why it’s even more important for us to go to Vegas, execute everything and maximize points. We don’t want to start this round off in a hole like we did the first round. Myself and Rudy (Fugle) would rather play offense through these next three races than have to worry on defending points. Vegas is crucial, in my mind, to determine how you play the rest of the round. Hopefully, we come out with a win and the only points that matter for the next two races are playoff points.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA / SERVICE KING CAMARO ZL1 1LEFUGLE ON THE MOMENTUM HEADING TO LAS VEGAS:“We’re super excited to hit the reset button at this stage. Darlington put us behind and we didn’t have a good run at Richmond. It made Bristol way too stressful. I feel like Vegas is really good for us, and this whole round has tracks where we are fast and perform well. I’m really excited about getting a reset, getting a good start at Vegas, competing for a win and maybe not having to worry about the next two (races), so that would be great.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGSTHOUGHTS ON GOING BACK TO LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR A SECOND TIME THIS SEASON? “I’m looking forward to going back to Las Vegas (Motor Speedway). We had a really good run there in the spring with a top-10. Hopefully we can just go back and run as good and improve on it, as well. We’ll see how it goes. Las Vegas is kind of an interesting track. I feel like this race is a lot different than the spring, just because it ends at night and the track changes a lot when it cools down.”“Overall, I feel good about our package and being able to come back with something that was good in the spring and hopefully just as good when we go back this weekend.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 GOOD SAM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 25th IN STANDINGSWHAT IS DANIEL’S AMIGOS?“Daniel’s Amigos was just an idea. I always wanted to do something special for the Latinos, and was just trying to come up with ways to bring this community to the race track and give them a special, cool experience.
“After several conversations with Coca-Cola and NASCAR, we were able to make it happen in 2019 at Auto Club Speedway in California. The program just grew from there until COVID made us take a break. It has been a while since we have done it, but we are back Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.”It has taken a lot of work by Coca-Cola and NASCAR to make this happen, but I am super excited about it.”
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ON SUNDAY WITH DANIEL’S AMIGOS? “We are going to have a few hundred people in the infield of the race track in an open air space where they can have a good time. I am going to be there for 45 minutes, taking pictures, questions and answers and lots of fun. I want them to get to know me better and I want to get to know them. I want to show them how cool NASCAR really is.”
WHY IS THIS PROGRAM IMPORTANT? “One of the great things I love about our sport is that it is very family oriented. Every time I get the opportunity to do one of these Daniel’s Amigos events, I want to make them feel like they are at home so they will come back and support us every week at the track.”
HOW COOL WOULD IT BE TO WIN SUNDAY? “Winning Sunday would be amazing. I would invite all 200 Daniel’s Amigos to victory lane to help us celebrate.”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 BUILT BAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS“Heading into Vegas this weekend with some high hopes. I turn 30 on Saturday, so my friends at Built Bar did a special scheme that makes me look like I’m turning 80. We broke a gear running 16th the first race here, so hopefully we can back that up and have an even better run this time. This track changes drastically from the start of the race in the direct sunlight, to the end of the race when it finishes under the lights. We’ve got some good notes that we’ll apply from previous races & stay on top of the changes to our Built Bar Camaro all night.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series StatisticsManufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2020): 39First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2020): 32First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Chase Elliott (2020) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2021 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 14Poles: 5Laps Led: 3,300Top-five finishes: 60Top-10 finishes: 128Stage wins: 26 – Chase Elliott (Daytona RC, Michigan, Daytona), William Byron (Homestead, Pocono 2, Road America), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville, Darlington, Bristol), Kurt Busch (Nashville, Pocono 1, Atlanta 2), Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indy RC x2)  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 809 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 722Laps led to date: 240,005Top-five finishes to date: 4,125Top-10 finishes to date: 8,530                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:           General Motors: 1,143           Chevrolet: 809           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 811                                                                    Ford: 711           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 160

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA SEPT. 24-26 RACE 16 OF 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SEASON Team Chevy heads to Long Beach with eyes on the prizePato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden take aim at driver championship in season finale; Scott McLaughlin eyes Rookie-of-the-Year titleDETROIT (Sept. 23, 2021) – Pato O’Ward’s path to clinching the Astor Cup has become more challenging. But like any true competitor, the second-year NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver thrives on challenges. The driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet enters the 85-lap championship-deciding race Sunday, Sept. 26, on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California, second in the standings. Scoring his third win of the 16-race season is a necessity to leave Southern California with the title. “We are still alive in the championship, and a lot of things can fall our way,” said O’Ward, who enters the season finale 35 points out of first. “I’m going for the win in Long Beach, whatever it takes. I think our street course package is probably one of our stronger packages in terms of road courses, street courses, ovals, short ovals. I think I’m pretty handy around a street course, so hopefully I can pull off something good.” O’Ward has one NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on the technical street circuit, qualifying ninth and placing 12th in 2019. The event was not contested in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re here as underdogs,” O’Ward added. “It’s the first time we truly challenged for a championship of this magnitude, with this amount of competitiveness. I think it’s been a fantastic year. I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. Really proud of how we’ve grown. But we’re not there yet. We need to keep pushing and we need to keep improving.” Two 45-minute practice sessions on the precede knockout qualifications Saturday, Sept. 25. The race will be the 165th for Chevrolet since it returned to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012. The Bowtie Brand has four victories on the Long Beach course in that span and seven in a row from 1987-93.
“Chevrolet enters the final race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with the same objective and resolve it entered 2021 with — to provide the best support possible to our teams and drivers and see a race car with the Bowtie take the checkered flag,” Chevrolet INDYCAR program manager Rob Buckner said. “It’s been a challenging season in many regards for everybody but rewarding, too. 
“We’re looking forward to watching the one of Chevy’s newest talents Pato O’Ward tackle the Long Beach street circuit in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet and Josef Newgarden wheel his No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet as they both charge for the win and hopefully either Pato’s first or Josef’s third championship.” 
Two-time NTT INDCYAR SERIES champion Newgarden, who was runner-up in the 2019 race at Long Beach, is 45 points behind front-running Alex Palou and mathematically in contention for the title. “I’m so proud of the No. 2 car team and everyone with Chevy and Hitachi — just a little short,” said Newgarden, who advanced 10 positions to finish seventh at Laguna Seca. “Little bit tough, but we’ll go to Long Beach and try to get another win before the offseason.” McLaughlin seeks to secure rookie of year titleScott McLaughlin will aim to wrap up the INDYCAR Rookie of the Year award in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. With five top-10 finishes through the 15 races, including runner-up at Texas Motor Speedway in his oval debut, the three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion is a respectable 13th in the standings. Buckner continued: “Scott has made a difficult transition with incredible determination. He has challenged himself all season. It will be an exciting to see his hard work rewarded.” Chevrolet on displaySpectators can learn more about Chevrolet vehicles at the Chevrolet Motorsports Display in the Long Beach Expo Center throughout the weekend. Display vehicles include the No. 16 Paretta Autosport Chevrolet NTT INDYCAR SERIES car that raced in the 2021 Indianapolis 500, a 2022 Corvette Stingray convertible, a 2021 Camaro 1LE and a 2021 Silverado Trail Boss. Chevrolet INDYCAR team owner Beth Paretta will meet fans at the Chevrolet Display on Sunday at 10:00 a. m. 
Of noteINDYCAR veteran Charlie Kimball returns to AJ Foyt Racing for the season finale in the No. 11 Tresiba Chevrolet. … Dalton Kellett, driver of the No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, got engaged to be married after the Sept. 16 race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. … Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, is a three-time winner at Long Beach. … The 2022 Long Beach race will be third event of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, scheduled for April 10. Tune inNBCSN will telecast the 85-lap/167-mile race at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 26, and knockout qualifications at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 25. Qualifying and practice sessions will also stream on Peacock Premium. The race, qualifications and practice will be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.
Team Chevy will be represented by:A.J. Foyt EnterprisesDalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt RacingCharlie Kimball, No. 11 Tresiba AJ Foyt RacingSebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt RacingArrow McLaren SPPato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SPFelix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SPCarlinMax Chilton, No. 59 CarlinEd Carpenter RacingConor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air ForceRinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/AutogeekJuncos Hollinger RacingCallum Ilott, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger RacingTeam PenskeJosef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team PenskeScott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team PenskeWill Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team PenskeSimon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 6 wins, 7 poles in 15 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio, St. Louis); Will Power (Indy RC2). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1, Indy RC2); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio); Will Power (St. Louis).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 95 wins, 106 earned poles in 164 races

ST. LOUIS (September 23, 2021) — A grueling four race stretch of NHRA national events will come to a close this weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis. Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry might be one of the few teams that would like to keep the racing streak alive on the heels of their strong performance at the DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals last weekend. The five-time national event winner raced to the semifinals and while they did not get the trophy, the improved performance numbers across the board has the entire team ready for the final five races of the NHRA Countdown.

“Luckily, our next race is at St. Louis, we’ve had some good luck there, but we’ve also had some problems,” said DeJoria. “It’s a good track and we’re excited to get back on it. We’re closing the gap and the finals will be here before you know it and, hopefully, we can get a win before the end of the season.”

Sitting in eighth place may not seem like an optimal position but the compact point differential has DeJoria only 51 points, less than three rounds of racing out of fourth place. A strong weekend in St. Louis could easily catapult her into the top tier of Funny Cars with four races remaining. The remaining Countdown national events also play into DeJoria’s hand considering last season the Bandero Tequila ROKiT Funny Car team performed very well at those events.

Alexis DeJoria, Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car

 “When you look at the races we have coming up to close out the season I have performed well there over the years,” said DeJoria. “I think we could get on a roll at just the right time and make this Countdown interesting. The main thing we need to do is make a great run Friday night during the first session. That will set the tone for the rest of the weekend.”

DeJoria’s success at World Wide Technology Raceway extends back to the 2015 season when she raced to the quarterfinals from the No. 12 qualifier position upsetting Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round before losing to Ron Capps in the next round. Two years later as the No. 4 qualifier DeJoria once again raced to the quarterfinals with a strong race day performance. After a two-year hiatus from racing DeJoria returned, qualified No. 2, her best starting position in St. Louis, and raced to the semifinals before losing to eventual finalist Matt Hagan. 

“We had a wild ride in the second round last year, but I was really proud of my team getting us ready for the semifinals,” said DeJoria. “These race cars are a handful. We have been doing a great job this season of going up and down the track. (Crew chiefs) Del Worsham and Nicky Boninfante have a great handle on the tune up and I am looking forward to getting to St. Louis.”

The Bandero Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car has raced to the semifinals in two of the last three races and additionally has started from the top half of the field in eleven of the past twelve races. In that span DeJoria has been either the No. 2 qualifier five times.

Qualifying for the NHRA MIdwest Nationals begins with one session on Friday at 6:00 p.m. with two more qualifying sessions on Saturday afternoon. Eliminations will begin on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CDT with the race being broadcast nationally on FS1 starting at 1:00 p.

The Clinton, IL driver has made three starts with the Series this seasonCONCORD, NC – September 23, 2021 –  As the 2021 season begins to wind-down, some drivers are already looking ahead to next year. For Kyle Hammer, it’s embarking on a new journey in 2022—his rookie campaign with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models. The Clinton, IL driver switched from a DIRTcar UMP Modified to a Late Model earlier this season and plans to take his racing program to the national level. After a conversation with fellow Illinois driver Dennis Erb Jr., his team decided to join the Series. “We talked to [Erb] to see what it would cost money-wise, and he pretty much just kind of put it in our eyes that no matter what you do, it’s going to cost the same amount of money,” Hammer said. “The only difference is with the World of Outlaws; you’re going to spend more money on fuel getting to the track. But, in the long run, you’re going to make more with the payouts, so he kind of talked us into it, and we’re going to go for it.”  Hammer already gained experience with the World of Outlaws Late Models in 2021, starting with the Northern tour in July. He’s made three starts in six appearances with the Series and said he’s enjoyed how efficient the schedule is on race night.   “We definitely liked an organized program more than we do a local show where some of our local shows around [Illinois] you’re not getting out of the track until two, three in the morning, and they’re only running four classes,” Hammer said. “We like being able to know what time you’re going to do exactly what; everything’s planned out, and you’re good to go.” The switch has been a learning curve for Hammer, getting behind the wheel of a Late Model for the first time since 2015. He stated the difference between the two cars is more complicated than people might think.  “The driving style is the biggest thing; it’s not as similar as what everybody thinks it would be,” Hammer said. “The Modified, they drive themselves so much easier going into the corners and stuff like that where the Late Model you really have to hustle them and get them to work themselves. It’s just a lot more work than what people realize.” Tires are another challenge Hammer faced when he switched to a Late Model because of the preparation teams need to do before hitting the track.  “It’s been a little bit difficult here and there, going from not doing any tire work with the modified where you can’t groove or anything like that, to the Late Model that’s double the tire and you have to groove and sipe them and everything else,” Hammer said. Despite the steep learning curve for Hammer, he’s already gained valuable experience racing against some of the top Late Model drivers in the country. He was surprised at how quickly he started to move in the right direction.  “To be able to go out and actually be able to make the shows and run decently close to the front; we had a couple of top-10s and stuff was definitely an eye-opener, not something you really expect to do the first time in a Late Model for six years,” Hammer said.  In three starts with the World of Outlaws, Hammer has finishes of 11th, 13th, and 23rd. As Hammer embarks on his new venture in 2022, he’s already taken a liking to a particular type of track.  “I’m looking forward to the bigger stuff; I like the bigger tracks,” Hammer said. “The 1/4-mile stuff is what I grew up on, but we’ve been to Eldora and Knoxville the last two weeks, and I enjoy that kind of stuff.  “The bigger momentum tracks, you don’t have to hustle the car around the cushion and stuff like that.” That may help Hammer kickoff a strong rookie season in 2022 as the World of Outlaws Late Models will run seven nights at the half-mile Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL, starting with the Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 20-22) and then concluding with four nights at the DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 16-19). Hammer is looking forward to his new journey next season but doesn’t have the goal some fans may expect. While he’d love to add Rookie of the Year to his accolades, he has another priority in 2022.  “We really just want to be able to complete every race,” Hammer said. “There’s a lot of guys that go out there, and their goal is to win points and stuff like that, but we just want to be able to say we made every race, completed every race, didn’t have a lot of parts failures, keep up on the maintenance side of stuff, and have an overall decent season.” The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models return to action on Friday, Oct. 1, at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC, followed by a return to Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA on Saturday, Oct. 2.   If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App.

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

Only Race in Kansas This Year for World of Outlaws Sprint CarsKANSAS CITY, KS – September 22, 2021 – For one weekend only next month, the home of the Chiefs will be made the home of the Outlaws.The 76th show in an 80-race championship chase for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series guides the winged warriors to Kansas City, KS for the traditional fall date at Lakeside Speedway on Friday, October 22.The FVP Platinum Battery Showdown marks a crucial standalone date for The Greatest Show on Dirt, as championship contenders Brad Sweet, David Gravel, and Carson Macedo continue to jockey for points ahead of the season-ending NGK/NTK World Finals on November 4-6.Three former Lakeside Speedway winners are expected to compete, including 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, reigning champion Brad Sweet, and FVP pilot Brian Brown.Brown, of Grain Valley, MO, is the man who leads the charge for locals into Lakeside. He’s no stranger to success at the Kansas City 4/10-mile, earning one of his five-career World of Outlaws wins at the 2017 race aboard the FVP Parts, Casey’s General Stores #21.Although not a full-timer, “Blackjack” or “Brownie” has made his presence known over the past decade with the Series. Along with modern-day greats like Schatz, Sweet & Gravel, Brown is one of four drivers to lead a lap during every single year over the last decade. He’ll try to lead all 30 when the Series returns to his home turf next month for the race sponsored by his premier partner.”The people at FVP have been instrumental in not only supporting my career, but the entire sport,” Brown said. “I’m always proud to carry the FVP colors, and I can’t wait to try and win another Platinum Battery Showdown. I hope all of our local fans come out and pack Lakeside Speedway for this big race.”Brown will be joined by Donny Schatz, who won two of his 302 career NOS Energy Drink Features at Lakeside. The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 driver scored wins at the Kansas City oval in 2015 and 2019. Currently fourth in the standings, the Fargo, ND native is trying to catch Carson Macedo in a battle for third in the championship.Also in the hunt is Brad Sweet, who continues to chase a third consecutive World of Outlaws championship. He and his Kasey Kahne Racing #49 crew found victory lane at Lakeside in 2016 when the October tradition in Kansas City was born. With another six races left until the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown, The Big Cat leads the standings bu +156 points and has cruised to a career-high 16 wins aboard the NAPA Auto Parts ride.For Jason Johnson Racing, they’ll be competing only two hours away from their Rocky Mount, MO shop. The first-year pairing has been incredibly stout with driver Carson Macedo and crew chief Philip Dietz meshing well with nine wins together. They currently sit third in the standings and hope to repeat their 2020 win at Lakeside with Shane Stewart behind the wheel.Another first-year pairing is David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports, who currently hold the second spot in the points. The Watertown, CT native has collected nine wins this year and isn’t out of reach from Sweet’s championship lead just yet.Other Outlaws to watch at Lakeside include Sheldon Haudenschild, an eight-time winner in the NOS Energy Drink #17, the Shark Racing duo of Logan Schuchart & Jacob Allen, Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contenders James McFadden & Brock Zearfoss, and veterans like Kraig Kinser, Jason Sides, and Wayne Johnson.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all remaining World of Outlaws events live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App.LAKESIDE SPEEDWAY WINNERS: 3 wins – Steve Kinser 2 wins – Donny Schatz, Daryn Pittman 1 win – Shane Stewart, Brian Brown, Brad Sweet, Kerry Madsen, Craig Dollansky, Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser

Classic street circuit event will feature NTT INDYCAR SERIES finale
Highlights Acura’s expanding role in motorsports
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round highlights Saturday activities

TORRANCE, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2021) – The longest-running North American temporary street circuit motorsports event the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach returns this weekend with three days of non-stop action.
“With our U.S. headquarters nearby in Torrance, this is a true ‘home’ event for the Acura brand,” said Jon Ikeda, Acura vice president and brand officer. “The Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of North America’s premier motorsports events, and an institution in Southern California. Acura is delighted and proud to be associated with the Grand Prix of Long Beach, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
The weekend will be headlined by the season finale of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, where Honda last week clinched its 10th – and fourth consecutive – Indy car Manufacturers’ Championship; and Honda-powered driver Alex Palou reclaimed the Drivers’ Championship points lead and could claim his first title.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be the feature event on Saturday, where Wayne Taylor Racing drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque lead the Drivers’ Championship in their Acura ARX-05, after eight of 10 events.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach entry includes 15 Honda-powered Indy cars and five Acura racers in Saturday’s IMSA event. In addition to championship contender Palou, the Indy car field includes six-time series champion Scott Dixon, seven-time NASCAR title winner Jimmie Johnson; two-time Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi; additional previous winners including

James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves; series veterans Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson, Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, Oliver Askew, Ed Jones; and Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean.
In IMSA’s featured Daytona Prototype International category, Albuquerque and Taylor come to Long Beach seeking to increase their championship advantage; while former series champion Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla make up the driver pairing for the Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 prototype. In the production-based GTD division, three teams field Acura NSX GT3 Evo’s for defending GTD champions Mario Farnbacher/Matt McMurry [Compass Racing], Andy Lally/John Potter [Magnus with Archangel] and Till Bechtolsheimer/Marc Miller [Gradient Racing].
In addition, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend will include the Super Drift Challenge under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights, the SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, and the new-for-2021 Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge and Global Time Attack.
Live network television coverage Sunday’s 95-lap NTT INDYCAR SERIES finale starts at 3 p.m. EDT on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and carried by SiriusXM satellite radio.
Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race will be broadcast on NBCSN, starting at 5 p.m. EDT. Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available NBC Sports Gold TrackPass, on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.
Honda Racing social media content and video links from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).
  Fans can also follow the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook (GrandPrixLB), Twitter @GPLongBeach (#AGPLB) and Instagram @GPLongBeach.
In 2018, Acura made a successful return to the top level of sports car racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, going on to sweep the Manufacturer, Driver and Team championships in both 2019 and 2020.

Honda has a long, winning history with Indy cars at Long Beach. Honda-powered drivers have won seven of the last 11 Grands Prix – and 14 times in 20 appearances –  including the two most recent events, in 2018-19, with Alexander Rossi.  Native Californian Jimmy Vasser scored Honda’s first Long Beach victory in 1996, with other Honda-powered winners including Alex Zanardi (1997-98), Michael Andretti (2002), Dario Franchitti (2009), Sato (2013) and Hinchcliffe (2017).

About Acura
Acura is a leading automotive nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to expressive styling, high-performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. The Acura lineup features five distinctive models – the ILX and TLX sport sedans, the RDX and MDX sport-utility vehicles and the electrified NSX supercar. All 2021 model year and newer Acura vehicles sold in America are made in the U.S., using domestic and globally sourced parts.

Sep 21, 2021 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Race Results, Rachel Meyer

Julie Nataas carried the Randy Meyer Racing flag into the semifinal round at the 13th annual DeWALT NHRA Carolina Nationals, while Rachel Meyer inked a quarterfinal finish in the NTK Sensors dragster. 

Coming into raceday, Julie qualified No. 2 with a 5.168-second pass at 274.89 mph and Rachel was No. 9 with a 5.279, 271.19. 

In Rachel’s matchup against Corey Michalek first round, she pulled away for the win with a 5.240, 275.06 over Michalek’s 5.342, 272.39. The following pair, Julie nabbed the starting line advantage over competitor Brad McBride and lit up the scoreboard win light in her lane with a 5.232, 272.94 to defeat McBride’s 5.402, 246.21. 

Second round, Julie was able to overcome a sizable starting line deficit against Mick Steele thanks to her Randy Meyer-tuned beast; her 5.228 268.60 went on to defeat Steele’s 5.413, 272.78. In her matchup, Rachel had an impressive .028-second reaction time over competitor Matthew Cummings but her 5.235, 279.15 was not enough to outrun Cumming’ 5.135, 281.71. 

“Well we struggled a little in qualifying at Charlotte,” Rachel claimed. “Our first hit would have been a good pass but it carried the wheels after I left and I started heading towards the wall. I got out of the throttle then tried getting back in it, and popped the front wheels again so I lifted. Q2 had a much better performance, but in Q3 it shook hard because we were too aggressive on the tune-up. We were able to qualify 9th and got the first round win, but unfortunately lost second round to Matt Cummings who ran a great 5.13 pass and went on to win the race. So far I’m still holding onto the points lead both regionally and nationally. I have two more races left this season; St. Louis regional and Dallas national.”

In the semifinal round, Julie turned every head at zMAX DRAGWAY her way as she busted out a 5.103, 277.54 but unfortunately, she turned on the red light by .025-seconds at the hit; Karen Stalba’s 5.320, 277.94 advanced to the final round.

“My OTG car was running good all weekend long,” said Julie. “We ended the weekend running the 3rd quickest run in history in the semifinals when I unfortunately turned the red light on. I have 3 more races this season, and after running so good this weekend I can’t wait to finish this season strong. “

When: Friday, Sept. 24-Sunday, Sept. 26Where: World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IllinoisTV: FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 26
Chevrolet drivers seek to add to points total in Round 3 of CountdownBrittany Force leads Top Fuel standings, Greg Anderson paces Pro Stock
DETROIT (Sept. 22, 2021) – It was Bring Your Wally to Work Day for Kyle Koretsky on Monday.
Koretsky, the newly minted first-time Pro Stock winner, scaled the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Countdown to the Championship standings with his Sept. 19 victory. He enters the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway – the third round of the Countdown — in third place. 
The driver of the Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS joined KB Racing teammate Dallas Glenn as recording their first Pro Stock win at zMAX Dragway. Glenn, driver of the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS, won the four-wide event in May.
“The Countdown is huge; it’s something I always wanted to do. To win the championship, to be honest I’m not even really looking at that now,” said Koretsky, who was runner-up three times in 20 races over two seasons before breaking through. “I’ll take every race one at a time and that’s the way I look at it. Would I like to get one of those white hats? 100 percent.”
Brittany Force took a step toward earning her second white championship hat with her eighth consecutive No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier and runner-up finish in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster at zMAX Dragway. Force, the points leader, will aim for her second win of the season and tying Gary Beck (1982-83 seasons) for the most top qualifier honors in a row.
“We’re not there yet, but the possibility that we could hold a big record with a name like that, that’s really cool,” Force said. “It makes me very proud of this entire team. It’s not easy to do; I’ll tell you that. But what’s really not easy is winning on race day, and that’s what we’re focused on right now.”
John Force, also the No. 1 qualifier at zMAX Dragway in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, enters the weekend third in the standings. Teammate Robert Hight, driver of the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro SS, is tied for sixth.
In addition to the pro categories, the seventh round of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown will be contested. Drivers of the Chevrolet COPO Camaro have won five of the seven races.
FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 26. 
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (Points leader): “Heading into St. Louis with a slight points lead. Our Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team plans to continue what we’ve been doing. We are looking to get as many points as we can during qualifying and on race day. Eight No. 1 qualifiers in a row is a huge accomplishment and we plan to add to that this weekend while also going for a St. Louis win.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Third in standings; three-time winner at track): “We’re in the thick of it. I just want to be in the hunt, I am. This PEAK team, Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, Joe Barlam and all the guys, they’ve put me in the hunt. Now I just need to do my job. We have a great hot rod with this Chevy, even with a couple mistakes, we’re right there in it. St. Louis has been good to me, which makes it a nice place to finish out this four in a row. We’ll be putting on a show, especially with the competition in Funny Car. It’s going to be exciting.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Tied for sixth in standings): “We have our work cut out for us. I said it from the beginning, I believe you need to win three races in this Countdown to win the championship and I believe this AAA team can do just that. We had some issues on race day in Charlotte, but we got it handled. I’m excited for what we can do in St. Louis. I love racing here, hoping we can capitalize on our progress and gain some ground in the points battle. I know this AAA team is putting everything they have into these final five races, it’s time for their hard work to pay off.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Points leader): “I’ve got a great-running car, I know we’ll be fast at St. Louis and I know I’ll have another chance (to break tie with Warren Johnson for most Pro Stock victories with 98) there. I left one on the table at zMAX. I’m happy for Kyle (Koretsky). He didn’t back into it; he earned it.”
KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Third in standings): “The Countdown is huge; it’s something I always wanted to do. To win the championship, to be honest I’m not even really looking at that now. I’ll take every race one at a time and that’s the way I look at it. Would I like to get one of those white hats? 100 percent.”
DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CAMARO SS (Fourth in standings): “Overall, we didn’t lose any ground in points at zMAX Dragway. We’re still fourth and as long as I can stay in striking distance I know my car is going to like St. Louis a lot. The track is usually good for the car I’m in. I’ll just try to keep doing what I’m doing and drive the best I can. With a little bit of luck, I’ll be able to get another win.”
TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITEMOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (Sixth in standings): “This is my first time in the Countdown and I can tell you that it’s a pretty intense atmosphere at the racetrack these days. Pro Stock has always had the closest racing of any professional category and yet somehow it’s gotten even closer these last few events. It’s pretty insane and exciting, all at the same time. It’s fun to be in the thick of things every race and when the competition gets this tight it takes everything up another level. You know everyone is making great horsepower so it comes down to which driver gets off the clutch pedal and through the gears the quickest. Mistakes are magnified and win lights mean 1,000 times more than normal.”

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 22, 2021) – Sixteen-time champion John Force and his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS team have been contenders for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car Crown from the beginning of the season. Now, heading to the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just 25 points back in third, Force will be counting on his team’s consistent high performance to separate themselves from the rest of the field. With five final round appearances that included three wins (Charlotte Four-Wide, New England Nationals and sharing the winners circle with daughter Brittany in Topeka at Heartland Motorsports Park) and three No. 1 qualifying positions (Charlotte Four-Wide, U.S. Nationals and Carolina Nationals), Force will be trying to win four races in a season for the 14th time in his career while chasing an unprecedented 17th championship. “We’re in the thick of it. I just want to be in the hunt, I am. This PEAK team, Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, Joe Barlam and all the guys, they’ve put me in the hunt,” Force said. “Now I just need to do my job. We have a great hot rod with this Chevy, even with a couple mistakes, we’re right there in it.” Force has gone to the finals six times at the Midwest Nationals (1999, 2002-04, 2006, 2013) and tallied three wins in 1999, 2002 and 2013, also the year he last won the championship. Most recently, he was the No. 1 qualifier in 2019. He has three total No. 1s including 2010 and 2014. “St. Louis has been good to me which makes it a nice place to finish out this four-in-a-row. We’ll be putting on a show, especially with the competition in Funny Car,” Force said. “It’s going to be exciting.” The NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway kicks off with the first qualifying session on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and continues with sessions on Saturday at 1:45 and 4:25 p.m. Eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For television coverage, tune-in Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) for qualifying. Eliminations will air Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

BeFour the Crowns Showdown & Commonwealth Clash Brings Series Back East

ROSSBURG, OH – September 22, 2021 – The conclusion of the west coast swing means a 32-hour cross country drive for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Three weeks in Washington and California was fun, but now it’s time to get down to business with 11 races left this season. The chase for the championship heats up this weekend as The Greatest Show on Dirt returns east for the first time since July.

Eldora Speedway’s BeFour the Crowns Showdown starts off the weekend on Friday, September 24 with the seventh and final World of Outlaws event at The Big E this year.

Lernerville Speedway carries the torch on Saturday, September 25 as the Commonwealth Clash takes center stage at the Sarver, PA facility.

ELDORA TICKETS (Friday)
LERNERVILLE TICKETS (Saturday)

LAST CHANCE: Eldora Speedway and Lernerville Speedway are two of only eight tracks on the schedule with multiple visits throughout the season, and this weekend is the final stop at both of them.

At Eldora’s 1/2-mile, the Series has already hosted six Features this year. Brent Marks and Sheldon Haudenschild split scores during Let’s Race Two in May, Carson Macedo won both preliminary races at the Kings Royal, and Tyler Courtney and Kyle Larson claimed the $175,000 paydays in the 38th and 37th Kings Royal in July.

For Lernerville’s 4/10-mile, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XXX in July was the only previous race held at the Sarver circle in 2020. Sye Lynch’s storybook evening fell short as Brad Sweet earned the $25,000 payday by beating the field and Mother Nature as the rain started to pour in victory lane.

PULLING AWAY: The consistency of Brad Sweet and Kasey Kahne Racing is on full display as the #49 dynasty continues to march towards a third consecutive World of Outlaws championship. Entering this weekend, The Big Cat is on a streak of 17 consecutive top-10 finishes and eight-straight top-five results with four podiums in-a-row. Over that stretch, Sweet has outran Gravel and extended his points lead in five of the last six nights.

The Grass Valley, CA native will look to build on his +156 margin this weekend at two of his favorite tracks. In fact, he’s won at both Eldora and Lernerville on three different occasions, a feat he’s accomplished at nine tracks during his 74-win career with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

CHASING A NEW CROWN: The most noteworthy crown at Eldora Speedway is given out during July’s Kings Royal, but don’t sleep on September’s 4-Crown Nationals. An idea devised by Johnny Vance Jr. of Aristocrat Products, the event began in 1981 with the King of the Outlaws Steve Kinser swooping in to steal the USAC loot in two of the three open-wheel Features. Other Outlaw icons such as Ron Shuman, Jack Hewitt, Brad Sweet & Kyle Larson have found their own share of glory at the race.

In 2008, 4-Crown became open-wheel only when Late Models were subbed for The Greatest Show on Dirt. Since then Joey Saldana has been the only Outlaw to win multiple shows, topping the BeFour the Crowns Showdown in 2008, 2011. and 2014. Other 4-Crown winners include Jason Sides (2009), Jac Haudenschild (2010), Greg Wilson (2015), Shane Stewart (2016), Tim Shaffer (2017), Brent Marks (2018), and Logan Schuchart (2019).

COMMONWEALTH KINGS: The “Big Three” over the past decade in the NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is undoubtedly Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, and David Gravel. Those three are also undoubtedly the rulers of Lernerville’s Commonwealth Clash, as the only drivers with multiple scores since the date was moved to the fall in 2010.

Schatz, who owns nine wins at Lernerville, is trying to make the Sarver, PA oval his eighth track with 10+ World of Outlaws wins. He and the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 topped the Commonwealth Clash in 2010 and 2016.

Sweet is in rarified air when it comes to the Commonwealth Clash, becoming only the second driver to win back-to-back titles along with Steve Kinser. He and the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 owned the fall event in 2018 and 2019.

Gravel enters as the defending Commonwealth Clash champion, winning the 2020 race with the Jason Johnson Racing #41 crew. He also topped the 2017 race with CJB Motorsports, and now eyes a score in the Big Game Motorsports #2.

BACK AT HOME: After three weeks on the west coast, four full-time Outlaws get the pleasure of returning to racing in their home states this weekend.

Wooster, OH’s Sheldon Haudenschild leads the charge to The Buckeye State on Friday and looks to join his father Jac Haudenschild as a 4-Crown Nationals winner. Earlier this May, he scored his first-career win at The Big E in a late-race thriller by overtaking Donny Schatz. The NOS Energy Drink #17 enters this weekend fifth in the championship standings with eight wins this year for Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing.

On Saturday, Pennsylvanian’s Logan Schuchart, Jacob Allen, and Brock Zearfoss finally return to The Keystone State. Lernerville’s Commonwealth Clash marks the first of five-straight races in the state with Williams Grove’s National Open (Oct. 1-2) and Port Royal’s Nittany Showdown (Oct. 8-9) set to follow.

KING SUNSHINE: Tyler Courtney will return to Eldora Speedway for the first time since becoming King Tyler XXXVIII with his $175,000 upset at the Kings Royal in July. In his first full year as a winged sprint car driver, Courtney and Fishers, IN based Clauson-Marshall Racing have taken the scene by storm. On top of his crowning moment at the Kings Royal, the 27-year-old has dominated the All Star Circuit of Champions with arguably the most impressive rookie season in Series history. He’s on the verge of clinching that championship thanks to eight wins and 25 top-fives through 46 starts in the NOS Energy Drink TURBO #7BC.

It’s not just a Kings Royal crown that makes Courtney a threat on Friday night, but his entire Eldora resume is off the charts. The Indianapolis, IN native has made a living off the Rossburg, OH oval, winning a total of 10 national level events in four different disciplines over the last four years. To his credit, he’s got five USAC Non-Wing Sprint Car scores, two USAC Midget victories, two USAC Silver Crown triumphs, and that one, huge World of Outlaws win.

This Week at a Glance – When and Where

Friday, September 24 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH
Saturday, September 25 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA

On the Internet
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

Around the Turn: The final Crown Jewel of the season is coming up after this weekend for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. On October 1-2, The Greatest Show on Dirt will return to PA’s Williams Grove Speedway for the 59th National Open with a $75,000 payday on the line.

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (14 Drivers):
16 wins – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #49
9 wins – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2
9 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41
8 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17
5 wins – Logan Schuchart, Shark Racing #1S
4 wins – Aaron Reutzel, Roth Motorsports #83
3 wins – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15
3 wins – Kyle Larson, Silva Motorsports #57
2 wins – James McFadden, Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #9
2 wins – Kerry Madsen, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #14
2 wins – Brent Marks, Brent Marks Racing #19
1 win – Dave Blaney, Dave Blaney #10
1 win – Spencer Bayston, Sam McGhee Motorsports #11
1 win – Tyler Courtney, Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC

FEATURE LAPS LED (29 Drivers):
323 laps – Brad Sweet
293 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
282 laps – Carson Macedo
229 laps – David Gravel
222 laps – Logan Schuchart
201 laps – Donny Schatz
188 laps – Aaron Reutzel
72 laps – Kyle Larson
66 laps – James McFadden
63 laps – Kerry Madsen
57 laps – Tyler Courtney
33 laps – Spencer Bayston
29 laps – Giovanni Scelzi
27 laps – Brent Marks, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
16 laps – Tanner Carrick
13 laps – Wayne Johnson, Colby Copeland
11 laps – Sye Lynch
10 laps – Jacob Allen, Brock Zearfoss, Parker Price-Miller
9 laps – Kasey Kahne, Austin McCarl
3 laps – Ian Madsen
1 lap – Kraig Kinser, Brandon Spithaler, Dave Blaney, Brian Brown

SLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (22 Drivers):
14 QuickTimes – David Gravel
7 QuickTimes – Sheldon Haudenschild, Logan Schuchart
5 QuickTimes – Brad Sweet
4 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo, Kerry Madsen
3 QuickTimes – Aaron Reutzel
2 QuickTimes – James McFadden, Donny Schatz, Kasey Kahne, Cory Eliason, Giovanni Scelzi, Parker Price-Miller, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
1 QuickTime – Kraig Kinser, Jacob Allen, Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Brian Brown, Brock Zearfoss, Rico Abreu, Sye Lynch

DRYDENE HEAT RACE WINNERS (41 Drivers)
28 Heat Wins – David Gravel
27 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo
19 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz
17 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet
16 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Aaron Reutzel
14 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart
11 Heat Wins – James McFadden
7 Heat Wins – Brian Brown
5 Heat Wins – Kraig Kinser, Kerry Madsen
4 Heat Wins – Brock Zearfoss, Jason Sides, Giovanni Scelzi, Tyler Courtney
3 Heat Wins – Kasey Kahne, Wayne Johnson, Ian Madsen, Anthony Macri, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
2 Heat Wins – Jacob Allen, Kyle Larson, DJ Netto, Parker Price-Miller
1 Heat Win –  Danny Dietrich, Hunter Schuerenberg, Lance Dewease, Brandon Spithaler, Tim Kaeding, Jack Dover, Scotty Thiel, Paul McMahan, Daryn Pittman, Justin Peck, Jac Haudenschild, Sye Lynch, Chad Trout, TJ Stutts, Brent Marks, Ryan Robinson, Blake Carrick

PODIUM FINISHES (28 Drivers):
33 Podiums – Brad Sweet
23 Podiums – Carson Macedo
21 Podiums –David Gravel
20 Podiums – David Gravel, Donny Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild
15 Podiums – Logan Schuchart
11 Podiums – James McFadden
10 Podiums – Aaron Reutzel
6 Podiums – Kerry Madsen, Brent Marks
5 Podiums – Giovanni Scelzi
3 Podiums – Brian Brown, Lance Dewease, Kyle Larson
2 Podiums – Kraig Kinser, Cory Eliason, Anthony Macri, Danny Dietrich, Tyler Courtney
1 Podium – Jacob Allen, Justin Peck, Brian Brown, Anthony Macri, Dave Blaney, Spencer Bayston, Daryn Pittman, Paulie Colagiovanni, Austin McCarl, Colby Copeland, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

2021 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Schedule & Winners

No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Fri, Feb. 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brad Sweet (1)
2. Sun, Feb. 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Logan Schuchart (1)
3. Fri, March 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1)
4. Sat, March 6 / East Bay Raceway Park / Tampa, FL / Aaron Reutzel (1)
5. Fri, March 12 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)
6. Sat, March 13 / The Rev / Monroe, LA / David Gravel (1)
7. Fri, March 19 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2)
8. Sat, March 20 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Brad Sweet (2)
9. Sat, March 27 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO / Brad Sweet (3)
10. Fri, April 2 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (4)
11. Sat, April 3 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (5)
12. Fri, April 9 / Kokomo Speedway / Kokomo, IN / James McFadden (1)
13. Sat, April 10 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Carson Macedo (2)
14. Fri, April 22 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / David Gravel (2)
15. Sun, April 24 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / David Gravel (3)
16. Thur, April 29 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Brad Sweet (6)
17. Fri, April 30 / I-70 Motorsports Park / Odessa, MO / Brad Sweet (7)
18. Sat, May 1 / I-70 Motorsports Park / Odessa, MO / Brad Sweet (8)
19. Sat, May 8 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Brent Marks (1)
20. Sat, May 8 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Sheldon Haudenschild (3)
21. Wed, May 12 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Brad Sweet (9)
22. Fri, May 14 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Carson Macedo (3)
23. Sat, May 15 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Aaron Reutzel (2)
24. Tues, May 18 / Bridgeport Speedway / Swedesboro, NJ / Logan Schuchart (2)
25. Fri, May 21 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / David Gravel (4)
26. Sat, May 22 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH / Dave Blaney (1)
27. Mon, May 31 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN / Kyle Larson (1)
28. Sat, June 5 / Granite City Speedway /Sauk Rapids, MN / David Gravel (5)
29. Fri, June 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Carson Macedo (4)
30. Sat, June 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Carson Macedo (5)
31. Thur, June 17 / 34 Raceway / West Burlington, IA / Brad Sweet (10)
32. Fri, June 18 / Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway / Dubuque, IA / Donny Schatz (1)
33. Sat, June 19 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (4)
34. Mon, June 21 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / David Gravel (6)
35. Tues, June 22 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Aaron Reutzel (3)
36. Thur, June 24 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Kerry Madsen (1)
37. Fri, June 25 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Kerry Madsen (2)
38. Sat, June 27 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Logan Schuchart (3)
39. Fri, July 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Brad Sweet (11)
40. Sat, July 3 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Brad Sweet (12)
41. Sat, July 10 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI / Brad Sweet (13)
42. Tues, July 13 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Spencer Bayston (1)
43. Wed, July 14 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Carson Macedo (6)
44. Sat, July 17 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Tyler Courtney (1)
45. Sat, July 17 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Kyle Larson (2)
46. Sun, July 18 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Carson Macedo (7)
47. Tues, July 20 / Lernerville Speedway / Sarver, PA / Brad Sweet (14)
48. Fri, July 23 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Sheldon Haudenschild (5)
49. Sat, July 24 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Brent Marks (2)
50. Fri, July 30 / Ransomville Speedway / Ransomville, NY / Aaron Reutzel (4)
51. Sat, July 31 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY / David Gravel (7)
52. Fri, August 6 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Sheldon Haudenschild (6)
53. Sat, August 7 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Sheldon Haudenschild (7)
54. Wed, August 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / David Gravel (NP)
55. Thur, August 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Brian Brown (NP)
56. Fri, August 13 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Rico Abreu (NP)
57. Sat, August 14 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Kyle Larson (3)
58. Sat, August 21 / Red River Valley Speedway / Fargo, ND / Donny Schatz (2)
59. Sun, August 22 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / David Gravel (8)
60. Wed, August 25 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND / Brad Sweet (15)
61. Fri, August 27 / I-80 Speedway / Greenwood, NE / Donny Schatz (3)
62. Sun, August 29 / Black Hills Speedway / Rapid City, SD / Sheldon Haudenschild (8)
63. Fri, September 3 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA / James McFadden (2)
64. Sat, September 4 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA / Brad Sweet (16)
65. Sun, September 5 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA / Carson Macedo (8)
66. Mon, September 6 / Grays Harbor Raceway / Elma, WA / Logan Schuchart (4)
67. Fri, September 10 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA / David Gravel (9)
68. Sat, September 11 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA / Logan Schuchart (5)
69. Sat, September 18 / Keller Auto Speedway / Hanford, CA / Carson Macedo (9)

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 22, 2021) – Sporting the AAA livery on his Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for this weekend’s NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis, Robert Hight, the only NHRA driver to have ever won a championship starting the Countdown to the Championship from the No. 10 spot, is chasing the points lead en route to his fourth Camping World Drag Racing Series crown. With two victories in 2021 at the SpringNationals in Houston and Sonoma Raceway’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals, two runner-up finishes at the season opening Gatornationals and the New England Nationals, and a No. 1 qualifier at the Las Vegas Four-Wide event, Hight and the AAA team know they have the right pieces to pull off another championship run. With the points standings closer than ever in Funny Car, Hight, tied for sixth and back only 72, left the first two events in the Countdown, the first at Maple Grove Raceway and the second the NHRA Carolina Nationals, with No. 2 qualifying positions at each and a semifinal and first round exit, respectively. “We have our work cut out for us. I said it from the beginning, I believe you need to win three races in this Countdown to win the championship and I believe this AAA team can do just that,” Hight said. “We had some issues on race day in Charlotte, but we got it handled. Jimmy Prock is one of the most focused crew chiefs out here and he’s really had to poor himself into this Chevy, he and Chris Cunningham both. I’m excited for what we can do in St. Louis.” Hight is trying to extend to four the number of consecutive seasons in which he has won a Countdown race. That’s the longest active streak in Funny Car. He leads the category in Countdown wins with 12. Hight has history on his side heading to World Wide Technology Raceway. He set both ends of the track record at 3.830-seconds and 338.60 mph on Sept. 30, 2017, has two wins (2010 and 2018) and four No. 1 qualifying positions (2006, 2016, 2017, 2018). His 2018 win is perhaps the most memorable, when crossing the line first against Tim Wilkerson in the final, Hight’s Camaro had an explosion and hit the wall, breaking his clavicle. Hight would celebrate the victory with his team several hours later back at the track in a sling. “I’ve had some luck at World Wide Technology Raceway. And even when I had some bad luck it still had some good to it. When we wrecked in 2018, I won the race and ended up back in the seat just 10 days later,” Hight said. “I love racing here, hoping we can capitalize on our progress and gain some ground in the points battle. I know this AAA team is putting everything they have into these final five races, it’s time for their hard work to pay off.” The NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway kicks off with the first qualifying session on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and continues with sessions on Saturday at 1:45 and 4:25 p.m. Eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For television coverage, tune-in Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) for qualifying. Eliminations will air Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

BATAVIA, OH (September 22, 2021) – A blockbuster weekend is ahead at Brownstown Speedway, starting on Thursday, September 23rd. Following the completion of the Indiana Icebreaker on Thursday, the annual Jackson 100 weekend will kick off on Friday, September 24th. The Night Before the Jackson will be a complete program for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – highlighted by a $10,000 top prize. Another complete show is on tap for Saturday night, when the 42nd Annual Jackson 100 takes center stage with a $20,000-to-win main event. The Indiana Icebreaker, which began on March 20th but was postponed during the first B-Main event of the night. The Indiana Icebreaker will resume with a complete restart of the first B-Main. Josh Richards and Brandon Sheppard are scheduled to start on the front row of the 50-lap main event paying $15,000-to-win. Kyle Bronson and Devin Moran also picked up heat race wins that night and will start in row two. In 2020, Josh Richards held off a late rally from Ricky Thornton, Jr. to win the “Night Before the Jackson”. Richards was the fourth different leader of the race and held on for the win despite Thornton’s furious charge, which saw the two drivers run side-by-side for several circuits. In the 41st Annual Jackson 100, Davenport led the first 14 laps of the 100-lap event until yielding the lead to the fourth place starting McCreadie. McCreadie survived several restarts to pick-up his second career win in the track’s most prestigious event that began in 1980.  Gates will open each day at noon with on track action set to begin at 7:00 PM ET Thursday, 6:30 PM ET on both Friday and Saturday. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is joined by Modifieds and Pure Stocks on Thursday, Pro Late Models and Modifieds will be additions to the program on Friday, while Modifieds and Super Stocks return for contention on Saturday.  To purchase tickets in advance, visit www.brownstownspeedway.com or call 603-501-0517. For anyone unable to make it out in person, all nights will be live on MAVTVPLUS.com.   Brownstown Speedway Information: Phone Number: 812-358-5332Location: 476 East CR 100, Brownstown, IN 47220Directions: Located on Highway 250 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds 1 mile south-east of Brownstown, IndianaWebsite: www.brownstownspeedway.com Tire Rules:Thursday, September 23rd:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1350Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1350 NRM, (29.0) 1350 NRMW, (92) LM40*For the B-Mains, competitors may use 4 new tires.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 4 new tires. Friday, September 24th and Saturday, September 25th:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1350Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1350 NRM, (29.0) 1350 NRMW, (92) LM40*Can cut and/or sipe any tire.*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains*For the A-Main, competitors may use 2 new tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound & construction to retain startingposition. Event Purses:Thursday, September 23rd (50 Laps): 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $57,050   Friday, September 24th (40 Laps): 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800. = $48,575 Saturday, September 25th (100 Laps): 1. $20,000, 2. $9,000, 3. $5,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,500, 6. $2,700, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,900, 13. $1,800, 14. $1,700, 15. $1,600, 16. $1,400, 17. $1,300, 18. $1,200, 19. $1,200, 20. $1,200, 21. $1,200 22. $1,200, 23. $1,200, 24. $1,200. = $73,400

BATAVIA, OH (September 22, 2021) – A blockbuster weekend is ahead at Brownstown Speedway, starting on Thursday, September 23rd. Following the completion of the Indiana Icebreaker on Thursday, the annual Jackson 100 weekend will kick off on Friday, September 24th. The Night Before the Jackson will be a complete program for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – highlighted by a $10,000 top prize. Another complete show is on tap for Saturday night, when the 42nd Annual Jackson 100 takes center stage with a $20,000-to-win main event. The Indiana Icebreaker, which began on March 20th but was postponed during the first B-Main event of the night. The Indiana Icebreaker will resume with a complete restart of the first B-Main. Josh Richards and Brandon Sheppard are scheduled to start on the front row of the 50-lap main event paying $15,000-to-win. Kyle Bronson and Devin Moran also picked up heat race wins that night and will start in row two. In 2020, Josh Richards held off a late rally from Ricky Thornton, Jr. to win the “Night Before the Jackson”. Richards was the fourth different leader of the race and held on for the win despite Thornton’s furious charge, which saw the two drivers run side-by-side for several circuits. In the 41st Annual Jackson 100, Davenport led the first 14 laps of the 100-lap event until yielding the lead to the fourth place starting McCreadie. McCreadie survived several restarts to pick-up his second career win in the track’s most prestigious event that began in 1980.  Gates will open each day at noon with on track action set to begin at 7:00 PM ET Thursday, 6:30 PM ET on both Friday and Saturday. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is joined by Modifieds and Pure Stocks on Thursday, Pro Late Models and Modifieds will be additions to the program on Friday, while Modifieds and Super Stocks return for contention on Saturday.  To purchase tickets in advance, visit www.brownstownspeedway.com or call 603-501-0517. For anyone unable to make it out in person, all nights will be live on MAVTVPLUS.com.   Brownstown Speedway Information: Phone Number: 812-358-5332Location: 476 East CR 100, Brownstown, IN 47220Directions: Located on Highway 250 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds 1 mile south-east of Brownstown, IndianaWebsite: www.brownstownspeedway.com Tire Rules:Thursday, September 23rd:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1350Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1350 NRM, (29.0) 1350 NRMW, (92) LM40*For the B-Mains, competitors may use 4 new tires.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 4 new tires. Friday, September 24th and Saturday, September 25th:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1350Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1350 NRM, (29.0) 1350 NRMW, (92) LM40*Can cut and/or sipe any tire.*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains*For the A-Main, competitors may use 2 new tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound & construction to retain startingposition. Event Purses:Thursday, September 23rd (50 Laps): 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $57,050   Friday, September 24th (40 Laps): 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800. = $48,575 Saturday, September 25th (100 Laps): 1. $20,000, 2. $9,000, 3. $5,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,500, 6. $2,700, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,900, 13. $1,800, 14. $1,700, 15. $1,600, 16. $1,400, 17. $1,300, 18. $1,200, 19. $1,200, 20. $1,200, 21. $1,200 22. $1,200, 23. $1,200, 24. $1,200. = $73,400

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 22, 2021) – Brittany Force and her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team are entering the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis with a 21-points lead. The 2017 world champion isn’t letting up, knowing there’s still five races left in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the David Grubnic and Mac Savage led crew are going after everything they can get started, like always, in qualifying. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team are going for nine straight No. 1 qualifiers to tie Gary Beck’s Top Fuel record over the 1982 and 1983 seasons. Her eighth consecutive No. 1 at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, including a strong qualifying performance where she captured all nine bonus points, gave the team a one-point advantage heading into race day. The Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team has a total of 10 No. 1s with one win at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan., where Brittany went onto share a historic winners circle with legendary father John Force. It was the first time in NHRA history that a parent-child duo had won together in the pro categories. The Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team has been to the finals five times in the 2021 Camping World Drag Racing Series season, most recently finishing runner-up at the Carolina Nationals where it was her semi-final victory over reigning and three-time world champion Steve Torrence that gave her the points lead. “Heading into St. Louis with a slight points lead. Our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team plans to continue what we’ve been doing. We are looking to get as many points as we can during qualifying and on race day,” Force said. “Eight No. 1 qualifiers in a row is a huge accomplishment and we plan to add to that this weekend while also going for a St. Louis win.” With the season the Monster Energy team has had so far, they’ll enter the Midwest Nationals looking to break a dry spell at the World Wide Technology Raceway. It is the only venue where Force has no No. 1 qualifiers and no wins and one of only five tracks hosting 2021 events a which Force is not the track holder for either time or speed. Fortunately, crew chiefs Grubnic and Savage have had previous success at the facility, being runner-up in 2018 and setting the current track ET record at 3.631 seconds in 2017 with their previous team. For only the sixth time in her career, and first time since 2018, Brittany Force will enter this weekend’s NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway with the points lead. They’ll get things started with the first qualifying session on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and continue with sessions on Saturday at 1:45 and 4:25 p.m. Eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For television coverage, tune-in Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) for qualifying. Eliminations will air Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

September 22, 2021

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, hoping to recapture the magic from 2020 when they scored runner-up finishes in both Cup races. For this weekend’s event, they’re using the No. 21 Mustang to raise awareness for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline during the entire month of September, which is #SuicidePreventionMonth.
 
Instead of the No. 21 Mustang carrying the usual colors of Motorcraft and Quick Lane, the paint scheme for Sunday’s South Point 400 will focus on the suicide prevention campaign.

Jon Orth, Marketing Manager for Ford Customer Service Division, recently lost a close friend to suicide and spearheaded the effort to use the car to promote suicide prevention and to publicize the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number, which is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Part of the weekend effort is to also support the #BeThe1To campaign, which is designed to help people know steps to take if they are concerned about someone who might be considering taking their own life.
 
DiBenedetto said the paint scheme and the campaign are important to him too.
 
“Vegas has been an awesome track for us as far as performance, so I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “But bigger than that, I’m really honored to be driving the car to raise awareness for suicide prevention.” 
 
“I have a conviction to always want to help others, and this is a topic close to my heart as we have had people close to us either take their own lives or contemplate it.” 
 
“It’s an honor to be driving this race car this weekend, and I hope we can make a great impact on people to let them know that being vulnerable is OK.”
 
There will be no practice or qualifying prior to the start of Sunday’s South Point 400, and DiBenedetto will line up 14^th, the line-up being set based on results at Bristol Motor Speedway.
 
The race is set to get the green flag just after 4 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern Time), with live TV coverage on NBCSN.
 
Stage breaks are set for Laps 80 and 160.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIES SOUTH POINT 400 LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript Highlights: THE FACT THAT YOU’VE HAD SOME SUCCESS AT LAS VEGAS, HOW DOES THAT HELP YOUR MINDSET GOING INTO THIS NEXT ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS?“I feel like Las Vegas has been a pretty good track for me in the past. I’ve scored a lot of Stage points in the past races. I think the aggression level is going to be really high on the restarts and that’s kind of your chance to make up ground for a lot of guys at 1.5-mile tracks with the 550 horsepower. So yeah, I think those are going to be crazy. My spotter and I have been working really hard on trying to be really good on those restarts. I think we were good at Michigan. I think we’ve been good at the last 550 horsepower tracks. I’m pretty excited for Las Vegas based on our past history and the way we’ve been running on those tracks.”
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TAKE FROM THE PRESSURE AT THE BRISTOL RACE RUN AND APPLY IT TO THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS?“I think for sure. I think for us, we’ve already kind of been through that pressure moment. A lot of guys maybe haven’t that we’re racing against haven’t been through that. Yeah, I feel like for us, we learned a lot about ourselves on Saturday. I feel like we learned a lot about how we can come through under pressure and how we can bring a good race car and how we can execute the race really well. So, it’s been a little while since we’ve had as strong a race as that throughout, and no mistakes. There’s always adversity in a race, but I feel like we handled the adversity that we did have really well and brought it home in third place. So, with that being said, Las Vegas is a lot different than a short track, but I do feel like the way we did perform is going to carry over.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WILL REMEMBER ABOUT THAT RACE? WHERE DOES IT RANK FOR YOU CAREER-WISE?“It’s pretty high up there. I was saying this after the race that I feel like I had a similar situation to make it in last year into the Playoffs in general, with my first win, so that was a big deal. But yeah, this one was pretty awesome. I think any time you can do well at Bristol, it’s been a good track for me, but I haven’t had the finishes. It was nice to be there at the end of 500 laps and have a shot to win, honestly, and be really close and see the leaders. I think that was really cool for me and kind of a new feeling. I was excited. I love that night race. Every driver really does. So, it was cool to do well.”
DO YOU BREAK DOWN THE PLAYOFFS SO DEEP THAT YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MANY POINTS YOU WANT TO SCORE IN THE ROUNDS AND HOW MANY YOU NEED TO SCORE THIS WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS? OR DO YOU NOT GET THAT DEEP?“I think the team, for sure, does. They definitely kind of know what to expect points-wise, that can help us advance through the rounds. But honestly, the biggest thing is just having a really good race. In the first round, I think having one really good race is almost enough, but I think this race (round) you’ve got to have two or three really good races. So yeah, the Stage points create such a different playing field. If you get a lot of Stage points, you put yourself in a way better position. And you put a good finish on top of that, you’re well above a lot of guys.  I think that’s the biggest thing I focus on is trying to get those Stage points and trying to put myself in a good spot for the end.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA, HOW DO YOU PLAY TRYING TO JOCKEY FOR STAGE POINTS AND HOPE TO AVOID THE BIG ONE EARLIER IN THE RACE?“It’s tough. I think the wrecks and the Stages are possible, but I honestly feel like you’ve just got to go as hard as you can. I’ve tried to play the lay back getting to the front, and all that. There are times that you can chill out just because the momentum of the race isn’t maybe that important in that time, but you’ve got to try to go for those Stage points and put yourself in a good spot. For me, personally, I try to go for the points and see what can happen.”
SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY LAS VEGAS IS THE MOST PREDICTABLE RACE IN THIS ROUND. OTHERS SAY VEGAS IS MORE UNPREDICTABLE THAN THE ROVAL BECAUSE EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT IS THERE. IS VEGAS A MORE PREDICTABLE RACE OR A WILDCARD RACE?“Just because it’s the first race of the round, I think it adds some unpredictability there. A lot of guys can have early mistakes and mishaps at this first race in the round. It’s very easy to kind of take yourself out of it pretty early on. As far as speed and performance goes, I think you kind of know who the big hitters are going to be at this race with the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) and hopefully us and some of the Gibbs cars, and just knowing who has run well at the 1.5 miles. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story because it can come down to restarts and then anybody can win, basically. I think you’ve just got to put yourself in a good position and then you’ve got to go do really well in those restarts. That’s probably what it’s going to come down to. It’s tough. Las Vegas isn’t as straight forward as we used to think it was. And then, I think the ROVAL is definitely tough because road courses are difficult to get through traffic and all those things. But I definitely look at Talladega as the most unpredictable. And at the other two you somewhat control what you do.”
REGARDING RESTARTS, WHAT IS THE KEY THERE? IS IT GETTING THE SHIFTS RIGHT AT THE START? IS IT CONTROLLING YOUR EMOTIONS? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT MATTER AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE GOTTEN BETTER?“It’s just obviously aggression, but it’s just anticipation, obviously; trying to anticipate where the runs are going to come from. The more you watch tape and the more you kind of understand what’s happened in the past, the better prepared you are for what scenario is going to happen. But it honestly comes down to anticipation and having a good spotter that knows what runs are going to come and is preparing you for it. Tab (Boyd) and I have worked a lot on that over the past six months to a year. You’ve got to be up front at the 1.5-miles to have success. A lot of that comes from restarts and holding your track position and things like that. It’s important.”
HOW HAVE YOU AND RUDY FUGLE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER THIS YEAR? WHAT’S BEEN GOING GREAT AND WHAT DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVE ON?“Honestly, the thing with Rudy and me has just been experience. I think we’re trying to learn so much in a quick time. A lot of the teams and drivers we’re racing against have worked together for a couple of years now and that has hurt us a little bit with no practice. But I feel like we’ve kind of overcome that with really good communication. We have a lot of meetings throughout the week about set-up and what we want to do going to the race track. Although we really don’t have time to really practice it, I feel like we show up really strong. I think that’s been an adjustment. I feel like we’ve done really well in pressure situations and opportunities to win. He knows how to push my buttons and knows how to get the most out of me. As any crew chief, that’s the biggest thing is trying to get everything you can out of your driver. I feel like he’s done a really good job of knowing how to do that with me and he showed that at Bristol. We had good communication throughout the race and didn’t let the pressure get to us and make crazy decisions and had a really good race.”
YOU WERE TOP 5 IN POINTS IN THE REGULAR SEASON. DID THIS FIRST ROUND SURPRISE YOU AS HOW STRESSFUL IT TURNED OUT TO BE?“Yeah, it definitely got turned on its side with everything happened at Darlington. Darlington seems like years ago now that we’ve been through the last two weeks. Just thinking back to that race and how much we overcame, to have a flat tire and crash after that, was just devastating. We thought we had put ourselves in a good position to overcome all that. At Richmond, we just kind of laid an egg and wasn’t really that fast and that was a big bummer, too. But we overcame it at Bristol and had a really good run and set the tone for the rest of our year. It was a tough stretch for six or seven weeks of just not getting the finishes. But we’ve had the speed and I feel like now we’re going to get the finishes.”
AFTER BRISTOL, DO YOU AND RUDY NOW JUST TAKE A BREATH AND GET EVERYBODY TO RESET AND TAKE A BREATH? OR IS IT JUST BUSINESS AS USUAL AND DON’T NEED TO REMIND EVERYONE TO JUST REFOCUS?“A little bit of both. I think it was nice to have Sunday to kind of reflect and have that off-time. I know the guys worked on the car still. I think everyone kind of got a chance to breathe and reset. I don’t feel like we’ll have any issues about showing up at Vegas fresh and ready. We’ve got an extra this week to really recover and get prepared. I feel like we’re going to be ready when we get on the plane and go out there. I don’t think that will be an issue.”
WHAT’S THE MOOD IN THE ENTIRE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMP?“I think there’s a lot of strength in the individual teams and obviously, the whole company that brings cars that we’re capable of bringing to the race track. We had a difficult stretch there with the start of the Playoffs. I would say half of our guys ran well at Richmond. And we all ran well at Bristol and that was a really good sight to see because Bristol is a tough place, and it can really be hard on you. So yeah, I think we’re poised to do really good things and we’ve overcome some things and there will be a lot more as we go through the Playoffs.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RACE AT A TRACK WITH THAT HOMETOWN CONNECTION, LIKE CHARLOTTE, IN THE PLAYOFFS?“Oh, it’s amazing. I love going to Charlotte every year to race. I always have a really warm welcome there and it’s a really important race track to me. We’d love to win there this year and I feel like I’ve got the opportunity to this year with the way we’ve been on road courses. I’m pretty excited for it. We just have to go there and perform well.”

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi earned his best finish of the season during World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series competition last Saturday at the Tom Tarlton Classic hosted by Keller Auto Speedway.

Scelzi overcame a problem to start the night and he held on during late-race woes to score a sixth-place run, which marked his second top 10 in three starts with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’ this season.

“I’m super happy with our speed, but disappointed with how everything played out,” he said. “It was frustrating having the speed we did and not being able to do what we thought we could with it.”

The night began with a mechanical problem that kept Scelzi from participating in hot laps.

“When we unloaded and started up the motor wasn’t running,” he said. “We changed motors and had the same issue again. That’s when we realized it had to be a fueling issue. We changed the tail tank, fuel pump and fuel system. We didn’t get to hot lap. We got one lap in qualifying and I wasn’t able to put a good lap down. We finally got it right for the heat race.”

Scelzi qualified 21^st quickest, but a run from seventh to fourth place in a heat race moved him up nine positions in the A Main.

“We were good in the heat and made our way right to fourth,” he said. “First through fourth were nose to tail so I felt really good. That gave me confidence going into the feature.

“We worked our way to eighth right away in the feature. I got myself up to sixth and then the power steering went out on Lap 15. We had a line break and dump all the fluid out. I had to run the last 20 laps without power steering. It was extremely hard. I felt like I did fine until we had about 10 laps to go. At that point I struggled to hang on. The last couple of laps I fell back from fourth to sixth.”

The sixth-place finish was Scelzi’s 48^th top 10 of the season.

“I honestly felt like we were a podium car,” he said. “We were fast and getting by guys the first half of the feature. We drove up through the field. If we got a bad restart and someone got by us, we’d get right back by them. I’d have loved to see how we could have finished with power steering, but it didn’t work out.”

Scelzi plans on returning to Keller Auto Speedway this Saturday for a King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series event. He enters the race leading the championship standings.

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 18 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 21; Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 6 (12).

SEASON STATS –

56 races, 18 wins, 41 top fives, 48 top 10s, 52 top 15s, 53 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif., with the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series

BARBERVILLE, FL – Sept. 21, 2021 – The anticipation for the 2022 DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park is growing larger as the huge two-week event will now kick off on Monday, Feb. 7.

By beginning the DIRTcar Nationals a day earlier than previous years, it creates for a break between the two weeks of racing for a day of rest on Sunday, Feb. 13, before action runs through Feb. 19.

The new dates will create an exciting opportunity for the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds. Following three nights of racing to kick off the event, the division’s traditional “All-Features” night will now be on Thursday, Feb. 10 with split fields competing on Friday, Feb. 11, and the Gator Championship on Saturday, Feb. 12. The All Star Circuit of Champions will join the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds on Tuesday and Wednesday before the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take the green flag on their season Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

DIRTcar Late Models power up the second week of racing on Monday, Feb. 14, along with a Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified hot lap night, followed Tuesday, Feb. 15, with DIRTcar Late Models and the Super DIRTcar Series. Then beginning Wednesday, Feb. 16, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds drive the event to the checkered flag through Saturday, Feb. 19.

The grandstands at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile dirt track near Daytona Beach open nightly at 5 p.m. with opening ceremonies and racing at 6:50 p.m.

While the best way to catch all the action is in the track’s massive grandstands, the racing will also air around the world on DIRTVision as part of the broadcast giant’s Fast Pass subscription.

Tickets and camping for the DIRTcar Nationals are available online. Fans who had already purchased tickets and would like to update their package to the revised dates can begin by clicking here.

Here’s a look at the schedule featuring Sprint Cars, Dirt Late Models, UMP Modifieds and Big Block Modifieds:

Monday, Feb. 7 – DIRTcar UMP Modifieds

Tuesday, Feb. 8 – All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modifieds

Wednesday, Feb. 9 – All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modifieds

Thursday, Feb. 10 – World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modifieds Features

Friday, Feb. 11 – World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modifieds Gator Qualifying Races

Saturday, Feb. 12 – World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars/DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Championship

Sunday, Feb. 13 – OFF

Monday, Feb. 14 – DIRTcar Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds Hot Laps

Tuesday, Feb. 15 – DIRTcar Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds

Wednesday, Feb. 16 – World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds

Thursday, Feb. 17 – World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds

Friday, Feb. 18 – World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models/Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds

Saturday, Feb. 19 – Wo

The Hampton, GA driver is searching for his third career World of Outlaws victory

SENOIA, GA – September 21, 2021 – A stout field of regional competitors is expected anytime the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models travel to the Southeast. But when the Series returns to Senoia Raceway on Saturday, Oct. 2, they’ll battle an unforgettable opponent. One who’s already conquered them in 2021. Ashton Winger.

The Hampton, GA driver won a thriller over Chase Junghans by 0.107 sec. during the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway last month and now has the chance to win in front of his home crowd. 

Winger already found success at the Senoia, GA facility this season, scoring two victories. However, he knows his competitors, and the track, will be a challenge.

“It’s so technical to get around,” Winger said. “It gets as slick as [Magnolia Motor Speedway] or [East Bay Raceway Park] gets, but the shape of the racetrack makes it where the racetrack changes so much. 

“From Lap 1 to Lap 40 or 50, I promise, I don’t care if you’re leading or running 20th; you’re going to have to move to every line at some point.”

October 2 is the Series’ third journey to Senoia, after stops in 2017 and 2018. Chris Madden and Brandon Sheppard each found Victory Lane, and Winger expects them to be contenders again.  

“Madden always runs well here; he’s always a tough customer when they come,” Winger said.  “[Sheppard’s] won here before. This is a Ricky Weiss-type racetrack. I expect Ryan Gustin to be really good, and Tyler Bruening’s kind of getting on a heater.

“I’ve raced with Madden ten times at this place, and every time I’ve raced him, it’s been for the lead.”

A win at Senoia would be Winger’s third career World of Outlaws win and ninth of 2021. Six of those victories came with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. 

Winger calls his World of Outlaws triumph at Cedar Lake in August a breath of fresh air after a tough start to the season in February.

“I was really glad to get my second [World of Outlaws] win to prove the first one wasn’t really a fluke,” Winger said. “I don’t want to say it’s a sigh of relief or anything like that, because in a way, that would be me saying we’re surprised that we’re running good and I’m not. We’re fast, we’ve been fast, for I feel like, three years now.”

The 21-year-old won his first World of Outlaws race last year and was on track for another full-time run with the Series in 2021 before the deal with his team fell through. Back behind the wheel of his family car this year, Winger has spent the season rebuilding. Not only his team but his confidence.

It’s shown with six wins on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Model tour and finishing second in points.

Winger hopes to keep his momentum from the summer going as he relishes another chance to conquer a Morton Buildings Feature worth $10,000.

Winger and The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will travel to Senoia Raceway on Saturday, Oct. 2, after making a stop at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC, on Friday, Oct. 1.