Richard Childress Racing’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history at Bristol Motor Speedway … In 173 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing boasts nine wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt, one with Kevin Harvick and one with Jeff Burton – three pole awards, 34 top-five and 69 top-10 finishes. The Welcome, N.C.-based organization has led 3,680 laps at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.”

RCR in the MENCS … In 2,967 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 51 pole awards,108 wins, 489 top-five finishes and 1,073 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.7 and an average finishing position of 16.2. RCR has earned 15 total championships (six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships with Earnhardt in 1986, ’87, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ’94, six NASCAR Xfinity Series titles, two NASCAR Truck Series titles and one ARCA Menards Series title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR’s three national series. Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–Bristol Preview →

Giovanni Scelzi Charges to First Career Top 10 at Knoxville Nationals

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 13, 2019) – Giovanni Scelzi’s latest accomplishment was on the biggest stage in winged sprint car racing.

Scelzi guided the Indy Race Parts backed, Bernie Stuebgen owned No. 71 to a top-10 result during the 59th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores, which featured more than 100 drivers battling throughout the week at Knoxville Raceway leading up to Saturday’s A Main in front of a sellout crowd of more than 20,000 spectators.

“I’m really happy with it,” Scelzi said. “I’ve become a better driver and a smarter racer. I passed a lot of race cars, which is something I’ve struggled with there. Dirty air is tough there. A top 10 at the Nationals is stout. I’m pretty proud of that.” Continue reading v →

Dominic Scelzi Earns Second Straight Start in Knoxville Nationals A Main

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 12, 2019) – Dominic Scelzi achieved another new feat by locking into his second straight Knoxville Nationals last weekend during the 59th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores at Knoxville Raceway, which welcomed more than 100 competitors for the sport’s biggest race of the year.

“It was huge,” he said. “To make the Nationals two years in a row and be as competitive as we were throughout the week of racing is special. It is the most prestigious race and the best drivers in the world compete so to earn our way as one of only 24 drivers into Saturday’s A Main is a great accomplishment for our team.”

The event, which showcased more than 20,000 spectators in attendance, got off to a rough start for Scelzi, who qualified 19th quickest out of more than 50 competitors before he finished fifth in a heat race last Wednesday to open his preliminary night.

“I felt like we had good speed and just didn’t capitalize on it,” he said. “I think I got too anxious and pushed too hard in the heat. I should have rolled the bottom. In hindsight I think I could have got to fourth right away and had a shot at getting to third. I felt like my clock was ticking and I just pushed too hard.”

That night ended with a 10th-place finish in the B Main.

Scelzi rebounded in a big way on Friday during Hard Knox Night, which featured nearly 80 drivers vying for the top four positions that earned a lock-in position into Saturday’s A Main.

Scelzi qualified fifth quickest in his group before he placed third in a heat race, which garnered the fifth starting position in the main event.

“We got a good start and got by Shane (Stewart) early to get to third,” he said. “I was closing on Logan (Schuchart) and I’m pretty sure he saw me on the big screen. He moved up and that got me tight on the cushion. Shane got back by me so that put me back to fourth. Then I felt like now we’re in the final transfer so I’m going to have to make something special happen. Sammy (Swindell) drove by me in turns one and two late in the race. I figured he was running the bottom so I thought I’ll slide him in turns three and four and take his lane. That worked out and I was able to hang onto fourth.”

Scelzi’s fourth-place finish was his 19th top five of the season and it locked him into the final starting spot in the 50-lap main event on Saturday.

“The green flag came out and we got by a couple of guys,” he said. “I got behind Rico (Abreu) and he made a last-minute decision to go to the bottom. I jumped to the top and hit it wrong, which got me into the wall and we broke the steering box. I tried to ride around and hoped we could finish, but it was getting worse and I didn’t want to tear anything up so I pulled off midway through the race.”

Scelzi now heads to North Dakota this weekend to race with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks during the Second Leg of the Northern Tour and on Saturday at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo during the Duel in the Dakotas.

ROBERT HIGHT AND AUTO CLUB COLLECT FOURTH NIGHT UNDER FIRE VICTORY

NORWALK, Ohio (Aug. 12, 2019) — Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro team continued their winning ways on Saturday, Aug. 10th when they won the 42nd annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire match race at Summit Motorsports Park.

Hight, who competed alongside John Force Racing owner and CEO, John Force, won Night Under Fire for the fourth time when he ran 3.91-seconds to defeat Ron Capps’ 3.96. It marks the fourth consecutive year John Force Racing has taken home the Night Under Fire trophy. John Force won in 2018, Hight won in 2017 and Courtney Force won in 2015. The 2016 event was rained out.

“I always love coming and racing here at Norwalk for Night Under Fire. It’s a good time, there’s always a huge crowd and this match race has been good to John Force Racing,” Hight said. “Bader really does it up right, the entire day is a celebration and the finale with those fireworks? What a way to end it.

“Coming off the Western Swing last week and heading into Brainerd this week, it makes for a solid five weekends of being in the car and I think it’s a good thing,” Hight said. “We keep our momentum, get to test a little bit and keep our focus right before the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.”

Hight picked up the event trophy shortly after winning his milestone 50th NHRA Mello Yello career victory at Sonoma Raceway. The two-time NHRA world champion has led the NHRA points standings for the entire 2019 season while accumulating five victories in seven final rounds and eight No. 1 qualifiers.

Hight and Force, along with Top Fuel teammates Brittany Force and Austin Prock, continue the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season this weekend with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
ARROW MCLAREN RACING SP PRESS CONFERENCE
ZAK BROWN AND SAM SCHMIDT TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 12, 2019

ZAK BROWN AND SAM SCHMIDT MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA TO DISCUSS THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED PARTNERSHIP BEGINNING IN 2020:

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone, to today’s INDYCAR media conference call. On Friday, McLaren Racing and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced they have formed a partnership for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season.

The new entrant, Arrow McLaren Racing SP will field two Chevrolet-powered Indy cars beginning next season. We are pleased to be joined by Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing, and Sam Schmidt, the co-owner of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Gentlemen, welcome to the call.

ZAK BROWN: Thank you for having us.

THE MODERATOR: Zak, we will start with you. It’s been a few days since the announcement was made and it’s had some time to sink in. What kind of feedback and reactions have you seen since announcing that McLaren would join the NTT IndyCar Series on a full-time basis starting next season? Continue reading 19 ZAK BROWN AND SAM SCHMIDT MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA TO DISCUSS THE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED PARTNERSHIP BEGINNING IN 2020: →

NHRA® Team Report
NHRA® Nationals – Brainerd
Pre-Race Report

After a trio of solid, low three-second runs, Cruz Pedregon and team are preparing for Brainerd with a win in mind. “As a team, we’re confident in how the Snap-on Funny Car is performing on the track, and we’re working hard to maximize every opportunity to showcase what the car and this team can do,” Cruz says. “In my career, I’ve seen what making the most of every session can do when it comes to earning Countdown points, and we’re ready to move up into that Top 10 spot.”

For an extra event to tune and run the Snap-on Dodge® at this critical point in the season, Cruz and team participated in the popular Night Under Fire® in Norwalk before heading to Brainerd.

“The car is running so well right now, and we’re looking forward to making it the best it can be for Cruz to earn the points needed in the next couple of NHRA races to secure a Countdown spot,” says crew chief Glen Huszar.

“Even as we focus on racing and standings, it’s been important to me as someone whose family is originally from El Paso to send my thoughts to the residents, friends and family I still have there. And one of our team members is from Dayton, another place that’s been on our minds and hearts this week and will continue to be,” Cruz said. “Heading to Brainerd, where so many great NHRA fans come out and create such a lively atmosphere, will be uplifting. The fans there were terrific encouragers at the start of a winning streak we had back in ’92 when I won my first championship. And, we’re looking forward to a positive weekend ahead for everyone at the track and watching on NHRA.com and FOX.”

KEVIN HARVICK & AUSTIN CINDRIC SWEEP NASCAR WEEKEND AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY & MID-OHIO

BROOKLYN, MI – August 12th, 2019 – Kevin Harvick won his second NASCAR MENCS race this season, winning the Consumer Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang. Since June of 2018, the Michigan Heritage Trophy has been at Ford Motor Company and with this win it will stay at Ford for the next 10 months.

“It was an incredible weekend for Ford Motor Company and Ford Performance NASCAR teams,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It was special to be able to congratulate Edsel Ford and Kevin Harvick in Victory Lane. Competition in the MENCS and Xfinity series is extremely tough and to be able to win both poles and races this weekend is a testament to our partnership with Ford and our race teams.”
Continue reading KEVIN HARVICK & AUSTIN CINDRIC SWEEP NASCAR WEEKEND AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY & MID-OHIO →

Menard Runs Short Of Fuel, Finishes 15th At Michigan

August 11, 2019

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Senior Master Technicians/Quick Lane Ford Mustang came within a splash of gas of ending the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway with a solid top-10 finish.

But he didn’t quite make it. Continue reading Menard Runs Short Of Fuel, Finishes 15th At Michigan →

Tyler Reddick Collects Back-to-Back Top-Five Finishes to Kick Off Road Course Swing

“A fourth-place finish at Mid-Ohio is like a win for me, not for RCR and my team since they have a stout Xfinity Series road course program to start with, but more of a personal win for me. This road course swing is a challenging part of the season for me that I’ve been trying to be better at for a while, so to get two top-five finishes in a row is great and shows some major improvement on my side. This week’s race at Mid-Ohio was a lot smoother as a whole than last week’s race at Watkins Glen. We had a good set-up for both the right and left-hand turns on the course, which helped me be able to make key passes throughout the day. I just had a bit of an issue with the braking power during the race. It wasn’t like my brakes were gone but like the power went down by 25 percent, so we’ll check that out before we return to a road course in a couple weeks. Finishing fourth here is a big step in the right direction on a road course for me, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at Road America in two weeks.”

-Tyler Reddick

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONSUMERS ENERGY 400
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 10, 2019

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1, was the fastest Chevy driver in Happy Hour practice today with a fast lap of 188.763 mph in 38.143 seconds around the 2-mile D-shaped speedway.

POST PRACTICE TRANSCRIPT:

IT’S A PRETTY BIG DEAL TO BE THE FASTEST CHEVROLET IN PRACTICE
“Yeah, it’s just practice. I think our car is really good. We’ve had good speed since we’ve unloaded and good stability. That first run, in final practice, we were really strong. We kind of waited a little bit to try to get with a pack for the end of practice. We just got too tight there at the end. We made some adjustments and got the car on the splitter pretty badly. We’ll undo that and go racing.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Michigan–Alex Bowman →

Menard Qualifies 9th At Michigan

August 9, 2019

Paul Menard and the Master Techs/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford Mustang are set to start Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway from the 9th position.

Menard originally earned the 10th starting spot but advanced one position following post-qualifying tech. In Friday’s afternoon session, Ford Mustangs accounted for an impressive six of the top nine starting positions.

It was his sixth top-10 qualifying effort of the season.

Menard picked up speed from opening practice, where he turned a best lap of 188.344 mph on his seventh and final lap of that session. That speed landed him 10th on the speed chart.

Menard said he was pleased for his team to be able to increase his speed from practice when he went out to qualify.

“We picked up a little bit from practice which is kind of hard to do at a speedway race which this kind of falls into this category because all of your fluids and everything are so cold,” he said. “In practice everything gets hot. To pick up I am proud of my guys for dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, and it is a pretty good starting spot for Sunday.”

Friday’s practice session was mostly devoted to fine-tuning the Master Techs/Quick Lane Mustang for qualifying, and there will be two practices on Saturday, which will give the team more opportunities to perfect their race set-up.

The Consumers Energy 400 is set to get the green flag just after 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday with TV coverage on NBCSN.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONSUMERS ENERGY 400
TEAM CHEVY QUALIYFING NOTES & QUOTES
AUGUST 9, 2019

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
3rd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
4th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1
6th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Camaro ZL1
7th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet Accessories Camaro ZL1
11th Daniel Hemric, No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Camaro ZL1

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Brad Keselowski (Ford)
2nd Kevin Harvick (Ford)
3rd William Byron (Chevrolet)
4th Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
5th Clint Bowyer (Ford)

NBCSN will telecast the 203-lap Consumers Energy 400 live at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, August 11. The NBC Sports Gold app will stream the race and live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Michigan–Qualifying Notes →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONSUMERS ENERGY 400
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT SESSION
AUGUST 9, 2019

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS:

AT SOME POINT, WOULD YOU LOVE TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO JUST RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP UNENCUMBERED?
“I look forward to that day. I know it will happen, just don’t know when. 2031, that’s 12 years from now. I’ll have as long of a Cup career as Tony Stewart did and I’ll still be in my mid-30s. I’ll be fine.”
Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Michigan–Kyle Larson →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONSUMERS ENERGY 400
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT SESSION
AUGUST 9, 2019

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS:

SOME PEOPLE LIKE SEEING THE JIMMIE JOHNSON THAT IS AGGRESSIVE. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
“Of course, I was very upset following the race with what took place there, and in my opinion you have to go talk to people and try to find out if what you thought in the car happened or not. Through that conversation, I was able to learn a lot about where Ryan’s head was on it all and here we are, we’re in Michigan. That’s last weekend. It did not turn out the way if could have for us and points are so important for us right now. That is where a lot of the frustration came from. I’m sure we’ve all talked about it plenty and I’m ready to go racing at Michigan. I practice today we continued to make the car better.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Michigan–Jimmie Johnson →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONSUMERS ENERGY 400
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT SESSION
AUGUST 9, 2019

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CAMARO ZL1 BREAKOUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS:

YOU WERE FAST IN PRACTICE
“It’s pretty cool. It’s not an impound race, so people are all trying to go as fast as they can and doing their thing to make the car go fast. We obviously did a really good job of that. It’s not the easiest to drive when you’re trimmed out like that. It’s a little more hair-raising, I guess you could say, when you’re out there in qualifying trim doing your thing. So, yeah, I’m pumped. I think we have a good shot at the pole and an opportunity to start up front here means a lot. You saw what Joey (Logano) was able to do with the pole last time. Hopefully this is good for us.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Michigan–Austin Dillon →

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONSUMERS ENERGY 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 9, 2019

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 met with media and discussed traction compound, what it would be like to win at Michigan, the upcoming race at Bristol, and more. Full Transcript:

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME USING THE PJ1 HERE AT MICHIGAN. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF TRACTION COMPOUND OVERALL? PRO OR CON?
“I think it’s a good thing to be messing with. Back when we were going really fast here, I think this was probably a track that really needed it bad. It’s so far up the race track here that everybody is a little concerned. It might be a little too far around for the amount of power we have. I feel like that’s the big question mark. You’re not lifting enough to make up longer distance. You use 2 rpm or whatever kind of distance, if you can move up high enough and get it; whereas now, we’re so close to wide-open running the regular groove, I think it’s going to be hard. But the one thing I don’t know and I’m not sure about everybody else. But it seems like to me, if there’s an advantage in maybe drafting or being to the right side of a car here, that might push it up. But, just to be running out there by yourself with nobody else around you, I don’t think you can go any faster up there. I think it’s too high.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Michigan–Chase Elliott →

STATEMENT CONCERNING ARROW SCHMIDT PETERSON MOTORSPORTS’ REQUEST TO BE RELEASED FROM ITS 2020 ENGINE SUPPLY CONTRACT WITH HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

“HPD is proud of its numerous accomplishments in partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, which include all seven of the team’s NTT IndyCar Series victories to date, as well as two coveted pole positions for the Indianapolis 500. Although we regret that this partnership will be coming to an end in advance of the 2020 season, HPD has the utmost confidence in the strength and commitment of its remaining partner teams, all of whom have won at least one NTT IndyCar Series race in each of the past two seasons. We look forward to demonstrating that same type of depth across our entire lineup for many years to come.”

WORLD CHAMPIONS JOHN FORCE AND ROBERT HIGHT TO RACE AT
KELLY SERVICES NIGHT UNDER FIRE

NORWLAK, Ohio (Aug. 9, 2019) — After both having had milestone victories during NHRA’s famed Western Swing, John Force and Robert Hight will once again participate in the 42nd annual Kelly Services Night Under Fire at Summit Motorsports Park outside of Cleveland. Continue reading WORLD CHAMPIONS JOHN FORCE AND ROBERT HIGHT TO RACE AT KELLY SERVICES NIGHT UNDER FIRE →

Dominic Scelzi Building Momentum Throughout Iowa Speedweek

Inside Line Promotions – OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Aug. 8, 2019) – Dominic Scelzi has had a fast race car throughout the first half of Iowa Speedweek.

Scelzi has guided his family owned sprint car to numerous strong moments, including top-15 runs at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, and at Southern Iowa Speedway. Continue reading Dominic Scelzi Building Momentum Throughout Iowa Speedweek →

Quartet of Team JEGS racers
headed to SFG Buckeye Bracket Bash
WEST SALEM, Ohio (Aug. 7) — Led by six-time world champion drag racer Jeg Coughlin Jr. and reigning North Central Region titlist Troy Coughlin Jr., a strong foursome of Team JEGS racers will be vying for the big cash prizes up for grabs at this weekend’s second annual SFG Buckeye Bracket Bash at Dragway 42.

Samantha Coughlin, Jeg Jr. ‘s wife, and Paige Coughlin, Troy Jr.’s sister, also will be competing in JEGS’ yellow-an-black livery.

Jeg Jr. will be racing his beloved JEGS.com Chevy II wagon in the three races that make up the weekend, including Friday’s $50K-to-win tilt, Saturday’s $75K-to-win main event and Sunday’s $25K-to-win finale.

Jeg Jr. went to the semifinals at the last SFG event. Continue reading Quartet of Team JEGS racers headed to SFG Buckeye Bracket Bash →