One driver could collect $50K over three nights at Davenport Speedway

Davenport, IA – July 28, 2021 – A tripleheader weekend of slide jobs and photo finishes await the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models in August at Davenport Speedway.

The Series will make its seventh, eighth and ninth visit to the Davenport, IA track, on August 26-28 for the Quad Cities 150 presented by Hoker Trucking.

Thursday (Aug. 26) and Friday’s (Aug. 27) events will be full shows, including 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Morton Buildings Features each night. An “Every Lap Matters” format will be used for the weekend, meaning drivers will score points based on Qualifying, Heat Races, and Features.

Those points will set the Drydene Heat Race lineups for Saturday’s 70-lap finale, paying $30,000-to-win.

Winning all three events could see one driver walk away with $50,000 in total.

The Quad Cities 150 is also a homecoming for Tyler Bruening and Ryan Gustin. The two Hawkeye state drivers are locked in the Battle for Rookie of the Year, as Gustin tries to cut down Bruening’s 102-point lead. Both drivers have the chance to bring home state fans to their feet, as a win by either would be their first taste of World of Outlaws glory. 

Last season, three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard swept all three events at the Iowa venue. That includes the thrilling battle between he and Ricky Thornton Jr. that ended in an epic photo finish. 

PREVIOUS DAVENPORT SPEEDWAY WINNERS
2020 – Brandon Sheppard on May 29, May 30 & July 28
2019 – Jimmy Owens on July 24
2018 – Chris Simpson on July 24
2007- Brian Harris on May 9
2004- Brian Birkhofer on Aug. 10

A fourth straight win at Davenport would add another rung on Sheppard’s ladder toward World of Outlaws history. The New Berlin, IL driver is one win away from tying Darrell Lanigan for second on the all-time wins list (74) and five away from matching Josh Richards (78) at the top. 

The tripleheader is also another stop on Sheppard’s journey to tie Richards for most Series championships. “The Rocket Shepp” currently holds an 88-point lead over rival Chris Madden. 

Madden is one of the drivers trying to knock Sheppard off his throne this season. The Gray Court, SC driver is tied with Sheppard for the most wins in 2021 (4) and top-10s (25). 

Australian star Peter Britten has sites set on twin Features at his home track; Thunder Mountain’s August 3 event is canceledCANANDAIGUA, NY – Big Block Modified fans are in for a rare treat when the Super DIRTcar Series begins an important stretch of racing in August.The Series will race two championship points paying 60-lap Features in one day on Aug. 4 at Land of Legends Raceway, including the makeup for the Liberty 100. The event will kick off racing in August for the Series with the Aug. 3 date at Thunder Mountain Speedway being canceled due to a scheduling conflict. There will not be a makeup date for that event. A storm postponed the original running of the Liberty 100 after Heat Races were complete. The remaining Last Chance Showdowns and 60-lap Feature will be completed before the regularly scheduled Aug. 4 Super DIRTcar program begins.Peter Britten, the driver of the #21A Pepsi-sponsored Big Block, has had a strong first half of the season on the tour and is looking to capitalize with two big points races in one day in front of his home track fans. “It would be amazing to get to Victory Lane in front of these fans,” Britten said. “It was a great start to get a win earlier in the year in the weekly deal. It was great for me personally and for Pepsi who came on board this year for my Canandaigua car and everyone else who has supported me for so long. I’ve always had a good following at Canandaigua. I’ve raced on and off there for quite a bit over the years.”In eight starts, Britten rides sixth in the points standings. His consistent finishes, including two top-fives and five top-10s, have put him in a strong position going into the second half of the season.Britten and his team have been road warriors over the years. They never miss a race on the tour plus running two weekly tracks. This year Britten’s decision to race at Canandaigua weekly has enabled him to race a little closer to home – Weedsport, NY – where his family can come see him race.“If I could get a Series win here it would be huge,” Britten said with a grin.Seven-time champion Matt Sheppard won the last 60-lap Series Features at Land of Legends. That took place during DIRTcar OktoberFAST presented by DIRTVision in October 2020. Sheppard has multiple Feature wins in Canandaigua already this season as well. Miss something on the PA at the track? Stay up-to-date with results, videos, photos, and more by following the Super DIRTcar Series on Twitter. Get features, news, and join the discussion with us over on Facebook. For great photos check out our Instagram. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS or monthly FAST PASS subscription.

First up: Goodwood #FoS! This summer has already been extra-busy for Baggsy and the crew! First up, in early July, Baggsy brought the epic #LSXR35 GT-R Version 3 to the amazing Goodwood Festival Of Speed In addition to the now-familiar drift displays, smoking tyres, burning rubber doing neck-crunching donuts as they went up the famous 1.16 mile hillclimb route, this time all of the drift racers would compete against each other for the first time going up the hill in the first-ever Driftkhana competition! The test of power, skill and precision involved rocketing down the tree-lined avenue and performing a sequence of close-quarters barrel turns not just once, but twice – at the first turn, and again in front of the world-famous Goodwood House. Each barrel was fitted with proximity sensors and flashing lights to inform the crowd if the drivers got close enough – or if they missed the mark!  All this is before braving the dangerous off-camber Molecomb corner and then the imposing, immovable Flint Wall! At the top paddock, a third sensor-laden wall ride awaited, leading into a challenging parallel parking spot to finish the run. With each driver only getting a single practice run on the Driftkhana course each day over 4 days, and challenging wet/dry conditions, it was a massively difficult job to get everything spot-on – and judge Terry Grant pulled no punches with his commentary and judging! The GT-R showed some concerning signs after the first few runs, so the team pulled the trigger Saturday afternoon and headed back to Essex to pick up the competition-ready #PS13V8 to finish off the weekend. Sunday dawned with Baggsy’s team extra-tired, but the PS13 was in the pits – right next to the GT-R! Visitors to the car paddock got a double-dose of Baggsy! Irish drifter James Deane bagged top points from Terry, but Baggsy took it all in his stride – fun, sun and fast cars is the name of the game at Goodwood, after all! Goodwood #FoS isn’t just about awesome cars…one of the greatest things about it is meeting your motorsport heroes! This legend is Ari Vatanen, rallying demigod! The other is Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni! Catch all the action from Goodwood Festival of Speed on Behind the Drift, coming soon!

Inside Line Promotions – SANTA MARIA, Calif. (July 27, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi celebrated his first winning night as a father in style last Friday.

Scelzi doubled up by capturing the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series and Kings of Thunder main events at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., only one week after his daughter was born.

The big night propelled Scelzi back into the KWS-NARC points lead and he backed it up with a runner-up performance on Saturday at Santa Maria Speedway.

“One thing I’ve noticed since becoming a dad is a lot of the pressure has kind of been off,” he said. “I don’t want to say I’m not taking the racing as serious as I was, but I see it in a different light. My priorities have changed. Now I’m enjoying driving the race car even more than before, which is very neat.”

Scelzi opened the action on Friday during the Chris and Brian Faria Memorial. He qualified third quickest in his 410 group and placed fourth in a heat race, which earned enough points to advance into the dash. A sixth-place result in the dash lined him up on the outside of the third row for the main event.

“I felt really good,” he said. “We went out early and I didn’t feel like I put down a good qualifying lap so it felt good that we were able to stay toward the top of the qualifying times without our best showing. The track was fast in the heats and then we were pretty good in the dash, but the top was the dominant place to be. We ran sixth, but it wasn’t anything to shake our heads about. In the feature the track was widening out pretty quick. The top was the fastest place, but I got into third by running the bottom early in the feature. I kept that in the back of my mind. (D.J.) Netto and (Shane) Golobic didn’t go down there. When we got into traffic they were sliding guys. There were several times in open air when I’d try the bottom and it wasn’t good enough. When we got into traffic I felt like it would work and it did. Once we got by them both we got right back to the fence and we were able to cruise onto our second NARC with there this year.”

Scelzi’s victory was his series-best third of the season.

He topped the night off by hustling from eighth to win the Kings of Thunder feature, making him undefeated in six races at Thunderbowl Raceway this year. It also marked his 15^th trip to Victory Lane this year.

“Once we pulled the 410 one off your confidence carries you at that point,” he said. “We got right to third I think in two laps. We got to second a lap or two after that. The leader had a good pace and was on the gas. I tried to maintain a little distance and bide my time. About halfway I started closing in and then he ended up getting into a crash with two lapped cars and we barely missed that. It paid off to be patience because we were able to miss that crash and lead the last 10 or 11 laps unchallenged.”

The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Santa Maria Speedway, where Scelzi raced for the first time since 2019. He qualified eighth quickest and won a heat race to make the dash. Scelzi finished where he started – fifth – in the dash to put himself on the inside of the third row for the main event.

“We’ve been really good there,” he said. “I ran second there in 2016 to Kyle Hirst and we won there in 2019. The goal was to stay out of the work area.”

Scelzi avoided early melee and methodically worked his way into second by the midpoint of the feature on the tricky track. He tracked down the leader in the closing laps, but was unable to make a bid for the lead.

“We bided our time and missed the wrecks,” he said. “We closed on Bill (Aton) late, but couldn’t get by him. I kept getting under him in turn three and then he closed up his entry. That was a big win. There’s a lot of good guys in the NARC series so it’s neat to see him get a win.”

Scelzi plans on racing this Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., before running a Sprint Car Challenge Tour event on Saturday at Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif.

QUICK RESULTS –

July 23 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 4 (4); Dash: 6 (5); Feature: 1 (6).

July 23 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 1 (8).

July 24 – Santa Maria Speedway in Santa Maria, Calif. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 5 (5); Feature: 2 (5).

SEASON STATS –

39 races, 15 wins, 29 top fives, 33 top 10s, 35 top 15s, 35 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., and Saturday at Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif., with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41

After Three-Year Absence, Ransomville & Weedsport Host The Greatest Show on Dirt RANSOMVILLE, NY – July 27, 2021 – For more than a thousand days, New Yorkers have been starving to see The Greatest Show on Dirt again.This weekend, that dream finally becomes a reality again as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to The Empire State for the first time since 2018.It all begins on Friday, July 30 with the sixth stop in Series history at Ransomville Speedway, a 4/10-mile oval located less than a half-hour from the Canadian border at Niagra Falls.On Saturday, July 30, the Outlaws make their tenth all-time appearance at Weedsport Speedway, a 3/8-mile placed a half-hour west of Syracuse.Both The Big “R” Outlaw Shootout and The Empire State Challenge will pay a standard purse of $10,000/Win, $1,000/Start.RANSOMVILLE TICKETS (Fri) WEEDSPORT TICKETS (Sat)LONG TIME, NO SEE: New York state was a staple for 41 consecutive seasons on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series tour. Established in 1978, it took until 2019 for The Greatest Show on Dirt to go absent in The Empire State. Mother Nature halted the shows that year, and the COVID-19 pandemic removed any chances of a 2020 date as well.Now, more than 1,000 days since the most recent race, the Outlaws are ready to return and give New York fans the horsepower and excitement they’ve been missing for almost three years.STREAKING: Carson Macedo is officially in the midst of the longest top-10 streak of the 2021 season. In 14 races over the last month, the worst finish for the Jason Johnson Racing #41 is a seventh-place result on two occasions.Throughout this stretch, the Lemoore, CA native has won twice, ran runner-up thrice, put it on the podium seven times, and recorded ten top-five finishes. His absurd consistency has helped Macedo pass David Gravel and return to P2 in the World of Outlaws championship standings.Macedo’s only disadvantage comes in the form of two new-to-him tracks. Joining the Series full-time in 2019, the 25-year-old will compete in New York with the World of Outlaws for the first time this weekend as he faces Ransomville and Weedsport.EMPIRE STATE OUTLAWS: Over the years, the NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series has contested 153 races at nine different tracks in the state of New York. In today’s current landscape of the 13 full-time drivers, however, only four of them have experienced victory lane in The Empire State.Donny Schatz, the 300-time winner and 10-time champion, has earned 14 New York wins throughout his career, second only to Steve Kinser’s 39. Two of those wins came at Weedsport in 2015 and 2016, but he’ll be chasing his first at Ransomville on Friday night.David Gravel of Watertown, CT is a three-time winner in the bordering state of his hometown. One of his three New York wins came in the most recent race at Ransomville, where he’ll try to go back-to-back on Friday aboard the Big Game Motorsports #2.Logan Schuchart of Hanover, PA, and Kraig Kinser of Bloomington, IN also own one win apiece when it comes to The Empire State.BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: New York super fans will have the chance to catch not only the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars this weekend but also the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds. The Greatest Show on Dirt invades Ransomville on Friday and Weedsport on Saturday, but before the winged warriors come to town, The Beasts of the Northeast will rumble on Thursday night at Middletown, NY’s Orange County Fair Speedway.STAYING HOT: Fresh off victories at Williams Grove Speedway last weekend, Sheldon Haudenschild and Brent Marks will look to keep their winning ways alive this weekend as they head to New York to close out the month of July.For Marks, of Myerstown, PA, he enters as the most recent Outlaw winner at Weedsport. The Myerstown Missile led all 35 laps back in the summer of 2018 to score his second career Series victory. The #19 brings in momentum from his $20,000 Summer Nationals title.For Haudenschild, he’ll try to add another track or two to his ridiculously diverse list. Sheldon’s 19 career World of Outlaws victories have come at 18 different tracks, only winning at I-55 twice. The Wooster, OH native just snagged his first-ever Williams Grove win, and now he’s eyeing the bright lights of New York in his NOS Energy Drink #17.CASHING IN: The “Month of Money” is already halfway over, but a New York doubleheader, the Ironman 55, and the 60th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals pres. by Casey’s still remains. Entering this weekend, 11 teams have already cleared $20,000 in earnings over the stretch, five cars have banked more than $50,000, and the two Kings Royal winners are north of $175,000.$191,750 – Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC $178,600 – Silva Motorsports #57 $59,000 – Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 $58,150 – Jason Johnson Racing #41 $55,850 – Kasey Kahne Racing #49 $30,950 – Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 $30,300 – Brent Marks Racing #19 $29,775 – Gary Kauffman Racing #48 $24,350 – Sam McGhee Motorsports #11 $23,300 – Big Game Motorsports #2This Week at a Glance – When and WhereFriday, July 30 at Ransomville Speedway in Ransomville, NY Saturday, July 31 at Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, NYOn the Internet World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws Instagram – @WoOSprint Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/monthAround the Turn: After this week in New York, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will head down to Pevely, MO for the $20,000/Win Ironman 55 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on August 6-7. Following that, the 60th running of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals pres. by Casey’s takes over The Sprint Car Capital of the World on August 11-14 in Knoxville, IA.NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (14 Drivers): 14 wins – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #49 7 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41 6 wins – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2 5 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 3 wins – Aaron Reutzel, Roth Motorsports #83 3 wins – Logan Schuchart, Shark Racing #1S 2 wins – Kerry Madsen, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #14 2 wins – Kyle Larson, Silva Motorsports #57 2 wins – Brent Marks, Brent Marks Racing #19 1 win – James McFadden, Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #9 1 win – Dave Blaney, Dave Blaney #10 1 win – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 1 win – Spencer Bayston, Sam McGhee Motorsports #11 1 win – Tyler Courtney, Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BCFEATURE LAPS LED (24 Drivers): 296 laps – Brad Sweet 198 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild 185 laps – Carson Macedo 158 laps – Aaron Reutzel 150 laps – David Gravel 148 laps – Logan Schuchart 137 laps – Donny Schatz 63 laps – Kerry Madsen 57 laps – Tyler Courtney 46 laps – Kyle Larson 36 laps – James McFadden 33 laps – Spencer Bayston 27 laps – Brent Marks, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 19 laps – Giovanni Scelzi 11 laps – Sye Lynch 10 laps – Jacob Allen & Brock Zearfoss 3 laps – Ian Madsen 1 lap – Kasey Kahne, Kraig Kinser, Brandon Spithaler, Dave Blaney, Brian BrownSLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (18 Drivers): 10 QuickTimes – David Gravel 7 QuickTimes – Sheldon Haudenschild 5 QuickTimes – Brad Sweet 4 QuickTimes – Logan Schuchart, Kerry Madsen 3 QuickTimes – Aaron Reutzel 2 QuickTimes – James McFadden, Cory Eliason, Giovanni Scelzi, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 1 QuickTime – Carson Macedo, Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Kasey Kahne, Brian Brown, Brock Zearfoss, Rico Abreu, Sye LynchDRYDENE HEAT RACE WINNERS (39 Drivers) 21 Heat Wins – David Gravel 19 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo 15 Heat Wins – Aaron Reutzel 13 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz 11 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild 10 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart 9 Heat Wins – James McFadden, Brad Sweet 6 Heat Wins – Brian Brown 5 Heat Wins – Kerry Madsen 4 Heat Wins – Giovanni Scelzi, Tyler Courtney 3 Heat Wins – Brock Zearfoss, Jason Sides, Kraig Kinser, Ian Madsen, Anthony Macri, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 2 Heat Wins – Jacob Allen, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, DJ Netto 1 Heat Win –  Wayne Johnson, Danny Dietrich, Hunter Schuerenberg, Lance Dewease, Brandon Spithaler, Parker Price-Miller, Tim Kaeding, Jack Dover, Scotty Thiel, Paul McMahan, Daryn Pittman, Justin Peck, Jac Haudenschild, Sye Lynch, Chad Trout, TJ Stutts, Brent MarksPODIUM FINISHES (24 Drivers): 23 Podiums – Brad Sweet 18 Podiums – Carson Macedo 14 Podiums – Donny Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild 13 Podiums – David Gravel 12 Podiums – Logan Schuchart 9 Podiums – Aaron Reutzel 6 Podiums – Kerry Madsen, Brent Marks 5 Podiums – Giovanni Scelzi, James McFadden 3 Podiums – Brian Brown, Lance Dewease 2 Podiums – Cory Eliason, Anthony Macri, Danny Dietrich, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Larson 1 Podium – Kraig Kinser, Justin Peck, Brian Brown, Anthony Macri, Dave Blaney, Spencer Bayston, Daryn Pittman, Sam Hafertepe Jr.2021 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Schedule & WinnersNo. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Fri, Feb. 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brad Sweet (1) 2. Sun, Feb. 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Logan Schuchart (1) 3. Fri, March 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1) 4. Sat, March 6 / East Bay Raceway Park / Tampa, FL / Aaron Reutzel (1) 5. Fri, March 12 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / Sheldon Haudenschild (1) 6. Sat, March 13 / The Rev / Monroe, LA / David Gravel (1) 7. Fri, March 19 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2) 8. Sat, March 20 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Brad Sweet (2) 9. Sat, March 27 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO / Brad Sweet (3) 10. Fri, April 2 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (4) 11. Sat, April 3 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (5) 12. Fri, April 9 / Kokomo Speedway / Kokomo, IN / James McFadden (1) 13. Sat, April 10 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Carson Macedo (2) 14. Fri, April 22 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / David Gravel (2) 15. Sun, April 24 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / David Gravel (3) 16. Thur, April 29 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Brad Sweet (6) 17. Fri, April 30 / I-70 Motorsports Park / Odessa, MO / Brad Sweet (7) 18. Sat, May 1 / I-70 Motorsports Park / Odessa, MO / Brad Sweet (8) 19. Sat, May 8 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Brent Marks (1) 20. Sat, May 8 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Sheldon Haudenschild (3) 21. Wed, May 12 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Brad Sweet (9) 22. Fri, May 14 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Carson Macedo (3) 23. Sat, May 15 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Aaron Reutzel (2) 24. Tues, May 18 / Bridgeport Speedway / Swedesboro, NJ / Logan Schuchart (2) 25. Fri, May 21 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / David Gravel (4) 26. Sat, May 22 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH / Dave Blaney (1) 27. Mon, May 31 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN / Kyle Larson (1) 28. Sat, June 5 / Granite City Speedway /Sauk Rapids, MN / David Gravel (5) 29. Fri, June 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Carson Macedo (4) 30. Sat, June 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Carson Macedo (5) 31. Thur, June 17 / 34 Raceway / West Burlington, IA / Brad Sweet (10) 32. Fri, June 18 / Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway / Dubuque, IA / Donny Schatz (1) 33. Sat, June 19 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (4) 34. Mon, June 21 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / David Gravel (6) 35. Tues, June 22 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Aaron Reutzel (3) 36. Thur, June 24 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Kerry Madsen (1) 37. Fri, June 25 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Kerry Madsen (2) 38. Sat, June 27 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN / Logan Schuchart (3) 39. Fri, July 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Brad Sweet (11) 40. Sat, July 3 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Brad Sweet (12) 41. Sat, July 10 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI / Brad Sweet (13) 42. Tues, July 13 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Spencer Bayston (1) 43. Wed, July 14 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Carson Macedo (6) 44. Sat, July 17 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Tyler Courtney (1) 45. Sat, July 17 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Kyle Larson (2) 46. Sun, July 18 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Carson Macedo (7) 47. Tues, July 20 / Lernerville Speedway / Sarver, PA / Brad Sweet (14) 48. Fri, July 23 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Sheldon Haudenschild (5) 49. Sat, July 24 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Brent Marks (2)

Pierce aims for first Prairie Dirt Classic WinThe Oakwood, IL driver finished third at the event in 2019Fairbury, IL – July 27, 2021 – Bobby Pierce has accomplished many feats throughout his Late Model career, including winning the World 100 at Eldora Speedway. But there’s one race in his home state that’s eluded him: The Prairie Dirt Classic. The 100-lap, $50,000-to-win, event at Fairbury Speedway attracts some of the biggest Late Model drivers in the country. It’s an event the Oakwood, IL driver has circled on his schedule every year.    “It’s a very big race, it keeps getting bigger, and it’s a very popular race too; the fans eat it up,” Pierce said. “Fairbury is one of those tracks, and it’s going to be very exciting for the most part.” Even though Pierce has yet to reach Victory Lane in the prestigious event, his family has the Pierce name etched on the walls. His father, Bob, has won the race five times—more than any other driver.  Bob’s triumphs only add to his son’s hunger for victory. “My dad, he’s won it several times, obviously, before it got as big as it is now, but it still was a very big race back then,” Pierce said. “It’s one of the very few big races he’s won that I haven’t won yet.” Pierce came close to the elusive victory in 2019, leading until the final lap when three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard passed him for the win. “The Smooth Operator” stated he was lucky to have a chance at Victory Lane because of power steering problems that plagued him throughout the night.   “The longer the race went under green, the worse it got,” Pierce said.  “We ended up finding afterward it was the little power steering tank, the cap on it, there’s a little washer on the cap, and that cap basically sunk to the bottom of the tank and basically clogged up the hole, so it wasn’t getting any fluid.” Sheppard pulled a slide job on Pierce in the final corner, sending him into the wall and dropping the “Smooth Operator” to a third-place finish.  “It definitely sucks [Sheppard] was there to capitalize on it because I feel like if we didn’t have those mistakes, we probably could’ve walked away with a win pretty easily,” Pierce said. “But it’s one of those deals that just a teeny cheap part can cost you a win.” One reason the Prairie Dirt Classic could play in Pierce’s favor is its 100-lap distance. The first two World of Outlaws victories of his career came this year at Farmer City Raceway and Boone Speedway – both events longer than 50 laps. “I love the 100-lap races; it gives me plenty of time to get where you need to be, you can come from the back, and it’s enough time to sort out the best cars,” Pierce said.   Pierce is riding a wave of momentum into Fairbury, having won 11 times with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and currently leading the points. One reason for his success is the approach his team takes each race.  “We’ve got a pretty decent team right now, and we’re staying focused with it and going from race to race and trying to win as many of these as we can,” Pierce said.  It’s an approach that could be key to Pierce grabbing his elusive first Prairie Dirt Classic win. If he finds Victory Lane, he’ll put his name next to some of the best Late Model drivers in Illinois and add another accomplishment to his career.   If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.

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

NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA – Pomona Winternationals

Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon says the team has “regrouped” and the Snap-on^® “Makers and Fixers” Dodge^®SRT^® Hellcat^® Funny Car is ready for a homecoming at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, just minutes from where Cruz grew up in nearby Chino. 

“Pomona’s a home game for us,” Cruz says. “I love this track and always have. But it’s going to be unusual to race here in late July with the heat since we’re usually here during the cooler months. That said, we love the heat. The setup we have performs better in hotter conditions, so we’ll be ready and looking forward to the weekend.”

Overall, Cruz says he’s encouraged by the runs he’s starting to make, “These runs are actually better than some of the runs we made with my team last year which would put us in the mid-3.80s (second passes). We’re still tweaking the setup, so the potential is there to find more consistency and ‘get on a roll’ soon.” 

Pomona has been a winning track for Cruz, in 1995 at the Winternationals and he had two wins in the 2008 and 2012 Finals. 

Follow Cruz and Snap-on on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, where you can also check out his Vlog “Kickin’ It With The Cruzer.” Follow Cruz on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow @MakersandFixers on Instagram and share your stories at makersandfixers.com.

BURNSIDE, KY – July 26, 2021 – Heavy rainstorms in the area have forced DIRTcar and Lake Cumberland Speedway officials to postpone Monday’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals and Summit Racing EquipmentModified Nationals events. Officials are working on a makeup date to be announced in the near future. The Summer Nationals Late Models will now take their break period and be back in action Friday, Aug. 13 at Highland Speedway, followed by the makeup race at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 the following night. The Summit Modifieds will next make the trip to Fairbury Speedway this Friday and Saturday night, July 30-31, to compete alongside the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series in the 31st annual Prairie Dirt Classic. If you can’t be at the track, all of these races can be streamed live on DIRTVision presented 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.

Sheppard, Overton, Pierce, and more prepare for Fairbury Speedway

FAIRBURY, IL – JULY 26, 2021 – The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models is gearing up for one of its highest-paying races of 2021—the Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway in Fairbury, IL. 

The highly anticipated crown jewel has two nights of jam-packed action July 30-31, with one driver collecting $50,000. 

It starts Friday, July 30, with Slick Woody’s Qualifying, followed by four 25-lap showdowns, paying $3,000-to-win. They will help set the lineups for Saturday’s 100-lap Prairie Dirt Classic. 

Drivers who don’t punch their tickets into the Feature on Friday have an opportunity to get in through Last Chance Showdowns on Saturday. If they still haven’t made the show, they’ll have one more chance in the Prairie Dirt Shootout. The winner can either collect $2,500 or start last in the Prairie Dirt Classic. 

Joining the World of Outlaws on the card is the DIRTcar Summit Equipment Modified Nationals. 

For a full schedule of events throughout the weekend: CLICK HERE. 

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.

Here are some of the top storylines to keep an eye on this weekend: 

Rocket Repeat: Brandon Sheppard found Victory Lane the last time the Prairie Dirt Classic was held in 2019. He’s one of only five multi-time winners of the event, along with Shannon Babb, Bob Pierce, Jimmy Mars, and Billy Moyer. If the New Berlin, IL driver wins again, he’ll join Moyer and Pierce as the only back-to-back winners in the history of the event.

A trip to Victory Lane would also give him a piece of World of Outlaws history. “The Rocket Shepp’s” next win will tie him with Darrell Lanigan for second on the all-time wins list. 

Sheppard enters Fairbury Speedway with the Series points lead—88 points ahead of Chris Madden. 

Long Distance Operator: The driver Sheppard beat to win the 2019 Prairie Dirt Classic is fellow Illinois competitor and DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Bobby Pierce. 

The Oakwood, IL driver earned his first two World of Outlaws wins this season—both in events more than 50 laps. 

The “Smooth Operator” brings a ton of momentum into Fairbury, having won 11 times on the Summer Nationals tour, so far. He finished fifth at Fairbury Speedway when the Summer Nationals visited the Illinois track in June. 

Yung Money Returns: When there’s big money up for grabs, Kyle Larson isn’t usually far behind. The Elk Grove, CA driver will make his World of Outlaws Late Model return this weekend at the Prairie Dirt Classic. 

In two starts with the Series, “Yung Money” has one top-10 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. 

Larson’s last two crown jewel starts were during the Dirt Late Model Dreams at Eldora Speedway in June. He finished 13th and sixth in those two events.  

Big Sexy Takeover: In 2021, the words “crown jewel” and “Brandon Overton” have been a perfect match.

The Evans, GA driver swept the both Dreams at Eldora Speedway earlier in the year – collecting more than $270,000 during the event – and backed that up with his second Firecracker 100 win at Lernerville Speedway at the beginning of the month.

“Big Sexy” enters the Prairie Dirt Classic with 19 total wins this season and 16 career World of Outlaws wins overall. Of them, Fairbury Speedway is not on that list. He’ll aim to change that this week and add another notch to his impressive run on crown jewel dominance.

Making some Illi…noise: While the top names in Late Model racing will take their shot at $50,000, you can never count out the drivers from the Prairie state. 

Dennis Erb Jr., of Carpentersville, IL, has been on a hot streak since the beginning of June. The “One-Man-Band” has three World of Outlaws wins in the last 11 races—two of them coming on 1/4-mile tracks like Fairbury Speedway. 

Shannon Babb, of Moweaqua, IL, is another driver to keep an eye on at the Prairie Dirt Classic. The “Moweaqua Missile” has won the event three times and found Victory Lane when the DIRTcar Summer Nationals visited Fairbury in June. Babb also won a World of Outlaws race at Boone Speedway in April. 

Some of Fairbury’s weekly competitors may have something to say about Saturday’s outcome, as well. 

Mike Spatola leads the track points standings this season with three wins. “Opie” also scored his first career World of Outlaws victory earlier in April when the Series visited Farmer City Raceway.  

Another driver to watch out for is Fairbury’s own McKay Wenger. He owns a win at the speedway in 2021 and is second in track points. 

The Rookie Battle Continues: While all the drivers are battling for $50K this weekend, Ryan Gustin and Tyler Bruening will continue their battle for top Rookie. 

Bruening leads Gustin by 102 points heading into the Prairie Dirt Classic. Both drivers have seven top-fives and 17 top-10s this season. If either driver can win on Saturday, it would be their first World of Outlaws victory. 

When and Where

July 30-31: Fairbury Speedway in Fairbury, IL

About the tracks

Fairbury Speedway is a 1/4-mile semi-banked oval

Godsey bags back-to-back top-fives with seven races now remaining

RICHMOND, KY – July 25, 2021 – Inching closer and closer to a fourth DIRTcar Summer Nationals title with his 11th Feature win of the season Sunday night at Richmond Raceway, Bobby Pierce also made a bit of personal history, reflective of the great success he’s had thus far in his career.

In 2016, Pierce won a season-best 11 Features en route to his second Hell Tour championship in two years. With just seven races remaining on the 2021 schedule, 11 wins and a 186-point lead, Pierce will now go for a new personal best single-season win total before the end of the tour next month.

“It feels great to get my 11th win,” Pierce, of Oakwood IL, said in Victory Lane. “We’ve got seven races left to go, so hopefully we can break it.”

The debut at the 3/10-mile of Richmond, known as The Beast of the East, was a dominant one for Pierce, who led all 40 laps unchallenged for the $5,000 prize. Several caution flags were thrown over the course of the race, forcing Pierce to be good on restarts.

“My dad was signaling me down the backstretch, and every restart I kinda pulled away, even though I didn’t feel great off of Turn 2. It was just so slick out there – this place is really slick,” Pierce said.

Ashton Winger rode third for the opening five laps before getting a run on Tanner English for second, where he stayed to the checkered. English held on for third, Joe Godsey bagged his fifth top-five of the season in fourth and three-time Richmond track champion Derek Fisher rounded out the top-five.

Pierce will also get the opportunity to break another record before the season’s out. Four-time champion Shannon Babb owns the record for the most wins in a single-season at 15, which he set back in 2005. Pierce can both tie and pass Babb, but has to win at least five of the remaining races.

UP NEXT

The Summer Nationals Late Models cap off Week #6 with the final race on Monday night, July 26, in the tour’s debut at Lake Cumberland Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (40 Laps) 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[4]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 4. 14G-Joe Godsey[6]; 5. 38-Derek Fisher[8]; 6. 11-Tommy Bailey[7]; 7. D8-Dustin Linville[9]; 8. 38H-Thomas Hunziker[14]; 9. 12J-Jason Jameson[12]; 10. 21-Kirk Phillips[2]; 11. 74-Mitch McGrath[10]; 12. 14R-Jeff Roth[5]; 13. 118-Mike Fenton[17]; 14. 248-Brandon Lance[18]; 15. T22- Tegan Evans[16]; 16. 83-Scott James[11]; 17. 11W-Jeff Watson[13]; 18. 16-Justin Rattliff[15]; 19. 15-William Byrd[20]; 20. (DNS) 13-Brayton Laster

HISTORY MADE: Hoffman Wins 17th of Season at Richmond, Now Sits Atop All-Time Wins List

It’s official. Nick Hoffman is now the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals’ all-time leader in Feature wins.

At just 29 years of age, the Mooresville, NC-driver has had a season for the record books already and added to it again on Sunday night, winning the tour’s first-ever visit to Richmond Raceway.

He and the Elite Chassis team have been the guys to beat all season long and showed exactly why on Sunday with a dominating flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap event. For their efforts, Hoffman has now taken sole possession of #1 on the all-time Feature wins list from six-time champion Mike Harrison – a goal he’d been working on, among others, since the start of the tour in June.

“It’s really cool,” Hoffman said in Victory Lane. “Really didn’t start on this whole Hell Tour deal until like 2015, so to pick up that many wins that quick is pretty cool for us.”

On the track, Hoffman was untouchable. Original start, restart – it just didn’t matter. His Elite Chassis #2 jetted out at the drop of the green and took off, leaving his opponents in the dust. At one point, Hoffman’s lead stretched to almost 7 seconds in traffic.

His only concern came upon reaching the rear of the field and dealing with the slower traffic. Several cautions had been thrown throughout for drivers spinning at the bottom of the turns, which Hoffman did his best to try and avoid.

“I could maneuver pretty decent. The biggest thing was I just wanted to pass those guys around the outside – just in case they did spin out, they would go to the bottom,” Hoffman said.

UP NEXT

The Summit Modifieds help cap off Week #6 with the final race on Monday night, July 26, in the tour’s debut at Lake Cumberland Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

Red hot Stewart Friesen outruns Max McLaughlin and Tim Sears Jr. for Hall of Fame 100 glory at Weedsport Speedway 

WEEDSPORT, NY – On his 38th birthday Stewart Friesen triumphed at Weedsport Speedway by winning the Hall of Fame 100 for a grand prize of $10,000 over podium finishers Max McLaughlin and Tim Sears Jr. In an action-packed 100-lap Feature, the five-time NAPA Super DIRT Week champion drove his #44 from fifth to first to win his fourth Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified Feature of the season and third career Series victory at Weedsport. 

Outside polesitter and Mooresville, NC hotshoe Max McLaughlin took the lead early before relinquishing it to Friesen just before halfway. McLaughlin mounted a successful counter-attack – powering his #32C Big Block around Friesen on a restart but a caution flag nullified the pass. 

Rookie standout Tim Sears Jr. picked up his third career Super DIRTcar Series podium. The #83X’s previous two podiums came at his home track of Brewerton Speedway, which has a similar D-shape to Weedsport. The third place is Sears Jr.’s best Series finish so far in 2021. 

For Stewart Friesen, $10,000 was the icing on the cake. 

“Usually on my birthday everything goes wrong but what a race car tonight,” Friesen said grinning. “What a track. That was awesome. I love stuff like that. I know a lot of guys don’t like having it that way. It’s so much fun to drive. You could race all over it. It was challenging.” 

The track surface was dynamic throughout the race and the number of green flag laps on long runs contributed to the changing nature of the surface. There’s nothing like trying to play chess with 800 horsepower under your right foot. 

“I thought we were going to go green to checkered there for a while and it was going to be an iron man race,” he noted.

Friesen started fifth and patiently made his way to the front. Max McLaughlin led the opening segment and plunged the front of the field into lapped traffic early on. Friesen had to make daring moves in order to keep up on the #32C’s rear bumper through traffic, otherwise, he was at risk of losing him in the crowd. 

The excitement didn’t end when Friesen took the lead. Aside from navigating through traffic, Friesen hit the inside wall – more than once. 

“I was just trying to be consistent,” said Friesen. “Thanks to Valco wheels because I smoked my left front on the inside wall in Turn 4 and 2 a few times. It still has air in it! I am just happy to be representing the Hall of Fame 100. Great weekend for us.”

“Thanks to all the fans and everyone we met behind the grandstands earlier,” said Friesen. “Thanks to Halmar, Chris Larsen, and all our great sponsors. We are just rolling right now. We have a lot of races coming up, so we are just going to stick with it. 

“Mad Max” McLaughlin was fast right out of the trailer. He ran the fastest lap in Hot Laps and then went on to win his Heat Race which put him in the redraw where he pulled the outside pole. 

McLaughlin took the lead on the initial start but began to struggle with a loose race car as the Feature progressed.

“The first 20-25 laps I felt really good,” said McLaughlin. “I was riding and taking care of my stuff. But it really started getting free off the corner. I am pretty happy with second after thinking of what could have happened starting around lap 35.” 

Like Stewart Friesen, McLaughlin races in a wide variety of short-track racing disciplines.

“Stew [Friesen] is one of the best drivers in the world,” noted McLaughlin. “It’s a lot of fun racing with him and learning from him. He’s got a great race team and great cars. We just keep trying to get better and better every week and hope to be back on Victory Hill and some other tracks here soon.”

McLaughlin was able to pass Friesen on a restart, but Matt Sheppard’s flat tire brought the scoring back to the last lap. The #32C was not able to close in on the #44 to that degree again and McLaughlin had to settle for second. 

However, since Friesen already has a guaranteed start in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 from winning at Bristol Motor Speedway, Max McLaughlin is awarded the guaranteed start for NAPA Super DIRT Week XLIX.

Tim Sears Jr. was also thankful to hang on for the podium finish. He drew the pole position but the celebration was short-lived as McLaughlin road around the outside of him for the lead. Sears Jr. had some handling issues to overcome.

“We started rim riding at the end,” said Sears Jr. “We had a push that never went away all night. This track really racy. We could race all over it. Hats off to the track crew. It was a fun race.”

The yellow #83X has quickly made his presence known with the Series in a short amount of time. He’s been winning in DIRTcar Big Block Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship racing as well including a 35-lap win at Weedsport earlier this month.

“I want to thank LJL, John Wight, Troyer Dirt Cars, and everyone who has helped us get here this year,” he said after his third-place finish. 

The rookie of the year chase is looking good for Tim Sears Jr. 

Erick Rudolph proved once again why he is an elite talent in the Super DIRTcar Series. Weedsport Speedway gave the drivers a much different look than it had in recent races but the Ransomville, NY native and his team made the right adjustments to take his #25R Big Block from the back to the front in 100 laps.  

Rudolph picked up 20 positions and finished fourth. 

Seven-time champion Matt Sheppard started 11th and by lap 34 was amidst a raging battle in the top three. While McLaughlin and Friesen battled side-by-side for the lead Sheppard began reeling the pair in. Unfortunately, his left front tire went down, the #9S slowed, and the caution flag came out. After making the quick tire change in the pit area, Sheppard was able to claw his way back up to finish 12th to salvage valuable championship points. 

The “Hile Driver” Chris Hile in the #5H laid down quick-time in Time Trials which awarded him the Billy Whittaker Cars Fast-Time Award. 

Next up, living legend Brett “The Jet” Hearn joins the Super DIRTcar Series at his home track Orange County Fair Speedway for the $10,000-to-win Battle on the Midway 100 on Thursday, July 29.

Pre-order your tickets now at OrangeCountyFairSpeeday.net. Admission to the nearly two-century-old Orange County Fair is included with the race ticket but if you can’t make it to Middletown, NY be sure to watch all the action live on DIRTVision.com. 

Hall of Fame 100 Feature results:

1. 44F-STEWART FRIESEN [5][$10,000]; 2. 32CC-Max Mclaughlin [2][$5,000]; 3. 83X-Tim Sears [1][$2,500]; 4. 25R-Erick Rudolph [24][$1,800]; 5. 5H-Chris Hile [3][$1,600]; 6. 19F-Tim Fuller [6][$1,400]; 7. 91D-Billy Decker [12][$1,300]; 8. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [17][$1,200]; 9. 99L-Larry Wight [7][$1,100]; 10. 35M-Mike Mahaney [4][$1,000]; 11. 21A-Peter Britten [19][$800]; 12. 9s-Matt Sheppard [11][$700]; 13. 88W-Mat Williamson [22][$600]; 14. 121-Gary Tomkins [15][$575]; 15. 3H-Justin Haers [8][$550]; 16. M1-Dave Marcuccilli [9][$525]; 17. 28M-Jordan McCreadie [16][$500]; 18. 111D-Demetrios Drellos [26][$500]; 19. 34R-Kevin Root [10][$500]; 20. X-Chad Phelps [13][$500]; 21. 56-Garrson Krentz [18][$500]; 22. 32R-Ronnie Davis [20][$500]; 23. 9X-Tyler Trump [14][$500]; 24. 2L-Jack Lehner [25][$500]; 25. 48T-Dave Rauscher [27][$]; 26. 22W-Brandon Walters [21][$500]; 27. 27J-Danny Johnson [23][$500]

Hard Charger Award: 25R-Erick Rudolph[+20]

Contingency bonuses

Billy Whittakar Cars [$100] – Chris Hile #5H

VP Racing Fuels [$50] – Jimmy Phelps

ARP [$50] – Erick Rudolph

ASI [$50] – Peter Britten

Cometic [$50] – Gary Tomkins 

Drydene [$50] – Larry Wight

COMP CAMS [$50] – Max McLaughlin

Fox Racing Shox [$50] – Garrison Krentz

MSD [$50] – Peter Britten

Red hot Stewart Friesen outruns Max McLaughlin and Tim Sears Jr. for Hall of Fame 100 glory at Weedsport Speedway 

WEEDSPORT, NY – On his 38th birthday Stewart Friesen triumphed at Weedsport Speedway by winning the Hall of Fame 100 for a grand prize of $10,000 over podium finishers Max McLaughlin and Tim Sears Jr. In an action-packed 100-lap Feature, the five-time NAPA Super DIRT Week champion drove his #44 from fifth to first to win his fourth Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified Feature of the season and third career Series victory at Weedsport. 

Outside polesitter and Mooresville, NC hotshoe Max McLaughlin took the lead early before relinquishing it to Friesen just before halfway. McLaughlin mounted a successful counter-attack – powering his #32C Big Block around Friesen on a restart but a caution flag nullified the pass. 

Rookie standout Tim Sears Jr. picked up his third career Super DIRTcar Series podium. The #83X’s previous two podiums came at his home track of Brewerton Speedway, which has a similar D-shape to Weedsport. The third place is Sears Jr.’s best Series finish so far in 2021. 

For Stewart Friesen, $10,000 was the icing on the cake. 

“Usually on my birthday everything goes wrong but what a race car tonight,” Friesen said grinning. “What a track. That was awesome. I love stuff like that. I know a lot of guys don’t like having it that way. It’s so much fun to drive. You could race all over it. It was challenging.” 

The track surface was dynamic throughout the race and the number of green flag laps on long runs contributed to the changing nature of the surface. There’s nothing like trying to play chess with 800 horsepower under your right foot. 

“I thought we were going to go green to checkered there for a while and it was going to be an iron man race,” he noted.

Friesen started fifth and patiently made his way to the front. Max McLaughlin led the opening segment and plunged the front of the field into lapped traffic early on. Friesen had to make daring moves in order to keep up on the #32C’s rear bumper through traffic, otherwise, he was at risk of losing him in the crowd. 

The excitement didn’t end when Friesen took the lead. Aside from navigating through traffic, Friesen hit the inside wall – more than once. 

“I was just trying to be consistent,” said Friesen. “Thanks to Valco wheels because I smoked my left front on the inside wall in Turn 4 and 2 a few times. It still has air in it! I am just happy to be representing the Hall of Fame 100. Great weekend for us.”

“Thanks to all the fans and everyone we met behind the grandstands earlier,” said Friesen. “Thanks to Halmar, Chris Larsen, and all our great sponsors. We are just rolling right now. We have a lot of races coming up, so we are just going to stick with it. 

“Mad Max” McLaughlin was fast right out of the trailer. He ran the fastest lap in Hot Laps and then went on to win his Heat Race which put him in the redraw where he pulled the outside pole. 

McLaughlin took the lead on the initial start but began to struggle with a loose race car as the Feature progressed.

“The first 20-25 laps I felt really good,” said McLaughlin. “I was riding and taking care of my stuff. But it really started getting free off the corner. I am pretty happy with second after thinking of what could have happened starting around lap 35.” 

Like Stewart Friesen, McLaughlin races in a wide variety of short-track racing disciplines.

“Stew [Friesen] is one of the best drivers in the world,” noted McLaughlin. “It’s a lot of fun racing with him and learning from him. He’s got a great race team and great cars. We just keep trying to get better and better every week and hope to be back on Victory Hill and some other tracks here soon.”

McLaughlin was able to pass Friesen on a restart, but Matt Sheppard’s flat tire brought the scoring back to the last lap. The #32C was not able to close in on the #44 to that degree again and McLaughlin had to settle for second. 

However, since Friesen already has a guaranteed start in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 from winning at Bristol Motor Speedway, Max McLaughlin is awarded the guaranteed start for NAPA Super DIRT Week XLIX.

Tim Sears Jr. was also thankful to hang on for the podium finish. He drew the pole position but the celebration was short-lived as McLaughlin road around the outside of him for the lead. Sears Jr. had some handling issues to overcome.

“We started rim riding at the end,” said Sears Jr. “We had a push that never went away all night. This track really racy. We could race all over it. Hats off to the track crew. It was a fun race.”

The yellow #83X has quickly made his presence known with the Series in a short amount of time. He’s been winning in DIRTcar Big Block Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship racing as well including a 35-lap win at Weedsport earlier this month.

“I want to thank LJL, John Wight, Troyer Dirt Cars, and everyone who has helped us get here this year,” he said after his third-place finish. 

The rookie of the year chase is looking good for Tim Sears Jr. 

Erick Rudolph proved once again why he is an elite talent in the Super DIRTcar Series. Weedsport Speedway gave the drivers a much different look than it had in recent races but the Ransomville, NY native and his team made the right adjustments to take his #25R Big Block from the back to the front in 100 laps.  

Rudolph picked up 20 positions and finished fourth. 

Seven-time champion Matt Sheppard started 11th and by lap 34 was amidst a raging battle in the top three. While McLaughlin and Friesen battled side-by-side for the lead Sheppard began reeling the pair in. Unfortunately, his left front tire went down, the #9S slowed, and the caution flag came out. After making the quick tire change in the pit area, Sheppard was able to claw his way back up to finish 12th to salvage valuable championship points. 

The “Hile Driver” Chris Hile in the #5H laid down quick-time in Time Trials which awarded him the Billy Whittaker Cars Fast-Time Award. 

Next up, living legend Brett “The Jet” Hearn joins the Super DIRTcar Series at his home track Orange County Fair Speedway for the $10,000-to-win Battle on the Midway 100 on Thursday, July 29.

Pre-order your tickets now at OrangeCountyFairSpeeday.net. Admission to the nearly two-century-old Orange County Fair is included with the race ticket but if you can’t make it to Middletown, NY be sure to watch all the action live on DIRTVision.com. 

Hall of Fame 100 Feature results:

1. 44F-STEWART FRIESEN [5][$10,000]; 2. 32CC-Max Mclaughlin [2][$5,000]; 3. 83X-Tim Sears [1][$2,500]; 4. 25R-Erick Rudolph [24][$1,800]; 5. 5H-Chris Hile [3][$1,600]; 6. 19F-Tim Fuller [6][$1,400]; 7. 91D-Billy Decker [12][$1,300]; 8. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [17][$1,200]; 9. 99L-Larry Wight [7][$1,100]; 10. 35M-Mike Mahaney [4][$1,000]; 11. 21A-Peter Britten [19][$800]; 12. 9s-Matt Sheppard [11][$700]; 13. 88W-Mat Williamson [22][$600]; 14. 121-Gary Tomkins [15][$575]; 15. 3H-Justin Haers [8][$550]; 16. M1-Dave Marcuccilli [9][$525]; 17. 28M-Jordan McCreadie [16][$500]; 18. 111D-Demetrios Drellos [26][$500]; 19. 34R-Kevin Root [10][$500]; 20. X-Chad Phelps [13][$500]; 21. 56-Garrson Krentz [18][$500]; 22. 32R-Ronnie Davis [20][$500]; 23. 9X-Tyler Trump [14][$500]; 24. 2L-Jack Lehner [25][$500]; 25. 48T-Dave Rauscher [27][$]; 26. 22W-Brandon Walters [21][$500]; 27. 27J-Danny Johnson [23][$500]

Hard Charger Award: 25R-Erick Rudolph[+20]

Contingency bonuses

Billy Whittakar Cars [$100] – Chris Hile #5H

VP Racing Fuels [$50] – Jimmy Phelps

ARP [$50] – Erick Rudolph

ASI [$50] – Peter Britten

Cometic [$50] – Gary Tomkins 

Drydene [$50] – Larry Wight

COMP CAMS [$50] – Max McLaughlin

Fox Racing Shox [$50] – Garrison Krentz

MSD [$50] – Peter Britten

• Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot Matt Hagan drove No. 3 qualified Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car to a runner-up finish at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sonoma Nationals 
• DSR’s Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett raced her Okuma Dodge//SRT dragster from the sixth seeded position on the eliminations ladder to the final round and narrowly missed turning on the win lights by just two-thousandths of a second
• No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps powered his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to semifinal appearance at NHRA Sonoma Nationals 

July 25, 2021, Sonoma, California – Exciting final round showdowns for two Mopar Dodge//SRT Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilots, Matt Hagan in Funny Car and Leah Pruett in Top Fuel, at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sonoma Nationals resulted in runner-up finishes for both drivers with margins of victory in each race of just two-thousandths of a second.

Coming off his first event win of the 2021 NHRA Camping World series season last weekend at Denver’s Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, Hagan began his race day from the No. 3 position on the Funny Car eliminations ladder and battled through a competitive field to advance to his second consecutive Sonoma Nationals final round appearance. Hagan drove his Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye to wins against Jeff Diehl and Blake Alexander to advance to the semifinal round for a rematch of the Denver final versus Alexis DeJoria. Hagan powered his way to the win over DeJoria to send his Mopar machine to his second straight final round, a third this season, and the 68th of his career.

The final round showcased a meeting between two three-time Funny Car NHRA world champions with Hagan going toe-to-toe with Robert Hight for the Sonoma trophy. Hagan stepped on the throttle first and held the lead to the halfway mark before Hight was able to overtake and turn on the win lights just 0.0026-seconds ahead of him. The runner-up finish, Hagan’s second this season and 31st of his career, helped move him up to second place in the Funny Car points standings and within two round wins of reaching the current point leader.

DSR teammate Ron Capps, a four-time winner at Sonoma, began the day from the top rung of the Funny Car eliminations ladder for the 28th time in his career. Capps earned his third pole position in nine races with the quickest runs of Q1 and Q2 thus extending his streak of qualifying in the top-five at every event this season. For the opening round, the DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver lined up against No. 16 qualifier and rookie Tony Jurado and drove to a 3.924-second win. In his quarterfinal matchup with Paul Lee, Capps grabbed an early lead and wheeled his way to a 3.965-second run and another round win to advance to a semifinal battle against No. 4 seed Robert Hight. 

While Capps hit the throttle first and gave it a good solid effort by posting a 3.979 elapsed time run, it wasn’t quite enough to catch Hight after he took over the lead by the 60-foot marker. With the result, Capps and his team’s consistent performance has seen them advance to the semifinals or better at four out of the last five events, putting him fifth in the Funny Car standings.

For Cruz Pedregon, who is seeking a second win this season, his No. 15 qualifying position wasn’t indicative of the progress he felt his team has been making this season or even through the weekend with the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car. He just never got a nice clean run in before lining up against his first round opponent, No. 2 seed Alexis DeJoria. The Cruz Pedregon Racing machine had a good launch with its driver’s 0.057-second reaction time to DeJoria’s 0.115 second start, but Pedregon’s ride lost a cylinder early in the run and hampered any hopes on advancing further.

In Top Fuel action at the Sonoma dragstrip, Leah Pruett qualified her DSR Okuma Dodge//SRT Redeye dragster sixth for an opening round pairing with No. 7 seed Justin Ashley. Pruett was quicker off the start and never looked back with a 3.739-second run at 327.51 mph run to defeat her opponent’s 3.758/323.04 pass and move on to battle Brittany Force in the quarterfinals for their first match-up since 2018. 

Force had a slight starting advantage for the quarterfinal battle, but when mid-track traction issues affected them both, it was Pruett who pedaled it and recovered quickly to cross the finish line first and earn a bye-run. In that solo semifinal run the Dodge//SRT Redeye dragster recorded its best pass of the weekend with a 3.726 sec./325.53 mph to see Pruett advance to her 17th career Top Fuel final round appearance to face the category’s points leader and five-time event winner this season Steve Torrence.

The Sonoma raceway fans were treated to an exciting side-by side final showdown that saw Pruett with the quicker start and a solid 3.768-second pass at 323.04 mph that was just two-thousands of a second (0.0027 -seconds) behind Torrence 3.757/327.98 at the finish line. 

The runner-up finish is Pruett’s first of the season and the ninth of her Top Fuel career and with the result, she moves into fifth place in the standings with four national events remaining before points reset for the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship the seven-race playoff series that 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.

The NHRA now heads to Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, for the final event of the three-race western swing that will wrap up three consecutive weeks of racing next weekend.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES
FUNNY CAR:Matt Hagan, DSR Pennzoil Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.909 seconds at 328.94 mph)Round 1: (0.081-second reaction time, 3.971 seconds at 327.19 mph) defeats No. 14 Jeff Diehl (0.126/6.085/116.47)Round 2: (0.077/3.960/322.42) defeats Blake Alexander Round 3: (0.076/3.967/324.36) defeats No. 2 Alexis DeJoria (0.135/4.001/309.70)Round 4: (0.036/3.991/324.44) loss to No. 4 Robert Hight (0.054.3.971/322.50)
“Our guys are doing just a phenomenal job. This is really the most confident I’ve felt with a group of guys in a long time. They’re killing it. They’re making super quick turns in between rounds. We’ve got some really good juju going on. The group is clicking so well, (Crew Chief) Dickie (Venables) is making great calls out there. I see us clicking off a few more wins real soon. This Hellcat is running great. We’re qualifying well and going to the finals. It’s there. The confidence is there. The team is there. My lights are good. Everything we need to win races and a championship are right there with this package. I’m very excited and pumped up.”
“I think that Pomona is going to be super hot and it could end up being a drivers race with pedaling the car. We have a great car and team and I’m driving well and it should be fun under the lights for qualifying. Pomona has been great to us. We’ve had some great memories at that track winning races and a championship. It has a special place in my heart and we’re going to go out and finish the swing strong.”
Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat(No. 1 Qualifier – 3.897 seconds at 328.78 mph)Round 1: (0.105-second reaction time, 3.924 seconds at 324.75 mph) defeats No. 16 Tony Jurado (0.138/4.362/217.74)Round 2: (0.102/3.965/321.35) defeats No. 9 Paul Lee (0.108/4.043/309.20)Round 3: (0.086/3.979/322.73) loss to No. 4 Robert Hight (0.090/3.943/323.35)
“Man, what a great weekend. Obviously, we wanted to leave with a Wally (trophy), but we qualified No. 1 again and had a quick and competitive race car every single round, and you really can’t ask for more. In the semifinals there, we were on a good run but it just wore a little more clutch than it should have against (Robert) Hight and that was that, it was a close race.
“I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, we’re a win waiting to happen and the Wallys are coming; I’m not worried about that. Close races all day. (Crew Chiefs) ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen made fantastic calls. It was great to have all of our NAPA fans, and have our big annual NAPA wine dinner Saturday night, it was just really an overall great weekend. I can’t wait to get to Pomona after this fantastic weekend, We’re headed southbound and down to Pomona, and it should be fun.”
Cruz Pedregon, Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat(No. 15 Qualifier – 4.139 seconds at 229.35 mph)Round 1: (0.057-second reaction time, 4.119 seconds at 303.37 mph) loss to No. 2 Alexis DeJoria (0.115/3.942/322.73)
“The race weekend was challenging. We had what was the beginning of two really spectacular runs in Q1 and Q2 with the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, but unfortunately the track didn’t cooperate and we spun the tires down the track in those two (qualifying) passes. We dropped a cylinder in the first round which was out of the blue. We had no warning that it was going to do that. We’ll regroup. It’s not the weekend we wanted but overall we’re encouraged by the runs I was starting to make. Those runs were actually better than some of the runs that my team made last year which would have put us in the mid-3.80s (second passes), so the potential is there.

“We’re going to go to Pomona now and it’s going to be a home game for us. I love Pomona and always have but it’s going to be unusual to race there in late July (as a result of rescheduling due to pandemic restrictions) with the heat, but we’ll be ready for it. Our setup, our guys, our team loves the hotter conditions so we’re looking forward to that event. Once we get on a roll, we’ll feel like we’ll be a lot better and more consistent. We’re still tweaking it a little bit and looking forward to it.”
TOP FUEL:Leah Pruett, DSR Pennzoil Okuma Dodge//SRT Dragster  (No. 6 Qualifier – 3.749 seconds at 323.97 mph)Round 1: (0.069-second reaction time, 3.739 seconds at 327.51 mph) defeats No. 7 Justin Ashley (0.083/3.758/323.04)Round 2: (0.101/3.958/288.64) defeats No. 1 Brittany Force (0.082/4.359/181.18)Round 3: (0.092/3.726/325.53) wins on a BYE runRound 4: (0.106/3.768/323.04) loss to No. 2 Steve Torrence (0.115/3.757/327.98)
“I think the most impressive thing about this weekend is our progression from last weekend at Denver. These Top Fuel cars don’t necessarily have a full reset button, but that’s what we did as a team this weekend. We dug deep and found some issues and ultimately we had great progress this weekend. To have such a consistent car from qualifying into eliminations and to put down what we needed to in the semifinals to get lane choice was great to see. We have a very conversational car that listens to us right now. The team is thriving. We didn’t have the start to the season we wanted, but this is a marathon of a year and this is the momentum we’ve been searching for. For Don (Schumacher) to give us the patience and resources to do what we needed to get here has allowed us to open possibilities and that’s what Okuma does. It’s great to win rounds and get to the finals. It was a very close race.”
“Pomona is going to be very challenging for all of us running the (rescheduled) Winternationals in July. I take it back to when I’d run the nostalgia series there and it was in the triple digits out and it will be similar to that this year. For us to have momentum rolling into Southern California is exactly what we need to finish up the Western Swing. We have new life with this team and to have another fun, new livery is perfect, and to see friends and family and former racers will be great.” NHRA Championship Points Standings:Following the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)1. Bob Tasca III – 676 (2)2. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 558 (1)3. Robert Hight – 636 (2)4. John Force – 624 (2)5. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 6136. J.R. Todd – 584 (1)7. Alexis DeJoria – 5778. Tim Wilkerson– 5219. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 481 (1)10. Terry Haddock – 306
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)1. Steve Torrance – 978 (6)2. Antron Brown – 629 (1)3. Brittany Force – 5644. Shawn Langdon – 4605. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 4576. Billy Torrence – 448 (1)7. Mike Salinas – 4328. Doug Kalitta – 4209. Justin Ashley – 37010. Clay Millican – 351 

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. 

Posted By: Steve Turner July 25, 2021

CLICK HERE FOR ELIMINATIONS RESULTS.

It was hot fun in the summertime as the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals travelled to the Wolverine State to join the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals for a weekend four days of drag racing at the Inaugural Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA Power Festival Presented by Force Engineering. Attracting more than 500 total race cars to the Fastest Track in Michigan, US 131 Motorsports Park, the event saw brief bouts of wet weather, but prevailed to crown champions in all the heads-up and index categories, including the rain delayed final in VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw — won easily by Tony Hobson on a single in his white Fox Mustang — held over from the rained-out NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Drag Racing held in Madison, Illinois, back in May.

In the combined VP Racing Madditives / Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw tilt this weekend, Mustang drivers bowed out early, resulting in an NMCA battle in the final round. Leading up to that, however, Tony Hobson’s machine was the highest qualified NMRA representative thanks to a 4.30 at 164 rip. However, Hobson fell to Marty Stinnett and fellow NMRA racer Steve Halprin lost to Ron Rhodes, both in the second round. Stinnet would meet Rob Goss in the finals, and Goss streaked to the victory after Stinnett couldn’t take the light.

Eric Bardekoff carried the momentum of his number-one qualifying effort — a 4.57 at 155.28 — to the final round in the combined Edelbrock Renegade / Xtreme Street category. Sporting a new Whipple supercharger under the hood, Bardekoff powered to the finals where he found a familiar opponent. Squaring off with defending champion Joel Greathouse, who lit the red bulb, handing the victory to Bardekoff who sailed to the win with a 4.58 at 155.93 mph. 

Samantha Moore

After switching to a ProCharger P-1X supercharger in time for this weekend, Samantha Moore didn’t miss a beat. She qualified at the to of the JDM Engineering Limited Street pack with an 8.38 at 165.68 mph — an amazing feat for an off-the-shelf street blower. The co-owner of Vector Motorsports didn’t stop there, as she took that performance to the final round, where she pulled away from Michael Lewandowski to take the win with an 8.42 at 165.81 mph to his 8.92 at 15162.

Driving Scott Milhimes’ Mustang, Charlie Booze Jr. qualified in the top spot in G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock thanks to a 9.88 at 135.46. Right behind him on the qualifying sheet was Shane Stymiest, who clicked off a 9.91 at 135.46. The two would meet again on Sunday evening as both ran consistent rounds en route to the final round. Booze got the leave to beat the quicker Stymiest to the stripe.

It was Two-Valve to the front in Richmond Gear Factory Stock as Mark Anderson ran the table, claiming the number-one qualifier position and taking the win in his high-revving Fox. Running progressively quicker with each round of eliminations, he face off against defending class champion John Leslie Jr. in the finals. When the tree dropped, Leslie yanked the wheels sky high, but upon returning to earth, his car scraped the wall as Anderson cruised to the Winner’s Circle.

Mark Anderson

It came down to the number-two qualifier and the number-12 qualifier in Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle, but the higher qualifier prevailed. In a role reversal, Adam Cox was slow on the tree in the final and Matt Hargett took that edge all the way to the stripe for the win. 

Stacked with 33 cars in the field, ARP Open Comp was competitive to say the least. Surviving five rounds to enter the final battle was a grind, but Jason Henson was still on his game. In a battle of New Edge Mustangs, he faced off with number-two qualifier, Charlie McCulloch, with an Edelbrock Victor Award on the line. Henson cut a light and nailed his dial-in to drive away with the win.

In Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning it was a clash of F-150 vs. Ranger as Mike Motycka squared off against Randy Conway in the final round. Though Conway qualified higher in the fourth spot, it was Motycka who got the jump at the tree and never looked back even though Conway ran right on top of his 10.27 index.

It was a battle of red S197s in the HP Tuners Super Stang final. Defending champ Kevin McKenna, who qualified in the fourth spot with a .036 reaction time, squared off against Rodney Ward. McKenna cut a better light and ran down the slower Ward, but got on the brakes too hard before the stripe as Ward won with a 12.83 on a 12.80 dial-in.

Bryan Parker cut the best light to earn the first slot in Race Pages Digital Ford Muscle qualifying. Chopping down the tree would serve him well in the last round where he faced

Rodney Ward, who was pulling double-duty this weekend. He cut an .034 light to Ward’s .045 and rode that advantage to the win with an 11.45 on an 11.50 dial.

Fords dominated in the combined NMCA Torqstorm Superchargers / NMRA QA1 True Street, winning all the categories. Tim Flanders blasted to the top of the charts with an 8.99 average in his Avalanche Gray 1986 Mustang GT powered by a turbocharged Coyote engine. Hot on his heels in the runner-up position, Don Walsh Jr. piloted his Predator-powered 2020 Shelby GT500 to a 9.6-second average, which is impressive for a mild modified street car. The other competitors taking trips to the Winner’s Circle included Matt Caldwell (9-second), Tyler Hassing (10-second), Cary Shotwell (11-second), Mike Baker (12-second), Rodney Ward (13-second), Ray Williams Sr. (14-second), and Dom Hoffman (15-second). Jager and Belcher took a cool $1,000 courtesy of Nitto Tire for running the company’s NT555RII drag radials out back.

InFastest Street Car Bracket Open, Stan Jones Jr. claimed the victory with a 5.57 on a 5.56 dial over Christine Kirbitz, who broke out with a 6.18 on a 6.19 dial.

In addition to the on-track racing action, attendees enjoyed a diverse group of shiny machines in the UPR Products Car Show, and checked out the horsepower hardware on the robust Manufacturer’s Midway.

While NMRA and NMCA will return to US 131 Motorsports Park on July 21-24, 2022 for another installment of the Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA Power Festival, this year’s Holley NMRA Ford Nationals drag racing series concludes at the Whipple Superchargers NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival Presented by Competition Clutch at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. For more information and advance tickets, visit NMRAdigital.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION SONOMA NHRA NATIONALS SONOMA RACEWAY IN SOMONA, CALIFORNIAJULY 25, 2021                                                                                                    Chevrolet adds two victories to season total  • Robert Hight drives to third win in a row at Sonoma• Aaron Stanfield earns second Pro Stock victory of season• Brittany Force records fourth Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier SONOMA, Calif. (July 25, 2021) – “Consistency,” predicted Robert Hight, would be the determining factor in the Funny Car competition of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sonoma Nationals.
“Told you,” Hight said after driving the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to passes of 3.938, 3.938, 3.943 and finally 3.971 seconds to win for the third successive time and fourth overall at Sonoma Raceway. The event was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Equally consistent in the Janac Brothers Chevrolet Camaro SS, Aaron Stanfield earned his second Pro Stock Wally of the season and third of his emerging career.
Hight got past fellow NHRA Funny Car champions J.R Todd, Ron Capps and Matt Hagan to claim his 53rd career victory, which broke a tie with Joe Amato for 12th on the all-time NHRA list, in his 84th final round. He was confident heading into his 38th meeting with Hagan, who won a week earlier at Denver.
“Just the way this Auto Club Chevy has been running all day long,” said Hight, who picked up his second Wally of the young season. “(Crew chiefs) Jimmy (Prock) and Chris (Cunningham) have this thing running on a string. We’ve got good luck here. We had lane choice every round, so I just have a lot of confidence in my team.”
Hight’s victory was the 145th for Chevrolet in Funny Car competition.Brittany Force recorded her fourth No. 1 qualifier in nine races this season – second in a row — and 24th of her career with a run of 3.694 seconds in the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. She posted the top speed of race day at 330.720 mph in the first round of eliminations but hazed the tires in the second round and was sent to the sideline.
John Force qualified fifth in the PEAK/BlueDEF Platinum Camaro SS and entered race day second in the Funny Car standings. The 16-time Funny Car champion lost in the first round. 
Stanfield, the 2020 Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown champion in the Janac Brothers Chevrolet COPO Camaro, defeated Dallas Glenn in the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS to win for the third time in four final rounds through 36 career races.
“It was a tough (list) of competitors to go through,” said Stanfield, 25. “My guys did a great job. They all gave me a great race car. I drove halfway decent today and it all came together and we’re pretty pumped.”
Stanfield dispatched Pro Stock points leader Greg Anderson in one semifinal. Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, claimed his seventh No. 1 qualifier honor for the seventh time in eight races this season and 113th in his career (third all time to Warren Johnson and John Force). Anderson is aiming to tie Johnson’s 97 career wins for most in the category and second to Force’s NHRA-record 153.
Justin Lamb was runner-up in Stock Eliminator in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro.
The Western Swing wraps up July 30-August 1 with the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtestTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway in Ponoma, California. FOX will telecast eliminations live at 4 p.m. ET August 1.
An interview with Funny Car winner ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier): 
YOU SAID BEFORE THE FINAL THAT YOU WERE GOING TO STOP MATT HAGAN. WHY WERE YOU SO SURE?“Just the way this Auto Club Chevy has been running all day long. Jimmy (Prock) and Chris (Cunningham) have this thing running on a string. We’ve got good luck here. We had lane choice every round, so I just have a lot of confidence in my team. I have to have confidence in myself. It’s been an unbelievable weekend and we’re headed to Auto Club Raceway now.”
YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH A LOT OF BIG NAMES TO GET HERE.“It’s pretty tough out here. Even Steven Densham, his dad, Gary Densham, is a cagy old veteran and you’ve got to be on your game But Jimmy Prock, Chris Cunningham, they really brought their A game. I think we learned some things this weekend, and maybe this Auto Club Chevy is back.”
DO YOU THINK IT BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN YOUR TEAM WHEN YOU GO AGAINST CHAMPION AFTER CHAMPION THROUGHOUT THE DAY?“It definitely does. You’ve got to rise to the occasion and these guys are all great. You look at the top eight in Funny Car, any one of these guys can win a championship and most of them are champions. It’s a tough class and a lot of fun when you can get here and stand on the stage at the end of the day. This is three in a row here at my home racetrack. When I first started race here, I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t get it done. We’d qualify well but couldn’t seal the deal on Sunday. The last three, boy, we have dominated and it’s a lot of fun.”
TELL ME ABOUT THE FIRST TIME YOU VISITED THIS RACETRACK BEFORE YOU WERE DRIVING A RACE CAR.“1988, the first national event ever here, that’s when I fell in love with this sport. I just knew that this was what I wanted to do. Never thought I’d get to drive one of these things, but when I was a kid I wanted to be a mechanic and learn about these cars. A guy named Roger Primm from Reno, Nevada, close to where I used to live, gave me the opportunity and then John Force. I’ve been with John now for 26 years and to think that I came here to watch a race and now I get to drive one of these things and win. Very lucky guy. You look at what we had to do today. There are no easy rounds. Funny Car is a very tough class. Steven Densham first round, his dad is actually who I took over driving for. A great racer for a lot of years. So, you’ve got to go up there with you’re a game and get the job done. Then after that you race three world champions in a row. It’s fun. They bring out the best in us. I really think that Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham stumbled on to some things this weekend. We hadn’t had a lot of consistency this year. We won a race and been in some finals, but no consistency. This is our best weekend by far and it’s happening at the right time. Pretty soon we’re going to have the U.S. Nationals – the biggest race of the year – and the Countdown. This is where you really want to start shining and getting your act together. Heading to Auto Club Raceway next weekend, 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; we race there at the beginning of the year in February and end the season in November. Hopefully, we’re going there with a little momentum and keep this rolling.”
GIVEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS TRACK, DID YOU PUT MORE PRESSURE ON YOURSELF OR DID YOU LOOK AT THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY?“Definitely an opportunity. Once you win a race at a certain facility, win the U.S. Nationals, win a championship, you know you can do it. So now you have confidence. The first few years I came here, we would qualify well but never raced well. I couldn’t hardly win a round at this place. I think I’ve won here four times, but three in a row that’s pretty impressive.”
WHERE WOULD YOU RANK THIS AMONG YOUR WINS? “It’s right up there. It’s at what I call my home track and we’re fighting to get up in the points. This was a big day in points for us. Bob Tasca the points leader went out early. My boss, right behind Tasca, went out. We beat J.R. Todd. Everybody that we beat from second round on was ahead of me in points. So, this was a big points day for the Auto Club team and that’s exactly what we have to keep doing. We want to go into this Countdown No. 1, and I don’t see that as a problem if we race and do the things we know how to do.” 
IS IT NICE TO PEAK AT THE RIGHT TIME?“It is. It’s what you have to do. I’ve had years where we started out on fire, win a lot of races and just go flat. And I’ve had years where we can’t do anything early in the year and get it together when it really counts like 2009, my first championship. I will say, 2019, the last championship I won, we were good from start to finish. It’s satisfying. Really, you want to be good every race and we’ve had some flashes of brilliance, but we’ve also had some inconsistency. Hopefully we’re on the right track.”
HOW COOL IS IT TO PASS A LEGEND LIKE JOE AMATO ON THE ALL-TIME WINS LIST? “I can’t even believe that’s possible because Joe Amato for the longest time was the winningest Top Fuel driver. Race wins, round wins. He’s since been passed by Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher but watching him all those years he just dominated Top Fuel. And to say I have more wins than he does, that’s almost not even believable.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner AARON STANFIELD, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JANAC BROTHERS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier):
WHAT RUN TO DO YOU THINK SET YOU UP FOR THIS PERFORMANCE IN THE FINAL?
“That’s tough to say; every run is important. The guys did a great job with the hot rod today. I always say everything has to come together to win and today it came together. It’s a good day.”
YOU WENT THROUGH A MURDER’S ROW TODAY.“It was a tough (list) of competitors to go through. My guys did a great job. They all gave me a great race car. I drove halfway decent today and it all came together and we’re pretty pumped.”
YOU GET PAST GREG ANDERSON, TAKE A BREATH AND HAVE TO RACE ANOTHER ONE OF THE KB GUYS.
“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.”
IS THERE ANOTHER CLASS YOU WANT TO TRY?
“For now, I’d like to win a championship in Pro Stock. You never know; I wouldn’t mind going 300 mph once or twice. But Pro Stock is my home for right now and it’s where I plan on staying.”
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): “All weekend qualifying, three phenomenal runs so we’re very happy with. Three good runs, especially these runs earlier in the day, really got us prepared for race day.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier, fell in first round): “Wasn’t our weekend over at the PEAK Chevy. It was a good weekend for John Force Racing, though. Brittany with the Flav-R-Pac and Monster Energy getting another No. 1 qualifier and Robert with the Auto Club picking up the win. We are all up there in points, all in the top five. That’s a good spot to be and now we get to chase another win at home.”

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) — Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr.’s first trip out west this season yielded a stout semifinal finish at Sunday’s 33rd annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals. His successful Wine Country weekend included a holeshot round-win over reigning four-time class champion Erica Enders, his teammate at Elite Motorsports. “These are the kind of weekend’s that make you better,” Coughlin said. “We didn’t get the ultimate result we are looking for but we continue gain rhythm as a team and if I can find a better way to let out the clutch pedal we’ll reach all our goals. “My crew chief, Mark Ingersoll, along with Kelly Murphy, Steven Hurley and Kyle Bates, never stop working on making this JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro better and it showed this weekend. We have everything here to win and I’m already looking forward to next weekend in Pomona.”

After an early-season reshuffling of the schedule due to COVID concerns in different parts of the country, the NHRA tour makes an unprecedented mid-season turn south to Pomona, Calif., rather than its usual Northwest passage to Seattle. “The last time this team raced Pomona at the (2019) Winternationals, Uncle Jeg (Coughlin) was driving this car and they took home the trophy,” Troy Jr. said, “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.” Troy Jr.’s performance this weekend in Nor-Cal certainly gives his group plenty of reasons to be hopeful. After qualifying sixth overall with a 6.540 at 208.94 mph, Coughlin attacked race day with a great racecar.

He started eliminations opposite Kenny Delco, who fouled out early when his car crept through the staging beams. Troy Jr. still ran out his pass with a clocking of 6.547 at 209.59 mph. Up next was Enders, who has collected more professional motorsports titles (four) than any female racer in history. After running a 6.528 at 210.60 mph in her earlier victory over Derik Kramer, she was favored to beat Troy Jr., but a cosmic .007-second reaction time by Troy Jr., ahead of Enders’ .044-second launch, gave him enough of a cushion to hold on for a stunning .01-second victory. “It’s an honor to race Erica, to be teammates with her, and to call her my friend,” Troy Jr. said. “She forces me elevate my game because I know she’s one of the best ever. Whenever you race someone of her caliber, you need to be totally on point. To get the win light when we raced today was really special.”

Fellow young gun Dallas Glenn awaited Troy Jr. in the semifinals but this time the tables were turned and it was Glenn taking a holeshot victory, using a .026-second advantage at the start to win with a 6.589 at 208.04 mph to Troy Jr.’s quicker 6.583 at 208.94 mph. The 61st Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by Protect the Harvest takes place Friday-Sunday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) — Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr.’s first trip out west this season yielded a stout semifinal finish at Sunday’s 33rd annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals. His successful Wine Country weekend included a holeshot round-win over reigning four-time class champion Erica Enders, his teammate at Elite Motorsports. “These are the kind of weekend’s that make you better,” Coughlin said. “We didn’t get the ultimate result we are looking for but we continue gain rhythm as a team and if I can find a better way to let out the clutch pedal we’ll reach all our goals. “My crew chief, Mark Ingersoll, along with Kelly Murphy, Steven Hurley and Kyle Bates, never stop working on making this JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro better and it showed this weekend. We have everything here to win and I’m already looking forward to next weekend in Pomona.”

After an early-season reshuffling of the schedule due to COVID concerns in different parts of the country, the NHRA tour makes an unprecedented mid-season turn south to Pomona, Calif., rather than its usual Northwest passage to Seattle. “The last time this team raced Pomona at the (2019) Winternationals, Uncle Jeg (Coughlin) was driving this car and they took home the trophy,” Troy Jr. said, “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.” Troy Jr.’s performance this weekend in Nor-Cal certainly gives his group plenty of reasons to be hopeful. After qualifying sixth overall with a 6.540 at 208.94 mph, Coughlin attacked race day with a great racecar.

He started eliminations opposite Kenny Delco, who fouled out early when his car crept through the staging beams. Troy Jr. still ran out his pass with a clocking of 6.547 at 209.59 mph. Up next was Enders, who has collected more professional motorsports titles (four) than any female racer in history. After running a 6.528 at 210.60 mph in her earlier victory over Derik Kramer, she was favored to beat Troy Jr., but a cosmic .007-second reaction time by Troy Jr., ahead of Enders’ .044-second launch, gave him enough of a cushion to hold on for a stunning .01-second victory. “It’s an honor to race Erica, to be teammates with her, and to call her my friend,” Troy Jr. said. “She forces me elevate my game because I know she’s one of the best ever. Whenever you race someone of her caliber, you need to be totally on point. To get the win light when we raced today was really special.”

Fellow young gun Dallas Green awaited Troy Jr. in the semifinals but this time the tables were turned and it was Green taking a holeshot victory, using a .026-second advantage at the start to win with a 6.589 at 208.04 mph to Troy Jr.’s quicker 6.583 at 208.94 mph. The 61st Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by Protect the Harvest takes place Friday-Sunday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

SONOMA, CA (July 25, 2021) — Tim Wilkerson’s full racing skillset was on display this weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. It was one of the toughest weekend’s for the driver, crew chef and team owner from Springfield, Illinois, as he battled tough qualifying conditions on Friday and Saturday followed by a Sunday that stretched his team’s abilities to the their limits. The Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Funny Car team never lost their confidence or motivation to pick up their first win of the season.

In the second round of qualifying Wilkerson scuffed the wall disqualifying his run and sending the veteran driver and crew chief to the final qualifying session needing to step up the performance. Wilkerson and his team rose to the challenge making their quickest run of qualifying and jumping from the bottom half of the field to the No. 7 spot with a 3.997 second pass which was the third quickest run of the session.

Heading into race day Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing team faced Jim Campbell and his Jim Dunn Racing entry. Wilkerson took off and was on a great run when his race car started spinning the tires and his engine was dropping cylinders. He worked the throttle to keep his momentum moving down track but the engine let go, erupting in fire before the finish line. The experienced driver was able to get his Mustang Funny Car safely stopped and he picked up an expensive but important round win.

 Between the first round and the quarterfinals Wilkerson pulled out his back-up car and readied it for a race against Alexis DeJoria, the No. 2 qualifier, and recent Mile-High Nationals finalist. Both race cars had issues on the run and Wilkerson was not able to get a second win light on SonomaNationals race day.

“We had just about everything happen to the team this weekend,” said Wilkerson. “I have to hand it to my guys because they busted their tails every day to give me a great race car. Things didn’t go our way and I am just going to put this race behind us and focus on Pomona.”

The Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Funny Car will leave Sonoma Raceway solidly in the top ten with the 61^st NHRA Winternationals in Pomona on tap next weekend to close out the Western Swing. 

Qualifying Results

Q1: 4.172 sec, 227.00 mph; Qual. 9

Q2: No Time – wall; Qual. 10

Q3: 3.997 sec, 291.57 mph; Qual. 7

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

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson                  7              .143        4.189     237.34 (W)          

Jim Campbell                     10           .136        4.605     82.46

Second Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson                   7              .125        5.315     138.47

Alexis DeJoria                   2              .088        4.080     260.76 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Bob Tasca III, 676

2. Matt Hagan, 655

3. Robert Hight, 636

4. John Force, 624

5. Ron Capps, 613

6. J.R. Todd, 584

7. Alexis DeJoria, 577

8. Tim Wilkerson, 526

9. Cruz Pedregon, 481

10. Terry Haddock, 306

Pierce climbs eighth-to-second in pursuit of fourth Summer Nationals tile CLARKSVILLE, TN – July 24, 2021 – Nearly two-thirds of all DIRTcar Summer Nationals Features contested this season have been won by two drivers, both under the age of 25. With his fourth victory of the season Saturday night at Clarksville Speedway, Ashton Winger joins that exclusive club, showcasing the youthful talent present on the circuit. Winger, the 21-year-old wheelman from Hampton, GA, grabbed hold of the quarter-mile red-clay oval and took it to the field, leading all 40 laps en route to his second $10,000 payday of the season. “This car is really fast right now, and it’s fun to drive,” Winger said in Victory Lane. “I’m glad we’re getting in stride at this part of the year because we get to race every night.” The driver that crossed directly behind him was none other than the three-time Hell Tour champion, Bobby Pierce. Pierce, the 24-year-old hot shoe from Oakwood, IL, with 10 Summer Nationals wins thus far, worked his way up from eighth on the starting grid, using both the high and low grooves to make timely passes and get to the front. Both of their nights could have easily been abruptly ended, however, in the big pileup wreck in Turns 3-4 that started right in front of Winger just past the quarter-way mark. Michael Siebers, Robert Andry and a host of others spun and stacked-up in the corner, but did so in a way that formed an opening right through the middle of them, where Winger’s car immediately darted to. He slammed on the brakes and made the fit through the wreckage, just as he was about to barrel through and pile-in. “I think Jesus definitely took the wheel there,” Winger said of his perspective from the driver’s seat. “We got lucky there, sometimes it doesn’t work out like that.” Winger got a great restart and once again pulled away from the field. Pierce picked his battle back up with Joe Godsey and Dennis Erb Jr. for third, while Tanner English rode ahead of them in second. Pierce soon pulled the trigger on the top lane and zoomed past Erb Jr. and English into second, soon making a beeline for leader Winger. But in the end, Winger was just too smooth through the middle for Pierce to makeup the gap. The Georgia boy navigated through traffic well in the late stages and brought home the win with a 1.682-second gap to Pierce, who extended his points lead over English with yet another podium finish. UP NEXT The Summer Nationals Late Models are back in action Sunday night, July 25, for their debut at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, KY. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (40 Laps) 1. 12-Ashton Winger[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 4. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 5. 14G-Joe Godsey[2]; 6. 74-Mitch McGrath[12]; 7. 61-Caleb Ashby[15]; 8. 212-Josh Putnam[5]; 9. 1A-Levi Ashby[11]; 10. 38-Thomas Hunziker[20]; 11. 18-Matt Cooper[7]; 12. 14R-Jeff Roth[24]; 13. 118-Mike Fenton[19]; 14. 54JR-Larry Barber Jr[23]; 15. 01-Steven Stehle[22]; 16. 127-Robert Ardry[14]; 17. 15-Richard Frost[13]; 18. 18X-Michael Seibers[17]; 19. 248-Brandon Lance[25]; 20. J8-Jadon Frame[4]; 21. 19-Gavin Schmidt[9]; 22. 18S-David Seibers[10]; 23. 74M-John Minon[16]; 24. (DNS) 9G-Larry Greer; 25. (DNS) 148-Tim Lance Jr; 26. (DQ) 27-Joe Denby[18] SIXTEEN CANDLES: Hoffman Dominates Clarksville for Sixteenth Win of Season Just one night removed from this first runner-up finish of the entire season, Nick Hoffman went right back at it on Saturday night at Clarksville Speedway and won his sixteenth DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature. It was another 25-lap drive of perfection by the three-time and defending champion, as he led every lap en route to the $1,500 payday and his 54th career Summit Modified victory – once again putting him in a tie for most all-time with six-time champion Mike Harrison. But this run didn’t exactly get off to the greatest start from inside the Hoffman cockpit. “I knew the initial start was gonna be the race, really,” Hoffman said. “I hit the fence down the front straightaway and was really worried about getting a right-front flat going through Turns 1-2. But we kept the air in it.” Hoffman’s biggest challenger was the seven-time UMP Modified winner in local Clarksville action so far this year – Trent Young. Young stayed top-three the entire race and cracked the whip in the final circuits but could not make up the gap. “Trent was hustling pretty hard at the end and made me step it up there,” Hoffman said. Hoffman had himself some issues in the final stretch as well. “There was about five or six to go, and I entered in on the cushion in 1-2 and something broke in the right-rear or left-rear, I’m not really sure. I was just kinda hanging on from there,” Hoffman said. And hang on he did, savoring the victory at a track he won both races at in last year’s back-to-back show to make it a three-peat in 2021. UP NEXT The Summit Modifieds are back in action Sunday night, July 25, for their debut at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, KY. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view all results) Feature (25 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 10Y-Trent Young[1]; 3. 99-Hunt Gossum[16]; 4. 12L-Lucas Lee[4]; 5. 98-Zac Harris[5]; 6. T6- Tommy Sheppard Jr[17]; 7. 88R-Dustin Rollins[9]; 8. 00D-David Reutimann[15]; 9. 02-Chris Cook[8]; 10. 7D-Pete Sabatino[11]; 11. 11-Brian Ashby[12]; 12. 176-Scotty Owens[14]; 13. 96-Curtis Rodenhaber[6]; 14. 9H-John Demoss[7]; 15. 88-Adam Wright[13]; 16. 13-Charlie Mefford[10]; 17. 19-Travis Thrasher[18]; 18. 21S-Kenny Shaw[20]; 19. 16-Todd Riley[19]; 20. (DNS) 19S-Garrett Schmidt

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.

Greenwood, NE (July 24, 2021) – Kyle Bronson pulled away from the pack and cruised to victory on Saturday Night at I-80 Speedway, winning the 11th Annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals by more than ten seconds over runner-up Tim McCreadie.  Bronson took home $53,000 for his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season and the biggest of his racing career. This win was also the 31-year-old Florida racers’ first Crown Jewel victory of his racing career. Bronson took the lead from Chase Junghans on lap 48 and dominated the remainder of the race. Junghans held the lead for the first 47 circuits as Bronson made several attempts to pass him for the lead. Bronson was finally able to pass Junghans coming off turn two with 32 laps remaining in the race. McCreadie eventually cleared Junghans on lap 66 for second. Even though McCreadie moved into second he was still several car lengths behind the leader. The second of two cautions flew on lap 32, the race went green after that until the checkers flew. Bronson’s margin of victory was 10.492 seconds. McCreadie will maintain his points lead heading to Florence Speedway next month. Jonathan Davenport had closed the gap on McCreadie to just 45 points heading into the race but finished in 27th after dropping out of the event on lap 22. Earl Pearson Jr. came through the field to finish third after starting in 14th. Jimmy Owens came home in fourth followed by Junghans. Sixth place starting Bronson went to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fifth time in his career. “I love coming to this place. This car was awesome, and this Clements motor helps me a ton on that top there. This is the most pumped I have ever been in my life. This is pretty awesome. I couldn’t do it without my guys, they have been making my job a whole lot easier. They have been having this thing right, I am just the guy holding the steering wheel. They have been giving me everything I need to win.” The 2017 Silver Dollar Nationals winner, McCreadie, finished in second. “I just lost my side bite there. Once the brown went away, I couldn’t get around the cushion because I was so flat getting in, and the car had no scotch. To run low was the only way to get my car up in the air to get it in attitude to try and get off the corner.” McCreadie earned a $20,000 paycheck for second. Pearson, who changed cars after the first three nights took third at the finish. “The car was really good when we started off and the whole race it was good. We could move all around. The biggest thing we could do that a lot of them couldn’t was turn through the center. I could just turn up under them and drag race them down the straightaway.”   The winner’s Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Brandon Ford, Race Car Engineering, Borchers Equipment, Lucas Oil Products, VP Fuels, Swift Springs, Integra Shocks, and All-Florida Real Estate Group. Completing the top ten were Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O’Neal, Stormy Scott, Spencer Hughes, and Ryan Gustin. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals Race Summary Saturday, July 24th, 2021I-80 Speedway – Greenwood, NE LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 75-Terry Phillips[1]; 2. 04-Tad Pospisil[5]; 3. 18A-John Anderson[6]; 4. 1C-Chad Simpson[2]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 6. 99B-Boom Briggs[11]; 7. 7R-Ross Robinson[8]; 8. 98-Ben Schaller[4]; 9. 3C-Mike Collins[12]; 10. 24-Bill Leighton[7]; 11. 157-Mike Marlar[9]; 12. 22M-Charlie McKenna[10]; 13. 77-Dusty Leonard[13] UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 14-Josh Richards[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[3]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[8]; 5. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 6. 14J-Jake Neal[6]; 7. 49T-Jake Timm[4]; 8. 80-Allan Hopp[11]; 9. 6D-Cory Dumpert[10]; 10. 53-Andrew Kosiski[9]; 11. 66C-Matt Cosner[5]; 12. 52-Brian Kosiski[12]; 13. 45-Dan Battaglia[13] S&S Showdown Non-Qualifier Finish (20 Laps, Winner’s Choice to Transfer): 1. 99B-Boom Briggs[2]; 2. 7R-Ross Robinson[4]; 3. 14J-Jake Neal[3]; 4. 98-Ben Schaller[6]; 5. 3C-Mike Collins[8]; 6. 49T-Jake Timm[5]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[10]; 8. 6D-Cory Dumpert[9]; 9. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[1]; 10. 80-Allan Hopp[7]; 11. 45-Dan Battaglia[14]; 12. 77-Dusty Leonard[13]; 13. 52-Brian Kosiski[12]; 14. (DNS) 22M-Charlie McKenna