NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICASECHOPARK TEXAS GRAND PRIXTEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTESMAY 23, 2021 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Llumar Camaro ZL1 1LE2. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE4. Ross Chastain, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 1LE5. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Hyperice Camaro ZL1 1LE7. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1.  Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)     2.  Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)     3. Joey Logano (Ford)4.   Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)     5.   AJ Allmenginger (Chevrolet     The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series continues with Round 15, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, on Sunday, May 30. FOX will telecast the race live at 6 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES: CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerIT DOESN’T SEEM TO MATTER THE CONDITIONS. IF IT’S A ROAD COURSE, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND YOUR WAY UP FRONT. THIS IS YOUR SIXTH ROAD COURSE RACE WIN AND 12th CAREER VICTORY“I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve never won a rain race before, so it’s kind of cool. And I’m just super proud of our team for just continuing to fight. We started the day, and we weren’t very good. I just kept pushing myself and we kept making some good changes throughout the day and got to where I thought we were on pace with those guys there at the end. So, I’m really proud of that. It’s not the greatest thing ever, for it to rain and to have a rain race win, if it’s your first one; but I think it’s okay if it’s down the road, so I’m pretty excited about that. I’m looking forward to next week and trying to keep it rolling.” AT THE END OF THE RACE, YOU WERE A COUPLE OF LAPS SHORT ON FUEL. ALAN (GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF) TOLD YOU TO START PUSHING. YOU PICKED UP THE PACE INCREDIBLY AT THE END. YOU WERE TWO SECONDS QUICKER THAN ANYBODY IN THE FIELD. WHAT DID YOU DO DIFFERENT?“I just kept pushing myself harder and harder. Some areas on the track though were getting, actually, really treacherous, I felt like. The back straightaway was puddling up and starting to hydroplane and do some weird stuff. My only option was to just kind of send it through those spots and just hope for the best. “Like I said, I’m just really proud of our team. This is two-in-a-row for Hendrick Motorsports and the 800th win for Chevrolet. I couldn’t be more proud of Chevy and it’s the 268th win for Hendrick Motorsports. “Thanks to all the fans for hanging in there today. It’s great to have Llumar on the car this week and get this win together. I know everybody is used to seeing us in our NAPA colors, but it’s good to have them on board. “I’m just proud of our team. To come here and fight, it’s not the ideal way to win, but we’ll definitely take it and move on down the road.” ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th“Fourth place, solid day.  Car was fast in the rain.  My goodness.  Just keep it on track was my plan, and we did that. I had a few close calls, and we did get into a few people, but I think a lot of people did.  Learned a lot and this girl (taps watermelon), is going to have to wait for another day.  Close, and its cool to be disappointed with a top five. Congrats to Chevrolet on their 800th win. Is that possible?  The Clover Chevy…..there were some guests, some Clover guests and there were a ton of Clover machines on property today.  Awesome stuff.  I was proud of the effort of relaying through our spotters of Josh Wise and Scott Speed.  The Skip Barber Racing School here at COTA taught me a ton in the last year at road racing and in the rain. Thank you boys and girls, thank you CGR, and on to the next.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th“To start the day off in COTA with my first NASCAR Cup Series pole was unreal. Our No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet was so fast, and that is a huge testament to all the hard work everyone does at RCR, ECR and Chevrolet. Road racing has been a big challenge in my career, and I’ve worked really hard to get better at it. The race today was wild. It was so difficult to see out there with the rain, but my spotters did a good job of helping me navigate around the track. We came back through the field a handful of times for a variety of reasons during the day, so we definitely had the speed to compete. It was just really tough out there and we just needed a little more time. I’m thankful we were able to get both stage points and a top-10 finish out of the day, but I wish we were somehow able to finish the day safely. I would have loved to get this Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet and their 40+ veteran team members that were riding along with me a little farther up, but hopefully I made them proud with our effort today. Congrats also to Chevrolet on 800 wins in NASCAR. Hopefully we’re part of the next one.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th11 STRAIGHT TOP TENS COMES TO AN END HERE, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT? “Yeah, we honestly wanted to win today, and I thought we were in a great position and I just kind of jumped the gun on pitting too early.  I got the rain tires on the car and we were a little too dry for it and wore them out. We were running fifth there in Stage 1 and the 21 got into us and tore the right rear up and we just had a bunch of damage after that.  To finish 11th is awesome for this Liberty University Chevrolet team. They did a great job repairing it, but it never really drove the same because I think it knocked the rear end out of place.  To finish 11th after that is good, it’s a bummer, but I thought for sure we would get a top 10 the way it was going and just unfortunately the rain came to hard. But it was a blast, I enjoyed it, and congrats to Chevrolet on their big win, and to Hendrick Motorsports.  Getting close to breaking that record, so hopefully we can do it next week.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 WORKRISE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“Well, P 12, that is the best road course race finish for us ever. It was the craziest day I have ever had in racing. Thank you Workrise. Man, that was nuts.  Crazy stuff happening all over the track.  Got to race in the rain, and that was some crazy conditions, but congratulations to Chevrolet on the 880th win.  Let’s go to the next one.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th“Decent day for the Lonely Entrepreneur Chevy. Made gains all day but the race getting called early cost us some spots. Felt good to have some better speed at the end, just have to keep improving at the road courses.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ECHO PARK TEXAS GRAND PRIX TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTS MAY 23, 2021 CHASE ELLIOTT CAPTURES 800th WIN FOR CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUP SERIESFirst-Ever NCS Victory at COTA AUSTIN, Texas – (May 23, 2021) – Chase Elliott’s win of the inaugural EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in his No. 9 Llumar Camaro ZL1 1LE scored the 800th all-time victory for Chevrolet in NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) competition. This unprecedented win secured a significant milestone for Chevrolet as the most successful manufacturer in NASCAR history. In addition to reaching this 800th triumph for the brand, Elliott brought the Camaro ZL1 1LE to Victory Lane for the 14th time since becoming Chevrolet’s flagship NCS race vehicle in 2020, and the fifth time in the 2021 NCS season. “I couldn’t be more excited,” said Elliott. “I’ve never won a rain race before, so it’s kind of cool. And I’m just super proud of our team for just continuing to fight. We started the day, and we weren’t very good. I just kept pushing myself and we kept making some good changes throughout the day and got to where I thought we were on pace with those guys there at the end. So, I’m really proud of that. It’s not the greatest thing ever, for it to rain and to have a rain race win, if it’s your first one; but I think it’s okay if it’s down the road, so I’m pretty excited about that. I’m looking forward to next week and trying to keep it rolling.” Due to inclement weather, the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix was called with 14 laps to go. Elliott’s triumph marks the first appearance for the NCS in its debut at COTA, a 3.4-mile, 20-turn, counterclockwise track circuit track with multiple elevation changes that that flow with the hilly landscape. This win was Elliott’s 12th NCS career victory, his sixth road course win, and first of the 2021 NCS season. It also celebrated the 268th victory for Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports. “So proud of Chase Elliott and his No. 9 Camaro team for persevering all race long and handling such challenging conditions to deliver a big win at the first race at Circuit of the Americas,” said Jim Campbell, vice president of Performance and Motorsports. “Chase’s first win of the season is extra special as it was Hendrick Motorsports 268th Cup win and Chevrolet’s 800th Cup win.” “I’d also like to thank all of the Chevrolet engineers, and all of the drivers, crew chiefs, teams and owners who have contributed to those 800 wins over the past 66 years.” Chevrolet’s rich heritage in NASCAR competition began when Fonty Flock took the checkered flag on March 26,1955 at Columbia Raceway in Columbia, South Carolina in his ‘55 Chevy. Sixty-six years later, the ‘Bowtie Brand’ continues to set the mark. Chevrolet’s accolades in NASCAR racing are vast. To date, the manufacturer has earned 32 Driver titles and 39 Manufacturer titles en route to its 800 victories.  No manufacturer has carried more drivers and teams to championships in NASCAR’s premier division than Chevrolet. MILESTONE VICTORIES LIST:1st WIN: 3/26/55 – Fonty Flock, Columbia, SC100th WIN: 7/07/62 – Rex White – Columbia, SC200th WIN: 6/11/78 – Benny Parsons – Riverside, CA300th WIN: 4/20/86 – Dale Earnhardt, Sr. – North Wilkesboro, NC400th WIN: 9/10/94 – Terry Labonte – Richmond, VA500thWIN: 8/12/01 – Jeff Gordon – Watkins Glen, NY600th WIN: 3/25/07 – Kyle Busch – Bristol, TN700thWIN: 11/4/12 – Jimmie Johnson – Ft. Worth, TX800th WIN: 5/23/21 – Chase Elliott – Austin, TX DURATION BETWEEN MILESTONE WINS:1st to 100th: 2660 days = 7 years, 3 months, 11 days100th to 200th: 5818 days = 15 years, 11 months, 4 days200th to 300th: 2870 days = 7 years, 10 months, 9 days300th to 400th: 3065 days = 8 years, 4 months, 21 days400th to 500h: 2528 days = 6 years, 11 months, 2 days500th to 600th: 2051 days = 5 years, 7 months, 13 days600th to 700th: 2051 days = 5 years, 7 months, 10 days700th to 800th: 3122 days = 8 years, 6 months, 19 days WINS BY NAMEPLATE:Bel Air or Biscayne = 55Chevelle/Chevelle Laguna/Laguna S-3 = 36Lumina = 61Monte Carlo/Monte Carlo SS = 396Impala/Impala SS = 152Chevrolet SS = 73Camaro/Camaro ZL1/Camaro ZL1 1LE = 27 POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS:CHASE ELLIOTT AND ALAN GUSTAFSON, NO. 9 LLUMAR CAMARO ZLI 1LERICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTSKYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE THE MODERATOR: We have now been joined by our race winner, Chase Elliott. Congratulations on the victory.CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, thank you. It was a good day for sure. Too hard to win to get picky on how. We’ll take it.THE MODERATOR: We’ll go straight into questions.Just quickly, a monumental day for Hendrick Motorsports with that win, kind of a really neat opportunity that you’ll have a chance to sign the door of your car along with Mr. H and Richard Petty, then your race team as well. Talk a little bit about what that means and how neat that will be to auction off for Victory Junction.CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, obviously just a huge win on multiple fronts. Win number 800 for Chevrolet. They’re a great partner to me personally. They’ve played a massive role in the success of Hendrick Motorsports past and present. A great group to work with. So super proud of them.Obviously there’s a lot of guys, a lot more guys than me, that have contributed to that banner. Really proud and honored to be able to hold that up today. Then to tie Richard Petty Motorsports obviously is a big one. The boss has been on us heavy about that record. He wants that record. So super glad that we could help with that today.As you mentioned, the tie, then auctioning the door from today to benefit Victory Junction gang, obviously a well-known charity. What Richard has done there for as long as I can remember, I remember that charity as a kid. I know he’s changed a lot of lives. Hopefully we can help that cause as well. A really special piece of our car today, this is a big win. Looking forward to helping any way we can. THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions. Q. Do you have any sense of what’s the right call to make there in those situations? When visibility was so bad on the backstretch, they were wrecking, they restart the race, it got somewhat better, then started raining heavy again. Where is the line for you guys?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day I’m not the one making the calls. I don’t want to make the calls. I can sit there and look at it and have an opinion, but it’s not my call. Like I say, I don’t want it to be my call.The track went through a bunch of different stages. The visibility further back in the pack, which I restarted back there on multiple occasions, it was super hard to see. That was really the case kind of all day long. I don’t really know how you fix that with the spray coming off the cars.I think where it got to there at the end was just there were puddles of standing water. I think that was where NASCAR got to and they’re like, Hey, this is not good. Visibility is one thing, but when you hydroplane going however fast we’re going, that’s probably not good. I think that’s kind of the situation we found ourselves in there at the end.Obviously I was on the good end of the call, so I’m okay with the race ending. But actually I think a lot of guys would say the standing water was getting pretty serious. It might have gotten better, might have not. Who knows. Q. If they restarted the race, would you have been more worried about running out of gas or conditions, just trying to get through the race?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, to me, obviously the fuel side of things was what it was. We needed some caution laps to get us to the end. The biggest thing I was thinking about for the restart was if I had a good restart, I was the first one to the back straightaway, that first guy back there was going to have a tough road ahead to make it down there without wrecking, in my opinion. I think it was going to be tough.With those green flag conditions, seemed like cars were kind of spread out around the track. Seemed like there was always a little bit of a tire track to run in. When you have a caution like that, it’s just building, building, building, we’re all bunched up, guys aren’t running around there keeping the water moving, that’s when I feel like it gets worse.As soon as the caution came out, it’s just hard to stay ahead of it at that point. I think that’s the situation we found ourselves in. Q. Was there any point today where you felt like we shouldn’t be out here, or you’re a race car driver and do whatever NASCAR tells you to do?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, that’s not my call. If they say race, we’re going to go. If they make the call to say that it’s not doable or not smart, that’s what we’ll do, too.Look, it’s not for me to say. It’s not my call. I’m not the one in that position to have to make that call, and I don’t want to be. I’ll try to make the most of whatever it is, try to do my job the best I can. Q. Any close calls for you where you felt like you almost came close to running into the back of somebody because of visibility?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, there were a lot of close calls for sure. I feel like there’s close calls when it’s 75 and sunny, too. Yeah, of course. There’s close calls all the time.The conditions were different, but I don’t know what you do about it. When it’s raining and the track is wet, there’s going to be water coming off the back of the cars. If you can’t see, slow down till you can see, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t know how you fix that. Q. It’s not like you’ve had a bad season this year, but certainly being the last of the four of the teammates to win, people mention you as one of guys that hasn’t won with all your success last year. How did you handle that? Did that bother you? You seem like you’re able to handle things that come your way. Did it just roll off your shoulders?CHASE ELLIOTT: Like I said in the past, everyone is entitled to an opinion. That’s great. That’s what makes it exciting, right, to watch. Everybody can voice theirs, have something to say about it.At the end of the day the only opinions that matter, that reflect our performance and what we do on track, is our team and what we believe internally. That’s how we’ve always approached our racing at the 9 camp. That’s how we’ll always do it. We’re just focused on the opinions and the people that matter to us, the people that can make a difference, make us either go fast on Sundays or not. Those of the rest of everybody else that have an opinion, they don’t matter really at the end of the day.Q. Mr. H was talking earlier about drivers being in a slump. It’s been a while since you won. He said drivers will always still need that talking to, father-like figure to talk. Are there moments where you get into a slump where you feel like you need somebody to help you get out of it? CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, for sure. There’s going to be times in everybody’s life where you need somebody to look up to or need somebody to talk to or whatever. Mr. Hendrick has always been that guy for me if I want him to be or if I want to talk to him about anything.I feel like my relationship with him, the door’s always open, and he’s going to help me on any level that he can, whether it’s as a person, as a race car driver, whatever it may be.I mean, I couldn’t ask for anything more with our relationship and everything he’s offered me and been willing to help with. Q. With today’s race, you are obviously the first Cup winner at COTA. Is there something about having the first name on the trophy?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, just to have a name on the trophy is probably the most important thing. Yeah, super proud just of our whole group. I feel like we really kind of persevered through multiple challenges today. I didn’t think we started the day off great, but we were able to kind of fight back, get to where we had a lot of pace there at the end. Really proud of that.Like I said, first name on the trophy, last name, I don’t know that it matters really. Just proud to have it on there. Q. You grab your first win this weekend. How big is that for your confidence heading into the Coke 600?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, like I said, look, these races are too hard to win to really pick and choose, get picky on how. You want to win ’em normally, without rain or anything to change the normal distance. But, look, I mean, a win is a win. A big win today for our team, for Chevrolet, for Hendrick Motorsports as a whole. Certainly going back to Charlotte, which is HMS’s home track. We love to go there and have another great run, be able to fight for another win. Q. A lot of people like to call you the road course king. What does it mean to have that reputation and keep bolstering it?CHASE ELLIOTT: I don’t read into it much. Like I said a minute ago, everybody has an opinion, they’re entitled to it. I’m happy for ’em. At the end of the day we’ve got to continue to push ourselves, try to be better, challenge ourselves to push forward at all the tracks, not just road courses.A win is a win. Right turns, left turns, uphill, downhill, I really don’t care. They’re too hard to win. I’m going to enjoy it, enjoy ’em all. THE MODERATOR: We have now also been joined by our race-winning crew chief, Alan Gustafson. He’s available for questions, as well.Q. Chase, I know he was there back in November, but what was it like to get the first win of the season with your father in attendance but on your radio as well?CHASE ELLIOTT: Definitely always a special thing to have your dad a part of a good day. Obviously wish my mom had been here, too. Yeah, I mean, you have to appreciate those things. That’s not something that a person should ever take for granted, to be able to enjoy those type of moments with your family.I certainly will enjoy today just like I have tried to enjoy other moments throughout our time together. Today will be no different. Q. Alan, they were talking a lot about the drivers having trouble with the spray. With the rear diffuser in the next-gen car, is that going to do anything? Can you put flaps on the back of the rear wheels or is it pretty much you have what you have? ALAN GUSTAFSON: I don’t know. We were just talking about that. That’s a great question. I’m not sure. I’d be curious to know what another series would do and what they would have had for visibility in that situation.The only thing that kind of comes to my mind, which is a bit unique for us, is we just run really, really close together. I think closer for longer periods of time than most other series do. That definitely makes it more difficult.If the cars had more downforce and more stability, I mean, it would certainly help the car drive better, but certainly not help you see any better. Knowing you’re going that fast, visibility is 30 feet in front of you, it’s just a bad combination.I don’t know. It’s a difficult thing to do. I don’t necessarily see the next-gen car making a huge change when it comes to visibility in that situation. I can’t say I wouldn’t know what to do because there’s just so much moisture in the air, it’s like heavy fog. Visibility is really poor, you’re going really fast. That’s a combination that’s not typically very good. Q. Is there a win that you look back at Hendrick Motorsports that you feel epitomizes being able to tie the record?ALAN GUSTAFSON: There’s not really one that stands out to me. This one’s pretty special. Certainly any of them you get are huge. To contribute to Mr. Hendrick’s success is great, something I’m super proud of. I know the team is. We’ve been trying really hard to get him that record because we certainly think he’s the best owner and he deserves it.I think for me, it’s just to be a part of it and to have contributed to a small percentage of the wins, it certainly makes me feel good. Q. Chase, the race was rain affected. Do you think this was the most challenging race you’ve been to?CHASE ELLIOTT: That’s tough. I mean, it’s tough to rank challenging races. I’ve had a lot of challenges races throughout my career, but challenging in different ways.Today it was the weather, just the conditions were different. I feel like there’s been times where I’ve had other really challenging days just in different ways. Kind of tough to put ’em in order I suppose. Q. Chase, I believe this is your sixth win on a road course in your career, which puts you third or fourth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with road course victories. What does that mean to you to be a step or two below guys like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart? CHASE ELLIOTT: To be real honest, I haven’t spent a ton of time thinking about that and the stat book. I’m really just concerned with wanting to win that day, have success now. I think there’s a time where you can look back and really enjoy and appreciate different things, things in your career, accomplishments, whatnot.When you’re fighting the fight, it’s really hard to do that right now because as a team and me personally, I’m just consumed with wanting to do good. I don’t think sitting there and daydreaming about that is helping me do good. So I choose not to. Q. Chase, Mr. H said he felt like all four Hendrick teams could be in the Championship 4 race. I was curious if you and Alan agree?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, I don’t see why not. Obviously a lot can happen in those last 10 races. I feel like as a company our cars and each team I feel like is performing at a high level. If we can all carry that throughout the whole season, I don’t see why not.You certainly are going to have to have some things go your way. There are a lot of great drivers and teams that we have to improve with throughout the year and keep up with. THE MODERATOR: To Chase and Alan, congratulations again. Thank you for always spending some time with us following your race wins. We wish you the best of luck next weekend in Charlotte, as well.CHASE ELLIOTT: Thank you. THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Rick Hendrick. Congratulations on another Hendrick Motorsports win today with Chase Elliott. Today’s 268th win, tying the Petty record. Why don’t you give us a couple thoughts before we go into questions. RICK HENDRICK: Well, I really don’t know what to say other than Richard Petty and that organization have been the backbone of the sport. Richard has done so much. It’s quite an honor to even be in the same series with him.Never thought we’d get here. But real proud of the guys. They worked really hard. That’s been something we’ve had in our sights. Really happy for Chevrolet with 800 wins.It’s just been a great day. It’s been a great ride. The season has been so good to us. Everybody’s won a race now. We got all four locked in to the Playoffs. Man, I don’t know. It would sure be nice to win another one in Charlotte. That would be the place to really break the record. THE MODERATOR: Also worth noting that Hendrick Motorsports has a unique kind of memory or memorabilia coming from today’s race with the door of the history-making race car with Chase’s car will be signed by Chase and the winning team, Rick, and Richard Petty, then will be auctioned off for Victory Junction. A really neat way to commemorate this victory. Tell us a little bit about what that means to be able to do that, in honor of Richard Petty, as well. RICK HENDRICK: Well, Victory Junction was a dream. Kyle and Richard wanted to honor Adam. We’ve been involved with that program from the beginning. They helped so many kids. Hats off to them for what they’ve done for so many children. So much of the NASCAR community has supported Victory Junction. I’m just honored that we can take the door off of that car and auction it off for Victory Junction.I couldn’t be any happier. That’s going to be a real treat for me. Hope we raise a lot of money. THE MODERATOR: We’ll go to questions. Q. As a car owner, watching your guys race in this rain today, what was your takeaway from racing in the rain, considering the carnage that took place during the second stage?RICK HENDRICK: When you win a race, you’re pretty excited no matter how you got there. For the track and the fans, I wish it could have been dry because I think you saw the guys put on a heck of a show in the rain and in the dry. That’s a really neat track. So many fans there.I thought the guys did a heck of a job. I don’t know how they ran those cars those speeds in the rain and the wet. Hydroplaning. It takes a lot of guts to drive down a corner or down the straightaway at 140 miles an hour and hope that you don’t hydroplane when you hit the brakes.It was a tremendous effort by the drivers. I think you see the skill set that all of the NASCAR drivers have. Man, those guys were going at it every lap. Just hats off to the drivers, all of ’em. To do what they did in those kind of conditions, I mean, the rain and hydroplane is one thing, but when you can’t see, I don’t know. I don’t understand how we didn’t have more problems than we did. There were a couple of situations there with the 19, it was a pretty serious hit. I’m just glad everybody’s okay. Q. Calling in from a yacht or something?RICK HENDRICK: Calling from home. I got all kinds of grandkids, my two granddaughters and a grandson graduating. One is going, Kate is going to Davidson. I’ve been wearing a Davidson hat all day. I think I’ll put that on. Q. What does this mean to you? Could you talk about what are some of the highlights of all these wins?RICK HENDRICK: When I look back at the pictures of the wins, it brings back so many memories. I think all the time about hadn’t won Martinsville wouldn’t be here. So many things happened along the way. So many really good drivers that everybody from Geoff Bodine winning the first race, Tim Richmond, Terry winning a championship, Jeff Gordon, what he’s meant to us. Of course, Jimmie Johnson, with all his wins. Everybody along the way. Now with these four young guys, and adding Kyle Larson, it’s been a big boost to our company.The future looks bright. I never thought I’d be here. Never thought we’d win this many races. I’m just proud of the people. I think Chase said it: there’s 600-plus folks over there that work hard every day. They’re working together, they’re sharing information. Kyle Petty said this the other day: we’re like a big family, just like the Petty Enterprises were and are. It’s good to see these young guys. Cliff Daniels and all of the guys there that are crew chiefs that grew up in the company. Chad Knaus, Jeff Andrews, everybody. Alan Gustafson, to win his first championship. Big deal.I think they’re all fired up. We’ve got a lot of momentum now. We know it’s going to be hard to keep this streak going. I’ve been through some good times, some bad times, at the top of the mountain, then couldn’t hit our butt. Worked hard, kept going.I think the test of a real company is when you get in those lows, you don’t point fingers and you don’t jump ship; you just work. You can’t stop people that are working together with good communication, just willing to share. I think it’s the best it’s ever been for us, to have a balance of four cars that are running that well. We usually had one or two. Jeff’s dominating, Jimmie’s dominating. Now the sport is so competitive. But to have four that can show up and win any weekend, that’s a testament to the effort that all those people back in the shop are putting into this program. Q. It’s Chevrolet’s 800th victory today. What does it mean to you that you hit your milestone today and also hit a milestone for Chevy?RICK HENDRICK: I was talking to Mark Reuss the other day. I said, We’re going to get you your 800th win and we’re going to tie Richard Petty. Man, I’m so proud for Chevrolet. I’ve never raced anything else but Chevrolet. It’s just been a great ride. 800 wins. I mean, that’s hard to believe by any manufacturer.The support from Chevrolet has been awesome all these years. They’ve always been there. I appreciate that a bunch. You stick with a manufacturer, you go through times where you think your car is not as good, then you hit a streak and you get it all figured out. NASCAR has done a great job to make the cars equal. Next year, man, I don’t know, it’s going to be a real show when everybody is pretty much the same.The drivers, you see the drivers out here today that are just doing some phenomenal things. There are a lot of good road races out there. I’m really impressed with how many of the NASCAR drivers now throughout the field are good road racers.I guess I’m rambling on you guys. But it hasn’t sunk in yet really. You didn’t know what was going to happen there at the end of the race. I could not be more proud to have tied Richard and to have Chevrolet to win that 800th race. Means a lot to me.Again, Richard Petty was going to be my first driver. I thought we had a deal. It didn’t come together. To be able to, again, the respect and admiration I have for him and Kyle, that whole family, it’s a big deal for me to be just mentioned with him.Super excited about that auction for the door. I hope it brings a lot of money. But really, the whole deal’s kind of caught me off guard today because of the rain, not knowing what was going to happen, cars slipping and sliding. But our cars ran good. I hate it that William didn’t get to the top 10. But I’m surprised he finished the race with the damage he had.It’s a great day. THE MODERATOR: Hendrick Motorsports has won Chevy’s 400th, 500th, 600th, 700th, and 800th races. Another milestone there to have all those victories.We’ll continue with questions. Q. You mentioned about all four teams having wins now, the way they’re running. How good does it feel that you have four teams that do look like legitimate contenders?RICK HENDRICK: It feels so great because you have people sponsoring cars, one guy is running really good, I’ll get a text, Why are you giving this guy the best motor? Why are you giving this guy the best car? That’s a situation that people have a hard time believing that the equipment is the same.So now to be able to have all of our sponsors happy that everyone’s winning, everyone’s capable of winning the races. It feels good. It feels great because it just levels out the whole organization from the standpoint of there’s not one guy falling behind. They’re all capable of winning every week. That’s what you want. If you can just be there, be in the mix, be capable of running up front, winning races, that’s as good as it gets for an organization. Q. You mentioned the low points. I think it was Jeff Andrews who said that he felt like last summer was really the low point and turning point for the company. Do you remember that time? He specifically mentioned having to look you and Chevrolet in the eye.RICK HENDRICK: Yeah, well, we had a meeting. We had all the COVID deal going on where you’re going to work in the shop, who is going to do what. We were just fractured.When we had a big get-together, we said, Hey, we got to get after this, all hands on deck. The season turned. Chase was able to win the last two, win the championship. The momentum has carried over into this year.So we’re excited. It’s always hard to win a championship because you don’t know what can happen in that last race. But if you can be there and you can be in part of it, I think we got the best shot we’ve ever had to have four cars legitimate winners that could go into that Final Four. Q. Can you think of a win or two that you feel epitomizes why your organization was able to tie the record?RICK HENDRICK: Man, I tell you, there’s so many wins. When you see the organization come together, I guess the 1-2-3 in ’97 at Daytona. It takes every one of those wins, whether it was Joe Nemechek in Richmond or whoever to get to the number we got to now. I guess Jimmie winning the championship, tying Earnhardt and Petty for seven. We had to win the last race there at Homestead. That was an unbelievable moment for us to win the championship in the last race. The same way it was to win it in Phoenix with Chase.Man, there’s just so many. All of them are special. I can’t pick any one that’s probably any more special than 10 other ones. Q. As far as today, was there any time where you felt like NASCAR should have stopped the race earlier or were you okay with their decisions?RICK HENDRICK: I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision. Is it going to rain harder? Is it going to slack up? Do you stop? Do you throw a caution? Hindsight, you can say when the cars start hydroplaning, you can’t see, you need to stop.I think they did the best they can to keep it safe for the drivers. Once you have some of these accidents like we had, when you can’t see and you’re running those speeds, things are going to happen.It’s hard to say what we should have done. I think they made the best decisions they could. I think there at the end, though, not just because we won the race, because I think Kyle Larson would have won if Chase had to pit.It’s a hard call. I think they do a great job. THE MODERATOR: We’ve also been joined by Kyle Larson. Kyle is also available for questions. Q. Mr. H, you mentioned getting a win at the Coke 600 next weekend would really kind of put a cherry on top of this. Why would that race be so monumental to get a top finish next weekend?RICK HENDRICK: Well, that’s our home track. That track means a lot to us. Our shops are about a mile away. Everybody would be able to celebrate together. So that would be awesome because that is our home.I know Kyle, I see him there, Kyle needs to do it (smiling). Q. Kyle, how did you feel like the visibility was during that race even at the beginning? Did you feel like it was unsafe?KYLE LARSON: I mean, there’s honestly nothing safe about being a race car driver. Yeah, I mean, it was at moments worse than other restarts. NASCAR did a good job with the Air Titans. That definitely helped it. You could definitely see a little bit after that for the restarts.Honestly just the restarts were bad for me. Once you get back around the next time, get better, get better each lap. There at the end, yeah, it was starting to rain pretty hard. You were having to deal with hydroplaning, trying to go 170-something miles an hour. It was getting pretty crazy.There’s also sports car drivers, road racers that do this for a living. Yeah, I mean, I don’t follow it enough to know if our conditions were different than theirs or what. I mean, that’s kind of what you have to expect I think from racing in the rain also. Q. You talked about all the changes, what have you. What kind of a difference has Chad Knaus made being in the role that he’s in now as opposed to just concentrating on one team?RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think you see the evidence with all four cars running like they are. Chad has made some adjustments. All the crew chiefs have worked together. They’ve come up with a plan of who works on all the cars, one group takes care of the setups. All the things that go on between the crew chiefs and back in the shop.Chad is a very capable crew chief, if you look at all the championships he’s won. He’s a perfectionist. With a perfectionist, the cars are going to be right. We’ve got, again, when you look at the chemistry, just the communication. Chemistry, communication. It’s the best I think it’s ever been.Yeah, he’s added a lot. Q. Kyle, what kind of interaction have you had with Chad since coming to Hendrick Motorsports?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, just really the competition meetings, then usually if we have a good run, he’ll let me know that I’m doing a great job. I’ve let him know, too, that I respect his opinion. Even if I’m not doing a good job, or he sees things that I can maybe do to be better, I’ve let him know I want to be criticized.I think we all have a lot of respect for him. He’s obviously accomplished a bunch. I’m thankful to be able to work with him and have him make all of our teams better now.Mr. H has put together an amazing group of people that have been there for a very long time. Us drivers are just getting to be lucky to work with them and drive their race cars. Q. Kyle, certainly there are a lot more road course races coming up this season. We may not see these type of conditions for a long time or could see them soon. What needs to be learned from today’s experience moving forward to try to prevent some of the issues today?KYLE LARSON: I don’t really know. I don’t really have an answer yet. I haven’t gotten to watch replays, see things like that.It was fun, really from my seat. They’ve raced in the rain, too. Like Montreal and stuff before. I can’t really answer that. Q. Rick, it’s not like it’s been a bad season for Chase, but not having a win yet, his other teammates are winning, did you have to talk to him, to kind of just see where his mind was to help him, or has he kind of grown beyond some of that fatherly advice?RICK HENDRICK: Well, no, I don’t think any driver ever does. Even Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. You get in a little bit of a funk when you don’t win and guys around you are winning.I’ve told him, we talked last week, just keep your chin up, you got a great shot next week. He’s matured a ton. But everybody, Alan, all the crew chiefs, when they’ve had a bad day or a bad start or a couple of bad races, that’s when they need the coaching. Not so much coaching, but just saying, Hey, man, you’re the same guys that won the championship. Just show up, do your deal, and it will be good.I think surely when everybody else had won there but him, he was concerned. But we all know his talent, Alan, the cars. Just a matter of time. It’s super competitive. You look at the wins by so many different teams, so many different drivers this year, it’s hard to win.He’s matured a ton. Pressure doesn’t bother Chase. He is cool like his dad. We went to Phoenix last year for the final race in the championship. I was nervous as could be. Chase was just calm as a cucumber. He’s really, really got a very mature package the way he handles himself, the way he goes about racing.He’s really in a good spot. I’m super excited for him to get this win. I think there’s more to come. Q. Last week you had the 1-2-3-4 finish, this week you have a 1-2 finish. Do you think this is one of the best times for the team in its history?RICK HENDRICK: I do. We’ve won 17 races in a year, total dominance by a couple of cars I think with Jeff Gordon. But to have all four cars running, that 1-2-3-4 was an amazing feat for our company. Then to come back and run first and second today.Yeah, I think on par all cars capable of winning, it’s hard to do. It’s really hard to do because I’ve been at this for a long, long time. I’ve done multiple cars for a lot of years.I was told when I went to two cars I’d never win a championship running two cars. When you have four and you try to tell every sponsor you got the same stuff as the other guy, when they’re all clicking, it makes life a lot easier and we gain a lot of momentum. In the engine, with the engine shop, the chassis shop, everybody gets that big momentum, that Big Mo attitude. The drivers do, crew chiefs do.We’ll enjoy it while we can. This is a tough sport to stay there, so… But, yeah, it’s the best we’ve seen, best I remember by far. Q. Kyle, do you like the consistency of second-place finishes or a win would be more desirable?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, obviously we’d like to be winning. I feel like we did everything we could last week to win. Came up one spot short. Same thing this week. We put ourselves, had the right strategy to win. Had the race gone green at the end of the race, Chase was going to have to pit for fuel. We did everything we could again and just came up one spot short.We’ve been there every weekend. We’ve been challenging. You got to be happy with that. Like I said, we want the wins, but if you can’t win, second’s better than third. Q. Kyle, were you okay with NASCAR’s decision to call the race?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, it was getting pretty bad. Like three laps in a row I was starting to hydroplane down the back stretch. Selfishly I’d like to have kept going just knowing that he was going to have to pit and I would have been handed the lead and the win.But they made the right call. It was getting bad. They already had some pretty big wrecks and stuff throughout the race. I’m not at all upset with the call that was made to make the race official and end it. Q. What does it mean as a team to have all four cars locked into the chase so early in the season knowing you can focus on preparation towards the championship?RICK HENDRICK: It feels great to have the wins because you can try some things before the Playoffs. Right now we want to win every race we can. The momentum of winning, that carries into the chase. We don’t want to just try too many different things. I’m sure we’ll try more when we get to the Playoffs.We’re sitting in a good spot. Again, we got to keep doing what we’re doing. You got to have the momentum when you get in the Playoffs because you got to make all the rounds. As it gets closer, I think we’ll probably try some stuff. The deal is to win and be competitive every week if you want to win the championship. Q. Kyle, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of your team, where do you feel those are right now?KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. We have a lot of strengths. I don’t really know. There’s areas I’m sure that we need to be better, but nothing really stands out to me right now. I think track to track really. Like today, I mean, my restarts were horrible. That’s an area where if we were to be racing in the rain again, I would need to be way more aggressive.But, yeah, we’ve been doing a great job. I feel like Cliff has been making great calls. Our pit crew has been really strong all year long. I feel like I’ve been doing a good job behind the wheel. Knock on wood, I haven’t had any big mistakes here in the last couple months that I can think of where I did kind of early in the year, where I feel like I cost myself some good finishes.No, it’s been good. We just look to carry forward this momentum and try and put together a good race each week. THE MODERATOR: For Mr. H and Kyle, thank you both for joining us. Congratulations again on all of the accomplishments for Hendrick Motorsports. We wish you guys the best of luck next weekend in Charlotte. KYLE LARSON: Thank you. Congrats, Rick.RICK HENDRICK:

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ECHO PARK TEXAS GRAND PRIX TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTES MAY 23, 2021 CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerIT DOESN’T SEEM TO MATTER THE CONDITIONS. IF IT’S A ROAD COURSE, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND YOUR WAY UP FRONT. THIS IS YOUR SIXTH ROAD COURSE RACE WIN AND 12th CAREER VICTORY“I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve never won a rain race before, so it’s kind of cool. And I’m just super proud of our team for just continuing to fight. We started the day, and we weren’t very good. I just kept pushing myself and we kept making some good changes throughout the day and got to where I thought we were on pace with those guys there at the end. So, I’m really proud of that. It’s not the greatest thing ever, for it to rain and to have a rain race win, if it’s your first one; but I think it’s okay if it’s down the road, so I’m pretty excited about that. I’m looking forward to next week and trying to keep it rolling.” AT THE END OF THE RACE, YOU WERE A COUPLE OF LAPS SHORT ON FUEL. ALAN (GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF) TOLD YOU TO START PUSHING. YOU PICKED UP THE PACE INCREDIBLY AT THE END. YOU WERE TWO SECONDS QUICKER THAN ANYBODY IN THE FIELD. WHAT DID YOU DO DIFFERENT?“I just kept pushing myself harder and harder. Some areas on the track though were getting, actually, really treacherous, I felt like. The back straightaway was puddling up and starting to hydroplane and do some weird stuff. My only option was to just kind of send it through those spots and just hope for the best. “Like I said, I’m just really proud of our team. This is two-in-a-row for Hendrick Motorsports and the 800th win for Chevrolet. I couldn’t be more proud of Chevy and it’s the 268th win for Hendrick Motorsports. “Thanks to all the fans for hanging in there today. It’s great to have Llumar on the car this week and get this win together. I know everybody is used to seeing us in our NAPA colors, but it’s good to have them on board. “I’m just proud of our team. To come here and fight, it’s not the ideal way to win, but we’ll definitely take it and move on down the road.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY QUALIFICATIONS RECAP MAY 23, 2021 Team Chevy teammates qualify on Rows 1 and 2 for Indianapolis 500Rinus VeeKay and Ed Carpenter lead 16-car Chevrolet contingent INDIANAPOLIS (May 23, 2021) – Teammates Rinus VeeKay and Ed Carpenter will lead the Chevrolet contingent into the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge from the front two rows.VeeKay, who eight days earlier earned his initial NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, qualified third in the Firestone Fast Nine Shootout with a four-lap average speed of 231.511 mph on the 2.5-mile oval.  Carpenter, a three-time Indy 500 pole winner, qualified fourth in the No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet with an average speed of 231.504 mph. Simona De Silvestro dug deep in the Last Chance Qualifying and put her No. 16 Rocket Paretta Autosport Chevrolet in the 33rd starting position for the field of the Indianapolis 500. It will be the sixth time the Swiss born driver will start the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. After missing the lock-in on Saturday to be in the top-30, De Silvestro had to battle four additional drivers for the final three spots on the grid. Sixteen entries powered by the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected Chevrolet V6 engine qualified for the 33-car field for the 200-lap race Sunday, May 30. A Chevrolet driver has qualified on the front row eight of the nine years, including six pole starts, since the Bowtie brand returned to NTT INDYCAR SERIES manufacturer competition in 2012. “I’m very proud of our team, proud of Chevrolet giving us all the power we need to go fight for the pole and more importantly to fight for a win next Sunday,” said Carpenter, who is also the principal of Ed Carpenter Racing. Chevrolet front-row starters since 20122021: Third – Rinus VeeKay2019: First – Simon Pagenaud. Second – Ed Carpenter. Third – Spencer Pigot2018: First – Ed Carpenter. Second – Simon Pagenaud. Third – Will Power2017: Second – Ed Carpenter2016: Second – Josef Newgarden2015: First – Scott Dixon. Second – Will Power. Third – Simon Pagenaud2014: First — Ed Carpenter. Third – Will Power2013: First – Ed Carpenter. Second – Carlos Munoz. Third – Marco Andretti2012: First – Ryan Briscoe. Second – James Hinchcliffe. Third – Ryan Hunter-Reay Drivers received a turbocharger boost, which equates to an increase of about 45 horsepower, for practice Friday, May 21, that carried over for the two days of qualifications. Scott Dixon, the 2020 Indy 500 winner, recorded a four-lap average speed of 231.685 mph in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to win the NTT P1 Award. VeeKay was the highest rookie qualifier in 2020 and improved one position for 2021. He will seek to join Simon Pagenaud in 2019 and Will Power in 2018 as Chevrolet drivers to win on the IMS road course and oval in the same month. “Both Ed and I have amazing cars. Chevy power has been outstanding today,” said VeeKay, 20, driver of the No. 21 Bitcoin Chevrolet. “We have a good shot at winning.” Pato O’Ward, who claimed his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory May 1 on the Texas Motor Speedway oval, qualified on Row 4 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Teammate Felix Rosenqvist, driving the No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, qualified 14th. Scott McLaughlin, competing in his first Indianapolis 500, qualified 17th in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet. Pagenaud, the 2019 pole winner, qualified 26th in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 24th in the No. 86 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Power persevered through a nerve-racking day of Last Chance Qualifying and drove the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet to 32nd in the starting lineup. He will be joined on the last row by Sage Karam in the No. 24 DRR-AES Indiana Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet and Simona De Silvestro, who is making her first ‘500’ appearance since 2015, in the No. 16 Rocket Pro/Paretta Autosport Chevrolet. NBC will telecast the 200-lap race at 11 a.m. ET May 30. Motorsports icon Danica Patrick will drive the 2021 mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette Stingray hardtop convertible to lead the field to the green flag. The 2021 race marks the 32nd time for Chevrolet to pace dating to 1948, and the 18th time since 1978 for America’s favorite sports car. TEAM CHEVY QUALIFIERS WITH AVERAGE SPEED IN MPH:3. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Bitcoin Ed Carpenter Racing (231.511)4. Ed Carpenter, No. 20 SONAX Ed Carpenter Racing (231.504)12. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP (230.864)14. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP (230.744)17. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske (230.557)19. Conor Daly, No. 47 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing (230.427)21. Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske (230.071)22. JR Hildebrand, No. 1 ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing (229.980)24. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 86 Arrow McLaren SP (229.891)26. Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske (229.778)27. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing (229.744)29. Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin (229.417)30. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing (228.323)31. Sage Karam, No. 24 DRR-AES Indiana Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (229.156)32. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske (228.876)33. Simona De Silvestro, No. 16 Rocket Pro/Paretta Autosport (228.333)Charlie Kimball, No.11 Tresiba AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet and RC Enerson, No. 75 Top Gun Racing Chevrolet did not qualify for the race.  DRIVER QUOTES:RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITCOIN ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3RD:“I had a big moment on the last lap, in the first corner. I never lifted, but when I think back, maybe I should have! That last lap was the sketchiest lap I’ve ever done, but I kept my foot on the gas. I wanted it to be as on the limit as possible, so I kept the power on, even with all the wiggling. I knew Turn One would be the trickiest so once I got through, I thought it would be fine. I couldn’t have gone any faster. I was happy to make the Fast Nine yesterday and we’re grateful to have Chevy power taking me to the front row! I’m very happy for the team and very grateful, for all the sleepless nights and hard work. I think we can go for the win next Sunday. I love Indy, and with the Ed Carpenter Chevy, it’s such a pleasure – apart from that last lap! I have a great car and a great team around me. That win last week has changed the spirit within the team and we were all extremely motivated. The entire month of May has been amazing.”  ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING, QUALIFIED 4TH: “Chevy has been a great partner; they give us so many tools and help us thrive. There’s no better partner to have. I’m happy, we were in the hunt and we have a car on the front row. Both of our cars were extremely close, and that small gap between the two cars is a testament to ECR and the quality of cars that they build. -Very proud to be seven-thousandths of a mile-an-hour between our cars is frickin’ awesome. That is all ECR. That is all our team; it is Chevy. 10 years as partners is amazing. It’s tough competition, whether it’s Honda versus Chevy or the two of us going against Scott Dixon and Colton Herta. We had all the power we needed to fight for the pole, they were just a little better than us today. There are so many great drivers in the series, it’s awesome to compete against them and we love the challenge. At the end of the day, we’re happy with where we’re starting the Indy 500. Rinus is the real deal, I’m proud of him. He’s a resilient kid, he learns and keeps getting better. He’s going to be tough to beat next Sunday, I’m as worried about him as anyone. But we’ll be in a great spot for the race, with my teammate in front of me, so we’ll tune up the car today and Carb Day and be ready for next Sunday.” SAGE KARAM, NO. 24 DRR-AES INDIANA DRYER AND REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFYING 31ST: “It wasn’t easy running in Sunday’s last Chance qualifying, as it was warmer than Saturday’s qualifying. But the team did a great job preparing the car for the four-lap stint. Glad we were fastest in that little round as we were two years ago. Ironically, I’ll start 31st for the third straight Indy 500. I’m really proud of the DRR Team Chevy and AES Indiana crew the way they kept working so hard to get me in the show here at Indy. As one-car, Indy-only team, DRR has to go up against two cars basically Penske-prepared for Will and Simona. And we beat them today. I think that is very cool. Now we are ready to prepare for next Sunday’s race.”WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFED 32ND:  “Yeah that was very, very nerve-wracking. The run started going loose everywhere. I held onto it out of 2, hit the wall, and I took a chance by holding it wide open and hoping the rear toe wasn’t too bad. Man. That is as loose as you want to get it. I can’t thank Verizon and Chevy enough for sticking with me after all these years. I’m so stoked to get in the race. The team has put a massive amount of effort into this race. It’s a big relief more than anything to get in this race. I knew I couldn’t lift. Some nervy lifts. But yeah. This place throws everything at you. We’re in the race and it’s an amazing feeling, amazing place. It’s more nerve wracking than going for pole. Definitely I lost a bit of sleep!”  SIMONA DE SILVERSTRO, NO 16 ROCKET PRO PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 33RD: “What a day. It was definitely nerve racking being in this position. Super happy that we made it in because of everyone involved as well,  because of all the hard work that got put in, it would have been crazy to not have made it. From that point of view, we’re super relieved. Now we just focus on racing and I think we could be pretty good because our car was pretty competitive.“For Beth as well I just wish it wouldn’t have been as crazy for the first time we were racing together. At least we got that one out of the way and now we can really focus on this going forward. It was interesting but you know I think we all stuck together and that’s what made us strong to be

Batavia, OH (May 23, 2021) – The Brandon Ford TV Race Challenge continues this week at the Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com. Brandon Ford, the World’s Largest Volume Ford Dealer, provides the Official Pace Truck of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. In 2021, Brandon Ford expanded their partnership of the premier national tour to include support of the TV Race Challenge. This year’s Show-Me 100 will broadcast LIVE on the MAVTV Motorsports Network on Saturday, May 29th. Both Thursday and Friday’s preliminary events will be taped for broadcast on MAVTV Motorsports Network later in the year, while all three nights will be live on MAVTVPlus.com. The Brandon Ford TV Race Challenge will award points to drivers at the 32 televised events broadcasted on Network TV within the series schedule in 2021. The winner of the Brandon Ford TV Race Challenge will receive a $10,000 cash award, while second and third will receive $3,000 and $2,000 respectively at the year-end awards banquet. The talent of the nation’s top dirt late model drivers will be put on display along the way, not only at each venue during the live streams on MAVTV Plus, but also during the 32 broadcast events on the MAVTV Motorsports Network, 15 events on CBS Sports Network, 5 events on CBS, and 13 events on the NBC Sports Network. Currently Brandon Overton leads Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, Brandon Sheppard and Kyle Bronson in the Brandon Ford TV Race Challenge standings. For complete standings visit: https://lucasdirt.com/points/2021-points. “A huge thanks to Wayne Hammond and everyone at Brandon Ford for sponsoring the TV Race Challenge in 2021. Having additional money for the racers to shoot for adds to the excitement of our TV package in 2021. The drivers always want to perform at their best when the TV cameras are on, but having the added cash incentives to compete for during TV races makes every position count,” stated Wayne Castleberry, Corporate Motorsports Sales and Marketing for Lucas Oil Products. Brandon Ford, located in Tampa, FL, has won Ford’s prestigious President’s Award 17 years in a row, saluting the top-performing Ford and Lincoln dealerships that pursue excellence in the highest levels of customer satisfaction in both sales and service. Brandon Ford has one of the largest inventories of new and pre-owned vehicles in the nation. To learn more about Brandon Ford or if you are interested in purchasing a vehicle, visit: www.brandonford.com. Show-Me 100 action kicks off on May 27 with the “Cowboy Classic” for Late Models headlining the program, with a $6,000-to-win, $600-to-start main event which also enables drivers to earn valuable points toward starting position into the night-night main event. The USRA Modifieds feature winner will earn $750. The “Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson” on May 28 also will see a $6,000-to-win feature with more points earned for the starting lineup the next night. USRA Modifieds compete for a $750-to-win feature with more points collected toward the final-night main event. The May 29 program includes B Mains, the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge and the 100-lap, $30,000-to-win main event along with a $1,500-to-win USRA Modified feature. For more information about the Show-Me 100 visit www.lucasoilspeedway.com. For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the Lucas Oil MLRA visit www.lucasdirt.com and www.mlraracing.com.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESENTED BY GAINBRIDGE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL FAST NINE QUALIFYING RINUS VEEKAY AND ED CARPENTER QUOTES MAY 23, 2021 RINUS VEEKAY PUTS CHEVY ON FRONT ROW FOR INDIANAPOLIS 500TEAMMATE ED CARPENTER WILL START FOURTH RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITCOIN ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3RD:“I had a big moment on the last lap, in the first corner. I never lifted, but when I think back, maybe I should have! That last lap was the sketchiest lap I’ve ever done, but I kept my foot on the gas. I wanted it to be as on the limit as possible, so I kept the power on, even with all the wiggling. I knew Turn One would be the trickiest so once I got through, I thought it would be fine. I couldn’t have gone any faster. I was happy to make the Fast Nine yesterday and we’re grateful to have Chevy power taking me to the front row! I’m very happy for the team and very grateful, for all the sleepless nights and hard work. I think we can go for the win next Sunday. I love Indy, and with the Ed Carpenter Chevy, it’s such a pleasure – apart from that last lap! I have a great car and a great team around me. That win last week has changed the spirit within the team and we were all extremely motivated. The entire month of May has been amazing.”  ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING, QUALIFIED 4TH: “Chevy has been a great partner; they give us so many tools and help us thrive. There’s no better partner to have. I’m happy, we were in the hunt and we have a car on the front row. Both of our cars were extremely close, and that small gap between the two cars is a testament to ECR and the quality of cars that they build. -Very proud to be seven-thousandths of a mile-an-hour between our cars is frickin’ awesome. That is all ECR. That is all our team; it is Chevy. 10 years as partners is amazing. It’s tough competition, whether it’s Honda versus Chevy or the two of us going against Scott Dixon and Colton Herta. We had all the power we needed to fight for the pole, they were just a little better than us today. There are so many great drivers in the series, it’s awesome to compete against them and we love the challenge. At the end of the day, we’re happy with where we’re starting the Indy 500. Rinus is the real deal, I’m proud of him. He’s a resilient kid, he learns and keeps getting better. He’s going to be tough to beat next Sunday, I’m as worried about him as anyone. But we’ll be in a great spot for the race, with my teammate in front of me, so we’ll tune up the car today and Carb Day and be ready for next Sunday.”

May 23, 2021 Jim Allen

(May 22, 2021, Jim Allen) Petaluma, CA …  Justin Sanders became the third different winner in as many NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series events, holding off Bud Kaeding to win Saturday’s fast-paced 30-lapper at Petaluma Speedway.

The initial attempt to get the event underway saw Sanders and fellow front row starter Andy Forsberg get together coming out of the fourth corner to take the initial green flag.  Before the red-flag carnage was over, it reeled in four other cars.  Sanders escaped with no damage, but Forsberg received the worst of it and was done for the night.  The mayhem also forced makeshift repairs on Tim Kaeding’s ride and sent Dominic Scelzi, Kyle Offill and Michael Sellers to the back of the pack for the restart.

Once the line-up was sorted out, the second start was clean and the 30-lap event ran non-stop.  Sanders, piloting the Antaya Motorsports Fire Protection Management XXX #16A sprinter, jumped out to an early lead, pursued by Kaeding, Joel Myers Jr., Kaleb Montgomery and Bill Aton.  Things got entertaining on the sixth circuit when the freight train reached lap traffic with Kaeding shadowing the leaders every move as they zigged and zagged through slower cars.  The pair raced wheel-to-wheel with Kaeding applying pressure throughout the contest, but Sanders made all the right moves on the hooked up track to secure the $3500 victory.

Sanders was subdued in victory lane after scoring his seventh series win and 100th sprint car win of his career.

“I never intended to run Andy (Forsberg) off the track and I feel bad for what happened,”  said Sanders. “That was not my intention and I never want to win that way.”

Kaeding drove the Al’s Roofing Supply #69 to his second runner-up finish in as many weeks.  The 15-year old Myers posted an eye-opening third place finish in his PitStopUSA/Dirt Dudes XXX.  Eleventh starter DJ Netto scored fourth aboard the Penny Newman Grain KPC to pocket the Swift Metal Finishing hardcharger money.  Scelzi rounded out the top five.

The next five to cross the checkered were Kaleb Montgomery, Tim Kaeding, Aton, Austin McCarl, and Ryan Robinson.  Montgomery was driving a 360 powerplant.

Sanders also set quick time with a 12.727 second run around the three-eighths mile oval.  Forsberg won the Sunnyvalley Bacon dash.

Madden claims second consecutive Port Royal win“Smokey” earned $25K+ with back-to-back Port Royal Speedway victoriesPORT ROYAL, PA – MAY 22, 2021 – One of the keys to finding Victory Lane during a World of Outlaws Late Model race is taking advantage when the opportunity comes.    Chris Madden seized his moment Saturday night during the Billy Vacek Memorial at Port Royal Speedway to claim his second win in a row at the Pennsylvania track.With 22 laps to go, race leader Brandon Overton made a mistake in traffic, allowing “Smokey” to dive underneath him and steal the lead.Prior to that, Overton had opened a full straightaway lead over Madden 15 laps into the race before he caught the back of the field. That’s when Madden started to reel him in and plan his attack. “Leading in lap traffic is tough when it’s one lane,” Madden said. “[Overton] took a shot at a lap car and tried to move to the outside of it in [Turn] 1 and 2, and I was able to fill the hole.”After Madden made his move around Overton, “Big Sexy” wasn’t ready to relinquish the lead just yet. The two raced side-by-side into Turn 3 and Overton tried to dive under the Drydene #44 of Madden but couldn’t make the move stick. He ended up sideways in the corner, costing him a shot at Victory Lane. The Evans, GA driver finished fourth; frustrated about what happened.  “I was just trying too hard,” Overton said. “As long as [the lap cars] entered wider than me I’d be fine, but one time they entered a little lower and a little slower. I had to get on the brakes, and I shattered the tires and slid up the hill. “I was too close to [the lap cars]; I probably shouldn’t have been that close to them. I probably should’ve just laid back a couple of car-lengths.”Madden’s win completes a weekend sweep at “The Speed Palace” that sees him walk away with more than $25,000 in winnings. It’s also his third straight win, and fourth of 2021, bringing “Smokey” to 32 career World of Outlaws Morton Buildings wins overall. Rick Eckert, the 2011 Series champion and York, PA campaigner, finished second. He didn’t think he had anything for Madden toward the end. “Even if I got to [Madden], passing him was a different story,” Eckert said. “The only chance I had was if a lap car messed him up.”Port Royal regular Dan Stone crossed the line third. It’s a momentum booster for the Thompson, PA driver who had a backup car and motor. “We hurt the motor in our good car awhile back, and we’ve been waiting on it to come back,” Stone said. “This is a 2017 car, and the motor was probably built in 2008, but you didn’t need a lot of motor because it was pretty slick.”Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Gustin rounded out the top five and was the top rookie of the race. The leading rookie contender, Tyler Bruening finished seventh. Kyle Strickler, who joined Scott Bloomquist Racing for the weekend, finished 16th in his second run with the team. He’s also contending for rookie of the year honors.Three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard finished 14th. His point lead is now down to 26 points over Madden.UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet travel to the Hoosier State, stopping at Circle City Raceway, June 4, and Plymouth Speedway, June 5. If you can’t make it either night 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.Morton Buildings Feature (50 Laps)-1. 44-Chris Madden [2][$15,000]; 2. 0E-Rick Eckert [3][$7,000]; 3. 2-Dan Stone [4][$4,500]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton [1][$3,500]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin [7][$3,000]; 6. 7R-Ross Robinson [10][$2,800]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening [9][$2,600]; 8. 22-Chris Ferguson [8][$2,500]; 9. 66C-Matt Cosner [5][$2,400]; 10. 22S-Gregg Satterlee [14][$2,300]; 11. 4-Gary Stuhler [16][$1,800]; 12. 7-Ricky Weiss [12][$1,600]; 13. 97-Cade Dillard [23][$1,400]; 14. 1-Brandon Sheppard [13][$1,300]; 15. 45-Kyle Hardy [11][$1,200]; 16. 8-Kyle Strickler [24][$1,100]; 17. 28-Dennis Erb [15][$1,050]; 18. 9-Hayes Mattern [20][$1,000]; 19. B1-Brent Larson [17][$1,000]; 20. 43A-Tyler Bare [18][$1,000]; 21. 99B-Boom Briggs [22][$1,000]; 22. 48-Colton Flinner [25][$1,000]; 23. 24-Dylan Yoder [21][$1,000]; 24. D19-Dillon Stake [19][$1,000]; 25. 55L-Donald Lingo [6][$1,000] Hard Charger: 97-Cade Dillard[+10]Qualifying Flight-A –1. 76-Brandon Overton, 20.848; 2. 45-Kyle Hardy, 20.972; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 21.207; 4. 2-Dan Stone, 21.213; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening, 21.254; 6. 55L-Donald Lingo, 21.302; 7. 22-Chris Ferguson, 21.325; 8. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 21.328; 9. 24-Dylan Yoder, 21.441; 10. 28-Dennis Erb, 21.634; 11. B1-Brent Larson, 21.662; 12. 171-Jimmy Bernheisel, 21.667; 13. 48-Colton Flinner, 21.684; 14. 1K-Pancho Lawler, 21.686; 15. 112-Chad Julius, 21.708; 16. 3-Tim Wilson, 21.818; 17. 15-Scott Flickinger, 21.901; 18. D19-Dillon Stake, 21.994; 19. 22B-Brett Schadel, 22.114; 20. C33-Chris Casner, 22.332Qualifying Flight-B-1. 44-Chris Madden, 20.715; 2. 66C-Matt Cosner, 21.312; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 21.356; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert, 21.41; 5. 7R-Ross Robinson, 21.462; 6. 33-Trent Brenneman, 21.472; 7. 43A-Tyler Bare, 21.521; 8. 4-Gary Stuhler, 21.566; 9. 72-Jason Covert, 21.608; 10. 9-Hayes Mattern, 21.674; 11. 22S-Gregg Satterlee, 21.693; 12. 7-Ricky Weiss, 21.718; 13. 8-Kyle Strickler, 21.735; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs, 21.833; 15. 97-Cade Dillard, 21.842; 16. 76H-Andrew Haus, 21.921; 17. 6-Jamie Lathroum, 21.988; 18. 2J-Jeff Rine, 22.045; 19. 32J-Shaun Jones, 22.115; DNS. 11-Jason Schmidt, NT

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

: Dave Blaney Sends Sprint Car World Crazy with Last-Lap Pass at Sharon24 Years After Last Win, Blaney Beats Haudenschild on Final Lap at his Home TrackHARTFORD, OH – May 22, 2021 – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series ended a 14-year absence from Sharon Speedway on Saturday night, and promptly delivered the most magical moment of the 2021 season.Dave Blaney, at 58-years-old, stunned Sheldon Haudenschild with a last-lap pass to score his 95th career victory at the track he owns in his home town of Hartford, Ohio. It was a storybook ending that sent his local crowd and the entire sprint car world into pandemonium.As the 1995 World of Outlaws champion climbed from his car, chants of “BLANEY! BLANEY! BLANEY!” erupted.You could actually feel the bleachers shaking as the decibels rose and fans sprinted to victory lane. It was a special moment for Blaney, who rose to fame as a Sprint Car legend in his prime during the 1990’s and now beat them again in the year 2021 with his own car.”I feel like I had a Sprint Car career in the 90’s, but I don’t anymore,” Blaney explained. “I just come out and play, nowadays. It’s not lost on me that winning a World of Outlaws race in this day and age is giant; especially at a track I’m part-owner at. The response was just overwhelming.”The historical significant of Blaney’s triumph is nothing to sell short.He set the record for longest gap between World of Outlaws wins, striking at Sharon 23 years, 7 months, 2 days after his last victory at Southern New Mexico Speedway on October 21, 1997. He also broke the record for longest gap between a first and last career victory, making it 36 years, 1 month, 16 days between his April 5, 1985 win at Tri-City (IL) Speedway and Saturday’s score.Blaney also came close to being the oldest winner in the history of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. He topped Sharon’s Outlaw return at the age of 58 years, 6 months, 29 days. The record still belongs to Sammy Swindell, winning Eldora in 2014 at 58 years, 8 months, 16 days.The best part of it all? Blaney wasn’t even surprised.”Yeah, I can believe it actually,” Blaney told DIRTVision’s Chase Raudman. “I thought we had a car that could come here and be competitive. We’ve raced here quite a few times with this car and it’s ran really well. To have it actually work out is pretty crazy, though. This is really awesome.”Coming back in the year 2021 and doing it against today’s modern crop of Outlaws is something that gives Blaney an extra sense of appreciation.”This is such a proud moment for us,” Blaney admitted. “This is a car we built ourselves and we just beat the Outlaws. Holy crap. It’s a dream come true, and it happened at my home track.”Blaney’s sudden victory stole the spotlight from Sheldon Haudenschild, who dominated the Feature for the opening 30 laps. By the halfway point, the NOS Energy Drink #17 has built a massive 7+ second lead and lapped inside the top-ten. He was gone, and yet another win was in the bag, but the caution flew for a slowing Aaron Reutzel on Lap 31.It gave Blaney the one opportunity he needed, and he capitalized on it.”I knew that was my only chance,” Blaney said. “That caution saved us, no doubt. I could see him up there and the lappers were catching him on the bottom, so the top was slowing down. He wasn’t going to move off it, so I thought I had a chance if I could get alongside him. I thought we were dead with two to go, but that mistake all we needed.”That mistake came on the final lap as Haudenschild rode the rim through turns one and two. However, the NOS Energy Drink #17 got too tight and he hit the wall. Blaney rolled by and beat him to the line by 0.802-seconds.”I let my guys down,” Haudenschild mentioned. “We’ve got a really fast race car, but I just pushed too hard and lost my momentum. Sometimes you get beat. If I’m gonna lose to anybody, I’m glad it’s Dave. He and my dad [Jac Haudenschild] grew up racing so far him to get an Outlaw win this late in his career at his home track, that’s special for the Blaney family.”It was an Ohio 1-2, and more importantly, a historical night that many will remember forever.Closing out the top five at Sharon Speedway was Carson Macedo in the final podium spot with the Jason Johnson Racing #41, David Gravel in fourth aboard his Big Game Motorsports #2, and Brad Sweet in the Kasey Kahne Racing #49.Rounding out the top ten on Saturday night was Brent Marks in sixth, Brock Zearfoss in seventh, Logan Schuchart in eighth, Kraig Kinser in ninth, and James McFadden in tenth.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to “The Hoosier State” for a Memorial Day Weekend in Indiana. On Friday, May 28, The Greatest Show on Dirt visits Terre Haute Action Track before rolling over to Lawrenceburg Speedway on Monday, May 31.NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 10-Dave Blaney [4][$10,000]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$6,000]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo [3][$3,500]; 4. 2-David Gravel [5][$2,800]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [11][$2,500]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [8][$2,300]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [12][$2,200]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$2,050]; 10. 9-James McFadden [10][$2,000]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [19][$1,600]; 12. 2C-Wayne Johnson [21][$1,400]; 13. 40-George Hobaugh [9][$1,200]; 14. 11-Carl Bowser [14][$1,100]; 15. 42-Sye Lynch [6][$1,050]; 16. 13-Brandon Matus [17][$1,000]; 17. 23-Darren Pifer [15][$1,000]; 18. 22-Brandon Spithaler [16][$1,000]; 19. 5K-Adam Kekich [22][$1,000]; 20. O8-Brandon Conkel [24][$1,000]; 21. 29-Michael Bauer [20][$1,000]; 22. 83-Aaron Reutzel [2][$1,000]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [23][$1,000]; 24. 70-Henry Malcuit [18][$1,000]. Lap Leaders:Sheldon Haudenschild 1-34, Dave Blaney 35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 2C-Wayne Johnson[+9]NEW Championship Standings (26/83 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (3,656); 2. David Gravel (-56); 3. Carson Macedo (-86); 4. Donny Schatz (-150); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-164); 6. Aaron Reutzel (-200); 7. Logan Schuchart (-204); 8. Kraig Kinser (-462); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-528); 10. James McFadden (-538).Photo – Trent Gower

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

 

·        Intermittent rain disrupted and shortened qualifying at Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park

·        Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot Leah Pruett qualifies No. 2 with her Pennzoil Top Fuel dragster and No. 10 behind the wheel of her new Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak as she goes for two wins

·        Four-time Houston winner Ron Capps qualifies No. 3 aboard Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

·        Cruz Pedregon qualifies his Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car No. 4 for Sunday’s eliminations rounds

·        Matt Hagan’s DSR Pennzoil Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car was third quickest in Q1 and is seeded No. 6 after rain washed out a chance at a second pass 

May 22, 2021, Baytown, Texas – While intermittent rain interrupted and then eventually shortened National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions at the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil on Saturday, it didn’t put a damper on expectations for the Mopar Dodge//SRT continegent heading into the elimination rounds at Houston Raceway Park.

Due to forecasted rain, Friday sessions were cancelled and the NHRA moved up the Saturday schedule to begin earlier in the day in the hopes of getting in both qualifying sessions for all categories. While there were pauses in action due to sporadic sprinkles, they were able to complete the first qualifying sessions. Then the first few pairs of Funny Cars locked in times during the second session before the skies darkened and unrelenting rain eliminated the possibility of any more runs. The remaining Funny Car entries had their seeded positions determined by Q1 times, while Top Fuel and Factory Stock Showdown elimination ladders were set by their sole session. 

That ended up being good news for the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat entries of Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon who were among the handful that were able to get in a second Funny Car pass; Both had issues with their initial outings, but each put in solid second runs to position themselves in the top half of the eliminations ladder. 

Capps kept his streak of top-five qualifying positions alive this season with a 3.941 second pass at 315.42 mph aboard his Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car to move up into the No. 3 spot on the eliminations ladder after hazing the tires in the first session. The four-time winner (2006, 2007, 2015 and 2017) and two-time runner-up (2012, 2020) at Houston will be looking to go rounds on Sunday by starting with lane choice over No. 14 Paul Lee.

The Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was looking strong in its first run of the day as it crossed the finish line in 4.003 seconds at 319.98 mph, a time that was subsequently disqualified due to a brush with the wall just prior to crossing the stripe. Pedregon came back quickly with a solid second pass at 3.943 sec./ 323.12 mph to put himself in the No. 4 position on the ladder for race day. A three-time winner at Houston Raceway Park, including his very first career Funny Car event win in 1992, Pedregon is hoping to turn on win lights as he begins his day against No. 13 Terry Haddock.

DSR driver Matt Hagan, who also took home his first ever Funny Car Wally trophy from this event in 2010, earned his spot in the top half of the eliminations ladder with his only qualifying run at 3.961 sec./ 324.12 mph. That pass was third quickest of the Q1 session and rewarded him a bonus point. Hagan’s Pennzoil Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye ended up No. 6 overall and paired with No. 11 Chad Green for the opening round. 

While the Top Fuel class only got one session, DSR’s Leah Pruett made sure that was all she needed. She drove her Pennzoil Top Fuel dragster to the No. 2 position with a 3.733-second elapsed time run at 312.86 MPH to collect two bonus points for second-quickest run of the session. She’ll face off against No. 13 Justin Ashley in the first round of eliminations as she looks to repeat her 2017 winning performance.

Pruett will have two chances to drive to the winner’s circle this weekend as she is returns behind the wheel of her 2021 Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak for the Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) in Sportsman category for the first time since the 2021 season opener. This is the first time FSS will run a full event at Houston as last year’s runs were a carryover from the St. Louis finals that had been rained out.

Pruett took her DSR- prepared Mopar Drag Pak for a 7.959-second drive at 174.73 mph, putting her tenth on the timing sheets and in the lane next to No.7 Arthur Kohn. 

Teammate Mark Pawuk qualified No. 13 with a 8.050 E.T. at 172.21 mph aboard his Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak to set up his first round match-up against No. 4 seed David Barton.

The Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil will be streamed online via NHRA.TV and television coverage will be broadcast on FS1 on Sunday, May 22 with a qualifying show from noon-1 p.m. ET and eliminations from 6-9 p.m. ET. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES

FUNNY CAR:

Matt Hagan, DSR Pennzoil Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye
(No. 6 Qualifier – 3.961 seconds at 324.12 mph) Bonus point for third quickest Q1 run

Qualifying 1: 3.961 sec./ 324.12 mph  
Qualifying 2: (Did not run due to rain)

“We had a pretty good qualifying as we went out there and threw down a nice opening lap that put us third and then we were the next pair to go and the rain started dumping. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to make another run when others did, but that’s racing and the weather, you can’t change that. We’re in the field and we have good data to work off of for Sunday. Let’s go racing and put this car in the winner’s circle for Pennzoil.”

Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 3 Qualifier –  3.941 seconds at 315.42 mph)

Qualifying 1: 7.844 sec./ 89.36 mph  Hazed the tires and shut off
Qualifying 2: 3.941 sec./ 315.42 mph

“There are so many moving parts just to get up to the starting line for a run. Seth Angel, everyone at Houston Raceway Park, the NHRA, I feel so bad for them. They do so much for our sport, and then it rains all week. I feel terrible. Fantastic job by Josh (Peterson) and everyone at NHRA by moving the session up to get at least one full round in. We all tried to get the word out via social media to our fans and many at the track said they saw our posts on social media.

“The first run, the car shook pretty good, but not super hard. It shook for a long time and so I kind of let it go. With 16 cars on the property, there was no need to pedal it and risk something bad happening. (Crew chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli), John Medlen and I, we all got together and they made a great call to go back up there first pair out, and it just started to quiver like it did the run before, and just as I was thinking I might need to pedal, it cleared up and launched me to the back of that Charger. A great run by the NAPA guys, and we’ll definitely sleep a lot better tonight after making a good run in Q2. Hopefully, we’re in for a long day tomorrow.”

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

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.943 seconds at 323.12 mph)

Qualifying 1: Disqualified timed run due to contact with wall (4.003 sec./ 319.98 mph) 
Qualifying 2: 3.943 sec. / 323.12 mph

“The second run was good and definitely reaffirmed that we are headed in the right direction. The track has character and is bumpy and I think that definitely affected our first run (resulting in brush with wall). I really love this track. It’s where I had my first Funny Car national event win in 1992, so it’d be great to get back to the winner’s circle here. It’s been a good track for me and we’re happy with that last qualifying run. It was still on the conservative side as JC (Crew Chief John Collins) likes to make sure he goes down the track and plays the consistency card which is fine by me. I’m sure there’s a little left in it so we’ll get after it tomorrow in our Snap-On Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. We’re ready.”

TOP FUEL:

Leah Pruett, DSR Pennzoil Mopar Dodge//SRT Dragster  
(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.733 seconds at 312.86 mph)

Qualifying 1: 3.733 seconds/ 312.86 mph – Two bonus points for second quickest run of Q1

“Our first hit out of the box was great. Instead of like before where we had so many gremlins attacking our Mopar/Dodge/Pennzoil team. It’s been random mechanical errors and we focused on getting rid of those. We want great shiny fast ET slips and we got that. Was it perfect, no, perfect would have qualified us No. 1. We did have a cylinder go out and if we were to have gotten another run that’s what we would have worked on. We’re very happy with that No. 2 position and we’re looking forward to a great race day. We can’t thank the NHRA and Houston Raceway Park staff enough for providing us with a great track surface that was properly prepped and safe.”

FACTORY STOCK SHOOTOUT:

Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak –
(No. 10 Qualifier – 7.959 seconds at 174.73 mph)

Qualifying 1: 7.959 sec. / 174.73 mph

“I feel most comfortable and at home when I’m pulling double-duty and able to drive both of my Mopars on the same day. We did make a lot of changes from the last time the new Dodge Challenger Drag Pak competed at Gainesville. We weren’t really able to tell how the car would react without that first run. We had a converter swap, some suspension changes and we wanted to go out there and be solidly in the field and pick away at it. We’re currently No. 10 and we will adjust and we look forward to getting back on the track”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak– Factory Stock Shootout
(No. 13 Qualifier – 8.050 seconds at 172.21 mph)
Qualifying 1: 8.050 sec./ 172.21 mph

“Seeing the forecast earlier in the week, I never would have thought we’d get even one qualifying session in this weekend, but we did. Unfortunately, we didn’t perform as well as we had hoped, but we are qualified. We’re glad we got one run in before more weather came in and eliminated the last qualifying session. Tomorrow brings a new day with new conditions, and a better looking forecast. Hopefully we can step it up on race day, and have a good showing in our Empaco Equipment Dodge Drag Pak.”

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

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

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

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

Mopar  

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, the brand expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Complete information on the Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com. Mopar is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visitwww.stellantis.com. 

Myatt Snider and the Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Fight to the Finish in the Inaugural Race at Circuit of the Americas21st23rd10th“Our Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet not only looked fast with the flames on the sides, but Andy Street and the guys prepared a really fast Camaro. During the first run, we needed more drive out of the car and once Andy made a chassis adjustment, I was able to post consistent lap times. We spent almost the entire second and third stages inside the top-10, which is a testament to our team at a new track. Unfortunately with only four laps to go, I spun around with Riley Herbst which cost a ton of spots and track position at the end. Although our result doesn’t show, our car had top-five speed and that’s encouraging heading into future road course races. It was a great experience coming here to Circuit of the Americas and our Richard Childress Racing team will rebound next weekend in Charlotte.”  -Myatt Snider

WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa (May 22, 2021) – Tonight’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series stop at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa has been postponed to Thursday, July 15. Persistent rain throughout the morning on an already saturated facility forced the postponement.  The $15,000-to-win, CRST, The Transportation Solution 50 at 34 Raceway on July 15 sets up a trio of action-packed events with over $150,000 in prize money on the line. The NAPA Know How 50 boasts a $12,000 top prize on Friday, July 16 at Tri-City Speedway, while on Saturday, July 17, Lucas Oil Speedway hosts the 15th Annual Diamond Nationals paying $15,000-to-win.  Next up, the Lucas Oil Late Model Series heads to Wheatland, Missouri for the 29th Annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtecttheHarvest.com at Lucas Oil Speedway. Show-Me 100 action kicks off on May 27 with the “Cowboy Classic”, with a $6,000-to-win, $600-to-start main event which also enables drivers to earn valuable points toward starting position into the night-night main event.  The “Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson” on May 28 also will see a $6,000-to-win feature with more points earned for the starting lineup the next night. The May 29 program includes B Mains, the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge and the 100-lap, $30,000-to-win main event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. For the latest breaking news concerning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, including the latest series standings, 2021 tour schedule, driver information, and more visit the official website at: www.lucasdirt.com.About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2021, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 59 events across 18 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events will broadcast on four networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

FARLEY, IA (May 21, 2021) – Mike Marlar remained consistently near the front throughout the event, and with three laps to go, took over the top spot on his way to the win at 300 Raceway. Kyle Bronson led the main event until he suffered a flat right rear tire under a lap 47 caution. Marlar led the rest of the way for his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2021 in the Truck Country 50. With the win, Marlar becomes the 12th different winner in 15 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events this season. Tyler Erb finished in second. Bronson finished third. Tim McCreadie, who pitted several times during the event to fix front end damage early in the race, recovered to finish in fourth. Ricky Thornton Jr. rounded out the top five. Bronson controlled the race from the onset and held off brief challenges from Josh Richards and Marlar throughout the race. He looked to be on his way to his first series win of the year, but during a caution flag with 47 laps scored Bronson had to head to the hot pit for a tire change. “That was a hard-earned win. I don’t know how that worked out, but we got it. I hate what happened to Kyle with that flat tire near the end. Kyle called me coming up the road last night and those guys have been working really hard to get better. He was hauling the mail tonight for sure. It was good to see him run so well like he did. Sometimes you run out of laps. I have had a flat with just a couple of laps to go before,” said the 43-year-old racer in his full season with the series. “We needed this win tonight,” Marlar added. “We have been struggling this year. One night we run second and the next night we run twenty fifth. To have a good finish was nice tonight. My team and car owner deserve this, they put so much into this. We have a lot of great friends in Iowa and Missouri so its good to run in front of them.” Erb fought off an exciting battle with Pierce to pick up the runner-up position. “We survived with a lot of patience tonight. I was just trying to keep the nose on it. We have been running really good here the last few weeks. It was exciting for me out there for sure. Bobby ran a really good race. I can’t thank him enough for racing me clean.” The winner’s Ronnie Delk-owned Capital Race Car is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by Tri-Rivers Enterprise, Penske Shocks, Rockets Convenience Plus, Delk Equipment, and Can Am Auto Sales. Completing the top ten were Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Josh Richards, Matt Furman, and Jimmy Owens.  Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Truck County 50Friday, May 21st, 2021300 Raceway – Farley, IAAllstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Tim McCreadie / 14.398 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Kyle Bronson / 14.441 secondsPenske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 4. 25-Shane Clanton[5]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 6. 00S-Jesse Stovall[6]; 7. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[7]Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 14-Josh Richards[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 4. 41-Jeremiah Hurst[4]; 5. 22M-Charlie McKenna[5]; 6. 98-Jason Rauen[6]; 7. 10P-Paul Parker[7]Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 29D-Spencer Diercks[3]; 3. 1C-Chad Simpson[4]; 4. 59-Garrett Alberson[5]; 5. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 6. 44W-David Webster[7]; 7. 51-Matt Furman[6]Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[4]; 4. 17S-Tim Simpson[6]; 5. 43-Jeremy Grady[5]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 7. 40C-Joel Callahan[7]LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 00S-Jesse Stovall[5]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[8]; 4. 22M-Charlie McKenna[3]; 5. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[9]; 6. 43-Jeremy Grady[4]; 7. 40C-Joel Callahan[12]; 8. 44W-David Webster[6]; 9. 10P-Paul Parker[11]; 10. (DNS) 21-Billy Moyer Jr; 11. (DNS) 98-Jason Rauen; 12. (DNS) 51-Matt Furman

Madden conquers Port Royal for second straight winIt’s “Smokey’s” 31st career World of Outlaws VictoryPORT ROYAL,PA – MAY 21, 2021 – Country music singer Jerry Reed said it best in 1971, “When you’re hot, you’re hot.” That’s how you can describe Chris Madden’s Huey Wilcoxon Memorial performance Friday at Port Royal Speedway. The Gray Court, SC driver swept the night, setting Slick Woody’s Cornhole Company Quick Time, winning his Drydene Heat Race, and winning the $10,000-to-win Morton Buildings Feature. It’s his second straight World of Outlaws win, and his third victory of the season—more than any other driver. It’s also the 31st victory of his career. Madden led all 40-laps, but it wasn’t smooth sailing. “Smokey” made one mistake he felt almost cost him the race. “I got in lap traffic one time and kind of got myself in trouble,” Madden said. “I caught [the cars] at the wrong spot, I committed to a line I didn’t think the other guys would take.“I had to get hard on the brakes, and I got real loose. That’s when I thought I was going to give the race away.” Madden’s consistency has been a key to his success this season. His team has his Rocket Chassis dialed in no matter what track they go to. “We got [the car] to where it’s really good right now, and it fits me,” Madden said. “Obviously, we’ve found something here. We just have to stay on top of our game, doing the right things, and making the right calls.” While Madden dealt with traffic, Brandon Overton tried to chase him down. He closed within three car lengths when Madden made his mistake, but “Big Sexy” would have to settle for second. Even though Overton had a good car, he struggled on one part of the track. “I couldn’t get off of [Turn 4] very good, I feel like [Madden] beat me there” Overton said. “He shines in that condition anyway, when it gets slick, he’s really good.” Despite the struggles, the Evans, GA driver is content with his finish. It’s the first time he’s ever been to Port Royal Speedway. “I’m happy, we came here never seeing the place and qualified well and ran second, I’ll take it,” Overton said. Three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard crossed the line third—his seventh podium of 2021. It’s a place the “Rocket Shepp” is familiar with at Port Royal Speedway.“We’re always good when we come here,” Sheppard said. “We’ve only won one race, but we’ve been on the podium almost every time. We definitely want to get a few spots better [Saturday], and I think we’re close and heading in the right direction” Even though he finished in the top-three, he never posed a threat to either Madden or Overton.  “We kind of got lined out at the beginning of the race, and them guys got away from me in lap traffic,” Sheppard said. Rick Eckert, the 2011 Series champion, finished fourth, and Rookie of the Year contender Tyler Bruening crossed the line fifth. Sheppard’s point lead is down to 54 points over Madden. Tyler Bruening moved up to third and has a six-point lead over Kyle Strickler – who has joined Scott Bloomquist Racing for the weekend – in the race for Rookie of the Year. Up Next: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return to Port Royal Speedway Saturday, May 22 for $15,000-to-win Billy Vacek Memorial. 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.

North American and European HPD JAS Esports Academy Pro Team drivers announced after global qualification process
Season begins May 22 with three-hour endurance classic at Monza for European Union drivers and sprint event at Kyalami for North American racers
HPD expands its commitment to cultivating next generation of racing talent through new sim-racing academy

Santa Clarita, Calif. (May 21, 2021) – Honda Performance Development (HPD), the leader of Honda and Acura high-performance motorsports programs in North America, together with European-based JAS Motorsport will kick off the first race of the 2021 GT World Challenge Esports season this weekend with the newly-formed HPD JAS Esports Academy Pro Team. 

The selection process kicked off earlier this month with drivers from across the globe entering the HPD JAS Esports Academy qualifiers to showcase their speed, pace, and racecraft aboard the virtual Acura NSX GT3 Evo in Assetto Corsa Competizione. HPD narrowed down the candidates and conducted driver interviews to learn more about each driver’s racing strategy, experience, aptitude, and real-world and sim-racing aspirations in order to select team members for the 2021 HPD JAS Esports Academy program.

In North America, HPD and JAS Motorsport are excited to announce Zach Patterson, Josh Staffin, and Cardin Lu as the team’s Academy drivers, led by HPD GT3 Academy graduate Karl Wittmer. Wittmer’s extensive real-world track time in the championship-winning NSX GT3 Evo through the 2020 HPD GT3 Driver Academy will bring integral experience to the North American team. Working closely with Patterson, Staffin, and Lu, Wittmer will provide individualized guidance and support to increase each driver’s performance and learning, in addition to serving as the fourth driver in Sprint competition. Patterson provides an analytical approach to his sim racing and finished first overall in the region’s qualifying race. Staffin offers extensive experience in the virtual NSX GT3 Evo and valuable knowledge about ACC with his time spent as a Champion Motorsport admin. Lu joins as the youngest team member with excellent speed and pace that compliments the team’s seasoned members. 

“It’s a great honor to represent HPD in the virtual world once again. HPD has played a monumental role in my development over the years and I’m looking forward to sharing my real world knowledge with our newly formed e-sports team,” says Karl Wittmer, Team Leadre, HPD JAS Esports Academy Pro Team. “I truly believe in the drivers we have selected together and I’m excited to see our progression and performance as the season kicks off.”

The HPD JAS Pro America team will compete in all Sprint rounds, and pair up for Endurance events with HPD GT3 Academy drivers when needed. Their first challenge will be a one-hour sprint race at Kyalami this Saturday, May 22nd at 4pm EDT, where the real world NSX GT3 Evo has shown to be a contender. 

In Europe, two drivers have been selected to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance series. Nicolas Hillebrand and Ben Creanor will team up with JAS Motorsport Driver Development team members throughout the season. Hillebrand, an economics student hailing from Germany, exhibited both speed and poise under pressure in the qualifications process. He’ll be joined by Euro Nascar’s youngest driver, Ben Creanor from the UK. Creanor brings both real-world and sim racing experience, proving to be an ideal candidate for the program. Hillebrand and Creanor will also be joined by JAS development drivers for future Endurance races.

The HPD JAS Pro Europe team also kicks off this Saturday, May 22nd at 17:00 CEST with a three-hour endurance race at the Temple of Speed known as Monza. A two-car effort will see Hillebrand and Creanor team up in the #XX car, with American teammates Karl Wittmer and Josh Staffin joining the race in the sister #XX car. 

HPD JAS Asia team members will be announced in the coming weeks, as the Asia-Pacific Endurance season kicks off in July.  

Tune-in to all the GT World Challenge Esports action at YouTube.com/GTWorld or on Facebook at @gtworldchallengeeurope and @gtworldchallengeamerica. 


About Honda Performance Development:
Honda Performance Development, Inc., (HPD) has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing, and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since 1993.  From pinnacle racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMSA Sports Cars to commercial racing programs, HPD powers the dreams of professional and amateur racers from age 4 to 40+. HPD is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and leads all of Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing programs in North America.  HPD specializes in the design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics, and performance parts, as well as technical and race support. HPD offers parts and race support to Honda and Acura amateur and professional motorsport racers, and is continually expanding its palette of racing programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and Quarter Midgets to the highest levels of pro racing.
For more information about HPD and the company’s racing product lines, please visit: http://hpd.honda.com.

Haudenschild’s Misfortune is Gravel’s Gain at AtticaNOS Energy Drink #17 Dominated until Innocent Lap Traffic Wreck with Two Laps LeftATTICA, OH – May 21, 2021 – If it wasn’t for bad luck, Sheldon Haudenschild might not have any luck at all.The Wooster, OH native was coming to the white flag on Friday night, just 1/3-mile away from collecting a wildly popular home state win at Attica Raceway Park, but then it all went south. Running ahead of him, DJ Foos lost his left rear tire and spun around in turn four, leaving Haudenschild with nowhere to go as the NOS Energy Drink #17 plowed into him.You could hear the gasps from the crowd and feel the energy shift as he was towed to the trailer.Enter David Gravel. Who albeit lucky, placed himself in the perfect position to capitalize on Haudenschild’s misfortune.The Big Game Motorsports #2 returned to the point for the third time in the 40-lapper, and fended off a hungry Donny Schatz and a hard-charging Brent Marks for their fourth victory of the season with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Sprint Car Series.”I’ll take them anyway I can get them,” Gravel admitted in victory lane. “I thought I was closing on him, but he was probably going to win that race no matter what. Obviously Sheldon is a fan favorite here, so you don’t want to see stuff like that happen. 40 laps around Attica man, a lot of crazy things happen, and they sure did tonight.”While Gravel basked in the confetti on the frontstretch, Haudenschild was forced to wonder what could’ve been. Friday’s show at Attica marked the fourth occurrence since the beginning of April that he lost the lead due to something out of his control with less than ten laps remaining.”He lost that tire, and I just had nowhere to go,” Haudenschild explained. “Nothing you can do about it. It sucks, man.”From the beginning, the Kistler Engines Classic brought the heat on the hottest raceday of the 2021 season. Slick Woody’s Qualifying went to Gravel, who led a top-seven that timed within one-tenth of each other. The Team Drydene Heat Races were thrilling too, highlighted by Trey Jacobs denial of Carson Macedo at the checkered flag.Jacobs, of Wooster, OH, kept the spotlight rolling when he proposed to his girlfriend at the redraw, and then promptly drew the one pill. Haudenschild entered the picture in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash when he thrilled a packed house bye going from last-to-first.When the 40-lap NOS Energy Drink Feature went green, it was outside pole sitter Brandon Spithaler of Evans City, PA leading the first official lap of his World of Outlaws career. Unfortunately, his moment was short-lived as the #22 slid off the banking and over the cushion while battling Haudenschild for the lead on Lap 2.A handful of stoppages slowed the action in the beginning, but once rolling the fans witnessed the good stuff. Racing into lap traffic, Haudenschild and Gravel swapped lanes from ripping the cushion to rolling the bottom, and they split lappers and exchanged the lead on multiple occasions.Gravel took it from him on Lap 10 and started to sneak off, but Haudenschild snookered him on Lap 18 to get it back. Gravel came back fighting to resume command on Lap 20, but again Haudenschild snatched it from on Lap 22 as they went back-and-forth for the lead. Finally, Haudenschild gained some breathing room when Gravel was pinched off by a lapper, and actually slipped to third as Schatz rolled by for second.Building a massive advantage, Haudenschild was leading Schatz by a whopping 3.397-seconds with ten to go. There was no such battle for the top spot, so fans turned their attention to second as Gravel eventually stole it back from Schatz on Lap 37.The race was all but over on Lap 38 when Haudenschild received the two-to-go signal. Gravel was gaining ground, but simply had no time to offer a move on the #17. It all changed coming to the white flag, however, as Foos’ left rear fell off and the #16 collected an innocent Haudenschild with nowhere to go.A green-white-checkered became close between Gravel and Schatz, but ultimately the Watertown, CT native survived his second-ever victory at Ohio’s Attica Raceway Park.”I told my guys after the Dash that we had a good car, and we didn’t make any adjustments,” Gravel said on the Big Game #2. “I was just as good as Sheldon there in the early going, but I got too free and he ran away from me big-time. Once I fell back to third I slid the wing back and felt better. I really had no idea where to run on that green-white-checkered and felt like I made two terrible laps. Really glad we held on.”Coming up short by 0.540-seconds was Donny Schatz aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15. Friday’s result was the seventh podium finish of 2021 for the 10-time Series champion. He and the Ford Performance, Carquest crew are on a streak of eight-straight top-1o finishes, the most of all active drivers.”I don’t know if we could’ve got him, we just seemed to struggle at the end,” Schatz claimed afterwards. “These guys are digging, though. We’re doing everything we can. We’ll get there, it’s just taking longer than we expected.”Closing out the podium was Brent Marks of Myerstown, PA with an incredible 19th-to-3rd run worthy of KSE Racing Hard Charger. It’s his fourth podium finish against the World of Outlaws in his last seven races since returning to the family-owned #19.”The car was just so good,” Marks bragged. “I could run where I needed be it top, bottom, or even middle. We started off really uncomfortable tonight, but sometimes those extra laps through the Last Chance Showdown are a blessing. We just kept getting better and better. I’m really proud of this whole team right now.”Rounding out the top-ten at Attica was Carson Macedo in fourth-place, Brad Sweet in fifth-place, James McFadden in seventh-place, Logan Schuchart in seventh-place, Brock Zearfoss in eighth-place, Wayne Johnson in ninth-place, and Craig Mintz in tenth-place.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will keep it in the state of Ohio on Saturday night as The Greatest Show on Dirt returns to Sharon Speedway for the first time since 2007. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE.NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel [4][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$6,000]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [19][$3,500]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo [8][$2,800]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$2,500]; 6. 9-James McFadden [12][$2,300]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [9][$2,200]; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [16][$2,100]; 9. 2C-Wayne Johnson [21][$2,050]; 10. O9-Craig Mintz [13][$2,000]; 11. 1-Nate Dussel [11][$1,600]; 12. 18-Cole Macedo [18][$1,400]; 13. 35-Stuart Brubaker [15][$1,200]; 14. 5T-Travis Philo [23][$1,100]; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser [10][$1,050]; 16. 70M-Henry Malcuit [22][$1,000]; 17. 22-Brandon Spithaler [2][$1,000]; 18. 83-Aaron Reutzel [5][$1,000]; 19. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$1,000]; 20. 16-DJ Foos [24][$1,000]; 21. 23-Chris Andrews [20][$1,000]; 22. 27S-John Ivy [17][$1,000]; 23. 70-Trey Jacobs [6][$1,000]; 24. 39M-Anthony Macri [14][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Brandon Spithaler 1; Sheldon Haudenschild 2-9, 18-19, 22-38; David Gravel 10-17, 20-21, 39-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+16]NEW Championship Standings (25/83 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (3,516); 2. David Gravel (-58); 3. Carson Macedo (-90); 4. Donny Schatz (-138); 5. Aaron Reutzel (-166); 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (-170); 7. Logan Schuchart (-198); 8. Kraig Kinser (-454); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-524); 10. James McFadden (-528).Photo – Trent Gower

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

David Gravel Building Chemistry & Momentum with New TeamBig Game Motorsports #2 Sits Second in the Championship StandingsWATERTOWN, CT – May 20, 2021 – No matter the car and no matter the crew, David Gravel always seems to find success.Look no further than his newest gig at Big Game Motorsports for proof of that. After two highly-successful seasons driving the Jason Johnson Racing #41, the Watertown, CT native decided to join owner Tod Quiring and the #2 headed by crew chief Cody Jacobs heading into the 2021 season.With 61 career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victories, there isn’t much Gravel has yet to accomplish. He’s a Knoxville Nationals champion and a National Open winner, but one specific bucket list item has eluded him: a championship.The 28-year-old pilot finished third in the standings in four consecutive seasons from 2016-19. He was only 82 points away from the title in 2019, and the case could be made that he would’ve been a legitimate threat to steal it from Brad Sweet in 2020 if he competed in all 54 races.Gravel’s goal at Big Game is simple. He believes they can win championships – plural.”We’re trying to build something for years,” Gravel spoke on the dynamic at Big Game Motorsports.Through the first 24 of 83 scheduled races this year, Gravel and the Big Game #2 sit second in the championship chase behind Sweet and his Kasey Kahne Racing #49. The gap is only 68 points; a gap he’ll try to close as the Series returns to Ohio this weekend for Attica Raceway Park on Friday and Sharon Speedway on Saturday. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE.Entering this weekend, Gravel currently leads the Series in Slick Woody’s QuickTimes (6), Team Drydene Heat wins (10), DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash appearances (14), top-1o finishes (21), and average start (6.61).A three-time winner with “The Greatest Show on Dirt” in 2021, Gravel’s first victory lane trip aboard the Big Game #2 came at The Rev in Monroe, LA when he outran his championship competitor Sweet in an electrifying event. A historic weekend sweep worth $35,000 at Bristol Motor Speedway followed that in April.”I’d say our first little stint as a new team together has gone really well,” Gravel said on their season thus far. “Three wins is pretty solid. It’s one of those things where you can always be better, but you can always be worse too. I’d say it’s a good start, something we can build on for sure.”His 61 career victories is impressive enough, but let’s not forget the fact that he’s done it with seven different car owners. Before his current spot at the Big Game #2, Gravel was winning with the JJR #41, the CJB #5, the Roth #83, the Tiner #83SA, the Rose #6, and his family-owned #89G.Combine that ability to adapt to any situation along with his incredible qualifying prowess – 75 QuickTimes in last decade, most of all drivers – and you’ll get a driver that’s not only comfortable, but confident in any car he wheels.”One thing I think that has helped with transitioning to different teams is the fact that we ran basically the same schedules for so many years,” Gravel mentioned. “You develop a good understanding of what the car needs and when and where to make those changes. Being a good qualifier definitely helps too. It’s not all that great all the time, you always have to work with your guys and get better.”One of the favorite parts of the season for drivers and fans alike is the “Summer of Money.” From June to September, the schedule is lined with big paydays after big paydays across the country.There’s the Huset’s 50 paying $30,000-to-win on June 22, the Jackson Nationals paying $50,000-to-win on June 24, the Kings Royal paying $175,000-to-win TWICE on July 15 and July 17, the Silver Cup paying $25,000-to-win on July 20, the Summer Nationals paying $20,000-to-win on July 24, the Ironman 55 paying $20,000-to-win on August 7, the Knoxville Nationals paying $150,000-to-win on August 14, and the Skagit Nationals paying $25,000-to-win on September 5.For Gravel, it’s a summer full of opportunities to grow his bank account, and gain valuable points. He’ll look to be on top of his game when Huset’s and Jackson rolls around, especially with a $100,000 bonus available to the driver that sweeps THE SHOWDOWN, which is promoted by his owner Tod Quiring.”I’m pumped we get to kick everything off with a big week at Huset’s and Jackson,” Gravel said looking ahead at the schedule. “I’m anxious to get back to Eldora and get a couple more shots there. I really want to redeem myself at Williams Grove, too. We can qualify well and that will be big to get ourselves in the Dash. We’re working every where to get better for this summer.”Before the swing of summer begins, Gravel first has to tackle Attica Raceway Park tomorrow on Friday, May 21 and then Sharon Speedway on Saturday, May 22.Fans who can’t make it to the track can catch all of the action 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 NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESENTED BY GAINBRIDGE TEAM PENSKE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL MAY 21, 2021 Tim Cindric, President, Penske Racing, Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Chevrolet, Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet, Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menard’s Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Pennzoil ChevroletPress Conference Transcript: THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the DEX Imaging Media Center here on Fast Friday at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.It is Fast Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s going to be Team Penske at the podium, winners of 18 Indianapolis 500s. We’d like to welcome Indianapolis’ own Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske. The driver of the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Chevrolet, two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champ Josef Newgarden. The driver of the No. 2 Pennzoil Chevrolet, rookie Scott McLaughlin. He is the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion, we welcome the driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet in Will Power. And of course the 2019 winner of the Indy 500, driver of the No. 22 Menard’s Chevrolet, it’s Simon Pagenaud.Some of the more impressive numbers from this great, great race team, you probably know many of them by heart. This year marks the 52nd year Team Penske has entered the Indianapolis 500, 18 wins, of course, from 13 different drivers over the years, all a part of a team that has a combined 767 years of INDYCAR experience. That seems like a lot.Let’s start with Tim who is sitting there nodding his head. As an Indianapolis native, Tim, certainly your reverence for this race ranks right up there with anyone. What does it mean to you and Team Penske to be closing in on 20 wins in what is certainly the biggest race in the world and maybe share some of the secret to the team’s success?TIM CINDRIC: Well, if we can just get to that question, I think the secret is the guy we work for, which is probably no secret.Relative to 20, the first time I came here and raced as part of Roger’s team in someone, obviously we won the race, finished first and second, and I’ll never forget in Victory Lane I said to Roger, You know, this might be 10 for you or 11 I guess it was at that point, 11 for you, but this is something, my father has worked here all his life and never accomplished that. Pretty big day for me.He looked at me, and he just said, I want 20. I’m just like, in the moment, trying to comprehend one, and he’s already thinking nine ahead.I’d love to make all that possible here in a few years. But sometimes you can win this race a few years in a row and it doesn’t choose you for quite a few more years, so you never know when it’s your turn.THE MODERATOR: Simon Pagenaud, the 2019 Indianapolis 500 champion. Last time the race was run on its traditional Memorial Day weekend, you became the first Frenchman in 100 years to win the race. Looking back on it now, how did that change your life, and what do you need to do to do it all over again?SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, it’s the biggest race in the world. I think simply said, for any racer, it’s a magic moment that happens in your career. It’s personally a life accomplishment, so obviously has a very special connotation.Doing it again, you know, I suspect the race is going to be quite different this year. We obviously have a different aero package, we’ve got the aeroscreen on the car, and INDYCAR has done a great job coming up with the aerodynamic parts to make the racing the best they can.I think it’s going to be harder to hold a lead, so I don’t think you’ll see someone lead the race as I did in ’19. But Team Penske has prepared so hard for this one, as we always do, but you always keep looking for more, and it’s been a pleasure so far to go around this amazing place every day.THE MODERATOR: It’s a privilege and an honor to drive through the tunnel to come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Will, it hasn’t been all that long ago when you won the Indy 500. How much does experience pay when it comes to this place, and will it help going into next Sunday’s race?WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, I feel more comfortable than I’ve ever felt around here right now, just from experience. And it’s amazing that you keep learning as you go. It’s different every year. The package once again is certainly going to race different. It’s going to be closer, kind of packed-up sort of racing where the top two will switch back and forth.I think you’ve got to just put yourself in that position like every year in that last stint. You have to be in that top two on the last restart or the last pit stop, whatever is the last thing that happens.Yeah, I feel like as a team we’ve done a lot of work to improve the cars over last year and have a really good chance this year. I think the moment of truth is qualifying to see where the true speed is, and I really hope that we’re all in the top nine.THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden, certainly your resume stacks up with anyone over the last four years or so. There’s always something about Indianapolis. That’s the one you really want to win. You’ve come close the last couple years. Why is this the year for you do you think?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I had to make sure we brought someone else in that hasn’t won it in the team so I’m not the solo guy that hasn’t won the Indianapolis 500 on the team.Like Tim said, you never know when it’s your day, and I know having driven this place nine times, going into my tenth, you’ve just got to be prepared for the opportunity. You’ve got to put yourself in position here. That’s the key element, I think, is giving yourself an opportunity to win the race, and if it’s your day, then you need to seize it.Yeah, we feel good. It’s been a blast working with everybody, as always. I’m always excited to be here. Always have fun every single day. Trying to stay calm and collected and make sure you’re absorbing any knowledge you can each day. Whether it’s good or bad knowledge, it all helps you at the end of the day.We’re charging forward. I feel really positive with our Fuel Rewards car. I think it looks good. Feels fast with Team Chevy, so we’ll see what we’ve got this weekend.THE MODERATOR: Scott McLaughlin, it wasn’t that long ago when you had your first test on the oval, but you certainly come into this with so much experience, Super Car championships, Bathurst 1000, you’ve been some to some world renowned events before and have won. How does Indy compare to all of that or does it? And what’s your experience been like so far?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, not one of those things prepared me for this. It’s a unique beast. But I have got a great team on my back with me, and my teammates, as well, push me along, and I’m learning so much. I’m just soaking everything up like a sponge.Really excited. I think the Pennzoil Chevy is feeling really good in qualifying and race trim. But I’m building up to it, trying to just ride in traffic and learn different lines and follow different people and lead and go back in the six deep and five deep, and just enjoying the experience.It’s obviously going to be a little bit different this year, but it’s going to be a hell of a lot better than it was last year, so I’m excited for that and excited for the experience.Q. First of all, I just want to get out of the way, what is the difference between the photo you guys took on Tuesday and the photo Rahal took yesterday?TIM CINDRIC: I think if you you’re referring to what happened yesterday, obviously we are all pretty fortunate that ended in the way it did rather than in some other way.What we did on the first day or whatever is something we’ve done every single year here, or we’ve at least attempted to. It’s been a little different.Obviously a lot of you know that the tradition here has been to be the first out. It’s changed a little bit in the fact that in the first five minutes of the first session, you can’t go by once. In the past, and I think if you look back in other years, you will have seen that we’ve waited to go by the first time, and our instructions really have been, Hey, if there’s anybody else on the racetrack we’ll call it off, and if not, we go ahead and do that.It’s been the only time in which we’ve ever attempted that, but it’s been something that we try and do as a tradition is to be first out. It’s just a way to start May and something Roger has always taken a lot of pride in. And if we get the opportunity, then we come across the line as a team, and if we don’t get the opportunity we call it off.Really for us it’s always been an awareness situation. But it’s always been the first session, the first time, and we’ve never had a problem.Yesterday obviously was unfortunate and all the circumstances were not in a good place. But anyway, I think we’ll all learn from it and move on.Q. Should there be a designated time for teams that want to do that?TIM CINDRIC: I don’t know. I think that’s really not up to us. I think it’s just as opportunity presents itself. We’ve taken advantage of it more as a tradition more than anything else and really never thought of it at any other point.Q. I’ve noticed Greg Penske on the timing stand a lot more this year. What is he doing? What’s his role?TIM CINDRIC: Greg is a supporter of ours, big supporter of ours.I think on the timing stand itself, maybe you’ve noticed him more often, but honestly, Greg has always been there. He’s been there whenever he can be there. Obviously his business is — his core business is all in California. But he’s been a key supporter for the 20-some years that I’ve been here, so I guess I don’t really see it as any different.Q. He’s not making any race-changing calls?TIM CINDRIC: No. I’d love for him to call the races. I’ve always wanted as many members of the family as possible, and obviously Jay was part of the series for many years, and now he’s doing Formula E.I always enjoyed — I had always hoped that Jay would join our team and be part of our team rather than have to compete against him because he’s a very competitive person and all the rest of it. But for me, I welcome any day that the Penske family shows up and want them to participate in any way they can.Q. For the drivers, Tim said that RP says he wants to win 20 Indy 500s. I know you all know that he loves this race, he wants to win this race. What sort of pressure is there to go and get numbers 19 and 20?WILL POWER: Yeah, I think just driving for Penske, you have that pressure no matter what, and just the event itself. So I don’t think there’s really any added pressure to get that number 19 or 20.It’s what every single driver and team comes here to do is to win this race. You feel it over the month just with the media attention and I guess the amount of practice you get and watching everyone else. You just feel that build as it comes to race day.Yeah, we’re all super determined all equally determined I would say to win number 19 for Roger.SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, it’s kind of what you’re expected to do here. We all know it’s No. 1 priority for Roger and the race team. As a driver if you’re here in INDYCAR, I think it’s your No. 1 goal, as well.Obviously, yes, it’s more pressure because it’s the biggest race in the world, like I said, and yeah, you’ve just got to get it done at some point, but like Tim and Josef said, she kind of chooses you, so you’ve got to be patient.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think you start to — the more times that you’re here the more you feel the pressure to compete with the group around you. Obviously that starts with Roger, but I think it’s everybody.On my team specifically it’s Tim, it’s all the boys on the 2 car. You want to get the job done for everybody. Really the other cars, as well. There’s a tremendous amount of work that goes in at our team across the board. You want it to be your car, but I think there’s a sense of pride there on any of these cars that win the race.I think you feel that pressure across the entire group that you want to get the job done.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: There’s really not much more I can add. I think we all know how big this is to Roger and his team, especially now with the ownership structure here at IMS. But I’d just love to get one on the board at least.Q. (No microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’ve been here before on various occasions. I came here for the 100th in 2016, and it was a pretty special moment then.But I think being here as a driver, especially with a sponsor like Pennzoil and the Yellow Sub, it’s pretty special, and you know the history of what’s been put ahead of you.You’d love to be a part of that and create your own legacy, but you’ve got to respect it and respect this place. And it’s very similar to a place back home that I know well, Bathurst, but they’re two different beasts.It’s a very cool thing to be here for sure and a race that I’ve seen and watched growing up for a very long time.Q. Scott, you’ve practiced, of course, prior to this year at this track. Now that you have nearly a few days under your belt in the month of May, how do you feel you became acclimated to the track, especially with the adapted conditions over time?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think it’s been nice to have some different conditions throughout the week. It’s got hotter and hotter as we’ve got on. The wind has changed in various amounts but not a huge amount.Yeah, I think we’re progressing nicely, just along our program. There’s been a couple of hiccups as everyone has seen, but at the end of the day we’ve got through pretty smoothly and just run to our program.I think that’s the same across all four cars. I think we’ve been pretty methodical in the way we’ve approached it from a race trim perspective and then trying out some qualifying and all that sort of stuff, and just really preparing me for what’s ahead, I think.Fast Friday, I’m really excited for the extra boost level and seeing what it’s like heading into Turn 1 for the first time at around 240 miles an hour, something I haven’t done before, and looking forward to seeing what that feels like.Q. You mentioned already feeling that 240. Is there anything that might rival it, something similar?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Nothing. No, nothing. It’s a very special thing and very unique to this one place, and that’s why it’s so special.Q. Tim, we saw how it ended in the Daytona 500 with Brad and Joey. You guys talked about how the top two guys can pass pretty easily. Has there been any discussions or foresee any discussions if you guys are running one-two in the closing laps next Sunday?TIM CINDRIC: We haven’t got to Sunday yet for sure, but yeah, we’ve seen that, obviously, and how that turned out, and that was unfortunate for a lot of things and a lot of reasons.I think when you look back to watching — was it Will and Montoya going toe to toe there? Was probably the most recent one from our end.I think these guys know exactly what they’re trying to achieve, and it’s the biggest race in the world, and Daytona is right up there with it as far as prestige in the NASCAR Series.It’s really hard to tell these guys anything else but to go for it and just race each other fair and clean and hopefully they bring it home. I think they all know and respect exactly what it means to the team, to Roger and all the sponsors.I think even going back to Brad and Joey, they certainly didn’t want that outcome, but it’s part of racing. It’s part of the risk that you take. I think these guys doing it at the speeds they do it at, they’ve got a little self-preservation in mind, as well. I think it’s very, I guess, expected from whoever is first and second here to race right to the line.Roger has always said that you can race as much as you can, but just don’t hit each other. Sometimes it goes the other way.Q. The drivers, you guys race each other any differently than you would if it was not a teammate at the end?WILL POWER: Yeah, no. I think Tim hit the nail on the head. It’s self-preservation. It’s pretty high speed, and yeah, it’s not like NASCAR. You can’t bump, you can’t touch, and you know that.Basically if you put yourself in a position where you’re going to hit a car, you’re not going to finish the race and you’re not going to win it, so you know that, and you race accordingly.Obviously it’s a pretty big prize at the end, so yeah, it — yeah, I mean, just got to — it is what it is. You’ve got to race smart and that’s the only way you’re going to win the race.Q. Simon and Will, back in ’18 and ’19 obviously you guys won. Was there a moment in the month that you knew I’ve got a car that’s capable of winning this, and are you there yet after three days of practice?SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I mean, we had an incredible package in ’19, and Chevy power really helped us tremendously all month, all two weeks long really. We knew we had a shot.There are so many things that can happen during the race that you’re not in control of. We tried to take our destiny in our own hands in the race and led a lot, maybe too much at some point, and then it turned back into our hands. It could have gone the other way.I think this year we’re close to being where we were in ’19, but I think the whole field is a lot closer. I can’t control the others. I can only control myself and my team, and I think we’re doing everything we can to be in the same spot.Q. Porsche recently announced that they’re going to be partnering with Penske to go to IMSA and Le Mans. Do all four of you have an interest in going to Le Mans and racing for Team Penske over there?WILL POWER: Yeah.SIMON PAGENAUD: Yes.WILL POWER: Certainly. That would be awesome.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yep.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yep.Q. Scott, what happened to your keys?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t know. I’m lucky I can drive.TIM CINDRIC: Who gets to go in the Porsche? I don’t know. We’ll talk about it in a couple years.Q. Simon, you’ve been toward the top drivers in the no-tow speeds. Is that by design or is that by just the way it’s fallen when you’ve been on track, and how important are those speeds?SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, we did some qualifying runs yesterday to try and see what speed we could squeeze out of the 22. We were pretty pleased. I don’t know what others are doing. It’s just like I said to Eric, we’ll see really today where we are. But we had a good feel for it.I think we’ve got a little bit more speed that we can find today, so it’s really encouraging for the whole team. The goal is really to get one Penske car on the pole.WILL POWER: I don’t know if they’re valuable from yesterday, but yeah, we’ll see today, get a feel. It’s very difficult. If you can see a car, you’re getting head. But that will be classed as a no-tow because it’s about 10 seconds ahead. You won’t really know until everyone runs on Saturday, but I feel like we’ve got pretty reasonable cars.Q. There seems to be a tremendous youth movement that is involved in INDYCAR right now. Three of the first five winners have been first-time winners. Scott is knocking on the door, ready to get a victory. How do you assess the way this influx of talent over the last couple of years has been for INDYCAR?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think it’s just — I guess you could say in some ways it’s a changing of the guard. Someone has got to step up. There’s a lot of young people coming through the Road to Indy program, which I’ve seen firsthand this year for the very first time.I think it’s a great program that INDYCAR and everyone involved has got through the F 2000s, the Pro 2000s, all the way through the Indy Lights. It’s a great category to watch.I think Rinus, Pato, Colton, they’re world class drivers and they’re in world class teams. And like Simon said before, the competitiveness between the teams now in INDYCAR is — there’s not much in it, and really anyone can win on the day, which not many race series in the world have that.It’s exciting. I think it’s great that INDYCAR are taking it in their stride to promote it and get excited by it. And yeah, I’d love to be a part of that, as well.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, like Scott said, there’s a great mix of talent. I think the most glaring thing about the series now is the parity. You really have immense parity amongst the teams, which has created intense competition amongst the drivers. It’s really a drivers’ championship through and through. You feel like you show up and can make a difference nowadays.I think you’re seeing that with the young guys. The young guys are coming in and they see that opportunity, and they’re quite frankly taking to it very well. A guy like Scott can come in and push us around and make us better and be right there. He’s pretty close to us right out of the gate in these first five races.I think you’re seeing the same stuff with other drivers and new drivers coming in. It’s created a good challenge for everybody. It’s a very difficult championship now to be the best at. Consistency is pretty important. But trying to stay on top of sort of the speed mountain is getting increasingly difficult.Q. Scott, obviously one of the last most recent rookies to win this race was Helio in 2001 for Penske. Do you go into this feeling like you actually have a legit shot at not just being Rookie of the Year but actually winning it, and does that add extra pressure?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No one puts more pressure on me than myself. I’ve always run by that. I’m in a car that certainly can win the race. I’ll be right there.But I’ve got to work on my timing, I’ve got to learn this, I’m trying to learn it at a very fast rate, understand the mountain that I’ve got to climb to be in that bracket, buy my ticket to that last stint.At the same time, I back myself to learn as much as I can at a fast rate, and I back the team that I have around me. Yeah, I don’t think nothing is possible. I think we can for sure give it a good shake, and if the opportunity presents at the end to take it, I back myself to take it when I need to.Q. How do you rate Scott’s chances? What do you think he still hasn’t experienced in the tests or here that could prevent him from being your next rookie winner?TIM CINDRIC: He’s obviously a fast learner. I think like Will said, I think you learn here every year you’re here, and every year you’re here you put yourself in different circumstances, different situations. Just qualifying for the race is going to be the first step of that, is where you start.The qualifying process and the things you go through, I think it’s really hard to maybe answer that question until you see a rookie of any kind go through the whole qualifying process because it’s different than anything they’ve ever done before, the four-lap average and the conditions that we’ll have and the falloff that you have during those runs, depending on how aggressive you are.I guess the only thing we’ve really said to Scott is just try and worry about the things you can control. He’s a race car driver. He’s a winner. He’s had a taste of oval racing at Texas, obviously, and he responded to that quite well.This place, it’s a long race, but yet it seems really short sometimes. It’s like Simon was talking about his race where if you’re sitting in my shoes, you’re wondering why he’s leading so many laps, but he’s learned that there’s times when that’s the right thing to do, depending on what car you have and all the rest of it, and I do believe that this place chooses you sometimes.For him, he wasn’t going to have enough fuel to make it happen until there was a caution, and it all came at the right time, and he took advantage of that.I think Scott has as good a chance as any rookie here has ever had. But experience, you can’t put really a value on the experience around here. Yeah, he’s with our team for a reason.Q. Question for either Will or Simon or both of you guys. It took you guys a handful of years to come across your first Indy 500 victory. Can you describe a little bit about what that anticipation was like coming close a handful of years and how you guys managed maybe the mental side of things to be able to break through in 2018 and 2019?WILL POWER: Yeah, when it comes up on 10 years, I guess it was added pressure, especially when you’ve won a championship and you know that the other box that you have to tick to be regarded as a successful INDYCAR driver was to win this race. Yeah, it certainly built a lot, and you’d started to wonder if you’d ever win it.Like these guys have said, Tim said, the place basically chooses you. I remember in ’18, the week before, I almost said to my wife, I know I’m going to win the race. I just felt that way. I don’t know why. It was just a pretty normal month, car felt really comfortable.Then waking up on race day, just had such an easy, good feeling. Yeah, it’s such a funny race. It’s so hard to even kind of predict what you think is going to happen. You just don’t know the things it’s going to throw at you over the years.Yeah, it’s a hard one to win, but when you win it, it’s the most satisfying moment of your whole career.SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, more than the recognition in the business, for me it was more a personal thing, just all the work that you do since you’re eight years old in a go-kart learning, and then learning the right way and going every step of the way through the racing ladder.Personally as a Frenchman coming here at the speedway, you’re not a favorite. You’re not a favorite because oval racing doesn’t exist in Europe. Having to learn that discipline or that skill, I should say, was something new in 2012, so it’s not that long ago at the time.It just felt like a great personal accomplishment. At the end of my life that will be a very, very special thing for myself.Q. For Tim, going back to that conversation with Roger in 2001 in Victory Lane, obviously he’s got a lot of other responsibilities now with INDYCAR and IMS and everything, but how much do you hear from him about performance of the team and wanting to do well?TIM CINDRIC: Oh, it hasn’t changed, without a doubt. In fact, it continues to increase. I don’t see that letting up at any point.Q. 18 months into him sort of being now separated from the team, how is it different? Is it more comfortable? Was it ever awkward at all?TIM CINDRIC: No, I think the biggest difference is we miss him in pit lane, not knowing really where he is or knowing — when I say ‘where he is’, I mean during the race itself. I’m used to knowing what pit he’s in and how to have a conversation with him during the race or ask his advice or vice versa. You kind of miss that camaraderie during the race.Obviously we all understand why that is and respect why that is. But for me, once the flags fly or checkered flag falls, it’s very similar. I don’t think it’s really a lot different from where I sit in terms of our interactions or how he helps us run our business.Q. For the drivers, five races this year, five different winners, none of them from Penske. Somewhat surprising. But then again there was so much talk about how competitive it was going to be coming into this year. Do you feel like it’s circumstantial that one of you hasn’t won a race yet?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think most of us have been second at some point. Yeah, it’s hard to answer that. We’ve definitely — every car is a little different story-wise, but I think we’ve been in the mix as a team, and that’s the first step. You’ve got to be in the mix to win these races. And I think we’ve been there, without a doubt.I actually felt very positive about the race cars that we’ve had as a team to start the year, and it hasn’t resulted in a win, like you said, but what a perfect place to start that off for the season next weekend, so we’re definitely working on that.Q. Scott, you have the distinct advantage of working closely with Rick Mears, who is as good as anyone who’s ever been at this facility. Talk about how that has aided you in terms of your development.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think we all have that advantage. Having Rick in the garage is such a fantastic moral boost, morale boost, and he’s such a nice guy. For a guy that’s done it all in INDYCAR racing, to lend a hand and really just simplify a lot of things, especially for me, when things are coming at me very quickly, especially these last few days, he’s even making little changes just in terms of car setup to make sure I’m comfortable before I go out, and that was in the first day. We made a really good change before I went out, and it worked out really good, and I gained a whole heap of confidence from it.To have a guy come in like that, talk about lines, he calls them patterns, get my timing right, it’s a really cool thing and very unique, and I’m really taking it in my stride as well as everyone else on this table.Q. For the drivers, we’ve seen with the trains and practice, we’ve seen the top four are able to overtake and move around, and if you get a little bit further back in the train it’s a little more difficult to pass. Is there an extra focus on your qualifying position to make sure you’re near the front of that train?WILL POWER: I still believe track position is really key this year. It’s still closer and packed up, but unless you’re in that top four, you’re pretty much locked out of being able to pass because obviously the car, the further back you get, every car is drafting off the car in front, so you don’t get the advantage of a car breaking the air in front of you. So yep, qualifying you want to be in that top nine.Q. Josef, you won the first race under kind of Roger Penske’s ownership at Indianapolis last year, and we know that was a big thing for the team and a big thing for you, as well. Just wondered if there’s extra motivation to win the first 500 for Roger being the fact that it’s under his ownership now, the speedway.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I think certainly obviously we’ve already had a winner with Sato, right, last year. Are you speaking specifically to being on the team or just in general?Q. I’m talking about since Roger Penske has owned the speedway, you were the first person to win for Penske at the speedway last year in the road course race, and then obviously since Roger has owned the speedway you didn’t win the 500 last year so Penske has not won a 500 since Roger has owned the speedway. I wondered if that gave you extra motivation as a team.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think there’s definitely motivation on all of our parts, just circumstantially. You look at what happened last year and the effort that went in from everybody to try and keep this place moving forward was substantial from everybody involved. It was a substantial effort. So there’s a lot of gratitude, I think, from all of us to go out and put on a good show.It would mean a lot to be a Team Penske driver, driving for Roger Penske, to be able to win this race and win it in front of a crowd which we’re going to have here. I think it would mean a heck of a lot this specific year, again, looking at the circumstances that we’ve all had to fight through together.It would mean a great deal, but obviously any one of us would love to be able to do that. We need to work together to make it happen.Q. For Tim, are you happy with the gains you’ve made from last season’s Indy 500 to this season’s 500 in both the aerodynamics and the engine department, and why?TIM CINDRIC: I guess probably early to answer to that question, to be honest. Today will give us some indication of the difference between last year and this year. But it’s really difficult to tell in the running that we’ve done at this point in time to what degree our competitiveness has changed from last year.I know there’s been a lot of work put in, not only from our team but also everybody at Chevrolet into how to make ourselves more competitive than we were last year, not only as a team but as an overall manufacturer’s group.I think we’re optimistic that we’ve closed that gap, but we only know what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve done. And I think we’ve taken good steps there. I think our preparation for the race and understanding the different things that occurred last year I think is as good as any year that we’ve been here.Then you have to execute. So you can have the best cars and the best aerodynamics and the best engine, and if you don’t execute on race day in the pits or anywhere else, I think that it’s not going to be your day. This race is won typically by somebody that doesn’t make any mistakes as a team, so we still need to execute on that end.The answer to your question is our first goal is our qualifying. Last year we didn’t have any cars in the top nine. That may have been the first time we’ve ever been in that situation.As one of the guys said, It’s our goal to get the cars in the top nine and then focus on race day. It’s probably a little too early to give you, I guess, a full grade on kind of where we are.Q. Scott, just wanted to follow up on the Rick Mears. Obviously you’ve spoken about how much experience he has at IMS. What’s the best piece of advice he has given you?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Trust your ass. Feel the car. Feel the car. Sorry, but that’s literally the best piece I’ve ever had. Trust it. If something doesn’t feel right, come in. If it feels good, play with it, get used to it, the front bar, the rear bar, the weight jacker. But yeah, he’s been phenomenal.THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, and our thanks to Team Penske for coming in this morning.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESENTED BY GAINBRIDGE PRACTICE SESSION INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL DAY 3MAY 20, 2021 TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS GET SIX HOURS OF ON-TRACK TIME ON DAY THREE OF PRACTICE FOR 105TH RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500Teams work on both qualifying and race setup ahead of Fast Friday when it will be focused on qualifying after boost raised to qualifying level of 1.5 bar INDIANAPOLIS (MAY 20,2021) – It was an interesting mix of the young guns and the veterans in the top-10 at the end of day three of practice for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.  On lap one of practice, Rookie-of-the-Year contender Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet, was caught in a minor three car incident. The Team Penske crew took the car back to the paddock to check the car, repair minor damage and quickly got McLaughlin back on track.   Conor Daly, No. 47 US Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, led the Chevrolet drivers in the top-6 with a lap of 225.245 mph. Two=-time Series’ champion Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet, was fourth out of 35 drivers turning laps today. GMR Grand Prix winner Rinus Veekay, No. 21 Bitcoin Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, turned in the sixth quickest time of the day. Other notable members of Team Chevy were rookie Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, with the 13th fastest lap. Texas winner Pato O’Ward. No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet in the 14th fastest position and 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet was 15th in the order. Tomorrow teams make final preparations for qualifying for the race as the boost level is increased from 1.3 bar to 1.5 bar for Saturday and Sunday qualifying to fill the 33-car field. With 35 entries, two cars will not make the field.  A two-hour practice will follow the conclusion of the Fast Nine Qualifying that determines the pole winner, and the starting order of the front three rows. The boost will be returned to race level 1.3 bar before the start of that practice.  The track will go green for Fast Friday at noon and conclude at 6:00 pm. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, and Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Bitcoin Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Press Conference Transcript: THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up day three of practice for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Fairly good day for these two. Let’s begin with Pato and your thoughts on your day. 14th quick, I believe, overall today.PATO O’WARD: Yeah, we didn’t have a bad day. I’m pretty happy with my race car, which is always a good thing. For the race qualifying car, not so happy yet. I think tomorrow is going to be a good tell to see where we stand. The extra boost always throws in an adventurous twist around this place.Yeah, you can’t really tell honestly with all the no post speeds. It’s going to be interesting tomorrow to see who is quick by himself. It should give us an idea of what qualifying is going to look like.THE MODERATOR: Rinus, how was your day today?RINUS VEEKAY: It was a pretty good day for me. We started the day off with quallie trim, yeah, just trimmed some downforce out. The car felt really good. Car felt as good with very low downforce as in race trim. Yeah, very, very good in that point.Then in the race trim, yeah, we learned a lot today, tried some things that were really not so good. But I think if we put the whole car together, which we did a few times, we have a very competitive car.Yeah, it’s just very hard to follow, to pass. Yeah, just when it gets hot, gets greasy. I think we have one of the strongest cars out there. That makes the job a lot of fun.THE MODERATOR: Jay Frye wanted to confirm the penalty for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Tomorrow they will be held 30 minutes for improper conduct out on the racecourse. Rule 9.3.1.I know some guys out there, they were doing this yesterday, too, working on qual sims, race car. Rinus, your teammates yesterday were going back and forth. What did you net out today, what the program really was for you?PATO O’WARD: I mean, I started off like Rinus with a few qualifying trims. Unfortunately not a lot of people care when you’re in the quallie sims. They just like to screw you when you’re right in the middle. They just freaking park it. I didn’t really get any clean reads. But of the lap that I did, I wasn’t very happy with the car anyway.I have realized that a good race car does not translate into a good qualifying car, at least in my case. We just need to continue working on that, making it better, because things just get more sketchy the faster you go. Tomorrow we’re going to go quite a bit quicker.Yeah, that’s going to be the game plan for us tomorrow. I think you’re going to see everybody doing qualifying trims. You’ll probably not see a pack running out there.THE MODERATOR: Rinus?RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, same about qualifying trim. We were trying to find a gap going on track. Then someone gets sent out just right in front of you, you’re like, Oh, no.Yeah, that happens. Tomorrow we’ll probably be a little better, I hope. Anyway, having more power I think for us is going to be quite all right. Once we trim more it actually felt like the car felt better.Yeah, I think we have a very good qualifying car. Fast Nine is going to be possible again. Yeah, for race trim I think you can’t really stand out this year. I felt like last year we were peaking out with the car. It was really better than anyone else. But I think this year the margin is just very small. We have a very good car. We can pass, yeah, take advantage of someone making mistakes, but it doesn’t get much different anywhere else than that.THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.Q. Obviously we saw Ferrucci in two. Did you guys find turn two particularly sketchy? Daly was referring to his car being quite oversteer-y at turn two. Was that a particular issue for you guys?PATO O’WARD: I had a few moments, but I don’t think they were in two. I think they were in one actually. In one or three? I don’t know, man (laughter).Man, it’s sketchy in traffic. Whenever you’re behind two cars, three cars, it’s okay. You feel like the actual balance of the car. As soon as you’re like 12th in line, you just want your car to be the least trashed as everyone else’s. No car is going to feel good, unless you want to prove me wrong.RINUS VEEKAY: No, no. The first four can kind of battle around, kind of swap positions. But then when you’re like ninth or 10th, it just feels like you have wooden tires.PATO O’WARD: Feel like the car completely goes whop.Q. As the track greases up, kind of gets sketchy, have you noticed that increases or decreases any differences between Hondas and Chevys? They looked a lot closer.PATO O’WARD: I think this year is going to be a pretty close fight. I mean, I sure hope that is the case. I think tomorrow is going to really give everybody an idea of who has been sandbagging or not. I mean, from the looks of it, it looks very well mixed up.RINUS VEEKAY: I did feel yesterday that the Chevys were harder to catch than the Hondas in traffic. That means that the Chevy is pretty strong.Q. With three of the first five winners this year all being first-time winners, were you surprised by that trend? Also would you be surprised to see a first-time winner in the Indy 500?PATO O’WARD: This series is stacked. I feel like it’s never been as competitive.Q. Any of the rest of you?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, same boat. I don’t think INDYCAR has ever been this competitive with so many different, like, ranges of age. Like you’ve got guys that are less than 24 years old that are winning races, being competitive in Fast Sixes. Then you have the mini veterans like Josef, Rossi. Then you’ve got the…Q. Old guys?PATO O’WARD: The older guys (laughter). You have the older guys like Dixon, Power, then you have the old guys like Montoya, Castroneves and Kanaan.RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I’m not really surprised. Last year Pato was close to winning very often. Colton has been doing amazing. I think I got a great car in the Indy GP.Well, I think it’s just, yeah, we grew up kind of in the computer era, kind of the digital era. That helps also the simulators being very normal to us, kind of helps us feeling comfortable in the simulator. That maybe translates to better results.I think, yeah, for the Indy 500, well, it’s the Indy 500, so many different guys can win.Q. Have any of you guys ever done a photo like that with your teams?RINUS VEEKAY: No.PATO O’WARD: No. It looks cool. I think they got the idea — the first day when everybody went out, I think the Penske guys did it. It looked pretty cool.Q. Three of you guys winners this year, all under the age of 24. The changing of the guard seems to be here. Do you feel any resentment or heat from the older guys, like back off, little guys?PATO O’WARD: I think they’ve been pretty accepting. I feel like we’ve earned our place in the series. I feel like ultimately the guys that decide that are the vets and the guys that are always running up front, yeah.RINUS VEEKAY: I felt like last year it was always quite elbows out. Sometimes it’s not old vets, but I think people know it now. Yeah, like Pato said, we’ve earned our way into INDYCAR, earned some respect. I think we’re one of the guys now.Q. Pato is going to be in trouble when Juan finds out you said he was like 70 years old.PATO O’WARD: I said he was older (laughter). Who is the oldest guy in the field?Q. Helio or Juan.PATO O’WARD: Maybe Tony.Q. Helio or T.K. depending on what birth certificate you’re looking at. A lot of veterans have been through here this week. It’s great you guys are fun and winning, aggressive, but this track is different. This track veterans exceed at. Is it almost better to not know as much as those guys do and figure it out as you go?RINUS VEEKAY: I felt like last year I wasn’t really aware of what could happen. That went pretty well last year. But now after what happened in the pre-season test, I took it way, way easier.PATO O’WARD: I think you smacked the wall at 220 something miles an hour, it resets you.RINUS VEEKAY: You’ve done it, too.PATO O’WARD: Yeah, for sure.Q. Rinus and Pato, this will be your second 500, but kind of your first May more or less. How different is the energy qualifying or practicing in May as opposed to August with fans?RINUS VEEKAY: How different is the energy?Q. Yes.RINUS VEEKAY: You can feel there’s a lot of energy in the paddock. Just watching around pit lane to the garages, there’s so many fans. Every time you walk outside you’re giving autographs, kind of feel more like an INDYCAR driver. It feels more like the Indy 500 than just a test day.PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I agree with that. I think the difference now is it doesn’t feel like a test any more. It feels like an actual race weekend, yeah.RINUS VEEKAY: I could definitely feel it during the GP and Barber. Barber felt really, really back to normal. Like turn two, all the people sitting in the grass was really nice atmosphere.PATO O’WARD: Man, the GP is pretty stacked. When we were doing the driver intros, I was surprised to see so many people. I was pretty happy.RINUS VEEKAY: Pretty cool to stand on the back of a truck. Never did that before.PATO O’WARD: Make sure you hold not only onto the suction cup because they might come undone.THE MODERATOR: Speak from experience?PATO O’WARD: No, Simon told me (laughter).Q. A lot of group running today, more than we’ve seen the last few days. Do you feel like you can attack from third on back or do you feel like it’s like it was the last couple years where you can only attack from the top two positions in a group?PATO O’WARD: I think it’s better now. I think the improvements made in the off-season with the barge boards have been a positive. I think if you’re within the first four, five in line, you can probably do something if you get a good enough run. If you’re back in, like, eighth, ninth or 10th in line, you might have to wait till somebody checks up in front of you and you get a run there. But if no one is making mistakes, yeah, I feel like you’re pretty much stuck.Q. How trimmed out where y’all running today compared to what y’all are going to be tomorrow and on Saturday?RINUS VEEKAY: We did a quite decent trim. I think there’s still more to gain. We kind of went safe today. We just wanted to check the balance on different trims. Yeah, it felt really good. Car felt stable in every trim. No concerns whatsoever.PATO O’WARD: Yeah, for me, I don’t think we trimmed much because I wasn’t very happy with it when we first went out. We didn’t trim more.THE MODERATOR: Boost levels do go up tomorrow, 80, 90 horsepower. Bring a smile to your face at all?RINUS VEEKAY: That’s all we ask for always.THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming out, appreciate it. Good luck tomorrow.

May 20, 2021 Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Mustang will be a part of the inaugural NASCAR race at the Circuit of the Americas, a 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course in Austin, Texas. The COTA track opened in October, 2012, and has hosted several major series including Formula One and IndyCar, but this weekend will mark the first appearance there of NASCAR’s top three divisions. DiBenedetto has yet to compete on the COTA layout, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy preparing for Sunday’s 68-lap, 231-mile EchoPark Texas Grand Prix.   “I’m excited for COTA,” he said. “It’s a beautiful facility, and I’ve been wearing out the Ford simulator.”    Unlike most Cup Series races the past two seasons, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Quaker State crew will get a chance to fine tune their Mustang during a practice session on Saturday.   “I’m looking forward to having practice to try and work on improving our road course program and hopefully be dialed in for the race,” he said. “And I will be paying close attention to the truck and Xfinity races.”   Inaugural NASCAR races in the state of Texas are nothing new for the Wood Brothers.   They competed in the first-ever NASCAR race at Texas World Speedway (then known as Texas International Speedway in College Station back on Dec. 7, 1969). Cale Yarborough was aboard the No. 21 Mercury when it blew a tire and slammed into the wall on Lap 143 after leading 16 laps earlier in the race. The impact shattered Yarborough’s shoulder blade. Author Greg Fielden, in his Forty Years of Stock Car Racing, quoted one of the doctors who treated Yarborough. “When this bone is broken this badly, usually the patient is dead. It’s a miracle he survived such a hard crash.” Eddie Wood said Yarborough was still on the mend early in the 1970 season. “That crash at Texas is why Parnelli Jones drove our car at Riverside in 1970,” he said.   Yarborough was back in the car quicker than doctors expected and was as fast as ever. He set a new track record of 194.015 miles per hour to win the pole for the Daytona 500 then won his qualifying race at a then all-time race record of 183.295 mph. He dominated the early laps of the Daytona 500 but dropped out early due to mechanical issues.   The Woods fielded the No. 21 Ford driven by Michael Waltrip in the inaugural race at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth on April 6, 1997. Waltrip finished ninth, the first of six top-10 finishes for the team at that track.   Eddie Wood said that was a memorable day.   “They had a big wreck on the first lap,” he said. “And there was a huge crowd there. There was so much traffic we wound up taking a helicopter out of the infield to get to the airport.” Cup practice for the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix is set for Saturday at 9:05 a.m. (10:05 ET). Qualifying is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. (11 ET), and the race is expected to get the green flag just after 1:30 p.m. (2:30 ET) with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.