Richard Childress Racing at Watkins Glen International… After restrictions and schedule changes prohibited a national series race at Watkins Glen International in 2020, the NASCAR Cup Series now returns to the high-speed, seven-turn, upstate New York facility. In 75 Cup Series starts at the 2.45-mile road course, RCR boasts two wins (Robby Gordon in 2003 and Kevin Harvick in 2006), eight top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. Dale Earnhardt also won three poles (1990, ’92, ’96). In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Welcome, N.C. organization has captured one victory with Harvick in 2007 and accumulated nine top-five and 22 top-10 results.  Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ The Glen 200 at Watkins Glen International will be televised live Saturday, August 7, beginning at 4 p.m. ET on CNBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International will be televised live Sunday, August 8, beginning at 3 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 The Cowboy Channel Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Watkins Glen International… In six previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen, Dillon’s best finish is 16th in 2014. He has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit at the road course, posting a best finish of 12th in 2013. He also finished 12th in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Division race at Watkins Glen in 2008.  About The Cowboy Channel… The Cowboy Channel is the official network of ProRodeo and the first 24-hour television network totally dedicated to western sports and the western lifestyle. Headquartered in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, The Cowboy Channel features content focused on ProRodeo, bull riding, roping, reining, barrel racing, and other western sports genres, along with western fashion and music. The programming lineup also features a wide variety of “live” coverage from major western events showcasing the world’s toughest and most talented cowboys and cowgirls and is home of the National Finals Rodeo in December. The network enjoys distribution into 42 million homes on cable/satellite systems on Altice, Charter Spectrum, DISH, DIRECTV®, AT&T U-Verse, Cox, Comcast, Mediacom, Verizon FIOS TV, and many other rural cable systems. In addition, The Cowboy Channel can be streamed online via The Cowboy Channel Plus at cowboychannelplus.com, DIRECTV NOW, Roku, iOS, Android, Firestick, Apple TV, and Sling TV’s Heartland Extra package. For more information, please visit thecowboychannel.com. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Another road course race this weekend. Another wild card?“Yeah, for sure. The road courses have turned into wildcard races. Taking care of your stuff, trying to make it to the end of these things becomes a demo-derby out there. This is going to be one of those ones that if you stay on track, you’re going to have a pretty good run. I’ve had decent runs at Watkins Glen International, but it’s been challenging to string together good finishes. I have a lot of optimism going into Watkins Glen this year, though, because our road course program has been solid this year compared to the past. We’ve put a lot of work in during the off season, and we’ve had a lot of highlights on the road courses this year, including earning stage points and decent finishes.” How do you prepare for a racetrack like Watkins Glen International?“A lot of time in the simulator, going over notes and watching old races. We try to make sure we are putting in the work beforehand. We’ve been working really hard on our road course program this year. Watkins Glen is a really fast, aggressive track. You can gain a lot by getting after it on the braking zones and its just a high-speed place with all of the grip in the pavement.”                                                                                                                                                                 How do you feel about the season so far? “I think we’re all on edge with our position in the points, but these next four weeks will be really telling. There’s a lot of fight in this team and we’re not giving up. I’m pleased with the consistency this No. 3 team has had this year. We show up each and every weekend and have strong, consistent cars that withstand the races. I think the next part of that evolution is just getting a little bit more speed. We would like to be where some of our other Chevy teammates are. We’re doing everything we can to lock ourselves into the NASCAR Playoffs.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Chevy Accessories Camaro ZL1 1LE at Watkins Glen International… Reddick will be making his first start at Watkins Glen International in the NASCAR Cup Series, as the series did not travel to the road course in 2020. Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at The Glen, with a best finish of fifth coming in 2019. About Chevrolet… Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at chevrolet.com. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: While you’ll be making your first Cup start at Watkins Glen International this weekend, you do have some Xfinity starts under your belt. What are your thoughts on the road course and what makes it unique?“Watkins Glen International is just a really fast road course. We’ve seen how fast the recent winners like Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliot have been there lately. They really thread the needle and run as close to perfect as possible every single lap, so we need to be ready to step up and perform at that level. My No. 8 Chevy Accessories team has been working hard to give us the best chance we can with the cars we have underneath us. I’ve been working hard as well to be as prepared as I can be entering a race weekend and understanding everything about each track so we can start the race as close to prepared as we can. The esses are really tricky at Watkins Glen. It’s important to your lap time, as well as the bus stop which comes up shortly after them. That whole back-half of the track is so incredibly important to your lap time. There is just so much momentum in this track that you can’t afford to give anything up at any point on the course.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen International…Snider will make his first career start at Watkins Glen International this Saturday. The 26-year-old driver has never competed on the seven-turn road course in any series, but has prepared for his track debut by talking with Austin Dillon, watching film and logging laps on the simulator. About Summit Hill Foods… Summit Hill Foods is a fourth-generation, family-owned food company headquartered in Rome, Georgia. Founded in 1941, the company’s core strength is the development and manufacture of ingredient systems used to deliver texture and superior flavor. Summit Hill Foods is an ingredient supplier to food service manufacturers and restaurants. The company also markets nationally distributed brands including Better Than Bouillon®, Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce™, Southeastern Mills®, Shore Lunch® and Better Than Gravy®. Southeastern Mills operates six manufacturing facilities located in Rome, Georgia; New Iberia, Louisiana; and Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more, visit www.SHFoods.com. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:You have never raced previously raced at Watkins Glen International. What have your preparations looked like leading into this race? “I have spent a lot of time on the simulator at RCR, as well as watching a ton of film with my crew chief Andy Street. I’ve been doing all the research that I can, because I’m a believer in that if I’m prepared that will translate during the race. I have turned so many laps at Watkins Glen on iRacing throughout the years, that I feel like I have been there before when I actually haven’t. Saturday’s race is going to be exciting and I know my guys will bring a fast and spicy Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro.”

The Euro Finals Shootout Santa Pod RacewayThu.9 – Sun.12 September 2021
Santa Pod Raceway will present The Euro Finals Shootout over the 9^th-12^th September weekend. In normal times, the weekend hosts Europe’s most prestigious drag racing event, the FIA/FIM European Finals, but Covid-19 has forced cancellation of the championships these past two years and has robbed Santa Pod of the vivid presence of teams from 16 or 17 nations who usually attend.
Now, loosening travel restrictions promise a welcome return of some of the colourful Continental entries so missed since the pandemic struck.
The outline programme features Pro Shootouts for Top Fuel Dragsters, Nitro Funny Cars and Nostalgia Funny Cars. Pro Exhibition classes are also planned for Top Methanol Dragsters, Pro Stocks and Scandinavia’s outrageous, outlaw Top Doorslammers.
Round 5 of the Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship – the fast, furious Pro Modifieds – will headline the event’s UK national championship programme, heralding the first competitive appearance of Bobby Wallace’s latest entry. Imported from the USA last year, the 14-litre, V8-powered, nitrous-boosted Chevrolet Camaro dipped into the 5-second zone, at almost 240mph, on only its seventh test pass. The event’s expected influx of European Pro Mod heavyweights will pose an exciting challenge for the Wallace team and their UK counterparts.
A potential new star appears on the horizon among the 10,000-horsepower, 300mph Top Fuel Dragsters. After rising through the Junior Dragster ranks, Finland’s Ida Zetterström switched to two wheels, winning Scandinavia’s ferocious SuperStreet Bike championship – ultra-hairy, 6.8sec/215mph, turbocharged motorcycles running on street-legal tyres without the benefit of wheelie bars. Back on four wheels and duly quarantined, Zetterström began her Top Fuel licensing process guesting at Santa Pod’s recent VW festival, Bug Jam, and is expected to complete the procedure with a single remaining full pass at The Euro Finals Shootout, allowing her to compete for the first time with the world’s fastest, loudest racing cars.
Among opponents facing Zetterström will be Santa Pod’s own Top Fuel speed queen, Susanne Callin. Guesting at the same Bug Jam event, Callin set new career-best elapsed times with three consecutive 3-second passes, to add to the 300mph terminal speed she had clocked while still a teenager in 2005.
In normal times, Santa Pod’s annual calendar of 75 or more events is settled by September of the previous year. Covid has made planning on the hoof an entirely new experience for the venue’s management, and fresh details of The Euro Finals Shootout will be unveiled as they develop. The programme will include all Santa Pod’s regular attractions, such as Jet Cars, Monster Trucks and stunt driving and riding displays. As the sun goes down, the Friday Evening Nitro Show will showcase Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars and Jets at their most spectacular.
The Euro Finals Shootout takes place at Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough (NN29 7XA) from Thursday 9^th to Sunday 12^th September, 2021. Advance adult ticket prices begin at £20, with children aged 5 to 15 at £5 per day. All tickets must be booked in advance – there will be no admission on the gate. Overnight camping is included with multi-day tickets and parking and paddock access are free.
Event information is available at https://santapod.co.uk/european-finals.php and tickets may be booked online at www.santapodtickets.com or by telephoning the Box Office at 01234 782828.
Photos attached:

Super DIRTcar Series $10K-to-win Demon 100 set for Aug. 17 at Brewerton SpeedwayFor first time in two years, Big Block Modifieds return to New York track in NAPA Super DIRT Week qualifierBREWERTON, NY — The Beasts of the Northeast have caught the scent of a demon – a “1/3-mile D-shaped dirt demon” known to New Yorkers as the famous Brewerton Speedway. With their helmets in hand and 800-hp monsters under the hood, the stars of the Super DIRTcar Series will return to battle this tricky demon Tuesday, Aug. 17, for The Demon 100.Superstars like Larry Wight, Billy Decker, and Chris Hile made a name for themselves at the Brewerton track; now they, and the rest of the stacked Big Block Modified field, will look for glory on the biggest stage. With it will come a $10,000 payday and a guaranteed starting spot for the 49th NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week (Oct. 6-10).“We wanted to bring the Super DIRTcar Series back to one of its most vital home tracks,” said DIRTcar Racing CEO Brian Carter. “Brewerton Speedway has been a staple in the Central New York racing scene for decades and we couldn’t be more excited to bring the Super DIRTcar Series back to this fan-favorite track.”In 1973, Will Cagle won the first Series race at Brewerton Speedway. Then 20 years later “Canada Joe” Joe Plazek put his name in the record books to ignite a tradition of Series races at Brewerton. Matt Sheppard, the seven-time Series champion, holds the Series record with five Brewerton victories.The ⅓-mile track produces exciting wheel-to-wheel action on a weekly basis with its tight entry into Turn 1 and then fast, sweeping layout in Turns 3 and 4. Its shape is like no other and combined with the stars of the Super DIRTcar Series, The Demon 100 is destined for a hell of a 100-lap show.In addition to the Big Block Modifieds — with a purse in excess of $35,000 — the DIRTcar Sportsman will also be in racing in a 30-lap Feature with purse over $4,000.Tickets are on sale now for $30 presale. Admission will be $33 at the gate. Tickets for students (11-17) are $15. Kids 10 and under are FREE. Pit passes are $35 for DIRTcar members and $40 for non-members. CLICK HERE for tickets. Pit passes are not available for pre-sale and must be purchased at the gate. Hot Laps get the Big Block party started at 6:30pm (ET) followed by racing at 7:30pm.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every Super DIRTcar Series event live on DIRTVision. Get your FAST PASS now and see twin 60-lap Features at Land of Legends Raceway this Wednesday, Aug. 4, the Centennial 102 from Orange County Fair Speedway on Thursday, Aug. 12, and the Demon 100. Plus access to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. Demon 100 Order of Events6:30pm – Hot Laps.7:20 – Opening Ceremonies7:30 – Heat EventsSuper DIRTcar Series Heats – 8 LapsDIRTcar Sportsman Heats – 8 Laps.Super DIRTcar Series Redraw.Super DIRTcar Series Last Chance Showdown(s) – 10 LapsDIRTcar Sportsman Last Chance Showdown – 10 Laps (If Necessary)Break – Track Prep (If Necessary).Demon 100 for Super DIRTcar Series – 100 Laps.DIRTcar Sportsman Feature – 30 Laps

The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD AMERICA / IMSA SPORTSCAR WEEKEND CORVETTE RACING JORDAN TAYLOR AND TOMMY MILNER MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 2, 2021
Corvette Racing drivers Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Monday ahead of this weekend’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America and the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RIT’S A BUSY MONTH COMING UP AHEAD FOR THE TEAM. WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET AHEAD OF EVERYTHING FOR CORVETTE RACING?“It’s going to be a busy month, as you said. It’ll be hectic. I think the biggest part is logistics for the team – getting parts, cars and people back and forth between the two. They’ve been shipping stuff for the past couple of months overseas to get ready for Le Mans. Timing-wise, it’s difficult having Road America this weekend but at the same time it’s always good to go racing. It was a 1-2 last year for Corvette Racing but it was pretty wild circumstances at the end there with the rain. I think Antonio (Garcia) and Tommy were fourth and fifth on the last restart and survived at the end to get the 1-2. Hopefully it will be a little cleaner and smoother this year. It’s always been a good track for the team and the car. We did a test there earlier this year kind of prepping for this week’s race and prepping for Le Mans in the low-downforce kit. We feel confident going back there and to Le Mans.”
CORVETTE RACING’S ABSENCE FROM LE MANS LAST YEAR WAS STRANGE. HOW WAS IT FOR YOU NOT RACING AT LE MANS IN 2020 AND HAS IT FUELED YOU TO GET BACK THIS YEAR?“When you watch it on TV – I missed the race in 2018 and 2019 as well – that’s when you remember how special it is. When you’re there, you’re in the moment and enjoying it because it’s Le Mans. But when you’re away from it and watching it on TV like when you were a kid, you definitely miss it and want to be back. It motivates you to get back there and be competitive. Watching last year on TV was difficult. This year if you knew the behind-the-scenes effort that the team has gone through with the resources and getting everything over there, it shows how much it means to the organization and Chevrolet as a whole. I’ve been getting excited. I’ve been watching old Le Mans races during the days while riding my bike in the garage to get motivated. I’m looking forward to getting back.”
TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF MOMENTUM WITH THE RUN YOU AND ANTONIO ARE ON SINCE THE START OF 2020.“It’s kind of crazy how well it’s gone starting in the last year. After the COVID break last year, things have gone so well. Things just clicked, especially on the 3 car side. A lot of things have gone our way strategy-wise. If you look at the Road America race from last year, we were fourth and fifth until the rain came, and that’s what switched things around and got us back to the lead. There were a lot of circumstances like that where we shouldn’t have been in contention and things just flipped around. At the same time, you need to be prepared for those opportunities. The team needs to be prepared to call the strategy on tire changes in that situation. A lot of times that can fall on experience. We’ve had a lot of close battles with the 4 car where they could have very easily gone the other way and they could have won all those races. Putting ourselves in the right position in a lot of times and having the little things going our way a lot of the times. Antonio and I have been working well together and the chemistry has been good.”
CORVETTE HAS USED ROAD AMERICA TO PREPARE FOR LE MANS. HOW MUCH OF WHAT YOU WILL RUN THIS WEEKEND CAN CARRY OVER TO THOSE FOLLOWING TWO WEEKS?“The test was important. We learned a lot from the very beginning. We started on our sprint configuration and went to low-downforce. From the beginning to the end, we made a bunch of improvements. Had we not had those tests, we would have been learning those things at Le Mans but the time there is crucial to get on track. We had two days there with low-downforce, and I think Tommy has done 45 days in the simulator around Le Mans with me watching! We’ve put in a lot of time and effort into it. A lot of it is also coming from that simulator time where we saw last year how important, how crucial and how well it worked. That was reiterated and confirmed at our Road America test as well. We knew from the simulation what to expected and what kind of changes we wanted to make. It’s looking positive from that point of view for Le Mans.”
DOES TOMMY DO MOST OF THE LE MANS SIMULATION WORK? DO YOU BOTH PARTICIPATE OR IS IT BETTER TO GET A BASELINE FROM ONE GUY AND WORK OFF THAT?“I do my fair share! Usually each test is two days and two drivers, and each of us will have our own program. Tommy has been the Le Mans guy most of the days I’ve been there, and then my project would be Lime Rock prep or Road America prep. My focus would be on one thing and his focus would be on one thing. That way every time you get back in the sim, you have something to relate to. Sometimes when you go track to track, it can take a run or two to adjust your brain to what that package is doing to give accurate feedback. Over time, the engineers have developed this process that’s shown to have the best result. Even these days when we go, there are things being adjusted to make it more accurate from a driver and feedback point of view. When I was doing Lime Rock prep, it’s like a 10-lap run and I’d be done in five minutes and Tommy would get in for his 10 laps and I’d sit there for an hour watching him!”
TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH FANS MAKE LE MANS WHAT IT IS, AND HOW PLEASED ARE YOU THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME KIND OF FAN ATTENDANCE AT THIS YEAR’S RACE?“I’ll never forget my first time there in 2012. I flew over for the Test Day, was 20 years old and was just a little GRAND-AM driver here in America. I walked from the paddock to the pitlane and got stopped by like 10 people who knew my name and had pictures of me printed out of all my different GRAND-AM cars. In America, we have a great fanbase especially with Corvette Racing. When you go to Le Mans, it’s a very unique group of sports car fans. It’s very special. It will be missed but it it’ll be good to have at least some attendance. Missing the parade and some of those things will change a bit of the atmosphere.“My dad used to say that in NASCAR and Formula One, the fans know the drivers. In sports car racing, all drivers know the fans. In a lot of aspects, it’s true. When you go to Sebring, you have the cows, the monks and the group at Turn 10, and you get to know them. When you go to Le Mans, there are unique people like Therése (Heurtebize), and I think Tommy got knighted in 2015 by a group of British fans there, plus the Nerdmans come from Spain. That quote is true in a lot of aspects. When we go to those events, you expect to see these people every time. So it will be a little bit sad if we don’t get to see those same people but hopefully in a few years it will be back to normal so we can see all our fans again that we recognize every time we go back.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RWHAT’S YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS APPROACHING THE MONTH OF AUGUST WITH ROAD AMERICA AND LE MANS?“Our thought process has been pretty heavy on Le Mans in many ways. It’s been a topic of discussion quite a bit within the team. But obviously we have had other things to focus on with Lime Rock in previous weeks and now Road America as well. It’s a very balanced approach. Jordan and I were in the sim recently working on Le Mans and Road America. There is a lot going on, for sure. The first focus is Road America but I’m sure the topic for many of our meetings will be focusing on Le Mans as well. There’s a lot going on for Corvette Racing right now and focusing on one day a time in many ways. It’s busy but exciting.”
CORVETTE RACING’S ABSENCE FROM LE MANS LAST YEAR WAS STRANGE. HOW WAS IT FOR YOU NOT RACING AT LE MANS IN 2020 AND HAS IT FUELED YOU TO GET BACK THIS YEAR?“I don’t think any of us has taken going to Le Mans for granted. The amount of effort and attention that gets paid toward that race by this team, the engineers, the crew guys and us as drivers… we don’t take it lightly. Having missed last year and watching it on TV for the first time in many years, certainly the excitement ramps up for going back there again this year. Obviously it’s not exactly the same Le Mans experience without the public scrutineering and things like that. The world is still a little uncertain at times but we’re excited to go back. There has been a lot of time and effort spent with this Corvette C8.R to make it as good as we can for Le Mans. We don’t’ know exactly how good it will be until we get there. I think for all of us, we’re excited for what the car can be or could be. We’re excited to see how it goes.”
IS IT FRUSTRATING TO SEE YOUR TEAMMATES HAVE THE SUCCESS THEY’VE BEEN HAVING WHEN YOU AND NICK (TANDY) ARE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR?“There are moments of frustration for sure. For us on the 4 car, last year there were times where we missed it with setup and strategy. There was a conscious effort as the year was winding down last year to make a better effort to improve in those areas. We started to make some headway there, and in the offseason we continued to go over those things with the team and our engineers… the things that we thought were working well for us and the areas where we needed to improve. This year with Nick, he brings a fresh perspective on it. All things considered, we’ve had good races. We just haven’t had a whole lot of luck in certain situations. The 3 car guys have had great cars, have made the right strategy calls and done everything right. So in that sense they deserve all the success they’ve had. For us, there have had times where we’ve had the opportunities and for some reason or another… sometimes it’s bad luck and sometimes it’s of our own doing in not getting everything 100 percent right. Frustration is part of it but it’s not like desperation. Having been on this time for a long time, I really like the direction this car is going. We are making better decisions, making the right pit calls, making good setup decisions and changes. From that side, I couldn’t be happier. If Nick and I replay the year a little bit, it’s one little thing here and one little thing there, and oftentimes those are just racing things. At Watkins Glen, we were looking pretty good and the front swaybar broke. Those little moments when they start stacking up, that’s where the frustration comes in. But we have to stay focused on what is working for us and the things that we can improve on. We are finding and exploring every other area that we think can be improved and continue on that path. If we keep doing that, then we will have success. I don’t think there needs to be any kind of wholesale change on our side. It’s a matter of continuing down the path we have been going. If we continue do to that, we’ll be in good shape.”
HOW MUCH EMPHASIS DO YOU AND NICK NOW PUT ON LE MANS? HOW MUCH WOULD A LE MANS WIN TURN THINGS AROUND?“A Le Mans win pretty much trumps everything else. Every year, the team has in general joked that if we won Le Mans and we crashed every other race, it would still be a successful year. That’s a bit of a joke obviously, but a lot of emphasis is put on this race. It’s the biggest sports car race in the world and one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Those two wins at Le Mans in my career are two highlights. Every year I feel like we have a chance to get another win, and this year we will see. We feel good obviously, but with a new car there is still a little bit of an unknown. We don’t have any track time there yet with this car, but we feel good about all the preparation we’ve done. We feel good about it and excited about the opportunity with this C8.R. For us on the 4 car side, it would be a great way to turn our year around and fix all the bad luck we’ve had.”
THE TWO CORVETTES HAVE RACED EACH OTHER HARD THIS YEAR. WHEN YOU GO TO LE MANS AND IT’S A LARGER FIELD IS THAT DETREMENT OR DO THE BATTLES YOU’VE BEEN IN FEEL LIKE THEY’RE ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE SHARP?“There have only been two or three races where it’s just been the two of us battling. With Daytona, Sebring and the Watkins Glen Six Hours, and having the BMW guys there, they’ve been a huge competitor and continually challenge us. It hasn’t felt, to be honest, so far this year that the field is small. Part of that is that we haven’t had tons of races like that but also the challenge of racing our teammates has been pretty big. The race weekends don’t feel a whole lot different. Those felt like big battles. So far, the feeling and atmosphere within the team hasn’t changed. The Porsche guys are still quick. From that aspect, that hasn’t changed dramatically and some of that could be the attention put on Le Mans and understanding that we will have a big challenge there. Part of the team was over there in Spa for the Six Hours there, so the team is still in this mode of maximizing every single thing at the track. A lot of that energy and motivation comes from knowing we do have this big challenge coming up at Le Mans. The team has stayed pretty focused on that.”
TEMPERATURES THIS WEEKEND LOOK LIKE THEY COULD BE RELATIVELY COOL. IS TIRE DEGRADATION STILL A BIG ISSUE AT ROAD AMERICA WITH 70 DEGREE TEMPERATURES?“Probably. The last couple of years it has been quite warm. It seems like more these days with the tire compound options from Michelin that it’s more about making sure you are on the right compound. That kind of takes care of the degradation issue in that sense. Sometimes we are in between compounds and trying to figure out what the right combination is or the right compound to be on can be tricky. It seems like Road America is a little bit of an outlier in some sense for what we maybe normally run for most of the season. It’s a place where we’re always second-guessing our compound choice because of the track surface and the high-speed nature of the track. We’ll treat it as a nice challenge in that sense of making sure we are doing everything we can to get on the right tire as soon as we can in the practice sessions and be able to work from there. The plan is for us to run as we would normally run there for an IMSA weekend, which is the higher downforce spec. I don’t think the team is planning to run a low downforce spec in preparation for Le Mans. The plan is to run our normal sprint package. In that case, it’s kind of business as usual for the team. Because of the testing we’ve done and the work we’ve done in the sim, we have a good baseline for Le Mans. The focus will be maximizing the race weekend at Elkhart Lake and doing the best we can there with the best package for that racetrack.”
TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH FANS MAKE LE MANS WHAT IT IS, AND HOW PLEASED ARE YOU THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME KIND OF FAN ATTENDANCE AT THIS YEAR’S RACE?“Le Mans is not just the race itself. It is the atmosphere of the racetrack, the energy the fans bring, the energy that the race itself brings and the history of it. Having fans there will make it feel a bit more normal. Missing some of the other aspects of the event like scrutineering in town and the drivers’ parade and things that are just big moments of the weekend… they all add to the whole show that is Le Mans. From that aspect, those will be missed but having fans there in whatever capacity they are is great. As the years have gone and us as drivers being involved in the race, the few opportunities that I’ve had to watch the racecars go around at speed in-person  close to the track, it reminds you of how special it is to see these cars in-person and at full speed. For a lot of European fans, it will be the first time to see the Corvette C8.R. Hopefully it all goes smoothly and the fans have a good time.”

POMONA, CA (August 1, 2021) — The Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car and driver Alexis DeJoria took on an unseasonably hot NHRA Winternationals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Two days of qualifying had DeJoria’s team battling to get a handle on a hot track. In the final qualifying session last night DeJoria’s Toyota Funny Car flew to the No. 6 spot in the field and a first round match-up with Jason Rupert.

Earlier in qualifying Rupert suffered a major engine explosion and it was too much for the start-up team to overcome in time for the first round of competition. DeJoria would receive a competition bye run in the first round and the team was looking to take advantage of a “free” run to get prepared for what everyone was considering a challenging day on the race track.

The Bandero Tequila ROKiT Funny Car lined up in the right lane for the solo run. DeJoria launched hard and as she approached the 330 feet mark her race car was dropping cylinders.  Her team remotely shut off her race car to preserve parts before heading into the quarterfinals.

 Temperatures continued to climb throughout the day and as the quarterfinals approached track temperatures soared to over 140 degrees. The hot track conditions made corralling the power generated by these 11,000 horsepower land rockets a tall order for crew chiefs in all the nitro categories. DeJoria would be racing Jim Campbell for a chance to go into her fourth consecutive semifinal round.

DeJoria took a strong starting line reaction time advantage and was pulling away from Campbell when her blower belt broke and she lost power. She was helpless to watch as Campbell drove around her for the win. It was a tough loss for a team that is one of the hottest in the category.

“Pomona was definitely our worst showing of the Western Swing,” said DeJoria. “We had somewhat of a bye on our first run today when Jason Rupert blew up yesterday and couldn’t make it to first round. Then we had Jim Campbell in the second round and we had him, then the bolts were completely sheared off the flywheel and our blower belt broke. I was dead in the water down there and here comes Jim Campbell. He passed me and that was the end.”

The dominance of the Bandero Tequila ROKiT team has DeJoria stoked for the end of the regular season and the upcoming Countdown. The team is just over three rounds out of third place in the Funny Car standings. 

“We’ve been on a roll going to semis and qualifying really well. We have a week off and then we are going to hit Topeka,” said DeJoria. “I don’t want to go home right now. I wish we had another race to go to because I know how hot this car is. You can’t do anything about parts breaking and things like that, but we are right on the edge and it’s going to happen. I’m just proud of my guys. They’ve done a terrific job having been on the road for three weeks. We’ll just take everything back to the shop, go through it and get ready for the next race.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 7.277 sec, 87.52 mph; Qual. 15

Q2: 6.183 sec, 107.26 mph; Qual. 15

Q3: 4.021 sec, 313.73 mph; Qual. 6

Bonus Points: +1 (3^rd quickest of Q3)

Race Results

First Round

Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                        6              .248        7.972     77.94 (W)

Jason Rupert                         11           Did Not Run

Second Round
Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                       6              .075        4.797     175.87

Jim Campbell                       14           .095        4.314     271.95 (W)          

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Bob Tasca III, 729

2. Ron Capps, 734

3. John Force, 698

4. Robert Hight, 697

5. Matt Hagan, 689

6. J.R. Todd, 677

7. Alexis DeJoria, 632

8. Tim Wilkerson, 552

9. Cruz Pedregon, 537

10. Blake Alexander, 343

• Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot Leah Pruett drove her Dodge//SRT Mopar Top Fuel Dragster from the No. 2 qualifier position to a win at the rescheduled National Hot Rod Associate (NHRA) Winternationals in Pomona, California
• After earning his third No. 1 qualifier position of the year Ron Capps powered his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to his first win of the 2021 season to close out the NHRA’s “Western Swing” at Pomona.
• No. 4 seed Cruz Pedregon drove his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a quarterfinal appearance at Auto Club Raceway
• After a win at Denver and a runner-up finish at Sonoma Matt Hagan drove his No. 5 qualified DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car to close finish in the opening round

Aug 1, 2021, Pomona, California – After all four Mopar and Dodge//SRT-supported NHRA nitro entries qualified in the top-five heading into race day, the performance brands and Don Schumacher Racing doubled-up on Wally trophies this weekend with wins by HEMI®-powered pilots Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car) at the rescheduled 61st annual Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Winternationals Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

Pruett followed up a stout No. 2 qualifier performance aboard her DSR Sparkling Ice Spiked Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster with her second trip to a final round showdown in consecutive weeks. She earned the second place position on the eliminations ladder, along with five important bonus points, by speeding to the provisional pole position on Friday and then posting the second quickest run of Q2 to put her on the starting line for the opening round against No. 13 seed Steve Chrisman. A 3.906-second elapsed time run by her HEMI®-powered machine at 268.01 mph gave her the round win and a quarterfinal bye run.

Following another solid 3.931sec./272.12 mph pass on her single run, Pruett staged next to her semifinal opponent, No. 3 seed Mike Salinas, and ran him down at half-track to turn on win lights with a 3.927 sec./273.16 mph pass to advance to her second final round appearance of the season after her runner-up performance last weekend at Sonoma Raceway. 

Pruett was lined up and ready for battle against No. 7 qualifier Justin Ashley in the final Top Fuel showdown in the sweltering heat at the Pomona dragstrip when her opponent opted to err on the side of caution after experiencing symptoms of extreme heat exhaustion and not take the run. That provided Pruett with her second solo run opportunity of the day, a 4.021 sec./271.52 mph pass, and an uncontested win to officially earn a Wally trophy for the ninth time in her Top Fuel career, the second time at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (2017), and her first victory of the 2021 NHRA season. 

In Funny Car action, after earning his fourth No.1 qualifier position of the first ten NHRA Camping World Series season events this season, Capps powered his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat through the elimination rounds with consistent 4.1-second runs and wins over Bob Bode, Bob Tasca and longtime rival John Force to advance to his second final round appearance of the season after his runner-up finish at the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil in Houston. 

A three-time winner at Pomona (1998, 2009, 2016), Capps earned his 66th career Funny Car win against No. 7 seed J.R. Todd by running him with a 4.151 sec./253.09 mph effort to beat his opponent’s 4.289/249.16 pass. The victory, the 2019 NHRA Funny Car world champion’s first of the 2021 season, puts him into the points lead. 

The third and final event of the NHRA’s “Western Swing” didn’t quite end the way No. 5 qualifier Matt Hagan had hoped after earning a coveted win at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals in Denver, Colorado, and his runner-up performance at the Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, California. 

The reigning Funny Car world champion began the day by staging his DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye next to Force in the opening round. After Force double-bulbed, Hagan hit the throttle first to take the early lead but soon saw his opponent close the gap and edge past him right before the finish to shorten his day and close out three consecutive weeks of racing.

The Cruz Pedregon Racing team had another promising weekend as team owner and Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat fourth on the Funny Car eliminations ladder. He faced off against Tim Wilkerson in the opening round and took the win with a 4.103 seconds E.T. at 263.46 mph to advance. The three-time Pomona winner saw Force next in the quarterfinals and had a good run going until tire haze at mid-track saw Pedregon hesitate just enough to make it a close finish posting a 4.361 sec losing effort to his opponents 4.353 second round win.

Competition will resume in two weeks with the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented By PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park near Topeka, Kansas, for the first of just three remaining national events before the NHRA’s seven-race “Countdown to the Championship” playoff series begins September 9 at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil in Reading, Pennsylvania, and concludes with the NHRA finals in November in Pomona, California.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES

FUNNY CAR:

Matt Hagan, DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye

(No. 5 Qualifier – 4.009 seconds at 312.13 mph)

Round 1: (0.059-second reaction time, 4.112 seconds at 262.44 mph) loss to No. 12 John Force (0.111/4.054/270.75)

“It’s been a tricky track all weekend here at Pomona with these hot temps and (Crew Chief) Dickie (Venables) got the car to go down a very tough race track to give us a fighting chance. It just didn’t run good enough. We learned a lot racing in this heat and in conditions of which we had very little data. Now we do have some data if we face hot conditions like this in the future. We’re ready for a little break next weekend before we start again in a few weeks at Topeka (Kan.) and Brainerd (Minn.). It’ll be hot in Kansas and maybe some of what we learned here will help us there. We have a lot of racing left; this is the halfway point of the schedule. We’re going to dig in deep, work hard and win a few more of these races.”

Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 1 Qualifier – 3.941 seconds at 321.35 mph)

Round 1: (0.087-second reaction time, 4.020 seconds at 268.81 mph) defeats No. 16 Bob Bode (0.103/4.180/257.43)

Round 2: (0.077/4.151/296.50) defeats No. 9 Bob Tasca (0.079/4.278/288.58)

Round 3: (0.092/4.158/253.71) defeats No. 12 John Force (0.046/4.659/215.41)

Round 4: (0.081/4.151/253.09) defeats No. 7 J.R. Todd (0.063/4.289/249.16)

“I was hoping a win was coming. This team, time and time again, they’ve given me one of the coolest cars to drive and this (weekend) was one of the most extreme conditions we’ve ever had. To do it at Pomona in the summer, with all my friends and family here, I can’t even tell you how amazing it is. We’re going to have a blast (celebrating).”

“I was thinking this week maybe I should stop saying ‘a win’s coming,’ because I felt like I was jinxing it but I truly felt like PacMan. You know, we were just chomping through these Camping World series points – semifinal after semifinal, a final in Houston. We’ve been consistent and just chomping these points up week after week. I really think we can have the regular season point lead going into the Countdown, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing.

“These were probably some of the most extreme conditions I’ve driven a Funny Car in, and maybe even the most fun car to drive. Everyone’s been tearing their hair out trying to get down the track and we had things happen and cylinders going out and (Crew Chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen were just leaving it be because my NAPA Dodge was running like a bracket car. They’ve got such a nice tune-up that you can put a cylinder out and get through that rough spot and still make it down the track. We were quietly going about it every run.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.967 seconds at 317.34 mph)

Round 1: (0.062-second reaction time, 4.103 seconds at 263.46 mph) defeats No. 13 Tim Wilkerson (0.100/5.224/165.74)

Round 2: (0.081/4.361/218.37) loss to No. 12 John Force (0.053/4.353/260.46)

“We had a good solid event. We qualified fourth, which is great, with a 3.96-second run at 317 mph on Friday. We stumbled a little bit on Saturday trying to get the track figured out. Sunday we were strong starting out with a 4.10 second pass to dispose of Tim Wilkerson. In the second round we faced John Force and it was a great close race with a 4.35 to 4.36 but came up short. I clicked it off just a little bit early after I spun the tires at half-track and I just went on auto pilot and shut the engine off when I got concerned about the engine revving up, but I probably could’ve kept going for a few more feet and won that round that would have put us in the semis. 

“Overall it was a good event for us. It was challenging with the track at more than 140 degrees track temperature, which is hotter than we’ve been on and in years. In fact, (Crew Chief) JC (John Collins), even with all the data he had accumulated through the years, had never been in this hot of a condition so overall when you get a quarter final result, it’s a good day for the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. We’ll look forward to a match race in Norwalk on Saturday night, the traditional “Night Under Fire” exhibition event before we focus on Topeka (Kansas). Topeka is a great event for me. I’ve won quite a few races there. With Larry Miner and Joe Gibbs. I love the atmosphere there and the track is strong with really good grip and maybe one of the best surfaces on the circuit so I’ll looking forward to that. We’re still figuring things out, working out some kinks to make our race car better and I’m trying to do a better job as a driver but overall the needle is pointing up.”

TOP FUEL:

Leah Pruett, DSR Sparkling Ice Spiked Dodge//SRT Dragster

(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.780 seconds at 321.88 mph)

Round 1: (0.082-second reaction time, 3.906 seconds at 268.01mph) defeats No. 13 Steve Chrisman (0.184/4.312/242.23)

Round 2: (0.087/3.931/272.12) wins on a BYE run

Round 3: (0.104/3.927/273.16) defeats No. 3 Mike Salinas (0.093/4.360/223.21)

Round 4: (0.130/4.021/271.52) defeats No. 7 Justin Ashley (No time)

“Justin (Ashley) is an incredible competitor and I wanted nothing but to race against him. This is about the perseverance of this Sparkling Ice Dodge//SRT Mopar team, our dedication to do this on a home track is phenomenal. Thank you so much to everybody that stuck with us. I mean, we dug deep. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Wally (trophy). The most impressive part for me today was how our team has continued to persist and persevere and grow into the success region that we have right now.

“For (Crew Chief) Todd Okuhara to have an aggressive tuning persona and an application while being in the mud and Neal Strausbaugh, having leadership ability and bringing us all together. It’s about the fundamentals of what’s happening in the trailer and having each other’s back and pulling the rope in the same direction. We had been doing that, but we really got in sync together and that’s what makes me the most proud. This win is because of the progression over the last couple of weeks and what it has taken. The Dodge SRT Sparkling Ice team definitely deserves every bit of this one no matter how it came. I’m very proud of them.”

NHRA Championship Points Standings:

Following the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals Nationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 734 (1)

2. Bob Tasca III – 729 (2)

3. John Force – 698 (2)

4. Robert Hight – 697 (2)

5. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 689 (1)

6. J.R. Todd – 677 (1)

7. Alexis DeJoria – 632

8. Tim Wilkerson– 552

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 537 (1)

10. Blake Alexander– 343

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1. Steve Torrance – 1014 (6)

2. Antron Brown – 701(1)

3. Brittany Force – 625

4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 579 (1)

5. Shawn Langdon – 514

6. Mike Salinas – 513

7. Justin Ashley – 466

8. Billy Torrence – 448 (1)

9. Doug Kalitta – 439

10. Clay Millican – 388

 
DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News
Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com. 

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

POMONA, CA (August 1, 2021) — Running the  NHRA Winternationals in July proved to be a tough task for Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson and the rest of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competitors. After two days of qualifying, race day began with teams getting their first runs on a track that started out twenty degrees cooler than anything they had seen at the event. The Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Funny Car team was dealt another setback when a number of Top Fuel dragsters and nitro Funny Cars suffered motor failures that led to lengthy oildown delays. By the time Wilkerson was strapped into his cockpit, the majority of the tuning decisions were made and the track temperatures continued to rise.

Coming into the Winternationals Wilkerson had only one first round loss in traditional side by side competition this season. The wildly inconsistent track conditions forced the crew chief and driver to get creative with his tune-up adjusting the clutch package every run of qualifying trying to find a stable combination for the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona racing surface. In the final session of qualifying Wilkerson made a representative run and went into race day as the No. 13 qualifier and a first round race against two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon.

Earlier this season Pedregon ended Wilkerson’s day early at the Norwalk Nationals. Today after the delays Wilkerson knew before he hit the throttle he would need some help from his competitor if he was going to advance to the quarterfinals. The veteran driver and crew chief felt like he made adequate adjustments to his clutch package and tune-up but with every passing minute and increase in temperature he knew his chances of success were dwindling. 

Both Funny Cars took off and as Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang advanced across the shake zone his Goodyear tires lost traction and he was forced to lift as there was no hope of regaining momentum on the run. Wilkerson crossed the finish line second with a time of 5.224 seconds which was quicker than the comparable run in the second qualifying session but it was not enough to stay in the win column.

“The delays definitely hurt us today,” said Wilkerson, a 20-time Funny Car national event winner. “This event was a challenge with the heat and the green race track. Everyone had to deal with the same issues and we just got bit in that first round. I thought I had taken enough clutch out of it but after the run I could see how fast it still was because the tires were spinning too fast on the hot track. You can only try your best and we gave it our best. I can’t thank all my guys enough for working late last night and then getting out here early this morning. We will look at everything and be ready for Topeka.”

Wilkerson will be back in action for the NHRA Topeka Nationals in two weeks. He is currently eighth in points with three races in the NHRA regular season.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 6.149 sec, 107.49 mph; Qual. 11

Q2: 5.458 sec, 130.08 mph; Qual. 14

Q3: 4.313 sec, 243.55 mph; Qual. 13

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson                  13           .100        5.224     147.37

Cruz Pedregon                  4              .062        4.103     303.23 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Bob Tasca III, 729

2. Ron Capps, 734

3. John Force, 698

4. Robert Hight, 697

5. Matt Hagan, 689

6. J.R. Todd, 677

7. Alexis DeJoria, 632

8. Tim Wilkerson, 552

9. Cruz Pedregon, 537

10. Blake Alexander, 343

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PROTECTTHEHARVEST.COMAUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORNIA AUG. 1, 2021                                                                                                    Chevrolet wraps up Western Swing with momentum • Aaron Stanfield earns second Pro Stock victory in a row• Brittany Force earns third consecutive Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier• John Force advances to Funny Car semis, moves to 3rd in standings POMONA, Calif. (Aug. 1, 2021) – Aaron Stanfield, one of Chevrolet’s rising young stars in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), claimed his second consecutive Pro Stock victory and third in the past four races in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Stanfield, 26, of Bossier City, Louisiana, defeated reigning Pro Stock champion and Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders in the semifinals and dispatched No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson in the final with a pass of 6.652 seconds to Anderson’s 6.660.
“Back-to-back finals, I couldn’t have dreamt of this,” said Stanfield, the No. 6 qualifier in the Janac Brother’s Camaro SS.
Brittany Force completed a sweep of the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier honors for the three-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Western Swing in the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster with a run of 3.741 seconds. Force has earned the top qualifier in five of the 10 races to push her career total to 25. Force lost in the second round of eliminations.
John Force advanced to the semifinals in Funny Car, driving the PEAK/BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS from the No. 12 qualifier spot. Force, who has two victories and a runner-up this season, moved to third in the standings through 10 races.
Teammate Robert Hight, who picked up his 53rd career Wally and second of the season a week earlier at Sonoma Raceway, was the No. 2 qualifier in the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro SS. Hight fell in the second round on a holeshot. He is fourth in the standings.
Stanfield, earning his fourth win in 30 career Pro Stock races, prevented Anderson from tying Wasrren Johnson’s 97 career wins for most in the category and second to John Force’s NHRA-record 153. Anderson registered his eighth No. 1 qualifier honor in nine Pro Stock races in the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS and became the first Pro Stock driver to clinch a spot in the Countdown to the Championship.
Stanfield, the 2020 Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown champion in the Janac Brother’s Chevrolet COPO Camaro, is confident he’ll be a title contender in the Countdown.
“I have some great guys working on my hot rod and if I can do my job behind the wheel I think we have a really great shot,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to race against him and that milestone he trying to accomplish, but I’m glad we got him stopped today.” 
Anderson, the points leader, advanced to his fifth final round of the season and 163rd of his career. He defeated KB Racing teammate Kyle Koretsky, the No. 5 qualifier in the Lucas Oil Camaro SS, in the semifinals.
Chevrolet Nitro and Pro Stock drivers will be joined by COPO Camaro competitors in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Aug. 13-15 at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.
An interview with Pro Stock winner AARON STANFIELD, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JANAC BROTHER’S CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier):
WHY ARE YOU GOING TO BE A THREAT IN THIS COUNTDOWN?“I have some great guys working on my hot rod and if I can do my job behind the wheel I think we have a really great shot.”
WALK US THROUGH YOUR RACE DAY.“It was a tricky racetrack today. The crew chiefs really had their work cut out for them. Right before that final round they studied, did a lot of work, made a lot of changes and obviously it seemed to work out really well.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING IN THE MIDDLE AS ELITE MOTORSPORTS REVELS IN PREVENTING GREG ANDERSON FROM GETTING THAT MILESTONE?“Our drive is to keep him away from it as long as possible. I would imagine that one day he is going to get it, but we want to make it as hard as possible. But the KB-Elite rivalry is great. They’re both very competitive teams and it’s cool to be in the middle of it and have the chance to win. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given.”
WHAT DID YOU DO MENTALLY TO PREPARE FOR THE CHANGING TRACK CONDTITIONS?“That’s definitely something as a young driver that I’m still figuring out. It was really loose for us out in the middle of the racetrack, so it definitely was an adjustment. I just went in with the mindset of not get too complacent and expect anything because you never know what could happen the first 700 feet. They did a great job with the car today.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE REASON YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO ADAPT TO THESE CARS SO QUICKLY?“I’m extremely hungry and I have a lot of great people around me. I want to do well and continue to do well. I’m just thankful for the people I’m around and for the people who have given me these great opportunities.”
WHAT DID GREG SAY TO YOU AT THE TOP END?“He told me congratulations. He’s obviously competitive just like I am so I’m sure he’s frustrated; he wanted to win just like we did.”
WHAT COMMUNICATION HAVE YOU HAD WITH YOUR DAD, A FOUR-TIME SUPER STOCK CHAMPION, OVER THIS RUN?“I text with him every single round. He might give me advice here and there on what I might need to look for driving, and things of that nature. He’s taught me everything I know in this sport and I’m very grateful to have him by my side. He wasn’t able to make it here this weekend. He was home at the shop doing my job so I could come out and go Pro Stock racing. He’s been a huge help to me in my career.” 
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/ FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier, fell in second round): “These weekends only make you tougher as a team. We go another No. 1 qualifier but had a second-round exit on race day. Going into Sunday we knew going rounds was going to be a challenge. We missed our shot at Q2, which was a crucial run in the heat to set us up for race day. Luckily, we had a bye in the first round and we laid down a 3.84 in round one, which was an amazing pass on a hot racetrack. In round two, we had holes out at the step and had no chance next to Justin Ashley, who was on a clean run. As a team we pack up and head to Norwalk for Night Under Fire. Match racing will give us an opportunity to go testing and have a little fun. Maybe having a little fun will help us win in Topeka.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “Today was good. Improved from qualifying. Denny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, they learned from qualifying and that’s what you’re supposed to do. Really had to work hard today, teams and drivers. The conditions made it tough, the track made it tough. The PEAK Chevy, these guys, they put in the work. They love it and I still love it. I’m still in it. Not letting the old man in, he’s creeping on me though.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier, fell in second round): “This Auto Club team has worked hard, not just this weekend, but all year. We have a good car, Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham figured some things out in Sonoma and we were doing well. To go out on a holeshot, I’m just not very happy. I missed the mark. Luckily, we only have one weekend off and then we head to Topeka. I’ve done well in Topeka and I’m looking forward to putting this one behind me.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier, runner-up, points leader, clinched spot in Countdown): “It’s everybody that works on this KB Racing team and all the support we get from the folks at Hendrick, Summit and Chevy. Can’t thank them enough. I’ve got a great car, but I need to win more, no question about that. I’ve got an opportunity to win at every race I go to, and that’s something you don’t get every year. I expect I’ll have that the rest of the year, but I still have to make it pay off, I have to get the job done on Sunday. Even though I’ve had these No. 1 qualifiers, we’re talking about a half a hundredth (of a second) or a few thousandths; it’s not a huge gap. Anyone can win, and it all comes down to that starting line and how good a job the guys do with the car on Sunday. Out of the 16 cars, legitimately 14 to 16 of them can win, and every round is like the final round anymore, and anybody can beat anybody. So that’s great, the class is fantastic. It makes it hard to win. And I feel great that I’ve got a great car, but you have to have everything else perfect, too; the driver’s got to be perfect, the car’s got to be perfect, and the engine’s got to be perfect, too.”
KYLE KORETZKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “I think the weekend overall went well. That last round we just missed a little on the setup. I felt good driving. I thought I was hitting the Tree really good. Just kind of spun out there, the track got really hot. It was 148 degrees and just spun a little bit out of first gear and that was all she wrote. Couldn’t keep in front of Greg in the semis. We’ll go to Topeka with our heads high and a good car.” 

Top-four from each Showdown now locked into Saturday finale, top-two to redraw FAIRBURY, IL – July 30, 2021 – Two-thirds of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals field for the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway has been set. Sixteen drivers have punched their ticket in by way of the four Showdown Features Friday night – the rest will be seeded into one of two Last Chance Showdown events on Saturday. A grand total of 63 Summit Modifieds packed the pit area for Hot Lap/Qualifying and were then divided into four 20-lap qualifying Showdown Features, taking the top-four finishers to Saturday’s main event. The top-two finishers were placed into the redraw, to be held at opening ceremonies on Saturday. The two Last Chance Showdowns will take the top-two finishers and put them into the big show, followed by four provisional starters to complete the field for the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Prairie Dirt Classic Modified finale. Showdown Feature #1The first Feature on the freshly groomed Fairbury Speedway was the speediest of all Showdowns, won by Valpariso, IN-driver Frank Marshall. Marshall set fast time in Group 1 Qualifying, putting him on the pole for the 20-lap event. When the green dropped, Marshall took off immediately, opening up a small gap over the field and continued to add to it with every lap he clicked off. In all, the caution-free race took just over 13.5 minutes to complete. Tyler Nicely, of Owensboro, KY, had been running Marshall down the entire race and came to within a half-second of him in the final laps, but was unable to make a move for the win. Marshall crossed the stripe first to secure a spot in Saturday’s redraw and his first career Summit Modified victory. With the #25 of Nicely hot on his tail, the veteran racer Marshall never buckled under the pressure and got the job done. “We know they’re there, but we feel like we’ve got a few good years left in us. We’re kinda veterans here, but it’s fun racing with these guys,” Marshall said. Summit Racing Equipment Showdown Feature 1 (20 Laps) 1. 28M-Frank Marshall[1]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 3. 1W-Bob Pohlman[2]; 4. 8K-Levi Kissinger[4]; 5. 25W-Allen Weisser[8]; 6. 59R-Jacob Rexing[5]; 7. 11S-Nick Seplak[6]; 8. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[11]; 9. 24B-Brent Weaver[7]; 10. 84-Ryan Toole[15]; 11. 7-Tim Nash[13]; 12. 96-Curtis Rodenhaber[14]; 13. 32-Mason Duncan[9]; 14. 64-Dawson Cook[12]; 15. 35- Ethan Weber[10]; 16. (DNS) 27C-Justin Cundiff Showdown Feature #2 Curt Spalding cashed-in big time Friday night at FALS, winning his second career Summit Modified Feature after holding off one of the best and youngest drivers on the roster. Spalding grabbed the lead from the pole and opened up a solid gap in traffic before a caution with three-to-go restacked the field. On the restart, third-running Brandon Bollinger wound it up on the top side and went after 16-year-old Hunt Gossum for second.  At the stripe, Bollinger nipped Gossum by .150 to claim the final spot in the redraw while Spalding celebrated in Victory Lane. “The first ten laps, I felt really good. I thought we were slowing down, and the track was changing a little bit,” Spalding said. “It got technical, where you had to move around a little bit. About that time was when I started hearing the boys catching me. I knew they’d be coming.” Wehr’s Machine Showdown Feature 2 (20 Laps) 1. 5CS-Curt Spalding[1]; 2. 242-Brandon Bollinger[3]; 3. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 4. 22C-Nick Clubb[8]; 5. 5-Steven Brooks[7]; 6. 15-Chris Smith[6]; 7. 48-Adam Pockrus[9]; 8. 12-Wyatt Harms[4]; 9. 757-Bradley Jameson[5]; 10. 1L-Dave Lilja[15]; 11. 463-Daniel Sanchez[10]; 12. 36-Eric Vaughan[12]; 13. 71R-Troy Ricketts[16]; 14. 62PAP-Kim Edington[14]; 15. 0-Travis Kohler[11]; 16. 83-Kasey Schrock[13] Showdown Feature #3He won the Summit Modified show at FALS earlier in the year for his fifth win in five starts. Since then, Nick Hoffman has won 18 of the 19 races he’s entered, adding the 18th Friday night in the third Showdown. The three-time and defending Summit Modified champion cooked up the exact same recipe he used to win here in June and served it again Friday night to claim his 56th career tour victory – smooth and steady, right through the middle. “Track got pretty momentum’d up through the middle, which is where I’ve been best,” Hoffman said. “I won the Summit Modified race here [in June] the same way, just kinda running the same line about midway to three-quarters of the way up the racetrack. Just carrying a lot of speed, and it’s just where we shine.” Hoffman was never seriously challenged for the lead and finished nearly 7 seconds ahead of runner-up Mike Harrison. However, Hoffman did turn some heads with a fifth-place finish in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Showdown Feature #2. “I ran the exact same line in both cars. That was probably one of the best Late Models I’ve ever drove through the middle of the racetrack. It drove exactly how I’d want it to with my Modified,” Hoffman said. All-Star Performance Showdown Feature 3 (20 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 24H-Mike Harrison[3]; 3. 53S-Bobby Stremme[5]; 4. 4-Victor Lee[6]; 5. 9H-John Demoss[10]; 6. 121- Deece Schwartz[12]; 7. 14-Caden McWhorter[11]; 8. 88S-Alan Stipp[9]; 9. 61-Chris Osborne Jr[14]; 10. 1-Nash Hilmes[16]; 11. 19-Travis Thrasher[15]; 12. 82-Jacob Poel[4]; 13. K19-Will Krup[2]; 14. 21D-Danny Schwartz[13]; 15. 42-Bob Baldwin[7]; 16. 28-Rodney Standerfer[8] Showdown Feature #4After winning the Gator Championship night at Volusia this past February, Justin Allgaier was determined to get back into the seat of his UMP Modified and compete with the best of the best again. Friday night at FALS, he not only competed with them, he beat them, scoring his first career Summit Modified victory in the fourth and final Showdown. “I feel like this style of racetrack is probably our worst, so to be able to come out here and put an Elite Chassis in Victory Lane more than once, and to race with some Elite Chassis out there in that race was really cool,” Allgaier said. Allgaier initially did not get the jump at the drop of the green he was hoping for, as polesitter Chris Arnold led the field into Turn 1 and down the backstretch. Allgaier crossed over underneath him heading into Turn 3 and got a smooth exit off Turn 4 to take the lead as Arnold bobbled up high. After that, it was all defense for #7, which Allgaier handled with no issues. Several cautions littered the 20-lapper, but Allgaier’s restarts were on-point as he cruised to the $500 victory. Deke Trucking Showdown Feature 4 (20 Laps) 1. 7A-Justin Allgaier[2]; 2. 8-Kyle Steffens[4]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 4. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 5. 3L-Jeff Leka[10]; 6. 1S- Brian Shaw[7]; 7. 34W-James Walters[9]; 8. 99W-Chris Arnold[1]; 9. 0J-Garrett Jameson[11]; 10. 3-Mike Brooks[14]; 11. 37- Michael Ledford[5]; 12. 777-Trevor Neville[13]; 13. 17-Mike Mosier[15]; 14. 18-Jarrett Stryker[12]; 15. K67-Ian Keller[8] UP NEXT The Summit Modified action from the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway continues Saturday night with Last Chance Showdowns and the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presnted by Drydene.

DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).

Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.

16 drivers are locked into Saturday’s 100-lap finale FAIRBURY, IL – July 30, 2021 – The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models kicked off the 31st annual Prairie Dirt Classic in style Friday with more than 70 cars fighting for 16 spots in Saturday’s 100-lap finale.  Ryan Gustin, Bobby Pierce, Stormy Scott, and Hudson O’Neal each collected $3,000 by winning one of Friday’s four Showdowns and have the chance to start on the pole for the Morton Buildings Feature.   SHOWDOWN #1 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Gustin has never been afraid to run the outside at any speedway. He used that experience to his advantage Friday, leading all 25 laps to score the $3,000 prize.  The Marshalltown, IA driver also swept the night, winning his Showdown and setting Slick Woody’s Cornhole Co. Quick time.  Gustin received advice from a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals driver to help him get around Fairbury Speedway.  “Mike Harrison has been helping me out a little bit, telling me what lines to run and stuff,” Gustin said. “He’s got a million laps around [Fairbury Speedway], so I really got to thank him and everyone else that helps.”  Shannon Babb, a three-time Prairie Dirt Classic winner, finished second after starting 13th. Chris Madden crossed the line third, and Chris Simpson grabbed the fourth and final transfer spot.  SHOWDOWN #2 Bobby Pierce was one turn away from winning the Prairie Dirt Classic in 2019 before Brandon Sheppard passed him for the win on the final corner. The “Smooth Operator” proved he’s wasting no time in his quest for redemption, winning Friday’s second Showdown.  The Oakwood, IL driver chased down early race leader Jonathan Davenport and pulled an epic slide job in traffic to take the lead away from “Superman” with six laps to go.   Pierce stated he should’ve tried to make the pass a few laps sooner.  “I was kind of kicking myself in the butt for not pulling the trigger on the slider I was thinking about a few laps before that,” Pierce said. “Right place right time with the lap car, and it kind of set the pick for me, so I went right there and capitalized on it.”  Davenport settled for second, followed by Brian Shirley and Tyler Bruening.  SHOWDOWN #3 Kyle Larson started on the pole for Friday’s third showdown, hoping to find Victory Lane for the first time at the Prairie Dirt Classic. But Stormy Scott had other ideas, sneaking by Larson on the bottom to grab the $3,000 prize.  The Las Cruces, NM driver, bested a field of former Series champions, including Brandon Sheppard and Rick Eckert. The trip to Victory Lane caught him by surprise, knowing the competition he was facing.   “If you had asked me if I thought we were going to be here before this deal started, I would’ve told you no way; I just would’ve been happy to get into the show,” Scott said. “I’m more thrilled for my crew than myself to finally put an entire night together for these guys because they deserve it, and they work their butts off.” Larson, Sheppard, and Eckert grabbed the final three transfer spots into Saturday’s race.  SHOWDOWN #4 Hudson O’Neal wasted no time driving away from the rest of the field in Friday’s fourth showdown, leading all 25 laps.  The Martinsville, IN driver, started on the inside and made sure he beat Jimmy Owens to Turn 1 to carry his momentum to the top.  “I knew that the top was going to be okay, and I wanted to get up there to where I had some momentum built up where if somebody showed me the nose underneath, I could at last do something with him,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t want to get caught on the top and have no momentum built up, so that was kind of just where I stayed for the whole race.”  Owens crossed the line second, followed by Chase Junghans and Allan Weisser.  Weisser was penalized three positions due to a post-race infraction, moving Mckay Wenger into the fourth and final transfer spot.  The four Showdown winners will learn their starting positions on Saturday in the Morton Buildings redraw during Opening Ceremonies. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return to Fairbury Speedway on Saturday for the 100-lap Prairie Dirt Classic.  Last chance showdowns will set the rest of the field along with the Late Model Shootout, where the winner can collect $2,500 or start last in the $50,000-to-win finale.  If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month. Drydene Heat #1 – Flight (A) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 19R-Ryan Gustin [1]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb [13]; 3. 44-Chris Madden [2]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson [3]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [8]; 6. 41-Jeremiah Hurst [4]; 7. 25F-Jason Feger [10]; 8. T2-Todd Bennett [7]; 9. B12-Kevin Weaver [9]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger [18]; 11. 14-Wil Herrington [16]; 12. 11T-Trevor Gundaker [6]; 13. 10J-Joseph Joiner [17]; 14. 26M-Brent McKinnon [14]; 15. 12Q-Brandon Queen [19]; 16. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [12]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker [5]; 18. 162-Logan Moody [11]; 19. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford [15] Drydene Heat #2 – Flight (A) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 32-Bobby Pierce [2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport [1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley [6]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening [3]; 5. 0-Nick Hoffman [10]; 6. 45-Kyle Hammer [8]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [4]; 8. B1-Brent Larson [7]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb [13]; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks [5]; 11. 59-Garrett Alberson [15]; 12. 9S-Eric Smith [9]; 13. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh [11]; 14. 1st-Johnny Scott [12]; 15. 6S-Blake Spencer [17]; 16. 3-Dale Markham [18]; 17. 40B-Kyle Bronson [14]; 18. 2-Mike Chasteen [16] Drydene Heat #3 – Flight (B) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 2s-Stormy Scott [3]; 2. 6-Kyle Larson [1]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [6]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert [5]; 5. 9-Devin Moran [8]; 6. 76-Brandon Overton [11]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton [7]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs [14]; 9. 22-Chris Ferguson [2]; 10. 25B-Mike Benedum [10]; 11. 89-Mike Spatola [9]; 12. 4G-Bob Gardner [13]; 13. 10-Scott Schmitt [16]; 14. 111-Steven Roberts [12]; 15. 11H-Spencer Hughes [4]; 16. 73-Ryan Weistart [17]; 17. 76S-Titus Sneed [18]; 18. 354-Chris Nash [19]; 19. 35-Austin Simpson [15] Drydene Heat #4 – Flight (B) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 71-Hudson O’Neal [1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens [2]; 3. 18C-Chase Junghans [3]; 4. 42-Mckay Wenger [8]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker [6]; 6. 35C-Derek Chandler [5];7. 61-Allen Weisser [4]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard [10]; 9. 51-Matt Furman [12]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton [9]; 11. 1M-Mike Mataragas [11]; 12. 116-Torin Mettille [13]; 13. 9Z-Lyle Zanker [16]; 14. T4-Adam Tishhouser [14]; 15. 12C-Jeff Curl [15]; 16. 84-Myles Moos [7]; 17. 79W-Greg Wagner [17]; 18. B14-Victor Benedetto [18] Qualifying Flight-A –1. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 12.97; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 13.315; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 13.392; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.409; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson, 13.473; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 13.475; 7. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 13.476; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss, 13.484; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 13.544; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks, 13.546; 11. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 13.555; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley, 13.555; 13. T2-Todd Bennett, 13.556; 14. B1-Brent Larson, 13.56; 15. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 13.566; 16. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.596; 17. B12-Kevin Weaver, 13.657; 18. 9S-Eric Smith, 13.665; 19. 25F-Jason Feger, 13.667; 20. 0-Nick Hoffman, 13.669; 21. 162-Logan Moody, 13.687; 22. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 13.708; 23. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.713; 24. 1st-Johnny Scott, 13.734; 25. 18-Shannon Babb, 13.757; 26. 28-Dennis Erb, 13.873; 27. 26M-Brent McKinnon, 13.88; 28. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 13.893; 29. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford, 13.893; 30. 59-Garrett Alberson, 13.909; 31. 14-Wil Herrington, 13.916; 32. 2-Mike Chasteen, 13.935; 33. 10J-Joseph Joiner, 13.99; 34. 6S-Blake Spencer, 13.994; 35. 12-Ashton Winger, 14.165; 36. 3-Dale Markham, 14.509; 37. 12Q-Brandon Queen, 14.646 Qualifying Flight-B-1. 6-Kyle Larson, 13.551; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 13.722; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson, 13.899; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens, 13.913; 5. 2s-Stormy Scott, 13.968; 6. 18C-Chase Junghans, 13.996; 7. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 14.015; 8. 61-Allen Weisser, 14.073; 9. 0E-Rick Eckert, 14.083; 10. 35C-Derek Chandler, 14.096; 11. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.12; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.15; 13. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, 14.151; 14. 84-Myles Moos, 14.158; 15. 9-Devin Moran, 14.215; 16. 42-Mckay Wenger, 14.215; 17. 89-Mike Spatola, 14.232; 18. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.248; 19. 25B-Mike Benedum, 14.252; 20. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.276; 21. 76-Brandon Overton, 14.285; 22. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 14.316; 23. 111-Steven Roberts, 14.407; 24. 51-Matt Furman, 14.415; 25. 4G-Bob Gardner, 14.434; 26. 116-Torin Mettille, 14.473; 27. 99B-Boom Briggs, 14.508; 28. T4-Adam Tishhouser, 14.608; 29. 35-Austin Simpson, 14.616; 30. 12C-Jeff Curl, 14.641; 31. 10-Scott Schmitt, 14.681; 32. 9Z-Lyle Zanker, 14.705; 33. 73-Ryan Weistart, 14.75; 34. 79W-Greg Wagner, 14.982; 35. 76S-Titus Sneed, 15.72; 36. B14-Victor Benedetto, NT; 37. 354-Chris Nash, NT

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

Weisser charges from 17th-to-second on the bottom FAIRBURY, IL – July 31, 2021 – Nick Hoffman has had one incredible weekend at FALS. Just days after getting the phone call to drive Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famer Scott Bloomquist’s Drydene Team Zero Race Cars #0 in the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic, the three-time DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals champion went out and dominated the Modified competition Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway for his 19th tour victory of the season and second Modified PDC title of his career. “It’s just really cool to win here,” Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, said. “It really shows – this deal is 63 of the best guys in the country, as far as UMP Modifieds go, and to come out on top just shows how good our racecar is and how good of a season we’ve been having.” Just as he did back in June, Hoffman sailed his Elite Chassis #2 around the quarter-mile high banks with ease, leading all 40 laps en route to the $5,000 payday and his 57th career Summit Modified triumph. Hoffman set quick time in Qualifying on Friday night and won his Showdown Feature from the pole, setting him up for an outside-pole redraw result for Saturday’s Feature. He wasted zero time in getting out front at the drop of the green, muscling the lead away from polesitter Frank Marshall on Lap 1. Hoffman was never seriously challenged for the lead until the closing stages, when a 17th-starting Allen Weisser made his presence known by zooming through the top-five on the very bottom of the racetrack. With the laps winding down and Hoffman several car-lengths ahead, Weisser’s comeback was running out of time to mount a charge for the lead. But then, a real shakeup. A caution flew for a slow car on the front stretch. Weisser lined up right behind Hoffman for the restart and gave it one last-ditch effort. Hoffman got the jump, but Weisser stayed within striking distance as he motored even harder around the bottom. Hoffman knew Weisser was behind him, waiting to strike at the slightest mistake. So, he moved down a groove to protect the inside line and secure the victory. “I think I might’ve had something for him, but he just got such a good restart on that last run that he pulled me a little bit and it took me a lap or two to get going again,” Weisser, of Peoria, IL, said. “If we could’ve got a better restart, I think we would’ve had something for him.” “Allen was really good around the bottom, which he always is here, if there’s just a little bit of grip down there. So, I moved down a little bit and ran the bottom in Turns 1-2 and the [top-middle] in 3-4,” Hoffman said. Further on back, Tyler Nicely was in the thick of a battle for the final podium spot between he, Mike McKinney, Bobby Stremme and Kyle Steffens. Nicely had worked his way up to second, at one point, from seventh and looked to be competitive for the runner-up spot. However, he got hung out on the outside, a place he’s not often found racing, and drifted back a few positions. “We tried a few things this weekend, and I don’t think I was a big fan of it,” Nicely said. “We’re all out here trying a bunch of stuff, trying to catch Nick.” “At the end, I just had to get up on the wheel on the top and see what I could do. That usually isn’t my cup of tea, but sometimes you’ve got to do it.” Nicely was able to get the third spot back before the checkers with a steady line on the middle-top groove, beating out Stremme and Steffens, who each rolled the bottom. After putting in 40 laps worth of work in the Modified Feature, Hoffman strapped into the famed Drydene, Scott Bloomquist Racing, Team Zero Race Cars #0 for another grueling 100-laps around the high banks. He was victorious in Last Chance Showdown #2, punching his ticket into the big show and making him the only driver in the pit area to start both Features. Despite his split-attention throughout the event, Hoffman made it very clear where his focus was this weekend. “This was the opportunity of a lifetime to drive that #0 car, so the #2 car here was kind of on a stand-still,” Hoffman said. “Throughout the weekend, I probably spent 5-10 minutes on [the Modified]. I didn’t spend much time at all.” UP NEXT The Summit Modifieds will now get their break period and come back for race #24 on the schedule next Friday night, Aug. 13, at Highland Speedway, followed by another reschedule date at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 the next night. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Summit Racing Equipment Feature (40 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 25W-Allen Weisser[17]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely[7]; 4. 53S-Bobby Stremme[10]; 5. 8-Kyle Steffens[8]; 6. 96M-Mike McKinney[16]; 7. 99-Hunt Gossum[11]; 8. 7A-Justin Allgaier[3]; 9. 8K-Levi Kissinger[13]; 10. 3L-Jeff Leka[18]; 11. 28M-Frank Marshall[1]; 12. 1S-Brian Shaw[20]; 13. 757-Bradley Jameson[19]; 14. 5CS-Curt Spalding[4]; 15. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[21]; 16. 59R-Jacob Rexing[22]; 17. 77-Ray Bollinger[12]; 18. 4-Victor Lee[14]; 19. 24H-Mike Harrison[5]; 20. 242-Brandon Bollinger[6]; 21. 1W-Bob Pohlman[9]; 22. 37-Michael Ledford[23]; 23. 22C-Nick Clubb[15]; 24. 9H-John Demoss[24]

DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.

It’s the Elk Grove, CA driver’s first career World of Outlaws Late Models winFAIRBURY, IL – JULY 31, 2021 – Kyle Larson has made several trips to Victory Lane in his career on both dirt and asphalt. But he celebrated like it was the first time after winning the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic Saturday at Fairbury Speedway. The Elk Grove, CA driver, climbed to the roof of his car, grabbed two checkered flags, and waved them back and forth with excitement after holding off Bobby Pierce for the $50,000 prize.  “Yung Money” methodically worked his way to third from his seventh starting position, making his move for the lead on a Lap 27 restart. He dove to the bottom of the speedway, sliding up in front of Pierce as the Fairbury Speedway crowd let out a thunderous roar.    Even though Larson led the final 70 laps of the Morton Buildings Feature, Pierce tried to chase him down until the end. The Oakwood, IL driver started closing in during the last 15 laps before Larson moved up a lane and drove away. “I saw the big screen, and [Pierce] was getting close to me, so I knew I had to get up on the wheel,” Larson said.  “I didn’t want to run the cushion all the way around the corner because I kept hitting the wall the last two days. So, I just decided to slide myself, and gosh, my car was really good.”  The Prairie Dirt Classic triumph is Larson’s first career World of Outlaws Late Models win, adding to an already impressive 2021 season. He’s the only driver to win a Feature with both the World of Outlaws Late Models and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars.   “It’s definitely been a good year,” Larson said. “You know last year I won a lot of races, but I didn’t get a chance to run in the legit big ones,” Larson said. “It was awesome to run Kings Royal and get a win there, and I didn’t get the win at “The Dream,” but I had a lot of fun.  “To come to the PDC, a race that I never thought I’d get the opportunity to race at, it feels awesome.  To win a Crown Jewel in Late Models after winning my first Crown Jewel in Sprint Cars a couple of weeks ago, it’s awesome. “ Pierce held on for second after trying to catch Larson in the race’s final stages. The “Smooth Operator” stated he still needed to be perfect toward the end, even though he carried a lot of momentum.  “Once we got going, I built my momentum up, I was catching him, and every lap was getting closer and closer,” Pierce said. “I thought if he stays down, we might have a shot, but I have to hit my marks perfectly. In that timeframe of me catching him, I think I was just hitting it perfect every corner, and he moved up. One lap later it could’ve been interesting.”  Shannon Babb, from Moweaqua, IL finished third, coming up short in his quest for a fourth Prairie Dirt Classic win. He hoped lap traffic would work in his favor allowing him to catch the top two.  “The track changed a lot tonight, and we knew our car was going to be good on the bottom, but it was good everywhere,” Babb said.  “We could definitely gain ground there at times, but we were just waiting to see what was going to unfold if the lap traffic would block them guys in.” Chris Madden crossed the line fourth after charging into the top-five during the second half of the race. “Smokey” waited for the right moment to pounce and move up through the field until a late-race caution stopped his momentum.  “I planned on just biding my time and not wearing my stuff out and letting them guys go to begin with,” Madden said. “We just picked them off here and there and had a really good race car, but I kind of let my right rear seal up on me [under caution], and I couldn’t get back going after that.” Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished fifth. The New Berlin, IL driver, was disappointed with how the night went, despite grabbing another top-five finish.  “Really late in the race when my car came to me, I was a few spots too far back,” Sheppard said. “We just had to make the most out of it and made a few passes on the restarts and just came up short. It’s disappointing because we had a better car than where we finished.” The Prairie Dirt Classic isn’t Kyle Larson’s first win, nor will it likely be his last. But taking the checkered flag at Fairbury Speedway is a feeling “Yung Money” will remember, as he tastes World of Outlaws Late Model glory for the first time.  UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models head to Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, WI on Tuesday, Aug. 3rd, for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown. Morton Buildings Feature (100 Laps)-1. 6-Kyle Larson [7][$50,000]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [1][$15,000]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb [6][$10,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [9][$6,000]; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard [10][$5,000]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport [8][$4,000]; 7. 42-Mckay Wenger [16][$3,750]; 8. 2s-Stormy Scott [4][$3,250]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton [20][$3,000]; 10. 9-Devin Moran [19][$2,750]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb [24][$2,500]; 12. 32S-Chris Simpson [13][$2,400]; 13. 18C-Chase Junghans [12][$2,300]; 14. 16-Tyler Bruening [15][$2,200]; 15. 19R-Ryan Gustin [3][$2,175]; 16. 0E-Rick Eckert [14][$2,150]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker [27][$2,125]; 18. 12-Ashton Winger [22][$2,100]; 19. 7-Ricky Weiss [23][$2,080]; 20. B1-Brent Larson [31][$110]; 21. 97-Cade Dillard [29][$110]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [17][$2,020]; 23. 0-Nick Hoffman [18][$2,000]; 24. 59-Garrett Alberson [21][$2,000]; 25. B12-Kevin Weaver [26][$2,000]; 26. 89-Mike Spatola [25][$2,000]; 27. 20-Jimmy Owens [5][$2,000]; 28. 99B-Boom Briggs [30][$110]; 29. 71-Hudson O’Neal [2][$2,000]; 30. 3S-Brian Shirley [11][$2,000]; 31. 25F-Jason Feger [28][$2,000]Hard Charger: 28-Dennis Erb[+13]Qualifying Flight-A –1. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 12.97; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 13.315; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 13.392; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.409; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson, 13.473; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 13.475; 7. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 13.476; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss, 13.484; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 13.544; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks, 13.546; 11. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 13.555; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley, 13.555; 13. T2-Todd Bennett, 13.556; 14. B1-Brent Larson, 13.56; 15. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 13.566; 16. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.596; 17. B12-Kevin Weaver, 13.657; 18. 9S-Eric Smith, 13.665; 19. 25F-Jason Feger, 13.667; 20. 0-Nick Hoffman, 13.669; 21. 162-Logan Moody, 13.687; 22. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 13.708; 23. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.713; 24. 1st-Johnny Scott, 13.734; 25. 18-Shannon Babb, 13.757; 26. 28-Dennis Erb, 13.873; 27. 26M-Brent McKinnon, 13.88; 28. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 13.893; 29. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford, 13.893; 30. 59-Garrett Alberson, 13.909; 31. 14-Wil Herrington, 13.916; 32. 2-Mike Chasteen, 13.935; 33. 10J-Joseph Joiner, 13.99; 34. 6S-Blake Spencer, 13.994; 35. 12-Ashton Winger, 14.165; 36. 3-Dale Markham, 14.509; 37. 12Q-Brandon Queen, 14.646Qualifying Flight-B-1. 6-Kyle Larson, 13.551; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 13.722; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson, 13.899; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens, 13.913; 5. 2s-Stormy Scott, 13.968; 6. 18C-Chase Junghans, 13.996; 7. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 14.015; 8. 61-Allen Weisser, 14.073; 9. 0E-Rick Eckert, 14.083; 10. 35C-Derek Chandler, 14.096; 11. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.12; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.15; 13. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, 14.151; 14. 84-Myles Moos, 14.158; 15. 9-Devin Moran, 14.215; 16. 42-Mckay Wenger, 14.215; 17. 89-Mike Spatola, 14.232; 18. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.248; 19. 25B-Mike Benedum, 14.252; 20. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.276; 21. 76-Brandon Overton, 14.285; 22. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 14.316; 23. 111-Steven Roberts, 14.407; 24. 51-Matt Furman, 14.415; 25. 4G-Bob Gardner, 14.434; 26. 116-Torin Mettille, 14.473; 27. 99B-Boom Briggs, 14.508; 28. T4-Adam Tishhouser, 14.608; 29. 35-Austin Simpson, 14.616; 30. 12C-Jeff Curl, 14.641; 31. 10-Scott Schmitt, 14.681; 32. 9Z-Lyle Zanker, 14.705; 33. 73-Ryan Weistart, 14.75; 34. 79W-Greg Wagner, 14.982; 35. 76S-Titus Sneed, 15.72; 36. B14-Victor Benedetto, NT; 37. 354-Chris Nash, NT

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

Another Victory Stripped from Dominant Haudenschild with Lap Traffic Collision

WEEDSPORT, NY – July 31, 2021 – For the second straight night, New York fans were treated to late-race drama with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

Sheldon Haudenschild essentially had the win in the bag as he set a torrid pace through lap traffic, but a collision with James McFadden sent his NOS Energy Drink #17 spinning from the lead with only two laps remaining.

David Gravel inherited the race lead and took full advantage of the situation. The Watertown, CT native survived a green-white-checkered restart with Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet on his heels to win the Empire State Challenge at Weedsport Speedway.

The sudden victory was reminiscent of what happened at Attica Raceway Park in May when Haudenschild fell victim to lap traffic trouble and gifted Gravel another win. Ultimately, Saturday’s incident gave the Big Game Motorsports #2 their seventh win of the year and Gravel the 65th win of his World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Unfortunately for Sheldon, it was another case of what could have been. The Weedsport loss was the sixth occurrence this year of Haudenschild leading in the final 10 laps, but failing to appear in victory lane. The argument could easily be made that the Wooster, OH native would be the winningest driver on tour in 2021 if lady luck cooperated.

“He was running a wild pace up there and really living and dying by the top,” Gravel said on Haudenschild. “Those lappers finally moved up and took his lane away, then he just got into the back of them. I don’t think I would’ve won, but I felt like I could keep him kind of close. I was better on the bottom of turns one and two, but he was full send and bangin’ it off the wall on the other end. That’s just such a hard pace to keep.”

Before Haudenschild and Gravel swapped fortunes, Oklahoma City’s Wayne Johnson was the story of the night early on. The Two-C Racing pilot set a season-best qualifying effort (4th), won his first Drydene Heat Race of the season, made his first DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash of the season, earned a season-best starting position (5th), and ultimately tied his season-best Feature finish.

However, it was 10-time Series champion, Donny Schatz, on the pole position of the 30-lap NOS Energy Drink Feature. Looking to snap an 18-race drought since his 300th career win at Dubuque, Iowa last month, the Fargo, ND native flexed his muscle in the early stages as he built a large lead and raced into lap traffic.

The top-five of Schatz, Gravel, Haudenschild, Sweet & Macedo ran patiently through the first half, but the pace ratcheted up once the cross flags waved. On Lap 19, Haudenschild built his momentum and rocketed by Gravel to take second. He wasn’t done, though. Three laps later, he stormed right by Schatz to take command of the lead on Lap 22.

It took only a handful of circuits for Haudenschild to build a massive lead, but at a moment’s notice, it was all gone. Receiving the two-to-go signal, the #17 collided with McFadden’s #9 on entry to turn one, and suddenly the win was stripped away as Haudenschild went spinning to a stop.

The first and only stoppage of the race created a green-white-checkered finish with Gravel gifted the race lead. He lined up with Schatz and Sweet right on his tail tank, but never wavered once in the final two laps. The #2 pulled away once the green flag dropped and pulled away to win it by 1.738-seconds.

“I know it’s been over a month since we won, so this one was much needed,” Gravel admitted. “I just love winning here in New York, too. These fans in the whole northeast are awesome. Our t-shirt trailer was busy all day. I can’t thank these fans enough.”

Capitalizing on the restart, Brad Sweet snuck by Schatz to put the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 in second place.

“I’ll take it,” Sweet said. “I think we had a fourth-place car tonight, but Sheldon had his trouble and we got Donny on the bottom there. This place is tricky. I’m looking forward to these next few weeks with some more big races coming up.”

After leading the opening 21 laps, Donny Schatz slipped back to third as he earned his 15th podium of the year aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance #15.

“We just needed to better,” Schatz mentioned. “You’re not gonna be that bad at the end of the race and end up winning. I guess we lucked into a third place tonight.”

Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing extended their streak to 16 consecutive top-seven finishes with a fourth-place run at Weedsport. Rounding out the top-five on Saturday night was Logan Schuchart, who set Slick Woody’s QuickTime in the Shark Racing, Drydene Performance Products #1S.

Danny Varin of Sharon Springs, NY finished sixth-from-15th and earned KSE Hard Charger honors. Kraig Kinser followed Friday’s podium with a seventh-place effort. Cicero, NY native Paulie Colagiovanni turned in another strong effort in eighth-place. Wayne Johnson recorded a season-best result of ninth in the Two-C Racing #2C. Brock Zearfoss collected another top-10 aboard the #3Z.

UP NEXT: The 14th annual Ironman 55 awaits the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series next weekend on Friday & Saturday, August 6-7 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. Following that, we’re off to Iowa for the 60th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals pres. by Casey’s on August 11-14.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel [2][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$6,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$3,500]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo [6][$2,800]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7][$2,500]; 6. OO-Danny Varin [15][$2,300]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$2,200]; 8. 10-Paulie Colagiovanni [11][$2,100]; 9. 2C-Wayne Johnson [5][$2,050]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [10][$2,000]; 11. 9-James McFadden [9][$1,600]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3][$1,400]; 13. 83-Aaron Reutzel [12][$1,200]; 14. 99L-Larry Wight [18][$1,100]; 15. 1A-Jacob Allen [8][$1,050]; 16. 7NY-Matt Farnham [20][$1,000]; 17. 10K-Joe Kata [19][$1,000]; 18. 97-Greg Wilson [17][$1,000]; 19. 49K-Scott Kreutter [24][$1,000]; 20. 7S-Jason Sides [22][$1,000]; 21. 11-Carl Bowser [21][$1,000]; 22. 98-Joe Trenca [14][$1,000]; 23. 35-Jared Zimbardi [16][$1,000]; 24. 22-Jonathan Preston [23][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-20, Sheldon Haudenschild 21-28, David Gravel 29-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: OO-Danny Varin[+9]

NEW Championship Standings (51/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (7,070); 2. Carson Macedo (-120); 3. David Gravel (-136); 4. Donny Schatz (-238); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-276); 6. Logan Schuchart (-294); 7. Aaron Reutzel (-446); 8. James McFadden (-714); 9. Kraig Kinser (-856); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-1132).

Diverse Podium Highlights Long-Awaited New York Return for World of OutlawsRANSOMVILLE, NY – July 31, 2021 – Ted Johnson’s ideology, which he unveiled to the world back in 1978, was on full display on Friday night.At its core, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is all about the best group of racers in the world traveling from track to track to face the toughest local competition available; and that was exactly what New York fans witnessed at Ransomville Speedway.Paulie Colagiovanni, a 20-year-old native of Cicero, NY, nearly did the unthinkable and beat the goliath that is The Greatest Show on Dirt. It was only his fourth career World of Outlaws Feature, but the kid was driving as if he possessed the veteran prowess of Donny Schatz, the calm mindset of Brad Sweet, and the fiery on-track attitude of Sheldon Haudenschild.On the other end of Colagiovanni’s challenge was Aaron Reutzel, who admitted he was nervous when “the guy he had never heard of” was restarting on his tail with a green-white-checkered finish in play.In the end, Reutzel led all 30 laps and secured his fourth win of the 2021 season aboard the Roth Motorsports #83. A victory that only builds his mighty resume as the Clute, TX native chases the distinguished Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award.However, watch the tape, read the tweets, or listen to the fans, there is no denying that Colagiovanni left his mark on this group of Outlaws.”I really didn’t want to see that yellow,” Reutzel noted. “I’ve got a guy that I honestly have no clue who he is moving on up and passing Sweet, so I have no prediction at all of what he’s going to do. I was a little afraid of that, and those last two laps were nerve-racking.”Starting from the outside pole of the 30-lapper, Reutzel rode under a barrage of fireworks as he battled by World of Outlaws championship leader Brad Sweet to take the initial command. A restart on Lap 2 opened the door for Sweet to fight back, but the Roth #83 was too strong and prevailed on the high line as he ran away from the field.On Lap 12, fourth-starting Colagiovanni made his boldest move of the race, throttling around the outside of Sweet and threading the needle to put his PJC Motorsports #10 into the second spot. Beyond halfway and into the closing stages, Colagiovanni kept Reutzel at a reasonable distance but struggled to put himself in a position to make a bid for the lead.With two-to-go, the caution flew for fourth-running Haudenschild with a flat right rear tire. A stoppage that brought the standing-room-only crowd to life in support of their home state hero.The green-white-checkered finish fired off and Reutzel ducked low while Colagiovanni committed to the top. The local kid built a run with his momentum and was all over the #83 as the white flag waved and fans rose to their feet.However, Reutzel was not to be denied, perfecting the bottom with the pressure mounting. Colagiovanni gave it one last shot through turns three and four, but A-Aron survived and beat him to the line by 0.325-seconds at the checkered flag.”The track changed a lot,” Reutzel said. “It was technical and you really had to move around. I tried to keep my wing speed up and roll with momentum early, but once everyone on the bottom got the top dirty I knew I needed to move down for good. Hopefully, all of this bad luck is out of the way and we can get to winning as Dennis and Theresa Roth deserve.”Not for a lack of effort, Paulie Colagiovanni officially crossed the stripe with a career-best second-place finish. In only four previous appearances, the 2019 Empire Super Sprints champion had recorded a best of 16th, and now he’s got silver around his neck.”I was thinking I’d be thrilled with a top-10 hopefully, so to finish second against these guys is unreal,” Colagiovanni offered. “The track was good all night and I love ripping the top here. I think it faded over there in turns three and four, so I had to migrate to the bottom there at the end. I’m just thankful to be here. Wow.”Sneaking on the podium during the final restart was Kraig Kinser, who earned his first Slick Woody’s QuickTime since May 2019 to start the night at Ransomville. It’s his second top-three finish of the 2021 season.”We really missed in the Heat Race, but the car came around good for the Feature,” Kinser said. “You know you’re in the right spot when you’re up there racing with guys like Sheldon, David, and Brad.”Rounding out the top-five was polesitter Brad Sweet in fourth aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49, and Connecticut’s David Gravel in fifth with the Big Game Motorsports, Huset’s Speedway #2.Closing out the top-10 at Ransomville was Carson Macedo with his 15th consecutive top-seven finish, Logan Schuchart with KSE Hard Charger honors in seventh-from-15th, Donny Schatz aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15, James McFadden in his Kasey Kahne Racing #9, and Pennsylvania’s Brock Zearfoss in the tenth position.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series continues its New York doubleheader tomorrow, Saturday, July 30 with the Empire State Challenge at Weedsport Speedway. Next weekend, the 14th Ironman 55NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 83-Aaron Reutzel [2][$10,000]; 2. 10-Paulie Colagiovanni [4][$6,000]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7][$3,500]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$2,800]; 5. 2-David Gravel [6][$2,500]; 6. 41-Carson Macedo [3][$2,300]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [15][$2,200]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [9][$2,100]; 9. 9-James McFadden [8][$2,050]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [13][$2,000]; 11. 2C-Wayne Johnson [19][$1,600]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5][$1,400]; 13. 7S-Jason Sides [10][$1,200]; 14. 97-Greg Wilson [18][$1,100]; 15. 1A-Jacob Allen [20][$1,050]; 16. 7NY-Matt Farnham [14][$1,000]; 17. 2L-Landon Lalonde [23][$1,000]; 18. 11-Carl Bowser [16][$1,000]; 19. X-Dan Bennett [22][$1,000]; 20. 36-Mike Stetler [21][$1,000]; 21. 54JR-Scott Just [17][$1,000]; 22. 35-Jared Zimbardi [12][$1,000]; 23. OO-Danny Varin [11][$1,000]; 24. 2X-Dave Axton [24][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel 1-30. KSE Hard Charger Award:1S-Logan Schuchart[+8]NEW Championship Standings (50/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (6,924); 2. Carson Macedo (-116); 3. David Gravel (-140); 4. Donny Schatz (-236); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-256); 6. Logan Schuchart (-288); 7. Aaron Reutzel (-424); 8. James McFadden (-696); 9. Kraig Kinser (-846); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-1116).

 The COPO Camaro returns to the drag strip and its roots with a 572-cubic-inch Big Block V-8 DETROIT – The COPO Camaro returns to the drag strip for 2022 with a newly available 572-cubic-inch engine. The Big Block V-8 channels the spirit of the original 1969 COPO Camaro, a purpose-built drag racer created by dealers using the Central Office Production Order system to equip cars with Chevrolet’s largest V-8. The COPO 572 uses a cast-iron block with four-bolt main caps, aluminum heads, a forged steel crankshaft, forged steel connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons. Pricing for the COPO Camaro with the 572 starts from $105,500 (excluding tax, title, license, and dealer fees). The 2022 COPO Camaro is also available with LSX-based Small Block engines –a supercharged 350-cubic-inch V-8 rated by the NHRA at 580 horsepower and a naturally aspirated 427-cubic-inch V-8 with an NHRA-rated 470 hp. All 2022 COPO Camaros use an ATI Racing Products TH400 three-speed automatic transmission. Engineered for drag racers, the COPO Camaro is sold as a Chevrolet Performance part and cannot be registered for street use. It competes in NHRA Stock and Super Stock eliminators and comes standard with a carbon fiber hood and wheelie bars. Buyers can customize their cars with options such as a trunk-mounted weight box and parachute.  Owning a COPO Camaro places drag racers in rare company – Chevrolet has built fewer than 700 examples since the program restarted in 2012. In past years, interested customers have entered a lottery to win an allotment for one of 69 cars. Chevrolet will not limit production for 2022, and orders will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Buyers may also participate in a private tour of the COPO Build Facility in Oxford, Michigan, where each car is custom made. The order form for the 2022 Chevrolet COPO Camaro can be found at www.chevrolet.com/performance-parts/copo-camaro. 

POMONA, CA (July 29, 2021) — Back-to-back strong races at the first two stops on the NHRA Western Swing have Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car team ready to get to the NHRA Winternationals. Two weeks ago DeJoria raced to a runner-up finish in Denver and last weekend the five-time Funny Car national event winner secured another semifinal finish at the Sonoma Nationals. Over the past six races DeJoria has raced to four semifinals or better and has qualified No. 2 four times and never worse than No. 6.

“I can’t tell you how much fun I am having driving this Bandero Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry,” said DeJoria. “I know our first win is right around the corner. We just need one or two things to fall our way. The Western Swing has flown by and I can’t believe we’ll be in Pomona this weekend.”

The last time DeJoria strapped into her 11,000 horsepower Toyota Camry Funny Car at the Winternationals it was her first race back competing after a two year absence. She showed no signs of rust as she raced to the semifinals. Her return season was derailed by the pandemic but the tenacious DeJoria battled through the uncertainty and finished the season strong with three semifinal finishes over the final four races. She picked up this season right where she left off, continuing to qualify at our near the top of the Funny Car field and turning on win lights with regularity on race day. 

Getting back to her home track, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, could be the perfect combination for DeJoria to grab her first win of the 2021 season. The repositioning of the Winternationals to the middle of the summer has all the NHRA competitors feeling uncertain about how their race cars will react to a warmer than usual track surface.

“Running the Winternationals in the summer is going to be interesting,” said DeJoria, as the Western Swing was unfolding. “It is going to be wild and pretty hot. Pomona is my hometown track. I will have all my friends and family out there that I don’t get to see all the time. That will be nice. Pomona is a classic and that is a win that I have always wanted.” 

The Denver final round appearance two weeks ago was DeJoria’s first since her return to racing at the beginning of the 2020 NHRA season. The last time she was in a final round was August 2017 when she defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. to win the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota. DeJoria did not compete in 2018 and 2019.

The Bandero Tequila ROKiT team sits seventh in NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car points. They are less than three rounds out of third place with four races left in the regular season. A strong showing at the Winternationals could easily propel DeJoria to the top half of the Top Ten with the NHRA Countdown on the horizon when points will be reset for a final charge to the championship.

Qualifying will begin at the Winternationals on Friday, July 30, with an evening qualifying session which is sure to produce low elapsed times and high speeds. Two sessions will follow on Saturday with final eliminations beginning Sunday morning at 11 a.m. local time. The race will be broadcast on Fox from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. PDT.

Hoffman, Harrison, Allgaier, McKinney, Nicely, Weisser and more expected to attend FAIRBURY, IL – July 29, 2021 – The summer’s greatest tradition in Midwest dirt track racing is back in commission this Fri-Sat, July 30-31, as the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals race alongside the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series in the 31st running of the Prairie Dirt Classic. Since 2015, the Summit Modifieds have joined the Outlaws at the FALS crown jewel event and raced in similar format to decide the field for Saturday night’s $5,000-to-win finale. Drivers will start with Hot Lap/Qualifying on Friday night and be divided into one of four 20-lap Showdown Features. These $500-to-win events will take the top-4 drivers into Saturday’s Feature. Saturday will consist of Hot Laps and two Last Chance Showdown races for any driver not yet qualified, taking the top-two finishing drivers from each into the Feature. Four provisional starters will be added to fill the final four spots before the field rolls to the track for the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature. The best UMP Modified drivers in the country are expected to be in attendance for the high-profile event, which serves as races 22 and 23 on the Summit Modified schedule. It all goes down this Friday and Saturday night, July 30-31, at Fairbury Speedway. If you can’t be at the track, catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene with a FAST PASS subscription. Here are the drivers to watch and the storylines to follow… DOUBLE DUTY – Nick Hoffman, the seventeen-time Summit Modified winner this year, has recently teamed with Scott Bloomquist Racing to tackle the 31st PDC in both a Modified and Late Model. The three-time Summit Modified champ will get behind the wheel of Bloomquist’s famed Drydene Team Zero Race Cars #0 and attempt to put it in the big show on Saturday night for a chance at $50,000. He’ll also be piloting his Elite Chassis #2 Modified in the event, searching for his 18th victory in 19 starts and second PDC Modified Feature win. NASCAR STAR – NASCAR Xfinity Series star Justin Allgaier, of Riverton, IL, is scheduled to make a Modified Prairie Dirt Classic appearance this weekend behind the wheel of his own Allgaier Racing Shocks Elite Chassis #7. Allgaier topped a very stout UMP Modified field in the 50th DIRTcar Nationals’ Gator Championship finale at Volusia Speedway Park back in February for a $5,000 prize and will be one to watch as he tries to beat the best Modified drivers in the country again this weekend. HIGHLAND HUNTER – When it comes to Fairbury, Mike Harrison is one of the most feared competitors in the field. Six of his 54 career Summit Modified victories have come at the quarter-mile, including the first two PDC finales. However, the six-time champion will be going up against one of the best Modified fields he’ll see all year. He met a stacked roster earlier this year in the Summit Modifieds’ first visit to FALS and walked away with a 17th-place result after hitting the wall in his pursuit of race leader Hoffman. With Hoffman scheduled to be in the field again this weekend, Harrison will get a chance at redemption and to retake his spot atop the all-time wins list as he shoots for the $5,000 grand prize. FALS FAVORITES – Current FALS Cup weekly points leaders Michael Ledford and Mike McKinney are slated to be in attendance and lead the local bunch to take out the Summit Modified ringers. 16-year-old and defending Fairbury track champion Michael Ledford, of Pontiac, IL, leads McKinney in track points by just four heading into the weekend with one victory back on July 3. He’s currently sitting 11th in DIRTcar UMP Modified national points standings with six victories to his credit. McKinney, the 2018 Summit Modified points runner-up, has won two of his six starts at FALS in 2021 and made every Feature thus far. While he hasn’t appeared in as many Summit Modified shows as he normally does every year, he does have two career Summit Modified wins at FALS. PEORIA POWER – Few drivers have finished second more times in some of FALS’ biggest events than Allen Weisser. The Peoria, IL-native was runner-up to Hoffman in the 2019 PDC Modified Feature, second again to McKinney in last year’s first Summit Modified visit in July, and second yet again in the $10,000-to-win FALS Super Nationals on Labor Day Weekend. This could be A-Dog’s weekend to finally cash-in big time in a FALS special. Weisser currently ranks third in DIRTcar UMP Modified national points standings with eleven victories to his credit – two of which came this past weekend. POINTS PLAYERS – Another trio of dangerous Midwesterners are slated to come to FALS this weekend, combining for 22 victories across the nation so far this year. Two-time American Modified Series champion Tyler Nicely, of Owensboro, KY, 2017 Showdown Feature winner Ray Bollinger, of Kewanee, IL, and current runner-up in Summit Modified points Tommy Sheppard Jr., of New Berlin, IL, have run several races with the Summit Modifieds this season and are all sitting within the top-six in national UMP Modified points.

DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.

MIDDLETOWN, NY – Weather reports of impending severe thunderstorms have forced Super DIRTcar and Orange County Fair Speedway officials to cancel Thursday’s Midway 100 event. However, the Series will be added to Orange County’s Centennial 102 event on Thursday, Aug. 12.With $10,000-to-win on the line, the Centennial 102 will be a NAPA Super DIRT Week XLIX qualifier.The Battle of the Midway 100 will not be made up. Mat Williamson is both the defending Super DIRTcar Series champion and the defending Centennial race winner. The Buzz Chew Racing #88 driver won an unprecedented $100,000 in 2019 at the memorable Centennial 100, sealing his name in the history books.A large contingent of Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds will challenge the Series invaders including “The Sensational One” Jimmy Horton, Tommy Meier, Bob McGannon, and Billy VanInwegen.All advanced ticket sales for the Battle of the Midway 100 will be honored for the Centennial 102. The next Super DIRTcar Series event is at Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, NY for twin 60-lap Features on Wednesday, Aug 4.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every Super DIRTcar Series event live on DIRTVision.PHOTO: Pete MacDonald

The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

CHEVROLET AT POMONA What: Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.comWhen: Friday, July 30-Sunday, Aug. 1Where: Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, CaliforniaTV: FOX will telecast eliminations live at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 1                                                                                                     Team Chevy running on all cylinders heading to PomonaDrivers/teams carry momentum to final race of Western Swing

DETROIT (July 29, 2021) – With his fourth Wally in hand from Sonoma Raceway, Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car crew head to another California venue where he’s had similar success.
The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, which traditionally kicks off the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season, was postponed because of state COVID-19 guidelines. Now the event this weekend will be the 10th of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Teams will return to the facility Nov. 11-14 for the Countdown to the Championship finale.
“Heading to Auto Club Raceway, that’s our home track – where John Force Racing’s home is and my sponsor the Automobile Club of Southern California – and it’s going to be a little different. We don’t normally race there in the summertime,” said Hight, who has recorded five victories between the twice-yearly races at the track.
Hight’s victory at Sonoma – his second of the season and 53rd of his career — lifted the three-time Funny Car champion to third in the Funny Car standings.
“We’ve started to find our stride. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham had this Auto Club Chevy running on a string,” Hight said. “Hopefully, we’re going there with a little momentum and keep this rolling.”
Team owner John Force, who also has two wins this season in the PEAK/BlueDEF Platinum Camaro SS, is fourth in points. He is the Funny Car leader with a whopping 16 wins and 16 No. 1 qualifier honors at the track, and most recently was the runner-up in the 2020 Winternationals.
“This PEAK Chevy team is still very much in this fight. There’s only a handful of points separating the top five, I’m still in that top five,” Force said. “We’ve had a good season. There’s always ups and downs, but these young guys with Daniel Hood and Tim Fabrisi, they’re working hard and we’ll be right back at it.”
Greg Anderson continues his pursuit of tying Warren Johnson’s 97 career victories, which stands as the most in Pro Stock and second behind Force’s NHRA-record 153. Anderson, the No. 1 qualifier in seven of the eight Pro Stock races in his HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, is tied with Bob Glidden for the most in the class with 12 wins at the track.
“It was a good weekend for us in Sonoma, but it could have been better,” said Anderson, the class points leader. “We’ve got a little steam, and I’m confident we can build on that.”
Brittany Force, the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel the past two races and four times through nine events in the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster, is looking for her first victory of the season. Force was the top qualifier in the 2020 
Winternationals and reset the track Top Fuel speed record of 336.26 mph. She wrapped up the class championship with a win in the 2017 finale at the track.
FOX will telecast eliminations live at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 1. 
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (four-time No. 1 qualifier; runner-up in Charlotte and Norwalk; third in points): “We’ve had great performance at our last couple races. Unfortunately, we’ve just come up short, made some mistakes but we are keeping heads up. Luckily, with this three in a row Western Swing, we get to head right into the next race. Wrapping up the Western Swing at my home track, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. This is my home track and a track I’ve had some success at in the past. I’m looking forward to getting this Flav-R-Pac dragster qualified in the show and going rounds on race day. This team is looking to turn our luck around this weekend.”
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; fourth in points; 16-time winner at the track): “This race is home. We’re just down the way in Yorba Linda. We used to be completely based out in Southern California now there’s the museum, corporate offices and where we run John Force RaceStation as well as our rentals. There’s a lot of history in Southern California for me. Racing in Pomona, it’s a big event. Stands will be packed, even though it’s going to be warm. It’ll be a good summer show for them. I’m looking forward to getting in my PEAK Chevy at home.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner and two-time runner-up;  No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas four-wide; third in points; holds track Funny Car speed record of 336.99 mph, set in February 2018): “It’s an important weekend, all the upcoming races are important, with the Countdown just a couple races away, how close the competition is in Funny Car, we have to stay dialed in. It’s going to be an interesting weekend, racing in Pomona in the summer. Looking forward to getting this Auto Club Chevy in the winner’s circle at their home track.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner; No. 1 qualifier in seven of eight races; points leader): “It’s a little bittersweet to have a fast race car like this HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and not walk away with a trophy on Sunday, but it just makes you that much hungrier. I love these back-to-back races, because you get a little momentum, you get into a rhythm, and you get another chance if things don’t go your way. I’m proud of our team – the KB Racing crew was great all weekend – and we’re all licking our chops to get to Pomona.”
AARON STANFIELD, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JANAC BROTHERS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner this season; second in points): “It was a tough (list) of competitors to go through (at Sonoma). My guys did a great job. They all gave me a great race car. The KB cars keep coming and so do the Elite cars. There’s a bunch of great drivers out here right now and a bunch of new blood. We’re all very hungry to get out here and win. It’s fun to come out and compete.”
TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS MAIL ORDER CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up in season opener; transferred to final quad at Charlotte; semifinalist at Sonoma; first Pro Stock appearance at track): “The last time this team raced Pomona at the Winternationals, Uncle Jeg (Coughlin) was driving this car and they took home the trophy, so there’s nothing but positive energy coming from So-Cal. The way it worked out Pomona is part of the Western Swing this year, so this race is going to be another memorable one at a place that’s given us so much history. We have everything here to win and I’m already looking forward to Pomona.”
KYLE KORETZKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (first-year driver; semifinalist at Houston and Norwalk; No. 2 qualifier in last race; first Pro Stock appearance at track): “Racing for the first time at Pomona is huge for me and our sponsor Lucas Oil – the title sponsor for the weekend. No. 2 qualifier last weekend was great and I’m confident. My driving last weekend wasn’t very good; losing on a holeshot to a teammate was disappointing. The quick car is going to be there and the driver just has to have his head on straight.” 
DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (first-year driver; winner at Charlotte four-wide; runner-up at Sonoma; first Pro Stock appearance at track): “I’m feeling real comfortable in these things. They are so much fun to drive once you get used to them and I feel like I can go out there and focus on what I need to do.” 

The Illinois native will target a home-state win during the prestigious Prairie Dirt Classic weekend

By Nick Graziano

FAIRBURY, IL – July 28, 2021 – The DIRTcar Summit Modified Nationals history book has been stolen. Or maybe handed over… Either way, it’s been in possession of Nick Hoffman throughout the 2021 season as he rewrites his own history.

With his recent victory at Richmond Raceway, the 29-year-old from Belleville, IL earned his 17th win in 18 starts this season (his previous win record in a year was 13) and his 55th career victory overall – moving him ahead of six-time Series champion Mike Harrison for the top spot on the all-time wins list.

“It’s really cool,” Hoffman said in Victory Lane at Richmond Raceway. “Really didn’t start on this whole Hell Tour deal until like [2016], so to pick up that many wins that quick is pretty cool for us.”

With the book still open and pen filled with ink, Hoffman is poised to continue his winning chapter, July 30-31, during the prestigious Prairie Dirt Classic weekend at Fairbury Speedway. He could also take his historic trek to another level as he’ll pull double duty, driving his own #2 Modified and Scott Bloomquist’s Late Model.

He picked up his sixth win at the quarter-mile Illinois track with the Modified Nationals tour in June but admitted Fairbury is one track on the schedule that makes his winning confidence flutter.

“I’ve won quite a few races at Fairbury but the best guys in the country show up there,” Hoffman said. “You worry about Fairbury, Tri-City, Spoon River, there’re quite a few of those nights you get almost 40 cars, 40 really good guys. There’re a few I thought would be easy. None of them come really easy, though. You still have to put everything together. You have to put a whole night together.”

Hoffman and his team have mastered that. He currently holds a 314-point lead with eight races remaining and has yet to finish worse than second.

As far as “new” on his Elite Chassis this season, he said there’s not much different from years past. He’s found a baseline setup that requires simple tweaks from track to track. Having won the Modified Nationals tour championship three times now, he knows what’s needed to survive the grueling schedule – more than 30 races in an eight-week stretch – and what’s needed to win.

“A lot of things,” Hoffman said. “Everything has to go your way, that’s for sure. The biggest thing is qualifying good at the beginning of the night and that sets up the start of your whole night. I’ve been able to be Quick Time in our group every night. Somehow, I get lucky and draw the one or the two (pill) most nights and that puts me on the front row.

“You just can’t have any issues. Maintenance every single night. Make sure nothing is going to fall off or nothing breaks. I think that is the biggest role with the Modifieds and the Late Models. It’s so grueling and a long tour. You just can’t have any issues.”

The biggest issue Hoffman has had to face this year is his rival, Mike Harrison. The fellow Illinois driver denied Hoffman of his 16th victory in a row at Tri-City Speedway by claiming his second Modified Nationals win of the season. Harrison has been a dominant force on the tour since joining in 2011, holding the most titles in Series history.

The two went toe-to-toe for the win at Fairbury in June but Hoffman prevailed by doing what he said was key. He survived while Harrison broke.

Now, having taken the top spot on the all-time wins list from Harrison, Hoffman said he doesn’t see it as a passing of the torch. More of an upper hand in their friendly rivalry.

“I get along with him alright off the racetrack and I talk with him every now and then,” Hoffman said. “It’s more of a rivalry. He wants to beat me, and I want to beat him. Every good sport needs a rivalry. It’s all fun and games. He’s a hell of a race car driver and won a lot of races.”

The fact that both of them, along with drivers like Kenny Wallace, are from southern Illinois – Illinois in general – is no coincidence to Hoffman.

“Through the ‘90s and early 2000s, I grew up in that area watching my dad and guys race. I feel like in that time period [southern Illinois] was one of the toughest parts of the country, I felt like, as far as dirt Modifieds,” Hoffman said. “Now, I’d say central Illinois is the tougher area, Fairbury and that area. Just the racetracks around there breed really good race car drivers. Illinois in general.

“You look at [three-time World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model champion] Brandon Sheppard, he’s on top of his game. He’s from Illinois. All of these different guys, Bobby Pierce and on the Modified side, Mike Harrison. Southern Illinois has died off a little bit. You lost some heavy hitters. But there are new kids who are coming up through and are really good. Like Drake Troutman, he’s from PA, but the kid is only [17] years old and he’s really good. Kind of all across the country there’s a lot of good guys coming up through and I think Illinois is still the hotbed for it.”

All of that talent will be on display at one of the most iconic quarter-mile tracks this weekend. However, Hoffman will still be holding the history book with confidence, ready to write his name on another line.

“When you roll on the racetrack and know that you’re the guy to beat every night, it for sure helps,” he said.