Front Row Qualifying Sweep for Acura at Watkins Glen

June 30, 2021 ARP Trish

Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing takes pole for Acura
Dane Cameron to start on the outside of the front row in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05
John Potter, Andy Lally to start 11th in their Acura NSX GT3 Evo

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 26, 2021) – Acura drivers swept the front row in qualifying today at Watkins Glen International Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance race.

Defending IMSA series champion and Rolex 24 winner Ricky Taylor scored his first pole of the 2021 season for Wayne Taylor Racing, edging fellow Acura pilot Dane Cameron by just 0.119 second in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05 prototype.

In the production-based GTD category, John Potter qualifying his Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo 11th; and will share driving duties tomorrow with Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly.

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
11th GTD – #44 John Potter, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Quotes
Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) pole qualifier; race co-drivers will be Filipe Albuquerque and Alexander Rossi: “The Acura is a fantastic car here at Watkins Glen. Coming here, we knew we’d be strong and we were really looking forward to it. This chassis and engine package was really designed to perform best at European-style tracks: really fast, flowing, and smooth circuits. So when we come to Watkins Glen, we know we can run the car low [to the ground] and take advantage of the horsepower and aero platform the Acura provides. For sure, I wouldn’t want to be in any other car here. It’s a dream to drive.”

Dane Cameron (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05): Qualified second; co-drivers will be Olivier Pla: “It is always good to be on the front row, it’s a ‘good view’. I’m not fully happy with my [best] lap, I think I made a couple of small mistakes on the quick lap and I think that made a difference, so I am a little disappointed on that. But overall, we’ve had a good competitive weekend so far [leading both practice sessions prior to qualifying] and we’ve got a good car. Six hours is a long time, and I think there will be some different weather conditions to come so we will see how we get along on Sunday.”

Fast Facts
This is Acura’s first front row qualifying sweep of 2021. It also was the first pole of the season for Taylor and his Wayne Taylor Racing squad [after qualifying on the front row at Sebring and Mid-Ohio]; and the first front-row start of 2021 for Cameron and Meyer Shank Racing.

While Taylor edged Cameron by just 0.xxx for the pole, Cameron’s Acura prototype was nearly five tenths of a second [+0.496s] quicker than the next-best car in the session.

Taylor and season-long co-driver Filipe Albuquerque have unofficially extended their Drivers’ Championship lead to 80 points over Oliver Jarv

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CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Pole for Garcia

June 30, 2021 ARP Trish

Milner second in No. 4 C8.R in GTLM front row lock-out for Corvette Racing

WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 26, 2021) – Corvette Racing swept the front row of GT Le Mans (GTLM) grid Saturday for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with Antonio Garcia taking pole position in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.
Garcia led a 1-2 result for Corvette Racing with the mid-engine C8.R is on its maiden Watkins Glen International weekend. He took his second straight pole at Watkins Glen – he did the same in 2019 – with a lap of 1:40.944 (121.255 mph). Tommy Milner was second in class with the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette and 0.374 seconds off Garcia’s time at 1:41.318 (120.807 mph).
Saturday’s result continues Corvette Racing’s season-long run of first-place starting positions in each of the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM races to date. The No. 4 Corvette started on pole at Daytona and Detroit with Garcia putting the NO. 3 C8.R on pole at Sebring.
The next several days – including a two-hour, 40-minute sprint race on July 2 – present an opportunity to make up for lost time after last year’s Six Hours was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That meant Corvette Racing didn’t have the chance to show off the mid-engine Corvette C8.R during its debut season.
The C8.R and Corvette Stingray production car were developed simultaneously, and the race car and production vehicle share more technology and parts than any previous-generation Corvette. When initial Corvette C8.R design and development work began more than six years ago, Corvette Racing engineers worked closely alongside Corvette production personnel with a heavy emphasis on wind tunnel and simulation testing.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen begins at 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 27. Same-day coverage will be available from 7-10 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Live streaming video on Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App begins at 10:35 a.m. ET. Live audio coverage of qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “That felt really good. We’re back on pole because the last time we were here, we on pole too. It’s always fun to qualify at here. That’s when you really get to experience Watkins Glen. You can really go for it and be really close to the walls. It was fun. Unfortunately I had one lap deleted (for track limits infraction), which didn’t help but I was able to almost do it again. The C8.R was great again. It’s always good to get on pole and to get one for Corvette Racing.“It was a pretty good, intense qualifying like always. It’s always good to be out there in the best car possible and go for the fastest lap around this race track as well. That’s when you get to experience this track. I’m really happy with that and how everything felt although I did have one lap deleted which confused me a little bit because it was like almost two laps after I actually did the lap time. Fortunately, I still had good laps left to be on pole and I was able improve again. It was intense, like always here at the Glen. It means a lot, but in a way it’s still six hours to go. It’s going to be a classic six hours here where everything will probably come down to the last two pit stops probably. I hope we can always be up front. I’m sure maybe we will cycle a few positions up and down with strategies. But you can’t ask for more, a Corvette one-two. So that’s pretty good.”THE RACE OUTLOOK: “I think we will be alright. We saw this morning how cold it was compared to now. The car felt completely different in practice. The work we did yesterday was really good, and that will be way closer to what we will experience tomorrow. We were competitive on Friday and we will have to be the same in the race. Still, the Six Hours will come down to the last two or two-and-a-half. But we are in the best spot we can be.”WHEN YOU QUALIFY AT WATKINS GLEN, DO YOU HAVE TO SCARE YOURSELF A LITTLE BIT? “I think you need to close you eyes a few times! You need to get close to the walls here, for sure. That’s the fun part of it. It’s not that you have massive run-offs. You do at Turn One and a little bit at Turn Eight. The good thing is that you still have very interesting points around the track. This is very challenging and we’re glad to be back.”RULES FOR TRACK LIMITS: “You need to keep two wheels on the curbs in Turn One and Turn Eight. Those are the two places where you can be really close to that. The one that got invalidated, it probably wasn’t the best laptime, but I’m sure they reviewed that. And that’s the thing. I would rather have the banner they have on Turn Eight so that gives everybody a heads up. We always try to find the limit and probably overshoot there.”WHAT WILL YOU DO BETWEEN RACES? “Just prepping the next race. Hopefully we have a clean race tomorrow so all we need is to redo the cars. Hopefully we won’t have anything to repair. Also I think I will be doing some inserts for Le Mans because we are running another chassis over there. They need to redo the car in only two or three days and that’s a big push for (the crew).”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “Obviously going one-two is a good start for the weekend. For us, I think the car was just a bit out of the window balance-wise to kind of put it all together. It seemed like Antonio had a couple of good laps there. I say we missed it a little bit, but the car was still super, super good and super quick. But when you are looking for a tenth here and a tenth there, those little differences definitely make a difference. We’ll definitely work on those and get it better for warm-up and for the race. Obviously the pace all weekend has felt good. The Corvettes are driving really ,really well. From the first session, the car has been super close on being a good race car. Sometimes you come to some race tracks and you are a little bit lost and you are playing catch-up. I think right now we are in a good spot. Hopefully that holds true for the race. The race is six hours so a lot can happen but this is a good start.”Qualifying is always fun. It doesn’t matter where you are but especially here at Watkins Glen. You have new tires, low fuel and be able to really go for it… to really crash the curbs in the Bus Stop and driving the Carousel super, super fast with just a bit of a lift there… This track always feels fast but especially so during qualifying.”

2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM (After Three of 10 Events)Driver Standings1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 6972. Cooper MacNeil – 6563. Augusto Farfus/Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 6534. Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 6475. Bruno Spengler/Connor De Phillippi/Philipp Eng – 636
Team Standings1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 6972. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 6563. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 6534. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 6475. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 636 Manufacturer Standings1. Chevrolet – 7202. BMW – 7003. Porsche – 6924. Ferrari – 330
Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM
2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM
2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM
2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM
2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM
2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Pole for Garcia, No. 3 CorvetteMilner second in No. 4 C8.R in GTLM front row lock-out for Corvette Racing

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Pole for Garcia, No. 3 Corvette
Milner second in No. 4 C8.R in GTLM front row lock-out for Corvette Racing

WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 26, 2021) – Corvette Racing swept the front row of GT Le Mans (GTLM) grid Saturday for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with Antonio Garcia taking pole position in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

Garcia led a 1-2 result for Corvette Racing with the mid-engine C8.R is on its maiden Watkins Glen International weekend. He took his second straight pole at Watkins Glen – he did the same in 2019 – with a lap of 1:40.944 (121.255 mph). Tommy Milner was second in class with the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette and 0.374 seconds off Garcia’s time at 1:41.318 (120.807 mph).

Saturday’s result continues Corvette Racing’s season-long run of first-place starting positions in each of the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM races to date. The No. 4 Corvette started on pole at Daytona and Detroit with Garcia putting the NO. 3 C8.R on pole at Sebring.

The next several days – including a two-hour, 40-minute sprint race on July 2 – present an opportunity to make up for lost time after last year’s Six Hours was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That meant Corvette Racing didn’t have the chance to show off the mid-engine Corvette C8.R during its debut season.

The C8.R and Corvette Stingray production car were developed simultaneously, and the race car and production vehicle share more technology and parts than any previous-generation Corvette. When initial Corvette C8.R design and development work began more than six years ago, Corvette Racing engineers worked closely alongside Corvette production personnel with a heavy emphasis on wind tunnel and simulation testing.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen begins at 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 27. Same-day coverage will be available from 7-10 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Live streaming video on Trackpass via NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App begins at 10:35 a.m. ET. Live audio coverage of qualifying and the race from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com, XM 202 and SiriusXM Online 992.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “That felt really good. We’re back on pole because the last time we were here, we on pole too. It’s always fun to qualify at here. That’s when you really get to experience Watkins Glen. You can really go for it and be really close to the walls. It was fun. Unfortunately I had one lap deleted (for track limits infraction), which didn’t help but I was able to almost do it again. The C8.R was great again. It’s always good to get on pole and to get one for Corvette Racing.
“It was a pretty good, intense qualifying like always. It’s always good to be out there in the best car possible and go for the fastest lap around this race track as well. That’s when you get to experience this track. I’m really happy with that and how everything felt although I did have one lap deleted which confused me a little bit because it was like almost two laps after I actually did the lap time. Fortunately, I still had good laps left to be on pole and I was able improve again. It was intense, like always here at the Glen. It means a lot, but in a way it’s still six hours to go. It’s going to be a classic six hours here where everything will probably come down to the last two pit stops probably. I hope we can always be up front. I’m sure maybe we will cycle a few positions up and down with strategies. But you can’t ask for more, a Corvette one-two. So that’s pretty good.”
THE RACE OUTLOOK: “I think we will be alright. We saw this morning how cold it was compared to now. The car felt completely different in practice. The work we did yesterday was really good, and that will be way closer to what we will experience tomorrow. We were competitive on Friday and we will have to be the same in the race. Still, the Six Hours will come down to the last two or two-and-a-half. But we are in the best spot we can be.”
WHEN YOU QUALIFY AT WATKINS GLEN, DO YOU HAVE TO SCARE YOURSELF A LITTLE BIT? “I think you need to close you eyes a few times! You need to get close to the walls here, for sure. That’s the fun part of it. It’s not that you have massive run-offs. You do at Turn One and a little bit at Turn Eight. The good thing is that you still have very interesting points around the track. This is very challenging and we’re glad to be back.”
RULES FOR TRACK LIMITS: “You need to keep two wheels on the curbs in Turn One and Turn Eight. Those are the two places where you can be really close to that. The one that got invalidated, it probably wasn’t the best laptime, but I’m sure they reviewed that. And that’s the thing. I would rather have the banner they have on Turn Eight so that gives everybody a heads up. We always try to find the limit and probably overshoot there.”
WHAT WILL YOU DO BETWEEN RACES? “Just prepping the next race. Hopefully we have a clean race tomorrow so all we need is to redo the cars. Hopefully we won’t have anything to repair. Also I think I will be doing some inserts for Le Mans because we are running another chassis over there. They need to redo the car in only two or three days and that’s a big push for (the crew).”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “Obviously going one-two is a good start for the weekend. For us, I think the car was just a bit out of the window balance-wise to kind of put it all together. It seemed like Antonio had a couple of good laps there. I say we missed it a little bit, but the car was still super, super good and super quick. But when you are looking for a tenth here and a tenth there, those little differences definitely make a difference. We’ll definitely work on those and get it better for warm-up and for the race. Obviously the pace all weekend has felt good. The Corvettes are driving really ,really well. From the first session, the car has been super close on being a good race car. Sometimes you come to some race tracks and you are a little bit lost and you are playing catch-up. I think right now we are in a good spot. Hopefully that holds true for the race. The race is six hours so a lot can happen but this is a good start.
“Qualifying is always fun. It doesn’t matter where you are but especially here at Watkins Glen. You have new tires, low fuel and be able to really go for it… to really crash the curbs in the Bus Stop and driving the Carousel super, super fast with just a bit of a lift there… This track always feels fast but especially so during qualifying.”

2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM (After Three of 10 Events)
Driver Standings
1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 697
2. Cooper MacNeil – 656
3. Augusto Farfus/Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 653
4. Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 647
5. Bruno Spengler/Connor De Phillippi/Philipp Eng – 636

Team Standings
1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 697
2. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 656
3. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 653
4. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 647
5. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 636

Manufacturer Standings
1. Chevrolet – 720
2. BMW – 700
3. Porsche – 692
4. Ferrari – 330

Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen
2014
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2015
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM

2016
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM

2017
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2018
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

2019
No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLM
No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLMCorvetteMilner second in No. 4 C8.R in GTLM front row lock-out for Corvette Racing

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CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Antonio Garcia Pole Quote

June 30, 2021 ARP Trish

WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 26, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia claimed pole position Saturday for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. It continues the team’s season-long run of first-place starting positions in each of the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM races to date.
Garcia, in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, claimed his second consecutive pole at The Glen (he set fastest time in 2019) with a time of 1:40.944. Teammate Tommy Milner qualified second in the No. 4 Corvette and was 0.374 seconds back of the No. 3 C8.R.

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TAKE TWO: Kerry Madsen Doubles Down, Sweeps Jackson Nationals Prelim Features

June 30, 2021 ARP Trish

Tony Stewart Racing #14 is High Point Man Entering Saturday’s $50,000/Win Finale

JACKSON, MN – June 25, 2021 – Two weeks ago, Kerry Madsen saw not one, but two wins slip through his grasp in the closing laps at Knoxville Raceway.

This weekend, Kerry Madsen has absolutely dominated not one, but two nights of the Jackson Nationals.

On a full fledged redemption tour, “The Mad Man” has become a man possessed since unleashing his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #14 at Jackson Motorplex. One night following his stunning 14th-to-first charge, the St. Mary’s, NSW, AUS native backed it up with a sixth-to-first route of the field.

His sweep of preliminary action at the 43rd annual event sponsored by AGCO has Madsen entering Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale as the high point man. He’ll battle for the pole position along with Carson Macedo, Brad Sweet, and Logan Schuchart in the unique timed-version of the King of the Hill.

“I think I might be too confident right now,” Madsen mentioned. “I probably need to back it down some. Tomorrow is going to be a long race, and you’ll need to drive smart. This FPS410 is just ripping right now, though. Again, it’s such a blast to drive.”

In a reversal of fortune, Madsen’s path to victory lane on Friday night was much different than the route he took on Thursday, when he set Slick Woody’s QuickTime, finished seventh in his Drydene Heat Race, and won the NOS Energy Drink Feature from 14th.

On this night, Madsen clocked in 12th-quick and proceeded to charge from sixth-to-first in his Drydene Heat Race, putting him in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. A bad drew negated him to finish sixth, lining him up on the outside of the third row for the 30-lapper.

While Carson Macedo and Brad Sweet battled for command of the lead, Madsen marched his way to third on Lap 5 and by Lap 8 had already moved by Sweet to take over second. Five laps later, on Lap 13, the #14 went zooming by the #41 down the backstretch and the rest was history.

Madsen survived the final 18 laps with minimal challenges through lap traffic, officially crossing the line with a 1.433-second margin of victory.

The win marked the 27th of Madsen’s World of Outlaws career, tying him with Paul McMahan and Tim Shaffer for 21st on the All-Time Wins List. It’s the first time Madsen has won back-to-back with The Greatest Show on Dirt since July of 2017.

Carson Macedo led 11 of the first 12 laps before finishing second aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41. A pair of top-five finishes was good enough to give the Lemoore, CA native the second-most event points, placing him in position to contend for the pole position of tomorrow’s $50,000-to-win finale.

“It feels good to be locked-in,” Macedo noted. “I made a few mistakes tonight that I know I can clean up tomorrow. We had a shot there for a minute, and thought I was gonna get another in traffic, but I got caught up battling Brad in the fight for second. This car is really good, though, and I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Logan Schuchart, who finished on the podium both nights, ran third and locked-in as well with his Shark Racing, Drydene Performance Products #1S.

“The car really felt strong the whole time, we just had to come from farther back,” Schuchart said. “I feel really good right now heading into the big $50,000 finale. I would love to defend our title last year with another one tomorrow.”

Closing out the top-five on night two of the Jackson Nationals was a pair of Californian’s with Brad Sweet in fourth aboard the NAPA Auto Parts #49 and Shane Golobic in fifth aboard the NOS Energy Drink #17W.

Rounding out the top-10 on Friday night was Parker Price-Miller with his season-best finish of sixth, Jason Sides with his own season-best of seventh, Giovanni Scelzi with a Hard Charging 24th-to-eighth performance, Kraig Kinser with another top-10 run, and James McFadden in the Kasey Kahne Racing #9.

UP NEXT: The 43rd annual AGCO Jackson Nationals conclude tomorrow, Saturday, June 26, with a $50,000-to-win finale at Minnesota’s Jackson Motorplex. If you can’t make it in-person, you can watch all the action LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 14-Kerry Madsen [6][$10,000]; 2. 41-Carson Macedo [1][$5,500]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$3,200]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$2,800]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [2][$2,500]; 6. 5-Parker Price-Miller [16][$2,300]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [4][$2,200]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [24][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9][$2,050]; 10. 9-James McFadden [17][$2,000]; 11. 2-David Gravel [14][$1,500]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [15][$1,200]; 13. 83-Aaron Reutzel [18][$1,150]; 14. 11-Spencer Bayston [19][$1,100]; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [22][$1,050]; 16. 7-Justin Henderson [11][$1,000]; 17. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [20][$1,000]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [13][$1,000]; 19. 83X-Lynton Jeffrey [8][$1,000]; 20. 26-Cory Eliason [23][$1,000]; 21. 81-Jack Dover [7][$1,000]; 22. 1A-Jacob Allen [21][$1,000]; 23. 21-Brian Brown [5][$1,000]; 24. 88N-DJ Netto [12][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-5, 7-12, Brad Sweet 6; Kerry Madsen 13-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 18-Giovanni Scelzi[+16]

NEW Championship Standings (37/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (5,178); 2. David Gravel (-62); 3. Carson Macedo (-116); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-164); 5. Donny Schatz (-164); 6. Logan Schuchart (-196); 7. Aaron Reutzel (-290); 8. Kraig Kinser (-590); 9. James McFadden (-598); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-866).

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TWO FOR 3s: Shirley Outruns Pierce in Traffic to Win Back-to-Back at Sycamore

June 30, 2021 ARP Trish

Pierce increases points lead with runner-up finish MAPLE PARK, IL – June 25, 2021 – Never doubt the heart of a champion to come alive when it matters most. Defending Hell Tour champion Brian Shirley has gone back-to-back. After a trying yet competitive first week, Shirley and the Bob Cullen Racing team regrouped after a few days off and have since struck gold, winning Wednesday night at LaSalle Speedway and following that up with another dominating performance Friday night at Sycamore Speedway for his 35th career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory. But this flag-to-flag Victory Lane trip gave Shirley quite the challenge, with three-time tour champion Bobby Pierce stalking him each and every lap. Shirley, of Chatham, IL, started on the pole and jumped out to the lead in the early going; Pierce moved to second after an early restart and immediately set his sights on Shirley’s #3s. Leaning hard on the massive cushion, built throughout the qualifying events from the rain the track had taken earlier in the day, Pierce quickly closed the short gap on Shirley and made a strong early challenge for the top spot, but Shirley was able to scoot away with some smooth driving through the middle. As if the pressure from behind wasn’t enough, Shirley faced his first pack of slower traffic just before halfway, but skillfully maneuvered through it. Pierce, however, took a bit more time to wade through it and lost some ground on Shirley – going as far back as 2.5 seconds before a caution re-stacked the field. Shirley opened up another gap after the restart, but Pierce once again came back around to try him, nearly taking the lead from him as they closed in on the home stretch. “I felt like I couldn’t shake him,” Shirley said. “I got away a little bit, then he’d catch back up, so I was just trying to find something to see if I could get some distance on him. The 32 is good for a reason, and we’re just lucky that we were able to stay ahead of him.” Shirley dipped back into lapped traffic once more in the final laps, but it wasn’t enough to slow him for Pierce to catch up. The four-time tour champion held off the field for 40-straight laps to collect the $10,000 check, making it back-to-back victories in three days. In Victory Lane, an emotional Shirley reflected on what the burst of success in Week #2 meant to him, thinking of his family and his responsibilities as both a husband and a father. “Everybody, they just don’t understand. As I’m going home tonight, I’m stopping to pick up one kid and going to get him home. It’s just a lot of emotion, but we’ll keep digging and maybe get another win here or there,” Shirley said. Pierce, of Oakwood, IL, crossed in second for his seventh-straight top-10 in seven races, and retained the points lead. Ashton Winger, of Hampton, GA, set quick time earlier in the evening and stalked the leaders all race long to come home third. Ryan Unicker and Jason Feger completed the top-five, while second-high points man Tanner English finished sixth. UP NEXT The Summer Nationals action continues Saturday night, June 26, with Round #10 from the Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (40 Laps) 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 3. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker[8]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 6. 81E- Tanner English[7]; 7. 89-Mike Spatola[11]; 8. 1M-Mike Mataragas[9]; 9. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[10]; 10. 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 11. 21B-Rich Bell[18]; 12. 30-Mark Voigt[16]; 13. M27-Mike Provenzo[12]; 14. 14G-Joe Godsey[17]; 15. 48-Tim Lance[5]; 16. 76-Titus Sneed[15]; 17. 14R-Jeff Roth[21]; 18. 74-Mitch McGrath[13]; 19. 15B-TJ Markham[20]; 20. 248-Brandon Lance[19]; 21. 4D-Doug Tye[22]; 22. 9-Lyle Zanker[14] SEVEN-STRAIGHT: Hoffman Extends Win Streak to Seven at Sycamore The streak just keeps going and going. Nick Hoffman has won yet another DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature. This time, Hoffman conquered the fast and heavy Sycamore Speedway – a place where he also took the checkers last year. Despite a smaller car count than he’s used to seeing, Hoffman still faced some tough competition up front in Mike McKinney, Hunt Gossum and Kelly Kovski. Once again, he denied them all for his 45th career Summit Modified victory. “Kinda shook the cherry tree tonight with only nine cars, but I’m here to win races and try and string as many of these together as I can,” Hoffman said. Looking at the high-piled cushion that outlined the corners from the rain the track had taken earlier in the day, Hoffman decided to take his usual route in maneuvering through – right through the middle. “I was watching that Late Model race and it got pretty ledged-up, so I surely didn’t wanna run up there,” Hoffman said. The race went green-to-checkered with Hoffman leading every lap, now bringing his total laps led to a still-perfect 175-for-175. The win also brings him to within seven of tying Mike Harrison for most all-time, and within seven of breaking his own record for the most wins in a single season at 14. “Racecar’s so balanced, I can pretty much go anywhere and it’s really fun to drive right now,” Hoffman said. UP NEXT The Summit Modified action continues Saturday night, June 26, with Round #10 from the Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (20 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 96M-Mike McKinney[2]; 3. 7-Kelly Kovski[4]; 4. 99-Hunt Gossum[3]; 5. 57-Tim Hamburg[5]; 6. 14-AJ Meiferdt[6]; 7. 1H-Nash Hilmes[7]; 8. 1-Dave Lilja[9]; 9. 20-Richie Biswell[8]

DIRTcar S ummer 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).

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SPIRIT OF 76: Overton scores Firecracker Preliminary win

June 30, 2021 ARP Trish

Brandon Sheppard leads Firecracker 100 points heading into Saturday’s finaleSARVER,PA – June 25, 2021 –When you’re on a hot streak it doesn’t take much to keep the fire burning. Brandon Overton powered from his fifth starting spot to win Friday’s Morton Buildings Feature at Lernerville Speedway during the second night of the Firecracker 100 weekend.The Evans, GA driver passed Mark Whitener for the lead with 16 laps to go and mastered slower traffic en route to a $6,000 payday.  It’s “Big Sexy’s” 15th career World of Outlaws victory, breaking the tie with Tim Fuller for 13th all-time.  Even though Overton stood tall at the end of the night, the changes he made for the Heat Race pointed him in the right direction.  “We just threw some things at it and didn’t really know what to expect,” Overton said. “We drove right up through there and I was good, so it just showed me later on in the race what direction I needed to go with my changes.” The win puts Overton in a good position for Saturday’s 100-lap Firecracker finale, which he’s looking forward to because of the different tire compound he knows he’ll use.  “I’m kind of looking forward to getting on a harder tire,” Overton said. “We’ve kind of got what we got because of the five-tire limit [implemented by Series officials]. So, I think we should be better with a harder tire on it, but 100 laps is a long time.”  Mike Norris, the two-time Lernerville Speedway track champion, finished second. The Sarver, PA driver expressed content with his run despite coming up short.  “There’s nothing to hang our heads about,” Norris said. “I feel like my car was really good, I just couldn’t get past [Mark Whitener] quick enough [before he was passed by Overton], and [Overton] is really good.” Mark Whitener, who’s driving the Big Frog Motorsports car, crossed the line third.   Despite dropping two spots after leading the first 14 laps, he knows he battled against some of the toughest Late Model drivers in the country.  “Hell, we’re happy, I’m proud to be in the top three with this group of cars,” Whitener said. “I feel like we’re gaining and I’m learning how to race the car so we’re all good.”   Dennis Erb Jr. had a strong run all night and ultimately settled for a fourth-place finish. The “One Man Band” thought he could’ve done better but waited too long to make his move.  “We had a good car, but we should’ve just went a little sooner,” Erb said. “Track position just means a lot here right now, but we’ve had a good car the last couple of nights and did really good starting up front.” Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished fifth, extending his Series points lead over Chris Madden for the second straight night. Sheppard also leads the Firecracker 100 standings after two nights of racing, putting him on the pole for the first Drydene Heat Race on Saturday.  The “Rocket Shepp” is prepared for what’s to come during Saturday’s 100-lap finale.  “I take [Friday] as a good run for us,” Sheppard said. “Overton’s got his stuff together, so we know we’re going to have to race him [Saturday]. We got a good balance going right now, and I hope we can just keep it rolling that way and carry this momentum into [Saturday].” If Brandon Overton can keep his hot streak going and pick up another Firecracker 100 victory – he won his first in 2017 – he could add $30,000 to his bank account, adding up to more than $300,000 in overall winnings in June. UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models return to Lernerville Speedway for Saturday’s Firecracker finale.  Here are the Top-6 in Firecracker points, heading into Saturday’s finale: 1. Brandon Sheppard 1476
2. Mike Norris                 1465
3. Chris Madden             1437
4. Brandon Overton        1417
5. Chub Frank                  1417
6. Spencer Hughes          1403 Morton Buildings Feature (30 Laps)-1. 76-Brandon Overton [5][$6,000]; 2. 72-Mike Norris [3][$3,000]; 3. 58-Mark Whitener [1][$2,000]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb [4][$1,750]; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard [8][$1,500]; 6. 111V-Max Blair [6][$1,400]; 7. 119-Chub Frank [2][$1,300]; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss [7][$1,200]; 9. 44-Chris Madden [10][$1,100]; 10. 22F-Chris Ferguson [13][$1,000]; 11. 19R-Ryan Gustin [11][$900]; 12. 25Z-Mason Zeigler [15][$850]; 13. 29-Darrell Lanigan [23][$800]; 14. 10-Jared Miley [12][$775]; 15. 0E-Rick Eckert [14][$750]; 16. 11H-Spencer Hughes [9][$700]; 17. 16-Tyler Bruening [19][$660]; 18. 25-Mike Benedum [20][$640]; 19. 1C-Alex Ferree [17][$620]; 20. 17M-Dale McDowell [21][$600]; 21. 97-Cade Dillard [16][$600]; 22. 0-Scott Bloomquist [24][$600]; 23. 2-Dan Stone [22][$600]; 24. B1-Brent Larson [25][$600]; 25. 99B-Boom Briggs [18][$600]; 26. 8-Kyle Strickler [26][$600] Hard Charger: 29-Darrell Lanigan[+10] Qualifying Flight-A –1. 72-Mike Norris, 15.986; 2. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 16.297; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 16.417; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening, 16.483; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 16.505; 6. 25-Mike Benedum, 16.512; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss, 16.537; 8. 58-Mark Whitener, 16.672; 9. 119-Chub Frank, 16.766; 10. 22F-Chris Ferguson, 16.797; 11. 2-Dan Stone, 16.893; 12. 1C-Alex Ferree, 16.919; 13. C02-Kyle Lukon, 16.963; 14. 8-Kyle Strickler, 17.059; 15. 16H-Clinton Hersh, 17.14; 16. 42-Chad Finley, 17.162; 17. 14-Dan Angellicchio, 17.215; 18. 42K-Cla Knight, 17.268; 19. 7R-Ross Robinson, 17.363; 20. 10L-Gary Lyle, 17.474; 21. O6-Mike Lupfer, 17.487; 22. 94-Charles Powell, 17.565; 23. 66-Todd Bachman, 17.712; 24. 4-Gary Stuhler, 17.745; 25. 93-Pancho Lawler, 17.803; 26. 11-Joshua Powell, 17.929; 27. 44P-Joe Petyak, 17.98 Qualifying Flight-B-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 16.605; 2. 97-Cade Dillard, 16.822; 3. 99B-Boom Briggs, 16.928; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 16.939; 5. 44-Chris Madden, 16.943; 6. 10-Jared Miley, 16.977; 7. 111V-Max Blair, 16.986; 8. 48-Colton Flinner, 17.008; 9. 28-Dennis Erb, 17.039; 10. 0E-Rick Eckert, 17.101; 11. 0-Scott Bloomquist, 17.139; 12. 17M-Dale McDowell, 17.222; 13. 22-Gregg Satterlee, 17.222; 14. 76-Brandon Overton, 17.259; 15. 72C-Jason Covert, 17.26; 16. B1-Brent Larson, 17.314; 17. 29S-Ken Schaltenbrand, 17.417; 18. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 17.52; 19. 77-Tyler Dietz, 17.554; 20. 9-Levi Yetter, 17.604; 21. 0S-Ryan Scott, 17.618; 22. 23-Ahnna Parkhurst, 17.635; 23. 26-Shawn Schaltenbrand, 18.007; 24. 2T-Rich Wicker, 18.162; 25. 311-Ken Monahan, 18.178; DNS. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer, NT

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.

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INEVITABLE: Kerry Madsen and Tony Stewart Racing Win Jackson Nationals Opener from 14th

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Madsen is Eighth Driver to Deliver World of Outlaws Win for Tony Stewart

JACKSON, MN – June 24, 2021 – Kerry Madsen and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing have been aligned for only 50 days.

In that span, they’ve become one of the hottest combinations in all of Sprint Car racing. With iconic mechanic Ricky Warner on the wrenches and a bustling Ford Performance engine package, the fierce Australian known as “The Mad Man” has take his game to the next level.

On Thursday night at Jackson Motorplex, the inevitable finally happened: a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win.

Storming all the way from 14th aboard the #14 sponsored by Advanced Auto Parts and Rush Truck Centers, Madsen made impressive work of a stout field on the opening night of the 43rd annual AGCO Jackson Nationals.

It only took the St. Mary’s, NSW, AUS native eight laps to pass a whopping 12 cars, and then he zoomed by leader Logan Schuchart with a daring slide job in in traffic on Lap 26 of the 30-lapper.

“I knew we had it all night,” Madsen mentioned on his confidence. “I got an awesome start, and then an awesome restart on that caution. This car is just unbelievable. The Ford power plant is so good. It’s so much fun to drive. Ricky [Warner] had this thing on rails. I committed to the top and just never lifted.”

Dominant from the beginning, Madsen and the TSR #14 started hot by scoring the Slick Woody’s QuickTime Award, his third within the last week. Struggles in the Drydene Heat Race, which featured a special eight-car inversion, limited the Aussie to a seventh-place finish, but his points were enough to line him up outside of row seven in the NOS Energy Drink Feature.

While Madsen was mired mid-pack, all eyes were on Logan Schuchart at the start of the 30-lapper. The defending Jackson Nationals champion checked out and ran away from pole sitter David Gravel by a stunning 3+ seconds in only the first five laps.

By Lap 8, Madsen was sitting in the runner-up spot, and had his sights set on the Shark Racing #1S. He offered several challenges throughout the halfway point, but Madsen’s perfect opportunity came on Lap 25 as he slid across Schuchart and a lapper to take the lead in turn three with a bold move.

He led the following circuit and a caution promptly created a restart. Schuchart came firing back at the #14, but his slide job into turn one fell short when “The Mad Man” throttled down and whipped around the outside of him. From there, he ran off to his 26th career World of Outlaws win with a margin of victory of 0.682-seconds.

The win was significant on many levels:

Furthest a WoO winner has started since Logan Schuchart won Hanford from 19th on March 31, 2017
First WoO win for Tony Stewart Racing #14 since Christopher Bell at Eldora on July 14, 2017
Eight driver to win WoO Feature with TSR – Schatz, S. Kinser, K. Kinser, Lasoski, McMahan, Stewart, Bell
1,084 days since Madsen’s last WoO win at Cedar Lake on July 7, 2018
Ended 106-race losing streak for Madsen in WoO competition
Ricky Warner’s first WoO win as Crew Chief since November 3, 2018 with Schatz
Second WoO win of 2021 for Ford Performance Stewart 410 (FPS410 Engine)

After leading the opening 25 laps, Hanover, PA’s Logan Schuchart brought his Drydene Performance Products #1S home with a second-place finish in the first of three Features this weekend.

“Obviously if we get that caution one lap prior it would’ve been a different outcome I think,” Schuchart said. “You never know if you want to be aggressive or conservative in traffic, and that hurt us tonight. Still a great run for us, w’ere just building momentum for the big one on Saturday.”

Completing the podium at Jackson Motorplex was David Gravel aboard Tod Quiring’s Big Game Motorsports #2.

“The $50,000 on Saturday is a long race, so we’re just dialing ourselves in for that,” Gravel explained. “We had a good car there at the end, we just need to make some small adjustments. A good points night, though.”

James McFadden in the Kasey Kahne Racing #9 and Carson Macedo in the Jason Johnson Racing #41 rounded out the top-five on Thursday night.

Closing out the top-1o on night one of the Jackson Nationals was the Sheldon Haudenschild in the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17, Brad Sweet in the Kasey Kahne Racing #49, Jacob Allen in the Shark Racing #1A, Giovanni Scelzi in the KCP Racing #18, and Kraig Kinser in the Kinser Racing #11K.

JACKSON NATIONALS POINTS (Top-4 after Friday Lock-In): 1. Logan Schuchart (426); 2. David Gravel (425); 3. Brad Sweet (424); 4. James McFadden (423); 5. Kerry Madsen (420); 6. Carson Macedo (416); 7. Sheldon Haudenschild (411); 8. Jacob Allen (407); 9. Giovanni Scelzi (395); 10. Shane Golobic (392).

UP NEXT: The 43rd annual AGCO Jackson Nationals continues with a second preliminary night on Friday, June 24 at Jackson Motorplex. Drivers will battle for more points with the top-four in accumulative points from both preliminary shows locking-in to Saturday’s $50,000-to-win Feature.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 14-Kerry Madsen [14][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$5,500]; 3. 2-David Gravel [1][$3,200]; 4. 9-James McFadden [3][$2,800]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo [4][$2,500]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5][$2,300]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,200]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$2,100]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [15][$2,050]; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser [20][$2,000]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [23][$1,500]; 12. 17W-Shane Golobic [10][$1,200]; 13. 5-Parker Price-Miller [21][$1,150]; 14. 3K-Tim Kaeding [16][$1,100]; 15. 83-Aaron Reutzel [17][$1,050]; 16. 21-Brian Brown [13][$1,000]; 17. 26-Cory Eliason [24][$1,000]; 18. 88N-DJ Netto [9][$1,000]; 19. 7-Justin Henderson [19][$1,000]; 20. 7S-Jason Sides [12][$1,000]; 21. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [18][$1,000]; 22. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [8][$1,000]; 23. 11-Spencer Bayston [22][$1,000]; 24. 2C-Wayne Johnson [11][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-25, Kerry Madsen 26-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 14-Kerry Madsen[+13]

NEW Championship Standings (36/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (5,036); 2. David Gravel (-48); 3. Carson Macedo (-120); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-142); 5. Donny Schatz (-148); 6. Logan Schuchart (-198); 7. Aaron Reutzel (-272); 8. Kraig Kinser (-580); 9. James McFadden (-586); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-838).

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RCR Event Preview – Pocono Raceway

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Richard Childress Racing at Pocono Raceway… In 169 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has earned two wins, 16 top-five, and 56 top-ten finishes at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ The Welcome, N.C.-based organization also has 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with a best finish of second with Tyler Reddick in 2019. Catch the Action… The NASCAR Cup Series’ Pocono Organics 325 at Pocono Raceway will be televised live Saturday, June 26, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Pocono Green 225 at Nashville Superspeedway will be televised live Sunday, June 27, beginning at 12 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 at Pocono Raceway will be televised live Sunday, June 27, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN 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 Workrise Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Pocono Raceway… Austin Dillon has 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, one start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and is a former winner at the track in the NASCAR Truck Series (2014). About Workrise… Workrise is the leading workforce management solution for the skilled trades. Workrise makes it easier for skilled laborers to find work and for companies to find in-demand, trained workers. Workrise operates across the solar, wind, construction, defense and oil & gas industries. Through people and technology, they provide the staffing, training, and professional services to empower the people who get hard work done. For more information visit workrise.com. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Talk about Pocono Raceway. It’s an interestingly-shaped track…“Pocono is a fun, fast track and I feel like we’ve been able to build a good notebook there so I’m excited to get there this weekend for a double-header. Good finishes will be important for us and the points battle. At Pocono Raceway, speed is definitely carried through turn two and through three to the start-finish line. I think those are the most important corners. Of course, every corner is important, but turns two and three are a little bit more important because it’s the flat end of the track.” Seeing the power that Hendrick Motorsports has picked up, has it been a mutual situation where you’ve both been benefiting from the advances that they’re making right now?“Yeah, I think Chevrolet, as a whole, is working better together than they ever have in the past. Obviously, it’s good to see Hendrick Motorsports running well. As far as from an engine standpoint, I know it’s good to see the ECR power running well each and every weekend. Chevrolet and Rick Hendrick, himself, have been adamant in helping us with whatever we need. So, it’s been nice working with all the teams, especially Rick and all the guys at Hendrick. I think it’s only going to make us better in the future working together and especially with the Next Gen car. We’re just doing everything we can to keep Chevrolet out front.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Kalahari Resorts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Pocono Raceway… Tyler Reddick has two NASCAR Cup Series, two NASCAR Xfinity Series and three NASCAR Truck Series starts at Pocono Raceway. He has a total of two top-five and three top-10 finishes in all of his NASCAR national touring series starts at the “Tricky Triangle,” with his best finish of second coming in the 2019 Xfinity Series race. About Kalahari Resorts & Conventions… Plan a getaway they’ll never forget at America’s Largest Indoor Waterparks. The Poconos Mountains location has a 220,000 sq. ft. indoor waterpark with thrilling rides and slides, a wave pool and lazy river, new virtual reality experiences, specially designed kids areas and adult-only swim up bars. Beyond the waterpark, the resort offers nearly 1,000 guest rooms and suites and a world-class spa, as well as dry-play activities like Gorilla Grove Treetop Adventures. Experience an aerial treetop ropes course, quad zip lines and a 36-hole mini golf course. Inside the resort, the Big Game Room features the latest and greatest in arcade games, escape rooms, laser tag, mini-bowling and more. 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. The NEW Epic Pass… Local visitors can now score big savings with our Waterpark Epic Pass – a monthly subscription offering unlimited entry into the waterpark or day spa. Come for the day, every day, for one low rate. Get Special Offers & insider Exclusives… Follow Kalahari Resorts and Conventions on social media @KalahariResorts for special offers. #LoveKalahari #BestSummerYet TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:This is the second consecutive year we’ll have a doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway. What are the keys to success for a doubleheader weekend?“It’s important to take each race one at a time on a doubleheader weekend and not look too far ahead. We did not have a great doubleheader weekend last year at Pocono Raceway, so I’m looking for some redemption this time around. It’s going to be important to keep the front of the car rotating through all three corners for both races since Pocono is so flat. That can be a challenge since you get tighter the longer you run. Dirty air makes it really tough to get around here too, so being able to manage that well will be vital to having a good two races this weekend.” This week you’ll be carrying the Kalahari Resorts and Convention Center colors on your No. 8 Chevrolet. Are you looking forward to some more time at their resort?“I’m very excited for this weekend’s stay at Kalahari’s Resorts and Convention Center at Pocono, and I know my team is too. We got to stay at their new Round Rock facility in Texas during the COTA race weekend, and it’s just incredible what they do with these resorts. My teammate, Austin Dillon, and myself had a lot of fun at Tom Foolery’s in Texas and had a friendly competition going with the arcade games in there. My girlfriend, Alexa, and son Beau had a great time in the water park that weekend too. So, I’m excited to be headed back to their Pocono location this weekend with a little more time on my hands to join them in the water park and enjoy all the resort has to offer. It’s such a great family atmosphere. Todd Nelson, the owner of Kalahari, does a fantastic job, and I’m excited to catch up with him again and have him out to the track as well.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Crosley Furniture Chevrolet Camaro at Pocono Raceway… Myatt Snider has one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Pocono Raceway. One season ago in June 2020, the Charlotte, N.C. native, piloting his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro, started on the front row, led eight laps and finished in the fourth position. Snider also has one NASCAR Truck Series race (12th-place in 2018) and two ARCA Racing Series events under his belt (two top-10 finishes in 2016).
About Crosley Brands… For over 30 years, Crosley Brands has been a leader in the nostalgic electronics category. From their beginning in the premium incentive industry, Crosley Brands developed their own exclusive product lines and built solid relationships with some of the most well-known catalogers and retailers in the business. Today, Crosley Brands is known for two brands – Crosley Radio and Crosley Furniture. At the front lines of the Vinyl Revolution, Crosley Radio seeks to bring new life to a classic medium, with its revolutionary line of turntables to its new series of high-fidelity units. Building on a legacy of entrepreneurship, Crosley Furniture delivers quality products at competitive prices, without sacrificing style. From the patio to the kitchen, bath, entryway and beyond, Crosley Furniture offers over 1,800 indoor and outdoor furniture items in a variety of categories and designs. For more information, please visit www.crosleybrands.com. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:You’ve had solid results at Pocono Raceway in the past. What is your outlook for this weekend?“Pocono Raceway is one of my strongest tracks personally. I’ve had good speed and success there in the past. In my ARCA debut at Pocono back in 2016, which was also my first race at the Tricky Triangle, I led a lot of laps and finished inside the top-10. Last season when our Richard Childress Racing team went to Pocono, we led laps in the No. 21 car and finished fourth. This weekend, we are going back with almost the same setup in our No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro, so I feel good overall about our chances on Sunday. It always helps to have another great looking Crosley Furniture Camaro to drive, and we will look to rock and roll once again in the Pocono mountains. We are even staying at the Kalahari Resorts, which makes the time away from home enjoyable and kicks off the summer fun.”

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ROCKET RED GLARE: Sheppard takes night one of the Firecracker

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

It’s the New Berlin, IL driver’s 71st career World of Outlaws win

SARVER, PA – JUNE 24, 2021 – Brandon Sheppard had a game plan. He implemented it. Stuck to it. And it worked.

The three-time and defending Series champion led all 30-laps during Thursday night’s Firecracker 100 opener at Lernerville Speedway, cashing in on a $6,000 payday.

Sheppard’s preparation for the weekend put him in a position to strike on a slick surface.

“We had a plan to start off the night whether [the track] was wet or slick, and we just stuck with our game plan,” Sheppard said. “We’ve been working with the [slick track] program a lot, and we’ve been getting better. Hopefully, tonight is the start of a good little run.”

Even though he led the entire race, the win didn’t come easy. Sheppard struggled to get around slower cars toward the end of the race.

“Whenever you’re following [slower cars] in the rubber, and the track is that slow and slick, you hope you can get by to put a lap car between you and second place,” Sheppard said. “Sometimes you have to ride behind them and hope for the best.”

Sheppard’s win is his second of the 2021 season, and his 71st career World of Outlaws win. He also extended his point lead over championship rival Chris Madden, who finished second.

Madden closed on Sheppard during the last few laps, searching for his fifth win of the season.

“Smokey” felt he had a shot to pass Sheppard in traffic but couldn’t make it work.

“There was only one lane when I got back to second and got to Sheppard,” Madden said. “We had one shot at him, and I knew he wouldn’t know I was on the outside of him (when he look to go around the outside of Sheppard off Turn 2). But I thought better of it and lifted and got back in line.”

Madden thought he had a car capable of winning, but a bad decision cost him during the race’s only yellow flag.

“[Sheppard] had a real good car tonight, and I did too,” Madden said. “I just chose the wrong line on the restart and fell back to third.”

Scott Bloomquist, the 2004 Series champion, crossed the line third. The Mooresburg, TN driver passed Madden on the restart but lost the spot back to him in traffic.

Despite losing the position, Thursday’s Feature gave “Black Sunshine” some optimism for the rest of the weekend.

“The track got kind of narrow, and everyone was running on the bottom,” Bloomquist said. “We ended up getting into that lap car and it got us a little messed up and slowed us down, but we have something we can work with now to keep us moving forward.”

Tyler Bruening, the top Rookie of the race finished fourth. The Decorah, IA driver extended his lead in the chase for Rookie of the Year over Ryan Gustin, who finished 22nd – after a rough start to the night when he spun in his Heat Race, trying to take the lead from Bruening. Gustin had also set Quick Time for the night.

Spencer Hughes crossed the line fifth.

With two more nights ahead at Lernerville, Sheppard is poised to use his opening as momentum to go after his first Firecracker 100 victory.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models return to Lernerville Speedway on Friday June 25th, for another 30-lap Feature paying $6,000-to-win.

Every Lap Matters during this year’s Firecracker 100, with drivers accumulating points on Thursday and Friday, to set up Saturday’s Drydene Heat Race Lineups.

Here are the Top-6 in Firecracker points, so far, heading into Friday’s event:

Brandon Sheppard
Chris Madden
Tyler Bruening
Spencer Hughes
Mike Norris
Scott Bloomquist

Morton Buildings Feature (30 Laps)-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1][$6,000]; 2. 44-Chris Madden [2][$3,000]; 3. 0-Scott Bloomquist [5][$2,000]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening [7][$1,750]; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes [3][$1,500]; 6. 25Z-Mason Zeigler [4][$1,400]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard [6][$1,300]; 8. 72-Mike Norris [8][$1,200]; 9. 119-Chub Frank [10][$1,100]; 10. 29-Darrell Lanigan [9][$1,000]; 11. 76-Brandon Overton [15][$900]; 12. 72C-Jason Covert [14][$850]; 13. 22-Gregg Satterlee [18][$800]; 14. 111V-Max Blair [11][$775]; 15. 1C-Alex Ferree [12][$750]; 16. 17M-Dale McDowell [17][$700]; 17. 7-Ricky Weiss [22][$660]; 18. 0E-Rick Eckert [20][$640]; 19. 28-Dennis Erb [23][$620]; 20. B1-Brent Larson [13][$600]; 21. 58-Mark Whitener [19][$600]; 22. 19R-Ryan Gustin [25][$600]; 23. 99B-Boom Briggs [26][$600]; 24. 10-Jared Miley [21][$600]; 25. 2-Dan Stone [24][$600]; 26. 77-Tyler Dietz [16][$600] Hard Charger:22-Gregg Satterlee[+5]

Qualifying Flight-A –1. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 15.337; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.749; 3. 97-Cade Dillard, 15.753; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening, 15.982; 5. 76-Brandon Overton, 16.041; 6. 111V-Max Blair, 16.048; 7. 58-Mark Whitener, 16.06; 8. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 16.225; 9. 17M-Dale McDowell, 16.269; 10. 42-Chad Finley, 16.283; 11. 99B-Boom Briggs, 16.34; 12. 28-Dennis Erb, 16.391; 13. 0-Scott Bloomquist, 16.429; 14. 7-Ricky Weiss, 16.448; 15. 0E-Rick Eckert, 16.49; 16. 48-Colton Flinner, 16.544; 17. 93-Pancho Lawler, 16.565; 18. 44P-Joe Petyak, 16.634; 19. B1-Brent Larson, 16.736; 20. 42K-Cla Knight, 16.865; 21. 9-Levi Yetter, 16.999; 22. 4-Gary Stuhler, 17.038; 23. 29S-Ken Schaltenbrand, 17.073; 24. 11-Joshua Powell, 17.339; 25. 66-Todd Bachman, 17.53; 26. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 17.567; 27. 33X-Eric Hamilton, 19.17

Qualifying Flight-B-1. 72-Mike Norris, 16.123; 2. 119-Chub Frank, 16.411; 3. 10-Jared Miley, 16.467; 4. 44-Chris Madden, 16.677; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 16.709; 6. 1C-Alex Ferree, 16.869; 7. 22F-Chris Ferguson, 16.91; 8. 2-Dan Stone, 16.913; 9. 22-Gregg Satterlee, 16.926; 10. 14-Dan Angellicchio, 16.946; 11. 77-Tyler Dietz, 17.002; 12. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 17.084; 13. 72C-Jason Covert, 17.19; 14. 7R-Ross Robinson, 17.247; 15. 0S-Ryan Scott, 17.391; 16. 25-Mike Benedum, 17.406; 17. 16H-Clinton Hersh, 17.47; 18. 94-Charles Powell, 17.487; 19. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer, 17.652; 20. 10L-Gary Lyle, 17.69; 21. 23-Ahnna Parkhurst, 17.986; 22. C02-Kyle Lukon, 18.006; 23. 26-Shawn Schaltenbrand, 18.07; 24. 2T-Rich Wicker, 18.133; 25. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich, 18.453; 26. 311-Ken Monahan, 18.688

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Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Funny Car

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Back in Action at NHRA Norwalk Nationals

Austin, TX (June 24, 2021) — Last year the NHRA Norwalk Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park was one of a handful of events that was not contested during the shortened NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Veteran driver Alexis DeJoria is eager to get back to the track just over an hour west of Cleveland to continue her pursuit of her first Norwalk National title at the fan-friendly and wildly popular national event. Since it began hosting NHRA national events Norwalk has quickly established itself as one of the largest and fan-friendliest events on the nation tour boasting a pound of ice cream for $1 and an amazingly quick race track.

“We love racing in Norwalk,” said DeJoria. “The Bader family is very hands-on and the fans are incredible. After the last race our team is chomping at the bit to get back on track and redeem ourselves. We’ve got the car to do it.”

For the second national event in a row DeJoria will be running a Bandero Premium Tequila branded Toyota Camry Funny Car. The veteran driver and co-owner of the Bandero brand unveiled the race car two weeks ago at the NHRA New England Nationals and powered to the No. 5 qualifying spot. This weekend DeJoria will be looking to keep and improve on a winning streak at the NHRA Norwalk Nationals.

During the past three races contested in Norwalk DeJoria has won the first round and raced to the quarterfinals. In 2015 and 2016 she took upset wins from the No. 12 qualified position and in her last appearance at the track in 2017 she took out current crew chief, then driver, Del Worsham in the first round from the No. 7 qualified position.

DeJoria, a five-time national event winner, is looking for her first win since returning to her successful racing career last season. Teaming with veteran crew chief and two-time world champion driver Del Worsham has made her reintroduction to the sport almost seamless. As last season came to a close the ROKiT Toyota Camry team began flexing its performance muscle qualifying in the top five at the final five races of the season and racing to three semifinals in the last four events. This season DeJoria came out of the off-season just as strong posting top five qualifiers at five of the first six races.

NHRA Norwalk Nationals qualifying will begin this Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying will continue with two sessions on Saturday with final eliminations starting at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday. Fans can tune into live coverage on FOX beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on race day.

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chevy racing–pocono advance

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE POCONO DOUBLE HEADER POCONO RACEWAY LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA JUNE 26-27, 2021

RACES #18 AND 19 – POCONOThe three NASCAR national series will head to Pennsylvania to tackle the 2.5-mile track known as the ‘Tricky Triangle’: Pocono Raceway. The venue, steeped in stock car tradition, is the host to four races in two action-packed days, including the return of the must-anticipated NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) doubleheader. Chevrolet drivers will aim for the Bowtie Brand’s sixth consecutive NCS victory on Saturday, June 26, in the 130-lap Organics CBD 325. The NASCAR premier series returns to the track on Sunday, June 27, for the 140-lap Explore the Pocono Mountains 350.  Kyle Larson, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports, dominated at Nashville Superspeedway to give Chevrolet its fifth regular-season victory in a row, which it last accomplished between May 10 and June 15 of the 2014 season. Chevrolet last strung together six wins in a row between October 7 and November 11 of the 2007 season, accomplished by Jeff Gordon winning the first two races and Jimmie Johnson claiming the next four on the way to winning the season’s Driver Championship. In 87 NCS races at Pocono Raceway dating to 1974, Chevrolet drivers have recorded 32 victories, including six in a row at the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” between August 2012 and June 2015. Pocono has hosted two NCS races per season since 1982, and this weekend will mark the second doubleheader.  Team Chevy NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) drivers will compete in the 90-lap Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons on Sunday, June 27. AJ Allmendinger, who was among three Chevrolet drivers to finish in the top-five at Nashville, is second in the Driver Standings. Heading into the Pocono race weekend, Chevrolet continues to lead the Manufacturer Standings.NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) drivers will race in the 60-lap CRC Brakleen 150 on Saturday, June 26. Zane Smith, who led Team Chevy with a fourth place at Nashville, sits fourth in the Driver Standings.
SEEKING TO TIE JOHNSONAt Nashville Superspeedway, Kyle Larson registered his third successive points-paying victory and sixth consecutive top-two finish in regular season races. He also won the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race in middle of the streak.
In NASCAR’s modern era (dating to 1972), drivers have won three in a row 27 times. The last to win four points races in a row was career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson, who accomplished the feat in 2007.
BOWTIE REMAINS TOPS IN STANDINGSChevrolet remains atop the NCS Manufacturer Standings. Team Chevy drivers have recorded a field-high eight victories and earned three of the four poles in the 17 regular-season races.
Kyle Larson remains second in the Driver Standings, but has closed to just 10 points of the lead. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron moved to third, and Chase Elliott sits in fourth, to give Chevrolet three of the top-five in the Driver Standings heading into the doubleheader race weekend. Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick remains in the top-13 with just nine races left in the NCS regular season.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREENWith no practice or qualifying for the races, the starting lineup for the Organics CBD 325 will be determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results. The lineup for the second race will be determined by the finishing order of the opener. The top 20 will be inverted and 21st to the rear will grid in order. Team Chevy’s Top-20 starters:1st       Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE2nd      William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Color of the Year Camaro ZL1 1LE6th       Ross Chastain, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE7th       Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Scott Brand Camaro ZL1 1LE8th       Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE12th     Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE13th     Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE14th     Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Commscope Camaro ZL1 1LE16th     Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE BOWTIE BULLETS·       Chevrolet leads manufacturer with 803 NCS victories.·       Chevrolet leads manufacturers in laps led (2,076) of the 4,591 total and top-10 finishes with 79.·       Kyle Larson paces all drivers with 1,426 laps led. His previous career best was 1,352 in the 36 races in 2017.·       Austin Dillon is tied for most laps completed 99.91% (4,587).·       Kyle Larson’s 12 stage wins is twice as many as any other NCS driver.·       Ross Chastain posted a career-best runner-up finish at Nashville and has recorded three top-10’s in the past four races in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Camaro ZL1 1LE.·       In addition to its 32 wins at Pocono, Chevrolet has amassed 167 top-five and 358 top-10 finishes.·       William Byron is the active leader in average finish with 9.667 in six starts at Pocono Raceway.·       Kurt Busch is the active leader with 14 top-five finishes at Pocono and is tied for the lead with 20 top-10’s in 39 starts. He has three wins and five runner-up finishes.·       Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon is tied for the most wins at Pocono with six.·       Kyle Larson earned his first NCS pole in August 2014 at Pocono.·       Hendrick Motorsports has 17 victories at Pocono Raceway.
TUNE INFS1 will telecast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150 at noon ET Saturday, June 26, followed by NBCSN’s telecast of the NASCAR Cup Series Organics CBD 325 at 3 p.m. NBCSN will telecast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons at noon ET Sunday, June 27, followed by the NCS Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 at 3:30 p.m. 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 POCONO: “I’ve always enjoyed Pocono because of its uniqueness – every corner is different. I don’t know what to expect with this doubleheader weekend. I’ve done Xfinity and Cup races on the same weekend before, so I don’t think it will be much different. Physically, I won’t prepare differently. We’ll do a lot of preparation looking at data in advance of the first one, then I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion in the debrief Saturday of what went right and what went wrong as we prepare for Sunday’s race.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE DANIELS ON THE STRATEGY WITH THREE UNIQUE CORNERS: “We’ve tried different approaches in the past, even picking a specific corner to optimize. The problem with that is it can really hurt you somewhere else. We’re really studying up on what would be the best blend in all areas. If you look at the races last year, the (No.) 4 and 11 teams certainly accomplished that. They weren’t bad in one corner and good in another – they were just overall good. That’s our target this year and hopefully we can hit it.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA COLOR OF THE YEAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGSBYRON ON THE DOUBLEHEADER AT POCONO: “I feel the doubleheader last year allowed us to learn a lot in that first race that we could then apply to the second one. I feel like Pocono is a track that we are good at and on track to be successful every time we show up, we just need to get a little bit better to close the gap on the top guys. It’s honestly a track that both Rudy (Fugle) and I have a lot of success at together and over our careers. I’m not too worried about it though. I feel like having two races there may be a great opportunity for us.”
BYRON ON IF YOU CAN BE GOOD IN ALL THREE CORNERS AT POCONO: “I think with modern-day NASCAR, you have to be good in all three corners now. Before, it was always you had to pick and choose which corner to be good in and give up in the others. With the engineering we have now, it kind of throws that old thought process out the window. For us, we’re trying to focus on being really good in turn three and then carry that consistency through the other two corners. The hope is to be consistently balanced throughout all three, but I know I want my drive off of turn three to really carry me down the front straightaway and set me up for turn one with momentum into turn two.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA COLOR OF THE YEAR CAMARO ZL1 1LEFUGLE ON THE NO. 24 TEAM’S CONTINUED SUCCESS HEADING TO POCONO: “I know the No. 24 team won early in the year and have ran well since then, but I think that the last couple weeks have shown that this team is continuing to build and become a consistent contender to win every time we get on track. The organization as whole is a threat to win every week right now, but we’re trying to make sure that the No. 24 is constantly in contention. My goal this year was to build from a top-10 team to a top-five team and ultimately to a championship-contending team. I think we’re almost to that point. We’re heading to some of our best racetracks which definitely helps as well. We’ll be starting front row for the first of two races at Pocono and that’s one of this team’s best tracks already. This could be a big weekend for the No. 24 team, I can feel it.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGSELLIOTT ON STRATEGY FOR DOUBLEHEADER AT POCONO: “Pocono is such a unique track and I have really enjoyed racing there in the past. It’s always a challenge to get your car balanced in all three corners and then you have to be spot on with your strategy because track position usually plays a big factor. Even though it’s a doubleheader, our approach doesn’t really change from other weekends. We always want to finish toward the front, and we will have our work cut out for us starting near the back on Saturday. I’m looking forward to this weekend and seeing what we can do.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LEGUSTAFSON ON THE CHALLENGES OF A POCONO DOUBLEHEADER: “The doubleheader at Pocono is a bit of a challenge with a lot of variables. You want to have a strong run on Saturday and perform well, while also making sure you take care of all your equipment. Even if it goes as planned, there will still have to be parts and pieces that have to be changed after the first race. It’s important that you go over everything on the car before Sunday. We learned last year that there isn’t a lot of time so you have to adapt pretty quickly and make the adjustments necessary to improve.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGSTALK ABOUT POCONO RACEWAY. IT’S AN INTERESTINGLY-SHAPED TRACK.. “Pocono is a fun, fast track and I feel like we’ve been able to build a good notebook there so I’m excited to get there this weekend for a double-header. Good finishes will be important for us and the points battle. At Pocono Raceway, speed is definitely carried through turn two and through three to the start-finish line. I think those are the most important corners. Of course, every corner is important, but turns two and three are a little bit more important because it’s the flat end of the track.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGSBOWMAN ON HIS TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION: “It’s really cool to know that Ally has faith in me and Mr. (Rick) Hendrick has faith in me. I think matching the length of my contract up to Ally’s was kind of the goal all around, and what was kind of expected and normal. The way the industry is today, there aren’t five-year contracts out there like there used to be. I’m not going to complain too much. I’m driving the 48 for Hendrick Motorsports – it’s not so bad.”  BOWMAN ON THE LOGISTICS OF POCONO RACEWAY: “Pocono is a fun but tricky track. All three corners are completely different, which makes the track extremely technical. The track is also tough to pass at because of how the groove is and how it doesn’t widen out as much. We are typically really fast here and everyone back at the shop is building fast cars right now.”  GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE IVES ON HIS STRATEGY FOR THE DOUBLEHEADER: “The goal is to come out of that first race with a win. The only thing we would have to do is clean up the confetti to get the car ready for race No. 2. I don’t think that you can get into a race and play it conservatively. These drivers are the best around, so they know what their limits are and who they are racing. You have the mindset of playing it safe, but it’s not on the forefront of your mind. You just do what it takes to get a win.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGSAT POCONO, WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH A DOUBLEHEADER RACE WEEKEND?“You have to make sure you have a smooth weekend. If you have a really bad day on Saturday and don’t get any points, it’s really going to set you back going into Sunday. One, you now have no notes really compared to the field that ran the entire race on Saturday and then you’ll have to lean on your teammates. And then two, you’re going to a backup car. You’re not getting to work on the piece that you raced all day; you’re having to start from scratch and hope that you have a pretty good target or get within the target you’re searching for. We just had really bad doubleheaders at Pocono and Michigan. So, that’s going to be our goal; to race hard. We want to go get points and do this and that; but understand that Saturday is very important. You have to realize every risky decision and everything that you could do on Saturday that could be a risk potential effects what happens ultimately on Sunday, as well.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 21st IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON POCONO?“It was cool to get the pole there in 2018 and then we finished second in the race that weekend. At Pocono, it always helps to have a good starting spot. Pocono is a track where you can’t make mistakes on the track, and you can’t have mistakes on pit road. Everyone has to do their part to execute perfectly. “
WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS MOST IMPORTANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT POCONO? “Track position is extremely important every weekend, but it’s especially important at Pocono. If you make a mistake, it takes so much longer and is so much harder to recover from. It’s a tough place for sure.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGSTHOUGHTS ON THE DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND AND HOW YOU PREPARE FOR THAT AS A DRIVER?“Doubleheader races are cool. Last year was the first time we really got the chance to do that. It went really smooth as a group. It is always fun. Especially with not having any practice, a doubleheader gives you that chance to practice. The first race is a little bit of a practice race, going out there to get a feel for your car. If it is not 100 percent how you want it, you make better changes for the next day and have a shot to go out there and run a little bit better. I enjoy it. It is a chance to get out there and evaluate your Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and have the opportunity to make it better.”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 NATIONSGUARD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS“We’ll carry our momentum of 4 straight top 20s, which is a first in my Cup career as well as the team’s, into the doubleheader at Pocono. I’ve won there in the ARCA series and it’s one of the most unique tracks on the NASCAR schedule. Every corner takes a different style of attack. It will be important to have a good balance for all 3 corners. Having the chance to work on the car after the Saturday race to get even better for Sunday is important for our small team with limited practices. Looking forward to giving our NationsGuard Chevy a good run on both days.”

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Storms Move Spoon River to July 7th, Belle-Clair Canceled

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Storms in the weather forecast throughout the day Thursday have forced DIRTcar and Spoon River Speedway officials to reschedule Thursday’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals and Summit Racing EquipmentModified Nationals events to Wednesday, July 7.

Belle-Clair Speedway will not be opening this year, and Spoon River will take its July 7 spot on the schedule.

The tours next head to Sycamore Speedway in Maple Park, IL, for the second race of Week #2 on Friday, June 25. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

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SQUIRREL STRIKES: Shirley Scores First Hell Tour Win of 2021 at LaSalle

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Winger finishes top-10 after flip in Qualifying, Pierce 19th-to-ninth in provisional start

LASALLE, IL – June 23, 2021 – It was only a matter of time before the reigning DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Brian Shirley scored his first win of the season.

On Wednesday night at LaSalle Speedway, he did just that, leading all 40 laps green-to-checkered for his 34th career Hell Tour victory. With this win, Shirley has now won the last three tour visits to the quarter-mile oval.

But as dominant as the drive was, Shirley reflected on some of his recent performances and struggles in his Victory Lane interview and made it a point to show his determination for the rest of the races heading forward.

“I feel like we’ve been a little bit off, and this is definitely nothing to get excited about. We’re gonna grind this week out – it’s in our backyard and we need to get some wins,” Shirley said.

To do it, Squirrel was forced to work his way through lapped traffic and hold off a hard-charging Garrett Alberson for 40 non-stop laps. Shirley jetted out to the lead at the drop of the green and opened up a sizable advantage over second-place Billy Moyer Jr. as he worked through traffic.

Alberson had been gaining on Moyer through the first half of the race, and as he began to fade slightly just past the halfway point, Alberson cracked the whip on the bottom lane, made the pass underneath for second and set his sights on leader Shirley.

Out front, Shirley was moving through traffic well, but was having to sweat for it.

“I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how much they could catch me, as far as when I got stuck behind them guys,” Shirley said. “There were times when I had to make my own lane, and then when I got to guys running as good as me, it was a little tougher.”

The race then became a similar situation to the previous DIRTcar Late Model race contested at LaSalle earlier in the year, where Alberson passed Shirley for the $12,000 victory in the 10th annual Thaw Brawl. But this time, Shirley was not going to be denied.

Alberson closed the gap to Shirley by one second in the final laps, but it was not enough to catch the Bob Cullen Racing #3s. Shirley crossed the stripe with plenty of room to spare for his first $5,000 check of the season over Alberson, Ryan Unzicker, Moyer Jr. and Chris Simpson who rounded out the top-five.

Ashton Winger had a great rebound night after barrel rolling his car in Qualifying, crossing the stripe in eighth with a backup car. Points leader Bobby Pierce also had a rough start to his night but finished strong, being forced to take a provisional after blowing a tire in his Heat Race. The three-time champion advanced 10 spots over 40 laps to go 19th-to-ninth.

UP NEXT

The Summer Nationals Late Model action continues Thursday night, June 24, at the high banks of Spoon River Speedway for Round #8 of the 2021 Hell Tour campaign. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (40 Laps) 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 59-Garrett Alberson[2]; 3. 24-Ryan Unzicker[4]; 4. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson[9]; 6. 74-Mitch McGrath[7]; 7. 81E-Tanner English[12]; 8. 12-Ashton Winger[10]; 9. 32-Bobby Pierce[19]; 10. B12-Kevin Weaver[5]; 11. 25-Jason Feger[6]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard[8]; 13. 4G-Bob Gardner[17]; 14. 48-Tim Lance[11]; 15. 29-Spencer Diercks[18]; 16. 14G-Joe Godsey[21]; 17. 30-Mark Voigt[20]; 18. 21B-Rich Bell[13]; 19. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[16]; 20. 1M-Mike Mataragas[15]; 21. 18-Shannon Babb[14]

RECORD BREAKER: Hoffman Wins at LaSalle for Sixth Consecutive Triumph

The three-time champ breaks his own record of five-straight from last year

Few times in the motorsports world do drivers find themselves with a chance to write a new chapter in the record books. Nick Hoffman did just that Wednesday night at LaSalle Speedway and cashed-in on it, winning his sixth-straight DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature.

Once again, Hoffman had yet another perfect night. Setting fast time in Qualifying, winning his heat race and leading all 25 laps of the Feature for another $1,500 check. The win broke his own record for the longest win streak in tour history at five.

“Hot rod’s just been really good. Nothing’s really gone wrong, it’s just all going our way right now. We’re going to one of my best racetracks tomorrow… just trying to keep the streak alive,” Hoffman said in Victory Lane.

Last week, the three-time champion had some terrific competition come for his hot streak and denied them all, barring Mike Harrison, Curt Spalding and others from Victory Lane as he sailed to five-straight wins. On Wednesday night, Hoffman saw some more tough customers in Mike McKinney and Allen Weisser, but they were turned away as well.

McKinney started to Hoffman’s outside and pressured him through the first half of the race, but never could mount enough of a charge to make a move. Hoffman drove away in traffic for his 44th career tour victory over McKinney and Weisser. He’s now only eight shy of tying Harrison for most wins all-time.

From his point of view, Hoffman didn’t feel much of the pressure behind him at all. He and the Elite Chassis #2 were smooth sailing the whole way through.

“I come out here and do the same thing every single night,” Hoffman said. “Me and Shawn [crew guy] worked our butts off today, had a couple of issues earlier, but we smoothed it all out.”

UP NEXT

The Summit Modified action continues Thursday night, June 24, at the high banks of Spoon River Speedway for Round #8 of the 2021 Hell Tour campaign. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (25 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 96M-Mike McKinney[2]; 3. 25W-Allen Weisser[3]; 4. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 5. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[4]; 6. 292-Josh Allen[5]; 7. 57-Tim Hamburg[10]; 8. 7-Kelly Kovski[7]; 9. 57A-Andrew Hamburg[13]; 10. 1-Nash Hilmes[15]; 11. 0-Travis Kohler[8]; 12. 9H-John Demoss[11]; 13. 1W-Bob Pohlman[12]; 14. 61-Chris Osborne Jr[14]; 15. 45-Kyle Hammer[9]; 16. 88C-Marshall Call[16]

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Deer Creek Speedway Welcomes Back LOLMDS and MLRA

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Batavia, OH (June 23, 2021) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) and Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association (MLRA) head to Spring Valley, MN for a co-sanctioned event with nearly $110,000 in prize money on the line. The NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 this weekend has increased prize money and increased excitement over two days, with full shows each day at Deer Creek Speedway.
Friday’s LOLMDS/MLRA portion is a complete program of Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a $12,000-to-win main event, along with the USRA Modifieds paying $2,000-to-win. Saturday is a full program of Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a $15,000-to-win main event for the LOLMDS/MLRA, accompanied by the USRA Modifieds paying $5,000-to-win. Each day, the pit gates will open at 2:30pm, followed by general admission at 3:00pm. A driver’s meeting will take place at 6:00pm, followed by hot laps at 6:30pm.
The NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 is a charity race co-promoted by the Blooming Prairie Lions, with a 42 year history. The race was held at Chateau in Lansing, MN the first two years (1980, 1981). From 1982 to 2004 the event was held at the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna, MN. In 2005 the event moved to its current home, Deer Creek Speedway.
There have been 23 different winners in the first 40 years including the following current LOLMDS drivers: Tim McCreadie – 2010, Josh Richards – 2011 and 2016, Shane Clanton – 2012, and Mike Marlar – 2018. Event sponsors include NAPA Auto Parts, Miners Outdoor, Rochester Eagles, and Carroll’s Popcorn.
Heading into the weekend at Deer Creek Speedway, Tim McCreadie continues to hold a narrow 30 point lead over Hudson O’Neal. Cutting into the deficit last weekend, Jonathan Davenport is in third by 120 points. Kyle Bronson was tied for sixth going into last weekend, but he now sits in fourth, 110 points out of third. With only 80 points separating fourth to tenth in standings, Mike Marlar holds the fifth position followed by Josh Richards, Shane Clanton, Ricky Thornton Jr, Tyler Erb, and Jimmy Owens.
Both nights will be LIVE on MAVTV Plus, the home of the greatest LIVE and On-Demand grassroots motorsports programming available today. Join today at MAVTVPlus.com and gain access to over 175+ Live Races, thousands of On-Demand television programs and exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage from your favorite events.
The entire 2021 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series TV schedule can be found on the series website at: www.lucasdirt.com/schedule/tv-schedule
Track Information:Deer Creek SpeedwayPhone Number: 1-877-DCS-Race or 507-754-6107Event Promoter: Cole QueenslandLocation: 25262 Highway 63, Spring Valley, MN 55975Directions: I-90 Exit 209A, south on US-63 for approx. 11 ½ miles, entrance is on the left.Website: www.deercreekspeedway.com
Tire Rules:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) LM20Right Rear – Hoosier (92) LM20 (92) LM40*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 2 new rear tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position.
Event Purses:Friday $12,000 to win (50 laps) – 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $52,800Saturday $15,000 to win (50 laps) – 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $57,050

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chevy racing–nascar–pocono–tyler reddick

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

NASCAR CUP SERIES POCONO DOUBLE HEADER POCONO RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JUNE 23, 2021

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript: YOU START SIXTEENTH THIS WEEKEND IN THE FIRST RACE AT POCONO RACEWAY. YOU TWEETED AFTER THE RACE AT NASHVILLE, ‘I BEAT MYSELF TODAY’. HOW DID YOU BEAT YOURSELF AND TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF POCONO RACEWAY?“The goals that you have in racing – if you don’t have realistic goals at times, it’s very easy to get pretty frustrated pretty quick. Considering the things that were kind of going our way, the goals that I had going into that weekend and the goals I had for Sunday, probably should have been shifted a little bit to be a bit more realistic. Or just set another goal in front of it – ‘Alright well, we’re two laps down, now let’s get back on the lead lap’. Ok well now, maybe we can get back to that goal of having a top-five day. I didn’t really run that through my head, so I just made a lot of bad mistakes. I could have just, overall, done a better job on Sunday; just coming in with a better approach and plan after that (spin) once we did get back on the lead lap to realistically set goals for our day and go tackle that.”
“Going into Pocono (Raceway), we’re starting 16th. It’s better than starting 26th where we did at Nashville (Superspeedway), but really, we should be starting much better than what we are. But the good thing is, we can still get a really good day out of it; 16th is still a much better spot than some of the guys that we need to score more points than. We’ll see how the day unfolds; what that means for pit strategies. It’s Pocono, so I would imagine those that are trying to go for the race win or get the points on the back-end of the day in the final stage will definitely split it up differently than others. Hopefully we’ll have opportunities to make those decisions; go for stage two points or a good finish in the final stage, or go after those stage pointes.”
AT POCONO, WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH A DOUBLEHEADER RACE WEEKEND?“Unfortunately, we just had bad doubleheaders last year. It started with Pocono (Raceway). We had a pretty good car on Saturday; being really aggressive on a restart, made a mistake, drifted up into Erik Jones when he was trying to get around Kurt Busch who had slowed down – just trying to get him boxed in, if you will – and that’s how we collided. So, that was a bummer because it destroyed our day on Saturday; we were done right there on Saturday and weren’t able to run the rest of the day. And then we had to prepare a backup car and start pretty much dead last on Sunday. That’s when we had more damage to our engine than we realized. One of the pulley’s was seized up and it shot the power steering belt off when we took the green flag. We just didn’t get any points.”
“Basically, you have to make sure you have a smooth weekend. If you have a really bad day on Saturday and don’t get any points, it’s really going to set you back going into Sunday. One, you now have no notes really compared to the field that ran the entire race on Saturday and then, you’ll have to lean on your teammates. And then two, you’re going to a backup car. You’re not getting to work on the piece that you raced all day; you’re having to start from scratch and hope that you have a pretty good target or get within the target you’re searching for. We just had really bad doubleheaders at Pocono and Michigan. So, that’s going to be our goal; to race hard. We want to go get points and do this and that; but understand that Saturday is very important. You have to realize every risky decision and everything that you could do on Saturday that could be a risk potential effects what happens ultimately on Sunday, as well.”
I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT NASCAR COMING TO ROAD AMERICA NEXT WEEK. I BELIEVE YOU’VE DONE A COUPLE OF XFINITY RACES THERE. I JUST WANTED TO GET YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF ROAD AMERICA AND HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CUP SERIES COMING THERE, AND THE CUP SERIES ADDING AS MANY ROAD COURSES THAT THEY HAVE?“Those that have gotten to experience Road America, other NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers that are now Cup drivers like myself or some of the others out there that ran it years prior, understand how unforgiving of a place it can be. I kind of wish we didn’t have practice for all those Cup drivers that haven’t been there before because the amount of fun it would be until they figured it out that us guys that came from the Xfinity Series would have over them. It’s a tough track – it’s narrow, it’s fast. It intimidated the daylights out of me because I was very bad a road course racing at the time. You’re hauling the mail down the front straightaway, down the back straightaway, into Turn 4 & 5 there; in Canada corner, too. It’s a wild place and when you’re going to have the Cup Series there with the aggressive drivers that just like to sail it off into there in the corner, it’s going to create some great racing. There’s going to be some action, for sure. Just like at COTA and Sonoma, we’re going to destroy these racecars. I just hope I don’t tear mine up too bad because, again, the straightaways are pretty fast. So, keeping the nose and the body straight is going to be important.”
YOU MENTIONED THE FACT OF TRYING TO BE CAREFUL AT LITTLE BIT ON SATURDAY BECAUSE OF SUNDAY. KNOWING THAT YOU’RE THIRTEENTH IN THE STANDINGS AND THE PLAYOFFS ARE COMING UP, HOW MUCH IS THAT RISK VERSUS REWARD TO ENSURE THAT YOU’RE PART OF THE PLAYOFFS?“It’s a major part of it. Like I said earlier – I guess I didn’t totally go into the full bit of it, but I said that the doubleheaders were really bad for us and bad for making the Playoffs for us. You can pick apart your season; hindsight is always 20/20, but one of the biggest areas for us was looking at Pocono and even Michigan. Just the amount of points we would have gotten out of Pocono if I wouldn’t have crashed on Saturday and then had that parts failure on Sunday because of the crash – we could have had 30 or 40 more points than we did because I think we finished 37th and 36th both days and no stage points. We had the speed to get stage points and finish inside the top-15, even with mistakes. Pocono is the type of race where I feel like racing hard on restarts is important, but the way that you win that race or get a good points day out of it is picking and choosing battle and executing the race strategy perfectly. You don’t want to get caught up racing a guy for one point, one spot, and lose a 1.5-2 seconds battling someone and lose touch with the rest of the field ahead of you. It totally changes up your strategy and what options you have available to you to try and maybe get ahead of them in a pit cycle; whatever it might be. You have to race smart. That’s just the type of race that Pocono is with the package we have. You have to race a little bit smarter than hard; that’s what I meant by that.”
AS YOU WORK TO TRY TO ENSURE YOUR SPOT IN THE PLAYOFFS, WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU AND YOUR TEAM CAN BE EVEN STRONGER?“What never really stops, never ends, is the grind to find perfection, if you will. It’s not really possible, right? But just looking back to Nashville, we had a car that I thought could have qualified top-five pretty realistically. I thought I was paying attention to what line the drivers were using and kind of just missed it a little bit. I was running too high for where the grip was in qualifying and that turned a day that should have been pretty straight forward – getting stage points and all that stuff – it totally threw it out the window. That comes down to mistakes. I think the race at Pocono comes down to mistakes. Making the Playoffs comes down to that. Being able to recover from them is nice; but the more times you can go through races without having those big, critical moments and mistakes is going to help everybody’s peace of mind. You’re going to get more points because of it. It’s just a little easier if you don’t make those mistakes. Yes, it’s hard to be perfect all the time, but it’s a fun process in learning how to get better. I definitely am learning from those mistakes. You’re always going to learn from mistakes; they’re just never going to stop coming your way. New situations, new scenarios – I’ll just keep trying to adjust the best that I can to keep getting more points for my team.”
SINCE RCR AND HMS ARE, ESSENTIALLY, THE SAME ENGINES, DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE SAME SPEED AS THEY DO RIGHT NOW? “There’s something we need to continue to work on, on our end, to get a little bit better. I don’t know – we’re doing pretty good, honestly. Looking back to last year, I think Hendrick (Motorsports) was doing OK at times, but obviously they’re much better than they were a year ago; I would think they would agree with that. They’ve been winning a lot of races here the last month. We, have an organization, have gotten a lot better. Like I said, I think Nashville could have been one of those days where we could have been up there battling with those Hendrick Chevy’s. But those mistakes that I made really kind of derailed that for us. Daniel Suarez wasn’t the happiest with his car; they felt like they kind of missed it a little bit. But he was able to drive his way to a seventh. He’s kind of like my teammate, Erik Jones – unfortunately, he ran over bits and pieces that were coming off of cars as they were breaking on the racetrack, which really hurt their chances throughout the day. So, I think all of our cars had that potential to be inside the top-10. We’re trying to figure out what more I need for my driving style to limit those mistakes and have smoother races. We’re going in to the right direction. The push and the grind to get better never will stop. We’ll keep plugging along.”
HOW FAR AWAY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE FROM A WIN?“There’s definitely been some opportunities; even last year honestly. It’s just those little details. I’ve been learning that the hard way; at least I’m learning from it, right? All the little details that you can kind of overcome in the Xfinity Series – I guess I never really gave the attention to detail that I do now running in the Cup Series as when I was running the Xfinity Series. Find a way to overcome spinning out and just drive back through the field. You’re racing again 12 or 13 drivers in the Xfinity Series that are close equipment-wise; where on the Cup side, you could argue some weekends, the top-30 is pretty close. Dover, around a month or so ago, a lot of the top-20 were really, really close.”
“I think it’s right there, it’s just a matter of not making those mistakes that derailed days like Nashville for us. Sonoma is another one. We didn’t have the speed to go win at Sonoma, but we could have run top-10. It’s just a matter of those little things. Even back to Homestead – it was a great run through the field on that last green flag run, but that restart was my worst restart of the day. I lost like four or five spots and that was the difference in what that outcome was. It’s just those little things. You never know when it’s going to come, right? You may have a day where you’re not that great and you just don’t make a mistake, everyone else does and you’ll find yourself winning. I don’t know if it’s going to come that way. There are a lot of opportunities where, right now, I think our cars are good enough that if I run a good race, the pit crew does their part – which they have been – I think we could surprise ourselves and it could happen at a few different types of racetracks.”
YOU SAID YOU’RE PAYING A LOT MORE ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN THE CUP SERIES. WHEN YOU CAME FROM XFINITY AND MADE THE MOVE, WAS IT EYE-OPENING AT ALL?“Eye-opening is a way to put it. When you switch from running the Xfinity Series, you’re aware of all these tools that are kind of there, but you never really think to tap into. Like I said, we’d just adjust on our racecar a little bit, have a crazy restart, do something wild, bounce off the fence or whatever, and find our way to win. On the Cup side, it doesn’t quite work that way because there are more drivers that are really, really good and more teams out there that are really, really good. So, you can’t just bust through a couple of people and find your way to victory lane.”
“I guess it is eye-opening. The amount of resources that are available if you really take the time to look through it all; just like pit road, restarts, you could go through a lot of things. When you run the Xfinity Series, like I said, you don’t realize how much the last tenth or two-tenths mean in the grand scheme of things throughout your day. It could mean the difference between running 10th and running fifth. All that stuff really adds up and, again, those are the things that add up to winning races. The more that I can get better at all these other things will give us more opportunities when our car is really good that one day or really good one weekend to be able to go out there and get the job done.”
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RANDALL (BURNETT, CREW CHIEF), YOU GUYS SEEM TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE. HOW HAS HE HELPED PREPARE YOU ON A WEEKLY BASIS, JUST SO YOU’RE MORE ACCUSTOM AND COMFORTABLE TO EVERYTHING THAT COMES ALONG WITH CUP? “He does a lot to help me, but his plate has been a whole lot more full as we’ve gone Cup racing. There are more meetings, just a lot more going on. They’re not composite bodies; they’re bodies that are hung in our shop at RCR. So, there’s a lot more people he has to manage; more things he has to stay in the loop and be a part of. Meetings, meetings, meetings is like the big trend here. He’s been a big help in helping direct me to the things that I need to do. A year-and-a-half in or more, a fairly good routine has been set in and I kind of know where to go for what information. Our team works really together. I pretty much don’t have to ask anymore on a weekly basis for information that is good to have be sent my way, brought to my attention, so I can go through it and use it to prepare or reflect on the past weekend. Like I said, his plate is pretty full, so I lean on my team’s engineers, Nate Troupe and Andrew Dickson, to gather some of that information as Randall is busy trying to handle other things.”
“It’s working well. We’re finding more and more ways, that never will stop, to acquire better information that can be even more useful than what we have. Or just gather more stats and collect more data that we can look at. SMT, on paper and everything – you can go back and see how everyone’s race kind of went from their perspective; driver inputs and this and that. But it’s opened a door to collecting sector analysis, entries and exits of corners; breaking it down to the absolute detail of what driver times available, who’s really good at getting into the box and out of the box. There’s a lot of things to look at and it’s opened the door for me to kind of dive into that on my own so Randall can do what’s important. It’s allowed me to kind of work on that stuff so when I do have an idea, it’s not just like, ‘Hey, let’s look into this or talk about this’. It’s like, ‘Hey, I’ve looked at this and this is the direction we want to go’, so it’s efficient for Randall’s time and he can focus on what takes a lot of time; and that’s making sure the cars are getting built the right way, and all the right pieces and parts are coming together to make our race weekends like they are.”
DO YOU THINK THE CREW CHIEFS THAT HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE COMPOSITE BODIES, WILL HELP THEM ONCE YOU MOVE TO THE NEXT GEN CARS?“It’s not really my place to say; I’d just be kind of guessing. It is a lot different. The composite body – it’s still got to be within tolerances, but you’re not working on the bodies like you are right now where everyone is trying to get all the little details that they can. The composite bodies when you buy them and they show up, they are what they are and you piece it together on the racecar, and see how it scans if you have a hawk-eye in your shop. And if you don’t, you kind of hope that it’s right when you get to the race track.”
“I don’t know if there is one or not. I think the way that it sits on the car – it’s not going to be the Xfinity composite body on the Next Gen car. It’s going to be it’s own different body, so it’s going to fit, I would imagine, differently and those guys are going to have fun figuring out how to maximize that, I’m sure.”

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chevy racing–nhra–norwalk advance

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET AT NORWALK What: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA NationalsWhen: Friday, June 25-Sunday, June 27Where: Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OhioTV: FOX will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET June 27 Chevrolet drivers enter seventh race of season with the hot handJohn Force Racing Funny Car drivers have won the past three events

DETROIT (June 23, 2021) – John Force has won the 200th, 400th and most recently 900th Funny Car races in National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) history. The 16-time champion won’t rule out competing for the 1,000th.
Force, 72, registered his 153rd career – and second of the young NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season — Funny Car victory at Epping, New Hampshire, to give his namesake team three consecutive category wins. Robert Hight, who holds the distinction of winning the 600th Funny Car race, won in Houston.
The duo will seek to carry their momentum this weekend to Norwalk, Ohio, in the Summit Racing Equipment NGRA Nationals. The event was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A John Force Racing Funny Car has reached the final round in five of the six races this season.
“It sure doesn’t look like we took a year off,” said Force, who is second in championship points in the PEAK/BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS. “Our crew chiefs are dialed in; our teams are working well together. It’s all working for us. Now we have to stay consistent.”
It was fitting that Force held the Wally following the New England Nationals in the milestone race. Since making his first race day appearance in a Chevrolet in 1978, the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion has won an impressive 20% of the 769 career races in which he has qualified. And he’s been runner-up 106 times. His victory total is one of the many NHRA records he holds that is unlikely to be challenged.
“I’m looking forward to my most important job, getting into my PEAK BlueDEF Chevy Funny Car and strapping in to make runs,” Force said. “We’ll be ready, we’ll be good.”
Brittany Force, the No. 1 qualifier and runner-up in the Charlotte four-wide event, looks to get untracked in the Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster after a pair of first-round exits.
“This Flav-R-Pac Monster Energy team has had a tough couple of races lately so we’re hoping to turn our luck around,” she said.
Pro Stock has seen five different winners in six races. Three-time Norwalk winner and points leader Greg Anderson has claimed top qualifier honors five times in the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS and has two of the wins.David Barton and Aaron Stanfield, who have won the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown races this season in their Chevrolet COPO Camaros, highlight the field this weekend in the third race of the eight-event series.
FOX will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, June 27.Enders among Best Driver nomineesReigning NHRA Pro Stock champion Erica Enders is a finalist for the ESPY Award in the Best Driver category. The driver of the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS earned her second consecutive – and fourth overall – Pro Stock title in 2020. She is the only female in NHRA history with four titles. The ESPY Awards will be telecast by ABC at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, July 10.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas and Charlotte four-wide events; runner-up in Charlotte): “Our John Force Racing teams head to Norwalk this weekend and I’m excited to be back with my Flav-R-Pac team chasing down a win. We’re going back to old approaches, attacking every run. Playing it safe is easy, comfortable but, we’re going back to pushing the limits because that’s what David Grubnic, Mac Savage and this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team are capable of. In Norwalk we will be chasing records, going after the No. 1 qualifier, and focused on going rounds on race day.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner this season; No. 1 qualifier in Charlotte four-wide; third in points): “John Force Racing, we’re running good. The whole team, myself with PEAK BlueDEF, Robert (Hight) over there with AAA and Brittany (Force) with Flav-R-Pac and Monster Energy. “I always love coming to Norwalk. Bill Bader, well now it’s his son, Bill Bader Jr., they always put on a great show. We’re going there with a full crowd, with everything having been shut down, the fans need the excitement, they need the entertainment. That’s what we’re going to give them.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA OF OHIO CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up in two races, winner at Houston; No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas four-wide): “We’re on a roll right now and I’m ready to keep it going. We’ve had some luck in Norwalk at Night Under Fire but it’s time for a national event win. I know Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham will be ready and my guys will put in the hard work. Right now is the time to be figuring everything out. Get us set up for later in the season. We want to run well, go rounds and win races. Hopefully we get this one done for AAA.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner this season; No. 1 qualifier in five races; points leader; three-time winner at the track): “We go race in front of our longtime sponsor Summit Racing Equipment. It adds extra bang and I love that. It seems to help us. I expect to do well there. The bottom line is you can’t just rest on what you have in this sport or you’ll get passed by. We’ve been great all year, the car has been fantastic, and we should have won a lot of races that we didn’t close the deal on. It’s a matter of paying attention to those details and trying to make every aspect of the game better. The competition is not happy that they’re getting outrun, so they’re going home and working hard. So we’ve been using every minute we can to try to make our engines better, make our cars better and try to make our drivers better.”
TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITEMOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up in season opener; transferred to final quad at Charlotte): “It’s Norwalk weekend, so if you’re from Ohio this is the one you want to win the most. It’s all about Buckeye pride and representing the best state in the country. Our family has done well at this track in the past and we really want to keep that going this weekend. I actually won the last time I raced here (in 2019) when I was in Top Alcohol Dragster.”
KYLE KORETZKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier and semifinalist at Houston): “I’m definitely focused on improving every race. I know we have a winning car. I just have to do my job as the driver. My confidence level in the car is huge. I feel we have a car to go to the pole and race well on Sunday on round at a time. I’ve done a lot of practice Tree (since last event) simulation at the shop and find my sweet spot. My first time at Norwalk, so I’m excited to go there.”
ROB TUCKER, AUZMET ARCHITECTURAL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (1998 Australian Pro Stock champion; making NHRA debut): “I really don’t know if I’ll qualify or not. It’s going to be tough but just to be out there will be great fun. This is going to be a big race for Pro Stock, and I’m proud to be a part of it. My daughter, Kristen, has told me, ‘You can do this. You never really forget how to drive a race car.’”

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DiBenedetto Ready for Two Tries at the Tricky Triangle

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

June 23, 2021

Having a fast Mustang in Music City, Matt DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed to the Tricky Triangle feeling a little optimistic.

Pocono Raceway, the three-turn, 2.5-mile track, is hosting a double-header for the Cup Series with the Pocono Organics CBD 325 on Saturday and the Explore The Pocono Mountains 350 on Sunday.

DiBenedetto, who finished 13th and sixth in the two Pocono races last year, said he believes he and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are capable of backing up – or even bettering – their performances of a year ago.

“We had a fast car at Pocono last year, so hopefully that same speed carries over,” he said, adding that speed isn’t the only factor to be considered this weekend. “Track position is everything with the high-downforce package.”

Track position could be a challenge, at least initially for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team. DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Mustang are set to start Saturday’s opener from 21st place. The line-up was set based on recent results, and DiBenedetto wound up 24th in the most recent race, at Nashville Superspeedway.

DiBenedetto also said the chemistry between him and his new crew chief is beginning to build.

“I’ve really enjoying working with Jonathan Hassler,” he said. “Although we had electrical issues last weekend, we had a good car and great communication, so we are looking forward to these upcoming races.”

Saturday’s 130-lap, 325-mile race is set to start just after 3 p.m. and will have Stage breaks at Laps 25 and 77. Sunday’s 350-mile finale will see the green flag just after 3:30 with Stage breaks at Laps 30 and 85.

NBCSN will carry the telecast of both races

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MONEY MAN: Aaron Reutzel Wires Inaugural Huset’s 50 for $30,000 Payday

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

Roth Motorsports #83 Eligible for $100,000 THE SHOWDOWN Bonus at Jackson

BRANDON, SD – June 22, 2021 – When the money is on the line, Aaron Reutzel shows up.

He was on the podium when Bristol Motor Speedway paid $25,000-to-win, he stood in victory lane with $15,000 in his pocket at Williams Grove Speedway, and on Tuesday night he earned the highest payday of the season thus far with a $30,000 check at the inaugural Huset’s 50.

The Roth Motorsports gasser was relentless in his pursuit of a fifth career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory. He timed in second-quick, won his Drydene Heat Race, dominated the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, and led all 50 laps of the NOS Energy Drink Feature at South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway.

More importantly, the Clute, TX native will head to this weekend’s 43rd annual AGCO Jackson Nationals with the chance for a record-setting payday.

If he wins Saturday’s finale worth $50,000 at Jackson Motorplex, he’ll receive an additional $100,000 bonus thanks to Tod Quiring’s THE SHOWDOWN.

“I’m so pumped,” Reutzel remarked after his wing dance. “It’s been a trying year for us. We’d find speed, then we’d lose it, then we’d find something again, then it’d quit working. We haven’t given up, though. I felt like we were pretty good, I mean we didn’t make any real changes all night and that normally makes me nervous because I like to change a lot. A few tiny adjustments during that #OpenRed, but nothing major.”

Losing the initial start of the 50-lapper to outside pole sitter Donny Schatz, Reutzel was actually saved by the bell when contact involving himself brought out the caution and forced a complete restart. Battling for second into turn one, Reutzel’s #83 and Carson Macedo’s #41 collided and sent the Jason Johnson Racing machine for a wild flip into the fence.

A complete restart allowed Reutzel to drive by Schatz and secure command of the top spot on Lap 1, and from there he never looked back. A Lap 5 red flag for Jacob Allen and Lynton Jeffreys slowed his pace, but wasn’t enough to give Schatz a run at the Roth ride.

At the Lap 30 #OpenRed, Crew Chief Dylan Buswell made all the right calls and sent Reutzel back out with more confidence in his Speedway powered Triple-X.

“I was really looking forward to it,” Reutzel noted on the stoppage. “I got a bad vibration running the cushion early on. If it was a full 50-lapper, I think it would’ve been tough to hang on.”

Reutzel ran off into lap traffic unchallenged until Schatz was able to close on Lap 41 and almost pulled alongside. Seeing the #15’s nose was just what the Texan needed to get up in the seat, as he found another gear and ran off to win it by 1.160-seconds.

“It’s a good time to find some speed,” Reutzel said on the “Summer of Money.” There’s a lot of money on the line. When you do this for a living, this is the time to be fast. We’re gonna worry about celebrating tonight, but tomorrow we’ll start thinking about that $100,000 bonus.”

Championship leader Brad Sweet worked around Schatz on Lap 43 to bring his Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 home with a second-place finish worth $12,000.

“He was just really good in clean air,” Sweet said on Reutzel. “The track got top dominant there, but honestly in traffic I think we were better than those guys. It just played out in his hands where we ran out of traffic. I don’t think I could’ve done anything different. We’ll take it and move on to Jackson with the $50,000 on the line.”

Donny Schatz finished third aboard his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance, Carquest #15. It’s his third podium finish in the last four races.

“We gotta work on this deal a little bit, but we’re still closer than where we were,” Schatz acknowledged. We’ll accept third tonight and move on to Jackson.”

Closing out the top-five on Tuesday night was Sheldon Haudenschild aboard the NOS Energy Drink #17 in fourth and Kyle Larson in fifth for the second-straight night in Paul Silva’s #57 machine.

Rounding out the top-10 in the Huset’s 50 finale was the Kasey Kahne Racing #9 of James McFadden in sixth, the Shark Racing #1S of Logan Schuchart in seventh, the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #14 of Kerry Madsen in eighth, the Big Game Motorsports #2 of David Gravel in ninth, and the KCP Racing #18 of Giovanni Scelzi with a 17th-to-1oth run worthy of KSE Racing Hard Charger.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series travels to Minnesota for the 43rd annual AGCO Jackson Nationals this Thursday-Saturday, June 24-26. A special format and the biggest payday of the season ($50,000) awaits The Greatest Show on Dirt at the first crown jewel event of 2021.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (50 Laps): 1. 83-Aaron Reutzel [1][$30,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [6][$12,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$10,000]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$7,500]; 5. 57-Kyle Larson [11][$6,000]; 6. 9-James McFadden [5][$5,900]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8][$5,800]; 8. 14-Kerry Madsen [10][$5,700]; 9. 2-David Gravel [13][$5,600]; 10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [17][$5,000]; 11. 5-Parker Price-Miller [16][$4,000]; 12. 17W-Shane Golobic [14][$3,000]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [12][$2,800]; 14. 41-Carson Macedo [3][$2,600]; 15. 26-Cory Eliason [21][$2,500]; 16. 11-Spencer Bayston [4][$2,400]; 17. 7-Justin Henderson [20][$2,300]; 18. 16-Ian Madsen [18][$2,200]; 19. 27-Carson McCarl [24][$2,100]; 20. 2C-Wayne Johnson [22][$2,000]; 21. 21-Brian Brown [23][$2,000]; 22. 83X-Lynton Jeffrey [9][$2,000]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [19][$2,000]; 24. 17A-Austin McCarl [15][$2,000]. Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel 1-50. KSE Hard Charger Award: 18-Giovanni Scelzi[+7]

NEW Championship Standings (35/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (4,900); 2. David Gravel (-56); 3. Carson Macedo (-124); 4. Donny Schatz (-140); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-144); 6. Logan Schuchart (-208); 7. Aaron Reutzel (-256); 8. Kraig Kinser (-574); 9. James McFadden (-592); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-808).

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Babb Goes for Win 100, Hoffman Goes for Sixth Straight in Week Two

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

LaSalle, Spoon River, Sycamore, I-55 and Jacksonville up next

LASALLE, IL – June 22, 2021 – Five races down, 30 to go. Week Two of the 2021 DIRTcar Summer Nationals and Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals hits five tracks in five nights, starting Wednesday night, June 23, at the quarter-mile bullring of LaSalle Speedway.

With last Sunday’s event at Plymouth Speedway lost to rain, Bobby Pierce, of Oakwood, IL, has clinched the Week #1 championship and the first $2,000 weekly points fund check of the season. The three-time Hell Tour champion is scheduled to race most of Week #2 and will carry a 15-point lead into Wednesday night.

Nick Hoffman carries a 125-point lead into Week #2 of DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals action on the back of five consecutive wins in five starts. The rest of the UMP Modified world will attempt to stop his run, going up against the three-time champion Wednesday night at LaSalle – a place where he won last year.

Week #2 Schedule

Wednesday, June 23 | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, IL

Thursday, June 24 | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, IL

Friday, June 25 | Sycamore Speedway | Maple Park, IL

Saturday, June 26 | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | Pevely, MO

Sunday, June 27 | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, IL

If you can’t get in on the action at the racetrack, watch every lap of competition live from wherever you are on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. Monthly or yearly FAST PASS subscriptions are available.

Here are the storylines to follow and drivers to watch for this week…

TIRE RULE AMENDMENT – With the current shortage of Hoosier Racing Tires, a temporary tire rule has been implemented.

All Late Model teams competing in this week’s races will be required to run Hoosier LM20 tires on the left-front, right-front and left-rear corners with an LM40 on the right-rear. Each driver will be given a receipt at the registration table, which can be redeemed at the tire truck for a set number of tires each day.

The number of tires that a team is allowed to purchase may fluctuate daily, depending on the inventory of the dealer at each track.

BABB IS BACK – Fairbury Speedway witnessed a real treat last Saturday night, watching four-time champion Shannon Babb climb through the top-10 en route to his 99th career Summer Nationals victory and first since June of 2019.

It was only his second appearance with the tour this season, but he’s got more going on his plate this week. Babb, of Moweaqua, IL, has the first four races of Week #2 on his schedule and has won a Summer Nationals race at all of them.

He’s now shooting for career Hell Tour victory #100, which, if achieved, would tie him with six-time champion Billy Moyer for #1 on the all-time wins list. Armed with his Team Zero Race Car and a ton of experience on each of the tracks he faces this week, Babb and his crew have a great shot ahead of them this week to make history.

SUMMIT MOD STREAK – Five tracks. Five wins. All 130 Feature laps led. Nick Hoffman is on one of the most dominant winning streaks the Dirt Modified world has seen in the past several seasons.

This Wednesday, he looks to make it six-in-a-row at LaSalle – the site of one of his 13 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature wins last year. He escaped the clutches of his biggest competition this past week in the six-time champion Mike Harrison, who chased him down both Friday and Saturday night but was unable to catch the Elite Chassis #2.

Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, is now only nine wins away from tying Harrison for most Summit Modified wins all-time at 52. He’s also chasing his own single-season wins record of 13, which he set in 2019, and is well on his way to breaking it with only nine more wins required over the next 30 races.

POINTS BATTLE – Through the first five races, it’s been a close points battle between Bobby Pierce and Tanner English.

Pierce has led since the start, winning the first two races at Brownstown Speedway and Peoria Speedway. But English has kept pace with five-straight top-five finishes and a win Friday night at Tri-City Speedway – the second of his Summer Nationals career.

Fifteen points is now all that separates the two young guns. Pierce, a three-time champion, has 39 Summer Nationals wins in his career, while English, of Benton, KY, looks for #3 this week.

SQUIRREL STILL SEARCHING – With four top-10 finishes in five starts last week, defending Summer Nationals champion Brian Shirley has yet to reach Victory Lane, but has been building momentum.

After being disqualified on Thursday night at Kankakee County Speedway for failing to report to the scales after the checkered, Shirley, of Chatham, IL, and the Bob Cullen Racing team regrouped the next day at Tri-City Speedway and earned one of their best finishes of the week – a third-place to Tanner English and Bobby Pierce.

Squirrel comes into Week #2 sitting 81 points back of leader Bobby Pierce in the championship standings. He’s the defending winner at LaSalle and also had some success there earlier this year – leading over half of the Thaw Brawl DIRTcar Late Model special in May.

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chevy racing–nascar–pocono–ross chastain

June 25, 2021 ARP Trish

NASCAR CUP SERIES POCONO DOUBLE HEADER POCONO RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JUNE 22, 2021
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CHIP GANASSI RACING CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript: PER YOUR NASHVILLE POST-RACE COMMENTS, IS CONFIDENCE SOMETHING THAT IN GENERAL YOU STRUGGLE WITH?“Yeah, this is a performance-driven industry. And if you don’t perform, why are you here and how are you going to stay here? I think every race car driver does. If you have a bad finish, you don’t feel as good as if you finish up front. I don’t want it to be taken too much. I don’t feel like I have deeper issues by any means. I feel like I’m living a great life, great family, great livelihood, and getting to do what I truly love and have dreamed about my entire life, or definitely since I was 12 years old and raced a truck for the first time. But yes, after Las Vegas it was tough. I had a lot of calls. I stayed out West. That’s just how my schedule worked out and I wanted to spend a week out there between Vegas and Phoenix. I had a lot of phone calls and a lot of team calls talking through the set-up and talking through what I needed and how I could be better and how the car could be better. That was a tough week.”
HOW DIFFERENT IS IT TO COMPETE IN THE CUP SERIES? HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR MINDSET BETWEEN KNOWING WHEN YOU CAN GET BETTER AND WHERE THE ORGANIZATION IS RIGHT NOW?“Oh, I think I would talk way too long if we truly got into that. It is tough to evaluate a lot of times, but we just try to be better. That’s the main thing. We haven’t changed our processes really since I got to CGR in 2018 and it obviously ramped up last Fall once we knew we were driving this car and have just stayed the course. I’m at the Chevy simulator right now. I just hopped off. It’s the same processes, even when we walk out of a place like this and feel like my brain is scrambled and we didn’t make any progress, we just come back the next week or the next day or whenever our next session is and do it again and try to be better.”
YOUR RESULTS HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS. HAS THERE BEEN A SINGLE AH-HA MOMENT WITH THE NO. 42 TEAM?“No, not in my opinion. All our pieces to win in the Cup Series are there. We just have to pick them up in the right order and put them at the right spot at the right time and have the right people doing it. We’ve just struggled a little bit to do that. It’s been building, even before the results were that great. We’re just steady on our progress and our processes of trying to be as best as we can be. It’s just been a building over time.”
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE WORKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF, PHIL SURGEN?“If you throw in there our first-time Cup Series spotter with Brandon McReynolds, and we’ve got three rookies on the No. 42 team. I know a lot of people question that and we’ve had a lot of truly open conversations before the season on what to expect. And we were short of our expectations to start the year, but we didn’t change. And the results are now getting there, and we’ve put together some good weeks. Although I’ve made a lot of mistakes, we’ve had mistakes made on the team in these races where we haven’t been up there the whole race like at least this last month together to finish the race, and that’s what it’s all about. Like at Nashville I felt like we were a top-5 car all day long. But every time they were giving out Stage points, I found myself in 24th place. It’s like what am I doing here? So, it was good to put together a good last half of the race and maximize, for sure. It’s hard to pass, so to drive up there was really good. But yeah, Phil and I have been honest with each other. We don’t cheer each other up. We’re not like a big pep rally or pep talk, neither one of us. We had a conversation after Nashville about, did I want more pep talk on the radio. I was like no, I want what you’re doing. You give me the information. You give me your thoughts. You give me your opinion and I form my own opinion, and we see where the facts shake out. We’re not big motivational speech guys on the radio. I’m all about motivating off-track, but on-track, like the it’s done now. It’s just having to do our jobs.” YOU’VE HAD SUCCESS AT POCONO PREVIOUSLY IN THE XFINITY SERIES AND IN THE TRUCK SERIES. WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND IN A CUP CAR?“You’re right. We have had some incredible weekends. I truly led my first Truck Series laps there. So that was a big moment for me. To come back in 2019 and win the Truck race and then run second last year in the Xfinity Series, you’re right. We have had some good runs there. I think what’s going to help and what’s been a good feeling all this week is through our crazy NASCAR matrix for starting positions, we’re starting in the top-10. And we’ve kind of been on the wrong end of the wheel every week on starting positions. The math was always against us. I’m not good at math in general, but I knew we were always in the 20’s. So, to be in the top-10 firing off here is right next to my teammate, Kurt Busch, I think, or close, that’s going to be a big help. And then hopefully we’re in not as good of a starting position on Sunday, like 20th, is kind of my goal.”
WHAT DO YOU DO TO PREPARE FOR ROAD AMERICA, A TRACK YOU’VE NEVER RACED ON BEFORE? IS THERE ANY STRATEGY FROM COTA YOU CAN APPLY?“Some, especially what we learned there in the rain. But our road course stuff has been incredible this year. I’ve truly been blown away at the speed and the drivability, like I can hustle the cars on the road courses and make lap times and they hang on pretty good over the longer runs. It’s been good. But I actually do have some laps there in the Xfinity Series these last few years. Truly, before the year, I had Road America as probably my best road course just on the preparation side, I thought I could help prepare the best with our Chevy simulator and like what’s real. And I thought I’d have a couple of Cup races on the road courses, and I’ll have an idea of what it should feel like. And then I’ll know that track pretty well. And then we’ve come out of the gate really strong aside from the Daytona Road Course, where we were closer to a 15th place car. The other ones we’ve been closer to a top-7 or top-5 car. Yeah, a lot of things to take from the road courses so far.”
YOU DO HAVE FIVE XFINITY SERIES STARTS AT ROAD AMERICA, AND THAT MIGHT BE THE MOST OF THE FIELD. HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT TRACK? SOME SAY IT’S THE BEST PERMANENT ROAD COURSE IN THE WORLD. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT?“It is for a lot of the right reasons. The elevation changes are not crazy, but they’re subtle enough to be raceable but they’re not just like dropping off. The curving is, in my opinion, proper. I have spent some time with the Chip Ganassi Racing IMSA guys and INDYCAR guys throughout the off-season and talked with Alex Palou from time to time. I got to listen to Simon Pagenaud on the radio. Hearing a guy like Simon describe a car on a road course as a proper corner and a proper apex and proper curb strike, I’m like okay. It’s starting to make a little bit more sense about what it should be like. There’s enough forgiveness, like you get off in the grass, but there is a penalty for overstepping. So, I think that’s another good thing. It’s not just asphalt with green paint or blue stripes like it’s truly, you’re going to be off in the grass and there’s a concrete wall coming up so, it is a tough place but it’s a good challenging place.”
DOES FIVE STARTS THERE GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE?“I don’t think so. These Cup guys are so good. And these simulators are so good now. I only know our Chevrolet/GM one here at Pratt & Miller, but they’re good. When you get it right they feel real. So, I take a lot from them. It’s about just as good as taking a hauler and a race car up there and making laps in real life. Plus, it doesn’t hurt as bad when you wreck.”
DOES PRACTICE HELP YOU AND DID YOU HAVE ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH CHIP GANASSI AFTER THE NASHVILLE RACE?“No, we played phone tag a little bit with Chip. I agree on the practice side. But I think all race car drivers are better with practice, like you can work on your car. Now we were good from lap 1. I actually rode out and Daniel (Suarez) and I were like passing each other in practice. I don’t know why that was happening. Neither one of us really knew why we were together on track. But I knew from my get-up-to-speed lap, my car was going to be good. And then it was just about managing the build-up of rubber and the resin and the spray throughout the weekend. The track got to a lot better spot. I ran the Truck race. I had practice Friday morning, and from there until Sunday afternoon for the Cup race, the track was proper from a rubber standpoint by Sunday. It really wasn’t ready Friday. It needed more rubber in my opinion. From Truck, practice, to race and then Cup practice to race is big and it’s big for my confidence. You go out and you’re a top-10 in practice and you’re like okay. And then you mock up and you go a little bit faster but not quite and it’s like okay, I know what I can do different. I didn’t exactly execute it Sunday morning for qualifying on Sunday morning, but I at least knew what to expect going into the race.”
HOW MUCH DIFFERENT DO YOU THINK POCONO 2 THIS WEEKEND WILL BE COMPARED TO POCONO 1? HOW MUCH WILL IT DIFFER BECAUSE OF CHANGES MADE OVERNIGHT?“I think the track will continue to take rubber. We’ll have the Xfinity race Sunday morning before our Sunday race. We’ll have some rubber on the track from the Truck guys. So that’s good. But it is two different days. If we were coming back tomorrow, what would we change? We have one night of talk through and debrief and what would we change? And then we write all that down and we incorporate it into the set-up for the next season or whenever we come back to that track again. Now it truly is. You’re coming back in the Cup Series the very next day. Unfortunately, in my experience, sometimes there’s not as big of an increase in grip or speed that you would like. The guys that are good on Saturday are probably going to be good on Sunday, plus or minus a few spots. There might be those one or two guys that might be really bad on Saturday, and they fix an issue like a mechanical issue. Nobody is going to like fall off a cliff on Sunday without a true problem. It’s going to be pretty similar. You get your balance a little closer. Unfortunately, as much as I am a race car driver and I want to practice, I am not naive to the fact that our non-practice races have been pretty good. And I don’t know that practice necessarily helps the racing product. I don’t necessarily think you’re going to expect to see a better race on Sunday. The best race might be on Saturday when we don’t really know what to expect because we haven’t been on-track here in months.
“Pocono is a place with three totally different turns and different banking and entry speeds and exit speeds and different loads on the car. So yeah, you’re going to sacrifice something to try to make the best lap times. And then you’re like oh, if I can get a little more in that back corner in my worst corner, I’ll be better. And then you hurt the other two. And you’re like oh, darn it. You have enough adjustments built into the car and that’s where my engineers and crew chief and all my guys at Chip Ganassi Racing; we have an army of people for a reason, and they build the best race car they can build. Having that adjustability built in is key to have your box big enough to truly work in.”

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Storms Move Spoon River to July 7th, Belle-Clair Canceled

SQUIRREL STRIKES: Shirley Scores First Hell Tour Win of 2021 at LaSalle

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chevy racing–nascar–pocono–tyler reddick

chevy racing–nhra–norwalk advance

DiBenedetto Ready for Two Tries at the Tricky Triangle

June 23, 2021

MONEY MAN: Aaron Reutzel Wires Inaugural Huset’s 50 for $30,000 Payday

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Babb Goes for Win 100, Hoffman Goes for Sixth Straight in Week Two

chevy racing–nascar–pocono–ross chastain

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