| NASCAR CUP SERIES ROAD AMERICA JOCKEY MADE IN AMERICA 250 PRESENTED BY KWIK TRIP TEAM CHEVY POST-PRACTICE NOTES JULY 3, 2021 NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE AT ROAD AMERICA: TEAM CHEVY TOP-151st KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE5th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KALAHARI RESORTS & CONVENTIONS CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 9th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE11th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE12th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE13th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1 1LE14th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE15th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW MILITARY DEGREE EQUIVALENCY CAMARO ZL1 1LE NASCAR CUP SERIES: POST-PRACTICE MEDIA AVAILABILITY HIGHLIGHTS: KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE MISSING RIGHT NOW?“I don’t know – I want to hear what my teammates have to say first, but I feel terrible. But I think the track is just so slick. I don’t remember much from 2013, but I don’t remember it being this slick. So, I think the track has aged a lot and all that. I just felt like I had my hands full; it looked like everybody else did too. Like I said, I’ll talk to my teammates and see if they feel like I do.” WHAT EXCITES YOU THE MOST ABOUT THIS COURSE?“I think just the level of difficulty. It’s extremely narrow and tight. I think to make passes, you have to be really bold. To me, this is probably the toughest road course we’ll go to all year. It’s intense.” IS YOUR LEVEL OF COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE SORT OF GROWN A LOT OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS?“Yeah, until I made a lap today (laughs). I felt really good coming here; and then after making some laps, I haven’t hit two corners the same yet. Still have a lot to learn and get better; but we’ll look at data, talk to my teammates and hopefully get more comfortable.” TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES IN ROAD COURSES, IS IT GOOD TO HAVE THAT VARIETY? “I think variety is good. I think we’d all like to see more variety on the ovals, too. I think it challenges the drivers and the race teams. I think when there’s a variety, you won’t see the same guy run up front every time.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LEI WAS LOOKING AT ROAD COURSE RESULTS – ARE THOSE DECEIVING? “I think, partly, we’ve been off on speed. But I think we’ve been in that fifth to tenth range and I feel like we’ve gotten in stuff, like getting damage and then we’d get tire rubs and have issues. So, we just have to get above that area where we’re not always scratching and clawing. At that point, you’re up to luck basically whether or not you get some damage and stuff. We’ve been off a little bit and we were trying some things, just trying to get better, and so we’ve just kind of gone back to the basics this weekend. We feel fast. I feel like we’re pretty good this weekend.” WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT CHASE (ELLIOTT) AND KYLE (LARSON) WERE DOING, YOU KNOW IT’S THERE, IT JUST A MATTER OF PUTTING A RACE TOGETHER. “Yeah – we went into this road course thing thinking, ‘OK we have seven of these; we can experiment’. We use our sim a lot because we don’t have practice. Using our sim kind of backfired because we were running so fast in there that when we got to the track, our car was not doing the things that we thought it would do because we were slower, pace-wise. We overestimated the grip for some of these places and kind of adjusted our setup because of that. And then when we get to the racetrack with no practice, we don’t have a chance to get that back out.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LEIS THIS A COURSE YOU’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO? “Yeah, it’s a really fun track. I feel like it’s been a great stop on the NASCAR Xfinity schedule, so I feel like it fits us well on the Cup side. It’s good to be here.” HOW DID YOU FEEL TODAY? “I felt OK. I feel like road racing is a lot about finding a rhythm. I never felt like I found a good one today. We’ll go to work tomorrow.” I ASSUME YOU WERE IN THE SIMULATOR. IS IT SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SAW IN THE SIMULATOR OR IS IT DIFFERENT?“It’s similar to what I remember it being a few years ago. I was here in 2015; it’s all about the same as what I remember then. I’ve watched most of all the races that the Xfinity series has run here. It hasn’t really changed a lot from my memory.” WHAT MAKES A GREAT, NATURAL TERRAIN ROAD COURSE? “There are definitely road courses that don’t flow. All the tracks that we’ve turned into road courses don’t flow very good. This type of place and Circuit of the Americas – all these tracks in the United States that are known road racetracks, they just have a certain flow to them. It just feels more like a traditional road course. Maybe that’s because we have a preset mindset of what should flow and what shouldn’t, but this place definitely has that feel and it’s laid out well. It has a lot of character to it, which is really cool. It’s a very long course, which is fun. There’s a lot of opportunity to either be really good or make a lot of mistakes.” WHAT DO YOU THINK THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE COURSE IS?“It was all tough for me today. I never felt like I got into a really good rhythm at all. Just trying to find that flow. The racetrack flows well, but that doesn’t mean you’re flowing good on a personal level. So, just trying to find that within myself and getting into a good rhythm. It’s a lot about rhythm and hitting your marks properly – that’s key.” WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM? IS THAT A MENTAL THING? IS IT THE CAR? IS IT BOTH?“Yeah, I feel like both are super important. You have to push yourself to the right limits to make the car feel like it should. And then we you do find those limits; you want the car to be there for you. It’s a fine line, but you definitely have to have both.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE INAUDIBLE“The track is a unique challenge. There’s an old school feel here with the track’s layout, not a lot of run off areas and the pace the way the lap time drops. I came here with a Darlington mentality, which probably caught a lot you by surprise; but you have to respect the track and know when to push for a lap. And then you have to work on your tires and the balance of the car for all of the different corners and the long runs that none of us are really going to get into until we get in the race. So, you just have to race the racetrack; try to stay clean and stay out of the trouble. We had a good practice to be able to be on top of the charts. Now we just have to back it up.” HOW CRITICAL DO YOU THINK HAVING ANY EXPERIENCE ON THIS TRACK IS FOR THIS WEEKEND?“It’s helpful. I jumped on the iRacing sim at my house and some of the curbing isn’t as realistic as what we have here. I jumped into the Chevy simulator and got even closer. But nothing can duplicate what you have for real life and that’s were we just had to maximize today’s track time with the practice session.” WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR TEAM TO BE ON TOP OF THE BOARD AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKS?“That’s exactly it – you drive harder, push deeper and push harder when news like that comes out. It was a surprise to me, but all of us at Chip Ganassi Racing looked at each other and said – we’ve got a Playoff berth right in front of us; let’s go get it, let’s win and let’s push as hard as we can here right now in 2021.” INAUDIBLE“Just take it one week at a time. We’re in a nice battle for the bubble; the cutoff line to get into the Playoffs. I haven’t really been in this situation much; usually there’s a win or there’s really good points that give us a cushion. I’ve embraced this year; it’s just been a whole different level because of all of the challenges that have come our way.” ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1 1LE“Rolling out I felt confident in the AdventHealth Chevy from our recent time in the simulator and everything around the track made sense – braking zones and shifting were all in a pretty good spot. The car was a little slimy the first lap out, but it came in pretty good. We were able to make three separate runs during practice, so I think we pretty much maximized our track time today. I realized throughout the session of how little grip Road America has, which is similar to what we just had at Sonoma a few weeks ago. We’ll use some of those notes and we try to build as much rear grip into the car as we can for qualifying. We’ve got just a bit too much rear slide the longer we run. Kurt had a great mock qualifying run, so we’ll review his data and see what I can learn for tomorrow.” |
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
| Five Straight Nights in Ohio Highlighted by Two Kings RoyalsTwo $175,000 Paydays Available at Eldora SpeedwayROSSBURG, OH – July 3, 2021 – As if one Kings Royal isn’t enough, Eldora Speedway is going bigger and better than ever in 2021.World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series fans will witness five consecutive nights of The Greatest Show on Dirt in the state of Ohio from July 13-17, with the week being capped off by two of the highest paydays in Sprint Car history.It all begins on Tuesday, July 13 with the 33rd annual Ohio Logistic Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park. An event paying homage to the National Sprint Car Hall of Famer and 18-time World of Outlaws winner. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE.Following that, the greatest Sprint Car drivers in the world will converge on Rossburg, Ohio for a four-night affair with two crowns on the line. The monumental stretch at The Big E gives fans four full programs including the Jokers Wild, the 38th Kings Royal, the Knight Before The Kings Royal, and the 37th Kings Royal. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE.All told, you could sweep the week for a grand total of $380,000.Tuesday, July 13 – Brad Doty Classic ($10,000) Wednesday, July 14 – Jokers Wild ($10,000) Thursday, July 15 – 38th Kings Royal ($175,000) Friday, July 16 – Knight Before Kings Royal ($10,000) Saturday, July 17 – 37th Kings Royal ($175,000)Per usual, the grand week begins with a Tuesday night under the lights at Attica Raceway Park for the 33rd annual Brad Doty Classic. It’s an event that lives off parity with 24 different winners through 30 completed shows. The only four drivers to repeat with multiple BDC titles are Donny Schatz (4), Steve Kinser (2), Dale Blaney (2), and Danny Smith (2).The reigning champion of the Doty Classic is Kyle Larson, who topped last year’s show amid his 47-win season in Paul Silva’s #57. Being on a Tuesday, the NASCAR Cup Series star is expected to return and defend his title with the hopes of becoming the first-ever back-to-back winner of the event.A two-hour jaunt across Highway 30 and through Ohio’s backroads will lead teams to Eldora Speedway, where they’ll park for four consecutive nights. With last year’s annual pilgrimage to Rossburg called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tony Stewart, Roger Slack, and the rest of Eldora’s staff have dedicated themselves to a monster year by doubling down just as Jason Sides would.They’ll host a preliminary Jokers Wild program on Wednesday leading into Thursday’s 38th edition of the Kings Royal, paying $175,000-to-win. A new preliminary goes on Friday with the Knight Before the Kings Royal bringing us to the 37th running of the Kings Royal on Saturday, another $175,000-to-win show.It very well could be the richest week in the history of Sprint Car racing if one driver takes down both Kings Royal finales.A massive field is expected to flood the pit area, presenting fans with favorites and underdogs alike.At the top of the list is reigning King Brad XXXVI. Sweet is a two-time Kings Royal champion in 2013 and 2020, to go along with his two World of Outlaws titles in 2019 and 2020. His Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 is firing on all cylinders right now, with 11 Series victories through the first 39 races this year.Don’t forget about King Donny XXXV. Schatz owns five Kings Royal crowns, second in history only to “The King” himself, Steve Kinser. It wasn’t long ago in the years from 2016-18 when the Fargo, ND native rewrote the record books, becoming the first to ever win back-to-back Kings Royal and then going a step further by becoming the first to ever win three-straight.Another five former Kings Royal champions are confirmed to be in action. King Kerry XXXI (Madsen) driving the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanain #14, King Daryn XXV (Pittman) piloting the Swindell SpeedLab #39, King Jason XXI (Sides) in his own Sides Motorsports #7S, King Jac XV (Haudenschild) aboard the iconic Pennzoil #22, and King Dave XII(Blaney) guiding his personally built #10.Other potential Kings Royal champions that could land rides and compete for another crown include Sammy Swindell, Joey Saldana, and Dale Blaney.Back in May at Let’s Race Two, Brent Marks and Sheldon Haudenschild earned their first-ever World of Outlaws wins at the Ohio 1/2-mile. They’ll both be in attendance looking to become the 19th different champion in event history.David Gravel, who won last year’s Governor’s Reign, is still hungry for his first taste of gold at the Kings Royal. He’ll ride the Big Game Motorsports #2 into battle, which he’s won six World of Outlaws races with this year. In 2012, Big Game supplied the chariot that made King Sammy XXIX.The list of challengers beyond that extends far and wide including the likes of Logan Schuchart, Carson Macedo, Kyle Larson, Aaron Reutzel, James McFadden, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason, Justin Peck, and many more.Fans unable to make it to the track can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.KINGS ROYAL CHAMPIONS: 2019 – Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne #49) 2018 – Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart #15) 2017 – Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart #15) 2016 – Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart #15) 2015 – Shane Stewart (Larson Marks #2) 2014 – Kerry Madsen (Keneric #29) 2013 – Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne #49) 2012 – Sammy Swindell (Big Game #1) 2011 – Tyler Walker (Keen #17) 2010 – Steve Kinser (Tony Stewart #11) 2009 – Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart #15) 2008 – Daryn Pittman (Titan #21) 2007 – Donny Schatz (Schatz #15) 2006 – Joey Saldana (Kasey Kahne #9) 2005 – Steve Kinser (Kinser #11) 2004 – Jason Sides (Sides #7S) 2003 – Steve Kinser (Kinser #11) 2002 – Joey Saldana (Saldana #17) 2001 – Mark Kinser (Karl Kinser #5m) 2000 – Dale Blaney (Dave Blaney #93) 1999 – Sammy Swindell (Swindell #1) 1998 – Jac Haudenschild (Jack Elden #22) 1997 – Steve Kinser (Kinser #11) 1996 – Johnny Herrera (Gil Sonner #47) 1995 – Dave Blaney (Casey Luna #10) 1994 – Jac Haudenschild (Jack Elden #22) 1993 – Dave Blaney (Casey Luna #10) 1992 – Sammy Swindell (Swindell #1) 1991 – Steve Kinser (Karl Kinser #11) 1990 – Doug Wolfgang (Williams Bros. #8) 1989 – Bobby Davis Jr. (Casey Luna #10) 1988 – Steve Kinser (Karl Kinser #11) 1987 – Jac Haudenschild (Gary Stanton #40) 1986 – Don Kreitz Jr. (Kreitz #69) 1985 – Doug Wolfgang (Bob Weigert #29) 1984 – Steve Kinser (Karl Kinser #11)BRAD DOTY CLASSIC WINNERS: 4 wins – Donny Schatz 2 wins – Steve Kinser, Dale Blaney, Danny Smith 1 win – Kyle Larson, Brock Zearfoss, David Gravel, Paul McMahan, Kerry Madsen, Jason Meyers, Jac Haudenschild, Joey Saldana, Stevie Smith, Greg Wilson, Dean Jacobs, Alvin Roepka, Kelly Kinser, Butch Schroeder, Jeff Shepard, Tyler Walker, Randy Kinser, Mark Keegan, Bobby Allen, Jack Hewitt |
| The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car 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), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.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 all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
chevy racing–indycar–mid-ohio–josef newgarden pole
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE IN LEXINGTON, OHIO TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTE JOSEF NEWGARDEN QUICK POLE QUOTE JULY 3, 2021
JOSEF NEWGARD CAPTURES NTT P1 AWARD AT MID-OHIO
LEXINGTON, OHIO – Josef Newgarden was a man on a nabbing the pole behind the wheel of the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet by a mere three-thousandths of a second. It is the 14th P1 award of his career. Quick quote:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That was a little tighter than I wanted it to be. I about fell apart the second half of that lap. I opened the lap really well. The car has been on rails right out of the box. I am really proud of the team. Obviously thanks to this whole group here. Everyone at Team Penske has been on it! We’ve had some troubles the last couple weeks securing a win, but I can’t ask much different. They are doing everything they need to do to win these races. Excited to have another chance with a really great car. Team Chevy keeps doing a great job for us.. It’s good to have XPEL on the car. They’ve been a great partner for us the last couple of years. There is an anniversary! I didn’t know this coming into it. This is the 50th year today for Team Penske and Roger Penske scoring the first win for the organization with Mark Donohue. I was thinking of how cool it is to be in the car here racing today. Every now and then you have moments where you reflect that you are actually doing this. It’s so cool It’s a dream to drive for Roger and this entire group. So proud of everybody. Hopefully we can seal one off tomorrow—that’s what we need to do!
“I knew the third lap would be the money lap on used red tires. I opened the lap really well and then started losing time in Turn Four, all the way to the line. I was just trying to keep it together – Tim (Cindric) was telling me exactly what we needed and we got it. Really proud of everyone, the car looks good and it’s fast, and Team Chevy has done a great job so we just need to keep it together tomorrow. We need a good, clean day and I think we have the car to do that, and I know we’re capable. You have the curse of wanting to do well and get a good result when you know you’re capable as a team, but I’ve been racing long enough to see the ebbs and flows and I know that if we keep doing what we’re doing, it will come. “There’s a lot of respect for Honda as our competitor, here at one of their home races. You want to have a good battle with someone who pushes you and they push us as hard as you can push. I’m proud to be backed by Chevrolet: every one of my INDYCAR wins has come with Chevrolet engine power so I’m pretty comfortable with where I’m at. I’m looking forward to putting them on top tomorrow.”
Wayne Taylor scores Podium for Acura at Watkins Glen
Wayne Taylor Racing lead early, finish third in WeatherTech 240
Weather plays major role, causing extended red flag
Gradient Racing takes sixth place GTD result in the Acura NSX GT3 Evo
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 2, 2021) – It was a podium finish for Acura in a red flag-marred race Friday night at Watkins Glen International Raceway, with the championship-leading #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 Prototype finishing third in the IMSA WeatherTech 240.
Starting from pole position alongside the fellow Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05 in the hands of Olivier Pla, Ricky Taylor drove to an early lead, taking charge for the first 24 laps of the event. The team looked set for a strong finish before a red flag, for lightening in the area, stopped the on-track action.
Taylor’s co-driver, Filipe Albuquerque, closed the race for the Wayne Taylor team, bringing their Acura home third on a damp track.
Meyer Shank Racing’s #60 suffered early damage just after the start of the two-hour, 40-minute event, after making contact with the 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, sending starting driver Pla into a spin. He and co-driver Dane Cameron would persevere through the event with the damage and intermittent steering issues to finish sixth.
Acura NSX GT3 Evo
In the production-based GTD division, Gradient Racing’s Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller backed up their best starting position of 2021 [fourth], with a sixth-place result in their Acura NSX GT3 Evo. Compass Racing’s Jeff Kingsley started his Acura NSX GT3 Evo just behind the Gradient machine, in the fifth place. Kingsley and co-driver Mario Farnbacher were on the verge of a top-five finish before debris severed their brake line late in the race. The pair would finish ninth.
Acura IMSA WeatherTech 240 Results
3rd overall – #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
Drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque
6th overall – #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
Drivers Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla
6th GTD – Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
Drivers Till Bechtolsheimer, Marc Miller
9th GTD – Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
Drivers Jeff Kingsley, Mario Farnbacher
DPi Manufacturers’ Championship Drivers’ Championship (after 6 of 10 rounds)
- Cadillac 2,189 1. Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor 2,068
- Acura 2,154 2. Oliver Jarvis, Harry Tincknell 1,987
- Mazda 2,059 3. Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr 1,954
Quotes
Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05) finished third: “It was a very hard race for us. In addition to being fast, I think the 31 [car] was a bit lucky in pitting just before the red flag, and having the lead. We were having our own fight with the guys closest to us in the championship [Oliver Jarvis and Harry Tincknell]. In the end, P3 is still a decent result for us. Obviously, I would like a win, but it was not possible. We have four races to go, and we’re still leading the championship.”
Ricky Taylor (#10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05) finished third: “Wild race. I think we showed pace again this weekend, but the other guys were really strong. I’m really proud of the team. Filipe [Albuquerque, co-driver] did a really amazing job adapting to some really difficult conditions. I think, where we are [leading] in the championship, we have to keep ourselves clean. He didn’t take any risks, but managed to fight off our championship rivals, and maximized our day for [championship] points. The guys finishing ahead of us are not really in the [title] fight, so I think we can come out of the race happy. We’ve got two good races for us coming up in Road America and Laguna Seca. So we have that to look forward to, as we continue our fight for the championship.”
Mark Crawford (IMSA Large Project Leader, Honda Performance Development) on today’s podium at Watkins Glen: “With a third-place finish tonight, the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura team extended their leads in the Drivers’ and Team’s championships. We gave up a bit of ground in the Manufacturers’ Championship, but the contest is still very close between us. There certainly were challenging conditions in the race. It was cold throughout, dry, then wet on track, constantly changing conditions, really, plus a long red flag [race stoppage, for lightning in the area]. But HPD, and our Acura teams and drivers, adapted. It’s a third-place finish, not a win, but for our season-long championship effort it’s a good result. Coming up, both Road America and Laguna Seca suit our car, so we’re looking forward to all of the upcoming races.”
Acura IMSA WeatherTech 240 Fast Facts
Acura teams and drivers have scored two victories, and four additional podium results, in six races this season; with victories at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona and at the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio.
Acura finished second at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and at last weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen; and third tonight at Watkins Glen and at the Detroit Grand Prix.
Next
The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next travels to Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park for a GT-only race July 16-17.
Acura Motorsports Social media content and video links from this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech 240 are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).
chevy racing–indycar–mid-ohio–arrow Mclaren
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE IN LEXINGTON, OHIO ARROW MCLAREN SP TEAM ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT J ULY 2, 2021
ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET TEAM HOSTED A ZOOM CONFERENCE FOR MEDIA WITH DRIVERS FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, AND PATO O’WARD, NO.5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET AND TEAM PRESIDENT TAYLOR KIEL. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
MODERATOR: FELIX TALK ABOUT GETTING BACK IN THE CAR WITH YOUR TEAM AT MID-OHIO.FELIX ROSENQVIST: I am just really pumped to be back. I feel fine to drive. The whole team is ready to have a good second part of the season and try to get some momentum. Good to be back.”
MODERATOR: PATO HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO HAVE A GOOD RESULT THIS WEEKEND AND SCORE SOME CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS HEADING INTO A LONG BREAK?PATO O’WARD: It is going to be very important I think. We’ve had a good, strong start to the first half of the season. There has been certain weekends where I don’t think we maximized, and we can’t have any of those. We are in the championship fight with Ganassi cars, (Scott) Dixon and (Alex) Palou who have been extremely strong everywhere we go. Like I’ve said to the team, there is a time to push it and it’s now. We need to stay on top of it because every point is going to be gold between now and Long Beach. We just need to try and out score them every weekend.
MODERATOR: TAYLOR, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE A BREAK TO GET THE TEAM RECHARGE AND REFOCUS GOING INTO THE PUSH AT THE END OF THE SEASON?TAYLOR KIEL: It can serve two purposes. The break, if you have a lot of momentum and you are operating well and running well, you just want to keep going. But I think it is certainly good for everyone to have a mental break. What we ask everybody to do every day in motorsport is very stressful, so any time away I think is good and it gives everybody a chance to recharge the batteries. We are obviously at the mid-point of the season and this is where as Pato mentioned where we really need to take it to another level. We’ll take the break coming up after Mid-Ohio to recharge the batteries and hone in on some of the focus areas so we can finish the year strong.
OPEN FOR QUESTIONS FOR THE MEDIA:FELIX, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE STRUGGLES YOU HAD DURING THE WEEK FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT IN DETROIT?ROSENQVIST: The reason I didn’t get cleared, INDYCAR didn’t clear me is because the concussion test, which doesn’t really mean I had a concussion, there was some indication that something could be wrong and they didn’t want to take the risk which I fully understand. Obviously it was frustrating when you feel fine but it was just whatever they say goes. It’s something you can’t really change. None of this is something I can change. You just have to accept it and look forward. I don’t really feel like I have had massive issues mentally to go through because there is nothing I can change. I think it is like always if you make a big mistake and put yourself in that situation, its different. Things are just the way they are and I try in general to never dwell on things that happen. They can’t change. We’re back now and we just have to continue where we left off because at the time the incident we were really in a good place and on our way to turn around the season a little bit. We will try to get a good result at Mid-Ohio.
PATO, ON THE TV BROADCAST, WE’VE SEEN HOW STOIC AND CALM TAYLOR IS. WHAT IS A SIDE OF HIM WE HAVEN’T SEEN?:O’WARD: He loosens up He loosens up. He is a fun guy to have around. I think what I feel like is really nice. This kind of goes toward the whole team, but specifically with the big guys. I feel like whenever I’m around either Taylor, Sam (Schmidt), Rick (Peterson) and Zak (Brown) they are the bosses but it is like having a best friend. And, you can talk to them like a best friend. I don’t know if you get where I am trying to go with that. It’s just really nice. I’m really happy where I’m at. Taylor is a fun guy, he can sound like he’s very serious all the time. He is very professional. Unlike myself, sometimes I can be very loud and obnoxious. Taylor can control himself a little bit more.
WHAT MAKES MID-OHIO SUCH A SPECIAL TRACK FOR YOU FELIX? YOU’VE ALMOST WON THERE:ROSENQVIST: It’s a good question. We did a track walk yesterday and its just something with this track. I feel I’m always…there is good energy when you are here. It is a beautiful place. There are always a lot of people here and I feel like the fans are the right kind of fans. They are really diehard hard-core fans that come here to Mid-Ohio. They will spend the whole day in the sun. I just think somehow it is a special event. And the track is amazing. When you walk the track, you think you can’t pass here because it is so tight and twisty. But then it always produces some pretty good racing. The race format is pretty good and interesting with strategy. It is just one of those INDYCAR classics that kind of has everything, and personally I’ve had good success here. No better place to come back to.
PATO, YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RACE BEING FIVE LAPS LONGER. DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR APPROACH?O’WARD: Not really. I leave all the strategy to my team because I’m not like the most experienced at that. I’m pretty sure five more laps longer will open the windows to a two or three stopper which makes the racing cooler. Not just a straight forward fuel save and that’s what it is going to be. I think its nice. I’m happy the race is five laps longer. I don’t know how many more approaches we can take to it, but I am pretty sure that will open to a three stopper to maximize what you have.
TAYLOR, HOW GOOD IS IT FOR THE TEAM TO HAVE FELIX BACK THIS WEEKEND AND GOING FORWARD?KIEL: It’s huge. It is something we have talked about. Felix kind of alluded to it. We finally felt like we were turning the corner in Detroit. I think we had a really good car. Felix was comfortable. We were ready, and then it didn’t happen. We need to turn the corner. This is a pretty good place to do it. That is what our focus is now. Securing good results week after week and building on the momentum so we can maximize the second half of the year. I know the potential is there. Felix is driving well. We just need to get the whole package together. Once we do that I have no doubt he will be running up toward the front where he belongs.
FELIX, WERE THEY TREATING YOU LIKE YOU HAD A CONCUSSION? WHAT WERE YOU ALLOWED TO DO, OR NOT DO. WHAT KIND OF THINGS WERE YOU DOING? WERE THEY TREATING YOU LIKE YOU HAD A CONCUSSION WANTING YOU TO DO A CONCUSSION-LIKE RECOVERY?ROSENQVIST: After you have a crash like that obviously, I was more worried on the physical side because I had a lot of pain in my body. But I had nothing broken so it was nothing that would be really an issue to drive with. You just have to deal with the pain. But that was my biggest worry. But then when we found out there were some symptoms of a concussion when I did a test, it’s a normal procedure. You can’t watch too many screens, not do any big exercise for awhile. So I think everyone treated [me] really well and I got a lot of good help from INDYCAR to put me through the best possible rehab for the following weeks. And now I feel 99% recovered and I think it is thanks to all of the professionals that helped me to get to this place so quickly. So its been really good how everyone handled it. I think it is one of those things that you can’t be too careful. You only have one brain, so I don’t mind them caring for me.
WERE YOU ALLOWED TO TRAIN AS USUAL, OR WHERE YOU WITHHELD FROM THAT TOO?ROSENQVIST: Actually the latest studies show that if you have a concussion or symptoms of one it is better to do light exercise with very low heart rate. Maybe like 30 minutes every day. That is something I did which seemed to really help especially on the physical side. I did some exercise and then I ramped it up. Now I am pretty much doing the same exercise I did before Detroit.
IS IT DISRUPTIVE TO HAVE SUBSTITUTE DRIVERS IN THE CAR?KIEL: It’s not easy. You certainly want Felix in the car every weekend. But the good thing is we were able to lean into certainly Oliver (Askew) in Detroit and the guys were familiar with each other. We were able to get all the difficult things you have to do in that situation done. He did a great job and so very happy with that. Then we had a little bit of time. Thought Kevin (Magnussen) might be a good fit for one of these things. That came together very quickly for the Road America piece. We were able to try a few things, but the total focus was making sure we were maximizing the No. 5 car throughout the process. Certainly we were out to collect points with both entries. But you have to be very focused when something like this happens.
PATO WAS IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO NOT HAVE YOUR FULLTIME TEAMMATE DURING THE TWO RACES?O’WARD: I certainly missed Felix. But you kind of have to mentalize yourself as in do your own program. Pay attention to what you need from the car. Honestly I feel like that is what INDYCAR is. There are teams that have two, three, four cars, and honestly sometimes we drive differently. Everybody drives differently and everybody needs different things from the car to be able to extract the time. Sometimes what our teammates have is useless to us. Sometimes its not useless to us. Sometimes it helps us. Its kind of like 50-50. Is it going to help? Is it not going to help? I kind of just focus on what I need from the car and get what works for me. I know that I drive very different to many other drivers. The way I extract the time from the car is very different. Some people can’t be driving the same thing they are because it’s just not going to be quick enough for them.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF PATO SAYING HE WAS GOING TO WIN AND THEN DEDICATING HIS DETROIT WIN TO YOU?ROSENQVIST: That was pretty awesome. We talked in the morning and Pato said he was going to win this one for you. We kind of joked about it. We were driving back home, my girlfriend was driving and I was watching the race. It was pretty cool when he said that after the race. He is a man of his word!
DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING BEING OUT OF THE CAR WATCHING THE RACES THAT MAYBE YOU CAN APPLY NOW THAT YOU ARE BACK IN THE CAR?ROSENQVIST: I thought it was interesting following the race from the outside. I always try to do the best I can in whatever situation I am in. I thought there were things you can learn just observing. Spending more time observing other drivers as well. During the weekend you don’t really have time to look at much because you are busy with your own stuff. I had a lot of time to analyze everything all around. I thought it was interesting. But we have such a tight stretch with races I don’t really feel like it was a really bad thing to be…it’s always bad when others can be in the car and your not. But it would have been worse if it was a massive…if I was out of the car for two months or something. But just missing two weeks I don’t really think it will affect me in anyway really. I feel fine, and I think I will be at the level I was before I came to Detroit. I think everything will be fine.
WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS GETTING BACK IN THE CAR?ROSENQVIST: It’s like when you get in the car for the first time in the season and you are really excited to see how it feels. I feel a certain level of that I guess. It’s crazy how quickly you become hungry especially when you are not driving, when you are just watching everyone else drive. You just want to get back into it you picture it and you think about it. Hopefully that kind of fire will be a positive thing as well.
PATO, AS YOU MENTIONED YOU ARE OUTNUMBERED BY THE GANASSI TEAM. HOW AGGRESSIVE CAN YOU BE AT MID-OHIO?O’WARD: I think it is pretty straightforward. We just have to score more points than both of them. I don’t think it gets simpler than that.
BATTING .500: Pierce Three-Peats at Route 66 for Fifth Win in Ten Races
| Heckenast bags back-to-back runner-ups after battle with PierceJOLIET, IL – July 2, 2021 – Like the hot rod flames down the side of his racecar, Bobby Pierce has been on fire this week. The three-time DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion bagged his third consecutive Feature win Friday night at The Dirt Oval at Route 66 in dominating fashion once again, leading all 30 laps to collect the $10,000 check and his fifth Hell Tour Feature win in the first 10 races. Pierce started outside pole and received an early challenge for the lead from Frank Heckenast Jr, who got a big run out of Turn 2 and slipped underneath Pierce going down the backstretch. But Pierce got him back quickly with a crossover move to the inside and led the first lap. Heckenast was not going away easy, though. The two engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead over the first three laps around the ultra-fast three-eighths mile, but Pierce soon got the upper hand and began to open a small gap. “To beat Frankie [Heckenast] on that start of that race was key,” Pierce said. “When I got by him after the first couple of laps battling with him, from there I just had to hang on.” Heckenast was actually keeping pace with Pierce through the first half of the race. But then, the leader stepped on it. As he approached lapped traffic, Pierce began to widen the gap even more. He quickly began moving through slower cars while Heckenast lost him as the laps clicked off. “It was pretty sketchy there for a little bit. Right before that caution came out, there were some guys I was lapping three times, some were two, some were the first time,” Pierce said. One final opportunity came knocking for Heckenast when the caution flew with four-to-go. Pierce’s near five-second lead had been erased and Heckenast lined-up right on the #32’s rear bumper for the restart. They hit the gas out of Turn 4 and Pierce took off, leaving the #99JR and the rest of the field in his dust as he sailed across the finish line to collect his 32nd career Summer Nationals victory. Heckenast crossed in second, making back-to-back runner-up finishes for the Frankfort, IL-native. Defending tour champion Brian Shirley completed the podium after a solid run from sixth on the starting grid, while Ashton Winger climbed seventh-to-fourth and Tanner English bagged fifth in the Riggs Motorsports #81E entry. UP NEXT The Summer Nationals action continues Saturday night, July 3, at Fayette County Speedway, where the Late Models will battle it out for another $10,000 grand prize in race #11 of the 2021 Hell Tourcampaign. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (30 Laps) 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger[7]; 5. 81E-Tanner English[4]; 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 7. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 8. 25-Jason Feger[10]; 9. 10-Paul Parker[11]; 10. 74-Mitch McGrath[15]; 11. 11-Justin Reed[17]; 12. 50-Kaeden Cornell[13]; 13. 14G-Joe Godsey[14]; 14. 89-Mike Spatola[12]; 15. 76- Titus Sneed[19]; 16. 48-Tim Lance[16]; 17. 38-Thomas Hunziker[20]; 18. 20-Dustin Vandermeir[21]; 19. 248-Brandon Lance[22]; 20. 148-Tim Lance Jr[23]; 21. 18-Shannon Babb[8]; 22. 57-Jon Henry[9]; 23. 14R-Jeff Roth[18]; 24. 18M-Jimmy Miller[24] EIGHT-TRACK: Hoffman Dominates Route 66 for Eighth-Straight Victory He just keeps winning. And winning. And winning some more. Nick Hoffman is now up to eight DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature wins in-a-row. The latest edition came in another dominant performance at The Dirt Oval at Route 66, where Hoffman stayed perfect by setting quick time in Qualifying, winning his Heat Race and leading all 20 laps en route to his 46th career Feature win with the tour. “Our racecar’s really good. I can’t wait to read Facebook tonight about how much cherry-picking and all that,” Hoffman said in Victory Lane with a chuckle. While he was up against only six opponents, the race got interesting when fellow Elite Chassis driver Hunt Gossum appeared to be reeling in Hoffman in the final half of the race. But with just five laps remaining, the teenage Modified hot shoe went up in smoke and pulled to the infield, giving up second to another Elite pilot, Kyle Hammer. Hammer crossed in second, and while Gossum was forced to watch the rest from the infield, Hoffman knew both of the cars he built ran great, regardless of their finish. “Hunt’s a really good racecar driver, he’s young, and running one of my cars,” he said. “Even Kyle Hammer in one of my cars. He’s really good, especially at these bigger racetracks.” Hoffman’s eight consecutive victories will now be put into the Summit Modified record books as the longest win streak in its 11-year history. But that’s where the streak will end, for now. The three-time and defending champion will head next eastward to Indiana to compete in a DIRTcar UMP Modified special at Lawrenceburg Speedway, which means a new face will appear in Victory Lane when the tour heads to Fayette County Speedway Saturday night. UP NEXT The Summit Modified action continues Saturday night, July 3, at Fayette County Speedway with a $3,000-to-win special, co-sanctioned with the American Modified Series. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (20 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 45-Kyle Hammer[4]; 3. 1W-Bob Pohlman[3]; 4. 0-Travis Kohler[5]; 5. 9-Charles Baker[6]; 6. J1-Roger Jackson[7]; 7. 99-Hunt Gossum[2] |
| DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne. |
CAT LIKE REFLEXES: Brad Sweet Aces Final Restart to Steal Fourth-Straight Cedar Lake Win
| Carson Macedo Led 33 of 35 Laps Before Green-White-Checkered FinishNEW RICHMOND, WI – July 2, 2021 – Lately, there seems to be three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Brad Sweet winning at Cedar Lake Speedway.The two-time and defending World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion snagged his fourth consecutive victory at the New Richmond, WI track on Friday night, doing so in spectacular fashion on the final lap.Pouncing on the green-white-checkered restart, The Big Cat played Carson Macedo like a fiddle and slid by his fellow Californian to steal the win from the Jason Johnson Racing #41, which commanded the first 33 of 35 laps.It’s his 69th career victory and the 11th of his dominant 2021 season, which extends his advantage in the point standings with a third-straight championship on the line for the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49.”I thought we had a pretty equal car to be honest,” Sweet said of Macedo. “He did a great job in lap traffic and had us covered there. I knew there was a little moisture down low, so I was surprised to see he stayed up high on the restart. It was just a timing thing, I had to let him be ahead at the cone, but got as close as I could. I think he knew he spun the tires and went into protect mode, but I went into attack mode and it worked out.”After racing through the first 33 laps, Macedo had survived several challenges from Sweet on restarts and throughout multiple stages of lap traffic to prove his might as race leader. The pole sitter was poised for a flag-to-flag score until top-five running Logan Schuchart and David Gravel both suffered flat tires to bring out the caution.On the ensuing restart with two-to-go, school was in session.Macedo swung high, but Sweet stuck it low. The rules say you can’t pass before the cone at the start-finish line, and Sweet played by them, but he surely timed it perfect and got as close as possible to the back of the #41.Shooting to the high side of turns one and two, Sweet built his momentum and charged his #49 down the backstretch with a full head of steam. Into turn three, he launched a slider and tip-toed to the cushion as he cleared Macedo out of turn four and saw the white flag waving.The Grass Valley, CA native handled his business on the 35th and final circuit, cruising away from Macedo and crossing the checkered flag with a 0.895-second margin of victory.His 11th victory of the season combined with Gravel’s misfortune means his points advantage has ballooned to 84 points over the Big Game Motorsports #2 as we hit the halfway point of the 80+ race season.It’s Sweet’s fourth consecutive win at Cedar Lake, and his fifth win over the last seven races. He’s now tied with Donny Schatz (5 wins) for second on the wins list through 46 World of Outlaws appearances at the Wisconsin 3/8-mile.”Cedar Lake is always special to us,” Sweet spoke on his successes. “We love this race track and all of the fan sup here. We’ve got a good setup and this place just fits my driving style. There’s always multiple lanes to race on and that plays into my hand. Hopefully we can keep the streak alive tomorrow night.”After controlling 94% (33/35 laps) of Friday’s Feature, Carson Macedo was forced to settle for a second-place finish. That makes it five runner-up results for the Jason Johnson Racing #41, which resides third in the championship standings.”I feel bad for my team,” Macedo admitted. “I think we had the car to win. I feel like I was making good decisions up until that point. I just spun my tires on that restart and it killed us. I saw Brad peeled off and I tried to block, but he threw the slider and cleared me. It sucks, but we’ll come back and try to get that win tomorrow.”Concluding the podium was Aaron Reutzel, who quickly found success in his first-ever visit to Cedar Lake Speedway. A third-place finish is the eighth podium of the season for Roth Motorsports and their Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender.”We unloaded and we were decent from the beginning.” Reutzel offered. “The curb went to the fence and that’s where I’m good. We made the right adjustments, but I wish I would’ve gotten to my wing quicker. I probably wasted 10 laps or os before we got right there with them.”Sheldon Haudenschild moved forward to finish fourth aboard the NOS Energy Drink, Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17.Finishing fifth for the first time in nearly four years was Double Down Jason Sides in the King Racing Products, Wetherington Tractor Service #7S. It’s his 170th career top-five finish, however, it’s his first since July 8, 2017 at Cedar Lake. His popular run ends a streak of more than 200+ races since “J” last recorded a result that good.Closing out the top-ten on Friday night was Parker Price-Miller in Guy Forbrook’s #5, Donny Schatz in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15, James McFadden in the Kasey Kahne Racing #9, Giovanni Scelzi in the KCP Racing #18, and Brock Zearfoss with 19th-to-1oth run worthy of the KSE Racing Hard Charger Award.UP NEXT: The Independence Day Spectacular at Cedar Lake Speedway concludes tomorrow on Saturday, July 3. After that, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will remain in Wisconsin for a date at Wilmot Raceway next Saturday, July 10.NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2][$10,000]; 2. 41-Carson Macedo [1][$5,500]; 3. 83-Aaron Reutzel [4][$3,200]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$2,600]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [12][$2,350]; 6. 5-Parker Price-Miller [9][$2,150]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$2,100]; 8. 9-James McFadden [13][$1,950]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [8][$1,900]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [19][$1,850]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [16][$1,400]; 12. 2-David Gravel [3][$1,200]; 13. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5][$1,000]; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][$950]; 15. 11-Spencer Bayston [14][$900]; 16. 2C-Wayne Johnson [15][$900]; 17. 14R-Sean Rayhall [21][$900]; 18. 22-Riley Goodno [17][$900]; 19. 97-Alan Gilbertson [22][$900]; 20. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [11][$900]; 21. 19-Paige Polyak [23][$900]; 22. 14-Marcus Dumesny [20][$900]; 23. 73-Scotty Thiel [18][$900]; 24. 23-Russel Borland [24][$900]. Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-33, Brad Sweet 34-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[+9]NEW Championship Standings (39/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (5,472); 2. David Gravel (-84); 3. Carson Macedo (-124); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-180); 5. Logan Schuchart (-216); 6. Donny Schatz (-216); 7. Aaron Reutzel (-320); 8. James McFadden (-626); 9. Kraig Kinser (-652); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-920).Photo – Trent Gower |
| The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car 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), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.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 all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
Davenport Rolls to Third Straight Lucas Oil Win
| Portsmouth, OH (July 2, 2021) – Jonathan Davenport continued his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winning streak on Friday Night in the Independence 50 at Portsmouth Raceway Park. With 36 laps in the books, Kyle Bronson moved past Tim McCreadie to hold on to the second position for the remainder of the race. McCreadie led the first eight laps, but came home in third followed by a first-time visitor to Portsmouth Raceway Park, Spencer Hughes. Tyler Erb rounded out the top five. The current series Championship point leader, McCreadie, was looking to complete a perfect night with his first-ever win at Portsmouth. McCreadie led until Davenport, who started fourth, charged around him on the ninth lap to take over the lead. Davenport won over Bronson by 2.5 seconds to record his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win at Portsmouth Raceway Park. “This old car has been really good this year, we have beat it to death. With these racetracks coming up on the schedule they each have a character of their own so that is why we saved the new one we had been running. This car ran as good as the new one.” “This place wasn’t too bad from my view. I had my doubts when we first got here. But from where I was, it was perfect. I got up beside McCreadie there and I knew I had to get by him. He is such a smart racer that he would move down in that line, and it was going to be hard to get by him. I hope I left him enough room over there when I got by him.” Bronson kept himself in the hunt for his first win of the season. “We were off a little tonight but to run second, we’ll take it. Our car has been really good the last couple of months. We are finally getting a good balance on it. Davenport and them Longhorn guys have been really good the last few months. We are close, we just have to do a little more and hopefully we can be outrunning them here soon.” McCreadie will maintain the series point lead heading to Muskingum County Speedway on Saturday Night. “It’s consistent, it’s just not where we want to be. We just will try to work harder. Hats off to JD and Kyle and everybody that was out there. Hats off to the track.” The winner’s Lance Landers Double L Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, ASC Warranty, Spartan Mowers. Fatheadz Eyewear, Lucas Oil Products, Bilstein Shocks, VP Fuels, and Midwest Sheet Metal. Completing the top ten were Josh Richards, Jimmy Owens, Devin Moran, Jared Hawkins, and Ricky Thornton Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Independence 50Friday, July 2nd, 2021Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, OH Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Jonathan Davenport / 15.026 seconds Fast Time Group B: Tim McCreadie / 14.867 seconds (overall) Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 66C-Matt Cosner[3]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 5. 14-Josh Richards[8]; 6. 37-Jacob Hawkins[6]; 7. 71C-RJ Conley[5]; 8. 21K-Kirk Phillips[4]; 9. 33K-Kevin Wagner[9] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 3. 81F-Brandon Fouts[5]; 4. 10-Nathon Loney[7]; 5. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 6. 4G-Kody Evans[6]; 7. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 8. 17T-Shannon Thornsberry[4] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 9-Devin Moran[2]; 2. 11H-Spencer Hughes[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 5. 21H-Robby Hensley[7]; 6. 25-Shane Clanton[3]; 7. 11J-Jared Hawkins[6]; 8. 71R-Rod Conley[8] |
| Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps): |
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| Race StatisticsEntrants: 25Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Laps 1 – 8), Jonathan Davenport (9 – 50)Wrisco Feature Winner: Jonathan DavenportArizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 2.513 secondsStop Tech Brakes Cautions: Brandon Fouts (Lap 3); Shannon Thornsberry (Lap 12); Robby Hensley (Lap 13); Shane Clanton (Lap 29); Earl Pearson Jr (Lap 29); Mike Marlar (Lap 32)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisionals: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson, Tim McCreadiePenske Shocks Top 5: Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson, Tim McCreadie, Spencer Hughes, Tyler ErbOptima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Jared Hawkins (Advanced 12 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadieHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (42 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Tyler ErbEibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Ricky Thornton JrDirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap 6 – 15.279 seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Mike MarlarOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jason Durham (Jonathan Davenport)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Kyle Bronson (14.891 seconds)Time of Race: 32 minutes 20 seconds |
CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN
| Garcia, Taylor Take Glen SweepNo. 3 Corvette takes GTLM victory over teammates Milner, Tandy in No. 4 C8.R |
| WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 27, 2021) – Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor won for Corvette Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech 240 on Friday, their second GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R at Watkins Glen International in five days. Garcia got the jump on Corvette Racing teammate Tommy Milner – sharing the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette with Nick Tandy– on a traffic-filled restart with 28 minutes remaining in a storm-interrupted race. Taylor led from pole position before Tandy moved ahead in the No. 4 Corvette about 15 minutes into the race. The gap between the teammates constantly ebbed and flowed with traffic – from slower GTD and LMP3 cars and the quicker DPi and LMP2 runners. Taylor was the first Corvette driver to hit pitlane at 51 minutes running. He came in from second place in class and handed over to Garcia, who left with a full tank of fuel and fresh Michelin tires. Tandy carried on for another two laps before stopping just before the pits closed for the race’s full-course caution period. Milner got in the 4 Corvette and returned to the lead behind the safety car. Heavy rain started to pelt parts of the circuit with the field under yellow. Two laps later, race officials halted the race due to a lightning strike in the immediate area of Watkins Glen. The field began rolling again with 50 minutes to go behind the safety car. Another full-course caution period with 36 minutes left forced another reset before the race went green the rest of the way. The next event for Corvette Racing is the Northeast Grand Prix from Lime Rock Park on July 16-17. The race will air at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 17 with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold at 3:05 p.m. ET. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com, Sirius 216, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992. |
| NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “It’s bitterly disappointing. We put ourselves in position as a team to have what looked like a pretty comfortable 1-2. Up to the point, the way the guys managed the race – the pit stops, how the engineers set the car up for the race – had us absolutely flying. A few laps before the last yellow, I felt something strange on the car and we’ll have to investigate what happened. We’re disappointed, but there are a lot of positives to go into next week with.” |
honda performance development–david salters
Honda Performance Development Media Availability
Honda Indy 200, Presented by the HPD Ridgeline
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Friday, July 2, 2021
Featured Guest: Dave Salters, President, Honda Performance Development
Media Conference
CHUCK SCHIFSKY: I am Chuck Schifsky, manager of motorsports for American Honda. I’m joined today by David Salters, the president of HPD, Honda Performance Development. Thanks for joining us today here at Mid-Ohio.
I wanted to gather this group together and have David give us some background on how the season is going. To do that I’m going to start off with a question that I think is kind of important:
Of the nine races we’ve had so far this season, Honda has won six of them. David, give us a little background. Is this something that’s just happened or is this something that has been brewing for a while, a little background on how the season is going in INDYCAR from your view.
DAVID SALTERS: So it’s going reasonably well. It’s motorsport, so you have to be very careful and not become complacent. There’s various reasons it’s going well. There’s a team of people – engineers at HPD – who work really hard, and they’re very smart and they work hard. That’s how you get success in this business.
There are our teams, that are working hard. It’s sort of four or five years of building an engineering team, process, models, simulation and validation. You get luckier. The more you understand, the luckier you get. It’s just building it over the last few years really.
We’re seeing some success now. It can always turn around quickly. But it’s through the efforts of our team at HPD who have been working hard for years and years and trying to get smarter for years and years.
CHUCK SCHIFSKY: Thanks, David. Obviously here today we’re running the INDYCAR SERIES. David also oversees our IMSA efforts. We have a race that’s running this weekend, second of two races at Watkins Glen. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that, that there are two HPD-engineered efforts for Acura, Wayne Taylor Racing and Mike Shank Racing.
David, talk a little bit about what’s happened so far this year in IMSA and how things are going with the DPi cars especially.
DAVID SALTERS: It’s going reasonably well. Acura, we historically won our first Daytona 24 Hour outright. That’s a marquee event and a milestone achievement. That’s going well.
Guys are working hard. The teams we work with are brilliant, Mike [Shank] and Wayne [Taylor, team owners of Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing]. We won Mid-Ohio here, it was a nail-biter, a bit too close at the end, so that’s pretty good. We’re leading various championships and stuff.
The other bit to remember is we have fantastic support from inside American Honda with Honda and Acura. The guys in charge there are racers, so we get good support. We go racing. We’re encouraged.
Honda is very authentic with the fact that we’re there to build engineers. It’s people and technology. We don’t just pay people to do our motorsport. There’s more than a hundred people [at HPD’s main facility] in Santa Clarita. They go out, think about how to engineer the cars, then we make stuff, all the things Honda is good at to be honest with you. IMSA is going well. Well poised. So far so good.
CHUCK SCHIFSKY: Can you comment for us today on how the engine development for the new INDYCAR engine is going. I know guys are working hard on that. All of that is still in secret. But what can you tell us about how that’s going?
DAVID SALTERS: That’s secret (laughter). What new engine?
No, we’re working hard. The interesting thing is it’s like a renaissance in American motorsports. The INDYCAR stuff is very buoyant. We have 15 cars here this weekend, which is the most outside an Indy 500 field, the most there’s been for years. We’re supporting that, which takes a lot of supporting. But we’re trying to do that.
Plus we’re trying to work on the new power train. It’s going okay. It’s never where you want it to be. We have very high standards for ourselves internally, but it’s going pretty well.
Then there’s DPi. That’s going okay. Then there’s [the new prototype category] LMDh. We’ve got enough to keep us busy for a little while I think, but it’s going okay.
CHUCK SCHIFSKY: Thanks, David. We’ll open it up to questions.
Q. The fact that a Honda guy and Acura guy, an Ohio guy [Michael Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing], won the Indy 500, there had to be a lot special about that one. How important and how special was Helio’s win at the 500 especially for Honda and Acura and Mike Shank?
DAVID SALTERS: It was a fairytale, wasn’t it? Literally a fairytale. There was a moment. You get these sporting moments, and people are going to remember that, especially at the end of the pandemic. Everyone has had a pretty horrible time. Just to be there and see it I think was astonishing.
Yeah, Helio [Castroneves, Indy 500 race winner], he raced two races this year. He raced Daytona and he raced Indy. He won them both. His success rate this year is pretty good. We were joking with him (smiling).
We all like human stories. Honda tries to do its racing in a human way. So the human bit was just lovely. Helio is Helio. You could not find a person with more energy. I mean, he went for a run afterwards, you saw. It was fairytale stuff, I think. So lovely.
Q. Chuck, new TV package is being negotiated. If you start the races earlier, the ratings are higher. Honda invests in the TV package for advertising. Where do you see that whole thing going?
Chuck Schifsky: Yeah, you’re right, TV is a really important piece of the puzzle for Honda. On the consumer side, we spend a great deal of money to come out and go INDYCAR racing. One of the reasons we do that is to speak to our customers about durability, the rugged nature of the Honda vehicles and performance and excitement.
So, yeah, a good TV package is important. I think, like everybody here, we’re kind of waiting with baited breath to see where that goes. We’re pretty happy with what NBC has been doing. I think we need to wait and see how that shakes out over the next few weeks I’m hearing.
Q. Back to the new engine. What is the timeline on that? Clearly on the dyno now. When does it lead to on-track testing, getting it out to more teams?
DAVID SALTERS: Some of that is INDYCAR’s news to make. In the first quarter of next year there’s meant to be track testing and stuff. We’ll see how that goes.
That’s INDYCAR’s news to make, to be honest. The precise timing of that… INDYCAR is doing a great job spearheading that. I think first quarter we should be trying to get on the track and stuff.
Q. (Question about multiple teams testing the engine.)
DAVID SALTERS: That’s a good question.
The truth of the matter is all this [new INDYCAR hybrid engine] stuff is new. The most important thing is getting it to work properly to start with. It’s not like you’re looking for the fine points of ultimate drivability, that sort of stuff.
The key bit is getting track miles. If I’m thinking from an engineering point of view and stuff, the key bit is getting track miles.
Like all projects, you want to manage the risk, put the risk at the start. Let’s see if they haven’t thought of something. Just get out there and get miles on it.
If it’s with one team or multiple teams, one driver, multiple drivers, at the start because it’s all new, personally the main thing is checking it functions properly. I have yet to see anybody who gets everything perfect. It doesn’t exist. So you’re going to find some problems. Let’s flush the problems out. I think that’s the main thing. Let’s get working, so… That’s the first bit.
It’s complex. You won’t have thought of everything, so let’s get on track as soon as we can and flush the problems out. The other bit probably comes later when you’re trying to find the fine differences, to be honest.
Q. You mentioned the human part earlier. You’re sporting 15 cars this weekend. How important is it to have the right support engineers with the right teams?
DAVID SALTERS: It is important. We try and help the teams as much as we can. We have a certain amount of flexibility. Then how they liaise with the engineers is important. We got to keep it consistent. You build a relationship. So we try and build on that.
It is human. Honda’s quite human. We do this to grow the engineers. I’m an engineer. We do it to grow the engineers. We’re trying to help the team. We’re trying to help our own people learn, so we give them different challenges.
We’re trying to have some consistency so that we just make sure that they’re always getting the best that they can. We’re trying to balance those things. It’s important. Consistency is important. You have to learn to work together. Different teams work with different engineers in different ways. We try to cater for that, I think.
EMPIRE STATE OUTLAWS
| The Greatest Show on Dirt Visits New York on July 30-31Ransomville and Weedsport Prepare for Only Outlaw Appearances of 2021RANSOMVILLE, NY – July 2, 2021 – After three years away, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is finally returning to New York.The Empire State will host The Greatest Show on Dirt for back-to-back nights to cap off the busiest month of the season, sandwiched right in the middle of the mega “Month of Money.”On the docket for the 900+ horsepower beasts in the northeast is The Big “R” Outlaw Shootout atRansomville Speedway on Friday, July 30, followed one-night later by the Empire State Challenge at Weedsport Speedway on Saturday, July 31.The long-awaited return to New York state ends a more than 1,000+ day absence since the last appearance at Fulton Speedway on October 6, 2018. Mother Nature stole shows in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic kept the Series locked out last year. This year, its full steam ahead.RANSOMVILLE TICKETS (7/30) WEEDSPORT TICKETS (7/31)Although both tracks are relatively young in the grand scheme of World of Outlaws events – Ransomville has hosted five races, Weedsport has hosted nine shows – more than half of the current crop of full-time drivers are familiar with the facilities. In 2018, eight full-timers were in action when the Series last rolled through town.Of all those still-active drivers, only David Gravel of Watertown, CT and Donny Schatz of Fargo, ND have won at either Ransomville or Weedsport in World of Outlaws action.Gravel is the most recent winner at Ransomville, topping the Big “R” in July of 2018. He’s got four top-fives through five combined appearances at both tracks, including a podium run at Weedsport in 2016.Although Weedsport is four hours away, it’s still the closest track on the World of Outlaws schedule to Gravel’s hometown of Watertown, Connecticut.”I love it anytime we can get back up around the northeast,” Gravel said. “That’s where I grew up and I’ve got a ton of great supporters from the region. I’ve always done pretty well up in New York, I’ve already got the one win at Ransomville, I’d really like to add another at Weedsport.”Two other models of consistency in New York are the only two active Series champions – Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet.Each own four top-five finishes in five trips to Ransomville and Weedsport, however, Schatz is the only of the two to win.The driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance #15 topped the 2016 show at Weedsport and all told has an average finish of 3.0 in the Empire State.For Sweet, the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 ran runner-up in both trips to Ransomville and collected a pair of top-fives at Weedsport. The Grass Valley, CA native is anxious to finally snag that first win in New York.Sandwiched in the midst of the “Month of Money,” the New York doubleheader comes at a crucial time with momentum and confidence meaning everything.The dates follow events such as the TWO $175,000-to-win Kings Royals at Eldora Speedway (July 14-17), the $25,000-to-win Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway (July 20), and the $20,000-to-win Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway (July 23-24).It also precedes a pair of huge happenings with the $20,000-to-win Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway (August 6-7) and the potentially $200,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway (August 11-14) following that.With another 11 events remaining until the Series swings through New York, the current championship outlook remains relatively similar to how its look all throughout spring.Brad Sweet, chasing his third-consecutive World of Outlaws title, has led the points since March. He’s already won 10 NOS Energy Drink Features this season and has a knack for taking his game to the next level through the July and August months.Giving chase to Sweet is David Gravel (-60), Carson Macedo (-120), Sheldon Haudenschild (-172), and Donny Schatz (-190).Fans unable to make it to the track can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.RANSOMVILLE SPEEDWAY WINNERS: 2018 – David Gravel on July 27 2017 – Tim Shaffer on Oct. 16 1997 – Andy Hillenburg on July 28 1995 – Stevie Smith on June 8 1994 – Dave Blaney on Aug. 9WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY WINNERS: 2018 – Brent Marks on July 29 2016 – Donny Schatz on May 22 2015 – Donny Schatz on May 17 1993 – Dave Blaney on Aug. 10 1987 – Steve Kinser on June 2 1986 – Steve Kinser on June 3 1985 – Doug Wolfgang on June 5 1981 – Steve Kinser on June 10 1980 – Lynn Paxton on July 20Photo – Trent Gower |
| The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car 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), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.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 all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
RCR Event Preview – Road America
| Richard Childress Racing at Road America… While Richard Childress Racing will make their inaugural NASCAR Cup Series start at Road America this Sunday, the Welcome, N.C. organization has a successful history at the Wisconsin road course. In 30 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Elkhart Lake, RCR scored three consecutive victories with drivers Brendan Gaughan (2014), Paul Menard (2015), and Michael McDowell (2016) and posted 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Road America 180 at Road America will be televised live Saturday, July 3, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The NASCAR Cup Series’ Road America 250 at Road America will be televised live Sunday, July 4, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. |
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| Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Road America… Although this weekend marks the NASCAR Cup Series’ first appearance to Road America since 1956, Austin Dillon has made three starts total at the track spread out among the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Racing Series, earning two top-10 finishes. He also plans to compete in the Trans Am Series this weekend to get additional lap time at Road America. Dow brings a science and engineering crew who is driven by limitless curiosity to the RCR Team… Austin Dillon and the RCR team are again supported by Dow’s materials science expertise and technologies this season. Backed by the power of data analysis and virtual modeling, Dow develops and manufactures high-performance components and materials custom-made for the No. 3 car. Dow and RCR’s partnership has expedited innovation and shortened testing time in the automotive industry by recreating in the lab one of the most extreme environments – the racetrack. After eight years of collaboration, Dow scientists and RCR engineers are continuing to work together to make the No. 3 car faster, safer and more precise. Stay up to date with Dow’s exciting developments at www.dow.com/sportsand follow us on Twitter @DowSports & @DowNewsroom. By Seeking Together, We Can Solve Anything – Dow Salutes Veterans… Dow’s solutions are reshaping our world. And at the heart of Dow’s solutions are their people. Their diversity is our strength. They reflect the world in which we do business and the communities in which we live. As a diverse community of approximately 37,000 employees worldwide, together we can solve anything. More than 1,900 U.S. Military Veterans will “ride” with Dillon this weekend thanks to a patriotic No. 3 Chevrolet featuring the names of U.S. Military Veterans and active-duty military members. This year’s No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet features Dow’s commitment to the service and skills that veterans bring to the workforce with a special nod to Dow’s Veterans Resource Group (VETNET) and Military Degree Equivalency (MDE) program, which provides an opportunity for individuals with extensive military background to bring their broad scope of training and education, experience in leadership, and understanding of performing in high pressure situations into a successful career at Dow. 2021 marks the seventh consecutive year that Dow has partnered with RCR to honor U.S. Military veterans. The program began with just over 350 veterans in 2015 to more than 1900 this year. This year’s program also highlights Dow’s relationship with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:You have experience at Road America in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Do you think that will give you an advantage this weekend?“It’s crazy because that was such a long time ago. I don’t know if it will really give me any type of advantage. A lot of other drivers have been there more recently, so I’m sure the track has aged a little bit. I have leaned on some of my old teammates. Brendan Gaughan previously won there and I asked him for some advice and his notes. He printed out a great track map for me and wrote notes on it, so I’m pumped about that. I’m looking forward to Road America. The road courses have been pretty good to us this year and I want to keep improving on those. I’m going up early to try and get a feel for the track and see if I can even remember what it was like when I ran there, which was a long time ago. I know it’s a slick track. I’ve been on the simulator a lot. I’m just trying to do my best to get acclimated. What do you think the key to performing well at Road America will be?“It’s one of those places where you have to have an average lap in order to have a good lap, because there are so many chances to overdrive certain turns. You can lose a lot in one corner and gain a lot in another. You just have to put it all together it seems like. A little bit of racing the track goes on in these kinds of races. The restarts are going to be aggressive and wild. People will be going everywhere. I do expect some attrition in the race because there are some areas where you can wreck some stuff. Runoffs, grassy areas. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. You some really good races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series there so I’m sure the NASCAR Cup Series will be just the same. I’m just looking forward to the challenge. It’s a challenging place. Do you think of yourself as a good road course racer?“I’m getting there. I’m better than where I started going into this year, for sure. I’ve had some consistent finishes this year. I definitely think taking on the 24 Hours of Daytona race was helpful for that. I had to step outside of my comfort zone, and it’s pushed me to be a better racer. I’ve done some other things in the off season, too. We raced in January at COTA. It’s really just about getting more road course racing experience. I’m definitely more comfortable. I’m not going into these races just saying ‘hey can we salvage a day.’ I’ve gone to many races in my career on road courses just wanting to salvage a weekend, and now after Sonoma and some of the speed we’ve shown I think it’s a different conversation. We scored stage points at the Daytona Road Course, Sonoma Raceway, and at COTA we were just hindered by the rain. We’ve been solid at road courses but there’s always room for improvement and I’m pumped for the challenge.” What road course does Road America resemble most?“I think Sonoma relates the most to Road America because of the grip level at Road America, so we will take something similar but try to make our car turn a little better. I thought we had a definite top-10 car at Sonoma. We just had a loose alternator wire cause issues. We had to change the battery every stage and came back to finish 12th or 13th.” You have a very unique paint scheme this weekend. Can you tell me about it…“The Dow Salutes Veterans car has been going on for seven years now. It started out with 350 names on the car, and I think we broke our record. We’re at 1,903. It’s pretty awesome to see all of the veterans on the car from RCR, Dow and Team Rubicon. My buddy Tyler Rader, who used to be the gas man on my team, is on my car now. It’s cool just to see all of the connections to the military that we have across the board. Everyone is getting involved and it’s cool to see the spider web effect of names growing every year. |
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| Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Road America… This weekend marks the return of the NASCAR Cup Series to Road America for the first time since 1956, but Tyler Reddick has some experience under his belt at the 4.048-mile road course. Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, with a best finish of third coming with Richard Childress Racing during his 2019 championship season. About Kalahari Resorts & Conventions… Plan a getaway they’ll never forget at America’s Largest Indoor Waterparks. The nearby Wisconsin Dells, WI location has a 125,000 sq. ft. indoor waterpark and massive outdoor waterpark with thrilling rides and slides, a wave pool and lazy river, a virtual reality experience, specially designed kids’ areas and an adult-only swim up bar. Beyond the waterpark, the resort offers nearly 760 guest rooms and suites and a world-class spa, as well as the 100,000 sq. ft. indoor Tom Foolerys Adventure Park. Experience a six-story Ferris Wheel, aerial ropes course, lighting-speed zip line, mini golf, laser tag, adventurous climbing walls, bowling and a whole lot more… all under-one-roof. After the fun, take a break for a meal at one of the delicious on-site restaurant experiences. Visit kalahariresorts.com to plan your adventure. Get Special Offers & insider Exclusives… Follow Kalahari Resorts and Conventions on social media @KalahariResorts for special offers. #LoveKalahari #BestSummerYet TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:Heading into Road America this weekend, you have some experience on the road course that some Cup veterans may not. How does that affect your preparation and expectations for the race weekend?“Yeah, it’s nice going into the weekend with that experience. It makes me wish we weren’t having practice or qualifying so the Cup veterans could feel a little bit of what I felt heading into the Sonoma race weekend without turning a lap there! This weekend is going to be a great opportunity for our team. I feel like the approach you have for Road America is similar to that of COTA, and I felt really good about where we were with our car on the dry at COTA. We learned some things about our road course program at Sonoma Raceway a few weeks back, but that course isn’t as similar to Road America as COTA is. Road America is all about attacking the entry and nailing the apex. You don’t have to worry about drive-off as much as you do at Sonoma. I’m excited about the opportunity for my team and know we are bringing a great No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet to the track.” |
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| Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Shore Lunch Chevrolet Camaro at Road America… Myatt Snider has one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Road America, coming last year during the 2020 campaign. Despite having a minimum amount of experience at Elkhart Lake, the 26-year-old has a plethora of familiarity with left and right turns. Snider competed in the NASCAR Euro Series in 2019. About Shore Lunch… For generations, fishing guides handed down their homemade recipe for fish batter. Beloved by fishermen and everyone alike, it became known as the Old Guide’s Secret™. Using this secret today, Shore Lunch offers the perfect soup, breading and batter mixes to complement any meal or enrich the flavor of your favorite recipes. Rich and savory, all of the mixes are intended to make it easy to serve up delicious, homemade meals in a fraction of the time. About Summit Hill Foods… Summit Hill Foods is a fourth-generation, family-owned food company headquartered in Rome, Georgia. Founded in 1941, the company’s core strength is the development and manufacture of ingredient systems used to deliver texture and superior flavor. Summit Hill Foods is an ingredient supplier to food service manufacturers and restaurants. The company also markets nationally distributed brands including Better Than Bouillon®, Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce™, Southeastern Mills®, Shore Lunch® and Better Than Gravy®. Southeastern Mills operates six manufacturing facilities located in Rome, Georgia; New Iberia, Louisiana; and Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more, visit www.SHFoods.com. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:What are the keys to success at Road America this weekend? “Road America is a really tricky road course with lots of bumps and elevation changes, but it’s also one of my favorite tracks on the Xfinity Series circuit. Having a good day in Elkhart Lake takes a few things – hitting your marks right, keeping the car on the race track, having a good car and using the right strategy. We have a really good Shore Lunch Chevrolet Camaro for this weekend and Andy Street (crew chief) has been making great strategy plays all year. I feel really confident that we can keep our good momentum from Pocono going this weekend in Wisconsin.” |
LIFE ON THE ROAD: Gustin and crew move forward through grueling World of Outlaws Schedule
| The Marshalltown, IA driver is seventh in the Series standingsCONCORD, NC – July 2, 2021 – Albert Einstein once said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”When a new team joins the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series, keeping that balance is tough throughout the grueling schedule.Ryan Gustin, from Marshalltown, IA is on his maiden voyage with the World of Outlaws, and he’s learning what it takes to keep up with his competitors. But he’s not the only one gaining knowledge. It’s also a learning curve for his crew.Crew Chief Bret Ladehoff and Tire Specialist Noah Bushman are the two crew members who travel with Gustin across the country. While the World of Outlaws are a new venture for the team, a national travel schedule isn’t.Gustin’s time running United States Modified Touring Series – which spans from Texas to Iowa to Minnesota – prepared him for his rookie season.“It’s a lot of traveling but so is USMTS stuff and any national tour you put a lot of miles on,” Gustin said. “It’s just a lot of new racetracks and we haven’t had hardly any laps around a lot of these tracks we’ve been to.”The prior experience running a national tour allowed Gustin’s team to hit the ground running with the Late Model.“We’re not close to home but we’ve done it long enough that we’re used to being away from home for an extended period of time,” Ladehoff said. “That’s the nice thing is that we didn’t jump into this feet first and not really knowing what we’re getting ourselves into.”While traveling isn’t new to them, the crew still needed to make some changes around the shop. One of those changes is sticking to a routine to make sure certain jobs are done.There’s a lot of things that are definitely different about what we do here,” Ladehoff said. “The one thing we’ve all kind of gotten together on is a set schedule for what we do. I’ve got a set schedule of what I do with the car every day.”One step of the process is making sure they don’t run into problems at the racetrack. Ladehoff’s goal every time he touches the car is to point Gustin in the right direction.“I try to give him a car that’s not going to fall apart, something he can go out there and trust,” Ladehoff said. “That’s the big thing if he can trust the car, he’ll be better in it.”The work doesn’t end with fine-tuning the setup. One of the new learning experiences is tires, and it’s been a teaching moment for Bushman who’s been learning on the fly.“It’s a lot to do and the compounds are different,” Bushman said. “Some of them I’ve never even cut up before so it’s basically a shot in the dark, but I’ve got it figured out now and it’s going pretty good.”Even though the team is starting to find a rhythm, the crew knows they must hit their marks in the pits and on the track.“In the modified, [Gustin] could kind of horse it around if [the car] wasn’t right and make it work,” Ladehoff said. “With these things everybody’s good so you have to be on top of your game every night.”“It’s a lot more work and everything that you do you have to make sure it’s right and have your ducks in a row when you show up,” Bushman said.While having the right setup is important to beat their competitors, the team enjoys the comradery they have with the other drivers.“It’s a blast, you learn a lot and it makes you be better,” Ladehoff said. “At the end of the day we all want to see everyone get out there and race so if there’s something that we have, and somebody needs it and vice-versa we try to help everybody out.”Although the first year on tour’s been fun for Gustin he’s still looking toward the future.“We just hope to get this year out of the way,” Gustin said. “We’ll hopefully get rookie of the year, get a year under our belt, and have a notebook built for a lot of these tracks we haven’t been to before for next year.”Gustin has a hill to climb if he wants to be the Series’ top rookie. He’s 136 points behind Tyler Bruening with 28 races to go. He’s also seventh in the overall championship standings with four top-fives and 12 top-10s in 23 starts — 352 points behind Brandon Sheppard.No matter how they finish the season, Gustin and his crew are showing they’ve have found the perfect balance with the grueling Series schedule. They just keep moving.The next stop for the World of Outlaws Late Models is a doubleheader at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, MN July 9-10.TICKETS: https://bit.ly/3pxJSHjIf you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month. |
| 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. |
SMOOTH SAILING: Pierce Outruns Field at Davenport to Win Back-to-Back
Heckenast rebounds to finish second, Babb moves 21st-to-fifth after provisional start
DAVENPORT, IA – July 1, 2021 – Four wins in nine races. Not bad for the three-time DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Bobby Pierce, who’s off to one of the best starts to a Hell Tour campaign in his young career.
His latest trip to Victory Lane came Thursday night at Davenport Speedway, where he took his Pierce Platinum Race Car to the high side of the quarter-mile configuration and put on a clinic, crossing the stripe with a near five-second lead over Frank Heckenast Jr. and Brandon Sheppard for his 31st career Summer Nationals Feature win in back-to-back fashion.
But to get the lead, Pierce was forced to go a different route. Polesitter Tony Jackson Jr. jumped out to the lead through the middle while Pierce held off Tanner English for second in the opening laps. A quick caution restacked the field and gave Jackson the opportunity to switch to the preferred top lane, which he did and began to open up a gap.
But on Lap 12, Jackson darted to the bottom in Turn 3 and slid up to the high side at the exit of Turn 4, leaving the door wide-open for Pierce down low.
“He got a little loose off of Turn 2, and I had a pretty good run. I thought, ‘well, we’ll see if he goes to the top,’ and he did. He left the door open, I shot in there and just stayed in the gas and kinda blocked him coming off the corner,” Pierce, of Oakwood, IL, said of the move for the lead.
Now with the advantage out front and lots of room to maneuver through traffic, Pierce grabbed the lead after a second restart and checked out, weaving up to a six-second lead at one point while the rest of the field was left to duke it out behind him.
Included in that crowd was one of the fastest cars on the track in the closing stages of the race – Frank Heckenast Jr. The Summer Nationals veteran had just come off a heartbreaking end to his night on Wednesday at Beaver Dam, where a battery malfunction forced him to retire while leading. Looking for a night of redemption in the Hawkeye State, he found it, climbing back from as low as eighth at one point to finish second.
“Last night, we break the track record, win the Heat, feeling like nothing can go wrong, and then we finish 18th,” Heckenast, of Frankfort, IL, said. “Tonight, nothing went right. The car wouldn’t start before Hot Laps, barely got out for Hot Laps… Heat Race was a disaster, I don’t know what the heck was going on there, so we got put back and that cost us a lot.”
While he endured those struggles early Thursday night, Heckenast came roaring back to life in the second half of the Feature. Having faded back to eighth after the final restart on Lap 14, he gassed it up on the bottom lane and advanced six positions over the next 19 laps to take second.
“Cade [Dillard] gave me about 10 percent life on the bottom when I looked up, and he hung with them guys coming off Turn 4, and I was like, ‘wait a second, there might be something here,’” Heckenast said.
Heckenast battled with Dillard, Dennis Erb Jr, Tanner English and others in his drive to the front before meeting Jackson, who had again found his mojo on the top side and engaged in a lap-after-lap struggle with Heckenast in the final stages. Back-and-forth the two swapped spots for four laps before Heckenast took it away permanently with five laps remaining.
Looking back on the finish and the cars he passed to get there, Heckenast was quite pleased with he and his team’s effort with the big guns in the house. A grand total of 35 DIRTcar Late Models packed the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds pit area to take part in the Summer Nationals’ 21-year awaited return, and the core Illinois drivers showed their toughness right from the drop of the green.
“It was a great rebound run for us with all of these cars here,” Heckenast said. “MLRA, there’s some World of Outlaws here… it just shows that Bobby, Brandon [Sheppard], and a lot of us guys can do this deal. There’s no slouches.”
With his fourth win of the year, Pierce now has a comfortable lead in the points standings and is well on his way to the Week #3 points bonus. Although he may not be as worried about points as he has been in the past, he’ll take a check for $5,000 any day.
“For sure, it’s definitely been a good start,” Pierce said. “We haven’t really been worrying about points that much because we came into it figuring we’re not going to run it all. I’m still not going to run it all, but we’re still gonna go out there and win as many races as we can.”
Brandon Sheppard, the 2013 Summer Nationals champion from New Berlin, IL, crossed in third after a charge from 13th in the family-owned #B5 Rocket Chassis. Tony Jackson Jr. faded back to fourth before the checkers, while four-time tour champion Shannon Babb completed an amazing climb from 21st (a provisional spot) to fifth to earn the Hard Charger honors.
UP NEXT
The Hell Tour rolls into The Dirt Oval at Route 66 for race #10 of the 2021 campaign Friday night, July 2, alongside the return of the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals to the card. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.
ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)
Feature (40 Laps) 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard[13]; 4. 56-Tony Jackson Jr[1]; 5. 18- Shannon Babb[21]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[11]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard[4]; 8. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 9. 11H-Spencer Hughes[5]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger[7]; 11. 25-Jason Feger[17]; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley[16]; 13. 48-Tim Lance[19]; 14. 41-Jeremiah Hurst[18]; 15. 10-Paul Parker[14]; 16. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[12]; 17. 14G-Joe Godsey[22]; 18. 29-Spencer Diercks[10]; 19. 59-Garrett Alberson[9]; 20. 00-Jesse Stovall[8]; 21. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[15]; 22. 16-Rusty Griffaw[20]
Front Row Qualifying Sweep for Acura at Watkins Glen Sprint Race
Ricky Taylor’s Wayne Taylor Racing Acura on the pole
Olivier Pla notches front row strart in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05
Till Bechtolsheimer for Gradient Racing and Jeff Kingsley for Compass Racing both score top-five starts
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 1, 2021) – Acura scored their second front row sweep in as many races, with Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor taking pole position for the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at Watkins Glen. Fellow ARX-05 driver Olivier Pla will start alongside for Meyer Shank Racing to complete the second consecutive all-Acura qualifying sweep.
In damp, but drying, conditions for qualifying, Taylor edged Pla by 0.346 of a second—with the entire six-car DPi field was covered by just over one second.
In the production-based GTD category, Till Bechtolsheimer led the charge in his #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo, qualifying in the fourth position. Bechtolsheimer will start just one spot ahead of another Acura NSX, the #76 Compass Racing machine piloted by Jeff Kingsley.
Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen Qualifying Results
1st overall – #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
2nd overall – #60 Dane Cameron, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
4th GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
5th GTD – #76 Jeff Kingsley, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
Quotes
Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) pole qualifier; race co-driver will be Filipe Albuquerque: “Watching the other [qualifying] sessions, it seemed like the track was improving all the time, since it was drying out [from earlier rain]. We [DPi] were the luckiest ones of all the classes as the track was really quite dry for the start of our session. I think everyone decided to run the entire session to make sure they got a good lap in. So we went out right away and obviously, the track continued to improve throughout. That alone gave you some pace as the laps increased. But I think the biggest factor is that, after a week [since the six-hour race here last Sunday], everyone has a little bit of data on how to go a bit faster, but it was still very much a game of ‘how much tire do I have left’ vs. ‘how much is the track drying’. Luckily, we got it right on that last lap [for pole].”
Till Bechtolsheimer (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo): Qualified fourth; co-driver will be Marc Miller: “We’ll see how the conditions are for tomorrow’s race. If it’s a dry race, I am a little bit worried because most of the teams were here for the six-hour last weekend and we haven’t done a single dry lap yet at Watkins Glen, but if it’s similar to today’s conditions or fully wet, we’re feeling really good. The car felt great during qualifying, it’s pretty well-known that the Acura NSX is good in the wet. It was really confidence-inspiring once we got some temperature into the tires—it felt great! This team has made such huge strides; last time out we ended up with our first podium in WeatherTech, which is a huge achievement, and to qualify P4, that is far and away the best position I’ve qualified in WeatherTech. It just feels like every time we’re out, we’re learning a bit more and getting more confident and just making huge strides.”
Fast Facts
The pole position is Ricky Taylor’s 23rd in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
Gradient Racing is coming off of their strongest-ever finish, and first-ever podium, in IMSA WeatherTech competition at the last Sprint Cup round last month in Detroit.
Where to Watch the IMSA WeatherTech 240
Live television coverage from Watkins Glen begins at 6 PM EDT Friday on the NBC Sports Network. Live flag-to-flag race coverage will also be available on NBC Gold Track Pass and the NBC Sports App.
Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.
Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Watkins Glen International Raceway 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).
cORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Sprint Race Pole for Taylor
| CNo. 3 Corvette just beats out Tandy, No. 4 C8.R in dynamic qualifying session |
| WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 26, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor followed up a victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen with the GT Le Mans (GTLM) pole position Thursday for the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at Watkins Glen International. A winner with Antonio Garcia on Sunday, Taylor set a time of 1:43.821 (117.895 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R ahead of Friday’s two-hour, 40-minute sprint race. The time was a scant 0.224 seconds quicker than Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R that he drives with Tommy Milner. Like Taylor, Tandy’s best lap – 1:44.045 (117.641 mph) – came on his final time around the 3.4-mile, 11-turn circuit on a quickly drying track. It was the second GTLM pole in less than a week for the No. 3 Corvette with Garcia claiming the honors ahead of the Six Hours. Rain pelted Watkins Glen throughout Thursday afternoon. The day’s lone practice session featured a mix of light and more moderate showers that left the track damp throughout. Conditions dried out for qualifying with both Corvettes opting for slick Michelin tires for qualifying. Weather for the race could mirror what Corvette Racing experienced Thursday, giving team strategists and engineers plenty to think about before Friday evening’s green flag. Friday’s race will air live at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992. |
| NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “It was an interesting day today because we got to run in the full wet conditions, we got to run with the wet tires in the dry conditions and then we got to run a slick tire in a wet to dry condition. You don’t often get that sort of thing in one day. It makes it difficult to plan what you are doing, or to make any plans. It’s kind of interesting in some regard because it is different. For the qualifying session, when it is like this you go out on slicks and you know every lap is getting quicker and quicker. It’s always difficult to know how hard to push the car on the tire. But that is why we are in the car to find out. The good thing is we have both cars with decent lap times and in one piece. I think it’s given us all good experience of what the weather could bring tomorrow.” |
CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Jordan Taylor Pole Quote
| WATKINS GLEN, NY (July 1, 2021) – Jordan Taylor put Corvette Racing on pole position Thursday for the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at Watkins Glen International. A winner with Antonio Garcia on Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Taylor set a time of 1:43.821 in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. The time was a scant 0.224 seconds quicker than Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R that he drives with Tommy Milner. Friday’s race will air live at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold. Live audio coverage of the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992. |
chevy racing–indycar–mid-ohio–rinus veekay
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE IN LEXINGTON, OHIO TEAM CHEVY DRIVER CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT RINUS VEEKAY ZOOM TRANSCRIPT JULY 2-4 THE MODERATOR: It’s been a rather interesting couple weeks for Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, from a top-3 starting positing at Detroit to deciding to ride to Road America on a bike, which didn’t exactly go as planned. Regardless, Rinus rejoins the NTT INDYCAR Series this weekend for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the HPD Ridgeline, back in the No. 21 Sonex Autogeek Chevrolet as he continues his pursuit of an NTT INDYCAR Series championship, and Rinus joins us before traveling to central Ohio later today.
First off, Rinus, how are we feeling?
RINUS VEEKAY: I’m feeling good. Feeling strong. I got quite a good range of motion in my left shoulder again. No pain. I’ve been on the simulator and just felt great. No distractions from any weird feelings or pain.Yeah, ready to race and ready to win.
THE MODERATOR: We saw on social media yesterday you already spent some time in the sim. How did it go, and how about the wear and tear on the shoulder this week, and what do you expect?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I’m already in the gym like every day trying to use the arm and like strengthen the muscles. I think it’s not going to be an issue. Like the movement I need to turn the wheel is a movement that’s not painful to me. Luckily that’s all right for me.Yeah, I just feel very strong like on the simulator, we were I think four tenths faster than I was last year with the progression of the car and me driving a little bit better, I think.I think we keep improving, just like every race this season, so I’m ready.
THE MODERATOR: I know you’ve got good memories at Mid-Ohio. No one can forget the pass on the outside of Colton Herta in race 1 last year. What did you learn from Mid-Ohio last year that maybe you can use going into the weekend this year?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, it’s going to be very close. Hopefully it’s not going to be half wet in qualifying just like last year. But I think it’s going to be fine.Of course it was a double-header, which I’m not a huge fan of, because I like the buildup to just one race. So I think a single-header is going to be great for me.I like the track, and yeah, I think just like last year, you’ve got to stay out of trouble because it’s quite close. Like maybe the front three get away, and you want to be part of the front three and just fight it out there on track.
Q.I’m just wondering, the simulator, as you approached that, did you try to do a full race kind of like mode, or how did you approach it to make sure that you’re basically A-ok to drive a full race, if you follow my drift?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, we did like all short stints just to get the car better, but I’ve been in the car like driving for 10 minutes and like a two-minute break in between for like two hours at a time, and I had no issues.We did take it easy with tightening the belts because normally I have my Hans device there which kind of takes a little bit of the pressure off the set of the belts just being directly over. Took it a little easy, didn’t take any risks, but I’m 100 percent confident that it’s going to be no issue.With all the heavy corners in Mid-Ohio, they all go left, so it’s not going to be an issue.
Q.Does the simulator give you — how does it give you the sensation of driving Mid-Ohio? Was that what you were doing? How does it figure in, factor in or throw in the physical nature of it, or can it do that?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I think Mid-Ohio on the simulator from Chevy, it’s one of the best correlated tracks. Like the whole feeling of oversteer you have is the actual feeling I have in the real car.You’re really working on that track. I always get out of the car super sweaty, so no, it’s not just driving on a simulator for fun, it’s definitely tough but also very, very good help to getting into the mode for that weekend and also going through some procedures you never have time for on the race weekend.
Q.Are you being forbidden from riding a bicycle by your team? Have they looked at the Tour de France crashes and gone, wait a minute, maybe you shouldn’t do this?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, we haven’t really talked about it. I think it’s — I’ve got to build it up slowly. I might step on the bike again in the off-season when I have time to recover if something crazy happens, but this was just a stupid accident.Many of the other INDYCAR drivers, they’re on the bike, and it’s a good way to work out. I bought like a virtual rear wheel form of bike so I can ride on Zwift, which also many drivers do, and then I can ride inside without falling off.
Q.I kind of wanted you to walk me through what happened and what went through your mind when you went down? Did you know instantly you were hurt? And what part of your bike ride were you on and what was the decision to go from where you were to Chicago that day?RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, so I was riding with my trainer Raun, and we were just side by side on a bike trail, very safe actually, nothing crazy. I don’t know what caused it. I think my steering wheel went sideways and threw me over the bike. I knew I fell hard, but then I was on the ground — actually no pain but just little shocks.And then I feel my shoulder and I feel the bone not being where it’s supposed to be. I immediately knew that was going to be a problem.But yeah, had no pain at all until I got to the hospital. Lucky and happy with that.And then yeah, we were going to ride from Indiana Dunes State Park, so we drove from Chicago to there. My parents dropped me off, and Raun, and then we would drive from there to our hotel in Chicago, which was going to be around 70 miles, and yeah, we crashed around mile 15.Didn’t even get a good workout in, but that’s not a problem. Good thing is I can be in the car this weekend.
Q.What were you doing during the race that you weren’t able to race, and was it hard for you? What was your role that weekend instead?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I just tried to be a part of the team, so be in the pit stand during the race and be at the pre-race meetings and just be around and learn from what the team was doing and use the opportunity to have eyes like from outside and look at things from another perspective.
Q.That race that you missed with Oliver filling in for you, I know you guys have been Road to Indy rivals I guess you would say for a couple years now, what was your impression of what he was able to do just hopping in and putting together a top-12 finish, and how did you guys’ relationship evolve over the weekend, being able to work together rather than against each other a little bit?RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I think he did really well. Of course it’s not easy to step into a brand new team, brand new car on Road America; it’s a hard track. But just like he told me, the car was very good to drive, so that made it a lot easier. You kind of have the same feeling in the car.Yeah, I think he did really well, and yeah, I think it was a great opportunity for him, and then in race weekend it was pretty cool working with him instead of against him.But yeah, he was doing well on the team and looked very professional. Also I think like everyone saw, we had some fun and some non-intended puns, but no, it was a lot of fun. Definitely could have been a lot worse missing a race.
Q.Looking forward now that you’re back in the car with seven races to go, I know missing out on a race certainly with Alex winning one isn’t ideal for your championship hunt. You’re a little bit more than 100 points back now. We’ve only seen a couple two-time race winners so far this year. It looks like for someone anywhere from fourth beyond who’s going to hope to make a championship run, you’re probably going to have to win two or three of these next seven races. With how tight we’ve seen the championship be this first half or so of the season, do you feel like a run like that is possible or doable either for you or anyone else beyond second or third place?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, we’ve seen Scott Dixon do it last year, so I think it’s definitely possible. You’ve got to be lucky yourself and other guys got to be a little unlucky.But I’m not really focused on that. I just want to get back in the top 5 in the championship and just do the best I can and show some great racing and of course try to win every weekend.You know, as much as — you can work as hard as possible, but it’s almost impossible.Yeah, it’s definitely going to be tough to catch up, but that’s not really any of my worries. I’m just going to give it all and see where I end up.
Q.Going from your rookie season to fighting to be top 5, maybe even top 3 in the championship by season’s end through eight races this year, in what way do you feel like you’ve made the biggest improvements from your rookie season to now?RINUS VEEKAY: I think just the teamwork. My way of working together with the team and just the whole atmosphere and I can just be myself, and I think now like my engineer Matt Barnes can really read what I am doing. Like he can really take everything out of my words and use it as a valuable change on the car, and every change we do is perfect.I feel like the whole car team has improved but also the whole teamwork, and of course I get more comfortable every day in the car.
Q.Obviously this weekend it’s a very kind of packed field with 26 drivers on the grid. How important is it to kind of roll off really well tomorrow?RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it’s going to be important, just like my first race when we started off practices I think P3, P2. When you feel you’re right there when you start the weekend, you’re going to have a good weekend. Even the simulator it felt better than average.I think we can have a good start and go for a podium and hopefully win again. I think it’s definitely possible.Even though we have two practices now, which is very nice, it’s still going to be not that much time, so got to give it all.
Q.In terms of the track itself, is there any particular section of the track that you particularly enjoy, or is it just the whole thing in general?RINUS VEEKAY: I kind of enjoy Turn 9. It’s always a nice corner, turning in fully on the curve and then falling off the track where you’re always like fighting the oversteer. I think it’s definitely a very — yeah, a very sensational track. It just feels great to drive there, especially with a good car.
Q.Back in Road America, you had made a comment that you had talked to Josef about sort of how it went for him when he had a similar situation when he was at ECR; have you been leaning on anybody else for advice during this time?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, yeah, I’ve talked with Josef a little bit, but yeah, also in the team, they know him very well, so everyone still has memories from how that went.He only drove, I think, nine days after surgery. I’m already way past, two weeks, so I’m not worried at all. I got a message on Instagram from a V8 Supercar driver Shane van Gisbergen about hyperbaric oxygen treatments that have really helped his clavicle recover. He drove eight days after surgery.I immediately searched for a clinic that did that, and I did three hours of hyperbaric chambers a day. Yeah, I think it really helped and like sped up the recovery process.
Q.What was some of Josef’s advice and what were some of the things you guys talked about?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, he told me it might feel good now after surgery because it’s super strong, but take it easy. You don’t want to hurt yourself even more. Yeah, just be responsible. That’s definitely good advice, but also he told me — yeah, when he was driving he had no pain, and they worked around with a few different Hans device pads to relieve the pressure that’s on there. We’ve done that last Monday, and we’ve found really good ones. I’m able to be in the car with belts super tight and have no pain.
Q.How has your training regimen changed with all of this, and do you foresee it getting back to normal in the near future, or are you sort of in a new mode for the rest of the season as far as training goes?RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I did a lot of like upper body like bench press, shoulder press, that kind of stuff, and now it’s tough, I’m still recovering. Yesterday I could finally do some push-ups, but overhead I’m still — it’s still very tough.With strength training, I’m building it up and doing lots of stretching, too. But then cardio-wise, yeah, no cycling of course right now, so trying to do a bit of running. I did a 5K run yesterday without pain, so that’s good. Possibly going to do a run while everyone is doing the track walk today.Trying to get some cardio in, but I think I’m ready for the race weekend.
Q.I just heard that you said that something that helped you this year was the connection with the team. What did you learn staying in the wall with the team the last race that you can improve your driving?RINUS VEEKAY: So I think definitely strategy-wise. Normally they just tell me, pit this lap, and they got to change the strategy when there’s a yellow or a red flag or anything. I just listened to them.But now when I was on the wall I learned — I got to see how they think and why they make certain decisions, so now I can think with them and possibly decline some of their strategies when they say something, because yeah, I learned some stuff that I definitely would have struggled with in the race.Yeah, it’s definitely good to learn that. Even makes me stronger for the future.
Q.I already heard what you said about all your training, all your process from healing. What do you think will be the challenge for this return for you, this middle sector with fast corners? Do you think it will be a problem from something specific or just you have to try?RINUS VEEKAY: I think it’s not going to be a problem. I feel confident. I was first a little bit worried about maybe my neck would be painful with the pressure, with the G-forces, but I’ve done some neck training and felt nothing, feel super strong. Definitely no worries, and as long as I don’t go overhead with my arms, it’s going to be fine. So if I cheer going past the checkered flag first, I’ve got to do it like — got to throw up my right hand instead of my left hand.
Q.I know you talked about what you did and how Oliver did, but how did you feel watching someone else drive the No. 21?RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it’s definitely weird to see your own car leave pit lane and you not being there in the car. That was weird, but no, I felt okay once I accepted it, of course.I tried to see everything from a positive perspective, and I think I really did well that weekend. Yeah, I’m very excited to be in the car again this week.
Q.Did you feel like left out when someone else was driving the No. 21?RINUS VEEKAY: I didn’t feel very left out. I was still in the meetings with the team and doing everything I normally do, just not driving. I still tried to be part of the team and not leave them alone, so I just tried to be with them and learn as much as possible and still give the team a good feeling that I’m still there.
Q.After Mid-Ohio we have a summer break of sorts. I was wondering what your plans were and if the injury changed what you were going to do over the next month?RINUS VEEKAY: No, I’m still going to do what I was supposed to do. I’m going to go to Curaçao, the Caribbean, after Mid-Ohio, where I’ll see my girlfriend for the first time since January 4th. Then she’s going to come to Nashville, so she’s going to stay for a long time.Yeah, just going to relax a little bit, and yeah, try to build up the recovery in my shoulder and try to build up all the workouts.
Q.Has your girlfriend been to an INDYCAR race before?RINUS VEEKAY: She has not. Unfortunately with COVID it’s hard to get her across from Europe, but right now if she stays 14 days in the Caribbean, she can get into the U.S.That’s our plan, and I think she’ll love it, definitely.
THE MODERATOR: Great to see you back up and at it and already training and ready to go this weekend. Thank you so much for doing this this morning, and safe travels to Ohio.
Minnesota Twin Bill Kicks off Northern Swing for World of Outlaws
| $30K is on the line between two Features at Jackson MotorplexJACKSON, MN– July 1, 2021 –The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models are one week away from kicking off a six race swing through three states. It starts when the Series visits Minnesota for the first time this season on July 9-10 at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, MN.The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will run two complete shows starting with a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Feature on Friday, July 9. Then, the Series returns to Jackson Motorplex on Saturday, July 10 for a $20,000-to-win 50-lap Feature.Fans can enjoy a pre-race party, including happy hour in the beer garden, music, cornhole, and a driver meet and greet on Saturday afternoon.TICKETS: https://bit.ly/3pxJSHjCamping is available to fans at the track with hundreds of hookups available.To reserve a camping spot: Call 507-849-7100.The Tri-State Late Models will join the Series on both nightsOnce the World of Outlaws finish their doubleheader at Jackson Motorplex, they’ll head north to Gondik Law Speedway in Superior, WI for their first midweek show of the season on Tuesday, July 13.The Northern swing finishes with a three-day weekend spanning three states.A trip to North Dakota starts the weekend on Friday, July 16 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. Then, the Series heads back to Minnesota for a trip to I-94 Sure Step Speedway in Fergus Falls, MN on Saturday, July 17. The final race of the weekend is the Rumble at the Red Cedar at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, WI on Sunday July 18.Brandon Sheppard’s quest for a fourth championship continues during the Northern swing, as he tries to fend off challenges from his biggest rival Chris Madden. The New Berlin, IL driver leads Madden by 58 points.Fans will also have a front row seat to the chase for Rookie of Year between Tyler Bruening and Ryan Gustin. Bruening is currently the top rookie—136 points ahead of Gustin. Both drivers are looking for their first World of Outlaws victory, as well.Brent Larson, of Lake Elmo, MN is another driver searching for his first Series triumph. He’ll have two chances to find Victory Lane in his home state during the six race swing.If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month. |
| The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws. |
chevy racing–nascar–road america advance
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE JOCKEY MADE IN AMERICA 250 ROAD AMERICA ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSINJULY 4, 2021
RACE #20 – ROAD AMERICAChevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) return to road course competition this holiday weekend, looking to create fireworks at the 4.048-mile venerable circuit of Road America. Team Chevy, which has won seven of the past eight NCS races and sits atop the Manufacturer Standings, will aim for its 10th victory of the season in the Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip. The 62-lap race on the 14-turn multi-elevational road course is Sunday, July 4. It will be the NASCAR Cup Series first visit to Road America since the track’s inaugural season in 1956. In the first and only NCS race held at the Wisconsin road course, four Chevrolet drivers finished in the top-10 of the 63-lap race, led by Paul Goldsmith’s fourth place finish in a 1956 Chevy owned by Smokey Yunick. AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig Racing in the NCS event, has the distinction of visiting Victory Circle at Road America in two different series. He won the 51-lap Champ Car Series race in 2006 from the fifth starting spot; and in 2013, won the 50-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series race from the pole. Allmendinger, who will also drive the No. 16 Hyperice Camaro SS in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Henry 180 on Saturday, July 3, was runner-up in 2020 NXS race at Road America and started from the pole in 2019. Chevrolet has won seven of the 11 NXS races at Road America. Other Team Chevy drivers who have raced in NXS at Road America include Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece and James Davison. With a third-place finish, Justin Allgaier led three Team Chevy drivers in the top five in the June 27 NXS race at Pocono Raceway. Allmendinger, who finished fifth at Pocono, remains second in the Driver Standings. Chevrolet continues atop the Manufacturer Standings.
Chevrolet NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) drivers will next race in the 200-lap Corn Belt 150 presented by Premier Chevy Dealers on Friday, July 9, in Knoxville, Iowa. Team Chevy’s Zane Smith is fourth in the Driver Standings.
CHEVROLET REMAINS ATOP STANDINGSChevrolet is first in the NCS Manufacturer Standings. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson moved to just two points of the top of the Driver Standings following his second- and ninth-place finishes at Pocono Raceway.
Larson has placed first or second in seven of the past eight points races in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 1LE, including three wins in a row. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron remains third and reigning NCS champion Chase Elliott is sixth.
ROAD MASTERSChevrolet drivers have won two of the three NCS road course races this season and paced all manufacturers with 151 laps led of the 216 total. Kyle Larson won the Series’ most recent road course race at Sonoma Raceway; and Chase Elliott won in NASCAR’s debut at Circuit of The Americas, capturing Chevrolet’s 800th victory in NASCAR’s premier division. Elliott is seeking his seventh career road course victory. Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon is the NASCAR Cup Series leader with nine, including five at Sonoma Raceway.
TAKING IT IN STAGESChevrolet drivers have amassed 17 stages wins, including a field-high 12 by Kyle Larson (Las Vegas, Atlanta x2, Kansas, Dover x2, Charlotte x3, Sonoma x2, Nashville). Others contributing to the total are Chase Elliott (Daytona RC); William Byron (Homestead, Pocono2) and Kurt Busch (Nashville, Pocono1). BOWTIE BULLETS· Chevrolet leads manufacturer with 804 NCS victories.· Chevrolet tied its 2020 win total of nine through only 19 races thus far this season.· Chevrolet leads manufacturers in laps led (2,182) of the 4,861 total and top-10 finishes with 87.· Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 1,441 laps led. His previous career best was 1,352 in the 36 races in 2017.· Austin Dillon is tied for most laps completed 99.92% (4,857).· Kurt Busch holds the final provisional Playoff spot. Tyler Reddick is one place above in 15th and Austin Dillion is 14th with seven races left in the NCS regular season. · Kyle Larson’s 12 stage wins are more than twice as many as any other driver.
TUNE INNBC will telecast both the NASCAR Cup Series Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, July 4, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series Henry 180 live at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 3. Live coverage of the races can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
QUOTABLE QUOTESKYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGSLARSON ON WHAT HE THINKS OF ROAD AMERICA: “I’ve raced there before in an Xfinity car in 2013. I remember it was a really fun racetrack – a really long racetrack. I’m definitely excited to get back there this weekend because it’s a really cool place. Whether on the simulator or iRacing, it’s good to get visuals of elevation changes ahead of time.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LEDANIELS ON HIS PREVIOUS ROAD AMERICA EXPERIENCE: “Kyle has raced there before and I did in Xfinity, as well, but there’s not much you can pull from those past experiences. It’s been such a long time, so we’re trying to take a fresh look at understanding the race. We’ll go back and watch some Xfinity races from the past couple of years to try to get a feel for what is important there, what do we need to attack and what we need to tune.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGSBYRON ON RETURNING TO ROAD AMERICA: “I’m excited for this road course. I finished sixth there in the Xfinity Series in 2017. I had a good run and felt like it was one of my best road course races in that series overall. I expect more of the same this weekend in the Cup car. You just want to make sure that the car turns well and that you’re good in the braking zones. For us as a team, I think we will start off getting back to the basics of road course racing. We’ve had some bad luck recently but normally we’re really good at this style of racing. I’m excited that it’s another new track for the series and I think it will race really well for our cars.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE FUGLE ON RETURNING TO ROAD COURSE RACING: “Honestly, this weekend we’re looking to set the reset button on our road course racing program for the No. 24 team. After Sonoma and how things ended and some misfortune at the DAYTONA Road Course, we really want to get back to the speed and execution we had at COTA. Even with suffering damage there, we were able to make it back through the field and on a strategy that set us up well for the end before the weather picked up. William feels like road course racing has become one of his strengths over the last couple years and we want to keep him confident in that. So, the plan is to have a nice, basic weekend of executing like we need to and having a solid plan should any misfortune arise. We know what we’re capable of – it’s just a matter of maximizing where we can and there’s potential for that this weekend.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGS“I’ve raced up at Road America a couple times in the Xfinity Series and I always really enjoyed going there. It’s a cool racetrack. There are a lot of race fans up there – a lot of people that enjoyed having us racing there. I’ve always felt very welcome and I don’t anticipate this weekend being any different. I am looking forward to getting back up there.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS“The morale is obviously super high at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s really cool to see it that way. I think there’s not one thing. It’s each and every individual at Hendrick Motorsports from top to bottom in every department, it’s everybody at Chevrolet. Our engines are strong, bodies are great, chassis are great. The guys putting them together are doing a great job. Having Chad in a new role is really good. Mr. H and Jeff and everybody are giving us all the tools we need to put the parts and pieces together to go win races. Yeah, it’s not one thing. It’s a culmination of everybody’s hard work. It’s cool to be a part of it and be the guy that gets to drive ’em.”
“I am excited to get to Road America this weekend. I raced there in the Xfinity Series back in 2013, so getting back there is going to be a lot of fun. It is a long race track and really long lap times, but it is a fun place and really technical.” GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE“It was definitely odd to win and then have to get ready to race again the next day. Very thankful that we were able to have a good car again on Sunday and able to come home seventh. Saturday kind of was going as planned, obviously we knew that the No. 5 car had four tires and we had two tires. You never want to see your teammate have an issue like that, but we were in the position we needed to be in and it just worked out. On the last lap we were talking about what we needed for Sunday’s race to be better. So, when we crossed the line first, it was a roller coaster of emotion and a surprised celebration for me on the box.”
“It is definitely an advantage having track time at a place like Road America. The hardest part is probably only remembering the corners that were most prevalent. Hendrick has great cars right now and the power has been strong from the Hendrick engine shop, so I know that we can get another good finish this weekend.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW SALUTES VETERANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGSTHE SPECIAL PAINT SCHEMES – THAT’S SOMETHING THAT RCR STARTED YEARS AGO WITH (DALE) EARNHARDT IN THE ALL-STAR RACE. “I think RCR does a great job of changing it up and bringing in different paint schemes. This No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Camaro ZL1 1LE and putting all the veterans on it, it’s really grown over the years that we’ve had it. I think six or seven years now that we’ve been doing this car. It started with 350 names and now it’s 1,900 names. It’s just a spiderweb effect of everyone that really enjoys seeing their name on the car. But more than anything, it’s for our veterans and the people that allow us to go race on the weekends that have made this country what it is today.” THE SEASON TO THIS POINT, YOU GUYS ARE ABOVE THE CUTLINE IN THE PLAYOFFS. ARE YOU PLEASED WITH WHERE YOU ARE? GIVE US A RECAP OF HOW YOU FEEL YOUR SEASON IS. “I’m pleased with the consistency. We show up each and every weekend and have strong, consistent cars that withstand the races. I think the next part of that evolution is just getting a little bit more speed. We would like to be where some of our other Chevy teammates are. Getting a win would be nice; that would lock us into the Playoffs. With seven races to go though, points-wise, it’s a pretty good position. You just can’t have another person win, so you’re always on edge. You want to be that person that locks yourself in.” ANOTHER ROAD COURSE RACE THIS WEEKEND. ANOTHER WILDCARD RACE? “Yeah, for sure. The road courses have turned into wildcard races. Taking care of your stuff, trying to make it to the end of these things becomes a demo-derby out there. This is going to be one of those ones that if you stay on track, you’re going to have a pretty good run.”
“Road America is just a big place. A lot can go on in one lap. You can have one good corner and be proud of it and then the next one could be really terrible. By the end of the lap, you haven’t put together anything. You really just have to be consistent, put yourself in a good position to capitalize on other peoples’ mistakes.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KALAHARI RESORTS AND CONVENTIONS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS“It’s nice going into the weekend with some experience that Cup veterans may not have since I’ve raced at Road America in the Xfinity Series. It makes me wish we weren’t having practice or qualifying so the Cup veterans could feel a little bit of what I felt heading into the Sonoma race weekend without turning a lap there! Regardless, this weekend is going to be a great opportunity for our team. I feel like the approach you have for Road America is similar to that of COTA, and I felt really good about where we were with our car on the dry at that track. We learned some things about our road course program at Sonoma Raceway a few weeks back too, but that course isn’t as similar to Road America as COTA is. Road America is all about attacking the entry and nailing the apex. You don’t have to worry about drive-off as much as you do at Sonoma. I’m excited about the opportunity for our team this weekend and know we are bringing a great No. 8 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet to the track.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 GOOD SAM PATRIOTIC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ROAD AMERICA? “I am thrilled with going to Road America. I have raced there a few times and looking forward to having some fun. It’s a very tricky race track. We won’t have to worry about rain delays this weekend since we will have rain tires.”
SEASON SO FAR? “We are moving in the right direction. Seventh-place at Nashville was nice and we had two decent finishes in Pocono but we know we can do even better. We just have to keep working, keep communicating and eliminate the mistakes.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 SCAG POWER EQUIPMENT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGSAT 4.048-MILES, ROAD AMERICA IS NOW THE LONGEST CUP SERIES COURSE ON THE SCHEDULE. HOW DOES THAT TRACK COMPARE TO OTHER ROAD COURSE CIRCUITS ON THE SCHEDULE?“Road America is tough. I have only been there twice with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and it is a tough place. It is such a big track. There are a lot of places to gain and lose time. You can really get behind on your laps pretty quickly. You have to be focused and really make sure you are executing every part of the race track; making the most lap time as you can that entire lap and there are always places that you can do better. It is challenging as a driver, but it is fun.
“Plus, it is an awesome location. I love going up there because the fans are always excited. I am excited to see what the turnout is going to be for the NASCAR Cup Series race.”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 DIAMOND CREEK WATER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS“4th of July weekend at Road America will be a race you don’t want to miss. It will be my first time seeing this track, which is the longest one on the cup schedule, so it will be a steep learning curve. I’ve spent a bunch of time watching film and turning iRacing laps so hopefully it applies. The name of the game will be to stay on course, maintain some track position at the end of the race and bring home another solid finish in the Diamond Creek Water Chevy Camaro.”